Miguel Corte-Real

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Miguel Corte-Real (* around 1450 (?); † after 1502 ) was a Portuguese navigator, son of João Vaz Corte-Real .

Miguel's brother Gaspar Corte-Real disappeared in 1501 with his caravel on a voyage of discovery in North American waters. At that time, in the summer of 1501, Miguel commanded a ship that King Manuel sent to the Venetians to support the fight against the Turks.

In May 1502, Miguel, who had financed his brother's trips, took three ships to this region to find him. King Manuel promised him captaincy for every newly discovered land. After the ships parted for the search, only two of them came to the agreed meeting point in southern Newfoundland on August 20 . Miguel Corte-Real's ship did not appear.

In 1503 Vasco Añes Corte-Real also wanted to look for his two brothers, but the king did not allow him to travel because he was afraid he too might disappear. Two ships sent were unsuccessful in the search. Even if he was never there himself, Vasco Añes insisted on his rights to Newfoundland, which the king confirmed several times.

In Dighton, Massachusetts , a stone was found on the banks of the Taunton River , which is covered with scratches, drawings and inscriptions. Professor Edmund Burke Delabarre deciphered it in the 20th century "miguel cortereal v dei hic dux ind ad 1511" and claims to have recognized a cross of the Order of Christ . He therefore saw in the stone evidence that Miguel Corte-Real had become the chief of a local Indian tribe and was still alive in 1511. In the 18th and 19th centuries, however, researchers had previously recognized runes in the inscription and declared the stone as evidence of the presence of Vikings . It is difficult to clarify which engravings are authentic and which are fakes. The alleged inscription by Miguel Corte-Real is also controversial.

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Individual evidence

  1. a b c d Dictionary of Canadian Biography: CORTE-REAL, MIGUEL