The story of the vasco da gama of his discovery. Vasco da Gama - First voyage from Europe to India. Other biography options

Vasco da Gama is a Portuguese navigator. He became the first European to visit India. During his life, the traveler made several important discoveries, including thanks to his efforts, it was once again proved that the Earth has the shape of a ball.

The navigator was born in 1460 (according to some sources, 1469) in the seaside town of Sines, died on December 25, 1524. He had a bad temper. Compatriots considered Vasco a cruel and despotic person who completely lacked the skills of diplomacy. But this did not prevent him from becoming a great man, and some shortcomings even helped to achieve success. With all his negative qualities, da Gama was extremely honest and incorruptible, he took care of his family and loved ones.

Traveler origin

Little is known about Vasco's mother. The name of the woman was Isabelle Sodre, she came from an ancient English family. One of my mother's ancestors was Frederick Sudley, who once accompanied Duke Edmund Langley. The father of the future navigator was Estevan da Gama, the chief judge of the city. At that time, he commanded a fortress, which was located in the southwest of Portugal.

In addition to Vasco, the family had five more sons and a daughter. Some research confirms that Vasco and his brother Paulo were born out of wedlock. Because of this, they were later tonsured monks. The sailor's ancestors were nobles by origin, one of them, Alvar Annish, served King Afonso III. He was knighted after one of the battles. Eshtevan was also fond of travelling, and it was he who was originally entrusted with the expedition.

According to the research of some scientists, Vasco was educated in Évora. He paid special attention to the study of navigation, astronomy and mathematics. Since almost all the knights of that time were naval officers, in his youth, da Gama went to the navy, where he learned how to manage a ship. People considered him a fearless sailor, confident in himself and his actions.

In 1480, the navigator became a member of the Order of Santiago. 12 years after that, he was one of the main commanders during the battle with the French corsairs. King Manuel I was delighted with the courage and ingenuity of the young man, therefore, without any hesitation, he entrusted him with an expedition to India to search for a new sea route. The best navigational equipment was prepared for the trip.

Maiden voyage

In 1497, the navigator set out from Lisbon on his first voyage to India. The expedition involved three ships and more than 170 people, sailing took place across Africa, past the Cape of Good Hope. When the team sailed to Mozambique, they were joined by the Arab Ahmad ibn Majida. Thanks to his tips, the expedition managed to shorten the path to the Hindustan peninsula.

Three months after the start of the expedition, the Portuguese stopped in the bay, later it was named after St. Helena. In December 1947 they reached what is now part of South Africa. Six months later, on May 20, 1948, the travelers arrived in Calicut. The local ruler appointed Vasco an audience. The sailor went to the zamorin with gifts, but they did not impress the merchants at court.

For some time, da Gama tried to set up a business in Calicut, but he did not succeed in achieving his goal. Therefore, soon the navigator decided to leave the town, taking with him 20 fishermen, as well as stocks of spices and spices.

The return from the first trip to India took place in September 1499. Many crew members did not live to see this moment, they were killed by scurvy. In Portugal, Vasco was rewarded, his compatriots considered him a hero. Da Gama was also appointed Don and Admiral of the Indian Ocean, and the king granted him a lifetime pension of 1,000 crusades. But the navigator dreamed of becoming a city lord. The title was obtained only after leaving the Order of Santiago, then the navigator joined the members of the rival Order of Christ. The lord did not stop there, he wanted to become a count.

Second visit to India

After returning from India, Vasco received fame, recognition and honors, but he was constantly not enough. At this time, he married Catarina di Ataida, during their life together they had six sons and a daughter.

Already in 1499, da Gama set sail again. This time he took 20 ships with him. During the journey, many Muslims were killed, Vasco did this only to confirm his power. The expedition returns in October 1503 with good news: Manuel I increases the sailor's pension, the da Gama family lives at the level of kings. But the title of count still seems unattainable to the traveler.

Other achievements

During his life, Vasco visited India three times. The last voyage was in 1502. The king set the navigator the goal of strengthening the Portuguese government, as a result of which several hundred Muslims were destroyed. Da Gama burned several ships carrying pilgrims. In Calcutta, the army sacked the port and nearly 40 hostages were killed.

In 1519, the sailor was awarded the title of count. He managed to achieve this by blackmail. Vasco wrote a letter to the king stating that he was going to leave Portugal. Since the citizens could not afford to lose the navigator, Manuel I acted diplomatically, giving the traveler what he wanted.

Da Gama died on December 24, 1524 in Cochin, a small Indian town. He suddenly fell ill with an illness during the expedition, after which he died suddenly. His remains went to Portugal, where the navigator was buried in the small church of Quinta do Carmo. In 1880 Vasco's ashes were transferred to the Monastery of the Hieronymites, which is located in Lisbon.

Portugal and Spain were the first European countries to undertake the search for sea routes to Africa and India. What was needed was conquest and subjugation of peoples with the aim of plundering them. The nobles, merchants, clergy and royalty of these countries were interested in this. Let's try to figure out what goals each of the groups pursued.

Nobles. With the end of the reconquista, and in Portugal it ended in the middle of the 13th century, in Spain - at the end of the 15th century, the mass of small landed nobles - hidalgos, for whom the war with the Moors was the only occupation, remained idle.These nobles despised all activities except war, and when their need for money increased, due to the development of commodity-money relations, many of them very soon found themselves in debt to usurers. Therefore, the idea of ​​getting rich in Africa or in the eastern countries seemed fascinating to these knights of the reconquista. The ability to fight, acquired by them in wars, the love of adventure, the thirst for military booty and glory were suitable for a new difficult and dangerous business - the discovery of new trade routes, the conquest of countries and lands.It was from the environment of the poor Portuguese and Spanish nobles that they emerged in the 15th-16th centuries. brave sailors, cruel conquerors-conquistadors who destroyed the states of the Aztecs and Incas, greedy colonial officials. “They walked with a cross in their hands and with an insatiable thirst for gold in their hearts,” writes one contemporary about the Spanish conquistadors.

Wealthy citizens and merchants Portugal and Spain willingly gave money for sea expeditions, which promised them the possession of the most important trade routes, rapid enrichment and a dominant position in trade.

Catholic clergy consecrated the bloody deeds of the conquistadors with a religious banner, because thanks to the latter, it acquired a new flock at the expense of peoples newly converted to Catholicism and, as a result, increased its land holdings and incomes.

Finally, royalty was very interested in discovering new countries and trade routes. The impoverished peasantry and underdeveloped cities, which were under heavy feudal oppression, could not give the kings enough money to cover the expenses demanded by their regime. In addition, numerous militant nobles, left idle after the reconquista, were a danger to the king and cities, since they could easily be used by large feudal lords in the fight against royal power. The kings of Portugal and Spain called on the nobles to discover and conquer new countries and trade routes.

Why did the Portuguese choose to expand to the east?

The sea route connecting the Italian trading cities with the countries of North-Western Europe passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and skirted the Iberian Peninsula. With the development of maritime trade in the XIV-XV centuries. the importance of coastal Portuguese and Spanish cities increased. But this was not enough for them, Portugal and Spain themselves wanted to develop the fleet and trade.

However, the expansion of Portugal and Spain was possible only towards the unknown Atlantic Ocean, because trade in the Mediterranean had already been captured by the powerful maritime city-republics of Italy, such as Genoa and Venice, and trade in the North and Baltic Seas - by the union of German cities Hansa. The geographical position of the Iberian Peninsula, advanced to the Atlantic Ocean, favored this direction of expansion.When in the fifteenth century in Europe, the need to look for new sea routes to the East increased, the Hansa, which monopolized all trade between the countries of North-Western Europe, was least of all interested in these searches, as well as Venice, which had enough Mediterranean trade. BUTthe slave states in Northwest Africa were strong and prevented the Portuguese and Spaniards from expanding eastward along the Mediterranean coast of Africa. Also in this part of the Mediterranean, Arab pirates rampaged.The Portuguese and Spaniards had no choice but to become pioneers in the search for new sea routes across the Atlantic Ocean.

Henry the Navigator and the successes of the first half of the 15th century

After the conquest by the Portuguese troops in 1415 of the Moroccan port of Ceuta - the fortress of the Moorish pirates, located on the southern coast of the Strait of Gibraltar, the Portuguese began to move south along the western coast of Africa to Western Sudan. From here, gold dust, slaves and ivory were brought overland to Ceuta. Further, all this was delivered by ships to Portugal. But this was not enough. The Portuguese sought to penetrate the "sea of ​​darkness", as they then called the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean, unknown to Europeans. We needed ships and experienced sailors.

A pioneer in organizing expeditions of the Portuguese along the West African coast in the first half of the 15th century. was the Portuguese prince Enrico (Henry the Navigator). On the southwestern coast of Portugal, on a rocky cape in Sagris, which protrudes far into the ocean, an observatory and shipyards were built for the construction of ships, and a nautical school was founded. Sagrish became a maritime academy for Portugal. In it, Portuguese fishermen and sailors, under the guidance of Italian and Catalan sailors, were trained in maritime affairs. In the same place, ships and navigational instruments were improved, sea charts were drawn according to the information of Portuguese sailors, and plans for new expeditions were developed. Since the Reconquest, the Portuguese have been familiar with Arabic mathematics, geography, navigation, cartography and astronomy. Prince Enrico drew funds for the preparation of travel from the income of the spiritual and knightly order of Jesus headed by him, and also received through the organization of a number of trading companies on shares with wealthy nobles and merchants who hoped to increase their income through overseas trade. Prince Enrico encouraged the slave trade, because it brought fabulous wealth. His ships began to regularly go to West Africa to catch slaves and acquire golden sand. Ivory and spices were exchanged with blacks for trinkets. The thirst for the robbery of the entire African coast hastened the Portuguese advance to the south.

There were difficulties with the recruitment of daredevils who would go to unknown seas. The situation improved after the Portuguese made several discoveries. So, in 1419 they rounded Cape Nome and discovered about. Madeira, in 1432 they took possession of the Azores, and in 1434 Zhil Eannish rounded Cape Bojador, south of which life was considered impossible in the Middle Ages. Nuño Tristan reached Senegal, brought local residents and sold at a profit. The African slave trade flourished with might and main and justified the cost of navigation. In the mid-40s, the Portuguese again rounded Cape Verde and had already reached the coast between the Senegal and Gambia rivers, densely populated by people and rich in golden sand, ivory and spices. In the 60s and 70s, Portuguese sailors reached the coast of the Gulf of Guinea and crossed the equator. Guinea and the Congo were annexed to the Portuguese crown, supplying slaves and gold. By 1482, they reached the mouth of the Congo River, where they established the main base on the way to the development of the entire African coast. On the Portuguese maps of Africa, the names of new lands appeared: "Pepper Coast", "Ivory Coast", "Slave Coast", "Gold Coast". In 1486 Diogo Kahn's expedition reached Cape Cross. Sailors approached the southern tip of the African continent. But for the kings of Portugal, these were minor discoveries - they were attracted by the path to the "Spice Islands".

Spices worth their weight in gold

Spices were used to store, disinfect food and improve the taste of food. The monopoly on the spice trade was maintained by the Arabs, who bought pepper, cinnamon and other spices in Indian ports: Calicut, Cochin, Kannur, and then delivered on small ships to the port of Jeddah near Mecca. Then the caravans through the desert brought the cargo to Cairo, where it was rafted on barges down the Nile to Alexandria. And there spices were sold to Italian merchants from Venice and Genoa. Those, in turn, distributed the goods throughout Europe. Of course, at each stage, the price of spices increased, and at the final points it became sky-high. Portugal longed to open a sea route to India. A document has been preserved confirming that the soldiers in Genoa received part of their salary in gold coins, and part in spices for the weight of these coins.

Bartolomeu Dias and the first attempt to reach the "land of spices"

On February 3, 1488, after 5 months of sailing, the ships of the great admiral of that era, Bartolomeu Dias, rounded the Cape of Good Hope at the southernmost point of Africa. Further, due to a two-week severe storm and the refusal of the team, suffering from hunger, to sail forward, the admiral had to return to Lisbon. By the River Rio do Infante (River of the Princes), he erected a padran, a stone pillar with the royal coat of arms, confirming Portuguese sovereignty over the new lands. Admiralclaimed that from South Africa it is possible to go by sea to the coast of India. This was also confirmed by Pedro Covellano, who was sent in 1487 by the Portuguese king in search of the shortest route to India through the countries of North Africa along the Red Sea and visited the Malabar coast of India, as well as in the cities of East Africa and Madagascar. In his report to the king, sent from Cairo, he reported that “Portuguese caravels that trade in Guinea, sailing from one country to another heading for about. Madagascar and the port of Sofala can easily pass into these eastern seas and approach Calicut, for there is a sea everywhere here.After 10 years, Vasco da Gama had to do what Bartolomeu Dias failed to do. Yes, such a tough commander as da Gama would not have allowed the team to rebel then.

Why da Gama was entrusted to continue the work of Bartolomeu Dias

Vasco da Gama was born around 1460-69 in the Portuguese town of Sines and came from an old noble family. Father, Ishtevan da Gama was the chief ruler and judge of the cities of Sines and Silvis. In the 1480s, together with his brothers, he entered the Order of Santiago. He received his education and the art of navigation in Évora. Vasco participated in naval battles from a young age. When, in 1492, French corsairs captured a Portuguese caravel with gold, sailing from Guinea to Portugal, the king instructed him to pass along the French coast and capture all French ships in the raids. After that, the king of France had to return the captured ship. Then for the first time they learned about Vasco da Gama. Contemporaries of the future great navigator said about him that he was not afraid of responsibility, he was fanatical in achieving ambitious goals. These are the qualities that are especially valued. In addition, he often broke into anger, was greedy and despotic. He completely lacked diplomatic qualities, however, in those days it was not highly valued.

It is not surprising that King Manuel I (1495-1521) entrusted such an experienced navigator with an unusual task - to open a sea route to India, which Columbus had tried to do before, and, as you know, on October 12, 1492, instead of India, he discovered America.Technically, the Portuguese were already ready for long journeys: by the end of the 15th century, they actively used the astrolabe, quadrant and goniometric ruler in navigation, and learned to determine longitude from the noon sun and declination tables.

Preparing for a historic journey to the shores of India

It began in 1495. Vasco da Gama developed the theoretical part, studying maps and navigation, while Bartolomeu Dias supervised the construction of ships, taking into account all the achievements of those times. The oblique sails were changed to rectangular ones, which increased the stability of the ships, reducing their draft. In case of clashes with Arab pirates, 12 guns were placed on the decks. The displacement was increased to 100-120 tons for large supplies of food and fresh water, as well as everything necessary for a three-year voyage. It was supposed to catch fish along the way, and moor to the ports for water supplies at intervals of many months.
A day's ration for a sailor going to India:

• 0.5 lb crackers (227 g);
• 1 pound of corned beef (450 g, corned beef - a product obtained by long-term keeping meat in table salt for long-term storage at positive temperatures);
• 0.5 lb rice or cheese (227 g) per fast instead of meat;
• 1.25 pints of wine (0.7 l);
• 2.5 pints of water (1.4 l);
• 1/12 pint of vinegar (68 ml);
• 1/24 pint olive oil (136 ml)

There were also in the hold: beans, flour, lentils, prunes, onions, garlic and sugar. They did not forget to put goods for African natives: striped and bright red fabrics, corals, bells, knives, scissors, cheap pewter jewelry for exchange for gold and ivory.

So it was not possible to invent anything significant so that water would not seep into the holds of flat-bottomed Portuguese ships with a high bow during the voyage. Some of the products simply rotted and after a while floated on the surface along with the rats. Another problem, where and how to sleep for the crew, also at that time had not yet been resolved. The famous Indian hammocks "from Columbus" have not yet come into wide use. The team had to sleep anywhere. And you can easily guess about the sanitary conditions on the ships.

The experienced Goncalo Alvaris was appointed captain of the San Gabriel flagship. The second ship "San Rafael" da Gama entrusted his brother Paulo. In addition, the San Miguel (another name is Berriu) also participated in the expedition, an old light ship with slanting sails under the command of Nicolau Coelho and an unnamed cargo ship under the command of Captain Goncalo Nunes. The average speed of a flotilla of four vessels with a favorable wind could be 6.5-8 knots.

The backbone of the team of 168 people were those who swam with Bartolomeu Dias. 10 people from the team were criminals released from prison specifically for the expedition. It was not a pity to land them for reconnaissance in especially dangerous areas of Africa.

Sailing into the unknown

On a hot day on July 8, 1497, during a prayer service, according to tradition, all travelers were forgiven of their sins (this tradition was once asked by Henry the Navigator from Pope Martin V). Vasco da Gama and Dias came on board. There was a cannon volley and 4 ships left the port of Lisbon.

A week later, the ships reached the Canary Islands. The ships got lost in the fog and met again at the Cape Verde Islands. Fresh water and provisions were replenished here. And Dias landed in order to sail further with other ships to the new fortress of San Jorge da Mina on the Guinean coast, where he was appointed governor of Guinea.

Further, the ships fell into a zone of strong easterly winds, which did not allow them to go forward along the well-known path along Africa. Somewhere in the region of 10 ° north latitude, da Gama first showed himself decisively, namely, he ordered to turn to the southwest in order to try to bypass the winds in the open ocean. He made an arc across the Atlantic Ocean, almost reaching the shores of the then unknown Brazil. Caravels moved away from the coast of Africa at a distance of 800 nautical miles (1481 km). For three months the ships did not encounter any land on the horizon. Food spoiled in the equatorial heat, and water became unusable. I had to drink sea water. They ate not quite fresh salted meat, prepared for the future. The health of the team was significantly undermined. After the equator, the ships, finally, without losing the wind they needed, were able to turn east. Thus, a new route was opened with associated air currents from Europe to the Cape of Good Hope, which is at the southernmost tip of the African continent. The ships thus guaranteed to avoid falling into the zone of complete calm, when they could stand still for a long time, and this threatened the slow death of the entire crew. And today, rare sailing ships go exactly along this route.

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Off the coast of South Africa

On October 27, 1497, 3 months and 19 days after sailing from Europe, the sailors saw whales, then birds and algae, which meant land was nearby. Imagine how the sailors perceived the long-awaited exclamation of the watchman: “Land!”. It was the African coast near the bay of St. Helena (129 km in a straight line from modern Cape Town). Here, da Gama planned to linger, in addition to replenishing supplies, it was necessary to subject the ships to cranking, that is, to pull them ashore and clean the bottom of shells and mollusks, which seriously slowed down and destroyed the wood. However, da Gama was arrogant and cruel towards all pagans and, as a result, the Portuguese had a conflict with the locals - undersized warlike Bushmen. After the expedition commander was wounded in the leg, they had to urgently set sail.

On November 22, 1497, the squadron rounded the Cape of Good Hope. Storms still rage in this place today. One ship did not escape damage. He was flooded. Again, as in the case of Bartolomeu Dias, the sailors mutinied and demanded to turn back. Then, according to legend, da Gama threw navigational instruments into the sea in front of everyone. "Look!" he shouted. “I don't need any other guide but the Lord. If I don't reach my goal, Portugal will never see me again!"

Here I got to the last point reached by Dias Rio to Infante. Later, Vasco de Gama became the discoverer. On Christmas Day, da Gama rounded Cape Agulhas and sailed along the southern coast of today's South Africa. He marked this high bank on the map as "Natal", which means Christmas.

The remaining three ships entered the bay of St. Blas (San Brush, now Mosselbay in South Africa). The caravels were repaired: they patched up the plating, hemmed the torn sails and gear, and fixed the loose masts. The Hottentots who came out of the jungle were intimidated by shots from bombards. Here they installed a pillar - padran.

Next was the journey north along the East coast of Africa. In January, the expedition passed the mouth of the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers (later this territory became the Portuguese colony of Mozambique). The ships began to break down again. Half of the crew developed scurvy from monotonous food, gums festered and bled, knees and shins swelled, many could not even walk. Several dozen people have died. European sailors faced other hitherto unknown problems, namely: currents of unprecedented strength, going along shallows and reefs, as well as weeks of calm.

Finally, exhausted sailors reached the Mozambican port of Quelimane. Here the Portuguese stood for more than a month before heading up the Mozambique Channel, which separates Africa and about. Madagascar. The strait is the longest strait on Earth - about 1760 km, the smallest width - 422 km, the smallest depth - 117 m. It was necessary to go at this stage very carefully and only during the day - it was easy to run into one of the hundreds of small islands. It was obvious that without maps and a pilot, further travel was almost doomed to death.

The inhabitants of the city at first mistook the Portuguese for their co-religionists, as the sailors' clothes were frayed and lost their national signs. The local ruler even gave Vasco da Gama a rosary as a sign of friendship. But the arrogant and arrogant captain, who never had a diplomatic gift, considered the townspeople savages and tried to offer the emir a red cap as a gift. Of course, the local ruler indignantly rejected such a gift. The atmosphere heated up.

Even before the break in relations, the Emir managed to provide two experts in maritime affairs at the disposal of the flotilla, but one of them immediately fled, and the second was unreliable. Shortly after sailing, he tried to pass off some islands he encountered as the mainland. The enraged commander ordered the liar to be tied to the mast and personally brutally flogged. The island where this happened was put on the map under the name of Isla do Asoutada (Carved).

The lands of the "wild" black tribes in Mozambique ended, and then the zone of the Arab maritime trade union began, and Muslim ports stood on the shores. If the Portuguese conquered lands on the western coast of Africa, then the Arabs actively colonized East Africa, buying ambergris, metals and ivory in the depths of the mainland. They didn't need competitors.

On April 7, the Portuguese approached the large port of Mombasa (now the city of Kenya), where the Arabs tried to capture the caravels by force. Barely escaped. Here, for the first time, the Portuguese encountered the hostility of the local Arabs and used artillery. The supply of provisions and water became difficult.

Luck smiled. On April 14, the sailors were warmly received in the port of Malindi (also now in Kenya), just 120 km north of Mombasa. Here Vasco da Gama saw 4 ships from India. Then he realized that India could definitely be reached. The local emir was an opponent of Sheikh Mombasa and wanted to acquire new allies, especially armed with firearms, which the Arabs did not yet have.

The sheikh provided them with the most famous pilot of the Indian seas - Ahmed ibn Majid from Oman. Ahmed sailed the seas using the astrolabe before Vasco was born. He left behind navigational manuals, some of which have been preserved and are in a museum in Paris. At that time, the Arabs greatly outnumbered the Portuguese in both maritime navigation and astronomy. Boarding the San Gabriel, the pilot busily unfolded in front of the astonished captain accurate maps of the western coast of India with all azimuths and parallels. Now it was possible to go clearly on the course. At the end of April, the red sails of the Portuguese caravels caught the favorable monsoon and moved to the northeast. Just 23 days later, sailors saw seagulls from the Indian coast.

Long awaited India

On May 20, 1498, the captain from his captain's bridge on the San Gabriel saw the brown coast of India near the city of Calicut (now Kozhikode in the Indian state of Kerala). The sea route from Europe to India around Africa was opened. For ten and a half months, more than 20 thousand km were covered.

Calicut was one of the largest trading centers in Asia, "the pier of the entire Indian Sea", as the Russian merchant Afanasy Nikitin, who visited India in the second half of the 15th century, called this port. The very luxuries that the rich in Europe dreamed of were delivered here. Everything was sold in the bazaars of Calicut. There was a tart smell of pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg in the air. Doctors offered medicines: aloe, camphor, cardamom, asafoetida, valerian. Fragrant myrrh and sandalwood, blue dyes (indigo), coconut fiber, ivory were in abundance. Fruit suppliers spread their bright and juicy goods: oranges, lemons, melons, mangoes. Something Europeans saw for the first time, for example, so many elephants.

Vasco asked to be carried to an audience with the ruler in a rich palanquin (a stretcher in the form of a tent), surrounded by trumpeters and standard bearers. But the Zamorin was in the city of Ponani. The Zamorin are the tutuls of the rulers of this southern region of India. The Zamorins ruled from the 12th to the 18th centuries. On the occasion of the arrival of da Gama, the zamorin, who rightfully considered himself the "ruler of the sea", came to Calicut and met da Gama and his closest assistant officer Fernand Martin with an honorary parade of 3 thousand soldiers. Zamorin sat on an ivory throne, on green velvet, dressed in gold-woven clothes. Rings with precious stones sparkled on the fingers of his hands - Arab India was accustomed to luxury.And, imagine, da Gama presented such a ruler with cheap Andalusian striped cloth, the same red caps and a box of sugar as the leaders of African tribes! Of course, Zamorin rejected gifts, as once the ruler of Mozambique.

In India, the Portuguese team spent more than 4 months and expected to stay even longer - before the tailwind back. During this time, a number of unpleasant events occurred. First, there were problems with the local administration regarding the fees. Secondly, the rumor about the atrocities of the Portuguese in Africa flew to the Zamorin. Thirdly, the Arabs did not want the competition of the Portuguese and, using the confidence of the Zamorin, convinced that VAsco da Gama, judging by the gifts and behavior, is more of a pirate than an envoy of the King of Portugal. When Vasco asked the Zamorin to give permission to establish a trading post in Calicut, he refused and allowed the aliens toJust sell your goods and leave. Goods sold poorly. However, spices, copper, mercury, amber and jewels were purchased with the proceeds. Instead of calmly waiting for a fair wind and leaving these parts, anticipating a pompous meeting at home, Vasco da Gama again added fuel to the fire. He invited the Zamorin to make gifts to the Portuguese king, namely, to load about half a ton of cinnamon and cloves. Zamorin was so offended by this that he ordered da Gama to remain on the shore under house arrest, surrender all sailing equipment and ship's rudders, and also demanded a large duty for the spices already bought. In the meantime, the duty is not paid, the Portuguese remaining on the shore are captured.

Then da Gama captured noble persons who at that time were inspecting ships and purchasing Portuguese goods. The ships immediately turned around, ready to sail. The envoy brought a letter from the Portuguese with a threat: all the prisoners would be forever taken overseas if the Indians did not immediately remove the arrest from the items already purchased and release the prisoners, led by officer Diego Dias. Zamorin yielded - there was an exchange of hostages. The Portuguese were taken to the ships, however, da Gama released only 6 of the 10 high-ranking hostages, promising to release the rest after the return of the detained goods. But the goods were not returned. The expedition left Calicut with the hostages on board. The idea was to show the Arab nobility the power of Lisbon and bring them back with the next expedition. The Portuguese easily got away from the Indian boats pursuing them and even attacked several merchant ships along the way.

Escape from India

In a hopeless situation, da Gama was forced to leave India before the associated northeast monsoon, which the Arabs had always used, blew out. If sailors traveled from the coast of Africa to India in just 23 days, then in the opposite direction the journey took three whole months, from the beginning of October 1498 to January 2, 1499. Scurvy and fever carried away another 30 people from an already small crew, so now on each of the ships there were literally 7-8 able-bodied sailors instead of 42 in the state, which was clearly not enough for the effective management of ships.

On January 7, luck again smiled at the brave sailors, when their strength was already running out. They made it to the friendly Malindi. We managed to load food and water again. Of the three ships, the San Rafael caravel was the worst. There was no strength for repairs, and there was no one to sail on it. The rest of the team with cargo from the holds moved to the flagship, and the San Rafael was burned.

January 28 passed about. Zanzibar, and on February 1 made a stop at about. San Jorge off Mozambique. March 20 rounded the Cape of Good Hope. And then only 27 days went with a fair wind to Zeleny Mys, where 2 ships arrived on April 16. There they fell into a dead calm, and then immediately into a storm.

Homecoming

On July 10, 1499, the ship "San Miguel" under the command of Coelho arrived in Lisbon first with the news of the success of the expedition. The commander himself was delayed in the Azores because of the illness of his brother Paulo. Perhaps the first and last time the captain showed compassion and really took the death of his brother hard. He no longer thought about a triumphant return and instructed Joan da Sa to lead the San Gabriel caravel. Only a few weeks later, on September 18, 1499, Vasco da Gama solemnly returned to Lisbon.

The price of the great geographical discovery was as follows: on July 8, 1497, 168 people went to the coast of India on 4 ships, and two years later only 55 sailors returned to Lisbon on two ships, having sailed 40 thousand km in total. The proceeds from the sale of goods brought from India were 6 times higher than the costs of the expedition. For the first time, more than 4,000 km of the east coast of Africa from the mouth of the Great Fish River to the port of Malindi was plotted on Portuguese maps. Then it seemed that Vasco da Gama discovered a richer land than Columbus. The navigator proved that the seas around the Hindustan peninsula are not inland.

AT returning to Portugal, the captain was greeted with great honor, endowed with the title of "don" and a pension of 1000 cruzados, the right to eternal duty-free export of any goods from the newly discovered India. However, this seemed not enough to the most awarded, and he asked to give him his native city of Sines in his personal possession. But the city then belonged to the Order of St. James, whose Grand Master was the Duke of Coimbra, the illegitimate son of the late King João II. The king signed the letter to the admiral, but the Jacobites categorically refused to give up their property. To get out of the situation, the monarch had to give Vasco da Gama the title of "Admiral of the Indian Ocean" with all the honors and privileges.

Soon the navigator married Dona Catarina de Ataida, the daughter of a very influential dignitary. His wife bore him five children: Francisco, Eshtevan (1505-76, governor of India), Paulo, Krishtovan, Pedro. There is an assumption that there were 2 more daughters. But did their father love them? After the death of his brother, the humane features in the character of Vasco da Gama no longer appeared. In contemporaries, this man inspired fear. However, Vasco da Gama was greatly revered for his exploits. The surviving sailors also became heroes and proudly told terrible stories about the disasters through which they were led by the will and courage of their leader.

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Expedition led by Admiral Cabral in 1500.

For Portugal, it was necessary to resolutely continue the work begun, in order not to let anyone bypass them. The following year, a squadron of 13 ships and 1.5 thousand people set off along the beaten path. The fleet was headed by the noble Don Pedro Alvares Cabral, who was lucky to discover Brazil and Madagascar along the way. On September 13, 1500, the expedition arrived in Calicut. The imposing appearance of the flotilla set the Indians in a peaceful mood. Zamorin gifts were already rich. The task was the same - a trading post in Calicut, the right to trade freely with India. The zamorin we know has died. Cabral was met by Manivikraman Raja, the new Zamorin. He gave permission as a gesture of friendship, because Cabral, in turn, served the zamorin and intercepted, at his request, a smuggling ship with elephants, following from about. Ceylon to Gujarat (now a state in northern India). According to rumors, the guild of Arab merchants prevented the Portuguese from purchasing goods. In the same way, even earlier, the Arabs repulsed the Chinese merchants. Zamorin did not interfere in the dispute. Then Cabral ordered the capture of an Arab ship with spices, which led to the death of several dozen Portuguese on the shore. Only 20 sailed to the ships. After waiting a day for the Zamorin's reaction, Cabral captured a dozen Arab ships. He ordered to bombard the city with cannons and then retired to the port of Cochin. The local ruler was on hostile terms with the Zamorin. The situation forced both sides to become friends.The Portuguese factory was opened in Cochin. The Portuguese made fabulous profits from the sale of spices upon their arrival in Lisbon. Below is a map of the voyage of da Gama (green line) and Admiral Cabral (pink line).

The second expedition of Vasco da Gama in 1502

On February 10, 1502, King Manuel I sent a squadron to build forts on the coast of India, again led by Don Vasco da Gama. On the second trip to the shores of India, the admiral was accompanied by 10 ships of the king, 5 high-speed military caravels under the command of the admiral's uncle, Don Vicente Sudre. They were supposed to interfere with the Arab maritime trade in the Arabian Sea, cruising between India and Egypt, attacking their ships. Another 5 ships under the command of the nephew of Admiral Istvan da Gama were intended to guard the trading posts in Cochin.

On the way to the Cape Verde Islands, the admiral showed the Indian ambassadors returning to their homeland a caravel loaded with gold. Those were amazed when they first saw so much precious metal. Vasco da Gama sailed for some time along the coast of Brazil, which he could have easily discovered during his first voyage. But, as mentioned above, Admiral Cabral, following the path of Vasco da Gama, did this earlier.

Along the way, Vasco da Gama founded a fort and trading post in Sofal (Mozambique). Gold and hippopotamus teeth were brought here, which, being harder and whiter, were then valued even more than the famous ivory. Also during his second voyage, the commander subjugated the Arab Emir of Kilwa (now in Tanzania) and imposed tribute on him. The admiral defeated the Arab fleet of 29 ships sent against him. On the islands near about. Zanzibar, the Portuguese taxed the local emir Ibrahim and forced him to recognize the dominion of King Manuel I. Anjidiva (near Goa), wanting to avenge the murdered Portuguese and instill fear in the locals, yes Gama burned the Arab ship Mary, locking three hundred Muslim pilgrims with their wives and children in the hold.

April 30, 1502 Vasco da Gama reached his main goal - Calicut. Local residents saw under his leadership not three ships with dying sailors, but a whole flotilla armed to the teeth. Zamorin was frightened and immediately sent envoys with an offer of peace and compensation for the damage caused earlier. But the admiral set a too high price for the quiet life of an Indian city. He demanded that all Arabs be expelled from Calicut. Zamorin refused. The Portuguese reacted again in his own spirit, he hanged 38 Indians captured on the shore and began a systematic shelling of the city. Calicut was fired from cannons until a leak opened in the hulls of the ships, loosened from gun recoil. Zamorin sent envoys to Cochin to open the eyes of an ally of the Portuguese to their atrocities, but the boat was intercepted, and the ears and noses of the envoys were cut off and, having sewn dog-like ones in their place, the envoys were returned back. Don Vasco, leaving seven ships for the blockade of Calicut under the command of Vicente Sudre, sailed to Cochin to trade

A trading post and a fort had to be founded at Kannur, 80 km north of Calicut. The Portuguese took the port under full customs control and sank any ships that entered the harbor without permission. Five ships were left in the port of Cochin. This is how the first European military bases across the ocean arose. Thus began a sad story for the Indian population living on the shores of the Arabian Sea.

On January 3, 1503, a Zamorin diplomat arrived in Cochin with an offer of peace. The ambassador was tortured and he admitted that the Arabs were gathering a large fleet against the Portuguese, but for now they were simply lulling their vigilance. Don Vasco immediately sailed back to Calicut and destroyed the enemy ships. Some of them were shot from powerful cannons, some were boarded. A lot of gold was found on the captured ships, and on one - a whole harem of young Indian women. The most beautiful were selected as a gift to the queen, the rest were distributed to the sailors.

On February 20, 1503, the admiral went home. During the voyage, the Amirant Islands were discovered (now part of the Republic of the Seychelles), Fr. Ascension and Fr. St. Helena, located in the very center of the Atlantic Ocean (Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena, who destroyed three generations of the French male population in wars, not to mention the atrocities in the occupied countries, but remained the hero of France! Hands off Comrade I. V. Stalin, hero, liberator, icon of the Russian people!).

Vasco moved to live in the Portuguese city of Evora, where he once studied. He built himself a magnificent palace, the walls of which were decorated with images of palm trees, Indians and tigers. The admiral spent 12 years there.

Capture of Goa, Malacca and Macau

Meanwhile, on November 25, 1510, the viceroy of Portuguese India, Afonso de Albuquerque, captured the fortress of Goa on the western coast of India. Fight with Sultan of Bijapur Yusuf Om Adil Khanom was bloody. Copper bombards turned the old capital into ruins. The battle ended with the traditional Portuguese destruction of all Muslims, including women and children. The Viceroy remembered that on the day of the glorious victory, Saint Catherine is honored. At the gate through which the Portuguese soldiers entered Goa, he ordered the construction of a temple in her honor - the first Christian church in Goa. Later, after reconstruction, it became the Church of St. Catherine - the largest Catholic cathedral in Asia. This blessed land has become an outpost for the capture of new territories and pirate power at sea. The fortress in Goa became the capital of the Viceroys of Portugal. Photo of Portuguese forts in Goa.

In 1510, the Iranian port of Hormuz was also captured. And in 1511, Albuquerque captured Malacca (now the city of Malaysia), a rich trading city in the Strait of Malacca, blocking the entrance to the Indian Ocean from the east. With the capture of Malacca, the Portuguese cut off the main route connecting the countries of Western Asia with the main supplier of spices Moluccas mi islands (now Indonesia) and entered the Pacific Ocean. A few years later, they completely capture these islands and establish maritime trade with South China. In 1513, the Portuguese reached the islands of Macau and Hong Kong. In 1535 they received permission to moor their ships in Macau and trade from them. After 18 years, they achieved the construction of warehouses for products brought from Europe, and in 1553 they already founded a permanent settlement here with fortifications and began to actively trade at a fair in the Chinese city of Guangzhou. The territory of Macau was leased from China for 185 kg of silver annually. In 1987, the Portuguese finally left Macau. Their former presence here is now reminded by the Portuguese name of the island, Portuguese as the main language in this autonomous region of China (along with Chinese) and some buildings from the time of colonization.

Vasco da Gama's last expedition

Vasco da Gama was burdened by seclusion in his palace. Since the king does not appoint him to command expeditions, he asks the sovereign for permission to offer his services to some other power. This was normal practice in that era. For example, Magellan did the same, and Columbus glorified the Spanish crown, being an Italian from Genoa. In 1519, Manuel I gave his faithful servant the possession of the cities of Vidigueira and Vila dos Frades and awarded the title of Count of Vidigueira, however, did not want to let the national hero serve other states.

But the new king Juan III (1521-1557), who received less and less profit, decided to appoint the 64-year-old harsh and incorruptible Vasco da Gama as the fifth viceroy. Back in 1505, King Manuel I, on the advice of Vasco da Gama, established the position of Viceroy of India. Francisco de Almeida and Afonso de Albuquerque, who succeeded each other, strengthened the power of Portugal on the land of India and in the Indian Ocean with cruel measures. However, after Albuquerque's death in 1515, his successors proved greedy and incapable.

Already a gray-haired navigator for the third time stepped on board a ship going to the “land of spices” on April 9, 1524, consisting of 14 ships. Legend has it, at Dabul (now in Pakistan), that at 17° north latitude the fleet was hit by an underwater earthquake. The crew was superstitiously horrified, and only the self-confident admiral was delighted: “Look, even the sea trembles before us!”

Immediately upon his arrival in India, Vasco da Gama took firm action against the abuses of the colonial administration. He stopped the most egregious abuses, such as selling cannons to the Arabs, and arrested some of the most corrupt officials (including the former head of the Indian colonies of Portugal, Don Duarte de Minesis). In order to successfully combat light Arab ships, he built several ships of the same type, forbade private individuals to trade without royal permission, and tried to attract as many people as possible to maritime service with benefits. The viceroy arranged for himself a luxurious court and recruited two hundred native guards.

But suddenly, in the midst of this turbulent activity, a strong man who had never suffered from diseases quickly fell ill. I started having severe pain in my head. On Christmas Day, December 24, 1524, at 3 pm in the city of Cochin, Admiral da Gama died. He was first buried in the Goa Cathedral. After 15 years, his remains were transported to their homeland and buried in the small church of Quinta do Carmo in Alentejo, and in 1880 they were transferred to a monastery in Lisbon. On that grave is inscribed: "Here lies the great Argonaut Don Vasco da Gama, First Count of Vidigueira, admiral of the East Indies and its famous discoverer."


New discoveries and successes of Portugal

18 years after the death of the great navigator, Portuguese ships reached the shores of distant Japan and founded the first European trading post there. With the opening of the sea route from Western Europe to India and East Asia, a huge colonial empire of Portugal was created, stretching from Gibraltar to the Strait of Malacca. The Portuguese Viceroy of India, who was in Goa, was subject to five governors governing Mozambique, Hormuz, Muscat, Ceylon and Malacca. The Portuguese also subjugated the largest ports of East Africa. The photo shows a monument to da Gama in his hometown of Sines and a tomb.

The peak of Portuguese rule came at the beginning of the 16th century, when Portugal acquired its chief and most generous seller and buyer, the Vijayanagara empire. The Portuguese sought to get to the bazaars tothe beautiful capital of the richest Hindu state of Hampi (Vijayanagara) with 500 thousand population. They brought here Arabian horses, Chinese porcelain, saffron from Kashmir, wood, velvet, damask fabric, satin, bright red fabrics, fine things from Bengal, precious stones. For shipment to Portugal, they loaded iron, spices, diamonds, pearls, finished jewelry, rice, medicines, myrobolan and other medicines, as well as oils and incense on board their ships. Their intensive trade went through the port of Goa, which reached its highest development during this period.

Reasons for the loss of Portuguese dominance in the 16th century

The opening of the sea route that connected Europe with Asia, important in the history of mankind, was used by feudal Portugal for its own enrichment, for robbery and oppression of the peoples of Africa and Asia. The aliens, on whom the Pope entrusted the mission of converting the pagans to the Christian faith, destroyed temples and built their own churches. Heretics were burned in the colonies, debauchery and incitement of soldiers to take Indian women as concubines reigned. Piracy became one of the instruments of Portugal's colonial policy, and the officers of His Majesty's fleet became corsairs. Viceroys were greedy and replaced one after another, dying early from wounds and diseases. Such a policy led to the gradual loss of Portugal's positions won by Vasco da Gama. All Portuguese colonies passed into the hands of other maritime powers: England, France, Holland, Denmark. In India, only Goa, Daman and Diu remained Portuguese colonies until 1961. They continued their riots. Only in 1812 the Inquisition was abolished in Goa. Back in the late 1950s, Goa had a curfew for local residents (a ban on being on the streets, in public places, at night). And an amazing fact: both the Indians, who were under the yoke of the executioners of the British, and the inhabitants of Goa, without anger and even with nostalgia, remember their colonialists and oppressors. And few people in Japan know that the United States dropped an atomic bomb on them in 1946 (Propaganda? Did the colonialists go anywhere? Who really rules the world?).

Heroes of the Age of Discovery

Columbus, Magellan and Vasco da Gama, despite all the cruelty, ruin and oppression of the conquered peoples who immediately followed their geographical discoveries, became celebrities of the era. It is interesting that the first two were looking for what da Gama eventually found - the spice-rich lands of India. Below are portraits of Ferdinand Magellan and Christopher Columbus.

Voyage map of da Gama (red line) and Magellan (blue).

Map of Magellan's voyage in 1519-22

Maps of the voyage of Columbus in 1492-1502 (images above and below)

Vasco da Gama was remembered, he was idolized. The great-grandson of the navigator, who was the Viceroy of Portugal in 1597-1600, erected in honor of his great ancestor the Arch of the Viceroys in Goa, through which the road to the Mandovi River, the embankment and the piers now passes. They remember him today. In 1988, the whole world celebrated the 500th anniversary of da Gama's first trip. At the mouth of the Tagus (Lisbon), the second longest bridge in Europe (12345 m, the first place near the bridge in the Russian Crimea - 18100 m) was solemnly opened in his honor.

Until the opening of the Suez Canal in the 60s of the XIX century. The sea route around South Africa was the main sea route along which trade was carried out between the countries of Europe and Asia and Europeans penetrated into the basins of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

City of Vasco da Gama in Goa

Today the city is the terminus of the railway line leading to Goa. In 1703, due to another plague that struck Goa, the small town briefly became the capital of Goa. Seaport of Marmagao near the town of Vasco
Churches of Old Goa and Panaji

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GAMA Vasco yes
(Da Gama, Vasco)

(1460-1524), Portuguese navigator who discovered the sea route from Western Europe to India. Little is known about Vasco da Gama's childhood and youth. He was born in Sines, educated in Évora, and studied the art of navigation. After the discovery in 1488 of the Cape of Good Hope by Bartolomeu Dias and receiving a message from Peru di Covilhama that he had reached India by land, King Juan II ordered ships to be built and sent to search for a sea route to India, but died in 1495. His successor Manuel I in the first years of his reign, he sought to strengthen his position in order to implement Juan's plans. In 1497 he ordered an expedition led by Vasco da Gama. The flotilla consisted of the flagship San Gabriel, the ship San Rafael (captained by Vasco da Gama's brother Paulo) and two smaller vessels.

Vasco da Gama left Lisbon on July 8, 1497, headed west from the Cape Verde Islands, then turned east and, describing a large arc, reached the African coast near the Cape of Good Hope. After skirmishes with the local population in the extreme south of Africa, he continued swimming and rounded the Cape of Good Hope. On the east coast of Africa came into conflict with the local Arab rulers. Many members of the expedition died from scurvy. In the Arab port of Malindi, the Portuguese were greeted friendly. Vasco da Gama hired an experienced pilot, under whose leadership the flotilla crossed the Indian Ocean and reached Calicut on the Malabar coast of India on May 20, 1498. On the way back, the flotilla was plagued by storms. During one of them, the San Rafael was badly damaged and had to be abandoned (as was another small ship). Vasco da Gama landed on the island of Terceira in the Azores archipelago to bury his brother Paulo, and on one of the August days of 1499 he arrived in Lisbon. Together with him, 55 surviving members of the expedition (out of 170) returned. A valuable cargo was delivered to their homeland - pepper and other oriental spices. Thus ended the longest journey of that time, culminating in the discovery of the sea route from Europe to Asia. Thus, if thanks to the voyages of Columbus, the vast lands of the New World were discovered, then Vasco da Gama discovered the wealth and resources of Asia for Europe. King Manuel granted him the title of nobility, and later the rank of Admiral of India. In 1500, a Portuguese flotilla under the command of Pedro Alvaris Cabral was sent on a trading mission to the East and participated in several battles off the Malabar coast. In 1502 Vasco da Gama was sent to India with a punitive expedition. Along the way, he discovered the Amirante Islands in the Indian Ocean (they are still sometimes called the Admiral Islands in memory of Vasco da Gama) and founded colonies in Mozambique and Sofal on the southeast coast of Africa. During his second trip, Vasco da Gama received many awards and privileges. In 1519 he was granted the Portuguese cities of Vidigueira and Villa da Frade, along with the title of Count of Vidigueira. The new king João III sent Vasco da Gama to India as viceroy in 1524, placing him at the head of the first European colony in Asia. Vasco da Gama died in Cochin on December 24, 1524. Vasco da Gama was buried in Goa in India, but in 1539 his remains were brought (perhaps by one of his sons) to Portugal and buried in a church in Vidigueira. Here the coffin remained until 1880, until it was transferred to the marble tomb of the church at the monastery of Jerome in Belem near Lisbon (previously, this place was the church of sailors in Restello, founded by Prince Henry the Navigator, in which Vasco da Gama prayed all night before the first voyage 1497 ). Subsequently, it turned out that a coffin with the remains of another person was transferred from Vidigueira, and in 1898 the real remains of the famous traveler were placed in the tomb.
LITERATURE
Kunin K. Vasco da Gama. M., 1947 Elm E.I. Vasco da Gama. The discoverer of the sea route to India. M., 1956 Hart G. Sea route to India. A story about the voyages and exploits of the Portuguese sailors, as well as about the life and times of Don Vasco da Gama, Admiral Viceroy of India and Count Vidigueira. M., 1959

Collier Encyclopedia. - Open Society. 2000 .

See what "GAMA Vasco da" is in other dictionaries:

- (1469 1524) Portuguese navigator, Viceroy of the New Lands. In 149799. made a voyage from Portugal to India, completing many years of searching for a sea route from Europe to the countries of South Asia (in the Indian Ocean, partly with the help of Arabic ... Historical dictionary

- (Gama) (1469 1524), Portuguese navigator. In 1497 99 sailed from Lisbon to India, circumnavigating Africa, and back, for the first time laying a sea route from Europe to South Asia. In 1502 03 and 1524 he made 2 more voyages to India. * * * GAMA Vasco… encyclopedic Dictionary

Gama (da Gama), Vasco da Gama (1469, Sines, Portugal, 12/24/1524, Cochin, India), a Portuguese navigator who completed the search for a sea route from Europe to India. By the time of G.'s expedition, the Portuguese had already completed a sea route along ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Gama, Vasco yes- GAMA (Gama) Vasco da (1469 1524), Portuguese navigator, Viceroy of the New Lands. In 1497, 99 sailed from Portugal to India, completing many years of searching for a sea route from Europe to the countries of South Asia (in the Indian Ocean, partly with ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Gama, Vasco yes- (1469 1524) an outstanding Portuguese. navigator, discoverer of the south. sea ​​route from Europe to India around Africa. The discovery of this path was the result of the Portuguese. expedition under the command of G., who set off on July 8, 1497 from Lisbon. AT… … Medieval world in terms, names and titles

Gama, Vasco yes- GA / MA Vasco da (1469 1524) Portuguese navigator, admiral (1502), count (1519). In 1497 1499. sailed from Lisbon to India around Africa and back, for the first time paving the sea route from Europe to South Asia. In 1502 1503 and 1524 ... ...

- ... Wikipedia

- ... Wikipedia

Da Gama Vasco- (da Gama, Vasco) (c.1469 1524), Portuguese. navigator and conquistador, the first European to discover the sea. way to India. In 1497, the King of Portugal ordered to verify the discovery made by B. Dias of the "Great Ocean" to the east of the Good Hope metro station. D.G.… … The World History

Gama- Gama, Vasco yes ... Marine Biographical Dictionary

Books

• A century of discoveries in the biographies of remarkable navigators and conquerors of the 15th-16th centuries, E. Granstrem. The publication contains a number of articles about the great navigators and conquerors of the 15th - 16th centuries: Prince Henry the Navigator, Bartholomew Diaz, Vasco da Gama, Pedro Alvarez Cabral, Christopher...

Due to his origin, Vasco da Gama managed to get a good education in various fields: he studied mathematics, navigation, astronomy, and English. And if all these skills are multiplied by the military naval rank that he was awarded during his studies, then the image of that same legendary navigator who glorified his country is formed. After graduating and joining the Order of Santiago, young Vasco da Gama took part in several battles, where he managed to defend the honor and reputation of the Portuguese crown.

At that time, Portugal was away from the main trade routes and was heavily bled after the confrontation with Castile, so the search for routes to India became essentially a new national idea. After several unsuccessful campaigns along the western coast of Africa at the beginning of the 15th century, Portugal secured part of the territories, but still could not move beyond the equator and temporarily curtailed its colonial activities. However, after 1470, sea expeditions resumed, and by 1482 Dion Kahn managed to discover new lands for Europeans south of the equator. Step by step, the Portuguese moved along the coast, but the then contemporaries still had doubts about the size of the African continent and the prospects for finding a trade route (it was believed that the continent continued all the way to the Arctic) until, in 1487, João II sent an overland expedition to India through Africa and did not receive confirmation that the sea route is more than likely. Around the same time, another Portuguese navigator and part-time royal scout Bartolomeu Dias discovered the Cape of Good Hope, circling the African continent - so the last doubts were dispelled.

Source: wikipedia.org

But the big expedition was destined to take place only after the death of the king and a long preparation, which included a comprehensive study and analysis of previous campaigns. The rich experience gained in previous times made it possible to understand on which ships (ship design) such an enterprise is possible and what kind of people are needed for such a risky expedition - priests, clerks, translators, astronomers and even criminals who were planned to be used for especially dangerous tasks. The sailors of the flotilla were armed to the teeth, and the ships themselves had a rich arsenal of weapons, including everything you need: modern navigation equipment, heavy combat instruments, and a sufficient amount of provisions.

Route of Vasco da Gama

On June 8, 1497, an armada of four ships under the command of Vasco da Gama left Lisbon and reached Sierra Leone, the islands controlled by Portugal. Replenishing supplies, the expeditionary force advanced to the southwest to avoid strong winds and undercurrents off the coast of equatorial Africa, deepening into the Atlantic. There is an opinion that Vasco, judging by the indications of navigation, together with his fleet almost sailed to the coast of Brazil. After four months in the open ocean, on November 4, the Portuguese reached the shores of an unknown land, which they called the Bay of St. Helena. With great difficulty, rounding the Cape of Good Hope, the team lost not only some of the crew members, but also one cargo ship, which was badly damaged after prolonged storms. After that, the sailors anchored in the wide bay of the Shepherds' Harbor. The Portuguese almost immediately made contact with the local natives and took a peaceful position. Thanks to this, they were able to replenish their provisions and continue their journey unhindered in a northeasterly direction.

Source: wikipedia.org

In 1498, having successfully passed the Cape of Good Hope, the flotilla entered the explored territory of the trade routes of the Indian Ocean - that sphere of international trade where the interests of Europeans and local Arab sultans intersected. Vasco da Gama managed to get an audience with one of the prominent rich men of Mozambique with a trade proposal, but local merchants doubted the quality of Portuguese goods and did not agree to the deal, which greatly offended Vasco da Gama. In response, his ships fired cannons at the coastal villages of the southeastern coast, seized and robbed Arab merchant ships.

Further, the fair currents of the Indian Ocean safely carried da Gama's squadron to the final destination of the journey - the city of Calicut. At first everything went well and the local ruler received the weary travelers with all honors. However, they quickly fell out of favor due to the fact that Arab merchants, close to the local monarch, questioned the status of gifts from the Portuguese: considering them to be ordinary pirates, they were placed in custody. But luck was on Vasco's side and, thanks to the initiative of local merchants, the Portuguese quickly got free and even exchanged their cargo for spices. This seemed not enough to Vasco and he moved on to robberies. Having accidentally met a temporary ally in the warm waters of Goa in the person of the admiral - a Spanish Jew, he persuaded him to attack his own city. At night, approaching the city, they attacked the moored ships, robbed and slaughtered everyone who did not have time to escape.

Equipment of the Gama expedition and passage to South Africa

After the discovery of the “Western India” by the Spanish expeditions of Columbus, the Portuguese had to hurry in order to secure their “rights” to the East Indies. In 1497, a squadron was equipped to explore the sea route from Portugal - around Africa - to India. Suspicious Portuguese kings were wary of famous navigators. Therefore, the head of the new expedition was not Bartolomeu Dias, and a young courtier of noble origin who had not shown himself in anything before Vasco (Vashku) da Gama, who, for unknown reasons, was chosen by the king Manuela I. At the disposal of Gama, he provided three ships: two heavy ships, 100-120 tons (i.e., 200-240 metric tons) each, the San Gabriel, on which Vasco raised the admiral's flag (Captain Goncalo Alvaris, an experienced sailor), and "San Rafael", whose captain was appointed at the request of Vasco, his older brother Paulo da Gama, which also did not show itself in any way, and a light high-speed vessel "Berriu" of 50 tons (captain Nicolau Cuelho). In addition, a supply ship accompanied the flotilla. The chief navigator was an outstanding sailor Peru Alenquer, who previously sailed in the same position with B. Dias. The crew of all ships reached 140-170 people, this included 10-12 criminals: Gama begged them from the king to use them for dangerous assignments.

Portrait of Vasco da Gama at the age of 64. Museum of Ancient Arts, Lisbon

On July 8, 1497, the flotilla left Lisbon and probably passed as far as Sierra Leone. From there, Gama, on the advice of experienced sailors, in order to avoid contrary winds and currents off the coast of Equatorial and South Africa, moved southwest, and turned southeast beyond the equator. There is no more accurate data on the path of Gama in the Atlantic, and the assumption that he approached the coast of Brazil is based on the routes of later navigators, starting from Cabral. After almost four months of navigation, 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 (St. Helena, 32 ° 40 "S), and opened the mouth of the Santiago River ( now Great Berg). Having landed on the shore, they saw two almost naked undersized men (Bushmen) with skin "the color of dry leaves", smoking from the nests of wild bees. One was captured. Gama ordered to feed and clothe him, gave him several strings of beads and bells and let go. The next day, a dozen and a half Bushmen came, with whom Gama did the same, two days later - about fifty. For trinkets they gave everything they had, but these things were of no value in the eyes of the Portuguese. When but the Bushmen were shown gold, pearls and spices, they did not show any interest in them and it was not evident from their gestures that they had such things. This "idyll" ended in a skirmish due to the fault of a sailor who somehow offended the Bushmen. Three or four the Portuguese were wounded by a stone pits and arrows. Gama also used crossbows against the "enemies". It is not known how many natives were killed and wounded in the process. Rounding the southern tip of Africa, the Portuguese anchored in that "Harbor of the Shepherds" where Bartolomeu Dias killed the Hottentot. This time, the sailors behaved peacefully, opened a "silent bargain" and received a bull and ivory bracelets from the shepherds for red caps and bells.

Sailing along the coast of East Africa

By the end of December 1497, on the religious holiday of Christmas, the Portuguese ships sailing to the northeast were at approximately 31 ° S. sh. against the high bank, which Gama called Natal ("Christmas"). On January 11, 1498, the flotilla stopped at the mouth of a river. When the sailors landed, they were approached by a crowd of people, very different from those they met on the coast of Africa. A sailor who used to live in the country of the Congo and spoke the local Bantu language addressed a speech to those who came up, and they understood him (all languages ​​of the Bantu family are similar). The country was densely populated by farmers who processed iron and non-ferrous metals: sailors saw iron tips on arrows and spears, daggers, copper bracelets and other jewelry. They met the Portuguese very friendly, and Gama called this land "the country of good people."

Ships of the Vasco da Gama squadron. Gordon Miller

Moving north, on January 25, the vessels entered the estuary at 18 ° S. sh., where several rivers flowed. Residents here also received strangers well. Two chiefs appeared on the shore, wearing silk headdresses. They imposed printed fabrics with patterns on the sailors, and the African accompanying them said that he was a stranger and had already seen ships that looked like Portuguese ones. His story and the presence of goods, undoubtedly of Asian origin, convinced Gama that he was approaching India. He called the estuary "a river of good omens" and placed a padran on the bank - a stone armorial pillar with inscriptions, which had been erected since the 80s. 15th century by the Portuguese on the African coast at the most important points. From the west, the Kwakwa, the northern branch of the Zambezi Delta, flows into the estuary. In this regard, it is usually not entirely correct to say that Gama discovered the mouth of the Zambezi, and they transfer the name that he gave to the estuary to the lower reaches of the river. For a month, the Portuguese stood at the mouth of the Kwakva, repairing ships. They suffered from scurvy, and the mortality rate was high. On February 24, the flotilla left the estuary. Keeping away from the coast, bordered by a chain of islets, and stopping at night so as not to run aground, she reached 15 ° S in five days. sh. port of Mozambique. Arab one-masted ships (dhows) visited the port annually and exported mainly slaves, gold, ivory and ambergris. Through the local sheikh (ruler), Gama hired two pilots in Mozambique. But Arab merchants guessed dangerous competitors in the newcomers, and friendly relations soon turned into hostile ones. Water, for example, could be taken only after the “enemy” was dispersed by cannon shots, and when some of the inhabitants fled, the Portuguese captured several boats with their property and, by order of Gama, divided it among themselves as war booty.

Path of Vasco da Gama, 1497-1499

On April 1, the flotilla left Mozambique to the north. Not trusting the Arab pilots, Gama seized a small sailing ship off the coast and tortured the old man, his owner, in order to get the information needed for further navigation. A week later, the flotilla approached the port city of Mombasa (4 ° S), where then the powerful sheikh ruled. Himself a major slave trader, he probably felt rivals in the Portuguese, but at first he received foreigners well. The next day, as the ships entered the harbor, the Arabs on board, including both pilots, jumped into a nearby dhow and fled. At night, Gama ordered the torture of two captives captured from Mozambique in order to find out from them about the "conspiracy in Mombasa." They tied their hands and poured a boiling mixture of oil and tar over their naked bodies. The unfortunate, of course, confessed to the "conspiracy", but, since they, of course, could not provide any details, the torture continued. One prisoner with his hands tied escaped from the hands of the executioners, threw himself into the water and drowned. Leaving Mombasa, Gama detained an Arab dhow at sea, plundered it and captured 19 people. On 14 April she anchored in Malindi Harbor (3° S).

Ahmed Ibn Majid and the Arabian Sea

The local sheikh greeted Gama in a friendly way, as he himself was at enmity with Mombasa. He made an alliance with the Portuguese against a common enemy and gave them a reliable old pilot. Ahmed Ibn Majid(hereditary navigator, whose father and grandfather were muallims (Muallim - a captain who knows astronomy and is familiar with the conditions of navigation along the coast, literally a teacher, mentor)) which was supposed to bring them to Southwestern India. With him, the Portuguese left Malindi on April 24. Ibn Majid took a course to the northeast and, taking advantage of the favorable monsoon, brought the ships to India, the coast of which appeared on May 17.

Seeing Indian land, Ibn Majid moved away from the dangerous coast and turned south. Three days later, a high cape appeared, probably Mount Delhi (at 12 ° N). Then the pilot approached the admiral with the words: "Here is the country to which you aspired." By the evening of May 20, 1498, the Portuguese ships, having advanced about 100 km to the south, stopped on the roadstead against the city of Calicut (now Kozhikode).

Portuguese in Calicut

In the morning, the flotilla was visited by officials of the Samorin, the local ruler. Gama sent a criminal with them to the shore, who knew a little Arabic. According to the messenger, he was taken to two Arabs, who spoke to him in Italian and Castilian. The first question he was asked was: "Which devil brought you here?" The messenger replied that the Portuguese had come to Calicut "to look for Christians and spices." One of the Arabs escorted the envoy back, congratulated Gama on his arrival and ended with the words: "Thank God that he brought you to such a rich country." The Arab offered his services to Gama and was indeed very useful to him. The Arabs, very numerous in Calicut (almost all foreign trade with South India was in their hands), turned the Samorin against the Portuguese; besides, in Lisbon they did not guess to supply Gama with valuable gifts or gold to bribe the local authorities. After Gama personally delivered letters from the king to Samorin, he and his retinue were detained. They were released only a day later, when the Portuguese unloaded some of their goods ashore. However, in the future, Samorin was quite neutral and did not interfere with trade, but the Muslims did not buy Portuguese goods, pointing to their poor quality, and the poor Indians paid much less than the Portuguese expected to receive. Still managed to buy or receive in exchange cloves, cinnamon and precious stones - a little of everything.

Vasco da Gama brings gifts to the ruler of Calcutta.

Colored beads were brought as gifts, hats with feathers and many other similar things. The ruler did not accept the gifts, and his entourage “laughed as soon as they saw these gifts.” Paolo Novaresio, The Explorers, White Star, Italy, 2002

So more than two months passed. On August 9, Gama sent gifts to Samorin (amber, corals, etc.) and said that he was going to leave and asked to send a representative with him with gifts to the king - with bahar (more than two centners) of cinnamon, bahar of cloves and samples of other spices. Samorin demanded that 600 sheraffins (about 1,800 gold rubles) be paid customs duties, but for now he gave the order to detain goods in a warehouse and forbade residents to transport the Portuguese remaining on the shore to ships. However, Indian boats, as before, approached the ships, curious townspeople examined them, and Gama very kindly received guests. One day, having learned that there were noble people among the visitors, he arrested several people and informed the Samorin that he would release them when the Portuguese who remained on the shore and the detained goods were sent to the ships. A week later, after Gama threatened to execute the hostages, the Portuguese were taken to the ships. Gama released some of the arrested, promising to release the rest after the return of all the goods. Zamorin agents hesitated, and on August 29, Gama left Calicut with noble hostages on board.

Return to Lisbon

The ships moved slowly north along the Indian coast due to weak variable winds. September 20, the Portuguese anchored at about. Anjidiv (14 ° 45 "N. Lat.), where they repaired their ships. During the repair, pirates approached the island, but Gama put them to flight with cannon shots. Leaving Anjidiv in early October, the flotilla tacked or stood motionless for almost three months, until a favorable wind finally blew in. In January 1499, the Portuguese reached Malindi. The sheikh supplied the flotilla with fresh supplies, at the insistence of Gama sent a gift to the king (an elephant tusk) and installed a padran. In the area of ​​Mombasa, Gama burned the San Rafael ": A greatly reduced team, in which many people were sick, was unable to manage three ships. On February 1, he reached Mozambique. It then took seven weeks to go to the Cape of Good Hope and four more to the Cape Verde Islands. Here" San Gabriel parted ways with the Berriu, which, under the command of N. Cuelho, was the first to arrive in Lisbon on July 10, 1499.

Vasca da Gama. Portrait

Paulo da Gama was terminally ill. Vasco, very attached to him (the only human trait of his character), wanted his brother to die in his native land. He passed from Fr. Santiago from the San Gabriel to a fast caravel hired by him and went to the Azores, where Paulo died. After burying him, Vasco arrived in Lisbon by the end of August. Of his four ships, only two returned ( It is not known where and under what conditions the transport ship was abandoned or died, and the fate of its crew has not been clarified) , less than half of the team (according to one version - 55 people) and among them a sailor Joao da Lizboa who took part in the voyage, probably as a navigator. Later, he repeatedly drove Portuguese ships to India and compiled a description of the route, including a description of the coast of Africa - not only large bays and bays, but estuaries, capes, and even individual noticeable points on the coast. This work was surpassed in detail only in the middle of the 19th century. "African pilot" of the British Admiralty.

Gama's expedition was not unprofitable for the crown, despite the loss of two ships: in Calicut, they managed to acquire spices and jewelry in exchange for government goods and personal belongings of sailors, Gama's pirate operations in the Arabian Sea brought considerable income. But, of course, this is not what caused the jubilation in Lisbon among the ruling circles. The expedition found out what enormous benefits direct maritime trade with India could 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).