Dom Henrique of Portugal, Duke of Viseu, better known as Prince Henry the Navigator, was a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and in the 15th-century European maritime discoveries and maritime expansion. Through his administrative direction, he is regarded as the main initiator of what would be known as the Age of Discovery. Henry was the fourth child of King Dom John I of Portugal, who founded the House of Aviz.
Jehudà Cresques, also known as Jafudà Cresques, Jaume Riba, and Cresques lo Juheu, was a converso cartographer from Majorca in the early 15th century.
Sagres Point is a windswept shelf-like promontory located in the southwest Algarve region of southern Portugal. Only 4 km to the west and 3 km to the north lies Cape St. Vincent, which is usually taken as the southwesternmost tip of Europe. The vicinity of Sagres Point and Cape St. Vincent has been used for religious purposes since Neolithic times, to which standing menhirs near Vila do Bispo, a few miles from both points, attest.
Cape Bojador is a headland on the west coast of Western Sahara, at 26° 07' 37"N, 14° 29' 57"W, as well as the name of the large nearby town with a population of 42,651. The name of the surrounding province also derives its name from the cape.
Gil Eanes was a 15th-century Portuguese navigator and explorer.
The Military Order of Christ is the former order of Knights Templar as it was reconstituted in Portugal. Before 1910, it was known as the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Order of the Knights of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It was founded in 1319, with the protection of King Denis of Portugal, after the Templars were abolished on 22 March 1312 by the papal bull, Vox in excelso, issued by Pope Clement V. King Denis refused to pursue and persecute the former knights as had occurred in most of the other sovereign states under the political influence of the Catholic Church.
Diogo de Silves is the presumed name of an obscure Portuguese explorer of the Atlantic who allegedly discovered the Azores islands in 1427.
Jácome de Bruges, 1st Captain-Donee of Terceira was the brother of Louis de Gruuthuse, 1st Earl of Winchester of the wealthy Gruuthuse noble family from Bruges, their grandfather Jean III d'Aa of Gruuthuse participated in the great tournament of Bruges on 11 March, 1393. Jácome became a servant of Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal, who initiated the so-called Portuguese Age of Discovery in the 15th century.
Abraham Cresques, whose real name was Cresques (son of) Abraham, was a 14th-century Jewish cartographer from Palma, Majorca, then part of the Crown of Aragon. In collaboration with his son, Jehuda Cresques, Cresques is credited with the authorship of the celebrated Catalan Atlas of 1375.
Portolan charts are nautical charts, first made in the 13th century in the Mediterranean basin and later expanded to include other regions. The word portolan comes from the Italian portulano, meaning "related to ports or harbors", and which since at least the 17th century designates "a collection of sailing directions".
Afonso Gonçalves Baldaia was a 15th-century Portuguese nautical explorer. He explored much of the coast of Western Sahara in 1435–1436 on behalf of the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator. He would later become one of the first colonists of Terceira Island in the Azores.
"Majorcan cartographic school" is the term coined by historians to refer to the collection of predominantly Jewish cartographers, cosmographers and navigational instrument-makers and some Christian associates that flourished in Majorca in the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries until the expulsion of the Jews. The label is usually inclusive of those who worked in Catalonia. The Majorcan school is frequently contrasted with the contemporary Italian cartography school.
Lançarote de Freitas, better known as Lançarote de Lagos or Lançarote da Ilha, was a 15th-century Portuguese explorer and slave trader from Lagos, Portugal. He was the leader of two large Portuguese slaving raids on the West African coast in 1444–46.
Gonçalo de Sintra or de Cintra (d.1444/45), was a 15th-century Portuguese explorer and servant of Prince Henry the Navigator.
Jaume Ferrer was a Majorcan sailor and explorer. He sailed from Majorca to find the legendary "River of Gold" on 10 August 1346, but the outcome of his quest and his fate are unknown. He is memorialized in his native city of Palma, Majorca.
Gabriel de Vallseca, also referred to as Gabriel de Valseca and Gabriel de Valsequa was a cartographer of Jewish descent connected to the Majorcan cartographic school. His most notable map is the portolan of 1439, containing the first depiction of the recently-discovered Azores islands.
The Castle of Lagos is a medieval castle located in the municipality of Lagos, Portugal. Its walls surrounded the entire city of Lagos, providing the town its main means of defence.
La Cartografía Mallorquina is a book of essays on the Majorcan portolans written by Professor Julio Rey Pastor with the collaboration of Ernesto García Camarero. It is a scholarly essay, a key element in the study of portolans, especially those made by Majorcans as half of the book is devoted to the study of more than 400 Majorcan portolans existing worldwide.
Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis is an early modern work on cosmography and Atlantic exploration written by the Portuguese geographer and navigator Duarte Pacheco Pereira.
Jaime Zuzarte Cortesão was a Portuguese medical doctor, politician, historian and writer.
