nPostednon March 4, 2014
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Itnmay not surprise you to hear that, when this particular Henry wasnborn (on this date in 1394), he was not called “Henry thenNavigator.” That was a name that he earned, a name for the historynbooks. As a baby boy, the third child of the King of Portugal, he wasncalled Infante Henry, Duke of Viseu.
Itnmay not surprise you to hear that, when this particular Henry wasnborn (on this date in 1394), he was not called “Henry thenNavigator.” That was a name that he earned, a name for the historynbooks. As a baby boy, the third child of the King of Portugal, he wasncalled Infante Henry, Duke of Viseu.n
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nAsna young man, Henry was intrigued by tales of Africa, by the idea ofnexpanding Portugal’s trading partners, and by the lure ofnexploration. At age 21 he convinced his father to conquer the Africannport Ceuta, which was only a short distance from Portugal across thenStraits of Gibraltar. He wasn’t doing it just on a lark—after all,nBarbary pirates based in Ceuta had been raiding Portuguese villagesnfor years, kidnapping Portuguese people and selling them in thenAfrican slave market.
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nThenventure succeeded, and Henry began to send expeditions to explore thencoast of Africa. At the time very few Europeans knew much aboutnAfrica. Henry’s expeditions expanded Europeans’ knowledge of newnlands while looking for the source of West African gold trade—andnof course trying to stop the pirate attacks!
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nNoticenthat Henry didn’t go on these expeditions himself! He wasn’t captainnOR navigator of the ships—he waited safe and cozy at home!
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Thenships of the time just weren’t up to the far-away travel andnexploration. So Henry directed Portuguese ship builders to create annew, lighter-weight sort of ship called a caravel. It could sail muchnfaster, much further. The caravel revolutionized ocean travel!
Thenships of the time just weren’t up to the far-away travel andnexploration. So Henry directed Portuguese ship builders to create annew, lighter-weight sort of ship called a caravel. It could sail muchnfaster, much further. The caravel revolutionized ocean travel!n
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nWithnHenry pushing his people to explore and make maps and trade, thenPortuguese discovered and colonized the Azores and the MadeiranIslands and sailed for the first time past the storms and strongncurrents of Cape Bojador, into what was known as the “Sea ofnDarkness.” Within Henry’s lifetime, his explorers ended up sailingnas far south as Cape Palmas.
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nOfncourse, all was not lollipops and roses. Henry may have succeeded innransoming some Portuguese people who had been enslaved, thus freeingnthem, but he also enslaved some African people and ordered violentnactions against Muslims and others. n
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nLearnnmore about Henry the Navigator with the videos, books, and lessonsnfrom this Pinterest board.
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nAlso on this date:
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Kanaval in Haiti
Kanaval in Haiti
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nMarch Forth on March Fourth n
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nInventornGarrett Morgan’s birthday
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nAnniversarynof the discovery of the Orion Nebula
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nApriln holidays
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