Bio of vasco da gama biography facts

Vasco da Gama’s Early Life and First Voyage to India

Born circa , Vasco da Gama was the son of a minor nobleman who commanded the fortress at Sines, located on the coast of the Alentejo province in southwestern Portugal.

Little else is known about his early life, but in King John II sent da Gama to the port city of Setubal (south of Lisbon) and to the Algarve region to seize French ships in retaliation for French attacks on Portuguese shipping interests.

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By the time Vasco da Gama returned from his first voyage to India in , he had spent more than two years away from home, including days at sea, and had traveled some 24, miles. Only 54 of his original crew of men returned with him; the majority (including da Gama's brother Paolo) had died of illnesses such as scurvy.

In , John’s successor, King Manuel I (crowned in ), chose da Gama to lead a Portuguese fleet to India in search of a maritime route from Western Europe to the East.

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