Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama,Portuguese

Profession: Explorer

Vasco da Gama was the first European explorer to reach India by sea, helping to establish Portugal as a colonial power and changing the previous dependence Europe had on trade overland. 

Vasco da Gama left Portugal with 4 ships on his first voyage in 1497, rounded the Cape of Good Hope and travelled up the African coast. Arriving in the trading port of Calicut, India in May of 1498 he was warmly received, though failed to establish permanent relations.