PRINCE HENRY THE NAVIGATOR AND VASCO DA GAMA.
All things follow suggestion and inspiration, and the discovery of the
Western World owes much to the heart and brain of Prince Henry, called
the Navigator. Although the son of a King, he felt that he was more than
that--a son of Humanity. He took up his residence far from the pomp of
courts on the bleak, bare, solitary promontory of Sagres, the sharp
angle of Western Europe. Here he could see the sun go down on the
western sea, day by day. Some inward genius like a haunting spirit
seemed to beckon his thoughts toward the West.
In view of his abode on a tall headland were the ruins of a Druidical
temple, where Strabo tells us the gods used to assemble at night under
the moon and stars. So the place was called the Sacrum Promontorium, and
it was in this region that Prince Henry schooled his soul in navigation
and sought to inspire all adventurers upon the sea. "Farther" was his
motto, and "Farther yet!" In his solitude he called to him a company of
restless spirits with a passion for discovery, and said to them all,
"Farther," and "Farther yet!"
The night of the dark ages was passing, and in the new dawn of
civilization, Prince Henry had visions of new ways to India, the
magnificent; the land of gold, gems, and spices, where the sun shone on
gardens of palms and seas of glory.
There were no lighthouses then on the African coast; there were no sea
charts, and the compass was but little known. But there were eternal
stars, and under them were the living instincts that awaken genius.
Prince Henry the Navigator was the fourth son of King Joao I, or John
the Great, and of Queen Philippa, of the Roses. He was a great-grandson
of Edward III, of England.
Prince Henry's motto was "_Talent de bien faire_"--"talent of good
faculty." The motto furnishes in brief a history of his life.
The first fruit of Prince Henry's geographical studies was the discovery
of the islands of Madeira; but there were islands beyond Madeira, and
his restless spirit cried out in the night: "Farther!" and "Farther
yet!"
Cape Bojador, farther "than the farthest point of the earth," rose just
before the supposed regions of sea monsters, fire, and darkness. Prince
John sent a navigator there, and found serene seas.
[Illustration: PROGRESS OF PORTUGUESE DISCOVERY]
"Farther!"
In 1446 the Prince obtained a charter of the Canary Islands. His ships
next discovered the Azores. But there were lands and islands and seas
"farther yet."
[Illustration: Prince Henry the Navigator. From a drawing by Allegra
Eggleston, in The Story of Columbus.]
Prince Henry died in 1463, about thirty years before the triumph of
Columbus.
He was the father of modern discovery, the spirit of which rested not
until the map of the whole world could be drawn. He was buried in a
splendid tomb, and the pupils of his school of cosmography and
navigation continued to penetrate the ocean farther and farther to the
South and West. Vasco da Gama opened the ocean ways to India, and the
two great navigators, Columbus and Magellan, owed much to the spirit of
the Prince who left courts that he might found a school amid the sea
desolations of St. Vincent, in order to inspire young sailors to venture
always "Farther!" and "Farther yet!"
[Illustration: "He is a renegade. His arms must come down!" (See page
2.)]
We must here tell you something of Vasco da Gama, in order that you may
better understand the plan and purpose of Magellan.
Take your map of the world. Before the passage to India was discovered
by sailing around the Cape of Good Hope, Africa, the trade between Asia
and Europe was carried on in this manner: There was a great commercial
city on the southern coast of Arabia (Arabia Felix) called Alda, or Port
Alda. It was a city of merchants. To this port came the ships from the
East--China, Japan, India--laden with gold, silk, and spices. The
merchants of Alda carried these goods to the Port of Suez on the Red
Sea. Thence the merchandise was conveyed on camels to the Nile and to
Alexandria, Egypt, and thence by ships to the ports of the
Mediterranean.
Vasco da Gama discovered a new way to India by doubling the Cape of Good
Hope, and when he returned from that voyage all Europe rang with his
praise. His discovery of the way to India from the Mediterranean by
rounding Africa was one of the most momentous ever made. Vasco da Gama
holds rank with Columbus in the unveiling of the mysteries of the ocean
world.
King John the Navigator had heard such wonderful tales of India that he
wished to find a way there by water. He accordingly sent one Bartholomeu
Diaz on an expedition with this end in view. Diaz did not find India,
but he found a cape on the southernmost point of Africa, which he
doubled.
So fearful were the tempests there that he called it the Cape of Storms.
But King John saw that the islands of India lay in that direction, and
he exclaimed in delight on hearing Diaz's narrative of the tempestuous
place:
"'Tis the Cape of Good Hope!" This gave the cape its name.
A Jewish astrologer told Dom Manoel, King of Portugal, that the riches
of India could yet be found by way of the sea. Of such a discovery the
new King dreamed. Who should he get to undertake a voyage with such a
purpose?
One day, as he sat in his halls among his courtiers and grandees
studying maps, a man of about thirty years, who had a noble bearing,
entered an outer apartment. A sword hung by his side.
The King, who had been thinking of his great mariners, lifted his face
and said:
"Thank God! I have found my man. Bring to me Vasco da Gama."
He it was that stood in the outer hall.
"Vasco," said the King, "I know your soul. For the glory of Portugal you
must find India by the way of the sea!"
"I am at your service, sire, while life shall last."
"Depart in all haste."
It was March, 1497. Vasco da Gama raised his sails and departed from
Lisbon.
[Illustration: Vasco da Gama.]
He passed the "Cape of Good Hope," and met with many adventures, the
narratives of which would fill a book.
He crossed the India Ocean, blown pleasantly on by the trade winds.
One day a loud cry arose:
"Land! land!"
The pilot came running to Vasco da Gama, and fell at his feet.
"Captain, behold India!"
The shores of India rose in the burning light of the tropic seas. Vasco
da Gama saw them and fell upon his knees.
Mountain rose above mountain, and hill over hill; then green palms and
shining beaches came into view like scenes of enchantment.
"That is Cananor," said the Moorish pilot; "the great city of Calicat is
twelve leagues distant."
They sailed over those twelve leagues of clear resplendent waters and
came to Calicat, or Malabar. That day of discovery was Portugal's
glory.
[Illustration: PORTUGUESE INDIES]
Calicat was a merchant city of the East, and one of the most famous of
India. Here came Arabian and Egyptian merchants. It was a Mohammedan
city, and the princes of Calicat encouraged trade between the Arabs and
Hindoos. The city was now to become an emporium for the Western World.
After many adventures in Malabar, Vasco da Gama cruised along the coast
of India. Everything was wonderful, and the wonders grew.
In September, 1499, he returned, and was received like a sovereign by
the Portuguese King. His arrival was a holiday, the glory of which has
lived in all Portuguese holidays until now.
He was given titles of distinction. He was made a Viceroy of India.
Twenty years after these events Magellan was destined to discover
_another_ way to India.