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The Portuguese Seaborne Empire
When Portugal’s King John I (the founder of the Avis Dynasty and father of Henry the
Navigator) captured Ceuta, a Moorish stronghold on the northern coast of Africa in 1415, he
set in motion a policy of expansion for the tiny nation on the extreme western edge of Europe
that would change the course of world history. The pre-Portuguese world was vastly different
from the post-Portuguese world in which we live. With the taking of Ceuta, Portugal became
the first European power to conquer territory outside of Europe since the days of ancient
Rome. Portugal’s exploits established the model that would be used by Spain, Holland,
England, and France in later centuries.
Since Marco Polo’s return from China in the twelfth century, Venice had enjoyed a virtual
European monopoly on treasured goods from the East, such as silks and porcelain, and on the
all-important spices, which not only enhanced the taste of food but also preserved it.
Importation and transportation fees from the East, which were already high to begin with,
were increased substantially by the fees affixed to the cost of their transportation and
distribution throughout Europe. The Portuguese court believed that if Portugal could find a
sea route to the East, they would effectively cut out all the Muslim and European middlemen
