João da Nova (?-1509)

This Galician nobleman moved to Portugal during the reign of King Afonso V. In 1490, he was a member of King João II´s guard. Damião de Gois wrote that he was in Africa, and that he was a minor alcaide of Lisbon. In 1501 he went to the Orient as admiral of the 1501 fleet. He returned to the Indian Ocean as captain of a ship in Dom Francisco de Almeida´s fleet (1505). He was an associate of Tristão da Cunha and should have gone with him in 1505. Due to Tristão da Cunha´s illness, however, Dom Francisco de Almeida was chosen. João da Nova would become his faithful servant and, as a result, a fugitive during Afonso de Albuquerque´s government. He died in Cochim June 1509. A document dated after his death refers to him as a nobleman of the royal house. In 1515, his heirs received 200,000 reis, related to pepper dispatched the previous year. The funds were taken out of the Lisbon wheat tax.

Bibliography:
BOUCHON, Geneviève, "À propôs de l'inscription de Colombo (1501). Quelques observations sur le premier voyage de João da Nova dans l'Océan Indien», Inde découverte, Inde retrouvée, 1498-1630, Paris-Lisboa, CNCDP - CCCG, 1999, pp. 95-132.

Author : Teresa Lacerda
Translated by : Maria João Pimentel