9 h 39 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 9 h 39 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Four ships leave Lisbon for India, facing uncertain winds, unfamiliar shores, and meetings where words can fail.
A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama follows the fleet from Lisbon in 1497 to India and home again. Traditionally credited to Álvaro Velho, a soldier aboard, it records the journey day by day: winds, distances, landfalls, gifts, meetings, and deaths. The entries are plain, practical, and close to the risks.
The ships swing far into the South Atlantic, round Africa, and seek a route to the Indian spice trade. Along the way, Vasco da Gama and his men encounter African chiefs, Arab pilots, and Indian merchants. Illness, mistakes, poor winds, and the lack of a shared language make each stage uncertain.
What you’ll discover
- A soldier's close view Follow a record traditionally credited to a man who sails with the fleet.
- The bold Atlantic loop Trace the ships far from Africa's coast as they seek more favorable winds.
- Meetings across language barriers Encounter chiefs, pilots, and merchants through the limited understanding of the visiting sailors.
- Gifts at Calicut Discover how a poor gift becomes a problem at a busy spice port.
- History in daily details See a turning point in world trade through practical entries, not a flowing plot.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this book if you like sea voyages told by someone who was there, or if you are curious about the spice trade and the first meetings of Portugal, Africa and India.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Four Ships Leave Lisbon in 1497
- A Daring Crossing of the South Atlantic
- Rounding the Cape and Passing Dias
- Good People and Good Signs Ahead
- Trade Towns Welcome Strangers, Then Turn Hostile
- A Friendly King and a Pilot for India
- Calecut Welcomes the Ambassador, With Doubts
- Held on Shore While Rivals Whisper
- Spice Roads and a Warning at Anjediva
- Sickness at Sea and the Journal's Silence
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A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama
by Álvaro Velho · 1838
Four ships leave Lisbon for India, and a crewman writes down every bay, bargain and betrayal along the way.
Medium level5–10 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
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In short
What happens when four small ships sail out of Lisbon under orders not to come home until they find India? On July 8, 1497, Vasco da Gama and his men leave the Tagus with a king's blessing and no chart of the seas beyond the farthest point reached by Bartholomeu Dias.
A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 25 min4 h 15 min fast, 6 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 77,200 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1838by Álvaro Velho
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Four Ships Leave Lisbon in 1497
King Manuel of Portugal sends four vessels to find the sea road to India and its spices. Vasco da Gama commands as captain-major. His brother Paulo captains the São Raphael, and Nicolau Coelho captains the small Berrio.
The journal opens with a short prayer and a date, Saturday, July 8, 1497. The writer asks God to let the crew finish the voyage in his service. Soon a thick fog off the Saharan coast scatters the ships. Each captain sails for the Cape Verde Islands, and when the vessels find one another again the crews fire their bombards for joy.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1838
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Velho, Álvaro. A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-journal-of-the-first-voyage-of-vasco-da-gama.
Velho, Á. (2026). A journal of the first voyage of Vasco da Gama. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-journal-of-the-first-voyage-of-vasco-da-gama (Original work published 1838)
Velho, Álvaro. A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-journal-of-the-first-voyage-of-vasco-da-gama.
@book{velho2026journal,
author = {Velho, Álvaro},
title = {A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-journal-of-the-first-voyage-of-vasco-da-gama},
note = {First published 1838}
}
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What is A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama about?
It records the voyage of four Portuguese ships from Lisbon in 1497 to Calecut in India and back in 1499, day by day, with the bays, winds, trading, quarrels and illness the crew met along the way.
Who wrote the journal of Vasco da Gama's first voyage?
The manuscript names no author. The writer sailed with the crew, probably aboard the São Raphael, and tradition connects the journal with a soldier named Alvaro Velho who accompanied the fleet.
Why did the Portuguese think the people of Calecut were Christians?
They had been told to look for Christian kings and expected to find them. Temples with bells, images and priests seemed to them like churches, and they read what they saw through that hope.
The author
Álvaro Velho
Portuguese sailor and chronicler
Álvaro Velho is traditionally credited as the sailor-chronicler who accompanied Vasco da Gama and kept a firsthand journal of the expedition's pioneering voyage from Portugal to India in 1497–1499, a passage that opened the sea route between Europe and Asia.
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