Year 1498 (MCDXCVIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1498th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 498th year of the 2nd millennium, the 98th year of the 15th century, and the 9th and pre-final year of the 1490s decade. Events January–December February – Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama reaches Malindi, in modern-day Kenya. March 2 – Vasco da Gama visits Quelimane and Mozambique, in southeastern Africa. May John Cabot leaves Bristol on an expedition, never to be seen again. The English Merchant Adventurers are granted a trade monopoly with the Netherlands. May 20 – Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama arrives at Calicut (modern-day Kozhikode), India, becoming the first European to get there by sailing around Africa, thus discovering the maritime route to India. He finds a local Arab merchant who is able to interpret for him. May 23 – Girolamo Savonarola, ruler of Florence, is executed for criticizing the Pope. June – Niccolò Machiavelli is elected by the Great Council as the second chancellor of the Republic of Florence. Summer – The final Welsh revolt of the medieval era breaks out in Meirionnydd, North Wales; Harlech Castle is captured by the rebels before the revolt is suppressed. July 31 – On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to visit the island of Trinidad. August 1 – Columbus discovers the mouth of the Orinoco. August 4–12 – Columbus explores the Gulf of Paria. September 20 – 1498 Nankai earthquake off the coast of Japan. Date unknown João Fernandes Lavrador and Pedro Barcelos journey to Greenland; during their voyage, they discover the land which they name Labrador. The Wiener Hofmusikkapelle, a forerunner of the Vienna Boys' Choir, is founded by Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor. Probable date at which Leonardo da Vinci completes the painting The Last Supper, on the refectory wall of Santa Maria delle Grazie (Milan). Barrel rifling was invented in Augsburg, Germany. Births January 31 – Tiberio Crispo, Italian clergyman (d. 1566) February 4 – George I of Württemberg-Mömpelgard (d. 1558) February 21 – Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland, English earl (d. 1549) February 25 – Francesco of Saluzzo, Marquess of Saluzzo (d. 1537) April 5 – Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, Italian condottiero (d. 1526) April 9 – Jean, Cardinal of Lorraine, French