Foundations of the Portuguese Empire, 1415-1580 was first published in 1977. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions.

This account traces the history of the Portuguese overseas discoveries, following the expansion into the Atlantic island, the Madeiras, and the Azores. It continues the account with the history of Portuguese discoveries along the African coast, at Guinea, the Congo, and Good Hope, then follows the voyages of Vasco da Gama to India and to Cabra, Brazil, and the expansion in the early years of the sixteen century to Malacca, China, and the East Indies. The volume presents not only a useful narrative of the spread of Portuguese empire but also new interpretations and analyses of the Portuguese overseas history.