Indian Ocean trade Madagascar at this time leaving behind a lasting cultural and genetic legacy. Chinese fleets under Zheng He criscrossed the Indian Ocean during the early part of the 15th century. The missions were diplomatic rather than commercial, but many exchanges of gift and produces were made. The Portuguese under Vasco da Gama discovered a naval route to the Indian Ocean through the southern tip of Africa in 1497–98. Initially, the Portuguese were mainly active in Calicut, but the northern region of Gujarat was even more important for trade, and an essential intermediary in east-west trade. Venetian interests were directly threatened as
Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India warn that both the routes would explored by the Portuguese Crown. There is news of an Italian merchant who spread the good news in Florence. The merchant refers to Melinde. With the opening of the sea route to the East Indies, the Venetians, who controlled the trade of the Mediterranean, bought pepper from the Portuguese, at half the price they paid to the Arabs in Egypt. The fall of the Venetian monopoly on the spice trade in Europe and the resulting drop in prices of spices contributed to the commercial development of the continent. Portuguese discovery of the sea route