Vasco da Gama • 1460 or 1469 – 24 December 1524 • Portuguese explorer • One of the most successful in the Age of Discovery • Commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India. Vasco da Gama was born 1460 or 1469 in Sines. He is one of the most famous and celebrated explorers from the Discovery Ages, being the first European to reach India through sea.
First voyage to India • His journey started in Cape and continued in Mombasa, Kenya. Then he went to Malindi, and the last stop in his journey was Calicut, India. • The navigator was received with traditional hospitality, but an interview with the Zamorin failed to produce any concrete results. • Nevertheless, da Gama's expedition was successful beyond all reasonable expectation, bringing in cargo that was worth sixty times the cost of the expedition.
Second voyage to India • The follow-up expedition, the Second India Armada, started in 1500 under the command Pedro Álvares Cabra. • To subjugate India, in 1502, the King Manuel sent a squadron led by Vasco da Gama's fleet opened contact with the East African gold port of Sofala • Vasco da Gama arrived back in Portugal in September 1503 with success. As a result, da Gama received demesne and a feudal title in 1519.
Third voyage to India • Setting out in April 1524, with a fleet of fourteen ships, Vasco da Gama took as his flagship on his last journey to India, • After a troubled journey , he arrived in India in September. There he caught up malaria. • Da Gama died in the city of Cochin on Christmas Eve in 1524, three months after his arrival.
Titles and honours of Vasko da Gama Over his numerous years serving the Portuguese crown, da Gama was rewarded with many different titles, distinctions, and offices: - Admiral of the Seas of Arabia, Persia, India and all the Orient - Title as chief of the Portuguese India Armadas - 2 nd Viceroy of India - Title of office as colonial head of Portuguese India - 1 st Count of Vidigueira - Title of Portuguese nobility Da Gama’s signature