On May 17, 1498, he became the first European to land on India’s Calicut port.įrom here, the maritime route via the Indian Ocean was opened for Europe.ĭa Gama initiated negotiations with the local governor and the Zamorins. And in this attempt, he reached the edge of Africa which is knowns as the ‘Cape of Good Hope’ because here Da Gama felt that he could find India.ĭa Gama also met with local people who had travelled to Indian coasts and he knew that the direction was correct.įrom the Cape of Good Hope, he voyaged for 20 days in the Indian Ocean and reached the Western Ghats of India. Learning from Dias, Vasco Da Gama knew that if both oceans meet at the edge of Africa, he could find a maritime route to India. In 1487, Bartolomeu Dias discovered that the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet at the edge of the African peninsula. It all started with the curiosity of Da Gama to extend beyond North and West Africa where the Portuguese had conducted several successful voyages under the reign of King Manuel I of Portugal. Additionally, he found silk and spices which started the greed of the European countries. The discovery of India by Da Gama is one of the biggest milestones in the field of maritime navigation. Later in his life, Da Gama joined the Portugal army and learned how to navigate.Īt the time when Portugal was looking to project itself as a great colonial power and a maritime leader. Vasco Da Gama was born in 1460 in Sines, Portugal, to Estevao, who was an explorer himself. In this article, we will discuss the maritime route that Portugues discovered. But they all came here via the Hindukush mountains. When the maritime route was discovered, India had already witnessed many foreign invasions from the northeast such as Alexander the great, the Arabs, Turks, etc. Columbus, however, went to the opposite side and discovered the Americas, a land which was completely secluded and untouched before then. Christopher Columbus started his voyage to discover India in 1492, around five years before Vasco Da Gama. Before him, many voyaged to discover India but no one succeeded. However, Vasco Da Gama, a Portuguese explorer and sailor, has been given the credit for discovering a maritime trade route to India on May 17, 1498.
There is evidence that suggests we had known maritime trade during the Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) and in the first millennium of the common era. New Delhi: Land of rich heritages, cultural treasures, and brilliant engineering and civilisation, India was richer than all the known world put together in ancient times. Spices and other goods were the attraction for which European powers came to India.Vasco Da Gama, a Portuguese sailor and explorer, discovered the first maritime route to India.
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