João Fernandes Lavrador (1453–1501) () 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 ...

of the late 15th century. He was one of the first modern explorers of the Northeast coasts of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, including the large Labrador peninsula, which was named after him by European settlers in eastern Canada. The popular dog breed Labrador Retriever is named after the peninsula and thus by effect also bears his name.

Expeditions

Lavrador was granted a patent by King Manuel I in 1498 that gave him the right to explore the part of the Atlantic Ocean as set out in the Treaty of Tordesillas. Kevin Major, ''As Near to Heaven by Sea: A History of Newfoundland and Labrador'', 2001, Together with Pero de Barcelos, Lavrador first sighted what is now known as Labrador in 1498. Lavrador also charted the coasts of Southwestern

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

and of adjacent Northeastern

around 1498; he reported on these observations and gave notice of them in Europe. The areas are believed to have been named ''island of the Labrador'' and ''land of the Labrador'' (modern-day

Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...

), respectively, after him. Upon his return from Greenland, Lavrador sailed to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. He received a patent for exploration from King Henry VII. In 1501 Lavrador set sail for discovery of lands in the name of England. He was never heard from again. Lavrador was granted title to much of the lands he had discovered and is considered the first European landowner in Labrador.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandes, Joao 1505 deaths Portuguese explorers of North America 15th-century Portuguese explorers 1453 births Maritime history of Portugal