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Portugal at the Time of the Discoveries
Lisbon became one of the great centers of world trade and developed a cosmopolitan character.
Years: 1415 — 1543
When the discoveries of the “quattrocento” began, Portugal’s population was approximately one million inhabitants. During a large part of the 15th century, the Algarve, under the spur of Prince Henry, played a decisive role in the first explorations of the West African coast.
Only during the closing decades of the 15th century did Lisbon assume a dominant position in the explorations, in accordance with increasing royal centralization. The capital of Lisbon then became one of the great centers of world trade and developed a cosmopolitan character.
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