Early LIfe
Vasco da Gama was born on January 1,1469 in Sines, Portugal which is south of Lisbon and is near the sea. He was also born to a noble family and was the third son of Estêvão da Gama. His father was a knight and an explorer at the same time. When Vasco da Gama was young he went to school in a town called Evora. He studied navigation and astronomy. Then, after a while he became a naval officer in 1492 and commanded ships along the coast of Portugal. He was known as a fearless and tough navigator and solified his reputation as a reputable sailor.
What Was Going On?
The backround of Vasco da Gama was that people were trying to find new trade routes to Asia. In around the 1400's, crusaders and merchants had bought a lot of goods Europe from lots of different places. They got goods from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Orders for these goods enlarged the desire for trade. The Europeans especially loved spices from Asia to preserve food in the winter.
Suddenly, trade in the Middle east started getting difficult and very expensive. Muslims and Italians started getting in control of trade and had a system where the Muslims traders carried goods to the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and the Italian merchants brought the goods that were dropped in to the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. Sometimes the Muslims closed down the trade routes from Asia to Europe and problems started to happen. Each trading party raised the price. This made the European monarchs and merchants want to break the hold that Italians and Muslims had on trade. Most importantly, this is what caused the European exploration to happen in the 1400’s.
Vasco da Gama was born on January 1,1469 in Sines, Portugal which is south of Lisbon and is near the sea. He was also born to a noble family and was the third son of Estêvão da Gama. His father was a knight and an explorer at the same time. When Vasco da Gama was young he went to school in a town called Evora. He studied navigation and astronomy. Then, after a while he became a naval officer in 1492 and commanded ships along the coast of Portugal. He was known as a fearless and tough navigator and solified his reputation as a reputable sailor.
What Was Going On?
The backround of Vasco da Gama was that people were trying to find new trade routes to Asia. In around the 1400's, crusaders and merchants had bought a lot of goods Europe from lots of different places. They got goods from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Orders for these goods enlarged the desire for trade. The Europeans especially loved spices from Asia to preserve food in the winter.
Suddenly, trade in the Middle east started getting difficult and very expensive. Muslims and Italians started getting in control of trade and had a system where the Muslims traders carried goods to the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and the Italian merchants brought the goods that were dropped in to the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. Sometimes the Muslims closed down the trade routes from Asia to Europe and problems started to happen. Each trading party raised the price. This made the European monarchs and merchants want to break the hold that Italians and Muslims had on trade. Most importantly, this is what caused the European exploration to happen in the 1400’s.