Key Terms – The Portuguese Spice Trade

1. Key Terms – The Portuguese Spice Trade • Henry the Navigator • Astrolabe • Magnetic Compass • Caravel • Vasco de Gama

2. Background to Exploration • The fall of Constantinople shut down Silk Road to the European nations and forced them to trade through other groups. • The need for a European nation to establish a trade network they controlled took precedence during this period. • The Portuguese would be the first to investigate sailing around Africa to enter China and would use different inventions to do so.

3. Henry the Navigator • Prince Henry of Portugal used his wealth to push the creation of new inventions to assist in sailing east. • After being exposed to the riches of the east: spices, gold, rugs, and silver, he sought to explore how to arrive in the East without the use of Silk Road. • Henry was responsible for sending numerous expeditions along the Western Coast of Africa. • His expeditions were the means by which trade agreements were set up through encounters with the Western African kingdoms.

4. The New Inventions • Henry the Navigator would have no chance to navigate the coasts of Africa without the help of three inventions: • Astrolabe → device used to decipher the angle of the sun, stars and planets above the horizon • Magnetic Compass → used to tell direction. • Caravel → faster, smaller, sturdier ship with a rudder that allowed for easier steering and triangular sails to ease use of the wind

5. Caravel

6. The Gold Trade • The Portuguese, during their expeditions, created relations with the Songhai Empire. • The Songhai Empire was the center of the gold and salt trade in Africa → this relation allowed for a cheaper means by which to buy gold. • After cornering the gold trade, the Portuguese had exclusive control of the African gold trade.

7. Rounding Africa • The Portuguese, now having a base within Africa, could attempt to navigate around Africa. • Bartolomeu Dias sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in 1488. • He would be followed by another navigator, Vasco da Gama.

8. Vasco Da Gama • Vasco da Gama → Portuguese explorer who was the first to round Africa and arrive in India. • Da Gama's voyage, which took two years, brought back many luxury goods from India. • The Portuguese, being the first to arrive in India from Europe now had control of the spice trade.

9. Incursions and Security • The Muslims, having used Silk Road, were the chief means by which the Europeans acquired spices from India. • The Muslims had set up forts on the coastlines to prevent other groups from cornering their market → the Portuguese would defeat the Muslims and take the forts for themselves. • The ports would become trading posts and military bases for the Portuguese in India. • They would use these bases to penetrate the interior of Asia and establish the first European markets there.

10. Ramifications • The Portuguese investigation and subsequent success in Asia prompted other countries to take on similar journeys. • The Spaniards would send their own voyagers out west in search of a new trade route to compete with the Portuguese. • The journeys of both of these countries would usher in the Age of Discovery and Exploration and would begin the period of Old Imperialism.