Henry the Navigator Timeline

As early as 1410 or 1412, Henry commissioned captains to explore the coasts beyond Cape Non. European charts and geographical beliefs regarded Cape Non, together with Cape Bojador, as a limit of the known world.

The first Portuguese explorations associated with Henry followed not long after the capture of Ceuta in 1415. These voyages began the sustained effort to investigate the Atlantic and the African coast beyond areas familiar to European sailors.

By 1424, Cape Bojador was the most southerly point known to Europeans on Africa's western coast. Superstitious seafarers believed that sea monsters and the edge of the world lay beyond the cape.

Image source: Cape Bojador

In 1434, Gil Eanes, commander of one of Henry's expeditions, became the first known European to pass Cape Bojador. His achievement overcame a major psychological and navigational barrier to further exploration down the African coast.

Image source: Gil Eanes

In 1441, Nuno Tristão and Antão Gonçalves reached Cape Blanco. Their voyage extended Portuguese knowledge of the northwest African coast beyond earlier exploration points.

The Portuguese sighted the Bay of Arguin in 1443. The bay became an important location in the continuing Portuguese exploration and commercial activity along the African coast.

In 1444, Dinis Dias reached the Senegal River and rounded the peninsula of Cap-Vert. His voyage pushed Portuguese exploration farther south along the Atlantic coast of Africa.

From 1444 to 1446, as many as forty vessels sailed from Lagos on Henry's behalf. During the same period, the first private mercantile expeditions began, broadening participation in Portuguese Atlantic commerce.

By 1452, the influx of gold from Portuguese activity in Africa permitted the minting of Portugal's first gold cruzado coins. The currency reflected the growing economic consequences of overseas expansion.

On his first voyage, begun on 22 March 1455, Alvise Cadamosto visited the Madeira Islands and the Canary Islands. His expedition formed part of the maritime exploration conducted under Henry's patronage.

On his second voyage in 1456, Alvise Cadamosto became the first European to reach the Cape Verde Islands. His reports added to European knowledge of the Atlantic islands and the West African coast.

Image source: Alvise Cadamosto

By 1462, Portuguese explorers had investigated the African coast as far south as present-day Sierra Leone. This achievement represented the geographical reach of the exploratory movement Henry had helped initiate.

Image source: Portuguese maritime exploration

In 1498, Vasco da Gama became the first European sailor to reach India by sea. His voyage realized a major objective of the Portuguese maritime expansion whose early foundations were associated with Henry.

Image source: Vasco da Gama

In 1418, João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira were blown off course by a storm while making the westward volta do mar return route to Portugal. Their voyage led to the Portuguese discovery of Madeira.

Image source: Madeira

In 1420, settlers moved to Madeira after its discovery by Portuguese navigators. The settlement marked an early stage in the colonization of Atlantic islands connected with Henry's broader program.

Image source: Madeira

A chart by Gabriel de Vallseca of Mallorca has been interpreted as indicating that Diogo de Silves first discovered the Azores in 1427. The reported discovery opened a new field for Portuguese Atlantic exploration and settlement.

In 1431, Gonçalo Velho was dispatched with orders to determine the location of islands first identified by Diogo de Silves. The mission formed part of Portugal's continuing effort to chart and occupy the Atlantic archipelago.

Henry promoted the colonization of the Azores during the regency of his brother Peter, which lasted from 1439 to 1448. The effort extended Portuguese settlement and administration farther into the Atlantic.

Image source: Azores

The myth of a “Sagres school” allegedly founded by Prince Henry was created in the 18th century. Samuel Purchas and Abbé Prévost were among the figures who helped establish this later account.

No one used the nickname “Henry the Navigator” during Prince Henry's lifetime or in the following three centuries. The term was coined by the German historians Heinrich Schaefer and Gustave de Veer.

In nineteenth-century Portugal, an idealized image of Henry as a pioneer of exploration and science reached its height. This interpretation helped transform him into a national symbol of Portuguese discovery.

British author Henry Major helped popularize the name “Henry the Navigator” by using it in the title of his 1868 biography of the prince.

Raymond Beazley further popularized the title “Henry the Navigator” in his 1895 biography. The work reinforced the enduring English-language image of Henry as the initiator of Portuguese exploration.

In 1994, the Prince Henry Society and the Portuguese government gifted Prince Henry the Navigator Park in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The park commemorates Henry's historical association with Portuguese maritime heritage.

From 1996 until Portugal adopted the euro in 2002, Henry was depicted on the obverse of the largest-denomination Portuguese escudo note, valued at 10,000 escudos.