Jean de Béthencourt

Coat of arms of Jean de Béthencourt in the initial letter of Le Canarien version B

Jean IV. De Béthencourt (* 1362 in Grainville-la-Teinturière in Normandy ; † 1425 there ) was a French nobleman who began colonizing the Canary Islands at the beginning of the 15th century under the rule of the Crown of Castile .

Life as a nobleman

Jean IV. De Béthencourt was the son of Marie de Braquemont and Jean III. de Béthencourt. His father died in 1364 when Jean IV. De Béthencourt was two years old. In 1365, by order of King Charles V in Normandy, all fortifications were demolished, the owners of which could not prove that they were able to defend them against Charles of Navarre or the English. This was the case with Grainville Castle, owned by Jean de Béthencourt, who was then three years old.

From 1377 Jean de Béthencourt belonged to the court of the Duke of Anjou . The brother of King Charles V was the king's deputy in the province of Languedoc at that time . In 1387, Jean de Béthencourt accompanied the Duke of Anjou, who was claiming the Kingdom of Naples, presumably on his campaign in Italy.

On April 11, 1387, Jean de Béthencourt received from the French King Charles VI. permission to rebuild and strengthen the castle of Grainville-la-Teinturière. He was able to finance this from the income from his possessions. Together with the castle, Jean de Béthencourt owned the entire fiefdom of Grainville, which was part of the County of Longueville . In addition, like his ancestors, he owned the Béthencourt fief.

Jean de Béthencourt certainly took part in the crusade against Mahdia , in which the port city of El Mehadieh near Tunis should be taken in 1390 under the direction of Duke Louis II de Bourbon . The troops boarded in Genoa at the beginning of the summer of 1390 and returned to Genoa in November 1390 after a two-month siege. It can be assumed that Jean den Béthencourt heard about the "rediscovered islands" in the Atlantic during his stay in Genoa. It seems unlikely that Gadifer de La Salle also participated in this crusade.

On January 27, 1392, Jean de Béthencourt married Jeanne du Fayel, the daughter of Guillaume du Fayel Vicomte de Breteuil, a well-respected figure at the time. The wife's mother was Marguerite de Châtillon, daughter of the Count of Porcien Jean de Châtillon .

Canary Islands

Arrival in Lanzarote, Le Canarien Version B

Goals and preparation for the trip

In the middle of 1401 Jean de Béthencourt arranged an expedition to the Canary Islands with Gadifer de La Salle. It can be assumed that they knew each other from earlier years, when they had both served under the Duke of Anjou and were both chamberlains and members of the household of the Duke of Orleans. They knew that the islands were by no means rich lands and that a large part of the trips by Europeans to the islands had the goal of residents there who could only defend themselves with stones and sticks in order to catch them in Europe as Selling slaves.

The aim of Jean de Béthencourt and Gadifer de La Salle's company was the extraction and export of the Roccella canariensis lichen, which was processed into dye in Europe . These plants justified the effort and risks of the trip and it is likely that this is why Jean de Béthencourt came to the islands. The addition of the name of the place of birth of Jean de Béthencourt, “la-Teinturière”, literally means “the dyer”, as fabrics have been dyed there for a long time. Another goal was the colonization of the islands. By settling French farmers and artisans, the islands were to be turned into profitable settlements. For this reason, some settlers took their wives with them on the first trip. The conversion of the natives to Christianity was a goal of Béthencourt, which he took very seriously. For this reason, the clergy Jean Le Verrier and Pierre Bontier accompanied the expedition.

Jean de Béthencourt sold some of his possessions and recruited soldiers but also farmers and craftsmen for the trip in Normandy. Gadifer de La Salle also sold his property, bought a ship for the crossing in La Rochelle, recruited people in the county of Bigorre, which he administered as seneschal, and renounced this office. Such a commitment by Gadifer de La Salle suggests that he assumed that he would participate in this company on the condition of equality.

First stay in the Canary Islands

On May 1, 1402, the journey began from La Rochelle. At that time there was no express approval or even an order for the operation of the French or the Castilian king. In order to take water and other equipment on board, stopovers were made in La Coruña and Cádiz . During the port stays on the Spanish peninsula, a large number of the recruited soldiers deserted, so that when they arrived on the Canary Island of La Graciosa at the end of July 1402 only 63 (according to another source only 53) people were on the ship.

From the uninhabited island of La Graciosa, the ship reached the south coast of the island of Lanzarote. There Jean de Béthencourt succeeded in negotiating with the Majos , the indigenous people of Lanzarote, to conclude a treaty. A great help in the negotiations for Jean de Béthencourt were two former residents of the island of Lanzarote who had been deported to Europe as slaves and who acted as informants about the situation and interpreters. The treaties allowed the French to build a fortified settlement on the island. In return, they were supposed to protect the majos from slave hunters. The construction of the settlement, called Rubicón , began immediately. It consisted of a fortified tower , wells, houses and a church dedicated to Saint Martial of Limoges . The location of the settlement combines three important components: the property as a port, the availability of drinking water and the possibility of building further fortifications on the surrounding heights.

Gadifer de La Salle explored the island of Fuerteventura without meeting residents or finding food. Since the food supplies they had brought with them were not sufficient for a long time and more people were needed for the occupation and settlement of other islands, Gadifer de La Salle and Jean de Béthencourt agreed that Jean de Béthencourt should return to Castile to obtain supplies and personnel reinforcement .

Right at the start of Jean de Béthencourt's absence, some of his people began a mutiny under the direction of Bertin de Berneval, one of the officers enlisted by Jean de Béthencourt. They plundered the remaining supplies of the French on the island, took a large number of Majos prisoner in order to sell them as slaves to a Castilian pirate ship lying off the island of Graciosa and to take this ship to Europe.

On July 1st, 1403, a Castilian ship with supplies reached the island of Lanzarote. On this ship Gadifer went on board with a few people and the two translators to undertake an information trip of three months to the other islands.

Stay in Castile

Jean de Béthencourt's negotiations in Europe were promoted by his relative Robín de Bracamonte (French: Robert de Braquemont). There are different statements about whether this relative was an uncle or a cousin. He was temporarily in command of the guard of the antipope Benedict XIII. in Avignon and was probably the initiator of the papal bull of January 22nd, 1403. In which a forgiveness of sins was granted to the people who decided to help Béthencourt in his crusade against the unbelievers. On the same day the Pope granted a priest, whom Béthencourt was to appoint, permission to accompany him on his expedition to erect and consecrate church buildings on the islands.

Through his diplomatic connections, Robín de Bracamonte was able to act as ambassador of the French King Charles VI from the middle of 1403 . at the court of the Castilian king Heinrich III. worked, Jean de Béthencourt also help there. Jean de Béthencourt received from Henry III. 20,000 maravedís and the title of “Señor de las islas Canarias” (Lord of the Canary Islands). King Henry III issued an order dated November 28, 1403 addressed to Admiral Diego Hurtado de Mendoza and all royal officials in Castile. In it he instructed Diego Hurtado de Mendoza to accept the feudal oath from Juan de Béthencourt and to authorize him to equip ships and to take food as well as horses, cattle and donkeys as breeding animals to Lanzarote and Fuerteventura and granted the exemption of Jean de Béthencourt from the Payment of the “Quinto real” (an export tax). The king declared that “Mosen Johan de Betancort, Lord of the Canary Islands, my vassal, through the service to God and me, is occupied with the conquest of these islands”. He added that the goods brought from the Canary Islands to any ports in Castile should receive the same treatment as if they came from Castile.

Jean de Béthencourt ensured that the Castilian Comendador of the Calatrava Order and the shipowner Juan de Las Casas equipped a ship that brought the necessary supplies to the Canary Islands. It reached the island of Lanzarote on July 1st, 1403.

New stay in the Canary Islands

Jean de Béthencourt returned to Lanzarote in April 1404 after a year and a half absence. When Gadifer de La Salle learned that Jean de Béthencourt from the Castilian King Henry III. had been declared lord of the Canary Islands, he demanded the assignment of one of the islands in order to compensate for the costs and efforts he had invested. Jean de Béthencourt refused. From this time on, open hostilities began between the two heads of the company, which found expression in the fact that Gadifer de La Salle on Fuerteventura began building the fort of Valtarajes.

Gadifer de La Salle was unable to present any written contracts or hope for royal support to assert his claims. He therefore withdrew to France and left Béthencourt as lord of the islands, at which time only Lanzarote was completely subject. The two kings of Fuerteventura were baptized Gadifer de La Salles shortly after leaving.

On the last day of January 1405, Jean de Béthencourt landed in Normandy with the aim of organizing a new expedition to the islands with settlers and craftsmen. He returned to the Canary Islands with soldiers and settlers in May.

The submission of the island of El Hierro by Jean de Béthencourt is described in the 81st chapter of version B of Le Canarien. A translator brought from the Spanish peninsula who was a brother of the king of El Hierro convinced him that he should sign a contract with Jean de Béthencourt. When the king appeared to negotiate with 111 people, he and his company were arrested. T. later sold as slaves. 120 people from France were subsequently resettled on the island. Historians have expressed doubts about the time and details of the course of events mentioned in Le Canarien.

Various passages in the Chronicle of Le Canarien indicate that the rule over the island of Gran Canaria was expected to be the most beneficial. In the failed attempt to invade Gran Canaria, 22 men of Jean de Béthencourt were killed. This led to his leaving the company and finally returning to France in December 1405. He never returned to the Canary Islands, but entrusted his nephew Mateo or Maciot de Béthencourt with the government of the rule. If you add up the length of all Jean de Béthencourt's stays, he spent less than two years in the Canary Islands.

Return to France

The return trip to France via Rome and Florence depicted in the Chronicle Le Canarien is not confirmed by any known source. It is therefore assumed that the author of Version B of the Chronicle is euphemistic. During the spring and summer of 1412, Béthencourt stayed in Castile. On June 26, 1412, Jean de Béthencourt took the vassal oath of King John II in Valladolid . The king gave him permission to mint money and put it into circulation on the islands.

Loss of the Canary Islands

In the battle of Azincourt on October 25, 1415, the army of King Charles VI. defeated by France by the troops of King Henry V of England . As a result, the English brought large parts of northern France under their rule. This also included the area in which the French possessions of Jean de Béthencourt were. Since it was assumed in Castile that Jean de Béthencourt would be forced to pay homage to the English king for his possessions in Normandy, it was to be assumed that, from the point of view of Castile, he would turn into a traitor. In 1418, John II of Castile sent three war-equipped ships under the command of Pedro Barba de Campos to the island of Lanzarote. He caused the representative Jean de Béthencourt to come to Seville, Maciot de Béthencourt, where on November 15, 1419 he irrevocably ceded the lordship rights to the Canary Islands in the name of Jean de Béthencourt to the Count of Niebla, Enrique de Guzmán. Maciot de Béthencourt was confirmed by the Count in his position as captain and governor of the islands. In May 1419 Jean de Béthencourt made the English King Henry V the feudal oath for his possessions in Normandy.

The date of death of Jean de Béthencourt is between August 17, 1425 and January 24, 1426.

literature

• Le Canaria: Retrato de dos mundos I. Textos . In: Eduardo Aznar, Dolores Corbella, Berta Pico, Antonio Tejera (eds.): Le Canarien: retrato de dos mundos (=  Fontes Rerum Canarium ). tape XLII . Instituto de Estudios Canarios, La Laguna 2006, ISBN 84-88366-58-2 (Spanish).
• Eduardo Aznar et al .: Le Canarien: Retrato de dos mundos II Contextos . In: Eduardo Aznar, Dolores Corbella, Berta Pico, Antonio Tejera (eds.): Le Canarien: retrato de dos mundos (=  Fontes Rerum Canarium ). tape XLIII . Instituto de Estudios Canarios, La Laguna 2006, ISBN 84-88366-59-0 (Spanish).
• Alejandro Cioranescu: Juan de Béthencourt . Aula de Cultura de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1982, ISBN 84-500-5034-0 (Spanish).
• Jean Braunstein: Jean de Béthencourt, un Normand à la conquête des Canaries . Corlet, Condé-sur-Noireau 2001. ISBN 2-85480-963-7 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Alejandro Cioranescu: Juan de Béthencourt . Aula de Cultura de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1982, ISBN 84-500-5034-0 , p. 121 (Spanish).
2. ↑ Alejandro Cioranescu: Juan de Béthencourt . Aula de Cultura de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1982, ISBN 84-500-5034-0 , p. 124 (Spanish).
3. ↑ Alejandro Cioranescu: Juan de Béthencourt . Aula de Cultura de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1982, ISBN 84-500-5034-0 , p. 131 (Spanish).
4. ↑ Alejandro Cioranescu: Juan de Bethencourt . Aula de Cultura de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1982, ISBN 84-500-5034-0 , p. 183 (Spanish).
5. ↑ Alejandro Cioranescu: Juan de Béthencourt . Aula de Cultura de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1982, ISBN 84-500-5034-0 , p. 193 (Spanish).
6. ↑ Alejandro Cioranescu: Juan de Béthencourt . Aula de Cultura de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1982, ISBN 84-500-5034-0 , p. 158 (Spanish).
7. ↑ Le Canarien: Retrato de dos mundos I. Textos . In: Eduardo Aznar, Dolores Corbella, Berta Pico, Antonio Tejera (eds.): Le Canarien: retrato de dos mundos (=  Fontes Rerum Canarium ). tape XLII . Instituto de Estudios Canarios, La Laguna 2006, ISBN 84-88366-58-2 , p. 46 (Spanish).
8. ↑ Le Canarien: Retrato de dos mundos I. Textos . In: Eduardo Aznar, Dolores Corbella, Berta Pico, Antonio Tejera (eds.): Le Canarien: retrato de dos mundos (=  Fontes Rerum Canarium ). tape XLII . Instituto de Estudios Canarios, La Laguna 2006, ISBN 84-88366-58-2 , p. 46 (Spanish).
9. ↑ Alejandro Cioranescu: Juan de Bethencourt . Aula de Cultura de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1982, ISBN 84-500-5034-0 , p. 193 (Spanish).
10. ↑ Miguel Ángel Ladero Quesada: Jean de Béthencourt, Sevilla y Henrique III . In: Eduardo Aznar, Dolores Corbella, Berta Pico, Antonio Tejera (eds.): Le Canarien: retrato de dos mundos (=  Fontes Rerum Canarium ). tape XLIII . Instituto de Estudios Canarios, La Laguna 2006, ISBN 84-88366-59-0 , p. 38 (Spanish).
11. ↑ Eduardo Aznar: Le Canarien: Retrato de dos mundos I. Textos . Eduardo Aznar, Dolores Corbella, Berta Pico, Antonio Tejera. Instituto de Estudios Canarios, La Laguna 2006, ISBN 84-88366-58-2 , p. 14th f . (Spanish).
12. ↑ Eduardo Aznar: Le Canarien: Retrato de dos mundos I. Textos . Eduardo Aznar, Dolores Corbella, Berta Pico, Antonio Tejera. Instituto de Estudios Canarios, La Laguna 2006, ISBN 84-88366-58-2 , p. 49 (Spanish).
13. ↑ Le Canaria cap. LXXXI Eduardo Aznar: Le Canarien: Retrato de dos mundos I. Textos . Eduardo Aznar, Dolores Corbella, Berta Pico, Antonio Tejera. Instituto de Estudios Canarios, La Laguna 2006, ISBN 84-88366-58-2 , p. 252 (Spanish).
14. ↑ Alejandro Cioranescu: Juan de Béthencourt . Aula de Cultura de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1982, ISBN 84-500-5034-0 , p. 161 (Spanish).
15. ↑ Alejandro Cioranescu: Juan de Béthencourt . Aula de Cultura de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1982, ISBN 84-500-5034-0 , p. 162 (Spanish).
16. ↑ Eduardo Aznar: Le Canarien: Retrato de dos mundos I. Textos . Eduardo Aznar, Dolores Corbella, Berta Pico, Antonio Tejera. Instituto de Estudios Canarios, La Laguna 2006, ISBN 84-88366-58-2 , p. 15 (Spanish).
17. ↑ Miguel Ángel Ladero Quesada: Jean de Béthencourt, Sevilla y Henrique III . In: Eduardo Aznar, Dolores Corbella, Berta Pico, Antonio Tejera (eds.): Le Canarien: retrato de dos mundos II. (=  Fontes Rerum Canarium ). tape XLIII . Instituto de Estudios Canarios, La Laguna 2006, ISBN 84-88366-59-0 , p. 28 (Spanish).
18. ↑ Miguel Ángel Ladero Quesada: Jean de Béthencourt, Sevilla y Henrique III . In: Eduardo Aznar, Dolores Corbella, Berta Pico, Antonio Tejera (eds.): Le Canarien: retrato de dos mundos II. (=  Fontes Rerum Canarium ). tape XLIII . Instituto de Estudios Canarios, La Laguna 2006, ISBN 84-88366-59-0 , p. 43 (Spanish).
19. ↑ Alejandro Cioranescu: Le Canaries: crónicas francesas de la conquista de Canarias . Ed .: Elías Serra, Alejandro Cioranescu (=  Fontes rerum canarium . Volume VIII ). Instituto de Estudios Canarios, La Laguna 1959, p. 318 (Spanish, [1] [accessed January 23, 2017]).
20. ↑ Miguel Ángel Ladero Quesada: Jean de Béthencourt, Sevilla y Henrique III . In: Eduardo Aznar, Dolores Corbella, Berta Pico, Antonio Tejera (eds.): Le Canarien: retrato de dos mundos II. (=  Fontes Rerum Canarium ). tape XLIII . Instituto de Estudios Canarios, La Laguna 2006, ISBN 84-88366-59-0 , p. 30 (Spanish).
21. ↑ Alejandro Cioranescu: Juan de Béthencourt . Aula de Cultura de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1982, ISBN 84-500-5034-0 , p. 204 (Spanish).
22. ↑ Miguel Ángel Ladero Quesada: Jean de Béthencourt, Sevilla y Henrique III . In: Eduardo Aznar, Dolores Corbella, Berta Pico, Antonio Tejera (eds.): Le Canarien: retrato de dos mundos II. (=  Fontes Rerum Canarium ). tape XLIII . Instituto de Estudios Canarios, La Laguna 2006, ISBN 84-88366-59-0 , p. 29 (Spanish).
23. ↑ Alejandro Cioranescu: Juan de Béthencourt . Aula de Cultura de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1982, ISBN 84-500-5034-0 , p. 232 (Spanish).
24. ↑ Alejandro Cioranescu: Juan de Bethencourt . Aula de Cultura de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1982, ISBN 84-500-5034-0 , p. 234 (Spanish).
25. ↑ Alejandro Cioranescu: Juan de Bethencourt . Aula de Cultura de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1982, ISBN 84-500-5034-0 , p. 238 (Spanish).