The India plan, which had faltered in the later troubled years of João’s reign, became the primary outlet for these dreams. Manuel believed he had inherited the mantle of his granduncle Henrique, “the Navigator.” Since the fall of Constantinople, Christian Europe had felt itself increasingly hemmed in. To outflank Islam, link up with Prester John and the rumored Christian communities of India, seize control of the spice trade, and destroy the wealth that empowered the Mamluk sultans in Cairo—from the first months of his reign, a geostrategic vision of vast ambition was already in embryo; it
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“The India plan, which had faltered in the later troubled years of João’s reign, became the primary outlet for these dreams. Manuel believed he had inherited the mantle of his granduncle Henrique, “the Navigator.” Since the fall of Constantinople, Christian Europe had felt itself increasingly hemmed in. To outflank Islam, link up with Prester John and the rumored Christian communities of India, seize control of the spice trade, and destroy the wealth that empowered the Mamluk sultans in Cairo—from the first months of his reign, a geostrategic vision of vast ambition was already in embryo; it would, in time, sweep the Portuguese around the world. If it was forged in the spirit of crusade, it also had a material dimension: not only to wrest trade from the Mamluks but also to replace the Venetians as the mart for the luxury goods of the Orient. The project was at the same time imperial, religious, and economic. It was in this spirit that Manuel started to assemble the expedition to reach the Indies, a vaguely defined space, given the lack of detailed knowledge, that in the European imagination probably encompassed the whole of the Indian Ocean and wherever spices might grow.”
Reference
Crowley, Roger (2015, Sep.). “Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire.” Kindle Edition. Chapter 3 Vasco da Gama, October 1495–March 1498, p 31 of 351, 10%.
