Cão went ashore at the river’s mouth and erected a limestone pillar topped with an iron cross and inscribed with the royal coat of arms and the words: “In the year 6681 of the World and in that of 1482 since the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, the most serene, the most excellent and potent prince, King João II of Portugal did order this land to be discovered and this pillar of stone to be erected by Diogo Cão, an esquire in his household.”
