An interesting side effect of all this Portuguese expansion was the accompanying decline of the Republic of Venice, which was the former big power in terms of trade.
The town where my wife is from south of Padova is actually fairly new in Italian terms (16/17th century). Why? Because it was originally mosquito-infested swamp land. It got cleared out when the Venetians turned 'inwards' to try and make better use of the land they had when their trade fortunes started to decline. Or so goes the story, at least...
I thought the Most Serene Republic declined because they got squeezed between the Ottoman Empire and Habsburg Dominions, both of whom were able to mobilize significantly larger armies and navies. The Habsburgs could do so because of New World silver, and the Ottomans could because they had the world's best bureaucracy, and trade with the East.
The town where my wife is from south of Padova is actually fairly new in Italian terms (16/17th century). Why? Because it was originally mosquito-infested swamp land. It got cleared out when the Venetians turned 'inwards' to try and make better use of the land they had when their trade fortunes started to decline. Or so goes the story, at least...