voyages of discovery portugal

When Portugal Ruled the Seas

The country’s global adventurism in the 16th century linked continents and cultures as never before, as a new exhibition makes clear

Globalization began, you might say, a bit before the turn of the 16th century, in Portugal. At least that's the conclusion one is likely to reach after visiting a vast exhibition, more than four years in the making, at the Smithsonian's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C. The show, like the nation that is its subject, has brought together art and ideas from nearly all parts of the world.

It was Portugal that kicked off what has come to be known as the Age of Discovery, in the mid-1400s. The westernmost country in Europe, Portugal was the first to significantly probe the Atlantic Ocean, colonizing the Azores and other nearby islands, then braving the west coast of Africa. In 1488, Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias was the first to sail around the southern tip of Africa, and in 1498 his countryman Vasco da Gama repeated the experiment, making it as far as India. Portugal would establish ports as far west as Brazil, as far east as Japan, and along the coasts of Africa, India and China.

It was a "culturally exciting moment," says Jay Levenson of the Museum of Modern Art, guest curator of the exhibition. "All these cultures that had been separated by huge expanses of sea suddenly had a mechanism of learning about each other."

The exhibition, "Encompassing the Globe: Portugal and the World in the 16th & 17th Centuries," is the Sackler's largest to date, with some 250 objects from more than 100 lenders occupying the entire museum and spilling over into the neighboring National Museum of African Art. In a room full of maps, the first world map presented (from the early 1490s) is way off the mark (with an imaginary land bridge from southern Africa to Asia), but as subsequent efforts reflect the discoveries of Portuguese navigators, the continents morph into the shapes we recognize today.

Another room is largely devoted to the kinds of objects that made their way into a Kunstkammer , or cabinet of curiosities, in which a wealthy European would display exotica fashioned out of materials from distant lands—ostrich shell drinking cups, tortoiseshell dishes, mother-of-pearl caskets. Each object, be it an African copper bracelet that made its way to a European collection or Flemish paintings of Portugal's fleet, points to Portugal's global influence.

It would be a serious error to think that Portugal's global ambitions were purely benevolent, or even economic, says UCLA historian Sanjay Subrahmanyam: "The Portuguese drive was not simply to explore and trade. It was also to deploy maritime violence, which they knew they were good at, in order to tax and subvert the trade of others, and to build a political structure, whether you want to call it an empire or not, overseas." Indeed, the exhibition catalog offers troubling reminders of misdeeds and even atrocities committed in Portugal's name: the boatful of Muslims set ablaze by the ruthless Vasco da Gama, the African slaves imported to fuel Brazil's economy.

When different cultures have encountered each other for the first time, there has often been misunderstanding, bigotry, even hostility, and the Portuguese were not alone in this regard. The Japanese called the Portuguese who landed on their shores "Southern Barbarians" (since they arrived mostly from the south). Some of the most intriguing objects in the exhibit are brass medallions depicting the Virgin Mary and Jesus. Not long after Portuguese missionaries converted many Japanese to Christianity, Japanese military rulers began persecuting the converts, forcing them to tread on these fumi-e ("pictures to step on") to show they had renounced the barbarians' religion.

With such cultural tensions on display in often exquisite works of art, "Encompassing the Globe" has been a critical favorite. The New York Times called it a "tour de force," and the Washington Post found the exhibition "fascinating" in its depiction of "the tense, difficult and sometimes brutal birth of the modern world." The exhibition closes September 16, and opens October 27 at the Musée des Beaux Arts in Brussels, a seat of the European Union, now headed by Portugal.

The president of Portugal, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, declares in a forward to the exhibition catalog, "The routes that the Portuguese created to connect the continents and oceans are the foundation of the world we inhabit today." For better or worse, one is tempted to add.

Former intern David Zaz is a fellow at Moment Magazine.

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David Zax is a freelance journalist and a contributing editor for Technology Review (where he also pens a gadget blog).

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The Ages of Exploration

Vasco da gama, age of discovery.

Quick Facts:

Portuguese explorer and navigator who found a direct sea route from Europe to Asia, and was the first European to sail to India by going around Africa.

Name : Vasco da Gama [vas-koh]; [(Portuguese) vahsh-koo] [duh gah-muh]

Birth/Death : ca. 1460 CE - 1524 CE

Nationality : Portuguese

Birthplace : Portugal

Portrait of Vasco da Gama by artist Antonio Manuel da Fonseca in 1838. Vasco da Gama, (c.1469 – 1524) was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the European Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India. (Credit: National Maritime Museum)

Introduction Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese explorer who sailed to India from Europe. Gold, spices, and other riches were valuable in Europe. But they had to navigate long ways over sea and land to reach them in Asia. Europeans during this time were looking to find a faster way to reach India by sailing around Africa. Da Gama accomplished the task. By doing so, he helped open a major trade route to Asia. Portugal celebrated his success, and his voyage launched a new era of discovery and world trade.

Biography Early Life Vasco da Gama’s exact birthdate and place is unknown. It is believed he was born between 1460 and 1469 in Sines, Portugal. 1 He was the third son to his parents. His father, Estêvão da Gama, was a knight in the Duke of Viseu’s court; and his mother was a noblewoman named Isabel Sodré. 2 His father’s role in the court would have allowed young Vasco to have a good education. But because he lived close to a seaport town, he probably also learned about ships and navigation. Vasco attended school in a larger village about 70 miles from Sines called Évora. Here, he learned advanced mathematics, and studied principles of navigation. By fifteen he became familiar with trading ships that were docked in port. By the age of twenty, he was the captain of a ship. 3 These skills would all make him an acceptable choice to lead an expedition to India.

Vasco da Gama’s maritime career was during the period when Portugal was searching for a trade route around Africa to India. The Ottoman Empire controlled almost all European trade routes to Asia. This meant they could, and did, charge high prices for ships passing through ports. Prince Henry of Portugal – also called Prince Henry the Navigator – began Portugal’s great age of exploration. From about 1419 until his death in 1460, he sent several sailing expeditions down the coast of Africa. 4 In 1481, King John II of Portugal began sending expeditions to find a sea route around the southern shores of Africa. Many explorers made several attempts. It was Bartolomeu Dias who was the first to round Africa and make it to the Indian Ocean in 1488. But he was forced to head back to Portugal before he could make it to India. When Manuel I became king of Portugal in 1495, he continued efforts to open a trade route to India by going around Africa. Although other people were considered for the job, Manuel I finally chose thirty-seven year old Vasco da Gama for this task.

Voyages Principal Voyage On 8 July 1497 Vasco da Gama sailed from Lisbon with a fleet of four ships with a crew of 170 men from Lisbon. Da Gama commanded the Sao Gabriel . Paulo da Gama – brother to Vasco – commanded the São Rafael , a three masted ship. There was also the caravel Berrio , and a storeship São Maria . Bartolomeu Dias also sailed with da Gama, and gave helpful advice for navigating down the African coast. They sailed past the Canary Islands, and reached the Cape Verde islands by July 26. They stayed about a week, then continued sailing on August 3. To help avoid the storms and strong currents near the Gulf of Guinea, da Gama and his fleet sailed out into the South Atlantic and swung down to the Cape of Good Hope. Storms still delayed them for a while. They rounded the cape on November 22 and three days later anchored at Mossel Bay, South Africa. 5 They began sailing again on December 8. They anchored for a bit in January near Mozambique at the Rio do Cobre (Copper River) and continued on until they reached the Rio dos Bons Sinais (River of Good Omens). Here they erected a statue in the name of Portugal.

They stayed here for a month because much of the crew were sick from scurvy – a disease caused by lack of Vitamin C. 6 Da Gama’s fleet eventually began sailing again. On March 2 they reached the Island of Mozambique. After trading with the local Muslim merchants, da Gama sailed on once more stopping briefly in Malindi (in present day Kenya). He hired a pilot to help him navigate through the Indian Ocean. They sailed for 23 days, and on May 20, 1498 they reached India. 7 They headed for Kappad, India near the large city of Calicut. In Calicut, da Gama met with the king. But the king of Calicut was not impressed with da Gama, and the gifts he brought as offering. They spent several months trading in India, and studying their customs. They left India at the end of August. He visited the Anjidiv Island near Goa, and then once more stopped in Malindi in January 1499. Many of his crew were dying of scurvy. He had the São Rafael burned to help contain the illness. Da Gama finally returned to Portugal in September 1499. Manuel I praised da Gama’s success, and gave him money and a new title of admiral.

Subsequent Voyages Vasco da Gama’s later voyages were less friendly with the people he met. He sailed once again beginning in February 1502 with a fleet of 10 ships. They stopped at the Cape Verdes Islands, Mozambique, and then sailed to Kilwa (in modern day Tanzania). Da Gama threatened their leader, and forced him and his people to swear loyalty to the king of Portugal. At Calicut, he bombarded the port, and caused the death of several Muslim traders. Again, later at Cochin, they fought with Arab ships, and sent them into flight. 8 Da Gama was paving the way for an expanded Portuguese empire. This came at the cruel treatment of East African and South Asian people. Finally, on February 20, 1503 da Gama began the return journey home arriving on October 11 1503. King Manuel I died in 1521, and King John III became ruler. He made da Gama a Portuguese viceroy in India. 9 King John III sent da Gama to India to stop the corruption and settle administrative problems of the Portuguese officials. Da Gama’s third journey would be his last.

Later Years and Death After he had returned from his first trip, in 1500 Vasco da Gama had married Caterina de Ataíde. They had six sons, and lived in the town Évora. Da Gama continued advising on Indian affairs until he was sent overseas again in 1524. Vasco da Gama left Portugal for India, and arrived at Goa in September 1524. Da Gama quickly re-established order among the Portuguese leaders. By the end of the year he fell ill. Vasco da Gama died on December 24, 1524 in Cochin, India. He was buried in the local church. In 1539, his remains were brought back to Portugal.

Legacy Vasco De Gama was the first European to find an ocean trading route to India. He accomplished what many explorers before him could not do. His discovery of this sea route helped the Portuguese establish a long-lasting colonial empire in Asia and Africa. The new ocean route around Africa allowed Portuguese sailors to avoid the Arab trading hold in the Mediterranean and Middle East. Better access to the Indian spice routes boosted Portugal’s economy. Vasco da Gama opened a new world of riches by opening up an Indian Ocean route. His voyage and explorations helped change the world for Europeans.

• Emmanuel Akyeampong and Henry Louis Gates, Dictionary of African Biography (Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2012), 415.
• Akyeampong and Gates, Dictionary of African Biography , 415.
• Patricia Calvert, Vasco Da Gama: So Strong a Spirit (Tarrytown: Benchmark Books, 2005), 11-12.
• Aileen Gallagher, Prince Henry, the Navigator: Pioneer of Modern Exploration (New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2003), 5.
• Kenneth Pletcher, ed., The Britannica Guide to Explorers and Explorations That Changed the Modern World (New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2009), 54.
• Pletcher, The Britannica Guide, 55.
• Pletcher, The Britannica Guide , 55.
• Pletcher, The Britannica Guide , 57.
• Pletcher, The Britannica Guide , 58.

Bibliography

Akyeampong, Emmanuel, and Henry Louis Gates. Dictionary of African Biography . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.

Calvert, Patricia. Vasco Da Gama: So Strong a Spirit . Tarrytown: Benchmark Books, 2005.

Gallagher, Aileen. Prince Henry, the Navigator: Pioneer of Modern Exploration . New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2003.

Pletcher, Kenneth ed. The Britannica Guide to Explorers and Explorations That Changed the Modern World. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2009.

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Henry the Navigator

Henry the Navigator, a 15th-century Portuguese prince, helped usher in both the Age of Discovery and the Atlantic enslaved people trade.

(1394-1460)

Who Was Prince Henry the Navigator?

Although Prince Henry the Navigator was neither a sailor nor a navigator, he sponsored a great deal of exploration along the west coast of Africa. Under his patronage, Portuguese crews founded the country's first colonies and visited regions previously unknown to Europeans. Henry is regarded as an originator of the Age of Discovery and the Atlantic enslaved people trade.

Early Influences

Henry the Navigator was born in 1394 in Porto, Portugal. He was the third surviving son of King John I and Philippa of Lancaster.

In 1415, Henry, his father and his older brothers led an attack on Ceuta, a town in Morocco along the Strait of Gibraltar. The attack succeeded, and Ceuta fell under Portuguese control. Henry became fascinated with Africa, a continent about which the Portuguese knew little. He developed a desire to learn about the Muslims who lived there, primarily in hopes of conquering them and spreading Christianity. And he became aware of Africa’s many resources, which he hoped to exploit for Portugal’s gain.

Significance in History

Henry is often credited with beginning the Age of Discovery, the period during which European nations expanded their reach to Africa, Asia and the Americas. Henry himself was neither a sailor nor a navigator, his name notwithstanding. He did, however, sponsor many exploratory sea voyages. In 1415, his ships reached the Canary Islands, which had already been claimed by Spain. In 1418, the Portuguese came upon the Madeira Islands and established a colony at Porto Santo.

When these expeditions began, Europeans knew virtually nothing about the area past Cape Bojador on the west coast of Africa. Superstition had kept them from going farther. But under Henry’s orders, Portuguese sailors moved beyond Bojador. By 1436, they had traveled as far as the Rio de Oro.

In addition to sponsoring exploratory voyages, Henry is also credited with furthering knowledge of geography, mapmaking and navigation. He started a school for navigation in Sagres, at the southwestern tip of Portugal, where he employed cartographers, shipbuilders and instrument makers. It was from Lagos, near Sagres, that many of his sponsored trips began.

Enslaved People Trade

Henry has the dubious distinction of being a founder of the Atlantic enslaved people trade. He sponsored Nuno Tristao’s exploration of the African coast, and Antao Goncalves’s hunting expedition there in 1441. The two men captured several Africans and brought them back to Portugal. One of the captured men, a chief, negotiated his own return to Africa, promising in exchange to provide the Portuguese with more Africans. Within a few years, Portugal was deeply involved in the enslaved people trade.

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Henry The Navigator
• Birth Year: 1394
• Birth date: March 4, 1394
• Birth City: Porto
• Birth Country: Portugal
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Henry the Navigator, a 15th century Portuguese prince, helped usher in both the Age of Discovery and the Atlantic slave trade.
• Astrological Sign: Pisces
• Nacionalities
• Death Year: 1460
• Death date: November 13, 1460
• Death City: Sagres
• Death Country: Portugal

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European Explorers

Christopher Columbus

10 Famous Explorers Who Connected the World

Sir Walter Raleigh

Ferdinand Magellan

Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo

Leif Eriksson

Vasco da Gama

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Giovanni da Verrazzano

Jacques Marquette

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle

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Portugal's age of discovery.

Portugal's Age of Discoveries (Era dos Descobrimentos) refers to the history of maritime exploration and colonization of parts of Africa, the Americas, the Middle East, Asia and the Far East undertaken by Portugal during the 15th and 16th centuries.

This age of global expansion and "discovery" undertaken by Portugal along with other European nations (namely Spain, England, France and Holland) were the beginnings of globalization and a period of European hegemony in world affairs.

The increased trade (in precious metals, spices, slaves etc) and the establishment of colonial empires were to lead to a flow of wealth back to Europe. Portugal during this period, indeed, was to become one of the richest countries in the world. A rise in power, trade and treasure brought to an end only by the disaster of 1755 Lisbon Earthquake .

Portugal as Europe's western most nation, blessed with an abundance of natural harbours ( Porto , Lisbon , Lagos , Sagres ) and navigable rivers, has always looked to the ocean.

Advances in cartography, shipbuilding and navigation, in particular the use of the astrolabe (developed by the Arabs) for calculating latitude and the caravel - a new type of light, sailing vessel that could navigate into the wind - allowed Portuguese mariners to travel greater distances into unknown waters.

Influence of the Knights Templars

In the 14th century the Knights Templars were persecuted across Europe, beginning in France. Their lands and riches were seized and many Templar knights put to death including the last Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, who was tortured and burned to death in 1314. King Dinis welcomed many Templar refugees to Portugal and along with their wealth they brought a great nautical, cartographic and astronomical knowledge with them. These immigrants were subsumed into Dinis' new Order of Christ. This reconfigured religious order, inspired by the Templars, was to be a key driving force behind the urge to carve out a new empire. Indeed, the Order could be seen represented by the Templar cross on the sails of Portugal's caravels. Both Henry the Navigator and King Manuel I, key figures behind Portugal's overseas expansion, were Grandmasters of the Order of Christ.

The first steps on Portugal's Age of Discoveries was the seizing of Ceuta in North Africa by King João I in 1415.

King João's third son, Henry the Navigator (1394-1460) - the "father of the Age of Discoveries", was the driving force behind subsequent expansion including the colonization of the islands of Madeira and The Azores by 1430.

Gil Eanes  (1395-?) was the first Portuguese sea captain to sail past the physical and psychological barrier of Cape Bojador in what is now Western Sahara in 1434.

Black African slaves were first brought to Lagos from the western coast of Africa as early as 1444. The  Slave Market Museum  in Lagos details the beginnings of the history of this pernicious trade in human beings.

Cape Verde, off the coast of Africa, was reached in 1456 followed by Sierra Leone in 1462.

Bartolomeu Dias (1457-1500) was the first Portuguese explorer to round the treacherous Cape of Good Hope (Cabo da Boa Esperança) and open the sea route to the Middle East and India.

Dias was followed by Vasco da Gama (1460-1524), who was commissioned by King Manuel I to set sail from Lisbon with a tiny flotilla of four ships to explore the route to India. After a series of adventures off the east coast of Africa never previously visited by Europeans, Vasco da Gama employed the services of a local pilot and reached the western coast of southern India in 1498, where he attempted to reach an agreement to trade with the local Indian rulers.

The  Monastery of the Hieronymites  (Mosterio dos Jerónimos) in Belém , just west of Lisbon was built in honor of da Gama and his men. The voyages of Vasco da Gama lead the way for the Portuguese colonization of eastern Africa and his legacy must be viewed as mixed; a hero in Portugal and a ruthless privateer to the people of southern Africa and Mozambique.

By the early 16th century, annual India Armadas were leaving Lisbon on the long journey to India. On one of these voyages, Pedro Álvares Cabral (1467-1620) was to "discover" what is now Brazil in 1500.

Treaty of Tordesillas 1494

Following Christopher Columbus' first voyage to the Americas in 1492 from Palos de la Frontera near Huelva , the Pope Alexander VI, a member of the infamous Borgia family, hoped to settle any disputes over new territories between Castile and Portugal.

His initial papal bulls on the matter were to lead to the Treaty of Tordesillas , negotiated by King João II of Portugal and King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Castile, which divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the two Catholic powers.

In this treaty the Portuguese received lands outside Europe east of a line that ran 370 leagues west of Cape Verde, and the islands reached by Columbus on his first voyage, namely Cuba and Hispaniola.

India & The Far East

Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) is the Portuguese navigator and explorer who, along with his crew, are credited as being the first Europeans to sail across the Pacific Ocean. Sailing under the flag of Spain, Magellan reached The Philippines, were he was killed by the local inhabitants, but his crew were able to return to Spain and complete the first circumnavigation of the globe.

Afonso de Albuquerque (1453-1515) bestrides the Age of Discoveries like a colossus. Albuquerque was the instrument of King Manuel I's grand scheme to secure the spice routes to India, combat and defeat Islam as well as seek out new territories. Nicknamed "The Terrible," Albuquerque, during his colorful career in the East, was to establish an early Portuguese fort on the India coast near Kochi, in Kerala, capture and secure Goa (which was to remain in Portuguese hands until 1961), attack Ormuz in the Persian Gulf, Socotra in the Arabian Sea and also seize Malacca on the south west coast of present-day Malaysia.

Afonso Albuquerque was a brilliant strategist and was prepared to use extreme violence and cruelty to achieve his aims. He succeeded Francisco de Almeida (1450-1510) in 1509 to become the second Portuguese Governor of the State of India.

Albuquerque can be seen as an early empire-builder and his voyages and those of other Portuguese sea captains herald our age of globalization. His actions in Goa and Malacca were to secure the Portuguese presence in Asia.

Later Portuguese explorers were to pass on from India to various spice islands in south east Asia, where Portuguese trading bases and "factories" were established.

Duarte Fernandes became the first European to visit Siam (Thailand) in 1511 and António de Abreu (1480-1514) explored Timor the following year. The coast of China was reached in 1513 by Jorge Álvares, re-establishing trading links between Europe and China, cut since the time of Marco Polo.

By 1542 Fernão Mendes Pinto , Cristovão Borralho and Diogo Zeimoto are among the first Europeans to reach Japan coming ashore on the island of Tanegashima in Kyushu.

In 1557, Macau is given to Portugal by the Chinese Emperor as a reward for fighting pirates in the South China Sea.

By the mid- to late-16th century, Portugal has trading bases in India (Goa), China (Macau), Sri Lanka (Galle), Indonesia, Japan (Nagasaki) and Malaysia (Malacca).

The beginning of Portugal's decline as a world power was the ill-fated adventure of King Sebastian I, who led the Portuguese army from the port of Lagos to defeat in Morocco at the Battle of Alcazar in 1578. This disaster resulted in the death of Sebastian and the flower of the Portuguese nobility and the conquest of Portugal for a time by Spain.

Competition from other maritime powers, notably England and Holland were to also weaken Portugal's domination of global trade. The Portuguese were expelled from Japan in the early 17th century and their place taken by the Dutch, who also seized previous Portuguese possessions in Sri Lanka and Indonesia in the 1640's.

One of the major global impacts of the Age of Discovery is the so-called Columbian Exchange - a transfer of culture, flora and fauna (tobacco, potatoes, tomatoes etc), ideas, people (notably black African slaves to the Americas) and technology between the "New World" of the Americas and the "Old World" of Africa, Asia and Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries.

The domination by European powers of this trade and transfer led to an age of imperialism, colonization, globalization and the spread of Christianity.

The influx of new wealth back to Portugal financed a massive building project with much of the money ploughed into the construction of ornate palaces and churches in Lisbon and other cities. The import of large quantities of gold and silver was also to cause widespread inflation in Europe.

Visitors to Porto can experience the Age of Discovery at the excellent World of Discoveries museum.

The Portuguese Discoveries Wax Museum  (Museu de Cera dos Descobrimentos) which opened in 2014 in Lagos on the Algarve brings the period to life through wax figures.

The Kudichin district in Bangkok was once a settlement for Portuguese traders and soldiers dating back to the 18th century.

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• Cultural Explainer What Was Portugals...

What was Portugal's role in the Age of Discoveries?

Portugal may be a small country, but its contributions to the world have been huge. It played a vital role during Europe’s Age of Discoveries and Exploration, and many of the country’s most popular monuments were built to commemorate this period. Here, we take a look at the vital part that Portugal took in Europe’s exploration of the world between the 15th and 18th centuries.

The age of discoveries.

The Age of Discoveries and Exploration is the name given to an important era in world history that took place between the 15th and 18th centuries. During this time, trade routes were developed linking Asia and Europe, the Americas were reconnoitred by Christopher Columbus, and much of Africa’s coasts were explored. This period is credited as being the beginning of globalization and the onset of Europe’s colonization of faraway lands.

Prince Henry the Navigator

Prince Henry the Navigator was one of the first big players in Portugal during this period. He funded and was in charge of the first voyages to Africa, and was the driving force behind the country’s first colonies on the African continent. Some historians claim that Prince Henry was the first person to play a major role during the entire Age of Discoveries, including the Atlantic Slave Trade.

Vasco da Gama

It was during the Age of Discoveries that Europe developed sea routes and trading connections with Asia. Explorer Vasco da Gama, born in Portugal’s Alentejo region, was the first European to reach India by water, having developed a route around Africa. He is also credited as having a strong influence on Portugal’s booming empire at that time, having opened a path for Indian spice trades to Europe. Portugal was the first country to introduce real cinnamon to Europe, after other attempts had failed.

Christopher Columbus

Over 400 years, Portugal influenced maritime navigation in many ways, including collaborations with Spain and England. Christopher Columbus was also noted as having resided in Lisbon for a few years before exploring the Americas, and it was here that he gained some of his knowledge and training on navigating the Atlantic Ocean.

Ferdinand Magellan

The first voyage to navigate successfully around the entire globe was spearheaded by a Portuguese explorer , who was searching for a western sea route to Asia. Although Ferdinand Magellan died in the Philippines, his ship continued to sail without him, and made it all the way back to the Iberian Peninsula. He became the first European to cross the Pacific Ocean, and his voyage brought back exotic spices that were extremely valuable at that time. His expedition also shed light on a few crucial facts, such as the hitherto unsuspected vastness of the world.

Today, history buffs can appreciate this time period by visiting a few major landmarks around Lisbon. One is the Padrão dos Descobrimentos , or the ‘Discoveries Monument’, constructed in Belém during the 1960s as a memorial to Henry the Navigator. The most interesting monument, however, may be the Jerónimos Monastery, built during the 1500s in honor of that time, and specifically of Vasco da Gama’s trip to India.

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The Portuguese Voyages of Discovery

Helen Wallis charts the Portugal's astonishing success in voyages of exploration between 1415 and 1520

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Prince Henry the Navigator (1394 - 1460)

Henry the Navigator lived from 1394 to 1460. Prince Henry of Portugal was interested in sailing and commerce, and studied navigation and mapmaking. He established a naval observatory for the teaching of navigation, astronomy, and cartography around 1450. From 1419 to his death, Prince Henry made many expeditions south along the west coast of Africa to secure trade routes and establish colonies.

Prince Henry of Portugal organized and financed many voyages that went south from Portugal and eventually rounded the African continent. His goals were to create maps of the West African coastline, establish trade routes, and spread Christianity. He encouraged voyages of expeditions and the scientific study of navigation. Furthermore, he ran an observatory and school of navigation. Prince Henry played a vital role in the development of more accurate maps and the engineering of a new ship that was more ideal for exploring rough seas.

Prince Henry the Navigator, a key figure in Portuguese exploration. ( Wikipedia )

Zheng He (1371 - 1433)

Zheng He [pronounced as JUNG HUH] lived from 1371 to 1433. He was born in Yunnan at the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains. As a child, his name was Ma He. He grew up a Hui, a Chinese Muslim. When he was only 10 years old, Chinese soldiers, under the orders of the Ming Dynasty, invaded Yunnan in effort to overtake one of the last Mongol holds. They killed his father and he was captured. Along with many other boys who were taken, he was castrated and forced to serve for a Chinese prince known as Zhu Di. In 1402, Zhu Di took the throne as Emperor Yongle. He made Ma He the chief of staff for all the servants and changed his name to Zheng He. The Yongle Emperor proved to be one of the most ambitious emperors of his time and chose Zheng He to be the commander in chief of a series of missions across the Indian Ocean in order to increase China's influence.

From 1405 to 1433, Zheng He led seven naval expeditions throughout the Chinese Seas and the Indian Ocean, and he reached locations from Taiwan, the Persian Gulf, and Africa. He saw the commission of 3,500 ships and commanded at least 62 ships and 27,800 men (more than half of London’s population at the time). Zheng He’s led nine-masted flagships that measured about 400 feet long (Christopher Columbus’s Santa Maria was only 85 feet long). These were some of the largest wooden ships ever built in this time period. These naval expeditions did not serve the purpose to colonize or conquer but rather served as “treasure hunts” that brought back items of great value as tribute to the Yongle Emperor. Zheng He brought back gold, jewelry, and other delicacies. He even brought Zebras, Rhinos, and Giraffes. In 1424, the Yongle emperor died and his successor suspended all naval expeditions abroad. Zheng He went on his seventh and final voyage from 1431 to 1433. He died at sea and was buried off the coast of India.

Zheng He and his naval voyages had a great impact on the status of China at the time. These voyages increased maritime and commercial influence of China throughout the Indian ocean up until the 19th century. Foreign goods, medicines, and geological knowledge flowed through China at an unprecedented rate even though these ships only served as treasure ships. Many historians argue that China could have become a great colonial power many years before the age of great exploration if the leadership had decided to use their technology for outreach rather than for isolation.

Here is a good map of the travels of Zheng He: https://cdn.kastatic.org/KA-share/BigHistory/KU8.1.8-4_Zheng_He-Map.pdf

A statue of Zheng He in Stadthuys, Melaka. ( Wikipedia )

Christopher Columbus (1451 - 1506)

Christopher Columbus lived from 1451 to 1506. He made four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean in an effort to find a new route to the East Indies by traveling west rather than east. Having inaccurate estimates of Earth’s magnitude, he underestimated the distances necessary for the voyage and believed he had found islands off the coast of Asia when, in reality, he had reached the “New World.”

Christopher Columbus believed sailing west would be a faster way to get to India and to all the spices and riches it held. When his idea was rejected by Portugal, Columbus went to Spain where the King and Queen agreed to sponsor him. Columbus was granted three ships (the Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria) and funds to finance his voyage across the ocean. After two months of sailing, Columbus and his crew arrived in the present-day Bahamas. Due to his excellent navigation records, he was able to sail back to Spain with proof, in the form of gold and other materials, of his success. However, the rest of Columbus’ voyages were unsuccessful. Although he died bitter and believing he had found Asia, Columbus’ discovery opened up a whole new world for his successors to explore.

Ferdinand Magellan

Ferdinand Magellan lived from 1480 to 1521. He left Spain in September 1519 with 270 men and five vessels in search of a westward passage to the Spice Islands. The expedition eventually lost two ships even before finally discovering and passing through the Strait of Magellan and rounding the tip of South America in November 1520. Magellan crossed the Pacific Ocean and arrived in the Philippines in March 1521, where he was killed in a battle with the natives on April 27, 1521. Magellan’s skill as a navigator makes his voyage probably the most outstanding single contribution to the early charting of the oceans.

Magellan had the idea to sail west across the ocean to get to Asia. Contrary to his expectations, Magellan sailed past modern-day Argentina and found a route to the Pacific Ocean. He was the first person to sail across the Pacific Ocean. It took him six long months to arrive in Asia though he had been looking for a shorter route. Eventually, Magellan and his crew sailed into charted waters in East Asia. Unfortunately, Magellan was killed in battle in the Philippines. His crew continued without him and reached Spain a total of three years after they had first set out on their voyage. Though Magellan perished during the voyage, his belief that the Earth is round was proven to be true. This important discovery altered the way people thought about the world and had a significant impact on future voyages.

Brown, Cynthia Stokes. “Zheng He.” Khan Academy , Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/big-history-project/expansion-interconnection/exploration-interconnection/a/zheng-he

CrashCourse. “Columbus, De Gama, and Zheng He! 15th Century Mariners. Crash Course: World History #21.” YouTube, YouTube, 14 June 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjEGncridoQ

Levathes, Louise. When China Ruled the Seas : The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne 1400-1433. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994. ebookcentral.proquest.com/li...?docID=4457744

Lo, Jung-pang. “Zheng He.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 21 June 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Zheng-He

Princess Cruises offers 2026 cruise to let viewers see next total solar eclipse from Spain

Don't want to wait for 2079, the next time a full solar eclipse will be seen from New Jersey?

The next total solar eclipse takes place on Aug. 12, 2026, and crosses over parts of Russia, Greenland, Iceland, Spain and Portugal.

Want to see it? Here's one option.

2026 total solar eclipse

Princess Cruises has a 14-day Mediterranean cruise that will be positioned off the coast of northern Spain on the day of the eclipse.

The Sky Princess, which can host up to 3,660 cruisegoers, departs Southampton, London, for a roundtrip on Aug. 8, 2026, and returns on Aug. 22, 2026. It visits seven ports.

More: Ready to dispose of your solar eclipse glasses? Here's how

"The best way to see a total solar eclipse is via cruise ship, and our guests who recently experienced this rare occurrence on Discovery Princess and Emerald Princess were simply blown away," said John Padgett, Princess Cruises president, in a news release. "We make it easy for guests to come aboard, relax and meet other eclipse enthusiasts. It's truly a special opportunity."

Princess says that during the eclipse, guests will gather on the top decks with safety glasses for viewing. During the cruise, they'll also have access to lectures from astronomy experts, themed treats and drinks, stargazing, solar system trivia and more.

'I see it!': Shrewsbury students gather to watch the partial eclipse

You can snag tickets for the Total Eclipse Sky Princess Voyage starting May 23, 2024. Rates start at $2,199 per person, exclusive of taxes, fees and port expenses. Padgett says tickets for the 2024 eclipse cruises sold out quickly.

For tickets and more information, call 1-800-774-6237 or visit  princess.com . 

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Princess Cruises offers 2026 cruise to let viewers see next total solar eclipse from Spain