A mystical land, spice gardens and a hushed grave – Vasco da Gama’s India story

Vasco Da Gama meeting the Zamorin of Calicut. 

A voiceless grave never screams a story. It is inert and silent; living a mute, motionless existence. The discovery of what lies beneath the tranquil tombstone is left to the endeavour of those who walk and breathe, conscious of the world around them and spectators to stories written in copious pages, pressed between the covers of dusty tomes.

On a visit to Fort Kochi, I casually rambled into a shrine out of sheer curiosity when I saw several tourist buses lined outside. Thus, fortuitously, I discovered the St. Francis Church, and with it the grave of Vasco da Gama that it houses within its pristine precincts.


St. Francis Church, Kochi | Pic Credit- Thesmi Thomas/Wikimedia Commons

Built in 1503 as one of the oldest European churches in India, it was first constructed of wood and stone, and only later refurbished into the current imposing structure. Many travellers from Portugal have this site as a must-stop on their travel itinerary, for they pay respects to their compatriot who became the first European to discover the mystical land of India.


Tombstone of Vasco da Gama | Pic Credit- Rabe!/Wikimedia Commons

Vasco da Gama was born in 1460 in Sines, Portugal, the third son of a nobleman called Estêvão da Gama. Still a teenager, Da Gama loved the sea and lusted for adventure and daunting missions. He joined the navy and gained such repute as a skilful sailor that King Manuel, the then ruler of Portugal, commissioned him with the operose task of discovering a maritime route to the East.

However, the monarch, convinced that the venture would end in a cul-de-sac, straddled Da Gama with a motley crowd of convicts and criminals as crew. 

India - the exotic land, and Da Gama’s first bewildering mission

As per Manu Pillai’s book The Ivory Throne, India was at that time perceived as a faraway enchanting land with abundant and fabled spice gardens.

“It was generally accepted with the most solemn conviction, for instance, that the Biblical Garden of Eden was located in the east and that there thrived all sort of absurdly exotic creatures like unicorns, men with dogs’ heads, and supernatural races called ‘The Apple Smellers’,” Pillai writes.

“Palaces of gold sparkled in the bright sun, while previous gems were believed to casually float about in India’s serene rivers.”

“But perhaps the most inviting of all the splendid tales was that lost somewhere in India was an ancient nation of Christians ruled by a sovereign whose name, it was confidently proclaimed, was Prester John.” John was considered an immortal emperor of many magical lands and was believed to be blessed with eternal youth.

So, in June or July 1497 when Vasco da Gama set out for India, his imagination and spirit were fired with a sense of possibilities as no European had advanced beyond Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. Da Gama captained a team of four vessels, including his flagship, the 200-ton St. Gabriel, as he left the coast of Portugal. Luck favours the brave; his courage was richly rewarded as the daunting 10-month long voyage bore fruit, and as dusk descended on May 20, 1498, the shore of India came within sight.

Information on when Vasco da Gama arrived in Kochi | Pic Credit: P K Niogi/Wikimedia Commons

According to Manu Pillai, because the mood of the natives was unknown to Vasco da Gama’s squad, he sent forth one person to assess the situation while the rest would follow after receiving a green signal from him. Humorously enough, it appears the person chosen for the task and who actually was the first European to set foot on Indian soil, was “a petty criminal from the gutters of Lisbon”.

The conjecture about the famed Christian ruler could not be further from the truth, for the land was ruled by a Hindu king, the Great Zamorin of Calicut – Manavikrama. Not only was the presumption that Indian residents were Christians incorrect, Da Gama and his team were at a complete loss as none had even heard of the religion Hinduism.

Describing Manavikrama Manu Pillai writes, “This prince was the proud lord of one of the greatest ports in the world and a cornerstone of international trade; even goods from the Far East were shipped to Calicut first before the Arabs transported them out to Persia and Europe.”

Da Gama and his men received one courtesy audience from him and were greatly impressed by the opulence of the court.  But as per local customs they were required to furnish presents to the ruler first.

“Da Gama confidently produced, 'twelve pieces of striped cloth, four scarlet hoods, six hats, four strings of coral, a case of six wash-hand basins, a case of sugar, two casks of oil, and two of honey’ for submission, only to be jeered into shame.”

With all his claims of being the envoy of King Manuel of Portugal being dismissed, Da Gama and his men were nevertheless allowed to trade like ordinary merchants in the local market, if they so desired. So while they set up shop in Calicut, there were few takers even among the locals for their impressive goods on offer. 

About the debut excursion of Da Gama, Pillai concludes, “The first European trade mission, thus, was a resounding flop as far as the Indians were concerned, and when Da Gama’s fleet departed Calicut three months later, they left behind a distinctly unflattering impression on the locals”.

Subsequent ventures and the growing influence of Portugal

Not only was the first mission a bit of a disappointment, but most sailors also died due to exertion or illness and by the time Da Gama returned only 54 of his team of 170 members survived.

Nonetheless, Vasco da Gama got a hero’s welcome on return and another mission under Pedro Álvares Cabral was immediately dispatched. This time, the ruler was not only hopeful of success in reaching India again, but he also planned to appropriate business opportunities from the Arabs who traded vigorously in Kerala. It is said Cabral's crew was ruthless and perpetuated a massacre to establish the first Portuguese trading post in India.

In 1502, Vasco da Gama was then selected once more, this time on his second expedition with some 20 ships loaded with more appropriate merchandise and men and to further establish the dominance of Portugal in India. Vasco da Gama too indulged in spilling blood and setting ablaze Muslim ports and ships to capture establishments in Calicut and Kochi, where he forged diplomatic ties with the local king.

It is said that when Da Gama returned home in February of 1503, he was disappointed for not being awarded handsomely by the Portuguese king, and so retired to settle into family life. It was only in 1519 that he was endowed for the meritorious work he had done for his country and bestowed with the title of a Count. And after the death of King Manuel, he was once again made the offer to return to India in 1524, this time as the Portuguese viceroy.

Da Gama accepted the offer and the diplomatic title and once again succeeded in reaching India. He is believed to have plunged into work and expanding the Portuguese influence in the country. However, fate never let him enjoy the full expanse of his tenure. Shortly after the completion of his third and final mission, Vasco da Gama died in Kochi and was then buried at this church that I stood in front of on one balmy afternoon 500 years later.

However, it seems, Portugal wanted to honour him in his homeland as an explorer, so his body was exhumed and sent back in 1538. There remains a controversy over whether the corpse was that of Da Gama or whether some other person’s remains were sent in his place. The reason behind not sending his body could have been that India too wanted to retain it here – both Portugal and India may have wanted the great explorer’s grave to be in their country. 


 A plaque indicating Vasco da Gama's tombstone in Kochi | Pic Credit: Drajay1976/Wikimedia Commons

For Vasco da Gama though, it may be safely conjectured that it would not have really mattered where his mortal remains rested or which country claimed the rights to his legacy. A valiant sailor with an unquenchable thirst for audacious exertions and exploration of new geographies has an unshackled spirit and roams over vast lands and mighty oceans unfettered. A man of such courage, resilience and a deep belief in a boundary-less world, in the true spirit, actually owns the whole Earth.