16 
courts of Europe; and, under the standards 
of the emperor Sigismond, the sword of don 
Pedro had been seen and dreaded in Ger- 
many by the Turks. When called to the 
helm as regent, he gave the whole of his 
charts and geographical manuscripts to the 
Duke of Viseo; who to kindred genius and 
talents, united the most determined and 
patient resolution. The religion of this 
prince, who was grand master of the order 
of Christ, blessed and elevated his designs ; 
the propagation of the gospel was the sub- 
lime object of all his enterprizes: the words 
that were emblazoned on the shield of this 
illustrious knight, TALENT DE BIEN FAIRE, 
prove that he had imbibed the generous 
virtues of christianity. 
*< Three years before the reduction of Ceuta, 
the duke of Viseo had sent, in 1412, a vessel 
to'explore the coast of Africa, which was 
the first voyage of discovery undertaken b 
the Portuguese. This attempt, rude as jit 
now appears, was then pregnant with a 
series of alarm, particularly adapted to de- 
press the resolution of seamen, who are 
always well versed in legendary horrors. 
Africa, from time immemorial, has been the 
land of wonder or fairy illusion; and though 
the industry of the eighteenth century may 
shave removed many of the plausible theories 
that darkened the beginning of the fifteenth, 
we still have gained little more than a know- 
ledge of its coasts. The philosophic ideas 
of Cicero, who collected whatever had been 
approved by the antients, were now become 
the errors of the vulgar; the arguments that 
convinced the reason of Pliny, may be al- 
lowed to have possessed some weight on the 
minds of Portuguese seamen: they believed, 
therefore, that the middle regions of the 
earth, in the torrid zone, teemed with 
scorching vapours; and that the unexplored 
southern continent of Africa, after extend- 
ing in breadth towards the west, diverged 
with an unbroken sweep to the east; and 
having joined the continent of Asia to the 
eastward of the Golden Chersonese, the 
peninsula of Malacca, was not surrounded 
by sea, but stretched in breadth to the south 
ole, 
«© This first voyage of the Portuguese was 
annually followed by others; as the duke 
sent every year some ships to the coast of 
Africa, they gradually advanced beyond Cape 
Nam, which extending itself from the foot 
of Mount Atlas, had hitherto been the im- 
passable limit of European navigation, and 
accordingly received its name froma negative 
term in Portuguese. But the mariners, who 
sailed with every instruction and encourage- 
ment their prince could furnish, were arrested 
in their course by the sight of a tremendous 
cape ; which, at the distance of sixty leagues 
from the former, stretched boldly out towards 
the west, and formed the coast, they had 
hitherto. passed from Cape Nam, into an 
extensive bay. With considerable alarm and 
‘disappointment, they beheld a frightful sea 
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. 
raging on the shoals, which agitate its waves — 
for six leagues : the terrors of the torrid zone — 
were not forgot; their imagination presented 
its fiery flames and scorching vapours, and 
suggested that they might already have ad- 
vanced too far. On their return, the dan- 
gers of the newly discovered cape were not 
iminished by narration; and the Spanish 
term of Bojar was given to the barren and 
dreary promontory of Bojadore. 
«« The systems which the narrow faculties 
of men frame in every age, and substitute 
for the sublime truths of nature, would here 
probably have repressed, at least for many 
years, the daring exploits of navigation, if 
the aupmyticed and clear si of the 
Portuguese prince, had not dared to question 
the validity of the antient sages, the most 
enlightened philosophers, and the most ac- 
curate geographers, which Greece or Rome 
had produced. With a judgment matured 
by the converse of various scientific. men, 
whom his patronage had attracted in Africa ; 
and with a mind enlarged by the perusal of 
every work, which illustrated the Macoreebs 
he had in view,. the conqueror of Ceuta 
returned to Portugal. The high land of 
Cape St. Vincent, as he approached the 
coast, displayed the extensive command of 
an ocean hitherto unexplored; and probably 
a view of its cliffs, at a time when his mind 
glowed with future projects of discovery, 
might suggest the first idea of constructing 
his romantic town of Sagres, on the pro- 
montorium sacrum of the Romans. Here, 
as Faria says, the view of the ocean inspired 
his hopes and endeavours : removed from the 
hurry of a court, from the fatigue or indo- 
lence of a military life, the prince indulged 
that genius for mathematics and navigation, 
which he had hitherto been obliged to neg- 
lect. At Sagres, his arsenals and dock-yards 
were constructed; whilst the industry or 
skill of the ship-wrights were improved, by 
the presence of their royal master. Under 
such auspices, the mariner’s ya was 
brought into general use; a knowledge of the 
longitude and latitude, and the means by 
which they could be ascertained by astrono- 
mical observation, increased the skill of his 
scamen. The sea astrolabe, which derives 
its name from the armillary sphere, inyented 
by Hipparchus at Alexandria, was improved, 
and introduced into the Portuguese service. 
Skilful mariners from all countries found 
encouragement to settle at Sagres. A public 
school and observatory was opened by the 
prince, in which an inhabitant of Majorca 
presided, of the name of James, whose ex- 
perience in navigation, and the cgnstraction 
of charts, had reached the ears of this pres 
moter of science.” ; ; 
ts Be ~ ~~ 
It would be needless to point out the 
_groundless assertions and mistakes.of 
this most inaccurate writer. - There is 
no sufficient authority for affirming that 
.a_ public. school ,and. obseryatory, were 
