Trade routes

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 94. Chapters: Trade, Silk Road, Amber Road, Via Maris, Old Salt Route, Spice trade, Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Portuguese India Armadas, Trade route, Indo-Roman trade and relations, Canadian canoe routes, Trans-Saharan trade, Incense Route, Camel train, KambojäDvaravati Route, Timeline of international trade, Radhanite, Traverse des Sioux, Height of Land Portage, Volga trade route, Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks, Oneida Carry, Triangular trade, Grand Trunk Road, Royal Road, Siberian River Routes, Vishnupalita Kambhoja, Salt Road, Siraf, Hærvejen, Kittanning Path, Venango Path, Azalai, Hiri trade cycle, Siberian Route, Homs Gap, King's Highway, Ancient tea route, Dalton Trail, Bay Fleet, Caravan, Incense Route ¿ Desert Cities in the Negev, Hellweg, Northern Arc, Frankincense Trail, California hide trade, Camino de los chilenos, Overland Route, Tea Road, Jade Road. Excerpt: The Portuguese India armadas (armadas da Índia) were the fleets of ships, organized by the Portuguese crown and dispatched on an annual basis from Portugal to India, principally Goa. These armadas undertook what was called the Carreira da Índia ("India Run"), following the sea route around the Cape of Good Hope opened up by Vasco da Gama in 1497-1499. For a long time after its discovery by Vasco da Gama in 1497-1499, the sea route to India via the Cape of Good Hope was dominated by the Portuguese India armada ¿ the annual fleet dispatched from Portugal to India. Between 1497 and 1650, there were 1033 departures of ships at Lisbon for the Carreira da Índia ("India Run"). The route of Vasco da Gama's first voyage (1497¿1499), what became the typical Carreira da ÍndiaEach leg of the voyage took approximately six months. The critical determinant of the timing was the monsoon winds of the Indian Ocean. The monsoon was a southwesterly wind (i.e. blew from East Africa to India) in the Summer (between April and September) and then abruptly reversed itself and became a northeasterly (from India to Africa) in the Winter (between October and March). The ideal timing was to catch the late summer monsoon to India, and return with the early winter monsoon, minimizing the time at sea. The India armada typically left Lisbon in the early Spring (February¿April). That would bring it to the Cape of Good Hope around June¿July, and to the East African middle coast by August, just in time to catch the summer monsoon winds to India. The return trip from India would typically begin in January, taking the winter monsoon across the Indian Ocean and down East Africa, double the Cape in reverse around April, and arrive in Lisbon by the Summer. Overall, the round trip took a little over a year. The critical step was ensuring the armada reached East Africa on time. Ships that failed to reach the equator latitude on the East African coast by late August would be stuck in Africa and have to wait u