pedro álvares cabral discovered brazil while exploring for the portuguese.
pedro álvares cabral discovered brazil while exploring for the portuguese.
who discovered brazil while exploring for the portuguese?
pedro álvares cabral
pedro álvares cabral encountered in 1500 what is now known as the brazilian coast, originally thought to be a large island. since it was east of the dividing line, he claimed it for portugal and this was respected by the spanish. portuguese ships sailed west into the atlantic to get favourable winds for the journey to india, and this is where cabral was headed on his journey, in a corridor the treaty was negotiated to protect. some suspect the portuguese had secretly discovered brazil earlier, and this is why they had the line moved eastward and how cabral found it, but there is no reliable evidence of this. others suspect duarte pacheco pereira secretly discovered brazil in 1498, but this not considered credible by mainstream historians.
age of discovery
"what really is important," duarte leite says, "is to know whether pacheco arrived in brazil before alvares cabral (april 22, 1500). in agreement with luciano pereira, such modern portuguese historians as faustino da fonseca, brito rebelo, lopes de mendonça, and jaime cortesão say he did. . . as does vignaud; and i believe he does not lack supporters in brazil." "however," says leite, "if pacheco did discover areas east of the line of demarcation and did bring back news of this to [king] manuel [of portugal], the reason which induced don manuel to keep secret. . . such an important discovery escapes me. as soon as cabral returned in 1501, manuel announced the discovery of brazil to ferdinand and isabella of spain. why would he not in 1499, after the return of vasco da gama, make a similar announcement if pacheco had already discovered brazil? no objection could come on the part of spain, given the division made by the treaty of tordesillas, as indeed none came in 1501 when cabral's discovery was announced. i am persuaded that pacheco neither discovered brazil in 1498 nor was present two years later at its discovery by cabral."
duarte pacheco pereira