Portuguese exploration

The Portuguese, an immensely proud and fiercely nationalistic people, have a great deal to boast about. This nation has consistently punched way above its weight—countless attempts at assimilation by various invaders have failed. Numerous fortress cities (constructed to strategically guard trade routes with Spain) still exist as mute testimony to Portuguese resolve. A Romance language— similar to French, Spanish or Italian —Portuguese is, at the same time, very different, especially in pronunciation. Our guide explained it is perhaps the most similar to Latin, as spoken by the Roman Legions who were posted to this “distant” outpost.

And the Portuguese have travelled widely. In the early 1400s, Prince Henry the Navigator fostered a golden age of exploration to initially explore the western coast of Africa, and colonize the Azores and Madeira. There is evidence that the Portuguese fished on the Grand Banks off Newfoundland before Cabot’s voyage of discovery in 1497 (not to mention the earlier voyages of Columbus to the Caribbean). They called Newfoundland Bacalao or Terra do Bacalhau (“the land of the codfish”). During the reign of Manuel I, in 1497, Vasco da Gama made the first of four voyages around the Cape of Good Hope— opening up trade routes between India and Europe. A Portuguese navigator named Ferdinand Magellan was commissioned by the Spanish king, Charles I, in the early 1500s, to find a westward route to the Spice Islands. During this circumnavigation of the globe, he found a passage around Cape Horn through the Strait of Magellan—only to die in the Philippines in 1521, before finishing his task.

Much of this exploration was to promote trade. The trade between England and Portugal in port wine is one of the better examples of their success. When William III, in 1693, levied an exorbitant tax in England on French wine imports, the fortified port wines of the Douro became instantly popular. Production capacity was unable to meet demand. As a result, port wines began to be made with grapes from other regions, with sugar and fruit wines, as well as with spices added to boost alcohol and flavour. The charade did not last long: once discovered, sales of port wine dropped by more than 50 per cent from a high of 3 million gallons in 1728 to less than 1.4 million gallons in 1756. The lack of consumer confidence also had a severe negative impact on the price. Since that time, the Portuguese wine industry has made major efforts to ensure quality and authenticity in wines from their various regions.

It’s Valentine’s Day very soon. I hear the spritz of tiny bubbles. Celebrate with a bottle of local sparkling wine.