Vasco_da_Gama as elder and Viceroy of India

Vasco da Gama sailed into history on July 8, 1497.

With a fleet of four caravels, he became the first European to reach India by sea. He made use of the prevailing winds by sailing south in a zigzag pattern away from the African coast then veering off to the east past the Cape.

The Portuguese navigator reached the Indian coast, at Calicut in May 1498.
This voyage established one of the most lucrative trade routes at the time, controlled entirely by the tiny nation of Portugal. [Read more…]