Prince Henry the Navigator, or to give him his correct title
Infante Dom Henrique, was born in Porto on March 4th 1394, the third
son of King João of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster (daughter of John of
Gaunt). I have always been fascinated by
Henry’s role as sponsor and instigator of early Portuguese exploration so I was
eager to explore the Sagres area of the Algarve which he made his home.
Cape St Vincente is a dramatic headland with vertical cliffs
dropping to the Atlantic Ocean. It was
considered to be the most westerly point “of the whole inhabited world.” Nearby menhirs date from neolithic times and
a Roman pottery kiln has been found at Baleeira. It is a barren windswept spot, apart from the
imposing lighthouse and the swooping birds which include peregrine falcons, rock
thrushes, storks and herons.
Originally a Franciscan Monastery the Cape was named Cabo São
Viçente after the body of the martyred St Vincent was brought ashore to be
buried. In 1587, while under Spanish
rule, the area was plundered by Francis Drake and in 1797 Nelson defeated the
Spanish Fleet in the second Battle of Cape St Vincent. The lighthouse was built over the ruins of
the Franciscan convent in 1846.
Three kilometres away is the Sagres peninsula where the Fortaleza
de Sagres stands. This natural promontory
provided shelter for ships before they rounded Cape St Vincent. At one time it was believed that Prince Henry
established a school of navigation here to train sailors for their expeditions
of discovery along the African coast, but this has largely been discredited by
historians.
Certainly Henry established an estate, the Vila do Infante,
in a village called Terçanabal and he employed skilled mapmakers as well as
manufacturers of navigational instruments. As Administrator General of the Order of
Christ, a replacement for the crusading Templars in Portugal, he had access to
considerable funds for the sponsorship of ships seeking new land, gold and
slaves.
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| Islets of Martinhal at the entrance to Sagres harbour (modern day Baleeira) |
After Henry’s older brother Pedro was killed in a skirmish
with troops belonging to his young nephew King Alfonso V, the Infante decided
to reside mainly in Sagres and it was here that he died in November 1460,
leaving behind a legacy of adventuring sailors such as Bartolomeu Dias, who
rounded the Cape of Good Hope and Vasco da Gama, who was the first European to
reach India by sea.
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| Rosa dos Ventos (The compass rose) |
Visiting the Fortress of Sagres today you enter through a
tunnel where you are met with the sight of a vast stone compass rose (rosa dos
ventos) 43 metres in diameter. Most of
the sixteenth century fortress was destroyed by a tidal wave resulting from the
Lisbon earthquake of 1755 but one original turret remains. The fortress provided defence against barbary
pirates and other potential invaders along the coast. It was restored in the mid 20th
century.
As the Portuguese found new places such as the island of
Porto Santo, they left behind a series of padrões, stone crosses inscribed with
the Portuguese coat of arms marking their claims. There is a replica inside the fortress. Also in the compound is the simple church of Nossa
Senhora da Graça. Originally built in 1579, it is a plain white church with a
stunning ornate altar and two small niched statues of St Vincent and St Francis
which came from the monastery at Cape St Vincent.
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| Nossa Senhora da Graça |
Beyond the fortress further batteries were built along the peninsula but now it is a nature lovers paradise with an abundance of wild flowers and birds.
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