
Vasco De Gama was the first European to find an ocean trading route to India. In 1539, his remains were brought back to Portugal. Vasco da Gama died on Decemin Cochin, India. How did Vasco de Gama die and how did he die?ĭa Gama quickly re-established order among the Portuguese leaders. (Credit: National Maritime Museum) Introduction Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese explorer who sailed to India from Europe. Vasco da Gama, (c.1469 – 1524) was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the European Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India. Who was the first explorer to sail from Europe to India?Įxplorer. Thus, da Gama is credited with the discovery of the sea route to India. This was the first time that a European had arrived in India via the sea. On 20 th May 1498, two years after he set sail from Lisbon, Portugal, Vasco da Gama arrived on the Western sea coast of India at Kozhikode (Calicut), Kerala. His discovery of this sea route helped the Portuguese establish a long-lasting colonial empire in Asia and Africa. He accomplished what many explorers before him could not do. On May 20, 1498, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama stepped foot in India. Why did Vasco de Gama discover the ocean route? When did Vasco da Gama discover the sea route to India He is often credited for discovering the sea route from western Europe to the East by way of the Cape of Good Hope. After traversing the Panama jungle, Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa was the first European to set eyes on the Pacific Ocean from the west coast of the American continent. Did Vasco da Gama name the Pacific Ocean? What ocean did Vasco da Gama discover?Ĭhristopher Columbus’ unsuccessful search for a western maritime route to India resulted in the “discovery” of the Americas in 1492, but it was Vasco da Gama who ultimately established the Carreira da India, or India Route, when he sailed around Africa and into the Indian Ocean, landing at Calicut (modern Kozhikode). Over the course of two voyages, beginning in 14, da Gama landed and traded in locales along the coast of southern Africa before reaching India on May 20, 1498. In the wake of Cabral’s accomplishment and his many encounters, the King charged da Gama to further secure Portugal’s dominance in the region.Vasco da Gama was best known for being the first to sail from Europe to India by rounding Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. Of that, ten of the ships were under his control, along with his uncle and nephew commanding the others. In the year 1502, Vasco da Gama, arranged another journey to India which needed around twenty ships. Vasco da Gama route to India Vasco Da Gama Ship The primary motive of Vasco da Gama’s voyage was to discover a direct sea route from Europe to the East and also to make trade relationships with the regions over there. What was the purpose of Vasco da Gama’s Voyages? More importantly, for his home country, Cabral established the first Portuguese trading post in India. The troop arrived at India in just under six months, and the expedition comprised a fire-fight with Muslim merchants, where Cabral’s crew killed 600 men on Muslim cargo vessels. Vasco da Gama – India Where did Vasco da Gama go on his second voyage? In an effort to protect the trade path with India and usurp Muslim traders, Portugal dispatch another team of vessels headed by Pedro Alvares Cabral. Vasco da Gama was considered a hero after he arrived in Lisbon. He could not establish any trade relationship with the Indians and had to leave for Portugal with just a few Hindus with him to learn about their traditions and customs. He had also mistaken the Muslims in India to be Christians.
