Searching for a new route -- The age of discovery -- Early life of an explorer -- Heading out to sea -- Making a vow -- Rounding the Cape -- Tension in Mozambique -- Mombasa and Malindi -- A dream fulfilled -- Meeting the Zamorin -- The voyage home -- A cause for celebration -- Cabral's journey to India -- Da Gama's second voyage -- The Miri -- A standoff in Calicut -- A fierce battle -- Years at home -- An explorer's final voyage
Summary
Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama was a bold and brutal adventurer who was the first European to find an all-sea route to India. Along the way, he made contact with local people in South Africa, Mozambique, and the Indian kingdom of Calicut. Though revered in his time for helping Portugal become a powerful force on the world stage, da Gama is also remembered as a controversial figure for his forceful and cruel behavior in Africa and India. This warts-and-all biography identifies da Gama's achievements while also offering an unsparing examination of the darker aspects of his life and legacy
