First, a path to the Indian Ocean so they could get in on the lucrative spice trade. And second, to find the kingdom of Prester John, a mythical Christian king who was supposed to live in Africa somewhere so that Henry could have Prester John's help in a crusade. Dagama was the first of Henry's protégés to make it around Africa and into the Indian Ocean. In 1498, he landed at Calicut, a major trading post on India's west coast, and when he got there, merchants asked him what he was looking for. He answered with three words, gold and Christians. Which basically sums up Portugal's motivations for exploration. So once the Portuguese breached the Indian Ocean, they didn't create, like, huge colonies, because there were already powerful empires in the region.