The short-term legacy described here is the collapse of the Mamluk Empire. Over the longer term, Diu offered a precedent for using armed sea power to influence distant trade, later visible in Dutch and British expansion. Portugal's route advantage could not remain exclusive once navigational knowledge encouraged competitors to make their own investments. Larger ships and guns depended on infrastructure, bases, industry, and the money to keep them operating. The limiting factor was the high initial cost of the whole supporting system. Diu's tactical superiority therefore led to the harder problem of sustaining it.
Chapter · 1:24:32-1:27:16
Diu's legacy: trade power needs investment
Diu established a precedent for using heavily armed ships to gain commercial power, but preserving that advantage required sustained investment in routes, bases, industry, and new technology.