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. Instead, they apparently sat in the middle of the Indian Ocean doing nothing. Actually, they were able to capture and control a number of coastal cities, creating what historians call a trading post empire. They could do this thanks to their well-armed ships, which captured cities by firing cannons into city walls like IRL Angry Birds.