[da Gama, Vasco] — Manoel I, King of Portugal | Portugal's Renaissance Empire of Trade

[da Gama, Vasco] — Manoel I, King of Portugal

Portugal's Renaissance Empire of Trade

Manuscript document on vellum, written in a clear court hand, signed ("El Rey") conferring a noble title to Vasco da Gama, 1 page (245 x 355 mm). Evora, 29 December 1519, with pendant wax royal seal; seal worn and detached, very minor soiling and old folds to vellum. Red morocco gilt folding case.

Manuel I grants explorer Vasco de Gama a nobility in recognition of "the great and signal service" rendered to the crown through "the discovery of the Indies." 

The present granted a hereditary title to the explorer of Count of Vidigueira, which encompassed Vidigueira and Vila de Frades, as agreed by the Duke of Braganza.

“Dom Manuel, by grace of the King of Portugal and the Algarve, Dague(r) and the Sea of Africa, Lord of Guinea and the naval conquest and trade of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia and India. To all who see this letter, we make it clear that we are giving the great and refined warrior, that Dom Vazguo da Gama, our governor of the Indies, and our great admiral, having made us aware of the discovery of Judea, of which our Lord made such a good and increasing contribution, and we hope that in the future he will bring much more honor and benefit to our Kingdoms and Lordships, as our Lord is known and known to all. By what justice do the nobles of so much merit, worthy of such memory, be remunerated with favors and honors, and by the very good will that we have for the said Admiral, and because we are pleased to grant him the favor. By this special letter we give him the title of Count of Vidrgueira and we make him Count of the same..." 

Vasco de Gama was the first European to sail from Europe to India (1497-1499), one of the great recorded feats of travel in history. Sailing a fleet of four ships from Cape Verde to South Africa was the supreme achievement of navigation of its time, far more impressive and arduous than that of Columbus. While Columbus route to the Bahamas was some 2600 miles, that of de Gama was 3800, without a the fair winds that helped Columbus and through the perilous South Atlantic. 

His reaching India on 28 May, 1498, eventually gave little Portugal largely uncontested (by European powers) access to Indian spice routes, with its lucrative trade in pepper, cinnamon, silks and gems, and established their maritime empire. Commerce for Portugal from Africa to India enriched the treasury for decades following de Gama's successful navigation of the Cape Route and in 1524 he was named Governor of India in 1524, with the title Viceroy, further recognition of his transformative achievement.

These new trade routes were not without larger consequences on the widening geopolitical stage. As Portuguese trade grew, this burgeoning European empire had to gain control of the trade that came east from China, away from the Muslim merchants who had been enriching Turkey, Egypt and as far as Venice, with their unchallenged monopoly. De Gama helped pursue upstart Portugal's aims of dominance in the Indian Ocean, breaking the rule of the Eastern merchants. The friction of East-West trade for colonial powers that dominated the modern era had its roots in the Renaissance navigations of The Count of Vidigueria, Admiral of the Seas of Arabia, Persia and India - Vasco de Gama.

Contemporary original material related to de Gama's epoch-defining journeys is scarce on the market. 

PROVENANCE:

Sotheby's New York, 2 February, 1985, lot 96 ($22,000)