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Ceuta: The First Step
The first step forward in Portuguese expansion was the assault on the Moor port of Ceuta in 1415. King João I (John I) and his sons had organised this expedition to conquer Ceuta that lay across the Straits of Gibraltar on the coast of North Africa. It was an expensive enterprise that failed to recover the cost of the expedition or the three thousand men left by Prince Pedro to garrison the town. Although a financial failure, the fall of Ceuta greatly added to the prestige of King João I, his sons and to Portugal. This experience in North Africa would stimulate the minds of the Princes Pedro and Henry, each would become a life-long supporter of overseas expansion.
The Search for Gold & Slaves
During this period there had been a shortage of gold that increasingly hindered the growth of European trade. Ceuta had been a part of a centuries-old traffic in the products of the trans-Saharan caravan routes that provided a source of gold rumoured to have originated in a wealthy nation that lay across the Sahara Desert known as Guinea. The possibility of gold in this new land was too tempting for the Portuguese to resist. They pursued the idea of discovering a sea route to Guinea that would allow them to by-pass the caravan route that was controlled by their enemies the Moors. Prince Henry was able to use his royal status to gain the Crown's permission for numerous expeditions that focused on gaining immediate profit by virtue of raiding and trading usually at the expense of Arab merchantmen. These types of expeditions were the norm until 1420 when the Portuguese sailors discovered and colonised the island of Madeira and the Azores.
These two islands were invaluable ports of call for future Portuguese expeditions since the Spanish had previously claimed the Canary Islands. Numerous individuals led these expeditions some of whom were foreign captains like Alvise da Cadamosto, who willing to sail under Prince Henry's patronage. The most successful explorers of Prince Henry's captains were usually his own squires and associates like João Gonçalves Zarco, Tristão Vaz, and Bartolemeau Perestrello. In 1434 Gil Eanes, another one of the prince's squires, led the expedition that was the first to sail beyond the Cape of Bojador. This was a monumental accomplishment because it destroyed the fixed belief that the ocean beyond Bojador was unnavigable. Eanes was quickly sent out again and found evidence that the coast was inhabited and the possibility for raiding and trading arose. Progress along the coast was interrupted for four years because of the Portuguese failed expedition to Tangier, the death of King Duarte, and the struggle over the regency.
With the death of King João I, his son Duarte assumed the throne and granted Prince Henry a "royal fifth" from the profits of all voyages and decreed that no expedition could sail beyond Cape Bojador without a license from the Prince. King Duarte died after a short reign of five years, leaving his six year old son Afonso V as his heir. Prince Pedro took control of the state by becoming Afonso's regent. He quickly confirmed Prince Henry's grant and gave him permission to colonise the Azores. Under Prince Pedro's regency the Portuguese completed King Duarte's secret experiment in ship design that resulted in the evolution of a new type of ship known as the caravel.