Background E Med was controlled by the Italians

Background • E. Med. was controlled by the Italians and Ottomans • N. A. Muslims controlled African overland routes • Portugal began to seek new, more direct routes to gold, spices, and slaves

Technology • Improved mapmaking made it easier to navigate in the open ocean • The astrolabe measured the positions of the stars and made it possible to determine latitude

The Astrolabe

• Europeans improved the compass that had first been developed in the Arab world • The Portuguese caravel was faster and more maneuverable than previous ships • The lateen sail and rudder made it possible to sail against the wind

Rudder Lateen Sail

Portuguese Caravel

West Africa • Portuguese trading stations in West Africa were soon established • African gold and ivory were brought back to Europe from Africa’s Gold and Ivory Coasts • In 1441, Portuguese traders also began buying slaves along the Slave Coast

Beyond Africa • King John II wanted to find a route around Africa to reach the spice trade in India and China • In 1488, Bartholomeu Dias rounded Africa’s Cape of Good Hope

Cape of Good Hope

• King John then ordered an expedition to India • Vasco da Gama reached India in 1498 • A Portuguese trading empire in Asia now seemed possible

Da Gama’s Voyage