1
00:00:10,214 --> 00:00:14,116
This is a map
of the world's shipping lanes

2
00:00:14,339 --> 00:00:17,081
showcasing the intricate network
of maritime routes

3
00:00:17,111 --> 00:00:19,797
that connect our modern world
through global trade.

4
00:00:19,847 --> 00:00:23,655
Although some of these routes 
were established in more recent times

5
00:00:23,865 --> 00:00:26,319
such as the Suez and Panama canals,

6
00:00:26,509 --> 00:00:30,270
most of these oceanic highways
were chartered long ago

7
00:00:30,330 --> 00:00:33,779
in an age where there was
no reliable way of navigation

8
00:00:33,799 --> 00:00:36,678
other than local knowledge
and some rudimentary maps.

9
00:00:38,108 --> 00:00:41,158
However, just over 500 years ago

10
00:00:41,188 --> 00:00:43,573
at the beginning of the 16th century

11
00:00:43,654 --> 00:00:46,921
these international trade routes
did not even exist.

12
00:00:47,991 --> 00:00:51,439
Only due to the emergence
of the small Iberian nation of Portugal

13
00:00:51,499 --> 00:00:53,688
as a maritime superpower,

14
00:00:53,751 --> 00:00:56,716
were these connections 
to other parts of the world

15
00:00:56,736 --> 00:01:00,631
made possible through their daring
voyages and navigational prowess.

16
00:01:00,778 --> 00:01:04,194
Portugal quickly established
an empire for itself,

17
00:01:04,427 --> 00:01:07,931
stretching from Africa, to Asia
and South America.

18
00:01:08,961 --> 00:01:12,187
These maritime exploits
not only fueled Portugal's wealth.

19
00:01:12,237 --> 00:01:14,205
an astonishing rise to power,

20
00:01:14,205 --> 00:01:18,307
but also laid the foundation
for the interconnected global economy

21
00:01:18,376 --> 00:01:19,881
that we benefit from today.

22
00:01:20,381 --> 00:01:24,801
But how did this relatively obscure nation
on the edge of Europe emerged

23
00:01:24,864 --> 00:01:27,704
to forge an Empire that would shape
the course of History

24
00:01:27,704 --> 00:01:29,393
for centuries to come?

25
00:01:29,700 --> 00:01:32,628
This is the History 
of the Portuguese Empire.

26
00:01:36,948 --> 00:01:40,911
All of our videos are available to watch
ad free over on our substack page.

27
00:01:42,063 --> 00:01:44,616
you can also read along
to the original scripts

28
00:01:44,626 --> 00:01:47,607
as well as listen to the audio generation
as podcasts

29
00:01:47,607 --> 00:01:50,206
by following the link
in the video description below

30
00:01:50,206 --> 00:01:51,829
and subscribing with your email.

31
00:01:51,999 --> 00:01:53,255
Thank you.

32
00:01:53,885 --> 00:01:56,833
The kingdom of Portugal emerged out
of the series of events

33
00:01:56,833 --> 00:01:59,363
known to History as the Reconquista

34
00:01:59,413 --> 00:02:02,208
which was the the gradual reconquest
of Christian lands

35
00:02:02,208 --> 00:02:04,843
on the Iberian Peninsula
from the Muslim Moors

36
00:02:04,873 --> 00:02:08,144
who had invaded the territory
far back in the 8th century,

37
00:02:08,504 --> 00:02:11,078
having established itself 
as a sovereign kingdom

38
00:02:11,108 --> 00:02:12,765
by the middle of the 12th century,

39
00:02:12,785 --> 00:02:16,388
the Portuguese went on to push
out the remaining Moors to the South

40
00:02:16,428 --> 00:02:20,021
by capturing the territory
of the Algarve in 1249,

41
00:02:20,121 --> 00:02:22,867
effectively setting out the borders
of their kingdom

42
00:02:22,877 --> 00:02:25,565
along the same lines
to which they exist today.

43
00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:28,186
With their own territory secured
from external threats

44
00:02:28,216 --> 00:02:31,749
and the possibility of further expansion
on the Iberian Peninsula ruled out

45
00:02:31,759 --> 00:02:33,881
on account of their friendly relations

46
00:02:33,891 --> 00:02:36,914
with the neighboring Christian
kingdom of Castile to the east.

47
00:02:36,914 --> 00:02:39,287
Portugal turned its attention
towards the sea

48
00:02:39,397 --> 00:02:41,885
and the possibility
of exerting its own influence

49
00:02:41,971 --> 00:02:45,667
upon both it and the lands
that lay beyond in North Africa.

50
00:02:46,595 --> 00:02:50,656
The year 1415 marked a pivotal
moment in Portuguese expansion

51
00:02:50,997 --> 00:02:54,722
for a decision was made to orchestrate
an attack on the city of Ceuta,

52
00:02:54,813 --> 00:02:57,331
which was held by the Marinid Sultanate.

53
00:02:57,921 --> 00:02:59,847
Although many at the time
considered this

54
00:02:59,847 --> 00:03:02,246
nothing more than a continuation
of the hostilities

55
00:03:02,286 --> 00:03:03,915
between Christians and Muslims,

56
00:03:03,955 --> 00:03:06,891
in reality it paved the way 
for the Portuguese

57
00:03:06,941 --> 00:03:09,714
to expand their dominions 
and economic interests

58
00:03:09,766 --> 00:03:12,038
beyond the Iberian Peninsula

59
00:03:12,068 --> 00:03:14,629
and marked the beginning 
of the Portuguese Empire.

60
00:03:15,849 --> 00:03:17,870
Despite capturing the city,

61
00:03:17,870 --> 00:03:21,265
the Portuguese were not able
to advance further into North Africa

62
00:03:21,379 --> 00:03:22,960
as they had initially planned,

63
00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:25,615
owing to determined resistance
by local Muslim forces.

64
00:03:25,915 --> 00:03:28,803
Nevertheless they continued
to guarnison Ceuta

65
00:03:28,843 --> 00:03:30,857
and used its harbor as a base

66
00:03:30,917 --> 00:03:33,094
to explore the Atlantic 
coastline of Africa.

67
00:03:33,824 --> 00:03:36,197
This policy of maritime exploration

68
00:03:36,237 --> 00:03:38,384
was championed by a prominent figure

69
00:03:38,404 --> 00:03:40,637
in the early days 
of the Portuguese Empire´:

70
00:03:40,677 --> 00:03:42,399
Prince Henry, the Navigator.

71
00:03:42,769 --> 00:03:46,297
He was curious to know
how far the Muslim territories in Africa

72
00:03:46,370 --> 00:03:47,845
extended Southward,

73
00:03:47,865 --> 00:03:51,373
and whether it would be possible
to reach Asia by an easterly sea route.

74
00:03:52,177 --> 00:03:56,461
Consequently, scores of Portuguese ships
began to set off into the Atlantic Ocean

75
00:03:56,501 --> 00:03:58,768
and around the coast of North Africa

76
00:03:58,848 --> 00:04:03,215
probing further and further into what
were at the time uncharted waters.

77
00:04:03,782 --> 00:04:06,113
The islands of Madeira and the Azores

78
00:04:06,113 --> 00:04:10,045
were first cited in 1419 and 1427,
respectively,

79
00:04:10,098 --> 00:04:12,344
and were subsequently
incorporated

80
00:04:12,364 --> 00:04:15,171
as the latest additions
to the expanding Portuguese Empire.

81
00:04:15,971 --> 00:04:17,767
One of the first natural barriers

82
00:04:17,767 --> 00:04:20,227
the Portuguese encountered
on their explorations

83
00:04:20,244 --> 00:04:22,029
was Cape Bojador.

84
00:04:22,031 --> 00:04:25,099
The violent waters that surround it
had claimed many vessels

85
00:04:25,099 --> 00:04:27,104
that had previously tried to pass through

86
00:04:27,114 --> 00:04:29,781
and it was widely deemed 
to be a point of no return.

87
00:04:30,031 --> 00:04:32,105
That was until 1434,

88
00:04:32,135 --> 00:04:35,537
when Gil Eanes successfully
found the navigable passage

89
00:04:35,637 --> 00:04:37,043
around the cape

90
00:04:37,053 --> 00:04:38,926
and opened up further
exploration South

91
00:04:38,969 --> 00:04:40,907
towards subsaharan Africa.

92
00:04:41,137 --> 00:04:43,190
No sooner had this feat been achieved

93
00:04:43,256 --> 00:04:45,921
that the merchants of Lisbon
began to search

94
00:04:45,921 --> 00:04:48,355
for newer and more exotic markets

95
00:04:48,355 --> 00:04:49,801
to which they could trade to.

96
00:04:49,981 --> 00:04:54,208
gold, ivory, pepper, cotton and sugar,
all from Africa,

97
00:04:54,248 --> 00:04:56,085
soon became more commonplace

98
00:04:56,105 --> 00:04:58,363
amongst the trading stools of Lisbon

99
00:04:58,363 --> 00:05:00,698
as did the practice
of selling African slaves

100
00:05:00,868 --> 00:05:03,511
which began the long and

101
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
dark history of the transatlantic slave
5:04
trade that would continue for the next
5:06
400
5:08
years over the subsequent Decades of the
5:10
15th century the Portuguese ventured
5:12
further and further south down the coast
5:14
of Africa reaching the cape verdie
5:16
Islands in 1456 and the Gulf of Guinea
5:20
by the
5:21
1460s as they explored they left behind
5:24
a series of padro stone crosses engraved
5:27
with the Portuguese coat of arms marking
5:29
out their territorial claims which were
5:31
followed up with the construction of
5:33
forts and trading posts from these bases
5:36
they engaged profitably in the gold and
5:38
slave trades which they held a virtual
5:40
monopoly on for well over a
5:43
century the real prize for the
5:45
Portuguese Merchants however was a
5:47
supposed but as yet unconfirmed sea
5:49
route to Asia they hoped that the
5:52
discovery of such a route would allow
5:54
them direct access to the spice markets
5:56
of the Indies and bypass the expensive
5:59
Arab and Venetian Merchants who
6:01
controlled the Overland trade routes
6:02
through the Middle East and across the
6:04
Mediterranean into Europe then in 1488
6:08
news reached the ears of the Portuguese
6:09
authorities that Bartholomew di had
6:12
rounded the southern tip of Africa and
6:14
reached the Indian Ocean proving that
6:16
such an easterly passage did indeed
6:19
exist however this Revelation would soon
6:22
be eclipsed in magnitude Just 4 years
6:25
later when Christopher Columbus sailed
6:27
westwards across the Atlantic Ocean in
6:29
in search of his own theoretical route
6:31
to the Indies and in the process
6:33
inadvertently discovered an entirely New
6:36
World the discovery of the Americas
6:39
which Columbus claimed in the name of
6:40
Spain and initially believed to be part
6:42
of Eastern Asia quickly created a
6:45
problem for the two Iberian Nations not
6:48
knowing where one set of recently
6:49
discovered lands ended and another began
6:52
they consequently agreed to divide the
6:54
world in two spheres of influence
6:55
between themselves marked by a north
6:58
south line of Meridian roughly halfway
7:00
between the cape verie Islands
7:02
controlled by Portugal and the Caribbean
7:04
islands of the Americas which Columbus
7:06
had recently discovered and claimed for
7:08
Spain the Treaty of pesas ratified this
7:12
agreement in 1494 and effectively carved
7:15
the world in two with the lands to the
7:17
east of this line to be claimed solely
7:19
by Portugal and the lands to the West
7:21
claimed solely by
7:23
Spain with the dispute settled Portugal
7:26
could finally begin to undertake its
7:28
long-standing ambition of charting a sea
7:30
route to Asia and so on the 8th of July
7:33
1497 the Explorer Vasco de Gama left
7:37
Lisbon with a fleet of four ships and a
7:39
crew of 170 men Bound for the Indian
7:42
Ocean in search of Asia after a voyage
7:45
of some 10 months de's Expedition
7:48
finally made landfall on the Malibar
7:50
coast of India in May 1498 and
7:53
subsequently met with the zamorin or
7:55
king of Calicut to establish the trade
7:58
relations that they they had longed hop
8:00
for whilst the portuguese's arrival was
8:03
greeted with hospitality the local
8:05
Indian Traders found little value in the
8:07
Trinkets and commodities the Europeans
8:09
had brought with them to exchange and so
8:12
D's Expedition largely left empty-handed
8:15
their return Journey back to Portugal
8:17
took an agonizing amount of time owing
8:19
to the monsoon conditions they had to
8:21
face up at Sea which took an immense
8:23
toll on both the crew and the ships
8:26
nevertheless the survivors arrived back
8:28
in Lisbon during the summer of 1499 and
8:31
were given a hero's welcome despite the
8:34
me quantities of spices and other Goods
8:36
they had brought
8:37
back although the Expedition itself may
8:40
not have been profitable it demonstrated
8:42
that Maritime trade to Asia was possible
8:45
and had huge
8:47
potential the second expedition to India
8:49
set sail in 1500 under the command of
8:52
Pedro Alvarez Cabra although while
8:55
traversing across the Atlantic Ocean
8:56
sailed Too Far West and unexpectedly
8:59
reached the coast of what is now
9:01
Brazil although this discovery may have
9:03
been unintentional some speculation
9:05
suggests that the Portuguese may have
9:07
already been aware of Brazil's existence
9:09
and secretly knew that this part of
9:11
South America fell within their
9:13
designated territory according to the
9:15
Treaty of
9:16
tordas cabal recommended to the
9:19
Portuguese King Manuel the that the land
9:22
be settled and two follow-up voyages
9:24
were sent in 1501 and
9:26
1503 the land was found to be abundant
9:29
in brazilwood from which it later
9:31
inherited its name but the failure to
9:33
find gold or silver meant that for the
9:35
time being the Portuguese instead
9:38
decided to concentrate their efforts on
9:39
the invaluable trade out of
9:41
India as the first decade of the 16th
9:44
century progressed the Portuguese
9:46
ventured further into other parts of
9:48
Asia such as Sri Lanka and Indonesia
9:51
where they discovered the sources of
9:52
cinnamon and Nutmeg so valuable were
9:55
these Commodities that Alfonso de
9:57
Albuquerque the first appointed Vice Roy
9:59
of Portuguese India ordered the