CRONOLOGIA / CHRONOLOGY

This chronology details the key milestones of European expansion towards East Asia between 1474 and 1642, focusing on the diplomatic, maritime, and commercial competition between the crowns of Portugal and Castile. The text systematizes the historical trajectory from Toscanelli’s theoretical proposa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Review of Culture
Format: Articles
Published: Instituto Cultural de Macau October 2004
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Online Access:https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40012/3836
Description
Summary:This chronology details the key milestones of European expansion towards East Asia between 1474 and 1642, focusing on the diplomatic, maritime, and commercial competition between the crowns of Portugal and Castile. The text systematizes the historical trajectory from Toscanelli’s theoretical proposals and the early explorations of the African coast to the consolidation of the “Estado da Índia” and the subsequent penetration into the Far East. Through a sequential analysis, the author highlights crucial events such as the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), the opening of the maritime route by Vasco da Gama (1498), and the strategic assertion of figures like Afonso de Albuquerque. The work explores the inherent tensions in this process of expansion, namely the conflict between the ideal of the Crusade and the dynamics of free trade, as well as the importance of key entrepôts such as Malacca, Hormuz, and Goa. By contextualizing the European "race," the chronology provides an essential documentary basis for understanding the process of early globalization and the complex encounters and misunderstandings in the South China Sea. This survey serves as a reference instrument for the study of logistics, foreign policy, and the network of intercultural contacts that enabled the establishment of the Portuguese presence in China and Japan.
ISSN:1682-1106