Vasco de Gama was born around the time Portugal was switching its focus in charting new lands from exploration to settlement. Explorers were given stone pillars to erect in marking new territories for Portugal and Christendom. De Gama watched as Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias sailed out to attempt to find the all-important water passage to India, and found instead the Cape of Good Hope. He made sure he would lead the follow-up expedition.

On this day, December 16, in 1497, Vasco de Gama sailed around the Cape of Good hope on the southern trip of the African continent, opening up the long-sought passage to Asia.

De Gama was well versed in wind patterns and navigation, which enabled him to go further than any Portuguese sailor had ever been before. He arrived in Calicut, India and loaded up his ship with expensive garments and spices, then turned back for home, having secured his name in history as the man who found the water route to India, the territory over which he would govern, as a reward.