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In the fifteenth century, there were a multitude of dangers for long distance ocean voyages. This included; sailing for long distances across unknown waters and enemies, mutinies amongst the crew, food deprivation and the contemporary discouraging myths about the high seas. For these reasons alone, Vasco da Gama’s feat on his first voyage to India was extraordinary and overcoming these and other challenges rightly placed him among the top tier amongst explorers of all time.
But when he left Portugal in 1497 bound for India and fame, he was relying on pioneering work and information gathered by others before him who even then quickly drifted into obscurity. The most immediate and famous of these precursors was Bartholomew Dias but long before him, others contributed to da Gama’s success in their intrepidity, knowledge and age-old low cunning. da Gama and his crew were not the first Portuguese subjects to sail in East African waters, he equally was not the first to do so on official business.
That honor fell to one Pedro da Covilham and therein lies a little known but interesting story that deserves to be told, for it shows the planning and determination with which the small Portuguese nation sought alternate routes to India and the spice islands further east.
By the time of Prince Henry the Navigator’s death, Portugal had focused on the single goal of finding a sea route to India entirely by sea thus completely by-passing their long time enemies and competitors. There were at three possible routes from Europe, one by going around Africa, the second by going through an un-discovered North West passage over the North American continent and lastly by crossing the Polar regions. By 1480, there was enough information to suggest that a sea route to the east was perhaps possible.
Pedro da Covilham (also known as Joao Pires of Covilhao in some accounts) who came from Beira in Northern Portugal, first served the Duke of Seville as a squire or junior knight until about 15 years of age when hostilities broke out with Portugal and he returned to his country of birth. In various capacities, he served first King Afonso V (nicknamed The African) and then his successor King John II both of Portugal. Between 1484 and 1487, he was in Morocco on a variety of missions and it is probably during this time that he increased his knowledge of Arab customs and language.
Map by D. Karanja
He rose in stature and respect in the king’s court and impressed everyone with his language and diplomatic skills and that is why he was selected for what would turn out to be the longest and final mission. In 1486 while the better known Bartolommeo Dias was preparing for this epic voyage down to the coast of Africa, King John II had decided not to put all his eggs in one basket and to send off a different type of exploration via the better known land routes. The voyagers selected were Pedro/Pero da Covilham and Afonso de Paiva who both spoke Arab after their travels in North Africa and especially Ceuta directly opposite Gibralta.
Alfonso (Gonsalvo?) de Paiva was also a well traveled man who also spoke Hebrew from his social and business connections with the Levant or what is today Israel and the countries immediately bordering it. After meritorious military service for King João II in the Battle of Toro, he impressed the monarch and it is from this acquaintance that he was selected to go with Pedro da Covilham.
On May 7th, 1487 while Dias’s ships were yet to weigh anchor, the pair left Santarem in central Portugal having been well provided with letters of introduction, funds, updated maps and as much information as possible regarding their intended destinations. Neither at this time nor later on did they know how important this journey would be to their lives, their country or arguably world history in general. From Lisbon, they went to Valencia, Barcelona, Venice Naples and then the island of Rhodes.
To gain easier passage in Muslim lands, they disguised themselves as common merchants and crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Alexandria in Egypt, thence to Cairo and the Sinai. Continuing on, they traveled to Saudi Arabia and by August 1488 were at Aden. By now they probably had gathered enough information to realize that though the emperor of Ethiopia was a Christian but had little connections to the trade from India ocean trades.
Most likely by priorarragement, the duo split up and agreed to rendezvous later on in Cairo, da Covilha going to India via Aden and de Paiva heading to Ethiopia to find and meet with Prester John. However, de Paiva did not make it to Ethiopia, he died on the way and when time came for their pre-arranged rendezvous back in Cairo da Covilha alone returned to mourn his companion and plan the rest of his journey alone.
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