Álvaro Caminha was appointed by King

John II of Portugal John II ( pt, João II; ; 3 March 1455 – 25 October 1495), called the Perfect Prince ( pt, o Príncipe Perfeito, link=no), was King of Portugal from 1481 until his death in 1495, and also for a brief time in 1477. He is known for re-establishi ...

in 1492

Captain-major A donatary captain was a Portuguese colonial official to whom the Crown granted jurisdiction, rights, and revenues over some colonial territory. The recipients of these grants were called (donataries), because they had been given the grant as a ( ...

(governor) – apparently the third – of the Portuguese colony of São Tomé and Príncipe which had been discovered 22 years earlier. He was a knight of the king's household and was told to settle and "Christianize" the then deserted island with his family and friars, and for that purpose was apparently given the children of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

refugees from

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

, which had not been able to pay the tax requested by the king, and who were married to

Black people Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in s ...

from the Congo.

References

* Valentim Fernandes (1506), ''Descrição da Ilha de São Tomé'', in: A. Baião and J. Bensaúde (1940), ''O manuscrito de Valentim Fernandes'', Lisboa, Ática.
''Descriptio Africae Codex hisp. 27'' in: ''Bayerische Staatsbibliothek'', Munich, Manuscript Collection, Bild 416
15th-century births 1499 deaths Portuguese explorers Year of birth missing 15th-century explorers of Africa 15th-century Portuguese people Governors of Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe History of São Tomé and Príncipe {{SaoTomePrincipe-bio-stub