The Portuguese Crown aspired for a share of the Far Eastern spice trade throughout the whole 15th century. The Venetians had dominated this trade for generations, importing spices from their Middle Eastern trading partners, the Mamluks and Ottomans, including pepper, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon.
Vasco da Gama (c. 1469–1524) was chosen by Portuguese King Manuel I (r. 1495–1521) to find the route to the spices in 1497. Bartolomeu Dias (c. 1450–1500) discovered how to exploit the strong east winds of the mid-Atlantic to propel him and his crew around the Cape of Good Hope. Da Gama was to follow Dias' route to the Indian Ocean.

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