Antão Gonçalves facts for kids
Antão Gonçalves was a Portuguese explorer from the 1400s. He was known for being one of the first Europeans to take people from the Rio do Ouro area in Africa.
In 1441, Henry the Navigator sent Gonçalves on an expedition. He was part of a larger trip led by Nuno Tristão. Gonçalves was quite young, so his main job was not exploring. Instead, he was supposed to hunt monk seals along the West African coast. These seals were valuable for their skins.
After filling his small ship with seal skins, Gonçalves decided to do something extra. He chose to take some people from the area to bring back to Portugal. With nine of his crew members, he took a man and a woman.
Around this time, Tristão arrived at the same spot. The two crews decided to work together. They went on another trip and took ten more people. One of them was a nobleman named Adahu. These people spoke a language called "Sahara Azenegue".
An Arab man who was with Tristão's group went inland. He was sent to talk to the local people. The goal was to discuss trading for the people who had been taken. They also wanted to talk about future business. About 150 men on foot, and 35 on horses and camels, came to the coast to meet the Portuguese. Most of them hid, trying to surprise the explorers. The Portuguese noticed the trick and quickly went back to their ships. The local people then appeared on the beach. They showed the Arab man who had gone inland; he was now enslaved by them. After this, Tristão continued exploring further south. Gonçalves, however, returned to Portugal.
Gonçalves went on another trip in 1442. He took the nobleman, Adahu, with him. Gonçalves hoped to trade Adahu for more people. He received ten people, some gold dust, and many ostrich eggs. However, this trip did not help much with exploration. Gonçalves did not even sail past the Rio do Ouro area.
Later, he was given a new coat of arms for his actions.
It is important not to confuse him with another explorer named Antão Gonçalves. That explorer sailed around the island of Madagascar in the early 1500s.
See also
In Spanish: Antão Gonçalves para niños
