This is a map
of the world's shipping lanes

showcasing the intricate network
of maritime routes

that connect our modern world
through global trade.

Although some of these routes 
were established in more recent times

such as the Suez and Panama canals,

most of these oceanic highways
were chartered long ago

in an age where there was
no reliable way of navigation

other than local knowledge
and some rudimentary maps.

However, just over 500 years ago

at the beginning of the 16th century

these international trade routes
did not even exist.

Only due to the emergence
of the small Iberian nation of Portugal

as a maritime superpower,

were these connections 
to other parts of the world

made possible through their daring
voyages and navigational prowess.

Portugal quickly established
an empire for itself,

stretching from Africa, to Asia
and South America.

These maritime exploits
not only fueled Portugal's wealth.

an astonishing rise to power,

but also laid the foundation
for the interconnected global economy

that we benefit from today.

But how did this relatively obscure nation
on the edge of Europe emerged

to forge an Empire that would shape
the course of History

for centuries to come?

This is the History 
of the Portuguese Empire.

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Thank you.

The kingdom of Portugal emerged out
of the series of events

known to History as the Reconquista

which was the the gradual reconquest
of Christian lands

on the Iberian Peninsula
from the Muslim Moors

who had invaded the territory
far back in the 8th century,

having established itself 
as a sovereign kingdom

by the middle of the 12th century,

the Portuguese went on to push
out the remaining Moors to the South

by capturing the territory
of the Algarve in 1249,

effectively setting out the borders
of their kingdom

along the same lines
to which they exist today.

With their own territory secured
from external threats

and the possibility of further expansion
on the Iberian Peninsula ruled out

on account of their friendly relations

with the neighboring Christian
kingdom of Castile to the east.

Portugal turned its attention
towards the sea

and the possibility
of exerting its own influence

upon both it and the lands
that lay beyond in North Africa.

The year 1415 marked a pivotal
moment in Portuguese expansion

for a decision was made to orchestrate
an attack on the city of Ceuta,

which was held by the Marinid Sultanate.

Although many at the time
considered this

nothing more than a continuation
of the hostilities

between Christians and Muslims,

in reality it paved the way 
for the Portuguese

to expand their dominions 
and economic interests

beyond the Iberian Peninsula

and marked the beginning 
of the Portuguese Empire.

Despite capturing the city,

the Portuguese were not able
to advance further into North Africa

as they had initially planned,

owing to determined resistance
by local Muslim forces.

Nevertheless they continued
to guarnison Ceuta

and used its harbor as a base

to explore the Atlantic 
coastline of Africa.

This policy of maritime exploration

was championed by a prominent figure

in the early days 
of the Portuguese Empire´:

Prince Henry, the Navigator.

He was curious to know
how far the Muslim territories in Africa

extended Southward,

and whether it would be possible
to reach Asia by an easterly sea route.

Consequently, scores of Portuguese ships
began to set off into the Atlantic Ocean

and around the coast of North Africa

probing further and further into what
were at the time uncharted waters.

The islands of Madeira and the Azores

were first cited in 1419 and 1427,
respectively,

and were subsequently
incorporated

as the latest additions
to the expanding Portuguese Empire.

One of the first natural barriers

the Portuguese encountered
on their explorations

was Cape Bojador.

The violent waters that surround it
had claimed many vessels

that had previously tried to pass through

and it was widely deemed 
to be a point of no return.

That was until 1434,

when Gil Eanes successfully
found the navigable passage

around the cape

and opened up further
exploration South

towards subsaharan Africa.

No sooner had this feat been achieved

that the merchants of Lisbon
began to search

for newer and more exotic markets

to which they could trade to.

gold, ivory, pepper, cotton and sugar,
all from Africa,

soon became more commonplace

amongst the trading stools of Lisbon

as did the practice
of selling African slaves

which began the long and

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