After Portuguese navigators had found the route to the East around the Cape of Good Hope, they were able to outstrip Venice as a sea-carrier for Eastern merchandise. The Levant trade, with its costly loading and unloading from caravan to ship, could not hope to compete with an all-sea route, and therefore the Portuguese soon acquired a practical monopoly of the traffic between Western Europe and Eastern Asia.[6] Lisbon became the great mart whence lacquer, porcelain and other wares were distributed throughout Europe. Dutch ships swarmed in the Tagus, and transferred Oriental merchandise to Amsterdam and other European ports. Footnote 6: We know that much porcelain was brought into Europe through Venice from the Levant long after the Portuguese were dominant in the Eastern seas. As late as 1623, in Minshen’s Spanish dialogues, _China metiall_ is defined as “the fine dishes of earth painted, such as are brought from Venice.” The Vicomte de Santarem assures us that from 1497 to 1521 from Lisbon alone the Portuguese despatched thirty-three fleets, composed of 220 ships; and a fleet was despatched every year till the next century. The fleet of 1604 even consisted of five ships. Two carvels also sailed the same year. We learn what these great ships were like from Pyrard de Laval (1601), who wrote: “Three or four Portuguese ships at most go out every year; these are the carracks, called by them _naos de voyage_, which are sent out with the intention that they shall return if they can.... “The carracks are all built at Lisbon ... they are ordinarily of 1,500 to 2,000 tons burden. Sometimes more, so that they are the largest vessels in the world so far as I have been able to learn; they cannot float in less than ten fathoms of water. “These great carracks have four decks, on each of which a man, however tall, can walk without touching his head against the deck above: indeed, he comes not within two feet of it. “The ships leaving Goa are laden not only with silver, but with divers goods of Europe, such as wines, woollen fabrics, and among others red scarlet; all sorts of glass and crystal wares, clocks which are highly prized by the Chinese, much cotton cloth, precious stones cut and set in rings, chains, carkanets, tokens, ear-pendants and bracelets; for the Chinese like vastly to get gems and jewels of all sorts for their wives. The ships leave Goa towards October, and touch at Cochin for precious stones and spices, such as pepper and cinnamon, leaving there the merchandise of Europe or of the northern parts of India. Thence they sail for Malaca; for they cannot make this voyage without touching at Malaca in order to get the Governor’s passport, and also to purchase the merchandise of the islands of Sunda in exchange for cotton cloths and other goods of India and Europe.