Tristão Vaz Teixeira facts for kids

Tristão Vaz Teixeira (born around 1395, died 1480) was a Portuguese explorer and navigator. He is famous for helping to discover and settle the Madeira archipelago. He did this alongside João Gonçalves Zarco and Bartolomeu Perestrelo between 1419 and 1420.

Tristão Vaz Teixeira's Life Story

Tristão was born with the name Tristão Vaz. He later added "Teixeira" to his name after he married Branca Teixeira.

Tristão was an important nobleman who worked for Prince Henry the Navigator. He even joined Prince Henry in a big battle to capture the city of Ceuta.

Statue of Tristão Vaz Teixeira in Machico.

Around 1418, Tristão and João Gonçalves Zarco were exploring the coast of Africa. Strong winds and bad weather pushed their ships off course. They ended up finding an island they named Porto Santo. This name means "Holy Harbor."

Soon after, Prince Henry told them to settle Porto Santo. Bartolomeu Perestrelo joined them. However, many rabbits on the island made it hard to grow food. So, they moved to the nearby island of Madeira. Madeira was much better for farming and living. Prince Henry then sent more people to live there.

The rule of Madeira was split between Zarco and Tristão. They were made capitães-donatários, which means "Captain-majors." Zarco became the Captain-major of Funchal, and Tristão became the Captain-major of Machico. Tristão officially got his job on May 11, 1440.

Tristão Vaz Teixeira's Coat of Arms

Throughout his life, Tristão Vaz Teixeira continued to explore and take part in trips along the coast of Africa. He lived to be very old and died in Silves, Portugal.