Vasco da Gama

Count of Vidigueira Vasco da Gama
Anonymous portrait, c. 1525
Viceroy of Portuguese India
In office 5 September 1524 – 24 December 1524
Monarch	John III of Portugal
Preceded by	Duarte de Menezes
Succeeded by	Henrique de Meneses
Personal details
Born	c. 1460 Sines, Alentejo, Kingdom of Portugal
Died	24 December 1524 (aged approximately 55–65) Cochin, Kingdom of Cochin
Cause of death	Malaria
Resting place	Jerónimos Monastery, Lisbon, Portugal
Spouse	Catarina de Ataíde
Children	Francisco da Gama, 2nd Count of Vidigueira Estêvão da Gama, Governor of India Cristóvão da Gama, Captain of Malacca Among others
Parents	Estêvão da Gama (father) Isabel Sodré (mother)
Occupation	Explorer, Viceroy of India
Signature

Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (/ˌvæsku də ˈɡɑːmə, ˈɡæmə/;^[1][2] European Portuguese: [ˈvaʃku ðɐ ˈɣɐ̃mɐ]; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea.^[3]

His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope^[4] (1497–1499) was the first to link Europe and Asia by an ocean route, connecting the Atlantic and the Indian oceans. This is widely considered a milestone in world history, as it marked the beginning of a sea-based phase of globalization.^[5] 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. Traveling the ocean route allowed the Portuguese to avoid sailing across the highly disputed Mediterranean Sea and traversing the dangerous Arabian Peninsula. The sum of the distances covered in the outward and return voyages made this expedition the longest ocean voyage ever made until then.^[6]

After decades of sailors trying to reach the Indies, with thousands of lives and dozens of vessels lost in shipwrecks and attacks, da Gama landed in Calicut on 20 May 1498. Unopposed access to the Indian spice routes boosted the economy of the Portuguese Empire, which was previously based along northern and coastal West Africa. The main spices at first obtained from Southeast Asia were pepper and cinnamon, but soon included other products, all new to Europe. Portugal maintained a commercial monopoly of these commodities for several decades. It was not until a century later that other European powers, first the Dutch Republic and England, later France and Denmark, were able to challenge Portugal's monopoly and naval supremacy in the Cape Route.

Da Gama led two of the Portuguese India Armadas, the first and the fourth. The latter was the largest and departed for India four years after his return from the first one. For his contributions, in 1524 da Gama was appointed Governor of India, with the title of Viceroy, and was ennobled as Count of Vidigueira in 1519. He remains a leading figure in the history of exploration, and homages worldwide have celebrated his explorations and accomplishments. The Portuguese national epic poem, Os Lusíadas, was written in his honour by Luís de Camões.