ssure of feudalism, and he concentrated the whole
power of the realm in his own hands. He took up the projects which
had been left untouched since the death of his great-uncle, Prince
Henry the Navigator. The dream of his life was to find the direct sea
route to India. To achieve this end he collected at his Court all the
learned men he could attract; he improved the methods of
shipbuilding, and began to build full-decked ships of 100 tons; he
did much to perfect the knowledge of navigation; and exploration
became his favourite hobby.

John II dismissed Columbus as a visionary, and thus left it to Spain
to acquire the fame and the profit of discovering the new world of
America. But he was diligent in making enquiries, with regard to the
East. He sent two of his equerries, Joao Peres de Covilhao and
Affonso de Paiva, overland to India, and the former of these two
travellers accompanied the {23} caravans to the East and visited the
Malabar coast. He was refused a passage from Calicut to Africa by the
jealous Muhammadan merchants, but he managed to find his way through
Arabia to Abyssinia, where he died. More important than these
overland expeditions were those which John II sent on the tracks of
Prince Henry's sailors along the African coast. One of his captains,
Diogo Cao or Cam, discovered the Congo in 1484, and in 1486
Bartholomeu Dias and Joao Infante for the first time doubled the Cape
of Good Hope and reached Algoa Bay. John II, like Prince Henry, was
fated not to see the fulfilment of his dearest hopes; but he it was
who designed the expedition which, under the command of Vasco da
Gama, reached India, and who trained the great captains and governors
who were to make illustrious with their valour the name of the
Portuguese in Asiatic seas.

It was in the month of July, 1497, that a fleet of three ships was
placed under the command of Vasco da Gama to follow the route taken
by Bartholomeu Dias and find the way to India. Vasco da Gama was the
third son of Estevao da Gama, who is said to have been the captain
nominated by John II for the command of the expedition. Other
accounts give to King Emmanuel, the successor of John II, the credit
of choosing the successful admiral. Whoever selected him made a wise
choice, for Vasco da Gama showed himself during his eventful voyage
possessed of the highest qualities of constancy and daring. The two
ships which sailed under his command, in addition to {24} his own,
were placed