Today, with over 200 million people, Brazil is the world’s largest Portuguese-speaking nation. The name “Brazil” originated from the brazilwood tree, which the settlers made great profit from. Several years after, the Portuguese began colonising the area. While on a voyage to India Cabral accidentally sailed too far south west, and found himself at present-day Porto Seguro on the coast of Bahia.Īfter staying mere days, Cabral sailed back across the Atlantic, leaving two degredados, exiled criminals, who would father the first of Brazil’s mestizo population.

Regarded as the “discoverer” of Brazil, the Portuguese navigator was the first European to reach the Brazilian coast, in 1500. It is not known if he died in a storm during his final voyage in 1498, or if he returned safely to London and died shortly after. Upon landing in what he called “New-found-land” in present-day Canada – which he mistook for being Asia – Cabot claimed land for England.Ĭabot’s expedition was the first European exploration of coastal North America since the 11th century, making him the first early modern European to “discover” North America. 1450-1498)īorn Giovanni Caboto, the Venetian explorer became known for his 1497 voyage to North America under the commission of Henry VII of England. 1524-1580), Portugal’s greatest ever poet. The Portuguese national epic poem, Os Lusiadas (“The Lusiads”), was written in his honour by Luís Vaz de Camões (c. It would take another century for other European powers to challenge Portugal’s naval supremacy and commercial monopoly of commodities such as pepper and cinnamon. His voyage made him the first European to reach India by sea, and opened up the first sea route connecting Europe to Asia.ĭa Gama’s discovery of the Cape Route opened the way for an age of Portuguese exploration and colonialism in Asia. In 1497, the Portuguese explorer set sail from Lisbon towards India. Believing he had reached the Indies, he dubbed the natives there “Indians”.Ĭolumbus’ voyages were the first European expeditions to the Caribbean, Central America and South America, and opened the way for the European exploration and permanent colonisation of the Americas. Instead, the Italian navigator found himself on an island that later became known as the Bahamas. Image Credit: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons There are no known authentic portraits of Columbus Posthumous portrait of Columbus by Sebastiano del Piombo, 1519. Under the sponsorship of Ferdinand II and Isabella I of Spain, he had originally set sail hoping to find a westward route to the Far East. Often called the “discoverer” of the New World, Christopher Columbus embarked on 4 voyages across the Atlantic Ocean between 14. His patronage of Portuguese exploration led to expeditions across the Atlantic Ocean and along the western coast of Africa, and the colonising of the Azores and Madeira islands.Īlthough he did not earn the title ‘”the Navigator” until three centuries after his death, Henry was considered the main initiator of the Age of Discovery and the Atlantic slave trade. The Portuguese prince has a legendary status in the early stages of European exploration – despite never having embarked on an exploratory voyage himself.

Setting sail aboard his “treasure ships”, he would exchange valuable goods such as gold, porcelain and silk for ivory, myrrh and even China’s first giraffe.ĭespite being instrumental in extending the influence and power of the Ming dynasty China, Zheng’s legacy went overlooked after China entered a long period of isolation. Known as the Three-Jewel Eunuch Admiral, Zheng He was China’s greatest explorer.Ĭommanding the world’s mightiest fleet of 300 ships and as many as 30,000 troops, Admiral Zheng made 7 epic voyages to southeast Asia, south Asia, the Middle East and Africa between 14. His writings also had a significant influence on European cartography, ultimately leading to the Age of Discovery a century later. Polo was not the first European to reach China, but his travelogue inspired many explorers – among them, Christopher Columbus. The result of their encounter was Il milione (“The Million”) or ‘The Travels of Marco Polo’, which described his voyage to and experiences in Asia. Upon his return to Venice, Polo was imprisoned in Genoa alongside the writer Rustichello da Pisa.

Image Credit: Grevembrock, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Polo wearing a Tartar outfit, print from the 18th century

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