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Back to Europe

 
Portugal 

INTRODUCTION

A nation of explorers that has absorbed habits and traditions from such early civilizations and from the regions that it discovered throughout the world during the Portuguese empire.

The Discoveries

Portugal pioneered in the exploration of the world, since most of the nobles had supported the King of Castile and with the victory of John I, the nobles either fled or were executed. Hence the Portuguese middle class who had supported and helped the victorious King suddenly rose up in the social ranks of Portugal, creating a new dynamic generation which allowed the discoveries to proceed. On 25 July 1415, the Portuguese Empire began when a Portuguese fleet, with King John I and his sons Duarte, Pedro, Henry the Navigator, and Afonso, along with the Portuguese supreme constable Nuno Álvares Pereira departed to besiege and conquer Ceuta in North Africa, a rich Islamic trade centre. On 21 August the city fell.

In 1418 two captains of Prince Henry the Navigator, were driven by a storm to an island which they called Porto Santo, or Holy Port, in gratitude for their rescue from the shipwreck. Also in early 15th century, Madeira Island and the Azorean islands were discovered. Henry the Navigator's interest in exploration, together with some technological developments in navigation, made Portugal's expansion possible and led to great advances in geographic knowledge. The discoveries were financed by the wealth of the Order of Christ, an order founded by King Denis for the Templar knights, who found refuge in Portugal after being pursued all over Europe. The Templars had their own objective, searching for the legendary Christian Kingdom of Prester John.

In 1434, Gil Eanes rounded Cape Bojador, south of Morocco. The trip marked the beginning of the Portuguese exploration of Africa. Before this voyage very little information was known in Europe about what lay beyond it. At the end of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th centuries, those who tried to venture there became lost, giving birth to legends of sea monsters. Fourteen years later, on a small island known as Arguim off the coast of Mauritania a castle was built, working as a feitoria (a trading post) for commerce with inland Africa, thus circumventing the Arab caravans that crossed the Sahara. Some time later, the caravels explored the Gulf of Guinea, leading to the discovery of several uninhabited islands and reaching the Congo River.

A remarkable achievement was the rounding of the Cape of Good Hope by Bartholomew Dias in 1487. By then the spices of India were nearby, hence the name of the cape. In the last decade of the 15th century, Pêro de Barcelos and João Fernandes Lavrador explored North America , Pêro da Covilhã reached Ethiopia, searching for the mythical kingdom of Prester John, and Vasco da Gama sailed to India. In 1500, Pedro Álvares Cabral landed on the Brazilian coast. Ten years later, Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Goa, in India.

 

 

REGIONAL MAPS

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LOCAL IMAGES

 

 
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RELATED LINKS

Learn more about this destination :
Home
History
Culture
The Discoveries
Geography
World Heritage Sites

MAIN CITIES
Lisbon
Porto
Coimbra
Alentejo
Algarve
Montalegre
Estoril
Sintra
Azores
Madeira
Beiras

GETTING THERE
Tap Air Portugal
Tel: 1 888 328 26 71

Continental Airlines
Tel: 1-800-231-0856

Air Canada
Tel: 1-888-247-2262

WHERE TO STAY
The Pousadas of Portugal
Heritage inns, each one paying homage to the history of the country in its own way.

WORLD HERITAGE SITES
See full list and information

Cultural landscape of Sintra
The Douro Wine Region
The Historic Centre of Angra do Heroísmo
Historic Centre of Évora
The Historic Centre of Porto
The Historic Centre of Guimarães
The Landscape of the Pico Island Vineyard Culture
The Laurisilva Forest of Madeira

 

EXTERNAL LINKS
Welcome to Portugal
All about Portugal
Portugal Online
Travel help for North Americans
Pictures & travelogue from a backpacker's trip to Portugal
Portugalia
Photos from Portugal
Monumentos
Portuguese monuments
Interactive Map of Portugal
Visit Portugal
Portugal's official travel and tourism website
 
 
 
 

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