Pedro Escobar, also known as Pero Escobar, was a 15th-century
Portuguese navigator who discovered
São Tomé
São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for " Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities.
History
Álv ...
(December 21, 1471),
Annobón
Annobón (; ) is a province of Equatorial Guinea. The province consists of the island of Annobón and its associated islets in the Gulf of Guinea. Annobón is the smallest province of Equatorial Guinea in both area and population. According t ...
(January 1, 1472),
Príncipe
Príncipe (; ) is the smaller, northern major island of the country of São Tomé and Príncipe lying off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea. It has an area of (including offshore islets) and a population of 7,324 at the 2012 Cens ...
(January 17, 1472) islands, together with
João de Santarém
João de Santarém (15th century) was a Portuguese explorer who discovered São Tomé (in December 21, 1471), Annobón (in January 1472) and Príncipe (January 17, 1472), and hence became the first known European to reach the southern hemisp ...
c. 1470. He is then recorded sailing with
Diogo Cão
Diogo Cão (; – 1486), also known as Diogo Cam, was a Portuguese mariner and one of the most notable explorers of the fifteenth century. He made two voyages along the west coast of Africa in the 1480s, exploring the Congo River and the coasts ...
on his first voyage in 1482, and as the pilot of the famous Bérrio caravel on
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea.
Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...
's first expedition in 1497 to sail directly from Europe to
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. He was also on
Pedro Álvares Cabral
Pedro Álvares Cabral (; born Pedro Álvares de Gouveia; ) was a Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the European discoverer of Brazil. He was the first human in history to ever be on four continents, ...
's discovery of Brazil in 1500.
[Diffie, Shafer, Winius, Bailey Wallys, Boyd C., George Davison, "Foundations of the Portuguese empire, 1415–1580", p. 188, ]
In 1471, working in the service of Lisbon merchant
Fernão Gomes, who had a concession for the exploration and trade in the Gulf of Guinea, Pedro Escobar helped to discover the gold industry that would grow around
Elmina
Elmina ( Fante: ''Edina'') is a town and the capital of the Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem District on the south coast of Ghana in the Central Region. It is situated on a bay on the Atlantic Ocean, west of Cape Coast.Straight line distances ...
in 1471.
References
15th-century explorers of Africa
Portuguese explorers of Africa
15th-century Portuguese explorers
Portuguese explorers of South America
Maritime history of Portugal
History of São Tomé and Príncipe
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