My voyage was successful in establishing a sea route from Europe to India. This permitted Europeans to trade with the Far East without having to endure the costs and hazards of the Silk Road caravans, which followed inland routes through the Middle East and Central Asia at a time when much of this territory was part of the Mughal Empire. However, my achievements were somewhat dimmed by his failure to bring any trade goods of interest to the nations of Asia Minor and India. Moreover, the sea route had its own problems.
- The fleet went more than three months without seeing land
- only 54 of my 170 companions, on two of his four ships returned to Portugal in 1499.
Nevertheless, my initial journey ushered in an era of European domination through sea power and commerce that lasted several hundred years and 450 years of Portuguese colonialism in India and Africa that brought wealth and power to the Portuguese.
- The fleet went more than three months without seeing land
- only 54 of my 170 companions, on two of his four ships returned to Portugal in 1499.
Nevertheless, my initial journey ushered in an era of European domination through sea power and commerce that lasted several hundred years and 450 years of Portuguese colonialism in India and Africa that brought wealth and power to the Portuguese.