When Da Gama arrived at Lisbon about three weeks later, the Portuguese gave him a hero's welcome. The Berrio sailed on to Portugal, where it dropped anchor at the Tagus on 10 July 1499. On 20 March 1499, the two remaining ships rounded the Cape and sailed on for the Portuguese outpost on the Azores where da Gama delayed sailing because his brother Paulo had died. Lacking able-bodied men to sail all the ships, da Gama burned the Sao Raphael. Here, they erected a padrÁƒ£o (stone cross), which still exists. The survivors arrived at Malindi on 7 January 1499. First, they were becalmed for many days, and then, contrary winds and currents dragged out their crossing. The Portuguese squadron sailed from India on 20 September 1498, but on the return voyage, disaster overtook them. There, Muslim traders swayed the Hindu ruler against the Christian explorers, who again narrowly escaped death. He provided them with an expert pilot to steer them to India, thus laying the foundation of a long and mutually profitable alliance.įrom Malindi the ships sailed for Calicut in India and anchored on the Malabar Coast on. Nearing Malindi (near Mombasa), they found the sultan much more friendly and helpful. Thus forewarned, they were able to stave off an attack and continued on their way. Da Gama forced some Muslims on board, tortured them with boiling oil, and learned of a plot to avenge the Portuguese attack on Mozambique. The sultan generously sent them sheep, fresh vegetables and fruit but when one of the Arab pilots jumped overboard as they were entering the harbour, the Portuguese became suspicious of the sultan's intentions. On 7 April, Da Gama anchored off Mombasa. To keep them at bay, da Gama bombarded the town and then sailed away. They replenished their water barrels and, finding the iron-working ancestors of the Tsonga friendly and generous, they named the area Terra da Boa Gente ('land of the good people').Īt Mozambique Island, they forcefully engaged two Arab pilots and when the Muslim inhabitants realized the explorers were Christians, they grew hostile. Head winds blew them out to sea and when they managed to reach the coast again, they anchored off Inharrime on the coast of Mozambique. Three days later, they were enjoying good fishing off a point they called Ponta de Pescaria (Durban bluff). The sailors hurriedly took to their boats while a couple of cannon blasts dispersed the Khoikhoi.īy Christmas, the squadron was off the hazardous coast of Pondoland, which they named Natal. However, they offended the Khoikhoi when they took fresh water without asking the chief's permission, and the Khoikhoi began to assemble in an armed mass. They unloaded their damaged store ship and then burnt it, while da Gama traded gifts with the Khoikhoi. In the teeth of a gale, the Portuguese squadron rounded the Cape on 22 November, and three days later, the battered ships sailed into Santa Bras (Mossel Bay), sighting islands thick with noisy birds. A misunderstanding arose between them, and fearing attack, the Khoikhoi threw spears, wounding Da Gama in the thigh. It was here that they had their first encounter with the Khoikhoi. Close to, or near the mouth of the Berg River, the explorers set in to make repairs, look for water, and check their position. Vasco da Gama named the bay Bahai da Santa Elena (St Helena Bay), after the Religious Mother of Constantine the Great. For almost four months they sailed across the Atlantic without sight of land until, on *4 November 1497, they reached a bay (current day St Helena). Vasco's brother, Paulo, captained the Sao Raphael. The commander-in-chief, Vasco da Gama embarked on the Sao Gabriel accompanied by his pilot, Pedro de Alenquer. The Portuguese expedition set off from the Tagus River on 8 July 1497 with a crew of 148 men in a squadron of three square-riggers, the Sao Gabriel, the Sao Raphael, the Berrio, and a supply ship. For an unpacking of this mystification of the history of exploration. The reason why groups often state their arrival on some foreign land as a "discovery" is because, according to the primitive 'finders keepers' rule, this lends support to any claim they make to "owning" the land. The land was already occupied and was being used by the inhabitants. The reason for putting "discovery" in inverted commas is because the land was not, as so many explorers argue, discovered by them. This feature focuses on the first, as it was during this expedition that Vasco da Gama's crew landed in South Africa. Vasco da Gama carried out 2 expeditions between 14.
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