Portugal Empire Research Paper

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Many empires in the past have gone through times of prosperity and times of poverty. For a country to achieve prosperity they must have money and power. These two elements were essential for many empires in the past to become powerful. After the fall of Rome, The Portuguese empire went through an era of wealth and prosperity. This was however, after gaining Independence from the Spanish Empire. They discovered and controlled the sea route of India, China and Japan for almost 200 years. They had control of the South American landmass known as Brazil for many years. Through voyages of discovery and trading, Portugal became quite the commercial power in the 16th century. In fact, the Portuguese empire was the first global empire and it lasted…show more content…
The Portuguese Kingdom was around since before the 12th century. Portugal shared kings with other kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. The start of the 15th century marked the age of discoveries, as this is when the Americas were discovered. In 1415 The King of Portugal, King John I was encouraged by his third son Prince Henry to conquer the Muslim port of Ceuta, modern day northern coast of Morocco. The Portuguese wanted to keep control of the valuable spice trade in the East and this acquisition would only help them further. Prince Henry wanted more exploration of the African coast in order to find the source of the West African gold trade. Henry's voyages down the African coast were unseen at this time in history and nobody had ever seen it before. Portugal did not stop there however. They made lighter, faster ships that were much more efficient and helped them navigate the seas a lot more easily. The Portuguese made settlements in Guinea and Angola as they had a heavy interest in the African slave trade. They brought back goods and slaves from Africa. Henry had started a Portuguese custom of navigation and trade. After his death in 1460, the Portuguese had…show more content…
They were slow at reaching the Americas when compared to their neighbors the Spanish. The coast of undiscovered Brazil was reached in year 1500 by the Portuguese navigator, Pedro Cabral. He was credited with the discovery of the large Portuguese colony. He led 13 Portuguese ships deep into the Atlantic Ocean when they discovered Brazil. Portugal found large reserves of gold, minerals and sugar all over the new land. They eventually colonize Brazil in 1533 and name it Brazil because of a resource found there which is a red wood (pau-brasil) in which dye can be taken from it. Portugal then started to bring in African slaves to Brazil in order to help drive forward the economy in Brazil. Slaves were a huge factor behind the growth of the sugar economy. The gold and diamond deposits eventually found in Brazil increased the amount of immigrants into Brazil wanting a piece of the cake. Portugal controlled Colonial Brazil for over three centuries until the Empire of Brazil formed and they got their
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