The glory of reaching the southern limits of Africa and actually entering the Indian Ocean belonged to a Portuguese � Bartholomew Diaz. But they got no further than the Cape Verde Islands off the west coast of Africa. In 1455, a Venetian sailor and a Genoese tried it again. The very first navigators to make an attempt at opening up the route round Africa were the men from Genoa in Italy. It was the nations of southern Europe which first began to try. The European country which could first reach the Indies by sea and thus monopolise the spice trade would be fortunate indeed. But for people of those days spices could make all the difference between a diet of salted food and something more interesting.Īt that time the produce of the east was very expensive in Europe, for it arrived after a long journey, mostly over land. We either take these things for granted or, with our methods of feeding cattle in winter or keeping food in refrigerators, get on without them.
It is difficult for us to imagine now how much Europeans at that time felt the need for such things as camphor, pepper, cinnamon, ginger, or nutmeg. The riches of what was loosely called 'The Indies' were fabulous, particularly in the matter of spices. The journey would certainly be worth making. It was not even known that if a ship sailed down the west coast of Africa, it could find a way through to the Indian Ocean, although some geographers at that time had guessed that this might be so. America and Australia were undiscovered and very little had been found out about Asia and Africa. Vasco da Gama’s discovery of the sea route changed the shape of the world as it had been imagined, and showed the way for the beginning of direct trade by sea with the East.In the fifteenth century very little was known of the geography of our globe. They discovered many of the wonders of the East – precious stones and spices – just as they had hoped. With a strong wind behind them, they sailed across the Indian Ocean, anchoring near Calicut in May 1498. They pulled out of Natal and edged their way up the east coast of Africa to Malindi. They paused at Natal and noted the prosperity of the tall friendly natives.
An unknown member of the crew kept a record of the journey: “At last on Wednesday (22nd November), at noon, having the wind astern, we succeeded in doubling the Cape (of Good Hope) and then ran along the coast.”įrom that point onwards the region was unknown and the ships battled against the strong, adverse current.
Vasco da Gama took with him all the latest navigational equipment, and he needed it. In July 1497, four ships set sail from Portugal under the command of Vasco da Gama to complete the discovery of the sea route to India around the tip of Africa. She was a nation alive with untapped energy, and it was in this century that her brave little ships challenged uncharted seas.
Portugal, in contrast to most of the rest of Europe, was politically stable in the early 15th century. Extending the range of their knowledge in every direction, they began to explore the world for themselves, stretching out long arms to encompass new empires across unknown seas. In the 15th century, the people of Europe began to widen their horizons.
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