INDIAN HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama becomes the first European to reach India via the Atlantic Ocean when he arrives at Calicut on the Malabar Coast. Da Gama sailed from Lisbon, Portugal, in July 1497, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and anchored at Malindi on the east coast of Africa.

Detailed explanation-2: -Vasco da Gama’s name has figured in all history books, whether they relate to World, European, 1 Asian or Indian history, 2 as a great sailor and adventurer. He has been solely credited with the honour of having discovered the sea-route from Europe to India via the Cape of Good Hope.

Detailed explanation-3: -With the help of a local navigator, da Gama was able to cross the Indian Ocean and reach the coast of India at Calicut (now Kozhikode) in May 1498.

Detailed explanation-4: -His predecessor navigators helped him understand sea routes In 1487, Bartolomeu Dias discovered that the Indian and Atlantic Oceans were connected.

Detailed explanation-5: -But due to the political crisis created by the Turkish empire, the land route connecting India to the European countries was closed. At the same time, Indian resources were in great demand in European countries. These factors pushed the Europeans to discover a new sea route to India.