Historical relations


In 1498 Vasco da Gama became the first European to sail the sea route to India via the Cape of Good Hope. His arrival in Calicut was the culmination of a long process of Portuguese overseas voyages exploration that began in 1415 and marked the beginning of Portugal‚s Golden Century, during which this tiny European nation dominated much of Asia's maritime trade. The Portuguese "Seaborne Empire" in the East consisted of a series of fortresses and factories scattered along the Asian and African coastline, their merchant ships being ably backed up by their naval armada and superior military technology.

Vasco da Gama‚s armada brought back a valuable cargo of spices from India, and the Portuguese were now able to bypass the existing overland trade routes. They rapidly acquired a number of footholds along the Indian coastline, including the administrative capital of the Estado da Índia, Goa, in 1511, from which they proceeded to dominate the spice trade to Europe. The Portuguese presence in India was to last over four and a half centuries, and it was a remarkable achievement for this small nation, pressed for resources and manpower. Both state and personal fortunes were made in the process and every Portuguese noble family had members who went forth to the Orient in search of fortune and glory. Goa, and the Estado da Índia was to become the fulcrum of the Portuguese Empire that at one stage spanned the globe from Brazil in the West to Macau in the East. Lisbon‚s architecture reflects the Portuguese presence the East, both in terms of the lavishness of building projects as well as in its stylistic elements. The Manueline style of architecture, dating from the reign of D. Manuel I (1495-1521), typifies this interaction, with its profusion of nautical elements and representations of exotic flora and fauna. Lisbon became one of Europe's main centres for the import and redistribution of Asian merchandise.

The Portuguese were able to successfully dominate Asian trade due to their strategic geographic strongholds and the fact that they gained control over existing commerce and trade routes due to their superior arms, firepower and naval technology. They were skilled mariners with a long history of seafaring and thanks to their powerful armada even controlled trade that was not directly in their hands. In much of Asia‚s waters, mercantile ships needed a Portuguese cartaz or permit to be able to ply the seas.

Apart from spices, many other commodities changed hands, including textiles, gems, ivory, horses, exotic animals and other items, and the Portuguese also did brisk business in intra-Asian and short haul trade, apart from the annual long haul Carreira da Índia, developing many commercial routes and exchanging commodities that were to provide essential financial sustenance for the workings of their empire.

By the late 16th century, in the aftermath of the Iberian dynastic union, Portugal ceased to be a force to reckon with and was gradually supplanted in Asian waters by the Dutch, French and English, all of whom became formidable colonial powers.