Vasco da gama landed at Kappad Beach near Calicut, Kerala on 14th May,1498. It was an open harbor filled with vessels of different sizes and the beach was lined with shops and warehouses. Local families of curious sight seekers, along with their children, came out to see the ships that looked quite different from those plying the Indian Ocean.
The local king Samudrin(Zamorin) of calicut lived in a palace. On his way to the palace, Vasco stopped to pray at a Hindu temple. He was under the mistaken belief that the Hindus were heretical Christians.
His landing party had assumed that Hindu temples were Christian churches, they had misconstrued the Brahmans invocation of a local deity as veneration of the Virgin Mary and they had decided the Hindu …show more content…
Nigel Cliff, Holy War:How Vasco da Gama's Epic Voyages Turned the Tide in a Centuries-Old Clash of Civilizations,2011]
In the Palace the navigator was received with traditional hospitality, including a grand procession of at least 3,000 armed Nair's. The king while seated on a green couch below a silk canopy was wearing a string of pearls and a heart shaped emerald surrounded by rubies, the insignia of royalty.The presents that Gama sent to the Zamorin as gifts were trivial, and failed to impress. However the King agreed to trade in pepper and other spices in exchange for gold and silver. Vasco returned soon to Portugal. Though he lost many man on the voyage but he succeeded in breaking the monopoly of Arabs.
Preparations now began in Portugal to send a larger fleet of thirteen ships, armed with cannons and 1200 men. The fleet arrived in 1500. The reached calicut and demanded the King to expel all Arabs and to trade exclusively with Portugal. Indians were not interested on such arrangement. While negotiations were ongoing the Portuguese captured a large ship of Arabs. They retaliated by attacking a Portuguese contingent in city. Portuguese now seized ten more ships in the harbor and burned their crew alive. Now they bombarded the city for two days and even forced the Samudrin to flee from his palace. It was a humiliation that the rulers of Calicut would never forget. Portuguese fleet returned home with loads of pepper. This was first attempt by Europeans to dominate on
The local king Samudrin(Zamorin) of calicut lived in a palace. On his way to the palace, Vasco stopped to pray at a Hindu temple. He was under the mistaken belief that the Hindus were heretical Christians.
His landing party had assumed that Hindu temples were Christian churches, they had misconstrued the Brahmans invocation of a local deity as veneration of the Virgin Mary and they had decided the Hindu …show more content…
Nigel Cliff, Holy War:How Vasco da Gama's Epic Voyages Turned the Tide in a Centuries-Old Clash of Civilizations,2011]
In the Palace the navigator was received with traditional hospitality, including a grand procession of at least 3,000 armed Nair's. The king while seated on a green couch below a silk canopy was wearing a string of pearls and a heart shaped emerald surrounded by rubies, the insignia of royalty.The presents that Gama sent to the Zamorin as gifts were trivial, and failed to impress. However the King agreed to trade in pepper and other spices in exchange for gold and silver. Vasco returned soon to Portugal. Though he lost many man on the voyage but he succeeded in breaking the monopoly of Arabs.
Preparations now began in Portugal to send a larger fleet of thirteen ships, armed with cannons and 1200 men. The fleet arrived in 1500. The reached calicut and demanded the King to expel all Arabs and to trade exclusively with Portugal. Indians were not interested on such arrangement. While negotiations were ongoing the Portuguese captured a large ship of Arabs. They retaliated by attacking a Portuguese contingent in city. Portuguese now seized ten more ships in the harbor and burned their crew alive. Now they bombarded the city for two days and even forced the Samudrin to flee from his palace. It was a humiliation that the rulers of Calicut would never forget. Portuguese fleet returned home with loads of pepper. This was first attempt by Europeans to dominate on