Portugal's Maritime Trade

In the 12th century, the kingdom, which had separated from Castile, had its capital in Lisbon. After the extinction of the legitimate male line of the Burgundy dynasty, an illegitimate member of the family established the "false Burgundy" dynasty at the end of the 14th century and began the conquest of Ceuta, Madeira, and the Azores.

The first king of the false Burgundy dynasty, Prince Henry the Navigator (died 1460), recognized the opportunities offered by the country's favorable location and the favorable direction of ocean currents, and consciously sought to promote the nation's maritime navigation. He established the world's first naval school and gathered excellent specialists around him. His goal was to complete the Reconquista, fight the Arabs, and, with the help of the Ethiopians, capture the Holy Land. Ultimately, he wanted to establish direct links with the gold and slave markets of Africa. As a result of his policy, his successor ruled the northwest African coastline and occupied the Cape Verde Islands. Portuguese sailors explored the Congo River estuary and continued their journey south. In 1487, B. Diaz rounded the southern tip of Africa, which the Portuguese king named the Cape of Good Hope.

However, Christopher Columbus's plan was considered unfounded by the Portuguese court, and thus the discovery of the New World took place with Spanish support. Spanish and Portuguese sailors continued their exploratory journeys side by side, leading to the signing of the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494, mediated by the Pope. According to the treaty, colonies acquired west of the 42nd meridian were assigned to Spain, and those to the east to Portugal. Except for Brazil, the Americas were considered within the Spanish sphere of influence, while the Portuguese focused on Asian explorations and conquests, at least until the Dutch and later the English seized control from them. After Diaz's voyage, the route to India was opened, which was discovered by Vasco da Gama in 1498.

King Manuel created Portuguese commercial power. A series of trading posts emerged in India and the East Asian spice islands, as well as in various African outposts and Brazil. Lisbon grew into Europe's largest commercial port. Portuguese trade, which spanned four continents, was primarily focused on trade between the Cape of Good Hope and China in the 16th century. The Indian Ocean came under Portuguese control, and Brazil played a smaller role at the time. Eastern spices flowed into Lisbon, and from there, they were transported to other European ports, though not by the Portuguese, but primarily by other European merchants who maintained large depots in Lisbon. This new route for the spice trade severely harmed the Venetian spice trade, but for the time being, Portuguese spice shipments only limited, rather than shattered, Venice's commercial power.

At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, however, Dutch, then English, and even French ships appeared on the Indian Ocean, which led to a decrease in the amount of spice shipments arriving in Lisbon. During the 17th century, to counter this, trade with Brazil grew in importance, and the focus of trade shifted to the Atlantic. This shift was forced upon Portugal by the Dutch, who captured Malacca in 1641, Ceylon in 1656, and most of the Indian forts. With English help, the Arabs also dismantled Portuguese outposts in Arabia and along the Persian Gulf. Bold Dutch sailors disrupted Portuguese trade with pirate attacks and open military operations, and they also seized the northeastern part of Brazil. The now fragmented Portuguese empire had its focus primarily in the Atlantic.

The Indian and Far Eastern outposts and depots only shipped valuable products from there, while in the Atlantic, a productive economy emerged, exhibiting mercantilist features. By the end of the 16th century, 54,000 quintals of sugar arrived in Lisbon annually, and this quantity had grown to 150,000 quintals by 1630. Brazilian tobacco, wood, and the slave trade were also very significant. During the 17th century, a clear "triangle trade" developed: 1. Cheap textiles, handicrafts, and metal goods were brought from Lisbon to Africa; 2. Slaves were bought in Africa for these goods and transported to the Antilles; 3. In the Antilles, slaves were exchanged for sugar, tobacco, and silver, which were then brought back to Lisbon. The Portuguese also became involved in internal European trade: sugar and tobacco were transported from Lisbon to major ports such as London, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Marseille, and Genoa. Initially, foreign traders financed this large-scale trade, and later, domestic financiers, including converted Jewish bankers.

Apart from the seaport towns and their immediate surroundings, traditional Mediterranean farming, with a focus on animal husbandry, continued in the interior of the country. The immense wealth flowing from the colonies did not permeate the Portuguese economy or become an integral part of it. As a result, those great powers that managed to implement internal, organic transformations and created a modernized hinterland for their colonies became the leaders in colonization by the end of the 17th century. Portugal, however, fell out of the mainstream of development.

Zimányi Linda Késő-középkori és kora-újkori egyetemes történelem, Pécs, 1989