The Portugese, not content with paying the tax, launched maritime expeditions to reach India and managed to find a direct route from Europe to India going around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.
It's worth adding that the Portuguese then took advantage of their stoutly-built, cannon-armed ships to loot and annihilate the existing shipborne traffic in the Indian Ocean. "Age of the Protection Racket" would be a better term than "Age of Discovery".