Da Gama Appointed Viceroy of India
Vasco da Gama sailed for India a third and final time in 1524, at about sixty-four, having been appointed Viceroy by King John III — the first time the title was used for the Portuguese possessions in Asia. He had spent twenty years in Portugal since his second voyage, ennobled, wealthy and largely idle, and had been passed over repeatedly for the eastern command. The new king recalled him because the Estado da Índia was in trouble: the officials there were trading on their own account on a scale that was hollowing out the crown's revenue, the fortresses were badly run, and discipline had collapsed. He was sent with fourteen ships and the authority to purge it. He began before landing. Officers were dismissed on arrival, corrupt captains arrested, and he ordered that no married Portuguese woman be carried to India and that soldiers' pay be paid only for actual service. He reached Goa in September 1524 and moved to Cochin, applying the same treatment. He also acted against Portuguese who had gone into private trade with local merchants, which was the practice that had made the settlements viable and which he regarded as theft from the king. He contracted an illness — described as boils on the neck, possibly anthrax — and died at Cochin on 24 December 1524, three months into the office. His body was buried there and taken to Portugal in 1539. He now lies in the Jerónimos monastery in Lisbon, opposite Camões, who made him the subject of the national epic.
- Year: 1524 CE
