olonization. A broader and more permanent
foundation of commerce than the world had yet seen was wanting to bless
mankind, and Henry, Duke of Viseo, was born to give it.

In order to promote his designs, Prince Henry was appointed
Commander-in-chief of the Portuguese forces in Africa. He had already,
in 1412, three years before the reduction of Ceuta,[44] sent a ship to
make discoveries on the Barbary coast. Cape Nam[45] (as its name
implies) was then the _ne plus ultra_ of European navigation; the ship
sent by Henry, however, passed it sixty leagues, and reached Cape
Bojador. About a league and a half from Cape St. Vincent (supposed to be
the Promontorium Sacrum of the Romans), Prince Henry built his town of
Sagrez, the best planned and fortified town in Portugal. Here, where the
view of the ocean inspired his hopes, he erected his arsenals, and built
and harboured his ships. And here, leaving the temporary bustle and
cares of the State to his father and brothers, he retired like a
philosopher from the world in order to promote its happiness. Having
received all the information he could obtain in Africa, he continued
unwearied in his mathematical and geographical studies; the art of
ship-building received amazing improvement under his direction, and the
correctness of his ideas of the structure of the globe is now confirmed.
He it was who first suggested the use of the mariner's compass, and of
longitude and latitude in navigation, and demonstrated how these might
be ascertained by astronomical observations. Naval adventurers were now
invited from all parts to the town of Sagrez, and in 1418 Juan Gonsalez
Zarco and Tristran Vaz set sail on an expedition of discovery, the
circumstances of which give us a striking picture of the state of
navigation ere it was remodelled by the genius of Henry.

Cape Bojador, so named from its extent,[46] runs about forty leagues to
the westward, and for about six leagues off land there is a most violent
current, which, dashing upon the shallows, makes a tempestuous sea. This
was deemed impassable, for it had not occurred to any one that by
standing out to sea the current might be avoided. To pass this
formidable Cape was the commission of Zarco and Vaz, who were also
ordered to survey the African coast, which, according to the information
given to Henry by the Moors, extended to the Equator. Zarco and Vaz,
however, lost their course in a storm, and were driven to a small
island, which,