Portuguese colonization of the Americas on 22 April, Cabral landed on the coast, in Porto Seguro. Believing the land to be an island, he named it Ilha de Vera Cruz (Island of the True Cross). The previous expedition of Vasco da Gama to India already recorded several signs of land near its western open Atlantic Ocean route, in 1497. It has also been suggested that Duarte Pacheco Pereira may have discovered the coasts of Brazil in 1498, possible its northeast, but the exact area of the expedition and the explored regions remain unclear. On the other hand, some historians have suggested that the Portuguese may
Cantino planisphere was probably visited by an English expedition in 1497-98, and again, by the Portuguese explorer Gaspar Corte-Real in 1500 and 1501. The map makes clear that the land was discovered and charted for Portugal by Gaspar Corte-Real, for King Manuel I of Portugal. The North American section of the Cantino map is historically very important. It represents one of the very first mappings of America's East Coast, and includes descriptive place names. It may map both coasts of Florida, and 11 years before Ponce de León got credit for discovering Florida in 1513. Other suggestions include the possibility it reflects