There is evidence of this in the Portugaliae Monumenta Cartografica and in the geographical and cartographical notes made by the Portuguese travellers on the most remote corners of the Earth, until then unknown to Europe. For two centuries cartography, cosmography and navigational techniques had been developed and improved. At the same time it was the last step in the attempt to tame the "Terrible Ocean" first undertaken by Prince Henry the Navigator. The misty Orient, with its "hidden new people, never before seen", had, in the colourful words of Diogo Velho, become a reality: "everything has now been discovered, what was distant is now within reach, future generations will certainly attain the treasures of the Earth" (1).Not only did Vasco da Gama's journey open a new trade route for commerce from the Orient to the West, it also caused the Arab and Italian traders to go bankrupt. THE PORTUGUESE VOYAGES-ORIGIN OF THE FIRST DIRECT CONTACT BETWEEN EAST AND WEST
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