António de Saldanha
Encyclopedia
António de Saldanha was a Castilian
-Portuguese
16th century captain
. He was the first European to set anchor in what is now called Table Bay
, South Africa, and made the first recorded ascent
of Table Mountain
.
(p. 412) and Fernão Lopes de Castanheda
(p. 157) identify António de Saldanha as a "Castilian
nobleman" who arrived in Portugal around 1497, in the household service of the queen Maria of Aragon. His original Spanish name is unknown, 'Saldanha' being probably just a reference to the Castilian town of Saldaña
, from where he might have been originally from.
fleet bound for India
to reinforce the Portuguese settlement at Cochin. Although accompanying the India fleet, Saldanha's squad was said to have been given separate instructions to patrol the mouth of the Red Sea
, and prey on Arab shipping.
Saldanha's three-ship squad (himself, Rui Lourenço Ravasco and Diogo Fernandes Pereira
) set out of Lisbon in early May 1503, intending to catch up with Albuquerque's main fleet, which had gone on ahead. Poor pilotage, however, led to numeous errors. The squad mistakenly sailed into the Gulf of Guinea
, Saldanha and Lourenço alighting near São Tomé
, with no idea where their third ship might be (Diogo Fernandes was actually on the proper track, sailing on alone). The remaining two began to make their way painfully south along the African coast, against the contrary winds and currents. Somewhere along the way, Saldanha and Lourenço lost sight of each other as well.
Again, by poor piloting, Saldanha miscalculated his Cape crossing, and ended up making landfall just north of the Cape of Good Hope
. To check if the cape had been surpassed, Saldanha anchored in the hitherto unknown Table Bay
, and went ashore. Saldanha thus became the first European to set foot in what was to become modern Cape Town
. Saldanha climbed the flat-topped mountain adjacent to the bay and identified the tip of the Cape (Cape Point
) further to the south. He named the peak Table Mountain and carved a cross in the rock of a nearby formation, traces of which can still be found on Lion's Head
today. Saldanha replenished his water supplies at a local watering hole (he also got into a brief skirmish with local Khoikhoi
and was slightly wounded), before returning to his ship.
Table Bay was promptly named Aguada de Saldanha (Saldanha's watering stop) by Portuguese 16th C. cartographers. In 1601 a Dutch seafarer and cartographer, Joris van Spilbergen
identified a bay further to the north of the Cape as Aguada de Saldanha. Henceforth this location became known as Saldanha Bay
and the place where Saldanha anchored was renamed Table Bay.
Events from here are a bit obscure. It seems after multiple attempts, Saldanha finally doubled the cape, but his ship was in sufficiently poor shape to force him to put into Mossel Bay
for repair. A note left at that watering hole says he was still there in October, 1503. During this interlude, Rui Lourenço Ravasco was actually waiting for him in Mozambique Island. With no sign of Saldanha, Lourenço entertained himself with some freelance piracy on the East African coast, capturing ships off Kilwa
and reducing Zanzibar
and Barawa
to tribute, and battling against Mombassa (who were besieging the Portuguese-allied Malindi). Diogo Fernandes, with still no idea where the others were, was waiting patiently in the mouth of the Red Sea by himself.
Saldanha finally left South Africa and caught up with Lourenço Ravasco at Malindi
. They proceeded together to force a treaty on Mombassa, before heading up to the Red Sea. Saldanha and Lourenço Ravasco spent the winter of 1503-04 around Cape Guardafui
, capturing numerous Arab merchant ships. They were completely ignorant that Diogo Fernandes was just nearby, quietly wintering by himself at the island of Socotra
.
In the Spring of 1504, entrusting much of their stolen treasures to the safekeeping of the King of Malindi
, Saldanha and Lourenço Ravasco sailed across the Indian Ocean
to India. But badly battered, they were forced to stop for a long period of repairs and rest at Anjediva island, apparently unaware that, at the very moment, a desperate battle
was being fought at Cochin, between the small Portuguese garrison and the large army of the Zamorin of Calicut.
In September, 1504, Saldanha and Lourenço Ravasco were found by 6th India Armada
, under the command of Lopo Soares de Albergaria
, who helped them finish their repairs, annexed them into his fleet and proceeded down to Cochin. Saldanha participated in several actions in India in late 1504, notably the razing of Cranganore in October.
In January, 1505, Saldanha joined the return fleet back to Lisbon. The fleet stopped by Malindi
to pick up his deposited treasure and arrived in Lisbon in July.
, António de Saldanha returned to the Indian Ocean in 1506, with the 8th Armada under Tristão da Cunha
, albeit not as a captain of his own ship. He came principally as a navigator, to help guide the Red Sea-bound squad of Afonso de Albuquerque
around Cape Guardafui
.
In late 1506/early 1507, when the fleet was lingering in Mozambique Island waiting for favorable winds, the admiral Tristão da Cunha placed his own flagship, the Sant' Iago, under the temporary command of Saldanha, while he went off on some exploratory expeditions on the African coast in a smaller boat.
Cunha soon came across the Flor de la Mar, the ship of João da Nova
, who, on the return from India the previous year, had sprung a bad leak and been forced to stop for repairs. The spice cargo was transferred to another ship (unnamed) and placed under the command of Antonio de Saldanha, with instructions to sail it safely back to Lisbon.
It is said that Saldanha did stop by Saldanha Bay
(the modern one, not Table Bay) on the return journey.
and Mozambique Island (East Africa), succeeding the late Vasco Gomes de Abreu. He set out in the Spring of 1509 as a passenger with the 11th Armada under D. Fernando Coutinho, and was deposited at Mozambique Island in August, and took . During his tenure there, Saldanha helped oversee the dismantling of the Portuguese fort at Kilwa
(Quiloa) in 1511.
In 1512, his term in Sofala-Mozambique finished, António de Saldanha was relieved by the new governor Simão de Miranda de Azevedo, who arrived in October. Saldanha took charge of Miranda's ship for the return to Lisbon.
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
-Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
16th century captain
Captain (nautical)
A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...
. He was the first European to set anchor in what is now called Table Bay
Table Bay
Table Bay is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named because it is dominated by the flat-topped Table Mountain.Bartolomeu Dias was the first European to explore this...
, South Africa, and made the first recorded ascent
First ascent
In climbing, a first ascent is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain, or the first to follow a particular climbing route...
of Table Mountain
Table Mountain
Table Mountain is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa, and is featured in the flag of Cape Town and other local government insignia. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the cableway or hiking to the top...
.
Background
Chroniclers Gaspar CorreiaGaspar Correia
Gaspar Correia or Gaspar Corrêa was a Portuguese historian, author of "Lendas da Índia , one of the earliest and most important works about Portuguese rule in Asia, being referred to as a Portuguese Polybius.- Biography :There is little information about the life of the author...
(p. 412) and Fernão Lopes de Castanheda
Fernão Lopes de Castanheda
Fernão Lopes de Castanheda was a Portuguese historian in the early Renaissance.His "History of the discovery and conquest of India", full of geographic and ethnographic objective information, was widely translated throughout Europe.- Life :Castanheda was the natural son of a royal officer, who...
(p. 157) identify António de Saldanha as a "Castilian
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
nobleman" who arrived in Portugal around 1497, in the household service of the queen Maria of Aragon. His original Spanish name is unknown, 'Saldanha' being probably just a reference to the Castilian town of Saldaña
Saldaña, Palencia
Saldaña is the principal town of the fertile Palencia plains in Spain, and may be the town of "Eldana" mentioned by the historian Ptolemy as being conquered by the Roman Empire....
, from where he might have been originally from.
Expedition of 1503
Being a man of "some nautical experience", Saldanha was appointed to head a squad of three vessels, part of Afonso de Albuquerque'sAfonso de Albuquerque
Afonso de Albuquerque[p][n] was a Portuguese fidalgo, or nobleman, an admiral whose military and administrative activities as second governor of Portuguese India conquered and established the Portuguese colonial empire in the Indian Ocean...
fleet bound for India
5th Portuguese India Armada (Albuquerque, 1503)
The Fifth India Armada was assembled in 1503 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of Afonso de Albuquerque. It was Albuquerque's first trip to India. It was not a particularly successful armada - navigational mistakes scattered the fleet on the outward journey...
to reinforce the Portuguese settlement at Cochin. Although accompanying the India fleet, Saldanha's squad was said to have been given separate instructions to patrol the mouth of the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
, and prey on Arab shipping.
Saldanha's three-ship squad (himself, Rui Lourenço Ravasco and Diogo Fernandes Pereira
Diogo Fernandes Pereira
Diogo Fernandes Pereira, sometimes called simply Diogo Fernandes, was a Portuguese 16th C. navigator, originally from Setúbal, Portugal. Diogo Fernandes was the first known European captain to visit the island of Socotra in 1503 and the discoverer of the Mascarenes archipelago in 1507...
) set out of Lisbon in early May 1503, intending to catch up with Albuquerque's main fleet, which had gone on ahead. Poor pilotage, however, led to numeous errors. The squad mistakenly sailed into the Gulf of Guinea
Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean between Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian is in the gulf....
, Saldanha and Lourenço alighting near São Tomé
São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two islands: São Tomé and Príncipe, located about apart and about , respectively, off...
, with no idea where their third ship might be (Diogo Fernandes was actually on the proper track, sailing on alone). The remaining two began to make their way painfully south along the African coast, against the contrary winds and currents. Somewhere along the way, Saldanha and Lourenço lost sight of each other as well.
Again, by poor piloting, Saldanha miscalculated his Cape crossing, and ended up making landfall just north of the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
. To check if the cape had been surpassed, Saldanha anchored in the hitherto unknown Table Bay
Table Bay
Table Bay is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named because it is dominated by the flat-topped Table Mountain.Bartolomeu Dias was the first European to explore this...
, and went ashore. Saldanha thus became the first European to set foot in what was to become modern Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. Saldanha climbed the flat-topped mountain adjacent to the bay and identified the tip of the Cape (Cape Point
Cape Point
Cape Point is a promontory at the southeast corner of the Cape Peninsula, which is a mountainous and scenic landform that runs north-south for about thirty kilometres at the extreme southwestern tip of the African continent in the Republic of South Africa. Table Mountain and the city of Cape Town...
) further to the south. He named the peak Table Mountain and carved a cross in the rock of a nearby formation, traces of which can still be found on Lion's Head
Lion's Head (Cape Town)
Lion's Head is a mountain located in Cape Town, South Africa, between Table Mountain and Signal Hill. Lion's Head peaks at above sea level. The peak forms part of a dramatic backdrop to the city of Cape Town and is part of the Table Mountain National Park....
today. Saldanha replenished his water supplies at a local watering hole (he also got into a brief skirmish with local Khoikhoi
Khoikhoi
The Khoikhoi or Khoi, in standardised Khoekhoe/Nama orthography spelled Khoekhoe, are a historical division of the Khoisan ethnic group, the native people of southwestern Africa, closely related to the Bushmen . They had lived in southern Africa since the 5th century AD...
and was slightly wounded), before returning to his ship.
Table Bay was promptly named Aguada de Saldanha (Saldanha's watering stop) by Portuguese 16th C. cartographers. In 1601 a Dutch seafarer and cartographer, Joris van Spilbergen
Joris van Spilbergen
Joris van Spilbergen was a Dutch naval officer of the 17th century.His first major expedition was in 1596, when he sailed to Africa....
identified a bay further to the north of the Cape as Aguada de Saldanha. Henceforth this location became known as Saldanha Bay
Saldanha Bay
Saldanha Bay is a natural harbour on the south-western coast of South Africa, north west of Cape Town. The town that developed on the northern shore of the bay, also called Saldanha, was incorporated with five other towns into the Saldanha Bay Local Municipality in 2000. The current population of...
and the place where Saldanha anchored was renamed Table Bay.
Events from here are a bit obscure. It seems after multiple attempts, Saldanha finally doubled the cape, but his ship was in sufficiently poor shape to force him to put into Mossel Bay
Mossel Bay
Mossel Bay is a harbour town of about 130,000 people on the Southern Cape of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province...
for repair. A note left at that watering hole says he was still there in October, 1503. During this interlude, Rui Lourenço Ravasco was actually waiting for him in Mozambique Island. With no sign of Saldanha, Lourenço entertained himself with some freelance piracy on the East African coast, capturing ships off Kilwa
Kilwa Kisiwani
Kilwa Kisiwani is a community on an island off the coast of East Africa, in present day Tanzania.- History :A document written around AD 1200 called al-Maqama al Kilwiyya discovered in Oman, gives details of a mission to reconvert Kilwa to Ibadism, as it had recently been effected by the Ghurabiyya...
and reducing Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
and Barawa
Barawa
Barawa or Brava is a port town on the south-eastern coast of Somalia. The traditional inhabitants are the Tunni Somalis and the Bravanese people, who speak Bravanese, a Swahili dialect.-History:...
to tribute, and battling against Mombassa (who were besieging the Portuguese-allied Malindi). Diogo Fernandes, with still no idea where the others were, was waiting patiently in the mouth of the Red Sea by himself.
Saldanha finally left South Africa and caught up with Lourenço Ravasco at Malindi
Malindi
Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Galana River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi is 117,735 . It is the capital of the Malindi District.Tourism is the major industry in Malindi. The city is...
. They proceeded together to force a treaty on Mombassa, before heading up to the Red Sea. Saldanha and Lourenço Ravasco spent the winter of 1503-04 around Cape Guardafui
Cape Guardafui
Cape Guardafui , also known as Ras Asir and historically as Aromata promontorium, is a headland in the northeastern Bari province of Somalia. Located in the autonomous Puntland region, it forms the geographical apex of the region commonly referred to as the Horn of Africa.-Location:Cape Guardafui...
, capturing numerous Arab merchant ships. They were completely ignorant that Diogo Fernandes was just nearby, quietly wintering by himself at the island of Socotra
Socotra
Socotra , also spelt Soqotra, is a small archipelago of four islands in the Indian Ocean. The largest island, also called Socotra, is about 95% of the landmass of the archipelago. It lies some east of the Horn of Africa and south of the Arabian Peninsula. The island is very isolated and through...
.
In the Spring of 1504, entrusting much of their stolen treasures to the safekeeping of the King of Malindi
Malindi
Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Galana River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi is 117,735 . It is the capital of the Malindi District.Tourism is the major industry in Malindi. The city is...
, Saldanha and Lourenço Ravasco sailed across the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
to India. But badly battered, they were forced to stop for a long period of repairs and rest at Anjediva island, apparently unaware that, at the very moment, a desperate battle
Battle of Cochin (1504)
The Battle of Cochin sometimes referred as the Second Siege of Cochin was a series of confrontations, between March and July 1504, fought on land and sea, principally between the Portuguese garrison at Cochin, allied to the Trimumpara Raja, and the armies of the Zamorin of Calicut and vassal...
was being fought at Cochin, between the small Portuguese garrison and the large army of the Zamorin of Calicut.
In September, 1504, Saldanha and Lourenço Ravasco were found by 6th India Armada
6th Portuguese India Armada (Albergaria, 1504)
The Sixth India Armada was assembled in 1504 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of Lopo Soares de Albergaria.- The Fleet :...
, under the command of Lopo Soares de Albergaria
Lopo Soares de Albergaria
Lopo Soares de Albergaria was the third Governor of Portuguese India, having reached India in 1515 to supersede governor Afonso de Albuquerque....
, who helped them finish their repairs, annexed them into his fleet and proceeded down to Cochin. Saldanha participated in several actions in India in late 1504, notably the razing of Cranganore in October.
In January, 1505, Saldanha joined the return fleet back to Lisbon. The fleet stopped by Malindi
Malindi
Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Galana River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi is 117,735 . It is the capital of the Malindi District.Tourism is the major industry in Malindi. The city is...
to pick up his deposited treasure and arrived in Lisbon in July.
Passenger in 1506
According to João de BarrosJoão de Barros
João de Barros , called the Portuguese Livy, is one of the first great Portuguese historians, most famous for his Décadas da Ásia , a history of the Portuguese in India and Asia.-Early years:...
, António de Saldanha returned to the Indian Ocean in 1506, with the 8th Armada under Tristão da Cunha
Tristão da Cunha
Tristão da Cunha was a Portuguese explorer and naval commander. In 1514 he served as ambassador from king Manuel I of Portugal to Pope Leo X leading a luxurious embassy presenting in Rome the new conquests of Portugal...
, albeit not as a captain of his own ship. He came principally as a navigator, to help guide the Red Sea-bound squad of Afonso de Albuquerque
Afonso de Albuquerque
Afonso de Albuquerque[p][n] was a Portuguese fidalgo, or nobleman, an admiral whose military and administrative activities as second governor of Portuguese India conquered and established the Portuguese colonial empire in the Indian Ocean...
around Cape Guardafui
Cape Guardafui
Cape Guardafui , also known as Ras Asir and historically as Aromata promontorium, is a headland in the northeastern Bari province of Somalia. Located in the autonomous Puntland region, it forms the geographical apex of the region commonly referred to as the Horn of Africa.-Location:Cape Guardafui...
.
In late 1506/early 1507, when the fleet was lingering in Mozambique Island waiting for favorable winds, the admiral Tristão da Cunha placed his own flagship, the Sant' Iago, under the temporary command of Saldanha, while he went off on some exploratory expeditions on the African coast in a smaller boat.
Cunha soon came across the Flor de la Mar, the ship of João da Nova
João da Nova
João da Nova , Xoán de Novoa or Joam de Nôvoa galician spellings, Juan de Nova, Spanish spelling, was a Galician explorer of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans at the service of Portugal...
, who, on the return from India the previous year, had sprung a bad leak and been forced to stop for repairs. The spice cargo was transferred to another ship (unnamed) and placed under the command of Antonio de Saldanha, with instructions to sail it safely back to Lisbon.
It is said that Saldanha did stop by Saldanha Bay
Saldanha Bay
Saldanha Bay is a natural harbour on the south-western coast of South Africa, north west of Cape Town. The town that developed on the northern shore of the bay, also called Saldanha, was incorporated with five other towns into the Saldanha Bay Local Municipality in 2000. The current population of...
(the modern one, not Table Bay) on the return journey.
Captain of Sofala-Mozambique (1509)
In 1509, António de Saldanha was appointed for a three-year term as captain-major of SofalaSofala
Sofala, at present known as Nova Sofala, used to be the chief seaport of the Monomotapa Kingdom, whose capital was at Mount Fura. It is located on the Sofala Bank in Sofala Province of Mozambique.-History:...
and Mozambique Island (East Africa), succeeding the late Vasco Gomes de Abreu. He set out in the Spring of 1509 as a passenger with the 11th Armada under D. Fernando Coutinho, and was deposited at Mozambique Island in August, and took . During his tenure there, Saldanha helped oversee the dismantling of the Portuguese fort at Kilwa
Kilwa Kisiwani
Kilwa Kisiwani is a community on an island off the coast of East Africa, in present day Tanzania.- History :A document written around AD 1200 called al-Maqama al Kilwiyya discovered in Oman, gives details of a mission to reconvert Kilwa to Ibadism, as it had recently been effected by the Ghurabiyya...
(Quiloa) in 1511.
In 1512, his term in Sofala-Mozambique finished, António de Saldanha was relieved by the new governor Simão de Miranda de Azevedo, who arrived in October. Saldanha took charge of Miranda's ship for the return to Lisbon.
Sources
- João de BarrosJoão de BarrosJoão de Barros , called the Portuguese Livy, is one of the first great Portuguese historians, most famous for his Décadas da Ásia , a history of the Portuguese in India and Asia.-Early years:...
(1552–59) Décadas da Ásia: Dos feitos, que os Portuguezes fizeram no descubrimento, e conquista, dos mares, e terras do Oriente.. Vol. 3 (Dec. II, Lib.1-5)
- Gaspar CorreiaGaspar CorreiaGaspar Correia or Gaspar Corrêa was a Portuguese historian, author of "Lendas da Índia , one of the earliest and most important works about Portuguese rule in Asia, being referred to as a Portuguese Polybius.- Biography :There is little information about the life of the author...
(c.1550s) Lendas da Índia, first pub. 1858-64, Lisbon: Academia Real de Sciencias Vol. 1;
- Fernão Lopes de CastanhedaFernão Lopes de CastanhedaFernão Lopes de Castanheda was a Portuguese historian in the early Renaissance.His "History of the discovery and conquest of India", full of geographic and ethnographic objective information, was widely translated throughout Europe.- Life :Castanheda was the natural son of a royal officer, who...
(1551–1560) História do descobrimento & conquista da Índia pelos portugueses [1833 edition] Lib 1, Ch. 55
- Danvers, F.C. (1894) The Portuguese in India, being a history of the rise and decline of their eastern empire. 2 vols, London: Allen.
- Theal, G.M. (1902) The Beginning of South African History. London: Unwin.