Alvise de Cadamosto
Back to people overviewAlvise da Cadamosto was a Venetian merchant.
He voyaged to the West Coast of Africa in the 1450s in search of gold for his patrons in Portugal. Cadamosto claimed to have discovered some of the Cape Verde Islands. He documented his observations of civilizations he encountered and was involved in the slave trade.
Cadamosto published portolan charts which contained information he gathered during his voyages. His charts helped to establish a cartographic culture that was not just ‘scientific’ in nature but helped normal people visualise the expanding 'modern' world. Over the next century, Cadamosto’s heirs continued to commissioned portolan atlases and these books remain some of the most remarkable examples of 16th Century cartography.
