Fernão de Loronha and the Rental of Brazil in 1502

In July, 1502, the fleet which Dom Manuel I had dispatched following Cabral's discovery of Brazil returned to Lisbon with news of Portugal's New World possession. The findings were incorporated into an official report and geographical observations were placed on the sea charts of the day, including the famous Cantino map of September, 1502. The three vessels in this expedition had sailed along the Brazilian coast for over a thousand miles, exploring and charting the major landfalls, from the northeastern tip around Cape Calcanhar to at least as far south as Cape Frio at 23° S. Lat. But no products of any great commerćial wealth which could compare with the riches being obtained in the Orient had been discovered, and the dispatch of further royal expeditions to Brazil seemingly was not justified. There were, however, private parties in Portugal who showed an interest in the slight commercial possibilities that were offered by this new land. The leader of this group was Fernão de Loronha, a wealthy merchant with a family business in Lisbon and sufficient capital to outfit several ships a year in overseas ventures. Moreover, Loronha had a first-hand acquaintance with this new land. He had been the overall commander of the fleet of 1501-1502 which had just returned from Brazil. There was one item of value in Brazil which particularly attracted Loronha. This was the dyewood trees growing in great abundance there. A large market for this commodity existed in northern Europe, for the dye extracted from the wood of the Asian variety of this tree had been a staple in the finishing of fine cloths produced by the weavers of Bruges, Liége, and other cities in the Low Countries since the twelfth century

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