ate, probably, of 1430 to 1435. It is reproduced in Fig. 36, and
differs from the ship of the reign of Richard II. shown in Fig. 35,
chiefly in having the poop and forecastle more strongly developed.

While England was steadily declining in power from the time of the death
of Henry V., a new maritime nation was arising in South-Western Europe,
whose discoveries were destined to have a most marked effect on the
seaborne commerce, and consequently on the shipbuilding of the world. In
the year 1417 the Portuguese, under the guidance of Prince Henry the
Navigator, commenced their exploration of the west coast of Africa, and
they continued it with persistency during the century. In 1418 they
discovered, or rather re-discovered, the island of Madeira, for it is
extremely probable that it was first visited by an Englishman of the
name of Machin.

The Portuguese prince firmly believed that a route could be opened round
Africa to the Indies. To reach these regions by sea seems to have been
the goal of the great explorers of the fifteenth century, and the
Portuguese were stimulated in their endeavours by a grant from Pope
Martin V. of all territories which might thenceforward be discovered
between Cape Bojador and the East Indies. In 1446 an expedition
consisting of six caravels was fitted out, and made a voyage to Guinea;
it resulted in the discovery of the Cape Verde Islands. The caravel was
a type of ship much used by the countries of Southern Europe in the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. A description of a Spanish vessel of
this type is given on pages 87 to 89. In 1449 the Azores were
discovered. In 1481 a lucrative trade was opened up between Portugal and
the natives of Guinea. Six years afterwards the Cape of Good Hope was
reached by Bartholomew Diaz, and in 1497 it was doubled by Vasco da
Gama.

During a great part of the period in which the Portuguese were thus
occupied in extending their commerce and in paving the way for great
discoveries, the condition of England, owing to the French war and to
the subsequent Wars of the Roses, was passing from bad to worse.
Nevertheless, the spirit of commercial enterprise was not wholly
extinguished. A few merchants seem to have made fortunes in the shipping
trade, and among them may be mentioned the famous William Canynge of
Bristol, who was probably the greatest private shipowner in England at
the end of the reign of Henry VI. and during the time of Edward IV.
(1461 to 1483).