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West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea
The primary incentive for the exploration of the African coast was the development of profitable trade.
Years: 1434 — 1482
In 1434, Gil Eanes rounded Cape Bojador, thus launching the processive discovery of the African coast, until then unknown to Europeans. At the time of Prince Henry’s death in 1460, Portuguese caravelles had reached Sierra Leone; when the exploitation contract granted to the merchant Fernão Gomes ended in 1474, the Equator had been crossed. Meanwhile, the islands of Cape Verde and later those of S. Tomé e Príncipe had been discovered.
The primary incentive for the exploration of the African coast was the development of profitable trade with the natives. The Portuguese provided cheap textiles, wheat, copper and brass objects, horses, and salt in exchange for gold, slaves, ivory, pepper and other goods. The main trading warehouses were the trading posts of Arguim, dating from Prince Henry’s era, and the castle of S. Jorge da Mina, built in 1482 by order of Dom João II.
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