Late Middle Ages · Africa · Exploration
1445
Portuguese Reach the Senegal River
1445
Dinis Dias's caravel crossed the Sahara's desert coast and found green country, fresh water, and black African villages unlike the Moors of the north. Portugal's maps now extended past the edge of classical geography. Prince Henry's investment was beginning to return profits in slaves, gold, and information. The Senegal marked the transition from barren coast to populated, commercially active West Africa, transforming exploration into profitable enterprise.
In context
Also in 1445 (3 other events on record)
- Benin Bronze Casting Reaches Artistic Peak · Africa · Culture
- Aztec Templo Mayor Enlarged · North America · Religion
- Henry VI Marries Margaret of Anjou · Europe · Politics
Before and after in Africa
Before and after in Exploration
Era
Late Middle Ages (1301–1500), one of 874 events from that era on Saeculum.