Prince Henry the Navigator was the fifth child and fourth son of King João I (John I) and Queen Philippa. Henry was somewhat of a paradox: a dreamer, a scholar, and a monk who nevertheless possessed the instincts of a businessman. Essentially, Prince Henry was a religious man, committed to breaking the hold of heathens and securing the triumph of Christianity in Africa.

The crusading legacy of Portugal exerted tremendous influence during Prince Henry's time. The expulsion of Islamic North Africans from the Algarve was still a part of the living memory of most Portuguese, and the four great military orders, St. John, Santiago, Aviz, and Christ, still occupied their castles throughout the Portuguese realm. The importance of these military orders cannot be understated, for Prince Henry's own connections to the Order of Christ would play a significant role during the early years of Portuguese expansion.

Another influence on Prince Henry's behaviour was the search for knightly honour. Like many European courts of the time, chivalric traditions were very important. It was this moral and ethical code that governed practically all conduct and in which all achievement must be found. Under the influence of English chivalry, King João introduced coats-of-arms, crests and mottoes for members of the Portuguese Court. For himself, the king chose the motto "Il me plaît", "He pleases me". Following the king's lead, Prince Henry chose "Talent de bien faire", and it is unlikely that a more appropriate motto could be found. Talent did not mean power, nor did it mean faculty. Rather, it meant "desire". The desire to do well.

Ceuta

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The search for knightly honour and Portugal's crusading legacy would combine to launch the Portuguese era of expansion. In 1411, King João I concluded an uneasy peace with Castile that soon took the form of a non-aggression treaty which was specified to last for one hundred and one years, effectively making it impossible for Prince Henry and his brothers to win knightly honour in battle. The king proposed what he thought was an acceptable solution to the problem; Portugal would sponsor a jousting tournament with the best knights in Europe participating. Although the king thought that defeating these knights in such a contest would be enough to bring honour to his sons, the young princes were not convinced. Only battle could properly endow greatness. Prince Henry and his brothers began to think of an alternate plan that would enable them to win their spurs in a time of peace with the Castilians and the Spaniards. The city of Ceuta, which lay nearly opposite Gibraltar, presented a unique opportunity. The North African port served as the launching point for pirates operating in the straits, and was the port where many Christian prisoners began their tenure as slaves. Prince Henry organised an invasion force and when Portuguese ships, under the command of King João I, entered Ceuta in 1415, the city was unprepared and fell to the Portuguese with relative ease.

The capture of Ceuta by Portuguese troops quenched Prince Henry's passion for warfare and was the launching point for Prince Henry's intellectual curiosity about exploration. He had witnessed the African coast firsthand, and the more he heard from prisoners, the more he was intrigued by this vast land. His passion for warfare quenched by the attack on Ceuta, Prince Henry began to turn his attention to the question of what lay beyond the vast sea of sand. Critically, the capture of Ceuta provided the Portuguese with maps that were more accurate than those they already possessed. These maps were made by Jews from Majorca who were allowed much greater freedom of movement in Moslem North Africa than Christians. Understandably, this familiarity with the region enabled them to produce precise maps at a time when most Christian maps were more inclined to be the product of half-truths and imagination.

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