A few months ago, we took you aboard the "Santa Maria", the "Niña" and the "Pinta" with Christophe Collomb. The Genoese dreamed of opening a route to the west and exploring Asia. He will discover the shores of the New World. In this new issue of our special issue collection "The Great Explorers", on sale from this Wednesday, we meet in the wake of Vasco da Gama, another giant of the seas. Commissioned by King Manuel I to open the spice route, the sailor set sail from Lisbon on 8 July 1497 at the head of an armada of four ships and 200 men.
Head for the Indies, bypassing Africa. A ten-month maritime epic during which the Portuguese benefited from the know-how of the Kingdom's explorers, who, for nearly a century, crisscrossed the western coasts of the continent. On December 16, 1497, the expedition passed the last padrão, the granite pillar surmounted by a cross, installed by Diaz — near what is now known as the Cape of Good Hope — before plunging into the unknown...
Fabulous Journeys
The adventure begins. It marked the beginning of Portugal's conquest of an empire of the seas to the East, with the establishment of the first trading post in Asia. During these three journeys, recounted here from the inside, Vasco da Gama never ceased to consolidate this trade route that would form the basis of the colossal wealth of the modest kingdom of one million inhabitants.
These fabulous journeys are at the heart of this collection of Le Parisien-Aujourd'hui en France: to make you relive the greatest expeditions by relying on the navigators' logbooks. As close as possible to historical reality, drawing on the best sources. By separating truth from falsehood, by tracking down lies and approximations. With the help of historians and a rich iconography, the hallmark of our special issues. Welcome aboard!
On sale at all newsagents, 6.50 euros.