We heard of Vasco da Gama in history class..so he must have something special. I have been playing with the stamps of Portugese colonies but was not really aware of the backstory. In 1497 da Gama set sail from Portugal with orders to open the sea route to India. He had four ships and about 170 sailors,not all voluntarily. He carried stone pillars to set landmarks of overlordship at many of the places he stopped for supplies. These places eventually became the stamp issuing colonies such as Lourenco Marques,Cabo Delgado,Mozambique and others. Eventually he crossed the Indian Ocean and met with the Hindu ruler of Calcutta. da Gama was an excellent navigator but luck was also needed as much of the area he travelled was not exactly friendly to "Christians". I left much out of the 26 month voyage in this thumbnail sketch.