What was the difference between the Portuguese and Spanish trading empires?

What was the difference between the Portuguese and Spanish trading empires?

What was the primary difference between the Spanish and Portuguese empires? Unlike the Spanish empire that was almost exclusively American, the Portuguese empire included colonies and outposts in Asia and Africa as well as Brazil.

Why did Spain and Portugal look for new trade routes to Asia?

They wanted to find a quicker route to the gold & spices in Asia. In the 1490s, Columbus, an Italian, was given ships & sailors by the Spanish monarchy. Exploration of these areas brought great wealth to Spain.

What were the Spanish and Portuguese looking for in Asia?

Essential Question – Why did Spain and Portugal want to find a sea route to Asia? Portugal was the first country to explore the boundaries of the known world. The country’s rulers wanted to find a new route to China and India. Also, they hoped to find a more direct way to get West African gold.

Why did Spain and Portugal they travel in different directions?

Spain had been fighting for its independence from Islamic control for 700 years. Venice might be able to have limited access to the silk road through the Islamic Empire, Spain had no access. The Eastern route around the Horn of Africa was dominated by Portugal. This Western route was the only option possible for Spain.

What is the major difference between Spain and Portugal when it comes to exploration?

There were differences between Spain and Portugal, the former being more military-orientated and the latter having a greater naval focus, “dominating the sea lanes in the Indian Ocean for the rest of the century[24]”.

Why did Europe look for new trade routes to Asia?

The fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 was a pivotal reason for European exploration, as trade throughout the Ottoman Empire was difficult and unreliable. Trade for luxuries such as spices and silk inspired European explorers to seek new routes to Asia.

Why did England Spain Portugal and France seek to bypass Italian merchants?

By 1400 European Merchants and monarchs such as England, Spain, Portugal, and France wanted to bypass Italian Merchants. They found a new sea route to Asia. The desire to spread Christianity also motivated Europeans to explore.

What were Spain and Portugal searching for?

The 1492 Columbus landfall accelerated the rivalry between Spain and Portugal, and the two powers vied for domination through the acquisition of new lands. Inspired by tales of rivers of gold and timid, malleable natives, later Spanish explorers were relentless in their quest for land and gold.

What impact did Portuguese exploration have on Asia?

What impact did Portuguese exploration have on the people of Asia? The Portuguese seized the seaport of Goa in India and built forts there. In 1511, they attacked and killed all the people defending the main port of the Spice Islands. Portugal broke the hold that Muslims and Italians had on Asian trade.

What was the effect of Spanish and Portuguese exploration?

Sugar fueled the Atlantic slave trade, and the Portuguese islands quickly became home to sugar plantations. The Portuguese also traded these slaves, introducing much-needed human capital to other European nations. In the following years, as European exploration spread, slavery spread as well.