Rencontres précoloniales : conflits maritimes entre la France et le Portugal avant 1580

Abstract

This paper addresses the wars and conflicts between the French and the Portuguese in the Atlantic Ocean during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. From the struggles over the Canary Islands and the Azores, and the competition for fishing in the Great Banks of Newfoundland and Labrador, up through the great, bloody colonial expeditions in Guanabara Bay, France and Portugal fought over the vast expanses of their sea empires only for both countries to lose their gains, thanks to the wars of religion in France, on the one hand, and the great misfortune that befell Portugal in Morocco, on the other hand. What are the long-term consequences – economically, geopolitically, and symbolically – of this twin defeat amidst a labyrinth of “invasions and evasions”?

Keywords

• Colonialism
• Nationalism
• Naval History
• Cod fishing.