Henry the Navigator
The third son of Portuguese King John I, the Infante Henrique, Duke of Viseu (1394 – 1460), is better known as Henry the Navigator (Henrique, o Navegador).
He is widely regarded as the initiator of the Age of Discovery due to his role in the early development of Portuguese exploration and maritime trade through the systematic exploration of Western Africa, the islands of the Atlantic Ocean, and the search for a sea route around Africa that would bring the Portuguese into contact with the Indies and potential allies in the ongoing struggle against Islam.
Despite the historiographical legend, he made no more than two or three short sea trips between the Iberian peninsula and Morocco.
