Vasco Da Gama Research Paper

Vasco da gama was born at some point between 1460 and 1469 in the small city for Sines, portugal to Estevao da Gama, a local noble. Little is known about his early childhood, other than that he enlisted in the navy at 18, as was customary for people of the period. During his enlistment, he learned how to navigate at an advanced level, and earned himself a reputation as a reliable shipmate. Due to his good reputation, King John II selected him to lead a mission to seize french frigates as an act of vengeance for french trade ship disruptions earlier.(“Vasco Da”) This build significant trust between da Gama and portuguese royalty, and as a direct consequence to his success, he was chosen for the (second) most important voyage of the decade in 1497. …show more content…
They sent Vasco da Gama to finish where Columbus had failed, but rather than around the globe they set him to sail around the horn of Africa, which had only been discovered about a decade prior. Da Gama set sail on the Sao Gabriel, with a modest crew of under 100 sailors, and set course due south.(“Internet History”) They attempted to take full advantage of the southern prevailing winds down Africa’s coast by not going straight down the coast, and in the process unknowingly came in spitting distance of what is modern day Brazil. After going around the bottom of Africa, they were forced to stop in Mozambique for supplies, ship repairs, and treatment for the huge portion of the crew who had contracted scurvy. They discovered quickly that Mozambique was a sharia law ruled muslim city state, and had to feign being devoted to Islam for the duration of their stay. After raising their anchor a month later, they sailed further up the coast of Africa and after reaching modern day Kenya, they sailed across the Indian ocean for one 21 day stretch and finally arrived in Goa, India.(Gama,

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Vasco Da Gama Research Paper