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Fernão do Pó (; ''fl.'' 1472), also known as Fernão Pó, Fernando Pó or Fernando Poo, was a 15th-century
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
navigator and explorer of the West African coast. He was the first European to see the islands in the Gulf of Guinea around 1472, one of which until the mid-1900s bore a version of his name, Fernando Pó or Fernando Poo. The island is now named
Bioko Bioko (; historically Fernando Po; bvb, Ëtulá Ëria) is an island off the west coast of Africa and the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea. Its population was 335,048 at the 2015 census and it covers an area of . The island is located of ...
and is part of
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...
. His name had also been given to several other places in nearby Cameroon; the village of Fernando Pó, Portugal; and the village of Fernando Pó, Sierra Leone.


Biography

Little is known about him or his life. He was one of the navigators working for
Fernão Gomes Fernão Gomes (15th century) was a Portuguese merchant and explorer from Lisbon, possibly the son of Tristão Gomes de Brito. In 1469, King Afonso V of Portugal granted him the monopoly of trade in the Gulf of Guinea. Besides the payment of an an ...
, joining João de Santarém, Pedro Escobar, Lopo Gonçalves, and
Pedro de Sintra Pedro de Sintra, also known as Pêro de Sintra, Pedro da Cintra or Pedro da Sintra, was a Portuguese explorer. He was among the first Europeans to explore the West African coast. Around 1462 his expedition reached what is now Sierra Leone and named ...
, a merchant from Lisbon who was granted a monopoly over trade in part of the Gulf of Guinea. He was among a number of navigators who explored the Gulf of Guinea during this period on behalf of King
Afonso V of Portugal Afonso V () (15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481), known by the sobriquet the African (), was King of Portugal from 1438 until his death in 1481, with a brief interruption in 1477. His sobriquet refers to his military conquests in Northern Africa. ...
. Fernando Pó is credited as being the first European explorer to explore the south western coast of Africa. Before Fernando Pó, Europeans believed Africa was a large island. Pó explored the western "elbow" of the continent and the long southwestern coast.


See also

*
Annobón Annobón ( es, Provincia de Annobón; pt, Ano-Bom), and formerly as ''Anno Bom'' and ''Annabona'', is a province (smallest province in both area and population) of Equatorial Guinea consisting of the island of Annobón, formerly also Pigalu an ...
* Bight of Bonny *
Bioko Bioko (; historically Fernando Po; bvb, Ëtulá Ëria) is an island off the west coast of Africa and the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea. Its population was 335,048 at the 2015 census and it covers an area of . The island is located of ...
* Cameroon line *
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...
* Fernandino peoples * Gulf of Guinea *
Colonial São Tomé and Príncipe Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 a ...


References

*Liniger-Goumaz, Max. 1979. ''Historical dictionary of Equatorial Guinea''. Metuchen, N.J. (USA): Scarecrow Press. . *Room, Adrian. 1994. ''African placenames''. Jefferson, N.C. (USA): McFarland. Portuguese explorers Portuguese navigators 15th-century explorers of Africa 15th-century Portuguese people Bioko History of Central Africa History of Equatorial Guinea History of Malabo History of São Tomé and Príncipe Maritime history of Portugal {{Portugal-explorer-stub