João de Trasto is the name sometimes given to an obscure (and possibly fictional) Portuguese mariner, who is alleged to have captained the first exploratory expedition dispatched by Prince

Henry the Navigator Princy Henry of Portugal, Duke of Viseu ( Portuguese: ''Infante Dom Henrique''; 4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator (), was a Portuguese prince and a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese ...

in 1415. The only record of João de Trasto or the 1415 expedition is a brief mention in the personal memoirs of

Diogo Gomes Diogo Gomes () was a Portuguese navigator, explorer and writer. Diogo Gomes was a servant and explorer of Portuguese prince, Henry the Navigator. His memoirs were dictated late in his life to Martin Behaim. They are an invaluable (if sometimes ...

, a former Henrican captain. According to Gomes, "Johannes de Trasto" commanded an expedition in 1415, dispatched by Henry the Navigator. Probably departing from the port of

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, the Trasto expedition was forced by foul weather to the part of the Grand Canary island subsequently called ''Telli''. Returning to Portugal, he again encountered a fierce

storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...

and only with great difficulty arrived in

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

. The writer Diogo Gomes was not an eyewitness to the event (Gomes was not born until the 1420s) and his memoirs were dictated many decades later, at the end of his life, c.1490s, and are known to contain numerous small errors of dates and facts. As the historian R.H. Major writes, after retelling the Trasto story in his 1868 edition, "there is however so much that is manifestly inaccurate in other statements of Diego Gomes respecting the early voyages which he narrates from hearsay, that we cannot be perfectly sure that the date here applied to the earliest expedition is correct." In later editions of his work, Major removed all mention of "João de Trasto". As a result, most historians have doubted the existence of 'João de Trasto' and this expedition. It is usually omitted in modern scholarly histories of the

Portuguese discoveries Portuguese maritime explorations resulted in numerous territories and maritime routes recorded by the Portuguese on journeys during the 15th and 16th centuries. Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of European exploration, chronicling and mapp ...

. Some historians have suggested that Diogo Gomes probably meant to refer to D.

Fernando de Castro Fernando de Castro ( 1380 – April 1440 or 1441, off Cape St. Vincent) was a 15th-century Portuguese nobleman, diplomat and military figure. Fernando de Castro was the 1st Lord of Paúl de Boquilobo. He was a member of the royal council of J ...

, who is indeed recorded to have led a failed expedition to

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, a Spain, Spanish archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa. the island had a population of that constitut ...

for Henry the Navigator in 1424. Indeed, it seems "Trasto" is a mistranscription in the first (1847) printed edition of Diogo Gomes's letter, that the original manuscript actually read "Crasto" (probably meaning "Castro"). Castro did have a brother named João, and that might have been the source of confusion,Diffie & Winius (1973: p.58). João de Castro is briefly mentioned fighting alongside his brother Fernando de Castro in Gomes Eanes de Zurara's account of the

conquest of Ceuta The Portuguese conquest of Ceuta took place on 21 August 1415, between Portuguese forces under the command of King John I of Portugal and the Marinid Sultanate, Marinid sultanate of Morocco at the city of Ceuta. The city's defenses fell unde ...

(Ch. 86), but he is nowhere to be found in Zurara's chronicle of the discoveries. or alternatively, Gomes's interpreter or transcriber simply misheard "João" for "Fernão".

Notes

References

* Arruda, M. (1932) ''Colecção de documentos relativos ao descobrimento e povoamento dos Açôres'', Ponta Delgada. * Cortesão, Armando (1969) ''History of Portuguese Cartography''. Lisbon: Ultramar. * Diffie, Bailey W., and George D. Winius (1977) ''Foundations of the Portuguese empire, 1415-1580''. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press * Major, Richard Henry (1868) ''The Life of Prince Henry of Portugal surnamed the Navigator and Its Results from Authentic Contemporary Documents''. London: Asher & Co. * Major, Richard Henry (1877) ''Discoveries of Prince Henry the Navigator'', London: S. Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington. * Peres, Damião (1943) ''História dos descobrimentos portugueses'', Porto: Portucalense. * Russell, Peter E. (2000) ''Prince Henry 'the Navigator': a life''. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press. {{Portuguese explorers, state=expanded 15th-century explorers of Africa Portuguese explorers of Africa 15th-century Portuguese explorers Sea captains 15th-century Portuguese nobility Maritime history of Portugal