Pêro Vaz de Caminha

Pêro Vaz de Caminha
1500' letter to Manuel I of Portugal by Pêro Vaz de Caminha.
Born	c.1450 Porto, Kingdom of Portugal
Died	15 December 1500 Calicut, India
Nationality	Portuguese
Occupation	Knight, writer, secretary
Known for	Writer of the official report of the discovery of Brazil.
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Pêro Vaz de Caminha (c. 1450 – 15 December 1500; Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpeɾu ˈva(ɪ)ʒ ðɨ kɐˈmiɲɐ], Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈpeɾw ˈva(j)z dj kɐ̃ˈmĩɲɐ]; also spelled Pedro Vaz de Caminha) was a Portuguese knight that accompanied Pedro Álvares Cabral to India in 1500, as a secretary to the royal factory. Caminha wrote the detailed official report of the April 1500 discovery of Brazil by Cabral's fleet (Carta de Pêro Vaz de Caminha, dated 1 May, 1500). He died in a riot in Calicut, India, at the end of that year.

Pêro Vaz de Caminha was the son of Vasco Fernandes de Caminha, a knight of the household of the Duke of Guimarães (later Braganza). His ancestors were among the first settlers of Neiva during the reign of Ferdinand I (r.1367–83). On 8 March 1476, Pêro Vaz de Caminha was appointed mestre da balança (master of the scale) of the royal mint of Porto, one of the many positions held by his father at the time. The appointment letter, which characterized Pêro Vaz as a knight of the royal household, was written from Toro, suggesting that Pêro Vaz had accompanied King Afonso V of Portugal on campaign against Castile, and probably participated in the Battle of Toro (2 March 1476). In 1497, he was chosen to write, as Alderman, the Chapters of the Porto City Council, to be presented to the Cortes of Lisbon.