THE RECORD
What changed
Da Gama sailed via East African ports to Calicut; later Portuguese fleets used forts, passes and violence to control trade.
EVIDENCE
What remains
Voyage accounts, royal records, Arab and Indian texts and coastal forts preserve encounter and conflict.
WHY IT MATTERS
Why it matters
It directly connected Atlantic and Indian Ocean worlds while extending imperial control over commerce.
OPEN QUESTION
Where interpretation begins
Europeans did not discover an unknown route; they relied on local pilots and established maritime knowledge.