On his first journey to India, he found out that India had already established trade with many different countries, such as Africa and China. Some traits of his personality led to negative relations with the Muslims. Vasco da Gama was known to be kind of brutal and arrogant. About his crewįor this mission, he travelled with 170 men and four vessels which were the following ones: São Gabriel, São Rafael, Bérrio, and then, São Miguel which was the ship dedicated for supplies. He got the title thanks to the many trips and achievements throughout the years serving the King as a Captain of the Charters. Vasco de Gama was the first person to achieve the status of “Count”, which can be translated to Conde in Portuguese, without being a true blood royal member. The King Manuel I of Portugal trusted Vasco da Gama to be the leader of an exploration to the west and to serve as the ambassador to the rulers of India as well. He was sent by the King to explore the west He expanded Portuguese trade of merchandise and ideas to the new lands he had found. With this conquest, the official trade route from Portugal to the lands of the East was finally open, breaking the Arab and Venetians monopoly in the East. Vasco de Gama battled against them and easily claimed the lands to the South East. Muslim merchants prepared an ambush upon the Portuguese arrival to India, but they failed. In July 8th 1497, the King of Portugal ordered Vasco de Gama to discover the sea route from Portugal to India, where he established contact in Calecute, India in May, 17th of 1498, ten months after his departure. What Did Vasco de Gama discovered?įor many years lots of travelers tried to find a direct sea route from Portugal to India to avoid having to deal with merchants and traders from the Mediterranean and Egypt, who were known to impose high taxes for the exchange of their goods.
Coming from a poor family, he had an inferiority problem and so his ambitions were to achieve great social status and fortune. Vasco de Gama was famous for his personality, being described as violent, rude and relentless. Also Vasco de Gama at this young age had already crossed the Mediterranean and visited the city of Tânger, in Morocco. Vasco de Gama spent almost all his childhood in a sailormen and trips environment enriching his knowledge in this matter.Īt eighteen years old, Vasco de Gama was already inlisted as ship crew member in charge of patroling Portuguese ports on the African coast, defending them against pirate ships. He was the son of Estêvão da Gama, who also was a navigator. Vasco da Gama was born in 1469 in the city of Sines. Who was Vasco de Gama? His early life and youth In this article, you will find out more about Vasco da Gama and understand the reason why he is one of the most famous Portuguese explorers. He found new lands, promoted trade but also spread religious ideals. He traveled and discovered new territories and brought back from his travels new goods and knowledge.įrom the fourteenth and seventeenth century, Vasco da Gama’s doings greatly influenced the history but also people’s lives. He’s a very important figure in the Portuguese history. Vasco da Gama is mostly known for uniting Europe and India by sea. I’ve written an article about the Age of Discoveries, so I obviously had to write about Vasco da Gama, one of the most famous Portuguese explorers! Read on and find out my top 10 interesting facts about Vasco da Gama.
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