Portu guese Colonies in the East Indies. Macao. Portuguese in Southern pointing to his cannon and balls, replied: "There is the coin with which the King of Portugal pays tribute." Albuquerque caused the name of King Manuel the Great to be feared and respected throughcut the East; but the illustrious viceroy was rewarded only with his sovereign's ingratitude, and died of grief because of this treatment. During the next ten years the Portuguese established colonies and factories on the island of Ceylon and on the Coromandel coast of Hindoostan, and subjected the spice-bearing Molucca and Sunda Islands to tribute. In 1517 the Portuguese were granted a trading-station at Macao, in China, which remained in their possession until 1846, when it was opened to all nations. They also obtained a free trade with the Empire of Japan. All the islands in the Persian Gulf acknowledged the dominion of the Dominion Portuguese. Some of the Arabian princes became their tributaries, while others became their allies; and throughout the entire Arabian peninsula none dared to show them any hostility. In the Red Sea they were the only power that commanded any respect, and they also had considerable influence over the Negus of Abyssinia and the other sovereigns of Eastern Africa. Asia and Isle of Ormuz. Fairs at The most remarkable of the Portuguese settlements was the isle of Ormuz, which, although a salt and barren rock in the Persian Gulf, was rendered the most flourishing commercial mart in the East, on account of its commodious situation. Its roadsteads were frequented by shipping from all parts of the East Indies, from the coasts of Africa, Egypt and Arabia; and it possessed an extensive caravan trade with Central Asia through the opposite ports of Persia. The semi-annual fairs held at Ormuz transformed this salt and barren rock into almost the fabled splendor and luxury of an Oriental palace. The wealth, the splendor, and the concourse of traders at Ormuz during its flourishing condition furnished a striking example of the almost omnipotent power of commerce. During the semi-annual fairs, which lasted from January to March, and from the end of August to the beginning of November, there was, besides the display of luxury and magnificence, an almost unparalleled activity. The salt dust of the streets was concealed and kept down by neat mats and rich carpets. Canvas-awnings were extended from the roofs of the houses to exclude the scorching rays of the sun. The rooms next to the street were opened like shops, adorned with Indian cabinets and piles of porcelain, intermixed with odoriferous dwarf trees and shrubs, set in gilded vases, elegantly adorned with figures. At the corners of all the streets stood camels laden with water-skins; while the richest wines of Persia, the most costly perfumes and the choicest delicacies of Asia, were poured forth in lavish profusion. Albu The efforts of Albuquerque's successors were directed chiefly to the maintenance of his acquisitions and to checking the power of the Turks, querque's who, after conquering Egypt and Syria in 1517, made strenuous efforts to establish themselves on the Malabar coast of India. Thus, early in the sixteenth century, the Portuguese had established a colonial and commercial empire which embraced the western, southern and eastern coasts of Africa, from Guinea to the Red Sea, and which extended along the shores of Southern and Eastern Asia from the Red Sea to China; although throughout this vast extent of territory they had little more than a chain of factories and forts. Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, became the seat of the world's commerce; but the nobler emotions in the hearts of the Portuguese were stifled by avarice and selfishness. On the union of Portugal with Spain in 1580 the Portuguese East India possessions also came into the possession of the Spaniards; but when Spanish tyranny and cruelty caused the Dutch to revolt, the Dutch extended their commerce to the East Indies, and at the close of the sixteenth century they had possession of the once-flourishing Portuguese colonial empire. In 1622 Ormuz was wrested from the Portuguese by the English and the Persians. The glory and splendor of that famous emporium soon departed, and it relapsed into its original condition of a barren and desolate rock, so that not a vestige of its former grandeur remains. After Pedro Alvarez Cabral, while on his voyage to India to continue the discoveries of Vasco da Gama, had accidentally discovered the coast of Brazil by being driven westward by adverse winds, April 22, 1500, he anchored in the large and excellent harbor of Porto Seguro, April 25, 1500, and took possession of the country in the name of his sovereign, King Manuel the Great of Portugal; after which he resumed his voyage to the East Indies, having sent a vessel back to Portugal with the news of his discovery. Upon receiving intelligence of Cabral's discovery, the King of Portugal sent an expedition under Amerigo Vespucci to visit and explore the new country. Upon his return to Europe, Amerigo Vespucci published an account of the country, together with a map. He brought back a cargo of dyewoods, of which he said that whole forests were to be found in Brazil; and an active and profitable trade in these woods at once sprang up. Other nations commenced to take part in this traffic, and the King of Portugal determined to put a stop to this intrusion. Accordingly, in 1531, King John III. caused a number of Portuguese colonies to be planted on the coast of Brazil. These settlements were called Capitanias, and were founded by Portuguese nobles, to Aquisitions and the Turks. Great Extent of the Por tuguese Colonial Loss of gal's East sessions. Ruin of Ormuz. Cabral's Discovery of Brazil. Amerigo Vespucci's Explora tion of Brazil. Portu guese Colonization of Brazil. First guese whom the King of Portugal granted absolute powers over their settlements on the sole condition that they should bear the expense of colonization. This system worked admirably for several years, but at length it caused so much trouble that the Portuguese government determined to establish a permanent colonial system directly dependent on the Portuguese crown. In 1549 a Governor-General was appointed for Brazil, and was made Portu- the direct representative of the King of Portugal, being vested with Governor- absolute jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters. The first GovernorGeneral of Brazil was Thomé de Souza, and the success of the new system was due to his wisdom and good government. He founded the Founding town of Sao Salvador da Bahia, and made it the capital of Brazil. A General of Brazil. of Bahia and Rio de colony of French Protestants settled on an island in the bay of Rio de Janeiro in 1555, but were expelled ten years later. The Portuguese Janeiro. founded Rio de Janeiro in 1567. Portugal's Loss and Re The forcible annexation of Portugal to Spain in 1580 made Brazil a Spanish dependency for the time, and Brazil suffered much from the covery of attacks of Dutch, French and English fleets; but after Portugal had regained her independence in 1640 she recovered Brazil from the Dutch, who had in the meantime occupied the country, and Brazil was made a principality for the heir-apparent of the Portuguese crown. Brazil. Discoveries by the Northmen Chris Colum bus. SECTION III.-DISCOVERY OF AMERICA (A. D. 1492–1542). THE Northmen discovered Iceland in 862 and Greenland in 1002; and it is believed that they discovered the North American continent and explored the coasts of Labrador, Newfoundland and New England before the year A. D. 1000, the most noted of their navigators being Lief Eriksson. It is believed that these Northmen built the mysterious old tower at Newport, Rhode Island. Among others who were attracted to Lisbon was Christopher Columtopher bus, a Genoese sailor. Columbus believed the earth to be round, and that India could be reached sooner by sailing westward than by making the long voyage around Africa. He vainly endeavored to procure aid, first from his native city, Genoa, and afterward from the Kings of Portugal and England; but he finally obtained assistance from the noblehearted queen, Isabella of Castile, who fitted out several vessels for him, and appointed him admiral and viceroy of all the lands he might dis His Great Discovery. cover. On August 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus, with three Spanish vessels, left the harbor of Palos, in South-western Spain; and after a voyage of seventy days, he discovered, October 12, 1492, Guanahani, or Cat Island, which he named San Salvador (Holy Saviour), and of which he took possession in the name of Ferdinand and Isabella-the joint sovereigns of Spain. Columbus found the inhabitants of a copper color and of savage manners; and, supposing he had only discovered the coast of India, he called the people Indians-a name ever since very inappropriately applied to the aborigines of the Western Continent. In 1493 he discovered the large and important islands of Cuba and Hayti, and founded the town of San Domingo-the first European settlement in the New World. Several other large islands were discovered, and Columbus named the whole group the West Indies. When Columbus returned to Spain he was treated with great honors by the ruling sovereigns, and his progress from Palos to Barcelona was a triumphal procession. Claim to the New World. After the great discovery by Columbus an India-house was established Spain's at Seville and a custom-house at Cadiz, under the direction of a new board of trade. Pope Alexander VI. conferred upon the King and Queen of Spain all the lands then or thereafter to be discovered in the New World, and these territories were to be divided from those of Portugal by an imaginary line passing due north and south, a hundred leagues west of the Azores. Columbus made three other voyages across the stormy Atlantic. On his second voyage, in 1493, he discovered Jamaica and the Caribbee Islands. On his third voyage, in 1498, Columbus discovered the great continent of South America, at the mouth of the great river Orinoco. On his fourth and last voyage during which he discovered Central America (A. D. 1501)-his enemies caused him to be sent back to Spain in irons. He died at Valladolid, in Spain, in 1506. Ferdinand ordered the following inscription to be put upon his tomb at Seville: "To Castile and Leon, Columbus gave a New World." His remains were afterwards conveyed to Havana, in Cuba, and in 1898 were returned to Spain. Further Discoveries by Colum bus. His Death. His Remains. Columbus did not know that he had discovered a new continent, but Amerigo thought that he had only reached the eastern shores of Asia. This Vespucci. secret was revealed to Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine navigator, who explored the eastern coast of South America in 1498, and published a glowing description of that vast continent. In his honor, the new world was named America. Cabot's In 1496 John Cabot-a native of Venice, but at that time a merchant Sebastian of Bristol, in England-obtained the aid of King Henry VII. of England in fitting out an expedition for the discovery of a North-west passage to India. The next year (1497), the expedition-commanded by John Cabot's son, Sebastian-sailed westward and discovered the coasts of Labrador and Newfoundland, the latter being so called because it eries and Explorations. Maritime Enterprise. Gaspar Cor tereal's was then known as a new found land, and it became later England's oldest colony. Thus Sebastian Cabot was the first discoverer of the continent of North America. In 1498 Sebastian Cabot again sailed westward and explored the greater part of the Atlantic coast of the present United States. In 1517 he made a third voyage to the polar seas; and in 1526-while in the service of Spain-he discovered the great river Rio de la Plata, in South America. The great discoveries of Columbus and the Cabots having revealed to Europeans the existence of a new continent, a spirit of maritime enterprise was excited, which led other navigators to make voyages to the New World for purposes of discovery and exploration. We will now briefly allude to these. We have already alluded to the discovery of Brazil by the Portuguese navigator Cabral in 1500. In 1501 Gaspar Cortereal, another Voyages. Portuguese navigator, who had been commissioned by his king to make discoveries in the New World, touched at several points on the Atlantic coast of North America between Labrador and the present New Jersey, and kidnapped fifty natives for slaves. He made a second voyage, from which he never returned. As successful adventures in Africa and Asia engaged the entire attention of the Portuguese they attempted no further discoveries in America. Diego Columbus. Discovery In 1509 Diego Columbus, the son of the great discoverer, having become hereditary viceroy of Spain in the New World, undertook the conquest and colonization of Cuba, which were accomplished in 1511. In the year A. D. 1512 Juan Ponce de Leon, a Spaniard, sailed from of Florida Porto Rico, in search of a "fountain of youth," which was said to exist by Juan Ponce on the neighboring continent. This fountain was said to restore youth de Leon. and to perpetuate it. On the 27th of March (1512), Ponce de Leon reached the North American continent at the great peninsula between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, and named the domain Florida, because its banks were laden with flowers, and because the discovery was made on Pasquas de Flores, or Easter Sunday, when the Spanish churches were decorated with flowers. Ponce de Leon was afterward killed in a contest with the natives of Florida. Balboa's of the Pacific In 1513 the Spaniard Vasco Nuñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus Discovery of Darien, or Panama, and discovered the Pacific Ocean, which he called South Sea. He waded into its waters in full costume, and took possession of sea and land in the name of his sovereign, the King of Spain. Balboa was put to death by order of the Spanish governor of Darien. In 1517 Cordova, also a Spanish adventurer, discovered Mexico, the of seat of the flourishing empire of the Aztecs, a highly civilized American Mexico. Indian race, who had populous cities and towns, a regular government, Cordova's and the various arts and customs of civilized life. In 1521 this empire |