When the Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias managed to reach the cape of Good Hope (known then as cape of storms), he opened the spice trade routes, as described in the journeys of Marco Polo, to India and far east. Europe became free from its depence on the silk road controlled by Muslims. As a result, European countries developed their naval power. In less than 100 years, Ottomans were defeated in the naval battle of Lepanto. Muslims lost control over the seas, India, and Indonesia. The cape of good hope brought glory to Europe and despairs to Africa, Asia and the dwindling Islamic empire.
