Bacalao

This page is about the possible island called Bacalao, for the Portuguese dish that is also known as Bacalao, see Bacalhau.

Bacalao (also spelled Bacalhau, Bachalaos, Bacalhaos, Baccalieu, Baccalar) was a phantom island on several 16th century maps. It is mostly used to name Newfoundland. The name was first used on a map in 1508, but there are earlier accounts. The Portuguese navigator João Vaz Corte-Real was granted some lands on the Azores by the king of Portugal, because he had discovered Terra do Bacalhau. Furthermore Bartolomé de Las Casas wrote about Portuguese voyages to Tierra de los Bacallao. This has led some to believe that Corte-Real reached the Americas before Columbus. Bacalao literally means "codfish". Basque fisherman are said to have fished for cod at the Grand Banks of Newfoundland in the 15th century, so this is another possible origin of the name.

See Also

• Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact
• Vinland