Henry the Navigator Takes Ceuta

In the early fifteenth century Portugal, having consolidated its kingdom and ended internal strife, looked outward toward North Africa, where the wealthy Muslim port of Ceuta on the Moroccan coast controlled trade across the Strait of Gibraltar and served as a base for corsairs preying on Christian shipping.

In 1415 a Portuguese expedition seized Ceuta from the Marinid dynasty that ruled Morocco. Among the young princes who took part was Prince Henry, later celebrated as Henry the Navigator, who would become the chief patron of Portuguese maritime exploration.

The capture of Ceuta marked the beginning of Portuguese expansion into Africa and overseas. Inspired in part by reports of the gold trade across the Sahara, Henry sponsored voyages that progressively explored the West African coast, established the colonization of Atlantic islands such as Madeira and the Azores, and opened the maritime trade in gold and enslaved people, paving the way for the later sea route to India.