5 Tokoh Penjelajah Samudra Bersejarah Dari Portugis

Pada akhir abad ke-15 bangsa-bangsa Eropa berlomba melakukan penjelajahan samudra. Mereka terdorong melakukan penjelajahan karena keinginan mencari kekayaan, menyebarkan agama, mencari kejayaan dan didukung oleh perkembangan ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi yang memungkinkan pelayaran antar benua.

Salah satu bangsa Eropa yang terkenal sebagai penjelajah samudra adalah Portugis. Bersama Spanyol dan Inggris, Portugis adalah negara yang memiliki wilayah jajahan paling luas di dunia. Hal tersebut didukung oleh keberanian para tokoh penjelajah samudra asal Portugal. Beberapa tokoh Portugis yang dikenal sebagai penjelajah ulung dan tercatat dalam Wikipedia antara lain:

1. Bartholomeuz Diaz

Bartolomeu Dias

Pada tahun 1486 Bartholomeuz Diaz mengawali masa penjelajahan samudra dari Portugal. Bartholomeuz Diaz berlayar dari Lisabon menyusuri pantai barat Afrika dengan tujuan mencapai India. Namun malangnya kapal Bartholomeuz Diaz terdampar di ujung selatan benua Afrika. Kemudian dia menamakan tempat tersebut sebagai Tanjung Harapan (Cape of Good Hope).

2. Vasco da Gama

Pada tahun 1498 Vasco da Gama memimpin pelayaran ke India atas perintah raja Emmanuel I. Ia berangkat dari Lisabon menyusuri pantai barat Afrika lalu memutar ke Tanjung Harapan dan menyusuri pantai timur benua Afrika. Di pantai timur Afrika inilah Vasco da Gama bertemu dengan pedagang-pedagang Islam dan mendapatkan banyak informasi terkait kekayaan alam bangsa Asia.
Atas saran dan petunjuk para pedangang Islam tersebut, Vasco da Gama beserta rombongannya meneruskan pelayaran mengarungi Samudra Hindia. Pada bulan Mei 1498 rombongan Vasco da Gama mencapai Kalikut, India. Di tempat tersebut Vasco da Gama mendirikan pos perdagangan.

3. Alfonso de Albuquerque

Alfonso de Albuquerque adalah salah satu tokoh penjelajah samudra terkenal dari Portugis. Pada tahun 1511 Alfonso de Albuquerque berhasil menduduki kota Malaka. Secara politis, Portugis berhasil menguasai Malaka namun secara ekonomis gagal karena pedagang-pedagang Islam meninggalkan Malaka. Sebaliknya, para pedagang Islam memindahkan pusat perdagangan mereka ke bandar lain seperti Aceh, Banten, Demak, dan Makassar.

4. Fransisco de Almaeda

Fransisco de Almaeda adalah tokoh penjelajah samudra dari Portugis yang berhasil menaklukkan Goa, India. Wilayah Goa kemudian dikembangkan oleh Fransisco de Almaeda sebagai pusat perdagangan yang ramai. Hasil rempah-rempah di India merupakan barang dagangan yang laku keras di pasar Eropa sehingga Portugis berkepentingan menguasai wilayah tersebut.

5. Pedro alvares Cabral

Pada tahun 1500 Cabral melakukan penjelajahan samudra melalui jalur barat, yaitu melalui Samudra Atlantik menuju Brazilia di Amerika Selatan. Di bawah pimpinan Cabral inilah Portugis berhasil menanamkan kekuasaannya di wilayah Amerika Selatan. Beberapa negara Amerika Selatan sampai sekarang masih menggunakan bahasa dan budaya Portugal sebagai bentuk peninggalan kolonialisme Portugis.

sumber : http://ridwanaz.com/umum/sejarah/5-tokoh-penjelajah-samudra-bersejarah-dari-portugis/

Bartolomeu Dias

Explorer

Age of Discovery

Claim to Fame:
The first European to sail around the tip of Africa, Dias opened the doors for seafaring trade with India.

Name: Bartolomeu Dias

Birth/Death: 1450 CE - 1500 CE

Nationality: Portuguese

Birthplace: Portugal

Objective: To sail the southern end of Africa to find a route to Asia, and to find the kingdom of Prester John

Sponsoring Nation: Portugal

Cause of Death: Shipwreck 

Bartolomeu Dias was born to a noble Portuguese family; therefore, he received a good education. He reportedly worked for the King of Portugal in the royal warehouses for a time.

An experienced sailor, Bartolomeu Dias made over 10 months of preparations before beginning his most important voyage. He left Lisbon in August 1487 with three ships: two armed caravels and a supply ship.
Six Africans from Angola and Guinea (two men and four women who had been taken to Portugal) went along with Dias. The plan was for the ships to drop the Africans off along the west coast of the continent with samples of gold, silver and spices, as well as orders to inquire where such products were to be found. They were also told to praise the King of Portugal and explain to the local chiefs and kings that the King of Portugal wanted to establish relations with Prester John (a legendary medieval Christian priest and king) and discover a sea route to India.
Bartolomeu Dias sailed for the mouth of the Congo River, then followed the coast southward and entered Walvis Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean on the western coast of Namibia. Dias lost sight of the coast at 20° south latitude when his ship was caught in a storm which lasted thirteen days. When the seas and sky finally cleared, Dias sailed in an easterly direction, hoping once again to see land. With no success sailing east, he made the decision to turn northward. He landed in Mossel Bay, on the coast of present-day South Africa, on February 3, 1488.
In May 1488, on his return voyage to Portugal, Dias discovered the Cape of Good Hope, near the southern tip of Africa. Dias originally named it the Cape of Storms because of all the violent storms in the area. King John II later renamed the area so it wouldn’t sound so foreboding; he wanted to encourage others to travel in that direction.
At age 50, Bartolomeu Dias died in 1500 on another voyage, after being caught in a violent storm off the coast of Africa.

The two caravel ships that Dias used on his voyage were named:

• São Cristóvão
• São Pantaleão

Dias also assisted in the construction of two ships later used by Vasco da Gama. Their names were:

• São Gabriel
• São Rafael
  
  
  
  Because of Dias’ voyage, Europeans realized they could establish their own trade route to India and Asia by sea travel. This was beneficial because European traders had previously paid large fees to use trade routes that went across land and through multiple countries.
  
  Source : http://exploration.marinersmuseum.org/subject/bartolomeu-dias/