8th Grade Social Studies Ch 3 Sec 2 Notes

Prince Henry of Portugal

Prince Henry was very interested in learning during the Renaissance. He

also wanted to spread the Catholic faith. He had two goals. 1) Find an ocean route
around Africa to Asia. 2) Locate gold from Africa. Southern Africa was unknown to
the Europeans. Prince Henry realized his sailors needed to know more about
navigation – or piloting ships – to meet his goals. They also needed sturdy ships,
so they designed the caravel.

The Age of Exploration

Prince Henry the Navigator had never commanded a ship, but his dreams
were about to come true. His sailors expanded their maps, correcting them, and
inched their way down the coast of Africa. This was known as the beginning of the
Age of Exploration.

Three African Empires

During Europe’s Middle Ages, large kingdoms developed in Africa. They

were important centers of trade, their markets filled with gold, salt, ivory,
leather, iron, and other goods. Most West Africans traded directly with the
Muslims in North Africa. The Muslims travelled 1200 miles across the Sahara in
large caravans to the markets.The three largest kingdoms they went to were
Ghana, Mali, and Songhai.

Ghana

Most traders in Ghana were Muslim, and it flourished between 700 and
1050.

Mali

Mali replaced Ghana by the 1200s. Timbuktu became the center of Islamic
culture. Mansa Musa, a powerful Mali king, had many talented architects and
scholars working in Timbuktu. Students came from across Africa to study in its
universities. When Mansa Musa died, Mali weakened.

Songhai

By 1500 Mali had been replaced. Muslim merchants again had a strong
influence in Songhai. They built many mosques and schools. Songhai was the
largest of the three empires, and extended across a large portion of West Africa. It
stood until 1591 when North African soldiers came in and invaded and defeated it.
Portugal’s Search for Riches

By the mid-1400s Portugal had met Prince Henry’s goal to find riches.
Finally, in 1488 Bartholomeu Dias sailed as far as South Africa. A storm blew his
ships around the southern coast of Africa and into the Indian Ocean. However,
tired after the storm, they returned to Portugal. Excited by Dias’s report, the
Portuguese king named the southern tip of Africa the Cape of Good Hope.

Crossing the Indian Ocean

In 1497 Vasco da Gama headed south along the coast of Africa. He rounded
the Cape in November and in May of 1498 Da Gama landed in India. Before
returning he filled his ships with spices, jewels, glassware, and other Asian trade
goods.