and Jews. The reconquest above all was extremely popular, and their achievement was the way in which they used this tide of popular concerted action to extend royal power and build the foundations for a united state. The same talent for reconquest stood Castile in excellent stead for the colonization of the New World. Progress was made very rapidly; before Isabella's death in 1504 detailed legislation had already been passed regulating existing and future colonies.

The credit for colonization may go to Spain, but it is for colonization more than for discovery. The story of the exploration of the Atlantic, which culminated in Columbus's voyage to the New World, is a long one, and is mainly a Portuguese achievement. Of the three areas of exploration, the Atlantic islands, the African coast, and then the New World, Portuguese predominate in the first two. The Portuguese programme of exploration is said to have begun with the capture of Ceuta, near the Straits of Gibraltar, from the Moors in 1415, in that that episode whetted the religious and commercial appetite for exploration. The islands of the Atlantic, though, were already known. Sporadic visits to the Canaries had been made in the fourteenth century by both Portugal and Castile, but in the fifteenth century interest in them was revived, and led to rival claims. Eventually Castile's rights were confirmed by the papacy ( 1479), which pitched the Castilians into long battles to subdue the indigenous Guanche population. Madeira and the Azores were also known in the fourteenth century, and were now colonized by the Portuguese (Madeira from 1424, the Azores from 1439). The Cape Verde Islands were discovered by the Portuguese in 1462. Many of these islands became stopping-off points for further exploration, but their significance at the time was that of colonies, for example for sugarcane plantations, which were an important feature of the Portuguese economy.

The West African coast was not really colonized because of the indigenous population; but the Portuguese saw the opportunities for raiding, especially for slaves, and then for trade. The discovery of Guinea was particularly important in this respect. The attractions of these voyages were the prospect

-266-