Vasco da Gama's father was Estêvão da Gama, who had served in the 1460s as a knight of the household of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu and went on to rise in the ranks of the military Order of Santiago.
== Mladost ==Vasco da Gama je bil najverjetneje rojen leta 1460 ali 1469, v Sinesu na jugozahodni obali Portugalske, verjetno v hiši poleg cerkve Nostra Senhora das Salas.