Portuguese ironclad Vasco da Gama armored belt that was thick on either end and thick amidships. The main battery guns were protected by thick barbettes. "Vasco da Gama" was laid down at the Thames Iron Works shipyard in London, Britain in 1875, and was launched on 1 December 1876. The ship was completed in 1878. She served as part of the coastal defense force that protected Lisbon, the Portuguese capital, and the mouth of the river Tagus. On 26 June 1897, "Vasco da Gama" participated in the Fleet Review at Spithead celebrating Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. At the time, the ship was commanded by Captain
Vasco da Gama 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 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