When Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama first reached India in 1498, what did he say he was searching for, much to the bemusement of the traders in Gujurat who he met?

Answer: He declared he was ‘in search of Christians and spices.’ This was because he hoped to find not only a new source for the spice trade, but also a ‘lost Christian kingdom‘ which many Europeans believed existed somewhere in the Indies.

Source: The History of Indonesia by Steven Drakeley

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