APPENDIX C.

Vasco da Gama.(From a Paris MS. of Barretto de Rezende.)

The late Visconde de Santarem, in hisNoticia dos Manuscriptos, 2nd edition, Lisbon, 1863, p. 93, draws attention to the existence of a MS. in the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris, which in his opinion furnishes most valuable chronological information on the Portuguese voyages to India, from 1497 to 1632. We have translated from this codex all that refers to the first voyage of Vasco da Gama; and a perusal of the translation will, we think, convince the reader that he has before him, not a document based upon authentic sources, but a compilation of very doubtful value.

We have examined three copies, or rather editions, of thisJornal das Viagens dos Portuguezes ás Indias, viz.:—

1.Bibl. Nat. Port. 8, No. 85.This is the earliest of the three MSS., for it only extends to the year 1608. On folio 206bis a statement to the effect that it was copied in 1618 from a MS. in the possession of the Conde de Vidigueira.

2.Bibl. Nat. Port. 46.This, formerly, bore the number 10023, and is the MS. described by Santarem. It is identical with Port. 8, except that its information is extended to the year 1632.

3British Museum Add. MSS. 20902.This is the MS. quoted by Dr. Walter de Gray Birch (The Commentariesof the Great Afonso Dalboquerque, ii, p. xvi). It is still more recent than the preceding, having been extended by an unknown author to the year 1653. A list of the Viceroys up to 1610 is appended. The marginal notes are derived from Pedro Barretto de Rezende’sLivro das Armadas.

The Year 1497.On the second of June, 1497, there set sail from Lisbon for the discovery of Oriental India, Vasco da Gama, the second son of Estevão da Gama, comptroller (veador) of the household of the King Don Affonso V, and of Doña Isabel Sodré, his wife, as captain-major of four vessels: himself in theSão Raphael;Paulo da Gama, his elder brother, in theSão Gabriel;Nicolao Coelho in theSão Miguel.Gonçalo Nunes was captain of a vessel carrying provisions, which this side (antes) the Cape of Good Hope were transferred to the other vessels, when he returned to this kingdom [of Portugal]. And the vesselS. Gabriel, in which went Paulo da Gama, being much dilapidated, so as to be unable to continue the voyage, was broken up for the purpose of repairing the other vessels, in a river of Cafraria, beyond the Cape of Good Hope, which was named the river of Mercy. And Paulo da Gama went over to the vessel of his brother, while his people were distributed among the two vessels. Thence they continued their voyage.Having come to an anchor at Moçambique, where the Sheikh attempted to take the vessels by treachery, they disembarked at the island of São Jorge, where was celebrated the first mass beyond the Cape of Good Hope. Thence they went to Quiloa and Mombaça, and the kings of all these islands attempted to act treacherously, but God would not permit their success.At Melinde the King made them honestly welcome, and gave them trustworthy pilots, who guided them to Angediva, where they fought the fustas of the Sabayo, the governor of Goa, over whom they gained the victory. And thence they went to Calicut, where the Samori planned many treacherous acts which took no effect. Thence they went to Cochin, where the King received them well, and to Cananor, in the same manner. There theycompleted the loading of the two vessels, and returned to this kingdom, arriving safely at Lisbon on September 18th, 1499.386Paulo da Gama died of an illness in the island of Terçeira, at the city of Angra, and lies buried in the monastery of São Francisco of that city.387

The Year 1497.

On the second of June, 1497, there set sail from Lisbon for the discovery of Oriental India, Vasco da Gama, the second son of Estevão da Gama, comptroller (veador) of the household of the King Don Affonso V, and of Doña Isabel Sodré, his wife, as captain-major of four vessels: himself in theSão Raphael;Paulo da Gama, his elder brother, in theSão Gabriel;Nicolao Coelho in theSão Miguel.

Gonçalo Nunes was captain of a vessel carrying provisions, which this side (antes) the Cape of Good Hope were transferred to the other vessels, when he returned to this kingdom [of Portugal]. And the vesselS. Gabriel, in which went Paulo da Gama, being much dilapidated, so as to be unable to continue the voyage, was broken up for the purpose of repairing the other vessels, in a river of Cafraria, beyond the Cape of Good Hope, which was named the river of Mercy. And Paulo da Gama went over to the vessel of his brother, while his people were distributed among the two vessels. Thence they continued their voyage.

Having come to an anchor at Moçambique, where the Sheikh attempted to take the vessels by treachery, they disembarked at the island of São Jorge, where was celebrated the first mass beyond the Cape of Good Hope. Thence they went to Quiloa and Mombaça, and the kings of all these islands attempted to act treacherously, but God would not permit their success.

At Melinde the King made them honestly welcome, and gave them trustworthy pilots, who guided them to Angediva, where they fought the fustas of the Sabayo, the governor of Goa, over whom they gained the victory. And thence they went to Calicut, where the Samori planned many treacherous acts which took no effect. Thence they went to Cochin, where the King received them well, and to Cananor, in the same manner. There theycompleted the loading of the two vessels, and returned to this kingdom, arriving safely at Lisbon on September 18th, 1499.386

Paulo da Gama died of an illness in the island of Terçeira, at the city of Angra, and lies buried in the monastery of São Francisco of that city.387

Luiz de Figueiredo Falcão was secretary of King Philip II of Portugal (Philip III of Spain), and is the compiler of aLivro em que se contem toda a Fazenda, & Real Patrimonio dos Reynos de Portugal, India, ilhas adjacentes de sua coroa, which was printed by order of the Portuguese Government in 1859.

The Preface is dated “Madrid, October 20,MDC.VII”, but this is evidently a misprint, for reference is made in it to a list of captains who went to India since 1497 as containing information up to the year 1612; and instead of VII, we ought therefore to readXII, the date of the book being thus 1612.

The author had access to the original records in the India House, and claims to have expended three years upon the compilation of his work, which certainly contains a mass of information of the highest interest. Nevertheless, his book is not free from errors, many of which have already been pointed out by Cunha Rivara in an Appendix to a translation of theViagem de Francisco Pyrard, published at Nova Goa in 1858. Texeira de Aragão (Boletim, Lisbon Geographical Society, vi, p. 578) also warns against accepting without question all the statements made by this author.

We quote the following information on Vasco da Gama’s first voyage from a “List of Captain-majors and Captains who went to India since 1497”, p. 137:—

1497.

In the year 1497 there departed for India Vasco da Gama, the first discoverer, as captain-major of four vessels. He left Lisbon on July 8th, 1497.São Miguel, flagshipPilot: Pero d’Alenquer.São RaphaelCaptain: Paulo da Gama, brother of Vasco da Gama.Pilot: João de Coimbra.BerrioCaptain: Nicolao Coelho.Pilot: Pero Escolar.A ship (nao)Captain: Gonçalo Nunez, a retainer of Vasco da Gama.She carried provisions.388TheBerrio, with her captain, returned and reached the bar of Lisbon on July 10th, 1499.Vasco da Gama went from India to Cape Verde, where he remained with his brother, Paulo da Gama, who died there, and whose body he conveyed to the island of Terçeira, and he sent one of his servants with theSão Raphaelto Lisbon.Vasco da Gama himself reached Lisbon in a caravel on August 29th, two years and nearly two months after he had left that port.

In the year 1497 there departed for India Vasco da Gama, the first discoverer, as captain-major of four vessels. He left Lisbon on July 8th, 1497.

TheBerrio, with her captain, returned and reached the bar of Lisbon on July 10th, 1499.

Vasco da Gama went from India to Cape Verde, where he remained with his brother, Paulo da Gama, who died there, and whose body he conveyed to the island of Terçeira, and he sent one of his servants with theSão Raphaelto Lisbon.

Vasco da Gama himself reached Lisbon in a caravel on August 29th, two years and nearly two months after he had left that port.

It is scarcely necessary to point out that the flagship wastheSão Gabriel, and that Paulo da Gama came back in that vessel and not in the store-ship. It was, indeed, Paulo’s own ship, theSão Raphael, which was burnt off Tangáta.

As an instance of the author’s inconsistencies, we need only quote the following passage from a “Summary Statement of Vessels which left Portugal for India”, p. 194:—

Between July 10th, 1499, on which day there arrived in the port of Lisbon the shipSão Raphael, in which Vasco da Gama had gone to India in 1497, and 1612, there came back from India 425 vessels.It was theBerriowhich came back on July 10th, theSão Raphaelhaving been burnt off Mtangata; and Vasco da Gama did not go in theS. Raphael, by the author’s own (erroneous) statement.

Between July 10th, 1499, on which day there arrived in the port of Lisbon the shipSão Raphael, in which Vasco da Gama had gone to India in 1497, and 1612, there came back from India 425 vessels.

It was theBerriowhich came back on July 10th, theSão Raphaelhaving been burnt off Mtangata; and Vasco da Gama did not go in theS. Raphael, by the author’s own (erroneous) statement.

Captain Pedro Barretto de Rezende, a professed Knight of the Order of St. Benedict of Aviz, and a native of Pavia,389is the author of aLivro do Estado da India, consisting of three Parts and an Appendix, of which MS. copies exist in the British Museum (Sloane Collection, No. 197) and the Bibliothèque Nationale (Port. 1, and Port. 36). PartIof this work contains a succinct account of the doings of the Viceroys of India up to 1634, and gives portraits of all of them; PartsIIandIIIcontain plans of the Portuguese forts between the Cape of Good Hope and China, with descriptions; whilst the Appendix furnishes an account of the “armadas” or fleets which were sent to India up to 1605.

Dr. Walter de Gray Birch (Commentaries of the GreatAfonso Dalboquerque, i, pp. vii-xiii) has given an account of the MS. of this work existing in the British Museum.

Vasco da Gama as Viceroy.(After Correa’s portrait in the Palacio do Governo, at Goa.)

If this valuable document should ever be printed, it will be necessary to collate the copies existing in London, Paris, and probably also elsewhere, for they are not in all respects identical. Port. 36 seems to me to deserve the preference as far as respects PartI, but PartII(the description of the forts) has been abridged, as compared with Port. 1. The portraits in this latter are more neatly done than in Port. 36. No reference to the source of these full-length portraits is made by the author. They certainly differ from the portraits designed in 1547 by a native artist under the supervision of Gaspar Correa, and published in the Lisbon edition of hisLendas(see t. iv, p. 596). Lord Stanley (Vasco da Gama, p. ix) says that Correa’s portraits are “better” than those in Rezende’s work. All that we can say is that they are not worse. Our full-length portrait is from a MS. of Barretto de Rezende in the Bibliothéque Nationale, as reproduced in Charton’sVoyageurs anciens et modernes. The small oval portrait is from a copy ofCorrea’s painting which was made by order of D. Francisco, da Assumpção de Brito, who was installed Archbishop of Goa in 1774. It was first published in 1817 in a work entitledRetratos e Elogios de Varões e Donas.

First Voyage, 1497; Four Sails.King John II of Portugal having died without a legitimate son, Dom Manuel was proclaimed King on October 27th, 1495; and as this fresh dignity entailed that he should prosecute the undertakings initiated by his predecessors, he proposed to himself to go on with the discovery of Oriental India by sea, which, seventy-five years before, had been set going.In 1496 he had many councils on this affair, and in consequence of the resolutions arrived at he agreed (assentou) to despatch on this enterprise one Vasco da Gama, and forthwith arranged for the fleet to be sent, the work upon which was carried on with such expedition that rigging and all was ready by Saturday, July 8th, 1496.The fleet (armada) only included three ships of from 100 to 320 tons, and there went in them, between sailors and soldiers, 260 persons. In addition there was a ship carrying provisions.The flag-ship, in which Vasco da Gama, the captain-major, embarked, was called theSão Gabriel, and Pero de Alemquer was the pilot. The second ship was called theSão Raphael; Paulo da Gama, the brother of said Vasco, was captain, and João de Coimbra, pilot.The third vessel was called theBerrio; Nicolao Coelho was her captain and Po. Escolar her pilot.Gonsalo Nunes, a retainer (criado) of Vasco da Gama, was captain of the cargo-ship (nao); only provisions went in her. These, as also the crew, having been transferred to the other ships at the Cape of Good Hope, they set fire to her.They set sail from the bar of Lisbon on July 8th, 1497, arrived at Moçambique on March 1st, 1498, made Mombasa on Palm Sunday, the 7th of April,390and Melinde on the 15th of the same month.There he took pilots to guide him to India, and on May 16thof the same year, ’498,391he made the land at a port on the coast of Mallavar (Malabar), in the kingdom of the Samorim, two leagues below Callecut, which is the principal city and capital of that kingdom. There he remained seventy-four days, in the course of which, induced thereto by the Moors who live in that country, he practised upon us a thousand deceits. But having discovered that for the sake of which he had been sent, namely, India, of which he was able to take home such good intelligence, he determined to return to Portugal, and set sail on August 29th of this same year, namely, ’498. At the Anjediva islands he careened the ships and took in water, and there he took a Jew who, by order of Sabayo, the King of Goa, had visited him, it being the intention, immediately after the return of this Jew, to send a fleet against him (Vasco da Gama).Vasco da Gama departed thence and made the coast of Melinde. Wishing to depart thence for this kingdom, the shipSão Raphael, in which was his brother, was lost on the same shoals on which she had already once grounded on the way out to India. The loss of this ship did not give much concern to Vasco da Gama, for he was short of men, and those in her were distributed among the two other vessels. He passed Moçambique, doubled the Cape of Good Hope on March 20th, 1499; when near the Cape Verde Islands a severe storm separated the two vessels, namely, that in which he (Vasco) was from her consort in which was Nicolau Coelho, who, leading, lost sight of Vasco da Gama, and reached the bar of Lisbon392on July 10th of said year.Vasco da Gama only arrived on August 29th in a caravel, for his brother, Paulo da Gama, being very ill, he went from the island of São Thiago to that of Terçeira, allowing his ship to be taken to Lisbon by João de Sá.And Vasco da Gama buried his brother, whose death much afflicted him, in the island of Terçeira, and after that landed at Lisbon on August 29th, as stated above, or two years after he had started on his discovery.From theLivro das armadas e capitaes que forão a India, which, as already stated, forms an Appendix to Rezende’sLivro do estado da India, we take the following:—Vasco da Gama, captain-major, 1497.He departed on July 8th, by order of King Dom Manuel, with four ships to discover India, viz.:Vasco da Gama in theS. Gabriel.Paulo da Gama, his brother, in theS. Raphael.Nicolao Coelho in the shipBerrio.Gonçalo Nunes in a store-ship.The people and provisions in the ship of Gonçalo Nunes were distributed among the other ships after the Cape of Good Hope had been passed, and beyond the Aguada (watering-place) of S. Braz, and this ship, having been stripped, was set on fire.The ship of Paulo da Gama stranded on the voyage home to Portugal on the shoals between Guilva [Kilwa] and Mombaça, and these shoals were named after theS. Raphaelwhich had now run aground upon them. Her people were distributed among the two companion-ships.

First Voyage, 1497; Four Sails.

King John II of Portugal having died without a legitimate son, Dom Manuel was proclaimed King on October 27th, 1495; and as this fresh dignity entailed that he should prosecute the undertakings initiated by his predecessors, he proposed to himself to go on with the discovery of Oriental India by sea, which, seventy-five years before, had been set going.

In 1496 he had many councils on this affair, and in consequence of the resolutions arrived at he agreed (assentou) to despatch on this enterprise one Vasco da Gama, and forthwith arranged for the fleet to be sent, the work upon which was carried on with such expedition that rigging and all was ready by Saturday, July 8th, 1496.

The fleet (armada) only included three ships of from 100 to 320 tons, and there went in them, between sailors and soldiers, 260 persons. In addition there was a ship carrying provisions.

The flag-ship, in which Vasco da Gama, the captain-major, embarked, was called theSão Gabriel, and Pero de Alemquer was the pilot. The second ship was called theSão Raphael; Paulo da Gama, the brother of said Vasco, was captain, and João de Coimbra, pilot.

The third vessel was called theBerrio; Nicolao Coelho was her captain and Po. Escolar her pilot.

Gonsalo Nunes, a retainer (criado) of Vasco da Gama, was captain of the cargo-ship (nao); only provisions went in her. These, as also the crew, having been transferred to the other ships at the Cape of Good Hope, they set fire to her.

They set sail from the bar of Lisbon on July 8th, 1497, arrived at Moçambique on March 1st, 1498, made Mombasa on Palm Sunday, the 7th of April,390and Melinde on the 15th of the same month.

There he took pilots to guide him to India, and on May 16thof the same year, ’498,391he made the land at a port on the coast of Mallavar (Malabar), in the kingdom of the Samorim, two leagues below Callecut, which is the principal city and capital of that kingdom. There he remained seventy-four days, in the course of which, induced thereto by the Moors who live in that country, he practised upon us a thousand deceits. But having discovered that for the sake of which he had been sent, namely, India, of which he was able to take home such good intelligence, he determined to return to Portugal, and set sail on August 29th of this same year, namely, ’498. At the Anjediva islands he careened the ships and took in water, and there he took a Jew who, by order of Sabayo, the King of Goa, had visited him, it being the intention, immediately after the return of this Jew, to send a fleet against him (Vasco da Gama).

Vasco da Gama departed thence and made the coast of Melinde. Wishing to depart thence for this kingdom, the shipSão Raphael, in which was his brother, was lost on the same shoals on which she had already once grounded on the way out to India. The loss of this ship did not give much concern to Vasco da Gama, for he was short of men, and those in her were distributed among the two other vessels. He passed Moçambique, doubled the Cape of Good Hope on March 20th, 1499; when near the Cape Verde Islands a severe storm separated the two vessels, namely, that in which he (Vasco) was from her consort in which was Nicolau Coelho, who, leading, lost sight of Vasco da Gama, and reached the bar of Lisbon392on July 10th of said year.

Vasco da Gama only arrived on August 29th in a caravel, for his brother, Paulo da Gama, being very ill, he went from the island of São Thiago to that of Terçeira, allowing his ship to be taken to Lisbon by João de Sá.

And Vasco da Gama buried his brother, whose death much afflicted him, in the island of Terçeira, and after that landed at Lisbon on August 29th, as stated above, or two years after he had started on his discovery.

From theLivro das armadas e capitaes que forão a India, which, as already stated, forms an Appendix to Rezende’sLivro do estado da India, we take the following:—

Vasco da Gama, captain-major, 1497.He departed on July 8th, by order of King Dom Manuel, with four ships to discover India, viz.:

Vasco da Gama, captain-major, 1497.

He departed on July 8th, by order of King Dom Manuel, with four ships to discover India, viz.:

Vasco da Gama in theS. Gabriel.Paulo da Gama, his brother, in theS. Raphael.Nicolao Coelho in the shipBerrio.Gonçalo Nunes in a store-ship.

Vasco da Gama in theS. Gabriel.

Paulo da Gama, his brother, in theS. Raphael.

Nicolao Coelho in the shipBerrio.

Gonçalo Nunes in a store-ship.

The people and provisions in the ship of Gonçalo Nunes were distributed among the other ships after the Cape of Good Hope had been passed, and beyond the Aguada (watering-place) of S. Braz, and this ship, having been stripped, was set on fire.

The ship of Paulo da Gama stranded on the voyage home to Portugal on the shoals between Guilva [Kilwa] and Mombaça, and these shoals were named after theS. Raphaelwhich had now run aground upon them. Her people were distributed among the two companion-ships.

The “São Gabriel”.(From a Model designed by Captain A. A. Baldaque da Silva, drawn by Herbert Johnson.)

Allauthorities agree that the fleet, or armada, fitted out for Vasco da Gama’s voyage numbered four vessels, but they are not agreed as to the names which these vessels bore. We are not, however, likely to be misled if we accept the unanimous testimony of the author of ourRoteiro, of João de Barros, Lopez de Castanheda, Pedro Barretto de Rezende, and Manuel Faria y Sousa: according to whom the names of the ships and of their principal officers were as follows:—

S. Gabriel(flag-ship).—Vasco da Gama, captain-major; Pero d’Alenquer, pilot; Gonçalo Alvarez, master; Diogo Dias, clerk.S. Raphael.—Paulo da Gama, captain; João de Coimbra pilot; João de Sá, clerk.Berrio.—Nicolau Coelho, captain; Pero Escolar, pilot; Alvaro de Braga, clerk.Store-ship.—Gonçalo Nunes, captain.

S. Gabriel(flag-ship).—Vasco da Gama, captain-major; Pero d’Alenquer, pilot; Gonçalo Alvarez, master; Diogo Dias, clerk.

S. Raphael.—Paulo da Gama, captain; João de Coimbra pilot; João de Sá, clerk.

Berrio.—Nicolau Coelho, captain; Pero Escolar, pilot; Alvaro de Braga, clerk.

Store-ship.—Gonçalo Nunes, captain.

Correa and the unknown author of theJornal das Viagens(p. 145) call the “Berrio”S. Miguel, and make theS. Raphaelthe flag-ship; whilst L. de Figueiredo de Falcão (p. 147) substitutes aS. Miguelfor theS. Raphael. It is just possible that the vessel popularly calledBerrio, after its former owner, had been re-christenedS. Miguel.

TheBerriowas one of those swift lateen-rigged vessels for which Portugal was famous from the thirteenth to the beginning of the sixteenth century, and which, after thebarinel393had been discarded, were exclusively employed inthe exploration of the African coast. Their burthen did not exceed 200 tons, and they had two or three masts, and occasionally even four.394TheBerriois stated to have been a vessel of only 50 tons. She was named after her former owner and pilot,395of whom she was purchased expressly for this voyage.

A Caravel.(After a Painting of the sixteenth century, in the Monastery of the Mother of God at Lisbon.)

The store-ship was of more considerable size. Sernigi (p. 123) says she measured 110 tons; Castanheda credits her with 200. She may have been a so-calledcaravela redonda, that is a caravel which carried square sails on the main and fore-masts and triangular ones on the mizzen-mast and the bowsprit. This vessel was purchased of Ayres Correa, a shipowner of Lisbon.

TheS. GabrielandS. Raphaelwere specially built for this voyage. Bartholomeu Dias, who superintended their construction, discarded the caravel in which he himself had achieved his great success, in favour of square-rigged vessels of greater burthen, which, although slower sailers and less able to ply to windward, offered greater safety and more comfort to their crews. He took care, at the same time, that the draught of these vessels should enable them to navigate shallow waters, such as it was expected would be met with in the course of the voyage. The timber for these two vessels had been cut during the last year of the reign of King John, in the Crown woods of Leiria and Alcacer. The vessels having been completed, the King ordered them to be equipped by Fernão Lourenço, the factor of the house of Mines, and one of the most “magnificent” men of his time.396

No contemporary description or picture of these vessels has reached us, but there can hardly be a doubt that their type397is fairly represented on a painting made by order of D. Jorge Cabral, who was Governor of India from 1549 to 1550. This painting subsequently became the property of D. João de Castro. A copy of it was first published by the Visconde de Juromenha, who took it from a MS. dated 1558.398The fine woodcut in W. S. Lindsay’sHistory of Merchant Shipping(II, p. 5), from an ancient picture which also belonged to D. João de Castro, seems to be derived from the same source, but as the vessel carries the flag of the Order of Christ at the main, and not the Royal Standard, it cannot represent the flag-ship. At all events,it is not more authentic than either of the ships delineated in the drawing first published by Juromenha.

The supposed Armada of Vasco da Gama.(From a Painting made by order of Jorge Cabral(1549-50.))

Authorities differ very widely as to the tonnage of these two vessels. Sernigi (see p.123) says they were of 90 tons each, thus partly bearing out Correa, who states that thethreeships (including theBerrio) were built of the same size and pattern.399D. Pacheco Pereira400states that the largest of them did not exceed 100 tons; J. de Barros gives them a burthen of between 100 and 120 tons; whilst Castanheda allocates 120 tons to the flag-ship and 100 to theS. Raphael.

But whilst the authorities quoted dwell upon the small size of the vessels which for the first time reached India from a European port, and even give reasons for this limitation of burthen,401there is some ground for believing that the tonnage of Vasco da Gama’s ships, expressed according to modern terminology, was in reality much greater than is usually supposed. Pedro Barretto de Rezende (p. 151) may therefore have some justification when he states that these vessels ranged from 100 to 320 tons. Mr. Lindsay (loc. cit.) would go even further. TheS. Gabriel, according to him, was constructed to carry 400 pipes, equivalent to 400 tons measurement, or about 250 to 300 tons register. He adds that Sr. E. Pinto Bastos agrees with him.402

In considering this question of tonnage, it must be borne in mind that “ton”, at the close of the fifteenth century, was a different measure from what it is at present. We learn from E. A. D’Albertis403that thetoneladaof Seville was supposed to afford accommodation for two pipes of 27½ arrobas (98 gallons) each, and measured 1.405 cubic metres, or about 50 cubic feet. Thetonelof Biscay was 20 per cent. larger. According to Capt. H. Lopez deMendonça, thetonelat Lisbon measured 6 palmos de goa in length (talha), and 4 such palmos in breadth and height (parea), that is, about 85 cubic feet.404This, however, seems excessive, for my wine merchant tells me that two butts of sherry of 108 gallons each would occupy only 75 cubic feet. At any rate, these data show that the ton of the fifteenth century was considerably larger than the ton measurement of the nineteenth.

Two attempts have been made recently by distinguished officers of the Portuguese Navy, Captains Joào Braz d’Oliveira405and A. A. Baldaque da Silva,406to reconstruct Vasco da Gama’s flagship, or rather to design a ship of a type existing at the close of the fifteenth century, and answering as nearly as possible to the scanty indications to be found within the pages of the historians of this memorable voyage. In this reconstruction good use has been made of an early manuscript on shipbuilding by Fernando Oliveira (O livro da fabrica das Nãos), which Captain Lopez de Mendonça proposes to publish.

The designs produced by the two naval officers differ widely in several respects, and more especially as regards the relation between the total length of the ship and the breadth of beam. In Captain B. da Silva’s ship the beam is equal to one-third of the length, whilst the proportion in Captain J. Braz d’Oliveira’s ship is as one to five. The former of these ships is broad-beamed, as befits the period, whilst the latter is almost as slim as a modern clipper. It must be remembered that, until comparatively recent times, it was held that the length of a sailing ship should notexceed four times the breadth of beam; and this maxim was undoubtedly acted upon by the shipbuilders of the fifteenth century.

Captain Baldaque da Silva’s design of theS. Gabrielhas been embodied in a model, and from a photograph of this model Mr. Herbert Johnson has produced the illustration placed in front of this Appendix.

The dimensions of the ship designed by Captain Baldaque da Silvia are as follows:—407

Length over all84.1 feet.Water-line (when laden)64.0fi”etKeel56.7fi”etBreadth of beam27.9fi”etDepth17.1fi”etDraught, abaft7.5fi”etDra”ughtforward5.6fi”etMetocentric height above the water-line (laden)7.4fi”etDisplacement178 tons.Tonnage4,130 cubic feet, or 103ti”ns

This, as I learn from a private letter of Captain B. da Silva, is supposed to be the gross under-deck tonnage, but on calculating the tonnage according to the Builders’ Old Measurement Rule, I find it to amount to 230 tons of 40 cubic feet each, whilst the “expeditive” method practised at Venice408during the fifteenth century yields 896 botte of 28 gallons, or about 250 toneladas.

The ship was flat-bottomed, with a square stern and bluff bow, the latter ornamented with a figure of her patron saint. Wales were placed along the sides to reduceher rolling when going before the wind. Formidable “castles” rose fore and aft, having a deep waist between them. These “castles,” however, had not then grown to the portentous height attained at a subsequent period, when they rendered it difficult to govern the ship in a gale, and it often became necessary to cut down the foremast and dismantle the forecastle to enable them to keep her head to the wind.

These “castles” were in reality citadels, and enabled the crew to make a last stand after the vessel had been boarded. A notable instance of this occurred in the course of the fight with theMeriin 1502.409

The captain was lodged in the castle rising upon the quarter-deck, the officers were accommodated in the room below his and in the forecastle, whilst the men had their quarters beneath the gang boards which ran along the top-sides from castle to castle. The men were each allowed a locker, to contain such goods as they might obtain by barter with the natives. Ladders led from the main deck up to the fighting decks (chapitéo de réandde vante) of the two castles, and these were defended against boarders by nettings. The tiller of the rudder entered the battery abaft the captain’s apartments, where also stood the binnacle. The armament consisted of twenty guns. The lower battery of the “castle” rising on the quarter-deck was armed with eight breech-loaders made of wrought-iron staves, held together by hoops and mounted on forked props. The upper battery held six bombards, and the forecastle the same number.410We may at once state thatthe men carried no firearms. Their arms included cross-bows, spears, axes, swords, javelins, and boarding-pikes. Some of the officers were clad in steel armour, whilst the men had to be content with leather jerkins and breast-plates.

Amidships stood thebatel, or long boat, in addition to which there was available a yawl rowed with four or six oars.

There were three masts and a bowsprit. The main-mast rose to a height of 110 ft. above the keel and flew the Royal Standard at its head, whilst the captain’s scarlet flag floated from the crow’s-nest, nearly 70 ft. above deck. A similar crow’s-nest was attached to the foremast. In the case of an engagement these points of vantage were occupied by fighting men, who hurled thence javelins, grenades, and powder-pots upon the enemy. The sails were square, with the exception of that of the mizzen, which was triangular. When spread they presented 4,000 square feet of canvas to the wind; this was exclusive of the “bonnets” which were occasionally laced to the leeches of the mainsail, and served to some extent the same purpose as a modern studding-sail.411The Cross of the Order of Christ was painted on each sail.

The anchors, two in number, were of iron, with a wooden stock and a ring for bending the cable.

The hold was divided into three compartments. Amidships were the water barrels, with coils of cable on the top of them—a very inconvenient arrangement; abaft was the powder-magazine, and most arms and munitions, including iron and stone balls, were kept there; the forward compartment was used for the storage of requisites, including spare sails and a spare anchor.

The lower deck was divided by bulkheads into three compartments, two of which were set apart for provisions, presents, and articles of barter. The “provisions”, according to Castanheda, were calculated to suffice for three years, and the daily rations were on a liberal scale, consisting of 1½ pounds of biscuit, 1 pound of beef or half a pound of pork, 2½ pints of water, 1¼ pints of wine, one-third of a gill of vinegar, and half that quantity of oil. On fast days, half a pound of rice, of codfish, or cheese was substituted for the meat. There were, in addition, flour, lentils, sardines, plums, almonds, onions, garlic, mustard, salt, sugar and honey. These ships’ stores were supplemented by fish, caught whenever an opportunity offered, and by fresh provisions obtained when in port, among which were oranges, which proved most acceptable to the many men suffering from scurvy.

The merchandise was not only insufficient in quantity, but proved altogether unsuited to the Indian market. It seems to have includedlambel(striped cotton stuff), sugar, olive-oil, honey, and coral beads. Among the objects intended for presents, there were wash-hand basins, scarlet hoods, silk jackets, pantaloons, hats, Moorish caps; besides such trifles as glass beads, little round bells, tin rings and bracelets, which were well enough suited for barter on the Guinea coast, but were not appreciated by the wealthy merchants of Calecut. Of ready money there seems to have been little to spare. All this is made evident by the letters of D. Manuel and Signor Sernigi.

The scientific outfit of the expedition, it may safely be presumed, was the best to be procured at the time. The learned D. Diogo Ortiz de Vilhegas412furnished Da Gamawith maps and books, including, almost as a matter of course, a copy of Ptolemy, and copies of the information on the East collected at Lisbon for years past. Among these reports, that sent home by Pero de Covilhão found, no doubt, a place,413as also the information furnished by Lucas Marcos,414an Abyssinian priest who visited Lisbon about 1490.

The astronomical instruments were provided by Zacut, the astronomer, and it is even stated that Vasco enjoyed the advantage of being trained as a practical observer by that learned Hebrew. These instruments included a large wooden astrolabe, smaller astrolabes of metal, and, in all probability, also quadrants; and they were accompanied by a copy of Zacut’sAlmanach perpetuum Celestium motuum cujus radix est 1473, a translation of which, by José Vizinho, had been printed at Leiria in 1496.415Thesetables enabled the navigator to calculate his latitudes by observing the altitude of the sun.

There was, of course, a sufficient supply of compasses, of sounding leads and hour-glasses, and possibly also acatena a poppa, that is, a rope towed at the stern to determine the ship’s leeway, and atoleta de marteloia, a graphical substitute for our modern traverse tables, both of them contrivances long since in use among the Italians. It is also possible that Vasco was already provided with an equinoctial compass for determining the time of high water at the ports he visited, and with a variation compass. This instrument consisted of a combination of a sun-dial with a magnetic needle. It had been invented by Peurbach,c.1460, was improved by Felipe Guillen, 1528, and by Pedro Nunes, 1537, and used for the first time on an extensive scale by João de Castro, during a voyage toIndia and the Red Sea, in 1538-41.416We are inclined to think that Vasco had such a variation compass, for the Cabo das Agulhas, or “Needle Cape”, thus named because the needle there pointed, or was supposed to point, due north, has already found a place on Cantino’s Chart, and can have been named only as the result of an actual observation, however inaccurate.

Cão’s Padrão at Cape Cross.Lastly, there remain to be noticed the Padrãos, or pillars of stone which were on board the vessels, and three of which, by the king’s express desire, were dedicated to S. Raphael, S. Gabriel, and S. Maria (see p.80). Barros and Castanheda tell us that these pillars resembled those set up by Cão and Dias in the time of D. João II; and in a series of pictures which D. Manuel desired to have painted in celebration of the discovery of India, the Padrão to be shown at the Cape of Good Hope, or “Prasum promontorium”, was to have been surmounted by a cross, and to bear the Royal Arms and a Pelican, with an inscription giving the date.417

Correa, on the other hand, affirms in hisLendasthat the pillar set up at the Rio da Misericordia (the Rio dos Bons Signaes of theRoteiro) was of marble, with two escutcheons, one of the arms of Portugal, and the other (at the back) of a sphere, and that the inscription was “Do senhorio de Portugal reino de Christãos”. The pillar at Melinde hadthe same escutcheons, but the inscription was limited to the words “Rey Manoel”.418As Correa had an opportunity of seeing these pillars, his description of them may be correct, though he is an arrant fabulator.

Vasco da Gama.(From A. Morelet’s French version of the “Roteiro”, 1864.)After a Portrait formerly the property of Conde de Farrobo, now in theMuseu das Bellas Artes, Lisbon.

Theofficers and men in Vasco da Gama’sarmadawere carefully selected. Several of them had been with Bartholomeu Dias round the Cape; all of them, as appears from this “Journal”, justified by their conduct under sometimes trying circumstances the selection which had been made.

Authorities widely differ as to the number of men who embarked. Sernigi (p. 124) says there were only 118, of whom 55 died during the voyage and only 63 returned. Galvão says there were 120, besides the men in the store-ship. Castanheda and Goes raise the number to 148, of whom only 55 returned, many of them broken in health. Faria y Sousa and San Ramon say there were 160, and the latter adds that 93 of these died during the voyage, thus confirming a statement made by King Manuel in his letter of February 20th, 1504, to the effect that less than one-half returned.419According to Barros there were 170 men, including soldiers and sailors. Correa raises the number to 260, for he says that in each of the three ships there were 80 officers and men, including servants, besides six convicts and two priests.420He says nothing of the store-ship. By the time Vasco da Gama had reached the Rio da Misericordia only 150 out of this number are said to have been alive.

Correa, no doubt, exaggerates. On the other hand, Sernigi’s numbers seem to us to err quite as much on theother side. It is quite true that a Mediterranean merchantman of 100 tons, in the sixteenth century, was manned by 12 able and 8 ordinary seamen;421but in the case of an expedition sent forth for a number of years and to unknown dangers, this number would no doubt have been increased. We are, therefore, inclined to believe that the number given by De Barros—namely, 170—may be nearer the truth, namely 70 men in the flag-ship, 50 in theS. Raphael, 30 in the caravel, and 20 in the store-ship. The men in the flag-ship may have included 1 captain, 1 master, 1 pilot, 1 assistant pilot, 1 mate (contramestre), 1 boatswain (guardião), 20 able seamen (marinheiros), 10 ordinary seamen (grumetes), 2 boys (pagens), 1 chief gunner or constable, 8 bombardiers, 4 trumpeters, 1 clerk or purser (escrivão), 1 storekeeper (dispenseiro), 1 officer of justice (meirinho), 1 barber-surgeon, 2 interpreters, 1 chaplain, 6 artificers (ropemaker, carpenter, calker, cooper, armourer and cook), and 10 servants. One or more of these servants may have been negro slaves. The “Degradados”, or convicts on board, to be “adventured on land” (p. 48), are included in the total. Whether private gentlemen were permitted to join this expedition as volunteers history doth not record.

The following “muster-roll” contains short notices of all those who are stated to have embarked at Lisbon in Vasco da Gama’s fleet, or who subsequently joined it, either voluntarily or upon compulsion.

Apart from natives, thirty-one persons are mentioned, and with respect to twenty-six of these no reasonable doubt can be entertained that they were actually members of the ships’ companies.

Those among them whose names appear in the “Journal” are distinguished by an asterisk.422

Captains.*Vasco da Gama, Captain-Major in theS. Gabriel.*Paulo da Gama, his brother, commanding theS. Raphael.*Nicolau Coelho, Captain of theBerrioorS. Miguel. He subsequently went out to India with Cabral (1500), and for a third time with Francisco d’Albuquerque, in 1503.On February 24, 1500, the King granted him a pension of 70,000 reis. He also received a coat-of-arms, viz.: a fieldgules, charged with a lion rampant between two pillars (padrãos),silver, standing upon hillocks by the seavert; and two small escutcheons charged with fivebezants(Severim de Faria,Noticias de Portugal, Disc. 3, § 15). He seems to have been dead in 1522, for on December 19 of that year, his son, Francisco, begged the King to transfer the pension of his late father to himself.—(Cunha Rivara,Arch. Port. Oriental, fasc. v, p. 254; and Texeira de Aragão,Boletim, 1886, p. 573.)Gonçalo Nunes, Captain of the store-ship (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 279; Castanheda, I, p. 7). Castanheda, 1st edition, erroneously calls him Gonçalo Gomez. He was a retainer of Vasco da Gama.Pilots and Masters.*Pero d’Alenquer, pilot of theS. Gabriel(Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 279; Castanheda, I, p. 7; Goes, I, 69; Faria y Sousa, p. 29). He had been with Dias in the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope, and with the Congo mission in 1490.*João de Coimbra, pilot of theS. Raphael(Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 279). A negro slave belonging to him deserted at Moçambique (see p.30).Pero Escolar, pilot of theBerrio(Barros,ib.; Faria y Sousa, p. 29). On February 18, 1500, the King granted him a pension of 4,000 reis. He went as pilot with Cabral.Gonçalo Alvares, master of theS. Gabriel(Barros,ib.). He subsequently held the office of pilot-major of India (Correa,Lendas, I, p. 570). On January 26, 1504, the King granted him a pension of 6,000 reis (Texeira de Aragão,Boletim, 1886, p. 674).André Gonçalves.According to Correa (Lendas, I, p. 148), he had been with Vasco da Gama, whose interest had procured him an appointment in Cabral’s fleet. The same untrustworthy author states (p. 152) that Cabral sent him back from Brazil with the news of his discovery, and that the King, immediately after his arrival, fitted out a fleet to continue the explorations in the New World. Barros (I, pt. 1, p. 384) and Castanheda (I, p. 97) state that Cabral sent back Gaspar de Lemos. Neither they, nor, as far as I am aware, any other authority, mention an André Gonçalves in connection with Gama’s or Cabral’s expeditions.Pursers or Clerks.*Diogo Dias, clerk of theS. Gabriel(Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 279; Castanheda, I, pp. 54, 80; Goes, I, p. 90; Faria y Sousa, I, p. 29). He was a brother of Bartholomeu Dias, the discoverer of the Cape of Good Hope.João de Sá, clerk of theS. Raphael(Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 370; Castanheda, Goes, Faria y Sousa). He again went to India with Cabral (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 403), and subsequently became treasurer of the India House (Castanheda, I, p. 54).Alvaro de Braga, clerk of theBerrio(Barros, Castanheda, Goes). Vasco appointed him head of the factory at Calecut. Correa (Lendas, I, pp. 89-91) erroneously calls him Pedro de Braga. He was rewarded by the King, February 1, 1501 (Boletim, 1886, p. 675).Interpreters.*Martim Affonso(Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 289; Castanheda, I, p. 15; Goes, I, p. 74; Faria y Sousa, p. 29). He had lived in Congo.Fernão Martins(Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 290; Castanheda, I, pp. 51, 54; Goes, I, p. 89). Vasco sent him to the King of Calecut, and he was present at the audience which Vasco had of the King (Goes, I, p. 95). Subsequently he filled several positions of trust in India. He is the “African slave” whospoke Arabic, referred to by Correa (Stanley’sVasco da Gama, pp. 76, 203).João Martins, see João Nunez,infra.Priests.Pedro de Covilhã, called Pero de Cobillones by Faria y Sousa (I, p. 29), who refers to ancient documents and the assertion of F. Christoval Osorio, of the Order of Trinity, as his authorities. He was Prior of a monastery of the Order of the Trinity at Lisbon, and went out as Chaplain of the Fleet and Father Confessor. According to Francisco de Sousa’sOriente Conquistado, I, p. 477, he died a martyr on July 7, 1498, and this statement is accepted by P. Francisco de S. Maria (Anno historico, II, Lisbon, 1794, p. 323). Fr. Jeronymo de São Jose (Historia chronologica da Ordem da S. Trindade, Lisbon, 1789-94) enlarges upon this by stating that this apocryphal “protomartyr” of India “was speared whilst expounding the doctrines of the Trinity”. At the date of his alleged death, Vasco da Gama was still at Calecut. He may have died of disease. Neither Barros, Castanheda, nor Correa mentions the name of this priest.João Figueiro.Correa claims to have derived much information from a diary kept by this priest, of which only fragments appear to have come into his possession. Other authors ignore the name (see Stanley’sVasco da Gama, pp. ii, vi, 260).Sailors and Soldiers.João d’AmeixoeiraorDameiroeiro. According to Correa (I, p. 136), he was one of the mutineers who returned to Portugal. No other writer mentions him.Pedro de Faria e Figueiredo, died at Cabo das Correntes (Faria y Sousa, I, p. 29).Francisco de Faria e Figueiredo, brother of the preceding. He wrote Latin verses. He, too, died at Cabo das Correntes (Faria y Sousa, I, p. 29).*Sancho Mexia, incidentally mentioned in theRoteiro(see p.6).João Palha, one of the thirteen who attended Vasco da Gama to Calecut (Correa, I, p. 96).Gonçalo Pirez, a mariner and retainer of Vasco da Gama (Castanheda, I, p. 54). On May 31, 1497, he had been appointed master of a caravel recently built at Oporto (Texeira de Aragão,Boletim, 1886, p. 563).Leonardo Ribeyro.According to Manuel Correa’s commentary on theObras do grande Camões, Lisbon, 1720, this, on the authority of the poet himself, is the full name of the “Leonardo” mentioned in CantoVI, stanza 40. Faria y Sousa (Asia Portuguesa, I, p. 29) identified this “Leonardo” with Francisco de Faria e Figueredo, but subsequently (Commentos aos Lusiadas, 1639) he gave up the point.João de Setubal, according to Correa (I, pp. 96, 104, 107), was one of the thirteen who accompanied Vasco da Gama to Calecut (see Stanley’sVasco da Gama, pp. 119, 213).Alvaro Velho, a soldier (Castanheda, I, p. 54; Goes, I, p. 90; Faria y Sousa). Perhaps this is the Alvaro Velho de Barreyro mentioned by Valentin Ferdinand (Valentino de Moravia or Alemão), in hisDescription of Africa(1507), as having resided eight years at Sierra Leone (see Kunstmann, inAbhdlgn. d. bayer. Ak. d. W., Cl. iij, t. IX, Abt. 1).*Fernão Veloso, a soldier (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 283-6; Castanheda, I, p. 9; Goes, I, p. 71; Faria y Sousa; Camoens, CantoVI, stanza 41).Convicts or Banished Men (Degradados).Pedro Dias, nicknamed “Northeasterling”. Correa (Lendas, I, p. 46) says that Vasco da Gama left him behind at Moçambique, and that subsequently he came to India (compare Stanley’sVasco da Gama, p. 106).Pero Esteves.Correa (Lendas, I, p. 236) says that Vasco da Gama left him behind at Quiloa, and that when J. da Nova reached that port in 1501, he came out to meet him. Barros (I, pt. 1, p. 467) says that the convict who met J. da Nova had been landed by Cabral, and that his name was Antonio Fernandez.João Machado, according to Correa (Lendas, I, pp. 41, 160), was left behind by Vasco da Gama at Moçambique, but according to Barros (I, pt. 1, p. 406) it was Cabral who left him at Melinde, with instructions to make inquiries about Prester John. Cabral may have transferred him from Moçambique to the more northern port. He subsequently did good service, and Affonsode Albuquerque appointed him alcaide mór of Goa. He was slain in battle, 1515 (see Stanley’sVasco da Gama, pp. 93-5).Damião Rodriguezwas a friend of João Machado, and a seaman on board theS. Gabriel, from which vessel he deserted at the shoals of S. Raphael. When Cabral came to Moçambique, his grave was pointed out. All this is stated on the sole authority of Correa (Lendas, I, p. 160). Compare Stanley’sVasco da Gama, p. 94.João Nunez, a “new” Christian (i.e., a converted Jew), who knew a little Arabic and Hebrew, and was landed at Calecut. In the Portuguese edition of Correa (I, p. 78) he is erroneously called João Martins (see Stanley’sVasco da Gama, pp. 159, 180, 206).Natives and others Embarked in the East.*Gaspar da Gama.This is the “Moor”, or renegade, who joined Vasco da Gama at Anjediva Island. Our anonymous author describes him as about forty years of age, and as being able to speak “Venetian” well. He claimed to have come to India in early youth, and was at the time in the service of the Governor of Goa. Vasco da Gama carried him to Portugal, where he was baptized and received the name of Gaspar da Gama. In theCommentaries of Afonso Dalboquerque(Hakluyt Society, 1884) he is frequently referred to as Gaspar da India. Correa (Lendas da India) usually refers to him as Gaspar da Gama, but also calls him Gaspar de las Indias, or Gaspar d’Almeida. King Manuel, in his letter to the Cardinal Protector, calls him a “Jew, who turned Christian, a merchant and lapidary”. Sernigi (see p.136) held a conversation with him at Lisbon. He speaks of him as a Sclavonian Jew, born at Alexandria.According to the information given by Barros and Goes, the parents of Gaspar fled from Posen, in Poland, at the time when King Casimir cruelly persecuted the Jews (about 1456). After a short residence in Palestine they removed to Alexandria, where Gaspar was born (Barros, I, pt. 1, pp. 364-5; Goes, pt. 1, c. 44).He accompanied Cabral as interpreter. Vespucci met him on his homeward voyage at Cape Verde, and in his letter of June 4, 1501, published by Baldelli (Il Milione, 1827), he speaks highlyof Gaspar’s linguistic attainments, and refers to his extensive travels in Asia.Gaspar repeatedly accompanied Portuguese expeditions to India, and was last heard of in 1510. Goes (loc. cit.) says that King Manuel liked him, and appointed him a cavalier of his household.Correa (Stanley’sVasco da Gama, p. 247) describes this Gaspar as a Jew, who, “at the taking of Granada was a very young man; and who, having been driven from his country, passed through many lands ... on to India”. But, as Granada was only taken in 1492, this is absurd.Lunardo da Chá Masser, who came to Lisbon in 1504 as ambassador of the Signoria, in a letter written about 1506 and first published in theArchivio Storico Italiano(Florence, 1846), says that Gaspar married a Portuguese lady,423and was granted a pension of 170 ducats annually, in recognition of the valuable information which he furnished respecting the Oriental trade.*Monçaide, who came on board Vasco da Gama’s vessel at Calecut, is stated by Barros (I, pt. 1, pp. 330et seq.) and Goes (I, p. 98) to have been a native of Tunis, who, in the time of King John II had done business with the Portuguese at Oran, and spoke Castilian. He accompanied Vasco da Gama to Portugal and was baptised. In King Manuel’s letter to the Cardinal Protector he is referred to as a “Moor of Tunis”. The author of theRoteirocalls him a “Moor of Tunis” whom the Moors of Calecut suspected of being a Christian and emissary of the King of Portugal (p. 75).Correa (Stanley’sVasco da Gama, pp. 162-5, 221) says that he was a native of Seville, who, having been captured when five years old, turned Moslem, although “in his soul he was still a Christian”. He generally refers to this man as “the Castilian”, and says that his true name was Alonso Perez.Castanheda (I, p. 50) tells us that the Portuguese corrupted Monçaide into Bontaibo, a combination of the Portuguesebom, “good”, and the Arabictayyib, having the same meaning. Monçaideis probably a corruption of El Masud, the “happy-one” (Burton’sCamoens, iv, p. 432).*Malemo Canaqua, orCana, the pilot who guided Vasco da Gama from Melinde to Calecut. He was a native of Gujarat (Barros, I, pt. 1, pp. 319, 328, 330; Goes, I, c. 38; Castanheda, I, p. 41). Malemo stands for “muallim” or “mallim”, “master” or “teacher”, the usual native designation of the skipper of a vessel, whilst “Kanaka” designates the pilot’s caste.Davane, of Cambay, said to have been taken out of a dhau to the south of Moçambique, to have agreed to accompany Vasco da Gama to Calecut as broker, and to have been ultimately discharged with good testimonials in November 1498 at Cananor, is only mentioned by Correa (Stanley’sVasco da Gama, pp. 79, 84, 113, 128, 235). No other historian knows anything about this mythical personage.*Baltasar, and the four other Moors, forcibly carried away from Calecut (see pp. 73, 75, and 79, and King Manuel’s letter to the Cardinal Protector, p. 115) were taken back by Cabral, as was also the Ambassador of the King of Melinde (Alguns Documentos do Archivo nacional, 1892, p. 97).Vasco da Gama originally detained eighteen “Moors”. He is stated in the “Journal” to have subsequently liberated six, and to have sent one with a letter to the Zamorin. This would leave eleven, not five. The number of those liberated must, therefore, have been twelve, and not six.

Captains.

*Vasco da Gama, Captain-Major in theS. Gabriel.

*Paulo da Gama, his brother, commanding theS. Raphael.

*Nicolau Coelho, Captain of theBerrioorS. Miguel. He subsequently went out to India with Cabral (1500), and for a third time with Francisco d’Albuquerque, in 1503.

On February 24, 1500, the King granted him a pension of 70,000 reis. He also received a coat-of-arms, viz.: a fieldgules, charged with a lion rampant between two pillars (padrãos),silver, standing upon hillocks by the seavert; and two small escutcheons charged with fivebezants(Severim de Faria,Noticias de Portugal, Disc. 3, § 15). He seems to have been dead in 1522, for on December 19 of that year, his son, Francisco, begged the King to transfer the pension of his late father to himself.—(Cunha Rivara,Arch. Port. Oriental, fasc. v, p. 254; and Texeira de Aragão,Boletim, 1886, p. 573.)

Gonçalo Nunes, Captain of the store-ship (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 279; Castanheda, I, p. 7). Castanheda, 1st edition, erroneously calls him Gonçalo Gomez. He was a retainer of Vasco da Gama.

Pilots and Masters.

*Pero d’Alenquer, pilot of theS. Gabriel(Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 279; Castanheda, I, p. 7; Goes, I, 69; Faria y Sousa, p. 29). He had been with Dias in the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope, and with the Congo mission in 1490.

*João de Coimbra, pilot of theS. Raphael(Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 279). A negro slave belonging to him deserted at Moçambique (see p.30).

Pero Escolar, pilot of theBerrio(Barros,ib.; Faria y Sousa, p. 29). On February 18, 1500, the King granted him a pension of 4,000 reis. He went as pilot with Cabral.

Gonçalo Alvares, master of theS. Gabriel(Barros,ib.). He subsequently held the office of pilot-major of India (Correa,Lendas, I, p. 570). On January 26, 1504, the King granted him a pension of 6,000 reis (Texeira de Aragão,Boletim, 1886, p. 674).

André Gonçalves.According to Correa (Lendas, I, p. 148), he had been with Vasco da Gama, whose interest had procured him an appointment in Cabral’s fleet. The same untrustworthy author states (p. 152) that Cabral sent him back from Brazil with the news of his discovery, and that the King, immediately after his arrival, fitted out a fleet to continue the explorations in the New World. Barros (I, pt. 1, p. 384) and Castanheda (I, p. 97) state that Cabral sent back Gaspar de Lemos. Neither they, nor, as far as I am aware, any other authority, mention an André Gonçalves in connection with Gama’s or Cabral’s expeditions.

Pursers or Clerks.

*Diogo Dias, clerk of theS. Gabriel(Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 279; Castanheda, I, pp. 54, 80; Goes, I, p. 90; Faria y Sousa, I, p. 29). He was a brother of Bartholomeu Dias, the discoverer of the Cape of Good Hope.

João de Sá, clerk of theS. Raphael(Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 370; Castanheda, Goes, Faria y Sousa). He again went to India with Cabral (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 403), and subsequently became treasurer of the India House (Castanheda, I, p. 54).

Alvaro de Braga, clerk of theBerrio(Barros, Castanheda, Goes). Vasco appointed him head of the factory at Calecut. Correa (Lendas, I, pp. 89-91) erroneously calls him Pedro de Braga. He was rewarded by the King, February 1, 1501 (Boletim, 1886, p. 675).

Interpreters.

*Martim Affonso(Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 289; Castanheda, I, p. 15; Goes, I, p. 74; Faria y Sousa, p. 29). He had lived in Congo.

Fernão Martins(Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 290; Castanheda, I, pp. 51, 54; Goes, I, p. 89). Vasco sent him to the King of Calecut, and he was present at the audience which Vasco had of the King (Goes, I, p. 95). Subsequently he filled several positions of trust in India. He is the “African slave” whospoke Arabic, referred to by Correa (Stanley’sVasco da Gama, pp. 76, 203).

João Martins, see João Nunez,infra.

Priests.

Pedro de Covilhã, called Pero de Cobillones by Faria y Sousa (I, p. 29), who refers to ancient documents and the assertion of F. Christoval Osorio, of the Order of Trinity, as his authorities. He was Prior of a monastery of the Order of the Trinity at Lisbon, and went out as Chaplain of the Fleet and Father Confessor. According to Francisco de Sousa’sOriente Conquistado, I, p. 477, he died a martyr on July 7, 1498, and this statement is accepted by P. Francisco de S. Maria (Anno historico, II, Lisbon, 1794, p. 323). Fr. Jeronymo de São Jose (Historia chronologica da Ordem da S. Trindade, Lisbon, 1789-94) enlarges upon this by stating that this apocryphal “protomartyr” of India “was speared whilst expounding the doctrines of the Trinity”. At the date of his alleged death, Vasco da Gama was still at Calecut. He may have died of disease. Neither Barros, Castanheda, nor Correa mentions the name of this priest.

João Figueiro.Correa claims to have derived much information from a diary kept by this priest, of which only fragments appear to have come into his possession. Other authors ignore the name (see Stanley’sVasco da Gama, pp. ii, vi, 260).

Sailors and Soldiers.

João d’AmeixoeiraorDameiroeiro. According to Correa (I, p. 136), he was one of the mutineers who returned to Portugal. No other writer mentions him.

Pedro de Faria e Figueiredo, died at Cabo das Correntes (Faria y Sousa, I, p. 29).

Francisco de Faria e Figueiredo, brother of the preceding. He wrote Latin verses. He, too, died at Cabo das Correntes (Faria y Sousa, I, p. 29).

*Sancho Mexia, incidentally mentioned in theRoteiro(see p.6).

João Palha, one of the thirteen who attended Vasco da Gama to Calecut (Correa, I, p. 96).

Gonçalo Pirez, a mariner and retainer of Vasco da Gama (Castanheda, I, p. 54). On May 31, 1497, he had been appointed master of a caravel recently built at Oporto (Texeira de Aragão,Boletim, 1886, p. 563).

Leonardo Ribeyro.According to Manuel Correa’s commentary on theObras do grande Camões, Lisbon, 1720, this, on the authority of the poet himself, is the full name of the “Leonardo” mentioned in CantoVI, stanza 40. Faria y Sousa (Asia Portuguesa, I, p. 29) identified this “Leonardo” with Francisco de Faria e Figueredo, but subsequently (Commentos aos Lusiadas, 1639) he gave up the point.

João de Setubal, according to Correa (I, pp. 96, 104, 107), was one of the thirteen who accompanied Vasco da Gama to Calecut (see Stanley’sVasco da Gama, pp. 119, 213).

Alvaro Velho, a soldier (Castanheda, I, p. 54; Goes, I, p. 90; Faria y Sousa). Perhaps this is the Alvaro Velho de Barreyro mentioned by Valentin Ferdinand (Valentino de Moravia or Alemão), in hisDescription of Africa(1507), as having resided eight years at Sierra Leone (see Kunstmann, inAbhdlgn. d. bayer. Ak. d. W., Cl. iij, t. IX, Abt. 1).

*Fernão Veloso, a soldier (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 283-6; Castanheda, I, p. 9; Goes, I, p. 71; Faria y Sousa; Camoens, CantoVI, stanza 41).

Convicts or Banished Men (Degradados).

Pedro Dias, nicknamed “Northeasterling”. Correa (Lendas, I, p. 46) says that Vasco da Gama left him behind at Moçambique, and that subsequently he came to India (compare Stanley’sVasco da Gama, p. 106).

Pero Esteves.Correa (Lendas, I, p. 236) says that Vasco da Gama left him behind at Quiloa, and that when J. da Nova reached that port in 1501, he came out to meet him. Barros (I, pt. 1, p. 467) says that the convict who met J. da Nova had been landed by Cabral, and that his name was Antonio Fernandez.

João Machado, according to Correa (Lendas, I, pp. 41, 160), was left behind by Vasco da Gama at Moçambique, but according to Barros (I, pt. 1, p. 406) it was Cabral who left him at Melinde, with instructions to make inquiries about Prester John. Cabral may have transferred him from Moçambique to the more northern port. He subsequently did good service, and Affonsode Albuquerque appointed him alcaide mór of Goa. He was slain in battle, 1515 (see Stanley’sVasco da Gama, pp. 93-5).

Damião Rodriguezwas a friend of João Machado, and a seaman on board theS. Gabriel, from which vessel he deserted at the shoals of S. Raphael. When Cabral came to Moçambique, his grave was pointed out. All this is stated on the sole authority of Correa (Lendas, I, p. 160). Compare Stanley’sVasco da Gama, p. 94.

João Nunez, a “new” Christian (i.e., a converted Jew), who knew a little Arabic and Hebrew, and was landed at Calecut. In the Portuguese edition of Correa (I, p. 78) he is erroneously called João Martins (see Stanley’sVasco da Gama, pp. 159, 180, 206).

Natives and others Embarked in the East.

*Gaspar da Gama.This is the “Moor”, or renegade, who joined Vasco da Gama at Anjediva Island. Our anonymous author describes him as about forty years of age, and as being able to speak “Venetian” well. He claimed to have come to India in early youth, and was at the time in the service of the Governor of Goa. Vasco da Gama carried him to Portugal, where he was baptized and received the name of Gaspar da Gama. In theCommentaries of Afonso Dalboquerque(Hakluyt Society, 1884) he is frequently referred to as Gaspar da India. Correa (Lendas da India) usually refers to him as Gaspar da Gama, but also calls him Gaspar de las Indias, or Gaspar d’Almeida. King Manuel, in his letter to the Cardinal Protector, calls him a “Jew, who turned Christian, a merchant and lapidary”. Sernigi (see p.136) held a conversation with him at Lisbon. He speaks of him as a Sclavonian Jew, born at Alexandria.

According to the information given by Barros and Goes, the parents of Gaspar fled from Posen, in Poland, at the time when King Casimir cruelly persecuted the Jews (about 1456). After a short residence in Palestine they removed to Alexandria, where Gaspar was born (Barros, I, pt. 1, pp. 364-5; Goes, pt. 1, c. 44).

He accompanied Cabral as interpreter. Vespucci met him on his homeward voyage at Cape Verde, and in his letter of June 4, 1501, published by Baldelli (Il Milione, 1827), he speaks highlyof Gaspar’s linguistic attainments, and refers to his extensive travels in Asia.

Gaspar repeatedly accompanied Portuguese expeditions to India, and was last heard of in 1510. Goes (loc. cit.) says that King Manuel liked him, and appointed him a cavalier of his household.

Correa (Stanley’sVasco da Gama, p. 247) describes this Gaspar as a Jew, who, “at the taking of Granada was a very young man; and who, having been driven from his country, passed through many lands ... on to India”. But, as Granada was only taken in 1492, this is absurd.

Lunardo da Chá Masser, who came to Lisbon in 1504 as ambassador of the Signoria, in a letter written about 1506 and first published in theArchivio Storico Italiano(Florence, 1846), says that Gaspar married a Portuguese lady,423and was granted a pension of 170 ducats annually, in recognition of the valuable information which he furnished respecting the Oriental trade.

*Monçaide, who came on board Vasco da Gama’s vessel at Calecut, is stated by Barros (I, pt. 1, pp. 330et seq.) and Goes (I, p. 98) to have been a native of Tunis, who, in the time of King John II had done business with the Portuguese at Oran, and spoke Castilian. He accompanied Vasco da Gama to Portugal and was baptised. In King Manuel’s letter to the Cardinal Protector he is referred to as a “Moor of Tunis”. The author of theRoteirocalls him a “Moor of Tunis” whom the Moors of Calecut suspected of being a Christian and emissary of the King of Portugal (p. 75).

Correa (Stanley’sVasco da Gama, pp. 162-5, 221) says that he was a native of Seville, who, having been captured when five years old, turned Moslem, although “in his soul he was still a Christian”. He generally refers to this man as “the Castilian”, and says that his true name was Alonso Perez.

Castanheda (I, p. 50) tells us that the Portuguese corrupted Monçaide into Bontaibo, a combination of the Portuguesebom, “good”, and the Arabictayyib, having the same meaning. Monçaideis probably a corruption of El Masud, the “happy-one” (Burton’sCamoens, iv, p. 432).

*Malemo Canaqua, orCana, the pilot who guided Vasco da Gama from Melinde to Calecut. He was a native of Gujarat (Barros, I, pt. 1, pp. 319, 328, 330; Goes, I, c. 38; Castanheda, I, p. 41). Malemo stands for “muallim” or “mallim”, “master” or “teacher”, the usual native designation of the skipper of a vessel, whilst “Kanaka” designates the pilot’s caste.

Davane, of Cambay, said to have been taken out of a dhau to the south of Moçambique, to have agreed to accompany Vasco da Gama to Calecut as broker, and to have been ultimately discharged with good testimonials in November 1498 at Cananor, is only mentioned by Correa (Stanley’sVasco da Gama, pp. 79, 84, 113, 128, 235). No other historian knows anything about this mythical personage.

*Baltasar, and the four other Moors, forcibly carried away from Calecut (see pp. 73, 75, and 79, and King Manuel’s letter to the Cardinal Protector, p. 115) were taken back by Cabral, as was also the Ambassador of the King of Melinde (Alguns Documentos do Archivo nacional, 1892, p. 97).

Vasco da Gama originally detained eighteen “Moors”. He is stated in the “Journal” to have subsequently liberated six, and to have sent one with a letter to the Zamorin. This would leave eleven, not five. The number of those liberated must, therefore, have been twelve, and not six.

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