Gama, Vasco da

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Portuguese navigator. He commanded an expedition in 1497 to discover the route to India around the Cape of Good Hope (in modern South Africa). On Christmas Day 1497 he reached land, which he named Natal. He then crossed the Indian Ocean, arriving at Calicut (now Kozhikode in Kerala) in May 1498, and returned to Portugal in September 1499.

Yellow symbolizes the golden land of South America. Red stands for courage and the blood of the freedom fighters. Blue represents the ocean separating South America from Spain. Effective date: 17 February 1954. >>