Sancho de Tovar, 6th Lord of Cevico, Caracena and Boca de Huérgano (c. 1465–1547) was a
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
nobleman of Castilian birth, best known as a navigator and explorer during the
Portuguese age of discoveries. He was the vice-admiral (''soto-capitão'') of the fleet that discovered
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
in 1500, and was later appointed
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of the East African port-city of
Sofala
Sofala, at present known as Nova Sofala, used to be the chief seaport of the Mwenemutapa Kingdom, whose capital was at Mount Fura. It is located on the Sofala Bank in Sofala Province of Mozambique. It was founded by Somali merchants. This name wa ...
by king
Manuel I Manuel I may refer to:
*Manuel I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (1143–1180)
*Manuel I of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1228–1263)
*Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was ...
(
List of colonial governors of Mozambique
This is a list of European colonial administrators responsible for the territory of Portuguese Mozambique, an area equivalent to modern-day Republic of Mozambique.
List
(Dates in italics indicate ''de facto'' continuation of office)
F ...
). In this post, he conducted several exploratory missions in the interior regions of present-day
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
.
Early life
Sancho de Tovar was born in Cevico (now
Cevico de la Torre),
Castile, to an old noble house of
Visigothic
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...
ancestry dating back to the first centuries of the
Iberian Reconquista. He was the eldest son of
Martín Fernandez de Tovar, 5th Lord of Cevico and Boca de Huérgano, and his wife Leonor de Vilhena, a Portuguese lady of the house of the
counts of Olivençabr>
His father's open support for
Afonso V of Portugal
Afonso V () (15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481), known by the sobriquet the African (), was King of Portugal from 1438 until his death in 1481, with a brief interruption in 1477. His sobriquet refers to his military conquests in Northern Africa. ...
in his claim to the Castilian throne made him an enemy of
Ferdinand
Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
and
Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as List of Aragonese royal consorts, Queen consort ...
, and he was convicted of
high treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
and beheaded around 1480, after a long imprisonment. At the age of 20, Sancho avenged the memory of his father by riding to
Burgos
Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos.
Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of t ...
and stabbing (or, according to some records, mutilating) the judge who had sentenced him to death. He subsequently fled to
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, where he was well received by Afonso's successor, king
John II John II may refer to:
People
* John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499)
* John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672)
* John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302)
* John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318)
* John II Komnenos (1087–1 ...
. He lived in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
and attended the royal court, where he stood out as a gifted
musician
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...
and
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
(
Garcia de Resende
Garcia de Resende (14703 February 1536) was a Portuguese poet and editor. He served John II as a page and private secretary. After John's death, he continued to enjoy the same favour with Manuel I, whom he accompanied to Castile in 1498, and fr ...
collected a few of his songs in his famous ''Cancioneiro Geral''
Departure from Lisbon and life as a navigator
After the death of John II,
Manuel I Manuel I may refer to:
*Manuel I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (1143–1180)
*Manuel I of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1228–1263)
*Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was ...
succeeded to the throne. The Portuguese effort towards maritime expansion was at its peak, and in 1499 Tovar was appointed by the king himself subcaptain of a large
Naval fleet, fleet led by
Pedro Álvares Cabral
Pedro Álvares Cabral ( or ; born Pedro Álvares de Gouveia; c. 1467 or 1468 – c. 1520) was a Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the European discoverer of Brazil. He was the first human in ...
, made famous by its discovery of
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. The original intentions behind this enterprise are still a matter of speculation: some say it was merely meant as an expedition to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
(which had been discovered the year before by
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea.
His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link E ...
) and the discovery of Brazil was accidental, but others claim the voyage was carefully pondered and that the existence of Brazil was more or less suspected of (see
Controversies about the European discovery of Brazil).
Sancho's ship during this voyage was a ''nau redonda'', a large vessel of 200 tons with a
crew
A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the tasks involve ...
of 160 men. These ships were so called because when viewed from the front or rear they appeared round on account of their wide beam and bulging
sails
A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may ...
(most of the other ships in Cabral's fleet were
caravels
The caravel (Portuguese: , ) is a small maneuverable sailing ship used in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave it speed and the capacity for sailing win ...
, and considerably smaller
In Brazil, Sancho's ''fascination with the beauty of the land'' and his ''interest in the natives' way of life'' became apparent to
Pêro Vaz de Caminha
Pêro Vaz de Caminha (c. 1450 – 15 December 1500; , ; also spelled Pedro Vaz de Caminha) was a Portuguese knight that accompanied Pedro Álvares Cabral to India in 1500 as a secretary to the royal factory. Caminha wrote the detailed official re ...
, the fleet's
secretary
A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...
and
chronicle
A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...
r, who recorded these impressions in his famous ''Chronicle of the Discovery of Brazil''. He also writes of Sancho's attempt to give
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
to the natives, and of their negative reaction to the beverage, and mentions his gift of a
boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is no ...
's tusk to a young India
Curiously, Caminha's elder brother Afonso eventually married Sancho's sister Maria de Tovar, giving origin to the Tovar-Caminha family, a secondary branch of the house of Tovar.
As the fleet resumed its supposedly programmed route to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, Sancho de Tovar played an important role on the occupation of the important East African port of
Sofala
Sofala, at present known as Nova Sofala, used to be the chief seaport of the Mwenemutapa Kingdom, whose capital was at Mount Fura. It is located on the Sofala Bank in Sofala Province of Mozambique. It was founded by Somali merchants. This name wa ...
, where his ship eventually stranded. It was then set on fire, in order to prevent its contents from falling into the hands of Muslim
pirates
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
. Upon his return to Lisbon, he was put in charge of that city and its surrounding region by the king, a duty that he only performed ''de facto'' after his return to
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 1515.
During his stay in there, Sancho improved and expanded the Portuguese
fortress of ''São Caetano'', which had been started by
Pêro de Anaia Pêro de Anaia or Pedro d'Anaya or Anhaya or da Nhaya or da Naia (died March 1506) was a Castilian-Portuguese 16th-century knight, who established and became the first captain-major of the Portuguese Fort São Caetano in Sofala, and thus the first ...
in 1505, and organized and led a great number of exploratory missions around the area of present-day
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
,
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
and
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
. Although these missions are poorly documented, he is supposed to have been one of the first Europeans ever to contemplate the ruins of
Great Zimbabwe
Great Zimbabwe is a medieval city in the south-eastern hills of Zimbabwe near Lake Mutirikwi and the town of Masvingo. It is thought to have been the capital of a great kingdom during the country's Late Iron Age about which little is known. Con ...
(then referred to by the Portuguese as
Monomotapa).
He died in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
around the age of 75, and was buried next to his wife in the church of the monastery of Xabregas.
Marriage and children
Sancho de Tovar married Guiomar da Silva, daughter of the ''Alcaide-Mor'' (Governor) of Porto de Mós, and had three children.
*Pedro de Tovar, who married Brites de Oliveira e Silva, daughter of Senhores de Oliveira. Their son was
Sancho de Tovar e Silva (1540-1598), who became Lord of the Honour of Molelos by marriage, was also a navigator. The country's policy, however, had changed towards terrestrial expansion and he eventually embraced military life, having fought at the disastrous
battle of Alcácer Quibir
The Battle of Alcácer Quibir (also known as "Battle of Three Kings" ( ar, معركة الملوك الثلاثة) or "Battle of Wadi al-Makhazin" ( ar, معركة وادي المخازن) in Morocco) was fought in northern Morocco, near the t ...
alongside king
Sebastian I
Sebastian ( pt, Sebastião I ; 20 January 1554 – 4 August 1578) was King of Portugal from 11 June 1557 to 4 August 1578 and the penultimate Portuguese monarch of the House of Aviz.
He was the son of João Manuel, Prince of Portugal, and ...
.
*María de Vilhena, who married twice, her first marriage was to the explorer
Cristóvão de Mendonça
Cristóvão de Mendonça (Mourão, 1475 – Ormus, 1532) was a Portuguese noble and explorer who was active in South East Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-easte ...
capitão
Capitão is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
See also
*List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul
This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), located in the South Region of Brazil. Ri ...
of
Ormuz
The Kingdom of Ormus (also known as Hormoz; fa, هرمز; pt, Ormuz) was located in the eastern side of the Persian Gulf and extended as far as Bahrain in the west at its zenith. The Kingdom was established in 11th century initially as a depe ...
, and her second marriage was to
Simão da Silveira, (born 1510)
capitão
Capitão is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
See also
*List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul
This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), located in the South Region of Brazil. Ri ...
of
Ormuz
The Kingdom of Ormus (also known as Hormoz; fa, هرمز; pt, Ormuz) was located in the eastern side of the Persian Gulf and extended as far as Bahrain in the west at its zenith. The Kingdom was established in 11th century initially as a depe ...
,
Diu, and
Sofala
Sofala, at present known as Nova Sofala, used to be the chief seaport of the Mwenemutapa Kingdom, whose capital was at Mount Fura. It is located on the Sofala Bank in Sofala Province of Mozambique. It was founded by Somali merchants. This name wa ...
, and brother of Conde de la Sortella. D. Maria was left a widow by Simão, and she was a major slave owner, possessing
the most slaves in
Évora
Évora ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District.
Due to its well-preserved old to ...
, with her testament recording fifteen slaves. Maria's owning a Chinese, 3 Indians, and 3 Mouriscos among her fifteen slaves reflected on her high social status, since Chinese,
Mouriscos, and Indians were among the ethnicities of prized slaves and were very expensive compared to blacks, and it was because her husband Simão was involved in the slave trade in the east that she owned slaves of many different ethnicities. She freed twelve of her slaves in her 23 October 1562 testament who were recorded as: a Chinese man named António, three Indian women named Maria Fialha, Genebra, and Catarina, a white woman named Mécia de Abreu, a mulato man named Miguel, a
parda woman named Guiomar, a black woman named Margarida, a mourisco woman named Isabel, a mourisco man named Salvador, and the testament does not mention the ethnicities of the men Diogo and Heitor. Her sister D. Leonor was given two of the remaining slaves, Maria and Luís, while the Priests of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Nossa Senhora do Carmo) were given the slave André. She left the freed slaves sums from 20,000 to 10,000
réis
The first official currency of Brazil was the real (pronounced ; pl. ''réis''), with the symbol Rs$. As the currency of the Portuguese empire, it was in use in Brazil from the earliest days of the colonial period, and remained in use until 1942 ...
in money. D. Maria owned one of the only two Chinese slaves in Evora and she used him from among the slaves she owned to drive her mules for her since rigorous and demanding tasks were assigned to Mourisco, Chinese, and Indian slaves. She also left her nephews as heirs in her testament, her brother Pedro de Tovar's son Sancho de Tovar and her sister D. Leonor de Vilhena's son, Sancho de Faria. She had no children from her marriage to Cristóvão de Mendonça. The Convent of Carmo (
Convento do Carmo (Évora)) was a beneficiary of instructions in the testament of Maria de Vilhena. Francisco de Faria was the paternal nephew of Maria de Vilhena. Foundation guides were left in her testament for the Convent. The presbytery of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Nossa Senhora do Carmo) in 1562 received funds from Maria de Vilhena.
*Leonor de Vilhena, (born 1540) who married Antão de Faria (born 1530), alcaide-mór of Palmela (son de Francisco de Faria, Alcaide-mor de Palmela and Senhor de Evoramonte, and Joana de Silva e Castro).
They had a son, Sancho de Faria (born 1560).
See also
*
Carreira da Índia
*
2nd Portuguese India Armada (Cabral, 1500)
The Second Portuguese India Armada was assembled in 1500 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of Pedro Álvares Cabral. Cabral's armada famously discovered Brazil for the Portuguese crown along the way. By and ...
*
Age of Discoveries
The Age of Discovery (or the Age of Exploration), also known as the early modern period, was a period largely overlapping with the Age of Sail, approximately from the 15th century to the 17th century in European history, during which seafarin ...
*
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the l ...
*
Controversies about the European discovery of Brazil
*
Pero Vaz de Caminha Pero may refer to:
* Pero (mythology), several personages in Greek mythology
** Pero (princess), daughter of Neleus
* Pero (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname Pero
* Pero language, a language of Nigeria
* Pero, Lombardy, ...
*
Pedro Álvares Cabral
Pedro Álvares Cabral ( or ; born Pedro Álvares de Gouveia; c. 1467 or 1468 – c. 1520) was a Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the European discoverer of Brazil. He was the first human in ...
*
Juan de Tovar y Toledo
*
Juan de Tovar
*
Sancho de Tovar e Silva
*
Villamartín de Don Sancho
References
* Townsend Miller. ''The Castles and the Crown: Spain 1451-1555'' (New York: Coward-McCann, New York, 1963)
* Greenlee, William Brooks, ed. and transl. (1938). ''The Voyage of Pedro Álvares Cabral to Brazil and India''. London: Printed for the Hakluyt Society.
External links
Entry at Geneall.net* [https://books.google.pt/books?id=BwwqPJpqoX8C&pg=PA192&lpg=PA192&dq=sancho+de+tovar&source=web&ots=ORv3VstXaa&sig=qZp8N1BY7GmDZKefQ018kFcFJE4&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result A brief description of Sancho de Tovar's ship in William Brooks Greenlee's «Voyage of Pedro Alvares Cabral to Brazil And India».]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tovar, Sancho De
1470s births
1545 deaths
Portuguese explorers of South America
Explorers of Africa
Portuguese nobility
Portuguese expatriates in Mozambique
Colonial people in Mozambique
16th-century explorers
Maritime history of Portugal
Captains of Mozambique
Portuguese colonial governors and administrators