Prince Henry the Navigator of PORTUGUAL
Henry the Navigator was a Portuguese prince. He did not actually go on any explorations. He established a school where people could study navigation, shipbuilding and mapmaking. He also sponsored explorations of the west African coast during the 1400's.
What was the big deal about SPICES? In Portugal and other parts of Europe, the demand for goods from Asia was high. Spices from Asia were especially in demand. Spices may not seem that exciting to you, but in Prince Henry's time they were extremely valuable. There was no refrigeration back then, and meat spoiled fast. Spices helped the food taste better, and they helped hide the taste of meat going bad. Getting the spices and other goods from Asia was a big problem. The only known way to get to Asia was to travel The Silk Road. The Silk Road was a very long, very dangerous and expensive journey. Poisonous snakes, harsh winds and brutally hot deserts were just a few of the DANGERS faced on the 4,000 mile Silk Road. |
Travel by Water? Since land travel was such a problem, some wondered "Could a person get to Asia by water?" Little was known about Africa, but some wondered if it was possible to sail AROUND Africa to reach Asia? Most of Africa had not been explored, and the unknown was very scary! Many said that if you went down the coast of Africa, the water would start to boil, ships would burn up and giant sea monsters would eat everyone on board! |
Prince Henry didn't want to be scared by these stories. He wanted to see if it was possible to get to Asia by sailing around Africa.
He also wanted to explore the African coast to find the source of the West African gold trade. In addition to the lure of gold and riches, Prince Henry wanted to increase his geographical knowledge of the world.
He also wanted to explore the African coast to find the source of the West African gold trade. In addition to the lure of gold and riches, Prince Henry wanted to increase his geographical knowledge of the world.
Prince Henry Makes Progress
Fear of the unknown and poor navigational techniques were explorers' biggest problems. Prince Henry sought to solve these problems by opening a school to train explorers. Prince Henry brought together mapmakers, mathematicians, ship makers and astronomers. Working together they made many advances in navigational science and technology that greatly helped explorers. With improved maps, ships and other navigational aids, Prince Henry sent his Portuguese explorers down the western coast of Africa. They successfully explored and mapped about 1500 miles of coastline (and none were eaten by sea monsters!) |
Over the next 50 years the Portuguese established many trading posts off the west coast of Africa. |