Prince Henry the Navigator
In the 1400s, people were fascinated with the lands of the East. Since the invention of the printing press, folks were finding out new information about far away places. One book caught their attention; a book written by Marco Polo. Traveling through the lands of India and China, Polo documented the beautiful sites and amazing riches of these lands. Increasingly, people all over Europe wanted things from these faraway places. Unfortunately, getting there and back proved to be very difficult and dangerous. The only known route to China and India was across Islamic territory, where rival Islamic empires were fighting for control of the land. There had to be another way to get to the fascinating lands of the East.
Prince Henry, born in 1394 to the King of Portugal, thought he might be able to find another way to India and China. Having an interest in ship building and navigation, he envisioned a navigable route around the coast of Africa to the lands of the East. He established a school of navigation in Portugal’s capital city. Soon many of the world’s most renowned navigators, cartographers, and astronomers were drawn to Portugal. During Prince Henry’s lifetime he sent over 50 expeditions looking for a route around the coast of Africa in hopes of reaching China. His explorers never did reach China, but he paved the way for other explorers who found many interesting places.
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