Question

Vasco da Gama reached Kerala’s coastal town _____ in 1948.

Answer 1

Hint: 1) In July 1497, Da Gama sailed from Lisbon, Portugal, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and anchored on the east coast of Africa at Malindi.
2) He then set off across the Indian Ocean with the assistance of an Indian merchant he met there.
3) The Portuguese explorer was not warmly welcomed by Muslim traders. He did face a lot of problems when he arrived.

Complete answer: (i)The Portuguese explorer was not warmly received by the Muslim merchants of Calicut and, on his return trip home, he had to battle his way out of the harbour in 1499.
(ii) In 1502, to avenge the massacre of Portuguese explorers there, he led a squadron of ships to Calicut and succeeded in subduing the inhabitants.
(iii) He was sent to India as viceroy in1524, but fell ill and died in Cochin.
(iv) As he arrives at Calicut on the Malabar Coast, the Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama becomes the first European to reach India through the Atlantic Ocean.
(v) Vasco da Gama was best known for being the first to round the Cape of Good Hope in Africa to sail from Europe to India.
(vi) Da Gama landed and traded in places along the coast of southern Africa during two voyages, starting in 1497 and 1502, until reaching India on May 20, 1498.
(vii) Indian people welcomed him warmly when Da Gama arrived in India.
(viii) He was born on a chair by the Indian people to their king.
(ix) The king was disgusted with the treasures they had given him for their spices to trade.
(x) Da Gama had only given him some scarves of silk and pottery.

Note: - Christopher Columbus, the explorer, made four journeys from Spain across the Atlantic Ocean. He was actually searching for India but he found America.
- On July 8, 1497, on his first voyage from Lisbon, Portugal, Vasco da Gama sailed. There were 170 men and 4 ships used for storage purposes.
- The Malabar Coast is an area on the mainland Indian subcontinent’s southwestern shoreline. It comprises the wettest regions of southern India geographically, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their mountain slopes facing west.
- The Tourism of Kozhikode. Kozhikode was formerly known as Calicut and is situated in Kerala. During the rule of Zamorin 500 years ago, it was the capital of Malabar and is famous for its centuries-old trade with Jews, Arabs, Phoenicians and Chinese in cotton and spices.