Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/524

This page needs to be proofread.
492
CABRAL
CACERES

worked southward, and discovered what is generally believed to have been Newfoundland. Pro- ceeding, he reached the mainland, made several landings, dealt with the natives, and followed the coast southward, probably as far as Chesapeake bay. In spite of the discovery of a wide domain under the temperate zone, this voyage was considered a failure, since it did not open the passage to the Indies. The contemporary achievements of Vasco da Gama were so much more brilliant that the Ca- bots were outshone, and so careless were they of their chartered rights that the patent giving them exclusive privileges was lost or mislaid. On the death of Henry VII., Sebastian was invited to Spain by Ferdinand V., and after being appointed one of the '* Council of the New Indies," was in 1518 named pilot-major of the kingdom. He never abandoned his ambition to discover a direct route to Asia, and in 1526 sailed in search of a southwest passage. In 1527 he discovered the river Plata, and in 1530 returned to Spain. Meanwhile Ed- ward VI. had come to the throne, and, recognizing the value of Cabot to English maritime supremacy, issued a warrant for his return, designating him as "one Shabot, a pilot." Cabot answered the writ in person in 1548, still bent upon voyages of dis- covery; and on 6 Jan., 1549, the king gave him a pension of £166 13s. 4(1. On 19 Jan., 1550, Charles V. summoned him to return to Spain ; but Cabot preferred to remain under English colors, and re- ceived additional emoluments, secured a reissue of the lost charter granted by Henry VII., and became president of a company of merchants, having ex- ploration as its object. On 9 Sept., 1558, after the accession of Queen Mary, Charles V. made a final attempt to induce his return to Spain, so great was his personal influence even in his old age. A new company was formed for discovery on 23 Feb., 1556, with Cabot as president, and early in the suc- ceeding spring an expedition was sent off. The resignation of his pension on 27 May, 1557, and its reissue two days later, are the last authentic inci- dents in the career of this remarkable man, who was in effect the discoverer of a very large portion of both the American continents. See " Jean and Sebastian Cabot," by Henri Harrisse (Paris, 1882).


CABRAL, Pedro Alyarez de, principal dis- coverer of Brazil, b. in Portugal ; d. about 1526 King Emanuel having fitted out an expedition to Calicut of thirteen ships, Cabral was appointed commander-in-chief. After passing the Canaries, he took a westerly course, and discovered Brazil, of which, 24 April, 1500, he took possession in the name of his king, and left a small garrison there. He then sailed for India, losing half his fleet in a tempest, landed at Calicut, and succeeded, after negotiating with the Indian princes, in establish- ing a factory there. Several other expeditions added to his reputation as a navigator.


CABRERA, Miguel, artist, b. in Oaxaca, Mexi- co; d. there about 1730. Little is known of him. but his works are found in the churches and con- vents of Puebla and Mexico. He was a Zapotec Indian, and was patronized by Salinas, archbishop of Mexico. There is a fine "head of St. Peter by him in the church of San Ilipolito, and a very large canvas in the Mexican catiiedral. His mas- terpieces in the sacristy of the church of Tasco de- pict the whole life of "the Virgin, the scene of the nativity being considered pai-ticularly fine. Count Beltrani, an artist and critic of distinction, says that his works are the wonders of America. He considers that the life of St. Dominick, painted in the Dominican convent, and the life of St. Igna- tius, in the cloister of La Profesa, are equal to those in the convent of Santa Maria, in Florence, or in the Campo Santo of Pisa. Cabrera was also an archi- tect and a sculptor, and has been called the Michael Angelo of Mexico.


CABRERA QUINTERO, Cayetano, Mexican author, b. in the city of Mexico about the end of the 17th century ; d. about 1775. He studied at the Seminario Tridentino of Mexico, was graduated at the university, and held the professorship of civil and canon law. By his zeal and example he promoted the development of the Academia de San Felipe Neri. Being a most accomplished Latin, Greek, and Hebrew scholar, Cabrera wrote several works in Ijatin, and translated from the classics, especially from Horace and Juvenal, into Spanish Averse. Among his numerous writings are •' Ilymni omnis, generis et mensurae ad imi- tationem Prudentii, Christiane Poetfe"; "LiV)er voriorum Epigrammatum e Gra?co in Latinum translatorum " ; " Letras laureadas " (300 epigrams selected from Latin classics); " Disertaciones y oraciones academicas " ; " Sermones panegiricos y morales " ; " Santa Cristina, la admirable," a poem ; two comedies entitled " La Esperanza malograda " and " El Tris de Salamanca," and many descriptive works, the best of these being a splendid descrip- tion of the terrible epidemics called "matlaza- hual," that scourged Mexico in 1736-'7.


CABRILLO, Juan Rodriguez (cah-breel'-lo), Portuguese navigator, b. in the latter part of the 15th century ; d. on the island of San Bernardo, Cal., 3 Jan., 1543. By order of the king of Spain he explored California in 1542, and discovered the islands of Santo Tomas or Eneapa, Santa Cruz, San Miguel (also called Santa Rosa), and San Ber- nardo. He also discovered the harbors of Abreo- jos, Santa Clara, San Bartolome, Canoas, and San Jeronimo, the islands of Asuncion and San Este- ban, and took possession of the harbor of Virgenes, and discovered those of Todos Santos and San Diego, Cape San Quintin, islands Caronadas and Concepcion, sierras of San Martin, and Pinos bay. He wrote a description of his discoveries under the title of " Viaje y descubrimientos hasta el grado 48 de Latitud," which is preserved in the "Arehivo General de Indias " of Spain.


CACERES, Alonso de (cah'-the-res), Spanish soldier, b. in Palos, Huelva, in 1499; d. in Arequipa, Peru, in 1554. He went to Santo Domingo in 1519, and took part in several expeditions, conquered, with Pedro de Heredia, the province of Cartagena, and was alcalde of its capital in 1534. In the following year he was present at the discovery of Cenii, and assisted Alonso de Heredia, whose expeditionary forces were in distress. He then undertook the conquest of Tolu and the discovery of Urate, but was unsuccessful, and left Cartagena for Peru about 1539. He accompanied Vaca de Castro at the battle of Chupas, and sided with the royalists during the revolts promoted by Gonzalo Pizarro, who, on his entering Lima after his victories, directed the imprisonment of Caceres. Afterward he became friendly with Pizarro, but left his army during the battle of lñaquito, and again joined the king's troops. He also assisted in several conquests in lower Peru or Bolivia in 1550.


CACERES, Andres Avelino, Peruvian soldier, b. in Huanta, 12 April, 1831. He was a law student at the University of Lima in 1852, when Castilla headed a revolt to abolish slavery in Peru, and joined the revolutionary troops as a second lieutenant. He distinguished himself in the attack upon Arequipa, a place very well fortified, and defended by Vivanco. and Gen. Castilla promoted him to the rank of captain and appointed him.