Age of Discovery

===Portuguese exploration===
{{See also|Portuguese maritime exploration|European exploration of Africa}}
[[File:Niger saharan medieval trade routes.PNG|thumb|upright=1.35|[[Trans-Saharan trade|Saharan trade routes]] c. 1400, with modern [[Niger]] highlighted]]
[[File:Quarta et Ultima Affrice Tabula NLI.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|A map of [[North Africa]] as it was known to Europeans in 1482, created by German cartographer Lienhart Holl and based on [[Ptolemey]]'s fourth map of Africa]]
In 1297, King [[Denis of Portugal]] took personal interest in exports. In 1317, he made an agreement with Genoese merchant sailor [[Manuel Pessanha]], appointing him first [[admiral]] of the [[Portuguese Navy]], with the goal of defending the country against Muslim pirate raids.<ref>[[#Diffie 1977|Diffie 1977]], p. 210.</ref> Outbreaks of [[bubonic plague]] led to severe depopulation in the second half of the 14th century: only the sea offered alternatives, with most population settling in fishing and trading coastal areas.<ref>[[#Newitt 2005|Newitt 2005]], p. 9.</ref> Between 1325 and 1357, [[Afonso IV of Portugal]] encouraged maritime commerce and ordered the first explorations.<ref>[[#Diffie 1960|Diffie 1960]], p. 49.</ref> The [[Canary Islands]], already known to the Genoese, were claimed as officially discovered under patronage of the Portuguese, but in 1344 Castile disputed them, expanding their rivalry into the sea.<ref>[[#Diffie 1977|Diffie 1977]], pp. 29–31.</ref><ref>[[#Butel 1999|Butel 1999]], p. 36.</ref>

To ensure their monopoly on trade, Europeans (beginning with the Portuguese) attempted to install a mediterranean system of trade which used military might and intimidation, to divert trade through ports they controlled; there it could be taxed.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Trade and Civilization in the Indian Ocean: An Economic History from the Rise of Islam to 1750|last=Chaudhuri|first=K.N.|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1985|page=64}}</ref> In 1415, [[Ceuta]] was [[Conquest of Ceuta|conquered]] by the Portuguese aiming to control navigation of the African coast. Young prince [[Henry the Navigator]] was there and became aware of profit possibilities in the [[trans-Saharan trade]] routes. For centuries [[Trans-Saharan slave trade|slave and gold]] trade routes linking West Africa with the Mediterranean passed over the Western Sahara Desert, controlled by the Moors of North Africa.

Henry wished to know how far Muslim territories in Africa extended, hoping to bypass them and trade directly with West Africa by sea, find allies in legendary Christian lands to the south<ref>[[#DeLamar 1992|DeLamar 1992]], p. 333.</ref> like the long-lost Christian kingdom of [[Prester John]]<ref>[[#Anderson 2000|Anderson 2000]], p. 50.</ref> and probe whether it was possible to reach the [[Indies]] by sea, the source of the lucrative [[spice trade]]. He invested in sponsoring voyages down the coast of [[Mauritania]], gathering a group of merchants, shipowners and stakeholders interested in new sea lanes. Soon the Atlantic islands of [[Madeira]] (1419) and the [[Azores]] (1427) were reached. The expedition leader who established settlements on Madeira, was Portuguese explorer [[João Gonçalves Zarco]].<ref>Joaquinn Pedro Oliveira Martins, The Golden Age Of Prince Henry The Navigator. (New York: Dutton), p. 72.</ref>

Europeans did not know what lay beyond Cape Non ([[Cape Chaunar]]) on the African coast, and whether it was possible to return once it was crossed.<ref>[[#Locke 1824|Locke 1824]], p. 385.</ref> Nautical myths warned of oceanic monsters or an edge of the world, but Henry's navigation challenged such beliefs: starting in 1421, systematic sailing overcame it, reaching the difficult [[Cape Bojador]] that in 1434 one of Henry's captains, [[Gil Eanes]], finally passed.

From 1440 onwards, [[caravel]]s were extensively used for the exploration of the coast of Africa. This was an existing Iberian ship type, used for fishing, commerce and military purposes. Unlike other vessels of the time, the caravel had a sternpost mounted rudder (as opposed to a side-mounted steering oar). It had a shallow draft, which was helpful in exploring unknown coastlines. It had good sailing performance, with a [[Windward and leeward|windward]] ability that was notable by the standards of the time.{{efn|Windward sailing ability, true for historic vessels as much as any other, is a combination of rig and hull shape. Other considerations are the amount of marine fouling on the hull, and a sternpost mounted rudder gives a clear advantage over a steering oar, partly by producing less drag but also having the hydrodynamic effect of slightly reducing leeway.<ref name="Palmer 2009">{{cite journal |last1=Palmer |first1=Colin |title=Windward Sailing Capabilities of Ancient Vessels |journal=International Journal of Nautical Archaeology |date=September 2009 |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=314–330 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-9270.2008.00208.x|bibcode=2009IJNAr..38..314P |s2cid=111332443 }}</ref>}} The lateen rig was less useful when sailing downwind – which explains [[Christopher Columbus]] ({{lang-it|Cristoforo Colombo}}) re-rigging the {{ship||Niña|ship|2}} with [[square rig]].<ref name="Elbl 1994">{{cite book |last1=Elbl|first1=Martin |editor1-last=Gardiner |editor1-first=Robert |editor2-last=Unger |editor2-first=Richard W |title=Cogs, Caravels and Galleons: the sailing ship, 1000–1650 |date=1994 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London |isbn=0-85177-560-8 |chapter=The Caravel and the Galleon}}</ref>

For [[celestial navigation]] the Portuguese used the [[Ephemeris|ephemerides]], which experienced a remarkable diffusion in the 15th century. These were astronomical charts plotting the location of the stars over a distinct period of time. Published in 1496 by the Jewish astronomer, astrologer, and mathematician [[Abraham Zacuto]], the Almanac Perpetuum included some of these tables for the movements of stars.<ref>Nissan Mindel, Rabbi Abraham Zacuto – (1450–1515), http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/111917/jewish/Rabbi-Abraham-Zacuto.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107002658/https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/111917/jewish/Rabbi-Abraham-Zacuto.htm |date=2021-11-07 }}</ref> These tables revolutionized navigation, allowing the calculation of [[latitude]]. Exact [[longitude]] remained elusive from mariners for centuries.<ref>[[#Parry 1981|Parry 1981]], p. 145.</ref><ref>[[#Diffie 1977|Diffie 1977]], pp. 132–34.</ref> Using the caravel, systematic exploration continued ever more southerly, advancing on average one degree a year.<ref>[[#Russell-Wood 1998|Russell-Wood 1998]], p. 9.</ref> [[Senegal]] and [[Cap-Vert|Cape Verde Peninsula]] were reached in 1445 and in 1446, [[Álvaro Fernandes]] pushed on almost as far as present-day [[Sierra Leone]].

In 1453, the [[Fall of Constantinople]] to the [[Ottoman Turks|Ottomans]] was a blow to Christendom and established business links with the east. In 1455, [[Pope Nicholas V]] issued the [[Papal bull|bull]] ''[[Romanus Pontifex]]'' reinforcing the previous ''[[Dum Diversas]]'' (1452), granting all lands and seas discovered beyond Cape Bojador to King [[Afonso V of Portugal]] and his successors, as well as trade and conquest against Muslims and pagans, initiating a ''[[mare clausum]]'' policy in the Atlantic.<ref>[[#Daus 1983|Daus 1983]], p. 33.</ref> The king, who had been inquiring of Genoese experts about a seaway to India, commissioned the [[Fra Mauro map|Fra Mauro world map]], which arrived in Lisbon in 1459.<ref>[[#Bagrow 1964|Bagrow 1964]], p. 72.</ref> In 1456, [[Diogo Gomes]] reached the [[Cape Verde]] archipelago. In the next decade captains at the service of Prince Henry, discovered the remaining islands which were occupied during the 15th century. The Gulf of Guinea would be reached in the 1460s.

==== Portuguese exploration after Prince Henry ====
In 1460, [[Pedro de Sintra]] reached Sierra Leone. Prince Henry died in November that year after which, given the meagre revenues, exploration was granted to Lisbon merchant [[Fernão Gomes]] in 1469, who in exchange for the monopoly of trade in the Gulf of Guinea had to explore {{convert|100|mi|0|abbr=off}} each year for five years.<ref>[[#Diffie 1977|Diffie 1977]], pp. 145–48.</ref> With his sponsorship, explorers [[João de Santarém]], [[Pedro Escobar]], Lopo Gonçalves, [[Fernão do Pó]], and Pedro de Sintra made it beyond those goals. They reached the Southern Hemisphere and islands of the Gulf of Guinea, including [[São Tomé and Príncipe]] and [[Elmina]] on the Gold Coast in 1471. There, in what came to be called the "Gold Coast" in what is today [[Ghana]], a thriving alluvial gold trade was found among the natives, Arab and [[Berbers|Berber]] traders.

In 1478, during the [[War of the Castilian Succession]], near the coast at [[Elmina]] was a [[Battle of Guinea|large battle]] was fought between a Castilian armada of 35 caravels, and a Portuguese fleet for hegemony of the Guinea trade (gold, slaves, ivory, and melegueta pepper). The war ended with a Portuguese naval victory, followed by the official recognition by the Catholic Monarchs of Portuguese sovereignty over most of the disputed West African territories embodied in the Treaty of Alcáçovas, 1479. This was the first colonial war among European powers.{{cn|date=January 2024}}

In 1481, [[John II of Portugal|João II]] decided to build [[Elmina Castle|São Jorge da Mina]] [[factory (trading post)|factory]]. In 1482 the [[Congo River]] was explored by [[Diogo Cão]],<ref>[[#DeLamar 1992|DeLamar 1992]], p. 335.</ref> who in 1486 continued to [[Cape Cross]] (modern [[Namibia]]).
[[File:Caravel Boa Esperanca Portugal.jpg|thumb|left|Replica of a [[caravel]]|alt=]]

The next crucial breakthrough was in 1488, when [[Bartolomeu Dias]] rounded the southern tip of Africa, which he named Cabo das Tormentas, "Cape of Storms", anchoring at [[Mossel Bay]] and then sailing east as far as the mouth of the [[Great Fish River]], proving the Indian Ocean was accessible from the Atlantic. Simultaneously [[Pero da Covilhã]], sent out travelling secretly overland, had reached [[Ethiopia]] having collected important information about the Red Sea and Quenia coast, suggesting a sea route to the Indies would soon be forthcoming.<ref>[[#Anderson 2000|Anderson 2000]], p. 59.</ref> Soon the cape was renamed by King [[John II of Portugal]] the "[[Cape of Good Hope]]", because of the great optimism engendered by the possibility of a sea route to India, proving false the view that had existed since [[Ptolemy]] that the Indian Ocean was [[Landlocked country|land-locked]].

Based on much later stories of the [[phantom island]] known as [[Bacalao (phantom island)|Bacalao]] and the carvings on [[Dighton Rock]] some have speculated that Portuguese explorer [[João Vaz Corte-Real]] discovered [[Newfoundland]] in 1473, but the sources are considered unreliable.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lusa|title=Portugueses chegaram à América 19 anos antes de Colombo|url=https://expresso.sapo.pt/cultura/2016-02-27-Portugueses-chegaram-a-America-19-anos-antes-de-Colombo|publisher=Expresso|access-date=2018-07-29|archive-date=2018-12-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215173553/https://expresso.sapo.pt/cultura/2016-02-27-Portugueses-chegaram-a-America-19-anos-antes-de-Colombo|url-status=live}}</ref>