Gil Eanes

Portuguese navigator and explorer

Gil Eannes

Born|

Lagos, Kingdom of Portugal

Nationality| Portuguese
Other names| Eannes, Gilianez
Occupation(s)| Navigator and explorer
Known for| First person to sail beyond Cape Bojador

Gil Eanes (or Eannes, in the old Portuguese spelling; Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʒil iˈɐnɨʃ]) was a 15th-century Portuguese navigator and explorer.

## Biography

[edit]

Gil Eanes was born in Lagos[1] in 1395. Little is known about his personal life prior to his role in the Portuguese Age of Discovery, and was considered a household servant and shield-bearer of the Infante Henry the Navigator. He was a native of Lagos on which he based his sea voyages, in the southern Algarve.[2]

Statue of Gil Eanes in his native town: the city of Lagos

He joined the service of Prince Henry's expeditions in 1433, when the Infante entrusted him with a vessel and crew, in order to attempt to round Cape Bojador, a cape impassable with their level of knowledge and equipment.[2][3] Sailing from Lagos, Portugal, Eanes made an unknown number of voyages along the west coast of Africa, before being driven west towards the Canary Islands.[4] In the islands he captured some natives and returned with them as captives to Sagres, excusing his failure by recounting the dangers of the trip. His return was greeted with reserve and coldness in the court of Prince Henry, who had expected the navigator to succeed in rounding the Cape.[2] Eanes hoped to return to favour in the following year, if the Prince would favour him with a second expedition.[2] In 1434, his barquentine-caravel[4] and crew was able to sail beyond Cape Bojador and return to Sagres via a volta do mar, reporting the conditions of the water, land and ease of navigation beyond the Cape, and bringing with him some wild roses to prove that they had succeeded in their expedition.[5] The discovery of a passable route around Cape Bojador marked the beginning of the Portuguese exploration of Africa.[6]

Eanes made another voyage, with Afonso Gonçalves Baldaia, in 1435.[2] They sailed about 30 leagues (144 km), or even 50 leagues (240 km) south of Cape Bojador and reached the African coast. Although they did not discover any inhabitants immediately, they did find traces of a human presence, during a voyage that was considered favourable. They named the bay in which they anchored Angra dos Ruivos (Cove of Reds), for the abundance of fish (resembling gurnets) that they caught in the waters.[2]

## Namesakes

[edit]

A city square is named in his native city of Lagos, Portugal.

An old lyceum in Mindelo on the island of São Vicente, Cape Verde, was named for him. In the 1930s, it had the best education on the island and the archipelago. Today it is known as Escola Jorge Barbosa, and forms a campus of the University of Cape Verde.[7]

A Portuguese Navy ship built in 1955 was named after him.

## See also

[edit]

* List of explorations
* List of explorers
* Portuguese Empire
* Timeline of European exploration

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ "Gil Eanes doubles the Bojador", Ensina RTP
2. ^ a b c d e f Robert Kerr (1844), p.183
3. ^ Alan Viliers (1956), p.28
4. ^ a b Alan Viliers (1956), p.30
5. ^ Samuel Morison (1974)
6. ^ Dartnell, Lewis (2019-05-14). Origins: How Earth's History Shaped Human History. Basic Books. pp. 223–224\. ISBN 978-1-5416-1789-6. OCLC 1101101039.
7. ^ University of Cape Verde Archived 2018-09-16 at the Wayback Machine: Liceu Gil Eanes

## Sources

[edit]

Library resources about
Gil Eanes

* * *

* Resources in your library
* Resources in other libraries

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gil Eanes.

* Morison, Samuel Eliot (1974), The European Discovery of America: The Southern Voyages, 1492–1616, New York: Oxford University Press
* Kerr, Robert (1844), A general history and collection of voyages and travels, arranged..., vol. 2, Edinburgh, Scotland: William Blackwood
* Villiers, Alan (1956), Pioneers of the Seven Seas, London, England: Routledge & Paul
* Ray Howgego. "Gil Eannes". Discoverers Web. Archived from the original on 2007-02-08.
* Seed, Patricia (2007), "Navigating the Mid-Atlantic, or What Gil Eanes Achieved", in Cañizares-Esguerra, Jorge; Seeman, Erik R. (eds.), The Atlantic in Global History, 1500–2000, London, England: Pearson

* v
* t
* e

Portuguese explorers

Maritime|

| In service of Prince Henry|

* Afonso Gonçalves Baldaia
* Álvaro Fernandes
* Alvise Cadamosto
* Antão Gonçalves
* António de Noli
* Antoniotto Usodimare
* Bartolomeu Perestrelo
* Dinis Dias
* Diogo Afonso
* Diogo de Melo Coutinho
* Diogo de Silves
* Diogo de Teive
* Diogo Gomes
* Fernando de Castro
* Gil Eanes
* Gonçalo de Sintra
* Gonçalo Velho Cabral
* João de Trasto
* João Fernandes
* João Gonçalves Zarco
* Lançarote de Freitas
* Nuno Tristão
* Pedro de Sintra
* Tristão Vaz Teixeira

|

* Afonso de Albuquerque
* Álvaro Martins
* André Gonçalves
* António de Abreu
* António de Faria
* António de Saldanha
* António Galvão
* António Mota
* Bartolomeu Dias
* Cristóvão de Mendonça
* Cristóvão Jacques
* Diogo Cão
* Diogo da Rocha
* Diogo de Azambuja
* Diogo Dias
* Diogo Fernandes Pereira
* Diogo Lopes de Sequeira
* Diogo Rodrigues
* Diogo Soares
* Duarte Fernandes
* Duarte Pacheco Pereira
* Estêvão da Gama
* Fernão de Loronha
* Fernão do Pó
* Fernão Gomes
* Fernão Mendes Pinto
* Fernão Pires de Andrade
* Francisco Serrão
* Gaspar Corte-Real
* Gaspar de Lemos
* Gomes de Sequeira
* Gonçalo Álvares
* Gonçalo Coelho
* João Afonso do Estreito
* João Álvares Fagundes
* João da Gama
* João da Nova
* João de Santarém
* João Fernandes Lavrador
* João Grego
* João Infante
* João Serrão
* João Vaz Corte-Real
* Jorge Álvares
* Jorge de Menezes
* Lopes Gonçalves
* Lourenço de Almeida
* Miguel Corte-Real
* Nicolau Coelho
* Paulo da Gama
* Pedro Álvares Cabral
* Pedro Mascarenhas
* Pero Dias
* Pero Escobar
* Vasco da Gama

Overland|

| Africa|

* Afonso de Paiva
* Alexandre de Serpa Pinto
* André Álvares de Almada
* Francisco Álvares
* Francisco Barreto
* Francisco de Lacerda
* Gonçalo da Silveira
* Hermenegildo Capelo
* Jerónimo Lobo
* José Alberto de Oliveira Anchieta
* José Sapateiro
* Lourenço Marques
* Paulo Dias de Novais
* Pero da Covilhã
* Roberto Ivens
* Sancho de Tovar
* Silva Porto

|

Americas|

* Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira
* António Raposo Tavares
* Baltasar Fernandes
* Borba Gato
* Brás Cubas
* Diogo Álvares Correia
* Domingos Jorge Velho
* Duarte Coelho
* Martim Soares Moreno
* Pedro Teixeira

Asia|

* António da Madalena
* António de Andrade
* Bento de Góis
* Diogo Veloso
* Domingo Paes
* Estêvão Cacella
* Fernão Nunes
* Galeote Pereira
* João Cabral

In foreign service|

* Alberto del Canto
* Aleixo Garcia
* Antonio Díaz de Cardoso
* Estêvão Gomes
* Ferdinand Magellan
* Gaspar Castaño de Sosa
* George Ura
* Ginés de Mafra
* Jean Alfonse
* Juan Díaz de Solís
* Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo
* Luis de Carvajal y de la Cueva
* Luís Vaz de Torres
* Manuel de Mederos
* Ñuño Fernández Lobo
* Pedro Fernandes de Queirós
* Sebastião Rodrigues Soromenho

* Portuguese discoveries

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States

Other|

* Yale LUX

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template