Gaspar da Gama

Gaspar da Gama (c. 1444–c. 1510), also called Gaspar da Índia, was a Jewish merchant and linguist probably born in Poznań. In 1498 he boarded Vasco da Gama's returning fleet at Angediva Island. Suspected of being a spy, he was whipped and interrogated before being carried to Portugal and baptized with the admiral as his godfather.

Speaking Hebrew, Italian, Spanish and Indian tongues, he became an interpreter and guide to Portuguese fleets, sailing to India with Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 and again with Vasco da Gama in 1502.