Letter of Pero Vaz de Caminha

Signature of Pero Vaz de Caminha

In his letter to Manuel I of Portugal, Pero Vaz de Caminha gives what is considered by many today as being one of the most accurate accounts of what Brazil used to look like in 1500. "[...] Esse arvoredo, que é tanto, tamanho, tão basto e de tantas prumagens, que homens as não podem contar.", which roughly translates as "Such vastness of the enormous treeline, with abundant foliage, that is incalculable", is one of Pero's most famous descriptions. He describes in a diary from the first journey from Portugal to Brazil and their arrival in this country.^[1] This letter is considered to be the first document of Brazilian history as much as its first literary text.^[2] The original of this 27-page document can be found in the Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, Lisbon.