MUSTER-ROLL OF VASCO DA GAMA’S FLEET.
The officers and men in Vasco da Gama’s armada were carefully selected. Several of them had been with Bartholomeu Dias round the Cape; all of them, as appears from this “Journal”, justified by their conduct under sometimes trying circumstances the selection which had been made.
Authorities widely differ as to the number of men who embarked. Sernigi (p. 124) says there were only 118, of whom 55 died during the voyage and only 63 returned. Galvão says there were 120, besides the men in the store-ship. Castanheda and Goes raise the number to 148, of whom only 55 returned, many of them broken in health. Faria y Sousa and San Ramon say there were 160, and the latter adds that 93 of these died during the voyage, thus confirming a statement made by King Manuel in his letter of February 20th, 1504, to the effect that less than one-half returned.[419] According to Barros there were 170 men, including soldiers and sailors. Correa raises the number to 260, for he says that in each of the three ships there were 80 officers and men, including servants, besides six convicts and two priests.[420] He says nothing of the store-ship. By the time Vasco da Gama had reached the Rio da Misericordia only 150 out of this number are said to have been alive.
Correa, no doubt, exaggerates. On the other hand, Sernigi’s numbers seem to us to err quite as much on the other side. It is quite true that a Mediterranean merchantman of 100 tons, in the sixteenth century, was manned by 12 able and 8 ordinary seamen;[421] but in the case of an expedition sent forth for a number of years and to unknown dangers, this number would no doubt have been increased. We are, therefore, inclined to believe that the number given by De Barros—namely, 170—may be nearer the truth, namely 70 men in the flag-ship, 50 in the S. Raphael, 30 in the caravel, and 20 in the store-ship. The men in the flag-ship may have included 1 captain, 1 master, 1 pilot, 1 assistant pilot, 1 mate (contramestre), 1 boatswain (guardião), 20 able seamen (marinheiros), 10 ordinary seamen (grumetes), 2 boys (pagens), 1 chief gunner or constable, 8 bombardiers, 4 trumpeters, 1 clerk or purser (escrivão), 1 storekeeper (dispenseiro), 1 officer of justice (meirinho), 1 barber-surgeon, 2 interpreters, 1 chaplain, 6 artificers (ropemaker, carpenter, calker, cooper, armourer and cook), and 10 servants. One or more of these servants may have been negro slaves. The “Degradados”, or convicts on board, to be “adventured on land” (p. 48), are included in the total. Whether private gentlemen were permitted to join this expedition as volunteers history doth not record.
The following “muster-roll” contains short notices of all those who are stated to have embarked at Lisbon in Vasco da Gama’s fleet, or who subsequently joined it, either voluntarily or upon compulsion.
Apart from natives, thirty-one persons are mentioned, and with respect to twenty-six of these no reasonable doubt can be entertained that they were actually members of the ships’ companies.
Those among them whose names appear in the “Journal” are distinguished by an asterisk.[422]
Captains.
* Vasco da Gama, Captain-Major in the S. Gabriel.
* Paulo da Gama, his brother, commanding the S. Raphael.
* Nicolau Coelho, Captain of the Berrio or S. Miguel. He subsequently went out to India with Cabral (1500), and for a third time with Francisco d’Albuquerque, in 1503.
On February 24, 1500, the King granted him a pension of 70,000 reis. He also received a coat-of-arms, viz.: a field gules, charged with a lion rampant between two pillars (padrãos), silver, standing upon hillocks by the sea vert; and two small escutcheons charged with five bezants (Severim de Faria, Noticias de Portugal, Disc. 3, § 15). He seems to have been dead in 1522, for on December 19 of that year, his son, Francisco, begged the King to transfer the pension of his late father to himself.—(Cunha Rivara, Arch. Port. Oriental, fasc. v, p. 254; and Texeira de Aragão, Boletim, 1886, p. 573.)
Gonçalo Nunes, Captain of the store-ship (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 279; Castanheda, I, p. 7). Castanheda, 1st edition, erroneously calls him Gonçalo Gomez. He was a retainer of Vasco da Gama.
Pilots and Masters.
* Pero d’Alenquer, pilot of the S. Gabriel (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 279; Castanheda, I, p. 7; Goes, I, 69; Faria y Sousa, p. 29). He had been with Dias in the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope, and with the Congo mission in 1490.
* João de Coimbra, pilot of the S. Raphael (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 279). A negro slave belonging to him deserted at Moçambique (see p. [30]).
Pero Escolar, pilot of the Berrio (Barros, ib.; Faria y Sousa, p. 29). On February 18, 1500, the King granted him a pension of 4,000 reis. He went as pilot with Cabral.
Gonçalo Alvares, master of the S. Gabriel (Barros, ib.). He subsequently held the office of pilot-major of India (Correa, Lendas, I, p. 570). On January 26, 1504, the King granted him a pension of 6,000 reis (Texeira de Aragão, Boletim, 1886, p. 674).
André Gonçalves. According to Correa (Lendas, I, p. 148), he had been with Vasco da Gama, whose interest had procured him an appointment in Cabral’s fleet. The same untrustworthy author states (p. 152) that Cabral sent him back from Brazil with the news of his discovery, and that the King, immediately after his arrival, fitted out a fleet to continue the explorations in the New World. Barros (I, pt. 1, p. 384) and Castanheda (I, p. 97) state that Cabral sent back Gaspar de Lemos. Neither they, nor, as far as I am aware, any other authority, mention an André Gonçalves in connection with Gama’s or Cabral’s expeditions.
Pursers or Clerks.
* Diogo Dias, clerk of the S. Gabriel (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 279; Castanheda, I, pp. 54, 80; Goes, I, p. 90; Faria y Sousa, I, p. 29). He was a brother of Bartholomeu Dias, the discoverer of the Cape of Good Hope.
João de Sá, clerk of the S. Raphael (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 370; Castanheda, Goes, Faria y Sousa). He again went to India with Cabral (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 403), and subsequently became treasurer of the India House (Castanheda, I, p. 54).
Alvaro de Braga, clerk of the Berrio (Barros, Castanheda, Goes). Vasco appointed him head of the factory at Calecut. Correa (Lendas, I, pp. 89-91) erroneously calls him Pedro de Braga. He was rewarded by the King, February 1, 1501 (Boletim, 1886, p. 675).
Interpreters.
* Martim Affonso (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 289; Castanheda, I, p. 15; Goes, I, p. 74; Faria y Sousa, p. 29). He had lived in Congo.
Fernão Martins (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 290; Castanheda, I, pp. 51, 54; Goes, I, p. 89). Vasco sent him to the King of Calecut, and he was present at the audience which Vasco had of the King (Goes, I, p. 95). Subsequently he filled several positions of trust in India. He is the “African slave” who spoke Arabic, referred to by Correa (Stanley’s Vasco da Gama, pp. 76, 203).
João Martins, see João Nunez, infra.
Priests.
Pedro de Covilhã, called Pero de Cobillones by Faria y Sousa (I, p. 29), who refers to ancient documents and the assertion of F. Christoval Osorio, of the Order of Trinity, as his authorities. He was Prior of a monastery of the Order of the Trinity at Lisbon, and went out as Chaplain of the Fleet and Father Confessor. According to Francisco de Sousa’s Oriente Conquistado, I, p. 477, he died a martyr on July 7, 1498, and this statement is accepted by P. Francisco de S. Maria (Anno historico, II, Lisbon, 1794, p. 323). Fr. Jeronymo de São Jose (Historia chronologica da Ordem da S. Trindade, Lisbon, 1789-94) enlarges upon this by stating that this apocryphal “protomartyr” of India “was speared whilst expounding the doctrines of the Trinity”. At the date of his alleged death, Vasco da Gama was still at Calecut. He may have died of disease. Neither Barros, Castanheda, nor Correa mentions the name of this priest.
João Figueiro. Correa claims to have derived much information from a diary kept by this priest, of which only fragments appear to have come into his possession. Other authors ignore the name (see Stanley’s Vasco da Gama, pp. ii, vi, 260).
Sailors and Soldiers.
João d’Ameixoeira or Dameiroeiro. According to Correa (I, p. 136), he was one of the mutineers who returned to Portugal. No other writer mentions him.
Pedro de Faria e Figueiredo, died at Cabo das Correntes (Faria y Sousa, I, p. 29).
Francisco de Faria e Figueiredo, brother of the preceding. He wrote Latin verses. He, too, died at Cabo das Correntes (Faria y Sousa, I, p. 29).
* Sancho Mexia, incidentally mentioned in the Roteiro (see p. [6]).
João Palha, one of the thirteen who attended Vasco da Gama to Calecut (Correa, I, p. 96).
Gonçalo Pirez, a mariner and retainer of Vasco da Gama (Castanheda, I, p. 54). On May 31, 1497, he had been appointed master of a caravel recently built at Oporto (Texeira de Aragão, Boletim, 1886, p. 563).
Leonardo Ribeyro. According to Manuel Correa’s commentary on the Obras do grande Camões, Lisbon, 1720, this, on the authority of the poet himself, is the full name of the “Leonardo” mentioned in Canto VI, stanza 40. Faria y Sousa (Asia Portuguesa, I, p. 29) identified this “Leonardo” with Francisco de Faria e Figueredo, but subsequently (Commentos aos Lusiadas, 1639) he gave up the point.
João de Setubal, according to Correa (I, pp. 96, 104, 107), was one of the thirteen who accompanied Vasco da Gama to Calecut (see Stanley’s Vasco da Gama, pp. 119, 213).
Alvaro Velho, a soldier (Castanheda, I, p. 54; Goes, I, p. 90; Faria y Sousa). Perhaps this is the Alvaro Velho de Barreyro mentioned by Valentin Ferdinand (Valentino de Moravia or Alemão), in his Description of Africa (1507), as having resided eight years at Sierra Leone (see Kunstmann, in Abhdlgn. d. bayer. Ak. d. W., Cl. iij, t. IX, Abt. 1).
* Fernão Veloso, a soldier (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 283-6; Castanheda, I, p. 9; Goes, I, p. 71; Faria y Sousa; Camoens, Canto VI, stanza 41).
Convicts or Banished Men (Degradados).
Pedro Dias, nicknamed “Northeasterling”. Correa (Lendas, I, p. 46) says that Vasco da Gama left him behind at Moçambique, and that subsequently he came to India (compare Stanley’s Vasco da Gama, p. 106).
Pero Esteves. Correa (Lendas, I, p. 236) says that Vasco da Gama left him behind at Quiloa, and that when J. da Nova reached that port in 1501, he came out to meet him. Barros (I, pt. 1, p. 467) says that the convict who met J. da Nova had been landed by Cabral, and that his name was Antonio Fernandez.
João Machado, according to Correa (Lendas, I, pp. 41, 160), was left behind by Vasco da Gama at Moçambique, but according to Barros (I, pt. 1, p. 406) it was Cabral who left him at Melinde, with instructions to make inquiries about Prester John. Cabral may have transferred him from Moçambique to the more northern port. He subsequently did good service, and Affonso de Albuquerque appointed him alcaide mór of Goa. He was slain in battle, 1515 (see Stanley’s Vasco da Gama, pp. 93-5).
Damião Rodriguez was a friend of João Machado, and a seaman on board the S. Gabriel, from which vessel he deserted at the shoals of S. Raphael. When Cabral came to Moçambique, his grave was pointed out. All this is stated on the sole authority of Correa (Lendas, I, p. 160). Compare Stanley’s Vasco da Gama, p. 94.
João Nunez, a “new” Christian (i.e., a converted Jew), who knew a little Arabic and Hebrew, and was landed at Calecut. In the Portuguese edition of Correa (I, p. 78) he is erroneously called João Martins (see Stanley’s Vasco da Gama, pp. 159, 180, 206).
Natives and others Embarked in the East.
* Gaspar da Gama. This is the “Moor”, or renegade, who joined Vasco da Gama at Anjediva Island. Our anonymous author describes him as about forty years of age, and as being able to speak “Venetian” well. He claimed to have come to India in early youth, and was at the time in the service of the Governor of Goa. Vasco da Gama carried him to Portugal, where he was baptized and received the name of Gaspar da Gama. In the Commentaries of Afonso Dalboquerque (Hakluyt Society, 1884) he is frequently referred to as Gaspar da India. Correa (Lendas da India) usually refers to him as Gaspar da Gama, but also calls him Gaspar de las Indias, or Gaspar d’Almeida. King Manuel, in his letter to the Cardinal Protector, calls him a “Jew, who turned Christian, a merchant and lapidary”. Sernigi (see p. [136]) held a conversation with him at Lisbon. He speaks of him as a Sclavonian Jew, born at Alexandria.
According to the information given by Barros and Goes, the parents of Gaspar fled from Posen, in Poland, at the time when King Casimir cruelly persecuted the Jews (about 1456). After a short residence in Palestine they removed to Alexandria, where Gaspar was born (Barros, I, pt. 1, pp. 364-5; Goes, pt. 1, c. 44).
He accompanied Cabral as interpreter. Vespucci met him on his homeward voyage at Cape Verde, and in his letter of June 4, 1501, published by Baldelli (Il Milione, 1827), he speaks highly of Gaspar’s linguistic attainments, and refers to his extensive travels in Asia.
Gaspar repeatedly accompanied Portuguese expeditions to India, and was last heard of in 1510. Goes (loc. cit.) says that King Manuel liked him, and appointed him a cavalier of his household.
Correa (Stanley’s Vasco da Gama, p. 247) describes this Gaspar as a Jew, who, “at the taking of Granada was a very young man; and who, having been driven from his country, passed through many lands ... on to India”. But, as Granada was only taken in 1492, this is absurd.
Lunardo da Chá Masser, who came to Lisbon in 1504 as ambassador of the Signoria, in a letter written about 1506 and first published in the Archivio Storico Italiano (Florence, 1846), says that Gaspar married a Portuguese lady,[423] and was granted a pension of 170 ducats annually, in recognition of the valuable information which he furnished respecting the Oriental trade.
* Monçaide, who came on board Vasco da Gama’s vessel at Calecut, is stated by Barros (I, pt. 1, pp. 330 et seq.) and Goes (I, p. 98) to have been a native of Tunis, who, in the time of King John II had done business with the Portuguese at Oran, and spoke Castilian. He accompanied Vasco da Gama to Portugal and was baptised. In King Manuel’s letter to the Cardinal Protector he is referred to as a “Moor of Tunis”. The author of the Roteiro calls him a “Moor of Tunis” whom the Moors of Calecut suspected of being a Christian and emissary of the King of Portugal (p. 75).
Correa (Stanley’s Vasco da Gama, pp. 162-5, 221) says that he was a native of Seville, who, having been captured when five years old, turned Moslem, although “in his soul he was still a Christian”. He generally refers to this man as “the Castilian”, and says that his true name was Alonso Perez.
Castanheda (I, p. 50) tells us that the Portuguese corrupted Monçaide into Bontaibo, a combination of the Portuguese bom, “good”, and the Arabic tayyib, having the same meaning. Monçaide is probably a corruption of El Masud, the “happy-one” (Burton’s Camoens, iv, p. 432).
* Malemo Canaqua, or Cana, the pilot who guided Vasco da Gama from Melinde to Calecut. He was a native of Gujarat (Barros, I, pt. 1, pp. 319, 328, 330; Goes, I, c. 38; Castanheda, I, p. 41). Malemo stands for “muallim” or “mallim”, “master” or “teacher”, the usual native designation of the skipper of a vessel, whilst “Kanaka” designates the pilot’s caste.
Davane, of Cambay, said to have been taken out of a dhau to the south of Moçambique, to have agreed to accompany Vasco da Gama to Calecut as broker, and to have been ultimately discharged with good testimonials in November 1498 at Cananor, is only mentioned by Correa (Stanley’s Vasco da Gama, pp. 79, 84, 113, 128, 235). No other historian knows anything about this mythical personage.
* Baltasar, and the four other Moors, forcibly carried away from Calecut (see pp. 73, 75, and 79, and King Manuel’s letter to the Cardinal Protector, p. 115) were taken back by Cabral, as was also the Ambassador of the King of Melinde (Alguns Documentos do Archivo nacional, 1892, p. 97).
Vasco da Gama originally detained eighteen “Moors”. He is stated in the “Journal” to have subsequently liberated six, and to have sent one with a letter to the Zamorin. This would leave eleven, not five. The number of those liberated must, therefore, have been twelve, and not six.