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Nuno Tristão was a 15th-century Portuguese
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 ...
and
slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
trader, active in the early 1440s, traditionally thought to be the first
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an to reach the region of
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 ...
. Legend has it that he sailed as far as
Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...
, however, more recent historians believe he did not go beyond the
Gambia River The Gambia River (formerly known as the River Gambra, French language, French: ''Fleuve Gambie'', Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Rio Gâmbia'') is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward ...
.


First voyage

Nuno Tristão was a knight of the household of
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 1441, Tristão was dispatched by Henry in one of the first prototypes of the
lateen A lateen (from French ''latine'', meaning "Latin") or latin-rig is a triangular sail set on a long Yard (sailing) , yard mounted at an angle on the mast (sailing) , mast, and running in a fore-and-aft direction. The Settee (sail), settee can be ...
-rigged
caravel The caravel (Portuguese language, Portuguese: , ) is a small sailing ship developed by the Portuguese that may be rigged with just lateen sails, or with a combination of lateen and Square rig, square sails. It was known for its agility and s ...
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 beyond Cabo Barbas, in present day Western Sahara, the furthest point reached by Henry's last captain five years earlier ( Afonso Gonçalves Baldaia, in 1436). Around Rio de Oro, Tristão met up with the ship of Antão Gonçalves, who had been sent on a separate mission by Henry that same year to hunt monk seals that basked on those shores. But Gonçalves happened to capture a solitary young camel-driver, the first native encountered by the Portuguese since the expeditions began in the 1420s. Nuno Tristão, who carried on board one of Henry's
Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...
servants to act as an
interpreter Interpreting is translation from a spoken or signed language into another language, usually in real time to facilitate live communication. It is distinguished from the translation of a written text, which can be more deliberative and make use o ...
, interrogated Gonçalves's captive camel-driver. Tristão and Gonçalves were led by his information to a small Sanhaja Berber fishing camp nearby. The Portuguese attacked the fishermen, taking some ten captives, the first African
slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
s taken by the Portuguese back to Europe. Gonçalves returned to Portugal immediately after the slave raid, but Nuno Tristão continued south, reaching as far as Cape Blanc (''Cabo Branco''), before turning back.


Second voyage

In 1443, Nuno Tristão was sent out by Henry again, and pressed beyond Cape Blanc to reach the Bay of Arguin. On Arguin island, Tristão encountered a Sanhaja Berber village, the first permanent settlement seen by Henry's captains on the West African coast. Tristão immediately attacked it, taking some fourteen villagers captive and returned to Portugal with his captives. Tristão's report of easy and profitable slave-raiding grounds in the Arguin banks prompted numerous Portuguese merchants and adventurers to apply to Henry for a slave-trading license. Between 1444 and 1446 several dozen Portuguese ships set out for slave raids around Arguin Bay.


Third voyage

As fishing settlements around the Arguin banks were quickly devastated by the Portuguese slave raiders, in 1445 (or possibly 1444), Nuno Tristão was sent by Henry to press further south and look for new slave-raiding grounds. Tristão reached as far south as borderlands of
Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
, where the
Sahara desert The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...
ends and forest begins, and the coastal population changed from 'tawny' Sanhaja Berbers to 'black' Wolofs. Tristão is believed to have reached as far as the ''Ponta da Berberia'' ( Langue de Barbarie), just short of the entrance to the
Senegal River The Senegal River ( or "Senegal" - compound of the  Serer term "Seen" or "Sene" or "Sen" (from  Roog Seen, Supreme Deity in Serer religion) and "O Gal" (meaning "body of water")); , , , ) is a river in West Africa; much of its length mark ...
. Bad weather prevented his entering the river or landing there, so he set sail back. On the way home, Tristão stopped by the Arguin banks and took another 21 Berbers captive. Nuno Tristão arrived in Portugal declaring he had finally discovered
sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...
, or in the nomenclature of the time, the "Land of the Blacks" (''Terra do Negros'', later ''Terra dos Guineus'', or simply ''
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 ...
''). Portuguese slave raiders immediately descended on the Senegalese coast, but finding alert and better-armed natives on that coast, the slave raids were not nearly as easy nor as profitable as they had hoped.


Fourth voyage

In 1446 (or perhaps 1445 or 1447, date uncertain), Nuno Tristão set out on his fourth (and final) trip down 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. Somewhere south of Cap Vert, Tristão came across the mouth of a large river. Tristão took 22 sailors with him on a launch upriver, to search for a settlement to raid. But the launch was ambushed by thirteen native canoes with some 80 armed men. Quickly surrounded, Nuno Tristão, along with most of his crew, was killed on the spot by poisoned arrows (two might have escaped). Tristão's caravel, reduced to a crew composed of clerk Aires Tinoco and four ''grumetes'' (' ship boys'), immediately set sail back to Portugal. (However, the account 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 ...
differs here; he asserts the caravel never made it back—that the native canoes overpowered and seized it, and then dragged the caravel and dismantled it upriver.) It is uncertain how far Nuno Tristão actually sailed and where he died. Up until the 1940s, Portuguese tradition asserted Tristão died at ''Rio do Nuno'' ( Nunez River, modern
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 ...
), or that he fell just short of it, and died at ''Rio Grande'' (
Geba River The Geba ( French: ''Rivière Geba'', Portuguese: ''Rio Geba'') is a river of West Africa that rises in the northernmost area of Guinea in the Fouta Djallon highlands, passes through southern Senegal, and reaches the Atlantic Ocean in Guinea-B ...
,
Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...
). As a result, Nuno Tristão was traditionally credited as the 'discoverer' of
Portuguese Guinea Portuguese Guinea (), called the Overseas Province of Guinea from 1951 until 1972 and then State of Guinea from 1972 until 1974, was a Portuguese overseas province in West Africa from 1588 until 10 September 1974, when it gained independence as G ...
(modern Guinea-Bissau), and even said to have been the first European to set foot on the landmass of what is now the modern city of
Bissau Bissau () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Guinea-Bissau. it had a population of 492,004. Bissau is located on the Geba River estuary, off the Atlantic Ocean, and is Guinea-Bissau's largest city, major port, its administr ...
. If true, then Nuno Tristão's last journey was an enormous leap beyond the previous Portuguese milestone (''Cabo dos Mastos'', Cape Naze, Senegal). However, modern historians, drawing from larger evidence (including the accounts 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 ...
and Cadamosto), have generally dismissed this claim and now generally agree that Nuno Tristão only reached as far as the
Sine-Saloum Sine-Saloum is a region in Senegal located north of the Gambia and south of the Petite Côte. It encompasses an area of 24,000 square kilometers, about 12% of Senegal, with a population in the 1990s of 1,060,000. The western portion contains the ...
delta, still in Senegal, just a few kilometres south of Cape of Masts (Cape Naze) or, at their most generous, the
Gambia River The Gambia River (formerly known as the River Gambra, French language, French: ''Fleuve Gambie'', Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Rio Gâmbia'') is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward ...
. Exactly where has been subject to debate. In his careful investigation, historian Teixeira da Mota concluded that Nuno Tristão first prodded up the
Saloum River The Saloum River (French: ''Fleuve Saloum'') rises about 105 kilometers east of Kaolack, Senegal, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The Saloum Delta is located at its mouth, in the protected Saloum Delta National Park. The river basin lies with ...
(''Rio de Barbacins'', ) then sent his launch up the Diombos River (''Rio de Lago'', ), the south bank of which was controlled by the Mandinka king known as ''Niumimansa'', of the Niumi Bato. It was these Mandinka (or Mandikized) warriors that ambushed and killed Nuno Tristão. Other scholars attribute the killing of the Portuguese slave raider and his party to the
Serer people The Serer people (''Serer language, Serer proper'': Seereer or Sereer) are a West African ethnoreligious groupGastellu, Jean-Marc, ''Petit traité de matrilinarité. L'accumulation dans deux sociétés rurales d'Afrique de l'Ouest'', Cahiers ORST ...
of
Senegambia The Senegambia (other names: Senegambia region or Senegambian zone,Barry, Boubacar, ''Senegambia and the Atlantic Slave Trade'', (Editors: David Anderson, Carolyn Brown; trans. Ayi Kwei Armah; contributors: David Anderson, American Council of Le ...
. This is the general consensus.Hair, Paul Edward Hedley, ''"Africa encountered: European contacts and evidence, 1450–1700"'', Variorum, 1997, pp 213-15 & 248, The death of Nuno Tristão, Henry's favorite captain, was the beginning of the end of this wave of Henry's expeditions. Another set of ships would still go out the next year, but would also take significant casualties, and as a result, Portuguese expeditions were temporarily suspended.
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 ...
did not dispatch another expedition to the West African coast again until a decade later ( Cadamosto in 1455).


See also

* History of Portugal (1415–1542) *
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 ...


Notes


References

*
João de Barros João de Barros (; 1496 – 20 October 1570), nicknamed the "Portuguese Livy", is one of the first great Portuguese historians, most famous for his (''Decades of Asia''), a history of the Portuguese in India, Asia, and southeast Africa. Early y ...
(1552–59) ''Décadas da Ásia: Dos feitos, que os Portuguezes fizeram no descubrimento, e conquista, dos mares, e terras do Oriente''. Vol. 1 (Dec I, Lib.1-5) * Gomes Eanes de Zurara (1453) ''Crónica dos feitos notáveis que se passaram na Conquista da Guiné por mandado do Infante D. Henrique or Chronica do descobrimento e conquista da Guiné''. rans. 1896–99 by C.R. Beazley and E. Prestage, ''The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea'', London: Halykut* Barreto, João (1938) ''História da Guiné, 1418–1918''. Lisbon. * Castlereagh, Duncan. ''Encyclopedia of Discovery and Exploration - The Great Age of Exploration''. Aldus Books London, 1971. * Castilho, A.M. de (1866) ''Descripção e roteiro da costa occidental de Africa, desde o cabo de Espartel até o das Agulhas'', Lisbon: Impresa Nacional, 2 vols. * Cortesão, Armando (1931) "Subsídios para a história do Descobrimento de Cabo Verde e Guiné", Boletim da Agencia Geral das Colonias, No. 75. As reprinted in 1975, Esparsos, vol. 1, Coimbra * Leite, Duarte (1941) ''Acerca da «Crónica dos Feitos de Guinee»''. Lisbon: Bertrand * Magalhães Godinho, Vitorino de (1945) ''Documentos sôbre a Espansão Portuguesa'', 2 vols, Lisbon: Gleba. * Peres, Damião (1943) ''História dos descobrimentos portugueses'', Porto: Portucalense. * Pimentel, M. (1746) ''Arte de navegar: em que se ensinam as regras praticas, e os modos de cartear, e de graduar a balestilha por via de numeros, e muitos problemas uteis á navegaçao : e Roteyro das viagens, e costas maritimas de Guiné, Angóla, Brasil, Indias, e Ilhas Occidentaes, e Orientaes''. Lisbon: Francisco da Silva * Teixera da Mota, Avelino (1946) "A descoberta da Guiné", ''Boletim cultural da Guiné Portuguesa'', Vol. 1. Part 1 in No. 1 (Jan), p.11-68, Pt. 2 in No. 2 (Apr), p.273-326; Pt. 3 in No. 3 (Jul), p.457-509. * Teixeira da Mota, Avelino (1972) ''Mar, além Mar: Estudos e ensaios de história e geographia''. Lisbon: Junta de Investigações do Ultramar {{DEFAULTSORT:Tristao, Nuno 15th-century explorers of Africa Portuguese explorers of Africa 15th-century Portuguese explorers History of Guinea-Bissau Maritime history of Portugal 15th-century Portuguese businesspeople People from Lagos, Portugal Portuguese slave traders