![]() Portugal was poised to take the lead, albeit brief, in the exploration and exploitation of the globe. All the elements needed for global exploration were brought together by Prince Henry at Sagres. Borrowing elements of Arabic shipbuilding, Prince Henry and his engineers designed the famous caravel, mentioned above. Since initial Portuguese voyages traveled north and south exploring Africa, more precise means of measuring latitude were researched. The compass, thought by many Europeans to be driven my occult powers, was disenchanted of superstition and its use expanded and refined. Now called Prince Henry the Navigator, he collected fresh information from newly arrived sailors to produce the most current maps possible. ![]() Instead, he settled in the remove coastal town of Sagres which he turned into a center of navigational studies and cartography. As contacts with west African societies continued the Portuguese began trading in ivory and slaves as well.Īfter a dispute with his father, Prince Henry returned home to Portugal but avoided the capital of Lisbon where he could have easily gained a comfortable royal job. Algiers and Tunis in north Africa were economically devastated by this rerouting of trade. ![]() Soon African gold was flowing by sea from west Africa directly to Iberia rather than across the trans-Saharan caravan routes. Its fall to Prince Henry encouraged the Portuguese exploration of Africa's west coast.Guinea on Africa's western coast.
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