Vasco da Gama. What did you discover?

Equipment of the Gama expedition and transition to South Africa

After the discovery of “Western India” by Columbus’s Spanish expeditions, the Portuguese had to hurry to secure their “rights” to the East India. In 1497, a squadron was equipped to explore the sea route from Portugal - around Africa - to India. Suspicious Portuguese kings were wary of the famous navigators. Therefore, the head of the new expedition was not Bartolomeu Dias, but a young, unproven courtier of noble origin Vasco (Vasco) da Gama, who, for unknown reasons, was chosen by the king Manuela I. He placed three ships at Gama's disposal: two heavy ships, 100-120 tons (i.e. 200-240 metric tons) each, the San Gabriel, on which Vasco raised the admiral's flag (captain Gonçalo Alvares, an experienced sailor), and the San Rafael, whose captain was appointed at Vasco’s request by his older brother Paulo da Gama, which had also not shown itself to be anything previously, and the light fast ship "Berriu" weighing 50 tons (captain Nicolau Quelho). In addition, the flotilla was accompanied by a transport ship carrying supplies. The chief navigator was an outstanding sailor Peru Alenquer, who previously sailed in the same position with B. Dias. The crew of all ships reached 140-170 people, this included 10-12 criminals: Gama begged them from the king in order to use them for dangerous assignments.

Portrait of Vasco da Gama at the age of 64. Museum of Ancient Arts, Lisbon

On July 8, 1497, the flotilla left Lisbon and probably went to Sierra Leone. From there, Gama, on the advice of experienced sailors, in order to avoid the nasty winds and currents off the coast of Equatorial and South Africa, moved to the southwest, and beyond the equator he turned to the southeast. There is no more accurate data about Gama’s path in the Atlantic, and assumptions that he approached the coast of Brazil are based on the routes of later navigators, starting with Cabral. After almost four months of sailing, on November 1, the Portuguese spotted land in the east, and three days later they entered a wide bay, which they gave the name of St. Helena (St. Helena, 32 ° 40 "S), and opened the mouth of the Santiago River ( now Great Berg). Having landed on the shore, they saw two almost naked short men (Bushmen) with skin “the color of dry leaves”, smoking wild bees from the nests. They managed to capture one. Gama ordered him to be fed and clothed, gave him several strings of beads and bells and released. The next day, a dozen and a half Bushmen came, with whom Gama did the same, two days later - about fifty. They gave everything they had with them for trinkets, but these things were of no value in the eyes of the Portuguese. When The Bushmen were shown gold, pearls and spices, they did not show any interest in them and it was not clear from their gestures that they had such things. This “idyll” ended in a skirmish due to the fault of a sailor who had offended the Bushmen in some way. Three or four The Portuguese were wounded by stones and arrows. Gama used crossbows against the “enemies”. It is unknown how many natives were killed or wounded. Having rounded the southern tip of Africa, the Portuguese anchored in the “Shepherds’ Harbor” where Bartolomeu Dias killed the Hottentot. This time the sailors behaved peacefully, opened a “silent bargaining” and received a bull and ivory bracelets from the shepherds in exchange for red hats and bells.

Sailing along the coast of East Africa

By the end of December 1497, for the religious holiday of Christmas, Portuguese ships sailing to the northeast were located at approximately 31° S. w. against the high bank, which Gama called Natal ("Christmas"). On January 11, 1498, the flotilla stopped at the mouth of a river. When the sailors landed on the shore, they were approached by a crowd of people who were sharply different from those they had met on the coast of Africa. A sailor who had previously lived in the country of Congo and spoke the local Bantu language addressed those who approached, and they understood him (all languages ​​of the Bantu family are similar). The country was densely populated by farmers who processed iron and non-ferrous metals: sailors saw them with iron tips on arrows and spears, daggers, copper bracelets and other jewelry. They met the Portuguese very friendly, and Gama called this land “the country of good people.”

Ships of Vasco da Gama's squadron. Gordon Miller

Moving north, on January 25 the ships entered the estuary at 18° south. sh., where several rivers flowed. Residents here also welcomed foreigners well. Two leaders wearing silk headdresses appeared on the shore. They imposed printed fabrics with patterns on the sailors, and the African accompanying them said that he was an alien and had already seen ships similar to the Portuguese. His story and the presence of goods undoubtedly of Asian origin convinced Gama that he was approaching India. He called the estuary “the river of good omens” and placed a padran on the bank - a stone coat of arms with inscriptions, which has been erected since the 80s. XV century by the Portuguese on the African coast at the most important points. From the west, Kwakwa, the northern branch of the Zambezi delta, flows into the estuary. In this regard, it is usually not entirely correct to say that Gama discovered the mouth of the Zambezi, and they transfer to the lower reaches of the river the name that he gave to the estuary. For a month the Portuguese stood at the mouth of the Kvakva, repairing ships. They suffered from scurvy, and the mortality rate was high. On February 24, the flotilla left the estuary. Staying away from the coast, bordered by a chain of islands, and stopping at night so as not to run aground, after five days she reached 15° S. w. port of Mozambique. Arab single-masted ships (dhows) visited the port annually and exported mainly slaves, gold, ivory and ambergris. Through the local sheikh (ruler), Gama hired two pilots in Mozambique. But Arab traders recognized dangerous competitors in the newcomers, and friendly relations soon gave way to hostile ones. Water, for example, could only be taken after the “enemy” had been dispersed by cannon fire, and when some of the inhabitants fled, the Portuguese captured several boats with their property and, by order of Gama, divided it among themselves as booty of war.

The Way of Vasco da Gama, 1497-1499.

On April 1, the flotilla left Mozambique to the north. Not trusting the Arab pilots, Gama seized a small sailing ship off the coast and tortured the old man, its owner, in order to obtain information necessary for further sailing. A week later, the flotilla approached the port city of Mombasa (4° S), where a powerful sheikh then ruled. A major slave trader himself, he probably sensed rivals in the Portuguese, but at first he welcomed the foreigners well. The next day, as the ships entered the harbor, the Arabs on board, including both pilots, jumped into a nearby dhow and fled. At night, Gama ordered the torture of two prisoners captured from Mozambique in order to find out from them about the “conspiracy in Mombasa.” Their hands were tied and a boiling mixture of oil and tar was poured onto their naked bodies. The unfortunate people, of course, confessed to the “conspiracy,” but since they, naturally, could not provide any details, the torture continued. One prisoner with his hands tied escaped from the hands of the executioners, threw himself into the water and drowned. Coming from Mombasa, Gama detained an Arab dhow at sea, plundered it and captured 19 people. On April 14, he anchored in Malindi harbor (3° S).

Ahmed Ibn Majid and the route across the Arabian Sea

The local sheikh greeted Gama friendly, since he himself was at enmity with Mombasa. He concluded an alliance with the Portuguese against a common enemy and gave them a reliable old pilot Ahmed Ibn Majid(hereditary navigator, whose father and grandfather were muallims (Muallim is a captain who knows astronomy and is familiar with the conditions of navigation along the coast, literally a teacher, mentor)), which was supposed to bring them to South-West India. The Portuguese left Malindi with him on April 24. Ibn Majid headed northeast and, taking advantage of the favorable monsoon, brought the ships to India, the coast of which appeared on May 17.

Seeing Indian land, Ibn Majid moved away from the dangerous shore and turned south. Three days later, a high cape appeared, probably Mount Delhi (at 12° N latitude). Then the pilot approached the admiral with the words: “This is the country you were striving for.” By the evening of May 20, 1498, the Portuguese ships, having advanced about 100 km to the south, stopped at a roadstead against the city of Calicut (now Kozhikode).

Portuguese in Calicut

In the morning, officials from Zamorin, the local ruler, visited the flotilla. Gama sent a criminal with them to the shore who knew a little Arabic. According to the messenger's story, he was taken to two Arabs who spoke to him in Italian and Castilian. The first question he was asked was: “What devil brought you here?” The envoy replied that the Portuguese had come to Calicut “to look for Christians and spices.” One of the Arabs escorted the messenger back, congratulated Gama on his arrival and ended with the words: “Thank God that he brought you to such rich country" The Arab offered his services to Gama and was indeed very useful to him. The Arabs, very numerous in Calicut (they had almost all foreign trade with South India in their hands), turned the Zamorin against the Portuguese; Moreover, in Lisbon they did not think of supplying Gama with valuable gifts or gold to bribe the local authorities. After Gama personally handed Zamorin letters from the king, he and his retinue were detained. They were released only a day later, when the Portuguese unloaded some of their goods ashore. However, in the future, the Zamorin remained completely neutral and did not interfere with trade, but the Muslims did not buy Portuguese goods, pointing out their low quality, and the poor Indians paid much less than the Portuguese expected to receive. Still, I managed to buy or receive in exchange cloves, cinnamon and precious stones - a little bit of everything.

Vasco da Gama brings gifts to the ruler of Calcutta.

Colored beads were brought as gifts, hats with feathers and many other similar things. The ruler did not accept the gifts, and his entourage “laughed as soon as they saw these gifts.” Paolo Novaresio, The Explorers, White Star, Italy, 2002

More than two months passed like this. On August 9, Gama sent Zamorin gifts (amber, corals, etc.) and said that he was going to leave and asked to send with him a representative with gifts to the king - with bahar (more than two centners) of cinnamon, bahar of cloves and samples of other spices. Zamorin demanded 600 sherafins (about 1,800 gold rubles) in customs duties, but in the meantime he ordered the goods to be detained in a warehouse and forbade residents to transport the Portuguese remaining on the shore to ships. However, Indian boats, as before, approached the ships, curious townspeople inspected them, and Gama very kindly received the guests. One day, having learned that there were noble persons among the visitors, he arrested several people and informed the Zamorin that he would release them when the Portuguese who remained on the shore and the detained goods were sent to the ships. A week later, after Gama threatened to execute the hostages, the Portuguese were taken to the ships. Gama released some of those arrested, promising to release the rest after the return of all goods. The Zamorin agents hesitated, and on August 29 Gama left Calicut with noble hostages on board.

Return to Lisbon

The ships moved slowly north along the Indian coast due to weak, variable winds. On September 20, the Portuguese anchored off the island. Anjidiv (14 ° 45 "N), where they repaired their ships. During the repair, pirates approached the island, but Gama put them to flight with cannon shots. Leaving Anjidiv in early October, the flotilla maneuvered or stood motionless for almost three months, until, finally, a favorable wind blew. In January 1499, the Portuguese reached Malindi. The sheikh supplied the flotilla with fresh supplies, at Gama's insistent request, sent a gift to the king (an elephant tusk) and installed a padran. In the Mombasa area, Gama burned "San Rafael" ": a greatly reduced crew, in which many people were sick, was not able to manage three ships. On February 1, he reached Mozambique. It then took seven weeks to sail to the Cape of Good Hope and another four to the Cape Verde Islands. Here " San Gabriel was separated from Berriu, which, under the command of N. Cuelho, was the first to arrive in Lisbon on July 10, 1499.

Vasca da Gama. Portrait

Paulo da Gama was mortally ill. Vasco, very attached to him (the only human trait of his character), wanted his brother to die on native land. He transferred from Fr. Santiago from the San Gabriel boarded a fast caravel he had hired and went to the Azores, where Paulo died. Having buried him, Vasco arrived in Lisbon by the end of August. Of his four ships, only two returned ( It is unknown where and under what conditions the transport ship was abandoned or perished, and the fate of its crew is not clear) , of the crew - less than half (according to one version - 55 people) and among them a sailor Joao da Lisboa, who took part in the voyage, probably as a navigator. Later, he repeatedly took Portuguese ships to India and compiled a description of the route, including characteristics of the coast of Africa - not only large bays and bays, but river mouths, capes and even individual noticeable points on the coast. This work is surpassed in detail only by mid-19th V. "African pilot" of the British Admiralty.

Gama's expedition was not unprofitable for the crown, despite the loss of two ships: in Calicut it was possible to purchase spices and jewelry in exchange for government goods and personal belongings of sailors; Gama's pirate operations in the Arabian Sea brought considerable income. But, of course, this was not what caused rejoicing in Lisbon among the ruling circles. The expedition found out what enormous benefits direct sea trade with India could bring for them with proper economic, political and military organization affairs. The discovery of a sea route to India for Europeans was one of the greatest events in the history of world trade. From that moment until the digging of the Suez Canal (1869), the main trade of Europe with the countries of the Indian Ocean and with China did not go through the Mediterranean Sea, but through the Atlantic Ocean - past the Cape of Good Hope. Portugal, which held in its hands “the key to eastern navigation,” became in the 16th century. the strongest maritime power, seized a monopoly of trade with South and East Asia and held it for 90 years - until the defeat of the “Invincible Armada” (1588).

The Journey of Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama (born September 3, 1469 – died December 23, 1524), Portuguese navigator, was the first to establish a route from Lisbon to India and back. Like most of his colleagues, he was engaged in pirate business. Count of Vidigueira (from 1519), Governor of Portuguese India, Viceroy of India (from 1524).

Origin

The famous Vasco da Gama, who radically changed the political and economic situation in Europe and Asia with his sea voyages, was born in 1469 in the small seaside town of Sines in the southernmost Portuguese province of Alemtejo. The Gama family could not boast of either wealth or nobility, but was ancient enough to serve the kings of Portugal from generation to generation. Vasco's ancestors included valiant warriors and even a royal standard bearer. His father, Istevan da Gama, was the alkaidi (mayor) of Siniça. And her mother, Isabella Sudre, had English counts among her ancestors. Vasco was their third son, he had two older brothers and a sister.

Childhood and youth

Despite their noble origins, Gam's children closely communicated with the common people. Their playmates were the sons of fishermen and sailors. Vasco and his brothers learned to swim and row early, and knew how to handle fishing nets and sails. But in Siniš it was impossible to get good education, therefore Vasco was sent to study in Evor, the favorite residence of the king. Here he studied mathematics and the intricacies of navigation.

We know that in his youth the future discoverer of the sea route to India took part in the siege of the Moroccan city of Tangier. There is an assumption that he made several sea expeditions along the African coast. Perhaps this is what made the royal court pay attention to him. Maybe there were other reasons. Be that as it may, Vasco ended up in the service of João II and was able to quickly advance.

According to the chronicle, even in his youth the young man was distinguished by a strong, decisive character, a fair amount of temper and imperious habits.

Before traveling to India

The Portuguese and Spaniards are peoples related in language and culture. Portugal constantly competed with Spain in everything related to the discovery and development of new lands and sea routes. When at one time King John II refused, who proposed organizing an expedition to find a western route to Asia, he, apparently, could not imagine that this persistent Genoese would be able to achieve his goal under the flag of the Spanish kings. But “Western India” is open, routes have been laid to its shores, and Spanish caravels systematically ply between Europe and new lands. The heirs of Juan II realized that they should hurry to consolidate their rights to Eastern India. And already in 1497, they equipped an expedition to explore the sea route from Portugal to India - around Africa.

First voyage to India (1497-1499)

The head of the expedition, at the choice of King Manuel I, was Vasco da Gama (the Portuguese pronounce it “Vashka”), a young courtier of noble birth who has not yet proven himself in anything other than the dashing capture of a caravan of French merchant ships. And although the king was offered the candidacy of such famous navigator, like Bartolomeu Dias, who in 1488 was the first to circumnavigate Africa from the south, passing the Cape of Good Hope he discovered, he gave preference to a young aristocrat with pirate inclinations. To Manuel I’s proposal to lead the expedition, Vasco da Gama replied: “I, sir, am your servant and will carry out any assignment, even if it costs me my life.” Such assurances at that time were not given for the sake of “speak”...

Vasco da Gama's sailing to India

Vasco da Gama's flotilla consisted of four ships. These were two 150-ton ships - the flagship "San Gabriel" (captain Gonçalo Aleares, an experienced sailor) and "San Rafael" (captain Paulo da Gama, the admiral's brother), as well as the light 70-ton caravel "Berriu" (Captain Nicolau Quelho) and a transport ship with supplies. In total, under the command of Admiral da Gama there were 168 people, including a dozen criminals specially released from prison - they might be needed to carry out the most dangerous assignments. The experienced sailor Pedro Alenquer, who had sailed with Bartolomeu Dias ten years earlier, was appointed chief navigator.

1497, July 8 - the flotilla left the harbor of Lisbon. Having passed without incident to Sierra Leone, Admiral da Gama, reasonably avoiding the contrary winds and currents off the coast of Equatorial and South Africa, headed to the southwest, and after the equator he turned to the southeast. These maneuvers took about 4 months, and only on November 1 the Portuguese saw land in the east, and 3 days later they entered a wide bay, which they called Saint Helena.

Having landed on the shore, the Portuguese sailors saw the Bushmen for the first time. This is a group of peoples representing ancient population Southern and Eastern Africa. The Bushmen are significantly different from most of the black tribes of the African continent - they are short, their skin color is rather dark than black, and their faces have some resemblance to the Mongoloids. These inhabitants of the bush bush (hence the European name "Bushmen" - "people of the bush") have amazing abilities. They can be in the desert for a long time without water supplies, as they extract it in ways unknown to other peoples.

The travelers tried to establish a “cultural exchange” with the Bushmen, offering them beads, bells and other trinkets, but the Bushmen turned out to be “insolvent” - they did not even have the most primitive clothing, and their primitive bows and arrows were not needed by the Portuguese, who were armed with crossbows and fire bombards. In addition, due to the insult inflicted on the Bushman by some boorish sailor, arose conflict situation, resulting in several sailors being injured by stones and arrows. How many “bush people” the Europeans killed with crossbows remains unknown. And because the Bushmen did not notice any signs of gold and pearls, the flotilla raised anchors and set off further south.

Having rounded the southern tip of Africa, the Portuguese ships, moving to the northeast, at the end of December 1497 approached the high coast, which da Gama gave the name Natal (“Christmas”). 1498, January 11 - the sailors landed on the shore, where they saw many people who were sharply different from the African savages they knew. Among the sailors there was a translator from the Bantu language, and contact between two different civilizations was established. The blacks greeted the Portuguese sailors very friendly. The land that Vasco da Gama called “the land of good people” was inhabited by peasants and artisans. People here cultivated the land and mined ore, from which they smelted iron and non-ferrous metals, made iron knives and daggers, arrowheads and spears, copper bracelets, necklaces and other jewelry.

Moving further north, on January 25 the ships entered a wide bay into which several rivers flowed. Communicating with the local residents, who received the Portuguese well, and noticing the presence of objects clearly of Indian origin, the admiral concluded that the flotilla was approaching India. There was a delay there - the ships needed repairs, and the people, many of whom suffered from scurvy, needed treatment and rest. For a whole month, the Portuguese stood at the mouth of the Kwakwa River, which turned out to be the northern branch of the Zambezi Delta.

Mozambique and Mombasa

Vasco da Gama in India

In the end, the flotilla, fully ready for sailing, headed northeast and reached the island of Mozambique on March 2. Here the lands of the “wild” tribes ended and the rich world controlled by Arab-Muslims began. Before the arrival of the Portuguese, all trade in the Indian Ocean was concentrated in their hands. To communicate with the Arabs, remarkable diplomatic skills were needed, which Gama, alas, did not possess. It was from this moment that his ardor, lack of tact and prudence, and senseless cruelty began to appear.

At first, the sheikh and the people of Mozambique were tolerant of the Portuguese sailors. They mistook them for Muslims, but were unhappy with the gifts that Vasco tried to give to the sheikh who arrived on the ship. It was rubbish that no one needed, and the eastern rulers were accustomed to a different attitude. It soon became known that the people from the ships, unusual to the eyes of the Arabs, were Christians. Tensions grew and on March 11 the Portuguese were attacked. The attack was repulsed, but the team, significantly reduced after the scurvy epidemic, did not have the strength for a decisive battle. We had to quickly leave the inhospitable shore.

On April 7, the Portuguese arrived in Mombasa, but soon, without entering the harbor, they were forced to leave it too, having learned about the Mombasa king’s intention to seize the ships and take the crew prisoner (information was obtained from hostages who were tortured with boiling oil). Eight miles from the harbor, the enraged Portuguese captured a barge loaded with gold, silver and food supplies.

Malindi

On April 14, the fleet approached Malinda, a wealthy Muslim city. The local sheikh was at enmity with the ruler of Mozambique and was glad to enter into an alliance with Gama. In response to signs of attention from the ruler, the Portuguese sent him a truly “royal gift”: a monastic robe, two threads of coral, three hats, basins for washing hands, bells and two pieces of cheap striped cloth. In another situation, the sheikh might not have tolerated such disrespect, but now he was afraid uninvited guests and agreed to provide a skilled pilot, who was needed for further navigation. He became Ahmed ibn Majida, who bore the Arabic-Sanskrit nickname Malemo Kana - “leading the stars.” With his help, in mid-May 1498, the expedition reached the Malabar coast. The ships dropped anchor near the largest Indian city of Calicut (Kozhikode). The long-awaited sea route to India was explored.

Calicut (India)

The local ruler, Zamorin, who was interested in developing trade with any countries, including Christian ones, received Gama's envoy cordially. But Gama’s further behavior escalated the situation.

On May 28, the Portuguese commander, accompanied by 30 people, went on a date with Zamorin. The Portuguese were amazed by the luxurious furnishings of the palace and the expensive clothes of the king and courtiers. Nevertheless, Vasco, not feeling the difference between the tribal leaders of Africa and the Zamorin, was going to present him with pitiful gifts: 12 pieces of the same striped coarse material, several caps and hats, 4 threads of coral, basins for washing hands, a box of sugar, two a barrel of butter and honey.

Seeing this, one of the royal dignitaries laughed contemptuously and declared that even poor merchants present Zamorin with more expensive gifts. The king must be presented with gold, but he simply will not accept this kind of item. The incident quickly became known both in the palace and in the city. This was immediately taken advantage of by Muslim merchants, who saw the Portuguese as dangerous competitors. They turned the already offended Zamorin against the guests, convincing him that cruel, bloody pirates had arrived in Calicut, fortunately, they had already heard rumors about the events in Mozambique and the capture of an Arab ship.

The next day, the ruler kept the delegation in the reception room for several hours, and behaved coldly during the meeting. As a result, Gama failed to obtain permission to establish a Portuguese trading post here. With difficulty, the Portuguese were able to exchange goods for spices. And on October 5, the sailors, having captured six hostages to show them to their king, left Indian waters.

Homecoming

Opening of the sea route to India

By September 1499, using an already familiar path, they were able to reach their home port, having lost two ships and 105 of the 160 crew members. Among the dead was Vasco’s only beloved person, his brother Paulo. He died of consumption. The hero of Indian swimming took this loss extremely hard. Some historians report that for 9 days he was completely alone in grief and did not want to see anyone.

Unfortunately, many of the documents covering the events after Gama's arrival in Portugal were lost in the terrible Lisbon earthquake of 1755. However, there is no doubt that both the king and his fellow citizens greeted the travelers with great honor and jubilation. In honor of the epoch-making event, they minted gold coin, called “Portuguese”, costing 10 cruzada.

Vasco da Gama became a national hero overnight, and deservedly so. It was thanks to his will, energy and perseverance that the expedition was able to complete all the tasks assigned to it and return back. The team loved, but was also terribly afraid of the frantic and cruel leader. His frowning eyebrows threw the sailors into panic, whose actions he was dissatisfied with. But these were desperate people who spent their whole lives on sea voyages. The king showered the hero of the Indian campaign with awards. The city of Sines was transferred to his possession, and benefits were provided for trade with India. He and his descendants were given the title of Don and given a pension. He became officially known as the “Admiral of the Indian Ocean.” However, the traveler himself, being greedy and greedy, remained dissatisfied.

Only isolated facts are known about the period of Gama’s life between the first and second journeys. For example, at this time he married Donna Catarina di Ataydi. From this marriage he had six sons - Francisco, Isteván, Pedro, Paulo, Cristován, Alvaro - as well as a daughter, Isabella.

Second voyage to India (1502-1503)

On next year The expedition of Pedro Alvares Cabral followed the same path. Several years passed, and King Manuel, not satisfied with the Indian expeditions of Cabral and João da Nova, decided to send a large fleet to India. Vasco da Gama was assigned to command them.

The fleet consisted of 10 ships. Another 10, included in 2 auxiliary fleets, were commanded by close relatives of the admiral. This time the expedition was of a completely different nature. Probably, the pirate experience near Mombasa was not in vain. By order of the king, goods were to be taken by force if they could not be obtained peacefully. Spices had to be paid for in gold and silver, which Portugal, like any other European country, did not have in sufficient quantities at that time. This was the beginning of Portuguese colonial expansion.

During the pirate raid, the flotilla forced the rulers of Mozambique and Kilwa to pay tribute, burned and plundered merchant ships, destroyed the Arab fleet and the city of Calicut, and forced the cities of the western Indian coast to recognize the supreme power of the Portuguese and pay tribute.

Among Gama's particularly bloody atrocities was the hijacking of a Calicut ship carrying 380 passengers. Gama gave the order to lock them all in the hold and burned the ship along with the prisoners. When the ship caught fire, the unfortunate people were able to escape onto the deck. The men put out the flames with axes, and the women with children in their arms begged with signs to spare the children and offered their gold jewelry. The admiral was unshakable. He ordered to board the ship and set it on fire again. Then the flagship, like a kite, followed the dying ship, not allowing anyone to escape, and Gama, with a stony face, watched the heartbreaking scenes taking place on board the victim ship.

No less horrific were the events that unfolded as the fleet approached Calicut. Here many fishing boats approached the ships. The admiral ordered the capture of about 30 fishermen. They were immediately hanged on the yards. At night the bodies were removed. They cut off the corpses' arms, legs and heads, threw them into the boat, and threw their bodies overboard. Soon they washed ashore. The terrible contents of the boat were dumped on the shore, and a note in Arabic was attached to the pile. It was written that an even more terrible fate would befall the entire city if it resisted. The admiral committed this kind of action not in a fit of anger, but with deliberate and cold cruelty.

The expedition brought enormous profits. Vasco da Gama received the title of Count of Vidigueira, and in 1524 he was appointed Viceroy of India.

Third expedition to India and death (1524)

The new governor headed to India at the head of a large squadron of 16 ships. In completely conquered Cochin, Vasco da Gama established an administrative center. But he did not have time to demonstrate his administrative abilities, since he died in Cochin on December 24 that same year. His body was taken to Portugal and buried with honor in Vidigeira.

Portugal highly appreciated the actions of Vasco da Gama. 50 years after his death, the poet Luis de Camões sang them in the epic poem “Louisiades”. In the literature of the 16th century, he is presented as a courageous leader and fearless administrator. From the perspective of a modern person, as historian J. Baker writes, “he was cruel and stubborn. He did not hesitate to pour boiling oil on the interrogated hostages; did not hesitate to throw three hundred dead and dying people with their wives and children into the open sea at the mercy of the elements; on his orders, disobedient Portuguese women were driven with rods through the streets of one of the Indian cities.

At the same time, he fraternally shared all the difficulties and hardships with the crew, and once during an earthquake, with a courageous appeal to his people, he prevented panic. If, as viceroy, he showed himself to be cruel, he amazed both the Indians and the Portuguese by the fact that he flatly refused to accept any gifts and jealously ensured that he was respected.

The results of Vasco da Gama’s main discovery were enormous - both from scientific, political and economic points of view. Thanks to him, the outlines of Africa became finally known. Indian Ocean, previously considered an inland sea, was transferred to the category of oceans.
Spices now began to reach Europe without intermediaries. The centuries-long Arab dominance in trade in the Middle East ended. Venice and Genoa, which had flourished until that time, fell into decline. The transformation of Portugal into one of the main colonial powers of the 16th century began.

Vasca da Gama(Vasco da Gama) - later Count Vidigueira, the famous Portuguese navigator. Born around 1469 in the seaside town of Sines, he was a descendant of an old noble family and from a young age enjoyed a reputation as a brave sailor.

Already in 1486, an expedition led by Bartolomeo Diaz discovered the southern tip, which Diaz called the Cape of Storms. King John II ordered the Cape of Storms to be called the Cape of Good Hope, since he believed that its discovery could lead to the discovery of a sea route to India, about which there were already rumors from pilgrims visiting the Holy Land, from merchants and from people who were sent by the king for reconnaissance.

Little by little, a plan matured to establish direct trade relations with: Indian goods had hitherto penetrated from Alexandria through Venice. King Emmanuel the Great equipped the squadron and entrusted its command to Vasco da Gama, with the authority to conclude alliances and treaties and purchase goods.

The flotilla consisted of 3 ships; there were only 170 crew and soldiers; the people chosen for this expedition were previously trained in various necessary crafts. The skippers were the same ones who accompanied Bartolomeo Diaz. For barter trade with the savages, a large supply of beads, mirrors, colored glass, etc. was taken, and more valuable gifts were taken for the elders. On July 7, 1497, with a huge crowd of people, the flotilla sailed from.

Everything went well until Cape Verde, but then unfavorable winds began to slow down the movement to the south, and a leak opened in the ships; the crew began to grumble and demanded to return to. Vasco insisted on continuing the voyage. On November 21, 1497, the expedition rounded the Cape of Good Hope and turned north. A strong storm broke out a second time; people suffered from fear and illness and conspired to chain Vasco da Gama, return to their homeland and confess to the king. Vasco da Gama found out about this and ordered the instigators of the conspiracy (including the skippers) to be chained, threw the quadrants into the sea and declared that from now on God alone would be their skipper. At the sight of such energetic orders, the frightened team resigned themselves.

When the storm subsided, they made a stop to repair the ships, and it turned out that one of them had become completely unusable, so they had to burn it. The passing one carried the remaining ships north. On the Natal coast, the Portuguese saw the natives for the first time and exchanged gifts with them. A Moor who knew the way to India entered the service of Vasco da Gama; he brought a lot of benefit with his advice and guidance.

On March 1, 1498, he arrived in, where he established relations with the residents, at first very friendly; The sheikh of the local tribe agreed to conduct barter trade and provided pilots; but the Moors soon recognized the Portuguese as the same people who, for many years on the opposite side of Africa, waged a merciless war with the Mohammedans. Religious fanaticism was joined by the fear of losing the monopoly of trade with India; The Moors tried to restore the sheikh against the Portuguese, who ordered his pilots to land the ships on the reefs. When this failed, they began to prevent Vasco da Gama from stocking up on fresh water. These circumstances forced Vasco da Gama to leave the inhospitable shores.

In Mombasa (on the coast), as a result of the sheikh's warning, the Portuguese were given a reception similar to that of Mozambique; only in Melinda (3° south latitude) were the navigators warmly welcomed. After exchanging gifts, assurances of friendship, and mutual visits (Vasco da Gama himself dared to go ashore, which he did not do in other places), the Portuguese, having received a reliable pilot, set off further. On May 20, they saw Calicut (11°15` north latitude, on the Malabar coast), the center of trade for the entire eastern coast of Africa, Arabia, the Persian Gulf, etc. For several centuries the Moors were the real rulers of Hindustan; By humane treatment he managed to inspire the love of the natives and their kings.

The Calicut king considered it beneficial to form an alliance with the Europeans, who sent him magnificent gifts and began to purchase spices without haggling or considering quality; but the Moors, through slander and bribery of the king’s associates, tried in every possible way to denigrate the Europeans in his eyes. When they did not succeed, they tried to irritate him with repeated insults and even a two-day arrest of Vasco da Gama and force him to take up arms; but Vasco da Gama, feeling too weak to fight, endured everything and hurried to leave Calicut. The ruler of Kananara considered it best not to quarrel with the future rulers of India (an ancient prophecy spoke of conquerors from the West) and entered into an alliance with them.

After this, the flotilla set off on its way back, carefully exploring and mapping the outlines of the African coast; They rounded the Cape of Good Hope safely, but various difficulties began again, which Vasco da Gama’s brother, Paolo da Gama, who commanded one of the ships, could not bear; he was everyone's favorite, a real knight without fear or reproach. In September 1499, Vasco da Gama returned to Lisbon with 50 crew members and 2 dilapidated ships loaded with pepper and spices, the income from which more than covered all the expenses of the expedition.

King Emmanuel immediately (1500) sent to India, under the leadership of Pedro Alvarez Cabral, a second flotilla, already consisting of 13 sailing ships, with 1,500 crew, to establish Portuguese colonies. But the Portuguese, with their excessive greed, inept and inhumane treatment of the natives, aroused universal hatred; they refused to obey; In Calicut, about 40 Portuguese were killed and their trading post was destroyed.

Cabral returned in 1501. Monopoly of maritime trade with India a short time made Lisbon an important city; it was necessary to keep it in their hands - so they hastily (in 1502) equipped a flotilla of 20 ships and subordinated it to Gama. He safely reached the eastern coast of Africa, concluded trade agreements with Mozambique and Sofala, and left factors there; in Quiloa, he lured the king onto the ship, with threats to take him prisoner and burn the city, forced him to recognize the protectorate of Portugal, pay an indemnity and build a fortress.

Approaching Hindustan, Vasco divided the fleet into several parts; several small ships were overtaken and plundered, several towns were bombarded and destroyed; one large ship sailing from Calicut was boarded, plundered and sunk, and the people were massacred. Fear gripped the entire coast, everyone resigned themselves to a strong enemy; even the ruler of Calicut sent several times to ask for peace. But Vasco da Gama, gentle with submissive kings, pursued the enemies of Portugal with merciless cruelty and decided to avenge the death of his compatriots: he blocked the city, almost destroyed it by bombing, burned all the ships in the harbor and destroyed the fleet equipped to resist the Portuguese.

Having built a trading post-fortress in Cananara and leaving people and part of the fleet there with instructions to cruise near the coast and harm Calicut as much as possible, Vasco returned to his homeland on December 20, 1503 with 13 richly loaded ships. While Vasco da Gama enjoyed well-deserved peace in his homeland (although there is an indication that he was in charge of Indian affairs), five viceroys ruled one after another over the Portuguese possessions in India; The administration of the last of them, Edward da Menezes, was so unhappy that King John III decided to send Vasco da Gama again to the arena of his previous exploits.

The new viceroy set sail (1524) with 14 ships, a brilliant retinue, 200 guards and other attributes of power. In India, with firmness and persistence, he began to eradicate extortion, embezzlement, loose morals and careless attitude towards the interests of the state. To successfully fight against light Arab ships, he built several of the same type of ships, prohibited private individuals from trading without royal permission, and tried to attract as many benefits as possible more people for naval service. In the midst of this hectic activity, he fell ill and died on December 24, 1524 in Kohima. In 1538, his remains were transported to Portugal and solemnly interred in the town of Vidigeira.

Vasco da Gama was an honest and incorruptible man, combining determination with caution, but at the same time arrogant; sometimes cruel to the point of brutality. Purely practical goals, and not a thirst for knowledge, guided his discoveries. The history of his expeditions is told by Barros, Caspar Correa, Osorio (historian of Emmanuel the Great) and Castanleda. In the city of Goa in the 17th century a statue was erected to him; but the most lasting monument was erected to him by Camoes, in the epic “Louisiade.”

The path towards the sun.Danila Kuznetsov.

In the historical ranking of celebrities from the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, this man occupies, perhaps, second place - right after Columbus. Well, as a last resort, a solid third, letting Magellan go ahead. The irony of fate, however, is that it was he who eventually found what the first two were unsuccessfully looking for. Namely, the spice-rich lands of South Asia. Photo above ULLSTEIN BILD/VOSTOCK PHOTOBibography of the navigator is not rich in reliable historical data. Researchers could not even establish the date of his birth; only the most probable year is known - 1469. But it is known for sure that Vasco (Vasco) was born into the family of Don Estevan da Gama, alcaid (viceroy) of a small seaside town called Sines and a veteran of the Crusades in Morocco. He had two older brothers, Paulo and Irish - later with the first of them he would sail to the distant shores of India. There was also Sister Teresa.
Sines, where Vasco spent his childhood, looks almost the same nowadays as it did in his time. This is a fishing village halfway between the southern bank of the Tagus (Lisbon is located at the mouth of this river) and Cape São Vicente. The sun shines brightly here more than 300 days a year, and the water sparkles turquoise in its rays. Bare sand dunes stretch further to the north; in the south, just outside the city, the first spurs of the Sao Domingos mountain range rise. “Angular” architecture crowds against the walls of the old fort one-story houses with bright tiled roofs - red, green, yellow. So, Vasco da Gama spent his childhood at sea or on the shore, early learned to swim, steer a boat, determine the path at night by the stars, and handle nets. The endless ocean and the feverish expectation of new and new discoveries, which captured the Portuguese since the time of Prince Henry (Enrique) the Navigator, the herald of great voyages, possessed him, and the amazing stories of sailors who had already returned from long voyages along the African coast ignited his imagination. The young nobleman listened to stories about huge elephants and hairy monkeys, gold and cannibals with sawed teeth, storms and shipwrecks, no less terrible calms that doomed entire fleets to a slow death. What teenager would be left indifferent by such stories?

Sines. Here Don Vasco was born and spent his youth. Now in front of the city church there is a monument to the most famous of the townspeople. Photo TONY ARRUZA/CORBIS/RPG
However, one significant difference between modern Sinis and Sinis of the 15th century is easy to detect: unlike our days, it was not only impossible for a child to receive an education there, but there were almost no literate people there. Having reached school age, Vasco went, at the behest of his father, seventy miles northeast of his native place, to Evora, to study navigation and mathematics.
So our hero seemed to find himself in another world. Underfoot, instead of turf, there were streets paved with cobblestones, lined along them were solid and respectable-looking stone houses. In addition, here da Gama was able to see foreign travelers for the first time (and not just his compatriots returning from distant lands). It was their custom to stop in Evora on the way to the Algarve province, famous throughout the continent for its grapes and holy places. However, we also know little about the daily life of the future navigator in the university city. It is likely that he studied well, diligently, and showed special abilities in marine sciences. Otherwise, the son of a seedy provincial governor would not soon have found himself as an officer of the royal fleet in Lisbon, having proven himself a good commander in several battles with the Castilians and Muslims - there is scanty information about this in the early biographies of da Gama.
What is the image of this young, but battle-hardened captain in those 80s of the 15th century? We do not have at our disposal a single portrait of a traveler about whom we can say with confidence: he was lifetime. From the fragmentary remarks of his contemporaries, we can conclude that he was a man of average height, physically developed - only at the end of his life would he discover a tendency towards obesity. He had an expressive face - large, piercing eyes under thick eyebrows, a prominent nose, and a permanently well-groomed beard. He was courageous in spirit, not afraid of responsibility, often lost his temper, and was greedy and tyrannical. He seemed to be distinguished by real fanaticism in achieving ambitious goals. All these are precisely the qualities that were valued in Europe at the end of the 15th century.
Against the historical background It was at the same time that young Portugal began to explore new lands. Circumstances logically pushed for this: trade was not going too well. Expensive spices - this “main preservative” of the Renaissance, necessary for storing and disinfecting food - came through third parties. The Arabs bought them in Indian ports - Calicut, Cochin, Kananur - and transported them on small ships to the port of Jeddah near Mecca. Then caravans through the desert brought the precious cargo to Cairo, where it was floated on barges down the Nile and sold in Alexandria to Italian merchants from Venice and Genoa. They, in turn, distributed the goods throughout Europe. Of course, at each stage its price increased, and in distant Lisbon it was sold at an exorbitant price.
And besides, the Portuguese also faced a closer geographical goal - the western coast of Africa. It was nearby, there was no need to fight for it with other developed powers, and it was rich in valuable metals and ivory. True, in the north of the continent the warlike Berbers still resisted, but high-speed ships made it possible to bypass their lands by sea.
The first large-scale expeditions to the Atlantic began in 1416 - under the patronage of the already mentioned Prince Henry, known in history under the nickname the Navigator. This prince devoted his entire life and energy to equipping flotillas and even opened the first dedicated navigation school in Europe. Moreover, it was he who was the first, having read the classic work of Marco Polo, to set a task for his compatriots: to find a direct sea route to India.
Technically, the Portuguese were ready for this: by the end of the 15th century they were already actively using the astrolabe, goniometric ruler and quadrant in their voyages, and midday sun and declination tables learned to determine longitude. By 1482, armed with all these tools and skills, they reached the mouth of the Congo River, where they established the main base on the route to the development of the African coast. Now God himself ordered to move on. However, from a security point of view, of course, it was first necessary to collect the most detailed information about the political and economic situation in the countries of South Asia.
The responsible task was entrusted to a certain officer named Peru de Covilhã - it was from him that Vasco da Gama, unwittingly, subsequently “stole” the well-deserved glory of the first Portuguese to reach India. Meanwhile, it was this bright personality, adventurer and valiant warrior, who had experience traveling in Barbary and had an excellent command of the Arabic language, back in 1487, together with his companion Afonso di Paiva, left Lisbon on a secret royal mission: to get to the “land of spices” and test the waters for a sea expedition.
In the meantime, new routes were being laid out in the ocean spaces by the best Portuguese admiral of his time, Don Bartolomeu Dias de Novais. On February 3, 1488, after a severe two-week storm, he finally managed to accomplish what dozens of his colleagues and predecessors had strived for - he circumnavigated Africa and, heading east, reached the mouth of a large river, which he named Rio dos Infantish (River of Princes). A padran was erected here - a stone pillar with the royal coat of arms, confirming Portuguese sovereignty over these lands for eternity.
Dias brought detailed maps of one and a half thousand miles of African coast to Lisbon, and his return stirred up a new wave of dreams about India, and the question of the next expedition immediately arose.
At this moment, our hero first steps onto the historical stage - the king chose Vasco da Gama.
Dias was an exceptionally experienced sailor, but obviously seemed to the ruler to be a weak commander - after all, he could not cope with the indignation of the sailors beyond the Cape of Good Hope and bring the ships to Hindustan when such an opportunity seemed to present itself. And the family of Vasco da Gama, as we already know, was famous for its determination and courage. The king needed just such a person who, with will and energy, would inspire the crew of several small ships and would be able, overcoming difficulties, to complete the task to the end.
The information from chroniclers about how exactly Gama became the head of the “expedition of the century” is contradictory and does not provide a single picture. Some sources claim that they wanted to entrust the flotilla to his father, but he suddenly died and his son replaced him. Others say that the king noted Don Vasco’s reasonable views on maritime affairs during one of his audiences and, rejecting the list of applicants proposed to him by the ministers, at the last moment made an unexpected decision.
It is also known that Manuel I allowed the appointed captain - at his request - to take one of the brothers with him. Vasco clearly needed a man who would remain faithful to him under any circumstances. He chose Paula. In 1495, preparations began for the expedition. While Don Gama, in the specially designated chambers of the royal palace, collected and analyzed all the necessary information that he could “read” from domestic, Italian, Arab maps and documents, ships were built at the capital’s shipyards under the leadership of Dias. Don Bartolomeu, based on his own expedition experience, ordered the replacement of oblique sails with rectangular ones, increased the stability of the ships and reduced their draft. The displacement was increased to 100 tons: it was necessary to take on board as much food and water as possible. However, the hold of flat-bottomed Portuguese ships with a high bow was still very imperfect: it let water through and, as the voyage progressed, gradually turned into a garbage pit, where rats swam in the rotten water with garbage. In case of clashes with Arab pirates, 12 guns were placed on the decks.
As a result, according to Dias’s design, two caravels were built in Lisbon: “San Gabriel” - which Don Vasco, taking advantage of his privilege as a commander, will choose as his flagship - and “San Rafael”. The experienced Gonçalo Alvares was appointed captain of the flagship. Da Gama entrusted the second ship to his brother. In addition, the expedition also included: “San Miguel”, or “Berriu”, an old light ship with lateen (that is, oblique) sails under the command of Nicolau Coelho and an unnamed cargo ship captained by Gonçalo Nunez. The average speed of the flotilla in good wind could be 6.5-8 knots.
The authorities were very careful in choosing the crew. It was ordered to recruit experienced, desperate, seasoned and accustomed to long journeys people, skilled in their work. The backbone was made up of those who sailed with Dias, and in total about 170 people were taken on board, of which 10 were criminals released from prison specifically for the expedition. These thugs were planned to be planted for reconnaissance in particularly dangerous areas of Africa. The holds, as planned, were filled to capacity with food and fresh moisture for many months. This is what the daily ration of a sailor going to India looked like: half a pound of crackers, a pound of corned beef, two and a half pints of water, one twelfth of a pint of vinegar and one twenty-fourth of olive oil. During Lent, meat was replaced with half a pound of rice or cheese. In addition, the Portuguese constantly drank wine and did not want to give up this habit at sea, so everyone was given one and a quarter pint (about 700 grams) of this drink a day. The ships also carried beans, flour, lentils, prunes, onions, garlic and sugar. Of course, it was planned to catch fish along the way. They also did not forget a variety of goods for barter with African aborigines: striped and bright red fabrics, corals, bells, knives, scissors, cheap tin jewelry... And yet, with such a good allowance, life for the sailors was not easy: they would spend months on the open ocean, languish under the equatorial sun, under which both food and water fade. Sleep - side by side, anywhere, right on the deck. Columbus had already brought the famous hammocks “from the American Indians,” but they had not yet come into widespread use.

Vasco da Gama's farewell to King Manuel I of Portugal. Photo by ULLSTEIN BILD/VOSTOCK PHOTO

Games of chance On the hot day of July 8, 1497, they were preparing to sail. They served a prayer service. According to tradition, all travelers were granted absolution (the corresponding bull was begged from Pope Martin V by Henry the Navigator).
Finally, the climactic moment of sailing arrived. Bartolomeu Dias came on board hand in hand with Vasco da Gama - he was going to Guinea, where he was appointed governor. A cannon salvo rang out.
At first we sailed with virtually no surprises. A week later we reached the Canaries. Then the supplies of fresh water and provisions were replenished on the Cape Verde Islands. Here Dias landed, who would soon go further to the newly erected fortress of São Jorge da Mina on the Guinean coast.
And then the elements subjected the flotilla to serious tests. The ships found themselves in a belt of strong eastern winds, which absolutely did not allow them to go further along the known route along Africa. Somewhere in the region of 10° north latitude, da Gama first showed himself - he made the responsible decision to turn southwest in order to try to bypass the winds in the open ocean.
The caravels moved away from Africa to a huge distance of 800 nautical miles. For three long months, not a single piece of land was visible from the masts for kilometers around. Fresh water, naturally, became unusable - I had to drink sea water. They ate corned beef. So new way, which Gama chose, undermined the health of the team at the very beginning of the voyage. But a convenient route with favorable air flows to the Cape of Good Hope was opened. And today, rare sailing ships sail exactly along this route.
After the equator, the ships were finally able to turn east without losing the wind they needed. On October 27, we saw whales, and soon - birds and algae, which indicated the proximity of land. Four days later, the watch filled the decks with the long-awaited cry: “Land!”
On November 4, with relief, we dropped anchor in St. Helena Bay at 33° south latitude, at the very tip of the African continent. Here da Gama planned to stay for a long time: in addition to the usual replenishment of supplies, it was necessary to heel the ships, that is, pull them ashore and clear the bottom of adhering shells and mollusks, which not only seriously slow down the speed, but also destroy the wood. However, a conflict arose with the local inhabitants - short, warlike Bushmen - due to the arrogant and predatory behavior of the Portuguese, for which they were “famous” in distant lands. The expedition commander was wounded in the leg and had to urgently set sail.
They rounded the Cape of Good Hope with great difficulty. The elements were raging. Due to the rushing thunderclouds, the day literally turned into night. Water poured in streams from the sky and seeped from below through cracks in the plating into the hold, waves flooded the deck around the clock, but they still managed to enter the Indian Ocean without much loss.
Now we tried to stay in direct line of sight from the shore. In the Bay of Saint Blas (San Bras - now Mosselbay in South Africa), the caravels were finally repaired: the lining was patched, the torn sails and tackle were mended, and the loose masts were secured. Alas, the cargo ship had to be burned: the storm made it unsuitable for further navigation. However, the losses among the sailors compensated for the loss of the ship, there was no need to be crowded... They scared the Hottentots emerging from the jungle with shots from bombards, set up the inevitable padran and - on the road.
Soon, on December 16, we passed the last stop of Dias. Then the unknown began.
European travelers then had to face many surprises. And with unknown currents of unprecedented strength running along shallows and reefs, and with the notorious multi-week calm, and, finally, with scurvy.
On January 25, when the expedition stopped at the Mozambican Quelimane River (the ships began to collapse again), approximately half of the entire crew had festered and bleeding gums, swollen knees and legs - many could not only work, but even walk. Several dozen people died here.
The Portuguese stayed at the mouth of Quelimane for more than a month, and only then sailed up the Mozambique Channel. At this stage we had to go very carefully and only during daylight hours: after all, the maps had yet to be drawn up, and it was easy to run into one of the hundreds of small islands that dotted this expanse of water.
On March 2, the ships sailed to an Arab city, which had the same name as the country now - Mozambique. The lands of the “wild” black tribes ended here, further on the gold-rich shores stood the ports of Muhammad’s followers. Muslims actively colonized East Africa, buying ambergris, metals and ivory in the interior of the continent.
Residents of Mozambique, oddly enough, at first mistook the Portuguese for their co-religionists (the sailors' clothes had become frayed and lost their national characteristics), and the local ruler gave Vasco da Gama a rosary as a sign of friendship. But the arrogant and arrogant captain, who always suffered from a lack of diplomatic talent, considered the townspeople to be savages and tried to offer the emir a red cap in exchange!
The “prince”, dressed in expensive clothes, of course, indignantly rejected such a gift. And soon one of Vasco’s subjects reported to him: the navigator was seen talking with two captured Christians (it is not clear where they came from in Mozambique, perhaps from Ethiopia). This is how the truth about the travelers’ religion was revealed. The atmosphere was heating up.
But the main problem was that to continue the journey you needed a good pilot, and where would you get one? True, that same emir, even before the break in relations, managed to place two experts in maritime affairs at the disposal of the flotilla, but one of them immediately fled, and the second, as it turned out, was unreliable: soon after sailing, he tried to pass off some islands he encountered as the mainland . The deception was revealed, the enraged commander ordered the liar to be tied to the mast and personally brutally flogged (one of those same islands was put on the map under the name Isla do Azoutado, that is, “The Hewn One”).
A great undertaking, as often happens, was saved by chance.
On April 7, the Portuguese approached another major port on the way - Mombasa, where the Arabs tried to seize the caravels by force. We barely managed to escape.
But the emir of the next city, Malindi, had long and mortally been at enmity with his Mombasa neighbor and, in spite of him, despite everything, he warmly received Vasco da Gama. He not only got hold of provisions here and even a small amount of long-awaited spices, but also saw four ships from India on the roadstead. He also received a first-class navigator, Ahmed ibn Majid, at his disposal. Ahmed was about thirty years older than Vasco and had walked the seas (using an astrolabe) even before he was born. He left behind sailing directions and navigation manuals, some of which have survived to this day and are located in Paris. Having boarded the San Gabriel, the pilot simply and busily unfolded before the astonished captain accurate maps of the western coast of India with all azimuths and parallels. Naturally, Don Vasco's joy knew no bounds - now it was possible to go at maximum speed, without any delays, straight across the ocean, clearly on course. Strictly speaking, it is to Ahmed ibn Majid that Europe owes the opening of the sea route to India.
On April 24, the red sails of the Portuguese caught the favorable monsoon and moved to the northeast. On the fifth day, the Southern Cross was replaced in the starry sky by the constellation Ursa, and after 23 days the sailors saw seagulls.
In Wonderland So, thanks to the skill of an experienced Arab, on May 20, 1498, Captain da Gama from his captain's bridge on the San Gabriel saw the brown coast of the famous subcontinent near the city of Calicut (now Kozhikode). Calicut, the capital of an independent principality, then served as the largest port along the entire Malabar (southwestern) coast of India.
What feelings travelers must have experienced when they entered the Calicut bazaar! Truly, according to the chronicler, everything that the Earth gave people was sold here. There was a tart smell of pepper, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon in the air. Doctors offered cures for all diseases: camphor, cardamom, asafoetida, valerian, aloe. There was an abundance of fragrant myrrh and sandalwood, blue dyes (indigo), coconut fiber, and ivory. Fruit suppliers displayed their bright and juicy goods: oranges, lemons, melons, mangoes.
In the very first days, translator Joao Nunes managed, in the bustle of the Calicut streets, to secure the friendship of another Arab, a certain el-Masud, who became an informant for Europeans in Calicut. Later, he will have to flee to Lisbon - like Ahmed ibn Majid, his compatriots will condemn him to death in absentia for treason... But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
The ruler of Calicut, who bore the title of Raja-Samorin, complacently received the first embassy of strange guests consisting of the same el-Masud and Don Gama's right hand, officer Fernand Martin. They were presented with fabrics. It seemed that the dialogue was getting better, but, alas, the same eternal arrogance of the captain, who looked down on all pagans, intervened. For some unknown reason, he immediately began to assure everyone in Calicut that he was the official representative of a distant overseas king, the most powerful of the sovereigns of the sublunary world, and had come here to bring all the peoples to submission to this king. Don Vasco also insisted that he be carried to an audience with the ruler in a palanquin, surrounded by trumpeters and standard-bearers. Zamorin met him, seated on an ivory throne, on green velvet, dressed in a robe of gold, his hands, fingers and ankles were strewn with precious stones- and the short-sighted European thought of giving a man who looked like that a cheap Andalusian striped cloth, the same red caps and a box of sugar! The Hindu, of course, rejected the gifts, just like the ruler of Mozambique. In addition, the Arabs surrounding this sovereign had already described to him bloody clashes in Mozambique and Mombasa.
As a result, the matter turned out unexpectedly for the Portuguese: he was ordered to remain ashore under house arrest, and also to hand over all sailing equipment and ship's rudders. Warriors decorated with feathers immediately lined up around the Christians in a tight ring, and the enraged Arab merchants who were nearby even planned to tear the travelers to pieces on the spot. It seemed that luck had turned away from the sailors. But on June 2, after negotiations with the Vali, the first minister of Zamorin, Vasco da Gama was unexpectedly released onto the ship for a ransom and again given freedom of action. Apparently, the captain managed to deftly play on the balance of Hindu and Arab interests and convince the owners not to follow the lead of their main trading partners. True, it was not possible to use this triumph of resourcefulness with maximum efficiency. As a merchant, as well as a diplomat, Don Vasco proved himself to be very average. Despite favorable trading conditions, it took him two whole months to exchange only a few kilograms of spices for much more valuable - in absolute terms - copper, mercury and amber. And from this insignificant transaction, Zamorin, in the end, demanded a huge customs duty. El-Masud, meanwhile, reported that the Arabs were again offering the ruler any money for the destruction of the Portuguese expedition.
In general, the time has come to act. And yes Gama surprised everyone again. On August 19, he captured more than a dozen hostages who had come to inspect the San Gabriel and San Rafael. The ships immediately turned their sides in the roadstead and sent a truce to the port with a threat: all the captives would be taken overseas forever if the Indians did not immediately lift the arrest of the already purchased items and release the officer Diogo Dias, who was stuck on the shore with some unsold European goods. Zamorin, on reflection, decided to give in to the ultimatum: he released Dias (albeit, taking away part of the Portuguese property) and even sent with him a letter for the “great overseas king”, in which he reported his wealth and asked to send gold and silver in exchange for spices.
In response, Vasco da Gama released only six of the ten hostages, and actually took the rest to Lisbon. Convinced that nothing more could be achieved in Calicut, he, scaring off the Arab boat cordon with a cannon salvo, ordered to immediately sail to the west.
Return and grief Of course, no one expected that the return journey would be easier. He didn't turn out to be. Firstly, yes Gama was forced to leave India before the favorable northeast monsoon, which the Arabs always used, blew out - he simply had no other choice. So if the ships traveled to India for less than a month, now the journey to Africa took three whole months - from the beginning of October 1498 to January 2, 1499. Scurvy and fever took away another 30 people from the already small crew, so now there were literally 7-8 able-bodied sailors left on each ship - clearly not enough to effectively manage the ships. On January 7, we managed to get to friendly Malindi, but here we had to part with San Rafael. It was beyond repair, and there was no one to sail on it. The remnants of the team with cargo from the holds moved to the flagship, and the San Rafael was burned. But then luck returned to a handful of Portuguese again - as if it suddenly decided to have mercy on them on the brink of death. We rounded the Cape of Good Hope without incident, and then sailed with a fair wind for only 27 days to Cape Verde. There, however, they found themselves in a dead calm, and then immediately in a storm that separated the ships, but they met safely - already in Lisbon.
Coelho was the first to come to the capital on the San Miguel - July 10, 1499. Don Vasco himself experienced grief on the flagship - his brother died on the way on one of the Azores islands. Usually indifferent to suffering, the captain was obviously very emotional about this event. In any case, having entrusted Joan da Sa with leading the caravel to Lisbon, he remained to bury Paula. The San Gabriel was already solemnly entering its home port, but Gama didn’t even think about triumphant return- He indulged in grief for several more weeks in the wilderness of Azores.
Thus, the captain was the last of the expedition to arrive in Lisbon, after almost 26 months of wandering. The king, however, still received him with pomp and ordered a public display of the “curiosities” he had brought. The townspeople looked at the dark-skinned Indians with great curiosity. The few surviving sailors loudly told terrible stories at all crossroads about the disasters through which the will and courage of their leader led them. Among other things, as we have already said, Gama brought correct maps of the African coast and proved that the seas around Hindustan are not inland.
The monarch highly appreciated all this - he gave his navigator the title of “Admiral of the Indian Sea”, the right to eternal duty-free export of any goods from newly discovered India and a large lifelong pension. However, in the spirit of the times, this seemed not enough to the recipient himself, and he asked to be given his hometown of Sines as his personal possession.
Here a snag arose: the city previously belonged to the Order of St. James, whose Grand Master was the Duke of Coimbra, the illegitimate son of the late King Joan II. The king signed the letter of complaint to the admiral, and the pope expressed his consent, but the Jacobites categorically refused to give up their property. The monarch had no choice but to appease Da Gama with an additional increase in his pension. However, the navigator was soon consoled - somewhere between 1499 and 1502 he married a certain Dona Catarina de Ataida, the daughter of a very influential dignitary. His wife subsequently bore him seven children. But whether he loved them is unknown. After the death of Brother Paulo, the humane traits in the character of Vasco da Gama no longer appear on the pages of chroniclers, who now seem to be trying to convince readers: this man inspired only fear, and aspired only to power.

May 20, 1498. The Portuguese captain meets with the Samorin Raja in Calicut. Photo AKG/EAST NEWS

The Thunderstorm of India The Portuguese court, like any other European court of the 15th century, was swarming with spies from neighboring countries. Information about new discoveries could not be hidden for long, even if one wanted to. Consequently, it was necessary to resolutely continue the work begun so as not to let anyone get ahead of him in India. Manuel I immediately developed vigorous activity: the very next year, a squadron of 13 ships and one and a half thousand people set off along the beaten path. The admiral himself, however, avoided participating in the expedition. The fleet was led by the noble don Pedro Alvares Cabral, who was lucky to discover Brazil and Madagascar “along the way.” Success awaited him in Calicut too - the impressive appearance of the flotilla quickly put the Indians in a peaceful mood. Normal commercial relations were established, and the Portuguese immediately received fabulous profits. For 90 years, their country became an absolute monopolist in trade with South and East Asia.
Vasco da Gama returned to active duty six months after Cabral's return. On February 10, 1502, he, at the head of ten large ships, again set out for open lands. This time the squadron was also accompanied by five high-speed military caravels under the command of the admiral's uncle, Don Vicente Sudre. This time Vasco da Gama sailed for some time along the coast of Brazil and looked at the land, the discovery of which the Portuguese were partly indebted to him. We reached India almost without incident. On the way, on June 14, we managed to establish the first trading post on east coast Africa, in the port of Sofala: gold and hippopotamus teeth were brought here, which, being harder and whiter, were then valued even more than the famous ivory. On the island of Kiloa, near Zanzibar, the Portuguese taxed the local emir Ibrahim and forced him to recognize the rule of King Manuel. Finally, on the approach to Hindustan, near the island of Anjidiva in the Goa region, the admiral - rather simply out of old hatred than for profit - robbed the oncoming Arab ship "Meri" and burned it along with three hundred prisoners, including women and children.
In friendly Kannur they also founded a trading post, a fort and took full control of the port. customs control. Now the Portuguese gunners sank any ships that entered the harbor without permission.
On April 30, 1502, when Vasco da Gama reached his main goal - the same Calicut - he was no longer a weak and exhausted wanderer with a couple of ships and a handful of the same “gone” sailors. Local residents saw in glory the powerful ruler of an entire flotilla, armed to the teeth. Zamorin, although he had already met with Cabral in the same conditions, was again seriously frightened and immediately sent envoys offering peace and compensation for the damage previously caused. But the admiral went too far here too - he charged too high a price for the quiet life of the Indian city. He demanded that all Arabs be expelled from Calicut. Raja, no matter how afraid he was of the aliens, refused. The Portuguese reacted again in his own spirit - he hanged 38 Indians captured on the shore and began a systematic shelling of the city. The ruler sent a new “negotiator” - his high priest, whom the Portuguese sent back, cutting off his nose, ears, hands and hanging it all on the unfortunate man’s neck! And Don Vasco, leaving seven ships to blockade Calicut, sailed to Cochin to trade.
On January 3, 1503, another diplomat from Zamorin arrived in Cochin with a peace offer. But then the Europeans suspected something was wrong - the Indians could not easily forgive such great grievances. A favorite method was used on the ambassador - torture, and he admitted that his sovereign, together with the Arabs, was gathering a large fleet to fight the Portuguese, but for now he was simply lulling their vigilance. Don Vasco immediately sailed to Calicut and destroyed the unprepared enemy ships. Some of them were shot from powerful cannons, others were boarded. A lot of gold was found on the captured ships, and on one of them a whole “harem” of young Indian women was found. The most beautiful ones were selected as a gift to the queen, the rest were distributed to the sailors.
On February 20, the admiral went home, leaving a permanent squadron of eight ships in the Indian Ocean. On October 11, he was already in Lisbon - and although he was greeted with the same honors as the first time, now there were much more reasons for this. With him, Don Vasco brought mountains of valuable goods, important trade agreements concluded on behalf of the crown, and most importantly, evidence of the actual process of real colonization that had actually begun.
Da Gama exceeded the task initially set for him. Thanks to him, Lisbon literally turned into a center in just a few years international trade. Merchants from all over Europe flocked here for spices and incense, Brazilian sugar and cloaks made of tropical bird feathers, Chinese porcelain and Indian jewelry.
Now the navigator moved to live in Evora, where he built himself an amazing palace, the walls of which were decorated with images of palm trees, Indians and tigers (it was from this dwelling that the famous “Manueline” architectural style originated). The street on which it once stood is still called the "Painted House".
The admiral spent 12 years there, and then he apparently got tired of peace and began to ask the king for permission to offer his services to some other power for a change (a normal practice in that era - Magellan had done the same thing a year earlier). Manuel, however, did not want to let go of the national hero and awarded him for the time being the title of Count of Vidigueira, and also accepted da Gama’s proposal to establish a new administrative unit - the Viceroyalty of India. Its center became Goa, the second largest Malabar port after Calicut, and after some time Don Vasco became viceroy.

In 1897, the Kingdom of Portugal presented this clock as a gift to Durban, South Africa, in memory of Vasco da Gama's journey. Photo by ULLSTEIN BILD/VOSTOCK PHOTO
The man before whom the sea trembled. The already gray-haired navigator stepped aboard a ship for the third time going to the “land of spices” on April 9, 1524. This time, 14 ships left the shores of Portugal.
By the way, the last legend is connected with this last voyage, revealing to us the human side of the admiral’s personality. Near Dabul, at 17° north latitude, the fleet found itself in the zone of an underwater earthquake. All the officers and sailors were in superstitious horror, and only the self-confident admiral was happy: “Look, even the sea trembles before us!” - he said to his adjutant.
On September 15, 1524, in Chaula, Don Vasco officially assumed the rights of royal viceroy in India and East Africa. Unfortunately for the Portuguese, his vigorous reign did not last long. He only managed to stop the most egregious abuses, such as the sale of guns to the Arabs, and arrested several of the most corrupt officials (including the former head of the Indian colonies of Portugal, Don Duarte de Minesis). The Viceroy built himself a luxurious court and recruited two hundred personal guards from the natives.
But then suddenly this strong man, who had never suffered from illness, quickly fell ill. Severe pain began in the neck, and the back of the head became covered with carbuncles. At 3 pm on Christmas Day - December 24, 1524 - Admiral da Gama died and was soon buried in Goa Cathedral. Only 15 years later his remains were transported to his homeland. The tomb in Lisbon now bears the inscription: “Here lies the great Argonaut Don Vasco da Gama, First Count of Vidigueira, Admiral of the East Indies and its famous discoverer.”

The greatest navigator Vasco da Gama, who paved the sea route from Europe to India, is considered heroic personality for the Portuguese. The biography of the famous traveler is replete with not only discoveries, but also episodes of piracy and cynical murders.

The date of birth of Vasco is considered to be the interval from 1460 to 1469, since the exact information is still not known. The boy spent his childhood in the village of Sines, located on the sea coast. The boy was a descendant of a noble family and grew up in a wealthy family. Istevan da Gama compensated for his own guilt towards his son with money, so he did not refuse anything.

The boy's parents were in a sinful relationship and were not engaged at the time of his birth. Because of this, the baby was considered a bastard and had no right to claim an inheritance. This circumstance left a strong imprint on the formation of the character of Vasco, who from a young age knew that he would have to make his own way in life.

In the 15th century, illegitimate boys were tonsured as monks to ensure a full education and upbringing. In 1480, Vasco and his brother entered the Order of Santiago, where they studied mathematics, astronomy and navigation. The boys' teacher is considered to be Abraham Zacuto, who spoke respectfully of his capable students. The next period of the young man’s life is marked by historians as “12 mysterious years.”

Swimming

New information about Vasco da Gama appears in 1492. At this moment, pirates under the French flag captured a Portuguese galleon that was transporting gold from Guinea to Portugal. The offended King Manuel I ordered the experienced navigator to seize all the ships moored along the coast of France. Vasco da Gama's foray was so successful that upon his return from the voyage, he became incredibly popular.

The French returned the loot in exchange for ships. The conflict was resolved successfully. The sailors released from captivity recalled with horror the merciless and evil Portuguese invader, who subjected the men to torture and abuse. According to the stories of the sailors, the ship led by da Gama appeared out of nowhere, and the capture took place with lightning speed.

First trip

King Juan (Manuel's predecessor) dreamed of conquering India and even equipped an expedition, but the raid was unsuccessful. In 1497, the court astrologer and mathematician Abraham Ben Zacuto predicted that the “land of spices” would be conquered by 2 brothers. Remembering the valor and cruelty of the da Gama brothers, the Portuguese monarch appoints young Vasco as head of the expedition. On July 8, a flotilla consisting of three warships (San Rafael, San Gabriel, Berriu) and one transport ship departed from Lisbon.

The squadron safely passed Cape Verde, where the sailors replenished food supplies, and headed towards Africa along Atlantic Ocean. The team saw the shore only 4 months after the start of the journey, having made a stop in St. Helena Bay. Local tribes met the sailors aggressively, starting an armed conflict. In the skirmish, Vasco was seriously wounded in the leg.

Having rounded the Cape of Good Hope, the sailors stopped in Mossel Bay, where they replenished supplies and sank the faulty transport ship. The sailors noticed that the natives wore woven clothes and understood the Arabic dialect. It becomes clear that Arabia is located nearby. The unknown lies ahead, since further territory has not been explored.

Due to a lack of provisions and difficult traveling conditions, the sailors fell ill with scurvy, and 50 people died. The team started a riot demanding to return to their homeland. Vasco did not succumb to provocations, but shackled the rebels. As soon as the squadron reached the territory of the Arab merchants, the journey turned into a pirate raid. Vasco da Gama deceived experienced pilots from the Sultan of Malindi. The Sultan concluded an agreement with the Portuguese aimed at destroying the Sheikh of Mombasa. But, having received guides, the treacherous da Gama simply plundered passing ships and fired at the coast.

The Arab pilot suggested the way to India, and in May 1498 the travelers reached the shores of the fabulous country. The ruler of Calicut treated the sailors kindly and hospitably. But the Arab merchants informed the Zamorin about the pirate raids of the Portuguese and pointed out that the gifts brought were small. Therefore, local authorities arrested hundreds of sailors walking around the city. Vasco da Gama was not at a loss and detained the noble townspeople who arrived on the ship to inspect the European equipment.

The ruler of Calicut, fearing the cunning corsair, released the detainees. This was also facilitated by local merchants who wanted to expand trade routes to the Christian world. Having filled the bins with herbs and spices, the brilliant schemer did not let the captives go and set off on the return journey. After 20 days of travel, the Portuguese travelers met a ship with Admiral Goa on board. Vasco, through brutal torture, “convinced” the Jew to help in the attack on the islands.

On the admiral's deck, the corsairs came close to the coast and robbed the ships anchored along the coast. 30 people were captured and the rest were slaughtered. The journey home was difficult, as the sailors suffered from scurvy. Da Gama's brother also fell ill. 55 people returned from a long journey, the rest died from disease and battles with enemies. On September 18, 1499, Portuguese ships moored off the coast of Lisbon.

The goods and spices brought by the expedition covered the costs of their own preparations for the journey 60 times. The delighted king awarded Vasco a pension of 1,000 croisades and the title of “Admiral of the Indian Ocean.” But these gifts did not satisfy the demands of the ambitious Portuguese. The stigma of being a bastard haunted him, and the man sought to get rid of it, winning the respect of his fellow citizens and the title of count.

In 1500, the next expedition headed by Pedro Alvares set off for the shores of India. The man intended to build a trading settlement in Calicut, but Arab merchants prevented this. Under such incitement, the trading post was plundered and burned. Escaping from the city, Pedro fired at the coastal villages with cannons. War broke out between Portugal and India.

Second trip

Manuel I does not give up his dream of subjugating the “Golden Country” and sends the bloodthirsty Vasco da Gama on a second campaign. The company's goal is to enslave India and establish a Portuguese colony. In 1502, a navigator with 20 ships set off for the Indian Ocean. In October, the flotilla makes a stop in Kannanur, where the local rajah greets the conquerors with honors and generously rewards them.

On the way to Calicut, Vasco captured an Indian ship, ordered the prisoners to be locked in the hold and the ship to be set on fire. The despot spared neither women nor children. The survivors were finished off in the water. Approaching the city, the corsair fired at the coast with cannons. The thriving settlement turned into ruins. Da Gama's team captured 800 Indians. The prisoners were tied up, their hands, noses, ears were cut off, and their teeth were knocked out. After cruel abuse, people were executed by shooting from cannons.

This became a full-fledged act of intimidation and satisfaction of the sadistic inclinations of Vasco da Gama. It is known that the corsair also used people as targets for crossbowmen. The Portuguese sent the severed limbs of those executed to the Zamorin of the city, but he escaped without waiting for the next bloodshed. The mothers and wives of those killed wandered along the shore, looking for the bodies of their relatives. With the tacit consent of Vasco, the Portuguese caught the women and raped them.

The sailors set up a trading post on the captured territory, turning part of the peninsula into a Portuguese colony. In 1503 the conquerors returned to their native shores. The monarch again generously gifted the talented Vasco da Gama, but did not confer the coveted title of count. Then the famous corsair threatened to leave Portugal, as he did. Manuel I agreed with the arguments and appointed him Count of Vidigueira.

Personal life

All that is known about the personal life of the bloody navigator is that he married a girl belonging to a noble family. The wife's name was Katarina di Ataidi. The noblewoman gave birth to Vasco six sons and a daughter.

Death

Before his death, Vasco da Gama made his last trip to India. By order of Juan III, the man went to the colony to restore order in the ranks of the administration, which was mired in corruption. But, having arrived at the place, he died of malaria in 1524. The son of the deceased brought the body to Portugal.

The ashes were placed in the family crypt. In the 19th century, looters plundered the burial place. After this, it turned out that the tomb contained the remains of another person. The bones of Vasco da Gama were moved to Lisbon.

• Da Gama was illegitimate.
• Surprisingly, there is a city in Goa named after the navigator.
• Considered a national hero of Portugal.
• Vasco da Gama took a dozen criminals on his campaigns, who were sent on reconnaissance.
• He used an astrolabe and a sextant.
• Drew a map of the Indian coast using meridians and parallels.
• The longest European bridge is named after the sailor.
• The natives exchanged red caps for ivory items.
• He advised the king to create a marine police force in India.
• Photographs of the traveler are printed on stamps and commemorative coins of Portugal.