Pedro Alonso Niño (c. 1455 – c. 1505) was known in his time as Peralonso Niño, he was a Spanish navigator and discoverer. He piloted the '' Santa María'' during

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 ...

's first voyage to the Americas in 1492, and accompanied him on his second voyage in 1493.

Biography

Niño was born in Moguer,

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 ...

. His father was Alfon Perez Niño, a Spanish sailor. Pedro Alonso Niño was married twice, to Juana Muñiz and Leonor de Boria, and sired four children, namely Juan Niño, Francisco Niño, Isabel Quintero and Leonor Fernández. He was nicknamed "''El negro''" for his involvement in the African slave trade. 20170104 13475PANcara

He explored the west coast of

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 ...

in his early years and many other places. Niño guided Columbus and navigated the Atlantic Ocean as he piloted the '' Santa María'' during

's expedition of 1492,Alice Bache Gould, Nueva Lista Documentada De Los Tripulantes De Colon En 1492, ''Boletin de la Real Academia de la Historia'', Tomo CLXX, Número II, 1973, ''passim.'', including p. 80. However, as noted on p. 293, some near-contemporaries place him as pilot of ''La Niña''. and accompanied him during his third voyage that saw the discovery of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

and the mouths of the

Orinoco River The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...

. After returning to Spain, Niño made preparations to explore the Indies independently, looking for gold and pearls. Empowered by the

Council of Castile The Council of Castile (), known earlier as the Royal Council (), was a ruling body and key part of the domestic government of the Crown of Castile, second only to the monarch himself. It was established under Isabella I in 1480 as the chi ...

to seek out new countries, avoiding those already found by Columbus, he committed to give 20% of his profits to the Spanish Crown (see quinto real). In the company of brothers

Luis Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archai ...

and Cristóbal de la Guerra, respectively a rich merchant and a pilot, he left San Lucas in May 1499, and, after twenty-three days, they arrived at Maracapana. Visiting the islands of

Isla Margarita Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the north west coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the island. History ...

, Coche, and Cubagua, they exchanged objects of little value for a large number of pearls before sailing up the coast to Punta Araya, where they discovered salt mines. After just two months they were back in Baiona,

, loaded with wealth. However, they were accused of cheating King Ferdinand II out of his portion of the spoils. Arrested, and with his property confiscated, Niño died before the conclusion of his trial.

Death

Pedro died around 1505.

Legacy

There is a monument to Pedro Alonso Niño in the Convent of San Francisco in Moguer, Spain. In 1940, Niño was honored with one of the 33

dioramas A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional model either full-sized or miniature. Sometimes dioramas are enclosed in a glass showcase at a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies like Model ...

at the American Negro Exposition in Chicago. (7. Pietro Alonso, Pilot of the Santa Maria)

Notes

References

* This source gives around 1455 as the year of his birth. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nino, Pedro Alonso 1460s births 1505 deaths People from the Province of Huelva Spanish period of Trinidad and Tobago 15th-century Spanish explorers 15th-century Castilians 16th-century Spanish people

Biography

Death

Legacy

See also

Notes

References