"Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India The discovery of the sea route to India is the description sometimes used in Europe and among the Portuguese for the first recorded trip made directly from Europe to India via the Atlantic Ocean. It was undertaken under the command of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama during the reign of King Manuel I in 1497–1499. Considered by Europe to be one of the most remarkable voyages of the Age of Discovery, it consolidated the Portuguese maritime presence over the Indian Ocean and that country's dominance of global trade routes. The plan for"
"including India. In 1498 Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed in Calicut (modern day Kozhikode in Kerala) as the first European to ever sail to India. The tremendous profit made during this trip made the Portuguese eager for more trade with India and attracted other European navigators and tradesmen. Pedro Álvares Cabral left for India in 1500 and established Portuguese trading posts at Calicut and Cochin (modern day Kochi), returning to Portugal in 1501 with pepper, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, mace, and cloves. The profits made from this trip were huge. Prior to the 1991 economic liberalisation,India was a closed"
"Italian states, sent Portugal in search of an alternate sea route to India. The first successful voyage to India was by Vasco da Gama in 1498, when after sailing around the Cape of Good Hope he arrived in Calicut, now in Kerala. Having arrived there, he obtained from Saamoothiri Rajah permission to trade in the city. The navigator was received with traditional hospitality, but an interview with the Saamoothiri (Zamorin) failed to produce any definitive results. Vasco da Gama requested permission to leave a factor behind in charge of the merchandise he could not sell; his request was refused, and"
"Colonial India Colonial India was the part of the Indian subcontinent which was under the jurisdiction of European colonial powers, during the Age of Discovery. European power was exerted both by conquest and trade, especially in spices. The search for the wealth and prosperity of India led to the colonization of the Americas by Christopher Columbus in 1492. Only a few years later, near the end of the 15th century, Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama became the first European to re-establish direct trade links with India since Roman times by being the first to arrive by circumnavigating Africa (c. 1497–1499)."
"Indian Ocean to the Tamil kingdoms of the Pandyas, Cholas and Cheras in present-day Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In modern times a crater on the moon was named after the navigator. He is also a prominent character in L. Sprague de Camp's novel about Eudoxus, ""The Golden Wind."" Hippalus Hippalus (Ancient Greek: Ἵππαλος) was a Greek navigator and merchant who probably lived in the 1st century BCE. He is sometimes conjectured to have been the captain of the Greek explorer Eudoxus of Cyzicus' ship. The writer of the ""Periplus of the Erythraean Sea"" credited Hippalus with discovering the direct route"
"Hippalus Hippalus (Ancient Greek: Ἵππαλος) was a Greek navigator and merchant who probably lived in the 1st century BCE. He is sometimes conjectured to have been the captain of the Greek explorer Eudoxus of Cyzicus' ship. The writer of the ""Periplus of the Erythraean Sea"" credited Hippalus with discovering the direct route from the Red Sea to India over the Indian Ocean by plotting the scheme of the sea and the correct location of the trade ports along the Indian coast. Pliny the Elder claimed that Hippalus discovered not the route but the monsoon wind also called ""Hippalus"" (the south-west"
"Ocean, ultimately reaching the coastal countries of East Africa. In 1497 Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope and became the first European to sail to India (with the help of an Indian sailor) and later the Far East. The European ships, armed with heavy cannon, quickly dominated trade. Portugal achieved pre-eminence by setting up forts at the important straits and ports. Their hegemony along the coasts of Africa and Asia lasted until the mid 17th century. Later, the Portuguese were challenged by other European powers. The Dutch East India Company (1602–1798) sought control of trade"
"The Indian Ocean's relatively calmer waters opened the areas bordering it to trade earlier than the Atlantic or Pacific oceans. The powerful monsoons also meant ships could easily sail west early in the season, then wait a few months and return eastwards. This allowed ancient Indonesian peoples to cross the Indian Ocean to settle in Madagascar around 1 CE. In the 2nd or 1st century BCE, Eudoxus of Cyzicus was the first Greek to cross the Indian Ocean. The probably fictitious sailor Hippalus is said to have learnt the direct route from Arabia to India around this time. During the"
"of the fleet to India of Pedro Álvares Cabral, is separated from the main fleet by a storm while crossing the Cape of Good Hope, and becomes the first European to reach Madagascar. Besides the already existing role of Admiral of Portugal, the Crown creates the role of Admiral of India, whose first holder becomes Vasco da Gama in 1500. With the first established sea route to the Indian Ocean, the Portuguese started to use the carrack ship (""nau"" in Portuguese). Nevertheless, the Portuguese penetration in the Indian Ocean was not peaceful due to the opposition of the Muslims. However,"
"Cape Route The European-Asian sea route, also known as the sea route to India or the Cape Route is a shipping route from European coast of the Atlantic Ocean to Asia's coast of the Indian Ocean passing by the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Agulhas at the southern edge of Africa. The first recorded completion of the route was made in 1498 by Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama. The route was important during the Age of Sail, but became partly obsolete as the Suez Canal opened in 1869. Scholars of classical antiquity disagreed whether the Atlantic was connected to"
"a ground-breaking voyage commanded by Vasco da Gama. The squadron of Vasco da Gama left Portugal in 1497, rounded the Cape and continued along the coast of East Africa, where a local pilot was brought on board who guided them across the Indian Ocean, reaching Calicut in western India in May 1498. The second voyage to India was dispatched in 1500 under Pedro Álvares Cabral. While following the same south-westerly route as Gama across the Atlantic Ocean, Cabral made landfall on the Brazilian coast. This was probably an accidental discovery, but it has been speculated that the Portuguese secretly knew"
"purposes. It was a luxury item imported to the Mediterranean from India by Arab merchants. Indigo remained a rare commodity in Europe throughout the Middle Ages. A chemically identical dye derived from the woad plant ""(Isatis tinctoria)"" was used instead. In the late 15th century, the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama discovered a sea route to India. This led to the establishment of direct trade with India, the Spice Islands, China, and Japan. Importers could now avoid the heavy duties imposed by Persian, Levantine, and Greek middlemen and the lengthy and dangerous land routes which had previously been used. Consequently,"
"reaching India, Vasco da Gama proved that the access to the Indian Ocean from the Atlantic was possible. These explorations in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans were soon followed by France, England and the Netherlands, who explored the Portuguese and Spanish trade routes into the Pacific Ocean, reaching Australia in 1606 and New Zealand in 1642. In the 17th century Dutch and Spanish explorers such as Abel Tasman and Luís Vaz de Torres explored the coasts of Australia, while in the 18th century it was British explorer James Cook who mapped much of Polynesia. Parallel to the development of warships,"
"time in the form of questions and answers to questions posed by the Chinese. Portuguese presence in Asia The Portuguese presence in Asia was responsible for what would be many first contacts between European countries and the East, starting on May 20, 1498 with the trip led by Vasco da Gama to Calicut (in modern-day Kerala state in India). Portugal's goal in the Indian Ocean was to ensure their monopoly in the spice trade, establishing several fortresses and commercial trading posts. Asia has always exerted a fascination on the Portuguese. Then came the much valued spices, luxury products like ivory,"
"John Mildenhall John Mildenhall (1560–1614) or John Midnall was a British explorer and adventurer and one of the first to make an overland journey to India. He was the self-styled ambassador of the British East India Company in India. His is the first recorded burial of an Englishman in India. John Mildenhall was born in 1560 in Little Bedwin, Wiltshire, England. He was the son of Sir John Mildenhall. John Mildenhall married Elizabeth Bates in England in 1579. Mildenhall was one of the first British travellers to journey overland to India. His name first appears in the Court Records of"
"Gaspar da Gama Gaspar da Gama also known as Gaspar da India and Gaspar de Almeida (probably Poznań, Poland c. 1444 - Calicut, India or Lisbon, Portugal c. 1510) was a traveller of Jewish origin who acted as interpreter (""Língua"", in old Portuguese) and provided many services to the Portuguese maritime explorations, since being first approached or captured by Vasco da Gama's fleet returning from the first travel from Europe to India. He was probably born in the Kingdom of Poland, in Poznań, later naturalized in Portugal. He sailed with several Portuguese fleets between Europe and India, including the fleet"
"– the name ""India"" and the official name ""Estado da India"" (""State of India"") including all Portuguese possessions in the Indian Ocean, from southern Africa to Southeast Asia and Australasia, until 1752- was governed either by a Viceroy (Portuguese ""Vice-Rei"") or Governor from its headquarters, in Goa since 1510. The government started six years after the discovery of sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, in 1505, under first Viceroy Francisco de Almeida (b.1450–d.1510). Initially, King Manuel I of Portugal tried a power distribution with three governors in different areas of jurisdiction: a government covering the area and possessions"
"Indian maritime history Indian maritime history begins during the 3rd millennium BCE when inhabitants of the Indus Valley initiated maritime trading contact with Mesopotamia. The Roman historian Strabo mentions an increase in Roman trade with India following the Roman annexation of Egypt. Strabo reports that during the time when Aelius Gallus was Prefect of Egypt (26-24 BCE), he saw 120 ships ready to leave for India at the Red Sea port of Myos Hormos. As trade between India and the Greco-Roman world increased spices became the main import from India to the Western world, bypassing silk and other commodities. Indians"
"Vasco da Gama reached India under Portuguese flag, by navigating south around the Cape of Good Hope, thus proving that the Atlantic and Indian Oceans are connected. In 1500, in his voyage to India following Vasco da Gama, Pedro Alvares Cabral reached Brazil, taken by the currents of the South Atlantic Gyre. Following these explorations, Spain and Portugal quickly conquered and colonized large territories in the New World and forced the Amerindian population into slavery in order to explore the vast quantities of silver and gold they found. Spain and Portugal monopolized this trade in order to keep other European"
"to Tamilakam has been described in detail by the writers, such as Strabo and Pliny the Elder. Roman and Arab sailors were aware of the existence of the monsoon winds that blew across the Indian Ocean on a seasonal basis. A Roman captain named Hippalus first sailed a direct route from Rome to India, using the monsoon winds. His method was later improved upon by merchants who shortened the voyage by sailing due east from the port of Cana or Cape Guardafui, finding that by this way it was possible to go directly from Rome to Tamilakam. Strabo writes that"
"trade, and gave the Europeans incentives to find a sea route. Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão explored the African coast south to present-day Namibia, and Bartolomeu Dias found the Cape of Good Hope in 1488. Vasco da Gama led an exhibition which led to the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India in 1498, and a series of expeditions known as the Carreira da Índia. Since then, the Cape Route has been in use. Christopher Columbus sought to find a sea route through India westwards, but instead found the way to the Americas. These expeditions marked the beginning of the"
"Portuguese presence in Asia The Portuguese presence in Asia was responsible for what would be many first contacts between European countries and the East, starting on May 20, 1498 with the trip led by Vasco da Gama to Calicut (in modern-day Kerala state in India). Portugal's goal in the Indian Ocean was to ensure their monopoly in the spice trade, establishing several fortresses and commercial trading posts. Asia has always exerted a fascination on the Portuguese. Then came the much valued spices, luxury products like ivory, precious stones and dyestuffs. The inaccuracy of geographical knowledge before the discoveries led people"
"Gonçalo Álvares Gonçalo Álvares (, ?? – 1524) was a Portuguese explorer who actively participated in the Age of Discovery, starting from the second voyage of Diogo Cão. In 1497 he commanded the ship ""São Gabriel"" in the epic journey of Vasco da Gama to India, and in 1505, aboard the fleet of Francisco de Almeida – the first Viceroy of Portuguese India – he sailed south in the Atlantic to where ""water and even wine froze"", and discovered an island that was named after him. It was later renamed Gough Island by the British, who took possession in the"
"João de Sá João de Sá, knight (fl. 1497 – 1514) was a Portuguese explorer, who accompanied Vasco da Gama on the voyage of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India. Sá was a scrivener on the first Portuguese voyage to India, traveling on the carrack ""São Rafael"" which was captained by Vasco da Gama's younger brother, Paulo da Gama. Sá was also a member of the group who accompanied Gama on his first trip into Calicut on 20 May 1498. On the return voyage the ""São Rafael"" was scuttled off the East African coast, and the"
"Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi Vandino (sometimes Vadino or Guido) and Ugolino Vivaldi (sometimes Ugolino de Vivaldo) (fl. 1291) were two brothers and Genoese explorers and merchants. They were connected with the first known expedition in search of an ocean way from Europe to India (Cape Route). Ugolino, with his brother Guido or Vadino Vivaldo, was in command of this expedition of two galleys, which he had organized in conjunction with Tedisio Doria, and which left Genoa in May 1291 with the purpose of going to India ""by the Ocean Sea"" and bringing back useful things for trade. Planned primarily for"
"years passed. On this basis the Indian Post Office was established on 1 October 1837. The urgent European mails were carried overland ""via"" Egypt at the isthmus of Suez. This route, pioneered by Thomas Waghorn, linked the Red Sea with the Mediterranean, and thence by steamer ""via"" Marseilles, Brindisi or Trieste to European destinations. The Suez Canal did not open until much later (17 November 1869). The time in transit for letters using the Overland Mail route was dramatically reduced. Waghorn's route reduced the journey from 16,000 miles ""via"" the Cape of Good Hope to 6,000 miles; and reduced the"
"European to reach China by sea, while the Romans were the first overland via Asia Minor. He was also the first European to discover Hong Kong. In 1514, Afonso de Albuquerque, the Viceroy of the Estado da India, dispatched Italian Rafael Perestrello to sail to China in order to pioneer European trade relations with the nation. In spite of initial harmony and excitement between the two cultures, difficulties began to arise shortly afterwards, including misunderstanding, bigotry, and even hostility. The Portuguese explorer Simão de Andrade incited poor relations with China due to his pirate activities, raiding Chinese shipping, attacking a"
"first discovered the direct route from the Red Sea to India. The Red Sea was favored for Roman trade with India starting with the reign of Augustus, when the Roman Empire gained control over the Mediterranean, Egypt, and the northern Red Sea. The route had been used by previous states but grew in the volume of traffic under the Romans. From Indian ports goods from China were introduced to the Roman world. Contact between Rome and China depended on the Red Sea, but the route was broken by the Aksumite Empire around the 3rd century AD. During the Middle Ages,"
"to have until modern times and represented the zenith of ancient Indian sea power. Chola Emperor Rajendra Chola had established his rule extending up from India(coramandal coast or present day coast of southern part of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu) to South East Asia with his impressive Chola Navy. Rajendra Chola annexed during his overseas conquests Sri Lanka, Maldives, islands of Andaman, Nicobar, Lakshadweep, parts of the Malay Peninsula and Indonesian archipelago. Through conquest of the Srivijaya Empire, the Cholas secured the sea trade road to China. In ancient China, during the Spring and Autumn period (722 BC–481 BC), large"
"1921 John Mildenhall John Mildenhall (1560–1614) or John Midnall was a British explorer and adventurer and one of the first to make an overland journey to India. He was the self-styled ambassador of the British East India Company in India. His is the first recorded burial of an Englishman in India. John Mildenhall was born in 1560 in Little Bedwin, Wiltshire, England. He was the son of Sir John Mildenhall. John Mildenhall married Elizabeth Bates in England in 1579. Mildenhall was one of the first British travellers to journey overland to India. His name first appears in the Court Records"
"returning with valuable spices and of establishing trade relations in India—bypassing the monopoly on the spice trade then in the hands of Arab, Turkish and Italian merchants. Although the previous expedition of Vasco da Gama to India, on its sea route, had recorded signs of land west of the southern Atlantic Ocean (in 1497), Cabral led the first known expedition to have touched four continents: Europe, Africa, America, and Asia. His fleet of 13 ships sailed far into the western Atlantic Ocean, perhaps intentionally, and made landfall (April 1500) on what he initially assumed to be a large island. As"
"Mihir Sen Mihir Sen (16 November 1930 – 11 June 1997) was a famous long distance swimmer & a National Hero, considered to be one of the most prominent youth icons of his generation. He was best known for being the first Indian to conquer the English Channel from Dover to Calais in 1958 in the fourth fastest time (14 hrs & 45 mins) and the only man to earn the distinction of swimming the Oceans of the 5 continents in one calendar year (1966). This included the Palk Strait, Dardanelles, Bosphorpous, The straits of Gibraltar and the entire length"
"Bento de Góis Bento de Góis (1562 in Vila Franca do Campo, Azores, Portugal – 11 April 1607 in Suzhou, Gansu, China), was a Portuguese Jesuit Brother, Missionary and explorer. His name is commonly given in English as Bento de Goes or Bento de Goës; in the past, it has also been Anglicized as Benedict Goës. He is mainly remembered as the first known European to travel overland from India to China, via Afghanistan and the Pamirs. Inspired by controversies among the Jesuits as to whether the Cathay of Marco Polo's stories is the same country as China, his expedition"