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Portuguese exploration

In 1415, Ceuta was conquered by the Portuguese aiming to control navigation of the African coast. Young prince Henry the Navigator was there and became aware of profit possibilities in the Trans-Saharan trade routes. For centuries slave and gold trade routes linking West Africa with the Mediterranean passed over the Western Sahara Desert, controlled by hostile Muslim states of North Africa.

Henry wished to know how far Muslim territories in Africa extended, hoping to bypass it and trade directly with West Africa by sea, find allies in legendary Christian lands to the south[33] like the long-lost Christian kingdom of Prester John[34] and to probe whether it was possible to reach the Indies by sea, the source of the lucrative spice trade. He invested in sponsoring voyages down the coast of Mauritania, gathering a group of merchants, shipowners and stakeholders interested in new sea lanes. Soon the Atlantic islands of Madeira (1419) and Azores (1427) were reached. In particular, they were discovered by voyages launched by the command of Prince Henry the Navigator. The expedition leader himself, who established settlements on the island of Madeira, was João Gonçalves Zarco.[35]

At the time, Europeans did not know what lay beyond Cape Non (Cape Chaunar) on the African coast, and whether it was possible to return once it was crossed.[36] Nautical myths warned of oceanic monsters or an edge of the world, but Prince Henry's navigation challenged such beliefs: starting in 1421, systematic sailing overcame it, reaching the difficult Cape Bojador that in 1434 one of Prince Henry's captains, Gil Eanes, finally passed.

A major advance was the introduction of the caravel in the mid-15th century, a small ship able to sail windward more than any other in Europe at the time.[37] Evolved from fishing ships designs, they were the first that could leave the coastal cabotage navigation and sail safely on the open Atlantic. For celestial navigation the Portuguese used the Ephemerides, which experienced a remarkable diffusion in the 15th century. They were astronomical charts plotting the location of the stars over a distinct period of time. Published in 1496 by the Jewish astronomer, astrologer, and mathematician Abraham Zacuto, the Almanach Perpetuum included some of these tables for the movements of stars.[38] These tables revolutionized navigation, allowing to calculate latitude. Exact longitude, however, remained elusive, and mariners struggled to determine it for centuries.[39][40] Using the caravel, systematic exploration continued ever more southerly, advancing on average one degree a year.[41] Senegal and Cape Verde Peninsula were reached in 1445 and in 1446, António Fernandes pushed on almost as far as present-day Sierra Leone.

In 1453 the fall of Constantinople to the hands of the Ottomans was a blow to Christianity and the established business relations linking with the east. In 1455 Pope Nicholas V issued the bull Romanus Pontifex reinforcing previous Dum Diversas (1452), granting all lands and seas discovered beyond Cape Bojador to king Afonso V of Portugal and his successors, as well as trade and conquest against Muslims and pagans, initiating a mare clausum policy in the Atlantic.[42] The king, who had been inquiring Genoese experts about a seaway to India, commissioned then Fra Mauro world map, which arrived in Lisbon in 1459.[43]

In 1456 Diogo Gomes reached the Cape Verde archipelago. In the next decade several captains at the service of Prince Henry - including the Genoese Antonio da Noli and Venetian Alvise Cadamosto - discovered the remaining islands which were occupied still during the 15th century. The Gulf of Guinea would be reached in the 1460s's. Source :[link]

Hetalia, England aph, Spain aph, Egypt aph, Italy aph, Macau aph & Netherlands aph belonged to Himaruya H.
Spice Islands is Maluku Islands in Indonesia.
Indonesia aph, Malaysia aph & Portugal aph based on Himaruya's sketch. ([link] )
Japan 16th century design by
Phillippines OC by
Brunei Darussalam OC by
Scotland aph & Luxembourg aph from Hetawiki : [link]

Description
next page :[link]
previous page :[link]

Portuguese exploration

In 1415, Ceuta was conquered by the Portuguese aiming to control navigation of the African coast. Young prince Henry the Navigator was there and became aware of profit possibilities in the Trans-Saharan trade routes. For centuries slave and gold trade routes linking West Africa with the Mediterranean passed over the Western Sahara Desert, controlled by hostile Muslim states of North Africa.

Henry wished to know how far Muslim territories in Africa extended, hoping to bypass it and trade directly with West Africa by sea, find allies in legendary Christian lands to the south[33] like the long-lost Christian kingdom of Prester John[34] and to probe whether it was possible to reach the Indies by sea, the source of the lucrative spice trade. He invested in sponsoring voyages down the coast of Mauritania, gathering a group of merchants, shipowners and stakeholders interested in new sea lanes. Soon the Atlantic islands of Madeira (1419) and Azores (1427) were reached. In particular, they were discovered by voyages launched by the command of Prince Henry the Navigator. The expedition leader himself, who established settlements on the island of Madeira, was João Gonçalves Zarco.[35]

At the time, Europeans did not know what lay beyond Cape Non (Cape Chaunar) on the African coast, and whether it was possible to return once it was crossed.[36] Nautical myths warned of oceanic monsters or an edge of the world, but Prince Henry's navigation challenged such beliefs: starting in 1421, systematic sailing overcame it, reaching the difficult Cape Bojador that in 1434 one of Prince Henry's captains, Gil Eanes, finally passed.

A major advance was the introduction of the caravel in the mid-15th century, a small ship able to sail windward more than any other in Europe at the time.[37] Evolved from fishing ships designs, they were the first that could leave the coastal cabotage navigation and sail safely on the open Atlantic. For celestial navigation the Portuguese used the Ephemerides, which experienced a remarkable diffusion in the 15th century. They were astronomical charts plotting the location of the stars over a distinct period of time. Published in 1496 by the Jewish astronomer, astrologer, and mathematician Abraham Zacuto, the Almanach Perpetuum included some of these tables for the movements of stars.[38] These tables revolutionized navigation, allowing to calculate latitude. Exact longitude, however, remained elusive, and mariners struggled to determine it for centuries.[39][40] Using the caravel, systematic exploration continued ever more southerly, advancing on average one degree a year.[41] Senegal and Cape Verde Peninsula were reached in 1445 and in 1446, António Fernandes pushed on almost as far as present-day Sierra Leone.

In 1453 the fall of Constantinople to the hands of the Ottomans was a blow to Christianity and the established business relations linking with the east. In 1455 Pope Nicholas V issued the bull Romanus Pontifex reinforcing previous Dum Diversas (1452), granting all lands and seas discovered beyond Cape Bojador to king Afonso V of Portugal and his successors, as well as trade and conquest against Muslims and pagans, initiating a mare clausum policy in the Atlantic.[42] The king, who had been inquiring Genoese experts about a seaway to India, commissioned then Fra Mauro world map, which arrived in Lisbon in 1459.[43]

In 1456 Diogo Gomes reached the Cape Verde archipelago. In the next decade several captains at the service of Prince Henry - including the Genoese Antonio da Noli and Venetian Alvise Cadamosto - discovered the remaining islands which were occupied still during the 15th century. The Gulf of Guinea would be reached in the 1460s's. Source :[link]

Hetalia, England aph, Spain aph, Egypt aph, Italy aph, Macau aph & Netherlands aph belonged to Himaruya H.
Spice Islands is Maluku Islands in Indonesia.
Indonesia aph, Malaysia aph & Portugal aph based on Himaruya's sketch. ([link] )
Japan 16th century design by
Phillippines OC by
Brunei Darussalam OC by
Scotland aph & Luxembourg aph from Hetawiki : [link]