The path towards the sun.Danila Kuznetsov.

In the historical ranking of celebrities from the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, this man occupies, perhaps, second place - right after Columbus. Well, as a last resort, a solid third, letting Magellan go ahead. The irony of fate, however, is that it was he who eventually found what the first two were unsuccessfully looking for. Namely, the spice-rich lands of South Asia. Photo above ULLSTEIN BILD/VOSTOCK PHOTOBibography of the navigator is not rich in reliable historical data. Researchers could not even establish the date of his birth; only the most probable year is known - 1469. But what is known for sure is that Vasco (Vasco) was born into the family of Don Estevan da Gama, alcaid (viceroy) of a small seaside town called Sines and a veteran of the Crusades in Morocco. He had two older brothers, Paulo and Irish - later with the first of them he would sail to the distant shores of India. There was also Sister Teresa.
Sines, where Vasco spent his childhood, looks almost the same nowadays as it did in his time. This is a fishing village halfway between the southern bank of the Tagus (Lisbon is located at the mouth of this river) and Cape São Vicente. The sun shines brightly here more than 300 days a year, and the water sparkles turquoise in its rays. Bare sand dunes stretch further to the north; in the south, just outside the city, the first spurs of the Sao Domingos mountain range rise. Clustered against the walls of the old fort are one-story houses of “angular” architecture with bright tiled roofs - red, green, yellow. So, Vasco da Gama spent his childhood at sea or on the shore, early learned to swim, steer a boat, determine the path at night by the stars, and handle nets. The endless ocean and the feverish expectation of new and new discoveries, which captured the Portuguese since the time of Prince Henry (Enrique) the Navigator, the herald of great voyages, possessed him, and the amazing stories of sailors who had already returned from long voyages along the African coast ignited his imagination. The young nobleman listened to stories about huge elephants and hairy monkeys, gold and cannibals with sawed teeth, storms and shipwrecks, no less terrible calms that doomed entire fleets to a slow death. What teenager would be left indifferent by such stories?

Sines. Here Don Vasco was born and spent his youth. Now in front of the city church there is a monument to the most famous of the townspeople. Photo TONY ARRUZA/CORBIS/RPG
However, one significant difference between modern Sinis and Sinis of the 15th century is easy to detect: unlike our days, it was not only impossible for a child to receive an education there, but there were almost no literate people there. Having reached school age, Vasco went, at the behest of his father, seventy miles northeast of his native place, to Evora, to study navigation and mathematics.
So our hero seemed to find himself in another world. Underfoot, instead of turf, there were streets paved with cobblestones, and solid and venerable-looking stone houses were lined along them. In addition, here da Gama was able to see foreign travelers for the first time (and not just his compatriots returning from distant lands). It was their custom to stop in Evora on the way to the Algarve province, famous throughout the continent for its grapes and holy places. However, we also know little about the daily life of the future navigator in the university city. It is likely that he studied well, diligently, and showed special abilities in marine sciences. Otherwise, the son of a seedy provincial governor would not soon have found himself as an officer of the royal fleet in Lisbon, having proven himself a good commander in several battles with the Castilians and Muslims - there is scanty information about this in the early biographies of da Gama.
What is the image of this young, but battle-hardened captain in those 80s of the 15th century? We do not have at our disposal a single portrait of a traveler about whom we can say with confidence: he was lifetime. From the fragmentary remarks of his contemporaries, we can conclude that he was a man of average height, physically developed - only at the end of his life would he discover a tendency towards obesity. He had an expressive face - large, piercing eyes under thick eyebrows, a prominent nose, and a permanently well-groomed beard. He was courageous in spirit, not afraid of responsibility, often lost his temper, and was greedy and tyrannical. He seemed to be distinguished by real fanaticism in achieving ambitious goals. All these are precisely the qualities that were valued in Europe at the end of the 15th century.
Against the historical background It was at the same time that young Portugal began to explore new lands. Circumstances logically pushed for this: trade was not going too well. Expensive spices - this “main preservative” of the Renaissance, necessary for storing and disinfecting food - came through third parties. The Arabs bought them in Indian ports - Calicut, Cochin, Kananur - and transported them on small ships to the port of Jeddah near Mecca. Then caravans through the desert brought the precious cargo to Cairo, where it was floated on barges down the Nile and sold in Alexandria to Italian merchants from Venice and Genoa. They, in turn, distributed the goods throughout Europe. Of course, at each stage its price increased, and in distant Lisbon it was sold at an exorbitant price.
And besides, the Portuguese also faced a closer geographical goal - the western coast of Africa. It was nearby, there was no need to fight for it with other developed powers, and it was rich in valuable metals and ivory. True, in the north of the continent the warlike Berbers still resisted, but high-speed ships made it possible to bypass their lands by sea.
The first large-scale expeditions to the Atlantic began in 1416 - under the patronage of the already mentioned Prince Henry, known in history under the nickname the Navigator. This prince devoted his entire life and energy to equipping flotillas and even opened the first dedicated navigation school in Europe. Moreover, it was he who was the first, having read the classic work of Marco Polo, to set a task for his compatriots: to find a direct sea route to India.
Technically, the Portuguese were ready for this: by the end of the 15th century, they were already actively using the astrolabe, goniometric ruler and quadrant in their voyages, and learned to determine longitude using the midday sun and declination tables. By 1482, armed with all these tools and skills, they reached the mouth of the Congo River, where they established the main base on the route to the development of the African coast. Now God himself ordered to move on. However, from a security point of view, of course, it was first necessary to collect the most detailed information about the political and economic situation in the countries of South Asia.
The responsible task was entrusted to a certain officer named Peru de Covilhã - it was from him that Vasco da Gama, unwittingly, subsequently “stole” the well-deserved glory of the first Portuguese to reach India. Meanwhile, it was this bright personality, adventurer and valiant warrior, who had experience traveling in Barbary and had an excellent command of the Arabic language, back in 1487, together with his companion Afonso di Paiva, left Lisbon on a secret royal mission: to get to the “land of spices” and test the waters for a sea expedition.
In the meantime, new routes were being laid out in the ocean spaces by the best Portuguese admiral of his time, Don Bartolomeu Dias de Novais. On February 3, 1488, after a severe two-week storm, he finally managed to accomplish what dozens of his colleagues and predecessors had strived for - he circumnavigated Africa and, heading east, reached the mouth of a large river, which he named Rio dos Infantish (River of Princes). A padran was erected here - a stone pillar with the royal coat of arms, confirming Portuguese sovereignty over these lands for eternity.
Dias brought detailed maps of one and a half thousand miles of African coast to Lisbon, and his return stirred up a new wave of dreams about India, and the question of the next expedition immediately arose.
At this moment, our hero first steps onto the historical stage - the king chose Vasco da Gama.
Dias was an exceptionally experienced sailor, but obviously seemed to the ruler to be a weak commander - after all, he could not cope with the indignation of the sailors beyond the Cape of Good Hope and bring the ships to Hindustan when such an opportunity seemed to present itself. And the family of Vasco da Gama, as we already know, was famous for its determination and courage. The king needed just such a person who, with will and energy, would inspire the crew of several small ships and would be able, overcoming difficulties, to complete the task to the end.
The information from chroniclers about how exactly Gama became the head of the “expedition of the century” is contradictory and does not provide a single picture. Some sources claim that they wanted to entrust the flotilla to his father, but he suddenly died and his son replaced him. Others say that the king noted Don Vasco’s reasonable views on maritime affairs during one of his audiences and, rejecting the list of applicants proposed to him by the ministers, at the last moment made an unexpected decision.
It is also known that Manuel I allowed the appointed captain - at his request - to take one of the brothers with him. Vasco clearly needed a man who would remain faithful to him under any circumstances. He chose Paula. In 1495, preparations began for the expedition. While Don Gama, in the specially designated chambers of the royal palace, collected and analyzed all the necessary information that he could “read” from domestic, Italian, Arab maps and documents, ships were built at the capital’s shipyards under the leadership of Dias. Don Bartolomeu, based on his own expedition experience, ordered the replacement of oblique sails with rectangular ones, increased the stability of the ships and reduced their draft. The displacement was increased to 100 tons: it was necessary to take on board as much food and water as possible. However, the hold of flat-bottomed Portuguese ships with a high bow was still very imperfect: it let water through and, as the voyage progressed, gradually turned into a garbage pit, where rats swam in the rotten water with garbage. In case of clashes with Arab pirates, 12 guns were placed on the decks.
As a result, according to Dias’s design, two caravels were built in Lisbon: “San Gabriel” - which Don Vasco, taking advantage of his privilege as a commander, will choose as his flagship - and “San Rafael”. The experienced Gonçalo Alvares was appointed captain of the flagship. Da Gama entrusted the second ship to his brother. In addition, the expedition also included: “San Miguel”, or “Berriu”, an old light ship with lateen (that is, oblique) sails under the command of Nicolau Coelho and an unnamed cargo ship captained by Gonçalo Nunez. The average speed of the flotilla in good wind could be 6.5-8 knots.
The authorities were very careful in choosing the crew. It was ordered to recruit experienced, desperate, seasoned and accustomed to long journeys people, skilled in their work. The backbone was made up of those who sailed with Dias, and in total about 170 people were taken on board, of which 10 were criminals released from prison specifically for the expedition. These thugs were planned to be planted for reconnaissance in particularly dangerous areas of Africa. The holds, as planned, were filled to capacity with food and fresh moisture for many months. This is what the daily ration of a sailor going to India looked like: half a pound of crackers, a pound of corned beef, two and a half pints of water, one twelfth of a pint of vinegar and one twenty-fourth of olive oil. During Lent, meat was replaced with half a pound of rice or cheese. In addition, the Portuguese constantly drank wine and did not want to give up this habit at sea, so everyone was given one and a quarter pint (about 700 grams) of this drink a day. The ships also carried beans, flour, lentils, prunes, onions, garlic and sugar. Of course, it was planned to catch fish along the way. They also did not forget a variety of goods for barter with African aborigines: striped and bright red fabrics, corals, bells, knives, scissors, cheap tin jewelry... And yet, with such a good allowance, life for the sailors was not easy: they would spend months on the open ocean, languish under the equatorial sun, under which both food and water fade. Sleep - side by side, anywhere, right on the deck. Columbus had already brought the famous hammocks “from the American Indians,” but they had not yet come into widespread use.

Vasco da Gama's farewell to King Manuel I of Portugal. Photo by ULLSTEIN BILD/VOSTOCK PHOTO

Games of chance On the hot day of July 8, 1497, they were preparing to sail. They served a prayer service. According to tradition, all travelers were granted absolution (the corresponding bull was begged from Pope Martin V by Henry the Navigator).
Finally, the climactic moment of sailing arrived. Bartolomeu Dias came on board hand in hand with Vasco da Gama - he was going to Guinea, where he was appointed governor. A cannon salvo rang out.
At first we sailed with virtually no surprises. A week later we reached the Canaries. Then the supplies of fresh water and provisions were replenished on the Cape Verde Islands. Here Dias landed, who would soon go further to the newly erected fortress of São Jorge da Mina on the Guinean coast.
And then the elements subjected the flotilla to serious tests. The ships found themselves in a belt of strong eastern winds, which absolutely did not allow them to go further along the known route along Africa. Somewhere in the region of 10° north latitude, da Gama first showed himself - he made the responsible decision to turn southwest in order to try to bypass the winds in the open ocean.
The caravels moved away from Africa to a huge distance of 800 nautical miles. For three long months, not a single piece of land was visible from the masts for kilometers around. Fresh water, naturally, became unusable - I had to drink sea water. They ate corned beef. So the new path that Gama chose undermined the health of the team at the very beginning of the voyage. But a convenient route with favorable air flows to the Cape of Good Hope was opened. And today, rare sailing ships sail exactly along this route.
After the equator, the ships were finally able to turn east without losing the wind they needed. On October 27, we saw whales, and soon - birds and algae, which indicated the proximity of land. Four days later, the watch filled the decks with the long-awaited cry: “Land!”
On November 4, with relief, we dropped anchor in St. Helena Bay at 33° south latitude, at the very tip of the African continent. Here da Gama planned to stay for a long time: in addition to the usual replenishment of supplies, it was necessary to heel the ships, that is, pull them ashore and clear the bottom of adhering shells and mollusks, which not only seriously slow down the speed, but also destroy the wood. However, a conflict arose with the local inhabitants - short, warlike Bushmen - due to the arrogant and predatory behavior of the Portuguese, for which they were “famous” in distant lands. The expedition commander was wounded in the leg and had to urgently set sail.
They rounded the Cape of Good Hope with great difficulty. The elements were raging. Due to the rushing thunderclouds, the day literally turned into night. Water poured in streams from the sky and seeped from below through cracks in the plating into the hold, waves flooded the deck around the clock, but they still managed to enter the Indian Ocean without much loss.
Now we tried to stay in direct line of sight from the shore. In the Bay of Saint Blas (San Bras - now Mosselbay in South Africa), the caravels were finally repaired: the lining was patched, the torn sails and tackle were mended, and the loose masts were secured. Alas, the cargo ship had to be burned: the storm made it unsuitable for further navigation. However, the losses among the sailors compensated for the loss of the ship, there was no need to be crowded... They scared the Hottentots emerging from the jungle with shots from bombards, set up the inevitable padran and - on the road.
Soon, on December 16, we passed the last stop of Dias. Then the unknown began.
European travelers then had to face many surprises. And with unknown currents of unprecedented strength running along shallows and reefs, and with the notorious multi-week calm, and, finally, with scurvy.
On January 25, when the expedition stopped at the Mozambican Quelimane River (the ships began to collapse again), approximately half of the entire crew had festered and bleeding gums, swollen knees and legs - many could not only work, but even walk. Several dozen people died here.
The Portuguese stayed at the mouth of Quelimane for more than a month, and only then sailed up the Mozambique Channel. At this stage we had to go very carefully and only during daylight hours: after all, the maps had yet to be drawn up, and it was easy to run into one of the hundreds of small islands that dotted this expanse of water.
On March 2, the ships sailed to an Arab city, which had the same name as the country now - Mozambique. The lands of the “wild” black tribes ended here, further on the gold-rich shores stood the ports of Muhammad’s followers. Muslims actively colonized East Africa, buying ambergris, metals and ivory in the interior of the continent.
Residents of Mozambique, oddly enough, at first mistook the Portuguese for their co-religionists (the sailors' clothes had become frayed and lost their national characteristics), and the local ruler gave Vasco da Gama a rosary as a sign of friendship. But the arrogant and arrogant captain, who always suffered from a lack of diplomatic talent, considered the townspeople to be savages and tried to offer the emir a red cap in exchange!
The “prince”, dressed in expensive clothes, of course, indignantly rejected such a gift. And soon one of Vasco’s subjects reported to him: the navigator was seen talking with two captured Christians (it is not clear where they came from in Mozambique, perhaps from Ethiopia). This is how the truth about the travelers’ religion was revealed. The atmosphere was heating up.
But the main problem was that to continue the journey you needed a good pilot, and where would you get one? True, that same emir, even before the break in relations, managed to place two experts in maritime affairs at the disposal of the flotilla, but one of them immediately fled, and the second, as it turned out, was unreliable: soon after sailing, he tried to pass off some islands he encountered as the mainland . The deception was revealed, the enraged commander ordered the liar to be tied to the mast and personally brutally flogged (one of those same islands was put on the map under the name Isla do Azoutado, that is, “The Hewn One”).
A great undertaking, as often happens, was saved by chance.
On April 7, the Portuguese approached another major port on the way - Mombasa, where the Arabs tried to seize the caravels by force. We barely managed to escape.
But the emir of the next city, Malindi, had long and mortally been at enmity with his Mombasa neighbor and, in spite of him, despite everything, he warmly received Vasco da Gama. He not only got hold of provisions here and even a small amount of long-awaited spices, but also saw four ships from India on the roadstead. He also received a first-class navigator, Ahmed ibn Majid, at his disposal. Ahmed was about thirty years older than Vasco and had walked the seas (using an astrolabe) even before he was born. He left behind sailing directions and navigation manuals, some of which have survived to this day and are located in Paris. Having boarded the San Gabriel, the pilot simply and busily unfolded before the astonished captain accurate maps of the western coast of India with all azimuths and parallels. Naturally, Don Vasco's joy knew no bounds - now it was possible to go at maximum speed, without any delays, straight across the ocean, clearly on course. Strictly speaking, it is to Ahmed ibn Majid that Europe owes the opening of the sea route to India.
On April 24, the red sails of the Portuguese caught the favorable monsoon and moved to the northeast. On the fifth day, the Southern Cross was replaced in the starry sky by the constellation Ursa, and after 23 days the sailors saw seagulls.
In Wonderland So, thanks to the skill of an experienced Arab, on May 20, 1498, Captain da Gama from his captain's bridge on the San Gabriel saw the brown coast of the famous subcontinent near the city of Calicut (now Kozhikode). Calicut, the capital of an independent principality, then served as the largest port along the entire Malabar (southwestern) coast of India.
What feelings travelers must have experienced when they entered the Calicut bazaar! Truly, according to the chronicler, everything that the Earth gave people was sold here. There was a tart smell of pepper, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon in the air. Doctors offered cures for all diseases: camphor, cardamom, asafoetida, valerian, aloe. There was an abundance of fragrant myrrh and sandalwood, blue dyes (indigo), coconut fiber, and ivory. Fruit suppliers displayed their bright and juicy goods: oranges, lemons, melons, mangoes.
In the very first days, translator Joao Nunes managed, in the bustle of the Calicut streets, to secure the friendship of another Arab, a certain el-Masud, who became an informant for Europeans in Calicut. Later, he will have to flee to Lisbon - like Ahmed ibn Majid, his compatriots will condemn him to death in absentia for treason... But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
The ruler of Calicut, who bore the title of Raja-Samorin, complacently received the first embassy of strange guests consisting of the same el-Masud and Don Gama's right hand, officer Fernand Martin. They were presented with fabrics. It seemed that the dialogue was getting better, but, alas, the same eternal arrogance of the captain, who looked down on all pagans, intervened. For some unknown reason, he immediately began to assure everyone in Calicut that he was the official representative of a distant overseas king, the most powerful of the sovereigns of the sublunary world, and had come here to bring all the peoples to submission to this king. Don Vasco also insisted that he be carried to an audience with the ruler in a palanquin, surrounded by trumpeters and standard-bearers. Zamorin met him, seated on an ivory throne, on green velvet, dressed in gold-woven clothes, his hands, fingers and ankles were strewn with precious stones - and to a man who looked like that, the short-sighted European thought of giving cheap Andalusian striped cloth, the same red caps and a box of sugar! The Hindu, of course, rejected the gifts, just like the ruler of Mozambique. In addition, the Arabs surrounding this sovereign had already described to him bloody clashes in Mozambique and Mombasa.
As a result, the matter turned out unexpectedly for the Portuguese: he was ordered to remain ashore under house arrest, and also to hand over all sailing equipment and ship's rudders. Warriors decorated with feathers immediately lined up around the Christians in a tight ring, and the enraged Arab merchants who were nearby even planned to tear the travelers to pieces on the spot. It seemed that luck had turned away from the sailors. But on June 2, after negotiations with the Vali, the first minister of Zamorin, Vasco da Gama was unexpectedly released onto the ship for a ransom and again given freedom of action. Apparently, the captain managed to deftly play on the balance of Hindu and Arab interests and convince the owners not to follow the lead of their main trading partners. True, it was not possible to use this triumph of resourcefulness with maximum efficiency. As a merchant, as well as a diplomat, Don Vasco proved himself to be very average. Despite favorable trading conditions, it took him two whole months to exchange only a few kilograms of spices for much more valuable - in absolute terms - copper, mercury and amber. And from this insignificant transaction, Zamorin, in the end, demanded a huge customs duty. El-Masud, meanwhile, reported that the Arabs were again offering the ruler any money for the destruction of the Portuguese expedition.
In general, the time has come to act. And yes Gama surprised everyone again. On August 19, he captured more than a dozen hostages who had come to inspect the San Gabriel and San Rafael. The ships immediately turned their sides in the roadstead and sent a truce to the port with a threat: all the captives would be taken overseas forever if the Indians did not immediately lift the arrest of the already purchased items and release the officer Diogo Dias, who was stuck on the shore with some unsold European goods. Zamorin, on reflection, decided to give in to the ultimatum: he released Dias (albeit, taking away part of the Portuguese property) and even sent with him a letter for the “great overseas king”, in which he reported his wealth and asked to send gold and silver in exchange for spices.
In response, Vasco da Gama released only six of the ten hostages, and actually took the rest to Lisbon. Convinced that nothing more could be achieved in Calicut, he, scaring off the Arab boat cordon with a cannon salvo, ordered to immediately sail to the west.
Return and grief Of course, no one expected that the return journey would be easier. He didn't turn out to be. Firstly, yes Gama was forced to leave India before the favorable northeast monsoon, which the Arabs always used, blew out - he simply had no other choice. So if the ships traveled to India for less than a month, now the journey to Africa took three whole months - from the beginning of October 1498 to January 2, 1499. Scurvy and fever took away another 30 people from the already small crew, so now there were literally 7-8 able-bodied sailors left on each ship - clearly not enough to effectively manage the ships. On January 7, we managed to get to friendly Malindi, but here we had to part with San Rafael. It was beyond repair, and there was no one to sail on it. The remnants of the team with cargo from the holds moved to the flagship, and the San Rafael was burned. But then luck returned to a handful of Portuguese again - as if it suddenly decided to have mercy on them on the brink of death. We rounded the Cape of Good Hope without incident, and then sailed with a fair wind for only 27 days to Cape Verde. There, however, they found themselves in a dead calm, and then immediately in a storm that separated the ships, but they met safely - already in Lisbon.
Coelho was the first to come to the capital on the San Miguel - July 10, 1499. Don Vasco himself experienced grief on the flagship - his brother died on the way on one of the Azores islands. Usually indifferent to suffering, the captain was obviously very emotional about this event. In any case, having entrusted Joan da Sa with leading the caravel to Lisbon, he remained to bury Paula. The San Gabriel was already solemnly entering its home port, but Gama did not even think about a triumphant return - for several more weeks he indulged in grief in the wilderness of Azores.
Thus, the captain was the last of the expedition to arrive in Lisbon, after almost 26 months of wandering. The king, however, still received him with pomp and ordered a public display of the “curiosities” he had brought. The townspeople looked at the dark-skinned Indians with great curiosity. The few surviving sailors loudly told terrible stories at all crossroads about the disasters through which the will and courage of their leader led them. Among other things, as we have already said, Gama brought correct maps of the African coast and proved that the seas around Hindustan are not inland.
The monarch highly appreciated all this - he gave his navigator the title of “Admiral of the Indian Sea”, the right to eternal duty-free export of any goods from newly discovered India and a large lifelong pension. However, in the spirit of the times, this seemed not enough to the recipient himself, and he asked to be given his hometown of Sines as his personal possession.
Here a snag arose: the city previously belonged to the Order of St. James, whose Grand Master was the Duke of Coimbra, the illegitimate son of the late King Joan II. The king signed the letter of complaint to the admiral, and the pope expressed his consent, but the Jacobites categorically refused to give up their property. The monarch had no choice but to appease Da Gama with an additional increase in his pension. However, the navigator was soon consoled - somewhere between 1499 and 1502 he married a certain Dona Catarina de Ataida, the daughter of a very influential dignitary. His wife subsequently bore him seven children. But whether he loved them is unknown. After the death of Brother Paulo, the humane traits in the character of Vasco da Gama no longer appear on the pages of chroniclers, who now seem to be trying to convince readers: this man inspired only fear, and aspired only to power.

May 20, 1498. The Portuguese captain meets with the Samorin Raja in Calicut. Photo AKG/EAST NEWS

The Thunderstorm of India The Portuguese court, like any other European court of the 15th century, was swarming with spies from neighboring countries. Information about new discoveries could not be hidden for long, even if one wanted to. Consequently, it was necessary to resolutely continue the work begun so as not to let anyone get ahead of him in India. Manuel I immediately developed vigorous activity: the very next year, a squadron of 13 ships and one and a half thousand people set off along the beaten path. The admiral himself, however, avoided participating in the expedition. The fleet was led by the noble don Pedro Alvares Cabral, who was lucky to discover Brazil and Madagascar “along the way.” Success awaited him in Calicut too - the impressive appearance of the flotilla quickly set the Indians in a peaceful mood. Normal commercial relations were established, and the Portuguese immediately received fabulous profits. For 90 years, their country became an absolute monopolist in trade with South and East Asia.
Vasco da Gama returned to active duty six months after Cabral's return. On February 10, 1502, he, at the head of ten large ships, again set off for the open lands. This time the squadron was also accompanied by five high-speed military caravels under the command of the admiral's uncle, Don Vicente Sudre. This time Vasco da Gama sailed for some time along the coast of Brazil and looked at the land, the discovery of which the Portuguese were partly indebted to him. We reached India almost without incident. On the way, on June 14, they managed to establish the first trading post on the east coast of Africa, in the port of Sofala: gold and hippopotamus teeth were brought here, which, being harder and whiter, were then valued even more than the famous ivory. On the island of Kiloa, near Zanzibar, the Portuguese taxed the local emir Ibrahim and forced him to recognize the rule of King Manuel. Finally, on the approach to Hindustan, near the island of Anjidiva in the Goa region, the admiral - rather simply out of old hatred than for profit - robbed the oncoming Arab ship "Meri" and burned it along with three hundred prisoners, including women and children.
In friendly Kannur, they also founded a trading post, a fort, and took the port under full customs control. Now the Portuguese gunners sank any ships that entered the harbor without permission.
On April 30, 1502, when Vasco da Gama reached his main goal - the same Calicut - he was no longer a weak and exhausted wanderer with a couple of ships and a handful of the same “gone” sailors. Local residents saw in glory the powerful ruler of an entire flotilla, armed to the teeth. Zamorin, although he had already met with Cabral in the same conditions, was again seriously frightened and immediately sent envoys offering peace and compensation for the damage previously caused. But the admiral went too far here too - he charged too high a price for the quiet life of the Indian city. He demanded that all Arabs be expelled from Calicut. Raja, no matter how afraid he was of the aliens, refused. The Portuguese reacted again in his own spirit - he hanged 38 Indians captured on the shore and began a systematic shelling of the city. The ruler sent a new “negotiator” - his high priest, whom the Portuguese sent back, cutting off his nose, ears, hands and hanging it all on the unfortunate man’s neck! And Don Vasco, leaving seven ships to blockade Calicut, sailed to Cochin to trade.
On January 3, 1503, another diplomat from Zamorin arrived in Cochin with a peace offer. But then the Europeans suspected something was wrong - the Indians could not easily forgive such great grievances. A favorite method was used on the ambassador - torture, and he admitted that his sovereign, together with the Arabs, was gathering a large fleet to fight the Portuguese, but for now he was simply lulling their vigilance. Don Vasco immediately sailed to Calicut and destroyed the unprepared enemy ships. Some of them were shot from powerful cannons, others were boarded. A lot of gold was found on the captured ships, and on one of them a whole “harem” of young Indian women was found. The most beautiful ones were selected as a gift to the queen, the rest were distributed to the sailors.
On February 20, the admiral went home, leaving a permanent squadron of eight ships in the Indian Ocean. On October 11, he was already in Lisbon - and although he was greeted with the same honors as the first time, now there were much more reasons for this. With him, Don Vasco brought mountains of valuable goods, important trade agreements concluded on behalf of the crown, and most importantly, evidence of the actual process of real colonization that had actually begun.
Da Gama exceeded the task initially set for him. Thanks to him, Lisbon literally turned into a center of international trade in just a few years. Merchants from all over Europe flocked here for spices and incense, Brazilian sugar and cloaks made of tropical bird feathers, Chinese porcelain and Indian jewelry.
Now the navigator moved to live in Evora, where he built himself an amazing palace, the walls of which were decorated with images of palm trees, Indians and tigers (it was from this dwelling that the famous “Manueline” architectural style originated). The street on which it once stood is still called the "Painted House".
The admiral spent 12 years there, and then he apparently got tired of peace and began to ask the king for permission to offer his services to some other power for a change (a normal practice in that era - Magellan had done the same thing a year earlier). Manuel, however, did not want to let go of the national hero and awarded him for the time being the title of Count of Vidigueira, and also accepted da Gama’s proposal to establish a new administrative unit - the Viceroyalty of India. Its center became Goa, the second largest Malabar port after Calicut, and after some time Don Vasco became viceroy.

In 1897, the Kingdom of Portugal presented this clock as a gift to Durban, South Africa, in memory of Vasco da Gama's journey. Photo by ULLSTEIN BILD/VOSTOCK PHOTO
The man before whom the sea trembled. The already gray-haired navigator stepped aboard a ship for the third time going to the “land of spices” on April 9, 1524. This time, 14 ships left the shores of Portugal.
By the way, the last legend is connected with this last voyage, revealing to us the human side of the admiral’s personality. Near Dabul, at 17° north latitude, the fleet found itself in the zone of an underwater earthquake. All the officers and sailors were in superstitious horror, and only the self-confident admiral was happy: “Look, even the sea trembles before us!” - he said to his adjutant.
On September 15, 1524, in Chaula, Don Vasco officially assumed the rights of royal viceroy in India and East Africa. Unfortunately for the Portuguese, his vigorous reign did not last long. He only managed to stop the most egregious abuses, such as the sale of guns to the Arabs, and arrested several of the most corrupt officials (including the former head of the Indian colonies of Portugal, Don Duarte de Minesis). The Viceroy built himself a luxurious court and recruited two hundred personal guards from the natives.
But then suddenly this strong man, who had never suffered from illness, quickly fell ill. Severe pain began in the neck, and the back of the head became covered with carbuncles. At 3 pm on Christmas Day - December 24, 1524 - Admiral da Gama died and was soon buried in Goa Cathedral. Only 15 years later his remains were transported to his homeland. The tomb in Lisbon now bears the inscription: “Here lies the great Argonaut Don Vasco da Gama, First Count of Vidigueira, Admiral of the East Indies and its famous discoverer.”

For those who love geography, world history, or are interested in the biography of great people, the discoverer of the Sea Route is one of the iconic figures. A brief biography of the traveler and the history of an important expedition for all of Eurasia will help you get to know the person who discovered the sea route to India better.

Vasco da Gama - short biography

The history of the Portuguese navigator began in 1460 in Sines (Portugal), where he was born. His origin is attributed to a noble family, evidence of this is the prefix “yes” in his name. The father was the knight Esteva, and the mother was Isabel. Thanks to his difficult origins, the future navigator Vasco da Gama was able to receive a good education. He knew mathematics, navigation, astronomy, English. Then only these sciences were considered higher, and a person after training could be called educated.

Since all the men of that time became military men, this fate did not spare the future discoverer. In addition, the Portuguese knights were exclusively naval officers. From this arises the great story of one who discovered India as a trading country with millions of different goods bringing in enormous profits. For those times it was a great event that changed the lives of many.

Discoveries in Geography

Before Vasco da Gama made the world-changing discovery of India, he distinguished himself for his military exploits. For example, in 1492, he freed a ship captured by French corsairs, which greatly pleased the king, and then became a close officer of the monarch. Thus, he had the opportunity to enjoy privileges that helped him further travel and discoveries, the most important of which was a visit to India. A brief summary of the Sea Route will help you better understand what Vasco da Gama discovered.

The Journey of Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama's expedition to India was a truly big step for the whole of Europe. The idea of ​​​​establishing trade relations with the country belonged to Emperor Manuel I, and he began to carefully choose a commander who could make such an important journey. He had to be not only a good naval officer, but also an excellent organizer. Bartolomeo Dias was the first to be chosen for this role, but everything turned out differently.

A fleet of 4 ships was created for the waters of Africa and the Indian Ocean, and the best maps and instruments were collected for precise navigation. Peru Alenker, a man who had already sailed to the Cape of Good Hope, was appointed chief navigator, and this is the first part of the journey. The task of the expedition was to pave the way from Africa to India by sea. On the ships there was a priest, an astronomer, a scribe and translators of various languages. Everything was excellent with the food: even during preparation, the ships were filled with crackers, corned beef, and porridge. Water, fish and goodies were obtained during stops on different coasts.

On July 8, 1497, the expedition began its movement from Lisbon and set off on a long sea voyage along the coast of Europe and Africa. Already at the end of November, the team managed with difficulty to round the Cape of Good Hope and send their ships to the northeast, to India. On the way they met both friends and enemies, they had to fight back with bombards or, on the contrary, enter into agreements against their enemies. On May 20, 1498 the ships entered the first city of India, Calicut.

Discovery of the Vasco da Gama Sea Route

A real victory for the geography of that time was the discovery of the route to India by Vasco da Gama. When he returned to his native land in August 1499, he was greeted like a king - very solemnly. Since then, trips for Indian goods have become regular, and the famous navigator himself went there more than once. In addition, others began to believe that this could be the way to get to Australia. In India, the navigator was no longer a simple guest, but received a title and colonized some lands. For example, the popular resort of Goa remained a Portuguese colony until the mid-20th century.

Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama (1469–1524), Portuguese navigator who pioneered the route from Lisbon to India and back. Like most of his colleagues, he was engaged in pirate business.

The Portuguese and Spaniards are peoples related in language and culture. Portugal constantly competed with Spain in everything related to the discovery and development of new lands and sea routes. When at one time King João II refused Columbus, who proposed organizing an expedition to find a western route to Asia, he apparently did not imagine that this persistent Genoese would achieve his goal under the flag of the Spanish kings. But “Western India” is open, routes have been laid to its shores, and Spanish caravels systematically ply between Europe and new lands. The heirs of Juan II realized that they had to hurry to consolidate their rights to Eastern India. And already in 1497, an expedition was equipped to explore the sea route from Portugal to India - around Africa.

The head of the expedition, at the choice of King Manuel I, was Vasco da Gama (the Portuguese pronounce it “Vashka”), a young courtier of noble birth, who had not yet proven himself in anything other than the dashing capture of a caravan of French merchant ships. And although the king was offered the candidacy of such a famous navigator as Bartolomeu Dias, who in 1488 was the first to circumnavigate Africa from the south, passing the Cape of Good Hope he discovered, preference was given to a young aristocrat with pirate inclinations. To Manuel I’s offer to lead the expedition, Vasco da Gama replied: “I, sir, am your servant and will carry out any assignment, even if it costs me my life.” Such assurances in those days were not given for the sake of “sweet talk”...

Vasco da Gama's flotilla consisted of four ships. These were two hundred and fifty ton ships - the flagship "San Gabriel" (captain Gonçalo Aleares, an experienced sailor) and "San Rafael" (captain Paulo da Gama, the admiral's brother), as well as the light seventy-ton caravel "Berriu" (captain Nicolau Quelho) and transport ship with supplies. In total, under the command of Admiral da Gama there were 168 people, including a dozen criminals specially released from prison - they were intended to carry out the most dangerous assignments. The experienced sailor Pedro Alenquer, who had sailed with Bartolomeu Dias ten years earlier, was appointed chief navigator.

The flotilla left Lisbon harbor on July 8, 1497. Having passed without incident to Sierra Leone, Admiral da Gama, reasonably avoiding the contrary winds and currents off the coast of Equatorial and South Africa, moved to the southwest, and after the equator turned to the southeast. These maneuvers took about four months, and only on November 1 the Portuguese saw land in the east, and three days later they entered a wide bay, which they gave the name St. Helena.

Having landed on the shore, the Portuguese sailors saw the Bushmen for the first time. This is a group of peoples representing the oldest population of Southern and Eastern Africa. The Bushmen are significantly different from most of the black tribes of the African continent - they are short, their skin color is rather dark than black, and their faces have some resemblance to the Mongoloids. These inhabitants of the bush bush (hence the European name "Bushmen" - "people of the bush") have amazing abilities. They can stay in the desert for a long time without water supplies, as they extract it in ways unknown to other peoples.

Da Gama's sailors tried to establish a “cultural exchange” with the Bushmen, offering them beads, bells and other trinkets, but the “bush people” turned out to be “insolvent” - they did not even have the most primitive clothes, and the Portuguese did not need their primitive bows and arrows , armed with crossbows and fire bombards. In addition, due to an insult inflicted on the Bushman by some boorish sailor, a conflict situation arose, as a result of which several sailors were injured by stones and arrows. How many Bushmen the Europeans killed with crossbows remains unknown. And since no signs of gold and pearls were noticed among the Bushmen, the flotilla raised anchors and moved further south.

Having rounded the southern tip of Africa, the Portuguese ships, moving to the northeast, at the end of December 1497 approached a high bank, which da Gama gave the name Natal (“Christmas”). On January 11, 1498, sailors landed on shore, where they saw many people who were sharply different from the African savages they knew. Among the sailors there was a translator from the Bantu language, and contact between two different civilizations was established. The blacks greeted the Portuguese very friendly. The land, which Vasco da Gama called “the land of good people,” was inhabited by peasants and artisans. People here cultivated the land and mined ore, from which they smelted iron and non-ferrous metals, made iron knives and daggers, arrowheads and spears, copper bracelets, necklaces and other jewelry.

Moving further north, on January 25 the ships entered a wide bay into which several rivers flowed. Communicating with the local residents, who received the Portuguese well, and noticing the presence of objects clearly of Indian origin, the admiral concluded that the flotilla was approaching India. Here we had to linger - the ships needed repairs, and the people, many of whom suffered from scurvy, needed treatment and rest. The Portuguese stood for a whole month at the mouth of the Kwakwa River, which turned out to be the northern branch of the Zambezi Delta.

On February 24, the flotilla raised anchor and five days later reached the port of Mozambique. The Arabs were firmly established here by this time. Their single-masted ships regularly transported slaves, gold, ivory and ambergris from here. The new meeting of two different civilizations was complicated by the fact that Arab traders saw (quite rightly) dangerous competitors in the Portuguese, and friendly relations soon gave way to hostility. The Arabs began to turn the local black population against the European guests. It got to the point that in order to replenish fresh water supplies, da Gama’s sailors had to land ashore under the cover of naval artillery.

The expedition left Mozambique on April 1 and headed north. On board the flagship, Admiral da Gama held two Arab pilots, but, not trusting them, seized a small sailing ship off the coast and, under torture, forced its owner to provide the necessary information about winds, currents and shoals. Upon entering the harbor of the port city of Mombasa in Zanzibar, the Arab pilots fled from the ship to the local ruler, a wealthy slave-trading sheikh.

Not expecting anything good from the meeting with the owners of Mombasa, Vasco da Gama went to sea. Using his pirate experience, the Portuguese admiral, meeting an Arab ship on the way, plundered it and captured the entire crew. The team supported their admiral in everything. It’s not surprising - in those days, sailors often became people who were not distinguished by high moral qualities, at least in relation to representatives of other civilizations. Therefore, all other oncoming ships belonging to the Arabs were captured. With new booty, the flotilla entered Malindi harbor on April 14 and dropped anchor.

Here the Portuguese were given the most kind and friendly welcome. It turned out that the local sheikh was already aware of the affairs of the Portuguese travelers. The agents informed him of the aliens' naval exploits and airborne artillery. Enmity with Mombasa and impressed by the information received about the guests, he proposed an alliance to the admiral and, as a sign of trust, gave him an excellent pilot, the old sailor Ahmed Ibn Majid. The flotilla set off on April 24, and already on May 17, Ibn Majid pointed out to the admiral the Indian coast emerging from the fog. In the evening of May 20, 1498, Portuguese ships stood in the roadstead at the entrance to the port of Calicut (South India).

How the next “contact of civilizations” took place is described in detail in the book of Doctor of Geographical Sciences D.Ya. Fashchuk "Mysteries of a sea odyssey." When Vasco da Gama and his captains arrived at the local ruler, who bore the title “Samudrin Raja” (for the Portuguese “Samorin”), he “... met the guests naked in only a loincloth. But his hands were adorned with massive gold bracelets and rings with huge diamonds, a pearl necklace and a gold chain were wrapped around his neck, and heavy gold earrings with precious stones were in his ears. As gifts in front of this “walking Diamond Fund,” intended for the savages, twelve pieces of rather coarse cloth, four red hoods, six hats, four strings of coral, six bath basins, a box of sugar, two barrels of olive oil and two barrels of honey were displayed. Zamorin’s reaction is not difficult to guess. Only the pirate experience of Vasco da Gama helped the Portuguese safely leave the Indian shores, capturing several hostages, a couple of merchant ships with valuable cargo and firing bombards at oncoming ships and coastal cities “for the sake of caution.”

Travels of Vasco da Gama (1497–1499)

Calicut remained astern of the Portuguese flotilla at the end of August 1498. Slowly moving north along the Indian coast, on September 20, the sailors were forced to drop anchor off the island of Anjidiv to begin repairing the ships. After repairs and several cannon duels with local pirate ships, the sailors left the island, but the calm made it impossible to move in the right direction. Having waited for a fair wind, it was only in January 1499 that the Portuguese reached Malindi. The ally sheikh supplied the flotilla with fresh supplies and, at the friendly insistence of da Gama, sent an elephant tusk as a gift to King Manuel I.

During the voyage, the crew was greatly reduced - many people died from scurvy and other diseases. We even had to burn the San Rafael ship and move on with the remaining two ships. It took seven weeks to sail from Mozambique to the Cape of Good Hope, and another four to sail to the Cape Verde Islands. Here Vasco da Gama ordered the captain of the Berriu N. Cuella to lead his ship to Lisbon, while he himself remained with his dying brother Paulo da Gama. Having buried his brother on one of the Azores islands, Vasco arrived in Lisbon towards the end of August. Of his four ships, only two returned, less than half of the crew remained.

However, despite the heavy losses, the expedition did not become unprofitable for the royal treasury. Still, in Calicut they managed to acquire a lot of spices and jewelry, and the pirate raids of Gama in the Arabian Sea significantly replenished the ship's chests. But, of course, this was not what caused the authorities in Lisbon to rejoice. “The expedition found out what enormous benefits direct maritime trade with India could bring for them with proper economic, political and military organization of the matter. The discovery of a sea route to India for Europeans was one of the greatest events in the history of world trade. From that moment until the digging of the Suez Canal (1869), the main trade of Europe with the countries of the Indian Ocean and with China did not go through the Mediterranean Sea, but through the Atlantic Ocean - past the Cape of Good Hope. Portugal, which held in its hands “the key to eastern navigation,” became in the 16th century. the strongest maritime power, seized a monopoly of trade with South and East Asia and held it for 90 years - until the defeat of the “Invincible Armada” (1588)” (I.P. Magidovich, V.I. Magidovich, “Essays on the history of geographical discoveries” ).

But the success of the Portuguese sailors was important not only for Portugal itself. He made a stunning impression on ambassadors, merchants and governments of European countries. “As soon as the news of Gama’s return reached Venice, the people were struck like thunder, and the wisest of people considered this the worst news that could ever be received,” as noted in the diary of one contemporary of these events. In February 1502, already twenty warships, led by Vasco da Gama, endowed with the title “Admiral of the Indian Sea” for his first campaign, set off for India and restored order here in the best traditions of the crusaders. Having plundered and ravaged the Malabar coast, they “put in their place” the Indian Zamorins and declared this territory the property of the Portuguese crown. After such a surprise, the Indians cursed and almost killed the helmsman Najdi (Ibn Majidi), who showed the treacherous Europeans the way to their country. But it was too late. In 1505, another Portuguese squadron of twenty ships and an army of one and a half thousand burned Mombasa and engaged in piracy in the Arabian Sea, making the entire coast of Hindustan and the Moluccas their fiefdom. Describing these events, Jules Verne once concluded: “There is no such cruelty with which the Portuguese in India would not stain themselves” (D.Ya. Fashchuk, “Mysteries of a Sea Odyssey”).

The Portuguese authorities highly appreciated the actions of Admiral Vasco da Gama. In 1524 he was appointed Viceroy of India. By this time he was already 55 years old. On December 24 of the same year, the great traveler died in glory and honor. For Portugal and all of Western Europe and America, he remained the first European to bring ships to India. And, most likely, neither he himself nor his contemporaries knew that almost a quarter of a century before the appearance of the Portuguese, another European, a Russian, the Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin, visited India.