Manuel I of Portugal

Hello! My name is Manuel. A long, long time ago, I was the king of a beautiful country called Portugal. My home was right next to the big, blue, sparkly ocean. I loved to watch the tall ships with their big white sails bobbing on the waves.

I always dreamed of what was across the giant sea. I wanted to see new places and meet new friends. So, I asked my bravest sailor friends to go on amazing adventures! They sailed on my big, strong ships. They sailed farther than anyone from my home had ever gone before. They were so brave. They followed the stars and the sun to find new paths on the water, going on a very long journey.

And guess what? They did it! My friends found a new way to sail all the way to a faraway land called India. It was a very important trip. On another trip, they discovered a huge, wonderful place. It had colorful birds and amazing trees! We named that new land Brazil. It was so exciting to learn about the world.

Because of all these wonderful adventures, my country became known all over the world. I lived a full life for 52 years. People remember me as a king who loved exploring. They even gave me a special nickname, 'Manuel the Fortunate', because of all the wonderful things that happened. It makes me happy that my dreams of adventure helped people learn more about our amazing world.