An Essay About Vasco Da Gama

Vasco da Gama was born into a family with a very high social status around 1469 in Sines, Portugal; however, very little is known about his early life and family. All that is known about Vasco’s family is the fact that he had four brothers, one sister, and that their father Estevao da Gama was the commander of a major fort in Sines. When Vasco da Gama came of age he joined the navy, where he would be taught how to navigate the navy’s ships. In 1492, King John II of Portugal sent Vasco da Gama at only the age of about 23 to south of Lisbon to seize the French ships as revenge to the French government for interfering with Portuguese shipping. By doing so, this would earn Vasco the reputation of being a fearless navigator and a ruthless sailor. Although still very inexperienced, in 1497 Vasco da Gama was chosen to lead the first expedition to India. He took four vessels to embark on the journey with him, including his own flagship the St. Gabriel. He chose to sail south along the prevailing winds of Africa in hopes of the journey taking less time than it should. After a few months of his travels, Vasco and his crew arrived at what is now known as Mozambique because the majority of his crew had come down with scurvy. Consequently, they had to reside there for nearly an entire month to rest and repair. Eventually, Vasco and

Vasco and his crew were given orders to secure Portuguese dominance in India. What they did next was one of the biggest and most gruesome massacres in the Exploration Age history. They massacred villages up and down the African coast, set Muslim ships on fire filled with people returning from Mecca, and moved down to Calicut to capture and kill almost 40 hostages. In February, 1503 the crew returned home after making an alliance with a local ruler in Cochin, India; just south of