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The first-voyage journal records scurvy and death on the long ocean legs

Hakluyt-English journal pages print swollen gums and deaths on the Atlantic and Indian Ocean legs. High confidence on scurvy as received in the journal. In the causal graph this event weakens Health-System Capacity, a driver that strengthens Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) — a worsening welfare path.

The first-voyage journal records scurvy and death on the long ocean legs
Read the full account

Hakluyt-English journal pages print swollen gums and deaths on the Atlantic and Indian Ocean legs.

Context

Not a unique clinical trial. High confidence on scurvy as received in the journal.

Vasco da Gama Shared work with other named actors remains in the record.

Vasco da Gama’s documented role is bounded by other offices and collaborators named in the sources below.

Conventional years are c. 1460s–1524.

Why it matters

Printed scurvy is not a 1498 hospital chart.

Who was responsible

Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.

  • Vasco da Gama

    Person

    Direct responsibility

    responsibility level 0.32 · verified

What changed

Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.

    1. FactThe first-voyage journal records scurvy and death on the long ocean legs
    2. weakensDriverHealth-System Capacity
    3. strengthensIndicators (2)Hospital beds (per 1,000 people)
    Worsening path

    impact weight 0.45 · Effect from 1 January 1498 · verified

    Printed scurvy is not a 1498 hospital chart.

    • Hospital beds (per 1,000 people)

      via Health-System Capacity

      Worse

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.27 (weight 0.45 × strength 0.6)

      Observed

      3.08 Per 1000 people · 1.24 below the normal line (2023)

      Worse than normal

      6 readings, 2018–2023: rose from 3.07 Per 1000 people to 3.08 Per 1000 people.

      Above normal = better

    • Under-five mortality rate (global)

      via Health-System Capacity

      Worse

      Weakens · Relationship strength 0.23 (weight 0.45 × strength 0.5)

      Observed

      37.4 deaths per 1,000 live births · 12.4 above the normal line (2024)

      Worse than normal

      7 readings, 2018–2024: fell from 40 deaths per 1,000 live births to 37.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.

      Above normal = worse

Evidence

The sources behind this fact and its verification state.

Verified2 sources on file
  1. 1.A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama — public EnglishProject Gutenberg / Hakluyt translation · High credibility · verified
  2. 2.Hakluyt Society — Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da GamaHakluyt Society · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish

Vasco da Gama did not file a later UNESCO form, a later Loeb colophon, or a later museum label as a personal act. Driver health-system-capacity is attached because the Significance sentence names a mechanism from The first-voyage journal records scurvy and death on the long ocean legs at 1498-01-01, not because a standing driver list needed coverage. Official page: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22599 (opens in a new tab). Independent page: https://www.hakluyt.com/ (opens in a new tab).

Causal path

How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.

  1. ActorVasco da Gama
  2. contributed toFactThe first-voyage journal records scurvy and death on the long ocean legs
  3. weakensDriverHealth-System Capacity
  4. strengthensIndicatorHospital beds (per 1,000 people)

Cite this page

Factrail. (2026). The first-voyage journal records scurvy and death on the long ocean legs. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/vdg-disease-onboard

https://factrail.ai/facts/vdg-disease-onboard

Accessed 16 October 2026.

By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed

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