Why read Prince Henry 'The Navigator'?

Book cover of Prince Henry 'The Navigator': A Life

Book description

Henry the Navigator, fifteenth-century Portuguese prince and explorer, is a legendary, almost mythical figure in late medieval history. Considered along with Columbus to be one of the progenitors of modernity, Prince Henry challenged the scientific assumptions of his age and was responsible for liberating Europeans from geographical restraints that had…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Prince Henry 'The Navigator' as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

David Abulafia

Author

This is a rich and revisionist account of a figure long celebrated in Portugal as a national hero and the founder of what became the worldwide Portuguese Empire; but Russell reveals a flawed figure consumed by ambitions that resulted in the establishment of a trade in black slaves from West Africa, alongside successful colonisation of uninhabited islands such as Madeira and the Azores.

From David's list on The best books on global history before the modern era.