| Vasco da Gama | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1460 or 1469 Sines, Alentejo, Kingdom of Portugal |
| Died | 24 December 1524 (aged approximately 55–65) Cochin, Kingdom of Cochin |
| Resting place | Jerónimos Monastery, Lisbon, Portugal |
| Spouse(s) | Catarina de Ataíde |
Prince Henry the Navigator, generally credited as the driving force behind Portuguese maritime exploration.
He recommended further exploration of the southern route. As the Portuguese explored the coastlines of Africa, they left behind a series of padrões, stone crosses inscribed with the Portuguese coat of arms marking their claims, and built forts and trading posts. From these bases, the Portuguese engaged profitably in the slave and gold trades.
The Portuguese explorers were responsible for discovering more than 70% of the world previously unknown to Europeans. Many of these discoveries were not made official because Portugal was too small to be able to dominate, colonize and defend all territories against the other European powers.
The ship that truly launched the first phase of the Portuguese discoveries along the African coast was the caravel, a development based on existing fishing boats. They were agile and easier to navigate, with a tonnage of 50 to 160 tons and 1 to 3 masts, with lateen triangular sails allowing luffing.
explorer Bartolomeu DiasIn 1488, Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias (c. 1450-1500) became the first European mariner to round the southern tip of Africa, opening the way for a sea route from Europe to Asia.
In 1498, just one year after Italian explorer Giovanni Caboto rediscovered North America and six years after fellow Italian Christopher Columbus “discovered” the New World, Portuguese explorers João Fernandes Lavrador and Pêro de Barcelos were the first modern explorers of much of northeastern North America, including ...
Bartolomeu DiasBorn1450Died29 May 1500 (aged approximately 50) South Atlantic Ocean, near the Cape of Good HopeNationalityPortugueseOther namesBartholomew Diaz3 more rows
The Portuguese nobleman Vasco da Gama (1460-1524) sailed from Lisbon in 1497 on a mission to reach India and open a sea route from Europe to the East.
Explorer Christopher Columbus sets foot on the American mainland for the first time, at the Paria Peninsula in present-day Venezuela. Thinking it an island, he christened it Isla Santa and claimed it for Spain.
explorer Pedro Alvares CabralIn the same year, Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral claimed Brazil for Portugal, arguing that the territory fell into the Portuguese sphere of exploration as defined by the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas.
Prince Henry the NavigatorDom Henrique of Portugal, Duke of Viseu (4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator (Portuguese: Infante Dom Henrique, o Navegador), was a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and in the 15th-century European maritime discoveries and maritime expansion.
Vasco da Gama was best known for being the first to sail from Europe to India by rounding Africa's Cape of Good Hope. Over the course of two voyages, beginning in 1497 and 1502, da Gama landed and traded in locales along the coast of southern Africa before reaching India on May 20, 1498.
Da Gama's discovery of the sea route to India opened the way for an age of global imperialism and enabled the Portuguese to establish a long-lasting colonial empire along the way from Africa to Asia.
explorer Vasco da GamaThe Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India was the first recorded trip directly from Europe to India, via the Cape of Good Hope. Under the command of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, it was undertaken during the reign of King Manuel I in 1495–1499.
explorer Vasco de GamaPortuguese explorer Vasco de Gama becomes the first European to reach India via the Atlantic Ocean when he arrives at Calicut on the Malabar Coast. Da Gama sailed from Lisbon, Portugal, in July 1497, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and anchored at Malindi on the east coast of Africa.
navigator Vasco da GamaThe Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama, sailing around Africa in 1497, signed on an Arabian pilot at Malindi before he crossed the Indian Ocean to reach the western shores of India.
Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of European exploration, chronicling and mapping the coasts of Africa and Asia, then known as the East Indies, and Canada and Brazil (the West Indies ), in what came to be known as the Age of Discovery.
Portuguese discoveries ( Portuguese: Descobrimentos portugueses) are the numerous territories and maritime routes recorded by the Portuguese as a result of their intensive maritime exploration during the 15th and 16th centuri es. Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of European exploration, chronicling and mapping the coasts of Africa and Asia, ...
In 1492 Christopher Columbus 's discovery for Spain of the New World, which he believed to be Asia, led to disputes between the Spanish and Portuguese. These were eventually settled by the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 which divided the world outside of Europe in an exclusive duopoly between the Portuguese and the Spanish, along a north–south meridian 370 leagues, or 970 miles (1,560 km), west of the Cape Verde islands. However, as it was not possible at the time to correctly measure longitude, the exact boundary was disputed by the two countries until 1777.
This helped them become wealthier. Henry the Navigator took the lead role in encouraging Portuguese maritime exploration until his death in 1460.
In 1415, the Portuguese occupied Ceuta, aiming to control navigation along the African coast, moved also by the goal of expanding Christianity with the help of the Pope, and by a desire of the unemployed nobility for epic acts of war after the Reconquista.
Although the exact details are uncertain, cartographic evidence suggests the Azores were probably discovered in 1427 by Portuguese ships sailing under Henry's direction, and settled in 1432, suggesting that the Portuguese were able to navigate at least 745 miles (1,200 km) from the Portuguese coast.
These were eventually settled by the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 which divided the world outside of Europe in an exclusive duopoly between the Portuguese and the Spanish, along a north–south meridian 370 leagues, or 970 miles (1,560 km), west of the Cape Verde islands.
It was hoped that explorations would locate the besieged forces, which would then join with Portuguese armies and expel the Moors from their lands. As a small nation, Portugal may have appeared to be an unlikely leader in exploration and navigational science.
by the Visigoths, a Teutonic tribe from northern Europe and the conquerors of the Roman Empire.
The Treaty of Tordesillas granted Spain possession of lands to the west of a prescribed line; Portugal was assigned lands to the east.
A weakened Portugal soon fell under the influence of vastly superior Spain; the two nations were merged for 60 years in what was known as the Spanish Captivity (1580-1640).
During a period in the early 16th century, Portugal became the most prosperous trading power and eclipsed the Italian city-states.
Voyages were made into the Atlantic to the Madeira Islands and the Azores. Portugal emerged at the leading maritime power in Europe, but interest in exploration diminished after Henry's death in 1460.
Surrounded to the east and north by Spain and having no outlets on the Mediterranean, Portugal was compelled to regard the Atlantic Ocean as its main medium of travel.