caption father house successor succession mother birth_place death_date death_place burial_place title religion birth_date image article_title name reign occupation
'' infante henrique '' ; st. vincent panels john i of portugal house of aviz fernando i duke of viseu philippa of lancaster porto , kingdom of portugal 13 november 1460 sagres , kingdom of portugal batalha monastery duke of viseu , infante of portugal roman catholicism 4 march 1394 henry the navigator1.jpg henry the navigator
 henry the navigator 1394 -- 1460 explorer , patron
henry the navigator

`` this article is about the portuguese prince .
for the dutch prince sometimes known as `` henry the navigator '' , see prince henry of the netherlands . ''
infante henrique of portugal , duke of viseu -lrb- 4 march 1394 -- 13 november 1460 -rrb- , better known as henry the navigator '' -lrb- -rrb- '' was an important figure in 15th-century portuguese politics and in the early days of the portuguese empire .
through his administrative direction , he is regarded as the main initiator of what would be known as the age of discoveries .
henry was the fifth child of the portuguese king john i and responsible for the early development of portuguese exploration and maritime trade with other continents through the systematic exploration of western africa , the islands of the atlantic ocean , and the search for new routes .
king john i was the founder of the house of aviz .
henry encouraged his father to conquer ceuta -lrb- 1415 -rrb- , the muslim port on the north african coast across the straits of gibraltar from the iberian peninsula .
he learnt of the opportunities from the saharan trade routes that terminated there , and became fascinated with africa in general ; he was most intrigued by the christian legend of prester john and the expansion of portuguese trade .
henry is regarded as the patron of portuguese exploration .
