Portuguese Explorers from 15th to 17th Centuries Quiz

Answer: Infante D. Henry

Infante D. Henrique of Portugal (1394-1460) more commonly known as Prince Henry the Navigator. Born in Porto, he was the third son of King John I and Philippa of Lancaster. Despite being known as "the navigator," Henry never actually went on any voyages himself, however he financed the expeditions. He established a school for navigators and map makers.

In 1420, he was made administrator general of the Order of Christ, which gave him access to funds to fund explorations of Northern Africa. During that period, Portugal colonized the island of Madeira, the Azores, and several of the Cape Verde islands. Voyages were sent to the West African coast, many of which returned to Portugal with gold and slaves

Answer: First European to sail around the southernmost tip of Africa

Bartolomeu Dias (1450-1500) was born into a royal household in the Algarve. In 1488 he became the first European to sail around the southernmost tip of Africa, which became an important trade route between Europe and India. He named the tip as Cape of Good Hope in honour of the opportunities it would provide. In 1500, he ended up caught in a storm there where he died.

Answer: India

Vasco da Gama (1460s-1524) was born in Sines. Around 1497 to 1499, he sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and reached India. He became the first European explorer to link Europe and Asia by the sea-route. He was also one of the first known Europeans to visit certain parts of Africa, like Mombasa in Kenya.

Answer: Mactan

Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) led the Spanish expedition to the East Indies from 1519 to 1522 that resulted in the first circumnavigation of the earth.

The route went down the coast of Africa, over to South America and past Patagonia, through Asia, and past the tip of Africa and back to Europe. In 1521, he converted the king and queen of Cebu to Christianity. To cement the allegiance between the explorers and the king, they were told by the king to go to the island of Mactan to kill his enemy Lapulapu. Magellan lost his life at the island. After his death, the crew made a return trip to Spain, arriving in 1522.

Answer: 1500

Pedro Álvares Cabral (1467-1520) was initially aiming to secure a sea route to India by following Vasco da Gama's established path around Africa. However, by navigating further west into the Atlantic, he reached the coast of Brazil, claiming the land for Portugal, which greatly expanded the Portuguese Empire. Portugal ruled Brazil for three centuries.

Answer: Malacca

Afonso de Albuquerque (1453-1515) was a general, admiral and statesman, who served as the viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515. In 1510, he conquered Goa from Adil Shahi, the reigning dynasty of the Sultanate of Bijapur in western Deccan from 1480 to 1686. Goa became the capital of Portuguese India.

In 1511, he captured Malacca (located on the west coast of the Malay peninsula) from the Sultanate ruled by Mahmud Shah to gain control of trade in the region. The Portuguese ruled Malacca from 130 years from 1511 to 1641.

Answer: Newfoundland

Gaspar Corte-Real (1450-1501) was a native of Azores who initiated Portuguese claims in the North Atlantic. In 1500, he reached Greenland but could not land due to the frozen sea. Instead, he found a route to Newfoundland and possibly other parts of eastern Canada.

In 1501, he returned with three caravels to explore the Labrador coast and Hamilton inlet. Two vessels returned with native captives but his vessel was lost. In the following year, his brother Miguel went to search for him and was lost as well.

Answer: Socotra

In 1506, Tristao da Cunha (1460-1540) was a naval commander who commanded a Portuguese fleet with his cousin Afonso de Albuquerque, conquered Socotra, an island located at the entrance of Red Sea and Muscat. In 1507, he partly explored Madagascar and discovered Mauritius.

Answer: China

In May 1513, Jorge Alvares (died 8 July 1521) sailed under the Portuguese Malacca captain Rui de Brito Patalim in a junk from Pegu (present-day Bago in Myanmar), in an expedition accompanied by five other junks. They landed on an island named Tamao (present-day western Hong Kong and Shenzhen area), hoping to establish a trade with the region.

Answer: Tibet

Estevao Cacella (1585-1630) joined the Jesuits at the age of 19. In 1614, he left for India where he worked for some years in Kerala. In 1626, he and two other priests travelled from Conchin to Bengal where they spent six months, followed by a trip to Bhutan.

They eventually ended up in Tibet where they set up a mission in Shigatse (officially known as Xigaze) located near the River Brahmaputra.