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João Álvares Fagundes discovers the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, bestowing them their original name of "Islands of the 11,000 Virgins".
Portuguese explorer João Álvares Fagundes sighted the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon in 1520, naming them the 'Islands of the 11,000 Virgins'. This voyage contributed to early European knowledge of Newfoundland’s coastal archipelago.
In 1520, under a Portuguese crown charter, explorer João Álvares Fagundes set sail to locate new fishing grounds in the North Atlantic. On October 21, he came upon two small islands south of Newfoundland, which he christened the 'Islands of the 11,000 Virgins' in honor of Saint Ursula and her companions. These isles are today known as Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Fagundes’s discovery provided fishermen with sheltered harbors and valuable cod stocks. Although the Portuguese did not settle the islands permanently, his reports spread knowledge of the region’s geography and resources. Over the following century, control passed to French interests, but the islands remained an important fishing outpost. Fagundes’s voyage represents an early chapter in European exploration of Canada’s Atlantic coast.
João Álvares Fagundes
Saint Pierre and Miquelon