Long-range exploration was itself a form of cruising for political and commercial purposes. Portuguese vessels were armed merchant hulls, with fewer guns than a specialized warship could carry. They still needed cargo space for spices and other valuable goods whose sale paid for the expedition. Commerce, diplomacy, and combat therefore remained inseparable in the early Portuguese Indian Ocean system.
Notable Point · 1:30:47-1:31:25
The same hulls carry cannon and commercial cargo
Portuguese exploration and naval diplomacy relied on merchant hulls armed like warships but still designed to carry the valuable cargo that financed the voyage.