Felt vasco da gama biography
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King Manuel I died in 1521, and King John III became ruler. This came at the cruel treatment of East African and South Asian people. Other Indian fishermen who De Gama captured and killed were also treated cruelly with many having their ears, hands and nose cut off and sent to the Zamorin king.
Despite the military supremacy of the Portuguese, the Zamorin king refused to submit and so De Gama returned in 1503, without securing a treaty and strong presence in India.
In reaching India by sea, de Gama opened up a new era of European Imperialism on the Indian sub-continent. It also took a severe toll on his sailors – with many succumbing to scurvy. To help avoid the storms and strong currents near the Gulf of Guinea, da Gama and his fleet sailed out into the South Atlantic and swung down to the Cape of Good Hope.
Da Gama’s third journey would be his last.
Later Years and Death
After he had returned from his first trip, in 1500 Vasco da Gama had married Caterina de Ataíde. They had six sons, and lived in the town Évora. The trip, in turn, sparked a renewed interest in seeking out a trade route to India.
By the late 1490s, however, King Manuel wasn't just thinking about commercial opportunities as he set his sights on the East.
I do not want to go back in time, to be the second son, the second man.
Vasco da Gama
Explorer
Age of Discovery
Quick Facts:
Portuguese explorer and navigator who found a direct sea route from Europe to Asia, and was the first European to sail to India by going around Africa.
Vasco da Gama
Portrait of Vasco da Gama by artist Antonio Manuel da Fonseca in 1838.
Finally, on February 20, 1503 da Gama began the return journey home arriving on October 11 1503. Manuel I praised da Gama’s success, and gave him money and a new title of admiral.
Subsequent Voyages
Vasco da Gama’s later voyages were less friendly with the people he met. Late in life, after the death of King Manuel, da Gama was asked to return to India, in an effort to contend with the growing corruption from Portuguese officials in the country.
By doing so, he helped open a major trade route to Asia. He demanded the Zamorin expel all Muslims from Calicut, and when he ignored this request, he began bombarding the undefended city causing great loss of life and buildings. Gabriel, to find a sailing route to India and the East.
To embark on the journey, da Gama pointed his ships south, taking advantage of the prevailing winds along the coast of Africa.
Still, for all his work, the southern portion of Africa — what lay east — remained shrouded in mystery.
In 1487, an important breakthrough was made when Bartolomeu Dias discovered the southern tip of Africa and rounded the Cape of Good Hope. In 1502, King Manuel put da Gama in charge of another Indian expedition, which sailed that February.
Ten of the ships were directly under his command, with his uncle and nephew helming the others. Da Gama accomplished the task. 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.
Still, the local Hindu ruler welcomed da Gama and his men, at first, and the crew ended up staying in Calicut for three months.
A much larger fleet, commanded by Pedro Alvares Cabral, was dispatched to capitalize on da Gama’s discoveries and secure a trading post at Calicut.
After Muslim traders killed 50 of his men, Cabral retaliated by burning 10 Muslim cargo vessels and killing the nearly 600 sailors aboard.