United States History Student Edition

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Early Explorations

The Portuguese Explore GUIDING QUESTION How did Portugal build a trading empire with Asia?

READING STRATEGY Analyzing Key Ideas and Details As you read, take notes about European explorers who were sponsored by Spain or Portugal.

Portugal was the first European power to explore the world by sea. Because Portugal did not have a port on the Mediterranean Sea, merchants could not use existing trade routes. Portugal’s search for new trade routes began an era of exploration that would lead to great changes for civilizations in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Portugal’s Prince Henry, known as Henry the Navigator, laid the groundwork for the era of European exploration. In about 1420, he set up a school of navigation at Sagres (SAW•grish). There, astronomers, geographers, and mathematicians came to share their knowledge with Portuguese sailors, shipbuilders, and mapmakers. The prince planned the voyages and then analyzed the reports that his crews brought home. Portuguese ships sailed south along the coast of West Africa. Crews traded for gold and ivory with kingdoms of West Africa and set up trading posts. In the mid-1400s, Portuguese traders began to buy enslaved Africans there. King John II of Portugal launched new efforts to create a Portuguese trading empire in Asia. The Portuguese wanted to find a sea route around Africa to India and China. In 1487, Bartolomeu Dias set out from Portugal’s capital, Lisbon, with two caravels and a supply ship. This expedition included some of Portugal’s best pilots. They sailed for weeks, staying near the coast. As the ships approached Africa’s southern tip, a fierce storm carried them off course and out of sight of land. When the winds finally died down, Dias realized he had already sailed past the southernmost part of Africa. He had also passed a landform called a cape , a piece of land that juts out into a body of water. King John named it the “Cape of Good Hope.” Ten years later, in July 1497, Vasco da Gama set sail from Portugal with four ships. After the expedition rounded the Cape of Good Hope on November 22, it reached Africa’s eastern coast. Da Gama then sailed on to the port of Calicut, in India, in May 1498. Portugal’s long-held dream of a sea route to Asia was now reality. Soon Portuguese fleets began to make yearly voyages to India. Their cargoes made Lisbon the marketplace of Europe. 7 CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING Citing Text Evidence Give examples from the text that help explain how Henry the Navigator built a successful center for exploration.

Explorers