Cabral reaches Brazil
Llegada de Cabral a Brasil
- Date
- 1500 · confidence high
- Place
- Porto Seguro, Bahia, Brazil
- Credited to
- Pedro Álvares Cabral
- People
- 👤 Pedro Álvares Cabral1467–1520
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
The Portuguese fleet bound for India touched the coast of Brazil, which fell within the Portuguese side of Tordesillas. It marked the start of Portuguese Brazil and of the Lusophone presence in South America.
Coordinates of Porto Seguro. Vicente Yáñez Pinzón had touched the northern coast of Brazil months earlier. The territory was inhabited by Tupi peoples. Whether the arrival was accidental or planned is debated.
What it led to
- Portuguese colonisation of Brazil
- The brazilwood and later sugar economy
- Brazil as the largest Portuguese-speaking country
Built on
- Treaty of Tordesillas
- Vasco da Gama's route
Made possible
- Pernambuco sugar plantations