How did early European voyages of discovery open up new trade routes to the world?

Early European voyages of discovery opened up new trade routes to the world, because the explorers found new waterways and new on land trade routes, which the Europeans could use to access Asia (for example) in quicker ways than they had before. An example of this would be Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama who found an ocean route from Europe to India, making Europe and the Orient connected by the Atlantic and Indian oceans since then.