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Why was Vasco da Gama’s voyage to India important for Portugal’s trade?

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Map showing the transatlantic and global routes of major early voyages of discovery and exploration by Spain, Portugal, England, and France during the 15th and 16th centuries. The map traces the journeys of explorers such as Columbus, Cabot, Magellan, da Gama, and others, with labeled paths crossing the Atlantic and encircling Africa and South America, as well as lines of demarcation dividing Spanish and Portuguese exploration zones. — European exploration Map depicting the European exploration of the New World in the 15th and 16th centuries, including the voyages made by Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, Alonso de Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci, Pedro Álvares Cabral, Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastián del Cano, Giovanni da Verrazzano, Jacques Cartier, Sir Francis Drake, and others. The lines of demarcation represent an early division between the territory of Spain (to the west) and Portugal (to the east).

Vasco da Gama’s voyage to India was pivotal for Portugal because it established a direct maritime route to the East, allowing the Portuguese to bypass traditional overland trade paths that had become increasingly blocked or controlled by the Ottoman Empire and Venetian middlemen.1

By rounding the Cape of Good Hope, da Gama opened the way for Portugal to challenge the existing monopoly on the spice trade. This discovery enabled Portugal to establish a strategic command of the Indian Ocean through a network of fortified posts and settlements, such as those in Goa, Malacca, and Hormuz.12

Ultimately, this control over maritime trade routes enriched the Portuguese royal exchequer through a royal monopoly and a system of licensing for inter-Asian trade, bringing great prosperity to the kingdom throughout the 16th century. It is important to note that these commercial gains were often pursued through the use of sea power and aggressive tactics against established merchant networks.12