Vasco da Gama (born c. 1460, Sines, Portugal—died December 24, 1524, Cochin, India ) was a Portuguese navigator whose voyages to India (1497–99, 1502–03, 1524) opened up the sea route from western Europe to the East by way of the Cape of Good Hope. The search for trade routes Vasco da Gama 's pioneering sea voyage to India is one of the defining moments in the history of exploration. Apart from being one the greatest pieces of European ... His discovery of the first direct maritime route between Europe and India via the Cape of Good Hope and across the Indian Ocean from Malindi in Kenya to Kozhikode, was to open up European exploration of, and commerce with, India and is considered a landmark event and a turning point in World history [3][4] Vasco da Gama (circa 1469 to 1524) was a Portuguese navigator who, in 1497 to 9, sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa and arrived at Calicut (now Kozhikode) on the south-west coast of India .
