British Broadcasting Corporation Home. Vasco da Gama was born in about into a noble family. Little is known of his early life. In , he was appointed to command an expedition equipped by the Portuguese government, whose intention was to find a maritime route to the East.
Setting off in July , da Gama's expedition took advantage of the prevailing winds by sailing south down the coast of Africa, then veering far out into the Atlantic and swinging back in an arc to arrive off the southern African coast. This established a route still followed by sailing vessels. The expedition then rounded the Cape of Good and, after sailing up the coast of east Africa, took on an Arab navigator who helped them reach the Indian coast, at Calicut now Kozhikode in May This voyage launched the all-water route from Europe to Asia.
His brutal practices continued once he reached Calicut. There, da Gama destroyed the trading post and killed 38 hostages. Once he had the Calicut ruler's surrender, da Gama went south to Cochin known as Kochi today. Da Gama left Cochin in February During his return journey, he established Portuguese trading posts in what is now Mozambique.
Portugal would later become the major colonial power in Mozambique. Disobeying such orders, the uncles, and their squadron, instead set off for the Gulf of Aden, carrying out a campaign of piracy. Not heeding the advice of local fishermen about impending strong winds, their ships ripped from their moorings. Vicente's ship sank in deep water, killing him and his crew.
It is this ship, the nau Esmeralda, that scientists think they have discovered off the coast of Oman , they announced in March For 20 years, da Gama lived in Portgual with his wife, six sons and one daughter. He continued to advise King Manuel on matters regarding India and was made count of Vidigueira in He was requested to help deal with the increasing corruption of the Portuguese officials there.
In , da Gama yet again set sail — this time with the title of Viceroy. Da Gama fell ill soon after arriving in Cochin. Henry the Navigator never did locate Prester John, but his impact on Portuguese trade along Africa's east coast during his 40 years of explorative work was undeniable. Still, for all his work, the southern portion of Africa — what lay east — remained shrouded in mystery.
In , an important breakthrough was made when Bartolomeu Dias discovered the southern tip of Africa and rounded the Cape of Good Hope. This journey was significant; it proved, for the first time, that the Atlantic and Indian oceans were connected. The trip, in turn, sparked a renewed interest in seeking out a trade route to India. By the late s, however, King Manuel wasn't just thinking about commercial opportunities as he set his sights on the East.
In fact, his impetus for finding a route was driven less by a desire to secure for more lucrative trading grounds for his country, and more by a quest to conquer Islam and establish himself as the king of Jerusalem.
Historians know little about why exactly da Gama, still an inexperienced explorer, was chosen to lead the expedition to India in On July 8 of that year, he captained a team of four vessels, including his flagship, the ton St.
Gabriel , to find a sailing route to India and the East. To embark on the journey, da Gama pointed his ships south, taking advantage of the prevailing winds along the coast of Africa. His choice of direction was also a bit of a rebuke to Christopher Columbus, who had believed he'd found a route to India by sailing east.
Following several months of sailing, he rounded the Cape of Good Hope and began making his way up the eastern coast of Africa, toward the uncharted waters of the Indian Ocean. By January, as the fleet neared what is now Mozambique, many of da Gama's crewmembers were sick with scurvy, forcing the expedition to anchor for rest and repairs for nearly one month. In early March of , da Gama and his crew dropped their anchors in the port of Mozambique, a Muslim city-state that sat on the outskirts of the east coast of Africa and was dominated by Muslim traders.
Here, da Gama was turned back by the ruling sultan, who felt offended by the explorer's modest gifts. By early April, the fleet reached what is now Kenya, before setting sail on a day run that would take them across the Indian Ocean.
They reached Calicut, India, on May But da Gama's own ignorance of the region, as well as his presumption that the residents were Christians, led to some confusion. The residents of Calicut were actually Hindu, a fact that was lost on da Gama and his crew, as they had not heard of the religion. Still, the local Hindu ruler welcomed da Gama and his men, at first, and the crew ended up staying in Calicut for three months.
Not everyone embraced their presence, especially Muslim traders who clearly had no intention of giving up their trading grounds to Christian visitors. Eventually, da Gama and his crew were forced to barter on the waterfront in order to secure enough goods for the passage home.
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