Vasco da Gama was born around 1469 in Sines. A Portuguese explorer, da Gama was chosen by King Manuel I to lead a fleet to India. He sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in 1497 and arrived at Calicut on the Malabar coast in May 1498, opening the first direct sea route from Europe to Asia. The voyage let Portugal enter the spice trade and break the Arab and Venetian control of it. He returned to India in 1502 with a large fleet and used force against ships and towns, and in 1524 he was sent back as viceroy of Portuguese India. He died in Cochin soon after arriving.
Before and after
- 28 October 1466Birth of Erasmus
- 13 December 1466Death of Donatello
- from 1467 to 1590Sengoku period
- 1468Death of Johannes Gutenberg
- c. 1469Birth of Vasco da Gama
- 1469Origins of Sikhism
- 15 April 1469Birth of Guru Nanak
- 3 May 1469Birth of Niccolò Machiavelli
- 12 March 1470Battle of Losecoat Field
More in Exploration & discovery
- 1298The Travels of Marco Polo
- 24 February 1304Birth of Ibn Battuta
- 1371Birth of Zheng He
- 9 March 1454Birth of Amerigo Vespucci
- 1485Birth of Hernán Cortés
- 31 December 1491Birth of Jacques Cartier
The era
This moment belongs to the Medieval world (500 CE to 1500 CE), kingdoms, faiths and trade routes. You can also browse everything in the 15th century.