Portuguese Exploration

In this episode of the HistoryMaps Podcast, we journey through the Age of Discovery (c. 1418-c. 1620)-the era when European exploration reshaped the world. We trace the forces that drove this expansion: the Ottoman control of trade routes, breakthroughs in navigation, and the development of advanced ships like the caravel.It all began under the vision of Prince Henry the Navigator, whose patronage of maritime expeditions along the African coast laid the groundwork for Portugal's seaborne empire. From the Portuguese voyages around Africa led by Vasco da Gama to Columbus's crossing of the Atlantic, these expeditions forged new global connections and rivalries. The episode also confronts the darker legacy of discovery-the Columbian Exchange, the birth of a global economy, and the devastating conquest and enslavement of indigenous peoples that followed in its wake.