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. Da Gama returned to Portugal. The king immediately dispatched another expedition to secure a trading post at Calicut. After hearing of the massacre of all those at the trading post, da Gama sailed for India again in attacking Arab Muslim ships he met on the way.
Da Gama sailed from Lisbon that July with four vessels, traveling south along the coast of Africa before veering far off into the southern Atlantic in order to avoid unfavorable currents. With the help of a local navigator, da Gama was able to cross the Indian Ocean and reach the coast of India at Calicut now Kozhikode in May Though the local Hindu population of Calicut initially welcomed the arrival of the Portuguese sailors who mistook them for Christians , tensions quickly flared after da Gama offered their ruler a collection of relatively cheap goods as an arrival gift.
This conflict, along with hostility from Muslim traders, led Da Gama to leave without concluding a treaty and return to Portugal. After Muslim traders killed 50 of his men, Cabral retaliated by burning 10 Muslim cargo vessels and killing the nearly sailors aboard.
He then moved on to Cochin, where he established the first Portuguese trading post in India. For these brutal demonstrations of power, da Gama was vilified throughout India and the region. Upon his return to Portugal, by contrast, he was richly rewarded for another successful voyage.
Da Gama had married a well-born woman sometime after returning from his first voyage to India; the couple would have six sons. For the next 20 years, da Gama continued to advise the Portuguese ruler on Indian affairs, but he was not sent back to the region until , when King John III appointed him as Portuguese viceroy in India.
Da Gama arrived in Goa with the task of combating the growing corruption that had tainted the Portuguese government in India. He soon fell ill, and in December he died in Cochin. His body was later taken back to Portugal for burial there.
But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. In , Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias c. The story of North American exploration spans an entire millennium and involves a wide array of European powers and uniquely American characters. In , explorer Vasco da Gama was commissioned by the Portuguese king to find a maritime route to the East. His success in doing so proved to be one of the more instrumental moments in the history of navigation.
He subsequently made two other voyages to India and was appointed as Portuguese viceroy in India in Da Gama was born into a noble family around in Sines, Portugal. When he was old enough, young da Gama joined the navy, where was taught how to navigate. Known as a tough and fearless navigator, da Gama solidified his reputation as a reputable sailor when, in , King John II of Portugal dispatched him to the south of Lisbon and then to the Algarve region of the country, to seize French ships as an act of vengeance against the French government for disrupting Portuguese shipping.
Following da Gama's completion of King John II's orders, in , King Manuel took the throne, and the country revived its earlier mission to find a direct trade route to India. By this time, Portugal had established itself as one of the most powerful maritime countries in Europe.
Much of that was due to Henry the Navigator, who, at his base in the southern region of the country, had brought together a team of knowledgeable mapmakers, geographers and navigators. He dispatched ships to explore the western coast of Africa to expand Portugal's trade influence.
He also believed that he could find and form an alliance with Prester John, who ruled over a Christian empire somewhere in Africa. 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.
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