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Vasco da Gama was born in Sines, Portugal, in 1460, the year Prince Henry of Portugal, also known as Henry the Navigator, died. Da
Gama’s father was a member of the household of Prince Dom Frenoyo, and Vasco grew up in the town of Lisbon. Estevao da Gama and Isabel Sodr were good parents to Vasco. They made sure that at a young age he learned how to fish, swim and sail. Then at school, between 1484 and 1492 and most probably in the town of Evora, he studied astronomy and navigation. His family was not originally from Portugal, but da Gama did not think of any place but Portugal as his home. His father's family originally came from the southern provinces of Alentejo, which is part of Portugal. His mother's family, on the other hand, was English. In 1484 he became a sailor. Later, in between voyages, he stayed still long enough to find a woman and marry her. His wife's name was Cateriana de Ataide. He married Cateriana in 1500.Vasco da Gama helped Portugal become rich and famous. As he was making Portugal one of the most important trading and naval powers in the Indian Ocean, he notched up some major achievements for himself. In 1492, he commanded the defense of Portuguese colonies against the French in Guinea. Then he set sail for India with four ships: the Sao Gabriel, the Sao Rafael, the Berrio and one cargo ship that did not have a name. During this voyage, his ships were fitted with enough food and wine for three years! Da Gama sailed around the Coast of Africa. That was the same route Bartolomeu Dias had taken in earlier years. Vasco da Gama was finishing what Dias had started. Da Gama’s first voyage to India took more then two years to complete.When he got to India, his final destination, he bought spices and silk cloth. He left again for Portugal in 1499. When he got back to Portugal, those things were proof that there were great treasures in India. On da Gama's second voyage, he stopped at some of the African Kingdoms. When he stopped in Mombasa (now Kenya) he made a peace treaty between Africa and Portugal. Vasco da Gama went to African kingdoms on his way to India. When he went through these places he thought that he was the best of all the sailors and better then the native people. He did not dislike the natives, he just thought he was better than them. When the Portuguese landed in these African Kingdoms the natives were first nice to them. They danced with the crewmen and made sure the Portuguese got the best of everything. Da Gama put up a monument to mark his being there. However da Gama stayed to long in the African kingdoms and the natives got angry. When he left he saw the natives tearing down and destroying the stone marker he had put up.
When da Gama got to India, the Indian people greeted him warmly. They carried him in a chair along the streets to meet their King. As he was being carried to the King, the Indians were dancing in the streets and beating drums because they thought he would bring wondrous treasure for their King. They were also excited because these white and foreign men were here. When he met the King and showed them his treasures the people were disgusted at the treasure. It was only a few silk scarves and other small things like that! When he left, the previously friendly people were yelling at them and were spitting on the ground. Before he left, he and his men gathered a few spices and precious items, but just before departure he found out that he had to pay taxes for what he had bought! But, instead of paying taxes, he captured a few hostages, as if to warn, “This is what I will do to more of your people if you make me pay taxes!”
In 1502 da Gama set sail for India once again. Along the way he again stopped at some of the African kingdoms. There and in India he killed many innocent Muslims and Indians in revenge for different acts of violence against the Portuguese sailors.
I think that Vasco da Gama was good and bad. I think that he was good because he went to Africa and to India and set up trading posts along the way. That has helped the world become more socialized because in Africa and India, at the trading posts, many people from all over the world could come and trade. They would meet some of the different people of the world there and get to know them. Vasco da Gama was bad too. He killed many Africans, Muslims, Arabs, and Indians along the way on his voyages. He also sometimes gave the rest of the world a bad impression of Portugal by the way that he acted, and that might have given the Africans, Arabs and Indians the idea that the rest of the world was like the Portuguese.
Vasco da Gama liked being the head of things. He was very happy when he found out that he was the head of a very important voyage. Vasco da Gama was a very strict man and made sure that everything was going as planned. Nobody dared to double cross him for they feared that he was too strong. I did not like da Gama very much. He was too stubborn to listen to anyone except the King of Portugal. He did every possible thing, including killing many innocent people, to make sure Portugal had the best and was the best. I do not like people who are like that, either today or in the past, like the explorer Vasco da Gama.
Vasco da Gama was 64 and living at his house in Portugal with his wife, Cateriana de Ataide, and his 6 sons, when in 1524 King John III named him Viceroy to India. He had planned to settle down and enjoy his retirement in Portugal, but all of that changed. He had to go to India and make sure everything was running fine. Along the way on the voyage, da Gama fell ill. Da Gama died in India shortly after arrival on December 24, 1524. He was buried in India. Later, in 1539, his remains were reburied in a chapel in Vidigueira, Portugal.
