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Introduction Biography Vasco da Gama’s maritime career was during the period when Portugal was searching for a trade route around Africa to India. The Ottoman Empire controlled almost all European trade routes to Asia. This meant they could, and did, charge high prices for ships passing through ports. Prince Henry of Portugal – also called Prince Henry the Navigator – began Portugal’s great age of exploration. From about 1419 until his death in 1460, he sent several sailing expeditions down the coast of Africa.4 In 1481, King John II of Portugal began sending expeditions to find a sea route around the southern shores of Africa. Many explorers made several attempts. It was Bartolomeu Dias who was the first to round Africa and make it to the Indian Ocean in 1488. But he was forced to head back to Portugal before he could make it to India. When Manuel I became king of Portugal in 1495, he continued efforts to open a trade route to India by going around Africa. Although other people were considered for the job, Manuel I finally chose thirty-seven year old Vasco da Gama for this task. Voyages They stayed here for a month because much of the crew were sick from scurvy – a disease caused by lack of Vitamin C.6 Da Gama’s fleet eventually began sailing again. On March 2 they reached the Island of Mozambique. After trading with the local Muslim merchants, da Gama sailed on once more stopping briefly in Malindi (in present day Kenya). He hired a pilot to help him navigate through the Indian Ocean. They sailed for 23 days, and on May 20, 1498 they reached India.7 They headed for Kappad, India near the large city of Calicut. In Calicut, da Gama met with the king. But the king of Calicut was not impressed with da Gama, and the gifts he brought as offering. They spent several months trading in India, and studying their customs. They left India at the end of August. He visited the Anjidiv Island near Goa, and then once more stopped in Malindi in January 1499. Many of his crew were dying of scurvy. He had the São Rafael burned to help contain the illness. Da Gama finally returned to Portugal in September 1499. Manuel I praised da Gama’s success, and gave him money and a new title of admiral. Subsequent
Voyages Later Years and Death Legacy Endnotes
BibliographyAkyeampong, Emmanuel, and Henry Louis Gates. Dictionary of African Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Calvert, Patricia. Vasco Da Gama: So Strong a Spirit. Tarrytown: Benchmark Books, 2005. Gallagher, Aileen. Prince Henry, the Navigator: Pioneer of Modern Exploration. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2003. Pletcher, Kenneth ed. The Britannica Guide to Explorers and Explorations That Changed the Modern World. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2009. GalleryPortrait of Vasco da Gama by artist Antonio Manuel da Fonseca in 1838. Vasco da Gama, (c.1469 – 1524) was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the European Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India. (Credit: National Maritime Museum) “D. Vasco de Gama,” Histoire de la Conquete de La Floride: ou Relation de Ce Qui S’est Passé Dans La D’ecouverte de Païs Par Ferdinand de Soto; Composee en Espagnol Par L’Inca Garcillasso de la Vega & Traduite en François Par Sr. Pierre Richelet, 1735, From The Library at The Mariners’ Museum, E123.C5 rare. “Vasco de Gama,” Histoire des Déouvertes et Conquestes des Portugais dans le Nouveau Monde: Avec des Figures en Taille-Douce, 1733-34, From The Library at The Mariners’ Museum, DP583.L16 rare. Portuguese navigator and explorer, Vasco da Gama By Charles Legrand. {{PD-Art}} Vasco da Gama in India in 1497 By Alfredo Roque Gameiro (1864-1935). (Credit: National Library of Portugal) “A Chart Illustrating the First Voyage of Vasco Da Gama, 1497-1499,” A journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama, 1497-1499, 1898, From The Library at The Mariners’ Museum, G401.G2.V45.1898. When and where did Vasco da Gama live?Vasco da Gama, Portuguese Vasco da Gama, 1er conde da Vidigueira, (born c. 1460, Sines, Portugal—died December 24, 1524, Cochin, India), Portuguese navigator whose voyages to India (1497–99, 1502–03, 1524) opened up the sea route from western Europe to the East by way of the Cape of Good Hope.
Where was Vasco da Gama raised?Vasco da Gama's Early Life and First Voyage to India
Born circa 1460, Vasco da Gama was the son of a minor nobleman who commanded the fortress at Sines, located on the coast of the Alentejo province in southwestern Portugal.
Where did Vasco da Gama live?Life in Portugal and final voyage
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 1519.
What was Vasco da Gama's childhood like?During his childhood, Vasco da Gama was educated as a nobleman and he served in the court of King Joao II. He was brought up in a maritime environment and trained in fishing, sailing, and swimming during his childhood. At the age of fifteen he was a sailor. In Evora, he studied navigation and astronomy.
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