This is the story of men who sailed by reading the stars, played the games of politics and war better than anyone today, and dared to risk their nation’s future seeking legendary wealth halfway around the world. It also explains why, and how, the small country of Portugal became a world power out of proportion to its size.

“In the name of God, Amen. In the year 1497, did the king, Dom Manoel, first of this name in Portugal, send out to discover four ships, which went in search of spices. The Captain-General was Vasco da Gama, and of the others, in one his brother Paulo da Gama, in the other Nicolau Coelho.”

So begins the informal diary of the expedition, the only surviving account of the journey to Calicut. (...)

ISBN: 978-1-4401-6221-3