Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama was a well known Portuguese explorer in the late 15th century. He was born and raised in the town of Sines, Portugal to Isabel Sadre and Estavao da Gama. In the 1400’s, spices from India were very popular in Europe. However, the only trading route to transport the spices from India to Europe was by land, and the trips were long, expensive, and in the end not worth the effort.
The King of Portugal figured that if he could found a trade route to India over the ocean, he would become rich from the trading. Previously, an explorer named Bartolemeu Dias the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa. There was a chance that a good route could be developed if you rounded the tip of the Cape, but no one thought that the Indian and Atlantic oceans met and no one wanted to make the journey.
No one, besides Vasco da Gama. Vasco’s father was a knight and an explorer, and had originally volunteered to make the long voyage. However, the trip had been put off for so long that it finally got handed over to Vasco. On July 8th, 1497, Vasco left Lisbon, Portugal in hopes of finding the shore of India. He took 4 ships: the Sao Gabriel, Sao Rafael, the Berrio, and a fourth ship unnamed and used for storage- and 170 men with him.
The ships reached the southern tip of Africa at the Cape of Good Hope on November 22nd. The expedition then headed north, up along the coast of Africa, stopping at various trading posts along the way. They did business in Mombasa and Malindi, and while at Malindi gained an extra crew member- a local navigator who knew the direction to India. With the help of the strong winds, the expedition was able to cross the Indian Ocean and arrive in the port of Calicut, India in less than a month.
However, things did not go smoothly at Calicut. Vasco ran into many issues trying to trade with merchants, as he had brought little of value in goods on his ships. Local traders became suspicious, and he soon left. The voyage back to Portugal was a rough one- more than half of his crew got scurvy and died, and the trip took MUCH longer than the one before. However, when Vasco returned home, he was a hero- he had found the much needed trade route to India.
Vasco’s expeditions didn’t stop there- he sailed twice more to India before his death. His second voyage was a military expedition as he was in charge of the 4th India Armada. The expedition set out on February 4th, 1502 and had 15 ships and over 800 men. However, the trip sealed his notoriety in India as he ambushed many competing traders, looting and ransacking their ships. He also overthrew and looted a ship of Muslim pilgrims that were traveling from Calicut to Mecca. He locked in all the 400 passengers, INCLUDING 50 women, the owner of the boat, and an ambassador from Egypt and then lit the boat on fire, burning them to death.
Vasco’s final voyage consisted of 14 different ships. He sailed to India with the new title of Viceroy, along with 2 of his 6 sons. He arrived after a very long and troubled voyage (about 5 ships were lost along the way) in September and began inflicting his power upon Portuguese India. He contracted malaria not long after his arrival and died shortly thereafter. He is still remembered today as one of the greatest explorers of his time.
Maddie