That the slave trade should form an important part of that
commerce was inevitable at that time, but it was only with
the occupation of tropical America that the slave trade took
on its worst phase. The slaves imported to Portugal were
utilized mainly for domestic service, and became Christians,
which at that time would greatly mitigate their condition if
not secure their emancipation. ^
As a soldier. Prince Henry belongs at once to the middle ages and to modern times. He fights at Ceuta and at Tangiers like a mediseval knight, while he plans a military exploring expedition like a modern master of strategy. His plan to circumnavigate Africa, and strike the Moors from behind in conjunction with the shadowy Christian Monarch of the East was Napoleonic. One may ask, indeed, if a bolder or more magnificent conception was formed from the death of Alexander the Great till the rise of Napoleon.
I have spoken of him as a crusader. The essential aim of the Crusades was to secure the dominance of Christianity. Prince Henry's work directly led to a greater extension of Christianity than he could have imagined. The enrichment of the Old World and the development of the New by the discoveries have vastly increased the weight and influence of Christianity in the world.
propoe continuar os descobrimentos de costa occidental d' Africa." Sr. Oliveira Martins in his lecture enlitled Navegaciones y Descuhrimientos de los Portugueses Anteriores al Viage de Colon, Madrid, 1892, on pp. 17-18, writes : " Y la {i. e., a sys- tem of exploration) hallo el gcnio inventive del Infant, ampliando el tipo ya historica de las companas de Pescadores a las proporciones de una Compania colonial y maratiraa que luego formd en Lagos para la explotacion del rio de Oro." Neither of these writers cites any document, and I have been unable to lay my hands on any other contemporary evidence than that in Ca da Mosto's narrative which shows that the African commerce was definitely organized. The average profits were 1700 per cent (perche di un soldo ne facevano sette e dieci). If one furnished his own ship and cargo he must pay the Prince 25 per cent of the return cargo ; Prince Henry, on the other hand, would furnish both ship and cargo, and receive half the profits, and if the voyage failed the Prince would bear the loss. Navigazioni di Messer Alvise da Cd da Mosto, cap. I. An English translation of Ca da Mosto's voyages may be found in the second volume of Kerr's Voyages, London, 1824.
1 Azurara states that 927 slaves were imported between 1443 and 1448, and that most of them became Christians. Cronica de Guin€, 454.
