ABSTRACT
Henry the Navigator was a patron of navigation and discovery at a time when Europe was seeking new trade links with Africa and Asia. Historians debate whether Henry's interest in navigation was spontaneous or merely sparked by his desire to expand Portugal's naval, commercial, and crusading power. A psychological breakthrough occurred in 1434 when a bold admiral under Henry's orders finally sailed past Cape Bojador. Henry the Navigator was the most important force behind maritime navigation and reconnaissance in fifteenth-century Europe. Henry's navigational school at Sagres helped the Portuguese become some of the best sailors of the contemporary world. Henry's successors were able to secure more direct access to the gold trade, whose wealth came to exceed any other source of royal income.
