Jean de Béthencourt
Jean de Béthencourt | |
---|---|
King of the Canary Islands | |
Reign | 1404–1425 |
Born | 1362 Grainville-la-Teinturière, Kingdom of France |
Died | 1425 Kingdom of France |
Religion | Catholicism |
Jean de Béthencourt (French pronunciation:
Background
The Canary Islands were apparently known to the Carthaginians of Cadiz. The Roman writer Pliny the Elder called them "the Fortunate Islands". Genoese navigator Lancelotto Malocello is credited with the rediscovery of the Canary Islands in 1312.[1] In 1339, Majorcan Angelino Dulcert drew the first map of the Canaries, labeling one of the islands "Lanzarote".[2]
Life
Jean de Béthencourt, Baron of Saint-Martin-le-Gaillard, was born in
As lord of Grainville, Béthencourt held seven parishes and rights over all the goods that crossed his land. He held Grainville as a vassal of the Count of Longueville, Olivier Du Guesclin, son of Bertrand du Guesclin. He later held it under Henry V of England who had taken control as a result of his expeditions in France. Around this time, taking advantage of the instability of relations between England and France, it is likely that Béthencourt engaged in piracy against both sides. In 1392, he married in Paris Jeanne de Fayel, the daughter of Guillaume de Fayel and Marguerite de Chatillon.
Siege of Mahdia
In 1390 he accompanied the Duke of Touraine on the
The French were unfamiliar with the terrain, lacked heavy siege equipment, underestimated, and became embroiled in internal quarrels.[4] The Berbers realized that they could not overcome the heavier armed invaders. Tired of the oppressive heat and concerned about the upcoming winter, the French agreed to a treaty negotiated by the Genoese.
It is likely that Béthencourt heard stories regarding the Canary Islands from the Genoese, and of the presence of
Expedition to the Canary Islands
At that time the Canary Islands were mainly frequented by Spanish merchants. To finance his expedition he sold his house in Paris valued at 200 gold francs and some other small pieces of property in December 1401.[5] His cousin,[6] Robert de Bracquemont, French ambassador to Castile, loaned him 7,000 pounds against a mortgage of Bethencourt's estate.[5] According to Moreri, King Henry III of Castile entrusted the conquest of the Canaries to Braquemont who gave the commission to Béthencourt.[2]
Béthencourt set sail from
After passing Cape Finisterre, they put into Cadiz, where he found some of his sailors so frightened that they refused to continue the voyage. Of the eighty crew with which he set out, Béthencourt sailed with fifty-three. He arrived at Lanzarote, the northernmost inhabited island. While Gadifer de la Salle explored the archipelago, Béthencourt left for Cádiz, where he acquired reinforcements at the Castilian court. At this time a power struggle had broken out on the island between Gadifer and Berthin de Berneval, another officer. Berthin spread dissention between the Normans of Béthencourt and the Gascons of Gadifer. Local leaders were drawn into the conflict and scores died in the first months of Béthencourt's absence. During this time, Gadifer managed to conquer Fuerteventura and to explore other islands. It was only with the return of Béthencourt in 1404 that peace was restored to the troubled island. De la Salle and Béthencourt founded the city of Betancuria (as capital of the island of Fuerteventura) in 1404.
Years later Bethencourt was defeated by the aboriginals of the island of Gran Canaria (canarios) in the battle of Arguineguin at south of the island, getting the title of Great. He died in 1425 and was buried in the church of Grainville-la-Teinturière.[7]
Some of his distant family had great power and fortune in the islands. Including Ginés de Cabrera Béthencourt, famous for building the Casa de Los Coroneles (House Of The Colonels) in the municipal area that would nowadays be known as La Oliva.
Béthencourt surname
To this day, Betancourt and other forms of his surname are quite frequent among
See also
References
- ^ "Lanzarote honors Lancelotto Malocello on the 700 anniversary of his arrival on the island", La Voz, April 27, 2012
- ^ a b c d Bernage, Georges. "Jean de Bethencourt, King Canary", Heritage Normand, No. 31, February - March, 2000
- ISBN 9780851157009
- ^ Barbara Tuchman. A Distant Mirror. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1978 pp. 462-77.
- ^ a b c Descendants of Jean de Bethencourt Archived 2007-12-29 at the Wayback Machine
- . Retrieved 28 January 2022.
Bethencourt era primo de Mosén Rubí y no sobrino como se ha venido señalando, ya que era hijo de Marie de Bracquemont, hermana de su padre
- ^ public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Béthencourt, Jean de". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the