Gonçalo Coelho (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1501–04) was a Portuguese

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

who belonged to a prominent family in northern Portugal. He commanded two expeditions (1501–02 and 1503–04) which explored much of the coast of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Biography

In 1501 Coelho was sent on an expedition to follow up on

Pedro Álvares Cabral Pedro Álvares Cabral (; born Pedro Álvares de Gouveia; ) was a Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the European discoverer of Brazil. He was the first human in history to ever be on four continents, ...

's discovery of Brazil. On 10 May, he sailed from

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

as "Captain General" of three caravels. Among his crew was a Florentine resident in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

Amerigo Vespucci Amerigo Vespucci ( , ; 9 March 1454 – 22 February 1512) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Florence for whom "Naming of the Americas, America" is named. Vespucci participated in at least two voyages of the A ...

. On 17 August his expedition made landfall off the Brazilian coast at about 5° S. The fleet continued south, reaching Guanabara Bay (23° S) on New Year's Day 1502, naming it "Rio de Janeiro". They sailed two degrees further south (reaching modern Cananéia), before leaving Brazil on 13 February 1502. If Amerigo Vespucci`s account is to be believed, the expedition reached the latitude "South Pole elevation 52° , in the ''cold'' latitudes of present-day

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

, reaching ''inhospitable seas and shores'' (or ''islands''), before turning back, but this is still a matter of controversy. Only one of the three caravels returned to Lisbon, arriving there on 7 September 1502. Brazilian historian Varnhagen believed that in April 1502 the expedition might have discovered the

South Georgia Island South Georgia is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. ...

, finding evidence of this in a report by Vespucci.L. Ivanov and N. Ivanova. Roché Island / South Georgia. In
''The World of Antarctica''.
Generis Publishing, 2022. pp. 68-70. Coelho again sailed from Lisbon on 10 May 1503, this time with a fleet of six sail. Vespucci once more accompanied him, now as captain of one of the ships. After stopping at Bezeguiche island near

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

peninsula the ships came to "an island in the midst of the sea" (probably Fernando de Noronha), where the flagship struck a reef and wrecked on 10 August. All the men were saved, being loaded into Vespucci's ship. They found a harbor, where they rendezvoused with one of the fleet. They then sailed to Brazil, arriving there in November at a bay they named "Todos os Santos" (today Baía de Todos os Santos). After waiting here in vain for the rest of the fleet, they sailed south to another bay, where they stayed for five months, building a

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

and loading logwood. They left twenty-four men at the fort to load more logwood, and sailed for Lisbon, which they reached on 28 June 1504.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coelho, Goncalo Portuguese explorers of South America 16th-century Portuguese explorers Year of birth unknown Maritime history of Portugal Portuguese colonization of the Americas 1450s births 1512 deaths