The Portuguese were then able to make an immense profit by using their own ships to retrieve the spices. He declared it possible to travel to India by going around Africa. One of the sailors, Bartolomeu Dias passed the southernmost point of Africa known as the Cape of Good Hope in 1488. Dias helped in the construction of the São Gabriel and its sister ship, the São Rafael that were used by Vasco da Gama to sail past the Cape of Good Hope and continue to India.
King João II appointed Bartolomeu Dias, on October 10, 1486, to head an expedition to sail around the southern tip of Africa in the hope of finding a trade route to India. João II of Portugal established a plan for ships to explore the coast of Africa to see if India was navigable via around the cape, and through the Indian Ocean. For example, it was dangerous and time consuming to travel by land from Europe to India. Portuguese were after spices, but they were very expensive because it was an inconvenience to trade. According to the original plan, John II had appointed his father, Stephen da Gama, to head the armada but by the time of implementing the plan, both were deceased. João II plan, he went ahead to equip the ships and chose Vasco da Gama as the leader of this expedition and the captain of the armada. The work celebrates the discovery of a sea route to India by the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama. Os Lusíadas It is often regarded as the most important work of Portuguese literature. This position is embodied in the character of The Old Man of Restelo that appears in Os Lusíadas of the Portuguese epic poet Luís Vaz de Camões, who opposes the boarding of the armada. This point of view was contented with the trade with Guinea and North Africa and feared the challenges posed by the maintenance of any overseas territories, and the cost involved in the launching and maintenance of sea lanes. In the Cortes de Montemor-o-Novo of 1495, an opposite view was visible over the journey that John II had so painstakingly prepared. However, this development was not viewed well by the upper classes. It was his successor, King Manuel I, who designated Vasco da Gama for this expedition, while maintaining the original plan. However, the project was not realized during his reign. Adding to the increasingly influential Portuguese maritime presence, John II craved for trade routes and for the expansion of the kingdom of Portugal which had already been transformed into an Empire. For almost four months they sailed across the Atlantic without sight of land until, on *4 November 1497, they reached a bay (current day St Helena).The plan for working on the Cape Route to India was charted by Portuguese King John II as a cost saving measure in the trade with Asia and also an attempt to monopolize the spice trade. Vasco’s brother, Paulo, captained the Sao Raphael. What did Vasco da Gama discover? When did Vasco da Gama reach St Helena? 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. When did Vasco da Gama sail from Europe to India? Da Gama sailed from Lisbon that July with four vessels, traveling south along the coast of Africa before veering far off into the southern Atlantic in order to avoid unfavorable currents. Why did Vasco da Gama go around Africa and reaches India?Īt the time, the Muslims held a monopoly of trade with India and other Eastern nations, thanks to their geographical position. In 1502, he led a squadron of ships to Calicut to avenge the massacre of Portuguese explorers there and succeeded in subduing the inhabitants. Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama becomes the first European to reach India via the Atlantic Ocean when he arrives at Calicut on the Malabar Coast.