Estêvão Gomes

This reprinted excerpt of the 1529 Spanish Royal Map by Diogo Ribeiro includes the northeastern American coast labelled as Tierra de Esteban Gómez.

"Esteban Gómez" redirects here. For the 19th-century Venezuelan military officer, see Francisco Esteban Gómez.

Estêvão Gomes (c. 1483 – 1538), also known by the Spanish version of his name Esteban Gómez, was an Afro-Portuguese cartographer and explorer. He sailed at the service of Castile (Spain) in the fleet of Ferdinand Magellan, but deserted the expedition when they had reached the Strait of Magellan and returned to Spain in May 1521. In 1524, he explored present-day Nova Scotia. While historical accounts vary, Gomes may have entered New York Harbor and seen the Hudson River. Because of his expedition, the 1529 Diogo Ribeiro world map outlines the east coast of North America with great accuracy.

Life

Gomes was born a black Portuguese subject, probably in Porto in northern Portugal. He sailed in the Portuguese India Armadas during his youth. In 1518, he moved to Castile, where he was appointed a pilot for the Casa de Contratación in Seville.

In 1519, Gomes sailed with the Magellan expedition as the pilot major of the fleet aboard the San Antonio. His real ambition, however, was to become captain of the ship. Gomes frustration grew when he was passed over for promotion in favor of Magellan's inexperienced nephew, Alvaro de Mesquita. Near the Strait of Magellan, Gomes overpowered Mesquita, took control of the San Antonio and sailed back to Spain in May 1521. Upon their return, Gomes claimed his mutiny was justified by Magellan's abuses and poor management. The mutineers were thrown in jail while their claims were investigated, but within six months all except Mesquita were freed.

Gomes was able to convince Emperor Charles V to finance a new expedition to seek a northern route to the Spice Islands. A 50-ton caravel La Anunciada ("The Annunciation") was built for the purpose. The expedition sailed on 24 September 1524 from A Coruña, 29 men forming the entire crew. He arrived in Cuba and then sailed north. Since there is no written account of the voyage, and only a map, there is considerable disagreement about Gomes's itinerary. Gomes may have gotten as far northeast as the Cabot Strait and Cape Breton in the present Canadian province of Nova Scotia. He also entered New York Bay and the Hudson River, which he named the "San Antonio". However, whether he traveled north to south or searched from south to north is disputed. In either direction, he passed through Maine, where he thought the estuary of the Penobscot River to be the Northwest Passage. Gomes returned east to Spain on 21 August 1525. During his voyage, Gomes abducted over 50 natives and took them back to Spain as evidence of a potentially lucrative slave trade. Charles V was reportedly horrified and set them free.

As a result of his expedition, the 1529 Diogo Ribeiro world map outlines the east coast of North America with great accuracy. For a long time, the northern American coast was labelled on Spanish maps as the "land of Estêvão Gomes" (Tierra de Esteban Gómez).

In 1535, Gomes joined Pedro de Mendoza's expedition to the Río de la Plata. He was killed by natives of the Paraguay River in 1538.

See also

• Giovanni da Verrazzano
• Lists of explorers and cartographers

References

Bibliography

• Bergreen, Laurence (2009), Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe, Harper Collins.
• Ellis, Edward Robb (1966), The Epic of New York City.
• Ganong, W.F. (1964), Crucial Maps in the Early Cartography and Place-Nomenclature of the Atlantic Coast of Canada, Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
• Guillemard, Francis Henry Hill (1890), The Life of Ferdinand Magellan, G. Philip & Son.
• Howgego, Raymond John, ed. (2003). "Gomes, Estevão". Encyclopedia of Exploration to 1800. Hordern House. ISBN 1875567364.
• Hunter, Douglas (2010), Half Moon: Henry Hudson and the Voyage that Redrew the Map of the New World, Bloomsbury Publishing, ISBN 978-1-60819-098-0.
• Joyner, Tim (1992). Magellan. Camden, Me.: International Marine. pp. 276–277. ISBN 0-87742-263-X.
• Lawson, Russell M. (2015), The Sea Mark: Captain John Smith's Voyage to New England, University Press of New England, ISBN 9781611687170.
• Vigneras, L.A. (1979) [1966]. "Gomes, Estêvão". In Brown, George Williams (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. I (1000–1700) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
• Portuguese Exploration along the Northeast Coast of North America, Washington: Library of Congress, 2023.
• Francoeur, Arsène; et al. (2017), Estéban Gomez et Mathieu Dacosta: Marins Noirs sur l'Atlantique (XVIe et XVIIe Siècles) (in French), Edilivre, ISBN 9782414167166.