A Corrida Para Dominar o MundoThe Portuguese Task Force for the Commemorations of the V Centenary of Circumnavigation
Provincia Andalvsiae (1712/1713) by Giovanni Battista da Cassino, Simone DurelliOriginal Source: Junta de Andalucia
At the end of the 15th century, the regions of the Algarve and Andalusia were part of another world, beyond the kingdoms to which they belonged.
The two southern regions of the Iberian Peninsula provided the means, arts and technologies, as well as the people who would make a major change in the history of the following centuries.
Portrait of a Man, Said to be Christopher Columbus (1519) by Sebastiano del PiomboOriginal Source: Wikimedia
The apprenticeship of Christopher Columbus
Columbus approached first the Portuguese and then the Palermos, near La Rabida, so that they could tell him their knowledge and secrets of the overseas.
With them, he fed his unbridled imagination and learned about the uses of that prototype called a caravel, which flew at sea.
Spices
Their desire was some tiny berries called spices. Some tiny spices like pepper, ginger and cloves were the main inspiration for the most glorious journey ever.
Price of spices
Since the beginning of the Renaissance, it was known throughout Europe that whoever dominated the spice trade, would end up dominating the world. In the Moluccas, the value of a quintal of cloves was 2 ducats, while in Lisbon, Seville, London and Venice it reached 200.
Lisbon, 16th Century (1572) by Franz HogenbergThe Portuguese Task Force for the Commemorations of the V Centenary of Circumnavigation
Lisbon, queen of spices
At the beginning of the 16th century, Portugal was the true queen of pepper and its capital, Lisbon, was the undisputed holder of the eastern route of the oceans.
The great neighboring powers such as France, Italy, Flanders and, of course, Castile, were watching the Lusitanian splendor with envy.
Renaissance banquet (1549) by Christopher de Messisbugo FerraraOriginal Source: Hisour
The race for world domination
The great race against the clock to dominate the world had begun. In Portugal, people had been living of pepper for years and the merchants knew that, as long as the people were slaves to their bellies, they would do great business with spices.
Monument to the Discoveries Belem (1960) by Leopoldo de AlmeidaOriginal Source: Wikimedia
Prince Henry the Navigator
Prince Henry the Navigator, a serene and visionary man who never sailed, knew how to be ahead of his time.
Prince Henry the Navigator planned a long-term strategy that transformed his kingdom, one of the poorest and smallest in old Europe, into a prosperous nation admired by nations around the world.
Miller Atlas - Portulan World Map (1519) by Lopo HomemThe Portuguese Task Force for the Commemorations of the V Centenary of Circumnavigation
Lisbon, the centre of trade policy
Lisbon had become the main centre of world trade policy. Suddenly, Portugal had gained an enormous inheritance that could hardly enjoy, unless it controlled the African routes of the Indian and Atlantic oceans.
Christopher Columbus' first landing in America (1862) by Dióscoro PueblaThe Portuguese Task Force for the Commemorations of the V Centenary of Circumnavigation
Christopher Columbus arrives in America
When Columbus returned happily from his first voyage in 1492, not knowing exactly where he had arrived, consternation had gripped the Portuguese.
The happiness of the Portuguese was short-lived as they felt they were the masters of a monopoly that everyone in Europe wanted.
Cantino Planisphere (1502) by UnknownOriginal Source: Wikimedia
Portugal, an ambitious perspective
However, Castile, ever vigilant of the Moorish threat, remained blocked. On the contrary, Portugal enjoyed a peace and freedom of action that allowed it to look to the ocean with an ambitious perspective.
Almanach Perpetuum (1525) by Avraham ben Shemuʾel Zakut/Abraham ZacutoThe Portuguese Task Force for the Commemorations of the V Centenary of Circumnavigation
The expulsion of the Jews from Castile
With the expulsion of the Jews from Castile in 1492 by order of the Catholic Kings, not only did an important source of local capital escape, but also the talent of the wise Jewish cartographers and astronomers who placed themselves at the service of the Portuguese crown.
Portrait of Francisco de Almeida (After 1545) by UnknownOriginal Source: Wikimedia
Francisco de Almeida
Francisco de Almeida finished in 1505 the task previously undertaken by his distinguished compatriots, Diaz and Gama, managing to bring under the Portuguese yoke all the squares of India that until then had been controlled by the Turks and Venetians.
The Humiliated Discoverer by Lorenzo DelleaniThe Portuguese Task Force for the Commemorations of the V Centenary of Circumnavigation
Portugal's success
In Castile, the Catholic kings watched in astonishment the Portuguese successes. Despite Columbus' insistence, his new world did not appear to be India, nor were there any tangible benefits in the form of gold, slaves or spices.
Buena Vista Beach by Alberto FlechosoOriginal Source: La Vieja España
Hope to Castile
Precisely at the moment of greatest confusion and despair for the Castilians, the discovery of the South Sea by the sailor Núñez de Balboa took place in 1513. If a passage between the two great oceans was found, the Moluccas could be reached by the western route.
Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)Original Source: Wikimedia
Treaty of Tordesillas
However, the problem would not end then, because it was necessary to decide to whom the desired islands actually belonged, as determined by the Treaty of Tordesillas, which had been signed by the Portuguese and Castilians in 1494, dividing the Earth into two halves.
World Map by Domingos Teixeira (1573) by Domingo TeixeiraOriginal Source: Bloc Nova Historia
King Francis I of France
King Francis I of France went so far as to demand that his advisors find him Adam's own Testament.
For otherwise, no one would make him believe, or even accept, that God had created the world with all its goods and creatures to give it to the two Iberian nations, and to them alone.
The end of the dispute
Finally, Magalhães put an end to the disputes between the Portuguese and the Castilians with his voyage of circumnavigation.
As time passed, neither of them took any real interest in those islands that were too far away to be truly profitable.
Curatorship and scientific supervision of:José Manuel Núñez de La Fuente
Technical support: Mito + Rito
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