What was vasco da gama religion

Spotting phoenixes, talking serpents, and other fascinating creatures was a mundane, everyday affair here, according to even the most serious authorities on the subject. But perhaps the most inviting of all these splendid tales was that lost somewhere in India was an ancient nation of Christians ruled by a sovereign whose name, it was confidently proclaimed, was Prester John.

It was long believed that there lived in Asia a prestre priest called John who, through an eternal fountain of youth, had become the immortal emperor of many mystical lands. Some accounts said he was a descendant of one of the three Magi who visited the infant Jesus, while a more inventive version placed him as foster-father to the terrible Genghis Khan.

Either way, Prester John was rumoured to possess infinite riches, including a fabulous mirror that reflected the entire world, and a tremendous emerald table to entertain thirty thousand select guests. Great sensation erupted across Europe in AD , in fact, when a mysterious letter purportedly from the Prester himself appeared suddenly in Rome. After vacillating for twelve years, Pope Alexander III finally couriered a reply, but neither the messenger nor this letter were ever seen again.

Luckily for Europe, the travels of Marco Polo in the thirteenth century and of Niccolo di Conti in the fifteenth painted a rather more rational picture of Asia on the whole, but they were still convinced of the presence of lost Christians there, egged on by religious fervour and the commercial incentives of breaching the monopolised spice trade.

Maria de Belem, afterwards built to commemorate the event. Four months later the flotilla cast anchor in St. Helena Bay, South Africa, rounded the Cape in safety, and in the beginning of the next year reached Malindi, on the east coast of Africa. Thence, steering eastward, under the direction of a pilot obtained from Indian merchants met with at this port, da Gama arrived at Calicut, on the Malabar coast, on the 20th May , and set up, according to the custom of his country, a marble pillar as a mark of conquest and a proof of his discovery of India.

His reception by the zamorin, or Hindu ruler of Calicut, would have in all probability been favorable enough, had it not been for the jealousy of the Mahommedan traders who, fearing for their gains, so incited the Hindus against the newcomers that da Gama was unable to establish a Portuguese factory.

Having seen enough of India to assure him of its great resources, he returned to Portugal in September The king received him with every mark of distinction, granted him the use of the prefix Dom, thus elevating him to the rank of an untitled noble, and conferred on him pensions and other property. In prosecution of da Gama's discoveries another fleet of thirteen ships was immediately sent out to India under Pedro Alvares Cabral, who, in sailing too far westward, by accident discovered Brazil, and on reaching his destination established a factory at Calicut.

Overall, it was a dangerous, deadly voyage. Upon return to Portugal, da Gama was considered a hero and was awarded titles and estates. The king dispatched him on a second voyage for the eastern coast of Africa in an effort to remove Muslim control on trade in the Indian Ocean and bring Christianity to the region.

They failed to secure Portuguese control of the trade routes, but they did reach Calicut. When they arrived, they demanded that Muslims be banned from the city, but the rajah was not accommodating.

They were chased back to the African coast. By this time, Portugal had established itself as one of the most powerful maritime countries in Europe. Much of that was due to Henry the Navigator, who, at his base in the southern region of the country, had brought together a team of knowledgeable mapmakers, geographers and navigators. He dispatched ships to explore the western coast of Africa to expand Portugal's trade influence. He also believed that he could find and form an alliance with Prester John, who ruled over a Christian empire somewhere in Africa.

Henry the Navigator never did locate Prester John, but his impact on Portuguese trade along Africa's east coast during his 40 years of explorative work was undeniable.

Still, for all his work, the southern portion of Africa — what lay east — remained shrouded in mystery. In , an important breakthrough was made when Bartolomeu Dias discovered the southern tip of Africa and rounded the Cape of Good Hope. This journey was significant; it proved, for the first time, that the Atlantic and Indian oceans were connected.

The trip, in turn, sparked a renewed interest in seeking out a trade route to India. By the late s, however, King Manuel wasn't just thinking about commercial opportunities as he set his sights on the East. In fact, his impetus for finding a route was driven less by a desire to secure for more lucrative trading grounds for his country, and more by a quest to conquer Islam and establish himself as the king of Jerusalem.

Historians know little about why exactly da Gama, still an inexperienced explorer, was chosen to lead the expedition to India in On July 8 of that year, he captained a team of four vessels, including his flagship, the ton St.

Gabriel , to find a sailing route to India and the East. To embark on the journey, da Gama pointed his ships south, taking advantage of the prevailing winds along the coast of Africa. His choice of direction was also a bit of a rebuke to Christopher Columbus, who had believed he'd found a route to India by sailing east.

Following several months of sailing, he rounded the Cape of Good Hope and began making his way up the eastern coast of Africa, toward the uncharted waters of the Indian Ocean.