ABSTRACT
One of the earliest and the most complete contemporary accounts of the voyage of Cabral was written by a member of the fleet. The author is unknown, but he was without doubt a Portuguese and a man of more than ordinary intelligence and education. From the careful and concise manner in which the account was written it appears to have been either an official record of the voyage or a narrative intended for publication. Some version of this account was known to the Portuguese historians who wrote at a later date, but no contemporary copy can now be found in Portugal. It seems to have reached Italy soon after the fleet returned. Because of the interest taken in Cabral’s voyage, this narrative was well known in Venice, for at least four early manuscripts still exist in the Venetian dialect, and it was included in the first edition of Paesi.
