I have wondered a lot of times how different Indian history would have panned out if not for the discovery of a sea route by Vasco Da Gama. Here is an alternate history version (completely fictionalised) that explores this angle.
1498 CE - Kozhikode, Malabar
He was overseeing the men load cartons of the black pepper into the holds, much below the orlop decks than usual, since he had decided safety was paramount. He stood observing their dark bodies glistening with sweat in the golden hue of the evening sky with the sun slowly bidding goodbye to the clouds. The moisture-laden breeze was strangely pleasant to his body which was acclimatized to the temperate weather of his hometown and the gusty winds brought him the spicy smell of the pepper and the cinnamon. Unlike the slaves that he had met in Africa, the people of Malabar, as the region was called, were of mixed complexions - mostly ranging from dark dusky brown to wheatish tones. They were not as gigantic either, though many of the men were quite muscular with toiling all day in the harbours and occasionally in the fields.
It had been an astounding experience for his crew to actually set foot in the land, the land that was said to be richer than even France or rather the rest of the world put together. But very soon it became apparent that the people of the land did not believe in ostentation. They seemed to lead very simple lifestyles with too little pomp. Another major shock to the crew was that the women seemed to wield as much power as the men and were not subjugated under the control of their fathers and husbands. He was already keen to learn more about this land so that he could relay it all to the Lord. Thinking of the Lord made him reminisce about his acquaintance with Lord Manuel and the trust reposed on him. This made him more determined to complete this mission with success and help sua patria, his fatherland and he clutched the cross pendant around his neck. He was sure his crew would be received with great pomp and show for their efforts and probably a banquet would be arranged in his honour by the Lord. But the real surprise was when the locals had received them with grandiose - foreigners with whom they had no association prior to his voyage. They were so warm and friendly and even their ruler, the Samoothiri Maharaja as he had learnt, had bestowed them with rich gifts besides the spices he had bought for a fraction of the prices, a deed that made him realize to what extent they were being swindled by the Arabs.
1498 CE - Muziris, Malabar Coast
It was dawn and they soon had to set sail despite the weather to avoid yet another delay caused by the heavy rains that especially got worse in the evening hours. A few hours into the choppy waters of the Arabian Sea told him the weather would not get any better but there was nowhere he could moor, surely not in the middle of the sea. For days, the weather continued to be unpredictable, with the stormy waters being interspersed with periods of a calm sea. To make matters worse, two of his men had developed scurvy and a few others were beginning to show symptoms as well. He was literally filled with a feverish desire to get this all done and go back to Lisbon.
They had set sail almost twenty-three days ago and their predicament was worsening with the weather and they had been unable to sight any inhabited land. Four of his men had died of what they thought was scurvy due to lack of proper treatment and an air of despair was palpable. The same wooden cabins that gave him peace and excitement was now making him melancholic and fearful. His reverie was broken when one of his aides sighted a huge wave, rising several metres into the deep blue sky. It was so high that it was difficult to make out the sky from the wave. That was when his gut instinct told him they were doomed. The sea would swallow him forever and his successful discovery would die with him. At the very moment, the hull broke and ferocious salty water engulfed him and in a trice, Vasco Da Gama, the man who had discovered the sea route to India, He who would bring all the European powers from the Dutch to the British to the rich land of Hindustan, the man who was supposed to die in Kochi on his third voyage to the subcontinent lay dead in the deep waters of the Erythraean Sea.
The Indian Subcontinent had a lot to thank the Indian Ocean for.
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References -
Malabar - Present day Kerala
Lord Manuel - Manuel I, King of Portugal, 1495 to 1521
Patria - Portuguese for Fatherland
Samoothiri Maharaja - Also known as Zamorin, King of Kozhikode, Southern Malabar region
Muziris - Near present-day Kodungallur, Kerala - harbour city
Erythraean Sea - Indian Ocean as called in the Middle Ages
Vasco Da Gama- Portuguese sailor who discovered the sea route to India leading to competition among the major European to trade with India, thus being the root cause of India’s colonisation by the British