Portuguese explorer Enrique the Navigator explored the coast of West Africa during sea expeditions. Portugal in 1420 captured the island of Madeira and then the Azores. As a result of numerous expeditions, the Portuguese established control of the African coast. In 1520, the Portuguese discovered Brazil. By the 16th century, Portugal owned numerous colonial territories in India, spice islands in Southeast Asia, the Persian Gulf region, and the territory in West Africa. Portugal established control on the continents and islands' coasts, where fortresses and trading posts were built. The exploitation of the captured colonies brought huge profits to the monarchy's treasury. The Portuguese were actively involved in the slave trade, buying slaves from local African princes or capturing slaves by force. Slaves were sold and used on the New World plantations and the islands, growing coffee, cocoa, sugar, and tobacco. The Portuguese exported gold, silver, ivory. They controlled most of the Atlantic slave markets