João da Gama
João da Gama (c. 1540 – after 1591) was a
Early years and voyages to the East
Not much is known of his childhood and youth, though is believed that he was born around 1540. His parents were Guiomar de Vilhena, Countess of Vidigueira and Francisco da Gama, 2nd Count of Vidigueira, son of the explorer Vasco da Gama, the discoverer of the sea route to the East. He was married with Joana de Menezes and had one son, Vasco da Gama, who later became captain in Chaul.[1] João da Gama became the captain of Malacca between 1578 and 1582. He received cordially the Portuguese representative who brought the news of the coronation of Philip II of Spain as king of Portugal, but only recognized the new order later, after indication of the Viceroy of India. He had numerous political conflicts within his mandate, caused by alleged personal irregularities that had brought him into political confrontation with the administrative bodiesof the city, which led to a Judicial process.[2] He was accused of harming the interests of Malacca and called to Lisbon to answer for his actions and expose his defense.
He returned to the East with the aim of fulfilling the
Da Gama was well-regarded in Macau, as can be seen from the letter that the Macau City Council wrote to the king on 30 June 1588, in which praises da Gama, then captain of Macau and Japan. They also asked the king that he be granted for life with this captaincy. The Câmara of Macau also mentions the subject of a recent Spanish (Castilian) travel to Macau, and the reasons why should be prohibited, among other subjects. Gama and the Council of Macau also argued that the profits of the voyage could sustain churches, a Misericordia, and two hospitals, being a leper one of them. Da Gama took possession of a carrack of 600 tons that instead of going from Macau to India, went to Mexico, where they could accomplish much more lucrative deals, which were coveted by residents of Macau. Years later, members of the Macau City Council would publicly condemn and criticize da Gama and his voyage.
The crossing of the Pacific
The decision of D. João da Gama, a risk taker, was taken with the knowledge that it was an illegal enterprise, since it was well known the prohibition of trade between the world areas of Portugal and Castile (later Spain) by the Treaties of Tordesillas and Zaragoza, ban reinforced by the letters personally written by Philip II to the Viceroys of New Spain and India, and also directly to the administrative bodies of Macau and the Philippines in 1589 and 1590s, leading to the expulsion of the Spanish from Macau in 1592.
The unusual and exceptional decision to make the journey was due to the expectation that the initiative might be regarded with tolerance, as happened to some Spanish precedents to Macau, but on the other hand, seems it had been taken in desperate position because da Gama was possibly aware that if he returned to Goa, he would possibly be arrested due to charges of having committed serious irregularities. This reality is reflected in the letter that the king Phillip II (I of Portugal) sent to the Viceroy on February 6, 1589, which ordered him "that the noble (João da Gama) that came from China, should be arrest in irons and taken to the Kingdom aboard this Armada", as was also appointed before, in 1587, by the Crown.
João da Gama, however, seemed unaware of this reality in 1588, since he sent from Macau, on November 20 of the same year, a letter to the king informing him of his intention to go to Spain via Mexico, with an alleged justification of give in person to the king part of his mission to China, and show how easy it seemed to be undertaken its conquest (in fact the Portuguese in Macau were against such project). Two days earlier, on November 18, Domingos Segurado, in Macau, also wrote to the king to inform the wreck of a Spanish ship from New Spain in Macau, and the shipment of its crew on da Gama's ship, owner of the voyage to Japan, which, once in Macau, accepted the order of the
After starting the voyage in Macau and due to a damage caused by a typhon, da Gama was forced to seek refuge at the island of
The hypothesis that João da Gama explored or reached
Arriving in Acapulco, before being arrested, he managed to sell the goods, through two
Da Gama's voyage was directly contrary to the Iberian crown legislation, prohibiting commercial transactions between the
In the trans-Pacific crossing from Macau to Acapulco da Gama was preceded by Francisco Gali and Pedro de Unamuno.
Before seeing solved the process to which he was subjected, João da Gama have possibly died in Spain or Portugal after 1591 or 1592.
The search for "Joao-da-Gama-Land" or "Gamaland"
In the 18th century, the
The mythical Gamaland was believed either to have existed between Kamchatka and the American continent. During the next 150 years contradictory maps depicted a jumble of real or imagined islands between Hokkaido and Kamchatka, confusing the existing Kuril Islands with the
See also
References
- ^ "João da Gama, capitão de Malaca".
- ^ A Diáspora Sefardita na Ásia e no Brasil e a interligação das redes comerciais na modernidade, Lucio Manuel Rocha de Sousa e Angelo Adriano Faria de Assis, page 111, Revista de Cultura - 31 - 2009 / 2009 - 31 - Review of Culture
- ^ A Diáspora Sefardita na Ásia e no Brasil e a interligação das redes comerciais na modernidade, Lucio Manuel Rocha de Sousa e Angelo Adriano Faria de Assis, page 111
- ^ ENEMY AT THE GATES, Macao, Manila and the “Pinhal Episode” (end of the 16th Century), Paulo Jorge de Sousa Pinto, Catholic University of Portugal
- ^ COUNT MORIC BENYOVSZKY: A HUNGARIAN CRUSOE IN ASIA - FR. MANUEL TEIXEIRA, page 129
- ^ A Chronological History of the Discoveries in the South Sea Or Pacific Ocean, Volume 2 from A Chronological History of the Discoveries in the South Sea or Pacific Ocean - 5 Volume Set, Cambridge Library Collection - Maritime Exploration, James Burney, Cambridge University Press, 2010, pages 59, 60, 61
- ^ Early Mapping of the Pacific: The Epic Story of Seafarers, Adventurers, and Cartographers Who Mapped the Earth's Greatest Ocean, Thomas Suarez, Tuttle Publishing, 2013
- ^ Early Mapping of the Pacific: The Epic Story of Seafarers, Adventurers, and Cartographers Who Mapped the Earth's Greatest Ocean, Thomas Suarez
- ^ The Spanish Lake, William Lytle Schurz. The Hispanic American Historical ReviewVol. 5, No. 2 (May, 1922) (pp. 188)Page Count: 14
- ^ http://biblioteca.ues.edu.sv/revistas/10701772A65-2-2.pdf[permanent dead link] Historical relations between Macau and the Philippines: a Portuguese perspective, Anuario de Estudios Americanos, 65, 2, julio-diciembre, 39-70, Sevilla (España), 2008, José Manuel Garcia, Gabinete de Estudos Olisiponenses Studies, Portugal pages 48 49 50
- ^ C.R. Boxer, The Great Ship from Amacon (Lisbon, 1959), 52-53.
- ^ A Diáspora Sefardita na Ásia e no Brasil e a interligação das redes comerciais na modernidade, Lucio Manuel Rocha de Sousa e Angelo Adriano Faria de Assis, page 111
- ^ Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of the Northwest Coast of America - Historical Dictionaries of Discovery and Exploration, Author: Robin Inglis. Editor: Scarecrow Press, 2008 (page 137)