1460-1526. Portuguese explorer. He set sail
from Lisbon for the East Indies Mar 1500, and
accidentally reached Brazil by taking a
course too far W. He claimed the country for
Portugal 25 Apr, as Spain had not followed up
Vicente Pinzon's (c. 1460-1523) landing there
earlier in the year. Continuing around
Africa, he lost seven of his fleet of 13
ships (the explorer Bartolomeu Diaz being one
of those drowned), and landed in Mozambique.
Proceeding to India, he negotiated the first
Indo-Portuguese treaties for trade, and
returned to Lisbon July 1501.