Finally Bartholomew Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope and proved that
the African India had no Atlantic coast; and he also proved that there
existed a southern hemisphere of great possibilities. Then the question
of reaching Asiatic India by sea loomed large in the Portuguese mind.
Vasco da Gama, following Dias around the Cape of Good Hope, crossed the
Indian Ocean and at last cast anchor in the dazzlingly rich city of
Calcutta, the real India.
This last did not happen, however, till 1498, six years after Columbus
discovered America. Long before this time the good Prince Henry had
died; and though he did not live to learn of this sea route to India, he
died knowing that the Madeiras and the Azores existed out in the open
sea, while Africa stretched far south of the Equator. His devotion to
navigation had imbued his countrymen with great enthusiasm, and placed
little Portugal at the head of European nations in maritime matters. Not
only did she discover how to sail to India, but to Siam, Java, China,
and Japan as well.
From Prince Henry's day, Lisbon became the city where all men interested
in the fascinating study of geography wished to dwell, in order that
they might exchange ideas with navigators and get employment under the
Crown. We can readily understand why Lisbon was a magnet to the
ambitious Christopher Columbus; and we may feel sure that had the brave,
intelligent "Protector of Studies in Portugal" been still alive when
Columbus formed his plan for discovery, the intrepid discoverer would
have been spared those weary years of waiting.
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