A Tale of American History

Episode 4 Out to Sea (II)

In our last episode, we discussed how Prince Henrique of Portugal started his career at a time when European was lagging behind in maritime technology.

一

One of his main contributions was improving seafaring ships, making them bigger, safer and cleaner. Since he was wealthy, he equipped several exploration fleets with these standards.

Even more importantly, he established a pioneering naval center -the School of Sagres- where individuals seeking to escape mundane life gathered to exchange knowledge of navigation, astronomy, and geography. This was the first institution dedicated to maritime technology in human history, and it also functioned as the most important astronomical observatory in Medieval Europe.

From there, knowledge of seafaring spread across Europe like wildfire. For this reason alone, the prince’s contribution to maritime technology is extraordinary. 

Subsequently, under the prince’s leadership, the Portuguese began their maritime adventure and discovery.

1418, João Gonçalves Zarco discovered the Madeira islands

1431, he arrived at Azores islands.

1434, Gil Eanes sailed beyond Cape Bojador, entering the legendary ‘sea of monsters’

1445, Dinis Dias came across the Senegal River and discovered Cap-Vert

 That same year, another Portuguese explorer, Antonio Fernandes,  discovered the Gambia river

So, what’s the significance of these expeditions? You need to only remember one thing: Under Prince Henrique’s leadership and inspiration, the tiny kingdom of Portugal explored nearly the entire west coast of Africa.

Then, what was the significance of exploring the west coast of Africa?

Let’s not forget that the aforementioned Zheng He of Ming Dynasty had already reached the east coast of Africa from Asia around 1421.

Now, all one needed to do was follow the path that Prince Henrique had explored in the west, sail around the southern tip of Africa, and one would find the route Zheng He had travelled in the east.  

A brand-new, unprecedented maritime route from Europe to Asia via Africa was about to be discovered. 

This is like a high mark math question. 90% of the problem was already solved. Once the final 10% is solved… full marks!

The “full solution” was provided by the person I am about to introduce.

二

Vasco Da Gama, born in 1469, a Portuguese navigator (of course) and explorer

On July 8^th, 1497, with careful calculation by navigators at Prince Henrique’s center, the King of Portugal decided to dispatch a fleet to explore a route to Asia.

Da Gama was the lucky guy chosen by the King of Portugal. Commissioned by the King, he led his fleet from Lisbon, sailing past the Canary Islands, rounding the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, and continuing past several regions, including Mozambique.  After 10 months at sea, he finally arrived in India on May 20th, 1498.

In the autumn of the same year, he left India and returned to Lisbon on September 9th, 1499. This was a great voyage in human history. A brand-new route from Europe to Asia was finally established, which was of great significance for a small country like Portugal.  As a historian once said: “From then on, no one in Europe doubted that Portugal was to become a rich and powerful country”  

And it was indeed so. Portugal rose to become a superpower in the world and prospered for over 100 years. Not only did it dominate Europe, but its influence also reached all of Asia. During the early years of Qing Dynasty, Portugal was very famous in China, much like the U.S is today, although it was called “佛郎机” at that time.

How did the discovery of one trade route build an empire? One word: Money. Spices from Asia were like gold, bringing a rushing and never-ending flow of wealth.

Money can be used to purchase materials, manufacture guns, build school to enhance national education and civic quality, recruit talents for scientific research, and advance technology. Once a country has all these, it is impossible for it not to become powerful.

Let’s take a look at how Da Gama made a great fortune. He brought with him a variety of European products,  intending to trade with the locals in India. However, since it had been a few hundred years since Europe last interacted with India and Southeast Asia, he had no knowledge of their economic and military conditions

Upon arriving, he found that the locals had no interest in the goods he brought and even mocked  them.  Feeling very depressed and humiliated, he soon learnt, to his great surprise, that the countries in Southeast Asian had enjoyed a peaceful life for so long that the military force there were almost non-existent.  

Well, forget about trading – just rob them.  In the end, he looted huge quantities of spices and jewels. But Unlucky for him, misfortune struck on his way back, two-thirds of sailors died, including his own brother. Was this a punishment sent from above? I don’t know.

Yet, despite having only two ships remaining in the end, the spices he brought back earned 60 times the profit.  Pay attention – it was profit, and it was 60 times!

After Da Gama’s return, Portugal first suppressed the news, then sent a large number of vessels to the Indian Ocean to seize control of maritime routes. After finally defeating the Arab navy in 1503, Portugal became the dominant maritime superpower from Europe to the Indian Ocean.

And so, the good life Southeast Asians once had – best described by a Chinese poem ‘Facing the sea, with spring blossoms in the breeze’, was forever lost.

三

Before our ultimate big boss Columbus made his entrance, let’s briefly introduce another well-known figure, Ferdinand Magellan. Born in 1480, he was also a skilled Portuguese navigator. What did he do?

Global travel.  

Well, this was not entirely accurate. Magellan had a bad temper, and while he was in the Philippines, he got into a fight with some locals and was killed by an axe.  After his death, his crew continued sailing west and returned to Europe. Thus, the accurate statement is that the fleet Magellan led completed the first circumnavigation of the earth between 1519 and 1521.

I am an IT engineer. Years ago, the company I worked for had a product named Magellan, with the hope that it would be sold to countries all around the globe, following  Magellan’s footsteps.

Maybe someone reminded the company that Magellan died in the Philippines and never completed his global journey, the company later changed the product name to “Passport”, hoping the new name would work, as a passport is needed for global travel– but by then it was too late, and the company went bankrupt. I am not sure if it would have made a difference if the product had been given a different name from the start.

Back to our story. The people mentioned above, along with many others who contributed to the history of navigation,  are all worthy of remembrance

It’s true they all had their flaws – Zheng He lived an extravagant lifestyle, Da Gama was arrogant and ruthless, and Prince Henrique enslaved African locals without mercy. However, in my opinion, the best way to evaluate a historical figure is to separate their accomplishments from their flaws. Compared to so-called heroes who fought and slaughtered their own kind, these individuals had the courage to battle nature and made great contribution to humanity’s exploration of the unknown world, making them all the more deserving of our remembrance

I want to highlight an important reality here: the great discoveries of the 15^th century marked a turning point in the world leadership between the East and the West. 

It was during the Age of Exploration that the West began plundering, occupying, and colonizing land across the world, gradually gaining dominance –  and it has maintained its competitive advantage to this day.

Throughout the Age of Discovery, one person stood out above all the others, and his story has the most direct connections to ours – The famous Columbus and his landing in America.

Interesting though, until the day he died, he never realized he had set foot in America. Why?

To be continued in our next episode.