Prince Henry the Navigator

HENRY THE NAVIGATOR (1394-1460) sponsored a great school for navigators in SAGRES on the Atlantic coast of Portugal.  For a guy who apparently never went to sea he had a fine reputation as a Mariner.  His school also has a great reputation even though no one has actually found any buildings or tangible evidence that there was a school per se.  During a recent speaking assignment on MS NOORDAM's trip back to Fort Lauderdale I tramped Sagres and Lagos and was treated to great views but sure couldn't find the school.  

Prince Henry's Statue, Lagos

Henry was a real force who facilitated the drive of the Portuguese to continue to venture further and further down the west coast of Africa.  They established trading posts and befriended the local chiefs with whom they traded goods for gold.  

Business was good and Portugal's economy flourished.  Long range international trade by ship came into focus for a number of reasons.  One big one was the fact that Europe had developed an appetite for the riches of the Orient and events made it harder and more expensive to feed that demand.  Mongols controlled the trade over the land route called the Silk Road that carried the sought after goods from Asia to the edge of Europe.  For quite some time Italian maritime city states acted as their intermediaries on the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea.  The Italians made a hefty profit but Europe’s wealthy were willing to pay. 

Henry at the head of the crowd of explorers; Golden Age Monument in Lisbon

This cozy arrangement was derailed when Turks captured Constantinople, renamed it Istanbul and jacked up the prices.  They still allowed the Italians to market the Asian goods, but the power and dynamic changed in favor of the people who controlled the supply of product and away from those who had access to the market.  The capture of Constantinople was not a stand alone event.  It was part of the greater conflict between Christians and Muslims in the region that has waxed and waned seemingly forever, right up to today.