More entrepreneur than prince.
More shipbuilder than navigator.
More misogynist than ascetic.
More proto-Mason than Templar and as much astronomer as astrologer, because in the 15th century, a seasoned and solid esotericism loved to stroll cheerfully hand in hand with a young, reborn, and daring science.
This singular figure, born in Porto in 1394, is an undeniable fruit of the Renaissance (and vice versa) who deserves a place in the Olympus of European civilization for his achievements, which were and remain of supracontinental magnitude.
Though the son, brother, and uncle of kings, he never aspired to be one. Experts say he was the ‘odd’ brother, the least ‘media-savvy.’
His activity as a military leader was, fortunately for history, diminishing, but his work and creativity were fundamental in ensuring that a small nation remained present and steadfast for centuries from Brazil to Macao. Today, his first two colonial contributions—Madeira and the Azores—are a cherished part of Portugal.
At 20, he was appointed Grand Master of the Order of Christ, a military-religious order that had absorbed, succeeded, and sheltered in Portugal the Templars after their dissolution and the seizure of their vast assets by the puppet Pope of the King of France, Clement V.
With the economic power of this formidable order, he prepared his first naval expeditions. His investments were aimed at creating innovative ships capable of challenging Africa against the increasingly powerful Ottoman Empire, which in 1453 would shock the Christian world with the capture of Constantinople.
Henry succeeded in gathering and improving cartographic knowledge, shipbuilding techniques, and navigation methods of his time like no one before him.
Later, he collected and reinvested the economic fruits of his achievements and rewards as an explorer and colonizer in an ever-growing virtuous cycle, turning his country into what we would now define as a global leader to be reckoned with.
The caravel, his best weapon
Evolving from the small and agile Muslim ‘qärib’ and its Atlantic variants, this type of ship was developed in Portugal. Highly maneuverable, capable of sailing up rivers and carrying up to 50 tons of cargo (80 slaves), it became the ideal tool for exploration and discovery. Additionally, it could alternate between the lateen sail (perfect for exploration) and the square sail (which allowed fast sailing in open waters).
It was the favorite vessel of Henry’s captains, but despite gradually increasing the number of masts (up to four), they were eventually displaced by other ships (naus, carracks, early galleons…) with greater cargo capacity.
Its only drawback: sailing downwind.
Cape Jubi, the psychological barrier
For years, the goal of Enrique’s maritime-technical cluster was to surpass Cape Bojador (now Jubi), which, located on the Saharan coast at the latitude of the Canary Islands, had become an insurmountable nautical barrier for the ships that attempted it, barely managing to return if they had not shipwrecked in the attempt.
Finally, it was his captain Gil Eanes who, on the second attempt, succeeded in surpassing it and, most importantly, returned proudly to Lisbon.
With his innovative caravels, his masters, and his sailors, Enrique managed to exponentially increase his king’s possessions.
And he did so in such a dazzling way that the crown of Portugal became, in the time of Philip II, the richest monarchy in Europe because, even during Enrique’s lifetime and thanks to his ships, gold, slaves, and, more timidly, the precious spices began to arrive directly in significant and regular quantities to Lisbon without passing through the Muslim intermediaries who, until then, exerted control over those trades.
By the end of his life (Sagres 1460), his expeditionary ships had reached Sierra Leone, and he bequeathed to his country a generation of brave Portuguese pilots who, cape by cape, sea by sea, island by island, reached the far ends of the Far East.
Between Lagos, Sagres, and Lisbon, Enrique of Aviz, the Grand Master of the Order of Christ, forged an empire.
Víctor Rubio
P.S.:
A contemporary of Henry the Navigator, Admiral Zheng He had at least two things in common with him: women were absent from his life, and his naval expeditions made known the name and great technological and naval power of his country (in this case, China) to distant peoples and nations in Asia and Africa.
In the second half of the 15th century, Portugal had a population of 1.4 million people; Castile, 4 million; the Crown of Aragon, 0.9 million; and China, 98 million.
