Don henley was born in 1394 and died in 1460+065438+ 10/3. He is the third son of King Joao I of Portugal. He received religious and general education from his mother who was born in the English royal family, and learned martial arts from his father, and inherited the chivalry of the Middle Ages. Because of this, Henry felt uneasy about court life and longed for knighthood. In the first expansion of Portugal's occupation of Ceuta, Henry was knighted by his father Joao I for his "outstanding military exploits". Henry got his wish.
In the process of supervising shipbuilding and participating in combat, Henry contacted many experienced sailors, learned about the situation in the Arab world and gradually strengthened his desire and confidence to enter the sea.
First of all, he was determined to carry forward the "Crusader" spirit and vowed to fight the pagans to the end. But he knew that Portugal's troops were thin and it was impossible to lead a large-scale expedition, so he thought of attacking the border of the Arab Empire with a fleet, just like capturing Ceuta. This requires nautical survey.
In order to find the East, Henry gave up the happiness of the palace from 14 18 and went to live in Sacramento near Lagos Port. He studied mathematics, astronomy and geography there, and with the support of Ptolemy's new concept of geography, he was planning an unprecedented big plan. He established an observatory, a shipyard, fortifications and a small town in Sacramento, and later established an aviation school. A large number of astronomical and geographical works of ancient Greece and Rome were collected here, and some scholars were hired to re-explore the land and ocean, draw new nautical charts and recalculate the circumference of the earth.
Henry's first goal was to get the crew to sail to the Canary Islands, and then cross Cape Gadol to explore the unknown waters further away. At that time, there was no record of anyone returning safely from Cape Bogado, but there was a terrible legend about how it was difficult for ships to survive there, saying that the sea water south of there was boiling and people would turn black when they got there. On the map of Arabia, there is also a hand of Satan sticking out of the water. The crew said to Henry, "How can we cross the cordon set by our ancestors?" We lost our souls and bodies. What good is this for your highness? "
14 18, under the order of Prince don henley, captains Jauhaud goncalves Zalko and Tristan Vaz teixeira led an expedition on a long voyage, with the goal of crossing Cape Gadol to Guinea.
Soon after the fleet set sail, it met with a headwind. After several crooked voyages, Zarco and others accidentally discovered an island, which was named Saint Bordeaux. The island is uninhabited, but has fresh water and plants.
After investigating the situation on the island, they returned to the kingdom with satisfaction, reported to the prince and brought back samples of soil and plants. Prince Henry was very happy and ordered the ship to be prepared. He wants to occupy the island.
In 14 19, Henry sent two former captains, accompanied by Bartolomeu Perestrello. When they landed on the island of Saint Bordeaux again, they found several semi-hungry Portuguese monks-survivors of a shipwreck. So they named the place where they met the monks "Friar Harbor".
Standing on the island, I saw a "dark cloud" rising in the distance, which scared the sailors out of their wits. They are worried that it may be an abyss that devours ships, or a gate of hell. Zarko decided to watch and wait for the change of the moon, hoping that the "dark clouds" would dissipate. But the "dark clouds" remained, so I decided to take a few people to see what had happened. Many people begged the captain not to take risks. Others laugh at those timid people, saying that it can only be a piece of land because there are many trees and it is foggy.
Despite some people's objections, Captain Zarco led the sailors to the mysterious "dark clouds" on a Sunday morning. At noon, they fell into darkness. The sailors were scared to death. They howled because they heard the terrible crash of the huge waves, but they didn't know where they hit. Everyone asked the captain to return to his original place, and no one wanted to be sucked into the abyss.
Jauhaud goncalves Zalko and the helmsman kept calm as usual and drove into the dense fog. They finally saw a corner of the land exposed. But because I was too nervous and scared, I didn't believe it was land. It was a long time before they found that there was really no danger ahead and the island was so beautiful. They couldn't help cheering loudly and laughing at themselves.
This island is Madeira. They called the first Cape of Good Hope into their sight "Sanlorenzo" because the captain's ship was "Sanlorenzo".
The Portuguese were intoxicated by the beauty and coolness of Madeira Island. However, it is difficult to land because the plants are too dense and extend all the way to the water. They boarded a small sampan, found a smooth boulder and jumped on the island.
They walked into the Woods along a small river with curiosity. The island is uninhabited, and there are no poisonous snakes and beasts. This is the news they brought back later.
The helmsman suggested to the captain that the ship should anchor in a safe place, and then rowed the sampan to continue the reconnaissance. Zarko agreed. The next day, it was sunny and calm. They set out on a sampan and sailed along the coast of Madeira for the first time. They unhurriedly bypassed the boulder and crossed the clear river, writing down the places they passed along the way and naming them according to the characteristics they saw: rope angle (cobblestone), because there are many pebbles there; Funchal (fennel land), because fennel is abundant here.
Keep sailing and come to a calm bay. There are many seals in the bay, so Captain Zarco called this place "Seal Hall". Later, this place had a strange connection with the captain.
Prince don henley was very happy when he got the news that they had brought back from the island. King Joao I decided to reward explorers and make Captain Zarco an aristocrat. The circular pattern on the emblem is a seal: two standing and one squatting. Since then, his family has changed its surname to "Kamara".
After the Madeira Islands were discovered, they were considered to belong to Prince Henry, who sent them to the discoverer for immigration and development. Saint Bordeaux was handed over to Bartolomeu Perestrello; Madeira Island was handed over to Rao Gonsalves Zarko and Tristan Vaz teixeira.
The captains went with their families, livestock, various utensils and seeds. The king allowed all men and women who wanted to be colonists to go with the captain, even prisoners and fugitives. As long as they farm, they can be pardoned. In order to avoid trouble, Captain Zarko refused to let criminals accused of treason, theft or anti-religious crimes on board, but allowed those accused of other crimes to go. At that time, at least 14 families ventured to a desert island to start a new life. They come from the petty aristocrats and civilians, mostly in Algavi province.
On the eve of Bartolomeu Perestrello's trip to Saint Bordeaux, a friend gave him a pregnant female rabbit. The mother rabbit gave birth to a litter of rabbits during the voyage. When they arrived in Saint Bordeaux, they set the rabbit free, which put a curse on it. Rabbits breed very fast, causing a veritable disaster.
The life of the colonists on the island is quite difficult. There is only one fresh water spring, and the natural plants are only Pinus densiflora, juniper and Mimang. It takes a lot of effort to reclaim land and grow wheat and oats. But rabbits have been destroying crops. There are also problems in raising livestock. Due to the lack of pasture, animals can only drink salt water The only source of wealth is bees, which can produce very sweet honey. Longsong provides wood, especially the gum called Dracaena, which is used to make pigments and medicines and is very popular in Europe.
Madeira Island is rich in water resources, but the plants are too dense. Because there are too many trees, people can't farm and build settlements. Cutting down trees is difficult and slow because of lack of manpower and material resources. Finally, Jauhaud goncalves made a choice and sent someone to set fire to the tree. The fire spread and turned the whole island into a brazier, which lasted for seven years before it was extinguished.
With more and more arable land, crops began to be planted. This land is so fertile that one seed can produce 60 seeds. Wheat is the first to get a bumper harvest. Later, the introduction of sugarcane cultivation was quite successful. Grapes were planted during the period of Prince don henley, and the effect was good, but it was not until a long time later that Madeira's wine became famous, surpassing sucrose.
Madeira Island is under the jurisdiction of two captains, Tristan Vaz teixeira and Rao Gonsalves Zarko. This division was confirmed by Prince don henley, who also signed a gift document detailing the rights and obligations of the captains.
The captains have almost unlimited power on their land. They distribute land, collect taxes and try criminal cases, but they are not allowed to execute the death penalty or amputate. They gave the prince110 of all the proceeds.