The european explorer, Vasco Da Gama, was a highly successful Portuguese sailor and explorer during the Age of Exploration. He had been the first european explorer to sail directly from Europe to India, around the Cape of Good Hope. Through research on Vasco Da Gama, information reveals that Vasco Da Gama helped Portugal enhance the European economy through trade with the east; thus the research shows that Vasco Da Gama’s discoveries and expeditions affected a big part of history by bringing power to Portugal. This is important since Vasco Da Gama affected Portugal and their power in trading.
Vasco Da Gama was born in 1460 in Sines, Germany. Vasco Da Gama was the son of a minor nobleman who commanded the fortress at Sines. He became interested in the sailing and the sea at a young age. He was taught how to navigate in the navy which he joined. Vasco Da Gama was known as a tough and fearless navigator. He solidified his reputation as a notable sailor when he was dispatched to seize French ships as an act of vengeance against the French government for disrupting Portuguese shipping, by King John II
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On July 8, 1497, Da Gama had set sail for India, along with five other ships. Da Gama had taken advantage of the prevailing winds along the coast of Africa by pointing his ships south and embarking on his journey. After sailing for several months he was able to round the Cape of Good Hope and began making his way up the eastern coast of Africa, toward the uncharted waters of the Indian Ocean. By January, as his army of ships had gotten closer to what is now Mozambique, many of Da Gama's crew members were sick with scurvy, forcing the expedition to anchor for rest and repairs for about a month. By early April, the ships reached what is now Kenya, before having to set sail on a 23-day run that took them across the Indian