The economic importance of the Silk Road and the trade routes of spices blocked by the Ottoman Empire in 1453 with the fall of the Byzantine Empire, stimulated the exploration of a sea route around Africa and the activation of the era of discoveries.
Due to the continuous blockades on the silk road, Europeans developed the spice trade. Trade was transformed during the era of European discoveries, during which the spice trade, particularly black pepper, became a very lucrative and important activity for European merchants. The route from Europe to the Indian Ocean through the Cape of Good Hope was first explored by the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama in 1498, giving rise to new maritime routes for trade.
This trade - which promoted the development of the world economy from the late Middle Ages to modern times - marked the beginning of a European domination in the East. Shipping and transit routes and ports such as the Bay of Bengal served as bridges for cultural and commercial exchanges between the various cultures and nations struggling to gain control of trade and spice routes.
