This episode explores the rise and global impact of the Portuguese Empire, the first maritime power to establish a truly worldwide trading network. Beginning in the 15th century under Prince Henry the Navigator, Portugal pushed beyond the known world, charting Africa’s coasts and seeking new routes to Asia.With landmark voyages by Bartolomeu Dias, who rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and Vasco da Gama, who reached India in 1498, Portugal opened the sea route connecting Europe and Asia. Soon, Portuguese sailors and merchants established fortified trading posts—Goa, Malacca, Mozambique, Mombasa, Macau—creating a chain of commercial hubs spanning Africa, the Middle East, India, and East Asia.In 1500, Pedro Álvares Cabral unexpectedly landed in Brazil, giving Portugal its richest long-term colony. Lisbon became one of Europe’s wealthiest cities as spices, gold, ivory, sugar, and enslaved Africans flowed through its ports. Portuguese missionaries, particularly Jesuits, spread Christianity across Asia and Africa, blending cultures and languages in places like Goa, Japan, and China.However, the empire’s involvement in the Atlantic slave trade remains one of its darkest legacies. Millions of Africans were forcibly transported to Brazil and the Caribbean, where their labor fueled Portuguese wealth.By the 17th century, European rivals—especially the Dutch and English—eroded Portugal’s dominance. Despite setbacks, Brazil sustained Portugal’s power until its independence in 1822. Portugal’s African and Asian colonies persisted into the late 20th century, making it the longest-lasting European colonial empire.The legacy of the Portuguese Empire endures in global navigation, trade, architecture, religion, cuisine, and especially language, now spoken by more than 260 million people worldwide. Portugal’s sailors changed the shape of maps—and the course of world history.

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