Final answer:
Pedro Cabral is known for his major contribution to Portuguese exploration, chiefly his discovery and claim of Brazil for Portugal in 1500. This significantly widen the territories of Portugal per the Treaty of Tordesillas and amplified Portugal's status as a leading maritime power in the 16th century.
Step-by-step explanation:
Pedro Cabral made significant contributions to Portuguese exploration. He is most famous for being the first European credited with discovering Brazil, going ashore on the eastern coast of South America in 1500. This was an important addition to the expanding Portuguese Empire, which under Prince Henry the Navigator had already made important maritime inroads in Africa and the Atlantic.
At the time of Cabral's voyage, Portugal and Spain were negotiating over the division of newly discovered lands, culminating with the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 that moved the line separating Spanish and Portuguese territories further west. On Cabral's voyage, he sailed far west after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, which led him to Brazil. Pedro Álvares Cabral therefore was able to claim this territory for Portugal, dramatically expanding Portugal's foothold in the New World.
Overall, Pedro Cabral's exploration played a crucial role in bolstering the status of Portugal as a pre-eminent global maritime power in the early 16th century.
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