Little is known about his upbringing except that he was the third son of Estêvão da Gama, who was commander of the fortress in Sines in the southwestern pocket of Portugal. Early Yearsĭa Gama was born into a noble family around 1460 in Sines, Portugal. He subsequently made two other voyages to India and was appointed as Portuguese viceroy in India in 1524. His success in doing so proved to be one of the more instrumental moments in the history of navigation. In 1497, explorer Vasco da Gama was commissioned by the Portuguese king to find a maritime route to the East.
