deGama09

=media type="custom" key="4649857"Script= = = Dom Vasco da Gama was originally from Sines, Portugal and it is believed that he was born about 1469. Vasco da Gama took many expeditions to India in his life. The expedition set sail from Lisbon on July 8, 1497, along the coast of Africa via Tenerife and the Cape Verde Islands. After reaching the coast of Sierra Leone, De Gama took a course into the open ocean, crossing the Equator and towards the South Atlantic Westerlies. On November 4, 1497, the expedition made landfall on the African coast. For over three months the ships had sailed more than 6,000 miles of open ocean. Da Gama visited an Arab controlled east African territory and disguised himself as a Muslim because he feared they may be violent towards Christians. His plan did not work and he and his crew were forced to flee Mozambique swiftly and return to their journey. Next, Da Gama and his Crew reached Mombasa and were also faced with hostility and violence, so they were forced to leave after a short time. The next stop on Da Gama’s voyage was to Malindi in February 1498. While in Malindi Da Gama used a pilot whose knowledge of the monsoon winds allowed him to bring the expedition to Calicut. Once Da Gama and his fleet of ships reached Kappad, close to Calicut, India, negotiations with the Zamorin began and were sometimes violent. Eventually Da Gama gained a letter of concession for trading rights, but he had to depart and leave goods as collateral, but he left some of his crew to set up a trading post. Da Gama then left Calicut, India and set sail for Portugal in August of 1498 and arrived January 1499. Da Gama was forced to proceed with only two ships and land in Portugal around July 1499. When Da Gama reached Portugal he was richly rewarded. He was given the title "Admiral of the Indian Seas” and his feudal rights to Sines were confirmed. Also Manuel I awarded the perpetual title of Dom to Da Gama. As a result of his exploration the contra Costa provided many goods and services for the Portuguese trade and ships sailing, and it also caused the colonization of Mozambique. On February 12, 1502 Da Gama took his second voyage with twenty warships to enforce Portuguese interests in the east. Earlier Cabral had traveled to India and found Da Gama’s men murdered; Cabral bombarded them and returned home with gold and silk. When Da Gama sailed there he waited for a ship to return from Mecca and attacked it. He then ordered that the hundreds of passengers be locked in a ship which was burned, forcing Calicut to sign a treaty. He also then destroyed twenty nine Calicut ships and achieved favorable trading concessions, he then returned to Portugal in September 1503. In 1519 Vasco De Gama became the Count of Vidigueira making Da Gama the first Portuguese count not born with royal blood. Vasco da Gama went to India again in 1524 to replace Eduardo Menezes as viceroy of the Portuguese possessions. Da Gama contracted malaria and died in Cochin on Christmas Eve in 1524. Da Gama’s body was first buried at Saint Francis Church, but was returned to Portugal in 1539. His body was buried in Vidigueira. In remembrance, the Monastery at Hieronymites was built in honor of Vasco Da Gama’s voyages to India.

= = =Vasco Da Gama: A Portuguese Explorer=

Dom Vasco da Gama was originally from Sines, Portugal and it is believed that he was born about 1469 although it is not known for sure. In Vasco da Gama’s early life he lived in a coastal town, based on the market of the seaport. Vasco da Gama was raised by Estevao da Gama and Dona Isabel Sodre. Da Gama’s father Estevao da Gama was a knight in the household of the Duke Dom Fernando Viseu. There is not much known for certain about da Gama’s early life, but based on his navigation and his explorations he obviously knew mathematics and astronomy extremely well, which leads us to believe he studied astronomers and mathematicians as a early in his life. Before da Gama’s later explorations no one had rounded the southern extremity of the continent to reach India. If this was found successfully there would be very lucrative trade routes for Portugal, they would receive many spices and become a wealthy nation. The task, was originally given to Vasco da Gama's father, but was offered to Vasco by Manuel I based on his record of protecting Portuguese trading stations along the African Gold Coast. Vasco da Gama took many expeditions to India in his life, but the first time he did it was challenging for him, for he, nor had anyone else ever taken these routes all the way to India before. “The expedition set sail from Lisbon on July 8, 1497, following the route pioneered by earlier explorers along the coast of Africa via Ten erife and the Cape Verde Islands. After reaching the coast of present day Sierra Leone, Gama took a course south into the open ocean, crossing the Equator and seeking the South Atlantic westerlies that Bartolomeu Dias had discovered in 1487. This course proved successful and on November 4, 1497, the expedition made landfall on the African coast. For over three months the ships had sailed more than 6,000 miles of open ocean, by far the longest journey out of sight of land made by the time.” Da Gama visited an Arab controlled east African territory and disguised himself as a Muslim because he feared they may be violent towards Christians. However, his plan did not work and he and his crew were forced to flee Mozambique swiftly and return to their journey. Next, Da Gama and his Crew reached Mombasa and were also faced with hostility and violence, so they were forced to leave after a short time. The next stop on Da Gama’s voyage was to Malindi in February 1498. “While in Malindi Da Gama and his crew contracted the services of a pilot whose knowledge of the monsoon winds allowed him to bring the expedition the rest of the way to Calicut, located on the southwest coast of India. Sources differ over the identity of the pilot, calling him variously a Christian, a Muslim, and a Gujarati.” Once Da Gama and his fleet of ships reached Kappad which is very near to Calicut, India negotiations with the local ruler, the Zamorin of Calicut was sometimes violent when trying to obtain favorable trade terms with them. Eventually Da Gama gained a letter of concession for trading rights, but he had to depart and leave all his goods as collateral but instead he kept his goods and left a few people to set up a trading post. Da Gama then left Calicut, India and set sail for Portugal in August of 1498. It had only taken 23 days to reach Calicut, India sailing with the monsoon winds, but now Da Gama had to sail against the Monsoon winds and landed in Malindi after 132 days (January 1499); nearly half of Da Gama’s crew died and many of the rest had scurvy. This forced Da Gama to proceed with only two ships and land back home in Portugal around July and August of 1499. When Da Gama reached Portugal he was richly rewarded as the man “who had brought to fruition a plan that had taken eighty years to fulfill. He was given the title "Admiral of the Indian Seas” and his feudal rights to Sines were confirmed. Also Manuel I awarded the perpetual title of Dom to Da Gama, as well as to his brothers and sisters and to all of their descendants.” As a result of his exploration the contra Costa provided many goods and services for the Portuguese trade and ships sailing, and it also led to the colonization of Mozambique by Portugal. On February 12, 1502 Da Gama took his second voyage with twenty warships and the goal was to enforce Portuguese interests in the east. Before this happened though, another explorer Cabral had traveled to India and found Da Gama’s men murdered, Cabral bombarded them and returned home with gold and silk. When Da Gama sailed there he waited for a ship to return from Mecca and seized all the merchandise on it. He then ordered that the hundreds of passengers be locked in a ship which was burned, forcing Calicut to sign a treaty. He also then destroyed twenty nine Calicut ships and achieved favorable trading concessions, he then returned to Portugal in September 1503. In 1519 Vasco De Gama became the Count of Vidigueira which granted Da Gama and his heirs all the revenues and privileges related, and Da Gama was the first Portuguese count not born with royal blood.  “ Vasco da Gama was sent to the subcontinent once more in 1524. The intention was that he was to replace the incompetent Eduardo de Menezes as viceroy (representative) of the Portuguese possessions, but Gama contracted malaria not long after arriving in Goa and died in the city of Cochin on Christmas Eve in 1524.” Vasco Da Gama’s body was first buried at Saint Francis Church, but his remains were returned to Portugal in 1539. His body was buried in Vidigueira in a casket decorated in gold and jewels. Finally, in remembrance, the Monastery at Hieronymites was built in honor of Vasco Da Gama’s voyages to India.  

===Vasco Da Gama. //Elizabethan Era//. Retrieved (2009, September 14) from http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/vasco-da-gama.htm. (2008). Gama, Vasco da. //Encyclopedia of World history//. New York: Facts on File Inc..===