Prince Henry the Navigator

Prince Henry the Navigator
Duke of Viseu
Infante Dom Henrique; St. Vincent Panels; Nuno Gonçalves, c. 1470. [a]
Born	4 March 1394 Porto, Portugal
Died	13 November 1460(1460-11-13) (aged 66) Sagres, Portugal
Burial	Batalha Monastery
House	Aviz
Father	John I of Portugal
Mother	Philippa of Lancaster
Signature

Princy Henry of Portugal, Duke of Viseu (Portuguese: Infante Dom Henrique; 4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator (Portuguese: Infante Dom Henrique, o Navegador), was a Portuguese prince and a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and in the 15th-century European maritime exploration. Through his administrative direction, he is regarded as the main initiator of what would be known as the Age of Discovery. Henry was the fourth child of King John I of Portugal, who founded the House of Aviz.^[1]

After procuring the new caravel ship, Henry was responsible for the early development of Portuguese exploration and maritime trade with other continents through the systematic exploration of Western Africa, the islands of the Atlantic Ocean, and the search for new routes. He encouraged his father to conquer Ceuta (1415), the Muslim port on the North African coast across the Straits of Gibraltar from the Iberian Peninsula. He learned of the opportunity offered by the Saharan trade routes that terminated there, and became fascinated with Africa in general; he was most intrigued by the Christian legend of Prester John and the expansion of Portuguese trade. He is regarded as the patron of Portuguese exploration. He is also considered to be one of the most responsible for developing the slave trade in Western Europe.^[2] The prince died on 13 November 1460 in Vila do Bispo, Algarve.

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