Bacalao (phantom island)

Bacalao, Bacallao, or Terra do Bacalhau was a phantom island depicted on several early 16th century Portuguese maps and nautical charts. The name is a variation of bacalhau, meaning "cod" or "stockfish".

Not to be confused with Bacalhao Island or Baccalieu Island.

According to Gaspar Frutuoso in his work Saudades da Terra, written in the 1570s, a joint crew of Didrik Pining, John Scolvus, Hans Pothorst, Álvaro Martins, and João Vaz Corte-Real in 1472 was granted lands in the Azores by the king of Portugal, because of his discovery of the Terras do Bacalhau. Historians do not consider the work of Frutuoso as very reliable, as it contains a great deal of misinformation.[1]

Off the northeast tip of Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula is an island named Bacalaos, its name attested at least since 1556.

See also

Notes
  1. Diffie, Shafer, Winius, 1977, pp. 446–449

Bibliography
  • Diffie, Bailey Wallys; Shafer, Boyd C.; Winius, George Davison (1977), Foundations of the Portuguese Empire, 1415–1580, U of Minnesota Press, ISBN 9780816607822


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