(_From a Contemporary Medallion in the Cloister of Belem._)] Portugal, however, notwithstanding the sad ending of her vast Eastern enterprises, is still justly proud of the achievements of her “great” Vasco da Gama, and boldly places him by the side of Magelhães and Christopher Columbus, as one of a noble triad which occupies the foremost rank among the great navigators of an Age of Great Discoveries. Vasco da Gama was born, about 1460,[1] at Sines, of which coast-town his father, Estevão, was alcaidemór. He was the youngest of three brothers. Genealogists trace back his pedigree to a valiant soldier, Alvaro Annes da Gama, who resided at Olivença in 1280, and greatly distinguished himself in the wars with the Moors. The Gamas could thus boast of gentle blood, though they neither belonged to the aristocracy of Portugal, nor were they possessed of much worldly wealth. We know next to nothing of Vasco da Gama’s youth. When King João, after the return of Bartholomeu Dias, decided to fit out an armada to complete the discovery of an ocean highway to India, he selected Vasco da Gama as its captain-major, and this choice of the King was confirmed by his successor, D. Manuel.[2] Such an appointment would not have been made had not Vasco da Gama already been known as a man of energy, capacity and competent knowledge. We ought therefore not be surprised if Garcia de Resende, in his _Chronicle of D. João II_ (c. 146), tells us that he was a man whom the King trusted, as he had already served in his fleets and in maritime affairs, and whom he had consequently charged, in 1492, with the task of seizing the French vessels lying in the ports of Algarve, in reprisal for the capture by a French pirate of a Portuguese caravel returning from S. Jorge da Mina with gold.[3] Castanheda (I, c. 2) speaks of Vasco as having done good service in the time of King João II, and as being experienced in the affairs of the sea. Mariz (_Dial._, iv, c. 14; v, c. 1) calls him a young man (_mancebo_), high-spirited and indefatigable, who had such a thorough knowledge of navigation (_arte maritima_) that he would have been able to hold his own with the most experienced pilots of Europe. We know, moreover, from Barros and Goes that he landed at S. Helena Bay with his pilots in order to determine the latitude. These extracts show, at all events, that Vasco da Gama was not a mere landsman; nor is it likely that the command of an expedition, the one object of which was discovery, and not trade or war, would have been entrusted to such an one. He was, moreover, well qualified for his post in other respects. His indomitable firmness made him shrink from no obstacle which opposed itself to the success of his expedition; and notwithstanding the unheard-of length of the voyage and the hardships endured, he retained the confidence of his men to the very last. The question whether Da Gama can fairly be ranked with Columbus and Magelhães, has frequently been discussed.