Vasco da Gama spent almost all his childhood in a sailorman

Vasco da Gama was born in the city of Sines in the year 1469. Estêvo da Gama, a small provincial nobleman who oversaw the stronghold of Sines on the Alentejo province's coast in southwestern Portugal, was the father of Da Gama, the third son. Vasco da Gama practically spent his whole childhood with sailors and travelers, enhancing his understanding in this area.

At the age of 18, Vasco da Gama had already enlisted as a ship's crewman tasked with guarding Portuguese ports along the African coast against piracy. At this young age, Vasco de Gama had also traveled across the Mediterranean and stopped at the Moroccan city of Tânger.

In response to French attacks on Portuguese commerce during the French civil war, King John II of Portugal dispatched Vasco da Gama to the port of Setubal, south of Lisbon, and to the Algarve, Portugal's southernmost region, in 1492. Da Gama completed this mission quickly and successfully.

Vasco da Gama was well known for his aggressive, gruff, and unyielding demeanor. He struggled with inferiority because he came from a low-income household, thus his goals were to become wealthy and famous.