Vasco da Gama Expedition from Europe to India
The success of Dias and Covilha’s message about the existence of an ocean in northeastern Africa gave reason to consider it possible to go around Africa from the south and reach India by sea.
Preparations for the next expedition began with the new King Manuel I, on whose instructions, under the leadership of Dias, two large carracks, San Gabriel and San Rafael, were built with unusual quadratic sails, the Berrio caravel with oblique sails and a transport vessel for transportation of supplies under the command of Gonzalu Nunish.
All of them were well equipped with provisions, weapons, navigation devices. Among the 170 members of the expedition, led by a 29-year-old experienced captain of Vasco da Gama, were a professional astronomer, the best pilots, translators from Arabic and African languages, and ten convicted criminals to perform unforeseen complex tasks.
On July 8, 1497, the expedition left Lisbon and at the end of November reached the Cape of Good Hope, having rounded that stopped on the coast. It was necessary to burn a transport ship that could not be repaired, and a significant number of dead from scurvy did not allow to have full crews for all four ships.
On December 25, the expedition reached the present-day Natal province in South Africa and, continuing to move north along the coast of Africa, in late February 1498 approached the city of Mombasa, off the coast of which robbed several Arab ships.
In Malindi, where the Portuguese first met Indian merchants, an experienced pilot was hired, with the help of which Vasco da Gama ships reached India on May 20, 1498. Having received permission to open a trading post, the Portuguese, nevertheless, could not interest local merchants with their goods and on August 29 sailed to their homeland, which they reached only a year later.
Despite the absence of a trade agreement with Calicut, Vasco da Gama was greeted as a winner - a triumphal procession and festivities were organized in his honor. In December 1498, Manuel I conferred Vasco da Gama a title of nobility, transferred the city of Sines to the hereditary feud, granted him a life-long pension, and in 1502 he awarded the title “Admiral of the Seas of Arabia, Persia, India and the whole East”.
The success of da Gama, who was the first European to reach India by sea, enabled Portugal in the 16th century to become a colonial empire, which included not only Asian possessions, but also vast territories in Africa and South America.
Preparations for the next expedition began with the new King Manuel I, on whose instructions, under the leadership of Dias, two large carracks, San Gabriel and San Rafael, were built with unusual quadratic sails, the Berrio caravel with oblique sails and a transport vessel for transportation of supplies under the command of Gonzalu Nunish.
All of them were well equipped with provisions, weapons, navigation devices. Among the 170 members of the expedition, led by a 29-year-old experienced captain of Vasco da Gama, were a professional astronomer, the best pilots, translators from Arabic and African languages, and ten convicted criminals to perform unforeseen complex tasks.
On July 8, 1497, the expedition left Lisbon and at the end of November reached the Cape of Good Hope, having rounded that stopped on the coast. It was necessary to burn a transport ship that could not be repaired, and a significant number of dead from scurvy did not allow to have full crews for all four ships.
Photo © jnsm.com.ua
On December 25, the expedition reached the present-day Natal province in South Africa and, continuing to move north along the coast of Africa, in late February 1498 approached the city of Mombasa, off the coast of which robbed several Arab ships.
In Malindi, where the Portuguese first met Indian merchants, an experienced pilot was hired, with the help of which Vasco da Gama ships reached India on May 20, 1498. Having received permission to open a trading post, the Portuguese, nevertheless, could not interest local merchants with their goods and on August 29 sailed to their homeland, which they reached only a year later.
Despite the absence of a trade agreement with Calicut, Vasco da Gama was greeted as a winner - a triumphal procession and festivities were organized in his honor. In December 1498, Manuel I conferred Vasco da Gama a title of nobility, transferred the city of Sines to the hereditary feud, granted him a life-long pension, and in 1502 he awarded the title “Admiral of the Seas of Arabia, Persia, India and the whole East”.
The success of da Gama, who was the first European to reach India by sea, enabled Portugal in the 16th century to become a colonial empire, which included not only Asian possessions, but also vast territories in Africa and South America.
