what did vasco da gama hope to find in india

It was thought that there may be a way around the Cape and to the northeast towards India. The King of Portugal figured if he could find a way to get to India by sailing on the ocean, he would become rich trading spices in Europe.Īn explorer by the name of Bartolomeu Dias had discovered the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa. Spices from India were very popular in Europe, however, the only way to travel from Europe to India was over land. He followed in his father's footsteps and soon commanded ships in the king's name. Vasco da Gama was born in a small coastal town in Portugal named Sines. He led the first expedition that traveled from Europe to India by sailing around Africa. Vasco da Gama (1460 - 1524) was a Portuguese explorer.

Best known for: The first European to sail from Europe to India around Africa.

He was buried in a Franciscan monastery near the Old Fort. Vasco da Gama died in (Cochin) India on the 24th December 1524.

Having loaded up with spices Da Gama returned and finally reached Lisbon on the 9th September 1499. Vasco de Gama shouted, 'For Christ and spices!' On setting his foot on South Asian soils on the dawn of On the 20th May 1498 they reached Calicut and docked on the coast of Keraka, becoming the first Europeans to set foot in India. On 16 December 1497 the fleet arrived at the furthest landing point of Dias, gave the Natal-part of the name of the KwaZulu-Natal province on Christmas Day, and reached by the end of January, 1498, the month of the Zambesi, which was in the territory controlled by the Arabian maritime commercial association. On the 25th of November they anchored in Mossel Bay. They reached the Cape of Good Hope region on the 7th November 1497, and rounded the Cape on the 22nd November 1497.

At the beginning of November 1497 the fleet anchored in St. On the 8th July 1497 four ships left Lisbon - the Sao Gabriel, on which da Gama sailed, the Sao Rafael, the Berrio, and a storeship. This expedition followed the pioneering expedition of Bartholomeu Dias who rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1488.

De Gama was serving as a gentleman at court when he was chosen to lead the expedition to India, in January 1497. Vasco was born, circa 1469, to a noble family (his father was Estêvão da Gama and his mother was Isabel Sodré) in Sines, Province of Alemtejo, Portugal.ĭa Gama’s father had originally been chosen by King João II to make this historic voyage, but both passed away before the project could be carried into execution.

Vasco de Gama was a Portuguese navigator, famed for leading an expedition which opened the sea route from Europe via the Cape of Good Hope to India.

What did vasco da gama hope to find in india