| On this day in 1497, Vasco da Gama sailed from Lisbon with a fleet of four vessels—two medium-size three-masted sailing ships named the São Gabriel and the São Rafael, a 50-ton caravel named the Berrio, and a storeship. In the service of the Portuguese crown, da Gama opened a sea route from western Europe to Asia, sailing first to the Cape Verde Islands, then taking a circular course through the South Atlantic to the Cape of Good Hope, which he rounded on November 22. Along the way, the fleet ... |