He remains a leading figure in the history of exploration, and homages worldwide have celebrated his explorations and accomplishments. For his contributions, in 1524 da Gama was appointed Governor of India, with the title of Viceroy, and was ennobled as Count of Vidigueira in 1519. The latter was the largest and departed for India four years after his return from the first one. It was not until a century later that other European powers, first the Dutch Republic and England, later France and Denmark, were able to challenge Portugal's monopoly and naval supremacy in the Cape Route.ĭa Gama led two of the Portuguese India Armadas, the first and the fourth. Portugal maintained a commercial monopoly of these commodities for several decades. The main spices at first obtained from Southeast Asia were pepper and cinnamon, but soon included other products, all new to Europe. Unopposed access to the Indian spice routes boosted the economy of the Portuguese Empire, which was previously based along northern and coastal West Africa. Īfter decades of sailors trying to reach the Indies, with thousands of lives and dozens of vessels lost in shipwrecks and attacks, da Gama landed in Calicut on. The sum of the distances covered in the outward and return voyages made this expedition the longest ocean voyage ever made until then. Traveling the ocean route allowed the Portuguese to avoid sailing across the highly disputed Mediterranean and traversing the dangerous Arabian Peninsula. The violence and hostage taking employed by da Gama and those who followed also assigned a brutal reputation to the Portuguese among India's indigenous kingdoms that would set the pattern for western colonialism in the Age of Exploration. Da Gama's discovery of the sea route to India opened the way for an age of global imperialism and enabled the Portuguese to establish a long-lasting colonial empire along the way from Africa to Asia. This is widely considered a milestone in world history, as it marked the beginning of a sea-based phase of global multiculturalism. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link Europe and Asia by an ocean route, connecting the Atlantic and the Indian oceans and therefore, the West and the Orient. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. On May 17, 1498, Vasco da Gama became the first European to land in India.Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira ( UK: / ˌ v æ s k oʊ d ə ˈ ɡ ɑː m ə/, US: / ˌ v ɑː s k oʊ d ə ˈ ɡ æ m ə/ European Portuguese: c. Vasco da Gama took the pilot aboard and after a 20-day journey across the Indian Ocean, he could spot India. On April 7, 1598, the fleet reached Mombasa (now Kenya) where Da Gama met a Gujarati pilot. The vessels reassured Da Gama that he was headed towards India, his final destination. In Mozambique, Da Gama learned about their trade with the Arabs and found four vessels of gold, silver and spices on the port. On March 2, the fleet reached the Island of Mozambique. On its way to Mozambique, the fleet took rest at one place, where they stayed for a month. By crossing various rivers, the fleet headed towards Mozambique. Many sailors before him set out to discover India but none of them succeeded.Ĭhristopher Columbus started his voyage in 1492, five years after Da Gama as he wanted to discover the sea route to India but his journey took him to America.ĭuring his voyage, Da Gama's fleet reached the coast of Natal on Christmas Day. It was due to this voyage that all water-trade route opened between Europe and Asia.ĭa Gama was not the first person who started out in search of India - a fabled land of spices and riches. As many as 523 years ago, Vasco da Gama completed the first European voyage to India.ĭuring his journey, Da Gama stopped in Mozambique, Mombasa and Malindi.
New Delhi: Born around 1460, Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese nobleman sailed from Lisbon on July 8, 1497, and arrived at Kozhikode (then Calicut) on May 20, 1498.
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