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As Europe sets off to expand across the oceans, the first contestant was Portugal. Check out a map(s) below. They are super far away from any trade route. Not isolated, but definitely distant from the wealth of the Indian Ocean and access to those port-cities. So, it makes sense that they would lead the way in seeking out new trade routes and peoples to convert to Catholicism. Portugal has a decent head start as well. King John the Good (Henry the Navigator's dad) first took territory in Africa (Ceuta) in 1415. Columbus doesn't bump into the new world for another 77 years. That’s a massive lead in terms of exploration for Portugal. Everyone else took their cues from them in the sea route to Asia. Having said that… Portugal’s empire will not be the largest (Britain) or the longest lasting (Ottomans). But they do have have their own 'crown jewel': Brazil, picking that up with the Treaty of treaty of Tordesillas. But otherwise, they are pretty much just a Trading Post Empire without significant land holdings outside of Brazil. So, when studying the Portuguese; remember them for their explorers; Vasco da Gama, Pedro Álvares Cabral (bumps into Brazil), Ferdinand Magellan, and Bartolomeu Dias, just to name a few. But overall, the are credited as being the first Europeans to reach a lot of places by sea…
Portugal:
The First European in Age of Exploration
The major figure in early Portuguese exploration was Prince Henry, the son of King John I of Portugal. Nicknamed “the Navigator,” Prince Henry was not an explorer himself. Instead, he encouraged exploration and planned and directed many important expeditions; such as those by Dias & da Gama.
Portugal:
The First European in Age of Exploration
The major figure in early Portuguese exploration was Prince Henry, the son of King John I of Portugal. Nicknamed “the Navigator,” Prince Henry was not an explorer himself. Instead, he encouraged exploration and planned and directed many important expeditions; such as those by Dias & da Gama.
Map of Treaty of Tordesillas
signed at Tordesillas in Spain on June 7, 1494, and authenticated at Setúbal, Portugal, divided the newly-discovered lands outside Europe between the Portuguese Empire and the Spanish Empire, along a meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands, off the west coast of Africa.
Map of Treaty of Tordesillas
signed at Tordesillas in Spain on June 7, 1494, and authenticated at Setúbal, Portugal, divided the newly-discovered lands outside Europe between the Portuguese Empire and the Spanish Empire, along a meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands, off the west coast of Africa.
Cantino planisphere (1502)
Completed by an unknown Portuguese cartographer in 1502, is one of the most precious cartographic documents of all times. It depicts the world, as it became known to the Europeans after the great exploration voyages at the end of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth century to the Americas, Africa and India.
Cantino planisphere (1502)
Completed by an unknown Portuguese cartographer in 1502, is one of the most precious cartographic documents of all times. It depicts the world, as it became known to the Europeans after the great exploration voyages at the end of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth century to the Americas, Africa and India.
Portuguese Empire circa 1500
Pay close attention to the small Portuguese trading ports throughout the Indian Ocean Basin.
Portuguese Empire circa 1500
Pay close attention to the small Portuguese trading ports throughout the Indian Ocean Basin.
Bartolomeu Dias
Portuguese explorer & the first European sailed around the southernmost tip of Africa in 1488
Vasco da Gama
Commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India & governor of Portuguese India with the title of Viceroy
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who becomes the first to circumnavigation of the Earth.
Pedro Álvares Cabral
A Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the European discoverer of Brazil.
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