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Martín Alonso Pinzón, (;
Palos de la Frontera Palos de la Frontera () is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the southwestern Spain, Spanish province of Huelva (province), Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is situated some from the provincial capi ...
,
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 ...
; c. 1441 – c. 1493) was a Spanish mariner, shipbuilder, navigator and
explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...
, oldest of the Pinzón brothers. He sailed with
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 ...
on his first voyage to the
New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...
in 1492, as
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
of the '' Pinta''. His youngest brother Vicente Yáñez Pinzón was captain of the '' Niña'', and the middle brother Francisco Martín Pinzón was ''maestre'' (first mate) of the ''Pinta''.


The Pinzón family of Palos

The Pinzón family was among the leading families of Palos de la Frontera in the late 15th century. There are several conflicting theories about the origin of the family and of their name (''see Pinzón family''). His grandfather was a sailor and diver known as ''Martín''; it is not clear whether that was a first or last name, and whether in his generation ''Pinzón'' was a surname or an
epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...
. His father was a sailor named Martín Pinzón; his mother was named Mayor Vicente.


Life

Born in Palos around 1441, it appears that at quite a young age Pinzón shipped out on a locally based caravel as a ''grumete'' (cabin boy). His home, now the Casa Museo de Martín Alonso Pinzón, was on the old royal road to the Monastery of La Rábida. * Martín's family contracted a marriage with a resident of the locality named María Álvarez. They had five children: two boys—Arias Pérez and Juan, who participated in several expeditions to the Americas—and three girls—Mayor, Catalina, and Leonor. Leonor, the youngest, suffered frequent attacks of what was then called "''gota coral''" and would now be called
epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...
. A French tradition holds that Alonso Pinzón sailed to the New World with the navigator Jean Cousin, and that together they discovered the continent in 1488, four years before Columbus. Back in
Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...
, Pinzón left Cousin in a dispute, and is claimed to have left for Spain, from where he advised Columbus on his westward sail.''The English Rediscovery and Colonization of America'' by Marie A. Shipley p.5

/ref>''A savage mirror: power, identity, and knowledge in early modern France'' Michael Wintroub p.2

/ref> Pinzon is known to have displayed a remarkable confidence in guiding Columbus in his discovery of the New World. No indisputable written records remain, however, to support this early claim to discovery. His nautical experience and his leadership remained patent in the 1508–1536 lawsuits known as the '' pleitos colombinos'' ("Columbian lawsuits"), where the witnesses indicated him as the leader of the ''
comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...
'' (a region comparable to a
shire Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the oldes ...
). He was also famous for his battles against the Portuguese in the War of the Castilian Succession. It is probable that even while in Portugal before coming to Spain, Columbus was aware of Martín Alonso, because he was known for his participation in the war, as well as for his incursions into the Afro-Atlantic waters in the wake of the Portuguese, traveling to 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 ...
and
Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...
, with their rich fisheries and the commercial possibility of trade in gold, spices, and slaves.


Preparations for the voyage of discovery

On 23 May 1492 a royal provision was read out to the residents of Palos,Real Provisión de los Reyes Católicos que mandaron a Diego Rodríguez Prieto y a otros compañeros, vecinos de la villa de Palos, para que tuvieran preparadas dos carabelas al servicio de Cristóbal Colón. Texto completo
Granada, 30 April 1492. Archivo General de Indias. Sección: Patronato. Signatura: PATRONATO, 295, N.3. (Castellano antiguo)
by 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 ...
Isabella and
Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...
ordered that certain residents deliver two caravels to Columbus and travel with him on his voyage that he was making "by command of Their Highnesses" (''"por mandado de Sus Altezas"'') and that the town should respect the royal decision. The locals did not comply. The sailors of Palos had no confidence in embarking on this adventure with Columbus, who was largely unknown to them. Independent of their greater or lesser credence in his ideas, the men of Palos found it difficult to support the Genovese sailor if he was not accompanied by a mariner known and respected in the town. The venture—risky and, above all, of uncertain profit—did not present great attractions. Opposition or indifference to Columbus's project was general. At about this time, Pinzón returned from a routine commercial voyage to
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
. The
Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...
of the Monastery of La Rábida put Columbus in touch with Pinzón. Pinzón's friend Pero Vázquez de la Frontera, a very respected old mariner in the town, also had an important influence on Pinzón deciding to support the undertaking, Online on Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. not only morally but also economically. On the website of the Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. There is no record of any written agreement between Columbus and Pinzón, and the terms of any agreement are lost to history. However, we do have the writings of Fray
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 ...
and the testimony of some witnesses. According to Fernández Duro, de las Casas says Columbus offered Pinzón equal honors in the voyage and half the profits, and Diego Pinzón Colmenero testified the same in the ''pleitos colombinos''; Francisco Medel testified that he heard him offer Pinzón "whatever he asked for and desired". As a strong sign of his commitment to Columbus's plan, Pinzón put up half a million (''"medio cuento"'') maravedís in coin toward the cost of the voyage, half of the amount that had been put up by the monarchy. * * * * Thanks to his prestige as a shipowner and expert sailor and his fame throughout the
Tinto Tinto is an isolated hill in the south of the Central Lowlands just to the north of the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It comprises little more than one top, which stands on the west bank of the River Clyde, some west of Biggar. The peak is a ...
-
Odiel The Odiel () is a river in the Atlantic basin in southern Spain, more precisely in the province of Huelva, Andalusia. It originates at Marimateos in the Sierra de Aracena at an elevation of above sea level. At the Punta del Sebo, it joins th ...
region, he was able to enlist an appropriate crew. Signing on, he dismissed the vessels that Columbus had already seized based on the royal order and also dismissed the men he had enrolled, supplying the enterprise with two caravels of his own, the ''Pinta'' and the ''Niña'', which he knew from his own experience would be better and more suitable boats. Furthermore, he traveled through Palos, Moguer and
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 ...
, convincing his relatives and friends to enlist, composing of them the best crew possible. According to testimony in the ''pleitos colombinos'', he "brought such diligence to secure and animate the people as if what were discovered were for him and his sons." Among those he recruited were Cristóbal Quintero from Palos and the Niño brothers from Moguer. At this time, Pinzón and Columbus seemed quite close. In the ''pleitos colombinos'', witness Alonso Gallego from
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 ...
remembered hearing Columbus say, "Mister Martín Alonso Pinzón, we are going on this voyage which, if we go on with it and God reveals new lands to us, I promise by the Royal Crown to treat you as a brother."


Voyage with Columbus


The voyage out

On 3 August 1492, the '' Santa María'', '' Pinta'', and '' Niña'' left Palos on their voyage of discovery. Admiral Columbus captained the flagship ''Santa María'', Pinzón was captain of the ''Pinta''; his middle brother Francisco was master. It was from the ''Pinta'' that
Rodrigo de Triana Rodrigo de Triana (1469 in Lepe, Huelva, Spain – 1535 in Maluku Islands) was a Spanish sailor, believed to be the first European from the Age of Exploration to have seen the Americas. Born as Juan Rodríguez Bermejo, Triana was the son of h ...
would be the first to sight land in the
Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
. During the voyage, Pinzón demonstrated on several occasions his gifts as an expert mariner and as a leader. When the tiller of the ''Pinta'' broke ''en route'' to the Canary Islands, Columbus, who could not get close enough to help from the ''Santa María'': When, between 6 and 7 October 1492 Columbus was unable to reestablish discipline among the tired and discouraged crew of the ''Santa María'', Martín Alonso with his gift of command managed to resolve the situation. As the Hernán Pérez Mateos would testify over forty years later: At that time, Pinzón suggested to Columbus the change of course on 6 October 1492. This change brought the expedition to landfall on
Guanahani Guanahaní (meaning "small upper waters land") was the Taíno language, Taíno name of an island in the Bahamas that was the first land in the New World sighted and visited by Christopher Columbus' Voyages of Christopher Columbus#First voyage (14 ...
on 12 October 1492. These and other acts by Pinzón and by his brothers, especially Vicente, have led historians to see the brothers as "co-discoverers of America", in that without their help, support, and courage, Columbus probably could not have achieved his enterprise of discovery, at least not in that time and place. At one point during the ''pleitos colombinos'', a royal prosecutor argued that Pinzón had played a more important role in the discovery of the Indies than Columbus himself.


Separation in the Caribbean

All evidence—the remarks in Columbus's diary, the testimony in the ''pleitos colombinos''—is that on the outward voyage, relations between Columbus and Pinzón remained positive. Once among the Caribbean islands, that began to change. On 21 November 1492, off the coast of
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
, Pinzón failed to follow a direct order of Columbus to change course. He probably sailed off on his own trying to make individual discoveries and to find treasure, although Cesáreo Fernández Duro argues that the initial separation may have been accidental, a matter of missed signals. (Asensio takes Fernández Duro strongly to task for not adequately explaining the length of the separation; Fernández Duro responds that Pinzón simply continued the prior course, and if Columbus wanted, he should have had a pretty fair idea where to find him over the next several days.) During his separate travels he discovered new land; while all of the island geography of the first voyage is open to question, it is believed that the land was
Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
. 19th-century historian José María Asensio, at least, blamed Pinzón's absence for the fact that on 25 December, the ''Santa María'' was wrecked on a shoal; Pinzón's brother Vicente in command of the ''Niña'' played a key part in rescuing the sailors and Columbus himself. Columbus, giving up on Pinzón, began sailing homeward 4 January, leaving behind 38 men,Edward T. Stone
Columbus' La Navidad: The Fate of the New World’s First Spanish Settlement
, '' American Heritage'', April/May 1978, Volume 29, Issue 3. Accessed online 2010-01-15.
all of whom died before Columbus's return nine months later. The ''Niña'' and ''Pinta'' sighted and rejoined one another 6 January 1493, and, after a furious argument in which according to at least one witness, Pinzón objected to the 38 men being "left so far from Spain, being so few, because they could not be provided for and would be lost", and Columbus threatened to hang Pinzón, the two ships headed together back toward Spain on 8 January. Columbus's published diary of the voyage was heavily edited by Bartolomé de las Casas, so it is impossible to know what was actually written at the time and what was added later, but the diary launches a series of accusations against Pinzón beginning with his separation on November 21: : * An effort to make sense of a rather obscure phrase, ''"y aunque tenía dice que consigo muchos hombres de bien"''; possibly alternatively "and though he had to say that they had many good men with them". Nonetheless, much of the testimony in the ''pleitos colombinos'', as well as part of the specialized historiography and investigators, does not agree that these things happened in this manner, nor is there any accusation against Pinzón in Columbus's Letter on the First Voyage, which Columbus wrote during his return.


Return voyage and death

During the voyage back to Spain, Pinzón's ship was separated from Columbus in stormy conditions, southwest of the
Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...
. Pinzón arrived in Baiona in Galicia, near
Vigo Vigo (, ; ) is a city and Municipalities in Spain, municipality in the province of province of Pontevedra, Pontevedra, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest ...
, 1 March 1493; Columbus reached
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
on March 4; he later faced problems with the Court for having touched down in Portugal out of necessity in bad weather. Pinzón, despite the bad weather and strong southerly winds, had managed to touch down on Spanish territory, not Portuguese. Believing Columbus to be lost, or trying to overcome him, he sent a letter to the King and Queen; some have argued that he claimed the glory of the great discoveries for himself, while others defend him from the charge; the letter itself is lost. In any case, he was snubbed by the court and told to only come under the command of Columbus. It is not clear whether Pinzón's letter or Columbus's from Lisbon reached court first, nor is it clear whether the failure to invite Pinzón to court resulted from Columbus's primacy of position, possible accusations by Columbus against Pinzón, or simply reports of Pinzón's illness and death. Pinzón returned home to Palos, arriving on 15 March 1493, precisely the same day the ''Niña'' reached the voyage's starting point. Exhausted and suffering from a recurrent fever, he was taken from his ship in a stretcher. As Columbus arrived, his friends took him to a farm on the boundary between Palos and Moguer. It is possible that Martín's son, Arias Pérez Pinzón, did not bring him directly to his house in Palos in order to protect him, given that Columbus had threatened him earlier. Another possibility is that this was because Martín did not get along well with Catalina Alonso, the woman who had been living with his father since he became a widower, and with whom the father would have two illegitimate children: Francisco and Inés Pinzón. According to the testimony of Francisco Medel and Hernán Pérez Mateos, he was brought to the La Rábida Monastery, where he died; he was entombed there, as was his wish. It has been claimed that Pinzón's recurring fever was
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 ...
. The theory that syphilis is of
New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...
origin and that it was first brought back to Europe by Columbus's crew has been longstanding, and long controversial.Andrew F. Downing, "Were the Sailors of Columbus the First European Syphilitics?", ''The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal'', October 12, 1916, 515:522.W.A. Pusey, "The Beginning of Syphilis", ''Journal of the American Medical Association'', Volume LXIV, number 24, June 12, 1915, 1961:1964
Available online
through
Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
.
Some recent genetic evidence restores credence to the theory. Even so, even if Pinzón contracted it on the voyage, it is extremely unlikely that it was the cause of his death. Tertiary syphilis does not normally show up for 3 to 15 years. There is also a possibility that some historians have confused Martín Alonso Pinzón with his brother Francisco, who is more plausibly (but still controversially) believed to have had this particular disease. Conversely, there is the possibility that the first outbreak of syphilis among Europeans with no
immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity ...
was much more virulent than subsequently. Fernández Duro further writes that Pinzón's "unpardonable crime" was that he had the luck or skill to obtain more gold than Columbus. ''"Pero en esa isla, Pinzón tuvo suerte ó maña para obtener más oro que el Almirante. Eso era la soberbia, ese la codicia, eso el crimen imperdonable del capitán de la ''Pinta'' a los ojos de Colón, y no podía ingenuentamente declararla."''


Legacy

Along with his brother, Martín Alonso Pínzon is the namesake of Pinzón Island in the Galápagos. He was portrayed by
Tchéky Karyo Tchéky Karyo (; born Baruh Djaki Karyo; 4 October 1953) is a Turkish-born French actor and musician. Beginning his career as an actor on stage in classical and contemporary works, he began to work as a character actor in films in the 1980s. He h ...
in '' 1492: Conquest of Paradise'' and by Robert Davi in '' Christopher Columbus: The Discovery'', both released in
1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...
.


References


Sources

* * * Online at archive.org. * * The link is to an abridged copy on
Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
. * * * *


Further reading

* Louis-Théodule Begaud: ''Le premier Capitaine au long cours, Martín Alonso Pinzón, associé de Christophe Colomb; Organisateur et animateur de l'expédition de 1492'', Paris 1944 * Adám Szászdi: ''El descubrimiento de Puerto Rico en 1492 por Martín Alonso Pinzón'', in: Revista de historia. San Juan, Año 1(1985), Nr. 2, S. 9-45. * Domingo Gómez: ''Vindicación del piloto de la carabela "Pinta", Martín Alonso Pinzón'', in: Mundi hispánico. - Madrid, Año 21(1968), Nr. 241. * Francisco Morales Padrón: ''Las relaciones entre Colón y Martín Alonso Pinzón'', in: Actas. - Lisboa, Vol. 3(1961), S. 433-442. * Urs Bitterli: ''Die "Wilden" und die "Zivilisierten"'', 3. Aufl., München 2004 ISBN ? * Ders.: ''Alte Welt - neue Welt'', München 1992 ISBN ? * Ders.: ''Die Entdeckung Amerikas'', 4. Aufl., München 1992 ISBN ? * Ders.: ''Die Kenntnis beider "Indien" im frühneuzeitlichen Europa'', München 1991


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinzon, Martin Alonzo 1440s births 1493 deaths 15th-century Spanish explorers Spanish maritime navigators 15th-century Castilians People from Palos de la Frontera Christopher Columbus Spanish West Indies