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Events on Friday 20 May 1498 1
1498Vasco da Gama reaches CalicutFirst direct European sea route to IndiaPortuguese explorer Vasco da Gama and his fleet arrived at the port of Calicut on the Malabar Coast, completing the first sea voyage from Europe to India around Africa. The voyage opened a direct maritime spice trade route, bypassing Venetian and Arab middlemen, and reshaped global commerce for centuries.