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Vasco de Gama

Vasco de Gama was originally born into a wealthy family, and this father, Estavao, was also an explorer. Originally, his father thought of the idea to sail from Portugal (their home land) to India; however, he died before being able to fulfil his dream. When de Gama took off for his voyage in company with King Manuel I of Portugal, many people doubted the successfulness of his journey, because the common belief was that the Indian Ocean did not connect to any other water ways. Before de Gama, Bartholomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope, at the tip of Africa to get to India. What differed though, was the fact that the people went all the way around the [|Spice Islands], also known as the Maluku Islands. Vasco de Gama though, only follows Dias' route until he cuts through the Indian Ocean and the Spice Island. Here da Gama ends in a port named Calicut, India on May 20, 1498. The trip across the Indian Ocean took da Gama 23 days where he was welcomed with graditude by Zamorin, the ruler. After trading and recieving numerous spices, he and his men sailed back to Portugal. The trip back, however, was much more painful as many people died and they were forced to burn a ship due to lack of crew member - this trip took about three months. When rounding the Cape of Good Hope, the two ships were seperated in a storm and returned back to Portugal at different times. After, he made one more voyage then began to settle down in Portugal. Vasco de Gama is best known as a great leader and explorer.

= [|Raphael - Marriage of the Virgin] =

The picture painted by Raphael with oil on a roundheaded panel is named Marriage of the Virgin. This picture depicts the marriage of Mary and Joesph, the chosen parents of Jesus Christ. Clearly, this represents that the Christian religion was still present during the Renaissance. In addition, pyramidal formation is present. Beginning at the ring being placed on the finger of Mary, the three people in the far background (on the chapel steps) creates a triangle. This also allows the picture to become more proportional. Raphael used a combination of colors and shading to portray a contrast of reds and blues with a greeny background in the distance. In addition, this picture portrays [|humanism] within it. The picture shows how the time period concentrated on art more than the Middle Ages. The careful attention to detail shows the hard work and studying of art that occurred during this time period. No longer was everything surrounded around religion. However, it is still important as this picture is painted of the Virgin Mary and Joseph. The most important people of the town are present in this picture, which shows that anything was allowed to be painted during this time due to the belief of humanism. During this time period, the development and perfection of art was critical and ultimately made a huge impact on art today. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[|Benito Mussolini] a politician of the country Italy in his earlier days. Later, Mussolini became the prime minister, gaining a little bit of power, he did so by using his military prestige and ranking (at this point Mussolini held the highest of all military rankings in the country). During his reign, Benito Mussolini became a heavy believer in the thoughts of Italian Fascism. He ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943 under the ideas of the Italian Fascism Party, and his followers became known as the Black Shirts. His ideas first arose after the First World War, and circulated mostly around fascism beliefs. This included in the support of nationalism in Italy. Other large dictators looked up to the role of Benito Mussolini, as well as many other dicators that ruled during the "inter-war years," including a famous dictator named Adolf [|Hitler].