![]() Nucup says that da Gama was following the example of Columbus, who had won over native leaders with simple European goods like bells, flannel and metalwork. ![]() "These weren't impressive to local traders." "But when da Gama stopped at ports in Eastern Africa and offered these items for trade, people would laugh at him," says Nucup. In Mozambique, the Sultan and his people were actually offended and started to riot, says Nucup. Da Gama fled back to his ship and lobbed a few canon balls at the city as parting shots. The Portuguese were better received in the African kingdom of Malindi, where da Gama was able to recruit a local pilot who could guide them across the tricky Indian Ocean to their final destination.Īfter a 27-day journey, da Gama and his men arrived in Calicut, a coastal city in Southern India known today as Kozhikode. Subrahmanyam says that the Portuguese were "shocked" to find that Muslims were running the spice trade in India. "They were under the impression that there were a lot of Christians in India and that these people would be their natural allies," says Subrahmanyam. ![]() Instead, da Gama found outposts of an extensive African-Indian trade network operated largely by Arab Muslims. Again, nobody in Calicut was impressed with the paltry goods the Portuguese had brought to trade for high-end spices. The local traders and merchants made it clear that gold was the only currency that mattered.Īfter a tortuous journey home against the monsoon winds, Da Gama returned to Lisbon nearly empty-handed, but he was still greeted as a hero for reaching his destination and making it home after two years and 24,000 miles (38,600 kilometers) at sea.
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