HST 197 Chapter 32: Portuguese Exploration
Document Summary
Portuguese merchants were not dominant in trading circle. But portuguese fisherman had a long tradition of seafaring in the atlantic ocean. Portuguese mariners emerged as early leader in atlantic exploration and in the search for sea routes to asian markets. Went on ambitious campaigns to spread christianity and increase portuguese influence on the seas. Portuguese forces seized the moroccan city of ceuta(this city guarded the strait of. Henry saw this victory as a blow against islam, and as a strategic move enabling. Christain vessels to move freely between the mediterranean and the atlantic. Henry encouraged portuguese mariners to venture to the atlantic. During their voyages they discovered madeiras and azores islands. They made an unsuccessful attempt of colonizing the canary islands. These islands were inhabited by indigenous people. Atlantic islands had fertile soil and a mediterranean climate. Portuguese entrepreneurs began to cultivate sugarcane there in collaboration with italian investors.
