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Routes and Services

Cape Route

Historic Trade Routes and Sea Lanes

The Cape Route is the sea passage between Europe and Asia around the southern tip of Africa, opened commercially by Vasco da Gama's voyage of 1497-1498. It broke the overland and Venetian-Arab monopoly on the spice trade and remains in use today, particularly by supertankers and other vessels too large to transit the Suez Canal. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Established Year
1498 1
Bartolomeu Dias first rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1488; Vasco da Gama opened the commercial sea route to India in 1498, the date usually credited for the route's establishment.
Significance
Vasco da Gama's 1498 voyage opened this sea route between Europe and Asia, breaking the Venetian and Arab overland spice-trade monopoly; still used today by vessels too large for the Suez Canal. 1
Route Type
Historic and modern maritime shipping route 1
Termini
Western Europe to South and East Asia, via the Cape of Good Hope 1
Operational Status
Active 1
Connections

Exemplifies

Sources
1. Wikipedia: Cape Route
Wikipedia
  • Lead section, sentence naming the first recorded voyage
    The first recorded completion of the route was made in 1498 by Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama
  • In Category: Routes and Services
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