Voyages of Discovery

Seeing that we are close to the submission of our first assignment, I think its apt to post some stories of inspiration here.
From the 15th century onwards, the Portugese (rapidly followed by everyone else, they were the trailblazers here) started sending out ships to explore the known and the unknown world. This was made possible by vast improvements in ship design, the capability to navigate better, travel far away from the coastline, and into the wind. It was also enabled by other technological inventions during the Middle Ages, such as the compass and firearms, which gave the Portugese a superiority over any other civilizations they encountered.

Subsequently, the discovery of many new worlds, acquisition of great wealth and slavery were made possible, and empires were constructed. All these were due to the great vision of the Portuguese, led by Prince Henry the Navigator (1394 - 1460).

From these early voyages, Europe discovered the entire coastline of Africa, the Americas, and then a route to all of India and Asia - all within a few decades of Portugal's discoveries.


What was to come
1487 -  Bartolomeo Diaz navigated to the southernmost point of Africa, which he named the Cape of Good Hope.

1492 - Christopher Columbus landed in America by accident.

1497 - Vasco da Gama navigated around the Cape of Good Hope, and sailed all along East Africa.

1498 - Vasco da Gama reached West of India, and opened up the spice trade.

And as we know today, whoever controlled the spice trade at that time became immensely

wealthy.

Lessons Learnt 

1. We need trailblazers. We need them to create value and change the world that we live in.

2. Columbus did not set out to "find" America. He wanted to find a new route to India. America was a "by the way" discovery he made. Sometimes, we may just find better

stuff along the way. You never know what's in store for you! All it takes, is some guts

and persistence.

 3. It seems easier to succeed by following the path that is tried and tested? Not sure if

everyone will agree here. But Vasco da Gama makes it sound like a good bet. :)

All the best!