The Eastern and Western Maritime Routes to Asia
The fall of the Bizantium Empire
closed the land route to Asia
Constantinople (1453)
PortugalSpain
Portugal was able to trade with India
without Arab middle men (most of the
Arab fleet was sunk by 1515)
China
From 1419 to 1487,
Portuguese ships explore
the west coast of Africa
ma
da Ga
Atlantic Ocean
Note: Paths are approximate and simplified
Macau founded in 1557
Pacific Ocean
Calicut (1498)
Malacca (1511)
Magella
n
Between 1565 and 1571 Spain
conquered the Philippines and
established their colonial capital
at Manila
Malacca, the most important
commercial center in Southeast
Asia, fell to the Portuguese
Timor (1515)
Indian Ocean
z
Dia
Cape of Good Hope (1488)
Canton (1513)
Manila (1565)
Vasco de Gama rounded the
Cape of Good Hope and
reached India (1497-1499)
Magellan reached the Pacific
Ocean by rounding the southern
tip of South America (1520)
Nagasaki (1543) Japan
Portuguese explorers
reached Canton in China
Hormuz (1515)
India
Trade was established
with Japan from Macau
The Cape of Good Hope at the
southernmost end of Africa is
reached, involving the possibility
to reach Asia by a maritime route
Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Dept. of Economics & Geography, Hofstra University