Essays on Vasco Da Gama

Vasco da Gama was born in 1460 in the town of Sines, southwest Portugal. Little is known of his early life. In 1492 King John II sent da Gama to the port city of Setubal, in retaliation for French peacetime depredations against Portuguese shipping.

In 1497, King Manuel I, chose da Gama to lead a Portuguese fleet to India, with a crew of 170 men from Lisbon. On March 2 the fleet reached the Island of Mozambique. The expedition reached Mombasa (Kenya) on April 7 and Malindi (Kenya) on April 14. Da Gama crossed the Indian Ocean and reached the coast of India at Calicut (now Kozhikode) in May 1498.

In 1502, King Manuel put da Gama in charge of another Indian expedition. On this voyage, da Gama attacked Arab shipping interests in the region. Upon his return to Portugal, he was rewarded for another successful voyage.

In 1524, John III granted Vasco da Gama the privileged title of "Viceroy". Vasco da Gama arrived in Goa in September 1524, with a purpose to impose a new order in Portuguese India, replacing all the old officials with his own appointments. But he contracted malaria and died three months after his arrival, in the city of Cochin in 1524. In 1538 his body was taken back to Portugal.

Vasco da Gama became one of the most famous and celebrated explorers from the Age of Discovery. He was responsible for Portugal's success as an early colonising power.

"I am not afraid of the darkness. Real death is preferable to a life without living."
"I am not the man I once was. I do not want to go back in time, to be the second son, the second man."