Gujarat South Arabian and Persian Gulf ports, who migrated in and out of Cambay with the rhythm of the monsoons. But others were men with Arab or Persian patronyms whose families had settled in the town generations, even centuries earlier, intermarrying with Gujarati women, and assimilating everyday customs of the Hindu hinterland. The Age of Discovery heralded the dawn of pioneer Portuguese and Spanish long-distance travel in search of alternative trade routes to "the East Indies", moved by the trade of gold, silver and spices. In 1497, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama is said to have discovered the Europe-to-India sea route
Diogo Rodrigues Diogo Rodrigues Dom Diogo Rodrigues, Dom Diogo Roiz ( 1490-1496; Lagos, Portugal – 21 April 1577; Colvá, Goa) was a Portuguese explorer of the Indian Ocean who sailed as an ordinary helmsman under the command of Dom Pedro Mascarenhas around Goa. They sailed from the Cape of Good Hope eastward into little-known waters of the newly discovered route to Goa. It was after him that the island of Rodrigues was\is named between 4 and 9 February 1528 after discovering it during his only return journey from Goa via Cochin (left on 15 January 1528) to Portugal, following which he rose