João Afonso do Estreito

Who is João Afonso do Estreito?

João Afonso do Estreito, an ambitious Portuguese sailor from Funchal, Madeira, was a co-partner in the Dulmo-Estreito expedition of 1487, a failed pre-Columbian voyage to the Americas.

Estreito partnered up with the Flemish Fernão Dulmo, and asked King João II of Portugal to approve their 40 day voyage to the fabled island Antillia, which the Portuguese called the Seven Cities. The King agreed to fund the exploration, under certain circumstances: Dulmo shall command the fleet to Antillia for the first forty days, and Estreito shall take over afterwards and be responsible for everything discovered until their return home. The Dulmo-Estreito voyage sparked an intense interest in later Portuguese westward voyages. Christopher Columbus had also proposed a similar journey to João II, yet his bargain was inferior to that of Dulmo. The king's rejection of Columbus left him to go to Spain for his American journey.

Dulmo and Estreito, using a map drawn by the German Martin Behaim, set sail from the island of Terceira, Azores in March 1487. Unfortunately, Dulmo and Estreito, like several other pre-Columbian explorers, were unaware that sailing directly west would result in battling heavy winds, and eventually died at sea.