-
Pedro Cabral was born into a noble family. His parents- Fernao Cabral and Isabel de Gouveia- had a history of service to their ruler. This pre-established relationship would soon become the source of funding for Pedro's expedition. -
-
In the year 1497, Manuel the First- ruler of Portugal- decided that Pedro Alvares Cabral had done a great job in serving him. Manuel the First awarded Pedro with an allowance, and a "Counselor of His Highness" title. Just three years later, he puts even more trust into Pedro and grants him the position of Admiral on the trip to Brazil. -
Pedro was not the first to attempt this trip. He was following up on da Gama's "pioneering voyage", whom gave loads of helpful advice. He set out from Lisbon on the 9th of March, 1500. -
The Portugese explorer arrives in Brazil. Pedro Alvares Cabral is credited as the first EUROPEAN explorer to reach Brazil since the Spanish explorer Vicente Yáñez Pinzón may have arrived some time sooner. He names the land (at least what he could see) the "Island of the True Cross" which later had its name changed by King Manuel to "Holy Cross." -
Pedro stayed in Brazil for roughly ten days. During this time, he is credited to have treated the native inhabitants "kindly..." even though he formally "claimed" (AKA: stole) the Native people's land. -
Calicut (modern-day Kozhikode), India, was where Pedro and his nine remaining ships (four ships were lost along the way) docked. The dynastic ruler of the area welcomed the explorers and permitted their contruction of a fortified trading post. -
After a series of trade disputes, a large force of Muslims attacked the trade post. Those within were caught off guard and most were killed before reinforcements arrived. Pedro Cabral retaliated by killing the crews of ten Muslim vessels. -
After his temper tantrum, Pedro sailed further south to Cochin, India. Here he was well-received and traded for exquisite spices. He loaded up his six remaining ships (remember we started with thirteen) with spices and began the journey back. -
Pedro Alvares Cabral sails through the mouth of the Tagus River in Portugal with a final total of four ships and reports back to Manuel the First. Against all odds- it is said that the King was actually quite satisfied with the outcome despite a total loss of nine ships. -
After the big expedition, Cabral didn't do anything noteworthy and wasn't assigned to any authority positions within the Portuguese court. He retired to the Beira Baixa province and lived out the rest of his life there. Da Gama was given the task of following up on Pedro's findings, so Pedro didn't really have anything else to do.