3.2 Portugal and the Age of Exploration pp. 69-74

Objectives: Explain how Prince Henry led the Age of Exploration. Describe the voyages of Dias and Da Gama.

Review Who were the first Europeans to set foot in the Americas? Who was their leader? What was the name of their settlement in North America? Define sagas— Define Middle Ages— Explain how the feudal system affected trade and travel in the Middle Ages.

7. What health disaster contributed to the breakdown of the feudal system? 8. What Asian products did Crusaders encounter in the Middle East? 9. What is a monopoly? 10. Which European group established a monopoly over trade with Muslim markets selling Asian products? 11. Who wrote a book describing the riches he found and the people he met in China? 12. What was the Renaissance?

A. Prince Henry of Portugal (pp. 69-70) Europeans of the early 1400s had no idea of what lay south of Portugal and the northern coast of Africa. Prince Henry “the Navigator” hoped to make Portugal the world’s leading sea power. He wanted to find an ocean route around Africa to Asia and to locate the source of African gold.

B. The Age of Exploration (pp. 70-71) Prince Henry recruited mapmakers, astronomers, and shipbuilders to learn more about navigation—the science of piloting ships. A new type of ship, called a caravel, was sturdy and its rudder and triangular sails helped it maneuver against the wind. These improvements and others, like the magnetic compass and astrolabe, helped usher in a great Age of Exploration.

The Caravel

C. Three African Empires (pp. 71-72) Portuguese expeditions down Africa’s west coast revealed just how incredibly massive this unexplored continent was. For centuries, three large, wealthy kingdoms—Ghana, Mali, and Songhai—controlled the trade routes that ran from North Africa to the West African coast. Gold, salt, ivory, leather, iron, and other products passed back and forth through their markets.

D. A Passage to India (p. 73) By the mid-1400s, the Portuguese had riches and profits, but they were still searching for a way around Africa and on to Asia. Then, in 1488, Bartholomeu Dias sailed as far as the southern tip of Africa, which he named the Cape of Good Hope. The Portuguese felt sure that they would soon reach India by sailing around Africa

E. Crossing the Indian Ocean (p. 73) The Portuguese had to wait another 10 years to accomplish this mission. Following Dias’ route to the southern tip of Africa, Vasco da Gama then pressed on across the Indian Ocean and landed on the west coast of India in 1498. Before returning to Portugal, he filled his ships with spices, silks, jewels, glassware, and other Asian trade goods.

Review: 13. Who set up a school of navigation in Portugal? 14. What was Prince Henry known as (Prince Henry the . . .?) 15. Define navigation— 16. Define caravel— 17. What were some of the features that made caravels excellent vessels for exploration? 18. The Portuguese hoped to reach Asia by going around which continent? 19. Identify the three West African kingdoms that controlled the gold and salt trade. 20. Which Portuguese sailor reached the southern tip of Africa? 21. Which Portuguese sailor reached India by sailing around Africa?