Tristão Vaz Teixeira (about 1395 to 1480) was a Portuguese navigator and explorer that, together with João Gonçalves Zarco and Bartolomeu Perestrelo, discovered the Madeira Islands (1419-1420). Nobleman of Prince Henry the Navigator's House, he was granted, as hereditary fief (capitania), half the island of Madeira and, together with his fellow fleet commanders, started the colonization of the islands. His true name was just Tristão Vaz, the name Teixeira being later added because of his wife Branca Teixeira. João Gonçalves Zarco (c. ... Bartolomeu Perestrelo (about 1395 to 1457) was a Portuguese navigator and explorer that, together with João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira, discovered the Madeira Islands (1419-1420). ... For other uses of the word, see Madeira (disambiguation) Madeira Islands location. ... Infante Dom Henrique (March 4, 1394 – November 13, 1460) was a prince of Portugal, often regarded as the most important figure in the early days of European colonial expansion. ...