HENRY THE NAVIGATOR

born March 4, 1394, Porto, Port. died Nov. 13, 1460, Vila do Infante, near Sagres Portuguese Henrique O Navegador, (prince) De Portugal, Duque (duke) De Viseu, Senhor (lord) Da Covilh byname of Henrique, Infante Portuguese prince noted for his patronage of voyages of discovery among the Madeira Islands and along the western coast of Africa. Under his auspices, the sailing vessel known as the Portuguese caravel was developed, the techniques of cartography were advanced, navigational instruments were improved, and commerce by sea was vastly stimulated. He was also the designer of a grand strategy-not to be brought to fulfillment until after his death-whereby Christian Europe outflanked the power of Islam by establishing contact with Africa south of the Sahara and with Asia. Additional reading Although Gomes Eanes de Zurara is no longer considered an infallible authority on Prince Henry, his narrative of the discoveries, trans. as Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea by C.R. Beazley and E. Prestage (1896), is still the best. Lives of Henry in English include: R.H. Major, The Life of Prince Henry of Portugal, Surnamed the Navigator (1868, reprinted 1967); E.D.S. Bradford, A Wind from the North: The Life of Henry the Navigator (1960), and John Ure, Prince Henry the Navigator (1977). E. Prestage, The Portuguese Pioneers (1933, reprinted 1966), though dealing with all Portuguese discovery, offers much useful information on Henry's life.