Tento článek přibližuje čtenáři svět prvních portugalských mořeplavců a jejich setkání s exotickou faunou Asie v 16. století. Důraz klade především na nosorožce a slona, ale neopomíjí ani další živočichy a věnuje se i původu některých drahocenných orientálních látek živočišného původu, pro Evropany dlouho neznámému. Text bohatě využívá citací z pramenů., This article presents the world of the first Portuguese navigators and their encounters with exotic Asian fauna in the 16th century. It primarily highlights the rhinoceros and elephants, but does not omit other animals. It also focuses on the sources of some valuable oriental substances of animal origin, which was unknown to Europeans for a long time., and Karel Staněk.
The creation of the Portuguese overseas empire began after 1415 in the Atlantic area and gradually transformed itself into a multi-continental phenomenon. Around 1500, there was a period of particular expansion into Asia and Morocco, with a further consolidation of their position in Africa and Brazi. Although the king had tried to isolate the state from contemporary European events and had been engaged exclusively in activities on the world stage, the rather small and sparsely populated country began to run out of steam. The result was the enforced renunciation of her interests in North Africa (1542-1550), which had previously attracted more of the Crown's interest that the Orient. However, thereafter, the privileged position of the East in the Portuguese empire was never questioned, at least not at the ideological level., Karel Staněk., and Obsahuje bibliografii