In 1415, a young European prince named Henry, who came from an obscure, foundling dynasty in what would later be known as Portugal, charged out ahead of the troops under his command during an invasion of the African mainland, at a little trading outpost called Ceuta.
The prince, who would eventually achieve fame as Henry the Navigator, was less of a hero in battle than his reckless sally would suggest, but the Portuguese land grab soon succeeded. The gambit jolted Europe with the news of a success against the Muslims of the Marinid dynasty and announced a Portuguese dynasty, the Aviz, as a new force to be reckoned with in the Christian world.
In 1415, a young European prince named Henry, who came from an obscure, foundling dynasty in what would later be known as Portugal, charged out ahead of the troops under his command during an invasion of the African mainland, at a little trading outpost called Ceuta.
The prince, who would eventually achieve fame as Henry the Navigator, was less of a hero in battle than his reckless sally would suggest, but the Portuguese land grab soon succeeded. The gambit jolted Europe with the news of a success against the Muslims of the Marinid dynasty and announced a Portuguese dynasty, the Aviz, as a new force to be reckoned with in the Christian world.
