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The significance of da Gama's feat goes beyond his becoming the first European to reach Asia by sea. The Portuguese explorer's naval expedition had rounded Africa to reach the south Indian trading port, opening up a maritime route from Europe to Asia. O N MAY 20, 1498, Vasco da Gama made history by landing in Calicut, India.
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So why is it picking fights?Īs the colonial era ends, a mixed report on the explorer who began it In India, he mistook the people of Calicut as Christians, and was disappointed when he learned they were not.From Our Correspondent: Hirohito and the WarĪ conversation with biographer Herbert Bixįrom Our Correspondent: A Rough Road Aheadīad news for the Philippines - and some others As such they were initially welcomed into Mombasa, only to later narrowly escape having their entire fleet destroyed when the truth was discovered. Then there were problems of mistaken identities, as Vasco and his men were mistaken as their aforementioned rivals, the Islamic merchants. Another problem was that the Muslim traders controlled many African towns in the African coast that were the source of gold and ivory. The King of Portugal wanted Vasco to deal directly with the Indian traders, and remove the middlemen in the lucrative spice trade. One was the spice trade's control under the thumb of competing Muslim traders. There were many challenges that Vasco had to weather throughout his career. The first trip was to exact revenge on the city of Calicut for attacking Portuguese ships, and on the second he came as the Indian Viceroy from Portugal. Vasco also made a stop in the Azores before voyaging back home to Portugal. He soon landed at several other exotic coastal areas as well, including Kilimane, Mozambique, Mombasa, and Malindi. Vasco also made a port call at the Cape Verde Islands. The expeditions and explorations Vasco mounted were funded by the king of Portugal, and reached such exotic places in India as Calicut. The expeditions that Vasco commanded enabled Portugal to trade directly with India, and also with the Atlantic and Indian Ocean coasts of Africa. Later expeditions proved as successful, and were met with little resistance from the natives. It proved to be a good decision for the king when Vasco successfully traded in India and brought back spices to Portugal. In 1497, the king gave Vasco four ships for the expedition. At that time, King Manuel of Portugal was intent on finding a sea route to India, and Vasco was a natural choice for the task because of his education and his father's close ties to the court. He grew up versed in the subject, and soon became a considerably proficient navigator. CareerĪs the son of the governor of Sines, Vasco was given more chances of fulfilling his ambitions to become an explorer there were many other young men of his era. Vasco's later accomplishments were seen by many to be comparable to the great discoveries of Christopher Columbus. Vasco, like his father, was a member of the Order of Santiago, whose titular head was King John II of Portugal.
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One legend says that he was once under the tutelage of the famous astrologer, Abraham Zacuto. Vasco's early education was spent in Evora, where he studied navigation and mathematics. His father, Estevao, was the Civil Governor of the port city of Sines, and had close ties to King John II. Vasco was born around 1460 in Sines, Portugal. Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese explorer, soldier, ambassador and count.