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Three reasons are usually mentioned, and historians differ on which one was the 'primary' reason. Often mentioned as his primary reason was his wish to discover the kingdom of Prester (priest-king) John - who actually did not even exist. Another important reason - because he spent a great deal of his own money on the discovery expeditions - was opening new trade routes and discovering the source of the West African gold. The third reason was finding and destroying the hideouts of the pirates who were attacking the Portuguese coast.

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Q: Prince Henry the navigator's primary motivation for mapping the west coast of Africa was?
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Prince Henry opened a school to teach navigators how to navigate the ocean.


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