Diogo Gomes
Encyclopedia
Diogo Gomes was a Portuguese
navigator, explorer and writer.
Diogo Gomes was a servant and explorer of Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator. His memoirs were dictated late in his life to Martin Behaim
. They are an invaluable (if sometimes inconsistent) account of the Portuguese discoveries
under Henry the Navigator, and one of the principal sources upon which historians of the era have drawn.
Probably a native of Lagos, Portugal
, Diogo Gomes started out as page in the household of Prince Henry the Navigator, and subsequently rose to the rank of cavaleiro (knight
) by 1440. Diogo Gomes participated in the 1445 slave raid led by Lançarote de Freitas
of Lagos on the Arguin banks
, and claims to have personally captured 22 Berber slaves singlehandedly. (Chronicler Zurara, who relates the raids in some detail, does not seem to make notice of Diogo Gomes, although he does mention a 'Picanço', which later João de Barros
suggests was actually the ship and nickname of a "Gomes Pires", possibly a reference to Diogo Gomes).
He was named a royal clerk (escrivão da carreagem real) on 12 June 1451, and went on in the service of both Prince Henry and the Portuguese crown.
In 1456 (give or take a year - his account does not give a precise date), Diogo Gomes was sent out by Prince Henry in command of three vessels down the West African coast. Gomes claims he was accompanied by a certain Jacob, an "Indian" interpreter, which some early historians have taken as a rare indication that Henry envisaged reaching India
at this early stage (but modern historians find this improbable; Russell notes that, at the time, 'Indian' was commonly used as a moniker for an Ethiopian
, and the furthest hope that Henry nurtured was of reaching the lands of Prester John
.)
Gomes is said to have reached as far as Rio Grande (now Geba River
, in Guinea Bissau), a huge leap beyond the last point known to be reached by the Portuguese. But strong currents checked Gomes's course and his officers and men feared that they were approaching the extremity of the ocean, so he turned back. On his return, Gomes put in at the Gambia River
, and ascended up the Gambia a considerable distance, some 50 leagues (250 miles), reaching as far as the major market town of Cantor, an entrepot of the Mali gold trade. Diogo Gomes credits himself as the first Portuguese captain to interact peacefully with the natives in this region (all prior expeditions had been fended off or fallen in hostilities on the Senegambian coast, although Alvise Cadamosto had also sailed successfully that same year). At Cantor, Gomes collected much information about the gold mines and trade patterns of the upper Senegal and upper Niger, of the cities of Kukia and Timbuktu
and the Trans-Saharan trade
routes that stretched to the Moroccan coast.
Although the region was primarily Muslim, Gomes seems to have won over at least one important chief, named Numimansa, with his court, to Christianity
and Portuguese allegiance. Teixeira da Mota identifies 'Numinansa' as the chieftan of the Nomi Bato, and may have been the same chieftan responsible for the deaths of earlier explorers Nuno Tristão
in 1446/47 and Vallarte in 1447/78. The Nomi Bato are probably ancestral to the current Niominka people
of the Saloum River
delta, and although currently classified as a Serer
tribe, were probably originally Mandinka
(or at least acculturated to Mandinka) at the time.
Some time after returning to Portugal, Diogo Gomes was appointed (or rewarded) with the lucrative office of almoxarife (receiver of royal customs) of the town of Sintra
(he was certainly holding that office by October 1459). He would remain in that position until 1479/80 (and continued using the title as a courtesy thereafter until his death).
Diogo Gomes made another African voyage in 1462 (which some historians date as 1460). He sailed down to the Saloum River
delta (Rio dos Barbacins) in Senegambia, to enter into trade with the Serer people of Sine
and Saloum
. There he stumbled upon the caravel of the Genoese captain António de Noli, and they charted a return journey together. On the return, Diogo Gomes stumbled upon the Cape Verde islands, and claims to have been the first to land on and name Santiago
island (his priority is contested by Cadamosto). Diogo Gomes speaks, with some resentment, of how Antonio de Noli managed to reach Lisbon before him and secured the captaincy
of Santiago island from the king before his arrival.
Prince Henry having died in 1460, Diogo Gomes, after his return, retired from active exploring and pursued a career with Henry's nephew and heir Ferdinand of Viseu and the royal court. In 1463, he was appointed royal squire (escudeiro) for King Afonso V of Portugal
. In 1466, he secured a generous royal pension of 4,800 reals, to which were attached duties as a magistrate in Sintra (juiz das cousas e feitorias contadas de Sintra). At an uncertain date, he was also appointed magistrate in nearby Colares
(juiz das sisas da Vila de Colares, for which we have confirmation by 5 March 1482).
His death date is uncertain. Some date it as early as 1485, although historian Peter Russell suggests he lived until at least 1499. We have confirmation he was certainly dead by 1502, from the record of an indulgence
for his soul paid for by his widow.
during the latter's sojourn in Portugal. The exact date of the relation is uncertain, and could be anytime between 1484 (Behaim's arrival) to 1502 (when we have confirmation of Gomes's death). Historian Peter Russell tentatively dates the interview around 1499, as the account refers to the death of António de Noli, which occurred around that time. It is likely Gomes dictated in Portuguese, probably through a interpreter, and Behaim wrote it down in Latin (or alternatively in German, and only later transcribed to Latin).
The resulting memoirs, under the title De prima inuentione Guineae ("Of the first discovery of Guinea"), are the only surviving contemporary manuscript, outside of the official chronicle of Gomes Eanes de Zurara, that attempts give a chronological account of all the Henrican discoveries. The manuscript has also two other parts, De insulis primo inventis in mare Occidentis (an account of Canary Islands
and the Madeira
group) and De inventione insularum de Acores (containing the only detailed record of the Portuguese discovery of the Azores
islands - which Zurara skimps on his chronicle).
Historians generally treat Diogo Gomes's account with caution - his penchant for self-promotion, his advanced old age, his attempt to recollect events more than two decades past, misunderstandings by Behaim's interpreter, the haste of the transcription (the Latin is quite poor, suggesting it was hurriedly written) and possibly even some supplementary massaging of the material by editor Valentim Fernandes, have conspired to make it an imperfect document, with numerous little errors and inconsistencies. Nonetheless, it is an enormously valuable document, containing details that are not found elsewhere.
Among other novelties, Gomes's memoirs are the sole record of what appears to have been the earliest Portuguese expedition, a 1415 expedition to Gran Canaria
by João de Trasto
(although this is probably just an erroroneous reference fo the 1424 expedition of Fernando de Castro
). Gomes also gives the first detailed account of the rediscovery of the Azores
by the Portuguese in Prince Henry's service.
The memoirs are notworthy for illuminating the character and purpose of Prince Henry the Navigator, ascribing to the prince a deliberate scientific and commercial purpose in exploration. Gomes notes Henry sent out his caravel
s to search for new lands (ad quaerendas terras) from his wish to know the more distant parts of the western ocean, and in the hope of finding islands or terra firma
beyond the limits laid down by Ptolemy
(ultra descriptionem Tolomei); on the other hand, his information as to the native trade from Tunis
to Timbuktu
and the Gambia helped to inspire his persistent exploration of the West Africa
n coast to seek those lands by way of the sea. Chart and quadrant were used on the prince's vessels (as by Diogo Gomes himself on reaching the Cape Verde Islands). Henry, at the time of Diogo Gomes's first voyage, was in correspondence with an Oran
merchant who kept him informed upon events even in Gambian hinterland; and, before the discovery of the Senegal
and Cape Verde in 1445, Gomes claims the royal prince had already gained reliable information of the route to Timbuktu. Diogo Gomes gives a touching account of the last illness and death of Prince Henry.
There is only one manuscript of Diogo Gomes's memoirs, part of a collection of miscellaneous accounts of Portuguese expeditions originally compiled in 1508 by Lisbon-based German printer known as Valentinus Moravus or (in Portuguese, as "Valentim Fernandes"). This collection remained unpublished and unknown until a copy was discovered in 1845 by J.A. Schmeller
in the Hof- und Staats-Bibliothek
in Munich (Codex Hisp. 27). The original Latin text was printed in 1847 by Schmeller in the proceedings of the Bavarian Academy of Science. It has been translated and reprinted several times since. A partial English translation was published in 1937, a full French translation in 1959.
Some editions:
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
navigator, explorer and writer.
Diogo Gomes was a servant and explorer of Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator. His memoirs were dictated late in his life to Martin Behaim
Martin Behaim
Martin Behaim , was a German mariner, artist, cosmographer, astronomer, philosopher, geographer and explorer in service to the King of Portugal.-Biography:The Behaim family had immigrated to Nuremberg because of religious persecution around...
. They are an invaluable (if sometimes inconsistent) account of the Portuguese discoveries
Portuguese discoveries
Portuguese discoveries is the name given to the intensive maritime exploration by the Portuguese during the 15th and 16th centuries. Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of European overseas exploration, discovering and mapping the coasts of Africa, Asia and Brazil, in what become known as the...
under Henry the Navigator, and one of the principal sources upon which historians of the era have drawn.
Probably a native of Lagos, Portugal
Lagos, Portugal
Lagos is a municipality at the mouth of Bensafrim River and along the Atlantic Ocean, in the Barlavento region of the Algarve, in southern Portugal....
, Diogo Gomes started out as page in the household of Prince Henry the Navigator, and subsequently rose to the rank of cavaleiro (knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
) by 1440. Diogo Gomes participated in the 1445 slave raid led by Lançarote de Freitas
Lançarote de Freitas
Lançarote de Freitas, better known as Lançarote de Lagos or Lançarote da Ilha, was a 15th century Portuguese explorer and slave trader from Lagos, Portugal...
of Lagos on the Arguin banks
Bay of Arguin
The Bay of Arguin, or Banc d'Arguin, is a bay on the Atlantic shore of Mauritania. It is south of Cap Blanc, north of Cap Timiris, and contains the islands of Arguin and Tidra.The bay contains the 12,000 km² Banc d'Arguin National Park....
, and claims to have personally captured 22 Berber slaves singlehandedly. (Chronicler Zurara, who relates the raids in some detail, does not seem to make notice of Diogo Gomes, although he does mention a 'Picanço', which later João de Barros
João 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:...
suggests was actually the ship and nickname of a "Gomes Pires", possibly a reference to Diogo Gomes).
He was named a royal clerk (escrivão da carreagem real) on 12 June 1451, and went on in the service of both Prince Henry and the Portuguese crown.
In 1456 (give or take a year - his account does not give a precise date), Diogo Gomes was sent out by Prince Henry in command of three vessels down the West African coast. Gomes claims he was accompanied by a certain Jacob, an "Indian" interpreter, which some early historians have taken as a rare indication that Henry envisaged reaching India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
at this early stage (but modern historians find this improbable; Russell notes that, at the time, 'Indian' was commonly used as a moniker for an Ethiopian
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, and the furthest hope that Henry nurtured was of reaching the lands of Prester John
Prester John
The legends of Prester John were popular in Europe from the 12th through the 17th centuries, and told of a Christian patriarch and king said to rule over a Christian nation lost amidst the Muslims and pagans in the Orient. Written accounts of this kingdom are variegated collections of medieval...
.)
Gomes is said to have reached as far as Rio Grande (now Geba River
Geba River
The Geba is a river of West Africa that rises in Guinea, passes through Senegal, and reaches the Atlantic Ocean in Guinea-Bissau. It is about in total length.Its tributary the Colufe River joins the Geba at Bafatá...
, in Guinea Bissau), a huge leap beyond the last point known to be reached by the Portuguese. But strong currents checked Gomes's course and his officers and men feared that they were approaching the extremity of the ocean, so he turned back. On his return, Gomes put in at the Gambia River
Gambia River
The Gambia River is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul...
, and ascended up the Gambia a considerable distance, some 50 leagues (250 miles), reaching as far as the major market town of Cantor, an entrepot of the Mali gold trade. Diogo Gomes credits himself as the first Portuguese captain to interact peacefully with the natives in this region (all prior expeditions had been fended off or fallen in hostilities on the Senegambian coast, although Alvise Cadamosto had also sailed successfully that same year). At Cantor, Gomes collected much information about the gold mines and trade patterns of the upper Senegal and upper Niger, of the cities of Kukia and Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...
and the Trans-Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade requires travel across the Sahara to reach sub-Saharan Africa. While existing from prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the late 16th century.- Increasing desertification and economic incentive :...
routes that stretched to the Moroccan coast.
Although the region was primarily Muslim, Gomes seems to have won over at least one important chief, named Numimansa, with his court, to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and Portuguese allegiance. Teixeira da Mota identifies 'Numinansa' as the chieftan of the Nomi Bato, and may have been the same chieftan responsible for the deaths of earlier explorers Nuno Tristão
Nuno Tristão
Nuno Tristão was a 15th century Portuguese explorer and slave trader, active in the early 1440s, traditionally thought to be the first European to reach the region of Guinea .-First Voyage:Nuno Tristão was a knight of the household of Henry the Navigator...
in 1446/47 and Vallarte in 1447/78. The Nomi Bato are probably ancestral to the current Niominka people
Niominka people
The Niominka people are an ethnic group in Senegal living on the islands of the Saloum River delta. They are currently classified as a subgroup of the Serer.-Population:...
of the Saloum River
Saloum River
The Saloum River rises about 105 kilometers east of Kaolack, Senegal, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The significant Saloum Delta is located at its mouth, which is protected as Saloum Delta National Park. The river basin lies within the Kingdom of Saloum....
delta, and although currently classified as a Serer
Serer people
The Serer people along with the Jola people are acknowledged to be the oldest inhabitants of The Senegambia....
tribe, were probably originally Mandinka
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
(or at least acculturated to Mandinka) at the time.
Some time after returning to Portugal, Diogo Gomes was appointed (or rewarded) with the lucrative office of almoxarife (receiver of royal customs) of the town of Sintra
Sintra
Sintra is a town within the municipality of Sintra in the Grande Lisboa subregion of Portugal. Owing to its 19th century Romantic architecture and landscapes, becoming a major tourist centre, visited by many day-trippers who travel from the urbanized suburbs and capital of Lisbon.In addition to...
(he was certainly holding that office by October 1459). He would remain in that position until 1479/80 (and continued using the title as a courtesy thereafter until his death).
Diogo Gomes made another African voyage in 1462 (which some historians date as 1460). He sailed down to the Saloum River
Saloum River
The Saloum River rises about 105 kilometers east of Kaolack, Senegal, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The significant Saloum Delta is located at its mouth, which is protected as Saloum Delta National Park. The river basin lies within the Kingdom of Saloum....
delta (Rio dos Barbacins) in Senegambia, to enter into trade with the Serer people of Sine
Kingdom of Sine
The Kingdom of Sine was a pre-colonial Serer kingdom along the north bank of the Saloum River delta in modern Senegal. Much of the kingdom's population was and still is Serer.-History:...
and Saloum
Saloum
The Kingdom of Saloum in Senegal is a traditional kingdom which was renamed Saloum in the late 15th century by the son of a Serer and a Guelowar from the kingdom of Kaabu to the south. The ancient and present capital of the Kingdom of Saloum is the city of Kahone. Previous to that, it was known...
. There he stumbled upon the caravel of the Genoese captain António de Noli, and they charted a return journey together. On the return, Diogo Gomes stumbled upon the Cape Verde islands, and claims to have been the first to land on and name Santiago
Santiago, Cape Verde
Santiago , or Santiagu in Cape Verdean Creole, is the largest island of Cape Verde, its most important agricultural centre and home to half the nation’s population. At the time of Darwin's voyage it was called St. Jago....
island (his priority is contested by Cadamosto). Diogo Gomes speaks, with some resentment, of how Antonio de Noli managed to reach Lisbon before him and secured the captaincy
Captaincy
A captaincy is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. Each was governed by a captain general.-In the Portuguese Empire:...
of Santiago island from the king before his arrival.
Prince Henry having died in 1460, Diogo Gomes, after his return, retired from active exploring and pursued a career with Henry's nephew and heir Ferdinand of Viseu and the royal court. In 1463, he was appointed royal squire (escudeiro) for King Afonso V of Portugal
Afonso V of Portugal
Afonso V KG , called the African , was the twelfth King of Portugal and the Algarves. His sobriquet refers to his conquests in Northern Africa.-Early life:...
. In 1466, he secured a generous royal pension of 4,800 reals, to which were attached duties as a magistrate in Sintra (juiz das cousas e feitorias contadas de Sintra). At an uncertain date, he was also appointed magistrate in nearby Colares
Colares (Sintra)
Colares is a civil parish along the coast of the municipality of Sintra. In 2001, it had a resident population of 7472 inhabitants dispersed in an area of 33.37 km².-History:...
(juiz das sisas da Vila de Colares, for which we have confirmation by 5 March 1482).
His death date is uncertain. Some date it as early as 1485, although historian Peter Russell suggests he lived until at least 1499. We have confirmation he was certainly dead by 1502, from the record of an indulgence
Indulgence
In Catholic theology, an indulgence is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven. The indulgence is granted by the Catholic Church after the sinner has confessed and received absolution...
for his soul paid for by his widow.
Memoirs
Already in advanced age, Diogo Gomes orally dictated his memoirs to the German cartographer Martin BehaimMartin Behaim
Martin Behaim , was a German mariner, artist, cosmographer, astronomer, philosopher, geographer and explorer in service to the King of Portugal.-Biography:The Behaim family had immigrated to Nuremberg because of religious persecution around...
during the latter's sojourn in Portugal. The exact date of the relation is uncertain, and could be anytime between 1484 (Behaim's arrival) to 1502 (when we have confirmation of Gomes's death). Historian Peter Russell tentatively dates the interview around 1499, as the account refers to the death of António de Noli, which occurred around that time. It is likely Gomes dictated in Portuguese, probably through a interpreter, and Behaim wrote it down in Latin (or alternatively in German, and only later transcribed to Latin).
The resulting memoirs, under the title De prima inuentione Guineae ("Of the first discovery of Guinea"), are the only surviving contemporary manuscript, outside of the official chronicle of Gomes Eanes de Zurara, that attempts give a chronological account of all the Henrican discoveries. The manuscript has also two other parts, De insulis primo inventis in mare Occidentis (an account of Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
and the Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
group) and De inventione insularum de Acores (containing the only detailed record of the Portuguese discovery of the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
islands - which Zurara skimps on his chronicle).
Historians generally treat Diogo Gomes's account with caution - his penchant for self-promotion, his advanced old age, his attempt to recollect events more than two decades past, misunderstandings by Behaim's interpreter, the haste of the transcription (the Latin is quite poor, suggesting it was hurriedly written) and possibly even some supplementary massaging of the material by editor Valentim Fernandes, have conspired to make it an imperfect document, with numerous little errors and inconsistencies. Nonetheless, it is an enormously valuable document, containing details that are not found elsewhere.
Among other novelties, Gomes's memoirs are the sole record of what appears to have been the earliest Portuguese expedition, a 1415 expedition to Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria is the second most populous island of the Canary Islands, with a population of 838,397 which constitutes approximately 40% of the population of the archipelago...
by João de Trasto
João de Trasto
João de Trasto is alleged to have captained in 1415 the first exploratory expedition dispatched by Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal. Probably departing from the port of Lagos, the Portuguese nobleman was forced by foul weather to part of the Grand Canary island called Telli...
(although this is probably just an erroroneous reference fo the 1424 expedition of Fernando de Castro
Fernando de Castro
Dom Fernando de Castro was a 15th C. Portuguese nobleman, diplomat and military figure. Fernando de Castro was the 1st Lord of Paúl de Boquilobo...
). Gomes also gives the first detailed account of the rediscovery of the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
by the Portuguese in Prince Henry's service.
The memoirs are notworthy for illuminating the character and purpose of Prince Henry the Navigator, ascribing to the prince a deliberate scientific and commercial purpose in exploration. Gomes notes Henry sent out his caravel
Caravel
A caravel is a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave her speed and the capacity for sailing to windward...
s to search for new lands (ad quaerendas terras) from his wish to know the more distant parts of the western ocean, and in the hope of finding islands or terra firma
Terra firma
Terra firma is a Latin phrase meaning "solid earth" . The phrase refers to the dry land mass on the earth's surface and is used to differentiate from the sea or air.Terra Firma may also refer to:...
beyond the limits laid down by Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
(ultra descriptionem Tolomei); on the other hand, his information as to the native trade from Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
to Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...
and the Gambia helped to inspire his persistent exploration of the West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
n coast to seek those lands by way of the sea. Chart and quadrant were used on the prince's vessels (as by Diogo Gomes himself on reaching the Cape Verde Islands). Henry, at the time of Diogo Gomes's first voyage, was in correspondence with an Oran
Oran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
merchant who kept him informed upon events even in Gambian hinterland; and, before the discovery of the Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
and Cape Verde in 1445, Gomes claims the royal prince had already gained reliable information of the route to Timbuktu. Diogo Gomes gives a touching account of the last illness and death of Prince Henry.
There is only one manuscript of Diogo Gomes's memoirs, part of a collection of miscellaneous accounts of Portuguese expeditions originally compiled in 1508 by Lisbon-based German printer known as Valentinus Moravus or (in Portuguese, as "Valentim Fernandes"). This collection remained unpublished and unknown until a copy was discovered in 1845 by J.A. Schmeller
Johann Andreas Schmeller
Johann Andreas Schmeller was a German philologist who initially studied the Bavarian dialect. From 1828 until his death he taught in the University of Munich. He died in 1852.-Biography:...
in the Hof- und Staats-Bibliothek
Bavarian State Library
The Bavarian State Library in Munich is the central "Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria and one of Europe's most important universal libraries. With its collections currently comprising around 9.39 million books, it ranks among the best research libraries...
in Munich (Codex Hisp. 27). The original Latin text was printed in 1847 by Schmeller in the proceedings of the Bavarian Academy of Science. It has been translated and reprinted several times since. A partial English translation was published in 1937, a full French translation in 1959.
Some editions:
- "De prima inventione Guineae, qualiter fuit inventa Aethiopia australis quae Libya inferior nuncupatur ultra descriptionen Potlemaei, qaeu Agizimba nominabatur, nunc vero Guinea ab inventoribis Portugalensibus nuncupata est usque hodiernum diem, quam inventionem retulit Dioguo Gomez Almoxeriff palatii Sinterii Martino da Bohemia inclito militi Alemano" p.18, "De insulis primo inventis in mari oceano occidentis, et primo de Insulis fortunatis, quae nunc de Canaria vocantur" p.34 and "De inventione insularum de Açores" p.40, in J.A. SchmellerJohann Andreas SchmellerJohann Andreas Schmeller was a German philologist who initially studied the Bavarian dialect. From 1828 until his death he taught in the University of Munich. He died in 1852.-Biography:...
(1847) "Ueber Valentim Fernandez Alemão und seine Sammlung von Nachrichten über die Entdeckungen und Besitzungen der Portugiesen in Afrika und Asien bis zum Jahre 1508, enthalten in einer gleichseitigen portugiesischen Handschrift der köngl. Hof-und Staats-Bibliothek zu München.", Abhandlungen der Philosophisch-Philologischen Classe der Königlich Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Munich, Vol. 4, Part 3. online
- Portuguese translation by Gabriel Pereira (1898–99) as "As Relações do Descobrimento da Guiné e das ilhas dos Açores, Madeira e Cabo Verde" in Boletim da Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa, no. 5 online
- Partial English translation as "The Voyages of Diogo Gomes" in Gerald Roe Crone, editor, (1937) The voyages of Cadamosto and other documents on Western Africa in the second half of the fifteenth century. London: Hakluyt Society.
- António Baião (1940) O Manuscrito 'Valentim Fernandes, Lisbon: Academia Portuguesa da Historia
- French translation in T. Monod, R. Mauny and G. Duval (1959) De la première découverte de la Guinée: récit par Diogo Gomes (fin XVe. siècle), Bissau: Centro de Estudos da Guiné Portugesa.
- Jose Pereira da Costa (1997) Códice Valentim Fernandes, Lisbon: Academia Portugues da Historia.
- Revised Portuguese translation in Aires Augusto Nascimento (2002) Descobrimento primeiro da Guiné. Lisbon: Colibri.
Books
- Richard Henry MajorRichard Henry MajorRichard Henry Major was a geographer and map librarian who curated the map collection of the British Museum from 1844 until his retirement in 1880. During that time he published a number of books related to maps or documents of historical significance...
, Life of Prince Henry the Navigator, pp. xviii., xix., 64-65, 287-299, 303-305 (London, 1868) - CR BeazleyCharles Raymond BeazleySir Charles Raymond Beazley was a British historian. He was Professor of History at the University of Birmingham from 1909-1933.He was educated at St Paul's School, King's College London and Balliol College, Oxford...
, Prince Henry the Navigator, 289-298, 304-305 - Introduction to Azurara's Discovery and Conquest of Guinea, ii., iv., xiv., xxv.-xxvii., xcii.-xcvi. (London, 1899).
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- Russell, Peter E. (2000) Prince Henry 'the Navigator': a life. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press.
- Teixera da Mota, Avelino (1946) "A descoberta da Guiné", Boletim cultural da Guiné Portuguesa, Vol. 1. Part 1 in No. 1 (Jan), p. 11-68, Pt. 2 in No. 2 (Apr), p. 273-326; Pt. 3 in No. 3 (Jul), p. 457-509.