Editing Vasco da Gama (section)

=== Return ===
Vasco da Gama left Kozhikode on 29 August 1498. Eager to set sail for home, he ignored the local knowledge of monsoon wind patterns that were still blowing onshore. The fleet initially inched north along the Indian coast, and then anchored in at [[Anjediva]] island for a spell. They finally struck out for their Indian Ocean crossing on 3 October 1498. But with the winter monsoon yet to set in, it was a harrowing journey. On the outgoing journey, sailing with the summer monsoon wind, da Gama's fleet crossed the Indian Ocean in only 23 days; now, on the return trip, sailing against the wind, it took more than 90 days.

Da Gama saw land again only on 2 January 1499, passing before the coastal [[Somali people|Somali]] city of [[Mogadishu]], then under the influence of the [[Ajuran Sultanate|Ajuran Empire]] in the [[Horn of Africa]]. The fleet did not make a stop, but passing before Mogadishu, the anonymous diarist of the expedition noted that it was a large city with houses of four or five storeys high and big palaces in its center and many mosques with cylindrical minarets.<ref>Da Gama's First Voyage p. 88.</ref>

Da Gama's fleet finally arrived in Malindi on 7 January 1499, in a terrible state – approximately half of the crew had died during the crossing, and many of the rest were afflicted with scurvy. Not having enough crewmen left standing to manage three ships, da Gama ordered the ''São Rafael'' scuttled off the East African coast, and the crew re-distributed to the remaining two ships, the ''São Gabriel'' and the ''Berrio''. While there he was also granted permission by the Sultan to set up a {{Lang|pt|[[padrão]]}} (a stone pillar). [[Vasco da Gama Pillar, Malindi|The Vasco da Gama Pillar]], as it is still known locally, seems to be the only one of the many {{Lang|pt|padrões}} set up by da Gama to survive to the present day.<ref>Eric Axelson (1981). 'Prince Henry the Navigator and the discovery of the sea route to India', ''The Geographical Journal'', 137, pp. 153–154.</ref>

After leaving Malindi, the sailing was smoother. By early March, the fleet had arrived in Mossel Bay, and crossed the Cape of Good Hope in the opposite direction on 20 March, reaching the western coast of Africa by 25 April.

The diary record of the expedition ends abruptly here. Reconstructing from other sources, it seems they continued to Cape Verde, where Nicolau Coelho's ''Berrio'' separated from Vasco da Gama's ''São Gabriel'' and sailed on by itself.<ref>Subrahmanyam, 1997, p. 149.</ref> The ''Berrio'' arrived in Lisbon on 10 July 1499 and Nicolau Coelho personally delivered the news to King Manuel I and the royal court, then assembled in [[Sintra]]. In the meantime, back in Cape Verde, da Gama's brother, Paulo da Gama, had fallen grievously ill. Da Gama elected to stay by his side on [[Santiago, Cape Verde|Santiago]] island and handed the ''São Gabriel'' over to his clerk, [[João de Sá]], to take home. The ''São Gabriel'' under Sá arrived in Lisbon sometime in late July or early August. Da Gama and his sickly brother eventually hitched a ride with a Guinea caravel returning to Portugal, but Paulo da Gama died en route. Da Gama disembarked at the [[Azores]] to bury his brother at the monastery of São Francisco in [[Angra do Heroismo]], and lingered there for a little while in mourning. He eventually took passage on an Azorean caravel and finally arrived in Lisbon on 29 August 1499 (according to Barros),<ref>João de Barros, ''Da Asia'', Dec. I, Lib. IV, c. 11, p. 370.</ref> or early September<ref name="Foundations" /> (8th or 18th, according to other sources). Despite his melancholic mood, da Gama was given a hero's welcome and showered with honors, including a triumphal procession and public festivities. King Manuel wrote two letters in which he described da Gama's first voyage, in July and August 1499, soon after the return of the ships. [[Girolamo Sernigi]] also wrote three letters describing da Gama's first voyage soon after the return of the expedition.

[[File:Map of Portuguese Carreira da India.gif|thumb|350px|Outward and return voyages of the Portuguese India Run (''Carreira da Índia''). The outward route of the South Atlantic westerlies that Bartolomeu Dias discovered in 1487, followed and explored by da Gama in the open ocean, would be developed in subsequent years.]]

The expedition had exacted a large cost – two ships and over half the men had been lost. It had also failed in its principal mission of securing a commercial treaty with Kozhikode. Nonetheless, the small quantities of spices and other trade goods brought back on the remaining two ships demonstrated the potential of great profit for future trade.<ref>Diffie & Winius, 1977, p. 185.</ref> Vasco da Gama was justly celebrated for opening a direct sea route to Asia. His path would be followed up thereafter by yearly [[Portuguese India Armadas]].

The spice trade would prove to be a major asset to the Portuguese royal treasury, and other consequences soon followed. For example, da Gama's voyage had made it clear that the east coast of Africa, the ''Contra Costa'', was essential to Portuguese interests; its ports provided fresh water, provisions, timber, and harbors for repairs, and served as a refuge where ships could wait out unfavorable weather. One significant result was the colonization of [[Portuguese Mozambique|Mozambique]] by the Portuguese Crown.