FOOTNOTES

[1] In the Middle Ages, when food was coarse and cookery poor, cinnamon
and cloves, nutmeg and mace, allspice, ginger, and pepper were highly
prized for spicing ale or seasoning food. But all these spices were very
expensive in Europe because they had to be brought so far from the distant
East. Even pepper, which is now used by every one, was then a fit gift
from one king to another. Camphor and rhubarb, indigo, musk, sandalwood,
Brazil wood, aloes wood, all came from the East. Muslin and damask bear
the names of eastern cities whence they were first obtained. In the
fifteenth century the churches, palaces, manor houses, and homes of rich
merchants were adorned with the rugs and carpets of the East.

[2] Prince Henry was the fourth son of John I, king of Portugal. In 1419
he established his home on Cape St. Vincent, gathered about him a body of
trained seamen, and during forty years sent out almost every year an
exploring expedition. His pilots discovered the Azores and the Madeira
Islands. He died in 1460. His great work was training seamen. Many men
afterward famous as discoverers and navigators, as Dias (dee'ahss), Da
Gama (dah gah'ma), Cabral (ca-brahl'), Magellan, and Columbus, served
under Henry or his successors.

In those days there were neither steamships nor such sailing vessels as we
have. For purposes of exploration the caravel was used. It was from 60 to
100 feet long, and from 18 to 25 feet broad, and had three masts from the
heads of which were swung great sails. Much of the steering was done by
turning these sails. Yet it was in such little vessels that some of the
most famous voyages in history were made.

[3] These voyages were possible because of the great progress which had