It seemed that wherever we went during a recent visit to Portugal, we encountered a certain name. It was on streets and avenues in each town we visited, and when we came to Lisbon, the capital, there it was again on a huge bridge over the Tagus River. It was obvious to us that this person was considered to be something of a national hero. Was he a great king, an outstanding warrior, or a charismatic leader? The answer is none of the above. In this seagoing nation, Vasco da Gama is celebrated for something he accomplished in 1497.

Just five years after Columbus made his voyage, to what he thought was Asia; da Gama actually reached it. He was the first European to make the journey by sea sailing from Lisbon around Africa and across the Indian Ocean to the west coast of India. Da Gama established a direct trade route between Europe and Asia and at the same time laid the ground-work for the establishment of Portugal’s overseas colonial empire. Not bad for a poor little kingdom tucked away in the southwestern corner of Europe.

Da Gama’s successful journey was the culmination of efforts to systematically explore the West African coast, started by Prince Henry the Navigator early in the 15th century. After Prince Henry’s death in 1460 the exploration of the African coast continued until Bartholomew Diaz actually rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1488. The sailors on the Diaz expedition were exhausted and he was forced to turn back, but he knew that he had reached the southernmost limit of Africa. The way to India was open and the next expedition would probably succeed.

In 1497, nearly ten years after the voyage of Diaz, an expedition of four ships left Lisbon under the command of Vasco da Gama. He did not laboriously follow the African coast as previous expeditions had but sailed southward for 5000 miles in the open Atlantic. One hundred thirty seven days later he turned his ships toward the east and then northward along the East African coast. He reached India some 178 days after passing the Cape of Good Hope. The entire trip from Lisbon to Calicut in India took ten months and twelve days. On landing in Calicut, da Gama said “I come in search of Christians and spices”.

He didn’t find many Christians but spices, there were, in abundance. Some were produced in India and some had reached Calicut from the “Spice Islands” in what is now the Republic of Indonesia. They were brought in Muslim ships. The Portuguese of the 15th century were deadly enemies of the Islamic world. The Christians of Portugal had been ruled by Muslims; who came from North Africa, for close to 600 years. Finally, in the 13th century, Christians of Portugal at last, conquered their Muslim rulers. Their struggle was still fresh in the minds of the 15th century Portuguese explorers and sailors. An intense rivalry developed, almost immediately, between the Portuguese seamen and the Muslim traders they met in India. In spite of this, da Gama was able to return to Portugal with a cargo of great value consisting of: pepper, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

The trade in spices between the Muslim East and the Christian West was a near monopoly of the Italian city of Venice until da Gama went directly to the source. Since the crusades, which had been conducted on and off for about 400 years prior to the 14th century, the upper classes of Western Europe had developed a taste for the high priced spices of the East. Many Arab ships and caravans were involved in bringing spices from India and the Spice Islands to the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. Every time the spices changed hands along the way, the price went up. The seafaring traders of Venice served as the final link in the transportation of the goods between the Arabs and Europe. Venice grew wealthy on this trade, but now the Portuguese had become the main source of spices in Europe and they, in turn, grew rich.

It is a little difficult to understand why Europeans sought and were willing to pay so much for spices. They were not only valued for the flavors they added to the bland Medieval diet, but their sheer expense and rarity confined their use to the higher social strata. Common people lived out their lives without ever tasting a spice. To serve a highly spiced meal to guests was a form of conspicuous consumption; the more spices used, the greater the stature of the host. Gifts of spices to his guests, further elevated the status of a host. Spices were also considered to have medicinal benefits to those who consumed them, but the fact remains that they were luxury goods and their use was a mark of status and distinction.

The earnings from the spice trade paid for an active Portuguese presence in Africa and throughout South and Southeast Asia for the next century and a half. Their ships even reached China and Japan. Portuguese sailors were the first Europeans seen by many Asians. This was the glory period of Portugal’s overseas empire. Eventually, Portugal was replaced by the Dutch; but this does not alter the fact that the Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach and trade with Asia by sea.

In order to understand modern Portugal it is necessary to know that deep in the psyche of its population is a great pride in the events following the efforts of Prince Henry the Navigator and Vasco da Gama. The Portuguese see themselves as the inheritors of a great tradition of exploration and trade, which spread their influence and culture around the world.