Download Portuguese Explorers and the Americas

Portugal and the
Americas/Portuguese Explorers
C.J. Hunter
Wednesday, January 07, 2015
5th
Causes for Exploration
 Iberia conquered Portugal by 1250 along with other
countries
 Christian expansion motivated sailing and exploring
between Spain and Portugal
 Iberia explored for resources
 The country helped finance explorations
Portuguese explorers
 Bartolomeu Dias: 1st to go
around S. Africa and enter
the Indian Ocean
 Vasco da Gama: 1st to sail
around Africa and reach
India
 Pedro Álvares Cabral: went
to South America; claimed
Brazil
Portuguese explorers
 Miguel Corte-Real: mapped
600 miles of the coast of
Labrador. Amerigo Vespucci:
mapmakers named Americas
after him for explorations, 1st
for Spain then for Portugal
 To prevent issues, the Treaty
of Tordesillas was made
The voyages
Treaty of Tordesillas
 Spain: the land east of the line except Brazil; it belonged to
Portugal
 Portugal: the land west of the line
Settlement in Brazil
 Africans helped settle the Americas
 Runaways lived in communities called Quilombos
 Low numbers of European immigrants settled in Brazil
 Needed slaves more than every other colony
Effects of settlement in Brazil
 Exchange of agriculture between Africans, Europeans, and
Americans
 Rebellions against the settlers
 Disease from Europe
 Horses
 Amerindians being used for labor
Effects of settlement in Brazil con.
 Religion spread
 King had to make a viceroy for Brazil
 Sugar plantations made the big money
 Taxes sapped the colonies
 Discovered Gold deposits
 Led to growth illegal trade with Britain
The Slaves from Trade
 Originally used Amerindians that were prisoners of war, or
kidnapped
 Decreased because of epidemics
 Led to slave trade by raiders
 Africans were expensive
 Became artisans, soldiers, etc. but usually agriculture was their
area
 More industrious and were immune to disease
The Slaves from Trade
 Increase of plantations, therefore more slaves needed
 Africans outdid Portuguese immigrants 5:1
 Work was brutal
 Barrier between blacks and everyone else
 Male slaves over females, hard to marry
 Cultural and language barriers
 Overpopulation of blacks led to African influence more
than Amerindian
Concerning Freedom...
 Many had to save money and buy their freedom
 House slaves considered more likely for manumission
 Spanish and Portuguese law had manumission (aka
freedom for individual slaves)
 Female slaves got manumission most of the time
 Colonial courts interfered to:
 Protect them from abuse
 Keep couples from being separated
The Church in the Americas
 Sought to convert every Amerindian
 Promoted learning through printing press and schools
 In New Spain, some ‘converted’, but still did old
rituals
 Resulted in trials and tortures for hundreds of
Amerindians
Sources
 The Earth and Its Peoples: Volume II
 http://www.biography.com/people/miguel-corte-real-
20991209