Search Results: Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama (c. 1469-1524) was a Portuguese navigator who, in 1497-9, sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa and arrived at Calicut (now Kozhikode) on the south-west coast of India. This was the first direct voyage from...

Throughout the 15th century, the Portuguese Crown yearned for a piece of the Far Eastern spice trade. For centuries this trade had been dominated by the Venetians who obtained pepper, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon from their Middle...

Cochin, located on the southwest coast of India, was a Portuguese colony from 1503 to 1663. Known to the Portuguese as Cochim, it was one of several important cities on India’s Malabar Coast and a great trade centre for spices like pepper...

A 16th century portrait of the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama (c. 1469-1525). He was the first European to sail directly from Europe to India via the Cape of Good Hope, a voyage taken in 1497-9. (National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon)

Vasco Núñez de Balboa (1475-1519) was a Spanish conquistador who famously discovered the Pacific Ocean after crossing the isthmus of Panama in 1513. An utterly ruthless adventurer and colonizer, Balboa was as much a danger to his fellow conquistadors...

A c. 1900 painting by Alfredo Roque Gameiro showing the arrival of the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama (c. 1469-1525) at Calicut in India. He was the first European to sail directly from Europe to India via the Cape of Good Hope, a voyage...

An illustration of the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (c. 1469-1524) as the viceroy of Portuguese India, an appointment made in 1524. (Livro de Lisuarte de Abreu, Pierpont Morgan Library, M.525)

A c. 1900 painting by Alfredo Roque Gameiro showing the departure of the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama (c. 1469-1525) from Lisbon. He was the first European to sail directly from Europe to India via the Cape of Good Hope, a voyage taken...

Nobleman and explorer Vasco da Gama established a trade route that linked Portugal directly with the Indian spice market. Learn how he managed to sail around Africa's Cape of Good Hope in this video. #Biography Subscribe for more from HISTORY...

Possibly being overjoyed by the tales of mythical exploits of Heracles, Semiramis, the fabled queen of Assyria, Cyrus, King of Persia and so on, Alexander the Great set out from the tiny kingdom of Macedon for a daring adventure, unheard...