Diaz won much praise for his bravery and patience in making this voyage. He had proved that the stories about the fiery zone were false, and that the African coast had an end.
| Spanish and Portuguese Vessels. |
It remained, however, for Vasco da Gama, then a young man of about twenty years of age, to prove that India could be reached in this way.
In 1497 Da Gama sailed from Lisbon to the Cape of Good Hope, doubled the cape, and proceeded across the Indian Ocean to Hindustan.
| Costume of Explorers. |
He returned to Lisbon in 1499, his ships loaded with the rich products of the East, including cloves, spices, pepper, ginger, and nutmeg. He also brought with him rich robes of silk and satin, costly gems, and many articles made of carved ivory, or of gold and of silver.
The King of Portugal was greatly pleased with what Da Gama had accomplished, and his successful voyage was the wonder of the day.
The same year that Da Gama returned from India by a route around the south end of Africa, with his ships loaded with rich produce, Sebastian Cabot returned from a fruitless voyage to the strange, barren coast of North America.
It was no wonder that the voyages of Columbus and the Cabots were thought unsuccessful as compared with the voyage Da Gama had just finished.
No one then dreamed of a New World; all were searching for the Orient—for golden Cathay.