Prince Henry - Navigator - South Africa - Cape Town Information   Prince Henry was born in Portugal in 1394.  He was the third son of King Joao of Portual I (John) and his English wife, Queen Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt.   Prince Henry is seen as the Father of Seafaring and Navigation.  He was responsible for the expeditions to the West Coast of Africa.  His other goal was to find sea routes to the Far East and India.   The expeditions were aimed at establishing new colonies and to expand the Portuguese Empire.  Prince Henry was advanced for his time, and he studied Navigation and had the ability to develop new sea routes, as well as sea and land maps.  He established an Observatory in Portugal in 1418 for seafarers near to the Kap Sao Vicente.  There he lectured on Navigation, Astronomy and Cartography.   He developed a new technique of ship building as well, the product being the Caravelle.   Prince Henry died in 1460. Only 27 years after his death, did Bartholomew Diaz round the Cape of Good Hope.  The sea charts of Prince Henry were still used in this time period and were used in the exploration of the African coast.   The African coast was only fully discovered by Vasco da Gama in the years 1497 and 1498.