What Was the Portuguese’s Role in the Age of Exploration?

A pilgrim was aboard a ship, sick with scurvy, hanging on for dear life. As she heard their enemies shooting at their ship, she knew it was nearly the end. She took off her sparkling diamond necklace and surrendered it to their attackers, hoping to save her own life. This could’ve been the actual situation of a woman aboard a rival ship of the Portuguese. The European Age of Exploration marked the peak of Portuguese power and wealth. Although Portugal lacked the population and prosperity of its rivals, it became a leading European country in maritime exploration.

The Spice Islands played a large role in Portuguese exploration. The Spice Islands are a small group of islands north-east of Indonesia. Spices were very valuable and prized at the time. They were in high demand and many countries voyaged overseas to acquire them. As a result, the Portuguese were interested in having the precious seasonings in their command. The article,“Spice Trade,” published by Wikipedia, states that after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, The Ottoman Turks started charging the Portuguese high fees for such treasured spices. The Portuguese discovered a route to the Spice Islands in 1510 when they got shipwrecked on the journey back from a voyage. As a result, they made their way to the closest land, which happened to be Indonesia. According to, “The Spanish Presence in the Moluccas: Ternate and Tidore,” by Colonial Voyage, the Portuguese came across the Sultan of Ternate in Indonesia, who produced cloves, an expensive spice that was traded at the Spice Islands. Portuguese wanted to take control of the spice trade away from the Muslim merchants. In 1522, the Sultan of Ternate worked together with the Portuguese to build a fortress against the Sultan of Tidore, in exchange for rights to cloves produced by the sultan.

The most popular spices traded in the Spice Islands were cloves, nutmeg, pepper, and cinnamon. Cloves were grown in the Indonesian islands of Ternate, Tidore, and Bacan. They were first introduced by Arabian traders who controlled the trade of many spices to Portugal. People used the parts of a clove to make certain medicines and antidotes to treat pains and diseases. Europeans usually sprinkled cloves in meat dishes to marinate the meat and prepare it for cooking. It was also used to preserve the freshness of the meat since there were no refrigeration systems at the time. Europeans used nutmeg as medicine to treat kidney diseases and vomiting. Arabian traders first introduced nutmeg to the Venetians, and the word about the prized spice eventually spread to Portugal. Pepper was used as a seasoning and a preservative for the Portuguese. Cinnamon was commonly used to season sweet dishes. Similarly, it was also used to stop fresh foods from spoiling. In 1536, the Portuguese invaded Sri Lanka for the Sinhalese king and received a tribute of 110,000 pounds of cinnamon a year. (CLOVES, CINNAMON, MACE AND NUTMEG: THE SPICE ISLANDS SPICES)

Spices from the Spice Islands were very valuable. According to, “Spices: How the Search for Flavors Influenced Our World” published by Yale University, they were traded for gold, silver, glass, or silk. Spices were so treasured that even some high ranking officials couldn’t afford them. By the 1400s, when navigation technology had improved, the kings and queens of Europe funded their own spice-finding voyages. To reiterate, the demand for spices grew since they covered the taste of spoiled meat. Refrigeration was not available and some hot spices like nutmeg or salt serve as a preservative.

Macau also highly influenced Portuguese trade and wealth. In 1513, Jorge Alvarez, a Portuguese explorer, landed in Southern China while on a voyage. According to the film, RR7531B MACAU REPORT, produced by Periscope Films, Macau was a fishing village that wasn’t valued in China, but the Portuguese saw it as the perfect location for trading. Portuguese voyagers tried to negotiate with China as early as 1517 but were rejected by the Chinese emperor. It wasn’t until 1557 when China agreed to let Portugal set up a trade settlement in Macau. There were always disagreements between Portugal and China over Macau. For example, Portugal had to pay $9,645 worth of silver each year to the Chinese. The Portuguese viewed this as a payment to China, but the Chinese viewed it as a “thank you gift” from Portugal.

The location of Macau gave the Portuguese wealth from trade. In 1559, Macau became the official place of international trade with China and Japan. Both Chinese and Portuguese merchants flocked to Macau for trading benefits. Many Chinese merchants traded silk and Japanese merchants traded silver. Macau had many imports of food, clothing, and cheap consumer goods (Macau, para.28). Every year, a Portuguese ship came to Macau and brought all the profits of silver back to Portugal. The commerce attracted people and therefore, led to an increase in population. Macau was also a port for ships sailing to Lisbon and Nagasaki. The Portuguese gained prosperity from trading with the Chinese and Japanese.

Economic success for Macau caused competition with other countries. In 1622, they launched a fleet of thirteen ships with 1,300 men on board, with Admiral Cornelis Reijersen in command. The purpose of the voyage was to tear down Macau’s trading success. On their expedition, they came face to face with a Siamese warcraft made up of 28 Siamese and 20 Japanese people (Battle of Macau, para.12). They ended up joining the Dutch in their expedition.Their fleets arrived at Macau while most citizens were away in another city to buy goods for the annual Japanese trade. Also, the Ming emperor (Chinese dynasty from 1368–1644) needed the Portuguese’s help defending against the Qing dynasty. As a result, many of Macau’s forces and allies were away. People of Macau perceived that the Dutch were attacking them the next day, so they planned their battle tactics accordingly. The deaths of Dutch attackers outnumbered the Portuguese defenders due to poor strategy and planning (History of Macau as a Portuguese Colony, para. 5,7). After the invasion, Macau developed a proper governing system to prevent future attacks. The successful Battle of Macau meant that Portugal could still gain profits from the China-Japan trade, while at the same time, the citizens of Macau could govern themselves.

Bartolomeu Dias was the first European to successfully travel around the Southern tip of Africa. According to, “Bartolomeu Dias,” published by History.com, in 1450, the Ottoman Empire conquered the Byzantine Empire and shut down the trade route to Asia. João II ( the king of Portugal from 1455 to 1495) wanted to find a new route to India, so he sponsored Dias in the expedition around the Southern tip of Africa. He set out on his voyage in 1488, but had