20 SIEGE OF THE SOUTH POLE 
which wells up against the southwest coast of Africa and 
streams northward along the land. When the storm was 
over Diaz steered east to meet the coast, but after some 
days seeing no land he altered his course to the northward 
and anchored in Algoa Bay. There is no doubt that he had 
reached and passed the fortieth parallel of south latitude 
before making the south coast of Africa. To his delight, 
but to the alarm of his crew, the coast continued to trend 
eastward, and but for the inevitable mutiny that played a 
part in almost every voyage of the period Diaz would 
have anticipated Vasco da Gama in discovering the sea- 
route to India. He opened the way to it, however, by 
showing that Africa had undoubtedly a southern termi- 
nation in a temperate climate, where there were living 
people, those very Antipodes to believe in whom had for 
centuries been the rankest heresy. 
How far Prince Henry knew that Africa was a great 
peninsula before he began his efforts to sail round it we 
cannot say. There are rumours of a chart of oriental 
origin showing the Cape of Good Hope and a route round 
it to India; there is little doubt that the Arab traders 
on the east coast of Africa knew that there was free water 
communication to the southwest; and on Fra Mauro’s 
map of 1495 Africa was shown free to the south. There 
is, however, all the difference in the world between vague 
report and actual demonstration, and nothing that has 
been discovered as to prior knowledge can detract from 
the credit due to the Portuguese for their magnificent 
perseverance in pushing their way to the farthest south. 
They proved that long voyages were possible, that the 
dangers of navigation on the high seas were far less than 
had been supposed, and they brought home proofs of the 
form of the Earth that even the common sailor and the 
