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 *covery from his grand-uncle, Prince Henry, ascended the throne, a fresh impetus was given to voyages of discovery. These, as we have seen, were prosecuted with increased vigour to the south of the Equator and along the shores of Africa, and soon afterwards preparations were made for extending these voyages round the Cape of Good Hope, till at last India was reached by Vasco de Gama, whose celebrated expedition we shall hereafter attempt to describe.

It was not, however, till 1480, when the successful application of the astrolabe to the purposes of navigation removed from the contemplated expedition of Columbus much of its hazardous character, that he formally proposed his great voyage of discovery to the crown of Portugal. He had always felt it to be an enterprise only to be undertaken in the service of some sovereign state which could assume dominion over whatever territories he might discover, and which, with the means of conquest and colonisation at its disposal, would be also able to spread the Christian religion, a desire which seems to have been at all times present in his meditations. In this year Columbus obtained an audience with the king, and, being graciously received, revealed his plans fully to the monarch. Though the king was at the time discouraged from entering upon any new scheme of discovery, by the cost and trouble already incurred in the as yet unsuccessful exploration of the route along the African coast, he nevertheless gave a favourable consideration to the scheme of Columbus,