Garcia Homem

a member of the House of Prince Henry the Navigator, he was the son-in-law of João Gonçalves Zarco. In 1445 he participated in the expedition commanded by Antão Gonçalves, of which Diogo Afonso was also part. The purpose of this voyage was to collect João Fernandes, who had remained in the African coast the previous year to gather information about the Azenegues. In addition to this task, the captains of the three caravels were to engage in commerce and capture slaves, in order to guarantee the economic viability of this enterprise. After stopping in Madeira island, they went on to Cabo Branco, where Diogo Afonso was the first to arrive. Reunited, the captains decided to capture slaves on the Island of Arguin and imprisoned twenty-five natives. When the fleet collected João Fernandes, he informed Antão Gonçalves that a Muslim Knight, Aude Meilao, would trade with the Portuguese. He traded nine black men and powdered gold for a handful of goods which had little value. The site of this meeting was recorded cartographically as Cabo do Resgate (Cape of the Ransom). On the way back to Cabo Branco, they captured another fifty-five moors, whom they released after realizing that they had insufficient space and food to lodge and maintain the captives. The fleet returned to Lisbon directly from Cabo Branco. In 1446 in Madeira, he joined an expedition headed for Guinea. The fleet stopped first in the island of Gomera, Canary Islands, then in La Palma, as the captains attempted to capture prisoners without success. The ship of Tristão da Ilha as well as those commanded by Gil Eanes and Garcia Homem returned to the Kingdom, while the remaining ships continued on.

Bibliography:
ALBUQUERQUE, Luís de, Navegadores, Viajantes e Aventureiros Portugueses, vol. I, Lisboa, 1987. ZURARA, Gomes Eanes de, Crónica dos feitos notáveis que se passaram na conquista de Guiné por mandado do infante D. Henrique, 2 vols., Lisboa, Academia Portuguesa de História, 1981.

Translated by: Maria João Pimentel