Twelve original documents in the archives of the Portuguese Crown talk about the expedition of Pero Alvares Cabral to the Indies. The two most famous letters were the ones from members of the crew to King Dom Manuel the First, also known as Dom Manuel The Fortunate.
Extract from a letter by Pero Vaz de Caminha, a writer:
"They were brown, all naked, with nothing at all to cover their shame. In their hands they brought bows with arrows. They all came stiffly onto the canoe: and Nicolau Coelho gave them a signal to put down their bows. And they laid them down."
Extract from a letter by Boatswain João, an astronomer:
"Send Your Royal Highness to bring you a map of the world… and you will see the location of this land; but that map of the world does not confirm if this land is inhabited or not… Yesterday we understand through signals that this was the island… and that from the other island almadias (long Indian boats) are coming to fight with them and take them captive."