interested in, Usodimare anticipated he would likely make enough money on this second trip to fully pay them off. The letter expresses the first known mention that melegueta pepper might be found in the Guinea region and a rare mention of maritime insurance being taken by Henrican captains. Usodimare's letter, written in garbled Latin, was discovered around 1800 in a manuscript by Giacomo (Jacob) Gråberg, a Swedish merchant resident in Genoa, in the archives of the city, as part of one of three documents assembled by a 15th-century Genoese cartographer (possibly Barthelemi Pareto) as elements to guide the construction of a new portolan map. The letter was first published in 1802 in Gråberg's journal, and has been reproduced many times since. References Sources Antoniotto Uso di Mare Itinerarium Antonii ususmaris civis januensis, 1455 (first published in G. Gråberg (1802) Annali di geografia e di statistica, Genoa, vol. II, p. 286-8, p. 290-91) Alvise Cadamosto Navigazione di Luigi di Cadamosto, first published 1507 in Francanzano Montalbado, editor, Paesi novamente retrovati. (Eng. trans. "Original Journals of the Voyages of Cada Mosto and Piedro de Cintra to the Coast of Africa, the former in the years 1455 and 1456, and the latter soon afterwards", reprinted in R. Kerr, 1811, A General History of Voyages and Travels to the end of the 18th century, vol. 2, Edinburgh: Blackwood. Ch.4) J. Codine, "Review of Major's Life of Pince Henry", 1873, Bulletin de la Société de géographie, p. 397-425. (p.412) Diffie, Bailey W., and George D. Winius (1977) Foundations of the Portuguese empire, 1415-1580. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press Major, R.H. (1868) The Life of Prince Henry, surnamed the Navigator. London: Asher & Co. 1868 ed. Russell, Peter E. (2000) Prince Henry 'the Navigator': a life. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press. M. Walckenaer (1810) "Correspondence de MM.Walckenaer et Graberg, sure les manuscrits d'Usodimare, conservés a Genes", 1810, Annales des voyages de la géographie et de l'histoire, Volume 8,p.190 Explorers from the Republic of Genoa Portuguese explorers 15th-century explorers of Africa Maritime history of Portugal 1416 births 1462 deaths