Records of his deeds prior to 1500 are extremely fragmentary, but Cabral may have campaigned in North Africa, as had his ancestors and as was commonly done by other young nobles of his day.
Catatan-catatan seputar tindakan-tindakannya sebelum tahun 1500 sangat fragmentaris, tetapi Cabral mungkin berkampanye di Afrika Utara, sebagaimana juga yang telah dilakukan para leluhurnya dan seperti yang lazim dilakukan oleh para bangsawan muda pada zamannya.