<Tr> <Th> Occupation </Th> <Td> Explorer, Viceroy of India </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Signature </Th> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <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> Da Gama's discovery of the sea route to India was significant and opened the way for an age of global imperialism and for the Portuguese to establish a long - lasting colonial empire in Asia . Traveling the ocean route allowed the Portuguese to avoid sailing across the highly disputed Mediterranean and traversing the dangerous Arabian Peninsula . The sum of the distances covered in the outward and return voyages made this expedition the longest ocean voyage ever made until then, far longer than a full voyage around the world by way of the Equator . </P>

Who led a three-year expedition around the world