USA HISTORY

SETTLING NORTH AMERICA 1497 1732

RISE OF THE SLAVE TRADE BLACK HISTORY IN COLONIAL AMERICA

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to explore the West Coast of Africa in the 1400s.
A
True
B
False
C
Either A or B
D
None of the above
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -Portuguese explorer Prince Henry, known as the Navigator, was the first European to methodically explore Africa and the oceanic route to the Indies. From his residence in the Algarve region of southern Portugal, he directed successive expeditions to circumnavigate Africa and reach India.

Detailed explanation-2: -It was Portugal that kicked off what has come to be known as the Age of Discovery, in the mid-1400s. The westernmost country in Europe, Portugal was the first to significantly probe the Atlantic Ocean, colonizing the Azores and other nearby islands, then braving the west coast of Africa.

Detailed explanation-3: -Under the leadership of Prince Henry the Navigator, Portugal took the principal role during most of the fifteenth century in searching for a route to Asia by sailing south around Africa.

Detailed explanation-4: -Access to commodities such as fabrics, spices, and gold motivated a European quest for a faster means to reach South Asia. It was this search that led the Portuguese down the coast of West Africa to Sierra Leone in 1460.

Detailed explanation-5: -The most momentous discovery in western Africa, however, came in 1471, when Portuguese captains first reached the coast of modern Ghana between the mouths of the Ankobra and Volta rivers.

There is 1 question to complete.