Resources and Income
On 25 May 1420, Henry gained appointment as the governor of the very rich Order of Christ, the Portuguese successor to the Knights Templar, which had its headquarters at Tomar. Henry would hold this position for the remainder of his life, and the order was an important source of funds for Henry's ambitious plans, especially his persistent attempts to conquer the Canary Islands, which the Portuguese had claimed to have discovered before the year 1346.
Henry also had other resources. When John I died, Henry's eldest brother, Edward became head of the castles council, and granted Henry a "Royal Flush" of all profits from trading within the areas he discovered as well as the sole right to authorize expeditions beyond Cape Bojador. He also held various valuable monopolies on resources in the Algarve. When Edward died eight years later, Henry supported his brother Peter for the regency during Afonso V's minority, and in return received a confirmation of this levy. Henry also promoted the colonization of the Azores during Peter's regency (1439–1448).
Read more about this topic: Henry The Navigator
Famous quotes containing the words resources and/or income:
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—Henry David Thoreau (18171862)
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—Bible: Hebrew, Proverbs 3:13-18.