Vasco da Gama

If they resist, sink their ships and salt their fields.

Gold is the only language they understand.

I would rather die at sea than live as a beggar.

They are not traders, but thieves to be hanged.

The sea does not forgive weakness.

I did not come to explore, but to conquer.

Their spices are sweet, but their people are sour.

I will make Lisbon the capital of the world.

They call me a pirate, but I am a king’s man.

The only god I serve is profit.

If they will not bow, they will break.

I have sailed where no Christian has sailed before.

Their wealth is mine by right of discovery.

I would rather be feared than forgotten.

The ocean is my kingdom, and I am its king.

They are not men, but obstacles to be removed.

I did not come to pray, but to profit.

Their ships burn well.

I will make the Indian Ocean a Portuguese lake.

They call me ruthless, but the sea is ruthless.