Why Were the Portuguese Once Called the “Heroes of the Sea?”
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FYI FEATURE Heroes of the Sea Question: Why were the Portuguese once called the “Heroes of the Sea?” A n sw er : of Africa, leading to the discovery of The Portuguese were once called several uninhabited islands and the the heroes of the sea because of the conquest of several African territories. discoveries and conquests they carried When the Portuguese navigator out some centuries ago. Bartolomeu Dias turned the Cape of During the 15th and 16th centu- Good H ope in Southern Africa in 1488, ries, Portugal experienced a golden age it opened the maritime route to I ndia of discoveries, mainly due to the push of and contradicted Christopher Columbus’ the Portuguese kings, princes and other idea of reaching I ndia from the west. As renowned navigators. a result of Dias enterprise, some years One of the main reasons for later the famous Portuguese navigator, Portugal’s expansion seawards was Vasco da Gama, sailed to I ndia where because it was impossible to expand or he arrived in Calicut on M ay 20, 1498. reach new markets except by sea, since I n 1500, Pedro Álvares Cabral the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon sighted the Brazilian coast and ten controlled the territory outside the land years later Afonso de Albuquerque borders of Portugal at the time. This conquered the I ndian State of Goa in Portuguese expansion overseas resulted the M alabar Coast, which was annexed in the first and largest colonial empire of by the Republic of I ndia in 1962. the 15th and 16th century. Besides the above mentioned The Portuguese empire began territories, the Portuguese explorers also granted independence after the 1974 around 1415 when the Portuguese fleet discovered or conquered other impor- military coup that restored democracy in organized by H enry the N avigator, tant territories in Africa, the Far East, Portugal that had been lost 47 years prince of Portugal, explored the west and Southern Asia and reached China before. coast of Africa and continued through- and Japan. The last pillar of the Portuguese out the next century. Of all these territories and posses- empire fell when Portugal handed the I n 1434, Portuguese navigator, Gil sions, Portugal presently only owns the territory of M acao to China in 1999 Eanes, went around Cape Bojador, archipelagos of the Azores and M adeira. under the terms of a negotiated agree- South of M orocco. This deed marked the All other territories were either gradu- ment similar to the one Great Britain beginning of the Portuguese exploration ally lost to their respective peoples or made when it handed over H ong Kong. Other significant discoveries and conquests The following is a chronological list of some of the most 1448 and following years- important Portuguese discoveries and conquests overseas Portuguese ships explored the Gulf of Guinea and led to which are not listed above: the discovery of Cape Verde Islands, Fernão Pó and São Tomé and Principe. Aug. 21, 1415 1482 The city of Ceuta in N orth Africa, an Islamic trade center is Explorer Diogo Cão reached the Congo River. conquered. 1510 1418 Conquest of Goa, India. N avigators João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira 1511 found the Island of Porto Santo. Conquest of M alacca, Western M alaysia. 1419 1517 Zarco disembarked on the Island of M adeira Fernão Pires de Andrade visited Canton, China, and 1427-1432 opened trade with that country, where the Portuguese were M ost of the Azorean islands are discovered. allowed to occupy the territory of M acao in 1557..