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Authors: Ernle Bradford
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triumph to Portugal, was celebrating no more than a brilliant success in the long war between cross and crescent. The news of the victory (which swiftly circulated through the courts of Europe) meant little more to those who heard it than a confirmation of the military prowess of King John. It induced respect among the Castilians and the Moors of Granada. It confirmed, for all who had previously doubted, that the kingdom of Portugal was now a power to be reckoned with, and that the dynasty founded by the master of the House of Aviz was secure. The real achievement of Ceuta was invisible to those whose eyes were fixed on the contemporary scene.
Only one man, perhaps, had any conception of what Ceuta could mean to Portugal, and it is very doubtful whether even Prince Henry realized that this was to be the beginning of the discovery of Africa. His aims at this period of his life were simple. He saw Ceuta as the springboard for a Portuguese Moroccan empire, which might turn the flank of the Mohammedans as well as provide the necessary wealth to make his country a great power.
As the fleet turned northward past Cape Spartel and ran out into the Atlantic, Henry may have visualized all that foreign shore under Portuguese control, with garrisons and trading posts, safe harbors for ships, and markets whence the gold and spices of Africa might be transshipped to Portugal. If Ceuta, why not Gibraltar? With both of the Pillars of Hercules in Portuguese hands, the navigation of the strait would become a Portuguese monopoly. Beyond that again lay the dream of the capture of Tangier. This would give them both the major seaports of the Moroccan coastline, and enable them to expand into the interior. It was not until many years later, when his dream of a Portuguese Moroccan empire had been shattered, that he concentrated all his powers and ability on exploring the coastline of Africa.
When they sailed from Ceuta, the Portuguese left a garrison of three thousand men behind them. The garrison was under the command of Count Dom Pedro de Menezes, a nobleman who was to hold the governorship for over twenty years. During this time he had many opportunities for displaying his skill in repulsing numerous attacks, for the Moors did not despair of recovering their Golden City. Ceuta, after all, was only an island in the middle of a hostile empire, and an island can easily be blockaded. It was this fact, which had escaped the notice of the King and his advisers when they were contemplating the venture, that rendered the capture of Ceuta a somewhat hollow victory. The city was rich and prosperous only because it was an outlet for the Moroccan trade. But since that trade was in the hands of enemies, it very quickly began to dry up. The caravans came no longer, the metalworkers, the jewelers, the weavers, and the potters had all fled. Throughout Prince Henry’s life Ceuta remained a valuable acquisition in terms of prestige, but an expensive one in other respects. The Barbary Coast, that famed haunt of the Moslem pirates, had lost one of its most important ports—that was all. The Portuguese had not gained, as they had hoped to do, a thriving city that would increase their prosperity. To begin with, it was enough for King John, for Nuno Pereira, and for the nobility and the courts of Europe, that the kingdom of Portugal had gained a great victory over the infidel. Only Prince Henry saw that Ceuta was no more than Dead Sea fruit unless Tangier and the coastline between the two cities were added to the Portuguese crown.
In recognition of his part in the landings, and in the taking of the city, his father made Prince Henry Duke of Viseu and Lord of Covilham. His brother Prince Peter was made Duke of Coimbra. For Prince Edward, heir to the throne, there could be no additional honors, but it was a curious lack of foresight on the part of the King that he passed over the claims of his bastard son, the Count of Barcellos, who had also fought bravely in the
Only one man, perhaps, had any conception of what Ceuta could mean to Portugal, and it is very doubtful whether even Prince Henry realized that this was to be the beginning of the discovery of Africa. His aims at this period of his life were simple. He saw Ceuta as the springboard for a Portuguese Moroccan empire, which might turn the flank of the Mohammedans as well as provide the necessary wealth to make his country a great power.
As the fleet turned northward past Cape Spartel and ran out into the Atlantic, Henry may have visualized all that foreign shore under Portuguese control, with garrisons and trading posts, safe harbors for ships, and markets whence the gold and spices of Africa might be transshipped to Portugal. If Ceuta, why not Gibraltar? With both of the Pillars of Hercules in Portuguese hands, the navigation of the strait would become a Portuguese monopoly. Beyond that again lay the dream of the capture of Tangier. This would give them both the major seaports of the Moroccan coastline, and enable them to expand into the interior. It was not until many years later, when his dream of a Portuguese Moroccan empire had been shattered, that he concentrated all his powers and ability on exploring the coastline of Africa.
When they sailed from Ceuta, the Portuguese left a garrison of three thousand men behind them. The garrison was under the command of Count Dom Pedro de Menezes, a nobleman who was to hold the governorship for over twenty years. During this time he had many opportunities for displaying his skill in repulsing numerous attacks, for the Moors did not despair of recovering their Golden City. Ceuta, after all, was only an island in the middle of a hostile empire, and an island can easily be blockaded. It was this fact, which had escaped the notice of the King and his advisers when they were contemplating the venture, that rendered the capture of Ceuta a somewhat hollow victory. The city was rich and prosperous only because it was an outlet for the Moroccan trade. But since that trade was in the hands of enemies, it very quickly began to dry up. The caravans came no longer, the metalworkers, the jewelers, the weavers, and the potters had all fled. Throughout Prince Henry’s life Ceuta remained a valuable acquisition in terms of prestige, but an expensive one in other respects. The Barbary Coast, that famed haunt of the Moslem pirates, had lost one of its most important ports—that was all. The Portuguese had not gained, as they had hoped to do, a thriving city that would increase their prosperity. To begin with, it was enough for King John, for Nuno Pereira, and for the nobility and the courts of Europe, that the kingdom of Portugal had gained a great victory over the infidel. Only Prince Henry saw that Ceuta was no more than Dead Sea fruit unless Tangier and the coastline between the two cities were added to the Portuguese crown.
In recognition of his part in the landings, and in the taking of the city, his father made Prince Henry Duke of Viseu and Lord of Covilham. His brother Prince Peter was made Duke of Coimbra. For Prince Edward, heir to the throne, there could be no additional honors, but it was a curious lack of foresight on the part of the King that he passed over the claims of his bastard son, the Count of Barcellos, who had also fought bravely in the
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