João Vaz Corte-Real

João Vaz Corte- Real [ ʒu̯ɐu̯ vaʃ koɾtɯ ʁiaɫ ] (also Corte Real or Corte Real, * ca 1429 in Faro, † 1496 in Angra do Heroismo ) was a noble knights and sailors from Portugal.

Reconnaissance trips

First trip

From fragmentary testimonies show that Corte-Real, participated as an emissary of the Portuguese King Alfonso V in a Danish co-financed from this expedition, which was led by sailors Didrik Pining and Hans Pothorst. This company should be in the order of King Christian I of Denmark and Norway, then restore the severed connection to Greenland. In this framework, Corte-Real, reached with the other participants on the north-western Atlantic off the 1473 Greenland.

However, there are suspicions that Corte-Real - either together with all other members of the expedition alone or with a ship - then came to North America. However, board records of this assumed travel section are not yet known. The details of the whole expedition must be reconstructed from scattered sources and are therefore controversial in the research.

Discovery of the Terra Nova do Bacalhau

After another suspicions Corte-Real is said to have discovered on a second trip to the accompaniment of his sons Miguel and Gaspar Island Bacalhau, Portuguese Terra Nova do Bacalhau. This term literally means "New Land of the Codfish ". To which island this is precisely concerned, is still unclear, but it could have been Newfoundland.

As governor in the Azores

As a reward for the discovery of Terra Nova do Bacalhau João Vaz Corte-Real was awarded in 1474 the title Capitão - Donatário de Angra do Heroismo. He was thus lord and governor of Terceira / Azores and was consequently lands on this island given.

In 1483 João Vaz Corte-Real attained a comparable to Terceira Rank or an equivalent position in the Capitanía the island of São Jorge.

Corte- Real's sons

His sons Gaspar, Miguel and Vasco Anes followed in the footsteps of his father and also drove as captains at sea. The first two are on expeditions to the eastern North America as missing, the first in 1501, the second 1502., Vasco Anes was about to embark on a search for his brothers, but the king refused him permission, since he succeeded his father as Capitão - Donatário had.