Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese navigator. At the end of the 15th century he led an expedition that opened the sea route to India by way of the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.

He was born in 1460 at Sines in Portugal, the son of a well known nobleman and explorer called Estavao. Estavo had planned to make the sea voyage from Portugal to India but he died before he succeeded in his endeavor.

Vasco da Gama went on to fulfill his father’s dream of discovering an ocean route from Portugal to the East as an alternative to the dangerous land bound silk route.

Spices from India were worth their weight in gold in Europe in that period and the Portuguese wanted to break the monopoly the Muslim traders had in this field.

Vasco da Gama had a royal patron, King Manuel 1 of Portugal. The king commissioned him to find a new sea route.

Vasco da Gama sailed from Lisbon, Portugal, on July 8, 1497, heading to the East. He had in his charge four vessels built especially for the expedition--the Sao Gabriel, on which da Gama sailed, the Sao Rafael, the Berrio, and a storeship.

They reached the Cape of Good Hope region on November 7.They crossed the Indian Ocean in 23 days, and reached Calicut on May 20, 1498.

The Moors in Calicut instigated the Zamorin of Calicut against him, and he was compelled to return with the bare discovery and the few spices he had bought there at inflated prices (but it did help him make a 3000% profit)

The King of Portugal then sent da Gama, now an Admiral, on another expedition to India (1502-1503). This was to avenge the death of Portuguese men at the hands of Muslim traders in India.

On this voyage, da Gama killed hundreds of Muslims, often brutally, in order to demonstrate his power.

He bombarded Calicut (virtually destroying the port).Da Gama's mission was a success, and the fleet returned to Lisbon with rich booty in October 1503.

Da Gama then settled in Portugal, married, and raised a family. He may have served as an advisor to the Portuguese crown and was made a count in 1519.

After King Manuel's death, King John III sent da Gama to India as a Portuguese viceroy (the King's representative in India).

Vasco da Gama died of an illness in Cochin, India on December 24, 1524; his remains were returned to Portugal for burial.

His expedition turned the commerce of Europe from the Mediterranean cities to the Atlantic Coast, and opened up the east to European enterprise