Prince Henry, the Infante of Portugal, governor of the Algarve, established the first school of navigation at Sagres Point, Portugal. The map of Sagres Point is derived from an unsigned and undated map, Chart of the Promontory of Sagres,  in the Portuguese Geographical Institute in Lisbon.

     Four countries, Portugal (1987), Macau (719), Brazi (2463)l and Cape Verde (664), issued stamps with the same design. The map on the left side of the stamps extends to about 25°S and probably further. Explorers reached that latitude by 1585. So, the map is later than that. Similar maps are a chart by Domingos Sanches dated 1618, an anonymous Portuguese planisphere from the late sixteenth century which the French attribute to Pedro de Lemos, while the Portuguese assign it to Sebastião Lopes around 1585. In any case the maps are about a century later than Prince Henry.

     For more information on Prince Henry see, "Crusading by Sea," Mercator's World July/August 1999, pp. 54-61, and "The Legacy of Prince Henry 'The Navigator' Re-Examined," Mercator's-World May/June 2001, pp. 44-49.