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Colonies and Empires
In 1433, the Portuguese sea captain, Gill Eannes, returned to Lisbon after reaching the Canary Islands, off the north west coast of Africa. Nobody could know, at that time, that Eannes had taken the first step on a road which would lead to European domination of the world. Eannes' voyage was the first of the "Voyages of Discovery".
In the same year, Prince Henry of Portugal (the Navigator), sent Eannes to explore the coast of Africa. Prince Henry's aim was that Portuguese sailors should eventually sail around Africa and reach India. There were three main motives behind Prince Henry's ambition:
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The desire for knowledge. He was a man educated in the spirit of the Renaissance and wanted to know what lay beyond the narrow confines of Europe.
Being a devout Christian, Henry wanted to contact the Christian kingdom of Prester John, which rumours suggested was somewhere in Africa. Once contact had been made, Prince Henry planned a new crusade against the Moslems.
The spice trade, which had made the Italian cities, (especially Venice), so wealthy, was based upon trade with India and "the Spice Islands". This trade was controlled by Arabs and Venetians. If Portuguese sailors found a sea-route to India they could bring the spices back directly to Portugal. Portugal would then
become the richest country in Europe. |
In 1487, Bartolomeu Diaz reached the southern tip of Africa. Because this was such a promising event in the search for a direct route to India, Diaz named this southern limit "the Cape of Good Hope".
Vasco de Gama, in 1498, was the first European to reach India and the cargo of spices and precious stones which he brought back paid for the expedition sixteen times over.
By 1487, Prince Henry's three motives had been reduced to one. Prester John had not been found and, although the desire for knowledge still existed, it was already overtaken by the overwhelming desire to make money.
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Map showing the Portuguese route to India |
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The Open Door Web Site
