Fernão do Pó

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Fernão do Pó (pronounced [fɨɾˈnɐ̃ũ du ˈpɔ]), also Fernão Pó, Fernando Pó, Fernando Poo (15th century) was a Portuguese navigator and explorer of the West African coast. By tradition he is the discoverer, probably in 1472, of the islands in the Gulf of Guinea, one of which until the mid 1900s bore a version of his name, Fernando Pó or Fernando Poo. The island is presently named Bioko, part of Equatorial Guinea). His name had also been given to several other places in nearby Cameroon; the village of Fernando Pó, Portugal; the village of Fernando Pó, Sierra Leone; and is the original name of the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe, which bore his name until the 20th century.

About him or his life little is known. He was awarded an aristocratic title and land by the Portuguese crown. His descendants still live in their historic home. Descendants also emigrated to Cuba and eventually the United States where they still live today. The common family name having evolved into dePoo. He was among a number of navigators who explored the Gulf of Guinea during this period on behalf of King Afonso V of Portugal.

Fernando Pó is credited as being the first European explorer to discover the south western coast of Africa.Before Fernando Pó, Europeans believed Africa was a large island. Pó discovered the western "elbow" of the continent and the long south western coast. He is also credited as having introduced cocoa to the West African country of Ghana, having brought seeds with him from Fernando Pó, or Bioko, island^{[citation needed]}.

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[edit] References

Liniger-Goumaz, Max. 1979. Historical dictionary of Equatorial Guinea. Metuchen, N.J. (USA): Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810812304.
Room, Adrian. 1994. African placenames. Jefferson, N.C. (USA): McFarland. ISBN 0899509436