Two questions:

1. Why did the Portuguese come to India?
2. How did they manage to establish such strong beach heads so soon?

A search for “spices and souls” is Portuguese endeavor in the East has been commonly described. While the spice trade was a strong motivation, conversion was hardly a driving force. In fact, the Portuguese were almost totally ignorant of what they were going to find in India. What they were actually hoping to find were allies in their on-going fight against the “moors’ which was the their generic name for muslims, which for them was the Fatimid dynasty of Egypt. In fact, there was an even more potent muslim power which had already risen in the East, the Ottoman who would soon become their principal enemy.

Portugal and Spain at the time were still riding the triumphal wave of the reconquisita when they finally conquered the last of the Arab-Berber muslim kingdoms which had reigned in the Iberian peninsula for seven centuries. Both countries, not satisfied with clearing their homeland of the invaders had followed them to the African mainland and were trying to establish their own outposts there.

b which they and believed tayht there was a Christian Kingdom ruled by a legendary king Prester John to the south of their muslim enemies,which at the time was principally the Fatimid dynasty in Egypt. Their goal was a grand strategic alliance with Prester John which would squeeze the muslims from the south while they attacked from the west.

They knew nothing of India and Hinduism and their only knowledge of religions other than Christianity was Islam. In fact when they first saw hindu temples with the statues of the gods and goddesses they thought they were some kind of Christian sect.

Portugals initial foray into India was not at all promising . Vasco da Gama did not make much of an impression on his first visit. Portuguese “foreigh trade relations’ had been only with the minor principalities on the African west coast and the gifts and trading goods on their first trip were treated with amusement and even contempt by the Zamorin in Calicut. However, their armed ships which had no match among the IIndian navies of the time gave them a great competititve edge which they utilized to the full.