Discovery of Brazil

The “Discovery” of Brazil happened on April 22, 1500 , when the Portuguese arrived in the lands that today belong to Brazil.

This event, which marked the history of our country, was the result of the intellectual effort and of several maritime expeditions carried out by Portuguese navigators.

Increasingly, the expression “discovery” is being questioned by scholars for not accurately describing this historical fact. This is because "discovery" is a Eurocentric term, since it means that there are no inhabitants in the lands found by the Portuguese.

Thus, the expression “Arrival of the Portuguese in Brazil ” would be more accurate, as it recognizes the existence of indigenous peoples in these lands.

Summary of the Discovery of Brazil

The “Discovery” of Brazil must, above all, be considered in the context of the Great Navigations and Maritime Discoveries, promoted in the 15th and 16th centuries, by Castilians and Portuguese.

At this time, Portugal and the Kingdom of Castile (which would form the future Spain) set out to sea in search of new lands and, mainly, precious metals. With this, we know that years before the Portuguese, navigators in the service of the crown of Castile would have already sighted lands in the south of America.

Who discovered Brazil?

Official history consecrated the name of Pedro Álvares Cabral as the first to find the new lands.

These maritime expeditions were carried out with the greatest secrecy, as Portugal and Castile competed to discover lands beyond Europe.

Thus, there were many navigators who sighted the lands of South America and thus preceded Pedro Álvares Cabral.

We can mention Vicente Yáñez Pinzón, Diego de Lepe, João Coelho da Porta da Cruz and Duarte Pacheco Pereira. This would have commanded a secret expedition of 1498, to confirm the existence of the Brazilian lands.

The expedition to Brazil

The fleet that arrived in Brazil was quite large and made up of experienced navigators.

Their main objective was to reach the Indies to negotiate commercial treaties, after the successful voyage made by Vasco da Gama in 1498. However, before heading to Asia, they should check the lands that existed to the west.

However, due to the hostilities of the local people, Vasco da Gama recommended the use of force to carry out the spice trade in the Indies; hence the grandeur of the next squad.

On March 9, 1500, thirteen ships left Lisbon. They contained provisions for over eighteen months, and about fourteen hundred men. In charge was the nobleman Pedro Álvares Cabral, accompanied by scholars such as the navigator Duarte Pacheco Pereira.

Thus, on March 22, the navigators skirted the island of Cape Verde, from where they headed west, crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

For a long time, it was believed that these lands would have been discovered by chance. However, browser experience reveals that they would not get lost so easily. Also, according to the logbooks, no storm was recorded.

Arrival of the Portuguese in Brazil

The day of the arrival of the Portuguese in Brazil - which took place on April 22, 1500 - is celebrated as Brazil Discovery Day, April 22 , and recalls that historic date.

With no reports of any type of difficulty or unforeseen event, Cabral's fleet crosses approximately 3,600 kilometers in a month, until they find the first signs of land.

Arriving on the southern coast of the current state of Bahia, the caravels of the Portuguese fleet spotted a hill, which was named Monte Pascoal. On that date, April 22, a small incursion by the fleet would land on the coast, a place that became known as Porto Seguro.

Immediately, Gaspar de Lemos, a veteran navigator and commander of the supply ship, was ordered to return to Portugal. He would deliver Pero Vaz de Caminha's account, the famous Letter, to King Manuel I about the finding of Brazil.

The meeting with the natives

Two days after their arrival, the Portuguese got to know the indigenous people who inhabited the region. Cabral then boarded some indigenous people in his caravel.

The coast of Bahia was occupied by the Tupinambás and Tupiniquins Indians, while the Aimorés lived in the interior.

In the caravel, the Indians tried – and did not like – the food of the Portuguese and were amazed by the animals, such as the chickens.

According to Pero Vaz Caminha, when they saw objects of silver and gold, the indigenous people indicated that they knew them and pointed to the land. Thus, the Portuguese thought that they possessed those metals, which was not confirmed by the research they did.

The strangeness also came from the Portuguese, who did not understand the fact that the Indians were naked. Likewise, as they did not find statues representing gods, they concluded that the indigenous people had no religion.

Origin of the name of Brazil

Later, on April 26, the first mass was celebrated on Brazilian soil, held by Frei Henrique de Coimbra.

After saying Mass and renewing the fleet's supplies, Pedro Álvares Cabral headed for the Indies. As they believed that the discovered land was nothing more than an island, he named it Ilha de Vera Cruz, later it would be replaced by Terra de Santa Cruz, as the navigators realized it was a continent.

Finally, they decided to call it Brazil in 1511, due to the large number of pau-brasil trees in the region. Even so, some European authors referred to the new lands as "land of parrots", due to the number of these birds found in the region.

Despite the finding and the report made to the king, the Portuguese Crown had other priorities. Therefore, in the beginning, no expedition was sent to occupy the lands found. The Portuguese only traded with the Indians in exchange for pau-brasil.

The news of the wealth of the new lands also attracted the interest of the French, Dutch and English, with whom the Portuguese Crown had not signed any treaty like that of Tordesillas.

Therefore, starting in 1530, an expedition was organized by Martim Afonso de Souza, in order to appropriate the new lands.

Fun facts about the discovery of Brazil

• The "Discovery of Brazil" becomes a cultural reference from the 19th century when there was a concern to write the history of Brazil.
• The rock band Legião Urbana named their sixth album "O Descobrimento do Brasil" even though no song mentions the historical fact.

We have more texts on the subject for you :

• Brazil Discovery Day
• Arrival of the Portuguese in Brazil
• Exercises Colonial Brazil

If you are looking for a summary for early childhood education, see:Descobrimento do Brasil - Kids.