The Portuguese explorer who first reached India via the sea was one of the most renowned and celebrated explorer in the world. Prior to his iconic
discovery of the sea route to India many sailors had tried reaching our country land sailing through the waters but failed to do so and many of them suffered unfortunate losses of money and even lives. His discovery of the new route to India laid the foundations of the colonial empire in Asia. It became easy for the Europeans to reach us through the sea where earlier to the discovery they had to take a risky route that required crossing the dangerous Arabia dessert and much disputed Mediterranean.
Vasco da Gama put his first step on the Indian soil in Calicut after a smooth sea voyage on the 20th May 1498. Vasco da gama was born in around 1460 in Sines in Portugal. His exact date of birth is not known. He was born to Estyo da Gama who worked as the civil governor of Sines in the 1460s southwest coast of Portugal. His mother was of English origin namely Isabel Sodré. The couple had five sons and a daughter too; Vasco da gama was the third one of them. He is said to have learnt navigation from the inland town of Évora and later joined the Navy.
During the 1480s Vasco da Gama joined the Order of Santiago at the time of King John II of Portugal. It was in 1942 that Vasco da Gama was ordered by the king on a mission to seize French ships from Lisbon and Algarvae regions. The task was performed efficiently by him.
The early expeditions from Portugal were organized by Prince Henry the Navigator to the African coastline in search of gold and other riches during the early 15th century. After King Henry’s death the African enterprise was sold off to Fernão Gomes who lead and expanded the neglected business merchandising in gold, spices like pepper, ivory and slaves. It was in 1474 that Prince John asked his father the then ruler to give the African charter to him. Finally when in 1481 he became the king John II of Portugal the trade witnessed new heights. In a bid to expand the trade business he was keen to enter the Asian spice market that was very profitable. King John II ordered his captains to search for a sea route to Asia so that he could take forward his aspirations of the Spice trade between Europe and Asia. As a part of the mission the king is believed to have sent two spies called Pero da Covilha and Afonso de Paiva to India to get information in the spice market flourishing in India. The two spies covered the route to India via Egypt and East Africa. One of the major steps in the exploration of the sea route to India came in 1487 when the king’s captain Bartolomeu Dias circled the Cape of Good Hope and with him brought the exploration of the Fish River in South Africa. He gave the king important information and observations that the Indian Ocean was connected to the Atlantic and a sea route can possibly be discovered. The task to work on these findings by the king’s team was given to Vasco da Gama by King Manuel I, the successor of King John II.
The first voyage- The exploration
Vasco da Gama set for the first voyage to find a direct sea route to India from Europe on July 8, 1497. With a fleet of four ships and a crew of 170 men he started from Lisbon. The ship he commanded was the St. Gabriel was about 178 tons and 27 meter in length. He passed the great Fish River on December 16th. He sailed for several months before rounding the Cape of Good Hope and then set towards the unexplored Indian Ocean. They crossed Mombasa now in Kenya and Malindi port in Feb 1498 among others. The fleet of the four ships lead by Vasco da Gama arrived in Kappadu near Calicut on May 20 1498. He left Calicut on 29 August 1498 taking along with him a few Nairs and sixteen fishermen forcefully. Troubled by the monsoon wind patterns the fleet of ships commanded by Vasco da Gama reached back Malindi on January 7, 1499 in not a very good shape. Many of the crew members had fallen sick; many had scurvy disease and more than half lost their lives. They crossed the Cape of Good Hope by March 20 and arrived back at the African coast by April 25. With the loss of one ship, failure to make a commercial treaty with Calicut and loss of lives of more than half the crew the mission was looked upon as a failed attempt but it nevertheless gained high profits by selling the spices that Vasco da Gama brought in two ships. He was awarded by the King for his exploration of the sea route that was highly profitable to Europe.
The second Voyage
The second voyage to secure the trade treaty with India was lead by Pedro Iyares Cabral. While Vasco da Gama’s first trip took around two years to complete the second trip was made in just six months. Cabral was able to establish the first Portuguese trading post in India. In 1502 Vasco de Gama again visited India with a fleet of 20 ships along with his nephew and uncle to secure the trade ties further. On reaching Calicut the crew killed 38 hostages and ruined the trade post located there. He then along with the crew moved to Cochin and set up an alliance with the then ruler of the city. On February 20, 1503 Vasco da Gama started his journey back to his home country. After a journey of around seven months he reached Portugal on October 11, 1503.
His third and last voyage
He lived a life of ignorance till some years. King Manuel I in 1519 gave Vasco de Gama a feudal title. King Manuel I died in 1521 and was succeeded by King John III who appointed Vasco da Gama as his advisor. It was in April 1524 with a fleet of fourteen ships Vasco da Gama came to India for the third and the last time. His visit to India was mainly triggered due to the growing corrupt Portuguese officers in the country. In the same year he was declared the Portuguese viceroy in India by King John III. But soon after a couple of months he suffered from malaria and eventually died on 25th December 1524 on the eve of Christmas.
Personal life
Not much is known about the great explorers of history. Neither much about his childhood nor about his early life is known. Vasco de Gama married a lady named Catarina de Ataide in 1501. She belonged to an effluent family. After the end of the second voyage he retired peacefully into his family life along with his six sons and wife. Soon after he visited India for the third time he died after a period of three months in the city of Cochin in the December of 1524. Some speculate the reason for his death to be overworking. His body was sent back to his home country for the burial. The largest city in the city of Goa was named after the great explorer and is also called as Vasco. He will always be remembered as one of the greatest explorers history ever produced.