European Exploration And Voyaging Into The Unexplained
...was a vast wonderland just ready to be understood when Europe stepped out of the ignorant Dark Ages. Art, architecture, and literature were very important to the Renaissance, but not as much as exploration. Many explorers such as Christopher Columbus, Bartolomeu Dias, Vasco de Gama, and Ferdinand Magellan took voyages and brought back treasures such as maps, goods, and information of other worlds. Two European explorers that are very appealing are Vasco de Gama and Christopher Columbus. But in my opinion, these two seem to stand out the most because of the voyages they undertook. Both of these explorers made a big impact in the areas of the world they traveled.
Vasco de Gama traveled to the locations of Mozambique, Mombassa, Malindi, India, Brazil, Kilwa, Vidigueira, and many others. De Gama went on three voyages in total in order to reach his desired locations between the years of July 8, 1497 to Christmas Eve 1524 when he died during his third voyage. Vasco's first voyage consisted of four ships in his fleet (the São Gabriel, the São Rafael, the Berrio, and a storage ship of unknown name). De Gama's ships rounded the Cape of Good Hope on November 22, 1497. In January, de Gama's small fleet pulled up into Muslim-controlled water off the coast of East Africa near Mozambique where he worked for a pilot from Malindi in exchange for him to guide them the rest of the way to Calcut, India. At other points along the coast of Mozambique, the Muslims were hostile towards de Gama seeing him as a threat to their trade with India and tried to seize his ships. Finally, on May 20, 1498, Vasco de Gama arrived on India's western shore in Calicut, India (now known as Kozhikode). What had been attempted and dreamed by so many, like Columbus and Prince Henry, had finally been accomplished. At first, he was received well by the Zamorin (Hindu ruler of India) and was taken to...
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