João da Nova

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can. (June 2006)

João da Nova (pronounced [ʒuˈɐ̃w̃ dɐ ˈnɔvɐ]) or Juan de Nova (born c. 1460 in Castillo de Maceda, Galicia (Spain); died 1509 in Cochin, India), also know as João da Nova Castela ("João of New Castile") or João Galego ("João the Galician"), was a Portuguese explorer of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean.

Having been born in Galicia (in modern Spain), João da Nova (in Galician Xoán de Novoa), was sent by his family to Portugal as a young boy, in order to escape the struggles between aristocratic factions that were destroying the country (the Irmandiña Revolts). He soon adopted Portugal as his home country and his skills and talent earned him the appointment by King Manuel I of Portugal as Alcaide (Mayor) of Lisbon in 1496.

In early 1501, João da Nova was appointed as commander of the third Portuguese expedition to India. During this expedition, he was the first European to see Ascension Island (1501) and Saint Helena (1502). He returned safely to Portugal. In 1505, he undertook another voyage to India, in the company of the first Portuguese Viceroy of India, Francisco de Almeida.

This event seems to be the beginning of a series of misfortunes in João da Nova's life. He soon had to return to Portugal in conflict with Francisco de Almeida, who did not grant him the title of General-Capitain.

In 1506, João da Nova was commander of the ship Flor do Mar, belonging to the fleet of Tristão da Cunha that was heading for the island of Socotra (about 350 km to the south of Yemen, off the coast of East Africa). In this expedition Afonso de Albuquerque, commander of six ships of the fleet, had to arrest João da Nova because he intended to sail to India, contradicting Albuquerque's orders of going to Arabia to collect supplies in preparation for the conquest of Ormuz. Eventually João da Nova was pardoned, because of the bravery he showed in the attack against Oman. In 1509, João da Nova died in Cochin, India.