Vasco da gama children
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Vasco da Gama Biography
Introduction
Vasco da Gama was born in 1460 to a wealthy Portuguese family in Sines, Portugal. Vasco’s father was also an explorer and was supposed to make the epic journey from Portugal to India that would eventually make his son famous. He died, however, before he could successfully complete the journey. In the late 1400s, Portugal was desperately trying to find a sea route to Asia so they could obtain spices for cheap prices. Explorers such as Bartholomeu Dias had made some progress in making the journey, but none had been able to sail around the southern tip of Africa at the Cape of Good Hope (where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans met) and into the Indian Ocean.
da Gama leaving Lisbon, Portugal |
Sailing to India
In 1497, Portuguese King Manuel I financed a voyage led by Vasco da Gama. Many, however, still believed the trip to be impossible because they did not think the Atlantic Ocean connected with the Indian Ocean. Da Gama believed it was possible and left Lisbon, Portugal, on July 8, 1497, with four ships full of criminal
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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 | |
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Anonymous portrait, c. 1525 | |
| In office 5 September 1524 – 24 December 1524 | |
| Monarch | John III of Portugal |
| Preceded by | Duarte de Menezes |
| Succeeded by | Henrique de Meneses |
| Born | c. 1460 Sines, Alentejo, Kingdom of Portugal |
| Died | 24 December 1524 Cochin, Kingdom of Cochin |
| Cause of death | Malaria |
| Resting place | Jerónimos Monastery, Lisbon, Portugal |
| Spouse | Catarina de Ataíde |
| Children | ...among others |
| Parents | |
| Occupation | Explorer, 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
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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
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