Cabral, PA

Full Name: Pedro Alvares Cabral

Achievements: Confirmed the trading route from the West to India and established Portuguese trade there, in Cochin.

Born: 1467/68; Belmonte, Portugal

Died: c 1520; Location Unknown

Field & Discipline: Exploration; Navigation

Language: Portuguese

Father:: Fernao Cabral

Mother: Isabel de Gouveia

Siblings: Eleven

Spouse: Dona Isabel de Castro

Children: Antonio; Fernao; Constanca; Guiomar; Isabel; Leonor

Education: Private tutors. Royal court.

Life & Times:

Cabral's father was chief magistrate of Beria, Portugal,  and a member of King  John II's council.  In his teens Cabral joined the court as a page.  His first introduction to exploration was hearing stories about his cousin, Velho, who went on several voyages for Prince [cousin explored for] Henry the Navigator* and re-discovered the Azores.

When Manuel I succeeded John in 1495, Cabral was admitted to The Order of Christ, given an allowance and make a Counsellor to the king.  In 1499, when Vasco da Gama returned from India, having opened up the sea route to the East,  Portugal was eager to capitalise on the opportunity.  Cabral was given command of his own ship and, using da Gama's navigational instructions, sailed from Lisbon in March 1500, with thirteen armed ships.

On board the small fleet was Bartolomeu Dias (who had discovered the Cape of Good Hope in 1488) together with Franciscan friars (on board to spread Christianity) and Portuguese merchants (intending to barter for the precious jewels and spices of the East). 

After clearing the Cape Verde Islands the ships took a westward course before heading south to the tip of Africa. This would gave them a chance of sighting new territories out to the west,  as, in accordance with the [work related to] Treaty of Tordesillas*, Portugal could claim possession of any lands they discovered there.

On April 22, they found land, which Cabral called Vera Cruz, later named by the King as Santa Cruz.  They had in fact discovered Brazil but, at the time, had no idea if it was an island something more.  (The name Brazil was adopted in the middle of the sixteenth century after the brazil-wood found there, and later exploited by Portuguese settlers such as [work related to] de Noronha*).

Cabral and his crews stayed for ten days, befriended the local Indians,  and got first sight of the brilliantly colored birds now known as parrots.

After they had left, a tornado hit Cabral's fleet off the Cape of Good Hope and he lost four ships and their crews, including Bartomoleu Dias.   The survivors limped into Calicut in India a few weeks later and Cabral presented gifts to the Zamorin (Ruler) there.  He then spent the next three months negotiating a trading agreement, part of which led him to take hostages to ensure his negotiator's safety.  The Zamorin finally agreed to a fortified trading post, which became known as a “factory.”

The Muslim traders who were already present in the area felt threatened by the Portuguese merchants,  and tried to block their trading activities.  Cabral intervened and won the Zamorin's permission to capture any Moorish ship which left Calicut before the Portuguese ships were loaded.  The Muslims then attacked, killing many of the Portuguese,  and the affair escalated into a battle during which Cabral bombarded Calicut, setting fire to the wooden houses of the city.

He then sailed south to the port of Cochin,  were negotiations were more amicable and the Hindu Rajah allowed the establishment of a factory.  Cabral’s ships were loaded with spices before visiting Canananor,  where they picked up a cargo of pepper.  Cabral heard news that the Zamorin had sent a fleet chasing after him, so the fleet hurriedly left India,  headed back to Portugal.  On the return journey two more ships were lost.   Stopping for fresh water in the Cape Verde Islands,  Cabral met the fleet of [met fleet of] Vespucci*, who was sailing West in search of more lands.

Cabral eventually arrived back in Portugal in June 1501 with only four ships.  The King was excited about the factories he had set up,  and preparations for a return voyage, with Cabral as Commander, were made.  But eight months later, the command was given to [replaced by] Da Gama* instead.

Cabral left the royal court and retired to his small estate at Jardim near Santarm.  He married Dona Isabel de Castro, an ex-lady in waiting to the Queen and the daughter of Dom Fernando de Noronha.  Several years later, in 1518, he was again made Counselor to the King.  Little is known about his later life, but he died around 1520 and was buried in the church of  S.Antonio in Santarem.

ASSESSEMENT: Today, Cabral is credited with the discovery of Brazil, which remained a valuable Portuguese possession for centuries.

Oneliner: Pedro Cabral, early Portuguese explorer

Bibliography:

• Greenlee, William Brooks, The Voyages of Pedro Alvares Cabral to Brazil and India, The Hakluyt Society, London, 1938.