Humble Origins of the Portuguese Empire
By Rick Green

R

emorseless waves gnash against chalky, layer-cake cliffs standing guard against the sea. As errant curiosity draws you to the edge of the barren plateau, the brisk onshore wind redoubles its struggle to wrestle you back from the precipice.

Gazing westwards, sea and sky meet in an expanse of nothingness that make it clear why this was once considered O Fim do Mundo, the "end of the earth". To the Romans, more spiritual than literal, this southwestern-most tip of continental Europe was the Promontorium Sacrum, beyond which lived the spirits of the light at the place where the sun sank hissing into the water every night.

Today, Cabo de São Vincente — named after Portugal's patron saint whose remains purportedly washed ashore here in the 8^th century — is the site of Europe's second most powerful lighthouse, shepherding the leviathans of maritime commerce between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

East of here, from the sheltered harbors of Portugal's rugged Algarve coast, intrepid mariners once ventured forth in small sailing vessels to test the limits of O Fim do Mundo and conquer the unknown beyond the murky western horizon.

Who would have thought that by 1529 this hard scrabble country of one million people would command an empire extending from Brazil to Macau? Certainly not the Portuguese themselves.

 
João I (1385-1433), first king of the House of Avis, initiated Portugal's maritime expansion. But it was the efforts of his third son, Infante Dom Henrique (1394-1460) — the legendary Henry the Navigator — that began to show results.

Embodying the maxim "Knowledge is power," Henry established Europe's first school of navigation in the environs of Sagres, gathering leading cartographers, mariners, and mathematicians. Motivated by a desire to lead Crusader forces in the conquest of the Holy Land and an interest in establishing direct trade connections with the gold & slave markets of West Africa, Portuguese explorers reached Madeira in 1419, the Azores in 1431, and Cape Verde in 1445.

Henry, though, never ventured far. He spent most of his life in the Algarve and sailed no further than across the Straits of Gibraltar to attack the Moors in Morocco. He died on November 13, 1460 at the age of 66, almost thirty years before Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope and forty years before Vasco da Gama reached India. Nevertheless, he set in motion a series of events that shifted Europe's economic focus from the Baltic & Mediterranean to the Atlantic, leading to a commercial revolution that resulted in increased world trade (including slaves) from the evolution of capitalism and mercantilism.

Portugal's rise to world power was due, in part, to the fact that the Portuguese were pioneers of European expansion. They held an element of surprise, but they also took advantage of tribal disunity in Africa and Brazil. In Asia there was no major military power to contest their incursion, so they were able to establish entrepôts in Goa, Ceylon, Malacca, Macau, and the East Indies that allowed them to tap into existing trade networks through local partners.

This commercial empire lasted for about 100 years, but fell victim to the increasing naval supremacy of the Dutch and English.

 
For events with such a profound effect on history, one would expect to find a heritage site, national museum, or monument in Sagres worthy of paying tribute to Dom Henrique; such is not the case. Upon his death, all maritime studies were transferred to Lisbon and Henry was buried with his family in the Founders Chapel of the Mosteiro do Santa Maria de Vitoria to the north in Batalha. Sagres fell into decline.

Many traces of Henry's activities in the Algarve were destroyed with Sir Francis Drake's sack of Lagos in 1597, a measure of English maritime ascendancy. But it was the devastating earthquake of 1755 that relegated Sagres to historical obscurity. So thorough was the destruction, the location of Henry's school and residence remain uncertain even today.

Curiously, then, Sagres is more of a place for escape, not discovery. Standing at the margins of the Algarve's tourist resort action, you can actually find some peace and quiet here.

The closest connection with the spirit of those restless adventurers who set sail on the promise of fame and fortune is the Fortaleza de Sagres. A solid-looking fortress situated on a headland between Sagres and Cabo de São Vincente, most of it was destroyed in the earthquake of 1755. The spartan chapel of Nossa Senhora da Graça, thought to be contemporary with Henry's time, is the only structure to have survived the quake largely intact. The fortress wasn't fully restored until over 200 years later.

Aside from rotating exhibits in its starkly modern conference center, there are few artifacts to speak of. More promising is to climb the ramparts for the commanding views out to sea and along the coastline. This is also the best perspective to appreciate the Rosa dos Ventos (Wind Rose), a 43m/141' pebble construction uncovered in the parade ground during renovations that is thought to be a medieval sundial or compass.

While most of the coastline dramatically falls off in sharply cut cliffs to the sea, there are a handful of golden beaches where you can take a quiet stroll. There's also windsurfing at Praia do Martinhal or you can rent a boat in the village to go fishing and diving.

There are a handful of bars in town that may get a little lively in the middle of high tourist season, but fishing off the cliffs at Cabo de São Vincente seems to be the local adrenaline rush. Don't let the benign appearance of this dangerous activity deceive you. A lapse in concentration occasionally results in a fatal plunge off O Fim do Mundo.