Pedro Álvares Cabral sailed far enough west to claim Brazil for Portugal before continuing around the Cape. The expedition still promised to reach India, whose markets and valuable goods were already known. India's established wealth gave investors a financial case for the voyage before it sailed. That commercial objective made an unexpected territorial discovery easier to absorb.
Notable Point · 19:38-21:23
Cabral can detour to Brazil because India pays
Cabral's wide Atlantic course found Brazil, but the expedition remained financially credible because its investors expected access to India's known wealth.