João Gonçalves Zarco (c. 1390 – 21 November 1471)[1] was a Portuguese explorer who established settlements and recognition of the Madeira Islands, and was appointed first captain of Funchal by Henry the Navigator.

In his service at an early age, Zarco commanded the caravels guarding the coast of the Algarve from Muslim incursions, was at the conquest of Ceuta, and later led the caravels that recognized the island of Porto Santo in 1418 to 1419 and afterward, the island of Madeira 1419 to 1420.

Together with his fellow fleet commanders, Tristão Vaz Teixeira and Bartolomeu Perestrelo, he initiated the colonization of the islands in 1425.

[2][3][4] Augusto Mascarenhas Barreto suggested that Christopher Columbus could have been of Jewish descent from Portugal and his real name was Salvador Fernandes Zarco.

[7] The novel of Arkan Simaan, L'Écuyer d'Henri le Navigateur (Harmattan, Paris, 2007), deals with Zarco's life.