Pennsylvania

              Province of Pennsylvania

      During the seventeenth century a new religion was introduced to England. The followers of the new religious faith were the Religious Society of Friends; however, they were also known as the Quakers. In 1660, sixteen-year-old William Penn, son of Admiral Sir William Penn and Margaret Jasper, was greatly intrigued by the Quaker faith. Despite his father’s disapproval as well as criticism from his society, William decided to allow the Quaker faith to be a part of his life. Penn soon came to the realization that Quakers were undergoing mistreatment by society. He was also aware that in the past, Quakers had traveled to the New World was a refuge.
      King Charles II, was the king of England from 1650 to 1685 and on March 4^th of 1681, he granted William Penn land in the New World. The king owed Admiral sir william Penn, William Penn’s father, an immense amount of money and that is why he named the land Pennsylvania which meant “Penn’s Woodland”. Before the English settlers arrived in Pennsylvania, the land was occupied by several Native tribes including: the Delaware, Susquehannok, Iroquas, Erie, Shawnee, among others.
       Pennsylvania was based on religious tolerance which attracted Dutch and Swedish settlers. In addition to that, William Penn handed out pamphlets in four different languages, determined to attract more and more people. The pamphlet was in English, Dutch and French. Penn was successful and unintentionally attracted settlers which had previously settled in the South, which resulted in the need for Slaves in such areas. Even though William Penn was accepting of slavery the Quakers disapproved; furthermore, the Quakers and Germans were some of the first to dare speak against slavery.

Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama 

     Vasco da Gama, an explorer and navigator, is estimated to have been born around the year 1460 in Sines, Portugal. He was born into a wealthy family, to father Estevao da Gama and mother Isabel Sodré. He had four other male siblings and married Catarina de Ataíde on an unknown date. Unfortunately, little is known of Vasco’s early life, but it is said that Estevao, his father, was an explorer and governor of Sines. Vasco is best known for being the first European to sail from Europe to India by going around Africa.  Vasco da Gama was designated to lead an expedition funded by the Portuguese government in 1497. King Manuel I of Portugal assigned Vasco to find any trading opportunities while on a journey to find a maritime route to India. Indian spices were well known and desired in Europe; unfortunately, the only route to India known by the Portuguese at that time was a very expensive and long overland route.  The Portuguese were eager to gain the desired Indian spices, but if Vasco didn’t find an oversea route to India, it would be a dilemma for them to get such goods.

      On July 8^th of 1497 Vasco da Gama initiated his voyage. He left Lisbon, Portugal accompanied by 170 men, and 4 ships. The ships were: the Sao Gabriel, Sao Rafael, the Berrio, and a fourth ship which was not given a name but was used for storage. Before Gama’s expedition, Bartolemeu Dias, a Portuguese explorer, discovered the Cape of Good Hope. The Cape of Good Hope was located at the southern tip of Africa. Vasco and his men passed the Cape of Good Hope on November 22^nd and headed north, towards Africa. In addition, they discovered two trading ports: Malindi and Mombasa. A local navigator who knew how to find India aided them when they stopped in Malindi. In less than a month, they were able to arrive in Calicut, India.

      When Vasco da Gama and his men arrived in Calicut, they came across issues when trying to trade. The local traders became suspicious when realizing that the Portuguese brought very little of value in their ships. They had to leave soon; additionaly and unfortunately, the voyage back to Europe was quite disastrous.  Approximately half of the 170 men that accompanied him died. Despite the fact that the voyage back took longer, Vasco da Gama had succeeded in finding the maritime route to Africa; as a result, he was viewed as a hero by the Portuguese. Some may question whether Vasco da Gama should or should not have been considered a hero when he arrived in Portugal after his voyage. It is crucial to keep in mind that after all, Vasco successfully fulfilled the expedition’s main purpose: to find an unknown water route to India.