Pedro Alonso Niño (c. 1455 – c. 1505) was a

Afro-Spanish Afro-Spaniards are Spanish citizens of Sub-Saharan African descent. The term may include Spaniards of Afro-Caribbean and African American descent, but often excludes Black Spaniards of Latin American origin. It almost always excludes Spaniards o ...

explorer. He piloted the '' Santa María'' during

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

's first voyage to the Americas in 1492, and accompanied him on his third voyage in 1498 to

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

Biography

Niño was born in

Moguer Moguer is a municipality and small city located in the province of Huelva, Andalusia, Spain. According to the 2022 census, it has a population of 22,623. Its surface area is , and its population density is . The present site of Moguer had been h ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

he was known as ''El Negro''. His father was Juan Nino, a Spanish sailor and his mother an unknown African woman. According to the folklore, Juan Nino was one of the captured European sailors in the Ghanaian settlement Elmina and sired four famous sailor children namely Pedro Alonso, Francisco, Juan and one other Niño. He explored the west coast of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

in his early years. Niño guided Columbus and navigated the Atlantic Ocean as he piloted the '' Santa María'' during

's expedition of 1492,Alice Bache Gould, Nueva Lista Documentada De Los Tripulantes De Colon En 1492, ''Boletin de la Real Academia de la Historia'', Tomo CLXX, Número II, 1973, ''passim.'', including p. 80. However, as noted on p. 293, some near-contemporaries place him as pilot of ''La Niña''. and accompanied him during his third voyage that saw the discovery of

and the mouths of the

Orinoco River The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wor ...

. After returning to Spain, Niño made preparations to explore the Indies independently, looking for gold and pearls. Empowered by the

Council of Castile The Council of Castile ( es, Real y Supremo Consejo de Castilla), known earlier as the Royal Council ( es, Consejo Real), was a ruling body and key part of the domestic government of the Crown of Castile, second only to the monarch himself. It ...

to seek out new countries, avoiding those already found by Columbus, he committed to give 20% of his profits for the Spanish Crown (see quinto real). In the company of brothers Luis and Cristóbal de la Guerra, respectively a rich merchant and a pilot, he left San Lucas in May 1499, and, after twenty-three days, they arrived at Maracapana. Visiting the islands of

Isla Margarita Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the northeastern coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the island. History ...

, Coche, and Cubagua, they exchanged objects of little value for a large quantity of pearls before sailing up the coast to Punta Araya, where they discovered salt mines. After just two months they were back in Bayona,

, loaded with wealth. However, they were accused of cheating

King Ferdinand II Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia from ...

out of his portion of the spoils. Arrested, and with his property confiscated, Niño died before the conclusion of his trial.

Death

Pedro died around 1505.

Legacy

There is a monument to Pedro Alonso Niño in the Convent of San Francisco in Moguer, Spain. In 1930, Niño was honored with one of the 33 dioramas at the

American Negro Exposition The American Negro Exposition, also known as the Black World's Fair and the Diamond Jubilee Exposition, was a world's fair held in Chicago from July until September in 1940, to celebrate the 75th anniversary (also known as a diamond jubilee) of ...

in Chicago. (7. Pietro Alonso, Pilot of the Santa Maria)

Notes

References

* This source gives around 1455 as the year of his birth. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nino, Pedro Alonso 1460s births 1505 deaths People from the Province of Huelva Spanish explorers Spanish period of Trinidad and Tobago History of Venezuela 15th-century explorers 15th-century Castilians 16th-century Spanish people

Biography

Death

Legacy

See also

Notes

References