{
    "system": "GoGuides Verified Text",
    "api_version": "verified-text-v1",
    "status": "ok",
    "response_type": "verified_text_record",
    "source_key": "britannica_1911",
    "source_title": "Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911)",
    "license_code": "public_domain",
    "attribution": null,
    "license_url": null,
    "chunk_id": "1911:gama:e2eff4e10312",
    "title": "GAMA",
    "section": null,
    "hash_alg": "sha256",
    "hash_sha256": "d6fa0a0af010a31b8788e3e6449b0c12df60496e84e03f2cc1a2631341648fc9",
    "normalizer": {
        "name": "ggnorm",
        "version": "1.0"
    },
    "verified_text": "gama, vasco da (c. 1460-1524), portuguese navigator and discoverer of the sea-route to india, was born at sines, a small seaport in the province of alemtejo. of da gama's early history little is known. his descent, according to the _nobiliario_ of antonio de lima, was derived from a noble family which is mentioned in the year 1166; but the line cannot be traced without interruption farther back than the year 1280, to one alvaro da gama, from whom was descended estevao da gama, civil governor of sines, whose third son vasco was born probably about the year 1460. in that year died prince henry the navigator, to whose intelligence and foresight must be traced back all the fame that portugal gained on the seas in the 15th and 16th centuries. explorers sent out at his instigation discovered the azores and unknown regions on the african coast, whence continually came reports of a great monarch, \"who lived east of benin, 350 leagues in the interior, and who held both temporal and spiritual dominion over all the neighbouring kings,\" a story which tallied so remarkably with the accounts of \"prester john\" which had been brought to the peninsula by abyssinian priests, that john ii. of portugal steadfastly resolved that both by sea and by land the attempt should be made to reach the country of this potentate. for this purpose pedro de covilham and affonso de payva were despatched eastward by land; while bartholomeu diaz (q.v.), in command of two vessels, was sent westward by sea (see abyssinia, 14). that there was in truth an ocean highway to the east was proved by diaz, who returned in december 1488 with the report that when sailing southward he was carried far to the east by a succession of fierce storms, past--as he discovered only on his return voyage--what he ascertained to be the southern extremity of the african continent. the condition of john's health and concerns of state, however, prevented the fitting out of the intended expedition; and it was not till nine years later, when emanuel i. had succeeded to the throne, that the preparations for this great voyage were completed--hastened, doubtless, by columbus's discovery of america in the meanwhile. for the supreme command of this expedition the king selected vasco da gama, who had in his youth fought in the wars against castile, and in his riper years gained distinction as an intrepid mariner. the fleet, consisting of four vessels specially built for this mission, sailed down the tagus on the 9th of july 1497, after prayers and confession made by the officers and crews in a small chapel on the site where now stands the church of s. maria de belem (see lisbon), afterwards built to commemorate the event. four months later the flotilla cast anchor in st helena bay, south africa, rounded the cape in safety, and in the beginning of the next year reached malindi, on the east coast of africa. thence, steering eastward, under the direction of a pilot obtained from indian merchants met with at this port, da gama arrived at calicut, on the malabar coast, on the 20th may 1498, and set up, according to the custom of his country, a marble pillar as a mark of conquest and a proof of his discovery of india. his reception by the zamorin, or hindu ruler of calicut, would have in all probability been favourable enough, had it not been for the jealousy of the mahommedan traders who, fearing for their gains, so incited the hindus against the new-comers that da gama was unable to establish a portuguese factory. having seen enough of india to assure him of its great resources, he returned to portugal in september 1499. the king received him with every mark of distinction, granted him the use of the prefix _dom_, thus elevating him to the rank of an untitled noble, and conferred on him pensions and other property. in prosecution of da gama's discoveries another fleet of thirteen ships was immediately sent out to india under pedro alvares cabral, who, in sailing too far westward, by accident discovered brazil, and on reaching his destination established a factory at calicut. the natives, again instigated by the mahommedan merchants, rose up in arms and murdered all whom cabral had left behind. to avenge this outrage a powerful armament of ten ships was fitted out at lisbon, the command of which was at first given to cabral, but was afterwards transferred to da gama, who received the title admiral of india (january 1502). a few weeks later the fleet sailed, and on reaching calicut da gama immediately bombarded the town, treating its inhabitants with a savagery too horrible to describe. from calicut he proceeded in november to cochin, \"doing all the harm he could on the way to all that he found at sea,\" and having made favourable trading terms with it and with other towns on the coast, he returned to lisbon in september 1503, with richly laden ships. he and his captains were welcomed with great rejoicings and he received additional privileges and revenues. soon after his return da gama retired to his residence in evora, possibly from pique at not obtaining so high rewards as he expected, but more probably in order to enjoy the wealth and position which he had acquired; for he was now one of the richest men in the kingdom. he had married, probably in 1500, a lady of good family, named catherina de ataide, by whom he had six sons. according to correa, he continued to advise king emanuel i. on matters connected with india and maritime policy up to 1505, and there are extant twelve documents dated 1507-1522 which prove that he continued to enjoy the royal favour. the most important of these is a grant dated december 1519 by which vasco da gama was created count of vidigueira, with the extraordinary privileges of civil and criminal jurisdiction and ecclesiastical patronage. during this time the portuguese conquests increased in the east, and were presided over by successive viceroys. the fifth of these was so unfortunate that da gama was recalled from his seclusion by emanuel's successor, john iii., and nominated viceroy of india, an honour which in april 1524 he left lisbon to assume. arriving at goa during september of the same year, he immediately set himself to correct with vigour the many abuses which had crept in under the rule of his predecessors. he was not destined, however, to prosecute far the reforms he had inaugurated, for, on the christmas-eve following his arrival, he died at cochin after a short illness, and was buried in the franciscan monastery there. in 1538 his body was conveyed to portugal and entombed in the town of vidigueira. in 1880 what were supposed on insufficient evidence to have been his remains were transferred to the church of santa maria de belem. his voyage had the immediate result of enriching portugal, and raising her to one of the foremost places among the nations of europe, and eventually the far greater one of bringing to pass the colonization of the east by opening its commerce to the western world. bibliography.--_vasco da gama's first voyage_, by dr e. ravenstein (london, hakluyt society, 1898), is a translation with notes, &c., of the anonymous _roteiro_ (journal or itinerary), written by one of vasco da gama's subordinates who sailed on board the \"s. raphael,\" which was commanded by the admiral's brother paulo da gama. this is the most important of the original authorities; five accounts of the voyage in letters contemporary with it are appended to the hakluyt society's translation. see also j. de barros, _decadas da india_ (lisbon, 1778-1788, written c. 1540); f.l. de castanheda, _historia do descobrimento da india_ (coimbra, 1551, largely based on the _roteiro_); _the three voyages of vasco da gama and his viceroyalty_, by gaspar correa (hakluyt society, 1869), chiefly valuable for the events of 1524; _the lusiads_ of camoens, the central incident in which is vasco da gama's first voyage; _calcoen_ (i.e. _calicut_), _a dutch narrative of the second voyage of vasco da gama_, written by some unknown seaman of the expedition, printed at antwerp about 1504, reprinted in facsimile, with introduction and translation, by j. ph. berjeau (london, 1874); thome lopes, narrative (1502) in vol. i. of ramusio. gamaliel ([hebrew: gamliel]). this name, which in old testament times figures only as that of a prince of the tribe of manasseh (_vide_ num. i. 10, &c.), was hereditary among the descendants of hillel. six persons bearing the name are known. 1. gamaliel i., a grandson of hillel, and like him designated ha-zaqen (the elder), by which is apparently indicated that he was numbered among the sanhedrin, the high council of jerusalem. according to the tradition of the schools of palestine gamaliel succeeded his grandfather and his father (of the latter nothing is known but his name, simeon) as _nasi_, or president of the sanhedrin. even if this tradition does not correspond with historic fact, it is at any rate certain that gamaliel took a leading position in the sanhedrin, and enjoyed the highest repute as an authority on the subject of knowledge of the law and in the interpretation of the scriptures. he was the first to whose name was prefixed the title rabban (master, teacher). it is related in the acts of the apostles (v. 34 et seq.) that his voice was uplifted in the sanhedrin in favour of the disciples of jesus who were threatened with death, and on this occasion he is designated as a pharisee and as being \"had in reputation among all the people\" ([greek: nomodidaskalos timios panti to lao]). in the mishna (_gittin_ iv. 1-3) he is spoken of as the author of certain legal ordinances affecting the welfare of the community (the expression in the original is \"_tiqqun ha-'olam_,\" i.e. improvement of the world) and regulating certain questions as to conjugal rights. in the tradition was also preserved the text of the epistles regarding the insertion of the intercalary month, which he sent to the inhabitants of galilee and the darom (i.e. southern palestine) and to the jews of the dispersion (sanhedrin 11b and elsewhere). he figures in two anecdotes as the religious adviser of the king and queen, i.e. agrippa i. and his wife cypris (pesahim 88 b). his function as a teacher is proved by the fact that the apostle paul boasts of having sat at the feet of gamaliel (acts. xxii. 3). of his teaching, beyond the saying preserved in aboth i. 16, which enjoins the duty of study and of scrupulousness in the observance of religious ordinances, only a very remarkable characterization of the different natures of the scholars remains (aboth di r. nathan, ch. xl.). his renown in later days is summed up in the words (mishna, end of sotah): \"when rabban gamaliel the elder died, regard for the torah (the study of the law) ceased, and purity and piety died.\" as gamaliel i. is the only jewish scribe whose name is mentioned in the new testament he became a subject of christian legend, and a monk of the 12th century (hermann the premonstratensian) relates how he met jews in worms studying gamaliel's commentary on the old testament, thereby most probably meaning the talmud. 2. gamaliel ii., the son of simon ben gamaliel, one of jerusalem's foremost men in the war against the romans (_vide_ josephus, _bellum jud_. iv. 3, 9, _vita_ 38), and grandson of gamaliel i. to distinguish him from the latter he is also called gamaliel of jabneh. in jabneh (jamnia), where during the siege of jerusalem the scribes of the school of hillel had taken refuge by permission of vespasian, a new centre of judaism arose under the leadership of the aged johanan ben zakkai, a school whose members inherited the authority of the sanhedrin of jerusalem. gamaliel ii. became johanan ben zakkai's successor, and rendered immense service in the strengthening and reintegration of judaism, which had been deprived of its former basis by the destruction of the temple and by the entire loss of its political autonomy. he put an end to the division which had arisen between the spiritual leaders of palestinian judaism by the separation of the scribes into the two schools called respectively after hillel and shammai, and took care to enforce his own authority as the president of the chief legal assembly of judaism with energy and often with severity. he did this, as he himself said, not for his own honour nor for that of his family, but in order that disunion should not prevail in israel. gamaliel's position was recognized by the roman government also. towards the end of domitian's reign (c. a.d. 95) he went to rome in company with the most prominent members of the school of jabneh, in order to avert a danger threatening the jews from the action of the terrible emperor. many interesting particulars have been given regarding the journey of these learned men to rome and their sojourn there. the impression made by the capital of the world upon gamaliel and his companions was an overpowering one, and they wept when they thought of jerusalem in ruins. in rome, as at home, gamaliel often had occasion to defend judaism in polemical discussions with pagans, and also with professed christians. in an anecdote regarding a suit which gamaliel was prosecuting before a christian judge, a converted jew, he appeals to the gospel and to the words of jesus in matt. v. 17 (shabbath 116 a, b). gamaliel devoted special attention to the regulation of the rite of prayer, which after the cessation of sacrificial worship had become all-important. he gave the principal prayer, consisting of eighteen benedictions, its final revision, and declared it every israelite's duty to recite it three times daily. he was on friendly terms with many who were not jews, and was so warmly devoted to his slave tabi that when the latter died he mourned for him as for a beloved member of his own family. he loved discussing the sense of single portions of the bible with other scholars, and made many fine expositions of the text. with the words of deut. xiii. 18 he associated the lesson: \"so long as thou thyself art merciful, god will also be merciful to thee.\" gamaliel died before the insurrections under trajan had brought fresh unrest into palestine. at his funeral obsequies the celebrated proselyte aquila (akylas onkelos), reviving an ancient custom, burned costly materials to the value of seventy minae. gamaliel himself had given directions that his body was to be wrapped in the simplest possible shroud. by this he wished to check the extravagance which had become associated with arrangements for the disposal of the dead, and his end was attained; for his example became the rule, and it also became the custom to commemorate him in the words of consolation addressed to the mourners (kethub. 8 b). gamaliel's son, simon, long after his father's death, and after the persecutions under hadrian, inherited his office, which thenceforward his descendants handed on from father to son. 3. gamaliel iii., son of jehuda i. the redactor of the mishna, and his successor as _nasi_ (patriarch). the redaction of the mishna was completed under him, and some of his sayings are incorporated therein (aboth ii. 2-4). one of these runs as follows: \"beware of those in power, for they permit men to approach them only for their own uses; they behave as friends when it is for their advantage, but they do not stand by a man when he is in need.\" evidently this was directed against the self-seeking of the roman government. gamaliel iii. lived during the first half of the 3rd century. 4. gamaliel iv., grandson of the above, patriarch in the latter half of the 3rd century: about him very little is known. 5. gamaliel v., son and successor of the patriarch hillel ii.: beyond his name nothing is known of him. he lived in the latter half of the 4th century. he is the patriarch gamaliel whom jerome mentions in his letter to pamachius, written in 393. 6. gamaliel vi., grandson of the above, the last of the patriarchs, died in 425. with him expired the office, which had already been robbed of its privileges by a decree of the emperors honorius and theodosius ii. (dated the 17th of october 415). gamaliel vi. was also a physician, and a celebrated remedy of his is mentioned by his contemporary marcellus (_de medicamentis_, liber 21). (w. ba.)",
    "source_url": "https://archive.org/details/EB1911WMF",
    "observed_at": "2026-02-08 18:42:54",
    "integrity": {
        "hash_check": "match",
        "hash_scope": "full_normalized_text",
        "computed_sha256": "d6fa0a0af010a31b8788e3e6449b0c12df60496e84e03f2cc1a2631341648fc9"
    },
    "machine_use": {
        "read": true,
        "cite": true,
        "decision": "verified_public_domain_text"
    },
    "goguides_data_license": "https://www.goguides.com/data-license",
    "goguides_data_license_version": "2.0",
    "documentation": {
        "white_paper_url": "https://www.goguides.com/white-paper.php",
        "pdf_url": "https://www.goguides.com/whitepapers/goguides-ai-source-clearance-white-paper.pdf"
    }
}