Page 93 - English Expedition Class 4

14 Vasco da Gama in India

Have you heard of Vasco da Gama? He was the first European to reach India by sea.
Spices from India were famed in Europe. So King Manuel I, the ruler of Portugal, was

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very excited about the idea of an expedition to India. He made grand preparations for the
voyage and chose Vasco da Gama as the leader of the mission. Vasco set sail in July 1497. The
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journey lasted about a year and Vasco da Gama finally reached the coast of India in 1498.
There are several records and accounts of the expedition. Some of them have interesting stories
on what happened during the journey from Lisbon to Calicut. Let us now read about the day

the ships reached the coast of India after a long journey.

One morning, when the voyage had lasted for about nineteen days on the Indian
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Ocean, the pilot came to Vasco da Gama and said, ‘Captain, I am sure we are very near
the coast of India. It would not surprise me if we should see land tomorrow morning.’
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Early the next morning everyone was on deck looking eagerly towards the east, to
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catch the first view of land. A number of sailors were sitting on the maintops . Vasco
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da Gama was at his usual post on the quarterdeck . Suddenly, a loud cry came from
the crew: ‘Land, land, land!’ Soon after, Canaca came running to Vasco da Gama and
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pointed with a trembling finger towards the horizon in the east, ‘Behold , Captain!
The land of India!’ Vasco da Gama fell upon his knees thanking God with all his heart.
It was almost afternoon when the ships approached close enough to see objects
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on the shore. They saw a good-sized town located in a bay with thatched houses
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and a number of fishing boats. Some of the boats were at anchor while others were
moving about. The people of this town were greatly surprised to see the ships, and the
fishing boats came quite near to examine them.
At first, Vasco da Gama mistook this town for Calicut and was slightly disappointed.
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He had heard a great deal about the splendour of Calicut, its noble buildings, temples

1 expedition: an organized journey 6 quarterdeck: the upper deck, traditionally reserved for
2 voyage: a long journey by sea offi cers
3 pilot: the sailor who steers the ship 7 behold: old-fashioned way of saying look
4 deck: the fl oor of a ship 8 bay: a body of water surrounded by land on three sides
5 maintop: the platform right below the top of the ship’s 9 thatched: with roof made of hay
mainmast 10 at anchor: at rest
11 splendour: grand appearance
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