Pěro da Covilhã

Portuguese explorer

• Born: c. 1447
• Birthplace: Covilhã, Beira, Portugal
• Died: After 1526
• Place of death: Abyssinia (now in Ethiopia)

Covilhã was the first Portuguese explorer to visit many lands new to Europeans, including India and southern Mozambique. His report on his travels in India, Arabia, and East Africa may have influenced the course of Portuguese exploration of those regions, and his extended albeit unwilling residence in Abyssinia was critical in the opening of diplomatic relations between its emperor and Portugal.

Early Life

Pěro da Covilhã (PAY-rew duh kew-veel-YO) was born of humble parents in a town about thirty miles from the Spanish border. In his teens, Covilhã served the duke of Medina-Sidonia in Spain, the head of the greatest of Castilian grandee families, the Guzmans. Their entourage was later to include both Christopher Columbus and Juan Ponce de León. While he was in Spain, Covilhã learned to fight and, more importantly, to rely on his wits; he also learned to speak both Spanish and Arabic fluently.

Covilhã returned to Portugal in 1474 and entered the service of Afonso V. In his years with Afonso, he gained distinction as a soldier in Afonso’s campaign to enforce the claim of his wife, Princess Joan (Juana La Beltraneja), daughter of Henry IV of Castile, to its throne against her aunt, Isabella the Catholic. Covilhã also visited France and Burgundy with the king in an unsuccessful attempt to gain aid from Louis XI and Charles the Bold.

When Afonso died in 1481, Covilhã continued in royal service under his successor, John II , holding the official position of squire of the royal guard. King John used Covilhã as a spy and diplomatic agent both in Spain, where there was a dangerous colony of rebellious Portuguese nobles living in exile, and in Morocco, where the Portuguese had captured Ceuta in 1415 and had been active ever since. On one of his trips to Morocco, Covilhã apparently used the purchase of horses as a cover for espionage and secret diplomacy.

Covilhã’s proven resourcefulness, willingness to travel, courage, loyalty to the Crown, experience as a spy, and knowledge of Arabic were almost certainly the reasons why John and his successor, Manuel I , chose him for a mission that would take the rest of his life and secure for him a shadowy but significant place in the history of the Age of Exploration.

Life’s Work

In May of 1487, John ordered Covilhã, about forty years old and married, and an Arabic-speaking Canarian, Afonso de Paiva, to carry out two exceedingly difficult missions: to gather information on India and the navigation and ports of the Indian Ocean, and to visit and establish contact with Prester John , the legendary emperor of Abyssinia. Traveling by way of Valencia, Barcelona, Naples, and Rhodes, Covilhã and Paiva began their Eastern travels disguised as merchants buying honey in Alexandria to sell farther east.

Since neither was ever challenged, it may be assumed that both Paiva and Covilhã had dark hair and complexions and spoke perfect Arabic. Both contracted fever in Alexandria and nearly died. The local authorities confiscated their cargo, anticipating their deaths, but indemnified them when they recovered, which allowed them to buy new trade goods. After this illness at the beginning of his travels, Covilhã was to remain healthy for the remainder of his life.

From Alexandria, they first went to Cairo and from there to Tor, on the Sinai Peninsula at the northern end of the Red Sea. From Tor they sailed down the Red Sea to Aden, where they parted company, agreeing to meet in Cairo in 1490. Paiva left for Abyssinia, but it is uncertain whether he ever reached the court of the emperor. The only fact known about his travels is that he died in Cairo, before Covilhã returned for their rendezvous.

Covilhã sailed from Aden to Cannanore on the west coast of India, disguised as an Arab merchant. From Cannanore, he went to Calicut, the major port for ships embarking westward with cinnamon, pepper, cloves, silk, pearls, gems, and other valuable Asian products. From Calicut, he sailed, probably in early 1489, to Goa, then primarily a port for shipping horses. Impressed with the site, Covilhã apparently suggested it as a very promising center for Portuguese trade and occupation in his lost report to the Crown.

Leaving India, Covilhã sailed to Hormuz, then the richest city on the Indian Ocean. From Hormuz, he continued his travels in the Indian Ocean, sailing down the west coast of Africa, and arriving at Sofala in Mozambique at about the time that Bartolomeu Dias reached the Great Fish River on the east coast of South Africa. While on the African coast, Covilhã heard of the Isle of the Moon (Madagascar), which he also recommended as a potential Portuguese port of call or base. From Sofala, Covilhã returned to Cairo for his rendezvous with Paiva, stopping at Mozambique, Kilwa, Mombasa, and Malindi on the way.

In his travels, Covilhã had gathered priceless information, not only about trade, bases, and ports of call, but also about the monsoons and their use by Arab and Chinese ships in the Indian Ocean. He had sailed from Aden to India on the summer monsoon of 1488 and had left for Hormuz and Arabia on the fall monsoon, shipping in both voyages as a passenger on merchant ships, which took advantage of the prevailing winds. This Arab practice of sailing with the monsoons was to become equally standard for Europeans sailing to India, starting with Vasco da Gama.

Arriving in Cairo in late 1490, Covilhã learned that Paiva had died and had left no account of his travels after they had parted company in Aden more than two years before. In Cairo, he met two Jewish agents sent by John II to find him, Rabbi Abraham of Beja and Joseph of Lamego, a shoemaker. They brought him new instructions from the Crown that the mission to Abyssinia was essential and that Covilhã should finish it. Joseph of Lamego would take Covilhã’s letters back to Portugal, but Covilhã and Rabbi Abraham would visit Hormuz; from Hormuz, Covilhã would go to Abyssinia alone.

There is some doubt as to whether the Crown ever received the reports from Covilhã, which have never been found, although the majority of authorities believe that Lamego did return with them to Portugal and that copies were furnished to da Gama. Since many Portuguese records were destroyed in the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, it seems unlikely that they ever will be found. It is also possible that the reports carried by Lamego were lost in transit or even that Lamego never returned to Portugal. Even if the king never received any reports from Lamego, his successor, Manuel I, doubtless received some kind of oral report on Covilhã’s eastern travels from Rabbi Abraham after his return from Hormuz.

Rabbi Abraham and Covilhã sailed together to Hormuz, where they parted company. Before he left for Abyssinia, Covilhã made a daring side trip; he visited Jidda, Mecca, and Medina. From Medina, he journeyed by caravan to Syria, hearing mass at the Convent of Saint Catherine on Mount Sinai. From Syria, he continued his travels, finally arriving at the court of the emperor of Abyssinia in early 1494. There his travels ended.

Three successive neguses would not allow Covilhã to return to Portugal, although they sent an Abyssinian priest to Portugal as an envoy in 1510. Covilhã was granted lands and made an adviser and confidant of the royal family. He married an Abyssinian, by whom he had several children. He was not the only long-term honored captive. Other Europeans detained in Abyssinia included another Portuguese, two Catalans, a Basque, a German, a Greek, a Venetian, and eleven Genoese, mostly captives who had escaped from the Turks.

In 1520, Covilhã emerged from obscurity to play a crucial role in opening diplomatic relations between Portugal and Abyssinia. After many vicissitudes, a diplomatic expedition sent by the Portuguese from India led by Rodrigo de Lima arrived at the court of the reigning emperor, Lebna Dengel Dawit (David). Covilhã was able to assist the embassy through his knowledge of the language, country, and court. After a long stay in Abyssinia, the embassy was successful, finally returning to Portugal by way of Massawa and Goa in 1527. Covilhã did not return with the party but sent in his place a son, who died on the journey. Father Francisco Alvares, the chaplain of the embassy, published a memoir of the Lima mission, Verdadeira informação das terras do Preste João das Indias (1540; The Prester John of the Indies: A True Relation of the Lands of the Prester John, Being the Narrative of the Portuguese Embassy to Ethiopia in 1520 , 1961), which is the principal source of both the mission and the career of Covilhã.

Nothing is known of the last years of Covilhã’s life. He was still living when the Lima mission left Abyssinia in 1526, but he had died before the military expedition led by Estevão da Gama to assist the Abyssinians against an invasion by Islamic Somalis arrived in late 1541.

Significance

The effect of Covilhã is extremely difficult to assess. No writings by him are known to exist, although the authenticity of his travels has never been questioned. If his accounts reached Lisbon in time to be of use to Vasco da Gama, then he is one of the most significant travelers in history; if not, then he is of secondary importance. His assistance to the Lima expedition is unquestionable, so it can safely be said that his place in history in helping to open diplomatic relations with the empire of Abyssinia is secure.

By any standard, Covilhã ranks with Marco Polo, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, and Sir Richard Burton as one of history’s great wanderers. Traveling alone in hostile country the Muslim world he ran far greater risks than did Burton or Polo. Moreover, as a secret agent, Covilhã could anticipate only a pension and a title if he succeeded. These were ample rewards but hardly those that a successful sixteenth century conquistador or a nineteenth century explorer and travel writer might have received. Covilhã’s travels seem an expression of a personal sense of duty to the Crown and of the spirit of adventure that was characteristic of the Renaissance.

Bibliography

Alvares, Francisco. The Prester John of the Indies: A True Relation of the Lands of the Prester John, Being the Narrative of the Portuguese Embassy to Ethiopia in 1520. Edited and revised by C. F. Beckingham and G. W. B. Huntingford. Translated by Lord Stanley of Alderley. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1961. This is the fullest account of Covilhã and the source for most writings on him. Alvares, generally considered a very reliable source, came to know Covilhã well, and liked and admired him. Internal evidence indicates that the manuscript for The Prester John of the Indies was begun while Alvares was still in Abyssinia.

Diffie, Bailey W., and George D. Winius. Foundations of the Portuguese Empire, 1415-1580. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1977. Diffie and Winius give an adequate description of Covilhã’s travels, although they do not mention his trip to Mecca, Jidda, and Medina. They believe that news of Covilhã’s travels did not reach Portugal before da Gama sailed, basing their judgment on errors that da Gama made in India, which a knowledge of Covilhã’s travels would have prevented.

Hale, John R. Age of Exploration. New York: Time, 1966. Like Diffie and Winius, Hale omits Covilhã’s side trip to Mecca but believes that Covilhã’s message to the king did arrive before da Gama left.

Hanson, Carl. Atlantic Emporium Portugal and the Wider World, 1147-1497. New Orleans, La.: University Press of the South, 2001. Survey of the Portuguese sphere of influence from the twelfth to fifteenth centuries, covering political, economic, and cultural history. Places Covilhã’s journeys in the larger context of his nation’s history, goals, and effects on the world stage. Includes illustrations, bibliographic references, and index.

Landström, Björn. The Quest for India. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1964. Translated by Michael Phillips and Hugh Stubbs. Contains one of the fullest accounts of Covilhã’s eastern travels but very little about his stay in Abyssinia and its significance.

Parry, J. H. The Age of Reconnaissance. Cleveland, Ohio: World, 1963. Parry gives a complete and sympathetic sketch of Covilhã’s Asian travels but says virtually nothing about his stay in Abyssinia.

Penrose, Boies. Travel and Discovery in the Renaissance, 1420-1620. 1955. Reprint. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1967. Penrose writes an account much like Landstrom’s full on Covilhã’s Asian travels, weaker on his Abyssinian years.

Prestage, Edgar. The Portuguese Pioneers. London: A. & C. Black, 1933. Reprint. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1967. Prestage’s work is the fullest of all on Covilhã’s African years and very good on his Asian travels. He also devotes more space to showing his significance than any other author except Beckingham.

Sanceau, Elaine. The Land of Prester John: A Chronicle of Portuguese Exploration. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1944. Sanceau provides what is both the fullest and most readable of all accounts of Covilhã’s career. Writing for a popular audience, Sanceau says little on the significance of Covilhã’s travels but compensates her readers with a very complete view of his life in Abyssinia.

Winius, George D. Studies on Portuguese Asia, 1495-1689. Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2001. Anthology of essays by Winius about the exploration and exploitation of India by Portugal. Includes illustrations, maps, bibliographic references, index.