João Vaz Corte-Real (c. 1420 – 1496) was a Portuguese sailor, claimed by some accounts to have been an explorer of a land called ''Terra Nova do Bacalhau'' (''New Land of the Codfish''), speculated to possibly have been a part of North America. These accounts assert that Corte-Real was awarded the
donatário
A ' (Portuguese language, Portuguese for "donated" or "endowed ne), sometimes anglicized as donatary, was a private person — often a noble — who was granted a considerable piece of land (a ') by the Kingdom of Portugal. The kings of Portug ...
–
captaincies of São Jorge and Angra for his accomplishments, but contemporary documents contradict this claim.
Biography
A member of the
Corte-Real family, João Vaz was the father of
Miguel and
Gaspar Corte-Real
Gaspar Corte-Real (1450–1501) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Exploration, explorer who, alongside his father João Vaz Corte-Real and brother Miguel Corte-Real, Miguel, participated in various exploratory voyages sponsored by the Portuguese ...
, who some claim accompanied him on his voyage. Fragmentary evidence suggests the expedition in 1473 was a joint venture between the kings of Portugal and Denmark, and that Corte-Real accompanied the German sailors
Didrik Pining and
Hans Pothorst, as well as (the possibly mythical)
John Scolvus.
The claim that he discovered ''
Terra Nova do Bacalhau'' (literally, ''New Land of the
Codfish'') originated from
Gaspar Frutuoso's book ''Saudades de terra'' from around 1570–80. There is speculation that this otherwise unidentified isle was
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
. Frutuoso further suggested that Corte-Real was granted part of
Terceira
Terceira () is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, about a third of the way across the North Atlantic Ocean at a similar latitude to Portugal's capital Lisbon, with the island group forming an insular part of Portugal. It is one of the ...
because of this discovery. This is contradicted by contemporary documents which state the grant was made for "expenses he had incurred" and "services rendered", with no mention of any discoveries. Because of the lack of corroborating evidence, the claims of discovery remain entirely speculative.
Donatário
It is known that Corte-Real was originally granted the island of
São Jorge in the archipelago of the
Azores
The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...
in 1472, which he held until 1474.
[Carlos Melo Bento (2008), p.27] From this point onward he was granted 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 on
Terceira
Terceira () is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, about a third of the way across the North Atlantic Ocean at a similar latitude to Portugal's capital Lisbon, with the island group forming an insular part of Portugal. It is one of the ...
by the Infanta
Beatrice, Duchess of Viseu, and approved by the King, following the disappearance of
Jacome de Bruges.
[Diffie et al. (1977), p.446–447] Bruges was the original Captain-Donatário
A ' (Portuguese language, Portuguese for "donated" or "endowed ne), sometimes anglicized as donatary, was a private person — often a noble — who was granted a considerable piece of land (a ') by the Kingdom of Portugal. The kings of Portug ...
, but following his disappearance, the King had divided the island between Angra and Praia, granting Praia to Álvaro Martins Homem, while Corte-Real obtained Angra. He took-up residence in the burgh and set about promoting its settlement, but the division of the island into two Captaincies did not assist the island's growth.[
]
Later life
Corte-Real and his wife, Maria de Abarca, were buried in the presbytery of the church of the Convent of São Francisco.[Carlos Melo Bento (2008), p.28] His descendants did not live in the Capitania of Angra, instead sending ''ouvidores'', magistrates, to the territory to administer the possessions.[
]
See also
* Timeline of the European colonization of North America
* Didrik Pining
* Álvaro Martins
References
;Notes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Corte-Real, Joao
Corte-Real Joao Vaz
1420s births
1496 deaths
Portuguese explorers of North America
15th-century Portuguese explorers
Maritime history of Portugal
Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact