The Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvarez Cabral discovered Brazil. In the sixteenth century AD, he landed in Bahia, near the eastern coast of South America. Shortly after that, the Portuguese came and colonised the continent.
When he began his voyage, Alvarez Cabral was not bound for the lesser-known of the two Americas. His destination was India.
Three years before Cabral set sail, Vasco Da Gama had already reached Calicut successfully. However, the Portuguese had not established their trading colonies in India. So, the King of Portugal wanted Cabral to establish trade relations and spread Catholicism. But Cabral did not have any sailing experience. To help Cabral in his mission, the famous explorer Bartolomeu Dias accompanied him on his journey.
Circa 1500, over twelve hundred men and thirteen vessels went to sea. Vasco da Gama had already found a route to India via the sea, off the African continent. All Cabral had to do, was follow the route. And yet, he managed to get lost. The explorer sailed too far to the southwest of the Atlantic Ocean. Luckily, he stumbled upon a whole new continent, which ensured he would not face the heat of the Portuguese king.
-30-
Copyright©Madras Courier, All Rights Reserved. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from madrascourier.com and redistribute by email, post to the web, mobile phone or social media.Please send in your feed back and comments to editor@madrascourier.com
