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Published: August 8th 2015
History is everywhere in Portugal. The casual tourist would never suspect that desolate, forbidding Cape St Vincent, Europe’s most south-westerly point of land, was the site of two of the most significant events in modern history. What happened there six centuries ago led to the discovery of the world as we know it today. Before then only the bravest of sailors dared to venture beyond the “Pillars of Hercules” (Strait of Gibraltar), and none was foolhardy enough to sail past the rugged cliffs which marked the end of the known world. All that changed in the 1400s: the world was opened up to discovery, exploration and settlement; and Portugal and other countries went on to acquire overseas empires and great wealth. All this was due mainly to the foresight and determination of one man – Portugal’s scholarly Prince Enrique, a.k.a. “Henry the Navigator” (1377-1440).
He established a navigation and seamanship school east of what is now Sagres, a small town near the end of the Cape. As far as researchers have been able to determine, the school and related buildings occupied a fortified area of perhaps a dozen hectares (30 acres) on top of a high granite cliff: probably the
world’s first research and training institute. Lured by the best astronomers, marine scientists and scholars from all over Europe, students soon arrived. They were the “iron men in wooden ships” who would study and later go on to become household names, like Magellan, Columbus, da Gama, Diaz, and Cabral. They learned to use the compass and to sail against head-winds, and Henry’s naval architects developed a revolutionary vessel for them, the “caravel”. For more information on this great man’s life and works, see
http://catterall.net/cotrim/soares/Sagres.htm .
Eventually disaster struck. From 1580–1640 Portugal came under Spanish occupation, which meant that it became an enemy of England, instead of its traditional ally. Henry’s institute was virtually obliterated in 1587 by Sir Francis Drake, who was marauding up and down the coast “singeing the Spanish king’s beard”. The great earthquake of 1755 wreaked further havoc. Only the chapel, a couple of small buildings, and what is believed to be the huge “compass rose” which Henry had laid out on the ground remained. And thus it stayed until recent times, when a modest reconstruction began, as money and artifacts became available.
Since there are no existing diagrams of the other buildings, architects have
had to guess at how they might have looked. The fortress walls have been partially rebuilt and they are working on a “school” replica, but there is still a lot to be done, with work progressing slowly. I certainly got a better understanding of “saudade” (melancholy nostalgia) by walking around the grounds.
Prince Henry’s school isn’t the only reason to visit this rugged area. As war after war ravaged Europe, Cape St Vincent saw numerous sea battles, including one involving, arguably, the greatest naval hero of all time. In 1797 Horatio Nelson in a small 74 gun ship took on the world’s largest warship and two other behemoths, with a total of 330 guns. He captured all three, then later defeated Napoleon’s fleet decisively at Trafalgar, thus changing the course of history. For information about this important battle, see
www.stvincent.ac/uk/Heritage/1797/ .
Today this is a wild and windswept place, where only a powerful but solitary lighthouse bears witness to modern ways. As we returned our car was surrounded and escorted out by a family of gray wolves, who seemed to want us to know just whose territory we were invading. The Cape is of interest to
naturalists, and people seeking an undisturbed holiday can relax and rejuvenate at the luxurious new government Pousada de Sagres.
If you go to the Algarve, I hope you will take the time to visit this wild but hallowed place. Tread reverently and give thanks, for our world is a much better place because of what Prince Henry, Nelson, and many other “iron men” accomplished there long ago.
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Rainyb
Lorraine Brecht
We were there too! I do remember that huge compass.