On 8 March 1476, Pêro Vaz de Caminha was appointed mestre da balança (master of the scale) of the royal mint of Porto, one of the many positions held by his father at the time.

In 1500, Pêro Vaz de Caminha, already at an advanced age, was appointed as secretary of the factory projected to be built in Calicut, India, under the designated royal factor Aires Correia.

Before departing, Cabral instructed Pêro Vaz de Caminha to write a letter to King Manuel I of Portugal, officially reporting the discovery of this new land – or island, as they initially believed.

Caminha's official report and an additional separate letter by the astronomer-physician Mestre João Faras, were given to one of Cabral's captains (either Gaspar de Lemos or André Gonçalves, sources conflict).

[7] Some fifty to seventy Portuguese perished in the riot – including the factor Aires Correia and, it is commonly supposed, the factory's secretary Pêro Vaz de Caminha.