Álvaro Martins, also known as Álvaro Martins Homem, was a 15th-century Portuguese explorer alleged to have explored the western

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

and later the

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n coast. He is claimed to have accompanied João Vaz Corte-Real on an undocumented expedition to '' Terra Nova do Bacalhau'' (literally, "New Land of the Codfish") in the early 1470s, by Gaspar Frutuoso in his 1570s book ''Saudades da Terra''.Diffie et al., 1977, p. 447. It is known that Álvaro Martins was granted the captaincy of Praia, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores, on 17 February 1474 for his services to Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, an office he held for some years. It was following the disappearance of Jacome de Bruges that the King divided the island between Angra and Praia, granting Praia to Álvaro Martins, while João Vaz Corte-Real obtained the

Captaincy A captaincy ( , , ) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish colonies, Spanish and Portuguese colonies, Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule admin ...

of Angra. Álvaro Martins and his son (Antão) were responsible for the fortifications, and the development of agriculture and commerce in northern Terceira.Bento, 2008, p. 28. He is also said to have accompanied Bartolomeu Dias on his journey around the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

from 1487 to 1488.Dutra, 1997, p. 216.

References

Notes Sources * * * Martins Homem 15th-century Portuguese explorers 15th-century explorers of Africa Portuguese explorers of Africa Maritime history of Portugal {{Portugal-explorer-stub