Tristão da Cunha

Tristão da Cunha (sometimes misspelled Tristão d'Acunha; ; 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.

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 conquer Socotra and build a fortress there, hoping to close the trade in the Red Sea. They sailed together until they reached Mozambique. 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. After a series of successful attacks on Arab cities on the east coast of Africa, they headed to Socotra island. On this voyage Tristão da Cunha discovered a group of remote islands in the south Atlantic Ocean, 2816 km 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. During his vist to Brava (where he attempted to reduced Arab power during its influence under the Ajuuraan Empire), he was severely wounded. Realizing certain defeat Tristão heeded their advice and sailed for Socotra instead (which he would conquer). He also distinguished himself in India in various actions, like the Siege of Cannanore: 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.



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 present the new conquests of the Portuguese Empire, having Garcia de Resende as his secretary.

The huge luxurious embassy of one hundred and forty persons made its way through Alicante and Majorca, arriving at Rome outskirts in February. They walked the streets of Rome on March 12, 1514 in an extravagant procession of exotic wildlife and wealth of the Indies, with many dressed in "Indian style". The procession featured an elephant named Hanno, as a gift to the pope, and forty-two other beasts, including 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 his trunk and splashed it over the crowd and the Cardinals.

On 29 April the Portuguese were out of money, but got a sought bull signed by the pope, who sent back rich gifts to king Manuel. The king responded with a ship full of spices and, later, an Indian Rhinoceros sent to him from the sultan Muzaffar Shah II of Gujarat. The boat that transported it was wrecked off Genoa on early February 1516 and the Rhinoceros 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).