Vasco Da Gama's discovery of the sea route to India
Discovery of Sea-route to India by western countries happens to be one of the most important events in modern times. The wealth of India was an attraction.
On May 20, 1498, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed in what is now Kozhikode, India. Da Gama was the first European to reach the lucrative trade centers of India by sea.
Portugal and other European empires had been trading with communities in India and throughout Southeast Asia for centuries. The legendary Silk Road was an overland trade route that linked the fabled spice markets of the east with the bustling commerce of the west. However, traveling through disputed territories in the Mediterranean Sea and Arabian Peninsula was dangerous and time-consuming.
Da Gama and his fleet used well-traveled routes to navigate down the western coast of Africa. After re-supplying in the Canary Islands, da Gama took a chance and sailed west into the Atlantic Ocean—the opposite direction of where he wanted to go. He took advantage of the strong, reliable winds called Westerlies to quickly steer him to the southern coast of Africa. Da Gama and his fleet rounded the Cape of Good Hope in December 1497, and named the nearby coast Natal, after the Portuguese word for Christmas. (The South African province of KwaZulu-Natal retains this name today.) Da Gama established poor relations with leaders in what are now the coasts of Mozambique and southern Kenya—the Europeans became pirates of Arab trading ships in the region.
In what is now the port of Malindi, Kenya, da Gama met and interacted with Indian merchants and sailors. They advised him on the favorable monsoon winds of the western Indian Ocean. In fact, da Gama actually hired an experienced Indian navigator to guide his fleet to the trade center of Calicut (now known as Kozhikode).
Da Gama’s sea route to India allowed Portugal to establish a rich trade with India and southeast Asia. Portugal was also able to expand its empire to include provinces from India (centered around the state of Goa, whose largest city is Vasco da Gama) to China (the island of Macau).
All these trade routes were closed for the Europeans during medieval period. The Muslims of Arab countries monopolized the trade and prevented others for that trade profit. Gradually the relation of the western people with the Muslims became bitter. By the end of medieval period there took place a great change in the minds of the Europeans due to the Renaissance. People could come to know the theory that “Earth is round”.
The world famous geographer Cristopher Columbus on the basis of this idea ventured to discover the sea-route to India. For this he appealed the European Kings for help. At last he got the blessings of the king and the queen of Spain for help and started his journey in the Atlantic Ocean.
After a long journey on the sea columbus and his sailors reached in a new land and hoisted the Spanish flag. Columbus thought that he had reached the Islands nearby India and thus named the islands as Indies and he called the people of that place as Red Indians because of their body colour. Actually Columbus could reach in the islands near North America and thus the Europeans could discover America.
On the other hand the Portuguese sailors were busy in getting the discovery of Sea-route to India materialized. Portuguese sailor Barthelomiu-Diaz started his journey and reached in the Southern part of Africa.
He could not able to proceed further due to heavy storm in that island and returned from that place giving the name of that place as the Cape of Storm. Vasco-da-Gama ventured to cross that cape of storm and reached near Calicut in the year 1498 on the western coast of India.
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