Security issues, the motivations of private individuals, trade and religious basis, are most influential in Portuguese expansion.
Security issues were the uppermost as expansion could not be distinguished from security. Since the steppe was a path for nomadic peoples as they headed to Asia, security issue became a concern. As they encountered cultural changes called the renaissance and the rise of Christianity, the Portuguese could have got interested in exploring the world. They were motivated to hold crusades to spread Christian virtues to various communities globally. Trade was also at its core when as far as the Portuguese expansion is concerned. When the Portuguese replaced the Arabs as frontrunners of Asian trade and business, it sparked more interests from other regions (Tigor et al. 515). Thus, because of trade, they extended to Brazil, especially with their encounter with sugar and embracing the agricultural docket and plantation acquisitions in America by private individuals. There were motives could be summarized as economic and capitalistic motives, religion (cultural motives) and dominance (political motives). I think the issue of Christianity was more important than the others (Tigor et al. 516). In a sense, this could be the main reason why Portuguese would appreciate spreading their religious values to regions that it was unknown and at the same time have a reason to trade and purchase land.
Question 2
The tone of the author is sad because of the way he presents the Portuguese expansion scenarios. For instance, he takes note that the expansion occurred during the dynastic chaos following the death of even other leaders (Gomes 1). The author emphasizes the ambitions of was spurred by the great motivation to spread the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ and the resources that were discovered in West Africa. In some way, the author could be refuting that Portuguese intentions were more religious that their interest in the resources that were in West Africa. The foreigners could have been motivated to secure gold-producing regions of West Africa. The reality is the Portuguese were motivated to secure gold market cheaply and trade them for an increased price. Christianity could have just have been a default motive so that they stay relevant in their other intentions of securing resources in West Africa.