Question

Which country people discovered a direct sea route to India?
A) Portuguese
B) Germans
C) The French
D) The Dutch

Answer 1

Hint:
The first trip to India via a sea route was made directly from Europe to India through the Cape of Good Hope in the Atlantic Ocean during the reign of King Manuel under the leadership of Explorer Vasco da Gama on May 17, 1498.

Complete step by step solution:
1) Portuguese- For better trading from India exploration of routes was done. It took a total of 9 years to search the sea route to India by the Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama and he came three times to India. He left from Malindi for India and arrived in Kappadu near Kozhikode (Calicut) in Malabar coasts (present day Kerala)
2) Germans – Missionaries were the first Germans to arrive in Eastern India in the early 1700s for the propagation of the Gospel.
3) The French – They came to India in 1664 for commercial and trading benefits under French East India Company and set up their first factory in Surat.
4) The Dutch – They defeated the Portuguese and East India Company of the Netherlands was formed in 1602

Note:
Vasco de Gama was born in 1460 or 1469 in town Sines and was the third of the total five sons of Estevao da Gama and Isabel Sodre. During his first visit to India he sailed with the summer monsoon wind and crossed the Indian Ocean in only 23 days with total 170 people in his fleet but on his return he sailed against the wind ignoring the wing patterns and took 132 days to sail across the same route and was left with only 54 people as many of his people died on this long return journey.