Expansion
The Portuguese were the first in the European overseas expansion, at the beginning of the 15th century in the reign of D. João I. The sea voyages were strategic to point out the alternative route to the Indies, previously explored through the Mediterranean, then dominated by the Italian city-states. from Genoa, Venice and Amalfi.
Many wanted to go to the Indies (today it's Asia) looking for spices, disputed for gold in Europe. Meanwhile, France and England resolved feudal issues respectively in the Hundred Years and Roses wars and Portugal launched itself into conquests. First in 1415 he occupied Ceuta, 1418 islands in Madeira, 1427 islands in the Azores. But they wanted the African coast, in an expedition organized by D. Henrique, the Navigator, heir to D. João I.
The constant journeys of trading posts and fortresses consolidated the Portuguese presence in Africa, which prevented the action of competitors and guaranteed gold, slaves, chilli, cotton and others.
The path from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean revealed typhoons, storms, diseases and combats with the natives. On an expedition, losing half of the vessels was normal.
Portuguese navigators also went to the Indian Ocean, arriving in Indonesia, China and Japan. Portugal became a tricontinental empire, with dominions in Africa, Asia and South America.
Spain was also trying to reach the Indies from the West. To launch themselves to the west, the Spanish kings Ferdinand II and Isabel I accepted the services of Christopher Columbus, who commanded four expeditions and in the end discovered America.
Colonies
In 1453, with the capture of Constantinople by the Turks and the interruption of the route to the Indies through the Mediterranean, the Portuguese, to seek their goods and spices or products of high value, would have to throw themselves into the sea.
In the first half of the 15th century, skirting Africa, they marked the way with trading posts and ports along the west coast.
There was no political organization in these colonies, only port areas to ensure the rights of slave traders. As the objective was to reach Asia, the Crown was not interested in exploring the interior of these African locations, much less promoting the development of religion.
The methods adopted to appropriate stones and precious metals were looting and bartering.
In Asia, between 1498 and 1499, the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama began the colonization process. Soon after, the Spaniards took over the Philippines, from where they only left in 1898.
After the 17th century, the British presence in the region and the strength of the East India Company surpassed the strength of the Portuguese.
The artisans
In the 16th century, in the Iberian Peninsula, the number of artisans grew a lot. The products produced were traded in other markets in exchange for gold, silver and spices.
In European cities, artisans formed corporations, setting wages, setting rules for the execution of the craft.
Among the main professions were glovers, carpenters and blacksmiths (they made tools, weapons and horseshoes for horses).
Religion of the Iberians
Who controlled the cult, the religion, the catechization of the Indians, the education and the moral was the Catholic Church.
In 1534, the Jesuit Ignatius of Loyola, founded a society to protect Catholicism from the Protestant Reformation in Europe and spread the religion in the new lands.
In a short time, the company of Jesus would become the most influential religious institution in Portugal and in the colonies. The first representatives of the society arrived in Brazil commanded by Father Manuel da Nóbrega, in 1549, to evangelize the natives and educate the settlers.
Between the 17th and 18th centuries, the Jesuits spread out, founding colleges, building schools and establishing reductions. Also called missions, these communities brought together semi-nomadic Indians. The religious taught Christian principles and preserved the indigenous people from colonial enslavement.
Most of the successful reductions were in the south, around the borders of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, which became known as Sete Povos das Missões (Santo Ângelo, São Borja, São João, São Lourenço, São Luiz Gonzaga, São Miguel and São Nicolau).
In 1750, the Treaty of Madrid determined the transfer of the Sete Povos das Missões region, in Rio Grande do Sul, to Spain in exchange for the Colony of Sacramento, which would remain with Spain.
The Indians should leave the reductions, carrying what they could. Dissatisfied with having to leave behind productive crops, churches and their homes, the natives resisted the Portuguese Crown with the support of the Jesuits, triggering the Guaranitic War, which decimated the population. The few survivors set fire to the villages.