318 A BRIEF SURVEY OF HUMAN HISTORY

flemishing commerce between Europe and Asia. But the
principal carriers of this trade were the Muslims and the
routes lay through Muslim countries. When the hostile
Turks prevented the Europeans from using these ancient
routes, fresh ways had to be discovered. "The needs of
commerce," as Professor Webster has observed, "largely
account for early exploring voyages. Eastern spices—^cinna-
mon, pepper, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger—were used more
freely in medieval times than now, when people lived on
salt meat during the winter and salt fish during lent. Even
wine, ale, and medicines had a seasoning of spices. Besides
spices, all kinds of precious stones, drugs, perfumes, gums,
dyes, and fragrant woods came from the East"

The pioneers of enterprise in the discovery of the new
routes to the East were the Portuguese and the Spaniards.
For want of space we have to be content here with a bare
summary of the most important facts connected with them.
The Chinese had long ago discovered the use of the mag-
netised needle to determine the directions on unchartered
seas. But for the resulting mariner's compass, geographical
exploration on a vast scale, such as that of the fifteenth and
the following centuries, would have been difficult. Another
helpful factor was the increasing acceptance of the hypothesis
about the sphericity of the earth, believed in since the days
of Ptolemy, which suggested the possibility of circumnavi-
gation. Under the patronage of Prince Henry the Navi-
gator (Dom Henriques) of Portugal, a beginning was made
in the exploration of the west coast of Africa southwards,
It culminated in the discovery of the Cape route to India.
Bartholomew Diaz rounded the southern extremity of Africa
in 1487 and significantly christened it the Cape of Good
Hope. Before ten years had elapsed after this, Vasco da
Gama started on his famous voyage which brought him to