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Vasco da Gama: Quick Facts

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Facts

Also Known As Vasco da Gama, 1er conde da Vidigueira
Born c.1460 • Portugal
Died December 24, 1524 • Kochi • India

Photos

Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama
Map tracing Vasco da Gama's first voyage from Portugal to India between 1497 and 1499. The red line shows his route departing Lisbon, passing the Canary and Cape Verde Islands, rounding the Cape of Good Hope at Africa's southern tip, stopping at locations along Africa's east coast such as Mozambique and Malindi, and then crossing the Arabian Sea to reach Indian ports including Calicut, Cochin, and Goa. The return route follows a similar path back to Portugal. Major geographic features and coasta
Vasco da Gama
Stone monument featuring Vasco da Gama and other figures standing in a row on a stylized ship's prow, commemorating Portuguese maritime exploration.
Vasco da Gama
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Duarte Pacheco Pereira
Portuguese explorer
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Francisco de Almeida
viceroy of India
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João de Castro
Portuguese naval officer
Dalhousie, detail of an oil painting by Sir John Watson-Gordon, 1847; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
James Andrew Broun Ramsay, marquess and 10th earl of Dalhousie
governor-general of India
Napier, Robert Napier, 1st Baron
Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier
British field marshal
Dupleix, engraving by Marie Champion de Cernel after a portrait by Sergent
Joseph-François Dupleix
French colonial official
Sir Samuel Hoare, 2nd Baronet.
Sir Samuel Hoare, 2nd Baronet
British statesman
Earl of Ellenborough, detail of an oil painting by F.R. Say, c. 1845; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Edward Law, earl of Ellenborough
British governor of India
Guilluame-Thomas, abbé de Raynal, detail of an engraving by Nicolas Delaunay, 1780, after a drawing by Charles-Nicolas Cochin.
Guillaume-Thomas Raynal, abbé de Raynal
French author
Sir Philip Francis, detail of an oil painting by J. Lonsdale; in the National Portrait Gallery, London
Sir Philip Francis
British politician
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Sir Olaf Caroe
British administrator
Earl Amherst, detail of an oil painting after A. Devis; in the National Portrait Gallery, London
William Pitt Amherst, lst Earl Amherst
British diplomat
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James Thomason
British colonial governor
Afonso de Albuquerque
Afonso de Albuquerque
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Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Indian social activist, lawyer, and politician
Detail from Charles Le Brun's painting showing Alexander the Great in profile, wearing a gold helmet with white plumes and a blue cloak, with soldiers in the background.
Alexander the Great
king of Macedonia
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Jawaharlal Nehru
prime minister of India
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prime minister of India

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