Diogo de Azambuja

Diogo de Azambuja (* 1432 in Montemor-o-Velho ; † 1518 ibid) was a Portuguese navigator and explorer .

biography

Little is known about Diogo de Azambuja. He comes from a noble family and was a commander and lay brother (Freire) in the order of Avis . As Commander of the Order he was not married, but had three children with Leonor Botelho.

He was one of the most important confidants of the Condestável of Portugal, Peter of Aragón , who accompanied him after the lost battle of Alfarrobeira in 1449 into exile in Castile . After five years of exile, Azambuja returned to Portugal at the side of Peter of Aragón. In 1458 he took part in the conquest of Alcácer-Ceguer (today Ksar es-Seghir ) and also took part in other battles in Morocco and in campaigns by the Portuguese king against Castile. Azambuja lost a leg in one of these clashes. He received a number of honors and earnings for his services and was appointed to one of the royal councilors.

From 1464 to 1466 he participated in the ultimately unsuccessful attempts by Peter of Aragón to seize the Crown of Aragon. After his death, he managed his estate.

On behalf of the Portuguese King John II , he left Lisbon on December 12, 1481 to set up a fortified trading post on the African coast south of the Sahara . As the commander of a fleet of nine ships and around 600 sailors and soldiers as well as around 100 craftsmen and servants, he laid the foundation stone for the later Fort São Jorge da Mina or Elmina on January 21, 1482 on the Gold Coast in present-day Ghana . Bartolomeu Diaz and possibly Christopher Columbus took part in this trip as officers. Over the next few years, Fort Elmina became the most important military base and trading post of the Portuguese on the West African coast. Diogo de Azambuja was also the first Portuguese governor ( capitão-mór ) of Elmina from 1482 to 1484 .

On his return to Portugal he was made Fidalgo of the royal house and received a number of honors and donations from the royal family. In 1487 he was to be found on the post of the chief administrator of the arsenals of the kingdom.

In 1506/07 he is documented as governor of the fortress of Souira Kedima . In 1508, together with Gracia de Mello , he conquered the city of Safi on the Moroccan Atlantic coast , located in the affluent region of Doukkala . He expanded the city into a Portuguese fortress and was governor of Safi at the end of his life. He also oversaw the construction of the Portuguese fortress of Mogador (now Essaouira ), also in North Africa.

Diogo de Azambuja died at the age of 86; his grave is in the monastery church of the Convento dos Anjos in Montemor-o-Velho .

Web links

• Diogo de Azambuja - Short biography (Portuguese)