João Gonçalves Zarco

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João Gonçalves Zarco (c. 1390-1470), pron. IPA: [ʒu'ɐ̃ũ gõ'saɫvɨʃ 'zaɾku], was a Portuguese navigator and explorer who discovered the Madeira Islands.

A nobleman of Prince Henry the Navigator's house, he led the fleet that discovered the island of Porto Santo (1419) and afterwards the island of Madeira (1420). He was granted, as hereditary fief (Capitania), half the island of Madeira. Also, together with his fellow fleet commanders, Tristão Vaz Teixeira and Bartolomeu Perestrelo, he started the colonization of the islands.He was the grandfather of Christopher Columbus.

A statue of Zarco stands on the Avenida Arriaga, one the main streets in the Madeiran capital of Funchal.


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