123-615: Algoa Bay is a maritime bay in the Eastern Cape , South Africa . It is located on the east coast, 683 kilometres (424 mi) east of the Cape of Good Hope . Algoa Bay is bounded in the west by Cape Recife and in the east by Cape Padrone. The bay is up to 436 m (1,430 ft) deep. The harbour city of Gqeberha is situated adjacent to the bay, as is the Port of Ngqura deep-water port facility. The Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias
246-665: A "systemic failure in Eastern Cape education". The province is served by big medical centres such as Cecilia Makiwane Hospital which is a large, government-funded hospital near the city of East London that also serves as a tertiary teaching hospital. Frere Hospital is another large, provincial government-funded hospital near East London which also serves as a tertiary teaching hospital. These hospitals offer many specialty departments such as an ARV clinic for HIV/AIDS in adults and children. Both hospitals are affiliated with Lilitha Nursing College and Walter Sisulu University. While
369-589: A 300 m (980 ft) maritime zone around each island became South Africa’s island marine reserve in 1981 and were administered as part of the then-Woody Cape Nature Reserve. Up to then, the islands had fallen under the control of the Guano Islands section of the Division of Sea Fisheries. The Eastern Cape Nature Conservation service, which subsequently became the Directorate of Nature Conservation of
492-593: A carpenter, was able to make a boat for them. The survivors subsisted primarily on fish, birds and eggs until they were able to reach land. The ship was carrying a significant quantity of gold and silver, some of which was illegally salvaged in more recent times. Bird Island was named by the survivors as they left the island in their boat. Bird Island ( 33°50′26″S 26°17′10″E / 33.84056°S 26.28611°E / -33.84056; 26.28611 ( Bird Island ) ), Seal Island and Stag Island lie in close proximity some 40 km (25 mi) east of
615-515: A cask of honey – were trivial, and failed to impress. While the Zamorin's officials wondered at why there was no gold or silver, the Muslim merchants who considered da Gama their rival suggested that the latter was only an ordinary pirate and not a royal ambassador. Vasco da Gama's request for permission to leave a factor behind him in charge of the merchandise he could not sell was turned down by
738-417: A choice of both indigenous and imported talent. Every year for eleven days the town's population almost doubles, as over 50,000 people flock to the region for a feast of arts, crafts, music and entertainment. Jeffreys Bay is an area with wild coastline, which is backed by sub-tropical rainforest. The waters here are noted for having good waves for surfing. Aliwal North , lying on an agricultural plateau on
861-558: A commercial monopoly of these commodities for several decades. It was not until a century later that other European powers were able to challenge Portugal's monopoly and naval supremacy in the Cape Route . Da Gama led two of the Portuguese India Armadas , the first and the fourth. The latter was the largest and departed for India three years after his return from the first one. For his contributions, in 1524 da Gama
984-460: A deep water port will include a heavy-industry complex. Mooted occupants include an aluminium smelter and an oil refinery . They see the development as posing, according to BirdLife: a huge threat to the seabirds of the St. Croix group. The development would result in increased pollution and shipping activity, which would affect all breeding seabirds negatively. The NGO notes that the population of
1107-543: A forced conversion to Christianity. After stopping at Cannanore, Gama drove his fleet before Kozhikode, demanding redress for the treatment of Cabral. Having known of the fate of the pilgrims' ship, the Zamorin adopted a conciliatory attitude towards the Portuguese and expressed willingness to sign a new treaty, but da Gama made a call to the Hindu king to expel all Muslims from Kozhikode before beginning negotiations, which
1230-452: A hereditary fief (the town his father, Estêvão, had once held as a comenda ). This turned out to be a complicated affair, for Sines still belonged to the Order of Santiago. The master of the Order, Jorge de Lencastre , might have endorsed the reward – after all, da Gama was a Santiago knight, one of their own, and a close associate of Lencastre himself. But the fact that Sines was awarded by
1353-405: A lack of teachers leading to overcrowding; a lack of textbooks; a lack of basic facilities like toilets, electricity or water; and poor transport infrastructure which regularly absents and endangers learners. The problem is particularly acute in the former Transkei . By 2011, basic education had so deteriorated that the national Department of Basic Education intervened under section 100(1)(b) of
SECTION 10
#17327729827461476-575: A little while in mourning. He eventually took passage on an Azorean caravel and finally arrived in Lisbon on 29 August 1499 (according to Barros), or early September (8th or 18th, according to other sources). Despite his melancholic mood, da Gama was given a hero's welcome and showered with honors, including a triumphal procession and public festivities. King Manuel wrote two letters in which he described da Gama's first voyage, in July and August 1499, soon after
1599-536: A new order in Portuguese India, replacing all the old officials with his own appointments. But da Gama contracted malaria not long after arriving and died in the city of Cochin on Christmas Eve in 1524, three months after his arrival. As per royal instructions, da Gama was succeeded as governor of India by one of the captains who had come with him, Henrique de Menezes (no relation to Duarte). Da Gama's sons Estêvão and Paulo immediately lost their posts and joined
1722-499: A quiet life, unwelcome in the royal court and sidelined from Indian affairs. His attempts to return to the favor of Manuel I, including switching over to the Order of Christ in 1507, yielded little. Almeida, the larger-than-life Afonso de Albuquerque and, later on, Albergaria and Sequeira , were the king's preferred point men for India. After Ferdinand Magellan defected to the Crown of Castile in 1518, Vasco da Gama threatened to do
1845-571: A small squadron of caravels under the command of his uncle, Vicente Sodré, to patrol the Indian coast, to continue harassing Kozhikode shipping, and to protect the Portuguese factories at Cochin and Cannanore from the Zamorin's inevitable reprisals. Vasco da Gama arrived back in Portugal in September 1503, effectively having failed in his mission to bring the Zamorin to submission. This failure, and
1968-410: A standstill. The Zamorin ventured to dispatch a fleet of strong warships to challenge da Gama's armada, but which Gama managed to defeat in a naval battle before Kozhikode harbor. Da Gama loaded up with spices at Cochin and Cannanore , small nearby kingdoms at war with the Zamorin, whose alliances had been secured by prior Portuguese fleets. The 4th armada left India in early 1503. Da Gama left behind
2091-508: A substantial hereditary royal pension of 300,000 reis . He was awarded the noble title of Dom (lord) in perpetuity for himself, his siblings and their descendants. On 30 January 1502, da Gama was awarded the title of Almirante dos mares de Arabia, Persia, India e de todo o Oriente ("Admiral of the Seas of Arabia, Persia, India and all the Orient") – an overwrought title reminiscent of
2214-530: A task that da Gama rapidly and effectively performed. From the earlier part of the 15th century, Portuguese expeditions organized by Prince Henry the Navigator had been reaching down the African coastline, principally in search of West African riches (notably, gold and slaves). They had greatly extended Portuguese maritime knowledge but had little profit to show for the effort. After Henry's death in 1460,
2337-629: A terrible state – approximately half of the crew had died during the crossing, and many of the rest were afflicted with scurvy. Not having enough crewmen left standing to manage three ships, da Gama ordered the São Rafael scuttled off the East African coast, and the crew re-distributed to the remaining two ships, the São Gabriel and the Berrio . While there he was also granted permission by
2460-512: A well-connected family of English descent. Her father and her brothers, Vicente Sodré and Brás Sodré, had links to the household of Infante Diogo, Duke of Viseu , and were prominent figures in the military Order of Christ . Vasco da Gama was the third of five sons of Estêvão da Gama and Isabel Sodré – in (probable) order of age: Paulo da Gama , João Sodré, Vasco da Gama, Pedro da Gama and Aires da Gama. Vasco also had one known sister, Teresa da Gama, who married Lopo Mendes de Vasconcelos. Little
2583-532: Is also known for its traditional Xhosa initiation schools, which perform coming-of-age ceremonies known as ulwaluko which involve circumcision. These ceremonies have been linked to numerous complications such as coma, illness and death. There have been numerous reports in South African newspapers investigating the poor practices which lead to the death of young men and boys during initiation rituals. In one case, an 18-year-old teenager named Yongama Boya
SECTION 20
#17327729827462706-746: Is based in Bhisho , the provincial capital. The Eastern Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa is situated in Makhanda (Grahamstown), with local seats in Gqhebera (Port Elizabeth), East London, and Bhisho. Like South Africa's other provinces, the Eastern Cape has a parliamentary system of government, with the premier of the province elected by the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature . The premier then selects
2829-471: Is due to a number of conditions such as lack of healthcare resources, lack of means to access healthcare resources, high unemployment, and poverty. Illiteracy is also a problem in rural communities, which further limits positive health outcomes. HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis are also ongoing issues in the region. In 2017, the Eastern Cape had a TB incidence of 839/100,000 people, which was higher than South Africa's estimated prevalence of 737/100,000. Additionally,
2952-478: Is highly varied. The west is dry with sparse rain during winter or summer, with frosty winters and hot summers. The area Tsitsikamma to Grahamstown receives more precipitation, which is also relatively evenly distributed and temperatures are mild. Further east, rainfall becomes more plentiful and humidity increases, becoming more subtropical along the coast with summer rainfall. The interior can become very cold in winter, with heavy snowfalls occasionally occurring in
3075-435: Is known of da Gama's early life. Teixeira de Aragão suggests that he studied at the inland town of Évora , which is where he may have learned mathematics and navigation. Da Gama's near-contemporary Gaspar Correia and others have claimed that he studied under Abraham Zacuto , an astrologer and astronomer, but da Gama's biographer Sanjay Subrahmanyam thinks this dubious. Around 1480, da Gama followed his father (rather than
3198-521: Is largely arid Karoo , while the east is well-watered and green. The Eastern Cape offers a wide array of attractions, including 800 kilometres (500 mi) of untouched and pristine coastline along with beaches, and big-five game viewing in a malaria -free environment. The Addo Elephant National Park , situated 73 kilometres (45 mi) from Port Elizabeth , was proclaimed in 1931. Its 743 square kilometres (287 sq mi) offers sanctuary to 170 elephants, 400 Cape buffalo and 21 black rhino of
3321-408: Is not known for certain how many people were in each ship's crew but approximately 55 returned, and two ships were lost. Two of the vessels were carracks , newly built for the voyage; the others were a caravel and a supply boat. The four ships were: The expedition set sail from Lisbon on 8 July 1497. It followed the route pioneered by earlier explorers along the coast of Africa via Tenerife and
3444-595: Is one of only six breeding sites in the world for the Cape gannet ( Morus capensis ). “Larus dominicanus (the Kelp Gull ) and Haematopus moquini (the African Oystercatcher ) are found throughout the Algoa Bay complex. The island group is also known to hold large numbers of Sterna vittata ( Antarctic Tern ), which in winter roost on the island in their thousands (regularly holding between 10% and 20% of
3567-465: Is one of the nine provinces of South Africa . Its capital is Bhisho , and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also known for being home to many anti-apartheid activists, including Nelson Mandela . The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km ) after the Northern Cape , it
3690-464: Is slowly giving way to game farming on large scale. Eco-tourism is resulting in economic benefits, and there is lower risk needed to protect wild, native game against drought, and the natural elements. Habitat loss and poaching pose the greatest problems. The area around Stutterheim is being cultivated extensively with timber plantations. The basis of the province's fishing industry is squid , some recreational and commercial fishing for line fish,
3813-435: Is the largest of the Algoa Bay islands – according to BirdLife . It is relatively flat and rises to 9 m (30 ft). Seal Island is 0.6 hectares (1.5 acres) in size and lies 360 m (1,180 ft) north of Bird Island. Stag Island is even smaller at 0.1 hectares (0.25 acres) and is 320 m (1,050 ft) north-west of Bird Island. "Much of the island group is covered by sparse growth of mixed vegetation dominated by
Algoa Bay - Misplaced Pages Continue
3936-461: Is the second largest party and forms the official opposition . The results of the most recent provincial election in 2024 are as follows: The Eastern Cape Department of Education has been criticised for poor primary and secondary education resulting from dysfunction, special interests, and issues with the South Africa teachers union, SADTU . The province struggles with a lack of schools;
4059-441: The 2022 census , the Eastern Cape had a population of 7,230,204, an increase of 10.2% from the prior census in 2011 . It is the fourth-most populous of South Africa's nine provinces. The median age is 27, an increase of 5 years from 2011. In the 2022 census, 85.7% of the population described themselves as Black African , 7.6% as Coloured , 5.6% as White and 0.5% as Indian/Asian . A large majority of Black African people in
4182-746: The Cape Colony (1806) and encouraged British citizens to migrate there as a means to boost the British population in the area. From the early 1800s until the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, the Eastern Cape saw colonisation by British migrants . English settlers established most of the towns, naming them either for places in England or for the original founders. British colonisation saw schools, churches, hospitals, town centres and government buildings built to speed up development. Some of
4305-587: The Cape Verde Islands. After reaching the coast of present-day Sierra Leone , da Gama took a course south into the open ocean, crossing the equator and seeking the South Atlantic westerlies that Bartolomeu Dias had discovered in 1487. This course proved successful and on 4 November 1497, the expedition made landfall on the African coast. For over three months the ships had sailed more than 10,000 kilometres (6,000 mi) of open ocean, by far
4428-655: The Constitution of South Africa , taking control of the province's educational administration. The Eastern Cape has since been the worst-performing province educationally and especially in terms of matriculation ; matriculants' results averaged 51% in 2009, 58.3% in 2011, 64.9% in 2013, 65.4% in 2014, and 56.8% in 2015. In the 2015/2016 financial year, the province failed to spend R 530 million of its allocated R 1.5 billion budget for education, most of it intended for infrastructure development. Equal Education 's 2017 report, Planning to Fail, found
4551-635: The Eastern Cape Province, managed the islands after April 1992 according to BirdLife. The Woody Cape reserve was subsequently incorporated into the Addo National Elephant Park, which boasts that it is home to Africa’s “big seven” – the elephant, lion, leopard, rhinoceros, buffalo and the whale and great white shark that inhabit the bay. Conservationists are wary of the Ngqura development which in time, in addition to
4674-464: The KwaZulu-Natal border – a region known previously as Transkei – is lush grassland on rolling hills, punctuated by deep gorges with intermittent forest. Eastern Cape has a coast on its east which lines southward, creating shores leading to the south Indian Ocean. In the northeast, it borders the following districts of Lesotho : Domestically, it borders the following provinces: Climate
4797-523: The São Gabriel over to his clerk, João de Sá , to take home. The São Gabriel under Sá arrived in Lisbon sometime in late July or early August. Da Gama and his sickly brother eventually hitched a ride with a Guinea caravel returning to Portugal, but Paulo da Gama died en route. Da Gama disembarked at the Azores to bury his brother at the monastery of São Francisco in Angra do Heroismo , and lingered there for
4920-448: The 1460s as a knight of the household of Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu . He rose in the ranks of the military Order of Santiago . Estêvão da Gama was appointed alcaide-mór (civil governor) of Sines in the 1460s, a post he held until 1478; after that he continued as a receiver of taxes and holder of the Order's commendas in the region. Estêvão da Gama married Isabel Sodré, a daughter of João Sodré (also known as João de Resende), scion of
5043-516: The African charter to him. Upon becoming king in 1481, John II of Portugal set out on many long reforms. To break the monarch's dependence on the feudal nobility, John II needed to build up the royal treasury; he considered royal commerce to be the key to achieving that. Under John II's watch, the gold and slave trade in West Africa was greatly expanded. He was eager to break into the highly profitable spice trade between Europe and Asia, which
Algoa Bay - Misplaced Pages Continue
5166-592: The African penguin in the bay has been increasing steadily during the last century. “There are only a few growing colonies in the world, and it is thought that these birds may be relocating here from colonies that are in decline in the Western Cape or farther afield. Certain factors are known to affect seabirds throughout their ranges. Competition with commercial fisheries, especially purse-seining for surface-shoaling fish such as anchovy (Engraulis capensis) and pilchard ( Sardinops sagax ), has been implicated as one of
5289-559: The Coega IDZ near Port Elizabeth. Coega is the largest infrastructure development in post- apartheid South Africa. The construction of the deepwater Port of Ngqura was completed and the first commercial ship anchored in October 2009. Other sectors include finance, real estate, business services, wholesale and retail trade, eco-tourism (nature reserves and game ranches) and hotels and restaurants. The Eastern Cape provincial government
5412-447: The Eastern Cape has a high overall HIV prevalence rate (25.2%) as of 2017. In 2018, HIV/AIDS was the second leading underlying natural cause of death in the Eastern Cape with a 5.9% prevalence rate. Since 2017, there has been an increase in the level of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which disproportionately affects poorer communities. Furthermore, obesity and undiagnosed hypertension are major concerns in rural areas. The Eastern Cape
5535-412: The Eastern Cape has many hospitals and private clinics, the province has some of the worst health outcomes and service indicators in South Africa. Some of this can be attributed to staff shortages, with a report indicating that 67% of the 27 monitored facilities have insufficient staff. Rural residents in the Eastern Cape face worse health outcomes than those who reside in the larger towns or cities. This
5658-542: The Indian coast, and then anchored in at Anjediva island for a spell. They finally struck out for their Indian Ocean crossing on 3 October 1498. But with the winter monsoon yet to set in, it was a harrowing journey. On the outgoing journey, sailing with the summer monsoon wind, da Gama's fleet crossed the Indian Ocean in only 23 days; now, on the return trip, sailing against the wind, it took more than 90 days. Da Gama saw land again only on 2 January 1499, passing before
5781-541: The Karoo there is widespread sheep farming. The Alexandria-Makhanda area produces pineapples, chicory and dairy products, while coffee and tea are cultivated at Magwa. People in the former Transkei region are dependent on cattle, maize and sorghum-farming. An olive nursery has been developed in collaboration with the University of Fort Hare to form a nucleus of olive production in the Eastern Cape. Domestic stock farming
5904-513: The King, who insisted that da Gama pay customs duty – preferably in gold – like any other trader, which strained the relation between the two. Annoyed by this, da Gama carried a few Nairs and sixteen fishermen ( mukkuva ) off with him by force. Vasco da Gama left Kozhikode on 29 August 1498. Eager to set sail for home, he ignored the local knowledge of monsoon wind patterns that were still blowing onshore. The fleet initially inched north along
6027-538: The Ngqurha breakwater and Brenton Island on the seaward side. The second group consists of Bird, Seal and Stag Islands. All six islands and their adjacent waters are declared nature reserves and form part of the Addo Elephant National Park . The islands are closed to the public. Worthy of mention as an obstacle to navigation is Despatch Rock, 2.4 km ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 mi) due east of
6150-483: The Port Elizabeth suburb of Summerstrand . The rock, which is submerged at high tide, is marked with a light. Further south, about 1 km ( 5 ⁄ 8 mi) southwest of Cape Recife, the western starting point of the bay is Thunderbolt Reef. Though not in the bay, this hazard to navigation has claimed many ships carelessly entering or leaving. Thunderbolt Reef is submerged save for spring low tides and
6273-612: The Portuguese Crown showed little interest in continuing this effort and, in 1469, licensed the neglected African enterprise to a private Lisbon merchant consortium led by Fernão Gomes . Within a few years, Gomes' captains expanded Portuguese knowledge across the Gulf of Guinea , doing business in gold dust, melegueta pepper , ivory and sub-Saharan slaves . When Gomes' charter came up for renewal in 1474, Prince John (the future John II), asked his father Afonso V of Portugal to pass
SECTION 50
#17327729827466396-526: The Sodrés) and joined the Order of Santiago. The master of Santiago was Prince John, who ascended to the throne in 1481 as King John II of Portugal . John II doted on the Order, and the da Gamas' prospects rose accordingly. In 1492, John II dispatched da Gama on a mission to the port of Setúbal and to the Algarve to seize French ships in retaliation for peacetime depredations against Portuguese shipping –
6519-476: The St Croix group or 53 km (33 mi) due east of Port Elizabeth and 7 km (4.3 mi) from the nearest landfall at Woody Cape – part of the Addo Elephant National Park . Bird Island has a lighthouse, erected in 1898 after a series of shipwrecks in the vicinity of the island. Doddington Rock, West rock and East Reef lie just South-West of the group of islands. At 19 hectares (47 acres), Bird Island
6642-624: The Sultan to set up a padrão (a stone pillar). The Vasco da Gama Pillar , as it is still known locally, seems to be the only one of the many padrões set up by da Gama to survive to the present day. After leaving Malindi, the sailing was smoother. By early March, the fleet had arrived in Mossel Bay, and crossed the Cape of Good Hope in the opposite direction on 20 March, reaching the western coast of Africa by 25 April. The diary record of
6765-527: The Tsitsikamma region. The coast is generally rugged with interspersed beaches. Most of the province is hilly to very mountainous between Graaff-Reinet and Rhodes including the Sneeuberge (English: Snow Mountains), Stormberge , Winterberge and Drakensberg (English: Dragon Mountains). The highest point in the province is Ben Macdhui at 3001 m. The east from East London and Queenstown towards
6888-482: The World ' (this is not an historical account): The early Portuguese navigators, endowed with patience, were more than sixty-nine years struggling to round this cape before they got as far as Algoa Bay, and there the crew mutinied. They landed on a small island, now called Santa Cruz, where they devoutly set up the cross, and swore they would cut the captain's throat if he attempted to sail farther. Beyond this they thought
7011-435: The Zamorin failed to produce any concrete results. When local authorities asked da Gama's fleet, "What brought you hither?", they replied that they had come "in search of Christians and spices." The presents that da Gama sent to the Zamorin as gifts from Dom Manuel – four cloaks of scarlet cloth, six hats, four branches of corals, twelve almasares , a box with seven brass vessels, a chest of sugar, two barrels of oil and
7134-450: The Zamorin's chamber during his much celebrated first visit to Kozhikodein May 1498) for talks. Da Gama called him a spy, ordered the priest's lips and ears to be cut off and after sewing a pair of dog's ears to his head, sent him away. The Portuguese fleet then bombarded the unfortified city for nearly two days from the sea, severely damaging it. He also captured several rice vessels and cut off
7257-684: The automotive industry. General Motors and Volkswagen both have major assembly lines in the Port Elizabeth area, while East London is dominated by the large DaimlerChrysler plant, now known as Mercedes-Benz South Africa. Environmental-friendly projects include the Fish River Spatial Development Initiative, the Wild Coast SDI, and two industrial development zones, the East London Industrial Development Zone and
7380-589: The bay in the aftermath of World War II . During that conflict, Port Elizabeth was used as a research, manufacturing and storage site for mustard gas ordered by the British Air Ministry. The metropolitan municipality of Nelson Mandela Bay , which includes Gqeberha , Bluewater Bay , St Georges Strand and Coega , is located on the western shore of Algoa Bay. The bay contains six named islands in two groups of three that according to BirdLife International “are of considerable importance as they are
7503-936: The best colonial architecture of the 19th century in the province. The two major cities lining the coast are East London and Port Elizabeth. The Eastern Cape has been home to many major anti-apartheid leaders such as Robert Sobukwe , Oliver Tambo , Nelson Mandela , Walter Sisulu , Winnie Mandela , Govan Mbeki , Alfred Xuma , Cecilia Makiwane , Noni Jabavu , Thabo Mbeki , Chris Hani , Bantu Holomisa , Steve Biko , musicians Miriam Makeba , Madosini , Nathi , Dali Mpofu , Vusi Nova and Zahara , as well as historical figures such as Rev. Tiyo Soga , Samuel Mqhayi , Mongezi Sifika wa Nkomo , Enoch Sontonga and Jotello Festiri Soga . Vasco da Gama D. Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira ( / ˌ v æ s k u d ə ˈ ɡ ɑː m ə , - ˈ ɡ æ m ə / VAS -koo də GA(H)M -ə ; European Portuguese: [ˈvaʃku ðɐ ˈɣɐmɐ] ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524),
SECTION 60
#17327729827467626-596: The coastal Somali city of Mogadishu , then under the influence of the Ajuran Empire in the Horn of Africa . The fleet did not make a stop, but passing before Mogadishu, the anonymous diarist of the expedition noted that it was a large city with houses of four or five storeys high and big palaces in its center and many mosques with cylindrical minarets. Da Gama's fleet finally arrived in Malindi on 7 January 1499, in
7749-438: The collection of marine resources, and access to line-catches of hake . With three import/export harbours and three airports offering direct flights to the main centres, and an excellent road and rail infrastructure, the province has been earmarked as a key area for growth and economic development in modern South Africa. The two major industrial centres, Port Elizabeth and East London have well-developed economies based on
7872-554: The commitment to appoint all his sons successively as Portuguese captains of Malacca . Setting out in April 1524, with a fleet of fourteen ships, Vasco da Gama took as his flagship the famous large carrack Santa Catarina do Monte Sinai on her last journey to India, along with two of his sons, Estêvão and Paulo. After a troubled journey in which four or five of the ships were lost en route, he arrived in India in September. Early on
7995-465: The crew's hands, ears and noses, dispatching them with a note to the Zamorin, in which Gama declared that he would be open to friendly relations once the Zamorin had paid for the items plundered from the feitoria as well as the gunpowder and cannonballs. The violent treatment meted out by da Gama quickly brought trade along the Malabar Coast of India, upon which Calicut (Kozhikode) depended, to
8118-530: The details of the spice markets and trade routes. The breakthrough came soon after, when John II's captain Bartolomeu Dias returned from rounding the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, having explored as far as the Fish River ( Rio do Infante ) in modern-day South Africa and having verified that the unknown coast stretched away to the northeast. An explorer was needed who could prove the link between
8241-509: The dominant concern of Duarte de Menezes , then- governor of Portuguese India . Menezes also turned out to be incompetent and corrupt, subject to numerous complaints. As a result, John III decided to appoint Vasco da Gama himself to replace Menezes, confident that the magic of his name and memory of his deeds might better impress his authority on Portuguese India, and manage the transition to a new government and new strategy. By his appointment letter of February 1524, John III granted Vasco da Gama
8364-472: The east coast of Africa, the Contra Costa , was essential to Portuguese interests; its ports provided fresh water, provisions, timber, and harbors for repairs, and served as a refuge where ships could wait out unfavorable weather. One significant result was the colonization of Mozambique by the Portuguese Crown. In December 1499, King Manuel I of Portugal rewarded Vasco da Gama with the town of Sines as
8487-557: The estimated total Afrotropical non-breeding population).” The island is also home to Cape fur seals ( Arctocephalus pusillus ). Other maritime species present are humpback whales , southern right whales , Bryde's whales , bottlenose dolphins , common dolphins , humpback dolphins , African penguins, African black oystercatchers , Cape gannets , Cape fur seals , Cape cormorants, white-breasted cormorants, various shark species and various pelagic birds including terns, skuas, petrels, shearwaters and albatrosses. The St. Croix group and
8610-650: The expedition ends abruptly here. Reconstructing from other sources, it seems they continued to Cape Verde, where Nicolau Coelho's Berrio separated from Vasco da Gama's São Gabriel and sailed on by itself. The Berrio arrived in Lisbon on 10 July 1499 and Nicolau Coelho personally delivered the news to King Manuel I and the royal court, then assembled in Sintra . In the meantime, back in Cape Verde, da Gama's brother, Paulo da Gama, had fallen grievously ill. Da Gama elected to stay by his side on Santiago island and handed
8733-540: The few seaports on the Alentejo coast in southwest Portugal. According to the Portuguese historian Teixeira de Aragão , he was born in a house near the church of Nossa Senhora das Salas. Some authors write that he was born in or around 1460, while others give 1469 as the year of his birth. Vasco da Gama's paternal grandfather and namesake was born in Olivença . Vasco's father was Estêvão da Gama , who had served in
8856-525: The findings of Dias and those of da Covilhã and de Paiva and connect these separate segments into a potentially lucrative trade route across the Indian Ocean. On 8 July 1497 Vasco da Gama led a fleet of four ships with a crew of 170 men from Lisbon. The distance traveled in the journey around Africa to India and back was greater than the length of the equator. The navigators included Portugal's most experienced, Pero de Alenquer , Pedro Escobar , João de Coimbra [ pt ] , and Afonso Gonçalves. It
8979-408: The fleshy herb Mesembryanthemum (fig marigold/icicle plants). Tetragonia (duneweed) and Chenopodium (goosefoot) form localised thickets that provide cover for some seabirds," the fact sheet says. The BirdLife fact sheet adds that 14 species of seabirds, several species of shorebirds and 33 species of terrestrial birds have been recorded on the islands. Eight seabird species were known to breed on
9102-463: The islands in 2007. “These are the only islands off southern mainland Africa where Sterna dougallii ( Roseate Tern ) breeds regularly.” The islands are also home to 43% of the global population of the African penguin ( Spheniscus demersus ), the majority of which are on St Croix. St Croix also holds a locally significant breeding population of Cape cormorant ( Phalacrocorax capensis ). Bird Island
9225-423: The king provoked Lencastre to refuse out of principle, lest it encourage the king to make other donations of the Order's properties. Da Gama would spend the next few years attempting to take hold of Sines, an effort that would estrange him from Lencastre and eventually prompt da Gama to abandon his beloved Order of Santiago, switching over to the rival Order of Christ in 1507. In the meantime, da Gama made do with
9348-746: The late 18th century the Dutch Cape Colony slowly expanded eastwards from its original centre around Cape Town. This led to the establishment in 1786 of the Dutch settlement of Graaff-Reinet – named for the Governor of the Cape Colony Cornelius Jacob van de Graaff (in office: 1785–1791) and for his wife Hester Cornelia van de Graaff (née Reynet). Later, during the Napoleonic wars of 1803–1815, Britain took control of
9471-407: The local populace became suspicious of da Gama and his men. Forced by a hostile crowd to flee Mozambique, da Gama departed the harbor, firing his cannons into the city in retaliation. In the vicinity of modern Kenya, the expedition resorted to piracy, looting Arab merchant ships that were generally unarmed trading vessels without heavy cannons. The Portuguese became the first known Europeans to visit
9594-506: The longest journey without landfall made by that time. By 16 December, the fleet had passed the Great Fish River ( Eastern Cape , South Africa) – where Dias had anchored – and sailed into waters previously unknown to Europeans. With Christmas pending, da Gama and his crew gave the coast they were passing the name Natal , which carried the connotation of "birth of Christ" in Portuguese. Vasco da Gama spent 2 to 29 March 1498 in
9717-661: The longest ocean voyage ever made until then. After decades of sailors trying to reach the Indies, with thousands of lives and dozens of vessels lost in shipwrecks and attacks, da Gama landed at Kozhikode on 20 May 1498. Unopposed access to the Indian spice routes boosted the economy of the Portuguese Empire , which was previously based along North and coastal West Africa . The main spices at first obtained from Southeast Asia were pepper and cinnamon, but soon included other products, all new to Europe. Portugal maintained
9840-454: The main fleet. On the outgoing voyage, da Gama's fleet opened contact with the East African gold trading port of Sofala and reduced the sultanate of Kilwa to tribute, extracting a substantial sum of gold. On reaching India in October 1502, da Gama's fleet intercepted Mirim , a ship of Muslim pilgrims at Madayi travelling from Kozhikode to Mecca. Described in detail by eyewitness Thomé Lopes and chronicler Gaspar Correia, da Gama looted
9963-557: The maritime route to the East for global trade, thereby enabling Portugal to become the worlds first global maritime superpower. Secondly, the mountain ranges around Algoa Bay, became a navigational landmark for rounding the treacherous Agulhas Bank on the route to the East, thereby depicting the midway point on the route to Goa, India (agoa means to Goa). Thirdly, Algoa Bay became known as a landing place for potable water. Joshua Slocum talks about Algoa Bay in his book ' Sailing Alone Around
10086-639: The members of the Executive Council (cabinet). The current premier is Oscar Mabuyane of the African National Congress (ANC). The provincial legislature is elected every five years by a system of party-list proportional representation . The most recent provincial election was held in 2024 , which was won by the ANC, which has governed the province continuously since the end of Apartheid in 1994 . The Democratic Alliance (DA)
10209-520: The morning of September 8, as the ships laid becalmed near Dabul the sea began to boil and the vessels pitched and rocked violently for about an hour as the result of a submarine earthquake . The Portuguese crews were frightened, and one death occurred as a sailor jumped overboard in panic and drowned. Gama capitalized on the situation and so as to reassure his men cried out: Friends, rejoice and be happy, for even sea trembles before us! Vasco da Gama immediately invoked his high viceregal powers to impose
10332-421: The most significant factors causing seabird population declines." The organisation has recommended that marine reserves with a radius of 25 km be created around important breeding islands, and that commercial fishing be banned or restricted in these zones. The fact sheet continues: An unpredictable threat, which is difficult to control, is chronic pollution by crude oil or other pollutants which spill into
10455-425: The mountainous regions between Molteno and Rhodes . The Eastern Cape Province is divided into two metropolitan municipalities and six district municipalities . The district municipalities are in turn divided into 27 local municipalities . Major cities and towns include the following (in the case of places that have been renamed , the traditional name is listed first followed by the new official name): As of
10578-405: The name. From this point the way to India was easy with the help of Arab and Indian fishermen. Nautical charts of the bay caution mariners that "projectiles and badly corroded mustard gas containers have been found in the area between Cape St Francis and Bird Island out to depths of 400 m (1,300 ft). Trawlers should exercise the greatest caution." The chemical weapons were dumped in
10701-539: The ocean when tankers break open, wash their tanks, dump cargo or pump bilge . The African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) is particularly susceptible to these events, and a single oil disaster has the ability to severely affect populations. It is believed that the breeding sites in Algoa Bay, at the eastern extremity of the species' range, are at highest risk as they are closest to the major oil-shipping routes. Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( Xhosa : iMpuma-Kapa ; Afrikaans : Oos-Kaap [ˈuəs.kɑːp] )
10824-548: The old Albuquerque clique (now represented by Diogo Lopes de Sequeira ), John III looked for a fresh start. Vasco da Gama re-emerged from his political wilderness as an important adviser to the new king's appointments and strategy. Seeing the new Spanish threat to the Maluku Islands as the priority, Vasco da Gama advised against the obsession with Arabia that had pervaded much of the Manueline period, and continued to be
10947-417: The older European settlements include Fort Beaufort (1814), Grahamstown (1812), Port Elizabeth (1820), Salem (1820), Bathurst (1820), East London (1836), Paterson (1879), Cradock (1814), Fort Beaufort (1816) and King William's Town (1836). The Eastern Cape gets progressively wetter from west to east. The west is mostly semiarid Karoo , except in the far south, which is temperate rainforest in
11070-501: The only islands along a 1,777 km (1,104 mi) stretch of coastline between Cape Agulhas and Inhaca Island in Mozambique." The combined surface area of these islands is said to be 40 ha (99 acres). Close inshore, near the new Ngquru harbour development at Coega , on the north-eastern outskirts of Port Elizabeth, is the St Croix group, consisting of a main island of that name and two lesser islets, Jahleel Island just off
11193-399: The ornate Castilian title borne by Christopher Columbus . Another royal letter, dated October 1501, gave da Gama the personal right to intervene and exercise a determining role on any future India-bound fleet. Around 1501, Vasco da Gama married Catarina de Ataíde, daughter of Álvaro de Ataíde, the alcaide-mór of Alvor ( Algarve ), and a prominent nobleman connected by kinship with
11316-495: The other being KwaZulu-Natal . In the 2022 census, 81.8% of the population reported their first language as Xhosa , 9.6% as Afrikaans , 4.8% as English , and 2.4% as Sotho . The Eastern Cape is the only province in which native Xhosa-speakers form a majority of the population. As of the 2022 census, 86.1% of the population described themselves as Christians , 11.0% stated that they practiced Traditional African religions, and 0.6% described themselves as Muslim . 1.5% of
11439-544: The population described themselves as being atheist, agnostic, or having no religious affiliation. The Eastern Cape is the poorest province in South Africa and has the highest expanded and official unemployment rate in the country. Subsistence agriculture predominates in the former homelands, resulting in widespread poverty. A multi billion Rand industrial development zone and deep water port are being developed in Coega to boost investment in export-oriented industries. Overall
11562-424: The port of Mombasa from 7 to 13 April 1498, but were met with hostility and soon departed. Vasco da Gama continued north, arriving on 14 April 1498 at the friendlier port of Malindi , whose leaders were in conflict with those of Mombasa. There, da Gama and his crew contracted the services of a pilot who used his knowledge of the monsoon winds to guide the expedition the rest of the way to Kozhikode , located on
11685-481: The powerful Almeida family (Catarina was a first cousin of Dom Francisco de Almeida ). The follow-up expedition, the Second India Armada , launched in 1500 under the command of Pedro Álvares Cabral with the mission of making a treaty with the Zamorin of Kozhikodeand setting up a Portuguese factory in the city. However, Pedro Cabral entered into a conflict with the local Arab merchant guilds, with
11808-497: The privileged title of " Viceroy ", being only the second Portuguese governor to enjoy that title (the first was Francisco de Almeida in 1505). His second son, Estêvão da Gama was simultaneously appointed Capitão-mor do Mar da Índia ('Captain-major of the Indian Sea', commander of the Indian Ocean naval patrol fleet), to replace Duarte's brother, Luís de Menezes. As a final condition, Gama secured from John III of Portugal
11931-591: The province are Xhosa , with 78.8% of residents in Eastern Cape identifying as Xhosa as of 2011. Unlike most of South Africa , a substantial proportion of the White population is of British descent . Roughly half of White South Africans in Eastern Cape are English-speakers of British descent while the other half are of Boer / Afrikaner ancestry. Eastern Cape is one of only two provinces in South Africa where Whites of British descent outnumber Boers/Afrikaners,
12054-485: The province only contributes 8% to the national GDP despite making 13.5% of the population. The real GDP of Eastern Cape stands at an estimated R230.3billion in 2017, making the province the fourth largest regional economy in SA ahead of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. There is much fertile land in the Eastern Cape, and agriculture remains important. The fertile Langkloof Valley in the southwest has large deciduous fruit orchards . In
12177-415: The remaining two ships demonstrated the potential of great profit for future trade. Vasco da Gama was justly celebrated for opening a direct sea route to Asia. His path would be followed up thereafter by yearly Portuguese India Armadas . The spice trade would prove to be a major asset to the Portuguese royal treasury, and other consequences soon followed. For example, da Gama's voyage had made it clear that
12300-603: The result that the Portuguese factory was overrun in a riot and up to 70 Portuguese were killed. Cabral blamed the Zamorin for the incident and bombarded the city. Thus war broke out between Portugal and Kozhikode. Vasco da Gama invoked his royal letter to take command of the Fourth India Armada , scheduled to set out in 1502, with the explicit aim of taking revenge upon the Zamorin and force him to submit to Portuguese terms. The heavily armed fleet of fifteen ships and eight hundred men left Lisbon on 12 February 1502. It
12423-408: The return of the ships. Girolamo Sernigi also wrote three letters describing da Gama's first voyage soon after the return of the expedition. The expedition had exacted a large cost – two ships and over half the men had been lost. It had also failed in its principal mission of securing a commercial treaty with Kozhikode. Nonetheless, the small quantities of spices and other trade goods brought back on
12546-475: The same, prompting the king to undertake steps to retain him in Portugal and avoid the embarrassment of losing his own "Admiral of the Indies" to Spain. In 1519, after years of ignoring his petitions, King Manuel I finally hurried to give Vasco da Gama a feudal title, appointing him the first Count of Vidigueira , a title created by a royal decree issued in Évora on 29 December, after a complicated agreement with Dom Jaime, Duke of Braganza , who ceded him on payment
12669-432: The sea route to India opened the way for an age of global imperialism and enabled the Portuguese to establish a long-lasting colonial empire along the way from Africa to Asia. Traveling the ocean route allowed the Portuguese to avoid sailing across the highly disputed Mediterranean Sea and traversing the dangerous Arabian Peninsula . The sum of the distances covered in the outward and return voyages made this expedition
12792-581: The ship with over 400 pilgrims on board including 50 women, locked in the passengers, the owner and an ambassador from Egypt and burned them to death. They offered their wealth, which "could ransom all the Christian slaves in the Kingdom of Fez and much more" but were not spared. Da Gama looked on through the porthole and saw the women bringing up their gold and jewels and holding up their babies to beg for mercy. The lives of twenty children were spared against
12915-565: The southern bank of the Orange River , is an inland resort known for its hot springs . The rugged and unspoiled Wild Coast is a place of spectacular scenery. The coastal areas have been a graveyard for many vessels. Whittlesea, Eastern Cape , situated in the Amatola Mountains , is known for the first wine estate in the province. King William's Town, Alice, Queenstown, Grahamstown, Cradock and Fort Beaufort offer some of
13038-594: The southwest coast of India. Sources differ over the identity of the pilot, calling him variously a Christian, a Muslim, or a Gujarati Hindu. One traditional story describes the pilot as the famous Arab navigator Ibn Majid , but other contemporaneous accounts place Majid elsewhere, and he could not have been near the vicinity at the time. None of the Portuguese historians of the time mentions Ibn Majid. Vasco da Gama left Malindi for India on 24 April 1498. The fleet arrived in Kappadu near Kozhikode (known as Kozhikode at
13161-455: The subsequent more galling failure of his uncle Vicente Sodré to protect the Portuguese factory in Cochin, probably counted against any further rewards. When the Portuguese king Manuel I decided to appoint the first governor and viceroy of Portuguese India in 1505, da Gama was conspicuously overlooked, and the post given to Francisco de Almeida. For the next two decades, Vasco da Gama lived out
13284-478: The surf crashing on it can be observed from the mainland. Vasco da Gama named this group of islands Ilhéus Chãos (low or flat islands). In 1755, the East Indiaman Doddington was wrecked here while underway from Dover to India . Most of the passengers and crew perished, but a few managed to make it to the islands where they were marooned for seven months until one of their number,
13407-510: The time, subsequently known as Calicut and now renamed Kozhikode) on the Malabar Coast (present-day Kerala state of India) on 20 May 1498. The Zamorin of Kozhikode, who was at that time staying in his second capital at Ponnani , returned to the city on hearing the news of the foreign fleet's arrival. The navigator was received with traditional hospitality, including a grand procession of at least 3,000 armed Nairs , but an interview with
13530-408: The towns of Vidigueira and Vila dos Frades. The decree granted Vasco da Gama and his heirs all the revenues and privileges related, thus promoting da Gama from a petty noble to one of the relatively few titled nobles in Portugal. After the death of King Manuel I in late 1521, his son and successor, King John III of Portugal set about reviewing the Portuguese government overseas. Turning away from
13653-557: The very scarce Kenyan sub-species. The province is the location of Tiffindell , South Africa's only snow skiing resort, which is situated near the hamlet of Rhodes in the Southern Drakensberg . It is on the slopes of Ben Macdhui , the highest mountain peak in the Eastern Cape 3,001 metres (9,846 ft). The National Arts Festival , held annually in Grahamstown , is Africa's largest cultural event, offering
13776-411: The vicinity of Mozambique Island . Arab-controlled territory on the East African coast was an integral part of the network of trade in the Indian Ocean. Fearing the local population would be hostile to Christians, da Gama impersonated a Muslim and gained audience with the Sultan of Mozambique. With the paltry trade goods he had to offer, the explorer was unable to provide a suitable gift to the ruler. Soon
13899-534: Was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link Europe and Asia by an ocean route, connecting the Atlantic and the Indian oceans. This was a milestone in Portuguese maritime exploration as and marked the beginning of a sea-based phase of globalization . Da Gama's discovery of
14022-404: Was appointed Governor of India , with the title of Viceroy , and was ennobled as Count of Vidigueira in 1519. He remains a leading figure in the history of exploration, and homages worldwide have celebrated his explorations and accomplishments. The Portuguese national epic poem, Os Lusíadas , was written in his honour by Luís de Camões . Vasco da Gama was born in the town of Sines , one of
14145-677: Was conducted chiefly by land. At the time, this was virtually monopolized by the Republic of Venice , which operated overland routes via Levantine and Egyptian ports, through the Red Sea across to the spice markets of India. John II set a new objective for his captains: to find a sea route to Asia by sailing around the African continent. By the time Vasco da Gama was in his 20s, the king's plans were coming to fruition. In 1487, John II dispatched two spies, Pero da Covilhã and Afonso de Paiva , overland via Egypt to East Africa and India, to scout
14268-511: Was followed in April by another squadron of five ships led by his cousin, Estêvão da Gama (the son of Aires da Gama), which caught up to them in the Indian Ocean. The Fourth Armada was a veritable da Gama family affair. Two of his maternal uncles, Vicente Sodré and Brás Sodré, were pre-designated to command an Indian Ocean naval patrol, while brothers-in-law Álvaro de Ataíde (brother of Vasco's wife Catarina) and Lopo Mendes de Vasconcelos (betrothed to Teresa da Gama, Vasco's sister) captained ships in
14391-609: Was formed in 1994 out of the Xhosa homelands or bantustans of Transkei and Ciskei , together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province . The central and eastern part of the province is the traditional home of the indigenous Xhosa people . In 1820 this area, which was known as the Xhosa Kingdom , began to be settled by Europeans who originally came from England , Scotland and Ireland . The Eastern Cape province
14514-676: Was formed in 1994, incorporating areas from the former Xhosa homelands of the Transkei and Ciskei , together with what was previously part of the Cape Province . This resulted in several anomalies, including the fact that the Province has four supreme courts (in Makhanda (Grahamstown), Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Bhisho and Mthatha , and had enclaves of KwaZulu-Natal in the province. The latter anomaly has fallen away with amendments to municipal and provincial boundaries. The Xhosa Kingdom
14637-543: Was one of the most powerful kingdoms in Africa, and had all states in the Eastern Cape as tributaries. Any group, people, or tribe that recognised the Xhosa Kingdom as Paramouncy became Xhosa, practiced Xhosa culture and used isiXhosa as their main language. Some of the tribes that fall under the category of Xhosa people include: AmaMpondo, AbaThembu, AmaMpondomise, AmaHlubi, AmaBhaca, AmaXesibe, AmaBomvana and more. In
14760-547: Was sent to the hospital to be circumcised, as his parents believed this would be the safer option. Then, he was sent to complete the rest of his initiation ritual in a traditional initiation school in the Qumbu area of the Transkei. There, the nurse refused to accept the validity of his prior circumcision at the hospital, and she circumcised him again, resulting in his death. The landscape is extremely diverse. The western interior
14883-463: Was the edge of the world, which they too believed was flat; and fearing that their ship would sail over the brink of it, they compelled Captain Dias, their commander, to retrace his course, all being only too glad to get home. A year later, we are told, Vasco da Gama sailed successfully round the "Cape of Storms," as the Cape of Good Hope was then called, and discovered Natal on Christmas or Natal day; hence
15006-535: Was the first European to reach Algoa Bay in 1488, where he planted a wooden cross on a small island now called St Croix or Santa Cruz island. He gave the bay a name meaning "Bay of the Rock", which was changed in Portugal to Bahia de Lagoa or Bay of the Lagoon, and which eventually became Algoa Bay. Algoa Bay became prominent for three reasons. Firstly, it was the point at which Bartolomeu Dias realized that he had opened
15129-574: Was turned down. At the same time however, the Zamorin sent a message to his rebellious vassal, the Raja of Cochin, urging cooperation and obedience to counter the Portuguese threat; the ruler of Cochin forwarded this message to Gama, which reinforced his opinion of the Indians as duplicitous. After da Gama's demand for the expulsion of Muslims from Kozhikode, the Zamorin sent the high priest Talappana Namboothiri (the very same person who conducted da Gama to
#745254