Tristão da Cunha, in a 1575 engraving.

Tristão da Cunha (sometimes spelled Tristão d'Acunha; Portuguese pronunciation: [tɾiʃˈtɐ̃ũ dɐ ˈkuɲɐ]; c. 1460 – c. 1540) was a Portuguese explorer and naval commander. In 1514 he served as ambassador from king Manuel I of Portugal to Pope Leo X leading a luxurious embassy presenting in Rome the new conquests of Portugal. He later became a member of the Portuguese privy council.

[edit] 1506 voyage

Cunha was born in Portugal, c. 1460. He was nominated as first viceroy of Portuguese India in 1504, but could not take up this post owing to temporary blindness.

In 1506 he was appointed commander of a fleet of 15 ships sent to the east coast of Africa and off India. His cousin, Afonso de Albuquerque was in charge of a squadron of five vessels in this fleet that subsequently detached. Their mission was to conquest Socotra and build a fortress there, hoping to close the trade in the Red Sea. They sailed together until they reached Mozambique^[1]. In the Mozambique Channel they found his friend captain João da Nova stranded while returning from India. They rescued him and the ship Frol de la mar, both joining the fleet^[2]. After a series of successful attacks on Arab cities on the east coast of Africa, they headed to Socotra island. In this travel Tristão da Cunha discovered a group of remote islands in the south Atlantic Ocean, 2816 km (1750 miles) from South Africa. Although rough seas prevented a landing then, he named the main island after himself, Ilha de Tristão da Cunha, which was later anglicised to Tristan da Cunha. After discovering the Tristan da Cunha Islands, Cunha landed in Madagascar. He subsequently visited Mozambique, Brava (where he reduced Arab power), and Socotra (which he conquered). He also distinguished himself in India in various actions, like the Siege of Cannanore (1507): the Portuguese garrison was on the verge of being overwhelmed, when on 27 August the fleet of 11 ships under Tristão da Cunha coming from Socotra appeared and relieved them with 300 men.^[3]

Elephant Hanno and his mahout, Pen and ink, 1575, Museum of Fine Arts in Angers.

[edit] Embassy to Pope Leo X

After returning to Europe, Tristão da Cunha was sent as ambassador from king Manuel I to Pope Leo X in 1514 to presenting the new conquests of the Portuguese Empire.

On March 12, 1514 the huge luxurious embassy walked the streets of Rome in an extravagant procession of exotic wildlife and wealth of the Indies. The procession featured an elephant named Hanno, as a gift to the pope, two leopards, a panther, some parrots, turkeys and rare Indian horses. Hanno carried a platform of silver on its back, shaped as a castle containing a safe with royal gifts, including vests embroidered with pearls and gems, and coins of gold minted for the occasion. The pope received the procession in the Castel Sant'Angelo. The elephant knelt down three times in reverence and then, following a wave of his Indian mahout (keeper) aspired to a bucket of water with the trunk and splashed it over the crowd and the Cardinals.

For the same occasion a rhinoceros came from India, but the boat that transported it was wrecked off Italy. Despite never having seen it, and based solely on a description of the animal, it was portrayed by Albrecht Dürer in his very famous Rhinoceros woodcuts in 1515.

Although Tristão da Cunha had never assumed the post of Viceroy of India, his son Nuno da Cunha was the 9th Governor of Portuguese India in 1529. The tomb of Tristão da Cunha is located at the Church of Sra. da Encarnação in Olhalvo (near Alenquer).

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Tristan da Cunha island article in Italian