Pedro Cabral

Essential reading for understanding the history.

Cabral, a Portuguese Naval Officer is known as the Columbus of Brazil. He discovered it for Portugal in 1500 after being being turned around in a storm. Cabral thought it was a big island. He got into trouble with the Admiralty back in Lisbon when he finally got back for losing some of his 14 ships along the way during the long voyage. Cabral also discovered Madagascar while heading in to India. He also established relations with many local rulers along Madagascar along the Indian sub-continent. Not all the relations he attempted proved to be cordial - some ended up with his ships firing cannon shots into certain towns along the coast. His statue, along with other explorers of the time appears as part of the Explorer's Monument in Lisbon along the banks the Tagus River. While many other explorers gained world recognition for discoveries made after Cabral, his voyage that founded Brazil and then his sailing from there to India remains one the greatest feats of navigation ever made.