Vasco da Gama was born in about 1460 in Sines, Portugal, and he died on 24 December 1524 in Kochi, Portuguese India. In 1497, Vasco da Gama was appointed to command a ship with the goal of discovering a sailing route to India. A nobleman commissioned to find a maritime route to the East, he was successful and became the first European to sail to India around Africa allowing the Portuguese to establish a colonial empire in Asia. He fleet sailed for 23 days before landing at Calicut, India on 20 May 1498. Vasco da Gama was the second Portuguese Viceroy of India.
Do you know: On his first voyage Vasco da Gama covered 24,000 miles in two years with four ships which only 54 of 170 crew members survived.
