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On August 21, 1415, Portuguese forces under King João I captured the North African city of Ceuta. This marked Portugal's first overseas conquest and the beginning of European expansion into Africa. The seizure of this strategic port gave Portugal control over one terminus of the trans-Saharan gold trade and provided a base for further exploration down Africa's Atlantic coast. Prince Henry the Navigator, who participated in this expedition, would go on to sponsor numerous voyages of discovery along the African coast.

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Portuguese explorer Gil Eanes became the first European to sail beyond Cape Bojador on the West African coast. This cape had been considered the edge of the navigable world, with sailors fearing that beyond it lay sea monsters and boiling waters. Eanes' successful voyage, sponsored by Prince Henry the Navigator, proved these fears unfounded and opened the way for further Portuguese exploration down the African coast. This achievement marked a significant turning point in European maritime exploration.

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1441: First African Captives Brought to Portugal

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1441: First African Captives Brought to Portugal

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Explorer Antão Gonçalves returned to Portugal with captured Africans from the region of Rio de Oro. This marked the beginning of the Portuguese slave trade from West Africa. Initially, Prince Henry justified these captures as an attempt to convert captives to Christianity, but economic motivations quickly became apparent. This early instance of human trafficking would eventually evolve into the much larger Atlantic slave trade in subsequent centuries, with devastating consequences for African societies.

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1444-1446: Nuno Tristão's Explorations in Senegambia

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1444-1446: Nuno Tristão's Explorations in Senegambia

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Portuguese explorer Nuno Tristão ventured into the Senegambia region, reaching as far as the Gambia River. During these voyages, Tristão and his crew engaged in raids against local populations, capturing Africans to be sold as slaves in Portugal. In 1446, Tristão's expedition ended in disaster when he and most of his crew were killed in a counterattack by local inhabitants using poisoned arrows. This event demonstrated the resistance of African societies to European incursions and the dangers faced by early explorers.

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1456: Diogo Gomes Reaches the Cape Verde Islands

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1456: Diogo Gomes Reaches the Cape Verde Islands

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Portuguese navigator Diogo Gomes discovered the previously uninhabited Cape Verde Islands. Although the islands were claimed for Portugal, permanent settlement would not begin until 1462. The archipelago later became an important base for Portuguese trade along the African coast and a strategic stopover point for ships crossing the Atlantic. Cape Verde would also develop into a significant center for the transatlantic slave trade in later years.

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1471: First Portuguese Contact with Kingdom of Benin

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1471: First Portuguese Contact with Kingdom of Benin

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Portuguese explorers made initial contact with the Kingdom of Benin, one of West Africa's most sophisticated states. The Oba (king) of Benin welcomed trade with the Portuguese, exchanging ivory, pepper, and eventually slaves for European goods like brass, coral beads, and textiles. This relationship would develop into a significant trade partnership, with Portuguese merchants establishing a trading post in Gwato, Benin's main port. Cultural exchanges also occurred, with Portuguese artistic influences appearing in Benin's famous bronze sculptures.

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1481-1482: Establishment of São Jorge da Mina (Elmina Castle)

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1481-1482: Establishment of São Jorge da Mina (Elmina Castle)

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Under orders from King João II, Portuguese captain Diogo de Azambuja established the fortress of São Jorge da Mina (Elmina Castle) on the Gold Coast (modern Ghana). This was the first permanent European structure built south of the Sahara. The Portuguese secured permission to build from the local Akan ruler, promising trade benefits. Elmina quickly became the center of Portugal's gold trade in West Africa, with large quantities of gold being exported to Europe. The fortress would later become notorious as a major holding facility for enslaved Africans during the transatlantic slave trade.

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1485: Diplomatic Mission to the Kingdom of Kongo

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1485: Diplomatic Mission to the Kingdom of Kongo

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Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão traveled to the mouth of the Congo River and established diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Kongo. This initial peaceful contact led to a significant cultural exchange, with Kongolese emissaries traveling to Portugal and the Kongo king, Nzinga a Nkuwu, converting to Christianity in 1491, taking the name João I. Portuguese missionaries, craftsmen, and military advisors came to Kongo, while Kongolese nobles learned Portuguese and European customs. This relationship initially benefited both parties but would later become exploitative as Portuguese slave trading interests grew.

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1488: Bartolomeu Dias Rounds the Cape of Good Hope

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1488: Bartolomeu Dias Rounds the Cape of Good Hope

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Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias became the first European to sail around the southern tip of Africa, reaching the Indian Ocean from the Atlantic. Though this location is outside West Africa, this voyage was the culmination of decades of Portuguese exploration along the African coast and opened the maritime route to Asia. King João II named it the 'Cape of Good Hope' because it promised access to the lucrative Indian spice trade. This achievement marked the end of the exploratory phase of Portugal's African enterprise and the beginning of their focus on establishing trade routes to India.

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Sugar plantations were established on São Tomé by Portuguese settlers, in 1493, and became the foundation of the island's economy. By the mid-16th century, with the widespread use of enslaved African labor, the islands had become Africa's foremost exporter of sugar and served as the first tropical plantation system of its kind.

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1495: King Manuel I and the Imperial Project

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1495: King Manuel I and the Imperial Project

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King Manuel I ascended to the Portuguese throne and expanded Portugal's imperial ambitions in Africa and beyond. Under his reign, Portugal shifted from primarily exploration to colonization and exploitation. Manuel styled himself 'Lord of Guinea' and intensified efforts to control African trade routes and resources. His reign marked the transition from Portugal's initial exploratory phase in Africa to a more systematic approach to empire-building, which would have profound consequences for African societies in the centuries to come.

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The Portuguese first arrived in Mozambique in 1498 when explorer Vasco da Gama landed on the coast during his first voyage to India. This arrival marked the beginning of Portuguese presence in the region, leading to the establishment of trading posts and forts, and eventually, colonization which lasted until Mozambique gained independence in 1975.

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The Portuguese arrived in Brazil on April 22, 1500, when a fleet led by navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral landed on its coast. Cabral, on a voyage to India, was blown off course and made landfall at what is now known as Porto Seguro, claiming the territory for the Portuguese crown. This event marked the official "discovery" of Brazil by Europeans, although some historians suggest that Portuguese explorers may have reached the land earlier.

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1520: Portuguese Embassy to Ethiopia Meets Lebna Dengel

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1520: Portuguese Embassy to Ethiopia Meets Lebna Dengel

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After decades of attempts to establish contact with the Christian kingdom of Ethiopia (known to Europeans as 'Prester John's kingdom'), a Portuguese diplomatic mission led by Dom Rodrigo de Lima finally reached Emperor Lebna Dengel's court. This embassy, which included chaplain Francisco Álvares, remained in Ethiopia for six years. Álvares later wrote a detailed account of Ethiopian society, religion, and customs in his book 'Verdadeira Informação das Terras do Preste João' (True Information of the Lands of Prester John). This cultural encounter was motivated by Portugal's desire to find Christian allies against Muslim powers and to access trade routes, but it also produced valuable ethnographic knowledge that shaped European understanding of Ethiopia.

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The Portuguese first arrived in the region of Angola in 1482 when Diogo Cão reached the mouth of the Congo River, initiating contact with the Kingdom of the Congo. However, settlement and the formal establishment of a colony did not occur until 1491 when the first settlers arrived, followed by the founding of Luanda in 1575 by Paulo Dias de Novais.

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1444: The first enslaved Africans arrive on a beach in Lagos, Portugal

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1444: The first enslaved Africans arrive on a beach in Lagos, Portugal

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The first enslaved Africans to arrive in Lagos, Portugal, were part of a fleet that returned to the city in August 1444, carrying approximately 235 people kidnapped from the area of Arguin, in present-day Mauritania. This event is recognized as the beginning of the Atlantic slave trade and marked the establishment of the first slave market in Europe in Lagos.