In all, da Gama's first journey covered nearly 24,000 miles in close to two years, and only 54 of the crew's original 170 members survived.
#Who did vasco da gama sail for full#
The first ship in the fleet didn't reach Portugal until July 10, nearly a full year after they'd left India. By early 1499, several crew members had died of scurvy and in an effort to economize his fleet, da Gama ordered one of his ships to be burned. In August 1498, da Gama and his men took to the seas again, beginning their journey back to Portugal.ĭa Gama's timing could not have been worse his departure coincided with the start of a monsoon. Eventually, da Gama and his crew were forced to barter on the waterfront in order to secure enough goods for the passage home. Not everyone embraced their presence, especially Muslim traders who clearly had no intention of giving up their trading grounds to Christian visitors. Still, the local Hindu ruler welcomed da Gama and his men, at first, and the crew ended up staying in Calicut for three months. The residents of Calicut were actually Hindu, a fact that was lost on da Gama and his crew, as they had not heard of the religion. Europeans during this time were looking to find a faster way to reach India by sailing around Africa. He was the first person to sail directly from Europe to India. But they had to navigate long ways over sea and land to reach them in Asia. Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama was commissioned by the Portuguese king to find a maritime route to the East. Gold, spices, and other riches were valuable in Europe. But da Gama's own ignorance of the region, as well as his presumption that the residents were Christians, led to some confusion. Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese explorer who sailed to India from Europe. The trip, in turn, sparked a renewed interest in seeking out a trade route to India.īy early April, the fleet reached what is now Kenya, before setting sail on a 23-day run that would take them across the Indian Ocean. This journey was significant it proved, for the first time, that the Atlantic and Indian oceans were connected. In 1487, an important breakthrough was made when Bartolomeu Dias discovered the southern tip of Africa and rounded the Cape of Good Hope. Still, for all his work, the southern portion of Africa - what lay east - remained shrouded in mystery. Henry the Navigator never did locate Prester John, but his impact on Portuguese trade along Africa's east coast during his 40 years of explorative work was undeniable. He also believed that he could find and form an alliance with Prester John, who ruled over a Christian empire somewhere in Africa. Da Gama’s attempt to trade in Calicut wasn’t very. He sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and across the Indian Ocean. The Latin text in the bottom left-hand corner of the map tells the tale of Vasco da Gama. He dispatched ships to explore the western coast of Africa to expand Portugal's trade influence. Dias' discovery paved the way for Vasco da Gama’s voyage to India. Much of that was due to Henry the Navigator, who, at his base in the southern region of the country, had brought together a team of knowledgeable mapmakers, geographers and navigators.
0 kommentar(er)
