Diogo Fernandes Pereira, sometimes called simply Diogo Fernandes, 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 ...
16th-century navigator, originally from
Setúbal
Setúbal (, , ; cel-x-proto, Caetobrix) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies within the Lisbon metropolitan area.
In the ti ...
, Portugal. Diogo Fernandes was the first known European captain to visit the island of
Socotra
Socotra or Soqotra (; ar, سُقُطْرَىٰ ; so, Suqadara) is an island of the Republic of Yemen in the Indian Ocean, under the ''de facto'' control of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist participant in Yemen’ ...
in 1503 and the discoverer of the
Mascarenes
The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of the islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Thei ...
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...
, and Rodrigues) in 1507. He may also have been the first European to sail east of
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 ...
island ('outer route' to the East Indies).
Background
Diogo Fernandes Pereira's name is usually given simply as 'Diogo Fernandes'. He is sometimes referred to as Diogo Fernandes de
Setúbal
Setúbal (, , ; cel-x-proto, Caetobrix) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies within the Lisbon metropolitan area.
In the ti ...
(his hometown), to distinguish him from another
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
adventurer of that period with a similar name, known as Diogo Fernandes de Beja. In older chronicles, (e.g.
Damião de Góis
Damião de Góis (; February 2, 1502January 30, 1574), born in Alenquer, Portugal, was an important Portuguese humanist philosopher. He was a friend and student of Erasmus. He was appointed secretary to the Portuguese factory in Antwerp in 152 ...
) his name is also written as Diogo Fernandes 'Piteira' or 'Peteira'.
Diogo Fernandes was a Portuguese seaman of obscure background. According to João de Barros, he was "a native of Setúbal, a man much used at sea" (''muito usado no mar''). He served as
master
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
* Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
*Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
on several ships - that is, as third officer, below the pilot and captain, a position which required trained navigational expertise, and may have served as pilot on other occasions.
Outer Route and Socotra (1503)
In 1503, Diogo Fernandes Pereira was appointed
master
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
* Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
*Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
Setúbal
Setúbal (, , ; cel-x-proto, Caetobrix) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies within the Lisbon metropolitan area.
In the ti ...
ship bound for India. How a master was elevated to captain of an India nau (usually a position reserved for nobles or wealthy men who 'paid' for the privilege) is uncertain. One possible conjecture is that the ship was not a crown ship, but a privately outfitted ship.
In some secondary accounts, it is said that Diogo Fernandes's ship was named ''Setúbal''. That is almost certainly incorrect. Known lists for the armada and the chronicles do not actually give his ship a name, but just call it "the ship from/of Setúbal", a strong suggestion that it might have been privately outfitted by the merchant community of the city of
Setúbal
Setúbal (, , ; cel-x-proto, Caetobrix) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies within the Lisbon metropolitan area.
In the ti ...
. If so, that might better explain how Diogo Fernandes got to be captain - the merchants of Setúbal just naturally chose to entrust their capital in their most knowledgeable and experienced native son.
Diogo Fernandes's Setúbal ship was made part of the 5th Portuguese India Armada of
Afonso de Albuquerque
Afonso de Albuquerque, 1st Duke of Goa (; – 16 December 1515) was a Portuguese general, admiral, and statesman. He served as viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515, during which he expanded Portuguese influence across the Indian Ocean ...
. Fernandes was originally assigned to the third squadron of that fleet, under the vice-admiral
António de Saldanha António de Saldanha was a Castilian-Portuguese 16th-century captain. He was the first European to set anchor in what is now called Table Bay, South Africa, and made the first recorded ascent of Table Mountain.Mary Gunn, L. e. Codd, L. E. W. Co ...
. But navigational errors (on Saldanha's part) led to the separation of the ships shortly after Cape Verde. Diogo Fernandes was forced to sail on alone.
The chronicler
Gaspar Correia
Gaspar Correia (1492 – c. 1563 in Goa) was a Portuguese historian considered a Portuguese Polybius. He authored ''Lendas da Índia'' (Legends of India), one of the earliest and most important works about Portuguese rule in Asia.Cape of Good Hope by himself, Fernandes did not turn into the
Mozambique Channel
The Mozambique Channel (french: Canal du Mozambique, mg, Lakandranon'i Mozambika, pt, Canal de Moçambique) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about lon ...
, but rather pushed east, sailing ''under'' the island of
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 ...
, and then turned north, sailing up east of Madagascar. This would make him the first known ship to sail the ' outer route' to the East Indies. (Although there remains the possibility that
Diogo Dias
Diogo Dias, also known as Diogo Gomes, was a 15th-century Portuguese explorer. He was the brother of Bartolomeu Dias and discovered some of the Cape Verde islands together with António Noli.
Serving with da Gama
In 1497 on the first Portugu ...
also did precisely that in 1500.)
Although Correia's account is not corroborated by other chroniclers, Diogo Fernandes Pereira seems to almost certainly have missed
Mozambique Island
The Island of Mozambique ( pt, Ilha de Moçambique) lies off northern Mozambique, between the Mozambique Channel and Mossuril Bay, and is part of Nampula Province. Prior to 1898, it was the capital of colonial Portuguese East Africa. With its ric ...
, the usual collection point for Portuguese ships, and where one of his squadron, Rui Lourenço Ravasco, was known to be waiting. Instead, we next hear of Fernandes up near
Cape Guardafui
Cape Guardafui ( so, Gees Gardafuul, or Raas Caseyr, or Ras Asir, it, Capo Guardafui) is a headland in the autonomous Puntland region in Somalia. Coextensive with Puntland's Gardafuul administrative province, it forms the geographical apex of th ...
, which strongly suggests that he did take the outer route, as, sailing north by that route, he would not have sighted African coast before the
horn
Horn most often refers to:
*Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound
** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments
*Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...
.
Around
Cape Guardafui
Cape Guardafui ( so, Gees Gardafuul, or Raas Caseyr, or Ras Asir, it, Capo Guardafui) is a headland in the autonomous Puntland region in Somalia. Coextensive with Puntland's Gardafuul administrative province, it forms the geographical apex of th ...
, Diogo Fernandes stumbled on the island of
Socotra
Socotra or Soqotra (; ar, سُقُطْرَىٰ ; so, Suqadara) is an island of the Republic of Yemen in the Indian Ocean, under the ''de facto'' control of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist participant in Yemen’ ...
sometime in late 1503. Although the island was long known to eastern merchants (Socotra aloe was a highly valued balm in the markets of Arabia and India), it was unknown to the Portuguese. Diogo Fernandes was also surprised to encounter a strong (Syriac) Christian community on the island (after all, this was a predominantly Muslim region). Diogo Fernandes spent the winter in Socotra, before crossing the Indian Ocean (again by himself) in early 1504.
Diogo Fernandes arrived in India just as the
Zamorin
The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edited b ...
of
Calicut
Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second l ...
was launching an invasion of Portuguese-allied
Cochin
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
. During the ferocious
Battle of Cochin (1504)
The Battle of Cochin, sometimes referred as the Second Siege of Cochin, was a series of confrontations, between March and July 1504, fought on land and sea, principally between the Kingdom of Portugal, Portuguese garrison at Cochin, allied to ...
, the commander of the Portuguese garrison,
Duarte Pacheco Pereira
Duarte Pacheco Pereira (; c. 1460 – 1533), called the Portuguese Achilles (''Aquiles Lusitano'') by the poet Camões, was a Portuguese sea captain, soldier, explorer and cartographer. He travelled particularly in the central Atlantic Ocean we ...
, is said to have placed a certain 'Diogo Pereira' (possibly Diogo Fernandes?) in charge of the nau ''Concepção'', protecting the city.
Mascarenes (1507)
Diogo Fernandes returned to Portugal in 1505. His report on Socotra generated much excitement in the Portuguese court. The strategic placement of the island at the mouth of the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
made it an optimal location to station a Portuguese patrol. It could prey on Arab shipping and shut down the competing spice trade through that route. The existence of the isolated Christian community only made it even more appealing (the Portuguese had long hoped to find a Christian port of call in the Muslim-dominated
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
). Plans were immediately launched to outfit a squadron, under the command of
Afonso de Albuquerque
Afonso de Albuquerque, 1st Duke of Goa (; – 16 December 1515) was a Portuguese general, admiral, and statesman. He served as viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515, during which he expanded Portuguese influence across the Indian Ocean ...
, to seize the island for Portugal.
The Socotra squadron was adjoined to the 8th Armada of 1506 led by
Tristão da Cunha
Tristão da Cunha (sometimes misspelled Tristão d'Acunha; ; c. 1460 – c. 1507) was a Portuguese explorer and naval commander. In 1499, he served as ambassador from King Manuel I of Portugal to Pope Leo X, leading a luxurious embassy presentin ...
. Diogo Fernandes himself sailed on it, albeit only as a
master
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
* Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
*Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
of Albuquerque's ship, the ''Cisne'' ('the Swan', usually transcribed as ''Cirné'').
In late 1506, when the 8th Armada made the usual stop in
Mozambique Island
The Island of Mozambique ( pt, Ilha de Moçambique) lies off northern Mozambique, between the Mozambique Channel and Mossuril Bay, and is part of Nampula Province. Prior to 1898, it was the capital of colonial Portuguese East Africa. With its ric ...
, the admiral Tristão da Cunha ordered a pause in the expedition to explore the island of
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 ...
(then known as the ''ilha de São Lourenço''). During this interlude, it is speculated that Albuquerque (uninterested in such exploratory ventures) elected to stay in Mozambique, and temporarily passed his ship, the ''Cirné'', over to the command of the master Diogo Fernandes Pereira.
Diogo Fernandes is said to have struck a wide arc east of Madagascar and stumbled upon the island of Réunion, which he promptly named ''ilha de Santa Apollonia'' (in honor of the St. Apollonia whose day it was, February 9, 1507). He proceeded east to discover the island of
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...
, which he named ''ilha do Cirne'' (the name of his ship). From there Fernandes went further east and discovered the island now known as Rodrigues, but which at the time was named on maps as the ''ilha de Diogo Fernandes'', ''Domigo Friz'' or ''Domingo Frias'' (the latter two probably just poor
cartographic
Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
transcriptions or abbreviations of 'Diogo Fernandes'). He is said to have stopped for water at the first and third islands, before returning to Mozambique.
Diogo Fernandes island ('Domigo Friz') was visited by
Diogo Lopes de Sequeira
D.Diogo Lopes de Sequeira (1465–1530) was a Portuguese fidalgo, sent to analyze the trade potential in Madagascar and Malacca. He arrived at Malacca on 11 September 1509 and left the next year when he discovered that Sultan Mahmud Shah was plan ...
in 1509 and the name 'Don Galopes' (another transcribed abbreviation) sometimes appears for that island in some maps.Appendix in Le Guat (1891, v.2: p.316) It went through its final name change, to Rodrigues island much later, after another Portuguese explorer
Diogo Rodrigues
Dom Diogo Rodrigues, Dom Diogo Roiz (; Lagos, Portugal – 21 April 1577; Colvá, Goa) was a Portuguese explorer of the Indian Ocean who sailed as an ordinary helmsmanAuguste Toussaint, ''History of the Indian Ocean'' (Chicago: University Pre ...
visited the area in 1528.
The entire archipelago was named the
Mascarenes
The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of the islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Thei ...
islands, after D.
Pedro Mascarenhas
Dom Pedro Mascarenhas (1480 – 16 June 1555) was a Portuguese explorer and colonial administrator. He was the first European to discover the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in 1512. He also encountered the Indian Ocean island of Mau ...
, who visited the islands in 1512, following up on Sequeira's report.
Afterwards
After returning from his Mascarene jaunt, Diogo Fernandes Pereira went on to participate with Albuquerque in the conquest of
Socotra
Socotra or Soqotra (; ar, سُقُطْرَىٰ ; so, Suqadara) is an island of the Republic of Yemen in the Indian Ocean, under the ''de facto'' control of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist participant in Yemen’ ...
that summer. We have no more records of him afterwards. If Diogo Fernandes remained aboard the ''Cirne'' after Socotra, he would have participated in the battle of Hormuz in the Fall of 1507, but we have no record of him there. More importantly, we have no record of his participation (or non-participation) in the mutiny against Albuquerque at Hormuz. We do know Albuquerque elevated a certain 'Dinis Fernandes' to replace one of the mutinous captains; and we also know a certain 'Diogo Pereira' was involved in presenting the mutinous captains' petition to the vice-roy in Cochin. But there is no evidence or suggestion that either of these men can be identified with Diogo Fernandes Pereira.
Notes
Sources
*
Gaspar Correia
Gaspar Correia (1492 – c. 1563 in Goa) was a Portuguese historian considered a Portuguese Polybius. He authored ''Lendas da Índia'' (Legends of India), one of the earliest and most important works about Portuguese rule in Asia.offprint * Le Guat, François (1891) ''The voyage of François Le Guat of Bresse, to Rodriguez, Mauritius, Java, and the Cape of Good Hope, Vol. 2'', Engl. trans., London: Halykut Society
* Quintella, Ignaco da Costa (1839) ''Annaes da Marinha Portugueza'', Lisbon: Academia Real das Sciencias.
Exploration of Asia
This is a chronology of the early European exploration of Asia.
First wave of exploration (mainly by land)
Antiquity
* 515 BC: Scylax explores the Indus and the sea route across the Indian Ocean to Egypt.
* 330 BC: Alexander the Great conquers ...