Sagres
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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For the tall ship see Sagres II.
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For the beer see Sagres (beer).
The Sagres Point (pron. IPA: ['saɣɾɨʃ]) (Ponta de Sagres), a windswept shelf-like promontory located in the Algarve region, southern Portugal. Next to it lies Cape St. Vincent (Cabo de São Vicente) which forms the southwesternmost tip of Europe.
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[edit] History
Contrary to outdated studies that claim that prince Henry the Navigator gathered around him at his Vila do Infante, within the walls of an old Moorish fort on the Sagres peninsula, a school of navigators and map-makers, in fact he did none of this.
The Sagres peninsula simply lacked the necessary requirements for such large undertakings by its scarcity of water, minimal agriculture, lack of wood for shipbuilding and a small population.
Henry the Navigator did employ some cartographers, such as Jehuda Cresques, to help him chart the coast of Mauretania in the wake of voyages he sent there. These expeditions to Mauretania were primarily slaving expeditions for his own use and for sale by him on the slave market in Lagos.
He engaged an expert map and instrument-maker, Jayme of Majorca, so that his captains might have the best nautical information. This probably led to the legend of the Nautical School of sagres. There was no center of navigational science or any supposed "observatory", as Russell makes very clear. The centre of his expeditions was actually at Lagos
This was a time of many important discoveries : cartography was refined with the use of newly devised instruments, such as an improved astrolabium] and improved sundial, maps were regularly updated and extended, and a revolutionary type of vessel was designed: the caravel.
Prince Henry built a chapel next to his house in 1459, as he began to spend more and more time in Sagres in his later years. He died at Sagres on 13th November 1460.
[edit] General description
The 16th century bullwark-like fortress was severely damaged during the Great Earthquake of 1755. It was restored in the mid 20th century, but there is still a 16th century turret present. After passing through the thick tunnel entrance, one sees a giant pebble compass rose (Rosa dos Ventos) of 43m diameter. Normally compass roses are divided into 32 segments, but strangely this one has 40 segments. It could date back to the time of Henry the Navigator.
The much-restored church Nossa Senhora da Graça dates back to 1579. It replaced the original church of Prince Henry of 1459. It was also damaged by the earthquake of 1755. Some alterations to the church were made, such as the building of a new bell tower over the old charnel house of the cemetery. There are still a set of tombstones present. Inside this unpretentious church, the 17 th-century Baroque retable above the altar originates from the Capela de Santa Catarina do Forte de Belixe (St. Catherine's Chapel in Belixe Fortress), while the polychrome statues of St. Vincent and St. Francis were once part of the Franciscan convent on the Cape St. Vincent.
Next to the church stands a replica stone standard (padrão), used by the explorers to claim a newly discovered country.
At the end of the promontary stands a small lighthouse. The cape displays a unique flora, such as the Armeria pseudarmeria.
[edit] References
- Peter Russell, Prince Henry 'the Navigator': a Life (New Haven, 2000). The only really up-to-date study of Henry. It supersedes all the rest.
- This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.
- The Rough Guide to Portugal - 11th ed., March 2005; ISBN 1-84353-438-X
- Rentes de Carvalho J. - Portugal, um guia para amigos (in Dutch translation : Portugal); de Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam; 9th ed., August 1999; ISBN 90-295-3466-4
[edit] External links
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