What effect did the portuguese school of navigation have on future explorations

Prince Henry of Portugal opened a school of navigation. It improved Portuguese navigation skills to such an extent that sailors and navigators were prepared to sail towards Africa and the Equator. Sailors and navigators had refused to sail anywhere near Africa and the Equator. They were petrified of the sea monsters and boiling water near the Equator. No sailors had ever sailed into the "Sea of Darkness". According to the Portuguese, the "Sea of Darkness" started at about 27 degrees north latitude. The School of Navigation sent fourteen expeditions into the Sea of Darkness and was instrumental in finding the sea route from Portugal towards the Indies.

Currently, as of february 2016, an american traveling in france would be by the exchange rate. the weakness of the euro and the strength of the us dollar means that items in france cost less to an american than they otherwise would. of course, if this trend reverses and the us dollar weakens and the euro strengthens, such as was happening in early 2008, an american traveling in france would have an adverse experience because items would cost relatively more.