DISCOVERY OF SEA-ROUTE TO INDIA

DISCOVERY OF SEA-ROUTE TO INDIA

With the decline of the Roman empire, around the seventh century, when the Arabs~onquered those regions, and after Turkish conquest of Cqnstantinople, the commercial contact between the East and the West suffered. The European nations now embarked on finding a new sea-route to the East. The first efforts were by the Portuguese. Prince Henry of Portugal, nicknamed the 'Navigator'; devoted his whole life to encourage voyages for the discovery of the sea-route to India. In 1487, Bartholomew Diaz reached Cape of Good Hope. Following his route another Portuguese navigator, Vasco-da-Gama, reached the shores of Calicut in 1498. Thus was discovered the long-sought direct trade link with India.