Portugal: Vasco da Gama shown with his coat of arms. He was bestowed many titles by King Manual I after his successful voyage to India, including Admiral of the Sea and Count of Vidigueira.

Vasco da Gama (1460 or 1469 – 1524) was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery, and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India. Under the reign of King Manuel I, Portugal discovered Brazil in 1500. Meanwhile, da Gama set sail from Lisbon on July 8, 1497, with a fleet of four ships and 170 men. He sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, impersonated a Muslim in Mozambique, resorted to piracy in Kenya, and finally landed in Calicut in India on May 20, 1498. For a short time in 1524, he was Governor of Portuguese India under the title of Viceroy.

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