Henry, now completely convinced of the importance of those projects, which he had so successfully pursued, obtained, from Pope Eugene IV., a grant of all the coun tries already known, or yet to he discovered, from Cape Non to the continent of India ; and had his zeal been seconded by that skill in navigation, which was after wards attained, he would probably have reaped the full advantage of that liberal donation. A modern sailor would hear with surprise, that, notwithstanding all his exertions, not more than fifteen hundred miles of the African coast were in his days explored. Yet to have passed the limits, which till then were supposed to ter minate the. continent of Africa ; to have found out shores and islands unheard of before, were achievements drew the attention of all Europe, and awakened that gen eral spirit of curiosity, which has since been rewarded with the discovery of another continent, and which was not to subside while one sea remained untraversed, or one country unknown. The Portuguese eagerly second ed the designs of their prince. The whole nation seem ed to be animated with the same enthusiasm. Private companies of merchants sent out fleets in quest of un known countries ; and thus the Cape de Verd islands were discovered in the year 1446, and the Azores soon after.
Alphonse, who occupied the throne of Portugal after Henry's death, was too much engaged in war to pro secute with much ardour the discoveries in Africa. Vet, during his reign, the Portuguese ventured to cross the line ; and were surprised to find those regions populous and fertile, which they had imagined to be scorched with intolerable heat. John H., N• 110 succeeded his hither ‘lphonso, Fully aware of the importance of these new acquisitions, cntered into the schemes of his grand uncle Henry, with all that prince's zeal, and with very superior -advantages. Under his patronage, a powerful fleet was sent out, which discovered the kingdoms of Benin and Congo, and advanced fifieell 1,1111(11'1d miles beyond the equinoctial line ; where the adventurers be held is ith astonishment, a new heaven, filled with stars which they hail never before seen. Anxious to scenic the possession of those countries, which his subjects had discovered, John planted colonies, and erected torts on the coast of Guinea; enterecl into a commercial con nexion with its more powerful sovereigns ; rendered others the vassals of his crown ; and, by a regular and well digested system of policy, established, upon a solid foundation, the power and commerce of the Portuguese in Africa. Till this time Ptolemy had been the oracle of geographers, and Africa was supposed, according to his doctrine, to become broader towards the south. But
the Portuguese, as their knowledge of that continent in creased, found, that, beyond the Equator, it inclined sen sibly towards the cast. The Phoenician circumnaviga tion, which, on the authority of the ancient geographers, they had hitherto regarded as fabulous, now appeared probable ; and suggested the hope, that, by following a similar route, they might open a maritime communica tion with India, and engross the lucratiN c commerce of that country.
Meanwhile, intelligence had been received from va rious nations on the African coast, that there existed a kingdom in the cast of that continent, governed by a powerful monarch, who pi ofessed the Christian religion. John immediately concluded, that this must be the king of Abyssinia ; and, hoping to receive from a Christian prince the information and assistance necessary for pro moting his schemes of discovery, which obviously tend ed to propagate their common faith, he was desirous, if possible, to open an intercourse with this unknown and distant court. TWO men, named Covillan and Pay va, well skilled in the Arabic language, were appointed am bassadors to the Abyssinian monarch ; with particular directions to collect whatever information they could oncerning the trade of India, and the possibility of sail ing thither by the way of Africa. With the same grand object in view, he sent out a fleet under the command of Bartholomew Diaz, w hem lie directed to reach, if pos sible, the southern extremity of the African continent ; and explore that passage, which it was now his highest ambition to ascertain. The experience and fortitude of Diaz eminently qualified him for an undertaking of such difficulty and importance. Undaunted by the tempests, which he encountered in those unknown seas; unmoved by the frequent mutinies of his crew, or by the more dreadful prospect of famine, which from the loss of his store-ship he had reason to fear, he resolutely proceed ed on his voyage, till, after discovering inure than a thousand miles of new country, he at length descried the lofty promontory, by which Africa is terminated on the south. But he could do no more than descry it. The increasing violence of the storms, the shattered state of his ships, and the turbulence of his crew, compelled him to return ; and he called the promontory, in search of which he had encountered so much hardship and clan ger, Cabo M1'111(111080, or the •S'tornzy Cape. But his sove reign, confident that he had now found the long ished-for passage to India, gave it a name of better °Men, NS 'itch it has eNer r,tucc retained, the Cup(' cf GyAl llope.