Born 1469 in Sines, Portugal; died Dec. 24, 1524, in Cochin, India. Portuguese navigator who completed the search for a sea route between Europe and India.

By the time of da Gama’s expedition, the Portuguese had already established a sea route along the west coast of Africa and had gained access to the Indian Ocean (B. Dias, 1487-88). In 1497 the Portuguese outfitted an expedition to India consisting of three vessels (San Gabriel, San Rafael, and Berrio) and a small supply ship. In July 1497 the expedition under the command of da Gama set sail from Lisbon, rounded the Cape of Good Hope and, going north along the eastern coast of Africa with several stops en route, arrived at the Somali harbor of Malindi in 1498. The Arab helmsman Ahmed Ibn Majid was taken on board here to guide the ships to the Indian city of Calicut. Thus, da Gama’s expedition discovered the southeastern coast of Africa (as far as Malindi) and crossed the Indian Ocean. Da Gama established trade and diplomatic relations with the ruler of Calicut and then, at the end of August 1498, he set sail on the return voyage, his ships laden with spices. The expedition arrived at Lisbon in September 1499. Of the 168 crewmen, only 55 returned. (The others had died during the voyage.) This voyage had worldwide historical significance, since a sea route was established for the first time between Europe and the countries of southern Asia, which found themselves within the realm of Portugal’s colonial expansion.

In 1502, da Gama, commanding an armada of 20 ships, made a second voyage to the shores of India. He destroyed Calicut, set up a number of strongholds on the Malabar coast, brutally crushed the resistance of the local rulers, and returned to Lisbon in 1503 with enormous plunder. Da Gama was appointed viceroy of India in 1524, and in the same year he set out on his third—and last—voyage to India, where he died soon after his arrival.