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Vasco Da Gama was the 3rd son of Estevao Da Gama a minor nobleman in Portugal. When he became of age he quickly joined the Portuguese navy where he learned skills in Navigation and sailing.  In  1495 King Manuel  ascended to the throne of Portugal and would send Da Gama on his first of three voyages to India.

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Painting of Da Gama during his first Voyage

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In 1497 Vasco Da Gama departed from Lisbon, Portugal to India. Similarly to Marco Polo, a silk road explorer of the 13th century Da Gama looked to Discover a trade route India, Da Gama by sea and Polo by land. His route involved sailing around the Cape of Good Hope then hugging the coast of Africa until he would cross the Indian Ocean to arrive at his destination. During the journey the motivation of Glory and God were added to to his voyage when he started to spread knowledge of Portugal and Christianity to the Muslim cultures that inhabited areas such as what is now known as Kenya and Mozambique. To put this into perspective another explorer who explored to spread knowledge of his country was Zheng He a Chinese explorer during the Ming Dynasty. Da Gama's first voyage concluded when hit landfall in Calicut India after a 23 day run across the Indian ocean.

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Map of Calicut 1572

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After staying in India for a few months against the advice of local sailors, Da Gama decided to return to portugal, retracing his former journey to India. This journey however did not go so smoothly because the Portuguese explorer had decided to attempt to cross the Indian Ocean during the monsoon season,  this made what was a 23 day crossing a three month journey. During these three months over half of his original crew died of scurvy. Among that half was his brother Paulo Because of this he landed and mourned the death of his brother while he sent the majority of his crew back to Portugal.  He returned to portugal  nearly two months after the rest of his crew and was met with a heroes welcome.

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After Months of traveling Vasco Da Gama finally made it to India changing Portuguese life forever. Initially the Hindu ruler and Muslim merchants met the Portuguese with welcome. But soon after Da Gama gave cheap and insignificant gifts to the Hindu leader and treated him with overall disrespect the ruler refused to sign a trade agreement with Portugal. Even though he could not receive a treaty with the leader of Calicut, Da Gama did however trade with many of the Muslim merchants who although uneasy about Da Gama as a character would do business with the man. This along with the treaties mentioned earlier are two of the major examples of cultural blending. This cultural blending resultant of trade allowed Portugal to become a major player in the European spice trade outsourcing the Muslim merchants who formerly had a monopoly on Indian products from the 15th-16th centuries. Similarly the building of the Panama Canal in the 20th century the events would forever change the trade of certain regions as the canal allowed certain trade routes to save over 8000 miles causing lower prices and more sales of certain products.

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This image along with the map of Calicut both display Calicut India during the 16th century. This one shows Da Gama arriving in Calicut. The other Image is a map of Calicut India from the time period and it also shows several other Indian cities. These two images are similar because both depict Calicut India during the time period of Da Gama’s voyage. Although they are not both a map.

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Pedro Alvares Cabral was sent on a second expedition to India Following the new route forged by Da Gama. He had command of 13 ships converse to the 4 of Da Gama's first voyage. On this voyage he was allowed to set up a fortified trading post by the leaders of Calicut. However disputes and conflict quickly arose with the Muslim Merchants in Calicut which resulted in a Muslim raid on the Portuguese trading post. Pretty much all of the Portuguese at the trading post were killed before reinforcements could arrive. Cabral then retaliated by capturing 10 merchant vessels and executing all members of the crew. After this Cabral quickly returned to Portugal with his remaining four ships full of rare cargo.

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Long after Da Gama's death, during the 19th century the treaties made with Mozambique and various other surrounding areas allowed Portugal to have an undisputed claim on Mozambique and some other surrounding areas. This would be the major legacy of Da Gama's voyages. They held the land using it for commercial purposes until Portuguese abuse of the native peoples became too much and the Portuguese army along with a group of rebels overthrew the government. In this case colonization led to a successful country renowned today for the regionally important hydroelectric power provided by the Zambezi River. Additionally The colonization led to extreme modernization in nearby areas. This was very similar to the colonization of America because both resulted in the founding of a new country resultant of abuse.

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Upon his return to Portugal Da Gama was appointed to the position of Portuguese Viceroy in India. After a considerable amount of time he would again travel to India but this time he succumbed to illness and died while in India.

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After the success of Cabral's voyage (as the king saw it at least) the king commissioned a third voyage to take place lead by Pedro Alvares Cabral. For somewhat unknown reason King Manuel changed his mind and relinquished Cabral's command to Vasco Da Gama who had since been appointed as an admiral. This expedition went without a hitch until Da Gama reached the port of Sofala in East Africa. In Sofala, Da Gama gave the leader an ultimatum due to his treatment of Cabral on Cabral's voyage, Da Gama would either burn the port city or the ports leader would swear to Portugal. This made it an easy decision for Ibrāhīm who was at the time the amir or leader of the area. The treaties and agreements made with many local areas would be one of the most important effects of the voyage as similar but more tacit agreements were made with The US and Columbia during the building of the Panama canal which lead to a major upheaval of the government of the area. After these agreements were made Da Gama continued on his journey to just north of Calicut where he ambushed and pillaged multiple Muslim merchant ships for the crimes they had committed against Cabral. After the interaction with the trade ships Da Gama sailed to Calicut where he attacked the port along with capturing and executing 38 passengers. A similar effect happened when the US built the Panama Canal because however indirectly they made it possible for an unchallenged uprising in Panama leading to eventual greater trade in the area. After this he returned to Portugal with a full cargo load.

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This Painting similarly to the first Painting of Vasco Da Gama displays well Vasco Da Gama. However This painting displays Da Gama sometime during his second or third voyage. These paintings are interesting because they show the length of time between his voyages.

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Antonio Manuel da Fonseca. Vasco Da Gama. Biography.com, 1838.

Braun, George, and Frans Hogenberg. Calechut Celeberrimum Indiae Emporium . 1572.

Campbell, Eila M.J., and Felipe Fernandez-Armesto. “Vasco Da Gama.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 21 Sept. 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/Vasco-da-Gama.

Casanova, Ernesto. Vasco Da Gama Discovers a Sea Route to India. 1880, Library of Congress.

Maraini, Fosco, and Edward Peters. “Marco Polo.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia

Britannica, Inc., 23 Aug. 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/Marco-Polo.

Penvenne, Jeanne Marie, and Kathleen Eddy Sheldon. “Mozambique.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 14 June 2018, www.britannica.com/place/Mozambique.

Vasco da Gama (1460 - Dec 23, 1524) 1st Count of Vidigueira: Portuguese Explorer