Inside History
PORTUGUESE NAU
Portugal
14th -16th century
In 1498, the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama reached the shores of India. His voyage opened up a previously unknown maritime route via the Cape of Good Hope and began a new chapter in the spice trade. Over the following centuries this route allowed Portugal to trade directly with the spice merchants of Asia in territories such as India, China and the Spice Islands. Until the 17th century, when their dominance of the African route was challenged by the Netherlands, Portuguese merchant ships known as naus (called carracks in other countries) made the long voyage, their hulls laden with spices.