Columbus America would have been discovered in 1500 by
Cabral as the almost inevitable result of the efforts of Prince
Henry the Navigator. Few careers have been more extraor-
dinary in their influence on history, and yet comparatively
little attention outside of Portugal has been given to his work
and its results in the abundant literature that has lately ac-
cumulated about the discoveries.^
In view of the extraordinary character of Prince Henry's work, I have thought it worth while to try to determine as exactly as possible by a careful examination of contemporary sources just what his aims were, and what prompted his course of action.
The earliest authentic statement of Prince Henry's aims that I have found, and which may be taken as his own, is in a charter issued Oct. 22, 1443, and recently published, I think for the first time, which prohibits any one from making a voyage beyond Cape Bojador without permission from the Prince. The passage reads : " Dom Affonso, etc. We make known to all who see this Charter that the Infant Dom Hen-
1 His life has been written five times. First, by Freire (Candido Lusitano), Lisbon, 1758. Second, by Gustav de Veer. Prinz Heinrich und seiner 2kity Danzig, 1864 ; an excellent piece of work. Third, The Life of Prince Henry ^ Surnamed the Navigator, etc. By K. H. Major, London, 1868; very learned, with a large controversial element, and not very systematically arranged. The con- densed edition of 1874 is better adapted for general reading. Fourth, Dom Henrique Infante, Memoria Historica por Alfredo Alves, Porto, 1894, 8vo, 125; an interesting volume which received the royal prize offered in view of the ap- proaching fifth centenary of Henry's birth for the best work on his career. Fifth, Prince Henry the Navigator, etc. By C. Raymond Beazley, London and New York, 1895. The work of Oliveira Martins, Os Filhos de D. Joao I. Porto, 1891, should also be mentioned. Freire's work was translated into French by the Abbe de Cournand, Lisbon, 1781. 2 vols. Of the special discussions, "J. Escola de Sagres e As Tradigoes Do Infante D. Henrique," a lecture before the Royal Academy of Sciences of Lisbon in 1877, by the Marquez de Souza Holstein, contains the most new information. The most recent critical review of the rise of Portuguese exploration is Mr. Beazley's Introduction to the second volume of the translation of Azurara by himself, and Mr. Prestage, The Hakluyt Society, London, 1899. The two recent documentary publications that throw light on the period are described when cited. Prince Henry was born March 4, 1394, and the five hundredth anniversary of his birth was celebrated with appropriate ceremo- nies in Oporto in March 1, 1894.
