Cliff captures the flavor of the era, carrying the reader along like a juggernaut. Though small in size, Portuguese ships made effective use of the latest European weaponry and maritime technologies, quicklyВ dominating the Indian Ocean. Their true goal was to divert the flow of Asian mercantile wealth directly to Lisbon. Outwardly, the Portuguese were on a вЂњLast Crusade,вЂќ declared by King Manuel, to destroy the power of the Muslims. Through accounts by eyewitnesses, Cliff brings this history alive. While ColumbusвЂ™s quest was blocked by the Americas, Gama rounded Africa and became the first European to gain direct access to the grand cities of IndiaвЂ™s west coast, where spices, silks, gems and other rare goods from farther east were gathered for shipment aboard Muslim vessels to ports in Arabia and Egypt, then conveyed to Venetians and others to Europe. Both explorers sought to break the Arab-Islamic monopoly of trade with the distant East. Mr Foss spoke with pride of his Portuguese heritage, his mother a member of the first group of Portuguese to settle in WA.вЂњWhat Columbus had promised, Gama had delivered.вЂќ So the author sums up Portuguese explorer Vasco da GamaвЂ™s discovery in 1498 of a sea route to spice-laden India. The occasion also marks the 45th anniversary of the arrival of the first Portuguese settlers to WA and celebrates the contribution the Portuguese people have made to the prosperity of the State and Fremantle area. He and his crew of 150 veteran mariners first sailed around the African continent, then crossed the Indian Ocean to land on the Malabar coast of the Indian. Mr Foss congratulated City of Fremantle staff and local artists Ed Nailor and Clair Bailey, who designed the memorial. It is four metres long and three-and-a-half metres high. The bronze medallion transported from Portugal was first hand-crafted in wood and features the face of Vasco da Gama. The memorial is designed in the shape of a wave with a map of Portugal in handmade WA ceramic tiles. As Australia's gateway to the Indian Ocean and as one of the most culturally diverse cities in our nation, it is particularly fitting that Fremantle should have such a memorial.' 'The memorial symbolises the links which bind WA to the Indian Ocean region. 'The conference recognises Vasco da Gama as a great navigator who opened Europe to new peoples and lands, much as Christopher Columbus did when he crossed the Atlantic Ocean to America,' Mr Foss said.

The unveiling of the memorial on the Esplanade Reserve at Marine Terrace, Fremantle coincides with the international Vasco da Gama Quincentenary Conference which was held in Fremantle this week, bringing together more than 50 academics from around the world.

Mr Foss said the epic voyage of Vasco da Gama opened the sea route between Western Europe and the Indian Ocean region, making it of special significance to Western Australia. For a short time in 1524 he was the Governor of Portuguese India, under the title of Viceroy.ДЄrts Minister Peter Foss today unveiled a memorial to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the voyage of Portuguese navigator, Vasco da Gama. Vasco da Gama, was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India. The monument commemorates the 500th anniversary of the voyage of explorer, Vasco da Gama (1469 - 1525), the Portuguese navigator whose voyages linked Europe with the Indian Ocean.

Vasco da gama voyages