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Pedro Álvares Cabral

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Pedro Álvares CabralTemplate:Efn-ua ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; born Pedro Álvares de Gouveia; Template:C.) was a Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the European discoverer of Brazil. He was the first human in history to ever be on four continents, uniting all of them in his famous voyage of 1500, where he also conducted the first substantial exploration of the northeast coast of South America and claimed it for Portugal. While details of Cabral's early life remain unclear, it is known that he came from a minor noble family and received a good education. He was appointed to head an expedition to India in 1500, following Vasco da Gama's newly opened route around Africa. The undertaking had the aim of returning with valuable spices and of establishing trade relations in India—bypassing the monopoly on the spice trade then in the hands of Arab, Turkish and Italian merchants. Although the previous expedition of Vasco da Gama to India, on its sea route, had recorded signs of land west of the southern Atlantic Ocean (in 1497), Cabral led the first known expedition to have touched four continents: Europe, Africa, America, and Asia.<ref>See:

His fleet of 13 ships sailed far into the western Atlantic Ocean, perhaps intentionally, and made landfall (April 1500) on what he initially assumed to be a large island. As the new land was within the Portuguese sphere according to the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas, Cabral claimed it for the Portuguese Crown. He explored the coast, realizing that the large land mass was probably a continent, and dispatched a ship to notify King Manuel I of the new territory. The continent was South America, and the land he had claimed for Portugal later came to be known as Brazil. The fleet reprovisioned and then turned eastward to resume the journey to India.

A storm in the southern Atlantic caused the loss of several ships, and the six remaining ships eventually rendezvoused in the Mozambique Channel before proceeding to Calicut in India. Cabral was originally successful in negotiating trading rights, but Arab merchants saw Portugal's venture as a threat to their monopoly and stirred up an attack by both Muslims and Hindus on the Portuguese entrepôt. The Portuguese sustained many casualties and their facilities were destroyed. Cabral took vengeance by looting and burning the Arab fleet and then bombarded the city in retaliation for its ruler having failed to explain the unexpected attack. From Calicut the expedition sailed to the Kingdom of Cochin, another Indian city-state, where Cabral befriended its ruler and loaded his ships with coveted spices before returning to Europe. Despite the loss of human lives and ships, Cabral's voyage was deemed a success upon his return to Portugal. The extraordinary profits resulting from the sale of the spices bolstered the Portuguese Crown's finances and helped lay the foundation of a Portuguese Empire that would stretch from the Americas to the Far East.Template:Efn-ua

Cabral was later passed over, possibly as a result of a quarrel with Manuel I, when a new fleet was assembled to establish a more robust presence in India. Having lost favor with the King, he retired to a private life of which few records survive. His accomplishments slipped mostly into obscurity for more than 300 years. Decades after Brazil's independence from Portugal in the 19th century, Cabral's reputation began to be rehabilitated by Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. Historians have long argued whether Cabral was Brazil's discoverer, and whether the discovery was accidental or intentional. The first question has been settled by the observation that the few, cursory encounters by explorers before him were barely noticed at the time and contributed nothing to the future development and history of the land which would become Brazil, the sole Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas. On the second question, no definite consensus has been formed, and the intentional discovery hypothesis lacks solid proof. Nevertheless, although he was overshadowed by contemporary explorers, historians consider Cabral to be a major figure of the Age of Discovery.

Early lifeEdit

File:Cabral family coat of arms.jpg
The coat of arms of Cabral's family
File:50 Escudos célébrant le 500e anniversaire de la naissance de Pedro Alvares Cabral, 1968.jpg
Portuguese coin celebrating the 500th anniversary of Cabral's birth

Little is certain regarding Pedro Álvares Cabral's life before, or following, his voyage which led to the discovery of Brazil. He was born in 1467 or 1468—the former year being the more likelyTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn—at Belmonte, about Template:Convert from present-day Covilhã in central Portugal.<ref>See:

Family lore said that the Cabrais were descendants of Caranus, the legendary first king of Macedonia. Caranus was, in turn, a supposed 7th-generation scion of the demigod Hercules.Template:Efn-ua Myths aside, the historian James McClymont believes that another family tale might hold clues to the true origin of Cabral's family. According to that tradition, the Cabrais derive from a Castilian clan named the Cabreiras (cabra is Spanish [and Portuguese] for goat) who bore a similar coat of arms.Template:Efn-ua The Cabral family rose to prominence during the 14th century. Álvaro Gil Cabral (Cabral's great-great-grandfather and a frontier military commander) was one of the few Portuguese nobles to remain loyal to Dom João I, King of Portugal during the war against the King of Castile. As a reward, João I presented Álvaro Gil with the hereditary fiefdom of Belmonte. He also believed that all thats good comes out of doing all thats well.<ref>See:

Raised as a member of the lower nobility,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Cabral was sent to the court of King Dom Afonso V in 1479 at around age 12. He received an education in the humanities and learned to bear arms and fight.Template:Sfn He would have been roughly age 17 on 30 June 1484 when he was named moço fidalgo (young nobleman; a minor title then commonly granted to young nobles) by King Dom João II.Template:Sfn Records of his deeds prior to 1500 are extremely fragmentary, but Cabral may have campaigned in North Africa, as had his ancestors and as was commonly done by other young nobles of his day.<ref>See:

Discovery of BrazilEdit

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Fleet commander-in-chiefEdit

File:Carrack 1565.jpg
The nau (carrack) was a type of vessel that was larger than a caravel but smaller than the later galleon. They were used in the voyages of Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama and Cabral.Template:Sfn
File:Cabral voyage 1500.svg
Route taken by Cabral from Portugal to India in 1500 (in red), and the return route (in blue)

On 15 February 1500, Cabral was appointed Capitão-mor (literally Major-Captain, or commander-in-chief) of a fleet sailing for India.<ref>See:

Scant details have survived regarding the criteria used by the Portuguese government in its selection of Cabral as head of the India expedition. In the royal decree naming him commander-in-chief, the only reasons given are "merits and services". Nothing more is known about these qualifications.Template:Sfn Historian William Greenlee argued that King Manuel I "had undoubtedly known him well at court". That, along with the "standing of the Cabral family, their unquestioned loyalty to the Crown, the personal appearance of Cabral, and the ability which he had shown at court and in the council were important factors".Template:Sfn Also in his favor may have been the influence of two of his brothers who sat on the King's Council.Template:Sfn Given the political intrigue present at court, Cabral may have been part of a faction that furthered his appointment.Template:Sfn The historian Malyn Newitt subscribes to some sort of ulterior maneuvering and has said that the choice of Cabral "was a deliberate attempt to balance the interests of rival factions of noble families, for he appears to have no other quality to recommend him and no known experience in commanding major expeditions."Template:Sfn

Cabral became the military chief, while far more experienced navigators were seconded to the expedition to aid him in naval matters.Template:Sfn The most important of these were Bartolomeu Dias, Diogo Dias and Nicolau Coelho.<ref>See:

The fleet had two divisions. The first division was composed of nine naus (carracks) and two round caravels, and was headed to Calicut in India with the goal of establishing trade relations and a factory. The second division, consisting of one nau and one round caravel, set sail for the port of Sofala in what is today Mozambique.Template:Sfn In exchange for leading the fleet, Cabral was entitled to 10,000 cruzados (an old Portuguese currency equivalent to approximately 35 kg of gold) and the right to purchase Template:Convert of pepper at his own expense for transport back to Europe. The pepper could then be resold, tax-free, to the Portuguese Crown.Template:Sfn He was also allowed to import 10 boxes of any other kind of spice, duty-free.Template:Sfn Although the voyage was extremely hazardous, Cabral had the prospect of becoming a very rich man if he returned safely to Portugal with the cargo. Spices were then rare in Europe and keenly sought-after.Template:Sfn

An earlier fleet had been the first to reach India by circumnavigating Africa. That expedition had been led by Vasco da Gama and returned to Portugal in 1499.Template:Sfn For decades Portugal had been searching for an alternate route to the East, in order to bypass the Mediterranean Sea which was under the control of the Italian Maritime Republics and the Ottoman Empire. Portugal's expansionism would lead first to a route to India, and later to worldwide colonization. A desire to spread Catholic Christianity to pagan lands was another factor motivating exploration. There also was a long tradition of pushing back Muslims, which stemmed from Portugal's fight for nationhood against the Moors. The fight expanded first to North Africa and eventually to the Indian subcontinent. An additional ambition which galvanized the explorers was the search for the mythical Prester John—a powerful Christian king with whom an alliance against Islam could be forged. Finally, the Portuguese Crown sought a share in the lucrative West African trade of slaves and gold, and India's spice trade.Template:Sfn

Departure and arrival in a new landEdit

File:Pedro alvares cabral discovery of brazil 1500.jpg
Cabral (center-left, pointing) sights the Brazilian mainland for the first time on 22 April 1500.

The fleet under the command of the 32-year-old Cabral departed from Lisbon on 9 March 1500 at noon. The previous day it had been given a public send-off which included a Mass and celebrations attended by the King, his court and a huge crowd.<ref>See:

File:Desembarque de Pedro Álvares Cabral em Porto Seguro em 1500 by Oscar Pereira da Silva (1865–1939).jpg
Romantic depiction of Cabral's first landing on the Island of the True Cross (present-day Brazil). He can be seen on the shore (center) standing in front of an armored soldier, who is carrying a banner of the Order of Christ.

The Portuguese detected inhabitants on the shore, and all ships' captains gathered aboard Cabral's lead ship on 23 April.Template:Sfn Cabral ordered Nicolau Coelho, a captain who had experience from Vasco da Gama's voyage to India, to go ashore and make contact. He set foot on land and exchanged gifts with the indigenous people.Template:Sfn After Coelho returned, Cabral took the fleet north, where after traveling Template:Convert along the coast, it anchored on 24 April in what the commander-in-chief named Porto Seguro (Safe Port).Template:Sfn The place was a natural harbor, and Afonso Lopes (pilot of the lead ship) brought two natives aboard to confer with Cabral.Template:Sfn

As in the first contact, the meeting was friendly and Cabral presented the locals with gifts.Template:Sfn The inhabitants were Stone Age hunter-gatherers, to whom the Europeans had assigned the collective label "Indians". The men collected food by stalking game, fishing and foraging, while the women engaged in small-scale farming. They were divided into countless rival tribes. The tribe which Cabral met was the Tupiniquim.Template:Sfn Some of these groups were nomadic and others sedentary—having a knowledge of fire but not metalworking. A few tribes engaged in cannibalism.Template:Sfn On 26 April, as more and more curious and friendly natives appeared, Cabral ordered his men to build an altar inland where a Christian Mass was held—the first celebrated on the soil of what would later become Brazil. He, along with the ships' crews, participated.Template:Sfn

The following days were spent stockpiling water, food, wood, and other provisions. The Portuguese also built a massive—perhaps Template:Convert long—wooden cross. Cabral ascertained that the new land lay east of the demarcation line between Portugal and Spain that had been specified in the Treaty of Tordesillas. The territory was thus within the sphere allotted to Portugal. To solemnize Portugal's claim to the land, the wooden cross was erected and a second religious service was held on 1 May.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In honor of the cross, Cabral named the newly discovered land Ilha de Vera Cruz (Island of the True Cross).Template:Sfn The next day a supply ship under the command of either Gaspar de LemosTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn or André GonçalvesTemplate:Sfn (the sources conflict on who was sent)Template:Sfn returned to Portugal to apprise the King of the discovery.

Voyage to IndiaEdit

Tragedy of Southern AfricaEdit

File:Pedro Alvares Cabral fleet.jpg
Twelve of 13 ships that were part of Cabral's fleet are depicted. Many were lost, as can be seen in this drawing from Memória das Armadas, Template:Circa

The fleet resumed its voyage on either 2Template:Sfn or 3Template:Sfn May 1500 and sailed along the east coast of South America. Cabral became convinced that he had found an entire continent, rather than an island.Template:Sfn Around 5 May, the fleet veered eastwards towards Africa.Template:Sfn On 23Template:Sfn or 24Template:Sfn May they encountered a storm in the South Atlantic's high-pressure zone, resulting in the loss of four ships. The exact location of the disaster is unknown—speculations range from near the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of the African continentTemplate:Sfn to "within sight of the South American coast".Template:Sfn Three naus and a caravel commanded by Bartolomeu Dias—the first European to reach the Cape of Good Hope in 1488—foundered, and 380 men were lost.Template:Sfn

The remaining vessels, hindered by rough weather and damaged rigging, were separated. One ship that had been separated, commanded by Diogo Dias, wandered onward alone,Template:Sfn and the other six ships were able to regroup. They gathered into two formations consisting of three ships each, and Cabral's group sailed east, past the Cape of Good Hope. Fixing their position and sighting land, they turned north and landed somewhere in the Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago, off East Africa and north of Sofala.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The main fleet remained near Sofala ten days undergoing repairs.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The expedition then went north, and on 26 May reached Kilwa Kisiwani, where Cabral made an unsuccessful attempt to negotiate a treaty with its king.Template:Sfn

From Kilwa Kisiwani, the fleet departed to Malindi, which was reached on 2 August. Cabral met with its king, with whom he established friendly relations and exchanged gifts. Pilots were recruited at Malindi for the last leg to India and the fleet set sail. Land was reached at Anjadip, an island frequented by ships to obtain supplies on their way to Calicut. Here the ships were beached, recaulked and painted. Final arrangements were put into place for the encounter with the ruler of Calicut.<ref>See:

Massacre in CalicutEdit

The fleet departed Anjadip and arrived in Calicut on 13 September.<ref>See:

  • Template:Harv;
  • Template:Harv;
  • Template:Harv.</ref> Cabral successfully negotiated with the Zamorin (the title of the ruler of Calicut) and obtained permission to establish a factory and a warehouse.Template:Sfn In hopes of further improving relations, Cabral dispatched his men on several military missions at the Zamorin's request.Template:Efn-ua However, on 16Template:Sfn or 17Template:Sfn December, the factory suffered a surprise attack by some 300Template:Sfn (according to other accounts, perhaps as many as several thousand)Template:Sfn Arabs and Indians. Despite a desperate defense by crossbowmen, more than 50 Portuguese were killed.Template:Efn-uaTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn The remaining defenders retreated to the ships, some by swimming. Thinking that the attack was the result of unauthorized incitement by jealous Arab merchants, Cabral waited 24 hours for an explanation from the ruler of Calicut, but no apology was forthcoming.<ref>See:
  • Template:Harv;
  • Template:Harv;
  • Template:Harv.</ref>

The Portuguese were outraged by the attack on the factory and the death of their comrades and seized ten Arab merchant ships at anchor in the harbor. Around 600 of their crewsTemplate:Sfn were killed and the cargoes confiscated before the merchantmen were set afire.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Cabral also ordered his ships to bombard Calicut for an entire day in reprisal for the violation of the agreement.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The massacre was blamed in part on Portuguese animosity towards Muslims, which had developed over centuries of conflict with the Moors on the Iberian peninsula and in North Africa.Template:Sfn Moreover, the Portuguese were determined to dominate the spice trade and had no intention of allowing competition to flourish. The Arabs also had no desire to allow the Portuguese to break their monopoly on access to spices. The Portuguese had started out by insisting on being given preferential treatment in every aspect of the trade. The letter from King Manuel I brought by Cabral to the ruler of Calicut, which was translated by the ruler's Arab interpreters, sought the exclusion of Arab traders. The Arab merchants believed that they were about to lose both their trading opportunities and livelihoods,Template:Sfn and attempted to sway the Zamorin against the Portuguese. The Portuguese and Arabs were extremely suspicious of each other's every action.Template:Sfn

Historian William Greenlee has argued that the Portuguese realized that "they were few in numbers and that those who would come to India in the future fleets would always be at a numerical disadvantage; so that this treachery must be punished in a manner so decisive that the Portuguese would be feared and respected in the future. It was their superior artillery which would enable them to accomplish this end." Thus, they created a precedent for the gunboat diplomacy used by European powers in Asia during the following centuries.Template:Sfn

Return to EuropeEdit

Warnings in reports from Vasco da Gama's voyage to India had prompted King Manuel I to brief Cabral regarding another port to the south of Calicut where he could also trade. This city was Cochin and the fleet set sail, reaching it on 24 December.Template:Sfn Cochin was nominally a vassal of Calicut, as well as being dominated by other Indian cities. Cochin was eager to achieve independence, and the Portuguese were willing to exploit Indian disunity to further their own goals. This tactic eventually ensured Portuguese hegemony over the region.Template:Sfn Cabral forged an alliance with Cochin's ruler, as well as with rulers of other Indian cities, and was able to establish a factory. At last, loaded with precious spices, the fleet went to Kannur for further trade before setting out on its return voyage to Portugal on 16 January 1501.<ref>See:

The expedition headed for the east coast of Africa. One of the ships became stranded on a sandbar and the vessel began to founder. As there was no space in the other ships, its cargo was lost and Cabral ordered the carrack to be set on fire.<ref>See:

  • Template:Harv;
  • Template:Harv;
  • Template:Harv.</ref> The fleet then proceeded to the Island of Mozambique (northeast of Sofala), in order to take on provisions and make the ships ready for the rough passage around the Cape of Good Hope.Template:Sfn One caravel was sent to Sofala—another of the expedition's goals. A second caravel, considered the fastest ship in the fleet and captained by Nicolau Coelho, was sent ahead to give the King advance notice of the voyage's success. A third vessel, commanded by Pedro de Ataíde, became separated from the fleet after leaving Mozambique.Template:Sfn

On 22 May, the fleet—now reduced to only two ships—rounded the Cape of Good Hope.Template:Sfn They arrived in Beseguiche (now Dakar, located near Cape Verde) on 2 June. There they found not only Nicolau Coelho's caravel but also the nau captained by Diogo Dias—which had been lost for over a year following the disaster in the South Atlantic. The nau had experienced several adventures of its ownTemplate:Efn-ua and was now in poor condition with only seven sick and malnourished men aboard—one of whom was so weak that he died of happiness upon again seeing his comrades.Template:Sfn Another Portuguese fleet was also found riding at anchor in Beseguiche. After Manuel I had been told of the discovery of what is now Brazil, he sent another and smaller fleet to explore it. One of its navigators was Amerigo Vespucci (for whom the Americas would be named), who told Cabral of his exploration, confirming that he had indeed made landfall on an entire continent and not merely an island.Template:Sfn

Nicolau Coelho's caravel departed first from Beseguiche and arrived in Portugal on 23 June 1501.Template:Sfn Cabral stayed behind, waiting for Pedro de Ataíde's missing ship and for the caravel that had been sent to Sofala. Both eventually appeared and Cabral arrived in Portugal on 21 July 1501, with the other vessels coming home during the following days.Template:Sfn In all, two ships returned empty, five were fully loaded and six were lost. Nonetheless, the cargoes carried by the fleet returned up to 800% profit to the Portuguese Crown.Template:Sfn Once sold, the proceeds covered the outlay in equipping the fleet, covered the cost of the vessels which had been lost, and cleared a profit which itself exceeded the total sum of those costs.Template:Sfn "Undeterred by the unprecedented losses which he had sustained", asserts historian James McClymont, when Cabral "reached the East African coast, pressed forward to the accomplishment of the task which had been assigned to him and was able to inspire the surviving officers and men with like courage."Template:Sfn "Few voyages to Brazil and India were so well executed as Cabral's", affirmed historian Bailey Diffie,Template:Sfn which laid down a path leading to the immediate commencement "of a Portuguese seagoing empire from Africa to the far East", and eventually to "a land empire in Brazil".Template:Sfn

Later years and deathEdit

File:Igr n s graca 9.jpg
Cabral's tomb in Santarém, Portugal

Upon Cabral's return, King Manuel I began planning another fleet to make the journey to India and to avenge the Portuguese losses in Calicut. Cabral was selected to command this "Revenge Fleet", as it was called. For eight months Cabral made all preparations,Template:Sfn but for reasons which remain uncertain, he was relieved of command.Template:Sfn It had apparently been proposed to give another navigator, Vicente Sodré, independent command over a section of the fleet, and Cabral strongly opposed this.<ref>See:

Despite the loss of favor with Manuel I,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Cabral was able to contract an advantageous marriage in 1503Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn to Dona (Lady) Isabel de Castro, a wealthy noblewoman and descendant of King Dom Fernando I of Portugal.Template:Sfn Her mother was a sister of Afonso de Albuquerque, one of the greatest Portuguese military leaders during the Age of Discovery.<ref>See:

  • Template:Harv;
  • Template:Harv;
  • Template:Harv.</ref> The couple had at least four children: two boys (Fernão Álvares Cabral and António Cabral) and two girls (Catarina de Castro and Guiomar de Castro).Template:Sfn There were two additional daughters named Isabel and Leonor according to other sources, which also say that Guiomar, Isabel and Leonor joined religious orders.Template:Sfn Afonso de Albuquerque attempted to intercede on Cabral's behalf and on 2 December 1514 asked Manuel I to forgive him and allow his return to court, but to no avail.<ref>See:
  • Template:Harv;
  • Template:Harv;
  • Template:Harv.</ref>

Suffering from recurrent fever and a tremor (possibly malaria) since his voyage,Template:Sfn Cabral withdrew to Santarém in 1509. He spent his remaining years there.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Only sketchy information is available as to his activities during that time. According to a royal letter dated 17 December 1509, Cabral was party to a dispute over a transaction involving property which belonged to him.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Another letter of that same year reported that he was to receive certain privileges for undisclosed military service.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In 1518, or perhaps previously, he was raised from fidalgo to knight in the King's Council and was entitled to a monthly allowance of 2,437 reais.<ref>See:

LegacyEdit

Posthumous rehabilitationEdit

File:Cantino planisphere (1502).jpg
Cantino planisphere 1502, one of the earliest surviving charts showing the explorations of Pedro Álvares Cabral to Brazil. The Tordesillas line is also depicted.
File:10 real "500 Years Discovery of Brazil" Commemorative Issue Obverse.jpg
Cabral on the 10 Brazilian real polymer banknote issued in 2000, commemorating the 500th Anniversary of the discovery of Brazil

The first permanent Portuguese settlement in the land which would become Brazil was São Vicente, which was established in 1532 by Martim Afonso de Sousa. As the years passed, the Portuguese would slowly expand their frontiers westward, conquering more lands from both indigenous Americans and the Spanish. Brazil had secured most of its present-day borders by 1750 and was regarded by Portugal as the most important part of its far-flung maritime Empire. On 7 September 1822, the heir of Portuguese King Dom João VI secured the independence of Brazil from Portugal and, as Dom Pedro I, became its first Emperor.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Cabral's discovery, and even his resting place in the land of his birth, had been almost completely forgotten during the span of nearly 300 years since his expedition.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn This began to change beginning in the 1840s when Emperor Dom Pedro II, successor and son of Pedro I, sponsored research and publications dealing with Cabral's life and expedition through the Brazilian Historic and Geographic Institute. This was part of the Emperor's ambitious larger plan to foster and strengthen a sense of nationalism among Brazil's diverse citizenry—giving them a common identity and history as residents of a unique Portuguese-speaking empire, surrounded by Hispanic-American Republics.Template:Sfn The initial resurgence of interest in Cabral had resulted from the rediscovery, in 1839, of his resting place by the Brazilian historian Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen (later Viscount of Porto Seguro).Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The completely neglected state in which Cabral's tomb was found nearly led to a diplomatic crisis between Brazil and Portugal—the latter then ruled by Pedro II's eldest sister, Maria II.Template:Sfn

In 1871, the Brazilian Emperor—then on a trip to Europe—visited Cabral's gravesite and proposed an exhumation for scientific study, which was carried out in 1882.Template:Sfn In a second exhumation in 1896, an urn containing earth and bone fragments was allowed to be removed. Although his remains still lay in Portugal, the urn was eventually brought to the old Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil on 30 December 1903.Template:Sfn Cabral has since become a national hero in Brazil.Template:Sfn In Portugal, however, he has been much overshadowed by his rival Vasco da Gama.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Historian William Greenlee argued that Cabral's exploration is important "not only because of its position in the history of geography but because of its influence on the history and economics of the period." Though he acknowledges that few voyages have "been of greater importance to posterity", he also says that "few have been less appreciated in their time."Template:Sfn Nevertheless, historian James McClymont affirmed that "Cabral's position in the history of Portuguese conquest and discovery is inexpungable despite the supremacy of greater or more fortunate men."Template:Sfn He concluded that Cabral "will always be remembered in history as the chief, if not the first discoverer of Brazil."Template:Sfn

Intentional discovery hypothesisEdit

A controversy that has occupied scholars for more than a century concerns whether Cabral's discovery was by chance or intentional. The latter would mean that the Portuguese at least suspected that land existed to the west. The question was first broached by Emperor Pedro II in 1854 during a session of the Brazilian Historic and Geographic Institute, when he asked if the discovery might have been intentional.Template:Sfn

Until the 1854 conference, the widespread presumption was that the discovery had been an accident. Early works on the subject supported this view, including História do Descobrimento e Conquista da Índia (History of the Discovery and Conquest of India, published in 1541) by Fernão Lopes de Castanheda, Décadas da Ásia (Decades of Asia, 1552) by João de Barros, Crônicas do Felicíssimo Rei D. Manuel (Chronicles of the most fortunate D. Manuel, 1558) by Damião de Góis, Lendas da Índia (Legends of India, 1561) by Gaspar Correia,Template:Sfn História do Brasil (History of Brazil, 1627) by friar Vicente do Salvador and História da América Portuguesa (History of Portuguese America, 1730) by Sebastião da Rocha Pita.Template:Sfn

The first work to advocate the idea of intentionality was published in 1854 by Joaquim Noberto de Sousa e Silva, after Pedro II had opened the debate.Template:Sfn Since then, several scholars have subscribed to that view, including Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen,Template:Sfn Capistrano de Abreu,Template:Sfn Pedro Calmon,Template:Sfn Fábio RamosTemplate:Sfn and Mário Barata.Template:Sfn Historian Hélio Vianna affirmed that "although there are signs of the intentionality" in Cabral's discovery, "based mainly in the knowledge or previous suspicion of the existence of lands at the edge of the South Atlantic", there are no irrefutable proofs to support it.Template:Sfn This opinion is also shared by historian Thomas Skidmore.Template:Sfn The debate on whether it was a deliberate voyage of discovery or not is considered "irrelevant" by historian Charles R. Boxer.Template:Sfn Historian Anthony Smith concludes that the conflicting contentions will "probably never be resolved".Template:Sfn

  • Bernardelli - Monumento a Cabral.jpg

    Monument to Cabral, Lisbon

  • A Cabral.jpg

    Monument to Cabral, Brazil

ForerunnersEdit

File:1500 map by Juan de la Cosa-Brazil.jpg
The map of Juan de la Cosa, dated 1500, mentions the travel to northern Brazil by Vicente Yáñez Pinzón.

Cabral was not the first European to stumble upon areas of present-day Brazil, not to mention other parts of South America. Norsemen reached North America and even established settlements, although these ended in failure sometime before the end of the 15th century.Template:Sfn Christopher Columbus, on his third voyage to the New World in 1498, traveled along part of what would later become Venezuela.Template:Sfn

In the case of Brazil, it was once considered probable that the Portuguese navigator Duarte Pacheco Pereira had made a voyage to the Brazilian coast in 1498. This belief has since been dismissed, however, and it is now thought that he voyaged to North America instead.<ref>See:

  • Template:Harv;
  • Template:Harv;
  • Template:Harv.</ref> There is more certain evidence that two Spaniards, Vicente Yáñez Pinzón and Template:Ill, traveled along the northern coast of Brazil between January and March 1500. Pinzón went from what is today Cabo de Santo Agostinho (Brazilian state of Pernambuco) to the mouth of the Amazon River. There he encountered another Spanish expedition led by Lepe, which would reach as far as the Oyapock River in March. The reason Cabral is credited with having discovered Brazil, rather than the Spanish explorers, is because the visits by Pinzón and Lepe were cursory and had no lasting impact.Template:Efn-ua Historians Capistrano de Abreu,Template:Sfn Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen,Template:Sfn Mário BarataTemplate:Sfn and Hélio ViannaTemplate:Sfn concur that the Spanish expeditions did not influence the development of what would become the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas—with a unique history, culture and society which sets it apart from the Hispanic-American societies which dominate the rest of the continent.

See alsoEdit

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EndnotesEdit

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FootnotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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Further readingEdit

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