During the 15th century, the Portuguese gained the silk and spice trade, reaching the Atlantic coast of Africa and establishing trading colonies. They discovered Madeira and the Azores, reached the Gulf of Guinea and explored the African coast. Bartolomeu Dias reached the Cape of Good Hope and Vasco de Gama arrived in India, opening routes to the Moluccas Islands.
Christopher Columbus, a possibly Genoese sailor, convinced that the Earth was round, presented his project of reaching Asia by crossing the Atlantic to the Catholic Monarchs in 1492. Queen Isabella financed the trip, signing the Capitulations of Santa Fe, which granted him to Columbus a tenth of the riches and the titles of Admiral of the Ocean Sea and viceroy of the conquered territories.
