The Sagres Point, in the Algarve of southern Portugal, which forms the southwesternmost tip of Europe, was already sacred ground in Neolithic times, as standing menhirs in the neighborhood still attest. Its name still recalls the Promentorum Sacrum. Wikimedia Commons has more media related to: Algarve The Algarve is the name of the southern coast of Portugal, incorporating, amongst others, the towns of Faro, Lagos, and Sagres. ... A menhir at Carnac, Brittany A menhir is a large, single upright standing stone (monolith or megalith), of prehistoric European origin. ...

Sagres was at least as important during the Age of Discovery as Cape Canaveral was during the early years of space exploration. It was from that place that Prince Henry the Navigator came in the 15th century to work on his obsession to push back the frontiers of the known world, and opened Europe to the Great Discoveries. The so-called Age of Exploration was a period from the early 15th century and continuing into the early 17th century, during which European ships were traveled around the world to search for new trading routes and partners to feed burgeoning capitalism in Europe. ... Cape Canaveral from space, August 1991 Cape Canaveral is a strip of land in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of that states Atlantic coast. ... Space exploration is the physical exploration of outer-Earth objects and generally anything that involves the technologies, science, and politics regarding space endeavors. ... The term prince (from the Latin princeps), for a member of the highest aristocracy, has fundamentally different meanings - one generic, and several types of titles the female form is princess // Abstract notion The original but least common use is as a GENERIC (descriptive, not formal) term -originating in the application... Infante Dom Henrique, duke of Viseu, generally known in English as Henry the Navigator, (March 4, 1394 – November 13, 1460), a prince of Portugal, looms large as an important figure in the early days of European colonial expansion. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... World map showing location of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ...

Cabo São Vicente, Sagres, was the "holy promontory" known to the Greeks and Romans, a sanctuary so sacred it was forbidden to pass the night there.

Even though the exact location of Henry's School of Navigation is not currently known (it is popularly believed to have been destroyed by an earthquake in 1755), in the past, it attracted the best scholars in Europe concerned with the nautical sciences. Under Henry's patronage, a community of brilliant scientists came there to teach and study, and accumulated correlated nautical knowledge as it was brought back by captains of successive voyages to once unknown places. The scholars in turn instructed less experienced captains about Atlantic currents and wind systems and the latest navigation methods. Download high resolution version (875x602, 52 KB)The headland of Cabo São Vicente in Sagres is the most southwesterly point in mainland Europe. ... Download high resolution version (875x602, 52 KB)The headland of Cabo São Vicente in Sagres is the most southwesterly point in mainland Europe. ... Global earthquake epicenters, 1963–1998 An earthquake is a trembling or a shaking movement of the Earths surface. ... 1755 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Generally, patronage is the act of supporting or favoring some person, group, or institution. ... This article is about the profession. ... Knowledge is the awareness and understanding of facts, truths or information gained in the form of experience or learning (a posteriori), or through deductive reasoning (a priori). ... Captain is both a nautical term and a military rank. ... The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one-fifth of its surface. ... An ocean current is any more or less permanent or continuous, directed movement of ocean water that flows in one of the Earths oceans. ... Wind is the quasi-horizontal movement of air (as opposed to an air current) caused by a horizontal pressure gradient force. ... There are several traditions of navigation. ...

At the Sagres Academy, among many important discoveries, cartography was refined with the use of newly devised instruments, maps were regularly updated and extended, and a revolutionary type of vessel was designed: the caravel. Cartography or mapmaking (in Greek chartis = map and graphein = write) is the study and practice of making maps or globes. ... An instrument is a concrete or abstract tool intended for a purpose other than mechanical work, in particular a refined one. ... MAPS could refer to: Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies Mail Abuse Prevention System Multi-jurisdictional Automated Preclearance System This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Vessel can refer to any of the following: Objects Vessel (French vaissel, from a rare Latin vascellum, diminuitive of vas, vase, or urn), a word of somewhat wide application for many objects, the meaning common to them being capacity to hold or contain something. ... A caravel is a small, highly maneuverable, three-masted ship used by the Portuguese and Spanish for long voyages of exploration beginning in the 15th century. ...

External link

• Sagres
• Photo of the Fortress of Sagres