Portugal–Spain relations of Good Hope. An expedition headed by Vasco da Gama was sent on a diplomatic and trade mission to India. He followed the route of Dias until he reached Malindi (Kenya) in East Africa. Da Gama bombarded the town and took Indian hostages. Portugal was able to establish a commercial post in Cochin, a port southwest of India. In 1509, another Portuguese explorer, Diogo Lopes de Sequeira, successfully reached Malacca, an important trade center in Southeast Asia. Spain came into the scene much later. After completely defeating the last Moorish (Muslim) stronghold on the Iberian peninsula, King Ferdinand and Queen
Pacific Ocean in the early 16th century when Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and discovered the great "southern sea" which he named "Mar del Sur" (in Spanish). The ocean's current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favorable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it "Mar Pacífico", which in both Portuguese and Spanish means "peaceful sea". Important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. About 3000 BC, the Austronesian peoples on the island of Taiwan mastered the art