The explorer set sail in July with 4 ships from the port of Lisbon. This was to continue the work already started by Bartolomeu Dias, who was the first navigator to have rounded the Cape of Good Hope. This made all of Europe dependent on them since gold, spices and many other Eastern riches were well appreciated in all the continent, and they knew this so they charged high prices to the Europeans and for their ships to pass through their ports.Īs a way to counterbalance this, the Portuguese king, King Manuel I, decided to send a fleet that would search for the maritime route to India and chose Vasco da Gama to lead it. At the time the Muslims, especially the Ottoman Empire, held in their control the trade routes from the East, including India. The Historic Voyage Photo by Bruno Martins on Unsplash His career must have been very remarkable, since almost 20 years later, he would be sent to command one of the most historic voyages in the world. It is supposed that, due to his stature, he had a good education and, since he was living on the coast, he also probably learned about sea navigation.īy 15, he was familiar with the trading ships that were docked in the ports and by 20 he had already managed to become the captain of a ship. His father was a knight in charge of the Sines Fortress, in the Alentejo coast, and his mother was a noblewoman. He was born in the 1460s, he was the third son in a minor noble family. Not much is known about Gama’s early life. Besides that, he is an unavoidable figure in History. He is a controversial historical figure, with the explorer being known to have committed several atrocities and being a violent person, besides the consequences of his travels. His first voyage was the longest ocean travel in the world at the time and he was always briefly the Viceroy of India, before dying. Go here to watch a video about Vasco da Gama.Known for being the first European to reach India by sea and thus connecting, for the first time, Europe and Asia by maritime trade, Vasco da Gama, the 1 st Count of Vidigueira, was a Portuguese explorer. Your browser does not support the audio element. Listen to a recorded reading of this page:.Take a ten question quiz about this page. His second son became governor of Portuguese India. His fleet on the second voyage consisted of 20 armed ships.There is a crater named Vasco da Gama on the Moon.
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Eventually, the command was given to his son Vasco instead. Originally Vasco's father, Estevao, was going to be given the command of the exploration fleet, but the trip was delayed for many years.However, he died of malaria shortly after arriving. On the third voyage Vasco was to take over as Viceroy of Portuguese India. The second voyage was more of a military expedition where he captured Arab ships and tried to show the might of the Portuguese navy. Vasco da Gama commanded two more fleets to India. He was also told to find any other trading opportunities along the way. Vasco da Gama was given a fleet of ships by the king and told to find a trade route around Africa to India. However, many were skeptical and thought that the Indian Ocean did not connect with the Atlantic Ocean. It was thought that there may be a way around the Cape and to the northeast towards India. The King of Portugal figured if he could find a way to get to India by sailing on the ocean, he would become rich trading spices in Europe.Īn explorer by the name of Bartolomeu Dias had discovered the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa. Spices from India were very popular in Europe, however, the only way to travel from Europe to India was over land. He followed in his father's footsteps and soon commanded ships in the king's name. Vasco da Gama was born in a small coastal town in Portugal named Sines. He led the first expedition that traveled from Europe to India by sailing around Africa.
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Vasco da Gama (1460 - 1524) was a Portuguese explorer.
![vasco da gama india vasco da gama india](https://im.indiatimes.in/media/content/2017/May/da_gaama_1495024410_725x725.jpg)
Best known for: The first European to sail from Europe to India around Africa.