Portuguese prince, the third son of John I of Portugal and grandson of John of Gaunt. He did not himself undertake any voyages of exploration, but was the patron of a succession of Portuguese seamen who made voyages of discovery among the Atlantic islands and down the west coast of Africa as far south as Cape Verde and the Azores, which led, after his death, to the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope and the sea route to India. With the aim of finding a new route to the Indies, as governor of the Algarve he established a school at which navigation, astronomy, and cartography were taught to his captains and pilots, and constructed the first observatory in Portugal.