As Europe sets off to expand across the oceans, the first contestant=PORTUGAL. Check out a map. They are super far away from any trade route. Not isolated, but but out there. So, it makes sense that they would lead the way in seeking out new trade routes and peoples to convert to Catholicism. Portugal has a decent head start as well. King John the Good (Henry’s dad) first took territory in Africa (Ceuta) in 1415! Columbus was 77 years later. That’s a massive lead in terms of exploration. Everyone else took their cues from Portugal in the sea route to Asia. Having said that… Portugal’s empire will not be the largest (Britain) or the longest lasting (Ottomans). . They have their crown jewel: BRAZIL; but otherwise, they are pretty much a Trading Post Empire without significant land holdings outside of Brazil (The Portuguese are the 21st largest empire ever, just behind the Achaemenid Persians). So, when studying the Portuguese; remember them for their explorers, and being the first Europeans to reach a lot of places by sea… This is the Portuguese Empire:

1. ILLUSTRIOUS GENERATION
2. HENRY’S “SCHOOL”
3. CARAVEL
4. CARRACK
5. TRADING POST EMPIRE

1. Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea, Gomes Azurara, c. 1450 (account of the early days of the Portuguese slave trade)
2. Description of Capo Bianco and the Islands Nearest to It, Alvise da Cadamosto, 1455 (reconnaissance reported back to Prince Henry of Alvise found on his journeys)
3. Round Africa to India, Vasco da Gama, 1498 (account of his journey to India)
4. The Commentaries of the Great Afonso Dalboquerque, Afonso Albuquerque, c. 1510 (account of his conquerings in the Indian Ocean)
5. The Life and Letters of St. Francis Xavier, Francis Xavier, 1550 (account of Xavier and his two years spent in Japan after arriving on a Portuguese mission)

1. MAP OF WESTERN AFRICA, 1563, Lazaro Luis (featuring Elmina slave fort)

2. Map of the Captaincies of Brazil, 1574, Luis Texeira

3. Vasco Da Gama meets with the Zamorin (King) of Calicut, c. 1850 steel engraving

4. Portuguese Carrack landing in Nagasaki, Japan, 17th Century

5. MONUMENT OF THE DISCOVERIES, 1958, LISBON (Prince Henry in the front leading the great Portuguese Navigators, conquerors and writers)

1. Check a map. Portugal is as far west as Europe gets. That means its the farthest from the major trade routes.
2. Portugal hit the seas in the early 1400s (in the last period). So, they have a massive head start and, thus, are usually the first to get to places (Brazil, Africa, India, Indonesia, China, Japan)
3. Prince Henry go the ball rolling with his “school”.
4. Others followed, including Dias, Da Gama, Magellan, Albuquerque; but the empire was short lived as a Trading Post Empire with only a few lasting spots (Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Macau)
5. Portugal didn’t just navigate. They also carried the bulk of slaves to their colonies and dominated the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade for a century.