(female narrator)
By the late 15th century,
to bypass the long and
treacherous overland Silk Road,
Europeans endeavored
to find a sea route
to the spices
and other luxuries of Asia.
In 1497, the Portuguese
navigator Vasco da Gama
was the first person
to sail from Europe to India,
establishing a direct route
to Asian trade ports
for Portugal.
♪
(Describer) Titles: PBS Education. World Explorers: Vasco da Gama.
(Describer) A map zooms in on western Europe, and the pointer on a timeline goes to 1460. Portugal is highlighted next to Spain.
Born into a noble
Portuguese family around 1460,
Vasco da Gama joined the navy,
earning a reputation
as a determined navigator
by the age of 30.
He was so fearless
that when the French
disrupted Portuguese shipping,
King John II of Portugal
sent him to seize French ships
as retaliation
against the French king.
In 1495, King Manuel I
inherited the Portuguese throne.
He commissioned da Gama
to find a sea route
from Portugal to India,
in hopes of controlling trade
through the Indian Ocean
to Asian ports.
Powerful Arab traders
had enjoyed a monopoly
on trade with India
and East Asia,
living along the shores
of the Indian Ocean.
On July 8, 1497,
da Gama departed Portugal
with four ships.
He sailed along
the west coast of Africa,
rounding
the Cape of Good Hope
into the Indian Ocean
that November.
After resting a month
in Mozambique,
da Gama continued
to Mombasa and Malindi
in present-day Kenya
to establish
a Portuguese presence
in those East African ports.
From there, da Gama
crossed the Indian Ocean
and on May 20th, 1498,
reached Calicut,
the most important
trading center
in Southern India.
But Calicut's leader,
Zamorin,
was not impressed
with da Gama's gifts.
He took offense
that the Europeans
assumed his people
were Christians
when they were Hindus.
Da Gama's attempts to
establish a trade relationship
with Calicut
for Portugal failed.
Da Gama left Calicut
just three months after arrival.
Unfortunately, he departed
during monsoon season.
The return voyage
took nearly a year
and only 54 of the crew's
original 170 members survived.
Still, da Gama
was greeted as a hero.
After all, he was
the first European
to successfully navigate
from Europe to India,
opening the trade route
for Portugal.
In three years, da Gama was
ready for a second India trip,
with 20 ships
and the king's command
that he ensure kingdoms
throughout the Indian Ocean
agree to trade with Portugal.
So da Gama attacked
Arab trade ships,
threatened to burn
African ports
that refused to swear loyalty
to King Manuel,
and forged alliances with
the rules of Cochin and Goa,
Zamorin's enemies in India.
Finally, da Gama
bombarded Calicut itself,
as revenge for
Zamorin's previous rejection.
Da Gama returned to Portugal
in October of 1503.
He was richly rewarded
for his efforts
and, for the next 20 years,
advised the king
on matters
pertaining to India.
During this time,
Portugal established
numerous colonies
in East Africa and India.
In 1524, King John III
appointed him
as Portuguese viceroy
in India.
He traveled there to investigate
the growing corruption
of the Portuguese government.
It was da Gama's last trip.
He died in Cochin
in December, 1524.
Da Gama's historic voyages
from Portugal to India
successfully opened the door
to Portuguese colonialism
in Africa and Asia.
Just two years
after da Gama reached India,
Portugal claimed Brazil
in South America,
making it the first
global empire in history.
The Portuguese empire lasted
until 2002,
when it granted sovereignty
to its last remaining colony.
(Describer) A map of da Gama's journeys covers a globe.
The port city of Vasco da Gama
in Goa, India,
is named after him,
as is the crater Vasco da Gama
on the moon.
Accessibility provided by the
U.S. Department of Education.
(Describer) Titles: PBS Education. World Explorers: Vasco da Gama.
Accessibility provided by the US Department of Education.
