Portugal Travels Around the Tip of Africa

With the aforementioned advances in their sailing technology, Portugal was one of the first European monarchies to begin their quest for Asian spices. Being a small nation on the western coast of the Iberian peninsula, Portugal was did not have much opportunity to expand within their own country. The mountainous regions of the eastern border made also presented difficulties, along with the powerful, neighboring country of Spain, fresh off their defeat of the Muslims in Granada. This left Portugal with one option: maritime expansion.

Figure 2.1: A portrait of Prince Henry the Navigator

One of the main reasons that Portuguese maritime exploits became such a viable option was Prince Henry the Navigator. A loyal master of the Order of Christ, Prince Henry—son of Portugal’s King John I—felt it necessary to use his wealth and influence to aid in the expansion of Portuguese influence and, more importantly, Christianity. Establishing numerous naval schools, the Portuguese prince wanted to know more about the exploits available in Africa. From this curiosity, he financed numerous voyages along the western coast of Africa, establishing a variety of trade posts and Portuguese colonial foundations along the way. Eventually he visions extended beyond Africa’s west coast and around the tip of Africa. His visions, however, exceeded his lifespan as the great patron died in the year 1460.

There are two main explorers sailing under the Portuguese flag that are of major note in the conversation about the Age of Exploration. One of the most profitable explorers that studied at Prince Henry’s school was a captain named Bartolomeu Dias. His three ships set sail from Lisbon in 1487, taking a route along the west African coast, the very same utilized by his predecessors. As he followed coastline southward, the explorer took care to remain on course with the given route. The coastline, however, disappeared from view as the vessels were caught in a series of storms that lasted almost two weeks. They were blown to the south but the men were unsure how far off-course they had been directed. In order to correct their loss of direction, Dias headed east, hoping to eventually find the western coast of Africa. After a considerable amount of time, the ships failed to reach land and changed their course of direction northward. It was here, in February 1988 that they landed in Mossel Bay, present-day South Africa. The crew was tired and did not the adventurous excitement of Dias, leading to the decision to return to Portugal. It was on this return that the vessels actually encountered the Cape of Good Hope. Upon his return, Dias had so much to share with the nobility and his fellow explorers. One of these was to be his predecessor and the first European explorer to reach India by sea: Vasco de Gama.

Figure 2.2: A map comparing the different routes taken by the Portuguese explorers 

A young explorer ready to prove his worth, Vasco de Gama was just who the Portuguese needed to take command of the dangerous voyage around the southern tip of Africa. Using the same route along the west coast of Africa, de Gama left Lisbon with four ships late in the summer of 1497. In December of the same year, the captain and his men reached the Rio do Infante, where Dias had turned back, and began sailing into the uncharted waters off the eastern coast of Africa. During their voyage along the eastern shore, the Portuguese travelled through various cities including, Mozambique, Mobasa, and Malandi, where de Gama procured a navigator with knowledge of the monsoon winds to direct them to India. After almost of a year of sailing, the group landed near Calicut, India. While here, de Gama’s lack of gold or silver failed to impress the local ruler, but they still traded enough to finance the trip 60 times over. The outward trip, however, proved more difficult by taking months to sail against the wind. The journey took a long period of time and the men did not make it back to Portugal until the late summer of 1499, almost two years long. With this great achievement, Vasco de Gama not only proved that a sea route to India was possible, but he changed the practice of intercontinental trade forever.

Coming into the 16th century Portugal exploited their naval trade routes, becoming one of the most trade-rich countries in all of Europe. Using their newly discovered sea routes, Portuguese captains returned from their long voyages around the tip of Africa with highly sought-after spices, silks, and other goods that the world had not seen. The Portuguese even profited from one explorer's blunder. On a voyage in 1500, a nobleman named Pedro Álvares Cabral set sail with two fleets. Though both headed towards the Indian ocean, one of the fleets set their course too far west and landed upon the eastern coast of Brazil. This would become Portugal's main colony in the Americas and the Spanish-controlled western hemisphere. From these immense navigational feats one can see how Portugal became the first European nation to place such large stock in maritime trading and enterprise.