What was an early goal of portugal during the age of exploration?

The Iberian Peninsula, today home to Spain and Portugal, was overrun in the 5th century A.D. by the Visigoths, a Teutonic tribe from northern Europe and the conquerors of the Roman Empire. In 711, however, the Visigoths fell to the Moors, North African Muslims of mixed Berber-Arab heritage with roots in Mauritania. Their regime became one of the most culturally advanced in Europe. Religious toleration was established, but many of the indigenous people converted to Islam.