<P> Vasco da Gama , 1st Count of Vidigueira ( Portuguese pronunciation : ( ˈvaʃku ðɐ ˈɣɐmɐ ) ; c. 1460s -- 24 December 1524 ) , was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea . His initial voyage to India ( 1497 -- 1499 ) was the first to link Europe and Asia by an ocean route , connecting the Atlantic and the Indian oceans and therefore , the West and the Orient . </P>
<P> Vasco da Gama , 1st Count of Vidigueira ( Portuguese pronunciation : ( ˈvaʃku ðɐ ˈɣɐmɐ ) ; c. 1460s -- 24 December 1524 ) , was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea . His initial voyage to India ( 1497 -- 1499 ) was the first to link Europe and Asia by an ocean route , connecting the Atlantic and the Indian oceans and therefore , the West and the Orient . </P>
who led a three-year expedition around the world
who led a three-year expedition around the world
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama