Pedro Cabral

The biography of Pedro Alvares Cabral (c1467 - c1520), the Portuguese commander of a fleet of ships whose epic voyage to India led to the first crossing of the South Atlantic, the discovery of Brazil, the discovery of Madagascar, and trade between Europe and Asia around Africa. Pedro Cabral's fleet was one of the largest fleets that had ever sailed the Atlantic. It set sail for India in 1500 on what turned out to be the longest voyage in history up to that time, and one of the greatest and most influential voyages of discovery ever made. On shore they encountered strange people with bodies painted and tattooed, and decorated with coverings of brilliant feathers. Their appearance and customs were entirely unlike any that the Portuguese had seen before. Pedro Cabral had discovered Brazil, writing the first page in its history, and had opened up South America to further discoveries. Their epic voyage continued despite considerable loss of lives and ships.
Included are all of the first hand accounts of the journey, written by Pero Vaz de Caminha, Master John, and "the anonymous narrative", and all of the reports written on their return by King Manuel, Amerigo Vespucci, Bartolomeo Marchioni, Ca' Masser, and those that appeared in "The Venetian letters" and "The Venetian diaries". Few voyages or discoverers have been of greater importance to posterity, yet few have been less appreciated in their time. Pedro Cabral is part of a series of biographies, published by Viartis, concerning "The Voyages of Discovery" including : Vasco da Gama, Magellan, Pedro Cabral, Bartolomeu Dias, and Amerigo Vespucci. Between them they discovered and opened up much of the then unknown world. [Data provided by Nielsen]