Alonso Sánchez

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Alonso Sánchez (also known as Alonso Sánchez de Huelva) was a fifteenth-century mariner and merchant born in Huelva, Spain, on Andalusia's Atlantic coast.

Sometime during the 1480's, while engaged in the coastal trade with North Africa, Sánchez was returning to Huelva aboard one of his ships when he was surprised by a storm that blew his ship drastically off-course into unknown waters of the mid-Atlantic. The small ship, slightly damaged by the storm, encountered unfavorable winds and currents that dragged it further to the southwest. After several weeks, Sánchez and his frightened crew finally sighted land, probably the island of Hispaniola ( Santo Domingo.)

Sánchez and his crew continued beating along the unknown coast until they encountered signs of human habitation, and, at long last, they disembarked at a coastal village where they were hospitably received. The natives were impressed with these strangers chiefly because they were taller in stature than themselves and bearded. (The natives were uniformly beardless.) More significantly, the natives communicated to the Spaniards that their mythos held that, eventually, their gods would come from the sea to visit them. The natives gave their "divine" visitors food and gold; they even offered the strangers their women as gifts. (Some believe that syphilis was introduced to the New World through these acts of generosity.)

After a short sojourn among the natives, the Spaniards began to prepare for their return trip. Sánchez made certain calculations based on his ship's log and his estimates of his ship's course on its outbound leg. The return voyage required about a month at sea. Some years later, Sánchez was introduced to Christopher Columbus, to whom he related the story of his amazing adventure. Many believe that the information provided by Sánchez, concerning headings and distances, influenced Columbus's plans. Others believe that Alonso Sánchez never existed and that he was simply part of an attempt by the Pinzón brothers to discredit Columbus's skills as a navigator.

In the city of Huelva, the city of Sánchez's birth, there are a number of memorials to this little-known pioneering navigator. There is a bust of Alonso Sánchez in the city park that commemorates the voyages of Columbus, 12 October Park. There is also a smaller park in Huelva named for him, as well as a public high school.