Sea route to India

What was discovered

Vasco da Gama reached Calicut by rounding Africa, establishing the first direct sea route between Europe and Asia and bypassing the overland intermediaries of the spice trade.

Coordinates of Calicut, the point of arrival. The Indian Ocean route had been used for centuries by Arab, Indian and Swahili sailors; a local pilot guided Da Gama from Malindi.

What it led to

• The Estado da Índia and the Portuguese Asian empire
• Shift of the spice trade from Venice to Lisbon
• Permanent European presence in Asia
• Camões and 'Os Lusíadas'

Built on

• Cape of Good Hope (Dias)
• Pêro da Covilhã's report on the Indian Ocean

Made possible

• Carreira da Índia (India Run)

Links