In 1497, he was commissioned by the Portuguese king to find a maritime route to the East. His success in doing so proved to be one of the more important moments in the history of navigation. He subsequently made two other voyages to India, and was appointed as Portuguese viceroy in India in 1524. Ferdinand Magellan made the first voyage around the world. Christopher Columbus found the New World, born in Italy but lived in Spain and Portugal so nationality is questioned. Bartolomeu Dias was the first European to lead a 1487 voyage around the Cape of Good Hope on the Southern most tip of South Africa.

Describe the early success of Portuguese explorers like, Vasco da Gama