Prince Henry, the Navigator
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Timeline of Portuguese history

For additional context, see History of Portugal and Portuguese Empire.

Portugal in the period of discoveries (1415-1499) discovered an eastern route to India that doubled the Cape of Good Hope. Along with colonizing select areas of Africa, the Portuguese established trading routes throughout most of southern Asia. However, it found its government in conflict with the governors of overseas provinces, as many of the governors kept the fortunes that they made. Henry the Navigator Picture from http://genealogia. ... Infante Henrique, Duke of Viseu KG (Porto, March 4, 1394–Sagres, November 13, 1460); pron. ... The History of Portugal is that of an ancient European nation, whose present origins go back to the Early Middle Ages, that ascended to a great world power in the Age of Discoveries with its vast Empire. ... History of Portugal series Prehistoric Portugal Pre-Roman Portugal Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia Visigoths and Suevi Moorish rule and Reconquista First County of Portugal Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal Second County of Portugal Establishment of the Monarchy Consolidation of the Monarchy 1383–1385 Crisis Discoveries Portuguese Empire 1580 Crisis Iberian... History of Portugal series Prehistoric Portugal Pre-Roman Portugal Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia Visigoths and Suevi Moorish rule and Reconquista First County of Portugal Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal Second County of Portugal Establishment of the Monarchy Consolidation of the Monarchy 1383–1385 Crisis Discoveries Portuguese Empire 1580 Crisis Iberian... Roman theater at Mérida; the statues are replicas Hispania was the name given by the Romans to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal, Spain, Andorra and Gibraltar) and to two provinces created there in the period of the Roman Republic: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. ... In red is the province of Lusitania within the Roman Empire, 120 AD Lusitania was an ancient Roman province approximately including current Portugal, except for the area between the rivers Douro and Minho (part of Hispania Tarraconensis), and part of modern day western Spain, the present autonomous communities of Extremadura... Gallaecia or Callaecia (from Gaulish *gal-laikos smoke?-hero/warrior) was the name of a Roman province that comprised a territory in the north-west of Hispania (approximately the current Galicia of Spain and the north of Portugal). ... Migrations The Visigoths were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East Germanic tribe (the Ostrogoths being the other). ... The Suebi or Suevi were a Germanic people whose origin was near the Baltic Sea . ... Al-Andalus is the Arabic name given the Iberian Peninsula by its Muslim conquerors; it refers to both the Caliphate proper and the general period of Muslim rule (711–1492). ... For other senses of this word, see Reconquista (disambiguation). ... History of Portugal series Prehistoric Portugal Pre-Roman Portugal Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia Visigoths and Suevi Moorish rule and Reconquista First County of Portugal Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal Second County of Portugal Establishment of the Monarchy Consolidation of the Monarchy 1383–1385 Crisis Discoveries Portuguese Empire 1580 Crisis Iberian... History of Portugal Series Prehistoric Portugal Pre-Roman Portugal Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia Visigoths and Suevi Moorish rule and Reconquista First County of Portugal Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal Second County of Portugal Establishment of the Monarchy Consolidation of the Monarchy 1383-1385 Crisis Discoveries Portuguese Empire 1580 Crisis Iberian... History of Portugal series Prehistoric Portugal Pre-Roman Portugal Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia Visigoths and Suevi Moorish rule and Reconquista First County of Portugal Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal Second County of Portugal Establishment of the Monarchy Consolidation of the Monarchy 1383–1385 Crisis Discoveries Portuguese Empire 1580 Crisis Iberian... History of Portugal series Prehistoric Portugal Pre-Roman Portugal Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia Visigoths and Suevi Moorish rule and Reconquista First County of Portugal Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal Second County of Portugal Establishment of the Monarchy Consolidation of the Monarchy 1383–1385 Crisis Discoveries Portuguese Empire 1580 Crisis Iberian... History of Portugal series Prehistoric Portugal Pre-Roman Portugal Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia Visigoths and Suevi Moorish rule and Reconquista First County of Portugal Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal Second County of Portugal Establishment of the Monarchy Consolidation of the Monarchy 1383–1385 Crisis Discoveries Portuguese Empire 1580 Crisis Iberian... The 1383–1385 crisis is a period of civil war and anarchy in Portuguese history that began with the death of king Fernando I of Portugal – who left no male heirs – and ended with the accession to the throne of king João I in 1385, in the wake of... Maximum extent of Portuguese colonial possessions in the 16th century. ... History of Portugal series Prehistoric Portugal Pre-Roman Portugal Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia Visigoths and Suevi Moorish rule and Reconquista First County of Portugal Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal Second County of Portugal Establishment of the Monarchy Consolidation of the Monarchy 1383–1385 Crisis Discoveries Portuguese Empire 1580 Crisis Iberian... Iberian Union - modern day term that refers to the historical political unit that governed all of the Iberian peninsula south of the Pyrenees from 1580-1640. ... History of Portugal series Prehistoric Portugal Pre-Roman Portugal Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia Visigoths and Suevi Moorish rule and Reconquista Castilian and Leonese rule First County of Portugal County of Coimbra Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal Second County of Portugal Establishment of the Monarchy Consolidation of the Monarchy 1383–1385... History of Portugal series Prehistoric Portugal Pre-Roman Portugal Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia Visigoths and Suevi Moorish rule and Reconquista First County of Portugal Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal Second County of Portugal Establishment of the Monarchy Consolidation of the Monarchy 1383–1385 Crisis Discoveries Portuguese Empire 1580 Crisis Iberian... History of Portugal series Prehistoric Portugal Pre-Roman Portugal Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia Visigoths and Suevi Moorish rule and Reconquista Castilian and Leonese rule First County of Portugal County of Coimbra Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal Second County of Portugal Establishment of the Monarchy Consolidation of the Monarchy 1383–1385... History of Portugal series Prehistoric Portugal Pre-Roman Portugal Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia Visigoths and Suevi Moorish rule and Reconquista First County of Portugal Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal Second County of Portugal Establishment of the Monarchy Consolidation of the Monarchy 1383–1385 Crisis Discoveries Portuguese Empire 1580 Crisis Iberian... History of Portugal series Prehistoric Portugal Pre-Roman Portugal Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia Visigoths and Suevi Moorish rule and Reconquista First County of Portugal Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal Second County of Portugal Establishment of the Monarchy Consolidation of the Monarchy 1383–1385 Crisis Discoveries Portuguese Empire 1580 Crisis Iberian... History of Portugal series Prehistoric Portugal Pre-Roman Portugal Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia Visigoths and Suevi Moorish rule and Reconquista First County of Portugal Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal Second County of Portugal Establishment of the Monarchy Consolidation of the Monarchy 1383–1385 Crisis Discoveries Portuguese Empire 1580 Crisis Iberian... History of Portugal series Prehistoric Portugal Pre-Roman Portugal Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia Visigoths and Suevi Moorish rule and Reconquista First County of Portugal Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal Second County of Portugal Establishment of the Monarchy Consolidation of the Monarchy 1383–1385 Crisis Discoveries Portuguese Empire 1580 Crisis Iberian... History of Portugal series Prehistoric Portugal Pre-Roman Portugal Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia Visigoths and Suevi Moorish rule and Reconquista First County of Portugal Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal Second County of Portugal Establishment of the Monarchy Consolidation of the Monarchy 1383–1385 Crisis Discoveries Portuguese Empire 1580 Crisis Iberian... History of Portugal series Prehistoric Portugal Pre-Roman Portugal Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia Visigoths and Suevi Moorish rule and Reconquista First County of Portugal Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal Second County of Portugal Establishment of the Monarchy Consolidation of the Monarchy 1383–1385 Crisis Discoveries Portuguese Empire 1580 Crisis Iberian... ĢÕãÒòùäÊŞ Ä‚ ßõî ŔûñÑèđ òΝ ýëŗ pæŇţž This page may meet Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... History of Portugal series Prehistoric Portugal Pre-Roman Portugal Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia Visigoths and Suevi Moorish rule and Reconquista First County of Portugal Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal Second County of Portugal Establishment of the Monarchy Consolidation of the Monarchy 1383–1385 Crisis Discoveries Portuguese Empire 1580 Crisis Iberian... History of Portugal series Prehistoric Portugal Pre-Roman Portugal Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia Visigoths and Suevi Moorish rule and Reconquista Castilian and Leonese rule First County of Portugal County of Coimbra Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal Second County of Portugal Establishment of the Monarchy Consolidation of the Monarchy 1383–1385... History of Portugal series Prehistoric Portugal Pre-Roman Portugal Roman Lusitania and Gallaecia Visigoths and Suevi Moorish rule and Reconquista First County of Portugal Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal Second County of Portugal Establishment of the Monarchy Consolidation of the Monarchy 1383–1385 Crisis Discoveries Portuguese Empire 1580 Crisis Iberian... Ajuda Library, created in the 15th century as Royal Library. Mother of the Portuguese and Brazilian National Libraries. ... This is a historical timeline of Portugal. ... The History of Portugal is that of an ancient European nation, whose present origins go back to the Early Middle Ages, that ascended to a great world power in the Age of Discoveries with its vast Empire. ... Maximum extent of Portuguese colonial possessions in the 16th century. ... The Cape of Good Hope; looking towards the west, from the coastal cliffs above Cape Point. ...

Reasons for exploration

As the southwesternmost people of Europe, the Portuguese were the natural leaders of that work of exploration which had been carried on during the Middle Ages. The long shoreline of their country, with its fine harbors and rivers flowing westward to the ocean, had been the training-ground of a race of adventurous seamen. It was impossible, moreover, to expand or reach new markets except by sea: the interposition of Castile and Aragon, so often hostile, completely prevented direct land routes to other European countries. Consequently the Portuguese merchants sent their goods by sea to England, Flanders, or the Hanse towns. The whole history of the nation had also inspired a desire for fresh conquests among its leaders. Portugal had won and now held its independence by the sword. The long struggle to expel the Moors, with the influence of foreign crusaders and the military orders, had given a religious sanction to the desire for martial fame. Nowhere was the ancient crusading spirit so active a political force. To make war upon Islam seemed to the Portuguese their natural destiny and their duty as Christians. World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The starting point of Crown of Castile can be considered when the union of the Kingdoms of Castile and Leon in 1230 or the later fusion of their Cortes (their Parlaments). ... Capital Zaragoza Official language(s) Spanish; Aragonese and Catalan also used Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 4th  47,719 km²  9. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... Flanders (Dutch: ) has several main meanings: the social, cultural and linguistical, scientific and educational, economical and political community of the Flemings; some prefer to call this the Flemish community (others refer to this as the Flemish nation) which is, with over 6 million inhabitants, the majority of all Belgians; a... The foundations of the Hanseatic League (German: Hanse), an alliance of trading cities that for a time in the later Middle Ages and the Early Modern period maintained a trade monopoly over most of Northern Europe and the Baltic, can be seen as early as the 12th century, with the... Moorish Ambassador to Queen Isabella I of Castile The Moors were the medieval Muslim inhabitants of al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula including present day Spain and Portugal) and the Maghreb and western Africa, whose culture is often called Moorish. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ... This article is about the religous people known as Christians. ...

The Portuguese economy had benefited from its connections with neighbouring Muslim states. A money economy was well enough established for 15th century workers in the countryside as well as in the towns to be paid in currency. The agriculture of the countryside had diversified to the point where grain was imported from Morocco (a symptom of an economy dependent upon Portugal's), while specialised crops occupied former grain-growing areas: vineyards, olives, or the sugar factories of the Algarve, later to be reproduced in Brazil (Braudel 1985). Most of all, the Aviz dynasty that had come to power in 1385 marked the semi-eclipse of the conservative land-oriented aristocracy (See The Consolidation of the Monarchy in Portugal.) Also, due to their close connections with several Islamic kingdoms, a constant exchange of cultural ideals made Portugal a centre of knowledge and technological development. Due to these connections with Islamic kingdoms, many mathematicians and experts in naval technology appeared in Portugal, as it became the scientific centre of that time. The Portuguese government impeled this even further by taking full advantage of this and by creating several important research centers in Portugal, among the was the Institute of Sagres, where Portuguese researchers made several breakthroughs in mathematical fields and especially in naval technology, both in transport and in equipment. A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Turkish: Müslüman, Persian and Urdu: مسلمان, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of Islam. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... Algarve NUTS II region, and the district of Faro in Portugal Vilamouras marina The Algarve (pron. ... The House of Aviz is a dynasty of kings of Portugal. ... The Consolidation of the Monarchy in Portugal (1279-1415) The chief problems now confronting the monarchy were no longer military, but social, economic and constitutional, it is true that the reign of Diniz was not a period of uninterrupted peace. ... Leonhard Euler is considered by many to be one of the greatest mathematicians of all time A mathematician is the person whose primary area of study and research is the field of mathematics. ... The Sagres Point, in the Algarve of southern Portugal, which forms the southwesternmost tip of Europe, was already sacred ground in Neolithic times, as standing menhirs in the neighborhood still attest. ...

Henry the Navigator

It was the genius of Prince Henry the Navigator that coordinated and utilized all these tendencies towards expansion. Prince Henry placed at the disposal of his captains the vast resources of the Order of Christ, of which he was the head, and the best information and most accurate instruments and maps that could be obtained. He sought to effect a junction with the half-fabulous Christian Empire of "Prester John" by way of the "Western Nile" (the Senegal), and, in alliance with that potentate, to crush the Turks and liberate Palestine. The conception of an ocean route to India appears to have originated after his death. On land he again defeated the Moors, who attempted to retake Ceuta in 1418; but in an expedition to Tangier, undertaken in 1436 by King Edward (1433-1438), the Portuguese army was defeated, and could only escape destruction by surrendering as a hostage Prince Ferdinand, the king's youngest brother. Ferdinand, known as "the Constant", from the fortitude with which he endured captivity, died unransomed in 1443. By sea Prince Henry's captains continued their exploration of Africa and the Atlantic Ocean. In 1433 Cape Bojador was doubled; in 1434 the first consignment of slaves was brought to Lisbon; and slave trading soon became one of the most profitable branches of Portuguese commerce. The Senegal was reached in 1445, Cape Verde was passed in the same year, and in 1446 Alvaro Fernandes pushed on almost as far as Sierra Leone. This was probably the farthest point reached before the Navigator died in 1460. Another vector of the discoveries were the voyages westward, during which the Portuguese discovered the sargasso sea and possibly sighted the shores of nova scotia well before 1492. Infante Dom Henrique (4 March 1394 - 13 November 1460) was a prince of Portugal, often regarded as the most important figure in the early days of European colonial expansion. ... The Seal of the Grand-Masters Evrard de Barres and Regnaud de Vichier depict the Dome of the ROCK. The Order of Christ was the heritage of the Templar Knights. ... Preste enthroned on a map of East Africa in an atlas prepared for Queen Mary, 1558. ... Map of the British Mandate of Palestine. ... Area  â€“ Total   28 km² Population  â€“ Total (2005)  â€“ Density  75,276  2688. ... Tangier bay at sunrise Tangier or Tangiers (Tanja طنچة in Berber and Arabic, Tânger in Portuguese, and Tanger in French), is a city of northern Morocco with a population of 669,685 (2004 census). ... Duarte of Portugal (Edward, in English), the Philosopher or the Eloquent, the 11th king of Portugal, was born in Viseu on October 31, 1391 and he died in Tomar on September 13, 1438. ... Fernando of Portugal, the Saint Prince (pron. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa. ... Cape Bojador is a headland on the northern coast of Moroccos Western Sahara province, just below latitude 27° North. ... The Buxton Memorial Fountain, celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, London. ... Lisbon (Portuguese: Lisboa, IPA: ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal. ... António Fernandes, or sometimes Álvaro Fernandes, (15th century) Portuguese explorer of the African coast. ...

The Treaty of Tordesillas

Early map of Brazil issued by the Portuguese explorers in 1519.

Meanwhile colonization progressed in the Azores and Madeira, where sugar and wine were now produced; above all, the gold brought home from Guinea stimulated the commercial energy of the Portuguese. It had become clear that, apart from their religious and scientific aspects, these voyages of discovery were highly profitable. Under Alphonso V (1443-1481), surnamed the African, the Gulf of Guinea was explored as far as Cape St Catherine, and three expeditions (1458, 1461, 1471) were sent to Morocco; in 1471 Arzila (Asila) and Tangier were captured from the Moors. Under John II (1481-1495) the fortress of São Jorge da Mina, the modern Elmina, was founded for the protection of the Guinea trade. Diogo Cão, or Can, discovered the Congo in 1482 and reached Cape Cross in 1486; Bartolomeu Dias doubled the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, thus proving that the Indian Ocean was accessible by sea. After 1492 the discovery of the West Indies by Columbus rendered desirable a delimitation of the Spanish and Portuguese spheres of exploration. This was accomplished by the Treaty of Tordesillas (June 7, 1494) which modified the delimitation authorized by Pope Alexander VI in two bulls issued on May 4, 1493. The treaty gave to Portugal all lands which might be discovered east of a straight line drawn from the Arctic Pole to the Antarctic, at a distance of 370 leagues west of Cape Verde. Spain received the lands discovered west of this line. As, however, the known means of measuring longitude were so inexact that the line of demarcation could not in practice be determined (see J. de Andrade Corvo in Journal das Ciências Matemáticas, xxxi.147-176, Lisbon, 1881), the treaty was subject to very diverse interpretations. On its provisions were based both the Portuguese claim to Brazil and the Spanish claim to the Moluccas (see History of the Malay Archipelago). The treaty was chiefly valuable to the Portuguese as a recognition of the prestige they had acquired. That prestige was enormously enhanced when, in 1497-1499, Vasco da Gama completed the voyage to India. Image File history File links Brazil-16-map. ... Image File history File links Brazil-16-map. ... See also explorations, sea explorers, astronaut, conquistador, travelogue, the History of Science and Technology and Biography. ... Events March 4 - Hernán Cortés lands in Mexico. ... Motto: Antes morrer livres que em paz sujeitos (Rather die free than in peace subjugated) Anthem: A Portuguesa (national) Hino dos Açores (local) Capital Ponta Delgada (Presidency of the Regional Government) Angra do Heroísmo (Supreme Court)1 Horta (Legislative Assembly)2 Largest city Ponta Delgada Portuguese Government Autonomous... Motto: Das ilhas, as mais belas e livres (Of the islands, the most beautiful and free) Anthem: A Portuguesa (national) Hino da Região Autónoma da Madeira (local) Capital (largest city) Funchal Portuguese Government Autonomous region  - President Alberto João Jardim Independence    - Settled 1420   - Autonomy 1976  Area  - Total 797... Magnification of typical sugar showing monoclinic hemihedral crystalline structure. ... This article is about the alcoholic beverage. ... General Name, Symbol, Number gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 6, d Appearance metallic yellow Atomic mass 196. ... Afonso V of Portugal (Portuguese pron. ... The Gulf of Guinea is the part of the Atlantic southwest of Africa. ... John II of Portugal João II of Portugal (Portuguese pron. ... Elmina is a town on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Ghana, lying west of Cape Coast. ... The pillar bearing the arms of Portugal erected by Cão at Cape St. ... Bartolomeu Dias turning the Cape of Good Hope Statue of Dias in Cape Town, South Africa Bartolomeu Dias (pron. ... The Cape of Good Hope; looking towards the west, from the coastal cliffs above Cape Point. ... The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. ... Look up columbus in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... There are English source documents for or relating to this article that could be added to Wikipedias sister project, Wikisource. ... June 7 is the 158th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (159th in leap years), with 207 days remaining. ... 1494 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Pope Alexander VI (1 January 1431 – 18 August 1503), born Roderic Borja (Italian: Borgia), (reigned from 1492 to 1503), is the most controversial of the secular popes of the Renaissance and one whose surname became a byword for the debased standards of the papacy of that era. ... Papal bull of Pope Urban VIII, 1637, sealed with a leaden bulla. ... May 4 is the 124th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (125th in leap years). ... 1493 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border Satellite image of the Arctic surface The Arctic is the area around the Earths North Pole, opposite the Antarctican area around the South Pole. ... Greek ἀνταρκτικός, opposite the arctic) is a continent surrounding the Earths South Pole. ... League is a unit of distance long common in Europe and Latin America, although no longer an official unit in any nation. ... Longitude, sometimes denoted by the Greek letter λ (lambda),[1][2] describes the location of a place on Earth east or west of a north-south line called the Prime Meridian. ... This page is about the geography and history of the island group in Indonesia — for the political entities encompassing the islands, see Maluku (Indonesian province) and North Maluku. ... For other uses, see Vasco da Gama (disambiguation). ...

Christopher Columbus' discovery of what they thought was India at that time, is something that historians dispute in terms of the consequences that lead to this discovery. One theory which has some support, due to recent proof that has come to light, is that Columbus was indeed Portuguese as stated initially, but he was a spy from the Portuguese kingdom sent to Spain to redirect Spain's efforts elsewhere than the territories Portugal had its focus on. However, this is controversial. Actions such as this would come as no surprise, though, since competition between the two kingdoms was intense and both had their secret service networks which were in constant conflict with one another, by providing misleading information and in hiding territories and trade routes discovered by each country (but especially Portugal) by either keeping them concealed or by providing false dates and also false locations. This constant secrecy effort was what led to the creation of many "false" documents and thus many of the remaining documents from that time may not be reliable. As a consequence some historians believe that territories such as Brazil, several African locations along its coastline and north America (due to the voyages made westward) may have been discovered before the known dates. Christopher Columbus (Genoa?, Italy, 1451? – Valladolid, Spain, May 20, 1506) was a navigator and maritime explorer credited as the discoverer of the Americas. ... Because of both the secrecy of secret services and the controversial nature of the issues involved, there is some difficulty in separating the definitions of secret service, secret police, intelligence agency etc. ...

The Portuguese in Asia

Possessing only a population of two million people, the colonization effort of several colonies scattered all around the entire coast of Africa and its surrounding islands, Brazil, the Indies and also in several other regions in the Indic area such as in Malaysia, Japan, China, Indonesia and also Timor was proven to have been a very difficult task for the Portuguese empire, thus a very high level of secrecy concerning every trade route and colony had to be maintained in order to preserve the union of the empire. This extreme secrecy was also impeled by the very constant competition with the Spanish and as a consequence, many documents that could reach Spanish hands or any other European countries were in fact fake documents showing fake dates and facts, thus misleading any other nation's possible efforts. Due to these extreme secret policies by the Portuguese during the Discoveries Period, many reference documents concerning dates of the Portuguese discoveries may very well be fake, much to modern historians' frustration, due to their inability to determione if they are true or not. As a consequence of this, but also due to other proof, many of the dates shown in these documents are said by many historians to be false, and that the real dates of discovery of many places such as Brazil may be as early as 1480. In fact, many historians long suspect that by the time of the Treaty of Tordesillas, John II may have already known the existence of Brazil and of North America by as early as 1470, thus justifying John II wish to further push the influence line further and further west. Many historians suspect that the real documents would have been mostly placed in the Library of Lisbon, unfortunately, due to the great earthquake that hit the Portuguese capitol in 1755, almost all records in the library were destroyed due to the huge fire that appeared after the earthquake. Map of Timor Timor Island from space, November 1989. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ...

The Alphonsine Ordinances

Sculpture on the Discoveries Age and Portuguese navigators in Lisbon, Portugal

While the Crown was thus acquiring new possessions, its authority in Portugal was temporarily overshadowed by the growth of aristocratic privilege. After the death of Edward, further attempts to curb the power of the nobles were made by his brother, D. Pedro, duke of Coimbra, who acted as regent during the minority of Alphonso V of Portugal (1438-1447). The head of the aristocratic opposition was the Duke of Braganza, who contrived to secure the sympathy of the king and the dismissal of the regent. The quarrel led to civil war, and in May 1449, D. Pedro was defeated and killed. Thenceforward the grants made by John I were renewed, and extended on so lavish a scale that the Braganza estates alone comprised about a third of the whole kingdom. An unwise foreign policy simultaneously injured the royal prestige, for Alphonso married his own niece, Joanna, daughter of Henry IV of Castile, and claimed that kingdom in her name. At the Battle of Toro, in 1476, he was defeated by Ferdinand and Isabella, and in 1478 he was compelled to sign the Treaty of Alcantara, by which Joanna was relegated to a convent. His successor, John II (1481-1495) reverted to the policy of matrimonial alliances with Castile and friendship with England. Finding, as he said, that the liberality of former kings had left the Crown "no estates except the high roads of Portugal," he determined to crush the feudal nobility and seize its territories. A cortes held at Evora (1481) empowered judges nominated by the Crown to administer justice in all feudal domains. The nobles resisted this infringement of their rights; but their leader, Ferdinand, duke of Braganza, was beheaded for high treason in 1483; in 1484 the king stabbed to death his own brother-in-law, Ferdinand, duke of Vizeu; and eighty other members of the aristocracy were afterwards executed. Thus John "the Perfect," as he was called, assured the supremacy of the Crown. He was succeeded in 1495 by Emanuel (Manoel) I, who was named "the Great" or "the Fortunate," because in his reign the sea route to India was discovered and a Portuguese Empire founded. Picture taken by User:Abelson in July 2003. ... Picture taken by User:Abelson in July 2003. ... Lisbon (Portuguese: Lisboa, IPA: ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal. ... Aristocracy is a form of government in which rulership is in the hands of an upper class known as aristocrats. ... Pedro, Duke of Coimbra Pedro, Infante of Portugal, Duke of Coimbra KG (pron. ... Regent, from the Latin, a person selected to administer a state because the ruler is a minor or is not present or debilitated. ... Afonso V of Portugal, the African, thirteenth king of Portugal was born in Sintra in January 15, 1432 and died in the same city in August 28, 1481. ... Coat of Arms of the Dukes of Braganza The title Duke of Braganza in the House of Braganza is one of the most important titles in the peerage of Portugal, as the ancient Duchy of Braganza (Bragança), is one of the oldest and most important dukedoms in Portugal. ... João I (pron. ... Portrait of Joan the Beltraneja. ... Henry IV of Castile Enrique IV (5 January 1425 - 11 December 1474), King of Castile, nicknamed the Impotent (ruled 1454-1474), was the last of the weak late medieval kings of Castile. ... The Catholic monarchs (Spanish: Reyes Católicos) is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. ... This article is about an abbey as a religious building. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... Feudalism comes from the Late Latin word feudum, itself borrowed from a Germanic root *fehu, a commonly used term in the Middle Ages which means fief, or land held under certain obligations by feodati. ... Hernán Cortés, 16th century Spanish conquistador Pablo Cortés, 18th century Spanish slave trader Corte (disambiguation), for the judicial bodies of the Spanish-speaking Americas, and the communes in France and Italy Cortes Generales (General Courts), usually just las Cortes, national legislative assembly of Spain The term Cortes... Évora is both a town and a district in eastern Portugal. ... Manuel I of Portugal (pron. ...

References

• Braudel, Fernand, The Perspective of the World 1985

Fernand Braudel Fernand Braudel (August 24, 1902–November 27, 1985) was a French historian. ...

See also

• Portugal
• History of Portugal
• The Establishment of the Monarchy in Portugal (1095-1279)
• The Consolidation of the Monarchy in Portugal (1279-1415)
• Portugal in the period of discoveries (1415-1499)
• Portuguese Empire (1499-1999)
• Lusitania
• Portuguese colonization of the Americas