Portuguese Age of Discovery

By: Tom Blanton

Origins

• The origins of the Portuguese Empire lay in the reconquista, the gradual Christian reconquest of the Iberian peninsula from the Moors.

• At the time, Europe had no idea what lay beyond Cape Bojador on the African coast.

• Henry the Navigator wanted to

know how far the Muslim territories

in Africa went on, and whether it was

possible to reach Asia by boat.

• In 1443 Prince Pedro granted Henry the

monopoly of navigation, war and

trade in the lands south of Cape Bojador.

Division of the World (1492)

• When Christopher Columbus discovered the “New World” for Spain in 1492, believing it to be Asia, Spain and Portugal began to have many disputes.

• These disputes were settled by the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494, which divided the world outside of Europe between the Portuguese and the Spanish.

• It was not possible at the time to

measure exact longitude, so Spain

and Portugal disputed their

boundaries until 1777.