The Age of Exploration: Chapter 3-Portuguese Exploration

Age of Exploration: Portuguese Exploration

by Charles Montgomery

​Pioneers of the Sea

• ​Prince Henry "The Navigator"

  • ​Strong desire to explore oceans

  • ​Never actually went on expeditions himself

  • ​Encouraged developments in mapmaking, shipbuilding and instrument making

  • ​Encouraged sharing of information

  • ​Encouraged King John I to pay for expeditions

Multiple Choice

Prince Henry is called "The Navigator" because he made several sea expeditions.

• True

• False

• ​Prince Henry sent dozens of expeditions down west coast of Africa

• ​Sailors believed stories of sea monsters and boiling seas

• ​Made it difficult to find sailors willing to explore

• ​Eventually made it to Cape Bojador off Western Sahara

• ​Continued to explore western coast of Africa

• ​Set up trading posts along coast

• ​Brought back gold, ivory, spices and slaves.

Multiple Choice

Who provided leadership for Portuguese exploration in the 1400s?

• Vasco da Gama

• Prince Henry the Navigator

• Bartolomeu Dias

• Pedro Alvares Cabral

​Bartolomeu Dias

• ​set sail in 1487 headed south with three ships along Africa's west coast

• ​sailed further than any European had before

• ​Stormy seas forced ships off coarse and didn't see land for days

• ​When seas calmed, land that was once to their east, was now on the west.

• ​This meant that they were now traveling North, up the eastern coast of Africa, not south, down the western coast

• ​They had sailed around the tip of Africa and didn't know it.

• ​Decided to head back around the tip of Africa to return to Portugal

• ​Called this the Cape of Storms

• ​Today we call it the Cape of Good Hope

• ​Dias had found a way to the Indian Ocean

Multiple Choice

What important route did Dias's discovery lead to?

• a westward route to the Spice Islands

• a polar route to the Americas

• a route to the Indian Ocean

• a path around South America

Multiple Choice

What landmark was Bartolomeu Dias the first European to reach?

• Straits of Magellan

• Northwest Passage

• Tasmania

• Cape of Good Hope

Multiple Choice

How did Dias and his crew realize they had drifted onto a different ocean?

• They had maps that told them where they were

• They spotted land to their west instead of to their east

• They were told about it when they got back to Portugal

• The native peoples living there told them

Multiple Choice

What were Bartolomeu Dias and his crew the first to do?

• Set up trade ports along the Western coast of Africa

• Convince King John I to pay for an expedition to Africa

• Claim land in North America in the name of Portugal

• Find a sea route to the Indian Ocean

​Vasco da Gama

• 1497 led four ships from Lisbon

• ​rounded Cape of Good Hope and headed northeast along coast of east Africa

• ​Stopped in major African trading centers of Mombasa, Mozambique and Malindi

• ​Arab traders in the region tried to sieze Portuguese ships

​da Gama cont.

• ​Continued north to Malindi

• Made it across Indian Ocean in 23 days

  • ​had help from experienced Arab ship captain

  • western trade winds ​

• ​had to meet extreme trade demands of the Zamorin (Hindu ruler of Calicut) because he didn't want to anger the Arab traders

• ​Escaped Calicut with lots of goods

• ​Took 3 months to get back across Indian Ocean

  • ​Many men died of scurvy

• Finally reached Lisbon in 1499

• ​Was called a hero by king

Multiple Choice

Where did Vasco da Gama explore?

• Newfoundland

• the eastern coast of North America

• the eastern coast of Africa

• Caribbean Islands

Multiple Select

What two things helped da Gama and his men get across the Indian Ocean in twenty-three days?

• The Zamorin helped them

• Western trade winds

• Scurvy had set in

• A helpful Arab ship captain showed them the way.

Multiple Choice

Why was the Hindu ruler in Calicut, India reluctant to trade with da Gama

• da Gama wasn't Muslim

• He didn't want to anger the Arab traders he normally did business with

• da Gama had insutled the Zamorin

• the goods that da Gama had to trade were too fancy for the Zamorian

​The Portuguese in East Africa

• ​several follow up expeditions follow da Gama's

• ​wanted to seize control of trade on eastern coast of Africa

  • ​copper

  • ​iron ore

  • ​gold

  • ​ivory

  • ​salt

  • ​tools

  • ​pottery

  • ​slaves

​The Portuguese in East Africa

• set up trading posts along the Swahili coast

• ​gold mined inland was shipped down the Save River to Beira, then to Portugal

• ​Attempted to gain control of the rich resources of the interior of Africa

• ​met with strong resistance

• ​did manage to break Arab traders monopoly along coast

Multiple Choice

What became Portugals main goal after da Gama's expedition?

• Look for other routes to India

• Seize control of trade on the eastern coast of Africa

• Establish complete control of the Swahili region so they could expand their empire

• Look for new exotic products that were not available in Europe

Multiple Choice

Where in Africa did the Portuguese try to expand their influence after their initial establishment of trade?

• India

• The Spice Islands

• along the Mediterean Sea

• The interior of Africa

​Pedro Alvares Cabral and Brazil

• ​Left Portugal in March of 1500 for India

• ​Supposed to follow route taken by da Gama

• ​Sailed further west to avoid lack of wind

• ​Came across undiscovered land in what is today Brazil

• ​Claimed land for Portugal

Multiple Choice

Although Pedro Alvares Cabral set sail for India, where did he accidentally end up reaching first?

• The Canary Islands

• Brazil

• North America

• Java