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Physical analysis from scientific data in Pero Vaz de Caminha’s letter

2024; Volume: 4; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.14295/bjs.v4i1.685

2764-3417

C. Chesman, C. Furtado,

Maritime and Coastal Archaeology

The scientific data presented in the letter by Pero Vaz de Caminha, the scribe of Pedro Álvares Cabral's fleet, were physically analyzed when they landed in Brazil in 1500. Initially, it was clarified that the temperature difference between the Equator and the poles, along with the Coriolis force, determined the maritime routes at the beginning of the Age of Discovery, between the 14th and 17th centuries. Our data analysis used modern technological tools such as dynamic internet maps, GPS, and satellite bathymetry data. From this scientific analysis, several conclusions contradict current historical truths. The main conclusions are that the true Mount Pascoal is today known as Mount Serra Verde, located near the city of João Câmara, that the landing site was at the mouth of the Punaú River, at Zumbir Beach, and that the fleet landed at Marco beach and not Porto Seguro, Bahia state. All of these locations are on the northern coast of Rio Grande do Norte state.