Pedro Alvarez Cabral’s Voyage To The East

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Representational image: Wikipedia. Detail of painting "Vaz de Caminha reads to Commander Cabral, Friar Henrique and Master João the letter that will be sent to King Dom Manuel I". It depicts Pedro Álvares Cabral, leader of the Portuguese expediction that discovered the land that would later be known as Brazil in 1500.
Here's the story of a sixteenth-century Portuguese explorer who ‘discovered’ Brazil.

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.

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Representational image: Wikipedia. Cabral (center-left, pointing) sights the Brazilian mainland for the first time on 22 April 1500.

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.



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