Vasco da gama proved that it was possible to move goods long distances by sailing to

By sailing to India, Goa, all the way along the coastline of Africa, from the western to the eastern coast of Africa. The search for a new sea route to India was necessitated by the rise of the ottomans and the Persians who controlled the Mediterranean region  and the Arabian peninsula and the lack of a direct route via the read sea as the Suez canal had not been dug yet.