From the start of the 16th century until its midpoint, the Brazilian coast saw frequent passages and incursions by Spanish navigators, either en route to the Antilles and Venezuela or searching for a passage to the Pacific and the Moluccas.
The Moluccas, now known as the Maluku archipelago, are a group of islands located in eastern Indonesia.
They were historically known as the ‘Spice Islands’ because they were the main source of highly valued spices, such as cloves, nutmeg and mace, in Europe.
These presences on the Brazilian coast, which were sometimes merely for coastal reconnaissance and were sometimes associated with incidents, shipwrecks and smuggling, influenced cartography, territorial claims and trade routes in the region. This contributed to the subsequent Spanish expansion in the Platine basin, despite the Portuguese having discovered the area first.
1. Background and early passages
Presença espanhola e navegações no litoral brasileiro no século XVI
Prior to the Portuguese ‘discovery’ by Pedro Álvares Cabral, Vicente Yánez Pinzón and Diogo de Lepe sailed along the north-east and north coasts of Brazil. Other Spanish fleets en route to Venezuela and the Antilles also sailed off the coast of this same region, with no major consequences other than the recognition of the Mar Dulce — the mouth of the Amazon River.
2. Winds, Currents and Incidents of 1518
Due to favourable wind and current patterns along the Brazilian Northeast and North coasts — known as the East-West route — ships could more easily reach the Antilles. In 1518, the Spanish captured a Portuguese ship commanded by Rodrigo Álvares in the Antilles.
In a letter to Dom Manuel I, Estêvão Fróis, one of his crew members, claimed priority for Portuguese navigation along the coastline stretching from Rio Grande do Norte to Maranhão and beyond.
He mentioned that twenty years ago or more, a certain João Coelho from Porta da Cruz in Lisbon had made previous trips to that region. He also mentioned the presence of a Diogo Ribeiro, an arms officer and messenger of the Crown, who was killed by the indigenous people.
This is confirmed by a map from 1519 by Lopo Homem, which places the Portuguese flag in front of the mouth of the great Amazon and records numerous coastal place names.
3. Explorations along the southern coast of Brazil.
Similarly, around 1514, two Portuguese ships, armed by Dom Nuno Manuel and Cristóvão de Haro, arrived at Cape Santa Maria and the River Plate for the first time or again, with João de Lisboa as pilot. This is mentioned in the Nova Gazeta da Terra do Brasil, a manuscript later published in Germany.
4. Search for the route taken by Solís to the Moluccas in 1516.
Following the discovery of the Pacific Ocean — known at the time as the South Sea — off the coast of present-day Panama, the idea emerged that the wealthy Molucca Islands could be accessed via a sea passage through South America.
In 1516, the Spanish navigator Juan Díaz de Solís attempted to find it, officially rediscovering the River Plate. However, he was killed by indigenous people on the left bank.
Some of his companions, along with other Spanish sailors who had been shipwrecked or had arrived on Brazil’s east coast, repeatedly engaged in the illicit trade of brazilwood.
5. Ferdinand Magellan and the passage in 1520.
Fernão de Magalhães, a Portuguese navigator in the service of Spain, carried out Solís’s project when he discovered the strait that now bears his name, between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, in 1520. He also commanded much of the first circumnavigation voyage.
6. Consequences and the Spanish presence in the Platine region
Consequently, the Spanish continued to use the route along the Brazilian coastline, stopping at certain ports. However, they primarily focused on exploring the Prata, Paraná and Uruguay rivers over the next decade, as did Sebastián Caboto and Diogo García.
This, alongside the initial establishment of Buenos Aires in 1536, resulted in Spanish control of the Plata region, despite the Portuguese having discovered it first.
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