Portuguese Exploration of Africa

In the Middle Ages, Islamic slave hunters from Africa sailed along the coast of Europe capturing Christians as enslaved people. Besides these encounters with slavers, the Portuguese heard rumors of great wealth and a Christian kingdom inside Africa. Equipped with new sailing technology, the Portuguese found early success in their Age of Exploration as they discovered how to circumnavigate the African continent and beyond.

Fig.1 - Portuguese Map 1502

Portuguese African Exploration Overview

Forming the Southwest corner of Europe, Portugal is surrounded by water: most of its territory faces the Atlantic ocean and oversees access to the Mediterranean sea, making it geographically close to Africa. Interested in trade with Asia and rumors of Africa beyond the Muslim lands they had encountered, Portugal first turned its nautical skill towards exploring Africa. Under leaders like Henry the Navigator and John II, Portugal searched for gold, enslaved people, and new converts to Christianity.

Fig.2 - Henry the Navigator

Henry the Navigator

Henry the Navigator is another name for Henrique of Portugal, a prince and duke who oversaw the exploration of Africa by Portugal from 1415. He was the leader of a Catholic religious order descended from the Knights Templar, known as the Military Order of Christ. His interest in exploring Africa had several features, including stopping slave raiders from Morocco, investigating the legends of a Christian king known as Prester John, who Europeans believed to exist somewhere beyond the Muslim-controlled lands, and rumors of gold deep in Africa.

Early Explorations

Henry led the conquest of Ceuta, a port city in Morrocco, in 1415. With this foothold in Africa, the uninhabited island of Madeira was settled in 1419 and the uninhabited islands of the Azores in 1431. This enabled the Portuguese to extract gold and enslaved people from the African continent while using those slaves on island plantations. In 1446, Portuguese explorers reached as far as what is now Sierra Leone before Henry died in 1460.

Fig.3 - John II of Portugal

John II of Portugal

After Henry the Navigator died in 1460, Portuguese exploration of Africa heavily slowed down. When John II took the throne of Portugal in 1481, he wasted no time reinvigorating Africa's exploration with three primary goals: gold, enslaved people, and finally making contact with the mythical kingdom of Prester John. With these goals, he set out several explorers across land and sea.

John II Era Explorations

Fig.4 - Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese explorer who built upon the work of earlier explorers like Bartolomeu Dias. He traveled not just to the tip of Africa but around it and up the East coast of Africa for the first time. His contacts with African peoples were not of a friendly nature, though. He was driven out of various locations such as Mombasa and Mozambique and even turned to piracy.

Period of the Portuguese Exploration of Africa

The period of the Portuguese exploration of Africa are given below.

The Portuguese African Exploration Timeline

Discoveries of the Portuguese Exploration of Africa

Under Henry the Navigator, Portugal began what is known as the Age of Exploration. At this time Europeans took to the seas and vastly expanded their knowledge of the world beyond Europe. Portugal encountered new people and ideas and made its own discoveries, such as the volta do mar, an innovative technique to utilize winds and sea currents in navigation. Keep reading to know more about this!

Fig.5 - Ocean Gyres

Volta Do Mar

The volta do mar was a crucial innovation in Portuguese maritime exploration. The Portuguese mariners discovered that in the Atlantic ocean existed permanent vortexes of air current or "gyres." Instead of slowly traveling along the coast of Africa, the Portuguese realized that if they traveled West into the Atlantic Ocean, they would encounter these gyres. By riding the gyres, their ships could travel much further and faster.

Kingdom of Kongo

Prester John in Ethiopia

A myth had long existed in Europe that a Christian kingdom lay beyond the lands controlled by the Muslims. This kingdom was believed to be the strongest and wealthiest Christian kingdom and was sought as an ally. Various early rumors placed the kingdom in the East, and some later placed it south of Europe in Africa. The stories were embellishments, likely based on accounts of Christian groups that did exist in the East.

Fig.6 - Empress Eleni

Discovery of Ethiopia

Many explorers from Portugal were tasked with locating this kingdom. Eventually, an explorer named Pêro da Covilhã located the Christian kingdom of Ethiopia, which he identified as the court of Prester John. Covilhã was well treated by Emperor Eskander of Ethiopia but was not allowed to leave the country. Eventually, he convinced the later Empress Eleni to send an envoy to Portugal and establish relations and an alliance against the Ottoman Empire in 1517.

Impact of the Portuguese Exploration on Africa

The Middle Ages had been a golden age for Africa. Wealthy and well-developed civilizations had been built up. The arrival of the Portuguese altered two of the major trades in Africa: gold and enslaving people. Although Arab slave traders from Northern Africa still sold the enslaved people to the Portuguese, their "commodities" now traveled by ship to Portugal, instead of land-based caravans to Northern Africa and into Italy. Many enslaved Africans were sent to work plantations on islands off the coast of Africa that had been uninhabited before the Portuguese arrived.

Spread of Christianity

In addition, to the economic interest in gold and enslaved people, Portuguese exploration also had a religious interest. Explorers were often given orders to locate the mythical Christian kingdom of Prester John. In addition, colonizers were instructed to Christianize the areas they claimed. Many of the leaders of these explorations, including Henry the Navigator and Bartolomeu Dias, were members of the Military Order of Christ, a group descended from the Knights Templar.