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Vicente Yáñez Pinzón reaches the coast of Brazil

Type Event Region South America Time 1499–1500

Between December 1499 and January 1500, Spanish navigator Vicente Yáñez Pinzón, who had sailed on Columbus's first voyage, crossed the Atlantic and l…

Timeline

  1. 1499Southern Spain · SpainWithout formal royal authorization, Pinzón organized a privateering-style expedition, leaving Spain with four ships, planning to sail south along the west coast of Africa and then head west to find new routes and lands, to make up for his commercial losses on Columbus's first voyage.
  2. 1500Cape São Agostinho · BrazilThe fleet reached and landed on the Brazilian mainland; Pinzón named the lands he passed 'Terra de Santa Maria da Conceição', gathered brazilwood and other products, and made contact with local indigenous people. This landing point lay within the Portuguese sphere defined by the Treaty of Tordesillas, sparking subsequent Spanish-Portuguese border disputes.
  3. 1500Spain · SpainPinzón returned to Spain in 1500 and reported his discoveries to the Catholic Monarchs. Although the crown punished his unauthorized voyage, it acknowledged the value of his geographical discoveries, providing arguments for Spain's later boundary negotiations in southern America.

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