In 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail towards the west, looking for India, (or Asia), but didn't find it. However, five years later this Portuguese navigator set sail towards the East, and reached India in 1498. Who was he?

While Christopher Columbus's westward voyages starting in 1492 are famous for opening up the "New World" to Europeans, his primary goal of reaching Asia remained unfulfilled. The answer to who successfully navigated a sea route to India lies with the Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama. His journey, though fraught with peril, forever changed the landscape of global trade and exploration. Da Gama's expedition, which set sail in 1497, took a different approach by heading east, a grueling voyage that involved rounding the southern tip of Africa, a feat that had been accomplished by his predecessor Bartolomeu Dias.

The journey was incredibly arduous, with the crew facing violent storms, a shortage of supplies, and the debilitating effects of scurvy. After navigating up the eastern coast of Africa, da Gama secured the help of a local pilot in Malindi who guided his fleet across the Indian Ocean. In May 1498, more than ten months after leaving Portugal, they finally arrived in Calicut, a major trading hub on the southwestern coast of India. This marked the first successful all-sea voyage from Europe to India, a monumental achievement that broke the long-standing monopoly on the spice trade held by Arab and Venetian merchants.

Unlike Columbus's encounters in the Americas with native populations who were initially more welcoming, da Gama's reception in Calicut was complex. While initially met with some traditional hospitality, the trivial gifts he offered to the local ruler, the Zamorin, failed to impress. The established Muslim traders, wary of new competition, also worked to undermine his efforts. Despite these challenges and a failure to establish a formal trading treaty, da Gama's return to Portugal with a cargo of valuable spices was a massive success. The profits from this single voyage were immense and demonstrated the incredible economic potential of this new sea route, which became the foundation (Review) for Portugal's powerful maritime empire.