Zurara succeeded Fernão Lopes as Portuguese royal chronicler. He was a member of the household of Prince Henry ‘the Navigator’ (the Infante Dom Henrique) and was a knight of the Order of Christ. He was the author of four chronicles, all probably written after 1448, including the famous Crónica da Guiné (see Docs. 8, 9 and 35). This chronicle and the Crónica da Tomada de Ceuta are the most important sources on the life of Prince Henry, and it is on the evidence contained in them that the iconic reputation of the Prince has been built. Ceuta was a port city on the northern coast of Morocco, more or less opposite Gibraltar. On 21 August 1415, a large Portuguese army captured the town, which was subsequently incorporated into the possessions of the Portuguese Crown. This was not the first Portuguese overseas enterprise, as there previously had been a number of slaving voyages to the Canary Islands, but it was the first major expedition organized by the Crown. The reasons for this costly expedition, which had taken years to organize, are still hotly debated. It seems clear that the Portuguese saw the capture of this port as a bridgehead which would enable them to undertake further conquests in Morocco, opening up opportunities for the military aristocracy and the Church to acquire lordships, lands and subject populations as they had during the long years of the Reconquista. […]