Question: Who fathered the leader of the first expedition to reach the continent on which the Marshallese originated by sailing west across the ocean bordering eastern Russia?

The Portuguese Vasco da Gama, accompanied by Nicolau Coelho and Bartolomeu Dias, is the first European to reach India by an all - sea route from Europe. <SEP> Most of the residents are Marshallese, who are of Micronesian origin and migrated from Asia several thousand years ago. A minority of Marshallese have some recent Asian ancestry, mainly Japanese. About one-half of the nation's population lives on Majuro, the capital, and Ebeye, a densely populated island. The outer islands are sparsely populated due to lack of employment opportunities and economic development. Life on the outer atolls is generally traditional. <SEP> asia is the largest continent on earth. it covers 8.8% of the earth's total surface area (or 30% of its land area), and has the largest coastline, at 62,800 kilometres (39,022 mi). asia is generally defined as comprising the eastern four - fifths of eurasia. it is located to the east of the suez canal and the ural mountains, and south of the caucasus mountains (or the kuma -- manych depression) and the caspian and black seas. it is bounded on the east by the pacific ocean, on the south by the indian ocean and on the north by the arctic ocean. asia is subdivided into 48 countries, three of them (russia, kazakhstan and turkey) having part of their land in europe. <SEP> asia is the largest continent on earth. it covers 9% of the earth's total surface area (or 30% of its land area), and has the largest coastline, at 62,800 kilometres (39,022 mi). asia is generally defined as comprising the eastern four - fifths of eurasia. it is located to the east of the suez canal and the ural mountains, and south of the caucasus mountains (or the kuma -- manych depression) and the caspian and black seas. it is bounded on the east by the pacific ocean, on the south by the indian ocean and on the north by the arctic ocean. asia is subdivided into 48 countries, three of them (russia, kazakhstan and turkey) having part of their land in europe. <SEP> The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR; Russian: Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, tr. Rossiyskaya Sovetskaya Federativnaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika  listen (help·info)) commonly referred to as Soviet Russia or simply as Russia, was a sovereign state in 1917–22, the largest, most populous, and most economically developed republic of the Soviet Union in 1922–91 and a sovereign part of the Soviet Union with its own legislation in 1990–91. The Republic comprised sixteen autonomous republics, five autonomous oblasts, ten autonomous okrugs, six krais, and forty oblasts. To the west it bordered Finland, Norway and Poland; and to the south, China, Mongolia and North Korea whilst bordering the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Black sea and Caspian Sea to the south. Russians formed the largest ethnic group. Within the USSR, it bordered the Baltic republics (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia), the Byelorussian SSR and the Ukrainian SSR to the west. To the south it bordered the Georgian, Azerbaijan and Kazakh SSRs. <SEP> He rose in the ranks of the military Order of Santiago. 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. Estêvão da Gama was appointed "alcaide-mór" (civil governor) of Sines in the 1460s, a post he held until 1478; after that he continued as a receiver of taxes and holder of the Order's commendas in the region.