Estêvão Gomes, also known by the Spanish version of his name, Esteban Gómez (c. 1483 – 1538), was a Portuguese cartographer and explorer. He sailed at the service of Castile (Spain) in the fleet of

Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the Eas ...

, 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 Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. While historical accounts vary, Gomes may have entered New York Harbor and seen the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

. Because of his expedition, the 1529

Diogo Ribeiro Diogo Ribeiro (d. 16 August 1533) was a Portuguese cartographer and explorer who worked most of his life in Spain where he was known as Diego Ribero. He worked on the official maps of the ''Padrón Real'' (or ''Padrón General'') from 1518 to 1 ...

world map outlines the East coast of North America almost perfectly.

Biography

Gomes was of African descent, and was probably born in

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

, northern Portugal. He sailed to India on Portuguese ships during his youth. In 1518, he moved to Castile, where he was appointed a pilot in the

Casa de Contratación The ''Casa de Contratación'' (, House of Trade) or ''Casa de la Contratación de las Indias'' ("House of Trade of the Indies") was established by the Crown of Castile, in 1503 in the port of Seville (and transferred to Cádiz in 1717) as a cr ...

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

. In 1519, Gomes sailed with Magellan in the first circumnavigation of earth, as the pilot of the ''San Antonio''. When they had reached the Strait of Magellan, though, he and several other men on the ''San Antonio'' deserted the expedition, returning to Spain with the ''San Antonio'' in May 1521. He was immediately jailed, but when the remaining ship of Magellan's expedition reached Spain in September 1522, and the surviving crew related their terrible experience, he was freed. Gomes was able to convince Emperor Charles V to finance a new expedition to find a northern passage to the

Spice Islands A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices are ...

, the fabled

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arc ...

. A 50-ton

caravel The caravel (Portuguese: , ) is a small maneuverable sailing ship used in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave it speed and the capacity for sailing win ...

, ''La Anunciada'', was built for the purpose. The expedition sailed on September 24, 1524, from

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

, with 29 men forming the crew. He arrived in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and later sailed north.Lawson, Russell M., ''The Sea Mark: Captain John Smith's Voyage to New England'', University Press of New England, 2015, p. 39
/ref> Since there is no written account of the voyage, and only a map, there is considerable disagreement about Gomes' itinerary. Gomes may have gotten as far east as the

Cabot Strait Cabot Strait (; french: détroit de Cabot, ) is a strait in eastern Canada approximately 110 kilometres wide between Cape Ray, Newfoundland and Cape North, Cape Breton Island. It is the widest of the three outlets for the Gulf of Saint L ...

and

Cape Breton Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

(in today's Canadian province of

). He also entered Upper New York Bay and the Hudson River (which he named the "San Antonio River"). However, whether he traveled north to south or searched from south to north, is disputed. In either direction, he passed through

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

, where he thought the estuary of the Penobscot River to be the passage. Gomes returned to Spain on August 21, 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

world map outlines the east coast of North America almost perfectly. For a long time, the northern half of the current US coast was named on maps as ''Tierra de Esteban Gómez''."Portuguese Exploration along the Northeast Coast of North America", LOC
/ref> In 1535, Gomes joined

Pedro de Mendoza Pedro de Mendoza () (c. 1499 – June 23, 1537) was a Spanish ''conquistador'', soldier and explorer, and the first ''adelantado'' of New Andalusia. Setting sail Pedro de Mendoza was born in Guadix, Grenada, part of a large noble family that ...

's expedition to

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...

. During the expedition, he was killed in the

Paraguay River The Paraguay River (Río Paraguay in Spanish, Rio Paraguai in Portuguese, Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. It flows about from its headwaters i ...

by natives (1538).

Notes

Arsène Francoeur NGANGA.,2017,Estéban Gomez et Mathieu Dacosta:Marins noirs sur l'atlantique(XVIe et XVIIe siècles).Préface du professeur John.K.Thornton,Edilivre(France)..

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez, Esteban 1538 deaths Deserters Portuguese cartographers 16th-century explorers Portuguese explorers of North America Portuguese explorers of South America 1483 births People from Porto 16th-century Portuguese people Explorers of the United States 16th-century cartographers Magellan expedition

Biography

See also

Notes

External links