Lançarote de Freitas facts for kids
Lançarote de Freitas, also known as Lançarote de Lagos, was a Portuguese explorer and a leader in the slave trade during the 1400s. He came from Lagos, Portugal. He led two big Portuguese expeditions to capture people from the West African coast between 1444 and 1446. These expeditions were part of the early European voyages that explored new lands and unfortunately, also led to the capture and sale of many people.
Contents
Early Life and Role
Lançarote de Freitas was trained as a squire and chamberlain, which meant he served in the household of Prince Henry the Navigator. Prince Henry was a very important figure in Portuguese exploration. In April 1443, Lançarote became the customs collector for Lagos, taking over from his father-in-law. This was an important job, as Lagos was a busy port.
Prince Henry had been sending ships down the West African coast since the 1430s. These early trips didn't bring back much profit. The ships mostly sailed along the empty Sahara desert coast. But in 1443, one of Henry's captains, Nuno Tristão, returned with about 14 captive African people. These people were Sanhaja Berbers from a small fishing village in the Bay of Arguin (in modern Mauritania).
The Bay of Arguin had lots of fish, which attracted poor desert-dwelling Sanhaja Berbers. They set up many small fishing villages on islands and peninsulas around the bay. These were the first human settlements Henry's captains had found after ten years of exploring. They seemed weak and easy to attack. This made many Portuguese merchants and adventurers interested in capturing people for profit around the Arguin banks.
To protect his rights, Prince Henry received special permission in October 1443. This permission gave him sole control over all sailing south of Cape Bojador, whether for war or trade. Any ship sailing there without his license could be taken. Henry also got a share of the profits and taxes from any African goods or captives brought back to Portugal.
A group of merchants from Lagos, sometimes called the 'Lagos Company', asked Henry for a license. Lançarote was chosen to lead this group, probably because of his close connection to Prince Henry.
First Expedition to Capture People (1444)
After getting their license, the Lagos Company prepared a fleet of six ships and about thirty men. They set sail for the Arguin banks in the spring of 1444. The six captains were:
- Lançarote de Freitas
- Gil Eanes
- Estêvão Afonso
- Rodrigo Álvares
- João Dias
- An unknown sixth captain
Diogo Gomes later wrote that he also took part in this expedition.
Lançarote's fleet went straight to the southern part of Arguin Bay. Nuno Tristão's captives had told them that many fishing villages were there. They arrived in Arguin in June 1444. A raid before dawn on Nar (Nair island) resulted in the first captives. They then raided the larger nearby island of Tider (Tidra island) and Cerina (Serenni peninsula). In just a few days, the Lagos fleet had captured about 235 people. The remaining people had fled the coastal villages and hidden inland, so there was no reason to stay. By early August 1444, the fleet was back in Lagos with the captured people.
The arrival and sale of these people in Lagos was a sad event. Prince Henry was there, watching from his horse. For this profitable trip, Lançarote was made a knight by Henry on August 8, 1444. Henry even gave away his own share of the captives (about 46 people) to his captains and servants.
Second Expedition to Capture People (1445/1446)
Lançarote organized a second Lagos fleet for another large expedition to capture people in 1445 or 1446. This fleet had 14 ships. The main captains were:
- Lançarote de Freitas
- Soeiro da Costa (the governor of Lagos and Lançarote's father-in-law)
- Álvaro de Freitas (likely a relative of Lançarote)
- Gomes Pires (captain of the king's ship)
- Rodrigo Eanes Travassos
- A knight known as Palançano
- Vicente Dias of Lagos
- Martim Vicente
- A captain nicknamed Picanço (possibly Diogo Gomes)
- Lourenço Dias
Gil Eanes and Estêvão Afonso were also passengers on this fleet.
Setting out in August 1445 (or 1446), Lançarote's Lagos fleet was one of several that sailed from Portugal to the Arguin banks that year. Caught by bad weather, Lançarote arrived at Cape Blanc with only nine ships still together. The others had gone off course. He continued to the northern part of the Arguin banks. There, Lançarote met one of his missing ships, led by Vicente Dias. This ship had gone ahead to Arguin island and found a small fleet of three Lisbon ships, led by Dinis Eanes de Grã. They had already raided the remaining villages in the northern part of the bay, capturing about 100 people.
At Grã's suggestion, Lançarote's fleet, now with thirteen ships, attacked Arguin island again, taking four captives. They then went to the southern part of Arguin Bay, capturing 57 people from Tider and five more people further south. Since the element of surprise was gone and most people had already left the coast, Lançarote's captives were mainly Sanhaja Berber tribesmen who had decided to stay and fight.
Not happy with the small number of people they had captured, and realizing Arguin Bay was too empty, Lançarote decided to take his fleet south. He wanted to raid the lands of the Wolof people in Senegal. These lands had been discovered but not yet raided by Nuno Tristão and Dinis Dias the year before. However, not all his ships were ready for the long journey, as some were running low on supplies. So, Lançarote divided his fleet. He took only six or seven ships with him and sent the rest back to Lagos under the command of Soeiro da Costa. Some of these returning ships would later raid the Canary Islands without permission.
Lançarote's group soon reached Barbary Point, the mouth of the Sénégal River. This river had not yet been explored by Europeans. Lançarote sent Estêvão Afonso and Vicente Dias in a small boat to search upriver for settlements. Their exploration did not go far. Going ashore at one point, Afonso captured two Wolof children from a local woodsman's hut. Their father chased them and beat them furiously. Having barely escaped, the boat immediately returned to the waiting ships with the two kidnapped children.
After sending another ship back to Lagos, Lançarote continued with his five remaining ships. They sailed around Cape Vert and entered Dakar Bay. While rounding the Cape, they stopped briefly on an island (probably Madeleine islands). There, they found wild goats and fresh water. They then went into the bay and landed on a second island, Gorée island. This island was empty, and they were amazed by the large, wide trees (probably baobab trees). They also found signs that people had been there before, like goat skins and a carved marker with Prince Henry's motto. These had been left by Álvaro Fernandes, another Portuguese explorer, who had been there a few weeks earlier. During his stay, Alvaro Fernandes had tried to take some native canoes in Dakar Bay. Because of this, the Wolof people of the mainland were already ready to fight Lançarote's arriving ships.
With the Wolof warriors gathered on the beach, the Portuguese did not dare to land for another day and night. Finally, Lançarote sent Gomes Pires in a small boat to the mainland. He hoped to start talks with the local leaders. Pires managed to leave some gifts (a mirror, cake, paper) on the beach and pull back. But instead of being curious, the Wolof warriors came out and angrily destroyed the gifts with their spears. Gomes Pires ordered the Portuguese on the boat to get their crossbows ready. They approached the beach again, but they were met with many thrown spears and poisoned arrows and were forced to retreat.
Their first plan had failed. Lançarote and the Portuguese captains held a meeting on Gorée. They decided to raid the Wolof villages on the mainland, similar to how they raided Arguin. But this did not happen. Before they could organize the attack, a sudden storm hit the area. This storm forced the Portuguese ships out of Dakar bay, scattering them in different directions.
Bad weather continued after leaving Dakar bay and split the fleet. Lançarote managed to keep two ships (Álvaro de Freitas and Vicente Dias) with his own, but lost sight of the other two. Realizing they were too few to attack the Wolof mainland, Lançarote's three ships sailed past the Senegal River and headed back to the Arguin banks. The three ships anchored again at Tider and captured an additional 59 people before returning to Lagos. The remaining two ships (Gomes Pires and Lourenço Dias) had to make their way back to Portugal by themselves. On his way, Gomes Pires stopped briefly at Cape Blanc. He bought some seal skins and a Black captive from some Berber traders. Before going back to Portugal, Pires promised to return to the same spot next year. The Berber traders promised to bring him enough captives, gold, and other goods to fill his ship. Only Lourenço Dias actually made it inside the Senegal River, but realizing he was alone, he decided to turn around and sailed back home.
After the Expeditions
The second expedition to capture people in 1445/46 was not as successful as the first. The Arguin banks were empty, and it was unlikely the Berber people would return to the coasts in large numbers. The Wolof-controlled coasts of Senegal were too strong and alert for small groups of Portuguese raiders. If they wanted to capture more people, they needed to sail much further south to new areas. These longer trips required more supplies and money than the Lagos merchants were willing to spend. The killing of Nuno Tristão and his crew the next year (1446 or 1447) probably made the Lagos merchants less eager to continue these raids.
Portuguese expeditions to capture people seemed to stop after 1447. Because of the growing costs and dangers, the Portuguese likely switched from capturing people to trading for them. Prince Henry ordered a permanent trading post to be built on Arguin island by 1450. This was to connect with the Trans-Saharan trade routes that brought captives and gold overland from Guinea. The explorer Alvise Cadamosto, who traveled to West Africa in 1455, described the trade at Arguin. He noted that to keep peace, Prince Henry had forbidden any more capturing of Berber Sanhaja people. Only Black African people could be acquired through trade.
Cadamosto also claimed that the Portuguese had set up trading posts with the Wolof kingdoms of Waalo and Kayor along the coast of Senegal. It is thought that Lourenço Dias, one of the captains from Lançarote's 1445/46 expedition, returned to Senegal between 1448 and 1455. He may have negotiated peace and trade agreements with the Wolof states. Regular trade then began in the area. The Portuguese traded goods from the Mediterranean (especially horses) for captives and gold. This is considered the beginning of the Atlantic slave trade.
Cadamosto estimated that the new trading stations at Arguin and Senegal brought 700-800 African captives to Portugal each year by the mid-1450s. But the large-scale raids of 1444-47 did not happen again. There is no record of any Portuguese ship sailing below Cape Vert for almost ten years after this, until Cadamosto's voyage in 1455.
Later Life
Not much is known about Lançarote de Lagos after his second expedition in 1445/46. He continued to work as the customs collector in Lagos, Portugal. After being made a knight, Lançarote was promoted to "caudel" (a type of governor) of Lagos in May 1446. Records show that Lançarote was organizing and sending supply ships from Lagos to Ceuta between 1452 and 1455. He was still alive in May 1463, but there is no information about him after that date.
Sources
- Alvise Cadamosto (written 1460s, published 1507) "Il Libro di Messer Alvise Ca da Mosto Gentilhuomo Venetiano"
- Diogo Gomes (around 1499) De prima inventione Guineae
- João de Barros (1552–59) Décadas da Ásia
- Gomes Eanes de Zurara (1453) Crónica dos feitos notáveis que se passaram na Conquista da Guiné por mandado do Infante D. Henrique
- Manuel de Faria e Sousa (1675) "Empieça la Memoria de todas las Armadas", in Asia Portuguesa
Images for kids
-
Old Customs house in Lagos, Portugal, where the first African slave market in Portugal was held.
-
Map of the Bay of Arguin
See also
In Spanish: Lançarote de Freitas para niños
