Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 2).djvu/21



CHAPTER I.

Dom John of Portugal prosecutes his researches for India—Expedition under Vasco de Gama, 1497—Description of the ships—The expedition sails 9th July, 1497—Doubles the Cape of Good Hope, 25th Nov.—Sights land at Natal, 25th Dec., 1498—Meets the first native vessel and obtains information about India—Arrives at Mozambique, 10th March—Departs for Quiloa, 8th April—Arrives at Melinde, 29th April—Sails for Calicut, 6th August—Reaches the shores of India, 26th August—Arrives at Calicut—Vasco de Gama disembarks and concludes a treaty with the king—His treachery—Leaves Calicut for Cananore—Enters into friendly relations and leaves Cananore, 20th Nov.—Reaches Melinde, 8th Jan., 1499—Obtains pilots and sails for Europe, 20th Jan.—Doubles the Cape of Good Hope—Death of Paul de Gama—The expedition reaches the Tagus, 18th Sept., 1499—Great rejoicings at Lisbon—Arrangements made for further expeditions—Departure of the second expedition, 25th March, 1502—Reaches Mozambique and Quiloa, where De Gama makes known his power, and threatens to capture the city—His unjust demands—Arrives at Melinde—Departs, 18th Aug., 1502—Encounter with the Moors—Levies tribute, and sails for Cananore—Disgraceful destruction of a Calicut ship, and massacre of her crew—De Gama's arrangements with the king of Cananore—Departure for Calicut—Bombards the city—Horrible cruelties—Arrives at Cochym 7th Nov., where he loads, and at Coulam—Opens a factory at Coulam—Calicut declares war against Dom Gama—Success of the Portuguese—Desecration of the Indian vessels, and further atrocities—Completes his factory and fortifications at Cananore, and sails for Lisbon, where he arrives, 1st Sept., 1503—De Gama arrives in India for the third time, 11th Sept., 1524—His death, 24th Dec., 1524—His character as compared with that of Columbus—Discovery of the Pacific by Vasco Nuñez de Bilboa—Voyage of Magellan.

While the Spaniards under Columbus were prosecuting their researches for India among the islands