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
Asia-Europe Museum Network Asia-Europe Museum Network The Asia-Europe Museum Network (ASEMUS) is an international cross-cultural network of museums. The museums in the ASEMUS network are located in Europe and Asia in those countries belonging to ASEM, a forum for dialogue between Europe and Asia sponsored by the European Commission. ASEMUS has two key aims: (a) to promote wider mutual understanding between the peoples of Asia and Europe by means of collaborative programmes of museum-based cultural activity and (b) to stimulate and facilitate the sharing, use and knowledge of museum collections of mutual interest. ASEMUS membership is by invitation and open to: (a) all