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Discover the rise of the Portuguese Empire during the age of exploration as they ventured into Africa and Asia, establishing trade routes and dominating the spice trade. Explore their motivations, strategies, and the factors contributing to their success.
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Chapter 14 Section 2: New Horizons: The Portuguese and Spanish Empires
Portugal took the lead in the European age of expansion when it began to explore the coast of Africa under the sponsorship of Prince Henry the Navigator (1394- 1460). • His motives were a blend of seeking a Christian kingdom as an ally against the Muslims, acquiring trade opportunities for Portugal, and extending Christianity.
The Development of a Portuguese Maritime Empire • In 1441, Portuguese ships reached the Senegal River, just north of Cape Verde, and brought home a cargo of black Africans, most of whom were then sold as slaves to wealthy buyers elsewhere in Europe.
Within a few years, an estimated one thousand slaves were shipped annually from the area back to Lisbon.
The Gold Coast • The Portuguese gradually crept down the African coast, and in 1471, they discovered a new source of gold along the southern coast of the hump of West Africa. • A few years later they established contact with the state of Bakongo, near the mouth of the Zaire (Congo) River in Central Africa.
To facilitate trade in gold, ivory, and slaves, the Portuguese leased land from local rulers and built stone forts along the coast.
In 1488, Bartholomeu Dias (c.1450-1500) took advantage of westerly winds in the South Atlantic to round the Cape of Good Hope, but he feared mutiny from his crew and returned.
Ten years later, a fleet under the command of Vasco da Gama (c.1460-1524) rounded the cape and stopped at several ports controlled by Muslim merchants along the coast of East Africa. • On arriving in Calicut, da Gama announced to his surprised hosts that he had arrived in search of Christians and spices.
No Christians were found, however, da Gama’s remaining vessels returned to Europe with their holds filled with ginger and cinnamon, a cargo that earned the investors a profit of several thousand percent.
For the next several years, Portuguese fleets returned annually to the area, seeking to destroy Arabic shipping and establish a monopoly in the spice trade.
Admiral Alfonso de Albuquerque (c.1462-1515) set up port facilities at Goa, on the western coast of India south of the present-day Bombay. • Goa henceforth became the headquarters for Portuguese operations throughout the entire region. • The Portuguese now began to range more widely in search of the source of the spice trade.
In 1511, Albuquerque sailed into the harbor of Malacca on the Malay peninsula. • Malacca had been transformed by its Muslim rulers into a thriving port and a major stopping point for the spice trade.
For Albuquerque, control of Malacca would serve two purposes… • 1. It could help destroy the Arab spice trade • 2. Provide the Portuguese with a way station on the route to the Moluccas, then known as the Spice Islands.
After a short but bloody battle, the Portuguese seized the city and massacred the local Arab population. This slaughter initiated a fierce and brutal struggle between the Portuguese and the Arabs. • From Malacca, the Portuguese launched expeditions farther east, to China and the Spice Islands. • There they signed a treaty with a local ruler for the purchase and export of cloves to the European market.
The new trading empire was not complete. Within a few years, the Portuguese had managed to seize control of the spice trade from Muslim traders and had garnered substantial profits for the Portuguese monarchy.
The Portuguese Empire remained limited, consisting only of trading posts on the coasts of India and China. The Portuguese lacked the power, population, and the desire to colonize the Asian regions.
Their success was a matter of guns and seamanship. • Could intimidate and inflict severe defeats. • Their effective use of naval technology, their heavy guns that could be mounted in the hulls of their sturdy vessels, and their tactics gave them military superiority over lightly armed rivals that they were able to exploit until the arrival of other European forces several decades later.
