Unit+2+-+Early+Explorations

media type="youtube" key="tpCa0OnldaA?version=3" height="360" width="640" Unit 2: Early Explorations: Portuguese __ Prince Henry the Navigator __ A man who never went on any sea voyages was responsible for much of Portugal’s success on the seas. Known as Prince Henry the Navigator, in 1418 he started the first school for oceanic navigation along with an astronomical observatory at Sagres, Portugal. In this school, people were trained in nagivation, map-making, and science, in order to sail down the west of Africa - he also paid people to sail on voyages of exploration. Spanish sailors later followed the Portuguese example of exploration around the world. Henry was born on 4 March 1394 and died, aged 66, on 13 November 1460; he was responsible for the early development of European exploration and maritime trade with other continents. Henry the Navigator took the lead role in encouraging Portuguese maritime exploration until his death in 1460. Henry wished to know how far the Muslim territories in Africa extended, and whether it was possible to reach Asia by sea, both to reach the source of the lucrative spice trade and perhaps to join forces with the long-lost Christian kingdom of Prester John that was rumoured to exist somewhere in the "Indies".
 * Exploring West Africa**: At this time, no Europeans had sailed past the treacherous Cape Bojador and returned alive. Cape Bojador is on the coast of Africa just below latitude 27° North (off the western Sahara Desert) and had frequent, violent storms and strong currents. The Europeans called the ocean beyond that point the "Sea of Darkness." Most sailors refused to go there. Prince Henry sent 14 expeditions there over 12 years, trying to go farther than Cape Bojador. Prince Henry convinced Gil Eannes to try, and Eannes succeeded in 1434. Gil Eannes was a Portuguese explorer who was the first European to sail beyond the dreaded Cape Bojador and return. Eannes worked in Prince Henry's household. On Eannes' first trip down the coast of Africa in 1433, he only sailed as far as the Canary Islands. In 1434, Eannes rounded Cape Bojador, and then landed on the coastal desert. He found no people there, only a few hardy plants, including "Saint Mary's roses," which he brought back to Portugal as proof of his accomplishment.

Eannes made another journey in 1435, again rounding Cape Bojador and sailing south; he sailed with Alfonso Goncalves Baldaya. About 50 leagues past the cape, they entered a large bay and saw a caravan of men and camels. Eannes named the river Rio de Ouro (meaning river of gold). Baldaya sailed farther south and collected thousands of seal skins; this was the first commercial cargo brought to Europe from that part of Africa. By the time of Henry's death in 1460, a large part of the African West Coast had been mapped: __ Bartolomeu Dias __ Bartolomeu Dias was born in 1451 and drowned at sea on 29 May 1500. He was a nobleman of the Portuguese royal household but he is most famous as the Portuguese explorer who sailed around the southernmost tip of Africa in 1488, the first European known to have done so. Dias was a Knight of the royal court, superintendent of the royal warehouses, and sailing-master. King John II of Portugal appointed him, on 10 October 1487, to head an expedition to sail around the southern tip of Africa in the hope of finding a trade route to India. Dias was also charged with searching for the lands ruled by Prester John, who was a fabled Christian priest and ruler. This breakthrough of circumnavigating the Cape of Good Hope opened up lucrative trading routes from Europe to Asia. Dias originally called the southern tip of Africa the "Cape of Storms" but it was later renamed the Cape of Good Hope.

__ Vasco Da Gama __ Vasco da Gama was born in 1460 and died in 1524. He sailed from Lisbon, Portugal, around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, to India (and back) in 1497-1499. At that time, many people thought that it was impossible to do this since they thought that the Indian Ocean was not connected to any other seas. His patron was King Manuel I of Portugal, who sent da Gama, now an Admiral, on another expedition to India (1502-1503). After King Manuel's death, King John III sent da Gama to India as a Portuguese viceroy (the King's representative in India). Da Gama died in India in 1524. Vasco da Gama set sail for home on 29 August 1498. Eager to leave, he ignored the local knowledge of monsoon wind patterns which were still blowing onshore. Crossing the Indian Ocean to India, sailing with the monsoon wind, had taken da Gama's ships only 23 days. The return trip across the ocean, sailing against the wind, took 132 days, and da Gama arrived in Malindi on 7 January 1499. During this trip, approximately half of the crew died, and many of the rest were afflicted with scurvy. Two of da Gama's ships made it back to Portugal, arriving in July and August of 1499. asco da Gama returned to Portugal in September 1499 and was richly rewarded as the man who had brought to fruition a plan that had taken eighty years to fulfill. He was given the title "Admiral of the Indian Seas". The spice trade would prove to be a major asset to the Portuguese economy, and other consequences soon followed. For example, da Gama's voyage had made it clear that the east coast of Africa, the //Contra Costa//, was essential to Portuguese interests; its ports provided fresh water, provisions, timber, and harbors for repairs, and served as a refuge where ships could wait out unfavorable weather. One significant result was the colonization of Mozambique by the Portuguese Crown. owever, da Gama's achievements were somewhat dimmed by his failure to bring any trade goods of interest to the nations of India. Moreover, the sea route was fraught with its own perils - his fleet went more than thirty days without seeing land and only 60 of his 180 companions, on one of his three ships, returned to Portugal in 1498. Nevertheless, da Gama's initial journey opened a direct sea route to Asia.

Unit 2: Early Explorations: Portuguese: __QUESTIONS:__
 * 1) Describe the influence of Henry, Dias and da Gama on the Voyages of Discovery.
 * 2) In your opinion, who was the most important and why?