Pinzon Lands Brazil: First European on South America
Vicente Yanez Pinzon, who had captained the Nina during Columbus's first voyage, sailed southwest from the Cape Verde Islands and struck the Brazilian coast near present-day Recife on January 26, 1500. He arrived three months before Pedro Alvares Cabral, who is traditionally credited with discovering Brazil. Pinzon explored the Amazon River's mouth, noting that fresh water extended over 50 miles into the Atlantic, but he could not claim the land for Spain because it fell within Portugal's sphere under the Treaty of Tordesillas. That treaty, signed in 1494, had divided the non-European world between Spain and Portugal along a meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. Pinzon's discovery confirmed that a massive landmass existed within Portugal's zone, accelerating Portuguese interest in a territory they had not yet explored. Brazil would eventually become Portugal's largest and most valuable colony.
January 26, 1500
526 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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