Portuguese discovery of Brazil

Main article: 2nd Portuguese India Armada (Cabral, 1500)

[edit] Fleet commander-in-chief

Route taken by Cabral from Portugal to India in 1500 (in red), and the return route (in blue)

On 15 February 1500, Cabral was appointed Capitão-mor (literally Major-Captain, or commander-in-chief) of a fleet sailing for India.^[9][22][23] It was then the custom for the Portuguese Crown to appoint nobles to naval and military commands, regardless of experience or professional competence.^[24] This was the case for the captains of the ships under Cabral's command—most were nobles like himself.^[25] The practice had obvious pitfalls, since authority could as easily be given to highly incompetent and unfit people as it could fall to talented leaders such as Afonso de Albuquerque or Dom João de Castro.^[26]
Scant details have survived regarding the criteria used by the Portuguese government in its selection of Cabral as head of the India expedition. In the royal decree naming him commander-in-chief, the only reasons given are "merits and services". Nothing more is known about these qualifications.^[27] Historian William Greenlee argued that King Manuel I "had undoubtedly known him well at court". That, along with the "standing of the Cabral family, their unquestioned loyalty to the Crown, the personal appearance of Cabral, and the ability which he had shown at court and in the council were important factors".^[28] Also in his favor may have been the influence of two of his brothers who sat on the King's council.^[28] Given the political intrigue present at court, Cabral may have been part of a faction which furthered his appointment.^[28] The historian Malyn Newitt subscribes to some sort of ulterior maneuvering and has said that the choice of Cabral "was a deliberate attempt to balance the interests of rival factions of noble families, for he appears to have no other quality to recommend him and no known experience in commanding major expeditions."^[29]
Cabral became the military chief, while far more experienced navigators were seconded to the expedition to aid him in naval matters.^[30] The most important of these were Bartolomeu Dias, Diogo Dias and Nicolau Coelho.^[29][31][32] They would, along with the other captains, command 13 ships^[6][29][33] and 1,500 men.^{[6][34][35][36]} Of this contingent, 700 were soldiers, although most were simple commoners who had no training or previous experience in combat.^[37]
The fleet had two divisions. The first division was composed of nine naus (carracks) and two round caravels, and was headed to Calicut (today more often known as Kozhikode) in India with the goal of establishing trade relations and a factory (trading post). The second division, consisting of one nau and one round caravel, set sail for the port of Sofala in what is today Mozambique.^[38] In exchange for leading the fleet, Cabral was entitled to 10,000 cruzados (an old Portuguese currency equivalent to approximately 35 kg of gold) and the right to purchase 30 tonnes (33 ST; 30 LT) of pepper at his own expense for transport back to Europe. The pepper could then be resold, tax-free, to the Portuguese Crown.^[39] He was also allowed to import 10 boxes of any other kind of spice, duty-free.^[39] Although the voyage was extremely hazardous, Cabral had the prospect of becoming a very rich man if he returned safely to Portugal with the cargo. Spices were then rare in Europe and keenly sought-after.^[39]

Cabral (center-left, pointing) sights the Brazilian mainland for the first time on 22 April 1500.

An earlier fleet had been the first to reach India by circumnavigating Africa. That expedition had been led by Vasco da Gama and returned to Portugal in 1499.^[40] For decades Portugal had been searching for an alternate route to the East, in order to bypass the Mediterranean Sea which was under the control of the Italian Maritime Republics and the Ottoman Empire. Portugal's expansionism would lead first to a route to India, and later to worldwide colonization. A desire to spread Catholic Christianity to pagan lands was another factor motivating exploration. There also was a long tradition of pushing back Muslims, which stemmed from Portugal's fight for nationhood against the Moors. The fight expanded first to North Africa and eventually to the Indian subcontinent. An additional ambition which galvanized the explorers was the search for the mythical Prester John—a powerful Christian king with whom an alliance against Islam could be forged. Finally, the Portuguese Crown sought a share in the lucrative West African trade in slaves and gold, and India's spice trade.^[41]

[edit] Departure and arrival in a new land

The fleet under the command of the 32–33-year old Cabral departed from Lisbon on 9 March 1500 at noon. The previous day they had been given a public send-off which included a Mass and celebrations attended by the King, his court and a huge crowd.^{[35][42][43][44][45][46]} On the morning of 14 March the flotilla passed Gran Canaria, the largest island in the Canary Islands.^[44][47] It sailed onward to Cape Verde, a Portuguese colony situated on the West African coast, which was reached on 22 March.^[44][48] The next day, a nau commanded by Vasco de Ataíde with 150 men disappeared without a trace.^[42][44][48] The fleet crossed the Equator on 9 April, and sailed westward as far as possible from the African continent in what was known as the volta do mar (literally "turn of the sea") navigational technique.^[42][49] Seaweed was sighted on 21 April, which led the sailors to believe that they were nearing the coast. They were proven correct the next afternoon, Wednesday 22 April 1500, when the fleet anchored near what Cabral christened the Monte Pascoal ("Easter Mount", it being the week of Easter). The spot is located on the northeast coast of present-day Brazil.^{[44][49][50][51]}

Romantic depiction of Cabral's first landing on the Island of the True Cross (present-day Brazil). He can be seen on the shore (center) standing in front of an armored soldier who is carrying a banner of the Order of Christ.

The Portuguese detected inhabitants on the shore, and all ships' captains gathered aboard Cabral's lead ship on 23 April.^[52] Cabral ordered Nicolau Coelho, a captain who had experience from Vasco da Gama's voyage to India, to go ashore and make contact. He set foot on land and exchanged gifts with the indigenous people.^[53] After Coelho returned, Cabral took the fleet north, where after traveling 65 kilometres (40 mi) along the coast, it anchored on 24 April in what the commander-in-chief named Porto Seguro (Safe Port).^[54] The place was a natural harbor, and Afonso Lopes (pilot of the lead ship) brought two natives aboard to confer with Cabral.^[55]
As in the first contact, the meeting was friendly and Cabral presented the locals with gifts.^[56] The inhabitants were stone age hunter-gatherers, to whom the Europeans would assign the generic label "Indians". The men collected food by stalking game, fishing and foraging, while the women engaged in small-scale farming. They were divided into countless rival tribes. The tribe which Cabral met was the Tupiniquim.^[57] Some of these groups were nomadic and others sedentary—having a knowledge of fire but not metalworking. A few tribes engaged in cannibalism.^[58] On 26 April, as more and more curious and friendly natives appeared, Cabral ordered his men to build an altar inland where a Christian Mass was held—the first celebrated on the soil of what would later become Brazil. He, along with the ships' crews, participated.^[59]
The following days were spent stockpiling water, food, wood and other provisions. The Portuguese also built a massive—perhaps 7 metres (23 ft) long—wooden cross. Cabral ascertained that the new land lay east of the demarcation line between Portugal and Spain that had been specified in the Treaty of Tordesillas. The territory was thus within the sphere allotted to Portugal. To solemnize Portugal's claim to the land, the wood cross was erected and a second religious service held on 1 May.^[54][60] In honor of the cross, Cabral named the newly discovered land Ilha de Vera Cruz (Island of the True Cross).^[61] The next day a supply-ship under the command of either Gaspar de Lemos^[62][63] or André Gonçalves^[64] (the sources conflict on who was sent)^[65] returned to Portugal to apprise the King of the discovery.