Antão Gonçalves was a 15th-century
Portuguese explorer and slave-raider who was the first
European to capture
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
ns in the
Rio do Ouro region.
Biography
In 1441, Gonçalves was sent by
Henry the Navigator to explore the
West Africa
West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
n coast in an expedition under the command of
Nuno Tristão. As Gonçalves was considerably younger than Tristão, his duty was less exploration than it was
hunting
Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...
the
Mediterranean monk seals that inhabit West Africa. After he had filled his small vessel with seal skins, Gonçalves, on his own initiative, decided to capture some Africans to return to Portugal. With nine of his crewmen, Gonçalves captured a tribesmen and a black women who was working as a servant for the group. An alternate record shows that Gonçalves had captured a chief and two of his subjects who were fishing in an area claimed by Portugal. The chief then offered more slaves for his freedom. Gonçalves accepted the offer.
By this time, Tristão had arrived at the same place, and the two crews joined together for another capturing trip, on which they captured 10 tribesmen, one of them a nobleman named Adahu. According to the Chronicle of Zurara, these people spoke "Sahara
Azenegue". An Arab which had come with Tristão expedition was sent inland to tell the local populations about ransom negotiations for the captives, as well eventual business they would like to do. About 150 men on foot, as well as 35 on horses and camels went to the coast to meet the expedition. All but three went on hide, attempting to ambush the Portuguese. The trick was perceived, and the expedition quickly went back to the ships. The native people then showed up in the beach, displaying the Arab which had come with the Portuguese, now enslaved by them.
[Crónica dos Feitos da Guiné, Gomes Eanes de Zurara, 1841, cap. XIII] After this, Tristão continued exploration southwards while Gonçalves returned to Portugal.
He embarked on another expedition in 1442, taking the nobleman he had captured the year before. Gonçalves hoped to barter the chief for a number of black slaves. He received 10 slaves, some
gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
dust and, curiously, a large number of
ostrich eggs. However, this expedition contributed nothing to the cause of exploration; Gonçalves had not even sailed past the
Rio do Ouro.
He was granted a new
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
for his name.
Not to be mistaken with another
Antão Gonçalves, who coasted the Island of
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
at the beginnings of the 16th century.
See also
*
Portugal in the period of discoveries
*
Portuguese empire
The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...
References
* Castlereagh, Duncan. ''Encyclopedia of Discovery and Exploration - The Great Age of Exploration''. Aldus Books London, 1971.
*
Afonso Eduardo Martins Zúquete ''Armorial Lusitano'', Enciclopédia, 3rd Edition, Lisbon, 1987, p. 256.
*
Manuel Abranches de Soveral ''Ascendências Visienses. Ensaio genealógico sobre a nobreza de Viseu. Séculos XIV a XVII'', Author's edition, 1st Edition, Porto, 2004, Vol. II., p. 42-3.
Year of birth missing
Year of death missing
15th-century Portuguese explorers
15th-century explorers of Africa
Portuguese explorers of Africa
{{portugal-explorer-stub