The return of Ferdinand's "second detachment" brought back the good news of the opening of new territories on the other side of the Atlantic, and swept away the previous worries caused by Torres's return.

However, Columbus's reputation deteriorated, and many of his direct ships died, many of them died of syphilis, and many died of starvation, and their relatives and families were angry with Columbus.

The others hadn't been too unhappy before, but now with Ferdinand as a reference, the situation was different.

"That fellow Columbus, who couldn't even get an island, died so many people, look at how well His Majesty the King did a good job, I heard that His Majesty sailed thousands of miles, occupied four lands, and discovered new oceans, and not a single one died, and also educated many indigenous people to believe in Christianity......"

At the same time, Ferdinand's massive voyages intensified the debate about whether Columbus had discovered India at all.

China and India, in the eyes of Europeans (and indeed so), were vast and civilized ancient states, and their rulers lived in tall palaces, abundant food, supplies, and large quantities of gold, silver, and spices.

It now appears that the places discovered by Columbus were reversed, except for the vastness of the territory (as evidenced by Ferdinand's voyages). Throughout the day, there were babbling natives with a small amount of gold, silver, and ornaments, and even cannibals, as well as food shortages, plagues, unfamiliar environments, and Ferdinand's discovery of the Pacific Ocean...... No matter how you look at it, it is very likely that it is a newly discovered wild and uncivilized area.

Ferdinand's voyage had already had side effects on Columbus, but the side effects of his voyage were even more pronounced on another man, King João II of Portugal.

Needless to say, João II is now dying.

But before we attend his deathbed Mass, let's take a look back at the illustrious life of João II.

João II, a relative of Queen Isabella, was, like Isabella, the pioneer of Portugal's Golden Age, which laid the foundation for the full flourishing of Portugal's overseas colonial empire.

Born in 1495 and died in 1495, João II lived only forty years old, and from 1474 onwards he took over the seafaring business of Prince Enrique and later participated in the Portuguese intervention in the Castilian Civil War. As a result, relations with the Spanish kings have not been good.

Alfonso V married Juana Belatex, daughter of King Enrique IV of Castile (but she was most likely illegitimate and therefore had no legal inheritance), thus claiming the Castilian throne and Queen Isabella ascended the throne herself, and the Castilian Civil War began.

It is worth mentioning that in 1474, the year of the civil war, a historical opportunity passed by Portugal.

At the very moment when Isabella ascended the throne as Queen of Castile, Toscaneri, a physician and geographer of the Florentine Republic, suggested to the Portuguese government through Cardinal Martins of the Kingdom of Portugal that a new route to the East should be opened up across the Atlantic Ocean to the west.

Later, Columbus, a navigator of the Republic of Genoa, who was working in Portugal, became acquainted with Tuscaneri through Martins.

That is, it is quite possible, and almost certainly copied, or at least copied the ideas of Tuscany.

Like Queen Isabella's repeated rejection of Columbus because of the bonds of the Granada War. The King of Portugal was in a hurry to prepare for an invasion of Castile, and naturally did not bother to pay attention to this idea.

Queen Isabella captured both Granada and the New World, and the Portuguese action was ......

The Battle of Toledo around the Castilian capital ended with the retreat of the Portuguese army, while the Civil War in Aragon had ended and Queen Isabella's victory had become irreversible. João II's father, Alfonso V, suffered a setback, and in frustration, he signed a peace treaty with Castile.

It is worth mentioning that the peace treaty provided for the exchange of hostages, with Princess Isabella as a hostage on the Castilian side and the Portuguese side as João II's youngest brother, the lucky Manuel I, both of equal age. There will be a lot of stories going on in the future.

Incidentally, there has not been a single land war in Portugal's recent history that has not been a defeat on land and a missed opportunity at sea.

In 1437, the Kingdom of Portugal fought a decisive battle with the Moors in Tangier, and the main Portuguese army was defeated and Prince Fernando was captured. After this defeat, Prince Enrique had to adjust his sailing plans and temporarily reduce his fleet.

Later, in 1578, in the War of the Three Kings of North Africa, the king of Portugal was killed, the colony was lost, and the mainland was annexed by Spain.

The year 1474 was no exception.

Portugal: "God has a joke with me......"

In 1481, Alfonso V died in hatred, and João II ascended the throne, and he would face the same fate as his father.

João II took over the throne and continued to promote the great voyage. In that year, João II sent Asambuya to the Gold Coast to build the castle of St. George da Mina, or "Elmina" for short, and found a large gold mine here. It was the second colonial stronghold established by the Portuguese on the coast of West Africa after Arkín and became a center and base for exploration and colonization activities in the Gulf of Guinea and central West Africa.

In June 1482, Portugal undertook an expedition of great significance.

That month, Diogo Kao set out to explore Africa, trying to find a way around the continent. Portugal had already reached the equator, overturning the previous view of Aristotle and other scholars in ancient Greece that the equator was extremely hot, burning with raging fire, and human beings could not survive. Portugal has completely bypassed the peaceful religion of Africa. However, Portuguese navigators also suffered setbacks while sailing eastward in the Gulf of Guinea, hitting the African coastline that turned south, suggesting that it would take time to open a route to India.

The surname Kao, another transliteration is Gao, which translates to dog, and it seems that Ferdinand was not the only one who was so fond of dogs as the flag of overseas armies.

After sailing about 700 kilometers south from Mina, the Portuguese dog discovered the mouth of the Congo River, the largest river in black Africa, and erected a memorial pillar on the north bank of the estuary. Kao then sent a boat up the river to find out what was going on, and he led his team on a voyage south to Cape Santa Maria (in present-day Angola) at about 13 degrees south latitude, where he erected a stone pillar and then sailed back. Diogo-Kao set a precedent for erecting monumental pillars that symbolized occupation and possession, which were emulated by later adventurers and countries engaged in geographical discoveries and colonial expansion.

The voyage to the Congo was a milestone in the discovery of the southern route of Africa, where most of the southwestern coast had already been discovered, and Portugal had established a transit area in southern Africa, which could be crossed by Portugal at any time.

João II gradually brought Portuguese seafaring to a climax, but in the middle of this, God and Portugal played a joke again.

PS: Teaser----

1 João II's consul, 2 "the man", 3 killed relatives, 4 Isabella sheltered the nobles.