João Fernandes Lavrador

João Fernandes , also João Fernandes Lavrador ( bl. 1486 - 1506 ), was a Portuguese navigator and explorer. The name of the Labrador Peninsula on the Canadian east coast probably goes back to him .

Life

Little is known about the life of Fernandes. In the port records of Bristol from 1486 the Portuguese traders "ffornandus and Gunsalu" are mentioned, as well as in 1493 a "Johannes ffornandus".

Towards the end of the 15th century Fernandes Lavrador ( Portuguese "landowner") was on the Azores island of Terceira . In 1497 he probably took part in the expedition led by Giovanni Caboto off the North American coast. According to a document from 1541 he is said to have reported on the east coast of what is now Canada after King Henry VII's return , which is why this part of the newly discovered area got its name. This origin of the name is also confirmed on several maps of the 16th century - from a Portuguese Lavrador from the Azores.

In October 1499 he received an order from the Portuguese King Manuel I to discover and explore new countries. In 1501, the English king also issued an authorization to discover new areas to a group of English and Portuguese traders, including Fernandes and João Gonsales . In December 1502, Henry VII renewed this charter, but explicitly excluded Fernandes from it; Fernandes was probably back in the service of the Portuguese crown by now. He was last mentioned in 1506 in a petition to the Portuguese king.

source

• A. Davies: Fernandes, João. From: Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Volume 1, University of Toronto / Université Laval, 2003 ( online )