This last did not happen, however, till 1498, six years after Columbus
discovered America. Long before this time the good Prince Henry had
died; and though he did not live to learn of this sea route to India, he
died knowing that the Madeiras and the Azores existed out in the open
sea, while Africa stretched far south of the Equator. His devotion to
navigation had imbued his countrymen with great enthusiasm, and placed
little Portugal at the head of European nations in maritime matters. Not
only did she discover how to sail to India, but to Siam, Java, China,
and Japan as well.

From Prince Henry's day, Lisbon became the city where all men interested
in the fascinating study of geography wished to dwell, in order that
they might exchange ideas with navigators and get employment under the
Crown. We can readily understand why Lisbon was a magnet to the
ambitious Christopher Columbus; and we may feel sure that had the brave,
intelligent "Protector of Studies in Portugal" been still alive when
Columbus formed his plan for discovery, the intrepid discoverer would
have been spared those weary years of waiting. He would have found
America ten years sooner, and it would have been the Portuguese, and not
the Spanish, flag that he would have carried westward to the New World.

Our young Genoese is supposed to have sailed to Iceland and even farther
into the Polar regions, probably after continuing that trip to Bristol
which the pirates interrupted off Cape St. Vincent. Many writers
consider that it was in Iceland where he heard rumors of "land in the
west." If the Iceland trip really was made, Christopher may indeed have
heard the story; for long before, Icelanders, and Norsemen also, had
discovered America.

These discoveries, as we now believe, took place in the far-away