View source for Gaspar Corte-Real

{{short description|Portuguese explorer}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Gaspar Corte-Real
| image              = Gaspar Corte-Real.jpg
| caption            = a Portrait of Gaspar
| birth_date         = 1450
| birth_place        = [[Angra do Heroismo]], [[Terceira]], [[Azores Islands]], [[Kingdom of Portugal]]
| disappeared_date   = 1501
| disappeared_place  = Unknown
| nationality        = [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]]
| citizenship        = [[Kingdom of Portugal]]
| father             = [[João Vaz Corte-Real]]
| occupation         = Navigator, explorer
| known_for          = Exploring the North American coast
| signature          = 
}}
'''Gaspar Corte-Real''' (1450–1501) was a [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] [[Exploration|explorer]] who, alongside his father [[João Vaz Corte-Real]] and brother [[Miguel Corte-Real|Miguel]], participated in various exploratory voyages sponsored by the Portuguese Crown. These voyages are said to have been some of the first to reach [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] and possibly other parts of eastern Canada.

==Early life==
Gaspar was born into the noble [[Corte-Real family]] on [[Terceira Island|Terceira]] in the [[Azores Islands]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gaspar Corte Real|url=http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/gaspar-corte-real.htm|access-date=2020-06-17|website=www.elizabethan-era.org.uk}}</ref> the youngest of three sons of Portuguese explorer João Vaz Corte-Real (c. 1420–1496). Gaspar accompanied his father on expeditions to [[North America]]. His brothers were explorers as well.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.historyatlas.com/gaspar-corte-real-the-youngest-of-three-sons|title=History Atlas|last=Postie|first=Two Blokes with a|website=www.historyatlas.com|language=en|access-date=2018-08-02}}</ref>

==Careers==
In 1498, King [[Manuel I of Portugal]] took an interest in western exploration, likely believing that the lands recently discovered by [[John Cabot]] (the coast of North America) were within the realm of Portuguese control under the [[Treaty of Tordesillas]]. Corte-Real was one of several explorers to sail west on behalf of [[Portugal]].<ref name="DCB">{{cite DCB |first=L.-A. |last=Vigneras |title=Corte-Real, Gaspar |volume=1 |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/corte_real_gaspar_1E.html}}</ref>

In 1500, Corte-Real reached [[Greenland]], believing it to be [[east Asia]] (as [[Christopher Columbus]] had regarded the [[New World]]), but was unable to land. He set out on a second voyage in 1501, taking three [[caravel]]s. The expedition was again prevented from landing at Greenland due to frozen seas. They changed course, and landed in a country of large rivers, pine trees, and berries, believed to be [[Labrador]]. There it is believed they captured 57 [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous people]], who were taken back to Portugal to be sold into [[Slavery in Portugal|slavery]] to assist in financing the voyage.<ref name="The Telegram">{{cite web |last1=McLeod |first1=James |title=N.L. indigenous leaders say Corte-Real statue is an insulting relic |url=https://www.thetelegram.com/news/local/nl-indigenous-leaders-say-corte-real-statue-is-an-insulting-relic-25739/ |website=The Telegram |access-date=14 June 2020}}</ref> Two of the expedition's three ships made the return trip to Portugal, but the ship carrying Corte-Real was lost.<ref name="DCB" />

Nothing more was heard of Gaspar Corte-Real after 1501. His brother [[Miguel Corte-Real|Miguel]] attempted to find him in 1502, but he too got lost.<ref name="DCB-Miguel">{{cite DCB |first=L.-A. |last=Vigneras |title=Corte-Real, Miguel |volume=1 |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/corte_real_miguel_1E.html}}</ref>
[[File:Gaspar Côrte-Real - Padrão dos Descobrimentos.png|170px|left|thumb|Statue of Gaspar Corte-Real in the [[Padrão dos Descobrimentos|Monument of the Discoveries]], in [[Lisbon]], [[Portugal]].]]

==Legacy==
[[File:Corte-Real statue.jpg|right|250px|thumb|A statue of Gaspar Corte-Real, located in the city of [[St. John's, Newfoundland]]]]
There is debate amongst historians about the relative importance of Corte-Real. [[Memorial University of Newfoundland]] historian Jeff Webb stated in 2017 that "He is a minor figure about whom very, very little is known with confidence."<ref name="The Telegram"/> The 20th-century myth-building of Corte-Real was largely the work of historian-diplomat Eduardo Brazao,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brazao |first1=Eduardo |title=La découverte de Terre-Neuve |date=1964 |publisher=Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal |location=Montréal |pages=7–129 |edition= First}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Sparkes |first1=Paul |title=An attempt to recover lost glory |url=https://www.pressreader.com/canada/the-telegram-st-johns/20120613/281672547014311 |access-date=16 June 2020 |publisher=The Telegram |date=13 June 2012}}</ref> the former National Secretary of Portugal's propaganda ministry, the [[Secretariado Nacional de Informação, Cultura Popular e Turismo]],<ref>{{cite web |title=TOURISM STORIES: IN "ESTADO NOVO" |url=https://www.publituris.pt/2020/06/01/historias-do-turismo-estado-novo/ |website=Publituris |access-date=16 June 2020 |archive-date=18 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818055611/https://www.publituris.pt/2020/06/01/historias-do-turismo-estado-novo/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ribeiro |first1=Carla Patrícia da Silva |title=The Porto Delegation of the National Secretariat for Information (1945-1960): the Relationship with the City and its Institutions |journal=e-Journal of Portuguese History |date=2019 |volume=17 |issue=2 |url=https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Portuguese_Brazilian_Studies/ejph/html/issue34/html/v17n2a04.html |access-date=16 June 2020}}</ref> during the regime of [[António de Oliveira Salazar]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=de Meneses |first1=Filipe |title=Salazar: A Political Biography |date=2009 |publisher=Enigma Books |location=New York |isbn=978-1929631902 |page=321 |edition= First}}</ref>

A statue of Corte-Real was erected in front of the [[Confederation Building (Newfoundland and Labrador)|Confederation Building]] in [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador]] in 1965, and has more recently been the subject of controversy. A street in [[Mount Pearl]] is named for the explorer. A building at [[Memorial University of Newfoundland]]'s St. John's campus was formerly named after him. In December 2019, the Board of Regents voted to change its name to the Global Learning Centre, after prompting by the Internationalization Office that the building presently houses.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Batten|first=Jennifer|date=2020-02-03|title=Building renamed|url=https://gazette.mun.ca/campus-and-community/building-renamed/|access-date=2020-02-11|website=Gazette - Memorial University of Newfoundland|language=en-CA}}</ref>

=== St. John's statue ===
In May 1963, Brazao, then the Portuguese Ambassador to Canada, visited St. John's to meet with premier [[Joey Smallwood|Joseph Smallwood.]]<ref>{{Cite news|date=May 29, 1963|title=Portuguese Ambassador Attends House Session|pages=3, 5|work=St Johns Daily News|url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/ca/newfoundland/st-johns/st-johns-daily-news/1963/05-29/page-3/|access-date=4 July 2021}}</ref> Following conversations with Brazao, Smallwood announced on 28 May 1963 that the Portuguese fishing fleet "with the hearty approval of the [[government of Portugal]]" would commission "a famous Portuguese sculptor" to create a statue that would depict both Gaspar Corte-Real and his brother Miguel.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1963-05-29|title=Portugal to show appreciation for Newfoundland hospitality|page=3|work=The Daily News|url=https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/dailynews/id/43655|access-date=4 July 2021}}</ref> Following their meeting, Brazao invited Smallwood to Portugal,<ref>{{Cite news|date=1963-09-05|title=Premier will visit Portugal|page=3|work=The Daily News|url=https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/dailynews/id/43173|access-date=4 July 2021}}</ref> where Smallwood met with Salazar in October of that year.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1963-11-22|title=JRS tells Rotary of recent visits|page=3|work=The Daily News|url=https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/dailynews/id/46307|access-date=4 July 2021}}</ref>

Two years later, a statue of Corte-Real (minus Miguel)<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thetelegram.com/news/local/2017/8/25/indigenous-leaders-say-corte-real-statue-is-an-insulting-relic.html|title=N.L. indigenous leaders say Corte-Real statue is an insulting relic|author=James McLeod|date=Aug 25, 2017|website=www.thetelegram.com|access-date=20 April 2018}}</ref> was presented under the banner of the Canadian Portuguese Fisheries Organisation in 1965 to commemorate the hospitality of [[Newfoundlanders]] towards Portuguese Grand Banks fishermen.

In early 1999, a car, apparently chauffeured by a speeding tourist, slammed into the pedestal that supports the statue. The statue itself was unscathed, but its base was mangled. Later that year, Ottawa bronze restoration specialist Craig Johnson subcontracted local foundry sculptors to undertake the repairs while Johnson himself repainted the statue. According to local sculptor Will Gill, who did some of the work, no scars remain from the accident and the statue was returned to its original condition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thescope.ca/nooks/gaspar-corte-real-statue|title=Gaspar Corte-Real Statue - The Scope Archive|date=May 24, 2007|website=thescope.ca|access-date=20 April 2018|archive-date=18 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818104251/http://thescope.ca/nooks/gaspar-corte-real-statue|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2020, it was noted that the statue, designed by [[Estado Novo (Portugal)|Estado Novo]] propagandist Martins Correa, was erected as part of a behind-the-scenes fisheries rights conflict between Salazar and Spain's [[Francisco Franco]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hawthorn |first1=Andrew |title=How a controversial St. John's statue was actually propaganda for a Portuguese dictatorship |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/corte-real-statue-1.5609321 |website=CBC.ca |access-date=14 June 2020}}</ref> In 1968, Smallwood had announced that "Generalissimo Franco is to present a statue to the province" which would have been erected beside the statue of Corte-Real;<ref>{{Cite news|date=14 August 1968|title=St. John's, Nfld|page=6|work=Wainwright Star Chronicle|url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/ca/alberta/wainwright/wainwright-star-chronicle/1968/08-14/page-6/|access-date=4 July 2021}}</ref> this second statue was never delivered.

On June 11, 2020, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier [[Dwight Ball]] was quoted as saying the government would review politically sensitive provincial statues.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Maher |first1=David |title=Government reviewing Newfoundland and Labrador monuments to determine if they reflect modern values |url=https://www.saltwire.com/news/local/government-reviewing-newfoundland-and-labrador-monuments-to-determine-if-they-reflect-modern-values-461229/ |website=Saltwire.com |access-date=14 June 2020}}</ref>  Author Edward Riche noted on June 20, 2020, "If enough people now see the statue of Corte-Real as memorializing a character who enslaved Indigenous people during his imperial ventures, we have a problem."<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Riche|first=Edward|date=20 June 2020|title=Statue of limitations: Some thoughts about the Corte-Real monument|work=CBC.ca|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/edward-riche-corte-real-1.5616245|access-date=8 July 2020}}</ref> 

On June 28, 2020, it was reported that [[Todd Russell]], president of [[NunatuKavut]], which represents [[Inuit]] in central and southern Labrador, "doesn't need any more consultation — he wants it taken down."<ref>{{Cite web|last=White|first=Bailey|date=28 June 2020|title=Symbols of the system: Discovery Day is done, but the conversation is just beginning|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/discovery-day-indigenous-leaders-1.5628589|access-date=30 June 2020|website=CBC.ca}}</ref> On July 8, 2020, it was reported that the statue had been spray-painted with the phrases "Slaver" and "Why is this guy still here?"<ref>{{Cite news|date=8 July 2020|title="Why is this guy still here?": Graffiti Challenges Status of Corte Real Statue|work=VOCM.com|url=https://vocm.com/2020/07/08/corte-real-statue/|access-date=9 July 2020}}</ref> Various opinion pieces and letters to the editor called for the statue's removal.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Radford|first=Bill|date=3 July 2020|title=LETTER: Let Churchill join Corte-Real|work=The Telegram|url=https://www.thetelegram.com/opinion/local-perspectives/letter-let-churchill-join-corte-real-469357/|access-date=9 July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Radford|first=Bill|date=8 June 2020|title=LETTER: Our very own slaver monument|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.pe.ca/opinion/regional-perspectives/letter-our-very-own-slaver-monument-459617/|access-date=9 July 2020}}</ref> The statue was further vandalized in July 2021, following the discovery of unmarked graves of Indigenous children on properties part of the [[Canadian Indian residential school system]].  A government working group made recommendations on the statue in February 2022; no action had been taken by July 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Whitten |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Lazarenko |first2=Arlette |date=3 July 2023 |title=No changes for controversial Corte-Real statue, despite working group recommendations |work=CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/options-gaspar-corte-real-statue-1.6893114 |access-date=4 July 2023}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite book |last=Beals |first=Herbert K |date=2007 |title=Corte-Real, Gaspar |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195149227.001.0001/acref-9780195149227-e-0171 |website=The Oxford Companion to World Exploration |publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-514922-7 }}
*{{cite book|first1=Bailey W.|last1=Diffie|first2=George D.|last2=Winius|title=Foundations of the Portuguese Empire, 1415-1580|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|year=1977|isbn=0-8166-0782-6 |pages=464–465}}
*{{cite encyclopedia| editor-last = Howgego| editor-first = Raymond John| encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of Exploration to 1800| title = Corte-Real, Gaspar| year = 2003| publisher = Hordern House |isbn=1875567364}}
*{{cite book|last=Morison |first=Samuel Eliot |title=The European Discovery of America, The Northern Voyages |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1971 |pages=213=217}}
*{{Cite book |last=Seaver |first=Kirsten A. |title=The Frozen Echo : Greenland and the Exploration of North America, ca. A.D. 1000-1500 |date=1996 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=0-8047-2514-4 }}

== External links ==
*{{cite DCB |first=L.-A. |last=Vigneras |title=Corte-Real, Gaspar |volume=1 |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/corte_real_gaspar_1E.html}}
*{{Cite Appletons'|wstitle=Cortereal, Gaspar|year=1900 |short=x |notaref=x}}

{{Portuguese explorers|state=expanded}}
{{Polar exploration|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corte-Real, Gaspar}}
[[Category:1450s births]]
[[Category:1500s missing person cases]]
[[Category:1502 deaths]]
[[Category:15th-century Portuguese explorers]]
[[Category:16th-century Portuguese explorers]]
[[Category:Explorers of Canada]]
[[Category:Lost explorers]]
[[Category:Maritime history of Portugal]]
[[Category:Missing person cases in Canada]]
[[Category:People from Angra do Heroísmo]]
[[Category:People lost at sea]]
[[Category:Portuguese explorers of North America]]