A Brief History of Portugal

Part 3 - Dom João II & Voyages of Discovery

WELL NOW, WHERE were we when we were rudely interrupted by running out of space in the last Algarve-Retreats Newsletter?  Oh Yes.  We were taking a look at the House of Avis's kings having finished with the happenings under Dom Afonso V.  And so let's press on but before we do, in case some of you haven't yet read Parts I and II (shame on you) we'll just reiterate how we are meandering through the colourful history of Portugal.  We started with the year 1386 and are using the `who/when/how long' formulae as Section headings.  (By the way, no one has yet come up with the name of the famous Portuguese person's face that most resembles the map of Portugal - the Part I quiz!)

Dom João II: 1481-95

Right from the start, Dom João the 2nd was determined to re-assert royal authority with a ruthlessness that surprised even his close allies.  Firstly, he had the Duke of Braganza, one of the most eminent figures among the nobility, executed at Évora, closely followed by the Bishop of Évora and the Marquis of Távora. He could not even be persuaded to spare the Queen's brother, the Duke of Viseu, from this purge.  Having sorted out those little difficulties, Dom João II, to give him his proper title (I have no intention of risking my neck), was very much the leader of the voyages of discovery for which Portugal became famous.

The most important difference between the Portuguese passion to colonise and other European countries was the planning of the expeditions.  These excursions were not the result of haphazard actions by passing merchants and adventures caught out by changing tides and such like.  They were meticulously planned, coordinated and executed, sometimes over many months or even years over many generations, whether monarchy controlled or by direct sponsorship.

From the fifteenth century onwards, therefore, these procedures allowed the Portuguese to explore such distant places as South America, China, Japan, East Africa and India.  Of course, the expeditions gave a new meaning to the geography and history of the entire world.  Even with their attention to detail they started on a small scale initially and the Canary Islands gave the Portuguese their earliest colonization exercise.  This would have occurred in the 1300's but right from the start of Portugal's occupation, Spain would not give up its intimidation.  Although the Portuguese managed to hold on to these islands for around 150 years, they eventually gave up their claim to them in favour of Spain in 1479, just before Dom João II came to power.

Next up on the discovery trail were Madeira, Porto Santo and the Azores.  The colonisation of these islands must have occurred around the mid 1400's.

Another significant year in the Portuguese desire to explore was 1482.  In that year, the fort of São João da Mina was constructed to form a trading base.  From here they were able to establish trading links with African countries like Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Ivory Coast and the Gold Coast as far as Niger.  There was a good deal of bartering going on too, which saw gold, ivory, slaves and malagueta (the basis of Cayenne pepper, I believe) bought or exchanged for lengths of brightly-coloured cloth, metallic trinkets, coral and red and blue beads.

With all this wealth swilling about, it was just as well that the Crown kept strict control of the trading; the penalty for smuggling was death.  Of course, the favourable trading conditions didn't go unnoticed by other countries.  Before long French, Dutch and even English ships, tried to break the Portuguese monopoly.  It took until 1637 for the Dutch to take São João da Mina by force which would, still later, be handed over for the British to rule.

A bizarre project was then begun to `shape' the African natives into a lifestyle similar to the Portuguese model.  In order to achieve this objective, a `civilising' expedition was sent in 1490, the boats filled with missionaries spouting Christianity and craftsmen to teach them technical skills.

It was Dom João II who pushed forward an ambitious forward plan to establish a sea link direct from Lisbon to the spice-rich Indies.  As part of that overall strategy, Diogo Cão set sail in 1482 with a number of stone pillars as part of his cargo.  These were to be used to mark the discovery of new places and to stamp Portuguese authority on them.  Then it was Bartolomeu Dias's turn in 1487 to push Portuguese discoveries ever further south.  However, he hit a violent storm which pushed him east and this `accident' opened the way for the long-sought after route to the Indies.

Taking centre stage next in the `discovery stakes' comes, none other than Christopher Columbus, perhaps one of the most famous names in history.  Although borne in Genoa, Italy, Columbus had moved to Portugal as a young man.  Having now established that the earth was spherical, Toscanelli, an eminent Florentine geographer and friend of Columbus, suggested that the westward passage to the Indies would be shorter than that currently being used., However, the king decided to put the idea to the court cosmographers before agreeing to sponsor the expedition. ,They decided it was a `half-baked' idea without a convincing argument and wouldn't sanction the necessary funds.  Columbus was furious and offered his services to the Catholic monarchs of Spain, Fernando and Isobel who, in 1492, agreed to provide the funds.  Columbus was convinced that the islands he reached were the Indies and on his way home called in at Lisbon to smirk at Dom João II over his mistake in not financing the expedition.  However, Columbus soon had the smile wiped off his face.  As the landfall he laid claim to, on behalf of his paymasters the Spaniards, lay south of the Canaries, the king claimed them back for Portugal. This game of political football was now over under the previously agreed terms of the Treaty of Alcáçovas, of which Columbus claimed not to have been aware.  Under these terms, it had been agreed that anything discovered south of the Canaries islands latitude would be regarded as belonging to Portugal and not Spain.  To stop Columbus making difficulties at this decision and, it must be said, a number of other prominent figures too, a new treaty to this effect was quickly signed at Tordesillas on 7^th June 1494.  (It just goes to show that this type of `fix-it', or trickery, call it what you will, has, of course, been going on for centuries, not just in recent times.)  The new treaty set out that the division between these two great maritime nations, on Portugal's insistence, should be one of longitude, vertically off the Cape Verde Islands set at 370 degrees west.  Despite much argument since, no one knows why Portugal insisted on this, presumably arbitrarily chosen position, passing through, as it did at that time, uncharted waters.  Could it have been that Portugal had a very strong suspicion - or in fact already knew - of the existence of land around the northeastern part of Brazil?

Perhaps that is as good a place as any to make a break, as we have run out of space again anyway.  Next month, more famous names in the world of Discoverers should keep you on the edge of your seats.  Until then, enjoy yourselves.

David Devereux

dfdev@btinternet.com  

Why not now have a look at the Family Tree of Kings and Queens of Portugal?

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