I originally asked this last year and didn't get any answers; I'm still curious!
Excuse my ignorance on the matter, but just recently I discovered about the Indian kingdom of Travancore, and being Portuguese, I couldn't stop noticing the similarity on the names. There are about 9 to 10 villages in Portugal named Travanca (or a variation of Travanca).
I know that the portuguese had a strong presence in Kochin in India, and that the Kingdom of Travancore was just next door to Kochin. Could they be connected in any way or is the similarity of names just a coincidence?
Thanks for your attention on the matter.
I once heard from a teacher that one of the main reasons that explorers from Portugal and Spain sailed out into the Atlantic or around Africa to find a passage to India was because the spice trade had been effectively cut off from Western Europe by the Ottomans after they took Constantinople in 1453. Is this actually true? Did the Ottomans impose any extra tariffs or try to limit the flow of goods west? Was this a major factor that encouraged seafaring expeditions, or were other factors more important?
Thanks!
TL;DR Vijayanagar proposes that [AI] Jaffna Kingdom become a part of the Raj, offers good incentive.
The Great Vijayanagara Raya extends his hand to the King of Jaffna, offering to peacefully become a part of the Raj. The Raya promises to help improve trade and infrastructure on the island [main goal of the contemporary Jaffna Kings was to direct their energies towards consolidating the Kingdom's economic potential by maximising revenue from pearls and elephant exports and land revenue] and, should the benevolent King choose to become a feudal vassal under the Great Raya, [secret part] he shall be named the commander [regional governor and military leader in the Vijayanagari administrative system] of all of Ceylon, should it ever come under full Vijayanagari control.
As an example to represent his promises, the Raya pledges 500,000 towards great expansion of trade facilities and docks in/near the northern (capital) city of Nallur [on the tiny northern peninsula] to attract and allow for greater trade with mainland Raj and the rest of the world.
[The Jaffna Kingdom, the small northern part of Ceylon, has been vassal to mainland forces before and after achieving independence, they were a rising power in Ceylon, dominating it for some time but then falling. They'd probably like the idea of ruling over all of it + they're into trade and stuff, with their pearl and elephant sources. They're also Hindu like Vijayanagar and threatened by a much larger Buddhist Ceylon.]
