This is a good article. There are however two slight mistakes made by the
author Ramesh Seth: (1) Vasco da Gama's journey between Lisbon and Calicut
lasted 10 (ten) months, not eight months (July 8, 1497 - May 20, 1498); and
(2) The end of the Portuguese colonialism in India occurred in 1961 and not
in 1958.
Jorge
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From: D'Souza, Avelino [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: goanet@goanet.org
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Sent: Saturday, January 21, 2006 6:24 AM
Subject: [Goanet] Adventure on the high seas
Adventure on the high seas
The Hindu
Friday, Jan 20, 2006
RAMESH SETH
Two sea voyages changed the course of history - one was the journey of
Columbus and the other was Vasco da Gama's.
Vasco da Gama engaged the services of Ibn Majid, an Indian sailor, whose
knowledge of the monsoon winds successfully guided the expedition to
Calicut.
In 1492, Columbus discovered the sea route to America. In 1498, Vasco da
Gama discovered the sea route to India. Interestingly both the voyages were
to find a sea route between Europe and India. These two sea voyages have
made a lasting impact. In 1453, after the fall of Constantinople to the
Ottoman Turks the overland trade route between India and Europe was
disrupted. The Europeans were keen to find a direct sea route to India. That
was the era of adventure and discovery in Europe. Vasco da Gama was born in
1469, in Portugal. In 1497, when he was 32 years old, he embarked on this
epic journey to find the sea route to India. Whereas Columbus travelled west
in search of sea route to India, da Gama decided to follow the sea route
around Africa. Vasco da Gama left Lisbon on July 8, 1497, with a fleet of
four ships. The São Gabriel, commanded by Vasco da Gama himself, with a crew
of 150, the São Rafael and the Berrio, a slightly smaller ship and a storage
ship, the name of which is now unknown.
Following the western coast of Africa, da Gama sailed south. He reached the
southern tip of Africa and then rounded it following it to the north along
the eastern coast. He eventually reached modern-day Mozambique on the East
African coast. Mozambique was part of the Indian Ocean's network of trade.
Da Gama continued travelling north, landing at the port of Malindi. It was
here that the expedition first noted evidence of Indian traders. It was also
here that da Gama engaged the services of Ibn Majid, an Indian sailor, whose
knowledge of the monsoon winds successfully guided the expedition the rest
of the way to Calicut on the Kerala coast of southwest India. They arrived
at Calicut, India on May 20, 1498, after a journey of eight months. Thus
they succeeded in finding a direct sea route between Europe and India. Da
Gama sought trade concession from the Zamorin. Local Arab merchants who had
the monopoly of India's foreign trade did not appreciate da Gama's arrival.
They perceived him as a threat. They tried to block any relationship with
the Zamorin and the Portuguese. However, da Gama was successful in obtaining
some sort of trading concessions from the Zamorin. That was the beginning of
direct Indo-European trade, bypassing the Arab middlemen. When Vasco da
Gama returned to Portugal in September 1499, after his first journey to
India, he was richly rewarded as the man who had brought to fruition a plan
that had taken almost a century. He was also awarded the title Dom (Count)
by Manuel I.
Portuguese colonialism
Vasco da Gama's success also led to 450 years of Portuguese colonialism in
India that brought wealth and power to the Portuguese. They established
their headquarters in Goa from where they ruled for 450 years. It was only
in 1958 that Goa was free of the Portuguese.
However, there is an aside to all this. The modern European colonialism
started with India when the European powers started exercising
extra-territorial control over it. And also, the end of colonialism began
when India became independent in 1947. Thereafter all the other colonies
throughout the world became free in the next 30 years.
That shows the importance of India in the context of the rest of the world.
