In 1492 Portuguese explorers believed they could get to Asia more quickly by sailing around the southern tip of Africa.
Explanation:
The project to find the sea route to India was devised by John II of Portugal as a measure to reduce the costs of trade with Asia, in an attempt to monopolize the trade in spices. With an increasingly strong maritime presence, John II longed for the dominance of commercial routes and the expansion of his kingdom, which was beginning to become an empire, but after having rejected the project of Christopher Columbus, and after the discovery of America by Castile, it saw his interests in danger despite the successive treaties of Alcaçovas and Tordesillas. Although John II was the main promoter of the project, the company would not be realized during his reign, but during the one of his successor Manuel I, who would designate Vasco da Gama for this expedition, maintaining as far as possible the original plan of his predecessor. The expedition finally started on July 8th, 1497, and was a success.
