1 00:00:01,880 --> 00:00:08,639 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, 2 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 1: when kids learn about the so called Age of Discovery, 3 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:18,520 Speaker 1: the fifteenth and sixteenth century maritime exploits of Spain and Portugal, 4 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:22,640 Speaker 1: mainly they memorize a list of a half dozen European 5 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:26,640 Speaker 1: men in funny hats who sailed bravely into uncharted waters 6 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:31,040 Speaker 1: to discover far off lands. Among them is Vasco da Gama, 7 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:34,600 Speaker 1: a Portuguese explorer who was the first European to sail 8 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 1: to spice rich India by rounding the southern tip of Africa. But, 9 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:45,120 Speaker 1: like his contemporary Christopher Columbus, de Gama is a complex 10 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:50,959 Speaker 1: and controversial historical figure. A devout Christian and loyal Portuguese subject, 11 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: the Gama had no qualms about using violence, including against 12 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 1: unarmed civilians, to force his way into the lucrative Indian 13 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:01,320 Speaker 1: and African trade routes dominate at the time by Arab 14 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:06,160 Speaker 1: Muslims and the Ottoman Empire. For the article this episode 15 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:09,200 Speaker 1: is based on haw Stuff Work, spoke with Sanjay Subrahmanyam, 16 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:11,959 Speaker 1: a history professor at e CLA who wrote an eye 17 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 1: opening book about de Gama. He explained that Degama left 18 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:20,240 Speaker 1: almost no personal writing or journals compared to the prolific Columbus, 19 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:23,720 Speaker 1: but that scraps of letters and journal entries penned by 20 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:27,560 Speaker 1: de Gama's crew paint a and I quote troubling picture 21 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:32,720 Speaker 1: of an ill tempered, even dangerous character. He said. The 22 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:35,760 Speaker 1: accounts written by people on da Gama's voyages portray someone 23 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 1: who was, even by the standards of the time, a 24 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:44,400 Speaker 1: violent personality. In the fourteen hundreds, the Spanish and Portuguese 25 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:46,400 Speaker 1: were in a bitter race to find a sea route 26 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 1: to India that bypassed the tortuously long and expensive overland 27 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:56,040 Speaker 1: trade route grew unfriendly Ottoman and Egyptian territory. In fourteen 28 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: eighty eight, the Portuguese took the lead when Bartolomew Diaz 29 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: successfully nap negated around the Cape of Good Hope. Diaz 30 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 1: called it the Cape of Storms in modern day South Africa, 31 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:08,720 Speaker 1: and became the first European to reach the Indian Ocean 32 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:13,600 Speaker 1: by water. But Diaz returned to Portugal with bad news. 33 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:17,239 Speaker 1: The winds and currents in the Indian Ocean blew northeast 34 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,600 Speaker 1: to southwest, making it all but impossible to cross the 35 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:25,560 Speaker 1: sea from Africa to India. What DEAs didn't understand was 36 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,639 Speaker 1: how the seasonal monsoons of the region were and that 37 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:32,760 Speaker 1: the winds actually switched directions for half the year. Thinking 38 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: it was hopeless, Portugal didn't attempt another southern run to 39 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:41,240 Speaker 1: India for a decade. In the meantime, Columbus, who learned 40 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 1: his trade in Portugal, discovered what he believed to be 41 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 1: a western route to the Indies or possibly Japan for Spain. 42 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:51,680 Speaker 1: In fourteen ninety two. For the Portuguese, the pressure was on, 43 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:54,640 Speaker 1: and King Manuel the First ordered a new expedition to 44 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:59,079 Speaker 1: India via the South African route and put Vaskodagama in command. 45 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:05,000 Speaker 1: Historians know little of de Gama's early life, just that 46 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 1: he was born sometime in the fourteen sixties in a 47 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:11,120 Speaker 1: small coastal city of Scenes to a knight and a noblewoman, 48 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:15,640 Speaker 1: which afforded him a good education in navigation and advanced mathematics. 49 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:19,400 Speaker 1: At some point he gained practical experience on ships and 50 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:21,600 Speaker 1: may have become a captain as early as twenty years 51 00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 1: of age. He proved a loyal enforcer when he was 52 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:27,800 Speaker 1: sent to put an end to a conflict between Portuguese 53 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 1: and French merchants, and by his thirties was considered a 54 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: guy who got stuff done. On July eighth, fourteen ninety seven, 55 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:39,440 Speaker 1: Degama set sail from Lisbon with four ships and one 56 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 1: hundred and seventy men, including his brother Paolo. There was 57 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:48,880 Speaker 1: nothing easy about navigating fifteenth century sailboats through unruly seas, 58 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 1: but Degama wisely took the advice of Diaz and swung 59 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 1: far west into the Southern Atlantic, only six hundred miles 60 00:03:56,720 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: or about one thousand kilometers off of Brazil, in order 61 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: to catch strong winds that would propel them eastward toward 62 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:07,280 Speaker 1: the tip of Africa. This risky plan worked, and after 63 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:10,080 Speaker 1: thirteen long weeks on the open water, out of sight 64 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:13,040 Speaker 1: of land, Dagama landed just north of the Cape of 65 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:16,760 Speaker 1: Good Hope on November seventh, nearly four months after leaving Portugal. 66 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:21,320 Speaker 1: The expedition slowly worked its way around the stormy cape 67 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:25,960 Speaker 1: and entered the Indian Ocean around Christmas time. But now 68 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: came the real test, figuring out how to cross the 69 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:32,919 Speaker 1: sea to India. For that, he needed a knowledgeable local captain, 70 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:36,480 Speaker 1: who he hoped to recruit or kidnap from eastern Africa. 71 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:42,960 Speaker 1: Dagama's first major encounter with an African kingdom was in Mozambique, 72 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:46,320 Speaker 1: where he was poorly received, an experience that would be 73 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:50,960 Speaker 1: repeated throughout his first voyage. Dagama was following the example 74 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:53,760 Speaker 1: of Columbus, who had won over native leaders with simple 75 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:59,560 Speaker 1: European goods like bells, flannel, and metalwork. For the article 76 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:01,760 Speaker 1: this episode, it is based on how Stuff Works, also 77 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 1: spoke with Mark Nukupp, a historian and museum manager in 78 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: Hanover County, Virginia. He said, but when Dagama stopped at 79 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:13,800 Speaker 1: ports in Eastern Africa and offered these items for trade, 80 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:18,680 Speaker 1: people would laugh at him. These weren't impressive to local traders. 81 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 1: In Mozambique, the sultan and his people were actually offended 82 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:27,320 Speaker 1: and started to riot. Dagama fled back to a ship 83 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 1: and lobbed a few cannonballs at the city as parting shops. 84 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:34,200 Speaker 1: They were better received in the African kingdom of Malindi, 85 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:37,080 Speaker 1: where Dagama was able to recruit a local pilot who 86 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:42,400 Speaker 1: could guide them across the tricky Indian Ocean. After a 87 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:46,080 Speaker 1: twenty seven day journey, Dagama and his men arrived in Calicut, 88 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:51,599 Speaker 1: a coastal city in southern India known today as Krikota. There, 89 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 1: the Portuguese were shocked to find that Muslims were running 90 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:59,400 Speaker 1: the spice trade in India. Subramanyam said they were under 91 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:01,360 Speaker 1: the impression that there were a lot of Christians in 92 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 1: India and that these people would be their natural allies. Instead, 93 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:10,560 Speaker 1: Dagama found outposts of an extensive African Indian trade network, 94 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:15,480 Speaker 1: operated largely by Arab Muslims, and again there nobody was 95 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:18,159 Speaker 1: impressed with the poultry goods the Portuguese had brought to 96 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 1: trade for high end spices. The local traders and merchants 97 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:25,159 Speaker 1: made it clear that gold was the only currency that mattered. 98 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:31,160 Speaker 1: After a torturous journey home against the monsoon wins, Dagama 99 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: returned to Lisbon nearly empty handed, but he was still 100 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:37,440 Speaker 1: greeted as a hero for reaching his destination at all 101 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:40,479 Speaker 1: and making it home again after two years and twenty 102 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:43,760 Speaker 1: four thousand miles at sea about thirty eight thousand kilometers, 103 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:48,039 Speaker 1: a sadly scurvy had claimed all but fifty four of 104 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: his one hundred and seventy man crew, including his brother. 105 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:57,839 Speaker 1: Before Degama returned to India, another Portuguese explorer named Pedro Alaves, 106 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:01,799 Speaker 1: Cabral was given command of an Indian expedition. A Cabral 107 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 1: sailed with a much larger crew of one thousand, two 108 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:08,320 Speaker 1: hundred men and thirteen vessels, including one captain by Diaz. 109 00:07:09,279 --> 00:07:12,840 Speaker 1: Following the Gama's route, Cabral swung far west, but he 110 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:16,360 Speaker 1: ended up going farther than intended and accidentally found what's 111 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:21,120 Speaker 1: now Brazil, which he claimed for the Portuguese. Cabral eventually 112 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:24,800 Speaker 1: continued onto India, encountering terrible storms that claimed four of 113 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:28,360 Speaker 1: his ships, including the one captain by Diaz. When he 114 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:31,520 Speaker 1: finally arrived in Calicut, he met fierce resistance from the 115 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:34,960 Speaker 1: Arab Muslim traders, who killed some Portuguese sailors in an attack. 116 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:39,880 Speaker 1: Cabral responded by bombarding the city, raiding ten Arab ships, 117 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 1: and killing an estimated six hundred people. It was a 118 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:50,520 Speaker 1: quote unquote diplomatic style that Dagama would follow to terrible effect. 119 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 1: In fifteen oh two, Dagama set sail again for India 120 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:56,760 Speaker 1: in command of ten ships, with his sights set on 121 00:07:56,880 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: breaking the Muslim monopoly on the spice trade once and 122 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:03,400 Speaker 1: for all. On his way, he threatened African leaders with 123 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:06,480 Speaker 1: its cannons in exchange for vows of loyalty to Portugal, 124 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:10,680 Speaker 1: and then waged campaign of terror along India's Malabar coast. 125 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:15,920 Speaker 1: In perhaps the most horrific incident, Dagama intercepted a ship 126 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:19,280 Speaker 1: carrying Muslim families returning from a religious pilgrimage to Mecca 127 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:23,440 Speaker 1: in modern day Saudi Arabia. Dagama locked up the hundreds 128 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:26,680 Speaker 1: of passengers in the ship's hull, and, despite pleas from 129 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 1: his own crew members not to do it, set the 130 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 1: pilgrim ship ablaze, killing all of them. Subrahmanyam said maybe 131 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:38,840 Speaker 1: he was trying to create an image for the Portuguese 132 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 1: you don't mess with us, and that message did come across. 133 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:45,920 Speaker 1: The Pilgrimship. Incident cemented the reputation of the Portuguese as 134 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:52,280 Speaker 1: very dangerous and violent people in the Indian Ocean. In Calicut, 135 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:56,240 Speaker 1: there were more skirmishes between Dagama and Arab traders. Dagama 136 00:08:56,280 --> 00:09:00,560 Speaker 1: responded by killing thirty unarmed local fishermen, dismembering their bodies 137 00:09:00,679 --> 00:09:05,200 Speaker 1: and letting the remains wash in on the tide. The 138 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:09,679 Speaker 1: combined cruelties of Cabral and Dagama succeeded in establishing Portuguese 139 00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:12,920 Speaker 1: trading outposts in Calicut and in the southern Indian state 140 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:19,079 Speaker 1: of Goa, where the Portuguese ruled until nineteen sixty one. 141 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:22,920 Speaker 1: Dagama had married after his first voyage and fathered six 142 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:26,440 Speaker 1: sons and one daughter. He spent twenty years as an 143 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: adviser on Indian affairs to the Portuguese king. In fifteen 144 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:33,000 Speaker 1: twenty four, he was sent back to Goa as viceroy 145 00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:35,559 Speaker 1: to deal with some corruption in the government the Portuguese 146 00:09:35,559 --> 00:09:39,360 Speaker 1: had established there. He soon became ill and died that 147 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:45,280 Speaker 1: same year. In India, Subrami Yam explained that one of 148 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,000 Speaker 1: the main reasons why Degama's name rings down through the 149 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:51,520 Speaker 1: centuries is because the Portuguese needed a national hero to 150 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:55,960 Speaker 1: rival Columbus. He said, the Spaniards made a big deal 151 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:58,719 Speaker 1: of Columbus, and the Portuguese were very annoyed by that. 152 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:01,840 Speaker 1: The Portuguese made a very deliberate attempt in the sixteenth 153 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:06,560 Speaker 1: century to build up de Gama as their Columbus. This 154 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:11,000 Speaker 1: included a twelve part epic poem called The Discovery of India, 155 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:14,840 Speaker 1: written by the famed sixteenth century Portuguese poet Luis vas 156 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:19,280 Speaker 1: d Kamois. It portrays Degama as a Greek style hero, 157 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:25,600 Speaker 1: rivaling not only Columbus, but Achilles and Odysseus. Reconciling that 158 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:29,080 Speaker 1: kind of propaganda with the reality of de Gama's ruthless 159 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:32,040 Speaker 1: cruelty is part of the work that we all have 160 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 1: to do in considering how European exploration and colonization has 161 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 1: shaped our world. Newcup said, was he a great explorer? No? 162 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:46,480 Speaker 1: But through his efforts, Portugal established a European sea route 163 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:49,800 Speaker 1: to India and eventually further to China and the Indies, 164 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:53,360 Speaker 1: and helped create what would become the Portuguese Overseas Empire. 165 00:10:54,320 --> 00:11:02,080 Speaker 1: Whether that's progress or not is up for debate. Today's 166 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:04,800 Speaker 1: episode is based on the article Basco de Gama Portugal's 167 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:08,240 Speaker 1: Columbus is just as controversial on HowStuffWorks dot Com, written 168 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:10,800 Speaker 1: by Julia Layton. Brain Stuff is production of by Heart 169 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:13,240 Speaker 1: Radio in partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com and is 170 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:16,640 Speaker 1: produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio, 171 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:20,199 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 172 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:21,280 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.