Everything Everywhere Daily · Tuesday, July 7, 2026
In the 15th century, European mariners were limited to coastal sailing due to navigational challenges and fears of the unknown ocean. Gil Eanes, sponsored by Prince Henry the Navigator, successfully navigated past Cape Bojador in 1434 by sailing into deeper waters, discovering the Atlantic Gyre and paving the way for further exploration.
“For thousands of years, civilizations that rose along the Mediterranean or European Atlantic coast, mostly stuck to the shore. They seldom sailed out into the open ocean, and they didn't sail very far down the African coast because parts of the coastline were considered to be unpassable.”
“Rather than using coastal navigation, as people had done for thousands of years, they did something that most sailors feared. They sailed into deeper waters to bypass the cape entirely. This radical and simple new approach changed the course of history.”
“His discovery of a navigation technique is what made everything else that came after possible.”