Pêro de Ataíde or Pedro d'Ataíde (d'Atayde, da Thayde), nicknamed O Inferno (Hell), (c. 1450 – February/March, 1504, Mozambique Island) was a Portuguese sea captain in the Indian Ocean active in the early 1500s. He was briefly captain of the first permanent Portuguese fleet in the Indian Ocean, taking over from Vicente Sodré, and the author of a famous letter giving an account of its fate. Background According to chronicler Gaspar Correia, Pêro de Ataíde was a "very honored nobleman, a good knight, of virtuous condition" He was one of the three known illegitimate sons of Pedro de Ataíde, Abbot of Penalva do Castelo, himself an illegitimate son of D. Álvaro Gonçalves de Ataíde, the 1st Count of Atouguia. He had two brothers, Vasco de Ataíde and Álvaro Gonçalves de Ataíde, and a sister, Isabel Coutinho. It is sometimes suggested that Pêro de Ataíde was a relative of Portuguese admiral Vasco da Gama. This is probably an error resulting from confusing two unconnected (researchers could never produce documentary evidence of a connection) Portuguese noble families which happen to have the same name - the Ataídes of Atouguia and the Ataídes of Alvor (Algarve). Vasco da Gama married Catarina de Ataíde, daughter of the alcaide-mór of Alvor. There is no indication that she was connected to Pêro's family. That members of both Ataíde families were involved in the early construction of the Portuguese Empire in the East Indies has led some historians to assume they were related and contributed to the confusion. First journey to India In 1500, Pêro de Ataíde and his older brother Vasco de Ataíde joined the 2nd India Armada under the command of Pedro Álvares Cabral. Pêro de Ataíde was appointed captain of the São Pedro, a small 70-tonne carrack or square-rigged caravel. His brother Vasco was captain of another unnamed ship. The armada set out of Lisbon in March 1500, and went on to discover Brazil. Vasco de Ataíde was lost with his ship in late May while attempting to round the Cape of Good Hope In his most famous exploit in India, Pêro de Ataíde was assigned by Cabral to intercept an Arab smuggling ship with a cargo of war elephants, on behalf of the Zamorin of Calicut. The Zamorin himself came to the beach to watch the spectacle, only to leave in disgust when the smuggler deftly slipped past Ataíde's ship. Ataíde gave chase