* In 1488, he was sent by the Portuguese King João II to explore the west coast of Africa. He sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and became the first European to do so. He returned to Lisbon in December of that same year.
* In 1500, he was part of Pedro Álvares Cabral's fleet that discovered Brazil. The fleet set sail from Lisbon in March 1500 and returned in July 1501.