João da Gama (c. 1540 – after 1591) was a Portuguese explorer and colonial administrator in the Far East in the last quarter of the 16th century. He was the grandson of Vasco da Gama. João da Gama sailed from Macau to northeast and rounded Japan by north. He crossed the Pacific Ocean at the northernmost latitudes taken until then by Europeans. Forced by the circumstances of his voyage, he became also a circumnavigator (one of the first to do it eastwards). The lands northeast of Japan which João da Gama discovered were the target of legend and speculation in the centuries that followed, inspiring its search by European powers.
Early years and voyages to the East
Not much is known of his childhood and youth, though is believed that he was born around 1540. His parents were Guiomar de Vilhena, Countess of Vidigueira and Francisco da Gama, 2nd Count of Vidigueira, son of the explorer Vasco da Gama, the discoverer of the sea route to the East. He was married with Joana de Menezes and had one son, Vasco da Gama, who later became captain in Chaul. João da Gama became the captain of Malacca between 1578 and 1582. He received cordially the Portuguese representative who brought the news of the coronation of Philip II of Spain as king of Portugal, but only recognized the new order later, after indication of the Viceroy of India. He had numerous political conflicts within his mandate, caused by alleged personal irregularities that had brought him into political confrontation with the administrative bodiesof the city, which led to a Judicial process. He was accused of harming the interests of Malacca and called to Lisbon to answer for his actions and expose his defense.
He returned to the East with the aim of fulfilling the nanban trade (the "voyage of Japan"), between Macau (China) and Nagasaki (Japan), a trade route monopolized by Portugal. Gama was married to the daughter of D. João de Meneses Baroche, Captain of Cochin. He left his wife at his residence in Cochin and headed to Macau in 1588, accompanied by his brother Miguel da Gama. In that year the annual voyage had not yet been carried due to the sudden death of the captain of Macau, Jerónimo de Sousa. Following the trade agreement between the Portuguese-Jew New Christian Bartolomeu Landeiro and the city of Macau, Jerónimo de Sousa was also preparing to send a ship to the Philippines. In parallel to this, was then issued the anti-Christian edict in Japan. João da Gama, hoping to get a higher profit and new possibilities, and against all prohibitions, decided for an expedition to New Spain at his own expense and at his own risk.
Da Gama was well-regarded in Macau, as can be seen from the letter that the Macau City Council wrote to the king on 30 June 1588, in which praises da Gama, then captain of Macau and Japan. They also asked the king that he be granted for life with this captaincy. The Câmara of Macau also mentions the subject of a recent Spanish (Castilian) travel to Macau, and the reasons why should be prohibited, among other subjects. Gama and the Council of Macau also argued that the profits of the voyage could sustain churches, a Misericordia, and two hospitals, being a leper one of them. Da Gama took possession of a carrack of 600 tons that instead of going from Macau to India, went to Mexico, where they could accomplish much more lucrative deals, which were coveted by residents of Macau. Years later, members of the Macau City Council would publicly condemn and criticize da Gama and his voyage.
The crossing of the Pacific
The decision of D. João da Gama, a risk taker, was taken with the knowledge that it was an illegal enterprise, since it was well known the prohibition of trade between the world areas of Portugal and Castile (later Spain) by the Treaties of Tordesillas and Zaragoza, ban reinforced by the letters personally written by Philip II to the Viceroys of New Spain and India, and also directly to the administrative bodies of Macau and the Philippines in 1589 and 1590s, leading to the expulsion of the Spanish from Macau in 1592.