The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1874-11-14
t !" t'"1 "r A-slstl OeioheF ani NOvenlbtrl
HENRY THE INDUSTRIOUS
OF PORTUGAL:
BORN 1896, DIED 1853
Forerunner of Columbus in the
Discovery of America.
PREFACE

b rHE AUTHoS 90 " THE PRIsOS % WELTEvRKDEx.r
PREFACE
TO zDnToN REVISED FOR The p. G. ADvERTIsER.
The writer OF this sketch must crave some
indulgence at the hands Of historical critics, who
may be seated in the midst Of authoritative
records Of the past, which il not his good fortune.
lie has written upon a poor lone island amidst
the care Of 1ock-, where neither books nor in
struetiye discourse were at hand and without
one authority to which he could refer. But is
happened in ndventuring days, (Which by the
way are not yet all PAST with him) that in his
nmbles throughout Europe, he dallied away his
best time ia her Libraries, and took especial
delight in the record Of glorious adventure, of
which his favorite hero Henry Of Portugal was
chief leader and founder and as he could not
carry of with him those rich old treasures Of
Castaneda. Barros, Faria y SOusa, Mattheo de
Pisuno, OViedO, VasconcelOs, Pnrehas, Hakluyt,
Ramusio, GalTano and n host Of others as precious,
he hlehsd OF their wealth whatever ne could
carry away in a copiOus notebook, which has
lain Perdu among the literary rubbish Of nm old
trunk for twenty years, and might have lain there
unnOticrd for twenty more had not n kindly
literary friend Of the islands, the Rev. DIR. Damon,
suggested to him to take in hand n topic kindred
to the subject OF the late Senator Summers mon
ogrHph, the - Prophetic Voices OF America"
At the Suggestion. there flashed instantly through
hz heart and brain, warm memories Of his early
TeSearch and interest, and 80 he sought out the
old moulded notebook and refreshed bis recol-
IectiOns Of tie inspired Prince who hoped for a
new world.
GruId ha bo 90 aaca.a urain 20 fhoaa oil oufbor-
titles, he might see occasion to modify some things
he has written bat be feels that in all that he
has said he has not exaggerated in the slightest
degree the claims Of his hero. as a forerunner, or
chief insPirer Of the great discOverer.
ADVERTISEMENT.
The writer proposes to continue this subject in
writing Of Camoens and the heroic age of the
Portuguese and afterwards in treating of Al
buqucrque the Great and the founders Of Portu-
guese Asiatie Empire, he hopes by his humble
endeaVOr TO awake some little additional inter
est ia respect to the discovery and Development
OF the Oriental or Austral hemisphere, which
were simultaneous with the unfolding of the Occi-
dental ,-sO that has eOuntrymenO of America, con-
templating these two greatest and noblest human
movements Of our planet, will be interested to
perceive, that the Empire they celebrate. which
bounds one side Of the Pacific, and also that which
bounds the other side, both took their first steps
from the same obscure nook in the Iberian Pen
insula. -
The celebration Of the Centenary Of Ameri-
can Independence now near ut hand, will
evoke from the records Of the past every
utterance and action that foreshadowed the
discovery OF the Western Hemisphere, and
the growth and development of the Great
Republic of America. Many pens of the
Continent will be occupied about the time
of the great anniversary in commenting
upon the sayings of president souls, who an
ticipated the New World and the beneficent
I. political promise for humanity, which it
Should nourish and unfold unto the grand
development Of the present day. These
prophets voices foreshadOwlng discovery
begin with Seneca, or perhaps earlier in the
Egyptian story Of Atlantis-are continued by
the poets Petrarch and Pulci, are alluded TO
in scandinavian legend and rune ; but had
their most distinct %utterance and expression
b in the person Of
PRINCE HENRY OF PORTUGAL.
This great man, s%urnamed the Tllustrious
by his admiring cOuntrymen, has been SIM
RularIy overlooked by nearly all American
writers touching on American history, al
though Irving in his Columbus, makes prom
inent mention of the great work and IN
fuence of the illustrious prince in respect TO
the discovery of America and IT IS a matter
for surprise that the learned author OF " Pro-
phetic Voices :" relating to America does not
mention his name,2 Yet this Prince was the
founder Of maritime enterprise, and the very
apostle and creator of the spirit of discovery
which led to the circumnavIgation OF Africa,
the discovery of America, and the exploration
of the POIynesian island world. ms name
should stand before all others as the harbIn-
ger Of the new hemisphere, and OF the
modern spirit of enterprise and oil progress
among mankind. He was the "loadstone,
the very seed and engendering stone oil DIS
coVery.-the one that helped nature IN this
happy conception and educated discovery to
that strength, that il burst venture beyond
the known world to open soon after to
another world" s He prepared the way, IN
teIIigibly and distinctly for the discovery oil
America, but the smallness and decay OF his
native state have led to the observation OF
his name therefore, let one who though q
humble solourner in n Pacific isle, yet claims
a part in the continent and in the polity that
dominates it, and which sprang into being
through the president and enlightened genius
of this noble prince; speak for his fame on
the eve Of the great celebration, and place
l Irving says he died in 1873. This must be a
mistake. Barros says 1863 and furthermore as
Irving states, Columbus entered Lisbon IN i4IU,
fbrse wears before the aIledged death Of Prince
Henry aud there met DOha Felipa, the daughter oil
HenrT's ftvorite Captain Perestrello IN indigent CIR
enmsttuces, which would not have been the case II