Vasco da Gama

In 1998, the observation of the 500th anniversary of da Gama's arrival in India caused controversy, with some in India reluctant to celebrate an event they feel had a substantially negative impact on their history.[3]. Pitching the final inning of a combined no-hitter against the Yankees, Wagner struck out Jorge Posada and Bubba Trammell, then got Hideki Matsui to ground out to first base where Wagner, who was covering, pumped his fist as the final piece of instant baseball history was engraved at Yankee Stadium (June 11, 2003). The port of Vasco da Gama in Old Goa in India is named for him. In a ten-year career, Wagner has compiled a 34-30 record with 753 strikeouts, a 2.52 ERA, and 246 saves in 552.2 innings. Following da Gama's initial voyage, the Portugese crown realized securing outposts on the eastern coast of Africa would prove vital to maintaining their trade routes to the Far East. This and many other miscues in the Phillies organization led to the dismissal of manager Larry Bowa after a preseason full of hopefuls and expectations dissolved from the ticket window by August. The Portuguese "national epic", the Lusíadas of Luís Vaz de Camões largely concerns Vasco da Gama's voyages. He was traded to Philadelphia before the 2004 season, only to have his campaign succumb to a strain in his throwing shoulder.

Besides the first voyage itself, it was his astute mix of politics and war on the other side of the world that placed Portugal in a prominent position in the Indian Ocean trade. Then, he enjoyed his best season in 2003, when he reached career-highs in saves (44), innings pitched (86.0) and games (78), and got 105 strikeouts. As much as anyone after Henry the Navigator, da Gama was responsible for Portugal's success as an early colonizing power. In 2002, Wagner went 4-2 with a 2.52 ERA, 88 strikeouts, and 35 saves in 75 innings. Da Gama and his wife, Caterina de Ataíde, had six sons and one daughter: Francisco da Gama, Conde da Vidigueira; Estevão da Gama; Paulo da Gama; Christovão da Gama; Pedro da Silva da Gama; Alvaro de Athaide; and Isabel de Athaide da Gama. In 62.2 innings, he struck out 79 hitters.
. He was one of the leading candidates for TSN Comeback Player of the Year in the National League.

The convent of the Hieronymites in Belém was erected in honor of his voyage to India. Coming off elbow surgery, he posted a record of 2-5 with 39 saves in 41 chances, and an ERA of 2.73. Francis Church, Fort Kochi, Kochi, India, then later his remains were returned to Portugal in 1539 and re-interred in Vidigueira in a splendid tomb. He would rebound in 2001. His body was first buried at St. He finished with 2-4 record, a 6.18 ERA, and six saves in 15 opportunities, striking out 28 and walking 18 in 27.2 innings. The intention was that he was to replace the incompetent Eduardo de Menezes as viceroy of the Portuguese possessions, but he died not long after arriving in Calicut. Wagner would continue to struggle before going on the disabled with a torn flexor tendon in his pitching arm and would miss the final three and a half months of the season.

Having acquired a fearsome reputation as a "fixer" of problems that arose in India, he was sent to the subcontinent once more in 1524. While he was still hitting 100-MPH on the radar gun, he wasn't throwing his 85-90 MPH slider as much as he used to. He was also awarded the feudal rights and jurisdiction over Vidigueira and Villa dos Frades. But after recording a save on May 4 against the Cubs, he suffered back-to-back blown saves on May 12-13 versus the Reds. Returning to Portugal, he was made Count of Vidigueira out of lands that had previously belonged to the future royal Bragança family. The 2000 season started off in typical fashion for Wagner, who saved three of the Astros' first four wins while retiring 16 of the first 20 batters he faced. In return for peace, he received valuable trade concessions and a vast quantity of plunder that put him in extremely good favor with the Portuguese crown. Wagner posted a 4-1 record with an ERA of 1.57, and actually had more saves than hits allowed (in 74.2 innings, he allowed 35 hits).

Da Gama assaulted and exacted tribute from the East African Arabian port of Kilwa, which had been one of those involved with frustrating the Portuguese; he played privateer amongst Arab merchant ships; and then finally smashed a Calicut fleet of twenty-nine ships and essentially conquered that port city. He saved 39 games and struck out 124 in only 74 innings (15 SO/9), establishing a new major league record for strikeouts in at least 50 innings, including the side 15 times. It took four days for the ship to sink, killing all men, women, and children.[2]. Wagner had an outstanding 1999 season, in which he captured the Relief Man of the Year Award in the National League. In one instance, da Gama waited for a ship to return from Mecca, and seized all the merchandise; they then locked the 380 passengers in the hold and set the ship on fire. After working three games, he was recalled on August 6 and remained healthy for the rest of the season. Pedro Álvares Cabral had been sent out two years earlier (on which voyage he incidentally discovered Brazil, though some claim this it was intentional) and found that those at the trading post had been murdered, encountered further resistance and bombarded Calicut. Wagner worked on balanced and coordination exercises before being cleared by doctors to go a rehab assignment in the minors.

On February 12, 1502 da Gama sailed again with a fleet of twenty warships to enforce Portuguese interests. The next day, he returned to Houston and was placed on the 15-day disabled list. Da Gama's voyage had made it clear that the farther coast of Africa, the Contra Costa, was essential to Portuguese interests: its ports provided fresh water and provisions, timber and harbors for repairs and to wait out unfavorable seasons. He was removed from the field on a stretcher after suffering a concussion and spent the night at a Phoenix hospital. He also was awarded the title Dom (count) by Manuel I. Wagner was alert and conscious on the ground as his vital signs remained good. He was given the title "Admiral of the Indian Ocean" and the feudal rights over Sines were confirmed. On July 15, while trying to hold on to a 8-7 lead against Arizona, he was struck on the left side of his head behind the ear by a line drive off the bat of Kelly Stinnett.

Paulo da Gama died in the Azores on the homeward voyage, but upon Vasco da Gama's return to Portugal in September 1499 he was richly rewarded as the man who had brought to fruition a plan that had taken eighty years. He converted 19 consecutive save opportunities between his first blown save against the Dodgers (April 12) and his second facing the Cardinals (July 11). Da Gama kept his goods, but left behind a few Portuguese with orders to start a trading post. In 1998, Wagner posted a 4-3 record with a 2.70 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 60 innings, and saved 30 games, which was the third best single season in club history. Eventually da Gama was able to gain an ambiguous letter of concession for trading rights, but had to sail off without warning after the Zamorin insisted on his leaving behind all his goods as collateral. He struck out the side 13 times, and his 106 strikeouts also set a club record for relievers. Sometimes violent negotiations with the local ruler (the Samoothiri Raja, usually anglicized as Zamorin) ensued in the teeth of resistance from Arab merchants. He converted 23 of 29 save opportunities while striking out 106 hitters in only 66.1 innings, which established a major league record for SO/9 at 14.4, breaking the old mark of 14.1 set by former Reds closer Rob Dibble in 1992 (110 SO in 70.1 innings).

They arrived on May 20, 1498. In 1997 Wagner played his first full season in the majors. They contracted the services of Ibn Majid, a Gujarati pilot whose knowledge of the monsoon winds allowed him to bring the expedition the rest of the way to Calicut (modern Kozhikode) on the southwest coast of India. Opponents hit only .165 against him. Da Gama continuted north, landing at the more friendly port of Malindi, whose leaders were in conflict with those of Mombasa, and there the expedition first noted evidence of Hindu traders. He finished the year with nine saves in 13 opportunities, allowed only 28 hits and struck out 67 hitters in 51.2 innings (11.7 SO/9). The Portugese became the first known Europeans to visit the port of Mombasa but met with hostility and soon departed. His contract was purchased by the Astros on June 2, and Wagner was immediately converted to a reliever.

In the vicinity of modern Kenya, the expedition resorted to piracy, looting Arab merchant ships, generally unarmed trading vessels that lacked heavy cannon. He posted a 6-2 record with a 3.28 ERA in twelve starts for Triple-A Tucson. Forced to leave Mozambique by a hostile crowd, da Gama departed the harbor, firing his cannon into the city in retaliation.[1]. Wagner began 1996 in the minors as a starter and finished it by becoming a major league closer. With the paltry trade goods he had to offer, da Gama was unable to provide a suitable gift to the ruler, and soon the local populace began to see through the subterfuge of da Gama and his men. It was his only appearance in this season. Fearing that the local population would be hostile to Christians, da Gama impersonated a Muslim and gained an audience with the Sultan of Mozambique. He made his major league debut on September 12, 1995, retiring the only batter he faced in a 10-5 defeat against the Mets.

By January they had reached modern-day Mozambique, Arab-controlled territory on the East African coast that was part of the Indian Ocean's network of trade. Wagner was taken in the first round of the June 1993 MLB draft by the Houston Astros and was used exclusively as a starting pitcher in the minor leagues. With Christmas pending, they gave the coast they were passing the name Natal (Christmas in Portuguese), which it retains to this day. Wagner was inducted into the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall Of Fame in Salem, Virginia, in February of 2003. By December 16 they had passed the White River where Diaz had turned back and continued on into waters unknown to Europeans. Wagner attended Ferrum College and went 17-3 there, while setting single season NCAA records for strikeouts per nine innings (19.1 in 1992) and fewest hits per nine innings allowed (1.58 in 1992), and holds the Division III mark for career strikeouts (327 in 182.1 innings pitched). Its ships were:. As a youth, he was a natural right-handed pitcher, but after breaking his throwing arm twice, he taught himself how to use his left arm by throwing nothing but fastballs against a barn wall.

On July 8, 1497 the fleet, consisting of four ships, left Lisbon. Wagner is a highly regarded closer in the fact that he routinely throws triple digit fastballs which is rather unusual for his 5'11", 195 lb frame. Vasco was then given the job by Manuel I on the strength of his record protecting Portuguese trading stations along the Gold Coast from depredations by the French. He bats and throws left-handed. The task of completing a journey from Portugal to India around the Cape was originally given to Da Gama's father, Estevão da Gama, Alcaide of Sines, but he died before he could begin. Previously, Wagner played with the Houston Astros (1995-2003). It remained for an explorer to link the findings of Dias with those of da Covilhã and de Paiva, connecting these separate segments of a potentially lucrative trade route into the Indian Ocean. William Edward (Billy) Wagner (born July 25, 1971 in Tannersville, Virginia) is an American Major League Baseball closer for the Philadelphia Phillies (2004-present).

Concurrent land exploration during the reign of João II of Portugal, who send Pêro da Covilhã and Afonso de Paiva via Barcelona, Naples, and Rhodes, into Alexandria and from there Aden, Hormuz, and to India, supported the theory that India was reachable by sea from the Atlantic Ocean. Led league in games finished (2003). Bartolomeu Dias had returned from rounding the Cape of Good Hope and exploring as far as the Fish River (Rio do Infante) in modern-day South Africa, and verified that the unknown coast stretched away to the northeast. Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award (1999). By the time da Gama was 10 years old these long-term plans were coming to fruition. 4-time All-Star (1999, 2001, 2003, 2005). From the 1460s, the goal had become one of rounding that continent's southern extremity and gaining easier access to the riches of India (mainly black pepper and other spices) through a reliable sea route instead of the costly and unsafe overland route.

From the early 15th century, the nautical school of Henry the Navigator had been extending Portuguese knowledge of the coast of Africa. His father died in July 1497 and command of the ship was given to Vasco. Vasco's career began after his father was chosen to lead an expedition to the open sea routes in Asia to outflank Muslims who at the time had a monopoly on the trade with India and other eastern nations. However he would transfer to the Order of Christ in 1507 which was under the governership of King Manuel I.

James along with some of his brothers. By 1488 it is believed that Vasco was admitted into the order of St. Vasco's mother was of English origins, and had links to the household of Dom Diogo, the Duke of Viseu (son of King Edward I) and governor of the military Order of Christ. James.

His father was the governor of Sines and a member of the Household of Prince Dom Fernando, a master of the Order of St. Da Gama was born in 1469 at Sines into a noble family. . Nevertheless, da Gama's initial journey led directly to a several-hundred year era of European domination of sea power and commerce, and 450 years of Portugese colonialism in India, while bringing wealth and power to the Portugese throne.

Da Gama's voyage, while successful in establishing a sea route from Europe to India that would permit trade with the Far East without the use of costly and unsafe Silk Road caravan routes dominated by Muslims in the Middle East and Asia, was hampered by a failure to bring any trade goods of interest to the nations of Asia Minor and India, and was fraught with peril: only fifty-four of his 170 voyagers, and two of four ships, returned to Portugal in 1499. Commissioned by King Manuel I of Portugal to find Christian lands in the East (the King, like many Europeans, being under the impression that India was the legendary Christian Kingdom of Prester John), and to gain Portugese access to the commercial markets of the Orient, da Gama extended the sea route exploration of his predecessor Bartolomeu Dias, who had first rounded Africa's Cape of Good Hope in 1487, culminating a generation of Portugese sea exploration fostered by the nautical school of Henry the Navigator. 1469 at Sines, Alentejo, Portugal - December 24, 1524 in Cochin, India) was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the European Age of Discovery, and the first person to sail directly from Europe to India. Vasco da Gama (c.

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Please help improve it to featured article standard. da Gama web tutorial with animated maps. English translation of da Gamas Round Africa to India. DuPont.

ISBN 0465037186 — The history of the explosive that changed the world from Vasco da Gama to E.I. Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, & Pyrotechnics. Kelly, Jack (2004). A storage ship of unknown name.

The caravel Berrio, slightly smaller than the former two. The São Rafael, whose commander was his brother Paulo da Gama; similar dimensions to the São Gabriel. The São Gabriel, commanded by Vasco da Gama; a carrack of 178 tons, length 27 meters, width 8.5 meters, draft 2.3 meters, sails of 372 m², 150 crew.