Pedro Álvares Cabral was a portuguese browser and explorer responsible for finding, in 1500, the lands belonging to Brazil.
He was born in 1467 in the Castle of Belmonte, in Beira Baixa, Portugal. His family, the Cabrals, was an ancient and wealthy Portuguese noble family.
The Cabrals were from the lineage of Carano, the legendary first king of Macedonia who, in turn, was a descendant of the Greek demigod Hercules.
The Cabral coat of arms is depicted with two purple goats - from which the family name originates, in a field of silver. Purple means fidelity and goats humility.
As a young man, Cabral was taken to reside in the interior province. There he received a good education, studying subjects such as the humanities and armed tactics, under the tutelage of the court masters of Alfonso V.
His ascension began when, at age 16, D. John II named him nobleman. He was also a Portuguese military commander, navigator and explorer, probably the first European in Brazil.
He acquired great experience in navigation and diplomacy. But, after accomplishing his greatest feats, he will decline the king's preference in favor of Vasco da Gama, at which time he retires from public life.
Pedro Álvares Cabral was married to D. Isabel de Castro, and died in 1520 in Santarém, where she lived during her last years. His cause of death is not known.
Cabral's achievements were forgotten for centuries. After the independence of Brazil, in the nineteenth century, his feats were reaffirmed by Emperor Pedro II of Brazil himself, a scholar and scholar of the themes of history.
In this regard, it is worth remembering that historians differ as to whether Cabral actually discovered Brazil on purpose or accidentally, as the records indicate.
Main achievements of Pedro Álvares Cabral
As Vasco da Gama was successful in reaching the Indies in 1498, the possibility of profits by exploring the new trade route to the East became clear.
Thus, Pedro Álvares Cabral is commissioned by King Manuel I of Portugal to command the second expedition to the Indies, in 1500. With 33 years old, a large squadron of 13 ships and more than a thousand men, Cabral began his journey.
A few years earlier, Christopher Columbus had already arrived on the American continent, more precisely in 1492.
Cabral's expedition arrived in Calicut on September 15, where they were received with iron and fire by the Hindus.
The locals were defeated and subjugated, but at the cost of several vessels, including Bartolomeu Dias's. Bartolomeu Dias was another prominent figure in this period, for having been shipwrecked near the Cape of Good Hope, surviving and crossing the continent until returning to Portuguese domains.
However, even with all the damage to human lives and ships, Cabral's mission was considered a success. This was due to the profits that preceded it, relating to the new trade route for spices.
The objective of this undertaking was to break the monopoly of the Italians and Arabs for profitable spices. At the same time, it was to form and consolidate trade and diplomatic relations in India.
Discovery of Brazil
Under the direction of Vasco da Gama, Cabral tried to bypass the Cape of Good Hope, but made the famous detour to the southwest that scholars debate so much. So, on April 22, 1500, he arrived on the Brazilian coast. This event was registered as the "discovery" of Brazil.
At first sight, the territory was called Monte Pascoal, due to the relief formations that emerged near the coast of Bahia.
The Portuguese did not attach much value to the discovered territory, as they had another focus, as they were looking at that time for a viable trade route to the East.
It is worth noting that the new territory was within the Portuguese limits of the Treaty of Tordesillas, which allowed the Portuguese Crown to claim those lands.
In the year he arrived in Brazil, Cabral ordered the immediate sending of a ship commanded by the best navigator in the fleet to Portugal, to take the news of the discovery to the King.
Read too:
- Discovery of Brazil
- Arrival of the Portuguese in Brazil
- Treaty of Tordesillas
- Bartolomeu Dias
