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Remarkable success crowned the explorations of the Portuguese owing to the enterprise and zeal of the Infante, Henry,[3] third son of King John the First, who was surnamed by posterity “The Navigator.” His lean, angular person hardly bespoke his real greatness. His perseverance and indomitable resolution were apparent alone in his clear, open look. He was a man of great abstemiousness. Wine never passed his lips. He spent his revenues upon exploration and conquests on the west coast of Africa. The voyages of the Portuguese discoverers began in the Autumn of 1415 but the first navigators returned after reaching Cape Bajador, for they dared not venture out into the open sea because of the breakers and dangerous ledges. Four years later two explorers, driven out to sea by a storm, reached the island of Porto Santo, previously discovered by the Italians, and from there went to Madeira, or the “Forest Island,” as it was called. It was not until 1434 that Cape Bajador was circumnavigated by a daring man who had offended the Infante and by this exploit regained his favor. He brought back flowers in earthen vessels to prove that floral beauty was not lacking on the other side of the dreaded cape.