Prince Henry the Navigator
Dom Henrique of Portugal, Duke of Viseu, better known as Prince Henry the Navigator, was a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and in the 15th-century European maritime discoveries and maritime expansion. Through his administrative direction, he is regarded as the main initiator of what would be known as the Age of Discovery. Henry was the fourth child of King John I of Portugal, who founded the House of Aviz.
Infante Dom Henrique; St. Vincent Panels
Portrait believed to be true likeness of Prince Henry. Detail from fifth panel of polyptych of St. Vincent by Nuno Gonçalves, c. 1470.
Approximate routes of the Portuguese ships under Henry's command.
Henry the Navigator bronze by Léon-Joseph Chavalliaud (1899), outside the Palm House at Sefton Park, Liverpool (appears similar to a sculpture of the beginning of the 16th century, in the Jerónimos Monastery, Lisbon, possibly close to a true likeness of Prince Henry)
The Portuguese Empire, also known as the Portuguese Overseas or the Portuguese Colonial Empire, was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and later overseas territories, governed by the Kingdom of Portugal. It was one of the longest-lived colonial empires in European history, lasting almost six centuries from the conquest of Ceuta in North Africa in 1415, to the transfer of sovereignty over Macau to China in 1999. The empire began in the 15th century, and from the early 16th century it stretched across the globe, with bases in Africa, North America, South America, and various regions of Asia and Oceania.
The Conquest of Ceuta, in 1415, was led by Henry the Navigator and initiated the Portuguese Empire.
Vasco da Gama's departure to India in 1497.
The carrack Santa Catarina do Monte Sinai exemplified the might and the force of the Portuguese Armada.
16th century Portuguese illustration from the Códice Casanatense, depicting a Portuguese nobleman with his retinue in India