On this day, 528 years ago, on July 8, 1497 (June 9, 1497 lunar calendar), the navigator Da Gama embarked on an exploratory voyage. On July 8, 1497, the Portuguese aristocratic navigator Da Gama set out from Lisbon with 4 expedition ships consisting of 170 sailors and began an exploratory voyage on the Indian route. The fleet first went to the Cape Verde Islands and then headed south straight for the South Atlantic Ocean. After 3 months, it changed course eastward and reached the Cape of Good Hope. On November 22, the fleet bypassed the Cape of Good Hope and entered Mozambique on March 2, 1498. Arrived in Malindi in April, under the guidance of the famous local Arab navigator Madjed, passed through Arabia and reached Carikut, the most famous commercial center in southern India, on May 20. In September of the following year, da Gama returned to Lisbon, where he was warmly welcomed and honored by the king. Da Gama opened up a new route from Europe to India by bypassing the southern tip of Africa. His route bypassed the Cape of Good Hope. He found the most convenient route from Europe to the southern tip of the African continent. He piloted for thirty days, sailing from Arabia to India. On May 20, 1498, about ten months after leaving Portugal, da Gama arrived at Calicut, the most important trading center in southern India. The Indian monarch of Calicut, Zamorin, initially welcomed da Gama, but he was soon disappointed because da Gama's gifts to him were all bargains. This, together with hatred of the Muslim traders who had previously controlled the Indian Ocean trade routes, prevented da Gama from reaching a trade agreement with Zamorin. But when da Gama left Calicut in August, he showed off his cargo of fine spices in front of the host monarch and some Indians. The return voyage was more difficult than the voyage. The crossing of the Arabian Sea took about three months, many of the crew died of scurvy, and two ships eventually returned safely: the first arrived in Portugal on July 10, 1499, and da Gama's own ship arrived two months later. In all, only fifty-five crew members - less than one-fifth of the crew on departure - survived the return voyage. But when da Gama returned to Lisbon, the other kings rightly recognized his two-year voyage as an earth-shattering wins. Comment: Glory of the Age of Great Voyages. Portugal also relied on these navigators to build a colonial empire that spanned half the world.