Gaspar Corte-Real

Gaspar Corte-Real or Gaspar Corterreal (c. 1450- c. 1501), Portuguese navigator. In 1500, having heard of the claim by John Cabot to have reached Asia by sailing westwards in northern latitudes, he visited the North American coast at various points between Labrador and south-eastern Newfoundland. In 1501 he began another voyage to the same region; although he did not return, two of his vessels came back safely. His brother Miguel Corte-Real set out to find him and reached the coast of North America in 1502, but he too failed to return. In 1503 King Emanuel of Portugal sent an expedition to learn the fate of the two brothers, but it was unsuccessful.