Vasco da Gama Biography

Vasco de Gama was a Portuguese explorer and navigator, and was the first man to sail directly from Europe to India. De Gama was born into a noble family, and when he was 37 he was appointed by the Portuguese government to try and find a shipping route between Europe and Asia. De Gama's expedition sailed down the west coast of Africa and landed on the South African coast, establishing a shipping route that is still used to this day. Following this, the expedition rounded the Cape of Good Hope and continued up the east coast of Africa, and landed on the Indian coast. This was the first sea-only shipping route ever established from Europe to Asia, and a trading post was established at Calicut in India. On his return to Portugal, De Gama discovered that the Calicut outpost had been attacked, and he set sail for India again immediately, and forced the ruler of Calicut to make peace with the Portuguese. On his journey home, he established new trading posts in what is now known as Mozambique. De Gama continued to advise the King of Portugal on Indian policies for the next 20 years, and was then made Portuguese Viceroy to India, and was sent back to India to deal with growing corruption in the Portuguese authorities there. He died shortly after arriving, but his legacy as a pioneer of modern colonialism and his expansion of the Portuguese trade empire endures to this day.