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Martin de Hoyarçabal was a
FrenchThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
BasqueThe Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
mariner. Little is generally known about his life. He was born in
CiboureCiboure is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.It lies across the river Nivelle from the harbour of Saint-Jean-de-Luz....
, in the Iparralde, the French Basque Country. He is recognized for publishing one of the first Newfoundland pilots, a book which describes places and distances to aid sailors in navigation, in 1579.
Les voyages aventureux du Capitaine Martin de Hoyarsal, habitant du çubiburuLes voyages aventureux du Capitaine Martin de Hoyarsal, habitant du çubiburu was a reference book for sailors known as a "navigational pilot", written by Basque seaman Martin de Hoyarçabal in 1579....
was published in French and was widely used by French and
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
marinersA sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
for centuries.
Hoyarçabal's Navigational Pilot
The
Pilot is the only known extant work by Hoyarçabal. As a reference work, the
Navigational Pilot was invaluable for ships traveling in the Newfoundland area. The following is an example taken from Hoyarçabal's work; in this text, Hoyarçabal is giving distances between several places in Newfoundland:
- Gisent cap de S.Marie & Plaisence
Placentia is a town on the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland and Labrador, consisting of the amalgamated communities of Jerseyside, Townside, Freshwater, Dunville and Argentia...
nort nordest & su surroest, ya 9. l. Ite tu fois sçavoir que quand tu iras du cap de S. Marie, en ceste routte de nort nordest, tu trouueras vne poincte longue que se nomme Amigaiz dela à Plaisence ya 4 lieuës, & du cap de S. Marie 5 lieuës, apres que tu auras passé ledict Amigaiz, tu trouueras Plaisence.
- With Cape S. Marie & Plaisence lying north northeast & south southeast, go 9 leagues
A league is a unit of length . It was long common in Europe and Latin America, but it is no longer an official unit in any nation. The league originally referred to the distance a person or a horse could walk in an hour...
. Further, you should know that when you will go from Cape S. Marie, along this route of north northwest, you will find a long point which is named Amigaiz, from which to Plaisence go 4 leagues, & from Cape S. Marie 5 leagues, after which you will have passed the aforementioned Amigaiz, you will find Plaisence.
In 1677, Pierre Detcheverry translated the
Navigational Pilot into
Labourdin BasqueBasque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
. The following is the corresponding passage, demonstrating the looseness of the translation into Basque:
- Halaber Iaquinbeharduçu Ioatençarenean arrutahortan causitucoduçula puntabat ceñary baitaritça punta Mehea eta handican placençarat dire, 5. lecoa handy eta punta mehitican bururat, 4. l. noizere iragaten baituçu punta mehea handic lehenbicico baian içanenda placença istriborreco aldearequin.
- Anyway you have to know when you go that route that you will [see?] a point which is called point Mehea and from there to Placença, 5 leagues from there and from point Mehea to the cape, 4 l[eagues] [noizere] because you pass point Mehea soon Placença will be in the bay at the starboard side.
External links
- Bale arrantzaleak in Basque, about Basque
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
whalersWhaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
.
- Saint-Pierre et Miquelon and the Basque Country