Portugal's involvement in Africa

Ceuta: The First Step

Nov 5, 1415

The first step forward in Portuguese expansion was the assault on the Moor port of Ceuta in 1415. King João I (John I) and his sons had organised this expedition to conquer Ceuta that lay across the Straits of Gibraltar on the coast of North Africa. It was an expensive enterprise that failed to recover the cost of the expedition or the three thousand men left by Prince Pedro to garrison the town.

The Search for Gold & Slaves

Nov 5, 1434

In 1434 Gil Eanes, another one of the prince's squires, led the expedition that was the first to sail beyond the Cape of Bojador. This was a monumental accomplishment because it destroyed the fixed belief that the ocean beyond Bojador was unnavigable.