Vila do Infante (Prince-Town), the First School of Oceanography in the Modern Era: An Essay

Abstract

Henry of Portugal died on 13 November 1460 on the remote and lonely promontory of Sagres. Isolated from the political world of Europe by sheer rock cliffs dropping sharply into the Atlantic Ocean, blocking all those who would enter without his permission by thick crenelated stone walls, Henry died as he lived—self-denying, uncomplaining, dedicated and driven, with an absolute faith in God and in his destiny. Prone to make errors, sensitive to the criticism of peers and even of his brother, Portugal’s King Edward, Henry’s constant prayer, self-denial from worldy pleasures, and unyielding determination won for him a place in the mainstream of history unmatched since the time of Christ. Before Henry, the world was moving in one direction. After Henry, it was moving in another. All the wars, the philosophies, the dictators, and the technologies from his day to the Space Era did not make an impact on world history such as that inscribed on the rolls of the human story by Henry and his navigators. The heart of this activity which led to the European discovery of the largely unknown world was Henry’s School of Oceanography at Sagres and Tercanabal, known as the Vila do Infante or Prince-Town (Zurara 1453).