His father, Estevao, was also an explorer. Da Gama learned to navigate in the navy, which he joined as soon as he was old enough.
In , da Gama was appointed to command a ship with the goal of discovering a sailing route to India. Several decades earlier, Henry the Navigator had patronized several successful voyages in North and West Africa. This interested Portuguese King Manuel.
He wished to conquer Islam and establish himself as the King of Jerusalem, in addition to making money off the spice trade. De Gama captained four vessels when he set out on July 8, Da Gama himself rode in the ton St. Gabriel and his younger brother Paulo led the St. Da Gama sailed south, taking advantage of the prevailing winds off the western coast of Africa, and swung out into the Atlantic before veering back in an arc to meet the South African coast.
By the time they reached Indian Ocean waters, most of his crew was infected with scurvy. 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! 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. He forced the ruler of Calicut to make peace and, on his return voyage along the east African coast established Portuguese trading posts in what is now Mozambique.
Back in Portugal, da Gama was granted further privileges and revenues and continued to advise the king on Indian matters. After 20 years at home, in , he was nominated as Portuguese viceroy in India and sent to deal with the mounting corruption among Portuguese authorities there. Arriving in Cochin, he fell ill and died on 24 December From there, they moved to the city of Cochin, a city south of Calicut, where da Gama formed an alliance with the local ruler.
Finally, on February 20, , da Gama and his crew began to make their way home. They reached Portugal on October 11 of that year. Little was recorded about da Gama's return home and the reception that followed, though it has been speculated that the explorer felt miffed at the recognition and compensation for his exploits. Married at this time, and the father of six sons, da Gama settled into retirement and family life. He maintained contact with King Manuel, advising him on Indian matters, and was named count of Vidigueira in Late in life, after the death of King Manuel, da Gama was asked to return to India, in an effort to contend with the growing corruption from Portuguese officials in the country.
That same year, da Gama died in Cochin — the result, it has been speculated, from possibly overworking himself. His body was sailed back to Portugal, and buried there, in We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives.
While in the service of Spain, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan led the first European voyage of discovery to circumnavigate the globe. Henry the Navigator, a 15th century Portuguese prince, helped usher in both the Age of Discovery and the Atlantic slave trade.
He is best known for his explorations of the coast of California from Venetian merchant and adventurer Marco Polo traveled from Europe to Asia from to Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama was commissioned by the Portuguese king to find a maritime route to the East.
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