BOOK “AZORES-CANADA”

The book “Azores-Canada” gives us more about the history of North America, with a special focus on the Canadian area.

Passing by Vikings and some other explorers who ventured in order to find the much proclaimed “Newfoundland”, we have to mention an important family, when it comes to the history of Portuguese navigation in Canada: the Corte-Reals. In this case, we will talk about Gaspar Corte-Real, who, in June 1500, would have found a land he called “Terra Verde” (Green Land), which was, in fact, the “Terra Nova” (Newfoundland).

In 1501, Gaspar Corte-Real left with his crew to make a trip of 4 months, where they ended up sighting land. In October of the same year, two ships would have been sent to Portugal: the first, supposedly on October 8, 1501 with 7 natives on board, and a second, which would have arrived around October 11, 1501, with 50 natives. In addition, Gaspar Corte-Real’s fleet would have given names to many of the landforms in the areas of Labrador, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia – today used as Cape Boavista, Baccalieu Island, Conception Bay, and Cape Raze.

In his honour, a statue was erected in St. John’s, Newfoundland, in the year 1963. It was suggested that this same statue be placed in Canadian territory, not only because of Gaspar Corte-Real’s achievements, but also to celebrate the discovery of Newfoundland and its connection with Portugal, especially the cod fishing in the area, and as a token of appreciation for the kindness of the people of the area towards the Portuguese fishermen.

This statue, however, in more recent times, has been vandalized due to Gaspar Corte-Real’s connection to the slave trade, since, to some, this statue is only a symbol of colonialism, white supremacy and eurocentrism, which refers to the enslavement of the indigenous people and their forced journey to Portugal.

For more information on this topic, you can buy the book “Azores-Canada”, which will be on sale soon.