The Portuguese Age of Discovery Timeline (1415–1571)
This timeline follows the rise of Portugal from a small Atlantic kingdom to the first global maritime empire, including Brazil and the Moluccas (Maluku/Spice Islands).
1415 — Capture of Ceuta
King: John I of Portugal
Key Figure: Henry the Navigator
Portugal captured Ceuta in North Africa.
Marks the beginning of Portuguese overseas expansion.
1419–1427 — Madeira and the Azores
King: John I of Portugal
Navigators: João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira
Discovery and settlement of Madeira and later the Azores.
1434 — Gil Eanes Passes Cape Bojador
King: Edward of Portugal
Navigator: Gil Eanes
First European to safely sail beyond Cape Bojador on the West African coast.
1440s–1460s — Exploration of West Africa
King: Afonso V of Portugal
Sponsored by: Henry the Navigator
Portuguese navigators explored Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea.
Expansion of gold, ivory, and slave trading routes.
Development of the caravel.
1460 — Death of Henry the Navigator
Portuguese exploration increasingly became directed by the crown itself.
1482 — Elmina Fortress Built
King: John II of Portugal
Navigator: Diogo de Azambuja
Construction of São Jorge da Mina (Elmina Castle) in present-day Ghana.
Major Portuguese trading centre for gold.
1488 — Bartolomeu Dias Rounds Africa
King: John II of Portugal
Navigator: Bartolomeu Dias
First European to round the southern tip of Africa.
The “Cape of Storms” was renamed the Cape of Good Hope.
1494 — Treaty of Tordesillas
King: John II of Portugal
Treaty between Portugal and Spain dividing newly discovered lands.
Later gave Portugal claim to Brazil.
1497–1499 — Vasco da Gama Reaches India
King: Manuel I of Portugal
Navigator: Vasco da Gama
First direct sea voyage from Europe to India around Africa.
Arrived at Calicut in 1498.
1500 — Brazil Claimed for Portugal
King: Manuel I of Portugal
Navigator: Pedro Álvares Cabral
Cabral landed in Brazil on 22 April 1500.
Claimed Brazil for Portugal.
1505 — First Portuguese Viceroy of India
King: Manuel I of Portugal
Commander: Francisco de Almeida
Established formal Portuguese rule in the Indian Ocean.
1509 — Battle of Diu
King: Manuel I of Portugal
Commander: Francisco de Almeida
Portuguese naval victory secured dominance over Indian Ocean trade routes.
1510 — Conquest of Goa
King: Manuel I of Portugal
Commander: Afonso de Albuquerque
Goa became the capital of Portuguese India.
1511 — Capture of Malacca
King: Manuel I of Portugal
Commander: Afonso de Albuquerque
Portugal captured Malacca, controlling the gateway to the Spice Islands.
1511–1512 — Portuguese Reach the Moluccas (Maluku Islands)
King: Manuel I of Portugal
Navigators: António de Abreu and Francisco Serrão
First Europeans to reach the Moluccas (Spice Islands).
Reached Banda, Ambon, and Ternate in search of cloves and nutmeg.
Francisco Serrão
Remained in Ternate serving the local sultan.
His letters influenced Ferdinand Magellan before Magellan’s circumnavigation voyage.
1513 — Portuguese Reach China
Navigator: Jorge Álvares
First Portuguese contact with China.
1543 — Portuguese Reach Japan
King: John III of Portugal
Portuguese traders became the first Europeans to arrive in Japan.
1557 — Macau Established
King: Sebastian of Portugal
Portugal established Macau as a permanent trading settlement in China.
By the Late 1500s Portugal Controlled or Influenced
Brazil
Atlantic islands
African coastal forts
The Cape Route to Asia
Goa and Indian Ocean trade
Malacca
The Moluccas spice trade
Trade with China and Japan
Portugal became the first global maritime empire in history.
Image by Simeon Netchev / World History Encyclopedia. Used with permission/according to publisher guidelines.
Sources
Crónica dos Feitos da Guiné — Gomes Eanes de Zurara (early African exploration and Henry the Navigator)
Roteiro da Primeira Viagem de Vasco da Gama — anonymous eyewitness journal of Vasco da Gama’s voyage to India
Carta de Pêro Vaz de Caminha — official 1500 letter describing the discovery of Brazil by Pedro Álvares Cabral
Commentaries of Afonso de Albuquerque — firsthand accounts of Goa and Malacca
Suma Oriental — Tomé Pires on Asia and the Moluccas spice trade
Décadas da Ásia — João de Barros and Diogo do Couto on the Portuguese Empire in Asia
Modern historian: Charles R. Boxer — The Portuguese Seaborne Empire