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. His most violent and horrible attack on the ships off the Malabar coast was taken seriously and they avoided the area where the devilish Portuguese were operating.According to historians, da Gama is said to have named “Christians and spices” as the goal of his expedition. Infuriated were the people of Malabar when they heard about Gama’s horrible and merciless massacre on the high seas in the Indian waters in September 1502. When did Vasco da Gama massacre the people of Malabar?
Where did da Gama trade spices for trinkets?ĭa Gama tried to trade spices for trinkets © The 27-day crossing of the Arabian sea, via the Laccadive Islands to the Malabar Coast of India, was eased by the favourable monsoon winds, and the fleet arrived at Calicut on. After Why did Vasco da Gama close the Cochin market?Īt the same time Da Gama got a message from Gonçalo Gil Barbosa, the Portuguese crown factor in Cochin that the ruler Zamorin had set up a roadblock tactically by informing the merchants of Malabar to close the market and the port to the Portuguese. 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. Who was Vasco da Gama and what did he do? 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. His fleet on the second voyage consisted of 20 armed ships.There is a crater named Vasco da Gama on the Moon.Originally Vasco’s father, Estevao, was going to be given the command of the exploration fleet, but the trip was delayed for many years.What are some fun facts about Vasco da Gama? In one instance, he ordered the massacre of 380 people - including women and children - aboard a Muslim ship returning from Mecca. How did Vasco da Gama treat Muslims?ĭuring his journey, da Gama slaughtered hundreds of Muslims, attacking ships and firing cannons at trading posts up and down the east African coast. It also created competition between European powers, which resulted in the need for and subsequent development of a half way station in South Africa. The consequences of Da Gama’s voyage to India include the development of the spice trade and the Portuguese colonisation of Mozambique.