From rigorous voyages at sea, to rugged journeys across land, explorers have helped shape the world’s achievements and history into what they have transpired to today through natural curiosity and crave for adventure. One such adventurer that we know of today as Vasco da Gama created a turning point in the history of exploring when he put to test the bravery of man by sailing into the uncharted waters of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans in hopes of finding a route to India. His discovery opened a door for exploration and trade while establishing a foundation for others to live up to and strive for.
Before his life as an explorer was initiated, Vasco da Gama’s early years greatly helped to contribute to his later adventurous life at sea. Born in 1460, da Gama was raised in Sines, Portugal, by his mother, Isabel Sodre, and his father, Estevao da Gama. During his childhood, his two closest playmates were his brother, Paulo da Gama, and Juan Ponce de Leon, who lived in the same neighborhood as da Gama and also became a famous explorer later on. Da Gama’s father was a distinguished and well-known military figure, yet instead of following in his father’s footsteps like many expected, da Gama chose to pursue his love for the sea. Growing up in the coastal city of Sines, da Gama spent a great majority of his time as a child around sailors and fishing boats enabling him to absorb many sailing and navigation skills. With pre-established sailing skills under his belt, da Gama made the decision to join the navy as soon as he became old enough where he earned his reputation as a tough and fearless navigator. In 1492, King John II appointed da Gama as commander of an attack against French ships for revenge against the French government as a resul...
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...ife after the passing of King Manuel, King John III requested da Gama’s leadership in another voyage to India to address the growing corruption of Portuguese trade. Da Gama once again set sail for India in 1524, and before departure from Portugal, da Gama was given the noble title Viceroy allowing him to govern the colonies in India. Upon arrival, da Gama fell ill with and unknown sickness while in Cochin, India and sadly passed away leaving behind a legacy for others to admire and aspire toward.
Although da Gama’s discovery of the trade route to India proved a tragedy for Indians in later years, he succeeded in creating a path for future explorers to follow while expanding the knowledge of the world. His expedition proved that any journey or goal, be it land or sea, could be accomplished with instilled will and unwavering determination. As quoted by da Gama himself
He brings out the idea that past Historians saw the action of a few men, as heroic act. In other to convey his point of view, Restall brings up examples of theses exceptional man. The first person he mentions is Christopher Columbus. According to him Columbus was not exceptional or unique, he was just at the right place at the right time. As Restall puts it, the most exceptional thing about Columbus’ geographical vision was that it was wrong.” (p.27). Restall explains that Columbus based his ideas on patterns visualized by previous Portuguese Geographer. Columbus initially set out to find a shorter route to India when he stumbled upon a new land. He also brings up Cortes, who is known for the probonza de merito, which is a system that would give rewards to conquistadores for their great accomplishments. With this example, Restall shows that by that the conquistadores had encouragement to omit the negatives and enhance the positive aspects of their daily lives. With this entire different example, Restall show that exaggeration concealed the conquistadores failures making them to be
In the end of Cabeza De Vacas wild journey he managed to escape from his slave owner and flee the Island safely. There were a few ups and downs of his plan but in the end, he came back to his country in a well state. Throughout it he managed to have some positive outcomes like healing and saving lives, as well as working on his survival and wilderness skills. He befriended lots of fellow Indians and at the end, he was sure to be the last man
The king demanded him to go back with bigger and more lavish gifts. They made an arrangement with the Zamorin to trade in Calicut, while this was successful. When they arrived they were confronted by Muslim traders in Calicut which ended up with a Portuguese massacre and a war between the Portugal and Calicut for many years. This means that when The Portuguese tried to trade with Calicut Gama was denied of any profit which ruined Gama. So he returned to his homeland empty handed with no profit. The king demanded him to go back and try again with even more insightful grifts. When he returned with more gifts his men were slaughtered by Muslims. Which lead to war between Calicut and Portugal. This evidence supports the claim that there was conflict between the Portuguese and the people at Calicut, which ended with a killing of many Portuguese people from the people of Calicut committing war on them. All of this lead a man by the name of Zheng He took some safety precautions. In the article, “ Zheng He’s Ship,” written by Ibn Battuta, from 1325-1354. Zheng’s had 317 ships carrying 28,000 men in total each one contained 1,000 men per ship. Each ship accommodated 600 sailors and 400 soldiers, including archers, having shields, and Arbalists. Who had crossbows who threw Naphtha which were
Reading both passages of the two explorers, Christopher Columbus and Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, gives a great description of how the world was back in the 1500s. Now, although both were Spaniard explorers, each had different experiences and discoveries. One of the differences is how they approached exploring the new world. For instance, Columbus went to find new land in the west, while Cabeza de Vaca went as an expedition to already found lands. In addition, Columbus had a lot of success, while Cabeza de Vaca since the beginning, because of Narváez, “endured many disasters” (Baym, et al., 2013, p. 28). Furthermore, Christopher Columbus considered most important to find more land, and especially the route to reach Asia.
Another great navigator from Portugal was Henry the navigator, he was the prince of Portugal who began to establish an observatory and also a school of navigation, and he also directed many long voyages that ignited the growth of Portugal’s colonial empire.
The development of such vessels as the caravel and carrack allowed for the great expansion of this trade-driven exploration. The caravel, a small, lateen-rigged ship of 12-18 meters (Russel, 229) , was developed as a fishing boat in the early 13th century, in Portugal. Its maneuverability and speed made it possible for explorers, merchants, and fisherman alike, to go further, faster. The Caravel would become the backbone of early Spanish and Portuguese exploration, and the model on which many other vessels were based. Columbus used two caravels in his ‘discovery’ of the new world: the Niña and the Pinta; and Vasco Da Gama used the caravel Berrio in his expedition around Africa.
und three hundred men. His journey took him around three years and while making this journey he was thinking about no one but himself. Magellan took all the credit for everything and without his crew members he would be nothing and could not have achieved half as much. He also ended up using violence to make people change they way they believe. Magellan was not worth defending and shouldn't get all the credit he does.
In 1492, Christopher Columbus was a self-made man who worked his way up to being the Captain of a merchant vessel. He gained the support of the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, for an expedition to the Indies. With the support of the Spanish monarchy, he set off to find a new and faster trade route to the Indies. Upon the arrival of his first voyage, Columbus wrote a letter to Luis de Santangel, a “royal official and an early supporter of his venture,” in February 1493 (35). The epistle, letter, entitled “Letter to Luis de Santangel Regarding the First Voyage” was copied and then distributed in Spain before being translated and spread throughout Europe. The Letter is held in such regard with the people as it is considered the first printed description of the new world. Through his description of the nature of the islands, Columbus decided the future fate of the islands. His description of the vast beauty of the nature around him, declares both the economic and nationalistic motivations for colonizing the new world.
Many events occurred such as, The New World being discovered by European Explorers in 1492. Later in 1498, they also discovered a sea route to India in the East. All of these events contributed to the idea that the Explorers had more impact than the Reformation and Religions. Thus, the Explorers were more important because they found the New World and discovered many things. Christopher Colombus was who found the New World and Vasco de Gama discovered the sea route to India.
“Paradise Found and Lost” from Daniel J. Boorstin’s The Discoverers, embodies Columbus’ emotions, ideas, and hopes. Boorstin, a former Librarian of Congress, leads the reader through one man’s struggles as he tries to find a Western Passage to the wealth of the East. After reading “Paradise Found and Lost,” I was enlightened about Columbus’ tenacious spirit as he repeatedly fails to find the passage to Asia. Boorstin title of this essay is quite apropos because Columbus discovers a paradise but is unable to see what is before him for his vision is too jaded by his ambition.
Human history is filled with the names of bold explorers who ventured into the great unknown, only to come out basked in glory as some of the great heroes of their day. Among the grandest are Marco Polo, who provided little known information about the Far East to Europeans, and Hernan Cortes, the great Spanish conquistador who is given credit for the defeat of the Mexican Empire. These two famous explorers are also ideal case studies to analyze the influence of expectations, interests, and of reality on the accounts of the places and people that these men encountered during their voyages. Exploration is an activity that is held in high esteem because of the mental challenge that comes with willingly surrendering the safety of certainty to venture into unknown land. This act is seen as reflecting the utmost courage.
Different explorers sought out to discover new things, but many didn’t achieve their ultimate goal. Some explorers even discovered things by chance. Henry Hudson was an English explorer who went on many voyages to get new information about North America and to find a passage way to Asia, which he never achieved. Jacques Cartier was a French explorer who is known for exploring the St. Lawrence River and Canada. Francisco Pizarro was a Spanish explorer and soldier discovered the Pacific Ocean and conquered Peru. Each explorer discussed, discovered new things which have an impact in modern
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. However, even after centuries later, little is truly known of the mysterious voyage and findings of the new world.1 By examining “Letter from Columbus to Luis Santangel”, one can further contextualize the events of Columbus' exploration of the New World. The letter uncovers Columbus' subtle hints of his true intentions and exposes his exaggerated tone that catered to his lavish demands with Spain. Likewise, The Columbian Voyage Map read in accordance with the letter helps the reader track Columbus' first, second, third, and fourth voyage to the New World carefully and conveniently. Thus, the letter and map's rarity and description render invaluable insight into Columbus' intentionality of the New World and its indigenous inhabitants.
In the mid 1400’s Spain and Portugal began to take separate routes of discovery. Prince Henry of Portugal, in reaction to the shortage of bullion in Western Europe, was interested in sending his captains to the African coast in search of gold. As a result, many Portuguese ports were established along the African coast and “The Portuguese were able to exploit at least a part of the African caravan trade they had sought.” (p.340) While Portugal was focused on expansion along the African coast; the Spanish were the first to discover the “new world” despite the lack of geographical knowledge the Spaniards and Columbus in particular possessed. This “new world” wasn’t quite what Columbus had though it was, however; as Columbus maintained to his death that he had reached Asia. He hadn’t, “He had landed at one of the Bahaman Islands, San Salvador.” (p. 342) Columbus’ distorted reality proved to...
Thesis: Most people believe that The Age of Discovery was the product of a handful of adventurous explorers. They were an important part of this Age, but theirs was not the main motivation. I believe however, that the Bourgeoisie provided the impetus of this Age.