# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
See all the wonderful things Rebecca Delgado has made

# data[].attributes.body
Born in in the providence of Bajadoz, Spain in 1496 and died in 1542 at the Mississippi River. He explored part of modern day America (Georgia, Alabama, and Florida). His search through America was in hopes of finding gold and other precious materials.

# data[].attributes.body
He was born in 1450
Died May 29, 1500
He was born in algarue  Portugal
He explored for Africa in October 10, 1887
His purpose was to open the ways of sea routes from Europe to Asia
He discovered the cape of good hope
He was a member of the royal Portuguese court
He was the sailing master of the man-of-war San Christovao
he named the trip to Africa 'cape of storms'.

# data[].attributes.body
Francisco Pizzaro was born in Trujillo Spain around 1474 and died in 1541. He went exploring for Spain from 1524 until 1533. His purpose for exploring was to search for gold in the land of Viru. While exploring he came across the Incas and ended up conquering them.
INTERESTING FACTS:
-No one is quite sure exactly when Pizarro was born. It was likely between 1471 and 1476.
- When Pizarro captured the Inca Emperor his small force of less than 200 men managed to kill over 2,000 Inca and take 5,000 more as prisoners. He had the advantage of guns, cannons, horses, and iron weapons.
- Francisco was accompanied by his brothers Gonzalo, Hernando, and Juan throughout his campaign to conquer the Inca.

# data[].attributes.body
Vasco Nunez De Balboa was born in 1475 and in died January 15,1519. He was born in Jerez de los caballeros, spain. He explored panama in 1513. He explored to become the first European to lead an expodition to have seen or reached the pacific from the new world. He discovered fortune in gold, pearls, and slaves. He was publicly beheaded in the colony of Darien and he was motivated to explore by Christopher Columbus. After he was acquitted by the new governor, Pedrarias Davila, he proceeded to marry his daughter.

# data[].attributes.body
Born: 1643
Died: 1687
Born in: Rouen, France
Explored for: France
Years he explored: 1673-1687
Purpose for sailing: fur trade and because the King told him to
His discovery: the Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, and Louisiana
Interesting facts: Memphis,
Wrote may books, built a network of forts in Canada

# data[].attributes.body
Born- 1474
Died- July 1521
Where he was born- Santervás de campos, spain
Country he explored for - Puerto Rico
What year did he explore- 1460-1521
Purpose of exploring- gold
What did he discover- Florida and southeast coast which became the US
Interesting facts-
1) first governor of Puerto Rico
2) he joined Christopher Columbus
3) he had to step down for office because of his brutal treatment

# data[].attributes.body
He was born March 9,1454 in Florence Italy.
Died February 22, 1512
He explored for South America and landed in Brazil. He explored 1499-1507. His original purpose for sailing was that he wanted to be like Columbus and claim new land for his country.
He discovered a new continent, he called South America.
Some interesting facts-
*America was named after him.
*Made a previous trip before the trip to Brazil
*First person to recognize North and South America as distinct continents that were previously unknown to European Asians and Africans.

# data[].attributes.body
Born: 1453
Died: December 16, 1515
Explored: India
1503
Afonso was sent on his first expedition to India together with his cousin Francisco de Albuquerque. Each commanded three ships, sailing with Duarte Pacheco Pereira and Nicolau Coelho. They engaged in several battles against the forces of the Zamorin of Calicut (Calecute, Kozhikode) and succeeded in establishing the King of Cohin (Cohim, Kochi) securely on his throne.
First European to to reach the spice islands.

Military genius,  1st Duke o f Goa,Afonso advanced the three-fold Portuguese grand scheme of combating Islam, spreading Christianity, and securing the trade of spices by establishing a Portuguese Asian empire. Among his achievements, Afonso was the first European of his Renaissance to raid the Persian Gulf, and he led the first voyage by a European fleet into the Red Sea. His military and administrative works are generally regarded as among the most vital to building and securing the Portuguese Empire in the Orient, the Middle East, and the spice routes of eastern Oceania.

# data[].attributes.body
Francis Drake was Is a explorer who was born in 1540 and died in 1596 he was born in tavistock leader of expedition to pass around South America where he began his voyage in 1577 his purpose for sailing is to discover routs beyond the Strait of Magellan. He discovered the Tierra del Fuego land south of maggellen strait, Francis drake was the first English man to sail around the world and he plundered many Spanish merchant ships while taking their gold and silver to build his own wealth and for a time he was a member of the British parliament

# data[].attributes.body
Born:June 1, 1636
Died:May 18, 1675
Place of birth: Laon, France
Years spent exploring:1673-1675
Purpose for sailing: To discover and map the Mississippi River
Discovery: The Mississippi River
Interesting Facts-
1: Became a Jesuit Missionary at the age of 17
2: Founded missions in present day Michigan
3: Died during his exploration

# data[].attributes.body
Born in 1550 in Zacatecas in New Spain(Mexico).
Died in 1623
He explored for Spain between 1598-1608 in search of land for Spain and to capture the traitor to the state Capt. Francisco Leyva de Bonilla.
Juan conquered and governed New Mexico.

He sent troops to South America to search for treasures that did not exist.

He discovered a colony in New Mexico which failed

He was sen as a failure by the monarch of Spain

# data[].attributes.body
He was born in 1467 in Belmonte, Portugal and died in 1520 (age of 52-53) in Santarem, Portugal.
He was the first European to see Brazil. He explored in April 22, 1500.
He was trying to find treasure and land. He discovered Brazil.
3 interesting facts :
- Famous for being the Portuguese explorer who discovered Brazil.
- King to explore the oceans and lands.
- Portuguese nobleman

# data[].attributes.body
Explorer and navigator John Cabot was born Giovanni Caboto in Italy around 1450. By 1495, he had moved to Bristol, England, with his family. He made a voyage in 1497 on the ship Matthew and claimed land in Canada—mistaking it for Asia—for King Henry VII of England.

1. His first name is my middle name.
2. He was a Spice Merchant
3. He died

# data[].attributes.body
Born in 1480 in Portugal

Died in April 27, 1527

First person to circumnavigate the Earth from Europe, and moving west to Asia

Sailed across the Atlantic to the Strait of Magellan and across the Pacific

He was in search of fame and fortune

Discovered the,”Spice Islands”

Traveled more than 42,000 miles

Only 18 of the 270 crew members returned on the voyage to the Spice Islands

Ferdinand and his brother Diego went to Lisbon to serve as pages in Queen Leonora’s Court when he was only 12

# data[].attributes.body
Born - 1510
Died - 22 September, 1554
He was born in - Salamanca, Crown of Castile
He explore for Spain
He explored between 1540 – 1542
He explored because he had hoped to reach the cities of Cibola, often referred to now as the mythical Seven Cities of Gold, which is a term not invented until American gold-rush in the 1800s.
His expedition marked the first European sightings of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River, among other landmarks.
- He also was the first European to explore North America’s Southwest.
- In 1539 Vazquez was selected by the viceroy to lead a mission to further explore these claims.
- Francisco Vazquez was made governor of Nueva Galicia which was part of New Spain (Mexico)

# data[].attributes.body
He was born in Iceland in c.970 and died in c.1020. Explored North America Around A.D. 1000. Ericson sailed off course on his way back to Greenland and landed on the North American continent, where he explored a region he called Vinland. He’s known as the first European to discover North America.
3 Interesting facts

- There’s 4 different ways to spell his name. Leifr Eiríksson, Leifur Eiríksson, Leiv Eiriksson and Leif Ericson.

- He was the son of Erik the Red, founder of the first European settlement (Greenland).

- Ericson sailed to Norway, where King Olaf I converted him to Christianity.

# data[].attributes.body
(jack Knight)
-Born March 13, 1499
-died Jan. 3,1543
-Rodriquez explored for the Spanish Empire
-He explored in the years 1542 to 1543
-Rodriquez was exploring  for riches and gold
-Found the coast of California
-
1.) There is a monument in California for him
2.) He mined gold in California
3.) Had and indigenous woman as a wife

# data[].attributes.body
- Born around 1485
- Died in 1547
- Born in Medellín, Spain
- He explored Mexico to defeat the Aztec empire and claim Mexico for Spain
- He explored from 1504-1540
- His purpose was to seek the New World
- He reached Mexico and discovered native people to the Mexican coast
- 1.) Family had military background.
2.) Parents hoped he would become a lawyer.
3.) When arriving in Mexico he was attacked by an Indian tribe and 2 of his men died while 800 Indians perished.

# data[].attributes.body
Born August 13, 1574 in Aunis, France

Died December 25,
1635

Explored for France from 1603 until 1620

His purpose for exploring was to claim land for France

He discovered the Great Lakes

Interesting Facts:
He is called "the Father of New France"
He founded Quebec City
His name "Samuel" is not normally given to Catholic children.

# data[].attributes.body
•He was born in 1492 and died in 1584
•He was born at Medina de Campo, Spain
•He explored Mexico and Cuba for Spain
•He explored in the years 1514-1541
•He explored to find treasure to get rich
•He discovered the Aztec empire and the Yucatán natives
1. wrote books about his Mexico exploration
2. conquistador
3. settled in Guatemala

# data[].attributes.body
-Born November 9, 1451
-Died May 20 1506
-Born in Genoa, Italy
-Explored for Spain
-Explored from 1451-1506
-His purpose for sailing was to get money/ gold
-Discovered the  Americas-
3 Interesting facts
1.He was 6ft tall
2.His real name is Cristoforo Colombo
3.No painter ever captured columbus on canvas. Paintings depicting columbus are works of fiction.

# data[].attributes.body
Born- December 31, 1491
Died- September 1, 1557
Where was he born- Saint-Malo, France
Country Explored- St. Lawrence River
Purpose for exploring - In search of riches
Discovered- A new route to asia
Interesting Facts-
1. Died at age 66

# data[].attributes.body
Born- 1371
Death- 1433
Born in- Kunyang subdistrict
Explored for- china
Years explored- 1405-1433
Purpose- to establish more trading relationships
Discoveries- SW Asia, east Africa
Fun facts
- his name in Chinese means Muhammad
- he was captured and Castrated when he was young
- died during a voyage

# data[].attributes.body
He was born in 1490 and died in 1560. He was born in Extremadura, Castile, Spain. He explored for Spain. He explored during 1527-1537. He explored because Spain wanted to claim Florida's land. He discovered Texas. An interesting fact is that he was the first European to see the bison, otherwise known as the American buffalo. He was also the first European to see Iguacu Falls. Another interesting fact is that he was appointed governor of the Spanish settlement Paraguay.

# data[].attributes.body
He was born on c. 1565 and died on June 22, 1611 near the Hudson Bay.
He was born in England, United Kingdom.
He explored England.
He explored in 1607-1609.
He was determined to find the Northwest passage via the Arctic Circle.
He discovered a strait in the ocean that led them through the Northern waters over Canada, which was named the Hudson Strait.
Henry attended Harvard University.
The exploration of the New World conducted by Henry Hudson was financed by his grandfathers Muscovy Trading Company.
His first voyage consisted of 30 crew members.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
English explorer Henry Hudson embarked on multiple sailing voyages that provided new information on North American water routes.

Synopsis

Believed to have been born in the late 16th century, English explorer Henry Hudson made two unsuccessful sailing voyages in search of an ice-free passage to Asia. In 1609, he embarked on a third voyage funded by the Dutch East India Company that took him to the New World and the river that would be given his name. On his fourth voyage, Hudson came upon the body of water that would later be called the Hudson Bay.

Early Life

Considered one of the world's most famous explorers, Henry Hudson, born in England circa 1565, never actually found what he was looking for. He spent his career searching for different routes to Asia, but he ended up opening the door to further exploration and settlement of North America.

While many places bear his name, Henry Hudson remains an elusive figure. There is little information available about the famous explorer's life prior to his first journey as a ship's commander in 1607. It is believed that he learned about the seafaring life firsthand, perhaps from fishermen or sailors. He must have had a talent for navigation early on, enough to merit becoming a commander in his late 20s. Prior to 1607, Hudson probably worked aboard other ships before being appointed to lead one on his own. Reports also indicate that he was married to a woman named Katherine and they had three sons together.

First Three Voyages

Hudson made four journeys during his career, at a time when countries and companies competed with each other to find the best ways to reach important trade destinations, especially Asia and India. In 1607, the Muscovy Company, an English firm, entrusted Hudson to find a northern route to Asia. Hudson brought his son John with him on this trip, as well as Robert Juet. Juet went on several of Hudson's voyages and recorded these trips in his journals.

Despite a spring departure, Hudson found himself and his crew battling icy conditions. They had a chance to explore some of the islands near Greenland before turning back. But the trip was not a total loss, as Hudson reported numerous whales in the region, which opened up a new hunting territory.

The following year, Hudson once again set sail in search of the fabled Northeast Passage. The route he sought proved elusive, however. Hudson made it to Novaya Zemlya, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean to the north of Russia. But he could not travel further, blocked by thick ice. Hudson returned to England without achieving his goal.

In 1609, Hudson joined the Dutch East India Company as a commander. He took charge of the Half Moon with the objective of discovering a northern route to Asia by heading north of Russia. Again ice put an end to his travels, but this time he did not head for home. Hudson decided to sail west to seek western passage to the Orient. According to some historians, he had heard of a way to the Pacific Ocean from North America from English explorer John Smith.

Crossing the Atlantic Ocean, Hudson and his crew reached land that July, coming ashore at what is now Nova Scotia. They encountered some of the local Native Americans there and were able to make some trades with them. Traveling down the North American coast, Hudson went as far south as the Chesapeake Bay. He then turned around and decided to explore New York Harbor, an area first thought to have been discovered by Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524. Around this time, Hudson and his crew clashed with some local Native Americans. A crew member named John Colman died after being shot in the neck with an arrow, and two others on board were injured.

After burying Colman, Hudson and his crew traveled up the river that would later carry his name. He explored the Hudson River up as far as what later became Albany. Along the way, Hudson noticed that the lush lands that lined the river contained abundant wildlife. He and his crew also met with some of the Native Americans living on the river's banks.

On the way back to the Netherlands, Hudson was stopped in the English port of Dartmouth. The English authorities seized the ship and the Englishmen among the crew. Upset that he had been exploring for another country, the English authorities forbade Hudson from working with the Dutch again. He was, however, undeterred from trying to find the Northwest Passage. This time, Hudson found English investors to fund his next journey, which would prove to be fatal.

Final Journey

Aboard the ship Discovery, Hudson left England in April 1610. He and his crew, which again included his son John and Robert Juet, made their way across the Atlantic Ocean. After skirting the southern tip of Greenland, they entered what became known as the Hudson Strait. The exploration then reached another of his namesakes, the Hudson Bay. Traveling south, Hudson ventured into James Bay and discovered that he'd come to a dead end.

By this time, Hudson was at odds with many in his crew. They found themselves trapped in the ice and low on supplies. When they were forced to spend the winter there, tensions only grew worse. By June 1611, conditions had improved enough for the ship to set sail once again. Hudson, however, didn't make the trip back home. Shortly after their departure, several members of the crew, including Juet, took over the ship and decided to cast out Hudson, his son and a few other crew members. Mutineers put Hudson and the others in a small boat and set them adrift. It is believed that Hudson and the others died of exposure sometime later, in or near the Hudson Bay. Some of the mutineers were later put on trial, but they were acquitted.

More European explorers and settlers followed Hudson's lead, making their way to North America. The Dutch started a new colony, called New Amsterdam, at the mouth of the Hudson River in 1625. They also developed trade posts along the nearby coasts.

While he never found his way to Asia, Hudson is still widely remembered as a determined early explorer. His efforts helped drive European interest in North America. Today his name can be found all around us on waterways, schools, bridges and even towns.

Related Videos

Fact Check

We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
English explorer Henry Hudson embarked on multiple sailing voyages that provided new information on North American water routes. Believed to have been born in the late 16th century, English explorer Henry Hudson made two unsuccessful sailing voyages in search of an ice-free passage to Asia.

# data[].attributes.body
Born 1460- Died December 24, 1524.
Born in Sines, Portugal.
The country he explored is Portugal.
The years he explored were from 1497-1524.
His purpose for sailing- he was appointed to command a ship with the goal of discovering a sailing route to India.
He discovered an ocean route from Portugal to the East.
3 interesting facts
- historian can't agree whether he was born 1460 or 1469

- had 1 daughter and 6 sons
- he died of malaria

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Vasco da Gama was born in 1460 in the town of Sines,[3] one of the few seaports on the Alentejo coast, southwest Portugal, probably in a house near the church of Nossa Senhora das Salas.

Vasco da Gama's father was Estêvão da Gama, who had served in the 1460s as a knight of the household of Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu.[7] He rose in the ranks of the military Order of Santiago. Estêvão da Gama was appointed alcaide-mór (civil governor) of Sines in the 1460s, a post he held until 1478; after that he continued as a receiver of taxes and holder of the Order's commendas in the region.

Estêvão da Gama married Isabel Sodré, a daughter of João Sodré (also known as João de Resende), scion of a well-connected family of English origin.[8] Her father and her brothers, Vicente Sodré and Brás Sodré, had links to the household of Infante Diogo, Duke of Viseu, and were prominent figures in the military Order of Christ. Vasco da Gama was the third of five sons of Estêvão da Gama and Isabel Sodré - in (probable) order of age: Paulo da Gama, João Sodré, Vasco da Gama, Pedro da Gama and Aires da Gama. Vasco also had one known sister, Teresa da Gama (who married Lopo Mendes de Vasconcelos).[9]

Bronze statue of Vasco da Gama at his birthplace, Sines, Portugal

Little is known of da Gama's early life. The Portuguese historian Teixeira de Aragão suggests that he studied at the inland town of Évora, which is where he may have learned mathematics and navigation. It has been claimed that he studied under Abraham Zacuto, an astrologer and astronomer, but da Gama's biographer Subrahmanyam thinks this dubious.[10]

Around 1480, da Gama followed his father (rather than the Sodrés) and joined the Order of Santiago.[11] The master of Santiago was Prince John, who ascended to the throne in 1481 as King John II of Portugal. John II doted on the Order, and the da Gamas' prospects rose accordingly.

In 1492, John II dispatched da Gama on a mission to the port of Setúbal and to the Algarve to seize French ships in retaliation for peacetime depredations against Portuguese shipping - a task that da Gama rapidly and effectively performed.[12]

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

On 8 July 1497 Vasco da Gama led a fleet of four ships[16] with a crew of 170 men from Lisbon. The distance traveled in the journey around Africa to India and back was greater than the length of the equator.[16][17] The navigators included Portugal's most experienced, Pero de Alenquer, Pedro Escobar, João de Coimbra, and Afonso Gonçalves. It is not known for certain how many people were in each ship's crew but approximately 55 returned, and two ships were lost. Two of the vessels were carracks, newly built for the voyage; the others were a caravel and a supply boat.[16]

The four ships were:

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

São Rafael, commanded by his brother Paulo da Gama; similar dimensions to the São Gabriel

Berrio (nickname, officially called São Miguel), a caravel, slightly smaller than the former two, commanded by Nicolau Coelho

A storage ship of unknown name, commanded by Gonçalo Nunes, destined to be scuttled in Mossel Bay (São Brás) in South Africa[7]

Journey to the Cape

The expedition set sail from Lisbon on 8 July 1497. It followed the route pioneered by earlier explorers along the coast of Africa via Tenerife and the Cape Verde Islands. After reaching the coast of present-day Sierra Leone, da Gama took a course south into the open ocean, crossing the Equator and seeking the South Atlantic westerlies that Bartolomeu Dias had discovered in 1487.[18] This course proved successful and on 4 November 1497, the expedition made landfall on the African coast. For over three months the ships had sailed more than 10,000 kilometres (6,000 mi) of open ocean, by far the longest journey without landfall made by that time.[16][19]

Mozambique

Vasco da Gama spent 2 to 29 March 1498 in the vicinity of Mozambique Island. Arab-controlled territory on the East African coast was an integral part of the network of trade in the Indian Ocean. 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, the explorer was unable to provide a suitable gift to the ruler. Soon the local populace became suspicious of da Gama and his men. Forced by a hostile crowd to flee Mozambique, da Gama departed the harbor, firing his cannons into the city in retaliation.[20]

Mombasa

Malindi

Pillar of Vasco da Gama in Malindi, in modern-day Kenya, erected on the journey

Vasco da Gama continued north, arriving on 14 April 1498 at the friendlier port of Malindi, whose leaders were having a conflict with those of Mombasa.There, Da Gama and his crew contracted the services of a pilot who used his knowledge of the monsoon winds to guide the expedition the rest of the way to Calicut, located on the southwest coast of India. Sources differ over the identity of the pilot, calling him variously a Christian, a Muslim, or a Gujarati Hindu. One traditional story describes the pilot as the famous Arab navigator Ibn Majid, but other contemporaneous accounts place Majid elsewhere, and he could not have been near the vicinity at the time.[21] None of the Portuguese historians of the time mentions Ibn Majid. Vasco da Gama left Malindi for India on 24 April 1498.

Calicut, India

Vasco da Gama before the Zamorin of Calicut, by Veloso Salgado, 1898.

The fleet arrived in Kappadu near Kozhikode (Calicut), in Malabar Coast (present day Kerala state of India), on 20 May 1498. The King of Calicut, the Samudiri (Zamorin), who was at that time staying in his second capital at Ponnani, returned to Calicut on hearing the news of the foreign fleet's arrival. The navigator was received with traditional hospitality, including a grand procession of at least 3,000 armed Nairs, but an interview with the Zamorin failed to produce any concrete results. When local authorities asked da Gama's fleet, "What brought you hither?", they replied that they had come "in search of Christians and spices."[22] The presents that da Gama sent to the Zamorin as gifts from Dom Manuel - four cloaks of scarlet cloth, six hats, four branches of corals, twelve almasares, a box with seven brass vessels, a chest of sugar, two barrels of oil and a cask of honey - were trivial, and failed to impress. While Zamorin's officials wondered at why there was no gold or silver, the Muslim merchants who considered da Gama their rival suggested that the latter was only an ordinary pirate and not a royal ambassador.[23] Vasco da Gama's request for permission to leave a factor behind him in charge of the merchandise he could not sell was turned down by the King, who insisted that da Gama pay customs duty - preferably in gold - like any other trader, which strained the relation between the two. Annoyed by this, da Gama carried a few Nairs and sixteen fishermen (mukkuva) off with him by force.[24]

Return

Vasco da Gama left Calicut on 29 August 1498. Eager to set sail for home, he ignored the local knowledge of monsoon wind patterns that were still blowing onshore. The fleet initially inched north along the Indian coast, and then anchored in at Anjediva island for a spell. They finally struck out for their Indian Ocean crossing on 3 October 1498. But with the winter monsoon yet to set in, it was a harrowing journey. On the outgoing journey, sailing with the summer monsoon wind, da Gama's fleet crossed the Indian Ocean in only 23 days; now, on the return trip, sailing against the wind, it took 132 days.

Da Gama saw land again only on 2 January 1499, passing before the coastal Somali city of Mogadishu, then under the influence of the Ajuran Empire in the Horn of Africa. The fleet did not make a stop, but passing before Mogadishu, the anonymous diarist of the expedition noted that it was a large city with houses of four or five storeys high and big palaces in its center and many mosques with cylindrical minarets.[25]

Da Gama's fleet finally arrived in Malindi on 7 January 1499, in a terrible state - approximately half of the crew had died during the crossing, and many of the rest were afflicted with scurvy. Not having enough crewmen left standing to manage three ships, da Gama ordered the São Rafael scuttled off the East African coast, and the crew re-distributed to the remaining two ships, the São Gabriel and the Berrio. While there he was also granted permission by the Sultan to set up a padrão. The Vasco da Gama Pillar, as it is still known locally, seems to be the only one of the many padrões set up by Da Gamma to survive to the present day.[26]

After leaving Malindi, the sailing was smoother. By early March, the fleet had arrived in Mossel Bay, and crossed the Cape of Good Hope in the opposite direction on 20 March, reaching the west African coast by 25 April.

The diary record of the expedition ends abruptly here. Reconstructing from other sources, it seems they continued to Cape Verde, where Nicolau Coelho's Berrio separated from Vasco da Gama's São Gabriel and sailed on by itself.[27] The Berrio arrived in Lisbon on 10 July 1499 and Nicolau Coelho personally delivered the news to King Manuel I and the royal court, then assembled in Sintra. In the meantime, back in Cape Verde, da Gama's brother, Paulo da Gama, had fallen grievously ill. Da Gama elected to stay by his side on Santiago island and handed the São Gabriel over to his clerk, João de Sá, to take home. The São Gabriel under Sá arrived in Lisbon sometime in late July or early August. Da Gama and his sickly brother eventually hitched a ride with a Guinea caravel returning to Portugal, but Paulo da Gama died en route. Da Gama disembarked at the Azores to bury his brother at the monastery of São Francisco in Angra do Heroismo, and lingered there for a little while in mourning. He eventually took passage on an Azorean caravel and finally arrived in Lisbon on 29 August 1499 (according to Barros),[28] or early September[16] (8th or 18th, according to other sources). Despite his melancholic mood, da Gama was given a hero's welcome and showered with honors, including a triumphal procession and public festivities. King Manuel wrote two letters in which he described da Gama's first voyage, in July and August 1499, soon after the return of the ships. Girolamo Sernigi also wrote three letters describing da Gama's first voyage soon after the return of the expedition.

Outward and return voyages of the Portuguese India Run (Carreira da Índia). The outward route of the South Atlantic westerlies that Bartolomeu Dias discovered in 1487, followed and explored by da Gama in the open ocean, would be developed in subsequent years.

The expedition had exacted a large cost - two ships and over half the men had been lost. It had also failed in its principal mission of securing a commercial treaty with Calicut. Nonetheless, the small quantities of spices and other trade goods brought back on the remaining two ships demonstrated the potential of great profit for future trade.[29] Vasco da Gama was justly celebrated for opening a direct sea route to Asia. His path would be followed up thereafter by yearly Portuguese India Armadas.

The spice trade would prove to be a major asset to the Portuguese royal treasury, and other consequences soon followed. For example, da Gama's voyage had made it clear that the east coast of Africa, the Contra Costa, was essential to Portuguese interests; its ports provided fresh water, provisions, timber, and harbors for repairs, and served as a refuge where ships could wait out unfavorable weather. One significant result was the colonization of Mozambique by the Portuguese Crown.

Vasco da Gama's signature (reads Ho Comde Almirante, "The Count Admiral")

In December 1499, King Manuel I of Portugal rewarded Vasco da Gama with the town of Sines as a hereditary fief (the town his father, Estêvão, had once held as a commenda). This turned out to be a complicated affair, for Sines still belonged to the Order of Santiago. The master of the Order, Jorge de Lencastre, might have endorsed the reward - after all, da Gama was a Santiago knight, one of their own, and a close associate of Lencastre himself. But the fact that Sines was awarded by the king provoked Lencastre to refuse out of principle, lest it encourage the king to make other donations of the Order's properties.[30] Da Gama would spend the next few years attempting to take hold of Sines, an effort that would estrange him from Lencastre and eventually prompt da Gama to abandon his beloved Order of Santiago, switching over to the rival Order of Christ in 1507.

In the meantime, da Gama made do with a substantial hereditary royal pension of 300,000 reis. He was awarded the noble title of Dom ( lord) in perpetuity for himself, his siblings and their descendants. On 30 January 1502, da Gama was awarded the title of Almirante dos mares de Arabia, Persia, India e de todo o Oriente ("Admiral of the Seas of Arabia, Persia, India and all the Orient") - an overwrought title reminiscent of the ornate Castilian title borne by Christopher Columbus (evidently, Manuel must have reckoned that if Castile had an 'Admiral of the Ocean Seas', then surely Portugal should have one too).[31] Another royal letter, dated October 1501, gave da Gama the personal right to intervene and exercise a determining role on any future India-bound fleet.

Around 1501, Vasco da Gama married Catarina de Ataíde, daughter of Álvaro de Ataíde, the alcaide-mór of Alvor ( Algarve), and a prominent nobleman connected by kinship with the powerful Almeida family (Catarina was a first cousin of Dom Francisco de Almeida).[32]

Malabar Coast of India, c. 1500, showing the path of Vasco da Gama's 4th India Armada in 1502

The follow-up expedition, the Second India Armada, launched in 1500 under the command of Pedro Álvares Cabral with the mission of making a treaty with the Zamorin of Calicut and setting up a Portuguese factory in the city. However, Pedro Cabral entered into a conflict with the local Arab merchant guilds, with the result that the Portuguese factory was overrun in a riot and up to 70 Portuguese were killed. Cabral blamed the Zamorin for the incident and bombarded the city. Thus war broke out between Portugal and Calicut.

On the outgoing voyage, da Gama's fleet opened contact with the East African gold trading port of Sofala and reduced the sultanate of Kilwa to tribute, extracting a substantial sum of gold.

Pilgrim ship incident

On reaching India in October 1502, da Gama's fleet intercepted Mirim,[33] a ship of Muslim pilgrims at Madayi travelling from Calicut to Mecca. Described in detail by eyewitness Thomé Lopes and chronicler Gaspar Correia, da Gama looted the ship with over 400 pilgrims on board including 50 women, locked in the passengers, the owner and an ambassador from Egypt and burned them to death. They offered their wealth, which "could ransom all the Christian slaves in the Kingdom of Fez and much more" but were not spared. Da Gama looked on through the porthole and saw the women bringing up their gold and jewels and holding up their babies to beg for mercy.[34] The lives of twenty children were spared against a forced conversion to Christianity[33]

Calicut

A depiction of da Gama's fleet (from the Livro das Armadas)

An aged Vasco da Gama, as Viceroy of India and Count of Vidigueira (from Livro de Lisuarte de Abreu)

After stopping at Cannanore, Gama drove his fleet before Calicut, demanding redress for the treatment of Cabral. Having known of the fate of the pilgrims' ship, the Zamorin adopted a conciliatory attitude towards the Portuguese and expressed willingness to sign a new treaty but da Gama made a call to the Hindu king to expel all Muslims from Calicut before beginning negotiations, which was turned down.[35] At the same time however, the Zamorin sent a message to his rebellious vassal, the Raja of Cochin urging cooperation and obedience to counter the Portuguese threat; the ruler of Cochin forwarded this message to Gama, which reinforced his opinion of the Indians as duplicitous.[36] After demanding the expulsion of Muslims from Calicut to the Hindu Zamorin, the latter sent the high priest Talappana Namboothiri (the very same person who conducted da Gama to the Zamorin's chamber during his much celebrated first visit to Calicut in May 1498) for talks. Da Gama called him a spy, ordered the priest's lips and ears to be cut off and after sewing a pair of dog's ears to his head, sent him away.[37] The Portuguese fleet then bombarded the unfortified city for nearly two days from the sea, severely damaging it. He also captured several rice vessels and cut off the crew's hands, ears and noses, dispatching them with a note to the Zamorin, in which Gama declared that he would be open to friendly relations once the Zamorin had paid for the items plundered from the feitoria as well as the gunpowder and cannonballs.[38][39]

Seabattle

The violent treatment meted out by da Gama quickly brought trade along the Malabar Coast of India, upon which Calicut depended, to a standstill. The Zamorin ventured to dispatch a fleet of strong warships to challenge da Gama's armada, but which Gama managed to defeat in a naval battle before Calicut harbor.

Cochin

Coat of arms of Vasco da Gama.

Vasco da Gama and his wife, Catarina de Ataíde, had six sons and one daughter:[46]

1. Dom Francisco da Gama, who inherited his father's titles as 2nd Count of Vidigueira and the 2nd "Admiral of the Seas of India, Arabia and Persia". He remained in Portugal.

2. Dom Estevão da Gama, after his abortive 1524 term as Indian patrol captain, he was appointed for a three-year term as captain of Malacca, serving from 1534 to 1539 (includes the last two years of his younger brother Paulo's term). He was subsequently appointed as the 11th governor of India from 1540 to 1542.

3. Dom Paulo da Gama (having the same name as his uncle Paulo), captain of Malacca from 1533 to 1534, killed in a naval action off Malacca.

4. Dom Cristovão da Gama, captain of Malacca from 1538 to 1540; nominated to succeed in Malacca, but executed by Ahmad ibn Ibrahim during the Ethiopian-Adal war in 1542.

5. Dom Pedro da Silva da Gama, appointed captain of Malacca from 1548 to 1552.

6. Dom Álvaro de Ataíde da Gama, appointed captain of Malacca fleet in the 1540s, captain of Malacca itself from 1552 to 1554.

7. Dona Isabel de Ataíde da Gama, only daughter, married Dom Ignacio de Noronha, son of the first Count of Linhares.

His male-line issue became extinct in 1735, when the 7th Count of Vidigueira, Dom Vasco Baltasar José Luís Gama died, leaving only one daughter from his marriage, Dona Maria José da Gama, who inherited the Vidigueira estate. The title thus continued through this female-line.[47]

Intergenerations

However, his fame is tempered by such incidents and attitudes as displayed in the notorious Pilgrim Ship Incident previously discussed.

The Portuguese national epic, the Lusíadas of Luís Vaz de Camões, largely concerns Vasco da Gama's voyages.[48]

The 1865 grand opera L'Africaine: Opéra en Cinq Actes, composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer from a libretto by Eugène Scribe, prominently includes the character of Vasco da Gama. The events depicted, however, are fictitious. Meyerbeer's working title for the opera was Vasco da Gama. A 1989 production of the opera by the San Francisco Opera featured noted tenor Plácido Domingo in the role of da Gama.[49] The 19th-century composer Louis-Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray composed an eponymous 1872 opera based on da Gama's life and exploits at sea.

The port city of Vasco da Gama in Goa is named after him, as is the crater Vasco da Gama 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. There exists a church in Kochi, Kerala called Vasco da Gama Church, and a private residence on the island of Saint Helena. The suburb of Vasco in Cape Town also honours him.

Portuguese coin from 1969 commemorating the 500th anniversary of Vasco da Gama's birth.

A few places in Lisbon's Parque das Nações are named after the explorer, such as the Vasco da Gama Bridge, Vasco da Gama Tower and the Centro Comercial Vasco da Gama shopping centre.[50] The Oceanário in the Parque das Nações has a mascot of a cartoon diver with the name of "Vasco", who is named after the explorer.[51]

Vasco da Gama was the only explorer on the final pool of Os Grandes Portugueses. Although the final shortlist featured other Age of Discovery related people, they were not actually explorers nor navigators for any matter.

The Portuguese Navy has a class of frigates named after him. There are three Vasco da Gama class frigates in total, of which the first one also bears his name.

The Portuguese government erected two navigational beacons, Dias Cross and da Gama Cross, to commemorate da Gama and Bartolomeu Dias who were the first modern European explorers to reach the Cape of Good Hope. When lined up, these crosses point to Whittle Rock, a large, permanently submerged shipping hazard in False Bay.

South African musician Hugh Masekela recorded an anti-colonialist song entitled "Colonial Man", which contains the lyrics "Vasco da Gama was no friend of mine", and another song entitled "Vasco da Gama (The Sailor Man)". Both songs were included in his 1976 album Colonial Man.

Vasco da Gama appears as an antagonist in the Indian film Urumi. The film, directed by Santosh Sivan, depicts atrocities and progression to establish the Portuguese empire by da Gama in India.

In March 2016, archaeologists working off the coast of Oman identified a shipwreck believed to be that of the Esmeralda from da Gama's 1502-1503 fleet. The wreck was initially discovered in 1998. Later underwater excavations took place between 2013 and 2015 through a partnership between the Oman Ministry of Heritage and Culture and Blue Water Recoveries Ltd., a shipwreck recovery company. The vessel was identified through such artifacts as a "Portuguese coin minted for trade with India (one of only two coins of this type known to exist) and stone cannonballs engraved with what appear to be the initials of Vincente Sodré, da Gama's maternal uncle and the commander of the Esmeralda."[52]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Vasco da Gama was born in 1460 in the town of Sines,[3] one of the few seaports on the Alentejo coast, southwest Portugal, probably in a house near the church of Nossa Senhora das Salas.