João Afonso do Estreito, from

Funchal Funchal () officially Funchal City (), is the capital, largest city and a Municipality (Portugal), municipality in Portugal's Madeira, Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it ...

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

, was a partner and co-captain in the Dulmo-Estreito expedition of 1487, a proposed

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

voyage of exploration across the Atlantic. Although licensed by King

João II of Portugal John II (; ; 3 May 1455 – 25 October 1495), called the Perfect Prince (), was King of Portugal from 1481 until his death in 1495, and also for a brief time in 1477. He is known for reestablishing the power of the Portuguese monarchy, reinvigor ...

, there is no evidence that the voyage ever took place. Estreito partnered up with the

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

Fernão Dulmo (Ferdinand Van Olm), and asked

João II John II (; ; 3 May 1455 – 25 October 1495), called the Perfect Prince (), was King of Portugal from 1481 until his death in 1495, and also for a brief time in 1477. He is known for reestablishing the power of the Portuguese monarchy, reinvigor ...

to approve their 40-day voyage to the fabled island

Antillia Antillia (or Antilia) is a phantom island that was reputed, during the 15th-century age of exploration, to lie in the Atlantic Ocean, far to the west of Portugal and Spain. The island also went by the name of Isle of Seven Cities (''Ilha das Se ...

, which the Portuguese called the ''Seven Cities''. The King agreed to fund the exploration, under certain circumstances: Dulmo shall command the fleet to Antillia for the first forty days, and Estreito shall take over afterwards and be responsible for everything discovered until their return home. The Dulmo-Estreito voyage sparked an intense interest in later Portuguese westward voyages.

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

had also proposed a similar journey to

, yet his bargain was inferior to that of Dulmo. The king's rejection of Columbus left him to go to Spain in search of support for his proposed voyage.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Estreito, Joao Afonso Do 15th-century Portuguese explorers Maritime history of Portugal People from Funchal People lost at sea

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