Antoniotto Usodimare
Encyclopedia
Antoniotto Usodimare or Usus di Mare (1416–1462) was a Genoese
trader and explorer in the service of the Portuguese
Prince Henry the Navigator. Jointly with Alvise Cadamosto, Usodimare discovered a great stretch of the West African coast in two known voyages in 1455 and 1456. They notably discovered the Cape Verde islands, and the Guinea
coast from the Gambia River
to the Geba River
(in Guinea-Bissau
)
, a director of the Genoese mint
and a shareholder in the Banco di S. Giorgio. However his fortunes soon took a turn for the worse. Around 1450, Usodimare fled Genoa to escape his creditors, making his way first to Seville
, and then Lisbon
. He eventually entered into the service of Portuguese Prince Henry the Navigator, hoping that by engaging in the profitable Portuguese trade on the West African coast, he might quickly recover his fortunes and pay back his debts.
In some sources, Antoniotto Usodimare is confused with António de Noli, another Genoese explorer in the service of Prince Henry, who, according to the memoirs of Portuguese captain Diogo Gomes
, also went to the Gambia River and (re)discovered the Cape Verde islands in 1462. Although the coincidences are interesting, there is no evidence they are the same man.
, probably supplied by Prince Henry the Navigator, accompanied by another caravel with an unnamed Portuguese squire of the prince. Along the way, in June 1455, around Cape Vert peninsula, he stumbled across Alvise Cadamosto, a Venetian
captain also in Henry's service. They joined forces and proceeded to jointly find the mouth of the Gambia River
in June 1455. However, meeting strong hostility from the natives upriver, the ships returned to Portugal. It is here that Antoniotto Usodimare wrote his famous letter (dated December 12, 1455) to his creditors back in Genoa
, giving a (rather exaggerated) account of his expedition the Gambia, and promising that on his next expedition there, he would make enough money to finally pay them back.
Antoniotto Usoadimare, along with Alvise Cadamosto and a third unnamed Portuguese captain, set out again in May, 1456. Along the way, they deviated away from the Senegambian coast to avoid a storm, and ended up discovering the Cape Verde islands (some 300 miles off the coast). Finding the uninhabited islands uninteresting, they returned to the coast, and sailed into the Gambia River once again. This time, they found no hostile opposition to their entry. They sailed probably up to 100 km upstream, and engaged in some petty trade with the Mandinka
natives, but were disappointed to find little evidence of the abundance of gold or melegueta pepper they had expected to find upriver. Resolved to explore further, Antoniotto and Cadamosto sailed south along the previously unknown coast of Guinea
, discovering the mouth of the Casamance River
, Cape Roxo
, the Cacheu River, reaching as far as the estuary of the Geba River
and the Bijagos Islands (modern Guinea-Bissau
). As the interpreters carried on board the Portuguese ships (probably Wolof
and Mandinka
) could not understand the language of the local peoples this far south, the captains were unable to make any deep inquiries of them. They set sail back to Portugal thereafter.
shortly after. In 1458, Usodimare was sent as an agent of the commercial house of Marchionni to the Genoese colony of Caffa on the Black Sea
. He died in 1462.
The Italian royal navy
named a 1929 Navigatori class destroyer
after him. The Antoniotto Usodimare sunk in June 1942.
, informing them of his recent journey - albeit laced with great exaggerations and half-truths. He does not mention Cadamosto in his letter, and instead gives the impression he sailed alone deep into the Gambia River
. He says he reached within a few days of the seat of the Mali Empire
and within traveling distance to the lands of Prester John
(Ethiopian Empire
). In a doubtless fabrication, Usodimare claims to have come across a man of Genoese descent along the shores of the Gambia - ostensibly a descendant of the survivors of the 1291 expedition of explorers Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi
.
Antoniotto Usodimare told his creditors he had been sent to Gambia as an ambassador of King Afonso V of Portugal
, to negotiate a peace treaty with the "King of Gambia", and that he was scheduled to return the next year to escort his counterpart, the Gambian ambassador, back home. More to the point his creditors were interested in, Usodimare anticipated he would likely make enough money on this second trip to fully pay them off. The letter expresses the first known mention that melegueta pepper might be found in the Guinea
region and a rare mention of maritime insurance being taken by Henrican captains.
Usodimare's letter, written in garbled Latin, was discovered around 1800 in a manuscript by Giacomo (Jacob) Gråberg, a Swedish merchant resident in Genoa
, in the archives of the city, as part of one of three documents assembled by a 15th C. Genoese cartographer (possibly Barthelemi Pareto) as elements to guide the construction of a new portolan map. The letter was first published in 1802 in Gråberg's journal,and has been reproduced many times since.
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
trader and explorer in the service of the Portuguese
Kingdom of Portugal
The Kingdom of Portugal was Portugal's general designation under the monarchy. The kingdom was located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Europe and existed from 1139 to 1910...
Prince Henry the Navigator. Jointly with Alvise Cadamosto, Usodimare discovered a great stretch of the West African coast in two known voyages in 1455 and 1456. They notably discovered the Cape Verde islands, and the Guinea
Guinea (region)
Guinea is a traditional name for the region of Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea. It stretches north through the forested tropical regions and ends at the Sahel.-History:...
coast from the Gambia River
Gambia River
The Gambia River is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul...
to the Geba River
Geba River
The Geba is a river of West Africa that rises in Guinea, passes through Senegal, and reaches the Atlantic Ocean in Guinea-Bissau. It is about in total length.Its tributary the Colufe River joins the Geba at Bafatá...
(in Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
)
Background
Antoniotto Usodimare was a prominent merchant and citizen of the Republic of GenoaRepublic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
, a director of the Genoese mint
Mint (coin)
A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is usually closely tied to the political situation of an era...
and a shareholder in the Banco di S. Giorgio. However his fortunes soon took a turn for the worse. Around 1450, Usodimare fled Genoa to escape his creditors, making his way first to Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, and then Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. He eventually entered into the service of Portuguese Prince Henry the Navigator, hoping that by engaging in the profitable Portuguese trade on the West African coast, he might quickly recover his fortunes and pay back his debts.
In some sources, Antoniotto Usodimare is confused with António de Noli, another Genoese explorer in the service of Prince Henry, who, according to the memoirs of Portuguese captain Diogo Gomes
Diogo Gomes
Diogo Gomes , was a Portuguese navigator, explorer and writer.Diogo Gomes was a servant and explorer of Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator. His memoirs were dictated late in his life to Martin Behaim...
, also went to the Gambia River and (re)discovered the Cape Verde islands in 1462. Although the coincidences are interesting, there is no evidence they are the same man.
Expeditions to Africa
Antoniotto Usodimare sailed out in early 1455 in a Portuguese caravelCaravel
A caravel is a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave her speed and the capacity for sailing to windward...
, probably supplied by Prince Henry the Navigator, accompanied by another caravel with an unnamed Portuguese squire of the prince. Along the way, in June 1455, around Cape Vert peninsula, he stumbled across Alvise Cadamosto, a Venetian
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
captain also in Henry's service. They joined forces and proceeded to jointly find the mouth of the Gambia River
Gambia River
The Gambia River is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul...
in June 1455. However, meeting strong hostility from the natives upriver, the ships returned to Portugal. It is here that Antoniotto Usodimare wrote his famous letter (dated December 12, 1455) to his creditors back in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, giving a (rather exaggerated) account of his expedition the Gambia, and promising that on his next expedition there, he would make enough money to finally pay them back.
Antoniotto Usoadimare, along with Alvise Cadamosto and a third unnamed Portuguese captain, set out again in May, 1456. Along the way, they deviated away from the Senegambian coast to avoid a storm, and ended up discovering the Cape Verde islands (some 300 miles off the coast). Finding the uninhabited islands uninteresting, they returned to the coast, and sailed into the Gambia River once again. This time, they found no hostile opposition to their entry. They sailed probably up to 100 km upstream, and engaged in some petty trade with the Mandinka
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
natives, but were disappointed to find little evidence of the abundance of gold or melegueta pepper they had expected to find upriver. Resolved to explore further, Antoniotto and Cadamosto sailed south along the previously unknown coast of Guinea
Guinea (region)
Guinea is a traditional name for the region of Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea. It stretches north through the forested tropical regions and ends at the Sahel.-History:...
, discovering the mouth of the Casamance River
Casamance River
The Casamance River flows westward for the most part into the Atlantic Ocean along a path about 200 miles in length. However, only 80 miles of it are navigable. The Casamance is the principal river of the Kolda, Sédhiou, and Ziguinchor Regions in the southern portion of Senegal between The...
, Cape Roxo
Cape Roxo
Cape Roxo , is a headland in West Africa, marking the westernmost frontier of Guinea-Bissau with Senegal. On the lower side is the São Domingos district of the Cacheu Region of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, above it is the Oussouye Department of the Ziguinchor Region of the Republic of...
, the Cacheu River, reaching as far as the estuary of the Geba River
Geba River
The Geba is a river of West Africa that rises in Guinea, passes through Senegal, and reaches the Atlantic Ocean in Guinea-Bissau. It is about in total length.Its tributary the Colufe River joins the Geba at Bafatá...
and the Bijagos Islands (modern Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
). As the interpreters carried on board the Portuguese ships (probably Wolof
Wolof people
The Wolof are an ethnic group found in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania.In Senegal, the Wolof form an ethnic plurality with about 43.3% of the population are Wolofs...
and Mandinka
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
) could not understand the language of the local peoples this far south, the captains were unable to make any deep inquiries of them. They set sail back to Portugal thereafter.
Later career
Apparently the second expedition turned out to be profitable enough for Antoniotto Usodimare to pay off his creditors, as he returned to GenoaGenoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
shortly after. In 1458, Usodimare was sent as an agent of the commercial house of Marchionni to the Genoese colony of Caffa on the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
. He died in 1462.
The Italian royal navy
Regia Marina
The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...
named a 1929 Navigatori class destroyer
Navigatori class destroyer
The Navigatori class were a group of Italian destroyers built in 1928-29. These ships were named after Italian explorers. They fought in World War II. Just one unit, the Nicoloso Da Recco, survived the conflict.-Design:...
after him. The Antoniotto Usodimare sunk in June 1942.
Usodimare's Letter
Upon his return from his first expedition, Antoniotto Usodimare wrote a famous letter, dated December 12, 1455, to his creditors back in GenoaGenoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, informing them of his recent journey - albeit laced with great exaggerations and half-truths. He does not mention Cadamosto in his letter, and instead gives the impression he sailed alone deep into the Gambia River
Gambia River
The Gambia River is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul...
. He says he reached within a few days of the seat of the Mali Empire
Mali Empire
The Mali Empire or Mandingo Empire or Manden Kurufa was a West African empire of the Mandinka from c. 1230 to c. 1600. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa I...
and within traveling distance to the lands of Prester John
Prester John
The legends of Prester John were popular in Europe from the 12th through the 17th centuries, and told of a Christian patriarch and king said to rule over a Christian nation lost amidst the Muslims and pagans in the Orient. Written accounts of this kingdom are variegated collections of medieval...
(Ethiopian Empire
Ethiopian Empire
The Ethiopian Empire also known as Abyssinia, covered a geographical area that the present-day northern half of Ethiopia and Eritrea covers, and included in its peripheries Zeila, Djibouti, Yemen and Western Saudi Arabia...
). In a doubtless fabrication, Usodimare claims to have come across a man of Genoese descent along the shores of the Gambia - ostensibly a descendant of the survivors of the 1291 expedition of explorers Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi
Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi
Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi were two brothers and Genoese explorers and merchants....
.
Antoniotto Usodimare told his creditors he had been sent to Gambia as an ambassador of King Afonso V of Portugal
Afonso V of Portugal
Afonso V KG , called the African , was the twelfth King of Portugal and the Algarves. His sobriquet refers to his conquests in Northern Africa.-Early life:...
, to negotiate a peace treaty with the "King of Gambia", and that he was scheduled to return the next year to escort his counterpart, the Gambian ambassador, back home. More to the point his creditors were interested in, Usodimare anticipated he would likely make enough money on this second trip to fully pay them off. The letter expresses the first known mention that melegueta pepper might be found in the Guinea
Guinea (region)
Guinea is a traditional name for the region of Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea. It stretches north through the forested tropical regions and ends at the Sahel.-History:...
region and a rare mention of maritime insurance being taken by Henrican captains.
Usodimare's letter, written in garbled Latin, was discovered around 1800 in a manuscript by Giacomo (Jacob) Gråberg, a Swedish merchant resident in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, in the archives of the city, as part of one of three documents assembled by a 15th C. Genoese cartographer (possibly Barthelemi Pareto) as elements to guide the construction of a new portolan map. The letter was first published in 1802 in Gråberg's journal,and has been reproduced many times since.
Sources
- Antoniotto Uso di Mare Itinerarium Antonii ususmaris civis januensis, 1455 (first published in G. Gråberg (1802) Annali di geografia e di statistica, Genoa, vol. II, p. 286-8, p. 290-91)
- Alvise Cadamosto Navigazione di Luigi di Cadamosto, first published 1507 in Francanzano Montalbado, editor, Paesi novamente retrovati. (Eng. trans. "Original Journals of the Voyages of Cada Mosto and Piedro de Cintra to the Coast of Africa, the former in the years 1455 and 1456, and the latter soon afterwards", reprinted in R. Kerr, 1811, A General History of Voyages and Travels to the end of the 18th century, vol. 2, Edinburgh: Blackwood. Ch.4)
- J. Codine, "Review of Major's Life of Pince Henry", 1873, Bulletin de la Société de géographie, p. 397-425. (p.412)
- Diffie, Bailey W., and George D. Winius (1977) Foundations of the Portuguese empire, 1415-1580. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press
- Major, R.H. (1868) The Life of Prince Henry, surnamed the Navigator. London: Asher & Co. 1868 ed.
- Russell, Peter E. (2000) Prince Henry 'the Navigator': a life. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press.
- M. Walckenaer (1810) "Correspondence de MM.Walckenaer et Graberg, sure les manuscrits d'Usodimare, conservés a Genes", 1810, Annales des voyages de la géographie et de l'histoire, Volume 8,p.190