Prince Henry Prince Henry was better known as Henry the navigator. He was not called Henry the navigator because he went to sea himself, but rather because he encouraged exploration in the 15th century. Henry the Navigator was born in Porto, Portugal, in 1394. Henry was neither a sailor nor a navigator, he sponsored a great deal of exploration along the west coast of Africa. Henry is regarded as an originator of the Age of Discovery and the Atlantic slave trade. Henry was also the third surviving son of King John 1 and Phillipa of Lancaster. In 1441, two of Henry’s captains, Antam Goncalves and Nuno Tristao, set out separately, to Cape Blanco on the western coast of Africa. To the south of the Cape they came across a market run by black
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By the time of his death, portuguese explorers and traders had advanced as far as the region of modern-day Sierra Leone. It would be another 28 years before Vasco de Gama, under the portuguese flag, would sail clear around Africa and complete and expedition to India. Many Years \, in 1445, Prince Henry sent the Venetian navigator Alvise da Cadamosto (1432-1511) on two expeditions. On the first, in 1455, Cadamosto reached the mouth of the Gambia river (in west AFrica.) On the second in 1456 Cadamosto sailed up the Gambia river to the Geba River. He tried trading with the Africans but was unsuccessful. Cadamosto claimed to have discovered the Cape Verde Islands, but it is uncertain if he was the first on there. When these expeditions began, Europeans knew virtually nothing about the area past Cape Bojador on the west coast of Africa. Superstition had kept them from going farther. But under Henry’s orders, Portuguese sailors moved beyond Bojador. By 1436, they had traveled as far as the Rio de Oro. In addition to sponsoring exploratory voyages, Henry is also credited with furthering knowledge of geography, mapmaking and navigation. He started a school for navigation in Sagres, at the southwestern tip of Portugal, where he employed cartographers, shipbuilders and instrument makers. It was from Lagos, near Sagres, that many of his sponsored trips began. This is what I know about prince Henry or Henry the Navigator. He was the type of person that was going to do whatever it takes to get what he wants. He is the type of person that wants to make sure people know him of doing something
By the time of his death, portuguese explorers and traders had advanced as far as the region of modern-day Sierra Leone. It would be another 28 years before Vasco de Gama, under the portuguese flag, would sail clear around Africa and complete and expedition to India. Many Years \, in 1445, Prince Henry sent the Venetian navigator Alvise da Cadamosto (1432-1511) on two expeditions. On the first, in 1455, Cadamosto reached the mouth of the Gambia river (in west AFrica.) On the second in 1456 Cadamosto sailed up the Gambia river to the Geba River. He tried trading with the Africans but was unsuccessful. Cadamosto claimed to have discovered the Cape Verde Islands, but it is uncertain if he was the first on there. When these expeditions began, Europeans knew virtually nothing about the area past Cape Bojador on the west coast of Africa. Superstition had kept them from going farther. But under Henry’s orders, Portuguese sailors moved beyond Bojador. By 1436, they had traveled as far as the Rio de Oro. In addition to sponsoring exploratory voyages, Henry is also credited with furthering knowledge of geography, mapmaking and navigation. He started a school for navigation in Sagres, at the southwestern tip of Portugal, where he employed cartographers, shipbuilders and instrument makers. It was from Lagos, near Sagres, that many of his sponsored trips began. This is what I know about prince Henry or Henry the Navigator. He was the type of person that was going to do whatever it takes to get what he wants. He is the type of person that wants to make sure people know him of doing something