Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama was born in Sines, Portugal in 1469. He was the son of the town’s governor. Because of this, da Gama was educated as a noble man and served in the court of King Joao II. He also served as a naval officer. In 1492, da Gama commanded a defence of Portuguese colonies from the west coast of Guinea. He was then given the mission to take command of the first command of the first Portuguese expedition around Africa to India. Vasco da Gama set out from Lisbon, Portugal, on July 8, 1497. His crew had planned and equipped four ships; the flagship Sao (Saint) Gabriel was commanded by Goncale Alvares, da Gama’s brother, Paulo commanded the Sao Rafael, and the last two ships were the Berrio and the Statship. Many of the workers on these ships were convicts. On November 22, he and his crew rounded the Cape of Good Hope and sailed north. Da Gama made many stops along the coast of Africa such as Mombassa, Mozambique, Malindi, Kenya, and Quilmana. Many conflicts arose between the Portuguese and the Muslims who had already established trading centres along the east coast.
