Prince Henry the Navigator

Prince Henry the Navigator

How did the Information Spread?

Some of the people who went on his expeditions recorded information about their journeys, and this information was preserved for further records. In 1445, the printing press was invented and helped spread information a lot faster.

Background Information

Dom Henrique, or Prince Henry, was born on March 4, 1394 in Porto, Portugal. He is the son of King John l and Queen Phillippa. He is known for his expeditions on the west coast of Africa. In 1418, he created a school in Sagres, Portugal to train people to sail down the coast of Africa. In 1420, he became the rich governor of the Order of Christ. On November 13, 1460, he died in Sagres, Portugal.

Fundings

Since he became the governor of the Order of Christ in 1420, he became rich and used the money he had to fund his expeditions down the west coast of Africa.

Motivation

Importance of his Voyages

Gil Eannes' Voyage

Prince Henry sent out these expeditions to create maps of west Africa since not a lot of people knew about it. Another important reason to explore the west coast of Africa is that he wanted to establish trade routes. He also wanted to defeat the Muslims and spread Christianity.

In around 1415, him, his father, and his brothers attacked the Muslim port of Ceutha in North Morocco. This mission was successful and this made him wonder about what the west coast of Africa looked like, so he wanted to explore it.

Gil Eannes, a Portuguese explorer, was the first European to go to Cape Bojador and back. In 1433, he only sailed as far as the Canary Islands. In 1434, he sailed to Cape Bojador. He found no people there, only a few plants. He made another journey with Alfonso Goncalves Baldaya in 1435, heading further south than Cape Bojador. They entered a large bay and named it Rio de Ouro, which means "river of gold."

Navigation Tools

Cross Staff

Compass

a tool used to measure the approximate latitude of where you are

invented by Levi ben Gershon

a tool used to see what direction you are moving in

invented during the Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC)

Astrolabe

Caravel

a tool relating time to the alignment of stars and the sun in the sky

invented by Greek astronomer Hipparchus

a light, fast ship made by the portuguese that can carry a lot of cargo - has triangular sails

invented during mid 1400s - early 1500s

My Exploration if I had all the Time and Money in the World

If I had all the time and money in the world, I would explore the deep, clear, blue waters of the ocean. The reason I would explore the ocean is because, all the sea creatures living down there are really fascinating. It would also be really cool to see what I could discover down there as I go deep sea diving.

Diogo Gomes' Voyage

In 1458, Prince Henry sent Diogo Gomes on a voyage that sailed as far as Cape Palmas. In the year of 1460, he returned back to Portugal. Later on during that year, Prince Henry died.

Risks

His main goal was to get past Cape Bojador, but no one has ever gone past it. The reason no one has ever gone past it is because, it has a lot of violent storms and strong currents, and it was believed that if you passed the cape, you're boat would be eaten by sea monsters. This was a real worry to him and his crew, but he made it!

Cape Bojador

By: Michelle N.