Although he never sailed on any of the dozens of sea voyages he launched, Prince Henry, known to the Portuguese as the Infante de Sagres (Prince of Sagres) was almost single-handedly responsible for Portugal’s great age of exploration and discovery, and for the empire and riches that resulted from it.
Henry’s name – Dom Henrique – and title of Infante de Sagres are everywhere, from the name of Porto’s most elegant hotel to a broad avenue that stretches across half of Lisbon. Everything except food seems to be named for him – and some inventive chef has probably done that. But there is a real trail of sites that travelers can follow to learn more about this man whose vision and talent for inspiring men to venture into the unknown made his country the leader in world exploration.
Visit Prince Henry’s Birthplace
Born in Porto in 1394 to Dom João I and his English wife, Philippa of Lancaster,Henry was the third son, so not immediately in line for the throne. Although not documented, it is most probable that he was born in the royal customs house, known to be Porto’s only royal building at the time, and to have living quarters in it, which is where the royal couple would have stayed. Now called Casa do Infante, this building overlooking the river contains exhibits on the city’s history.
Castelo São Jorge in Lisbon
Throughout Henry’s childhood, the royal court resided in Lisbon, at the castle at the top of the Alfama, which his father had dedicated to St George. Visitors to today’s Castelo São Jorge can walk its walls and see interior buildings from several periods of its use. In 1415, when Henry was 21, he and his brothers convinced the king to let him organize an assault on the North African port of Ceuta, base of the Barbary pirates who continually raided Portuguese towns.The success of that campaign inspired Henry to begin his quest for new sea routes.
Knights Templar Stronghold in Tomar
In 1420 he was made Grand Master of the Order of Christ, inheritor of the lands and wealth of Knights Templar in Portugal, and he dedicated that wealth and power to his mission. Their headquarters were at Convent of the Order of Christ (Convento de Cristo) in Tomar, where he directed the building of cloisters and several other structures. Still much in its original state from his time, the Convento de Cristo is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Cape São Vicente in the Algarve
But he was also governor of the Algarve, Portugal’s southern coast, and it was from there that he directed his explorations and made his place in history. But some of the things most commonly “known” about him are not actually true – or at least not substantiated by any evidence.
The so-called School of Navigation at Cape São Vicente, most often described as a training center for cartographers and navigators, complete with an observatory, was more a school in the older sense of the word – a loose group of people whom he either employed or who were interested in the same subject. And he did not re-design the caravel; it was under his direction that the traditional lateen-sailed boat was made into a lighter, faster ship capable of long sea voyages.
Prince Henry’s own accomplishments are enough to justify his fame, without any embellishment, and today’s visitors to the lonely windswept point in at Cape São Vicente at Sagres can only marvel that his dedication and fervor could inspire men to sail off into the crashing seas below.
Barbara Rogers - Traveler, writer and guidebook author with a passion for those lands that border the Mediterranean Sea and the neighboring Atlantic ...
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