A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama.

£275 · Offered by Shapero Rare Books

The first English translation of the Roteiro or Journal made during Gama's first voyage. Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (c.1460s-1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link Europe and Asia by an ocean route, connecting the Atlantic and the Indian oceans. This was a milestone in Portuguese maritime exploration as and marked the beginning of a sea-based phase of globalization. Da Gama's discovery of the sea route to India opened the way for an age of global imperialism and enabled the Portuguese to establish a long-lasting colonial empire along the way from Africa to Asia. Traveling the ocean route allowed the Portuguese to avoid sailing across the highly disputed Mediterranean Sea and traversing the dangerous Arabian Peninsula. The sum of the distances covered in the outward and return voyages made this expedition the longest ocean voyage ever made until then. Gama's legacy was tainted by events such as the pilgrim ship incident, in which he looted and burned a ship of over 400 Muslim pilgrims, saving only twenty children who were forced to convert to Christianity. First English edition, Hakluyt Society First Series, XCIX; 8vo (22.5 x 15 cm); 8 maps, 7 of which coloured, 5 of which folding, 8 plates, in-text illustrations, errata slip, ex libris Inner Temple Library with bookplates and stamps, withdrawn stamp to title, text block tight and clean;

• Binding: Hardcover

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