Gama, Vasco da

Portuguese explorer

1495 - Appointed as governor of the Order of St. James

1498 - Led 1st expedition successfully to sail from Europe around Cape of Good Hope to Asia, leaving from Lisbon

1497 - Arrived at Calcutta

1497 - 1499 - Discovered India

1502 - Founded Portuguese colony in Mozambique

1503-1507 - Returned from India and around , Vasco da Gama was transferred to the Order of Christ, under the governorship of King Emmanuel I himself, in what can be seen as a means of solving his disputes with the Order of St. James over the lordship of Sines or as a sign of promotion.

1524 - Died on Christmas eve in Cochin, India.