Before Portugal set its gaze on the New World, Africa was the site of
commercial and imperial aspirations.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES [ edit ]
Describe how the slave trade ultimately impacted African civilizations.
Explain Portugal’s economic motivation for engaging in the slave trade.
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
Portuguese explorer Prince Henry, known as the Navigator, was the first European to
methodically explore Africa and the oceanic route to the Indies.
Portuguese exploration of Africa was motivated by the desire to find a direct trade route to India.
Over the course of less than a century, Portugal explored much of western Africa and established
a trade route connecting Europe and the Indies.
Portuguese explorer Prince Henry, known as the Navigator, was the first European to
methodically explore Africa and the oceanic route to the Indies.
Portugal's exploration of Africa and Christopher Columbus's successful journey to the New
World led Pope Alexander VI to declare with the Inter caetera a division of the unsettled lands of
the non­Christian world between Spain and Portugal.
Portuguese exploration of Africa was motivated by the desire to find a direct trade route to India.
TERMS [ edit ]
Prince Henry the Navigator
Henry the Navigator (4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460) was an infante of the Kingdom of
Portugal and an important figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire.
Ceuta
A Spanish enclave at the edge of Morocco
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Beginnings of Portuguese Exploration
In 1297, King Dinis of Portugal took personal interest in exports, and in 1317 he made an
agreement with Genoese merchant sailor Manuel Pessanha, Pesagno, appointing him first
Admiral of the Portuguese Navy. The King's goal was defending the country against Muslim
pirate raids. Between 1325 and 1357, Dinis' successor, King Afonso IV, encouraged maritime
commerce and ordered the first explorations. In 1415, Ceuta was conquered by the
Portuguese aiming to control navigation of the African coast.
Henry the Navigator
Young prince Henry the Navigator was there and became aware of profit possibilities in the
Trans­Saharan trade routes . For centuries slave and gold trade routes linking West Africa
with the Mediterranean passed over the Western Sahara Desert, controlled by the moors of
North Africa. Henry wished to know how far Muslim territories in Africa extended, hoping to
bypass them and trade directly with West Africa by sea. He also aimed 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.
Henry the Navigator in 15th century triptych of St. Vincent, by Nuno Gonçalves
Portuguese explorer Prince Henry, known as the Navigator, was the first European to methodically
explore Africa and the oceanic route to the Indies.
The Caravel
A major advance was the introduction of the caravel in the mid­15th century, a small ship
able to sail windward more than any other in Europe at the time. 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. These charts revolutionized
navigation, allowing to calculate latitude. Using the caravel, systematic exploration
continued ever more southerly .
The Caravel
The introduction of the caravel allowed Portuguese mariners to travel and navigate on the open
Atlantic Ocean.
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.
The next crucial breakthrough was in 1488, when Bartolomeu Dias rounded the southern tip
of Africa, which he named the "Cape of Storms. " He continued to sail east as far as the
mouth of the Great Fish River, proving that the Indian Ocean was accessible from the
Atlantic. Simultaneously, an explorer by the name of Pêro da Covilhã had reached Ethiopia
by land and collected important information about the Red Sea and Quenia coast ­
suggesting that a sea route to the Indies would soon be forthcoming. Soon the cape was
renamed by King John II of Portugal the "Cape of Good Hope" because of the great optimism
engendered by the possibility of a sea route to India, proving false the view that had existed
since Ptolemy that the Indian Ocean was land­locked.
Portugal and the Native Equatorial African States
Portuguese colonization of some parts of Africa would have a very negative impact on the
existing civilizations. By 1583, they had destroyed the Afro­Muslim Zendj civilization of East
Africa that competed with them for the African trade. Two other important African
kingdoms, the Kongo and the Monomotapa, would also be destroyed by the Portuguese
conquerors. Relations with the Kongo were initially good: Congolese kings embraced
Catholicism and welcomed Portuguese missionaries and merchants. But the slave trade
eventually became a major issue of dispute in the region. The Portuguese (and later also the
Dutch) supported the enslaving warrior state of the Jaggas, who sacked the Kongo
repeatedly.
They also used the Kongo to weaken the neighboring realm of Ndongo, whose ruler, Queen
Nzinga, put up a fierce but ultimately unsuccessful resistance to Portuguese and Jagga
ambitions. Portugal intervened militarily in these conflicts, creating the basis for their colony
of Angola. In 1663, after another conflict, the royal crown of Kongo was sent to Lisbon.
Nevertheless, a diminished Kongo Kingdom would still exist until 1885, when the last
Manicongo, Pedro V, ceded his almost non­existent domain to Portugal.
The Portuguese dealt with the other major state of Southern Africa, the Monomotapa (in
modern Zimbabwe), in a similar manner. Portugal intervened in a local war hoping to get
abundant mineral riches, imposing a protectorate. But with the authority of the
Monomotapa diminished by the foreign presence, anarchy took over. The local miners
migrated and even buried the mines to prevent them from falling into Portuguese hands.
When in 1693 the neighboring Cangamires invaded the country, the Portuguese accepted
their failure and retreated to the coast.
Portugese Map of Africa
16th century map of Western Africa, showing São Jorge da Mina (Elmina castle) fortifi