PORTUGUESE DISCOVERIES 



Caspar Cortereal belonged to a noble Portuguese family 

 from Algarve, and was bom about 1450. He was the third 

 and youngest son of Joao Vaz Cortereal, who for twenty- 

 two years, since 1474, had had a " capitanerie " as Governor 

 of the Azores — first at Angra in the island of Terceira, later 

 in Sao Jorge — and died in 1496.^ Caspar probably spent 

 a part of his youth in 

 the Azores, which were 

 altogether *' a hothouse 

 of all kinds of ideas of 

 maritime discovery " ; he 

 certainly became familiar 

 at an early age with 

 narratives of the numer- 

 ous earlier attempts, and 

 with the many plans of 

 new ocean voyages which 

 were discussed by the 

 adventurous sailors of 

 those islands. As already 

 mentioned, the German, 

 Martin Behaim, was also 

 living in the Azores (cf. 

 p. 287). 



From the letters patent of May, 1500, we see that Caspar 

 Cortereal had at his own expense been trying even before that 

 time to discover countries in the ocean, but as no more is said 

 about it, the attempt was doubtless unsuccessful. It was pointed 

 out above that from the king's letters patent to his brother Mig- 



dor) was later made continuous with Newfoundland (cf. Ribero's map of 1529, 

 P' 357)» and remained so on maps for a long time (see the map of 1544, p. 320). 

 1 The expedition attributed to Joao Vaz Cortereal, on which he is said to 

 have discovered Nev^foundland as early as 1464 or 1474, is unhistorical, and is a 

 comparatively late invention which is first found in the Portuguese author, Dr. 

 Caspar Fructuoso, in his " Saudades da Terra" [vi. c. 9], written about 1590 

 [cf. Harrisse, 1883, pp. 25 f.]. Father Antonio Cordeyro [Historia Insulana, 

 Lisbon, 1717], says that the discovery was made in company with Alvaro Mar- 



The newly discovered north-western lands 

 made continuous with Asia, on Mag- 

 giolo's map of 151 1 [Harrisse, 1900] 



tins Homen. 



359 



