Prince Henry the Navigator, who lived from 4 March 1394 to 13 November 1460, was a Portuguese prince, the third child of King John I of Portugal, and a central figure in the early Portuguese Empire, often credited as one of the main initiators of the Age of Discovery even though he did not personally sail on the voyages associated with his name. Using the newly developed caravel ship, Henry directed the early development of Portuguese exploration and maritime trade with other continents through the systematic exploration of the West African coast, the islands of the Atlantic Ocean, and the search for new trade routes. He supported his father in the 1415 conquest of Ceuta, a Muslim port on the North African coast opposite the Strait of Gibraltar, an event often taken as the opening of Portugal's overseas expansion. Regarded as the patron of Portuguese discoveries for the ships, funding and institutional support he provided to generations of navigators, Henry died in Vila do Bispo in the Algarve in 1460, decades before the voyages he had set in motion reached India and the wider world.
Facts
Disputed
Death DateThe article's own lead sentence gives 13 December 1460, but its dedicated Death and legacy section states 13 November 1460, which general historical scholarship also supports; recorded here as the better-attested date with the internal discrepancy on record. BirthplacePorto (baptized there; traditionally regarded as his birthplace), though the Monastery of Leça do Balio in Leça da Palmeira is also proposed 1 Sources do not agree on the exact birthplace; both possibilities are near Porto during the royal couple's residence there. RolePortuguese prince; patron and organizer of Portuguese maritime exploration in the early Age of Discovery 1 Role
Role (category) Role (category) Henry the Navigator
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FAQs
What goals did Henry the Navigator pursue through Portuguese exploration?
Encyclopedia.com names three aims: commerce, scientific knowledge and spreading Christianity.
According to Encyclopedia.com, because of his education Henry had three strong aims in mind: to expand Portugal's commercial interests, to increase scientific knowledge, and to spread the Christian faith to other lands.
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Source Wikipedia: Prince Henry the Navigator
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Source Atlantic slave trade, Wikipedia
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Sources
1. Wikipedia: Prince Henry the Navigator
WikipediaHenry: lead sentence (birth date)
Prince Henry the Navigator (4 March 1394 - 13 December 1460), was a Portuguese prince, a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and often credited as one of the main initiators of the Age of Discovery.
Henry: Death and legacy section
Henry died on the 13th of November 1460, being initially buried in the Church of Saint Mary of Lagos before being subsequently moved to the Monastery of Batalha, where his tomb remains,
Henry: Death and legacy section (date conflicts with the article's own lead)
Henry died on the 13th of November 1460, being initially buried in the Church of Saint Mary of Lagos before being subsequently moved to the Monastery of Batalha, where his tomb remains,
Henry: Early life section
He was baptized in Porto, and may have been born there, probably when the royal couple was living in the city's old mint, now called Casa do Infante (Prince's House), or in the region nearby. Another possibility is that he was born at the Monastery of Leça do Balio, in Leça da Palmeira, during the same period of the royal couple's residence in the city of Porto.
Henry: lead paragraph (death circumstances)
Regarded as the patron of Portuguese discoveries, he died on 13 November 1460 in Vila do Bispo in the Algarve.
Henry: lead sentence (role)
Prince Henry the Navigator (4 March 1394 - 13 December 1460), was a Portuguese prince, a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and often credited as one of the main initiators of the Age of Discovery.
Henry the Navigator: Gender
Prince Henry the Navigator (4 March 1394 - 13 December 1460), was a Portuguese prince, a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and often credited as one of the main initiators of the Age of Discovery. Henry was the third child of King John I of Portugal, who founded the House of Aviz.
- Wikipedia biography, role/occupation stated in lead section (w-bbfill-history3-0927)
In Era: The Post-Classical and Medieval Period, lead paragraph, lifespan
Prince Henry the Navigator (4 March 1394 - 13 December 1460), was a Portuguese prince, a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and often credited as one of the main initiators of the Age of Discovery.
View the Source Atlantic slave trade, Wikipedia
Participant In: Atlantic Slave Trade, Article textQuote, Participant In: Atlantic Slave Trade, Article text
Caldeira says "historians recognized this episode as the beginning of the Atlantic slave trade", although ships in Prince Henry the Navigator's fleet had been bringing enslaved persons from West Africa since 1441.
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