Thesis
Prince Henry the Navigator founded the expeditions to the West Coast of Africa in the late 1400s to the early 1500s. His expeditions resulted in many discoveries and started a new period of time. In that way, Prince Henry the Navigator's expeditions to Africa changed history into what it is today.
Intro~Prince Henry
Prince Henry
Prince Henry was born in March 4th,1394 in Porto and died in November 14th, 1460. He was the third child of King John I of Portugal. In Crónica da Guiné, Prince Henry was described as "having no luxuries, not avaricious, speaking with soft words or calm gestures, and a man of many virtues who never let any poor person leave his presence empty-handed."
At the age of 21 (1415), he encouraged his father to conquer Ceuta, the Muslim port on the North African coast. From there, he learnt the importance of the North African trade routes that terminated there, and became fascinated with Africa in general. He began his explorations of the west coast of Africa with a few objectives in mind: to find the source of the West African gold trade, to spread Christianity and defeat the Muslims, and to stop the pirate attacks on the Portuguese coast, and to find the legendary Preston John from a Christian legend (who did not exist).
During that time, the ships were too slow and heavy to make those voyages, so he directed the creation of a much faster and lighter ship, the caravel. Prince Henry would send expeditions and voyages to West Africa, but he would never go himself. The voyages went as far as Guinea, setting out from the town Lagos and bringing back African slaves and goods. His first contact with the African slave market was brought by expeditions to ransom Portuguese subjects enslaved by pirate attacks on Portuguese ships or villages. Henry justified that he was converting those captives to Christianity, as he said, "Enslavement and conversion are interchangeable terms."
Prince Henry was a very strong Christian. His actions against native people who were not Christians were violent and it helped to start a violent world trend. Despite that, his religious beliefs were sincere.
At the age of 21 (1415), he encouraged his father to conquer Ceuta, the Muslim port on the North African coast. From there, he learnt the importance of the North African trade routes that terminated there, and became fascinated with Africa in general. He began his explorations of the west coast of Africa with a few objectives in mind: to find the source of the West African gold trade, to spread Christianity and defeat the Muslims, and to stop the pirate attacks on the Portuguese coast, and to find the legendary Preston John from a Christian legend (who did not exist).
During that time, the ships were too slow and heavy to make those voyages, so he directed the creation of a much faster and lighter ship, the caravel. Prince Henry would send expeditions and voyages to West Africa, but he would never go himself. The voyages went as far as Guinea, setting out from the town Lagos and bringing back African slaves and goods. His first contact with the African slave market was brought by expeditions to ransom Portuguese subjects enslaved by pirate attacks on Portuguese ships or villages. Henry justified that he was converting those captives to Christianity, as he said, "Enslavement and conversion are interchangeable terms."
Prince Henry was a very strong Christian. His actions against native people who were not Christians were violent and it helped to start a violent world trend. Despite that, his religious beliefs were sincere.