Cape St. Vincent Cape St. Vincent Cape St. Vincent (, ) is a headland in the municipality of Vila do Bispo, in the Algarve, southern Portugal. It is the southwesternmost point of Portugal and of mainland Europe. Cape St. Vincent was already sacred ground in Neolithic times, as standing menhirs in the neighborhood attest. The ancient Greeks called it Ophiussa (Land of Serpents), inhabited by the Oestriminis and dedicated here a temple to Heracles. The Romans called it "Promontorium Sacrum" (or Holy Promontory). Strabo, in his Geography call this cape the most western tip of the known world and reports the place was
St Vincent Cotton was named after his godfather, the Earl of St Vincent (who had taken his title from the Battle of Cape St Vincent). Cotton had an elder brother who had died in infancy, two elder sisters, Philadelphia and Maria, and a younger brother, Charles. In 1812 Cotton's father, who was by then commander-in-chief of the Channel Fleet, collapsed and died at Plymouth, and 10-year-old Cotton inherited the baronetcy. Cotton was educated at Westminster School and in 1820 enrolled at Christ Church, Oxford although he didn't graduate. In the summer of 1820 he toured Scotland on horseback with a cousin and a