By : Alexander López 2ºD

The explorations of the Portuguese :

• Prince Henry the Navigator started promoting sea travel , after this the Portuguese wanted to know what was beyond the Cape of Good Hope and if it was posible to reach the East Indies

( America ) .• They signed the Treaty of Alcaçovas and after

successive expeditions the Portuguese ocuppied the islands of Madeira , Azores and Cape Verde.

• In 1460 they reached the Gulf of Guinea , and finally the rounded the Cape of Good Hope ( 1488 ), in 1498 they reached India thanks to Vasco da Gama.

The territories discovered by the Portuguese:

The discovery of America!

• Christopher Columbus ,a sailor of Italian origin , had the idea that it would be possible to reach India by travelling west . He proposed it to King John II of Portugal , who rejected it . Then he presented it to the Catholic kings , who accepted it and signed the Capitulation of Santa Fe. This meant that Columbus would recive a tenth of the wealth discovered .

The discovery of America!

• Columbus left from Palos harbour . After a month and a half they finally reach America on the 12th of October 1942 ( the island of Guanahani in the Bahamas which he named : San salvador).

• He made three more voyages from Spain to the discovered lands , but he died believing he had reached India . This is why these are called West Indies .

• The man that said that these lands were a new continent was Amerigo Vespucci and he gave it his name : America.

Territory discovered by Columbus :

• The Treaty of Tordesillas 1494 , was approved by the Pope and divided the world into two parts , one part was for Spain and the other one was for Portugal .After this agreement Portugal established its control over Brazil in 1500.

The Treaty of Tordesillas :