Editing Prince Henry the Navigator (section)

=== Madeira ===
[[File:80. Alvise da Mosto, o Cadamosto presentato all' Infante D. Enrico di Portogallo, anno 1454.jpg|thumb|left|Depiction of Prince Henry enlisting [[Alvise Cadamosto]], who led a voyage to [[Porto Santo]], [[Madeira]], and the [[Canary islands]], before reaching the African mainland.]]
The first explorations followed not long after the capture of Ceuta in 1415. Henry was interested in locating the source of the [[caravan (travellers)|caravans]] that brought gold to the city. During the reign of his father, John I, [[João Gonçalves Zarco]] and [[Tristão Vaz Teixeira]] were sent to explore along the African coast. Zarco, a knight in service to Prince Henry, had commanded the caravels guarding the coast of Algarve from the incursions of the [[Moors]]. He had also been at Ceuta.

In 1418, Zarco and Teixeira were blown off-course by a storm while making the ''volta do mar'' westward swing to return to Portugal. They found shelter at an island they named [[Porto Santo Island|Porto Santo]]. Henry directed that Porto Santo be colonized. The move to claim the [[Madeira]]n islands was probably a response to [[Crown of Castile|Castile]]'s efforts to claim the Canary Islands.<ref>Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe. ''1492: The Year Our World Began''. {{ISBN|1-4088-0950-8}}</ref> In 1420, settlers then moved to the nearby island of [[Madeira Island|Madeira]].