The arrival of Portuguese in India encouraged many other European countries to sail eastwards. It was on 20 th May 1498 Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama set foot on the west coast of India. Vasco da Gama sailed south and east and found what the others were looking for. Who came to India first Dutch or British?Įuropean Powers That Came To India Europeans The Portuguese nobleman Vasco da Gama (1460-1524) sailed from Lisbon in 1497 on a mission to reach India and open a sea route from Europe to the East. He subsequently made two other voyages to India and was appointed as Portuguese viceroy in India in 1524. His success in doing so proved to be one of the more instrumental moments in the history of navigation. In 1497, explorer Vasco da Gama was commissioned by the Portuguese king to find a maritime route to the East. What discoveries did Vasco da Gama discover?ĭa Gama’s discovery of the sea route to India opened the way for an age of global imperialism and enabled the Portuguese to establish a long-lasting colonial empire in Asia. Over the course of two voyages, beginning in 14, da Gama landed and traded in locales along the coast of southern Africa before reaching India on May 20, 1498. Vasco da Gama was best known for being the first to sail from Europe to India by rounding Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. When did Vasco da Gama reach St Helena?.What did Francisco da Gama do for Portugal?.Where can I find the 1898 Vasco da Gama stamp?.Who came to India first Dutch or British?.Where did Vasco da Gama explore and why?.What discoveries did Vasco da Gama discover?.In 1539, his body was taken back to Portugal for burial. Arriving in Cochin, he fell ill and died on 24 December 1524. After 20 years at home, in 1524, he was nominated as Portuguese viceroy in India and sent to deal with the mounting corruption among Portuguese authorities there.
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He forced the ruler of Calicut to make peace and, on his return voyage along the east African coast established Portuguese trading posts in what is now Mozambique.īack in Portugal, da Gama was granted further privileges and revenues and continued to advise the king on Indian matters. After hearing of the massacre of all those at the trading post, da Gama sailed for India again in 1502 attacking Arab Muslim ships he met on the way. The king immediately dispatched another expedition to secure a trading post at Calicut. This voyage launched the all-water route from Europe to Asia.ĭa Gama returned to Portugal. The expedition then rounded the Cape of Good and, after sailing up the coast of east Africa, took on an Arab navigator who helped them reach the Indian coast, at Calicut (now Kozhikode) in May 1498. This established a route still followed by sailing vessels.
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Setting off in July 1497, da Gama's expedition took advantage of the prevailing winds by sailing south down the coast of Africa, then veering far out into the Atlantic and swinging back in an arc to arrive off the southern African coast. In 1497, he was appointed to command an expedition equipped by the Portuguese government, whose intention was to find a maritime route to the East. Vasco da Gama was born in about 1460 into a noble family. © Da Gama was a Portuguese explorer and navigator, and the first person to sail directly from Europe to India.