Vasco da Gama was born in 1469 in the city of Sines, in a noble family of a soldier who faithfully served King João II of Portugal. Vasco da Gama's career as an explorer began after the death of his father, who led an expedition planned to open a sea route to Asia.
Flagship San Gabriel
Vasco da Gama received a team of 170 people and set off from Lisbon on July 7, 1497, with three ships " San Gabriel», « Berrio" And flagship "San Rafael". His task was to find a sea route to India to establish trade relations that would provide Portugal with cheap goods. At that time, goods from Asia entered the European market, thanks to merchants from Venice, Cairo and Alexandria, by overland routes, which turned out to be expensive. Portugal needed its own way.
ship "Batavia"
ship "San Rafael"
The voyage to the Cape of Good Hope was successful. The sea was calm, and the wind was blowing in the right direction for the sailors. But as soon as they rounded Green Cape, a hurricane-force wind with rain fell. Only for a short time the storm subsided, and then began again. All this complicated the progress of the expedition. The supplies of provisions and drinking water were running out. Several sailors died of exhaustion. The crew began to demand to deploy ships and head for Portugal. The exhausted but angry team rebelled. The sailors wanted to shackle Vasco da Gama in chains, but he managed to break free and calm the rebels.
Traveler Vasco da Gama
The ships made a stop off the coast of East Africa near Mozambique to repair the rigging and sails. There, the team began their first trading relationship with the locals. But this did not last long, because due to the hostile attitude of the natives, there were attempts to capture ships. In this regard, the expedition was forced to leave the coast. Soon May 20, 1498 Vasco da Gama finally arrived at the port of Calicut (now Kolkata). This is a city on the east coast of India, where the trade of merchants from two continents - Africa and Hindustan was concentrated. Vasco da Gama showed diplomatic skills during negotiations with the Indian ruler Zatorin. After presenting gifts to the leader, attitudes towards travelers gradually began to change. In addition, goods purchased in Africa had practically no value from the locals. Soon they began to show hostility. Vasco da Gama was imprisoned as a pirate. Having narrowly escaped the death penalty, he was able to collect a rich cargo consisting of precious stones, gold and corals. He finally agreed to conduct trade relations between the Zamorin people and the Portuguese (the ruler really liked the spices). After the ships moved away from the coast of India and headed for Portugal along the coast of Africa. Navigator gradually mapped the outlines of the mainland.
sailors return home
In September 1499, an expedition consisting of two ships and 55 people of an exhausted crew arrived at the port of Lisbon. They were greeted as heroes. Indeed, in addition to the values that brought a lot of income to the state economy, Vasco da Gama plotted more than 4,000 km of the African coast from the mouth of the Great Fish River to the port of Malindi on the world map, inscribed his name in world history as the discoverer of the sea trade route from Europe to India.
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama (1469–1524), Portuguese navigator who pioneered the route from Lisbon to India and back Like most of his colleagues, he was engaged in piracy.
The Portuguese and Spaniards are peoples related in language and culture. Portugal constantly competed with Spain in everything related to the discovery and development of new lands and sea routes. When at one time King Juan II refused Columbus, who proposed to organize an expedition to search for a western route to Asia, he apparently did not imagine that this persistent Genoese would achieve his goal under the flag of the Spanish kings. But "Western India" is open, routes have been laid to its shores, and Spanish caravels systematically ply between Europe and the new lands. The heirs of Juan II realized that they had to hurry to consolidate their rights to East India. And already in 1497, an expedition was equipped to explore the sea route from Portugal to India - around Africa.
The head of the expedition at the choice of King Manuel I was Vasco da Gama (the Portuguese pronounce "Vashka") - a young courtier of noble origin, who has not yet proven himself to be anything but a dashing capture of a caravan of French merchant ships. And although the king was offered the candidacy of such a famous navigator as Bartolomeu Dias, who in 1488 was the first to circumnavigate Africa from the south, passing the Cape of Good Hope he discovered, preference was given to a young aristocrat with pirate inclinations. To the proposal of Manuel I to lead the expedition, Vasco da Gama replied: “I, sovereign, are your servant and will fulfill any order, even if it costs me my life.” Such assurances in those days were by no means given for the “red word” ...
Vasco da Gama's flotilla consisted of four ships. These were two hundred and fifty-ton ships - the flagship "San Gabriel" (Captain Goncalo Aleares, an experienced sailor) and "San Rafael" (Captain Paulo da Gama, brother of the admiral), as well as the light seventy-ton caravel "Berriu" (Captain Nicolau Cuelho) and supply ship. In total, under the command of Admiral da Gama there were 168 people, including a dozen criminals specially released from prisons - they were intended to carry out the most dangerous assignments. The experienced sailor Pedro Alenquer, who had sailed with Bartolomeu Dias ten years earlier, was appointed chief navigator.
The flotilla left the harbor of Lisbon on July 8, 1497. Having passed without incident to Sierra Leone, Admiral da Gama, reasonably avoiding contrary winds and currents off the coast of Equatorial and South Africa, moved to the southwest, and turned southeast after the equator. These maneuvers took about four months, and only on November 1, the Portuguese saw land in the east, and three days later they entered a wide bay, which was given the name of St. Helena.
Having landed on the shore, the Portuguese sailors saw the Bushmen for the first time. This is a group of peoples representing the oldest population of South and East Africa. Bushmen are significantly different from most Negro tribes of the African continent - they are short, their skin color is more swarthy than black, and there is some resemblance to the Mongoloids in their faces. These inhabitants of the bush bushes (hence the European name "Bushmen" - "bush people") have amazing abilities. They can stay in the desert for a long time without water supplies, as they extract it in ways unknown to other peoples.
The sailors of da Gama tried to establish a “cultural exchange” with the Bushmen, offering them beads, bells and other trinkets, but the “bush people” turned out to be “insolvent” - they did not even have the most primitive clothes, and the Portuguese did not need their primitive bows and arrows , armed with crossbows and firearms. In addition, because of the insult inflicted on the Bushman by some boorish sailor, a conflict arose, as a result of which several sailors were injured by stones and arrows. How many Bushmen the Europeans struck with crossbows remained unknown. And since no signs of gold and pearls were noticed among the Bushmen, the flotilla raised anchors and moved further south.
Having rounded the southern tip of Africa, the Portuguese ships, moving to the northeast, at the end of December 1497 approached the high coast, to which da Gama gave the name Natal (“Christmas”). On January 11, 1498, the sailors landed on the shore, where they saw many people who were very different from the African savages they knew. Among the sailors there was a translator from the Bantu language, and contact between two different civilizations was established. The Negroes met the Portuguese very friendly. The land, which Vasco da Gama called "the country of good people", was inhabited by peasants and artisans. People here cultivated the land and mined ore, from which they smelted iron and non-ferrous metals, made iron knives and daggers, arrowheads and spearheads, copper bracelets, necklaces and other jewelry.
Moving further north, on January 25, the ships entered a wide bay, where several rivers flowed. Communicating with the locals, who were well received by the Portuguese, and noticing the presence of objects of clearly Indian origin, the admiral concluded that the flotilla was approaching India. We had to stay here - the ships needed repairs, and people, many of whom had scurvy, needed treatment and rest. The Portuguese stood for a whole month at the mouth of the Kwakwa River, which turned out to be the northern arm of the Zambezi Delta.
On February 24, the flotilla weighed anchor and five days later reached the port of Mozambique. By this time, the Arabs had firmly settled here. Their one-masted ships regularly exported slaves, gold, ivory and ambergris from here. A new meeting of two different civilizations was complicated by the fact that Arab traders saw in the Portuguese (quite rightly) dangerous competitors, and friendly relations soon turned into hostile ones. The Arabs began to incite the local Negro population against the European guests. It got to the point that in order to replenish fresh water supplies, the sailors of da Gama had to land ashore under the cover of naval artillery.
The expedition left Mozambique on April 1 and headed north. On board the flagship, Admiral da Gama kept two Arab pilots, but, not trusting them, he captured a small sailing ship off the coast and, under torture, forced its owner to provide the necessary information about winds, currents and shoals. When entering the harbor of the port city of Mombasa on Zanzibar, Arab pilots fled from the ship to the local ruler, a wealthy slave trader sheikh.
Not expecting anything good from the meeting with the owners of Mombasa, Vasco da Gama went to sea. Using his piratical experience, the Portuguese admiral, having met an Arab ship on the way, plundered it and captured the entire crew. The team supported their admiral in everything. No wonder - sailors in those days often became people who did not have high moral qualities, at least in relation to representatives of other civilizations. Therefore, all other counter ships belonging to the Arabs were captured. With new booty, the flotilla entered the harbor of Malindi on April 14 and dropped anchor.
Here the Portuguese were given the most gracious and friendly welcome. It turned out that the local sheikh was already aware of the affairs of the Portuguese travelers. The agents informed him about the naval exploits and the onboard artillery of the aliens. Being at enmity with Mombasa and being impressed by the information received about the guests, he offered an alliance to the admiral and, as a token of confidence, gave him an excellent pilot, the old sailor Ahmed Ibn Majid. The flotilla set off on April 24, and already on May 17, Ibn Majid pointed out to the admiral the Indian coast emerging from the fog. On the evening of May 20, 1498, Portuguese ships stood in the roadstead at the entrance to the port of Calicut (South India).
How the next “contact of civilizations” took place is described in detail in the book of Doctor of Geographical Sciences D.Ya. Faschuk "Mysteries of the Sea Odyssey". When Vasco da Gama and his captains arrived at the local ruler, who bore the title of “samudrin raja” (for the Portuguese “samorin”), he “… met the guests naked in one loincloth. But his hands were adorned with massive gold bracelets and rings with huge diamonds, a pearl necklace and a gold chain were wrapped around his neck, and in his ears were heavy gold earrings with precious stones. Twelve pieces of rather coarse cloth, four red hoods, six hats, four strings of coral, six bath basins, a box of sugar, two casks of olive oil, and two casks of honey, intended for the savages, were displayed as gifts in front of this "walking Diamond Fund". Samorin's reaction is not difficult to guess. Only the pirate experience of Vasco da Gama helped the Portuguese safely leave the Indian coast, capturing several hostages, a couple of merchant ships with valuable cargo and bombarding oncoming ships and cities of the coast "for warning" from bombards.
Journey of Vasco da Gama (1497–1499)
Calicut remained behind the stern of the Portuguese flotilla at the end of August 1498. Slowly moving north along the Indian coast, on September 20, sailors were forced to anchor off the island of Anjidiv to repair ships. After repairs and several cannon duels with local pirate ships, the sailors left the island, but the calm made it impossible to move in the right direction. Having waited for a fair wind, only in January 1499 did the Portuguese reach Malindi. An ally sheikh supplied the flotilla with fresh supplies and, at the friendly insistence of da Gama, sent an elephant tusk as a gift to King Manuel I.
During the voyage, the team was greatly reduced - many people died from scurvy and other diseases. I even had to burn the ship "San Rafael" and move on on the remaining two ships. The passage from Mozambique to the Cape of Good Hope took seven weeks, and the passage to the Cape Verde Islands another four. Here, Vasco da Gama ordered the captain of the Berriu, N. Cuel, to lead his ship to Lisbon, while he himself remained with the dying brother Paulo da Gama. After burying his brother in one of the Azores, Vasco arrived in Lisbon by the end of August. Of his four ships, only two returned, less than half of the crew remained.
However, despite heavy losses, the expedition did not become unprofitable for the royal treasury. Still, in Calicut, they managed to acquire a lot of spices and jewelry, and da Gama's pirate raids in the Arabian Sea largely replenished ship chests. But, of course, this is not what caused the jubilation of the authorities in Lisbon. “The expedition found out what enormous benefits direct maritime trade with India can bring for them with the proper economic, political and military organization of the business. The opening of the sea route to India for Europeans was one of the greatest events in the history of world trade. From that moment until the digging of the Suez Canal (1869), the main commerce of Europe with the countries of the Indian Ocean and with China did not go through the Mediterranean Sea, but through the Atlantic Ocean - past the Cape of Good Hope. Portugal, holding in its hands the "key to eastern navigation", became in the 16th century. the strongest maritime power, seized the monopoly of trade with South and East Asia and held it for 90 years - until the defeat of the "Invincible Armada" (1588)" (I.P. Magidovich, V.I. Magidovich, "Essays on the history of geographical discoveries" ).
But the success of the Portuguese navigators was important not only for Portugal itself. He made a stunning impression on the ambassadors, merchants and governments of European countries. “As soon as the news of the return of Gama reached Venice, the people were struck like thunder, and the wisest of people considered this the worst news that could be received,” as noted in the diary of one contemporary of these events. In February 1502, already twenty warships, led by Vasco da Gama, endowed with the title “Admiral of the Indian Sea” for the first campaign, set off for India and put things in order here in the best traditions of the Crusaders. Having plundered and devastated the Malabar coast, they "put in their place" the Indian Samorins and proclaimed this territory the property of the Portuguese crown. After such a surprise, the Indians cursed and almost killed the helmsman Najdi (Ibn Majidi), who showed the treacherous Europeans the way to their country. But it was too late. In 1505, another Portuguese squadron of twenty ships and one and a half thousand troops burned Mombasa and engaged in piracy in the Arabian Sea, making the entire coast of Hindustan and the Moluccas Islands their fiefdom. Describing these events, Jules Verne once concluded: “There is no such cruelty that the Portuguese in India would not stain themselves with” (D.Ya. Fashchuk, “Mysteries of the Sea Odyssey”).
The Portuguese authorities highly appreciated the deeds of Admiral Vasco da Gama. In 1524 he was appointed Viceroy of India. By this time he was already 55 years old. On December 24 of the same year, the great traveler died in glory and honor. For Portugal and all of Western Europe and America, he remained the first European to bring ships to India. And, most likely, neither he himself nor his contemporaries knew that almost a quarter of a century before the appearance of the Portuguese, another European, a Russian man, a Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin, visited India.
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He is a famous Portuguese navigator of the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries. He combined the office of governor with the viceroy of Portuguese India. Vasco da Gama discovered the sea route to India with an expedition of 1497-1499 around Africa.
Significance of the discovery of Vasco da Gama
He prepared his voyage very carefully. The country that equipped Vasco da Gama is Portugal, and the Portuguese king himself appointed him the commander of the expedition, preferring him instead of the experienced and famous Dias. And the life of Vasco da Gama revolved around this event. Three warships and one transport ship will be sent on an expedition.
The navigator solemnly set sail from Lisbon on July 8, 1497. The first months were quite calm. In November 1497 he reached the Cape of Good Hope. Strong storms began, and his team demanded to take the way back, but Vasco da Gama threw all navigation instruments and quadrants overboard, showing that there was no way back. And he was right, because he managed to find a direct sea route to India. Vasco da Gama's contribution to geography lies in the fact that he charted a route to the land of spices, safer and shorter than it had previously been by land.
The results of the Vasco da Gama expedition: the opening of a new route to India significantly expanded trade opportunities with Asia, which had previously been carried out exclusively along the Great Silk Road. Although this discovery was quite expensive - 2 out of 4 ships returned from the trip.
The era of the great geographical discoveries is an extremely important milestone in the history of mankind. Of course, the peoples of South and North America are unlikely to agree with this statement, but for our civilization as a whole, the significance of those studies is enormous. The names of the brave captains of the glorious era are forever imprinted in historical documents, and therefore every schoolchild knows them today.
But not everyone can list the true achievements of these great people. Not everyone, for example, will answer the question of what Vasco da Gama discovered. This is what we will consider in the article.
The main milestones of the biography
Vasco da Gama (1460-1524) - the world-famous Portuguese navigator, whose life fell just in the era of the Great Discoveries. Known for being the first in history to pave the sea route to India. At one time he even held a high post in India. In a word, the biography of Vasco da Gama is rich in outstanding events.
Many historians emphasize that he was not a discoverer in the strict sense of the word (unlike the same Magellan). While it was necessary in the sweat of his face to convince the powers that be of the need to organize an expedition, Vasco da Gama did not deal with such issues. This is explained by the fact that the monarch simply appointed him "the discoverer of the sea route to India."
The sailor was also very lucky with the organization of the trip: he and the team were provided with all the best, knowing full well the importance of the whole event.
How did the biography of Vasco da Gama begin? Much is not known about his mother, but his father belonged to an ancient and wealthy knightly class. The future conqueror of the oceans had five brothers and a sister.
Judging by the "yes" in his name, his family definitely belonged to the highest nobility. According to Portuguese historians, one of the ancestors of Vasco da Gama (the biography of the traveler confirms this) once distinguished himself in the battle with the Moors, for which he was awarded the knighthood.
Where did the future discoverer of the sea route to India get his education? Alas, here it is necessary to judge only by indirect traces. It is more or less reliably known that young Vasco da Gama comprehended mathematics and navigation in Evora. Considering that only these sciences have been preserved, one can imagine how much the Portuguese respected people who were able to plot a course and handle a sextant.
It should be noted that the Portuguese nobles did not have much choice in matters relating to their occupation. If a person belonged to the nobility, and even was a knight, then his path is exclusively a military affair. Considering that Portugal did not wage more or less serious land wars with anyone, but actively developed the lands across the ocean, almost all nobles became naval officers.
The young Vasco da Gama did not escape the same path: his biography (including discoveries) clearly shows that Portugal did not actually have more talented captains at that time.
Life of Vasco da Gama before his trip to India
Back in 1492, some French corsairs managed to intercept a rich cargo that was going to Portugal. The monarch of this glorious country did not tolerate such impudence, and therefore instructed one young nobleman to walk with a punitive raid along the coast, capturing all the French ships found in that area. The bailiff completed the task so quickly and efficiently that the robbers had to return everything. As you may have guessed, this brave knight was Vasco da Gama. For his determination and courage, he quickly approached the royal court.
In 1495, Manuel I ascended the throne of Portugal, who not only continued the work of maritime expansion of already known lands with redoubled zeal, but also seriously thought about opening a sea route to India. Initially, Bartolomeo Dias was appointed leader of the squadron. But the king understood that the expedition would need talents not only of a nautical, but also of a purely military nature. That is why our hero was appointed to this place. So what did Vasco da Gama discover later?
About the sea route to India
It should be noted that the predecessor of the active monarch by that time had already managed to try his luck in finding a land route. This was not easy to do, since the entire northern part of Africa was in the hands of the aforementioned Moors. Only by passing south of the Sahara, it was possible to reach the desired path.
In 1487, a serious expedition set off on a campaign. It was led by experienced officers - Peru da Covilha and Afonso de Paiva. The first managed to reach the desired India and convey a message to their homeland about the possibility of such a transition. Already in 1488, he conducted a detailed study of the southern tip of the Black Continent. It seemed that Juan II was about to have the strongest trump card in his hands - the path to India would guarantee a constant influx of wealth. So why did Vasco da Gama and the opening of the sea route to India become such an important milestone in the history of both Portugal and the entire human civilization?
Fate wanted otherwise: the king's only heir dies, and therefore he is almost completely removed from politics. However, he managed to do a lot: for example, to accompany the expedition, a whole squadron of first-class sea vessels was built, whose design was once entrusted to the notorious Bartolomeo Dias.
When the monarch died in 1495, Manuel I - his successor - at first thought least of all about India. But the international political situation developed in such a way that it soon became impossible to do without it. Rapid preparations for the great campaign continued.
Equipment of the first expedition
On what ships did Vasco da Gama make his voyage? The squadron was led by the San Gabriel. A ship of a similar class, the San Rafael, came under the command of Paulo, the brother of Vasco da Gama. Both sailboats belonged to the so-called nao class. These were very large ships, the displacement of which reached 120-150 tons. Due to the wide rectangular sails, they could develop decent speed, but they were rather clumsy, and sailors were not too fond of using them for long passages without being tied to the shore.
The Berriu became the opposite of the flagship. The ship is a nimble, maneuverable caravel. It was equipped with slanting sails and was commanded by Nicolau Coelho. Finally, the squadron included a certain transporter, neither the name nor other information about which was preserved.
About navigation
It is not surprising that with such attention to the organization of the expedition, the best navigational instruments of that time were allocated to equip it. Peru Alenker became the chief navigator. This outstanding navigator has already managed to prove himself well in the campaign with Diash (which we talked about above). In addition to the main officers on board were a priest, a clerk and an astronomer. They also took care of several translators who helped in communicating with the natives. According to some historians, the crew number reached 170 people.
Humanitarian Tradition
In those days, there was one curious tradition. Convicted criminals were taken on board during such trips. Of course, they did this not in order to acquaint the prisoners with the beauties of overseas lands. They were used as scouts, troops, and in other situations when they did not want to risk the lives of their regular crew. However, for the prisoners themselves there was “light at the end of the tunnel”. No matter how severe the sin that a person committed in the wild, he received freedom at the end of the voyage. If he lived, of course.
Nutrition Issues
Remember, we mentioned a certain transport vessel? They began to include him in the compositions of expeditions from the time of Dias, when such an approach to business proved to be of the highest efficiency. A huge stock of provisions, uniforms, spare rigging, and tools was stored on the storage ship. The diet of the team did not shine with abundance: cereals, corned beef, crackers. In addition, a small amount of wine was included in the standard ration. Greens and fruits, fish and fresh meat were obtained by the sailors themselves in the parking lots.
All sailors and officers received a good salary (with the exception of the "penal battalion"). For the sake of romance of sea wanderings, no one went hiking. However, the trip of Vasco da Gama was a purely commercial event, so there is definitely no need to be surprised.
What were the ships of the squadron armed with?
By that time, the armament on ships had already gone far from those primitive mortars that were ubiquitous at the beginning of the era. Each of the "nao" had at least 20 guns, and the caravel was armed with twelve guns. The personal weapons of the team resembled the Spanish: the same cuirasses and halberds, daggers and swords. There were also several muskets and pistols. The quality and prevalence of personal firearms were so low that they usually did not have a serious impact on the outcome of the fight.
On July 8, 1497, the squadron sailed with great honors from the port of Lisbon. The journey went that era - Vasco da Gama. The discovery of India (more precisely, the sea route there) was just around the corner!
Start of the hike
The process proceeded normally: the ships sailed along Sierra Leone. Taking advantage of the good advice of Dias, the expedition deviated strongly to the west from the intended course in order to avoid the strongest headwind. He himself, by the way, by this time had already departed from the armada on a separate ship, heading for the fortress of Sao Jorge da Mina. There, Dias took over as commandant.
Meanwhile, our squadron had already made an impressive detour in the Atlantic Ocean, after which the Portuguese again saw the shores of the Black Continent. November 4, 1497 there was a significant descent of the anchor in the bay, which immediately received the name of St. Helena. The crews of the ships received an order for a long-term parking, as the ships were still badly battered in the open ocean, but it was not possible to complete all the work. On the way, we still managed to find several patches of land, on which desperately current ships patched up. This is how Vasco da Gama discovered
The local population turned out to be extremely hostile. However, given the number of slave traders in those places, there was nothing surprising in this. Vasco da Gama himself received an arrow in the leg in one of the skirmishes, after which the squadron moved on.
But the main tests were yet to come. With great difficulty rounding the Cape of Storms (of Good Hope), the flotilla dropped anchor in Mossel Bay. The unwieldy cargo ship was battered by bad weather so badly that it had to be burned. Fortunately, the local natives turned out to be much kinder to travelers, and therefore it was possible not only to repair ships without interference, but also to replenish water and provisions. The further path lay to the northeast.
Arab cunning
On December 16, 1497, the sailors saw the last memorial pillar left by the Dias expedition back in 1488. Everyone considered this a good omen, and the forebodings were justified: for a whole month the voyage went on without delays and incidents. This is largely due to the fact that the ships of the expedition sailed along quite civilized coasts.
The fact is that the eastern coast of Africa has long been an Arab fiefdom, and they, unlike the semi-savage tribes of the western coast, knew the Europeans very well. Largely because of this, the expedition of Vasco da Gama passed quite peacefully (for those years). The sea route to India took the lives of many sailors, but they died due to poor nutrition and infectious diseases.
Despite the Crusades, the attitude towards them was quite acceptable, but still not without difficulties.
So, in Mozambique, friction began with the local administration. And it was not at all about religion, which very cynical Arabs generally paid little attention to, but about the fact that local merchants suspected competitors in the Portuguese. Vasco da Gama did not remain in debt, lightly shelling the inhospitable shores.
In the ports of Mombasa and Malindi, the expedition was greeted much better. Oddly enough, but the local sheikh greeted them as best friends. However, he had his own reasons: the flattered Portuguese easily signed an allied treaty against some common enemies. In Malindi, the expedition finally met Indian merchants. The procedure for finding a reliable pilot cost a lot of work and a lot of money. On May 20, 1498, the ships of the flotilla finally reached the shores of Hindustan.
Vasco first visited the city of Calicut (now Kozhikode). The mayor greeted the guests very solemnly. But here, too, Muslim merchants began to put a spoke in their wheels again. Relations with the mayor deteriorated sharply, trade was going badly. However, managed to gain a lot of precious stones and spices. According to the old tradition, Vasco da Gama paid back the ungrateful citizens by planting several cannonballs into the city walls and capturing a couple of valuable hostages. In Goa, the Portuguese tried to establish a trading post, but here they also failed.
The sea route to the shores of India - that's what Vasco da Gama discovered!
Return trip
I had to turn around and swim home. However, it was a sin to complain: the area was explored, trade relations, albeit badly, were established. Subsequently, this turned out to be an important factor in establishing the rule of the Portuguese in those parts, to which Vasco da Gama himself contributed a lot. The great travelers of those years often became talented politicians and military leaders, so there is nothing surprising in this fact of his biography.
But it was ahead, but for now the sailors had a long and dangerous way back. They were pestered (how little the situation in that area had changed since then), terrible heat and food infections. On January 2, 1499, the city of Mogadishu was fired from cannons "for prevention", after which the squadron headed for Malindi.
Rest
On January 7, 1499, they reached the already familiar city, in which they were finally able to take a break from the hateful sea and ship crowding. And this time, the sheikh provided excellent food and apartments, and therefore, in just five days, the team cheered up pretty much.
The journey continued, but not without losses: on January 13, near Mombasa, due to a strong leak, we again had to say goodbye to one of the ships. By mid-April, the greatly depleted flotilla was still able to reach the Green Cape. The house was already there. To cheer up the families and the king, a ship was sent ahead, which was to be the first to deliver news of the successful completion of the expedition. At the same time, Vasco's brother, Paulo, became seriously ill, and therefore the captain himself was delayed.
And only at the end of August (or already in September) 1499, the remnants of the armada proudly moored in the port of Lisbon. This is what Vasco da Gama discovered. Marco Polo and other great navigators of the past could rightfully be proud of the deeds of their colleague!
Return and reward
Only two ships and 55 crew members came to their native shores. But from a financial point of view, the success was simply phenomenal: the proceeds from trade with the Arabs and Indians were 60 times (!) Exceeded all the costs of organizing the expedition itself. It is not surprising that the name of Vasco da Gama and the discovery of the sea route to India have become synonymous for many years to come!
Manuel I was delighted. Vasco received the high title of don, a considerable pension and a huge land allotment. Given that Vasco da Gama opened the way to India, which has been famous for its wealth since ancient times, such honors are easily explained. In addition, our hero became an intimate adviser to the king, so that all the hardships were not in vain. He will go to India more than once, defending the interests of his native land on distant shores.
At the end of 1524, Vasco da Gama died, having passed away on Indian soil. He nevertheless managed to establish a trading post in Goa, which remained under the protectorate of Portugal until the middle of the 20th century. Compatriots to this day highly honor the memory of the legendary navigator, and the discoveries and life of Vasco da Gama are studied in schools. A bridge in Lisbon is named after him, and the number of works of art dedicated to him is incalculable.
We examined what Vasco da Gama discovered. We hope the above information will be useful to you.
Joan II was not destined to complete the main work of his life himself, to open a sea route to India. But his successor Manuel I, immediately after his accession to the throne, began preparing the expedition. The king was driven by information about the discoveries of Columbus.
Three ships were built specifically for this voyage: the flagship San Gabriel, the San Rafael, commanded by Vasco's older brother, Paulo da Gama, and the Berriu. As in the voyage of Dias, the flotilla was escorted by a transport ship with supplies. The ships were to be led by the best helmsmen of Portugal. As part of the crews of three ships, from 140 to 170 people set off. People were selected very carefully, many of them had previously participated in voyages to the shores of Africa. The ships were equipped with the most advanced navigational instruments, accurate maps and all the latest information about West Africa, India and the Indian Ocean were at the disposal of the navigators. The expedition included translators who knew the dialects of West Africa, as well as Arabic and Hebrew.
On July 8, 1497, all of Lisbon gathered at the pier to see off their heroes. It was a sad parting of sailors with relatives and friends.
Women covered their heads with black scarves, crying and lamentations were heard everywhere. After the completion of the farewell mass, the anchors were raised, and the wind carried the ships from the mouth of the Tagus River into the open ocean.
A week later, the flotilla passed the Azores and went further south. After a short stop in the Cape Verde Islands, the ships headed southwest and moved almost a thousand miles offshore to avoid headwinds and currents off the coast of Africa. Heading southwest towards Brazil, which was still unknown at that time, and only then turning southeast, Vasco da Gama found not the shortest, but the fastest and most convenient route for sailing ships from Lisbon to the Cape of Good Hope, which the flotilla rounded after four and a half months of sailing.
On December 16, the ships passed the last padran set before them by Dias, and ended up in places where no European had ever been before. One of the provinces of the Republic of South Africa, off the coast of which sailors celebrated Christmas, has retained the name Natal (Natal), which means "Christmas", given by them to this day.
Continuing their journey, the Portuguese reached the mouth of the Zambezi River. Here the flotilla was forced to stay to repair the ships. But another terrible disaster lay in wait for the sailors: scurvy began. Many had festering and swollen gums so that they could not open their mouths. People died a few days after the onset of the disease. One of the eyewitnesses bitterly wrote that they were fading away, like lamps in which all the oil had burned out.
Only a month later the Portuguese were able to resume navigation. A few days later, they saw the island of Mozambique (it is located in the Mozambique Channel, not far from the coast of Africa). A completely new world began here, not similar to the regions of the western and southern coasts of Africa known to the Portuguese. In this part of the continent since the 11th century. the Arabs entered. Islam, the Arabic language and customs were widely spread here. The Arabs were experienced sailors, their instruments and charts were often more accurate than those of the Portuguese. Arab pilots knew no equal.
The head of the expedition quickly became convinced that the Arab merchants - the true masters in the cities of the east coast of Africa - would be formidable opponents for the Portuguese. In such a difficult situation, he needed to show restraint, prevent sailors from clashing with local residents, and be careful and diplomatic in dealing with local rulers. But it was precisely these qualities that the great navigator lacked, he showed a quick temper and senseless cruelty, and failed to keep the actions of the crew under control. In order to obtain the necessary information about the city of Mombasa and the intentions of its ruler, Gama ordered the torture of the captured hostages. Having failed to hire a pilot here, the Portuguese sailed further north.
Soon the ships reached the port of Malindi. Here the Portuguese found an ally in the person of the local ruler, who was at enmity with Mombasa. With his help, they managed to hire one of the best Arab pilots and cartographers, Ahmed ibn Majid, whose name was known far beyond the east coast of Africa. Now nothing held up the flotilla in Malindi, and on April 24, 1498, the Portuguese turned to the northeast. The monsoon blew the sails and carried the ships to the shores of India. After crossing the equator, people again saw the constellations of the Northern Hemisphere so familiar to them. After 23 days of travel, the pilot brought the ships to the western coast of India, a little north of the port of Calicut. Behind were thousands of miles of travel, 11 months of tiring sailing, intense struggle with the formidable elements, clashes with Africans and hostile actions of the Arabs. Dozens of sailors died from disease. But those who survived had every right to feel like winners. They reached fabulous India, went to the end of the path that their grandfathers and great-grandfathers began to master.
With the achievement of India, the tasks of the expedition were by no means exhausted. It was necessary to establish trade relations with the locals, but the atom was strongly opposed by the Arab merchants, who did not want to give up their monopoly positions in intermediary trade. "Damn you, who brought you here?" - this was the first question that the local Arabs addressed to the Portuguese. The ruler of Calicut had doubts at first, but the arrogance and temper of Vasco da Gama turned him against the aliens. In addition, in those days, the establishment of trade and diplomatic relations was necessarily accompanied by an exchange of gifts, and what the Portuguese offered (four red hats, a box with six basins for washing hands and some other similar things) was suitable for some African king, but not for the ruler of a wealthy Indian principality. In the end, the Muslims attacked the Portuguese, who suffered losses and sailed in a hurry from Calicut.
The return home was not easy and took almost a year. Pirate attacks, storms, famine, scurvy - all this again fell to the lot of tired sailors. Only two out of four ships returned to Portugal, more than half of the sailors did not return to their relatives and friends. Such was the price paid by Portugal for the greatest accomplishment in its history.
Later, Vasco da Gama again sailed to India, where he became viceroy of the Portuguese possessions in this country. In India, in 1524, he died. The unbridled temper and cold cruelty of Vasco da Gama greatly undermined the reputation of this outstanding son of his age. And yet it is precisely to the talents, knowledge and iron will of Vasco da Gama that mankind owes the realization of one of the most remarkable discoveries of that time.
The results of the opening of the sea route to India around Africa were enormous. From that moment until the start of operation in 1869 of the Suez Canal, the main trade of Europe with the countries of South and East Asia did not go through the Mediterranean Sea, as before, but around Africa. Portugal, now receiving huge profits, became until the end of the 16th century. the strongest maritime power in Europe, and King Manuel, during whose reign this discovery was made, was nicknamed Manuel the Fortunate by his contemporaries. The monarchs of neighboring countries envied him and looked for other, their own ways to the countries of the East.
