Download During the 15th and 16th centuries, Portuguese

During the 15th and 16th centuries, Portuguese explorers such as
Vasco da Gama were at the forefront of European overseas
exploration.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Compare the Portuguese Atlantic Explorations from 1415­1488 with the Indian Exploration lead
by Vasco da Gama from 1497­1542
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
Methodical expeditions by Portuguese explorers started in 1419 along West Africa's coast under
the sponsorship of prince Henry the Navigator.
Bartolomeu Dias reached the Cape of Good Hope and entered the Indian Ocean in 1488.
In 1415, the city of Ceuta was occupied by the Portuguese aiming to control navigation of the
African coast with the aim of expanding Christianity under the direction of the Pope.
The long­standing Portuguese goal of finding a sea route to Asia was finally achieved in a ground­
breaking voyage commanded by Vasco da Gama.
Gama's voyage was significant and paved the way for the Portuguese to establish a long­lasting
colonial empire in Asia.
Gama headed two of the armadas destined for India, the first and the fourth, the biggest armada,
only four years after his arrival from the first one. For his contributions he was named in 1524 as
the Governor of India, under the title of Viceroy.
TERMS [ edit ]
Cape of Good Hope
A rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, named because of the
great optimism engendered by the opening of a sea route to India and the East.
reconquista
(Iberian history) The process by which the Christian countries of Spain and Portugal were
reconquered from the Moors.
Vasco da Gama
Portuguese explorer and one of the most famous and celebrated explorers from the Age of
Discovery, being the first European to reach India by sea.
Give us feedback on this content: FULL TEXT [ edit ]
During the 15th and 16th centuries, Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of European
overseas exploration, discovering and mapping the coasts of Africa, Asia and Brazil.
Methodical expeditions started in 1419 along West Africa's coast under the sponsorship of
prince Henry the Navigator, with Bartolomeu Dias reaching the Cape of Good Hope and
entering the Indian Ocean in 1488. Ten years later, Vasco da Gama led the first fleet around
Africa to India, arriving in Calicut and starting a maritime route from Portugal to India.
Soon, after reaching Brazil, explorations proceed to southeast Asia, having reached Japan in
1542.
Atlantic exploration (1415–1488)
In 1415, the city of Ceuta was occupied by the Portuguese aiming to control navigation of the
African coast, moved by expanding Christianity with the avail of the Pope and a desire of the
unemployed nobility for epic acts of war after thereconquista. Young prince Henry the
Navigator was there and became aware of profit possibilities in the Saharan trade routes.
Henry the Navigator took the lead role in encouraging Portuguese maritime exploration until
his death in 1460. At the time, Europeans did not know what lay beyond Cape Bojador on the
African coast. Henry wished to know how far the Muslim territories in Africa extended, and
whether it was possible to reach Asia by sea to reach the source of the lucrative spice trade.
A Portuguese attempt to capture Grand Canary, one of the nearby Canary Islands, which had
been partially settled by Spaniards in 1402 was unsuccessful and met with protestations from
Castile. At around the same time as the unsuccessful attack on the Canary Islands, the
Portuguese began to explore the North African coast.
Indian Ocean explorations lead by Vasco da Gama (1497–1542)
The long­standing Portuguese goal of finding a sea route to Asia was finally achieved in a
ground­breaking voyage commanded by Vasco da Gama. Gama's voyage was significant and
paved the way for the Portuguese to establish a long­lasting colonial empire in Asia. The
route meant that the Portuguese would not need to cross the highly disputed Mediterranean
nor the dangerous Arabian Peninsula, and that the whole voyage would be made by sea.
First voyage of Vasco da Gama.
The route followed in Vasco da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499).
After decades of sailors trying to reach India with thousands of lives and dozens of vessels
lost in shipwrecks and attacks, Gama landed in Calicut on 20 May 1498. Reaching the
legendary Indian spice routes unopposed helped the Portuguese Empire improve its
economy that, until Gama, was mainly based on trades along Northern and coastal West
Africa. These spices were mostly pepper and cinnamon at first, but soon included other
products, all new to Europe which led to a commercial monopoly for several decades.
Gama headed two of the armadas destined for India, the first and the fourth, the biggest
armada, only four years after his arrival from the first one. For his contributions he was
named in 1524 as the Governor of India, under the title of Viceroy, and given the newly
created County of Vidigueira in 1519. Numerous homages have been made worldwide in
Vasco da Gama's honour for his explorations and accomplishments. He remains a leading
exploration figure to this day. His first trip to India is widely considered a pinnacle of world
history as it marked the beginning of the first wave of global multiculturalism.