Pedro Escobar, also known as Pero Escobar, was a 15th-century Portuguese navigator who discovered São Tomé (December 21, 1471), Annobón (January 1, 1472), Príncipe (January 17, 1472) islands, together with João de Santarém c. 1470.[1] He is then recorded sailing with Diogo Cão on his first voyage in 1482, and as the pilot of the famous Bérrio caravel on Vasco da Gama's first expedition in 1497 to sail directly from Europe to India. He was also on Pedro Álvares Cabral's discovery of Brazil in 1500.[2]

Effigy of Pero Escobar in the Monument of the Discoveries, in Lisbon, Portugal.

In 1471, working in the service of Lisbon merchant Fernão Gomes, who had a concession for the exploration and trade in the Gulf of Guinea, Pedro Escobar helped to discover the gold industry that would grow around Elmina in 1471.[3][4][5]

References

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  1. ^ Albertino Francisco, Nujoma Agostinho, Exorcising Devils from the Throne: São Tomé and Príncipe in the Chaos of Democratization, p.28, (2011) ISBN 9780875868486
  2. ^ Diffie, Shafer, Winius, Bailey Wallys, Boyd C., George Davison, "Foundations of the Portuguese empire, 1415–1580", p. 188, ISBN 0-8166-0782-6
  3. ^ "O Contrato de Fernão Gomes" (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2006.
  4. ^ "Castelo de Elmina". Governo de Gana. Archived from the original on March 5, 2007. Retrieved December 24, 2006.
  5. ^ Wilks, Ivor. Wangara, Akan, and Portuguese in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries (1997). Bakewell, Peter (ed.). Mines of Silver and Gold in the Americas. Aldershot: Variorum, Ashgate Publishing Limited. pp. 1–39.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)