João Vaz Corte-Real was a Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, claimed by some accounts to have been an explorer of a land called New Land of the Codfish. This land has in turn been speculated by some to possibly have been a part of North America.

It is known that Corte-Real was granted São Jorge Island in the Azores

Azores

The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...

 in 1472, which he held until 1474 when he was granted the captaincy

Captaincy

A captaincy is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. Each was governed by a captain general.-In the Portuguese Empire:...

 of Angra

Angra do Heroísmo

Angra do Heroísmo , locally referred to as Angra, is a municipality and city on the island of Terceira, within the Portuguese autonomous region of the Azores. The municipal area has a population of 35,581 and an area of . Along with Praia da Vitória to the north, it is one of two municipal...

 on Terceira Island

Terceira Island

Referred to as the “Ilha Lilás” , Terceira is an island in the Azores archipelago, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the larger islands of the archipelago, with a population of 56,000 inhabitants in an area of approximately 396.75 km²...

 by Infanta Beatrice, Duchess of Viseu.

The claim that he discovered Terra Nova do Bacalhau

Bacalao

Bacallao was a phantom island depicted on several early 16th century maps and nautical charts. The name first appears on a chart in 1508, but there are earlier accounts of Bacalao...

(literally, New Land of the Codfish) originates from Gaspar Frutuoso

Gaspar Frutuoso

Gaspar Frutuoso was a Portuguese priest, historian and humanist from the island of São Miguel, in the Azores...

, as he wrote this in his book Saudades de terra around 1570-80. There is speculation that this otherwise unidentified isle was Newfoundland. Frutuoso further claims that Corte-Real was granted the part of Terceira Island because of his discovery. This is contrasted by his contemporary grant which says nothing about any discovery, but explains his grant with the "expenses he had incurred" and "services rendered". The work of Frutuoso is by many historians seen as generally containing many errors. Because of the lack of corroborating evidence, the claims of discovery remain entirely speculative.

Corte-Real was the father of Miguel

Miguel Corte-Real

Miguel Corte-Real was a Portuguese explorer who charted about 600 miles of the coast of Labrador. In 1501 he disappeared while on an expedition and was believed lost at sea.-Life:...

 and Gaspar Corte-Real

Gaspar Corte-Real

Gaspar Corte-Real was a Portuguese explorer.He was the youngest of three sons of João Vaz Corte-Real, also a Portuguese explorer, and had accompanied his father on his expeditions to North America...

, who some claim accompanied him on his voyage. Fragmentary evidence suggests the expedition was a joint venture between the kings of Portugal and Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, and that Corte-Real was accompanied by the German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 sailors, Didrik Pining

Didrik Pining

Didrik Pining was a German privateer, nobleman and governor of Iceland and Vardøhus. He is most notable because some have proposed that he may have landed in North America in the 1470s, almost twenty years before Columbus' voyages of discovery...

 and Hans Pothorst

Hans Pothorst

Hans Pothorst was a privateer, likely from the German city Hildesheim. He is mostly notable because some have proposed that he may have discovered America along with Didrik Pining in the 1470s, almost twenty years before Columbus....

, as well as (the possibly mythical) John Scolvus.

Literature