Italian merchants attracted by the Cape route opened by Vasco da Gama, were the most important reporters of the Portuguese action during the discovery period. In spite of being Europeens and Christians, the Italian travellers in Asia during the 16th century took advantage of the Christian network settled by Portuguese, but they were not involved with a project of conquest and domination. These travellers were not discoverers, or mediators or intermediaries, but they were able to see "from outside" the Portuguese presence in India, showing their abilities as sailors and their impossibility of intering the native territory. Their accounts contribute to the comprehension of the Portuguese Asian Empire as a sieged one, based on isolated points along the coast, constantly menaced by their most dagerous enemies, the Dutch and, on the other side, by Asian Kingdoms.
Italian travellers; Portuguese in Asia (16th century); Portuguese empire
