Indian Ocean Ocean, ultimately reaching the coastal countries of East Africa. In 1497 Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope and became the first European to sail to India (with the help of an Indian sailor) and later the Far East. The European ships, armed with heavy cannon, quickly dominated trade. Portugal achieved pre-eminence by setting up forts at the important straits and ports. Their hegemony along the coasts of Africa and Asia lasted until the mid 17th century. Later, the Portuguese were challenged by other European powers. The Dutch East India Company (1602–1798) sought control of trade
Time in Portugal re-introduced, it could never be observed as CEST (), and the only solution was to re-adopt WET as standard time. So, in 1976, Portugal adopted WET () as its standard time. DST started to be observed every year as WEST () usually from early April to later September. From 1981 on, DST started to be observed from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in September. In 1986, time in Portugal began to be calculated in accordance with UTC, instead of GMT.<ref name="Decree-Law 44-B/86"> Decree-Law 44-B/86, 7 March 1986 (in Portuguese). Retrieved 19 May 2013.</ref> In 1992, during