Álvaro Martins

Who is Álvaro Martins?

Álvaro Martins, also known as Álvaro Martins Homem, was a 15th-century Portuguese alleged to have explored the western Atlantic and later the African coast. He is claimed to have accompanied João Vaz Corte-Real on an undocumented expedition to Terra Nova do Bacalhau in the early 1470s, by Gaspar Frutuoso in his 1570s book Saudades da Terra.

It is known however, that he was granted the captaincy of Praia, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores, on 17 February 1474 for his services to Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, an office he held for some years. It was following the disappearance of Jacome de Bruges that the King divided the island between Angra and Praia, granting Praia to Álvaro Martins, while João Vaz Corte-Real obtained the Captaincy of Angra. Álvaro Martins and his son were responsible for the fortifications, and the development of agriculture and commerce in northern Terceira.

He is also said to have accompanied Bartolomeu Dias on his journey around the Cape of Good Hope from 1487 to 1488.