Who was the Portugese explorer who reached India by sailing around the Cape of Good Hope?

Who was the Portugese explorer who reached India by sailing around the Cape of Good Hope?

• A. Vasco da Gama
• B. Bartolomeu Dias
• C. Balboa
• D. Columbus

Answer: (A)

The voyage that linked Europe directly to India by sea began with the goal of finding a direct route to the spice markets, bypassing overland caravans and middlemen. The explorer who achieved this by sailing around the Cape of Good Hope and reaching India is Vasco da Gama. He left Lisbon, sailed around the southern tip of Africa, and arrived in Calicut on the Indian coast in 1498, about ten months after his departure. This voyage established a direct sea route from Europe to Asia and enabled Portugal to become a dominant power in Indian Ocean trade for years to come. Bartolomeu Dias did reach the Indian Ocean by rounding the Cape, but he did not reach India himself. Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama to reach the Pacific, not India. Columbus sailed west toward Asia but landed in the Americas.

The voyage that linked Europe directly to India by sea began with the goal of finding a direct route to the spice markets, bypassing overland caravans and middlemen. The explorer who achieved this by sailing around the Cape of Good Hope and reaching India is Vasco da Gama. He left Lisbon, sailed around the southern tip of Africa, and arrived in Calicut on the Indian coast in 1498, about ten months after his departure. This voyage established a direct sea route from Europe to Asia and enabled Portugal to become a dominant power in Indian Ocean trade for years to come.

Bartolomeu Dias did reach the Indian Ocean by rounding the Cape, but he did not reach India himself. Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama to reach the Pacific, not India. Columbus sailed west toward Asia but landed in the Americas.