VASCO DE GAMA LEAVES TO INDIA - JULY 8, 1497

Fleet of Vasco de Gama

The great Portuguese navigator Vasco de Gama leaves to India on July 8, 1497 with a fleet of 4 vessels - S. Gabriel, S. Rafael, Bérrio and a caravel carrying foodstuff. He will arrive in Calicut on May 20, 1498.

This extraordinary maritime adventure confirmed the direct communication between the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans, therefore putting an end to the old idea that the Indian Ocean was an interior sea.

Although the maritime tradition of the Portuguese people has been lost in the memories of time, its contribution to world culture remains to this day. The repercussions of its findings added significantly in the practical combination of scientific and technical knowledge, resulting in the construction of new instruments and weapons, and the development of new scientific methods of astronomical observation. Seafaring undertaken by the Portuguese provided a means for the circulation of navigational knowledge and techniques, some of these already used by them long before the maritime expansion.

Map of the Indian Ocean

Portugal opened the way to a variety of human objectives like the development of other lands and new markets, a broader understanding of different people and cultures, and the wakening of a curiosity for the botanical and zoological diversity of a living world unknown to the Europeans until then.

Lisbon at the time of Portuguese seafaring endeavours

Lisbon became one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Europe, a city into which novelties flooded from the new world, attracting people and offering opportunities for business and cultural exchange. The Portuguese "caravelas" crossed the seas in every direction, collecting experience and information through direct observation, and spreading, in turn, the European ways of thinking and, above all, another religion: Christianity, which was invoked as the spiritual driving force and main goal of the maritime expeditions.

In those far away continents from Asia to Africa and America, the Portuguese left their language and their culture, bringing to Europe in exchange new ideas and materials, precious stones and spices. The enormous cultural impact of the Portuguese contribution to the world may well be summarized in the words of Camões, the great Portuguese poet of the Renaissance: "... to give new worlds to the world".

To celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Discovery of the Sea Route to India by Vasco da Gama a major event took place in Lisbon: EXPO’98 (read the article). This venue was the last international exposition scheduled to take place in the 20th century; in the international area around 100 countries were represented.

Painting, Vasco de Gama leaves to India

© Dulce Rodrigues