Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama was the Portuguese navigator who opened the sea route from Europe to India, sailing from Lisbon in 1497 and reaching Calicut on the Malabar coast in May 1498 after rounding the Cape of Good Hope. The voyage broke the Venetian and Arab monopoly on the spice trade and launched Portuguese dominance in the Indian Ocean. He made two later voyages, dying at Cochin in 1524 as viceroy. His achievement is the culmination of the Portuguese exploration begun under Henry the Navigator.