On May 17, 1498, Vasco da Gama became the first European to land in India. Vasco Da Gama was a Portuguese explorer and navigator who was commanded by King Emanuel in 1497 to lead a new expedition to find a new route to India by sea around Africa. 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. These things were proof that there were great treasures in India for people to discover. In Mozambique, Da Gama learned about their trade with the Arabs and found four vessels of gold, silver and spices on the port. Vasco Da Gama on his first voyage, when he got to India, he bought spices and silk cloth. He was born around 1469 in Sines, a seaport in the southwest coast of Portugal, or in one of the nearby villages (the most likely candidate is Salas, where after his return from his first voyage to India he ordered the construction of a church).He was the second or third child of Estêvão da Gama and Isabel de Sodré. On March 2, the fleet reached the Island of Mozambique. Few details are known about Vasco da Gamas early life. On its way to Mozambique, the fleet took rest at one place, where they stayed for a month. 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. By crossing various rivers, the fleet headed towards Mozambique. What did Vasco da Gama accomplish 1498 Vasco da Gama was best known for being the first to sail from Europe to India by rounding Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. Arrival of Vasco da Gama Huge number of sailors and merchants from the west tried to discover a sea route to India. 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. Vasco da Gama, was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India. 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. The monument commemorates the 500th anniversary of the voyage of explorer, Vasco da Gama (1469 - 1525), the Portuguese navigator whose voyages linked Europe with the Indian Ocean. 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. Vasco Da Gama was the first European to find an ocean trading route to. 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. Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow. Vasco da Gama landed in Calicut, which is now known as Kozhikode.His discovery of this sea route helped the Portuguese establish a long-lasting colonial empire in Asia and Africa. From neighborhoods and parks to streets and parking, find what you need in your community and report your concerns. He accomplished what many explorers before him could not do. Vasco De Gama was the first European to find an ocean trading route to India.
What discoveries did Vasco da Gama discover?.