The Incidents Of The Last Seven Years Of The
Life Of This Distinguished Prince, Are Involved In Uncertainty, And We
Know very little with regard to the progress of his maritime discoveries
from 1456, the date of the second of
The voyages of Cada Mosto, of which
we propose to give a separate account, till the year of his death, 1463.
From the year 1412, when he began his operations, at which time he could
scarcely exceed fifteen years of age, the navigators who had been formed
under his auspices and direction, and often instructed by himself in the
theory of navigation and cosmography, gradually explored the western
coast of Africa, from Cape Nam or Non, in lat. 28 deg. 15', certainly to Rio
Grande, in lat. 11 deg. N. or rather to Rio de Nuno, not quite a degree
farther south; but it is highly probable that the southern limit of
discovery in his time extended to Cabo Verga, in lat. 10 deg. N. the northern
boundary of the country usually called the Sierra Liona, or the Ridge of
Lions, perhaps to the gulf of Mitomba, or bay of Sierra Liona, in lat. 8 deg.
30' N. an extent of 29 deg. 15' of latitude, or 1185 nautical miles; a mere
nothing certainly when compared with modern navigation, but a wonderful
effort in the infancy of the science, when even coasting voyages of any
extent along well known shores, and in frequented seas, were looked upon
as considerable efforts.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 300 of 812
Words from 82377 to 82626
of 224388
