It was a Portuguese custom to build a marble pillar as proof of a discovery. The voyage is dramatized and filled with elements of mysticism in the epic and da Gama himself is portrayed as a grandiose orator and divinely inspired captain. Several decades after his pioneering expedition, da Gama was made a divine legend in the Portuguese national epic “Lusiad” by Luis de Camoes. Several years later in 1538, one of his sons, Dom Pedreo da Silva Gama, exhumed the body and returned it to Portugal where it found its final resting place the Jazigo dos Gama. Two years after he set sail from Lisbon, da Gama returned, loaded with the rich spices of the East, but also having lost more than half his crew to the dreaded disease.Īfter his death in Cochin, Vasco da Gama was first buried with honours in Cochin, in the monastery of Santo Antonio in 1524. These were engraved upon his epitaph when he was buried in his final resting place in Portugal.ĭa Gama’s maiden voyage records the first occurrence of an epidemic known as “sea scurvy”.
This expedition has therefore been labelled as the most ruthless and violent in the history of maritime exploration.įollowing his discovery of India, King Manuel I of Portugal bestowed on Vasco da Gama, titles of Admiral of the Indian Ocean, Viceroy of Portugal to India, as well as the court title of Dom, or Count, among other accolades and presents of wealth. This led to da Gama’s second expedition, one of vengeance and great violence, at the end of which the Zamorin (the local ruler) was forced to establish peace and open trading relations with the Portuguese. The Moors, or Muslim traders, who monopolized Eastern spice trade at the time opposed the establishment of Portuguese trade centers. It was only on the second expedition that da Gama was able to fully satisfy their expectations of trade. They were scorned by the rulers and the local people of the port cities they landed in because of the lack of richness in their goods.
The Portuguese explorer and his crew greatly underestimated the trading-capacity of the places they were set to explore. Da Gama and his retinue are believed to have prayed in this place. The Hindu temple was considered a local variation of a chapel and the goddess enshrined in the temple was mistaken for the local interpretation of “Our Lady”. In fact, on landing at the coast of Calicut, the natives were mistaken for Christians, since da Gama and his men had never heard of the Hindu religion. This voyage was not meant only for economic gain – it was a partly missionary expedition as well. Many of the economic, political, and religious issues that confronted da Gama have contemporary relevance today.According to historians, da Gama is said to have named “Christians and spices” as the goal of his expedition. In his travels and in court life, da Gama demonstrated a single-minded zeal in navigating complex situations sometimes with brutal force. Da Gama was a new type of crusader who sought both riches and the conversion of those he encountered to Christianity. His epic first voyage to India from 1497-1499 was a seminal event in developing the beginnings of the global economy and society in which we live today. He played a pivotal role in expanding the Portuguese Empire along the west coast of Africa, India, and eventually the entire Indian Ocean through his expeditions bringing back valuable spices from Asia. At the same time, each biography relates the life of its subject to the broader themes and developments of the times.ĭeified by some and vilified by others, Vasco Da Gama was born a minor noble who rose to a position of great wealth, prestige, and power during the golden age of Portuguese maritime exploration in the 15th and 16th century.
Facts about vasco da gama series#
Paperback, brief and inexpensive, each interpretative biography in this series focuses on a figure whose actions and ideas significantly influenced the course of World history. The titles in the Library of World Biography series make ideal supplements for World History survey courses or other courses in the history curriculum where figures in history are explored. The titles in the Library of World Biography series make ideal supplements for World History survey cours This biography traces the dramatic life and career of Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese explorer whose voyages played a pivotal role in expanding the Portuguese empire and creating an impressive Asian spice trade during the age of exploration in the 15th and 16th century.