Vasco da Gama : Biography
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| Vasco Da Gama
Vasco da Gama :
Biography
Explorer Vasco da Gama was born in
Sines, Portugal, around 1460. In 1497, he was commissioned by the Portuguese
king to find a maritime route to the East. His success in doing so proved to be
one of the more instrumental moments in the history of navigation. He
subsequently made two other voyages to India, and was appointed as Portuguese
viceroy in India in 1524.
Early Years
Explorer Vasco da Gama was born into a
noble family around 1460 in Sines, Portugal. Little is known about his
upbringing except that he was the third son of Estêvão da Gama, who was
commander of the fortress in Sines in the southwestern pocket of Portugal. When
he was old enough, young Vasco da Gama joined the navy, where was taught how to
navigate.
Known as a tough and fearless
navigator, da Gama solidified his reputation as a reputable sailor when, in
1492, King John II of Portugal dispatched him to the south of Lisbon and then
to the Algarve region of the country, to seize French ships as an act of
vengeance against the French government for disrupting Portuguese shipping.
Following da Gama's completion of King
John II's orders, in 1495, King Manuel took the throne, and the country revived
its earlier mission to find a direct trade route to India. By this time,
Portugal had established itself as one of the most powerful maritime countries
in Europe.
Much of that was due to Henry the
Navigator, who, at his base in the southern region of the country, had brought
together a team of knowledgeable mapmakers, geographers and navigators. He
dispatched ships to explore the western coast of Africa to expand Portugal's
trade influence. He also believed that he could find and form an alliance with
Prester John, who ruled over a Christian empire somewhere in Africa. Henry the
Navigator never did locate Prester John, but his impact on Portuguese trade
along Africa's east coast during his 40 years of explorative work was undeniable.
Still, for all his work, the southern portion of Africa—what lay east—remained
shrouded in mystery.
In 1487, an important breakthrough was
made when Bartolomeu Dias discovered the southern tip of Africa and rounded the
Cape of Good Hope. This journey was significant; it proved, for the first time,
that the Atlantic and Indian oceans were connected. The trip, in turn, sparked
a renewed interest in seeking out a trade route to India.
By the late 1490s, however, King
Manuel wasn't just thinking about commercial opportunities as he set his sights
on the East. In fact, his impetus for finding a route was driven less by a
desire to secure for more lucrative trading grounds for his country, and more
by a quest to conquer Islam and establish himself as the king of Jerusalem.
First Voyage
Historians know little about why
exactly da Gama, still an inexperienced explorer, was chosen to lead the
expedition to India in 1497. On July 8 of that year, he captained a team of
four vessels, including his flagship, the 200-ton St. Gabriel, to find a sailing
route to India and the East.
To embark on the journey, da Gama
pointed his ships south, taking advantage of the prevailing winds along the
coast of Africa. His choice of direction was also a bit of a rebuke to Christopher
Columbus, who had believed he'd found a route to India by sailing east.
Following several months of sailing,
he rounded the Cape of Good Hope and began making his way up the eastern coast
of Africa, toward the uncharted waters of the Indian Ocean. By January, as the
fleet neared what is now Mozambique, many of da Gama's crewmembers were sick
with scurvy, forcing the expedition to anchor for rest and repairs for nearly
one month.
In early March of 1498, da Gama and
his crew dropped their anchors in the port of Mozambique, a Muslim city-state
that sat on the outskirts of the east coast of Africa and was dominated by
Muslim traders. Here, da Gama was turned back by the ruling sultan, who felt
offended by the explorer's modest gifts.
By early April, the fleet reached what
is now Kenya, before setting sail on a 23-day run that would take them across
the Indian Ocean. They reached Calicut, India, on May 20. But da Gama's own
ignorance of the region, as well as his presumption that the residents were
Christians, led to some confusion. The residents of Calicut were actually
Hindu, a fact that was lost on da Gama and his crew, as they had not heard of
the religion.
Still, the local Hindu ruler welcomed
da Gama and his men, at first, and the crew ended up staying in Calicut for
three months. Not everyone embraced their presence, especially Muslim traders
who clearly had no intention of giving up their trading grounds to Christian
visitors. Eventually, da Gama and his crew were forced to barter on the
waterfront in order to secure enough goods for the passage home. In August of
1498, da Gama and his men took to the seas again, beginning their journey back
to Portugal.
Da Gama's timing could not have been
worse; his departure coincided with the start of a monsoon. By early 1499,
several crewmembers had died of scurvy and in an effort to economize his fleet,
da Gama ordered one of his ships to be burned. The first ship in the fleet
didn't reach Portugal until July 10, nearly a full year after they'd left
India.
In all, da Gama's first journey
covered nearly 24,000 miles in close to two years, and only 54 of the crew's
original 170 members survived.
Second Voyage
When da Gama returned to Lisbon, he
was greeted as a hero. In an effort to secure the trade route with India and
usurp Muslim traders, Portugal dispatched another team of vessels, headed by
Pedro Álvares Cabral. The crew reached India in just six months, and the voyage
included a firefight with Muslim merchants, where Cabral's crew killed 600 men
on Muslim cargo vessels. More important for his home country, Cabral
established the first Portuguese trading post in India.
In 1502, Vasco da Gama helmed another
journey to India that included 20 ships. Ten of the ships were directly under
his command, with his uncle and nephew helming the others. In the wake of
Cabral's success and battles, the king charged da Gama to further secure
Portugal's dominance in the region.
To do so, da Gama embarked on one of
the most gruesome massacres of the exploration age. He and his crew terrorized
Muslim ports up and down the African east coast, and at one point, set ablaze a
Muslim ship returning from Mecca, killing the several hundreds of people
(including women and children) who were on board. Next, the crew moved to
Calicut, where they wrecked the city's trade port and killed 38 hostages. From
there, they moved to the city of Cochin, a city south of Calicut, where da Gama
formed an alliance with the local ruler.
Finally, on February 20, 1503, da Gama
and his crew began to make their way home. They reached Portugal on October 11
of that year.
Later Years
Little was recorded about da Gama's
return home and the reception that followed, though it has been speculated that
the explorer felt miffed at the recognition and compensation for his exploits.
Married at this time, and the father
of six sons, da Gama settled into retirement and family life. He maintained
contact with King Manuel, advising him on Indian matters, and was named count
of Vidigueira in 1519. Late in life, after the death of King Manuel, da Gama
was asked to return to India, in an effort to contend with the growing
corruption from Portuguese officials in the country. In 1524, King John III
named da Gama Portuguese viceroy in India.
That same year, da Gama died in
Cochin—the result, it has been speculated, from possibly overworking himself.
His body was sailed back to Portugal, and buried there, in 1538.
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