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124-562: The island changed hands frequently during the colonial era . The first European to visit the island was the Portuguese explorer Nuno Tristão , in 1443. In 1445, Prince Henry the Navigator set up a trading post on the island, which acquired gum arabic and enslaved people for Portugal . By 1455, 800 enslaved people were shipped from Arguin to Portugal every year. On 5 February 1633, a Dutch expeditionary force of forty soldiers under

248-643: A British-dominated territory. By the early eighteenth century, the French had become the chief European rivals of the British. During the eighteenth century, it was highly possible for the Indian subcontinent to have succumbed to French control, but the defeat inflicted on them in the Seven Years War (1756–1763) permanently curtailed French ambitions. The Treaty of Paris of 1763 restored the original five to

372-633: A colony; the company's lands were controlled directly and the rest through the rulers of what it called the Princely states . There were 565 princely states when the Indian subcontinent gained independence from Britain in August 1947. During period of the British Raj , famines in India , often attributed to El Nino droughts and failed government policies, were some of the worst ever recorded, including

496-602: A global empire. The British Parliament 's attempt to raise taxes from North American colonists raised fears among the Americans that their rights as "Englishmen", and particularly their rights of self-government, were in danger. From 1765, a series of disputes with Parliament over taxation led to the American Revolution , first to informal committees of correspondence among the colonies, then to coordinated protest and resistance, with an important event in 1770,

620-420: A longstanding African slave trade ; at that point a minor trade, one the Portuguese would soon reverse and surpass . Around 1450, based on North African fishing boats, a lighter ship was developed , the caravel , which could sail further and faster, was highly maneuverable, and could sail " into the wind ". Enabled by new nautical technology, with the added incentive to find an alternative " Silk Road " after

744-661: A massive profit in Europe provided another reason for crossing the Atlantic, in particular, furs from Canada, tobacco, and cotton grown in Virginia and sugar in the islands of the Caribbean and Brazil. Due to the massive depletion of indigenous labor, plantation owners had to look elsewhere for manpower for these labour-intensive crops. They turned to the centuries-old slave trade of west Africa and began transporting Africans across

868-435: A notorious pirate haven, where Berber pirates sold their prey after raiding Iberian coasts and shipping. Ceuta's position opposite the straits of Gibraltar gave it control of one of the main outlets of the trans-African Sudanese gold trade; and it could enable Portugal to flank its most dangerous rival, Castile . It was defended by a composite system of walls, built and added to by various Moroccan dynasties throughout

992-463: A numerous corps of well-equipped men. Among them was Aires Gonçalves de Figueiredo, a 90 year old fidalgo at the command of a nau. The Portuguese fleet probably numbered 59 galleys, 33 carracks or naus and 120 smaller vessels, bearing as many as 50,000 men, of which about 20,000 were combat personnel. It featured English, French and German mercenaries or soldiers of fortune. One German baron commanded 50 men of his household, while an Englishman by

1116-706: A period of political instability , the Romanovs came to power in 1613 and the expansion-colonization process of Russia continued. While western Europe colonized the New World, Russia expanded overland – to the east, north and south. This continued for centuries; by the end of the 19th century, the Russian Empire reached from the Black Sea to the Pacific Ocean, and for some time included colonies in

1240-467: A portion of the True Cross , "enjoining them to preserve their faith and to fulfil the duties of their rank". Though he had been reluctant to marry her, the king had grown quite fond of his wife, and it is said that he was "so grieved by [her] mortal illness… that he could neither eat nor sleep". In her final hours, Philippa was said to be lucid and without pain. According to legend she was roused by

1364-584: A public audience in which he offered such a rude reply that it might be understood as a declaration of war. As a result, rumour thus spread that King John was about to depart on an expedition to attack Holland . In the Spring of 1415, plague broke out in Lisbon, forcing the Court to relocate to the nearby town of Sacavém . On July 10, 1415, Prince Henry called at Lisbon with a fleet of 7 galleys and 20 naus bearing

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1488-670: A response. After defeating a Castillian army that had invaded Portugal in 1385 at the Battle of Aljubarrota , the recently crowned King John I of Portugal signed a peace treaty with Castille, in 1411. Even before signing peace with its only neighbour, King John I cast an eye at gaining Ceuta and began preparations as early as 1409. The chief promoter of the Ceuta expedition was João Afonso , royal overseer of finance. The children of King John, prince-heir Duarte , prince Peter and Prince Henry (later nicknamed 'the Navigator') eagerly supported

1612-592: A trading mission to Porto d'Arco in July 1633. This led to a mutiny among the soldiers and a subsequent prosecution of the leaders of the mutiny in Zeeland. The island remained under the authority of the Zeeland chamber of the Dutch West India Company until 1678, with a brief interruption by English rule in 1665. Around 1670, it was occupied by a chief factor and a garrison of 25 men. France took over

1736-406: A wind which blew strongly against the house and asked what wind it was, upon hearing it was the north wind, she claimed it quite beneficial for her son's and husband's voyage to Africa , which she had coordinated. At her death she prayed with several priests and, "without any toil or suffering, gave her soul into the hands of Him who created her, a smile appearing on her mouth as though she disdained

1860-723: Is one that stretches around the globe and across time. Ancient and medieval colonialism was practiced by the Phoenicians , Greeks , Romans , Turks , Han Chinese , and Arabs . Colonialism in the modern sense began with the " Age of Discovery ", led by the Portuguese , who became increasingly expansionist following the conquest of Ceuta in 1415, aiming to control navigation through the Strait of Gibraltar , spread Christianity , amass wealth and plunder, and suppress predation on Portuguese populations by Barbary pirates as part of

1984-462: Is supposed to have replied that "such is the end which soldiers must expect". Salah ben Salah held the citadel of Ceuta till sundown, but seeing no way to resist the Portuguese, he fled the city with a number of his men, taking their families and all they could carry. Only in the following morning of 21 August did the Portuguese realize the citadel was deserted. Ceuta was entirely in Portuguese hands and fighting ceased. Most of Ceutas residents fled

2108-546: The de facto ruler of Mughal Bengal , opposed British attempts to use these permits. This led to the Battle of Plassey in 1757, in which the armies of the East India Company, led by Robert Clive , defeated the Nawab's forces. This was the first political foothold with territorial implications that the British had acquired in India. Clive was appointed by the company as its first Governor of Bengal in 1757. This

2232-684: The Alaska (1732–1867) and a short-lived unofficial colony in Africa (1889) in present-day Djibouti . The acquisition of new territories, especially in the Caucasus, had an invigorating effect on the rest of Russia. According to two Russian historians: The first stage to 1650 was an expansion eastward from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. Geographical expeditions mapped much of Siberia. The second stage from 1785 to 1830 looked south to

2356-729: The Arab conquest of North Africa , the city was used as a departure point for the Umayyad conquest of Hispania . However, the city was destroyed in 740 and only rebuilt in the 9th century, passing to the Caliphate of Córdoba in the 10th century. In the subsequent centuries it was ruled by the Almoravids , the Almohads as well as various Andalusian Taifas . Ceuta then experienced a period of political instability, under competing interests from

2480-743: The Boston Massacre . A standing army was formed by the United Colonies , and independence was declared by the Second Continental Congress on 4 July 1776. A new nation was born, the United States of America , and all royal officials were expelled. On their own the Patriots captured a British Invasion army and France recognized the new nation, formed a military alliance, declared war on Britain, and left

2604-608: The Crown of Castile , from 1402 to 1496, has been described as the first instance of European settler colonialism in Africa. In 1462, the previously uninhabited Cape Verde archipelago became the first European settlement in the tropics , and thereafter a site of Jewish exile during the height of the Spanish Inquisition in the 1490s; the Portuguese soon also brought slaves from the West African coast. Because of

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2728-612: The Dominican Republic ). The Portuguese and Spanish Empires were the first global empires because they were the first to stretch across different continents (discounting Eurasian empires and those with land in Africa along the Mediterranean), covering vast territories around the globe. Between 1580 and 1640, the Portuguese and Spanish empires were both ruled by the Spanish monarchs in personal union . During

2852-619: The Dutch , the English —who set up a trading post in the west-coast port of Surat in 1619—and the French. The internal conflicts among Indian Kingdoms gave opportunities to the European traders to gradually establish political influence and appropriate lands. Although these continental European powers were to control various regions of southern and eastern India during the ensuing century, they would eventually lose all their territories in India to

2976-827: The East India Companies and the Hudson's Bay Company . Imperial Russia had no state-sponsored expeditions or colonization in the Americas, but did charter the first Russian joint-stock commercial enterprise, the Russian America Company , which did sponsor those activities in its territories. In May 1498, the Portuguese set foot in Kozhikode in Kerala , making them the first Europeans to sail to India. Rivalry among reigning European powers saw

3100-587: The French Revolution in this slave society. Although independence was declared in 1804, it was not until 1825 that it was formally recognized by King Charles X of France . The gradual decline of Spain as an imperial power throughout the 17th century was hastened by the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14), as a result of which it lost its European imperial possessions. The death knell for

3224-563: The Great Famine of 1876–78 , in which 6.1 million to 10.3 million people died and the Indian famine of 1899–1900 , in which 1.25 to 10 million people died. The Third Plague Pandemic started in China in the middle of the 19th century, spreading plague to all inhabited continents and killing 10 million people in India alone. Despite persistent diseases and famines, however, the population of

3348-535: The Indian subcontinent , which stood at about 125 million in 1750, had reached 389 million by 1941. Like the other European colonists, the French began their colonization via commercial activities, starting with the establishment of a factory in Surat in 1668. The French started to settle down in India in 1673, beginning with the purchase of land at Chandernagore from the Mughal Governor of Bengal, followed by

3472-505: The Kingdom of Portugal were added to the center. John's son Henry the Navigator distinguished himself in the battle, being wounded during the conquest. On the 21st of August the Portuguese consecrated the main mosque into the city's cathedral. The Portuguese later found in its minaret two bells, which had previously been plundered by pirates from a Portuguese church in Lagos . Ceuta

3596-554: The Marinid sultanate of Morocco at the city of Ceuta . The city's defenses fell under Portuguese control after a carefully prepared attack, and the successful capture of the city marked the beginning of the Portuguese Empire . Ceuta was held under Portuguese control until being transferred to Spain in 1668. Ceuta is a north African coastal city strategically located on the Strait of Gibraltar . In 711, shortly after

3720-688: The Marinid Empire and the Kingdom of Granada . A Nasrid fleet sent by Abu Said Faraj , Governor of Málaga , conquered Ceuta from the 'Azafids in May 1306; later, in 1309, the city was taken by the Marinids with the support of an Aragonese fleet . The city featured rich trade with the Levant , Egypt , Libya , abundant tuna fishing stocks in its surrounding waters as well as coral , which constituted its main export industry, besides being also

3844-620: The Moghul rule and dynasty itself in less than a century. The East India Company monopolized the trade of Bengal. They introduced a land taxation system called the Permanent Settlement which introduced a feudal-like structure (See Zamindar ) in the Bengal Presidency . By the 1850s, the East India Company controlled most of the Indian subcontinent , which included present-day Pakistan and Bangladesh . Their policy

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3968-617: The Orders of Christ Dom Lopo Dias de Sousa, the grandmaster of the Portuguese order of Santiago Dom Fernando Afonso de Albuquerque, the grandmaster of Aviz Fernão Rodrigues de Sequeira, the prior of the Hospitallers Álvaro Gonçalves Camelo, the Marshal of Portugal Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho , lord Martim Afonso de Mello , and the royal ensign João Gomes da Silva. By order of the King,

4092-532: The Scramble for Africa regulated by the terms of the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885. The conference effectively divided Africa among the European powers. Vast regions of Africa came under the sway of Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Italy and Spain. Gilmartin argues that these three waves of colonialism were linked to capitalism . The first wave of European expansion involved exploring

4216-657: The Tagus River , the Portuguese fleet sailed south along the south-western coast of Portugal and rounded the Cape St. Vincent on July 26, and that night anchored at Lagos . The king disembarked at Lagos the day after arriving to hear Sunday mass, at the cathedral of Lagos by the royal chaplain the Franciscan João de Xira, who on the occasion read to the royal family and commanders the Crusade bull issued by

4340-631: The Thirteen Colonies on the eastern coast of the present-day United States and other colonies such as Newfoundland and Rupert's Land in what is now Canada. However, the English, French and Dutch were no more averse to making a profit than the Spanish and Portuguese, and whilst their areas of settlement in the Americas proved to be devoid of the precious metals found by the Spanish, trade in other commodities and products that could be sold at

4464-471: The economics of plantations , especially sugar , European colonial expansion and slavery would remain linked into the 1800s. The use of exile to penal colonies would also continue. The European "discovery" of the New World , as named by Amerigo Vespucci in 1503, opened another colonial chapter, beginning with the colonization of the Caribbean in 1493 with Hispaniola (later to become Haiti and

4588-643: The fall of Constantinople in 1453 to the Ottoman Empire effectively closed profitable trade routes with Asia, early European exploration of Africa was followed by the Spanish exploration of the Americas , further exploration along the coasts of Africa , and explorations of West Asia (also known as the Middle East ), South Asia , and East Asia . The conquest of the Canary Islands by

4712-430: The 1870s (circa opening of Suez Canal and Second Industrial Revolution ) and the outbreak of World War I in 1914 are often characterized as the " New Imperialism ". The period is distinguished by an unprecedented pursuit of what has been termed "empire for empire's sake," aggressive competition for overseas territorial acquisitions, and the emergence in colonizing countries of doctrines of racial superiority which denied

4836-424: The 20th century, the colonies of the defeated central powers in World War I were distributed amongst the victors as mandates , but it was not until the end of World War II that the second phase of decolonization began in earnest. Some commentators identify three waves of European colonialism. The two main countries in the first wave of European colonialism were Portugal and Spain . The Portuguese started

4960-425: The Atlantic on a massive scale – historians estimate that the Atlantic slave trade brought between 10 and 12 million black African slaves to the New World. The islands of the Caribbean soon came to be populated by slaves of African descent, ruled over by a white minority of plantation owners interested in making a fortune and then returning to their home country to spend it. From its very outset, Western colonialism

5084-520: The British, with the exception of the French outposts of Pondicherry and Chandernagore , the Dutch port in Travancore , and the Portuguese colonies of Goa , Daman , and Diu . The English East India Company had been given permission by the Mughal emperor Jahangir in 1617 to trade in India. Gradually the company's increasing influence led the de jure Mughal emperor Farrukh Siyar to grant them dastaks or permits for duty-free trade in Bengal in 1717. The Nawab of Bengal Siraj Ud Daulah ,

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5208-433: The Constable expressed his vote in favor of the expedition first, the council then voting unanimously in favour too. The secretive nature of the expeditions purpose caused numerous theories to rise among Portuguese society as to its true objective, some speculating the King meant to undertake a Crusade to the Levant, others to conquer the Kingdom of Sicily , still others (correctly) guessing Ceuta. By that point, rumours of

5332-618: The Dutch turned their attention to the Old World, particularly South Africa and South Asia, particularly Southeast Asia , where coastal enclaves had already been established. In the 19th century, the Second Industrial Revolution led to what has been termed the era of New Imperialism , when the pace of colonization rapidly accelerated, the height of which was the Scramble for Africa , in which Belgium, Germany, and Italy were also participants. There were deadly battles between colonizing states and revolutions from colonized areas shaping areas of control and establishing independent nations. During

5456-420: The East Asian seaboard, where Japan joined the European powers' scramble for territory. The Berlin Conference (1884–1885) mediated the imperial competition among Britain, France, and Germany, defining "effective occupation" as the criterion for international recognition of colonial claims and codifying the imposition of direct rule , accomplished usually through armed force. In Germany, rising pan-Germanism

5580-400: The East India Company's troops with British Army soldiers, the Company overcame the rebellion. The nominal leader of the uprising, the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar , was exiled to Burma, his children were beheaded and the Moghul line was abolished. In the aftermath all power was transferred from the East India Company to the British Crown , which began to administer most of India as

5704-411: The English, in France. King John II of Castile , King Ferdinand I of Aragon and the emir of Granada Yusuf III all sent embassies to the Portuguese Court enquiring on the purpose of King John's preparations; the Castilian and Aragonese ambassadors were reassured that the purpose of the armada aimed neither Kingdom, but the ambassador of Granada was only given evasive answers. In order to conceal

5828-413: The French colony of Saint-Domingue , established Haïti as a free, black republic , the first of its kind. Haiti became the second independent nation that was a former European colony in the Western Hemisphere after the United States. Africans and people of African ancestry freed themselves from slavery and colonization by taking advantage of the conflict among whites over how to implement the reforms of

5952-485: The French while making it clear that France could not expand its control beyond these areas. The beginning of the Portuguese occupation of India can be traced back to the arrival of Vasco da Gama near Calicut on 20 May 1498. Soon after this, other explorers, traders and missionaries followed. By 1515, the Portuguese were the strongest naval power in the Indian Ocean and the Malabar Coast was dominated by them. The policy and ideology of European colonial expansion between

6076-405: The Iberian kingdoms of Castile and Portugal along a north-south meridian, 370 leagues west of Cape Verde . According to this international agreement, the larger part of the Americas and the Pacific Ocean were open to Spanish exploration and colonization, while Africa, the Indian Ocean , and most of Asia were assigned to Portugal. The boundaries specified by the Treaty of Tordesillas were put to

6200-422: The Islamic Ottoman Empire , itself gaining territories and colonies in Eastern Europe. The first foothold outside of Europe was gained with the conquest of Ceuta in 1415. During the 15th century, Portuguese sailors discovered the Atlantic islands of Madeira , Azores , and Cape Verde , which were duly populated, and pressed progressively further along the west African coast until Bartolomeu Dias demonstrated it

6324-602: The Jesuits still stand, such as the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Macau and the Santisima Trinidad de Paraná in Paraguay , the latter an example of the Jesuit Reductions . The Dominican and Franciscan buildings of California's missions and New Mexico's missions stand restored, such as Mission Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara, California and San Francisco de Asis Mission Church in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico . As characteristically happens in any colonialism, European or not, previous or subsequent, both Spain and Portugal profited handsomely from their newfound overseas colonies:

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6448-425: The Pope in favour of all who would participate in the attack against Ceuta. On 30 July the fleet weighted anchor to Faro , and as the wind blew weak, the fleet remained by that city till August 7, when they got on their way again. By late afternoon the Portuguese sighted Cape Espartel and turned out to sea, that night entered the Strait of Gibraltar and anchored by the Castilian town of Tarifa . Many members of

6572-421: The Portuguese and the defenders of Ceuta then took place, with the Portuguese galleys being shot at from the walls, the vessel of the Admiral Carlos Pessanha being damaged the worst, as it was the closest to shore. Despite the separation of the fleet, Pessanha landed a detachment of men to skirmish with the Moroccans ashore. Having gathered the armada in front of Ceuta on the 16th, King John determined to assault

6696-411: The Portuguese carracks east almost as far as Málaga , while the oarships proceeded to Ceuta and anchored in its harbour. After the Portuguese galleys were in the harbour, the Marinid governor of Ceuta Salah ben Salah evacuated many of the women and children to the surrounding lands and was reinforced by the tribal inhabitants of the region, voluntarily led by religious leaders. So many took up arms in

6820-454: The Portuguese encountered ancient and well populated societies, and established a seaborne empire consisting of armed coastal trading posts along their trade routes (such as Goa , Malacca and Macau ), so they had relatively little cultural impact on the societies they engaged. In the Western Hemisphere, the European colonization involved the emigration of large numbers of settlers, soldiers and administrators intent on owning land and exploiting

6944-412: The Portuguese fleet returned home with most of the army, the residents of Ceuta who had sought refuge in the surrounding hills and orchards attempted to recover the city numerous times, however they were easily fought back by the garrison in almost daily skirmishes. Dom Pedro had the houses, towers, orchards and groves around the city pulled down and ditches filled up so as to clear the line of sight around

7068-606: The Spanish Empire in the Americas was Napoleon's invasion of the Iberian peninsula in 1808. With the installation of his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne, the main tie between the metropole and its colonies in the Americas, the Spanish monarchy, had been cut, leading the colonists to question their continued subordination to a declining and distant country. With an eye on the events of the American Revolution forty years earlier, revolutionary leaders began bloody wars of independence against Spain, whose armies were ultimately unable to maintain control. By 1831, Spain had been ejected from

7192-409: The Spanish from gold and silver from mines such as Potosí and Zacatecas in New Spain , the Portuguese from the huge markups they enjoyed as trade intermediaries, particularly during the Nanban Japan trade period. The influx of precious metals to the Spanish monarchy's coffers allowed it to finance costly religious wars in Europe which ultimately proved its economic undoing: the supply of metals

7316-460: The United States and Canada, or islands in the Caribbean, such as Aruba , Martinique , and Barbados , that had been abandoned by the Spanish in favor of the mainland and larger islands. Whereas Spanish colonialism was based on the religious conversion and exploitation of local populations via encomiendas (many Spaniards emigrated to the Americas to elevate their social status, and were not interested in manual labor), Northern European colonialism

7440-417: The acquisition of Pondicherry from the Sultan of Bijapur the next year. Both became the centers of the maritime commercial activities that the French conducted in India. The French also had trading posts in Mahe, Karikal and Yanaon . Similar to the situation in Tahiti and Martinique , the French colonial administrative area was insular, but, in India, the French authority was isolated on the peripheries of

7564-420: The advance of the attackers in the narrow streets, so the residents could at least flee in time with their families and belongings. Disregarding the open gate through which Prince Henry had breached into the city, Vasco Fernandes de Ataíde attempted to open another gate at the head of a squadron of men, however they were repulsed and Ataíde mortally wounded. Prince Henry left behind a detachment of men to secure

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7688-486: The apparently primitive (as perceived by Old World standards) indigenous peoples of the Americas . The result was that the colonization of the New World was catastrophic: native peoples were no match for European technology, ruthlessness, or their diseases which decimated the indigenous population . Spanish treatment of the indigenous populations caused a fierce debate, the Valladolid Controversy , over whether Indians possessed souls and if so, whether they were entitled to

7812-456: The areas between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea . The key areas were Armenia and Georgia , with some better penetration of the Ottoman Empire, and Persia . By 1829, Russia controlled all of the Caucasus as shown in the Treaty of Adrianople of 1829. The third era, 1850 to 1860, was a brief interlude jumping to the East Coast, annexing the region from the Amur River to Manchuria . The fourth era, 1865 to 1885 incorporated Turkestan, and

7936-481: The attention of Britain, France, and the Netherlands. The entrance of these three powers into the Caribbean and North America perpetuated European colonialism in these regions. The second wave of European colonialism commenced with Britain's involvement in Asia in support of the British East India Company ; other countries such as France, Portugal and the Netherlands also had involvement in European expansion in Asia. The third wave ("New Imperialism") consisted of

8060-531: The basic rights of mankind. Bartolomé de Las Casas , author of A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies , championed the cause of the native peoples, and was opposed by Sepúlveda , who claimed Amerindians were "natural slaves". The Roman Catholic Church played a large role in Spanish and Portuguese overseas activities. The Dominicans , Jesuits , and Franciscans , notably Francis Xavier in Asia and Junípero Serra in North America, were particularly active in this endeavour. Many buildings erected by

8184-402: The beach. As a compensation for this spirited act, the King and the royal princes gifted Porto-Carreiro rich jewels and 1000 dobras . From Tarifa, the fleet next anchored at Algeciras , then belonging to the Emirate of Granada , subject to the Marinids of Morocco. King John ordered the attack on Ceuta from Tarifa on August 12, but when they moved out strong currents and contrary winds blew

8308-418: The centuries, most recently the Marinids, and with a high number of gates which could prove difficult to defend. It included a strong citadel built by the Marinids. Relations between the Muslim Marinids of Morocco and the Nasrids Granada in southern Iberia were strained after Abu Said Uthman III had attempted to capture Gibraltar in 1411, while Yusuf of Granada in turn instigated a revolt in Morocco as

8432-415: The city of Porto . Henry's brother Peter was tasked with enlisting in the southern provinces of Extremadura , Alentejo and Algarve , with the gathering point at Lisbon . Prince-heir Duarte handled paperwork and judicial matters, though he fell into depression . In order to scout the defenses of Ceuta beforehand, King John nominated the Prior of Crato Dom Álvaro Gonçalves Camelo as ambassador to

8556-457: The city the following day, but heavy winds then scattered the Portuguese fleet once more, forcing the king to seek refuge in the bay of Algeciras with the oarships, while the carracks were blown further east. Seeing the Portuguese fleet scatter and believing the attack would not longer take place, many of the undisciplined warriors and militias that had gathered in the city for its defense withdrew to their lands, while governor Salah ben Salah took

8680-415: The city, though a considerable number was killed in the action, and a few women, children and elderly unable to flee or take up arms could still be found in their houses. Álvaro Vaz de Almada, 1st Count of Avranches was first hoisted the flag of Lisbon (or of Saint Vicent) over the Ceuta castle per orders of the king. This symbol still stands today as the flag of Ceuta, but in which the coat of arms of

8804-402: The clause in Adam's will excluding his authority from the New World. This challenge initially took the form of piratical attacks (such as those by Francis Drake ) on Spanish treasure fleets or coastal settlements. Later the Northern European countries began establishing settlements of their own, primarily in areas that were outside of Spanish interests, such as what is now the eastern seaboard of

8928-533: The command of Laurens Cameels took possession of Fort Arguin. They did this under the orders of the Zeeland chamber of the Dutch West India Company, which had awarded a patroonship over the island to Abraham van Peere , who also possessed the colony of Berbice in South America. Abraham van Peere sent his son Daniel to Arguin to serve as its first chief factor . Daniel van Peere was taken hostage and eventually murdered by local peoples after setting out on

9052-482: The defense of Ceuta that the Portuguese would later claim no less than 100,000 had reinforced it. Ceuta received no aid whatsoever from the Sultan Abu Said Uthman III of Fez, either because the Marinid dynasty was too embroiled in internal disputes to be able to organize relief or because Salah ben Salah had been acting in an independent manner in recent years. The first engagements between

9176-447: The effect proved null on the Portuguese. On the morning of 21 August 1415, John I of Portugal gave out the orders for the landing of the troops and a general assault on the city. As the king boarded a longboat to be taken ashore however, he was wounded in a leg. Prince Henry was signalled to lead the troops ashore instead. The first to land was Ruy Gonsalves, who encountered resistance upon landing at Playa San Amaro . Prince Henry

9300-622: The entry of the Dutch , English , French , Danish and others. The kingdoms of India were gradually taken over by the Europeans and indirectly controlled by puppet rulers. In 1600, Queen Elizabeth I accorded a charter , forming the East India Company to trade with India and eastern Asia. The English landed in India in Surat in 1612. By the 19th century, they had assumed direct and indirect control over most of India. After

9424-514: The expedition were at that point convinced the ultimate goal of the fleet was to attack Sicily. The settlement was then governed by the Portuguese Martim Fernandes Porto-Carreiro, who offered the king supplies and lifestock as refreshments. Since the fleet was well provided, King John refused the gift, but Porto-Carreiro was so offended by such rejection that he had the animals slaughtered and abandoned on

9548-475: The expedition, with the notable exception of the Lima family. Shortly before their departure, Queen Fillippa fell ill from the plague that was then affecting Lisbon. She moved from Lisbon to Sacavém and called her sons to her bedside so that she could give them her blessing. Philippa presented her three eldest sons with jewel-encrusted swords, which they would use in their impending knighthoods, and gave each

9672-415: The fatal decision of demobilizing the rest of the volunteers to prevent further conflict, leaving nothing but the usual garrison. From Algeciras, Prince Henry was instructed to bring back all the scattered carracks in tow of the galleys. Plague broke out among the fleet and ravaged the crews. King John then held a Council of war with his command while anchored off Punta Carnero, Spain , but he rejected

9796-490: The first direct contact between Europeans and the peoples inhabiting present day countries such as Mozambique , Madagascar , Sri Lanka , Malaysia , Indonesia , East Timor (1512), China, and finally Japan. In the opposite direction, the Portuguese colonized the huge territory that eventually became Brasil, and the Spanish conquistadors established the vast Viceroyalties of New Spain and Peru , and later of Río de la Plata (Argentina) and New Granada (Colombia). In Asia,

9920-504: The fitness of subjugated peoples for self-government. During this period, Europe's powers added nearly 8,880,000 square miles (23,000,000 km ) to their overseas colonial possessions. As it was mostly unoccupied by the Western powers as late as the 1880s, Africa became the primary target of the "new" imperialist expansion (known as the Scramble for Africa ), although conquest took place also in other areas – notably south-east Asia and

10044-470: The former independent country which is now part of Yemen . European colonization of both Eastern and Western Hemispheres has its roots in Portuguese exploration. There were financial and religious motives behind this exploration. By finding the source of the lucrative spice trade , the Portuguese could reap its profits for themselves. They would also be able to probe the existence of the fabled Christian kingdom of Prester John , with an eye to encircling

10168-496: The gate while they waited for rest of the army; it arrived shortly afterwards commanded by the King, prince Pedro and the Constable Nuno Álvares Pereira. King John would however take no further part in the fighting, and sat by the gate. During the urban fighting, rumour spread among the Portuguese troops that prince Henry had perished, as he could not be located. Upon being informed of the rumoured death of his son, king John

10292-527: The gate, encouraged by a very large Nubian or Sudanese who stood his ground hurling large stones. After he was slain by Vasco Martins de Albergaria however, the Muslims turned and fled, chased deeper into the city by prince Pedro, prince Henry and the Constable at the head of the Portuguese troops. As the Portuguese poured into the city, Salah ben Salah descended from the high citadel to try and check

10416-558: The household of prince-heir Edward, 250 squires of the household of prince Peter, 300 squires of the household of prince Henry, 600 crossbowmen on foot and horse, an unrecorded number of squires from the cities of Évora and Beja plus a number of nobles with their followers. Many common foot-soldiers deeply resented the prospect of living in an isolated frontier city, surrounded by hostile Muslim powers eager to obtain revenge on Christians, and fearing certain death or captivity, begged to be taken back, bribed officials to sneak them back aboard

10540-548: The island in September 1678, but it was then abandoned until 1685. Arguin's aridity and its lack of a good anchorage made long-term European settlement difficult. In 1685, Captain Cornelius Reers of the frigate Rother Löwe  [ de ] occupied the old Portuguese fort on the island. He successfully concluded a treaty with the native king, in which Brandenburg was accepted as a protecting power. The treaty

10664-565: The late 16th and 17th centuries, England , France , and the Dutch Republic also established their own overseas empires, in direct competition with one another. The end of the 18th and mid 19th century saw the first era of decolonization , when most of the European colonies in the Americas, notably those of Spain, New France , and the Thirteen Colonies , gained their independence from their metropole . The Kingdom of Great Britain (uniting Scotland and England), France, Portugal, and

10788-479: The life of this world". The expedition was nearly called off, but King John decided to carry it through. A day of mourning was decreed, at the end of which Prince Henry commanded that all participants wear their best, the ships be decorated and trumpets be sounded with fanfare. The grandmaster of the Order of Aviz was appointed to administer Portugal in the kings absence on July 23, and that day King John embarked on

10912-605: The long age of European colonization with the conquest of Ceuta, Morocco in 1415, and the conquest and discovery of other African territories and islands, this would also start the movement known as the Age of Discoveries. The Spanish and Portuguese launched the colonization of the Americas , basing their territorial claims on the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494. This treaty demarcated the respective spheres of influence of Spain and Portugal. The expansion achieved by Spain and Portugal caught

11036-595: The mainland of the Americas, leaving a collection of independent republics that stretched from Chile and Argentina in the south to Mexico in the north. Spain's colonial possessions were reduced to Cuba , Puerto Rico , the Philippines, and a number of small islands in the Pacific, all of which she was to lose to the United States in the 1898 Spanish–American War or sell to Germany shortly thereafter. Brazil

11160-506: The message. Against the wishes of a considerable number of his men, he ultimately decided to keep the city, in order to pursue further enterprises in the area. Appointing a governor proved unexpectedly difficult however, as many high-ranking nobles such as the Constable Nuno Álvares Pereira, the Marshal Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho and the head of the royal bodyguard Dom Martim Afonso de Melo all turned down

11284-484: The military system necessary to support and defend the colonies outran the total trade they produced. Apart from the British Empire, they have not favored destinations for the immigration of surplus populations. Portuguese conquest of Ceuta About 200 ships: The Portuguese conquest of Ceuta took place on 21 August 1415, between Portuguese forces under the command of King John I of Portugal and

11408-629: The name of Mondo commanded four ships. The expedition included among its ranks some of the most important persons in Portugal at the time besides the king, such as prince-heir Duarte, prince Peter, prince Henry, the Count of Barcelos Dom Afonso de Cascais, the Constable of Portugal Dom Nuno Álvares Pereira and his nephew Dom Álvaro Pereira, the Grandmaster of the Order of Christ Dom Lopo Dias de Sousa,

11532-599: The northern approaches to India, sparking British fears of a threat to India in the Great Game . During the five decades following 1770, Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal lost many of their possessions in the Americas. After the conclusion of the Seven Years' War in 1763, Britain had emerged as the world's dominant power but found itself mired in debt and struggling to finance the Navy and Army necessary to maintain

11656-437: The opinion of those who suggested calling off the attack. On the night of August 20 the Portuguese fleet set out again, and anchored in the harbour of Ceuta, with the landing scheduled for the following day. Salah Ben Salah ordered that as many available men as possible be posted on the walls and as many lights and candles be lit to give the impression of readiness and of a large and well-garrisoned city, but although brilliant

11780-422: The palace of Salah ben Salah and other buildings, along with an entire vaulted roof built with elaborate gilt work from a town square, for his residence in Portugal. King John dispatched envoys to various European Courts notifying them of the victory. Among them, King John invited King Ferdinand of Aragon to join him in conquering north African lands, which Ferdinand appreciated, but died shortly after receiving

11904-470: The people he encountered there were Indians with red skin. This is why Native Americans have been called Indians or red-Indians. In truth, Columbus had arrived on a continent that was new to the Europeans, the Americas . After Columbus' first trips, competing Spanish and Portuguese claims to new territories and sea routes were solved with the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494, which divided the world outside of Europe in two areas of trade and exploration, between

12028-494: The preparations being carried out in Portugal against a secret objective spread to many neighbouring realms and their rulers. The residents of Ibiza and Sicily made preparations to resist a possible Portuguese attack, in which they incurred considerable expense. Some French wrote to King Ferdinand of Aragon expressing their suspicion that the Portuguese were preparing to participate in the Hundred Years War alongside

12152-860: The prior of the Knights Hospitaller Dom Álvaro Gonçalves Camelo, the Admiral Carlos Pessanha, the Count of Viana Dom Diarte de Meneses , the General of the Sea Afonso Furtado de Mendonça , the first Duke of Braganza Dom Afonso , the Marshal of Portugal Gonçalo Vascques Countinho and the Royal Ensign João Gomes da Silva, among others. All of the main noble houses in Portugal participated in

12276-580: The project to the Constable of Portugal , the renowned general Dom Nuno Álvares Pereira , who approved it in earnest. Finally, the King disclosed the project to the highest members of the Court, at Torres Novas , to where he summoned the Queen, the princes, the Constable Dom Nuno Álvares Pereira, the royal chancellor João das Regras , the archbishop of Braga Dom Lourenço, the grandmaster of

12400-401: The project, as the prospect of taking Ceuta offered them an opportunity to win wealth and glory. Preparations for the conquest of Ceuta, such as the gathering of materials and money started years beforehand and carried out slowly, though the objective was kept a secret. No taxes were raised because such a course of action demanded a gathering of Cortes and it would risk leaking the objective of

12524-413: The projected expedition. Nor was currency debased . Loans were taken, foreign ships chartered, galleys repaired and new ones built, until 30 had been assembled by the admiral of Portugal Carlos Pesanha, and expenses closely controlled. Prince Henry , later surnamed 'the Navigator' was tasked with organizing the recruitment of men in the provinces of Beira and Trás-os-Montes and assemble them in

12648-415: The proposal of the king, but the Count of Viana Dom Pedro de Meneses willingly volunteered for the dangerous position. The father of Dom Pedro had sided with Castile against King John during the 1383–1385 Civil War , which may explain why Dom Pedro so eagerly sought the distinction. The king ordered nearly 3000 men to stay behind as a garrison. It included 300 squires of the royal household, 300 squires of

12772-478: The royal Palace of Sintra Dom Álvaro drew for King John and the princes in private a map of Ceuta and its surrounding geography with sand and thread. Only after he was in possession of these precise informations about Ceuta did King John then disclose his intentions to capture Ceuta to his wife Queen Philippa of Lancaster . By occasion of a hunting trip in Montemor-o-Novo later, the king then disclosed

12896-456: The royal galley. Two days later, the entire fleet weighted anchor and departed from Lisbon, while the citizens and local inhabitants watched from the surrounding hills and beaches. From Sacavém, the Aragonese spy Ruy Dias de Vega wrote a few days later to the King of Aragon Ferdinand I that the objective of the expedition was rumoured to be either Ceuta or Gibraltar. From the mouth of

13020-451: The ships or feigned illnesses. Some willingly settled in the city as militia, such as craftsmen. Others eagerly embraced the life of frontiersmen. Likely many were nobles and their vassals, seeking wealth and glory in service overseas, such as Rui de Sousa, who stayed behind with 40 retainers. Such nobles could have become a serious factor of internal destabilization and conflict after peace had been signed with Castile in 1411. As soon as

13144-627: The superpower without any major ally. The American War of Independence continued until 1783 when the Treaty of Paris was signed. Britain recognized the sovereignty of the United States over the territory bounded by the British possessions to the North, Florida to the South, and the Mississippi River to the west. The Haitian Revolution , a slave revolt led by Toussaint L'Ouverture in

13268-532: The test in 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan and his Spanish sailors (among other Europeans), sailing for the Spanish Crown became the first European to cross the Pacific Ocean, reaching Guam and the Philippines, parts of which the Portuguese had already explored, sailing from the Indian Ocean. The two by now global empires, which had set out from opposing directions, had finally met on the other side of

13392-528: The then regent and heir of the Kingdom of Sicily Blanche of Navarre . He was to take two galleys commanded by general-of-the-sea Afonso Furtado de Mendoça and officially propose to Blanche the marriage of Prince Peter, but stop at Ceuta to take in supplies. They stopped at Ceuta for four days, and measured the depth of the harbour. Having successfully reached Sicily and received a negative reply, as King John had anticipated, they headed back to Portugal, again stopping at Ceuta. After returning to Portugal, at

13516-500: The true objective of the expedition, John dispatched Fernão Fogaça as an ambassador to the Count of Holland William VI , with the official mission of publicly demanding from the Count a compensation over a number of abuses the Hollanders had supposedly carried out at sea against Portuguese mariners. The Count had in fact been informed by King John of the true purpose of this phony embassy beforehand, hence he entertained Fogaça with

13640-642: The world to find new revenue and perpetuating European feudalism . The second wave focused on developing the mercantile capitalism system and the manufacturing industry in Europe. The last wave of European colonialism solidified all capitalistic endeavours by providing new markets and raw materials. As a result of these waves of European colonial expansion, only thirteen present-day independent countries escaped formal colonization by European powers: Afghanistan , Bhutan , Iran , Japan , Liberia , Mongolia , Nepal , China , North Korea , Saudi Arabia , South Korea , Thailand , and Turkey as well as North Yemen ,

13764-504: The world. The conflicts that arose between both powers were finally solved with the Treaty of Zaragoza in 1529, which defined the areas of Spanish and Portuguese influence in Asia, establishing the anti-meridian, or line of demarcation on the other side of the world. During the 16th century the Portuguese continued to press both eastwards and westwards into the Oceans. Towards Asia they made

13888-512: Was bolstered by those emigrating for religious reasons (for example, the Mayflower voyage). The motive for emigration was not to become an aristocrat or to spread one's faith but to start a new society afresh, structured according to the colonist's wishes. The most populous emigration of the 17th century was that of the English, who after a series of wars with the Dutch and French came to dominate

14012-642: Was combined with British victories over the French at Madras , Wandiwash and Pondicherry that, along with wider British successes during the Seven Years' War , reduced French influence in India. After the Battle of Buxar in 1764, the company acquired the civil rights of administration in Bengal from the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II ; it marked the beginning of its formal rule, which was to engulf eventually most of India and extinguish

14136-529: Was constituted into a diocese , and the English Franciscan confessor of late Queen Philippa, friar Aymar d'Aurillac was appointed first bishop of Ceuta . That night was spent in careful watchfulness, and the morning of 22 of August was stormy with rain and hail. The looting of the city was immense, though still less profitable than king John had expected. The Count of Barcelos Dom Afonso plundered more than 600 columns of marble and alabaster from

14260-480: Was coupled to imperialism in the Alldeutsche Verband ("Pangermanic League"), which argued that Britain's world power position gave the British unfair advantages on international markets, thus limiting Germany's economic growth and threatening its security. Asking whether colonies paid, economic historian Grover Clark argues an emphatic "No!" He reports that in every case the support cost, especially

14384-972: Was included in the territory of the French colony of Mauritania , and it remained under Mauritanian rule when that country became independent in 1960. In July 1816, the French frigate Méduse , bound for Senegal , was wrecked off Arguin and 350 people died. 15th century 16th century 15th century 16th century 17th century 18th century 19th century 16th century 17th century 15th century 16th century Portuguese India 17th century Portuguese India 18th century Portuguese India 16th century 17th century 19th century Portuguese Macau 20th century Portuguese Macau 15th century [Atlantic islands] 16th century [Canada] 16th century 17th century 18th century 19th century History of colonialism The historical phenomenon of colonization

14508-691: Was left in charge of Brazil and in 1822 he declared independence from Portugal and himself the Emperor of Brazil. Unlike Spain's former colonies which had abandoned the monarchy in favor of republicanism, Brazil, therefore, retained its links with its monarchy, the House of Braganza . Vasco da Gama 's maritime success to discover for Europeans a new sea route to India in 1498 paved the way for direct Indo-European commerce. The Portuguese soon set up trading-posts in Goa , Daman , Diu and Bombay . The next to arrive were

14632-483: Was not infinite and the large inflow caused inflation and debt, and subsequently affected the rest of Europe. It was not long before the exclusivity of Iberian claims to the Americas was challenged by other up and coming European powers, primarily the Netherlands, France and England: the view taken by the rulers of these nations is epitomized by the quotation attributed to Francis I of France demanding to be shown

14756-459: Was operated as a joint public-private venture. Columbus' voyages to the Americas were partially funded by Italian investors, but whereas the Spanish state maintained a tight rein on trade with its colonies (by law, the colonies could only trade with one designated port in the mother country and treasure was brought back in special convoys ), the English, French and Dutch granted what were effectively trade monopolies to joint-stock companies such as

14880-534: Was possible to sail around Africa by rounding the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, paving the way for Vasco da Gama to reach India in 1498. Portuguese successes led to Spanish financing of a mission by Christopher Columbus in 1492 to explore an alternative route to Asia, by sailing west. When Columbus eventually made landfall in the Caribbean Antilles he believed he had reached the coast of India, and that

15004-417: Was ratified in 1687 and was renewed in 1698. Arguin remained a colony of Brandenburg until 1721 when the French successfully assaulted the fort and then took control of the island. The Dutch took the fort and island from the French the following year only to lose it again in 1724 to the French. This period of French rule lasted four years; in 1728, it reverted to the control of indigenous peoples. The island

15128-534: Was sometimes summed up as Divide and Rule , taking advantage of the enmity festering between various princely states and social and religious groups. The first major movement against the British Company's high-handed rule resulted in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 , also known as the "Indian Mutiny" or "Sepoy Mutiny" or the "First War of Independence". After a year of turmoil, and reinforcement of

15252-456: Was the first prince to land at the head of a squadron of men. He was followed by his brother, the prince-heir Edward, and at the head of about 300 men both succeeded in driving the Muslims defenders back to the Almedina gate, which was breached by the Portuguese before it could be securely shut. The Moroccans managed to put up some resistance within the cramped urban environment just beyond

15376-516: Was the only country in Latin America to gain its independence without bloodshed. The invasion of Portugal by Napoleon in 1808 had forced King João VI to escape to Brazil and establish his court in Rio de Janeiro. For thirteen years, Portugal was ruled from Brazil (the only instance of such a reversal of roles between colony and metropole) until his return to Portugal in 1821. His son, Dom Pedro ,

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