Vasco da Gama in India

Vasco da Gama became the first Portuguese to reach India when he landed near Calicut on May 20, 1498. Despite protests from Arab merchants, da Gama managed to secure trading rights with the Zamorin ruler, but later failed to produce the gold required to pay for custom fees. On the whole, da Gama's expedition turned out to be very profitable as the value of the cargo brought back was sixty times the cost of the expedition.