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Vasco da Gama

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geographers and explorers

                      Vasco da Gama
         Born c. 1469
              ( Sines or Vidigueira, Alentejo, Portugal
      Died    December 24, 1524
              Kochi
   Occupation Explorer
     Spouse   Catarina de Ataíde

   Vasco da Gama ( IPA: ['vaʃku dɐ 'gɐmɐ] ( Sines or Vidigueira, Alentejo,
   Portugal, c. 1469 – December 24, 1524 in Kochi, India) was a Portuguese
   explorer, one of the most successful in the European Age of Discovery,
   and the first person to sail directly from Europe to India.

Background

   Commissioned by King Manuel I of Portugal to find Christian lands in
   the East (the King, like many Europeans, was under the impression that
   India was the legendary Christian Kingdom of Prester John), and to gain
   Portuguese access to the commercial markets of the Orient, da Gama
   extended the sea route exploration of his predecessor Bartolomeu Dias,
   who had first rounded Africa's Cape of Good Hope in 1488, culminating a
   generation of Portuguese sea exploration fostered by the nautical
   school of Henry the Navigator.

   Da Gama's voyage was successful in establishing a sea route from Europe
   to India that would permit trade with the Far East, without the use of
   the costly and unsafe Silk Road caravan routes, of the Middle East and
   Central Asia. However, the voyage was also hampered by its failure to
   bring any trade goods of interest to the nations of Asia Minor and
   India. The route was fraught with peril: only 54 of his 170 voyagers,
   and two of four ships, returned to Portugal in 1499. Nevertheless, da
   Gama's initial journey led directly to a several-hundred year era of
   European domination through sea power and commerce, and 450 years of
   Portuguese colonialism in India that brought wealth and power to the
   Portuguese throne.

Exploration before da Gama

   From the early 15th century, the nautical school of Henry the Navigator
   had been extending Portuguese knowledge of the African coastline. From
   the 1460s, the goal had become one of rounding that continent's
   southern extremity to gain easier access to the riches of India (mainly
   black pepper and other spices) through a reliable sea route.

   By the time da Gama was 10 years old, these long-term plans were coming
   to fruition. Bartolomeu Dias had returned from rounding the Cape of
   Good Hope, having explored as far as the Fish River (Rio do Infante) in
   modern-day South Africa, and verified that the unknown coast stretched
   away to the northeast.

   Concurrent land exploration during the reign of João II of Portugal
   supported the theory that India was reachable by sea from the Atlantic
   Ocean. Pêro da Covilhã and Afonso de Paiva were sent via Barcelona,
   Naples, and Rhodes, into Alexandria, and from there to Aden, Hormuz,
   and India, which gave credence to the theory.

   It remained for an explorer to prove the link between the findings of
   Dias and those of da Covilhã and de Paiva, and to connect these
   separate segments of a potentially lucrative trade route into the
   Indian Ocean. The task, originally given to Da Gama's father, was
   offered to Vasco by Manuel I on the strength of his record of
   protecting Portuguese trading stations along the African Gold Coast
   from depredations by the French.

First voyage

   On 8 July 1497 the fleet, consisting of four ships, left Lisbon. Its
   ships were:
     * The São Gabriel, commanded by Vasco da Gama; a carrack of 178 tons,
       length 27 m , width 8.5 m, draft 2.3 m, sails of 372 m², 150 crew
     * The São Rafael, whose commander was his brother Paulo da Gama;
       similar dimensions to the São Gabriel
     * The caravel Berrio, slightly smaller than the former two (later
       re-baptized São Miguel), commanded by Nicolau Coelho.
     * A storage ship of unknown name, commanded by Gonçalo Nunes, later
       lost near the Bay of São Brás, along the east coast of Africa.

   The route followed in Vasco da Gama's first voyage (1497 - 1499)
   Enlarge
   The route followed in Vasco da Gama's first voyage (1497 - 1499)

Rounding the Cape

   By December 16, the fleet had passed the White River, South Africa
   where Dias had turned back, and continued on into waters unknown to
   Europeans. With Christmas pending, they gave the coast they were
   passing the name Natal (Christmas in Portuguese),

   Arab-controlled territory on the East African coast that was part of
   the Indian Ocean's network of trade. Fearing the local population would
   be hostile to Christians, da Gama impersonated a Muslim and gained
   audience with the Sultan of Mozambique. With the paltry trade goods he
   had to offer, da Gama was unable to provide a suitable gift to the
   ruler, and soon the local populace began to see through the subterfuge
   of da Gama and his men. Forced to quit Mozambique by a hostile crowd,
   da Gama departed the harbour, firing his cannon into the city in
   retaliation .

Mombasa

   In the vicinity of modern Kenya, the expedition resorted to piracy,
   looting Arab merchant ships - generally unarmed trading vessels without
   heavy cannon. The Portuguese became the first known Europeans to visit
   the port of Mombasa, but were met with hostility, and soon departed.

Malindi

   Da Gama continued north, landing at the friendlier port of Malindi,
   whose leaders were in conflict with those of Mombasa; and there the
   expedition first noted evidence of Indian traders. They contracted the
   services of Ibn Majid, an Arab navigator and cartographer, whose
   knowledge of the monsoon winds allowed him to bring the expedition the
   rest of the way to Calicut (modern Kozhikode) on the southwest coast of
   India.

India

   They arrived in India on 20 May 1498. Sometimes violent negotiations
   with the local ruler (usually anglicized as Zamorin), the Wyatt
   Enourato ensued, in the teeth of resistance from Arab merchants.
   Eventually da Gama was able to gain an ambiguous letter of concession
   for trading rights, but had to sail off without warning after the
   Zamorin insisted da Gama leave all his goods as collateral. Da Gama
   kept his goods, but left a few Portuguese with orders to start a
   trading post

Return

   Vasco da Gama lands at Calicut, May 20, 1498
   Enlarge
   Vasco da Gama lands at Calicut, May 20, 1498

   Paulo da Gama died in the Azores on the homeward voyage, but on Vasco
   da Gama's return to Portugal in September 1499, he was richly rewarded
   as the man who had brought to fruition a plan that had taken eighty
   years. He was given the title "Admiral of the Indian Ocean", and the
   feudal rights over Sines were confirmed. He also was awarded the title
   Dom ( count) by Manuel I.

   Da Gama's voyage had made it clear that the farther (East) coast of
   Africa, the Contra Costa, was essential to Portuguese interests: its
   ports provided fresh water and provisions, timber and harbors for
   repairs, and a region to wait out unfavorable seasons. Also the spice
   commodity would prove to be a major contribution to the Portuguese
   economy.

Second voyage

   On 12 February 1502, da Gama again sailed with a fleet of twenty
   warships, to enforce Portuguese interests. Pedro Álvares Cabral had
   been sent to India two years earlier (when he accidentally discovered
   Brazil, though some claim it was intentional), and finding that those
   at the trading post had been murdered, and encountering further
   resistance, he had bombarded Calicut. He also brought back silk and
   gold to prove he had been to India once again.

   At one point, da Gama waited for a ship to return from Mecca, and
   seized all the merchandise; they then locked the 380 passengers in the
   hold and set the ship on fire. It took four days for the ship to sink,
   killing all men, women, and children, when da Gama returned to Calicut
   on October 30, 1502 the Zamorin was willing to sign a treaty..

   Da Gama assaulted and exacted tribute from the Arab-controlled port of
   Kilwa in East Africa, one of those ports involved in frustrating the
   Portuguese; he played privateer amongst Arab merchant ships, then
   finally smashed a Calicut fleet of twenty-nine ships, and essentially
   conquered that port city. In return for peace, he received valuable
   trade concessions and a vast quantity of plunder, putting him in
   extremely good favour with the Portuguese crown.

   On his return to Portugal, in September 1503, he was made Count of
   Vidigueira out of lands previously belonging to the future royal
   Bragança family. He was also awarded feudal rights and jurisdiction
   over Vidigueira and Vila dos Frades.

Third voyage

   Tomb in the Jerónimos Monastery in Belem
   Enlarge
   Tomb in the Jerónimos Monastery in Belem

   Having acquired a fearsome reputation as a "fixer" of problems that
   arose in India, he was sent to the subcontinent once more in 1524. The
   intention was that he was to replace the incompetent Eduardo de Menezes
   as viceroy (representative) of the Portuguese possessions, but he
   contracted malaria not long after arriving in Goa and died in the city
   of Cochin on Christmas Eve in 1524. His body was first buried at St.
   Francis Church, Fort Kochi, Kochi, then later his remains were returned
   to Portugal in 1539 and re-interred in Vidigueira in a splendid tomb.
   The Monastery of the Hieronymites in Belém was erected in honour of his
   voyage to India.

Legacy

   Map of the Portuguese Empire during the reign of John III (1502–1557).
   Enlarge
   Map of the Portuguese Empire during the reign of John III (1502–1557).

   Da Gama and his wife, Catarina de Ataíde, had six sons and one
   daughter: Francisco da Gama, Conde da Vidigueira; Estevão da Gama;
   Paulo da Gama; Cristovão da Gama; Pedro da Silva da Gama; Alvaro de
   Athaide; and Isabel de Athaide da Gama.

   As much as anyone after Henry the Navigator, da Gama was responsible
   for Portugal's success as an early colonizing power. Besides the first
   voyage itself, it was his astute mix of politics and war on the other
   side of the world that placed Portugal in a prominent position in
   Indian Ocean trade.

   The Portuguese national epic, the Lusíadas of Luís Vaz de Camões
   largely concerns Vasco da Gama's voyages.

   Following da Gama's initial voyage, the Portuguese crown realized that
   securing outposts on the eastern coast of Africa would prove vital to
   maintaining their trade routes to the Far East.

   The port city of Vasco da Gama in Goa is named for him, as is the Vasco
   da Gama crater, a big crater on the Moon. There are three football
   clubs in Brazil (including Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama) and Vasco
   Sports Club in Goa that were also named after him. A church in Kochi,
   Kerala Vasco da Gama Church, a private residence on the island of Saint
   Helena and Vasco da Gama Bridge are also named after him.

   Da Gama was ranked 86th on Michael H. Hart's list of the most
   influential figures in history.

   In 1998, the attempts to observe the 500th anniversary of da Gama's
   arrival in India by the Government of Portugal had to be abandoned due
   to the large scale public anger towards the event..
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasco_da_Gama"
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