Where is vasco da gama from

Vasco da Gama

Portuguese explorer of Africa and India

For other uses, see Vasco da Gama (disambiguation).

His Lordship

The Count of Vidigueira

Admiral of the Seas of Arabia, Persia, India and the Entire Orient

Anonymous portrait, c. 1525

In office
5 September 1524 – 24 December 1524
MonarchJohn III of Portugal
Preceded byDuarte de Menezes
Succeeded byHenrique de Meneses
Bornc. 1460
Sines, Alentejo, Kingdom of Portugal
Died24 December 1524
Cochin, Kingdom of Cochin
Cause of deathMalaria
Resting placeJerónimos Monastery, Lisbon, Portugal
SpouseCatarina de Ataíde
Children...among others
Parents
OccupationExplorer, Viceroy of India
Signature

Vasco da Gama (VAS-koo də GA(H)M-ə;[1][2]European Portuguese:[ˈvaʃkuðɐˈɣɐmɐ]; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the first European to reach India by sea.[3]

His initial voyage to India by way of the Cape of Good Hope[3] (149

Vasco da Gama’s Early Life and First Voyage to India

Born circa 1460, Vasco da Gama was the son of a minor nobleman who commanded the fortress at Sines, located on the coast of the Alentejo province in southwestern Portugal. Little else is known about his early life, but in 1492 King John II sent da Gama to the port city of Setubal (south of Lisbon) and to the Algarve region to seize French ships in retaliation for French attacks on Portuguese shipping interests.

Did you know? By the time Vasco da Gama returned from his first voyage to India in 1499, he had spent more than two years away from home, including 300 days at sea, and had traveled some 24,000 miles. Only 54 of his original crew of 170 men returned with him; the majority (including da Gama's brother Paolo) had died of illnesses such as scurvy.

In 1497, John’s successor, King Manuel I (crowned in 1495), chose da Gama to lead a Portuguese fleet to India in search of a maritime route from Western Europe to the East. At the time, the Muslims held a monopoly of trade with India and other Eastern nations, thanks to the

Vasco da Gama (c.1460 - 1524)

Vasco da Gama  ©Da Gama was a Portuguese explorer and navigator, and the first person to sail directly from Europe to India.

Vasco da Gama was born in about 1460 into a noble family. Little is known of his early life. In 1497, he was appointed to command an expedition equipped by the Portuguese government, whose intention was to find a maritime route to the East.

Setting off in July 1497, da Gama's expedition took advantage of the prevailing winds by sailing south down the coast of Africa, then veering far out into the Atlantic and swinging back in an arc to arrive off the southern African coast. This established a route still followed by sailing vessels. The expedition then rounded the Cape of Good and, after sailing up the coast of east Africa, took on an Arab navigator who helped them reach the Indian coast, at Calicut (now Kozhikode) in May 1498. This voyage launched the all-water route from Europe to Asia.

Da Gama returned to Portugal. The king immediately dispatched another expedition to secure a trading post at Calicut. After hearing

Copyright ©dadtori.pages.dev 2025