Bairrada is a Portuguese wine region located in the Beira Litoral Province . The region has Portugal 's highest wine classification as a Denominação de Origem Controlada (DOC), and its popularity has surged over the last years. It is small and quite narrow coastal region, part of the broader region of Beira Atlântico , and it is bordered to the northeast by the Lafões IPR and to the east by the Dão DOC .
146-544: It is located close to the Atlantic Ocean and the currents have a moderating effect on the climate, resulting in a mild, maritime climate with abundant rainfall. The region is hilly, but the majority of the vineyards are placed on flatter land. About 2/3 of the national sparkling wine production takes place in this region, and in recent years the city of Anadia received the nickname of "Capital do Espumante", which translates to "Sparkling Wine Capital". The region
292-492: A World Heritage Site for their geological value, four of them are considered of "Outstanding Universal Value" based on their cultural and natural criteria: Þingvellir , Iceland; Landscape of the Pico Island Vineyard Culture , Portugal; Gough and Inaccessible Islands , United Kingdom; and Brazilian Atlantic Islands: Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas Reserves, Brazil. Continental shelves in
438-652: A dynastic Iberian Union . At Tomar, Philip promised to keep the empires legally distinct, leaving the administration of the Portuguese Empire to Portuguese nationals, with a Viceroy of Portugal in Lisbon seeing to his interests. Philip even had the capital moved to Lisbon for a two-year period (1581–83) due to it being the most important city in the Iberian peninsula . All the Portuguese colonies accepted
584-506: A Navy Sonic Depth Finder to draw a continuous map across the bed of the Atlantic. This involved little guesswork because the idea of sonar is straightforward with pulses being sent from the vessel, which bounce off the ocean floor, then return to the vessel. The deep ocean floor is thought to be fairly flat with occasional deeps, abyssal plains , trenches , seamounts , basins , plateaus , canyons , and some guyots . Various shelves along
730-721: A branch of the Gulf Stream which flows northward from the Grand Banks ; and the Subpolar Front , an extension of the North Atlantic Current, a wide, vaguely defined region separating the subtropical gyre from the subpolar gyre. This system of currents transports warm water into the North Atlantic, without which temperatures in the North Atlantic and Europe would plunge dramatically. North of
876-712: A cautious trade began. In 1557 the Chinese authorities allowed the Portuguese to settle in Macau, creating a warehouse in the trade of goods between China, Japan, Goa and Europe. Portuguese operations in Asia did not go unnoticed, and in 1521 Magellan arrived in the region and claimed the Philippines for Spain. In 1525, Spain under Charles V sent an expedition to colonize the Moluccas islands , claiming they were in his zone of
1022-550: A disappointment for the Portuguese, the decision was taken to hold it while exploring along the Atlantic African coast. A key supporter of this policy was Infante Dom Henry the Navigator , who had been involved in the capture of Ceuta , and who took the lead role in promoting and financing Portuguese maritime exploration until his death in 1460. At the time, Europeans did not know what lay beyond Cape Bojador on
1168-521: A few years after Cabral arrived from Brazil, competition came along from France. In 1503, an expedition under the command of Gonçalo Coelho reported French raids on the Brazilian coasts, and explorer Binot Paulmier de Gonneville traded for brazilwood after making contact in southern Brazil a year later. Expeditions sponsored by Francis I along the North American coast directly violated of
1314-575: A fifth of Portugal's per-capita income. When King Philip II of Spain (Philip I of Portugal) seized the Portuguese crown in 1580, there began a 60-year union between Spain and Portugal known to subsequent historiography as the Iberian Union , although the realms continued to have separate administrations. As the King of Spain was also King of Portugal, Portuguese colonies became the subject of attacks by three rival European powers hostile to Spain:
1460-461: A force led by António Correia captured Bahrain , defeating the Jabrid King, Muqrin ibn Zamil . In a shifting series of alliances, the Portuguese dominated much of the southern Persian Gulf for the next hundred years. With the regular maritime route linking Lisbon to Goa since 1497, the island of Mozambique became a strategic port, and there was built Fort São Sebastião and a hospital. In
1606-440: A large Castilian fleet attempted to wrest control of this lucrative trade, but were decisively defeated in the 1478 Battle of Guinea , which firmly established an exclusive Portuguese control. In 1481, the recently crowned João II decided to build São Jorge da Mina in order to ensure the protection of this trade, which was held again as a royal monopoly. The equator was crossed by navigators sponsored by Fernão Gomes in 1473 and
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#17327823663451752-665: A role in their alliance. The Adal Sultanate defeated the Ethiopians in the battle of Shimbra Kure in 1529, and Islam spread further in the region . Portugal responded by aiding king Gelawdewos with Portuguese soldiers and muskets. Though the Ottomans responded with support of soldiers and muskets to the Adal Sultanate, after the death of the Adali sultan Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi in the battle of Wayna Daga in 1543,
1898-623: A sea route to Asia was finally achieved in a ground-breaking voyage commanded by Vasco da Gama . The squadron of Vasco da Gama left Portugal in 1497, rounded the Cape and continued along the coast of East Africa, where a local pilot was brought on board who guided them across the Indian Ocean, reaching Calicut , the capital of the kingdom ruled by Zamorins , also known as Kozhikode ) in south-western India in May 1498. The second voyage to India
2044-470: A squadron of junks against Portuguese caravels that succeeded in driving the Portuguese away and reclaiming Tamao. As a result, the Chinese posted an edict banning men with Caucasian features from entering Canton, killing multiple Portuguese there, and driving the Portuguese back to sea. After the Sultan of Bintan detained several Portuguese under Tomás Pires, the Chinese then executed 23 Portuguese and threw
2190-417: A trading center at Tangasseri , Quilon ( Coulão , Kollam ) city in (1503) in 1502, which became the centre of trade in pepper, and after founding manufactories at Cochin ( Cochim , Kochi) and Cannanore ( Canonor , Kannur), built a factory at Quilon in 1503. In 1505 King Manuel I of Portugal appointed Francisco de Almeida first Viceroy of Portuguese India, establishing the Portuguese government in
2336-416: A weak Intertropical Convergence Zone , South Atlantic tropical cyclones are rare. The Atlantic Ocean is underlain mostly by dense mafic oceanic crust made up of basalt and gabbro and overlain by fine clay, silt and siliceous ooze on the abyssal plain. The continental margins and continental shelf mark lower density, but greater thickness felsic continental rock that is often much older than that of
2482-621: Is a complex of four water masses, two that form by deep convection in the open ocean – classical and upper Labrador sea water – and two that form from the inflow of dense water across the Greenland-Iceland-Scotland sill – Denmark Strait and Iceland-Scotland overflow water. Along its path across Earth the composition of the NADW is affected by other water masses, especially Antarctic bottom water and Mediterranean overflow water. The NADW
2628-490: Is also known for its deep colored tannic red wines, that often have bell pepper and black currant flavors, as well its emerging rosé production. The boundaries of the Bairrada DOC includes the municipalities of Anadia , Cantanhede , Mealhada and Oliveira do Bairro , and some parishes in the municipalities of Vagos and Coimbra and also the parish of Nariz, in the municipality of Aveiro . Viticulture in
2774-467: Is fed by a flow of warm shallow water into the northern North Atlantic which is responsible for the anomalous warm climate in Europe. Changes in the formation of NADW have been linked to global climate changes in the past. Since human-made substances were introduced into the environment, the path of the NADW can be traced throughout its course by measuring tritium and radiocarbon from nuclear weapon tests in
2920-498: Is found off the eastern coast of Canada. Surface water temperatures, which vary with latitude, current systems, and season and reflect the latitudinal distribution of solar energy, range from below −2 °C (28 °F) to over 30 °C (86 °F). Maximum temperatures occur north of the equator, and minimum values are found in the polar regions. In the middle latitudes, the area of maximum temperature variations, values may vary by 7–8 °C (13–14 °F). From October to June
3066-575: Is interrupted by larger transform faults at two places: the Romanche Trench near the Equator and the Gibbs fracture zone at 53°N . The MAR is a barrier for bottom water, but at these two transform faults deep water currents can pass from one side to the other. The MAR rises 2–3 km (1.2–1.9 mi) above the surrounding ocean floor and its rift valley is the divergent boundary between
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#17327823663453212-790: Is intersected by two perpendicular ridges: the Azores–Gibraltar Transform Fault , the boundary between the Nubian and Eurasian plates , intersects the MAR at the Azores triple junction , on either side of the Azores microplate, near the 40°N . A much vaguer, nameless boundary, between the North American and South American plates, intersects the MAR near or just north of the Fifteen-Twenty fracture zone , approximately at 16°N . In
3358-729: Is now northern and central Brazil. The formation of the Central American Isthmus closed the Central American Seaway at the end of the Pliocene 2.8 Ma ago. The formation of the isthmus resulted in the migration and extinction of many land-living animals, known as the Great American Interchange , but the closure of the seaway resulted in a "Great American Schism" as it affected ocean currents, salinity, and temperatures in both
3504-794: Is now the Carpathian region, that were similar to the Sargasso Sea. It is possible that the population in the Sargasso Sea migrated to the Atlantic as the Tethys closed at the end of the Miocene around 17 Ma. The origin of the Sargasso fauna and flora remained enigmatic for centuries. The fossils found in the Carpathians in the mid-20th century often called the "quasi-Sargasso assemblage", finally showed that this assemblage originated in
3650-846: Is the cultural successor of the Empire, analogous to the Commonwealth of Nations for countries formerly part of the British Empire . The origin of the Kingdom of Portugal lay in the reconquista , the gradual reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors . After establishing itself as a separate kingdom in 1139, Portugal completed its reconquest of Moorish territory by reaching Algarve in 1249, but its independence continued to be threatened by neighbouring Castile until
3796-985: The Iliad and the Odyssey , this all-encompassing ocean was instead known as Oceanus , the gigantic river that encircled the world; in contrast to the enclosed seas well known to the Greeks: the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. In contrast, the term "Atlantic" originally referred specifically to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and the sea off the Strait of Gibraltar and the West African coast. The term " Aethiopian Ocean ", derived from Ancient Ethiopia ,
3942-797: The Age of Discovery , it was known for separating the New World of the Americas ( North America and South America ) from the Old World of Afro-Eurasia ( Africa , Asia , and Europe ). Through its separation of Afro-Eurasia from the Americas, the Atlantic Ocean has played a central role in the development of human society, globalization, and the histories of many nations. While the Norse were
4088-983: The Battle of Tunmen in Tamão or Tuen Mun . In 1521, the Portuguese lost 2 ships at the Battle of Sincouwaan in Lantau Island . The Portuguese also lost 2 ships at Shuangyu in 1548 where several Portuguese were captured and near the Dongshan Peninsula . In 1549 two Portuguese junks and Galeote Pereira were captured. During these battles the Ming Chinese captured weapons from the defeated Portuguese which they then reverse engineered and mass-produced in China such as matchlock musket arquebuses which they named bird guns and breech-loading swivel guns which they named as Folangji ( Frankish ) cannon because
4234-582: The Bijapur sultanate in 1510 was soon countered by the Bijapuris, but with the help of Hindu privateer Timoji , on November 25 of the same year it was recaptured. In Goa, Albuquerque began the first Portuguese mint in India in 1510. He encouraged Portuguese settlers to marry local women, built a church in honor of St. Catherine (as it was recaptured on her feast day), and attempted to build rapport with
4380-850: The Bruneian Empire from 1530 and described the capital of Brunei as surrounded by a stone wall. The Portuguese empire expanded into the Persian Gulf, contesting control of the spice trade with the Ajuran Empire and the Ottoman Empire . In 1515, Afonso de Albuquerque conquered the Huwala state of Hormuz at the head of the Persian Gulf, establishing it as a vassal state. Aden , however, resisted Albuquerque's expedition in that same year and another attempt by Albuquerque's successor Lopo Soares de Albergaria in 1516. In 1521
4526-564: The Carpathian Basin from where it migrated over Sicily to the central Atlantic where it evolved into modern species of the Sargasso Sea. The location of the spawning ground for European eels remained unknown for decades . In the early 19th century it was discovered that the southern Sargasso Sea is the spawning ground for both the European and American eel and that the former migrate more than 5,000 km (3,100 mi) and
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4672-610: The Columbian exchange while occasionally hosting naval battles. Such naval battles, as well as growing trade from regional American powers like the United States and Brazil , both increased in degree during the early 20th century, and while no major military conflicts have taken place in the Atlantic recently, the ocean remains a core component of trade around the world. The Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Europe and Africa to
4818-540: The Congo River by Diogo Cão in 1482. It was during this expedition that the Portuguese first encountered the Kingdom of Kongo , with which it soon developed a rapport. During his 1485–86 expedition, Cão continued to Cape Cross , in present-day Namibia , near the Tropic of Capricorn . In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the southern tip of Africa and reached Great Fish River on the coast of Africa, proving false
4964-711: The Dahomey annexed the Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá , and in December that year India annexed Goa, Daman, and Diu . The Portuguese Colonial War in Africa lasted from 1961 until the final overthrow of the Estado Novo regime in 1974. The Carnation Revolution of April 1974 in Lisbon led to the hasty decolonization of Portuguese Africa and to the 1975 annexation of Portuguese Timor by Indonesia. Decolonization prompted
5110-477: The Dutch Republic , England , and France . With its smaller population, Portugal found itself unable to effectively defend its overstretched network of trading posts, and the empire began a long and gradual decline. Eventually, Brazil became the most valuable colony of the second era of empire (1663–1825), until, as part of the wave of independence movements that swept the Americas during the early 19th century, it broke away in 1822. The third era of empire covers
5256-415: The Equator . The oldest known mentions of an "Atlantic" sea come from Stesichorus around mid-sixth century BC (Sch. A. R. 1. 211): Atlantikôi pelágei (Ancient Greek: Ἀτλαντικῷ πελάγει , ' the Atlantic sea ' , etym . ' Sea of Atlas ' ) and in The Histories of Herodotus around 450 BC (Hdt. 1.202.4): Atlantis thalassa (Ancient Greek: Ἀτλαντὶς θάλασσα , ' Sea of Atlas ' or '
5402-412: The Icelandic Low produces frequent storms. Icebergs are common from early February to the end of July across the shipping lanes near the Grand Banks of Newfoundland . The ice season is longer in the polar regions, but there is little shipping in those areas. Hurricanes are a hazard in the western parts of the North Atlantic during the summer and autumn. Due to a consistently strong wind shear and
5548-428: The North American and Eurasian plates in the North Atlantic and the South American and African plates in the South Atlantic. The MAR produces basaltic volcanoes in Eyjafjallajökull , Iceland, and pillow lava on the ocean floor. The depth of water at the apex of the ridge is less than 2,700 m (1,500 fathoms ; 8,900 ft ) in most places, while the bottom of the ridge is three times as deep. The MAR
5694-405: The North Atlantic Drift is thought to have at least some influence on climate. For example, the Gulf Stream helps moderate winter temperatures along the coastline of southeastern North America, keeping it warmer in winter along the coast than inland areas. The Gulf Stream also keeps extreme temperatures from occurring on the Florida Peninsula. In the higher latitudes, the North Atlantic Drift, warms
5840-451: The North Atlantic oscillation , occurs. On average, the Atlantic is the saltiest major ocean; surface water salinity in the open ocean ranges from 33 to 37 parts per thousand (3.3–3.7%) by mass and varies with latitude and season. Evaporation, precipitation, river inflow and sea ice melting influence surface salinity values. Although the lowest salinity values are just north of the equator (because of heavy tropical rainfall), in general,
5986-404: The Red Sea and passing through Bassein to pay duties and allow the horse trade. After Mughal ruler Humayun had success against Bahadur, the latter signed another treaty with the Portuguese to confirm the provisions and allowed the fort to be built in Diu. Shortly afterward, Humayun turned his attention elsewhere, and the Gujarats allied with the Ottomans to regain control of Diu and lay siege to
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6132-442: The Scotia Sea , and other tributary water bodies. Including these marginal seas the coast line of the Atlantic measures 111,866 km (69,510 mi) compared to 135,663 km (84,297 mi) for the Pacific. Including its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers an area of 106,460,000 km (41,100,000 sq mi) or 23.5% of the global ocean and has a volume of 310,410,900 km (74,471,500 cu mi) or 23.3% of
6278-517: The Sultanate of Gujarat due to his suspicions of traders from the region possessing more power. The Mamlûk Sultanate sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri along with the Gujarati sultanate attacked Portuguese forces in the harbor of Chaul , resulting in the death of Almeida's son . In retaliation, the Portuguese fought and destroyed the Mamluks and Gujarati fleets in the sea Battle of Diu in 1509. Along with Almeida's initial attempts, Manuel I and his council in Lisbon had tried to distribute power in
6424-429: The Treaty of Tordesilhas . By 1531, the French had stationed a trading post off of an island on the Brazilian coast. The increase in brazilwood smuggling from the French led João III to press an effort to establish effective occupation of the territory. In 1531, a royal expedition led by Martim Afonso de Sousa and his brother Pero Lopes went to patrol the whole Brazilian coast, banish the French, and create some of
6570-451: The Treaty of Tordesillas , since there was no set limit to the east. The expedition of García Jofre de Loaísa reached the Moluccas, docking at Tidore . With the Portuguese already established in nearby Ternate, conflict was inevitable, leading to nearly a decade of skirmishes. A resolution was reached with the Treaty of Zaragoza in 1529, attributing the Moluccas to Portugal and the Philippines to Spain. The Portuguese traded regularly with
6716-401: The cartaz licensing system, granting merchant ships protection against pirates and rival states. Profiting from the rivalry between the ruler of Kochi and the Zamorin of Calicut , the Portuguese were well-received and seen as allies, as they obtained a permit to build the fort Immanuel ( Fort Kochi ) and a trading post that was the first European settlement in India. They established
6862-521: The meridional overturning circulation (MOC), the northward heat transport of which is threatened by anthropogenic climate change. Large variations in the subpolar gyre on a decade-century scale, associated with the North Atlantic oscillation , are especially pronounced in Labrador Sea Water , the upper layers of the MOC. The South Atlantic is dominated by the anti-cyclonic southern subtropical gyre. The South Atlantic Central Water originates in this gyre, while Antarctic Intermediate Water originates in
7008-399: The thermocline of the subtropical gyre. The Sargasso Sea in the western North Atlantic can be defined as the area where two species of Sargassum ( S. fluitans and natans ) float, an area 4,000 km (2,500 mi) wide and encircled by the Gulf Stream , North Atlantic Drift , and North Equatorial Current . This population of seaweed probably originated from Tertiary ancestors on
7154-404: The "Island of the Papua". In 1517, João da Silveira commanded a fleet to Chittagong , and by 1528, the Portuguese had established a settlement in Chittagong . The Portuguese eventually based their center of operations along the Hugli River , where they encountered Muslims, Hindus, and Portuguese deserters known as Chatins . Jorge Alvares was the first European to reach China by sea, while
7300-442: The "sweet salt" that was rare in Europe. Already cultivated in Algarve , the accessibility of Madeira attracted Genoese and Flemish traders keen to bypass Venetian monopolies. Slaves were used, and the proportion of imported slaves in Madeira reached 10% of the total population by the 16th century. By 1480 Antwerp had some seventy ships engaged in the Madeira sugar trade, with the refining and distribution concentrated in Antwerp. By
7446-435: The 1490s Madeira had overtaken Cyprus as a producer of sugar. The success of sugar merchants such as Bartolomeo Marchionni would propel the investment in future travels. In 1469, after prince Henry's death and as a result of meagre returns of the African explorations, King Afonso V granted the monopoly of trade in part of the Gulf of Guinea to merchant Fernão Gomes . Gomes, who had to explore 100 miles (160 km) of
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#17327823663457592-400: The 1870s, the Challenger expedition discovered parts of what is now known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, or: An elevated ridge rising to an average height of about 1,900 fathoms [3,500 m; 11,400 ft] below the surface traverses the basins of the North and South Atlantic in a meridianal direction from Cape Farewell, probably its far south at least as Gough Island, following roughly
7738-434: The 1953 definition it extends south to Antarctica, while in later maps it is bounded at the 60° parallel by the Southern Ocean. The Atlantic has irregular coasts indented by numerous bays, gulfs and seas. These include the Baltic Sea , Black Sea , Caribbean Sea , Davis Strait , Denmark Strait , part of the Drake Passage , Gulf of Mexico , Labrador Sea , Mediterranean Sea , North Sea , Norwegian Sea , almost all of
7884-411: The 1960s and CFCs . The clockwise warm-water North Atlantic Gyre occupies the northern Atlantic, and the counter-clockwise warm-water South Atlantic Gyre appears in the southern Atlantic. In the North Atlantic, surface circulation is dominated by three inter-connected currents: the Gulf Stream which flows north-east from the North American coast at Cape Hatteras ; the North Atlantic Current ,
8030-537: The African coast. Henry wished to know how far the Muslim territories in Africa extended, and whether it was possible to reach Asia by sea, both to reach the source of the lucrative spice trade and perhaps to join forces with the fabled Christian kingdom of Prester John that was rumoured to exist somewhere in the "Indies". Under his sponsorship, soon the Atlantic islands of Madeira (1419) and Azores (1427) were reached and started to be settled, producing wheat for export to Portugal. Soon its ships were bringing into
8176-416: The Atlantic and Pacific. Marine organisms on both sides of the isthmus became isolated and either diverged or went extinct. Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( Portuguese : Império Português , European Portuguese: [ĩˈpɛ.ɾju puɾ.tuˈɣeʃ] ), also known as the Portuguese Overseas ( Ultramar Português ) or the Portuguese Colonial Empire ( Império Colonial Português ),
8322-407: The Atlantic are wide off Newfoundland, southernmost South America, and northeastern Europe. In the western Atlantic carbonate platforms dominate large areas, for example, the Blake Plateau and Bermuda Rise . The Atlantic is surrounded by passive margins except at a few locations where active margins form deep trenches : the Puerto Rico Trench (8,376 m or 27,480 ft maximum depth) in
8468-468: The Atlantic include the Challenger expedition and the German Meteor expedition ; as of 2001 , Columbia University 's Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory and the United States Navy Hydrographic Office conduct research on the ocean. The MAR divides the Atlantic longitudinally into two halves, in each of which a series of basins are delimited by secondary, transverse ridges. The MAR reaches above 2,000 m (6,600 ft) along most of its length, but
8614-403: The Atlantic north of the equator. The coldest zones are in high latitudes, with the coldest regions corresponding to the areas covered by sea ice. Ocean currents influence the climate by transporting warm and cold waters to other regions. The winds that are cooled or warmed when blowing over these currents influence adjacent land areas. The Gulf Stream and its northern extension towards Europe,
8760-455: The Atlantic sea ' ) where the name refers to "the sea beyond the pillars of Heracles " which is said to be part of the sea that surrounds all land. In these uses, the name refers to Atlas , the Titan in Greek mythology , who supported the heavens and who later appeared as a frontispiece in medieval maps and also lent his name to modern atlases . On the other hand, to early Greek sailors and in ancient Greek mythological literature such as
8906-436: The Azores, the Islands Armada protected the ships en route to Lisbon. In 1534, Gujarat faced attack from the Mughals and the Rajput states of Chitor and Mandu . The Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat was forced to sign the Treaty of Bassein with the Portuguese, establishing an alliance to regain the country, giving in exchange Daman , Diu , Mumbai and Bassein . It also regulated the trade of Gujarati ships departing to
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#17327823663459052-409: The Bahamas, while coarse river outwash sands and silt are common in shallow shelf areas like the Georges Bank . Coarse sand, boulders, and rocks were transported into some areas, such as off the coast of Nova Scotia or the Gulf of Maine during the Pleistocene ice ages. The break-up of Pangaea began in the central Atlantic, between North America and Northwest Africa, where rift basins opened during
9198-410: The Bairrada has existed since at least the 10th century, when the region gained independence from the Moors . Located just south of the major Port wine producing center of Porto , the fortunes of Bairrada were on the upswing during the 17th century when Port producers, eager to supply the growing British market, would blend Bairrada wines with the product coming from the Douro . The spotlight of
9344-438: The Bairrada region falls on Baga . The unique soil and climate combination from Bairrada helps taking the most of out this highly acidic and highly tannic grape, which is used in both red and sparkling wines. Other Portuguese red grapes varieties also have a prominent place there: Alfrocheiro-Preto , Tinta Pinheira and Touriga Nacional . International red grapes varieties include Merlot and Syrah . Regarding white grapes,
9490-439: The Christian crusade against Islam; to the military class, it promised glory on the battlefield and the spoils of war; and finally, it was also a chance to expand Portuguese trade and to address Portugal's economic decline. In 1415 an attack was made on Ceuta , a strategically located North African Muslim enclave along the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the terminal ports of the trans-Saharan gold and slave trades. The conquest
9636-410: The European market highly valued gold, ivory, pepper, cotton, sugar, and slaves. The slave trade, for example, was conducted by a few dozen merchants in Lisbon. In the process of expanding the trade routes, Portuguese navigators mapped unknown parts of Africa, and began exploring the Indian Ocean. In 1487, an overland expedition by Pêro da Covilhã made its way to India, exploring trade opportunities with
9782-404: The European shores of the former Tethys Ocean and has, if so, maintained itself by vegetative growth , floating in the ocean for millions of years. Other species endemic to the Sargasso Sea include the sargassum fish , a predator with algae-like appendages which hovers motionless among the Sargassum . Fossils of similar fishes have been found in fossil bays of the former Tethys Ocean, in what
9928-399: The French intrusion, Joao III appointed Mem de Sá as new Brazilian governor general, and Sá left for Brazil in 1557. By 1560, Sá and his forces had expelled the combined Huguenot , Scottish Calvinist , and slave forces from France Antarctique, but left survivors after burning their fortifications and villages. These survivors would settle Gloria Bay , Flamengo Beach , and Parapapuã with
10074-488: The Hindus by protecting their temples and reducing their tax requirements. The Portuguese maintained friendly relations with the south Indian Emperors of the Vijayanagara Empire . In April 1511, Albuquerque sailed to Malacca on the Malay Peninsula , the largest spice market of the period. Though the trade was largely dominated by the Gujarati, other groups such as the Turks, Persians, Armenians, Tamils and Abyssinians traded there. Albuquerque targeted Malacca to impede
10220-428: The Indian Ocean, creating three areas of jurisdiction: Albuquerque was sent to the Red Sea, Diogo Lopes de Sequeira to South-east Asia, seeking an agreement with the Sultan of Malacca, and Jorge de Aguiar followed by Duarte de Lemos were sent to the area between the Cape of Good Hope and Gujarat. However, such posts were centralized by Afonso de Albuquerque after his succession and remained so in subsequent ruling. By
10366-466: The Indians and Arabs, and winding up finally in Ethiopia. His detailed report was eagerly read in Lisbon, which became the best-informed center for global geography and trade routes. Fears of what lay beyond Cape Bojador , and whether it was possible to return once it was passed, were assuaged in 1434 when it was rounded by one of Infante Henry's captains, Gil Eanes . Once this psychological barrier had been crossed, it became easier to probe further along
10512-623: The Late Triassic and Early Jurassic. This period also saw the first stages of the uplift of the Atlas Mountains. The exact timing is controversial with estimates ranging from 200 to 170 Ma. The opening of the Atlantic Ocean coincided with the initial break-up of the supercontinent Pangaea , both of which were initiated by the eruption of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP), one of
10658-514: The Muslim and Venetian influence in the spice trade and increase that of Lisbon. By July 1511, Albuquerque had captured Malacca and sent Antonio de Abreu and Francisco Serrão (along with Ferdinand Magellan) to explore the Indonesian archipelago. The Malacca peninsula became the strategic base for Portuguese trade expansion with China and Southeast Asia. A strong gate, called the A Famosa ,
10804-613: The North Atlantic Gyre, the cyclonic North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre plays a key role in climate variability. It is governed by ocean currents from marginal seas and regional topography, rather than being steered by wind, both in the deep ocean and at sea level. The subpolar gyre forms an important part of the global thermohaline circulation . Its eastern portion includes eddying branches of the North Atlantic Current which transport warm, saline waters from
10950-461: The Portuguese were known to the Chinese under the name of Franks at this time. The Portuguese later returned to China peacefully and presented themselves under the name Portuguese instead of Franks in the Luso-Chinese agreement (1554) and rented Macau as a trading post from China by paying annual lease of hundreds of silver taels to Ming China. Despite initial harmony and excitement between
11096-620: The Portuguese, and even had Portuguese ambassadors from Sao Tome support Ndongo against the Kingdom of Kongo. However, when the Jaga attacked and conquered regions of Kongo in 1568, Portuguese assisted Kongo in their defeat. In response, the Kongo allowed the colonization of Luanda Island; Luanda was established by Paulo Dias de Novais in 1576 and soon became a slave port. De Novais' subsequent alliance with Ndongo angered Luso-Africans who resented
11242-567: The Romans were the first overland via Asia Minor. He was also the first European to discover Hong Kong. In 1514, Afonso de Albuquerque, the Viceroy of the Estado da India, dispatched Rafael Perestrello to sail to China in order to pioneer European trade relations with the nation. In their first attempts at obtaining trading posts by force, the Portuguese were defeated by the Ming Chinese at
11388-556: The South Atlantic, and the "Atmospheric Bridge", which evaporates subtropical Atlantic waters and exports it to the Pacific. The Atlantic Ocean consists of four major, upper water masses with distinct temperature and salinity. The Atlantic subarctic upper water in the northernmost North Atlantic is the source for subarctic intermediate water and North Atlantic intermediate water. North Atlantic central water can be divided into
11534-579: The Spanish and the Portuguese. These were eventually settled by the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494, which divided the world outside of Europe in an exclusive duopoly between the Portuguese and the Spanish along a north–south meridian 370 leagues , or 970 miles (1,560 km), west of the Cape Verde islands. However, as it was not possible at the time to correctly measure longitude , the exact boundary
11680-460: The Tamoios and as spies for their resources. From 1565 through 1567 Mem de Sá and his forces eventually destroyed France Antarctique at Guanabara Bay. He and his nephew, Estácio de Sá , then established the city of Rio de Janeiro in 1567, after Mem de Sá proclaimed the area "São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro" in 1565. By 1575, the Tamoios had been subdued and essentially were extinct, and by 1580
11826-658: The assistance of the Tamoio natives. The Tamoio had been allied with the French since the settlement of France Antarctique, and despite the French loss in 1560, the Tamoio were still a threat. They launched two attacks in 1561 and 1564 (the latter event was assisting the French), and were nearly successful with each. By this time period, Manuel de Nóbrega, along with fellow Jesuit José de Anchieta , took part as members of attacks on
11972-475: The atmosphere over the oceans, keeping the British Isles and northwestern Europe mild and cloudy, and not severely cold in winter, like other locations at the same high latitude. The cold water currents contribute to heavy fog off the coast of eastern Canada (the Grand Banks of Newfoundland area) and Africa's northwestern coast. In general, winds transport moisture and air over land areas. Every winter,
12118-571: The coast each year for five years, discovered the islands of the Gulf of Guinea, including São Tomé and Príncipe , and found a thriving alluvial gold trade among the natives and visiting Arab and Berber traders at the port then named Mina (the mine), where he established a trading post. Trade between Elmina and Portugal grew throughout a decade. During the War of the Castilian Succession ,
12264-536: The coast of Africa and the Atlantic archipelagos in 1418–1419, using recent developments in navigation, cartography, and maritime technology such as the caravel , with the aim of finding a sea route to the source of the lucrative spice trade . In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope , and in 1498 Vasco da Gama reached India. In 1500, either by an accidental landfall or by the crown's secret design, Pedro Álvares Cabral reached what would be Brazil . Over
12410-532: The coast to the Tordesillas limit, were decreed by João III on 28 September 1532. The plot of the lands formed as a hereditary captaincies (Capitanias Hereditárias) to grantees rich enough to support settlement, as had been done successfully in Madeira and Cape Verde islands. Each captain-major was to build settlements, grant allotments and administer justice, being responsible for developing and taking
12556-414: The coast. In 1443, Infante Dom Pedro , Henry's brother and by then regent of the Kingdom, granted him the monopoly of navigation, war and trade in the lands south of Cape Bojador. Later this monopoly would be enforced by the papal bulls Dum Diversas (1452) and Romanus Pontifex (1455), granting Portugal the trade monopoly for the newly discovered lands. A major advance that accelerated this project
12702-453: The colonization of Brazil, including São Vicente, and São Paulo , the latter which Nóbrega co-founded. Along with the Jesuit missions later came disease among the natives, among them plague and smallpox . Subsequently, the French would resettle in Portuguese territory at Guanabara Bay , which would be called France Antarctique . While a Portuguese ambassador was sent to Paris to report
12848-492: The contraction of Portuguese ambitions in Africa . Under António Salazar (in office 1932–1968), the Estado Novo dictatorship made some ill-fated attempts to cling on to its last remaining colonies. Under the ideology of pluricontinentalism , the regime renamed its colonies " overseas provinces " while retaining the system of forced labour , from which only a small indigenous élite was normally exempt. In August 1961,
12994-401: The costs of colonization, although not being the owner: he could transmit it to offspring, but not sell it. Twelve recipients came from Portuguese gentry who become prominent in Africa and India and senior officials of the court, such as João de Barros . Of the fifteen original captaincies, only two, Pernambuco and São Vicente, prospered. Both were dedicated to the crop of sugar cane , and
13140-458: The early 16th century it stretched across the globe, with bases in Africa, North America, South America, and various regions of Asia and Oceania . The Portuguese Empire originated at the beginning of the Age of Discovery , and the power and influence of the Kingdom of Portugal would eventually expand across the globe. In the wake of the Reconquista , Portuguese sailors began exploring
13286-670: The east, and the Americas to the west. As one component of the interconnected World Ocean , it is connected in the north to the Arctic Ocean , to the Pacific Ocean in the southwest, the Indian Ocean in the southeast, and the Southern Ocean in the south. Other definitions describe the Atlantic as extending southward to Antarctica . The Atlantic Ocean is divided in two parts, the northern and southern Atlantic, by
13432-554: The east, the boundaries of the ocean proper are Europe: the Strait of Gibraltar (where it connects with the Mediterranean Sea – one of its marginal seas – and, in turn, the Black Sea , both of which also touch upon Asia) and Africa. In the southeast, the Atlantic merges into the Indian Ocean. The 20° East meridian , running south from Cape Agulhas to Antarctica defines its border. In
13578-612: The east. That year the Portuguese also conquered Kannur , where they founded St. Angelo Fort , and Lourenço de Almeida arrived in Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka), where he discovered the source of cinnamon . Although Cankili I of Jaffna initially resisted contact with them, the Jaffna kingdom came to the attention of Portuguese officials soon after for their resistance to missionary activities as well as logistical reasons due to its proximity with Trincomalee harbour among other reasons. In
13724-544: The eastern and western North Atlantic central water since the western part is strongly affected by the Gulf Stream and therefore the upper layer is closer to underlying fresher subpolar intermediate water. The eastern water is saltier because of its proximity to Mediterranean water. North Atlantic central water flows into South Atlantic central water at 15°N . There are five intermediate waters: four low-salinity waters formed at subpolar latitudes and one high-salinity formed through evaporation. Arctic intermediate water flows from
13870-586: The end of 1509, Albuquerque became viceroy of the East Indies with the capital at Velha Goa , after the Cape route was discovered by Vasco da Gama. In contrast to Almeida, Albuquerque was more concerned with strengthening the navy, as well as being more compliant with the interests of the kingdom. His first objective was to conquer Goa, due to its strategic location as a defensive fort positioned between Kerala and Gujarat, as well as its prominence for Arabian horse imports. The initial capture of Goa from
14016-914: The entrance of the Red Sea in 1506 and Muscat in 1507. Having failed to conquer Ormuz , they instead followed a strategy intended to close off commerce to and from the Indian Ocean. Madagascar was partly explored by Cunha, and Mauritius was discovered by Cunha whilst possibly being accompanied by Albuquerque. After the capture of Socotra, Cunha and Albuquerque operated separately. While Cunha traveled India and Portugal for trading purposes, Albuquerque went to India to take over as governor after Almeida's three-year term ended. Almeida refused to turn over power and soon placed Albuquerque under house arrest, where he remained until 1509. Although requested by Manuel I to further explore interests in Malacca and Sri Lanka, Almeida instead focused on western India, in particular
14162-525: The exodus of nearly all the Portuguese colonial settlers and of many mixed-race people from the colonies. Portugal returned Macau to China in 1999. The only overseas possessions to remain under Portuguese rule, the Azores and Madeira , both had overwhelmingly Portuguese populations, and Lisbon subsequently changed their constitutional status from " overseas provinces " to " autonomous regions ". The Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP)
14308-516: The final stage of Portuguese colonialism after the independence of Brazil in the 1820s. By then, the colonial possessions had been reduced to forts and plantations along the African coastline (expanded inland during the Scramble for Africa in the late 19th century), Portuguese Timor , and enclaves in India ( Portuguese India ) and China ( Portuguese Macau ). The 1890 British Ultimatum led to
14454-486: The first colonial towns – among them São Vicente , in 1532. Sousa returned to Lisbon a year later to become governor of India and never returned to Brazil. The French attacks did cease to an extent after retaliation led to the Portuguese paying the French to stop attacking Portuguese ships throughout the Atlantic, but the attacks would continue to be a problem well into the 1560s. Upon de Sousa's arrival and success, fifteen latitudinal tracts, theoretically to span from
14600-493: The first known humans to cross the Atlantic, it was the expedition of Christopher Columbus in 1492 that proved to be the most consequential. Columbus' expedition ushered in an age of exploration and colonization of the Americas by European powers , most notably Portugal , Spain , France , and the United Kingdom . From the 16th to 19th centuries, the Atlantic Ocean was the center of both an eponymous slave trade and
14746-487: The following decades, Portuguese sailors continued to explore the coasts and islands of East Asia, establishing forts and factories as they went. By 1571, a string of naval outposts connected Lisbon to Nagasaki along the coasts of Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. This commercial network and the colonial trade had a substantial positive impact on Portuguese economic growth (1500–1800) when it accounted for about
14892-578: The fort. The two failed sieges of 1538 and 1546 put an end to Ottoman ambitions, confirming the Portuguese hegemony in the region, as well as gaining superiority over the Mughals. However, the Ottomans fought off attacks from the Portuguese in the Red Sea and in the Sinai Peninsula in 1541, and in the northern region of the Persian Gulf in 1546 and 1552. Each entity ultimately had to respect
15038-556: The government became more of an ouvidor general rather than the ouvidores . In 1580, King Philip II of Spain invaded Portugal after a crisis of succession brought about by King Sebastian of Portugal 's death during a disastrous Portuguese attack on Alcácer Quibir in Morocco in 1578. At the Cortes of Tomar in 1581, Philip was crowned Philip I of Portugal, uniting the two crowns and overseas empires under Spanish Habsburg rule in
15184-712: The government of the colony in order to "give help and assistance" to grantees. In 1548 he created the first General Government, sending in Tomé de Sousa as first governor and selecting a capital at the Bay of All Saints , making it at the Captaincy of Bahia . Tomé de Sousa built the capital of Brazil, Salvador , at the Bay of All Saints in 1549. Among de Sousa's 1000 man expedition were soldiers, workers, and six Jesuits led by Manuel da Nóbrega . The Jesuits would have an essential role in
15330-606: The influence from the Crown. In 1579, Ndongo ruler Ngola Kiluanje kia Ndamdi massacred Portuguese and Kongolese residents in the Ndongo capital Kabasa under the influence of Portuguese renegades. Both the Portuguese and Kongo fought against Ndongo, and off-and-on warfare between the Ndongo and Portugal would persist for decades. In east-Africa, the main agents acting on behalf of the Portuguese Crown, exploring and settling
15476-542: The joint Adal-Ottoman force retreated. The Portuguese also made direct contact with the Kongolose vassal state Ndongo and its ruler Ngola Kiljuane in 1520, after the latter requested missionaries. Kongolese king Afonso I interfered with the process with denunciations, and later sent a Kongo mission to Ndongo after the latter had arrested the Portuguese mission that came. The growing official and unofficial slave trading with Ndongo strained relations between Kongo and
15622-408: The land be settled, and two follow up voyages were sent in 1501 and 1503. The land was found to be abundant in pau-brasil , or brazilwood, from which it later inherited its name, but the failure to find gold or silver meant that for the time being Portuguese efforts were concentrated on India. In 1502, to enforce its trade monopoly over a wide area of the Indian Ocean , the Portuguese Empire created
15768-517: The latter 2,000 km (1,200 mi). Ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream transport eel larvae from the Sargasso Sea to foraging areas in North America, Europe, and northern Africa. Recent but disputed research suggests that eels possibly use Earth's magnetic field to navigate through the ocean both as larvae and as adults. The climate is influenced by the temperatures of the surface waters and water currents as well as winds. Because of
15914-666: The limits of the oceans and seas in 1953, but some of these definitions have been revised since then and some are not recognized by various authorities, institutions, and countries, for example the CIA World Factbook . Correspondingly, the extent and number of oceans and seas vary. The Atlantic Ocean is bounded on the west by North and South America. It connects to the Arctic Ocean through the Denmark Strait , Greenland Sea , Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea . To
16060-513: The locals were impressed by firearms , that would be immediately made by the Japanese on a large scale. By 1570 the Portuguese bought part of a Japanese port where they founded a small part of the city of Nagasaki , and it became the major trading port in Japan in the triangular trade with China and Europe. Guarding its trade from both European and Asian competitors, Portugal dominated not only
16206-501: The lowest values are in the high latitudes and along coasts where large rivers enter. Maximum salinity values occur at about 25° north and south , in subtropical regions with low rainfall and high evaporation. The high surface salinity in the Atlantic, on which the Atlantic thermohaline circulation is dependent, is maintained by two processes: the Agulhas Leakage/Rings , which brings salty Indian Ocean waters into
16352-554: The main highlights are the Portuguese varieties of Arinto , Bical , Cercial and Maria Gomes , but also the well internationally known Chardonnay . 40°28′55″N 8°27′07″W / 40.4818609°N 8.4519891°W / 40.4818609; -8.4519891 Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions , with an area of about 85,133,000 km (32,870,000 sq mi). It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During
16498-514: The margins of the continents constitute about 11% of the bottom topography with few deep channels cut across the continental rise. The mean depth between 60°N and 60°S is 3,730 m (12,240 ft), or close to the average for the global ocean, with a modal depth between 4,000 and 5,000 m (13,000 and 16,000 ft). In the South Atlantic the Walvis Ridge and Rio Grande Rise form barriers to ocean currents. The Laurentian Abyss
16644-664: The maximum depth, the Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench , is 8,376 m (27,480 ft). Top large seas: The bathymetry of the Atlantic is dominated by a submarine mountain range called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). It runs from 87°N or 300 km (190 mi) south of the North Pole to the subantarctic Bouvet Island at 54°S . Expeditions to explore the bathymertry of
16790-732: The most extensive and voluminous large igneous provinces in Earth's history associated with the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event , one of Earth's major extinction events . Theoliitic dikes , sills , and lava flows from the CAMP eruption at 200 Ma have been found in West Africa, eastern North America, and northern South America. The extent of the volcanism has been estimated to 4.5 × 10 km (1.7 × 10 sq mi) of which 2.5 × 10 km (9.7 × 10 sq mi) covered what
16936-568: The north Atlantic coast of Canada, which accounts for the appearance of "Labrador" on topographical maps of the period. Subsequently, in 1500–1501 and 1502, the brothers Gaspar and Miguel Corte-Real explored what is today the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador , and Greenland, claiming these lands for Portugal. In 1506, King Manuel I created taxes for the cod fisheries in Newfoundland waters. Around 1521, João Álvares Fagundes
17082-571: The north to become the source for North Atlantic deep water, south of the Greenland-Scotland sill. These two intermediate waters have different salinity in the western and eastern basins. The wide range of salinities in the North Atlantic is caused by the asymmetry of the northern subtropical gyre and a large number of contributions from a wide range of sources: Labrador Sea, Norwegian-Greenland Sea, Mediterranean, and South Atlantic Intermediate Water. The North Atlantic deep water (NADW)
17228-425: The ocean's great capacity to store and release heat, maritime climates are more moderate and have less extreme seasonal variations than inland climates. Precipitation can be approximated from coastal weather data and air temperature from water temperatures. The oceans are the major source of atmospheric moisture that is obtained through evaporation. Climatic zones vary with latitude; the warmest zones stretch across
17374-627: The outlines of the coasts of the Old and the New Worlds. The remainder of the ridge was discovered in the 1920s by the German Meteor expedition using echo-sounding equipment. The exploration of the MAR in the 1950s led to the general acceptance of seafloor spreading and plate tectonics . Most of the MAR runs under water but where it reaches the surfaces it has produced volcanic islands. While nine of these have collectively been nominated
17520-509: The politics of the Kingdom of Mutapa , to the point of installing client kings upon its throne. In 1542, Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier arrived in Goa at the service of King John III of Portugal , in charge of an Apostolic Nunciature . At the same time Francisco Zeimoto, António Mota , and other traders arrived in Japan for the first time. According to Fernão Mendes Pinto , who claimed to be in this journey, they arrived at Tanegashima , where
17666-651: The pond" or "on the other side of the pond" or "across the pond", rather than to discuss the ocean itself. The term dates to 1640, first appearing in print in a pamphlet released during the reign of Charles I , and reproduced in 1869 in Nehemiah Wallington 's Historical Notices of Events Occurring Chiefly in The Reign of Charles I , where "great Pond" is used in reference to the Atlantic Ocean by Francis Windebank , Charles I's Secretary of State . The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defined
17812-410: The rest into prison where they resided in squalid, sometimes fatal conditions. The Chinese then massacred Portuguese who resided at Ningbo and Fujian trading posts in 1545 and 1549, due to extensive and damaging raids by the Portuguese along the coast, which irritated the Chinese. Portuguese pirating was second to Japanese pirating by this period. However, they soon began to shield Chinese junks and
17958-573: The same year, Manuel I ordered Almeida to fortify the Portuguese fortresses in Kerala and within eastern Africa, as well as probe into the prospects of building forts in Sri Lanka and Malacca in response to growing hostilities with Muslims within those regions and threats from the Mamluk sultan. A Portuguese fleet under the command of Tristão da Cunha and Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Socotra at
18104-438: The seafloor. The oldest oceanic crust in the Atlantic is up to 145 million years and is situated off the west coast of Africa and the east coast of North America, or on either side of the South Atlantic. In many places, the continental shelf and continental slope are covered in thick sedimentary layers. For instance, on the North American side of the ocean, large carbonate deposits formed in warm shallow waters such as Florida and
18250-461: The settlers managed to maintain alliances with Native Americans . The rise of the sugar industry came about because the Crown took the easiest sources of profit (brazilwood, spices, etc.), leaving settlers to come up with new revenue sources. The establishment of the sugar cane industry demanded intensive labor that would be met with Native American and, later, African slaves. Deeming the capitanias system ineffective, João III decided to centralize
18396-474: The signing of the Treaty of Ayllón in 1411. Free from threats to its existence and unchallenged by the wars fought by other European states, Portuguese attention turned overseas and towards a military expedition to the Muslim lands of North Africa. There were several probable motives for their first attack, on the Marinid Sultanate (in present-day Morocco). It offered the opportunity to continue
18542-421: The slave and gold trades. Portugal enjoyed a virtual monopoly on the African seaborne slave trade for over a century, importing around 800 slaves annually. Most were brought to the Portuguese capital Lisbon, where it is estimated black Africans came to constitute 10 percent of the population. Christopher Columbus 's 1492 discovery for Spain of the New World , which he believed to be Asia, led to disputes between
18688-477: The sphere of influence of the other, albeit unofficially. After a series of prolonged contacts with Ethiopia, the Portuguese embassy made contact with the Ethiopian (Abyssinian) Kingdom led by Rodrigo de Lima in 1520. This coincided with the Portuguese search for Prester John, as they soon associated the kingdom as his land. The fear of Turkish advances within the Portuguese and Ethiopian sectors also played
18834-551: The subtropics to the northeastern Atlantic. There this water is cooled during winter and forms return currents that merge along the eastern continental slope of Greenland where they form an intense (40–50 Sv ) current which flows around the continental margins of the Labrador Sea . A third of this water becomes part of the deep portion of the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). The NADW, in turn, feeds
18980-421: The surface is usually covered with sea ice in the Labrador Sea , Denmark Strait , and Baltic Sea. The Coriolis effect circulates North Atlantic water in a clockwise direction, whereas South Atlantic water circulates counter-clockwise. The south tides in the Atlantic Ocean are semi-diurnal; that is, two high tides occur every 24 lunar hours. In latitudes above 40° North some east–west oscillation, known as
19126-491: The territory of what would become Mozambique were the prazeiros , to whom vast estates around the Zambezi River were leased by the King as a reward for their services. Commanding vast armies of chikunda warrior-slaves, these men acted as feudal-like lords, either levying tax from local chieftains, defending them and their estates from marauding tribes, participating in the ivory or slave trade, and becoming involved in
19272-428: The total volume of the Earth's oceans. Excluding its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers 81,760,000 km (31,570,000 sq mi) and has a volume of 305,811,900 km (73,368,200 cu mi). The North Atlantic covers 41,490,000 km (16,020,000 sq mi) (11.5%) and the South Atlantic 40,270,000 km (15,550,000 sq mi) (11.1%). The average depth is 3,646 m (11,962 ft) and
19418-551: The trade between Asia and Europe, but also much of the trade between different regions of Asia and Africa, such as India, Indonesia, China, and Japan. Jesuit missionaries, followed the Portuguese to spread Catholicism to Asia and Africa with mixed success. Based on the Treaty of Tordesillas , the Portuguese Crown, under the kings Manuel I, John III and Sebastian, also claimed territorial rights in North America (reached by John Cabot in 1497 and 1498). To that end, in 1499 and 1500, João Fernandes Lavrador explored Greenland and
19564-473: The two cultures, difficulties began to arise shortly afterwards, including misunderstanding, bigotry, and even hostility. The Portuguese explorer Simão de Andrade incited poor relations with China due to his pirate activities, raiding Chinese shipping, attacking a Chinese official, and kidnappings of Chinese. He based himself at Tamao island in a fort. The Chinese claimed that Simão kidnapped Chinese boys and girls to be molested and cannibalized. The Chinese sent
19710-582: The upper layers of the circumpolar region, near the Drake Passage and the Falkland Islands. Both these currents receive some contribution from the Indian Ocean. On the African east coast, the small cyclonic Angola Gyre lies embedded in the large subtropical gyre. The southern subtropical gyre is partly masked by a wind-induced Ekman layer . The residence time of the gyre is 4.4–8.5 years. North Atlantic Deep Water flows southward below
19856-546: The view that had existed since Ptolemy that the Indian Ocean was land-locked . Simultaneously Pêro da Covilhã , traveling secretly overland, had reached Ethiopia , suggesting that a sea route to the Indies would soon be forthcoming. As the Portuguese explored the coastlines of Africa, they left behind a series of padrões , stone crosses engraved with the Portuguese coat of arms marking their claims, and built forts and trading posts. From these bases, they engaged profitably in
20002-424: The western Atlantic and South Sandwich Trench (8,264 m or 27,113 ft) in the South Atlantic. There are numerous submarine canyons off northeastern North America, western Europe, and northwestern Africa. Some of these canyons extend along the continental rises and farther into the abyssal plains as deep-sea channels. In 1922, a historic moment in cartography and oceanography occurred. The USS Stewart used
20148-495: Was a military success, and marked one of the first steps in Portuguese expansion beyond the Iberian Peninsula, but it proved costly to defend against the Muslim forces that soon besieged it. The Portuguese were unable to use it as a base for further expansion into the hinterland, and the trans-Saharan caravans merely shifted their routes to bypass Ceuta and/or used alternative Muslim ports. Although Ceuta proved to be
20294-424: Was applied to the southern Atlantic as late as the mid-19th century. During the Age of Discovery , the Atlantic was also known to English cartographers as the Great Western Ocean . The pond is a term often used by British and American speakers in reference to the northern Atlantic Ocean, as a form of meiosis , or ironic understatement. It is used mostly when referring to events or circumstances "on this side of
20440-418: Was composed of the overseas colonies , factories , and later overseas territories , governed by the Kingdom of Portugal , and later the Republic of Portugal . It was one of the longest-lived colonial empires in European history, lasting 584 years from the conquest of Ceuta in North Africa in 1415 to the transfer of sovereignty over Macau to China in 1999. The empire began in the 15th century, and from
20586-407: Was dispatched in 1500 under Pedro Álvares Cabral . While following the same south-westerly route as Gama across the Atlantic Ocean, Cabral made landfall on the Brazilian coast. This was probably an accidental discovery, but it has been speculated that the Portuguese secretly knew of Brazil's existence and that it lay on their side of the Tordesillas line. Cabral recommended to the Portuguese King that
20732-436: Was disputed by the two countries until 1777. The completion of these negotiations with Spain is one of several reasons proposed by historians for why it took nine years for the Portuguese to follow up on Dias's voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, though it has also been speculated that other voyages were in fact taking place in secret during this time. Whether or not this was the case, the long-standing Portuguese goal of finding
20878-462: Was erected to defend the city and remains. Learning of Siamese ambitions over Malacca, Albuquerque immediately sent Duarte Fernandes on a diplomatic mission to the Kingdom of Siam (modern Thailand), where he was the first European to arrive, establishing amicable relations and trade between both kingdoms. The Portuguese empire pushed further south and proceeded to discover Timor in 1512. Jorge de Meneses discovered New Guinea in 1526, naming it
21024-506: Was established in 1445 on the island of Arguin , off the coast of Mauritania, to attract Muslim traders and monopolize the business in the routes travelled in North Africa. In 1446, Álvaro Fernandes pushed on almost as far as present-day Sierra Leone , and the Gulf of Guinea was reached in the 1460s. The Cape Verde Islands were discovered in 1456 and settled in 1462. Expansion of sugarcane in Madeira started in 1455, using advisers from Sicily and (largely) Genoese capital to produce
21170-408: Was granted donatary rights to the inner islands of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and also created a settlement on Cape Breton Island to serve as a base for cod fishing. Pressure from natives and competing European fisheries prevented a permanent establishment and it was abandoned five years later. Several attempts to establish settlements in Newfoundland over the next half-century also failed. Within
21316-415: Was the introduction of the caravel in the mid-15th century, a ship that could be sailed closer to the wind than any other in operation in Europe at the time. Using this new maritime technology, Portuguese navigators reached ever more southerly latitudes , advancing at an average rate of one degree a year. Senegal and Cape Verde Peninsula were reached in 1445. The first feitoria trade post overseas
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