In his letter to Manuel I of Portugal

Manuel I of Portugal

Manuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal...

, Pêro Vaz de Caminha

Pêro Vaz de Caminha

Pêro Vaz de Caminha , was a Portuguese knight that accompanied Pedro Álvares Cabral to India in 1500, as a secretary to the royal factory. Caminha wrote the detailed official report of the April 1500 discovery of Brazil by Cabral's fleet...

 gives what is considered by many today as being one of the most accurate accounts of what Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 used to look like in 1500. "Arvoredo Tanto, e tamanho, e tão basto, e de tanta folhagem, que não se pode calcular", which roughly translates as "The vastness of the treeline and foliage is incalculable", is one of Pêro's most famous descriptions.

The admiral of the ship that sailed to Brazil sent Nicolau Coelho out to interact with the natives. The people they encountered when they arrived in Brazil were very primitive. They were dark brown in skin color and completely unclothed. Also, their languages did not relate, so they had to communicate through actions. They tried to give the natives things to eat such as bread, fish, cakes, honey and even wine. The natives took one taste of the things then spit them all out. They also tried to give them just water but the natives only swashed the water in their mouths, then spit it out. The one thing they did consent to was a cloak they could use to cover themselves while they slept

One of the admiral's objectives with the natives was to get them to accept Christianity. They set up a cross in the village of the natives and the explorers all went up, knelt in front of it and kissed it, to show the natives the importance of the symbol and their love of Christianity.

He describes on a diary form the first journey from Portugal to Brazil and their arrival in this country. This letter is considered the first document of the Brazilian history as much as its first literary text. The original of this 27-page document can be found in the Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo

Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo

The Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo is the Portuguese national archive established in 1378. It is located in Lisbon. It was renamed in 2009 as Instituto dos Arquivos Nacionais .-Significant collections:...

, Lisbon.

External links

A Carta by Pêro Vaz de Caminha, the letter