Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama was born in 1469 in Sines, Portugal. He was the town's governor's son. Vasco was also educated as a nobleman. Vasco da Gama was served in the court of King Jao the second. The da Gama's were minor aristocrats. Vasco's parents were Estevoa da Gama (father) and Dona Isabel Sodre (mother). They had five sons. Vasco was the third, and they had one daughter. However at that time female births were not recorded. So, Vasco has six siblings altogether, he has five brothers and one sister. At the age of fifteen, he became a sailor. He studied astronomy and navigation. He became a sea officer or a naval. In his twenties, Vasco joined the Portuguese military campaign in North Africa. It was commonly known for sons of noble families to enter into military service.
Do you know how Vasco da Gama became an explorer? His father, Estevoa da Gama was given a task. Estevoa's task was to trade route to India. However, the worse part was that he didn't get to begin the expedition because he died. King Emanuel asked Paulo da Gama which is Vasco da Gama's brother, to begin the mission. But, he didn't want to, he refused to. So then, King Emanuel asked Vasco da Gama to complete the mission. Vasco said yes. King Emanuel did this because Vasco had experienced the field as a sea officer.
Vasco da Gama set sail on July 8, 1497. He used four ships. The ships that he used were Sao Gabriel, Sao Rafael, Berrio, and the Storage ship. On July 17, the ships were separated in a deep fog. But, on July 26, they had reached the Cape Verde Islands. After 3 months, Vasco and his crew entered a South African waterway that they named Bay of St. Helena. It was thirty miles north of Cape of Good Hope. He made different stops along the coast of Africa in trading centers such as Mombasa, Mozambique, Malindi, Kenya, and Quilmana. This was an amazing accomplishment. Da Gama probably went on two or more voyages of exploration.
When the ships sailed along the East coast of Africa, there were a lot of problems between the Portuguese and the Muslims. They had already found trading centers along the coast. Muslim traders in Mombasa and Mozambique didn't want conflict among their trade centers. They noticed the Portuguese as a threat and they tried to take the ships. In Malindi, the Portuguese were well received because the ruler was trying or hoping to gain ally over Mombasa.
His discovery allowed for Europeans to trade directly with India and Asia. They did this by bypassing the overland route through the Middle East. This allowed Portugal to control the cheapest and fastest route to Asia. This gave Portugal great power and wealth. It took Vasco da Gama a few days to get there but, I exactly don't know how many days. Da Gama met Indians when he reached India.
They returned from their trip so long because many of the sailors died of diseases. When Vasco returned from the trip, he was rewarded with great celebration. He was greeted with respect and kindness. He was treated like this because he made Portugal rich and famous. Vasco da Gama was looked upon as a hero, and King Emanuel awarded him with titles and a large income. As i mentioned before, Portugal became wealthy and powerful! It's all thanks to Vasco da Gama! Vasco is now very well known because of his outstanding accomplishment that he has made for Portugal!
