In 1500, a Portuguese fleet sailing for India accidentally bumped into South America
Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral was leading an expedition to India in 1500 when his fleet drifted far into the Atlantic, leading to the accidental European encounter with the coast of Brazil.
In early 1500, Pedro Álvares Cabral set sail from Lisbon with thirteen ships, intending to follow Vasco da Gama's route around Africa to India. To avoid the calm winds of the Gulf of Guinea, he swung his fleet in a wide arc through the South Atlantic. On April 22, he spotted a mountain he named Monte Pascoal, realizing he had found a vast new land.
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