Navigation School (Civ5)/Civilopedia

In 1418 AD, Prince Henry of Portugal founded the first school for the study of oceanic navigation, along with an astronomical observatory, at Sagres. Here Portuguese pilots were trained in navigation, map-making, the science of tides and currents, and other skills to better enable them to sail the coasts of Africa, where Henry wanted to establish a string of ports leading to the riches of the Far East. As exploration and colonization reached a fevered pitch in the 1600s, most European monarchs followed Henry's lead and established navigation schools.