Tales of the Portuguese Empire Quiz

Answer: True

Prince Henry the Navigator began the Age of Exploration in the early 1400s. Pursuing his interest in maritime activities, he established a center for sailors and mapmakers, and sponsored voyages of exploration. Six hundred years later, the Portuguese still held colonies.

In addition, several of the former colonies have retained Portuguese as the official language; it is considered to be the sixth most common language spoken in the world today. The Community of Portuguese Language Countries was established to promote cooperation in areas such as education, health, technology, and defense among its members.

As of 2014 the group has ten members including Portugal.

Answer: Ceuta

Although Prince Henry was largely motivated by profits from the spice trade when he began the Age of Exploration, religion was an important factor as well. Before the Kingdom of Portugal could be established, the Moors had to be driven from the Iberian Peninsula; this reconquest was completed in the area of Portugal in 1249.

A treaty signed with neighboring Castile in 1411, finally assured the independence of the country. It was time to turn Portuguese efforts to exploring and conquering Muslim territories in North Africa.

The 1415 attack on Ceuta was one of the first steps in establishing a Portuguese overseas empire.

Answer: Azores

Still an autonomous region of Portugal, the Azores were discovered by the Portuguese in 1427. Apparently sheep were released on the island some time before human settlement was made in the 1430s. Crops such as grain, grapes, and sugar cane were planted, and wheat, barley, wine and brandy became important trading goods.

Answer: Slaves

Exploring around the western coast of Africa was quite a risky proposition. As Portuguese sailors made their way down the coast, they claimed the territory by erecting stone crosses. Eventually forts and trading posts were built. Sadly, the Portuguese found that the most lucrative item for trade was slaves.

In building the trading bases, Prince Henry hoped to establish relationships with African tribes that would capture and sell slaves to the Portuguese. The slave trade was somewhat justified (by Portugal) by the fact that the profits were used to wage wars against the Muslims in North Africa.

It is believed that in the beginning most of the slaves were sent to Lisbon, where they eventually comprised 10 percent of the population. Eventually, slaves were sent with settlers to the New World.

Answer: Spain

With Spain and Portugal being front runners in the Age of Exploration, it did not take very long before the countries were at odds over territories that both had claimed. In order to prevent hostilities between the two countries, the pope, Alexander VI, became involved; King John II of Portugal, however, believed the pope's plan was unfair to Portugal, and began to negotiate directly with Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Eventually they reached an agreement that was approved by Pope Julius II in 1506. Obviously, it was absurd to expect that other European countries would agree to a treaty that left them with nothing, and in reality neither Spain nor Portugal strictly enforced the boundary.

Answer: Brazil

Pedro Cabral claimed Brazil for Portugal in 1500, and it remained a colony until 1808, when the capital was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro. In 1815 Brazil became part of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. However, by 1822 the independent Empire of Brazil was established. Today Brazil is the largest Portuguese-speaking country in the world, and many elements of Portuguese culture, such as the Roman Catholic religion and architectural styles, remain.

Answer: Pepper

Prince Henry's goal during the Age of Exploration was to explore the coast of Africa in hopes of finding a sea route to Asia. In 1488 Bartolomeu Dias led an expedition that rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and Vasco da Gama reached Calicut in India in 1498.

Although the Portuguese were not as well-received as they had hoped, they did receive a permit to build Fort Emmanuel in 1502 and a trading center at Tangasseri that became the first European settlement in India. Tangasseri became the center for pepper, a commodity that was in great demand in Europe.

In fact, it is said that da Gama sold his first shipful of pepper and cinnamon for more than sixty times of what he paid.

Answer: Goa

The mint was established in response to complaints that there were not enough coins to use for trade. However, Albuquerque used the minting of the coins to announce the conquest of Goa. The gold, silver, and bronze coins not only displayed the king's crest, but also a cross and armillary sphere.

The fort at Goa was used as a base for other conquests, and Goa became the capital of the Portuguese Vice-Kingdom in Asia. Goa became independent of Portugal on December 19, 1961, and was annexed as a state by India in 1987.

Answer: Malacca

Malacca was an area where many trading peoples converged - Chinese, Persian, Arabs, and Japanese, to name a few. When the Portuguese conquered Malacca in 1511, however, the existing trading network was upset for a time, and the area failed to be as lucrative under Portuguese control as it had been previously.

Many hostile Muslim states were near the first European Christian trading base in South-east Asia. With the constant war and upheaval, as well as competition from other trading ports, the importance of Malacca declined.

In 1641, the Dutch took control of Malacca, and it was ceded to England in 1824.

Answer: False

Although he is given credit as being the the first European to reach China and Hong Kong by sea, Jorge Álvares was not the first European to establish trading contacts with China. It must be remembered that the Romans made several attempts to establish a relationship with China. Using the overland Silk Road, the Chinese exchanged silk with the Romans, who produced glassware and other luxury items.

In addition, Marco Polo's travels to China in the late thirteenth century are well known.