The Portuguese Role in Exploring and Mapping the New World

Back to Index Portugal is the most western country in Europe and one of the major players in the era of discovery and exploration in Europe. Under the guidance of Navigator Prince Henry, Portugal played a major role in the southern part of the 15th century by sailing South Africa to find the way to Asia. In the process, Portuguese accumulated a lot of knowledge about voyages and the Atlantic geography.

In the last decade of the 15th century, Christopher Columbus began searching for another route to the Indian archipelago across the Atlantic westerly route but inadvertently "discovered" the new continent. Although Columbus was neither born nor sponsored in Portugal, he was sent to Lisbon in 1476, stayed there for several years, seeking support from the king of Portugal, gathering information on maritime and geography from return crew members It was. He married a Portuguese woman, got a navigation map and related information from his father-in-law, Bartholomew Perestrelo, a governor of Porto Santo in Madeira, and was hired by João II as a navigator.

After Columbus departed to the New World, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Dutch, English have actively explored and developed newly discovered land in the United States. The Portuguese sailors continue to discover important discoveries at this new stage.

This 1502 map, known as the Cantino World Map, represents the interpretation of the world of mapmakers based on recent discoveries. This map shows Portuguese and Spanish exploration areas, as well as various plants, animals, people, buildings, which are based on the requirements of the Tordecilas treaty. Does it reveal the state of knowledge of geography and the European perception of the new world at the beginning of the 16 th century? The discovery of Columbus opened the door to the adventure of Spain. Inspired by the story of the golden river and the cowardly plasticity of the earth, later Spanish explorers were ruthless seeking land and money. Hernán Cortés gains genetic privileges for his family, earns salary and labor from locals, and wants pensions for Royals. Cortez arrived in Hispaniola in 1504 and participated in the conquest of the island.

Early in the 1400s, Portuguese expedition played the most important role in spreading Portuguese cuisine around the world. The aim of exploration in Portugal was not to achieve the world food market objectives in various countries and continents, but it has been achieved. This is a concept that most people think is unreasonable and unworried, but there is sufficient evidence to support every argument about it. - ... For example, in a letter from Columbus to the King and the Queen of Spain, he said: "On that island, three or four towns are founded in the most convenient place, the settlers Places and towns to be assigned "(March 1). In another letter Columbus wrote in Louis de Santan Gel, he wrote the islands that he found and named, San Salvador, Santa Maria de Concepcion, Fernandina, Isabella, and the fifth Juana.