PRINCE HENRY THE NAVIGATOR 179
it came to pass that when ships of this sort had explored and taken possession of many harbors, islands and seas, that they came at length to the province of Guinea, and having taken possession of some islands", harbors, and the sea adjacent to that province, sailing further they reached also the mouth of a certain great river commonly considered the Nile, and against the peoples of those regions in the name of King Alfonso and the Infant for some time a war existed, and in it very many neighboring islands were subdued and peace- fully possessed. Thence also many people of Guinea and other regions captured by force, certain also by an exchange of unprohibited articles or some other lawful contract of pur- chase, have been brought to the said Kingdoms; of whom many have been converted to the Catholic faith, and it is hoped that in the divine mercy, if progress of this kind continues that either the whole people will be converted to the Faith, or, at least, the souls of many be gained for Christ."!
There are several things in this passage which merit spe- cial attention. We find here evidences of the crusading spirit in Prince Henry, along with the spirit of scientific curiosity. The same spirit, somewhat belated, at times dominated Columbus, but manifested itself in the impracti- cable project of recovering the Holy Sepulchre ; with Prince Henry it was practical and aimed at the conquest of Africa. Other indications of the strength of this spirit in Prince Henry will be noted later. It is apparent from this passage and the preceding that the prince planned the circumnaviga- tion of Africa. " The Indians who worship Christ " are obviously the subjects of Prester John, whose kingdom after the thirteenth century was commonly supposed to be in East
1 Alguns Documentos, 15-16 ; Bullartim Collectio, 18-20. The Latin text and an English translation of this Bull may be found in William Bollan's Coloniae An- glicanae IJlustratae: or, The Acquest of Dominion, and the Plantation of Colonies made by the English in America, with the Rights of the Colonists, examined, stated, and illustrated, London, 1772, 117-136. According to Bollan the full text of the Bull was first published by Leibnitz in his Codex Juris Diplomaticus, 1 693. Dumont transcribed it from Leibnitz's text for his Corps Universel Di
