 |
|
| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
The discover of the sea route to East Indies; born at Sines, Province of Alemtejo,Portugal, about 1469; died atCochin,India, 24 December, 1524.
His father, Estevão da Gama, was Alcaide Mor of Sines, and Commendador of Cercal, and held an important office at court under Alfonso V. After the return ofBartolomeu Dias, Estevão was chosen by João II to command the next expedition of discovery, but, as both died before the project could be carried into execution, the commission was given by Emmanuel I to Vasco, who had already distinguished himself at the beginning of the year 1490 by defending thePortuguese colonies on the coast of Guinea againstFrench encroachments.Bartolomeu Dias had proceeded as far as the Great Fish River (Rio do Infante), and had in addition established the fact the coast ofAfrica on the other side of the Cape extended to the northeast. Pedro de Corvilhão on his way fromIndia had descended the east coast ofAfrica as far as the twentieth degree of south latitude, and had become cognizant of the oldArabic-Indian commercial association. The nautical problem, therefore, to be solved by Vasco da Gama was clearly outlined, and the course for the sea route to the East Indies designated.
In January, 1497, the command of the expedition was solemnly conferred upon Vasco da Gama, and on 8 July, 1497, the fleet sailed fromLisbon under the leadership of Vasco, his brother Paulo, and Nicoláo Coelho, with a crew of about one hundred and fifty men. At the beginning of November, they anchored in St. Helena Bay and, on the 25th of the same month, in Mossel Bay. On 16 December, the fleet arrived at the furthest landing point ofDias, gave its present name to the coast ofNatal onChristmas Day, and reached by the end of January, 1498, the month of the Zambesi, which was in the territory controlled by theArabian maritime commercial association. Menaced by theArabs inMozambique (2 March) and Mombasa (7 April), whofeared for their commerce, and, on the contrary, received in a friendly manner at Melinda, East Africa (14 April), they reached under the guidance of a pilot on 20 May, their journey's end, the harbour of Calicut,India, which, from the fourteenth century, had been the principal market for trade in spices, precious stones, and pearls. Here also, as elsewhere, Gama skilfully surmounted the difficulties placed in his way by theArabs, in league with theIndian rulers, and won for his country the respect needful for the founding a new colony.
On 5 October, 1498, the fleet began its homeward voyage. Coelho arrived inPortugal on 10 July, 1499; Paulo da Gama died atAngra; Vasco reachedLisbon in September, where a brilliant reception awaited him. He was appointed to the newly created post of Admiral of the Indian Ocean, which carried with it a high salary, and thefeudalrights over Sines were assured to him.
In 1502 Gama was again sent out, with his uncle Vicente Sodré and his nephew Estevão, and a new fleet of twenty ships, to safeguard the interests of the commercial enterprises established in the meantime inIndia byCabral, and of thePortuguese who had settled there. On the outward voyage he visited Sofala (East Africa), exacted the payment of tribute from the Sheikh of Kilwa (East Africa), and proceeded with unscrupulous might, and even indeed with great cruelty, against theArabian merchant ships and the Samudrian (or Zamorin) of Calicut. He laid seige to the city, annihilated a fleet of twenty-nine warships, and concluded favourable treaties and alliances with the native princes. His commercial success was especilly brilliant, the value of the merchandise which he brought with him amounting to more than a million in gold. Again highhonours fell to his share, and in the year 1519 he received instead of Sines, which was transferred to theOrder of Santiago, the cities of Vidiguira and Villa dos Frades, resigned by the Duke Dom Jayme of Braganza, with thejurisdiction and the title of count.
Once again, in 1524, he was sent toIndia by the Crown, under João III, to supersede the Viceroy Eduardo de Menezes, who was no longer master of the situation. He re-established order, but at the end of the year he was stricken by death atCochin. In 1539, his remains, which up to thattime had lain in theFranciscan church there, were brought toPortugual andinterred at Vidigueira. To commemorate the first voyage toIndia, the celebratedconvent of theHieronymites in Belem was erected. A large part of the "Lusiad" of Camoens deals with the voyages and discoveries of Vasco da Gama.
APA citation.Hartig, O.(1909).Vasco da Gama. InThe Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06374a.htm
MLA citation.Hartig, Otto."Vasco da Gama."The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 6.New York: Robert Appleton Company,1909.<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06374a.htm>.
Transcription.This article was transcribed for New Advent by Mary and Joseph P. Thomas.In memory of Sebastian Kunneth.
Ecclesiastical approbation.Nihil Obstat. September 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, Censor.Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmasterat newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.