Brazil's Discovery
Route
Talking a little about
Have you ever heard about the Discovery Coast in Brazil? This is a region in the southern part of Bahia considered the starting point of our country’s history. That’s because it was there that everything began in the year 1500! According to the history books of Brazil, as soon as the Portuguese spotted Monte Pascoal, they shouted “land in sight.” The historical and cultural significance of this region is so great that in 1999, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Natural Site.
Region
Northeast
Tourist Attractions
15 tourist attractions
Climate
Tropical.
Main attractions
Historical sites, monuments, museums, and beaches
Some
Curiosities
Pedro Álvares Cabral’s payment was 10,000 cruzados (equivalent to 35 kilograms of gold). He could also buy and sell 30 tons of pepper and 10 crates of another spice. A common sailor, on the other hand, earned 10 cruzados per month, in addition to 10 quintals of pepper.
The fate of Vasco Ataíde’s ship (one of the 13 ships in Cabral’s expedition) is still unknown, but it is believed to have shipwrecked during a storm.
The first name given to Brazil was “Ilha de Vera Cruz,” and later it became known as “Terra de Santa Cruz.” Another name by which Brazil was called at the time was “Terra dos Papagaios,” due to the abundance of parrots found here.
When Pero Vaz de Caminha reported the discovery of Brazil to the Portuguese king, he believed that the new lands were actually an island. The island of Fernando de Noronha is named after Fernão de Loronha, a Portuguese nobleman who received the island as a captaincy from the King of Portugal in 1504.
It is estimated that, upon the arrival of the Portuguese, approximately seven million indigenous people lived in the Brazilian territory. When Cabral’s expedition left Brazil on May 2, 1500, two deserters and two convicts were left behind in the territory with the natives.
Before being called Pedro Álvares Cabral, the leader of the Portuguese expedition’s name was Pedro Álvares Gouveia. The name change occurred when he abandoned his mother’s surname, d. Isabel Gouveia, and adopted his father’s surname, Fernão Cabral.