The Cantino planisphere or Cantino world map is a manuscript Portuguese world map preserved at the Biblioteca Estense in Modena, Italy. It is named after Alberto Cantino, an agent for the Duke of Ferrara, who successfully smuggled it from Portugal to Italy in 1502. It measures 220 x 105 cm.
Cantino planisphere (1502), Biblioteca Estense, Modena, Italy
Major wind rose of the Cantino planisphere
The Treaty of Tordesillas line
The rhumb-line construction scheme and geographic lines in the Cantino planisphere. Adapted from Gaspar (2012), Plate 3
Pedro Álvares Cabral was a Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the European discoverer of Brazil. He was the first recorded human in history to ever be on four continents, uniting all of them in his famous voyage of 1500, where he also conducted the first substantial exploration of the northeast coast of South America and claimed it for Portugal. While details of Cabral's early life remain unclear, it is known that he came from a minor noble family and received a good education. He was appointed to head an expedition to India in 1500, following Vasco da Gama's newly opened route around Africa. The undertaking had the aim of returning with valuable spices and of establishing trade relations in India—bypassing the monopoly on the spice trade then in the hands of Arab, Turkish and Italian merchants. Although the previous expedition of Vasco da Gama to India, on its sea route, had recorded signs of land west of the southern Atlantic Ocean, Cabral led the first known expedition to have touched four continents: Europe, Africa, America, and Asia.
Detail of an early 20th-century painting by Aurélio de Figueiredo [pt] depicting a 32- to 33-year old Cabral. No contemporary portraits of Cabral are known to exist.
The coat of arms of Cabral's family
Portuguese coin celebrating the 500th anniversary of Cabral's birth
The nau (carrack) was a type of vessel that was larger than a caravel but smaller than the later galleon. They were used in the voyages of Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama and Cabral.