My Science School

           

 

            Pedro Alvares Cabral was the first European to discover Brazil. He also established a successful commercial link with India. Cabral is regarded as the first captain to lead an expedition that united Europe, Africa, America, and Asia.

            Pedro was the third son of Fernao Cabral, the Governor of Beria and Belmonte. In 1499, Cabral was appointed chief captain of a fleet bound for the Malabar Coast of southern India. The expedition was intended to establish trading outposts. The fleet left Lisbon on March 9th, 1500, with 13 ships and 1,000 men. Cabral decided not to follow Dias’ route around the west coast of Africa. Instead, he followed Vasco da Gama’s route.

            On the way, he made landfall on a large landmass, which was probably a continent. He claimed it for Portugal. The continent was South America, and the land he had claimed for Portugal later came to be known as Brazil. This led to Portuguese monopoly in the South American continent. His discovery of Brazil made Pedro Cabral popular, and he was regarded as a prominent figure in the Age of Discovery. 

               Amerigo Vespucci’s first two voyages were for the Spanish crown and the third and fourth voyages were for the Portuguese crown. On May 14th, 1501, Vespucci departed on his third voyage, this time for Portugal. This voyage is largely considered a successful one.

               Departing from Lisbon in 1501, the fleet sailed first to Cape Verde, where they encountered two ships of Pedro Alvares Cabral, returning from India.

               In a letter from Cape Verde, Vespucci wrote that he hoped to visit the same lands that Pedro Alvares Cabral had explored, suggesting that his intention was to sail west to Asia. On reaching the coast of Brazil, they sailed south along the coast of South America to Rio de Janeiro’s bay.

               After the first half of the expedition, Vespucci mapped the constellations Alpha and Beta Centauri.

               Vespucci’s fourth voyage was another expedition for the Portuguese crown down the eastern coast of Brazil. The voyage began in May 1503, and returned to Portugal in 1504.

               When the expedition did not make any new discoveries, the fleet was disbanded. However, it has never been confirmed that Vespucci was aboard on this voyage. 

               Scholars had always been very sceptical about the reality of Amerigo Vespucci’s first voyage, which is said to have taken place in 1499. An account of Vespucci’s initial expedition to the American continent was published in 1504. However, scholars considered this account a forgery.

               In 1499, Vespucci joined an expedition in the service of Spain. Alonso de Ojeda was the fleet commander. Their intention was to sail around the southern end of the African mainland into the Indian Ocean. The two took different routes from the coast of what is now Guyana.

               Vespucci sailed southwards, discovering the mouth of the Amazon River. From there, he took a turn, and sailed through Orinoco River, and then made for Haiti. Vespucci thought he had sailed along the coast of the extreme easterly peninsula of Asia. Vespucci called the tip of this peninsula Cape of Cattigara.

               Vespucci is often credited with many findings. He determined the longitude celestially on August 23rd, 1499, while on this voyage.

 

               Amerigo Vespucci was born on 9th March 1454, in Italy. America was named after Vespucci, as he played a prominent role in exploring this land. He voyaged from Spain around the late 15th century.

               By this time, the Vikings had established settlements in present day North America as early as 1000 AD, and Columbus had already discovered several Caribbean and Central American islands.

               However, Vespucci was the first navigator to establish that Brazil and the West Indies were not parts of Asia as claimed by Columbus, and many others. He found that those places constituted an entirely separate landmass, which was unknown to the Europeans. Vespucci had chronicled two accounts of his journey. He became popular all over Europe after the publication of his accounts between 1502 and 1505.

               Amerigo Vespucci was a pioneer of Atlantic exploration, and was a great contributor to travel literature. The name of Vespucci is often remembered with the name of the American continents. 

            Sebastian Cabot, son of John Cabot, was a navigator, explorer and cartographer. He had served both the English and Spanish crowns. There are no official documents to prove Sebastian’s voyages. However, it is said that in 1508, Cabot led an expedition to find a North-West Passage through North America.

            He had supposedly narrated stories about encountering fields of icebergs, and reported an open passage of water. Some historians suggest that he might have reached Hudson Bay, but could not find the North-West Passage.

            After two decades, he set out on another voyage, intending to circumnavigate the world. However, he changed his plan later, as he was lured to finding silver in Argentina.

            He built two forts during his journey. Later, Sebastian claimed that the discoveries said to be made by his father were in fact made by him. Historians have denounced him as an unreliable source of information.

 

 

 

                After returning from his expedition, in late 1497, Cabot sought permission from King Henry VII to set out on a second voyage across the North Atlantic.

               His intention was to continue sailing westwards from Newfoundland, until he reached the island of Cipangu in Japan. In February 1498, the king ordered Cabot to command the fleet. Thus John Cabot departed in May 1498.

               In July, one of his ships was caught in a fatal storm and got damaged. This disaster, and later the demise of John Cabot, had not left any proof for clarification. However, it was believed that in 1499, Cabot himself perished at sea.

               Even though the second voyage ended in misery, Cabot’s discovery of North America helped England to establish trade across the North Atlantic.

               In addition to contributing to the plan for British land claims in the North American continent, his findings helped in establishing other British colonies there.

               His expeditions also proved the existence of a shorter route across the northern Atlantic Ocean.

 

            John Cabot was a Venetian navigator and explorer, who lived in England. He got a commission from King Henry VII to make an expedition to North America. It was the first European encounter with the North American continent since Leif Eriksson and the Vikings explored the area they called ‘Vinland’ in the 11th century.

            John Cabot was skilled in navigational techniques, and he seemed to have been inspired by Christopher Columbus. He researched the possibility of reaching Asia by sailing westward.

            In 1496, the king granted permission to John Cabot to set out on an expedition of discovery and to open up more trading posts.

            Cabot sailed out of Bristol on a small ship, but had to return soon.

            Later, in May 1497, he set out on another voyage. The expedition made landfall in the Newfoundland. He took possession of the land for the English King.

            When Cabot arrived back to Bristol, he received a hearty welcome. On that occasion, Cabot announced his plan to set out on another voyage to Newfoundland, and to Japan which was regarded as the haven of spices. 

 

               The fleet arrived at Kappad near Calicut, India, on 20th May 1498. They were welcomed with traditional hospitality by the King of Calicut, the Zamorin. The presents that Gama brought for the king were four cloaks of scarlet cloth, six hats, four branches of corals, seven brass vessels, two barrels of oil, and a cask of honey. These gifts failed to impress the rich Zamorin.

               The king turned down Vasco da Gama’s request to leave a small group of his crew behind him in charge of the product he could not sell. King insisted that Gama pay customs duty like any other trader. Gama was totally annoyed by this response. His fleet left Calicut on 29th August 1498. He reached Lisbon on September 9th 1499. Gama’s expedition was successful, because it brought in cargoes worth sixty times the cost of the expedition. 

               After encountering bitter experiences in Mozambique and Mombasa, Vasco da Gama sailed towards Malindi. The fleet reached Malindi on 14th April 1498, where they received a cordial welcome.

               In Malindi, Gama traced evidences of Indian traders. Vasco da Gama and his crew contracted the services of a local pilot, who used his knowledge of the monsoon winds to guide the expedition to Calicut in India. This was a timely help the fleet received. Vasco da Gama left Malindi for India on 24th April 1498.

               The pilot hired by da Gama was Ahmed Ibn Majid. He warned Vasco da Gama about the monsoon winds, and told him that the ships would have to wait for the right season to sail. He also knew the optimum route, where they can take advantage of winds and currents. Once they were out of sight of land, it took them only twenty three days to reach the coast of India.

               Thus, Vasco da Gama’s landfall at Malindi proved to be crucial.

 

 

            In March 1498, Vasco da Gama spent three weeks in the vicinity of Mozambique Island. It was the first sign of civilization since they left the west coast of the Cape Verde islands.

            Mozambique was an Arab controlled territory that sat on the outskirts of the east coast of Africa. It was a well-established sea trading opening in the Indian Ocean. The Sultan of Mozambique found that the Portuguese ships looked different from that of the Arabs.

           There, Vasco da Gama and his men had skirmishes with the Sultan of Mozambique, and also with the native people. Finally, Gama and crew departed the harbour, firing his cannons into the city.

            Later, they landed on 7th April 1498, in Mombasa. The Portuguese became the first known Europeans to visit the port of Mombasa. Gama and his crew met with hostility in Mombasa too, and soon departed. 

 

               Bartolomeu Dias, the predecessor of Vasco da Gama faced many difficulties during his voyage around the Cape of Good Hope. Like Dias, Vasco da Gama’s voyage too was full of perils and difficulties.

               Wind and the coastal currents made the journey difficult. After a good passage, Gama made a landfall on what is now called St Helena Bay. While continuing his voyage, unfavourable wind and currents delayed circumnavigating the Cape of Good Hope for many days.

               Vasco da Gama anchored at Mossel Bay, where Dias had erected a padrao during his expedition. He faced the next challenge at Mossel Bay. His convoy was hit by a ferocious storm, and the ships drifted away from each other. However, they eventually came together. The fleet soon reached the Quelimane River, which they called the Rio dos Bons Sinais or the River of Good Omens, and erected another padrao.

               By this time, many of the crew members fell sick with scurvy. The expedition took a break for a month. Meanwhile, the ships were repaired. Unlike Bartolomeu Dias, Vasco da Gama was determined that he would reach India without being dispirited by the hurdles on the way. 

 

               Born in Portugal in 1460, Vasco Da Gama was the third son of Estevao da Gama, a nobleman who commanded the fortress at Sines, located on the coast of the Alentejo province in southwestern Portugal.

               In 1492, King John II sent Vasco da Gama to the port city of Setubal and to the Algarve region to seize French ships in retaliation for French attacks against Portuguese ships.

               In 1497, King John’s successor, King Manuel I, chose Vasco Da Gama to lead a Portuguese fleet to India in search of a maritime route from Western Europe to the East. This was to outflank the Arabs, who had hitherto enjoyed a monopoly of trade with India and other eastern lands.

               The Portuguese crew had an advantage, as they knew the route till the Cape of Good Hope since it had already been explored by Bartolomeu Dias.

               Thus, Vasco da Gama set sail from Lisbon on July 8th, 1497. Bartolomeu Dias, the veteran mariner piloted the expedition till Cape Verde Islands.

               This was the one of the most remembered voyages in history.

 

 

             

 

              On May 20th, 1498, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed at what is now Kozhikode in India. It was the first recorded trip made directly from Europe to India, via the Atlantic Ocean. He opened up the sea route to the spice haven in Asia. Exploring a new sea route allowed the Portuguese to avoid travelling through the highly disputed Mediterranean, and the dangerous Arabian Peninsula.

               Da Gama’s discovery of the sea route to India was significant as it also opened the way for an age of global imperialism, and for the Portuguese to establish a colonial empire in Asia. Before Da Gama, many sailors tried to reach India, and thousands of lives and dozens of vessels were lost in shipwrecks and attacks. Unopposed access to the Indian spice routes boosted the economy of the Portuguese Empire. The Portuguese were able to obtain spices such as pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg from Southeast Asia, which were all new to Europe. Only a century later could other European countries challenge Portugal’s monopoly? 

               Though Columbus’ first voyage of 1492  is the one which is popular, his other voyages were equally important. After his first voyage, Columbus set out on his second voyage in 1493. His destination was La Navidad, off the north coast of Haiti, where, during his first voyage, he had left 39 men in a fortress built from the wreckage of the Santa Maria. Arriving at his destination, Columbus found that the fortress was burned and all his men were dead, probably killed.

               In 1498 he set out to the West again, and discovered Trinidad. He eventually reached the coast of South America. On his last voyage in 1502, Christopher Columbus reached the shores of Honduras in Central America. He followed the land as far as Panama but he couldn’t find a passage to India. He was the first European to discover the West Indies, South America, and Central America.

               Christopher Columbus died at Valladolid, in Spain in 1506. Even on his deathbed, he believed that the lands he had discovered were in Asia. He had no idea that his voyages had opened up a whole new continent. 

            Christopher Columbus’ voyage had disheartening moments too. One of them was the wreck of the ship Santa Maria. The other ships of the Columbus expedition were the smaller, caravel-type ships Santa Clara, remembered as La Nina and La Pinta.

            Columbus named the island of Haiti as Espanola or The Spanish Island, in honour of the Spanish Crown.

            It was at north Haiti that the Santa Maria sank. The currents carried the ship to a sandbank. Columbus tried to float the ship off the bank, but the tide was lower and the ship was firmly grounded.

            The Santa Maria tilted to one side as the water level fell. Then, the ship’s seams began to open. With a horrific crack, the planking split open and the seawater rushed into the ship from below the waterline. Columbus’ flagship Santa Maria couldn’t be re-floated and saved. It was a terrible disaster.

            Columbus ordered his men to strip the timbers from the ship. These timbers were later used to build a fort, which Columbus called ‘La Navidad’ because the wreck occurred on Christmas Day, north from the modern town of Limonade.