Miguel Corte-Real
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Miguel Corte-Real (;  – 1502?) was a Portuguese
explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...
who charted about 600 miles of the coast of Labrador. In 1502, he disappeared while on an expedition and was believed to be lost at sea.


Early life

Miguel Corte-Real was a son of João Vaz Corte-Real and a brother of explorer
Gaspar Corte-Real Gaspar Corte-Real (1450–1501) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Exploration, explorer who, alongside his father João Vaz Corte-Real and brother Miguel Corte-Real, Miguel, participated in various exploratory voyages sponsored by the Portuguese ...
, members of the Corte-Real family.


Exploration

In 1500, Miguel's brother Gaspar reached
Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
, believing it to be Asia, but was unable to land. The following year, Gaspar sailed west again, this time making landfall at what is believed to have been
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
. Only two of the three ships of the 1501 expedition returned to Portugal; the third ship, carrying Gaspar, was lost. Miguel invested significant sums of money into these two expeditions, and in return, Gaspar promised him a share of any new lands he claimed. In May 1502, Miguel set out from
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
with three ships on an expedition to search for his brother. The expedition apparently reached the location where Gaspar's party had landed, at which point the three ships broke off in different directions to search. Later, the ship carrying Miguel failed to appear at a designated rendezvous on August 20. The other two ships made the return voyage to Portugal, while Miguel and his ship were never seen again. In 1503, the last surviving brother, Vasco Añes Corte-Real, planned another rescue expedition for his two brothers. King Manuel I furnished two ships, but would not permit Vasco himself to sail with them. The expedition returned in the fall without having found any trace of either brother.


Dighton Rock myth

In 1912 and 1928 Edmund B. Delabarre wrote that markings on the Dighton Rock in
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
suggest that Miguel Corte-Real reached
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
. Delabarre stated that the markings were abbreviated Latin, and the message, translated into English, read as follows: '' I, Miguel Cortereal, 1511. In this place, by the will of God, I became a chief of the Indians''.
Samuel Eliot Morison Samuel Eliot Morison (July 9, 1887 – May 15, 1976) was an American historian noted for his works of maritime history and American history that were both authoritative and popular. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912, and tau ...
dismissed this evidence in his 1971 book ''The European Discovery of America: The Northern Voyages''. More recent scholarship by Douglas Hunter has definitively debunked the Corte-Real origin myth.


See also

*
Age of Discovery The Age of Discovery (), also known as the Age of Exploration, was part of the early modern period and overlapped with the Age of Sail. It was a period from approximately the 15th to the 17th century, during which Seamanship, seafarers fro ...
*
List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea Nile Kinnick Throughout history, people have mysteriously disappeared at sea. The following is a list of known individuals who have mysteriously vanished in open waters, and whose whereabouts remain unknown. In most ocean deaths, bodies are never r ...
*
Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic ...


References


Further reading

* E. B. Delabarre, ''Dighton rock'' (New York, 1928). *D. Hunter, ''The Place of Stone: Dighton Rock and the Erasure of America's indigenous past'' *F. F. Lopes, ''The brothers Corte Real'', tr. F. de Andrade (Lisboa, 1957). *G. S. Marques, ''Pedra de Dighton'' (New York, 1930).


External links

* 1440s births 1500s missing person cases 1502 deaths 15th-century Portuguese explorers 16th-century Portuguese explorers Explorers of Canada Lost explorers Maritime history of Portugal Missing person cases in Canada People lost at sea Portuguese explorers of North America {{Portugal-explorer-stub