Alonso Sánchez de Huelva was an alleged 15th-century mariner and merchant born in
Huelva
Huelva ( , , ) is a municipality of Spain and the capital of the Huelva (province), province of Huelva, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. Located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits betwee ...
,
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, on
Andalusia
Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...
's Atlantic coast.
After the European discovery of America, several rumors started to spread, especially among the
conquistador
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...
es, claiming that
America
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
had not been discovered by Columbus, but that its existence was known at least 20 years before 1492.
Bartolomé de las Casas
Bartolomé de las Casas, Dominican Order, OP ( ; ); 11 November 1484 – 18 July 1566) was a Spanish clergyman, writer, and activist best known for his work as an historian and social reformer. He arrived in Hispaniola as a layman, then became ...
(1484–1566) had indeed heard several of those claims, but limited himself to record them in the 1540s, in ''Historia de las Indias'', which was not published until after his death.
Inca Garcilaso de la Vega
Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (12 April 1539 – 23 April 1616), born Gómez Suárez de Figueroa and known as El Inca, was a chronicler and writer born in the Viceroyalty of Peru. Sailing to Spain at 21, he was educated informally there, where he li ...
(1539–1616) was the first to name, in 1609, one of these mysterious alleged first European discoverers of America: ''Alonso Sánchez de Huelva''.
Purported voyage to America
The most famous of these accounts is that of the
Duchess of Medina Sidonia (1936–2008), who believed that Columbus' discovery was the instrument by means of which the
Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs were Isabella I of Castile, Queen Isabella I of Crown of Castile, Castile () and Ferdinand II of Aragon, King Ferdinand II of Crown of Aragón, Aragon (), whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of ...
of Spain were able to officialize the discovery (supposedly made well before 1492, and kept secret hitherto). According to the Duchess, the international political situation of the second half of the 15th century was not favourable to the Catholic Monarchs, who before 1492 would have faced strong opposition to any claim over the newly found lands, especially from
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and the
Holy See
The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
, the latter two at war with the
Kingdom of Aragon
The Kingdom of Aragon (; ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Monarchy, kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain. It became a part of the larger ...
. In order to ensure the ownership of those new lands, and lacking the resources for facing the consequences of an early claim, they waited until 1492, when
Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Kingdom of Valencia, Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death ...
, an Aragonese, was elected pope, thus ensuring the papacy siding with them. In 1492 they would have sent Columbus on an official voyage to the West, knowing that he would find new territories and lay claim for them in the name of the Catholic Monarchs. The Duchess believed Alonso Sánchez to be the true discoverer, offering several stories, contemporary records and weak proofs for her claims.
Indeed, any of those stories are widely regarded as false.
According to the tale reported in 1609 by Garcilaso in his book ''
Comentarios Reales de los Incas'', Alonso Sánchez used to sail quite often between the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
,
Madeira
Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...
and
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, engaged in some sort of triangular commerce. In 1484 (or a year more or less), while on passage between the Canary Islands and Madeira, he was surprised by a fierce storm that blew his ship drastically off-course into unknown waters of the mid-Atlantic. The small ship, slightly damaged by the storm, encountered unfavorable winds and currents that dragged it further to the southwest. After 28 or 29 days, Sánchez and his frightened crew finally sighted land, probably the island of
Hispaniola
Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...
(
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...
), where they landed to determine their position, document what happened and what they saw, replenish their stocks of fresh water and wood, before returning to Spain. During that return trip, which took very long, the ship ran out of fresh water and food, men became very ill, and only five out of the initial 17 men on board, including Sánchez, survived to meet and tell
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...
of their adventure, before all finally dying of exhaustion in his house.
Later chroniclers narrated instead that Sánchez and his crew continued along the unknown coast until they encountered signs of human habitation, and, at long last, disembarked at a coastal village where they were hospitably received. The natives were impressed with these strangers chiefly because they were taller in stature than themselves and bearded. (The natives were uniformly beardless.) More significantly, the natives communicated to the Spaniards that their
mythos
Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
held that, eventually, their gods would come from the sea to visit them. The natives gave their "divine" visitors food and gold; they even offered the strangers their women as gifts. (Some believe that
syphilis
Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent syphilis, latent or tertiary. The prim ...
was introduced to the
Old World
The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...
through these acts of generosity.)
After a short sojourn among the natives, the Spaniards began to prepare for their return trip. Sánchez made certain calculations based on his
ship's log
A logbook (a ship's logs or simply log) is a record of important events in the management, operation, and navigation of a ship. It is essential to traditional navigation, and must be filled in at least daily.
The term originally referred to a b ...
and his estimates of his ship's course on its outbound leg. The return voyage required about a month at sea, and they hardly made it to
Porto Santo Island
Porto Santo Island () is a Portuguese island and municipality northeast of Madeira Island in the North Atlantic Ocean; it is the northernmost and easternmost island of the archipelago of Madeira, located in the Atlantic Ocean west of Europe a ...
, in Madeira. It was while recovering from their voyage in Porto Santo that Alonso met
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...
(who lived in Porto Santo during the 1480s), to whom he related the story of his amazing adventure.
Some believe that the information provided by Sánchez, regarding headings and distances, influenced Columbus' plans. Others believe that Alonso Sánchez never existed, and that he was simply part of an attempt by the
Pinzón brothers
The Pinzón brothers were Spanish sailors, pirates, explorers and fishermen, natives of Palos de la Frontera, Huelva, Spain. Martín Alonso, Francisco Martín and Vicente Yáñez, who participated in Christopher Columbus's first expedition to ...
to discredit Columbus' skills as a navigator.
Indeed, no document from the time tells about any Alonso Sánchez from Huelva, and everything known about him comes from the writers that told his story well after Columbus' death. Moreover, several authors have claimed Sánchez to be from
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
,
Biscay
Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...
or some other parts of
Andalusia
Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...
. However, some historians, starting with José Ceballos in 1762, have claimed the account by Inca Garcilaso de la Vega to be true.
In the city of Huelva, Sánchez's purported birthplace, there are a number of memorials to him. There is a statue of Sánchez in the city park that commemorates the voyages of Columbus, 12 October Park, by sculptor
León Ortega. There is also a smaller park in Huelva named for him, as well as a public high school.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Alonso
Province of Huelva
History of Andalusia
15th-century Spanish explorers
15th-century Castilians
Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact