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| Fortaleza de Sagres: Wind rose |
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Prince Henry the Navigator |
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The patron of Portuguese discoveries |
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Infante Dom Henrique, Duque de Viseu, (1394 - 1460), was a son of the Portuguese king D. João I,and Dona Filipa of Lancaster and an important figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire. He is known in English as Prince Henry the Navigator or the Seafarer (Portuguese: o Navegador).
Henry encouraged his father to conquer Ceuta (1414), the Muslim port, on the North African coast across the Straits of Gibraltar from the Iberian peninsula, with profound consequences on Henry's worldview: Henry became aware of the profit possibilities in the Saharan trade routes that terminated there and became fascinated with Africa in general, with the legend of Prester John, and with expanding Portuguese trade. On May 25, 1420, Henry gained appointment as the governor of the very rich Order of Christ, the Portuguese successor to the Knights Templar, which had its headquarters at Tomar. Henry would hold this position for the remainder of his life, and the Order was an important source of funds for Henry's ambitious plans.
From his Vila do Infante, or Town of the Prince, on the Sagres peninsula, Henry sponsored voyages down the coast of Mauretania. The nearby port of Lagos provided a convenient harbor from which these expeditions left. The voyages were made in very small ships, mostly the caravel, a light and maneuverable vessel that used the lateen sail of the Arabs. Most of the voyages sent out by Henry consisted of one or two ships that navigated by following the coast, stopping at night to tie up along some shore.
As a first fruit of this work João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira rediscovered the Madeira Islands in 1420, and at Henry's instigation Portuguese settlers colonized the islands. In 1427, one of Henry's navigators discovered the Azores — probably Gonçalo Velho. Portuguese soon colonized these islands in 1430. Gil Eanes, the commander of one of Henry's expeditions, became the first European known to pass Cape Bojador in 1434. By 1460, the Portuguese had explored the coast of Africa as far as present-day nation Sierra Leone.
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| Henry the Navigator: banner |
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| Monument of Henry the Navigator in Lagos |
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