European colonisation of Southeast Asia tightening Turkish control and eventual shut down of the Eastern Mediterranean gateways into Asia first prompted Portuguese, and later Spanish and Dutch sea voyagers to ship around Africa in search of new trading routes and business opportunities. Niccolò de' Conti arrived in Southeast Asia as the earliest documented European in the early 15th century. By 1498 Vasco da Gama, who had sailed round the Cape of Good Hope, established the first direct sea route from Europe to India. Central among the various plannings was to establish direct and permanent trade of the highly priced spices, that were native to Southeast
Sports in Central Asia Sports in Central Asia The area of Central Asia has a wide variety of sports, many of which have close cultural ties to the countries involved. Football, the world's most popular sport, is played in the majority of countries in Central Asia. The Asian Football Confederation or AFC is the governing body of Association Football in Asia, similar to UEFA in Europe and FIFA worldwide. The following countries all have organisations affiliated to the AFC: Though wrestling is an international and Olympic sport, there are many different variations in Central Asia. Mongolian wrestling has been practised in the country for