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Scientific data in Pero Vaz de Caminha’s letter

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 September 2025

Carlos Chesman Open the ORCID record for Carlos Chesman [Opens in a new window]  and
Cláudio B.S. Furtado
Carlos Chesman*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Física, UFRN, Natal, Brazil
Cláudio B.S. Furtado
Affiliation:
Departamento de Física, UFPB, João Pessoa, Brazil
*
Corresponding author: Carlos Chesman; Email: chesman@fisica.ufrn.br
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Abstract

The first globalisation of the world occurred under the motivation of the Avis dynasty of Portugal, aimed at discovering new lands and wealth, exploring ocean routes, especially with the successful epic journey to India. The political decisions of the Avis dynasty kings, along with Christianity’s interest in expanding into Africa and Asia, were key factors in the success of these maritime explorations. However, the Coriolis force was a significant force of nature for the outcome of this journey. Here we investigate Caminha’s letter, the scribe of Pedro Álvares Cabral’s fleet when he found the lands of Brazil. This letter contains detailed scientific data, distances travelled, dates, geographical features, fauna and flora, initial anthropological information on indigenous peoples, and records of coastal depths. Analysis of these elements and facts lead to a new proposal for the location of Mount Pascoal and the so-called safe harbour, where Cabral’s fleet landed.

Keywords

Caminha’s letterfinding BrazilPortuguese navigations

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Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Navigation , First View , pp. 1 - 9
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Royal Institute of Navigation

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