opoly and Game Theory: End of Chapter Problem late fifteenth century, Europe consumed about 2 million pounds of pepper per year. At this time, Venice - ruled by a Il, tightly knit group of merchants - was the major player in the pepper trade. But after Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama zed a path around Africa into the Indian Ocean in 1498, Venice found itself competing with Portugal's trade route. By the d-sixteenth century, Europeans consumed 6 to 7 million pounds per year, much of it through Lisbon. After da Gama's ccess, the price of pepper fell. a. During the fifteenth century, it was that a cartel was restricting pepper imports. b. If the price of pepper before 1498 had been lower, da Gama would have been willing to sail around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope because the potential gains from a new route would c. ln 1498 , turned a successful cartel into a less zuccessful cartel. d. The ruling merchants of Venice had no political power in other pars of turope. That is important in understanding how d. The ruling merchants of Venice had no political power in other parts of Europe. That is important in understanding how Furnnean nepoer consumption more than tripled in just over half a century because Venice could.