3028) Gonzalo Gómez de Espinosa, Sea Explorer, Spain: "Discoverers of Oceania Stamp Series": Espana Correos (Spanish Post) has issued a postage stamp of 3 Euro printed on wooden paper simulating the material on which the ships were built: Date of Stamp issue: 26.09.2023:
Last captain general of the first round-the-world expedition...
He was born in Espinosa de Los Monteros (Burgos) in 1485. He passed away probably in Seville, where he spent the last years of his life until at least 1545.
Gonzalo Gómez de Espinosa was a Spanish soldier and explorer. He was part of Magellan's expedition, assuming command of the Trinity on Magellan's death in 1521.
He was appointed by royal decree of 19.04.1519 to hold the position of senior bailiff in the exploratory expedition of Ferdinand Magellan.
He was in charge of recruiting sailors for the expedition, first in Seville, Cádiz and Palos, and then in other regions.
The fleet, consisting of five ships, left Seville on 10.08.1519 with the objective of reaching the Spice Islands.
The expedition arrived on 31.03.1520 at San Julián Bay (Argentine Patagonia), where it prepared to spend the winter.
There several captains mutinied against Magellan, seizing the ships Concepción, San Antonio and Victoria. The mutineers sent a boat to the Trinity, Magellan's ship, with a message asking to negotiate.
Magellan retained this vessel and sent Espinosa, commanding five or six secretly armed men, to the Victoria with a letter for its captain, Luis de Mendoza. While Mendoza read the message of Magellan, Espinosa and another of his men kill him by surprise.
At the same time another boat, also sent by Magellan, with Duarte Barbosa and fifteen armed men boarded the Victoria taking control of the ship without resistance.
Magellan took control of the Santiago, the Victoria and the Trinidad at the exit of San Julián Bay, blocking the escape of the two mutinous ships which were forced to surrender.
In May 1520, the Santiago was lost, stranded in a storm.
On 24.08.1520 the ships continued sailing south looking for a passage to the Pacific Ocean.
Magellan also lost the San Antonio, which when sent on an exploration mission deserted the expedition and headed to Spain.
On 16.03.1521, Magellan's fleet, on its voyage through the Pacific, arrived at the archipelago that would later be known as the Philippines, and on 07.04.1521, they arrived on the island of Cebu, where they were received by Humabon, the King of the Island.
The inhabitants of the archipelago were friendly with the expeditionaries, except for Lapu-Lapu, King of the Island of Mactan.
Magellan was offended and wanted to punish the King and on 27.04.1521, he decided to invade Mactan, dispensing with his officers who had been opposed to this action. The islanders defeated Magellan who died in battle.
After the death of Magellan, the fleet chose as new chief Duarte Barbosa, who was betrayed by the King of Cebu, and poisoned along with several other expeditionaries at a banquet offered by the king.
On Bohol Island the 108 survivors of Magellan's fleet, that as there were very few men left to man the three remaining ships, decided to burn the Concepción and appoint Juan López de Carvalho, until then senior pilot of the fleet, as head of the expedition. Gonzalo Gómez de Espinosa was named captain of the Victoria.
They continued their journey to the island of Borneo, where they were invited by the king. Fearing another betrayal, the expeditionaries sent Espinosa as ambassador, and he was received by the king's court in his palace. With the mediation of a secretary, he talked to the King asking for permission to negotiate on the island.
In late September 1521, members of the expedition agreed to dismiss Carvalho as captain general of the fleet for misconduct, naming Gonzalo Gómez de Espinosa their new Captan General. It was also agreed to appoint Juan Sebastián Elcano captain of the Victory.
Espinosa arranged to continue sailing to the Spice Islands.
According to the chronicler Antonio Pigafetta, Espinosa reached the Moluccas on 07.11.1521, docking on the island of Tidore the next day. There they asked permission from their King, called Almanzor by the Spaniards, to trade.
On 18.12.1521, with the two ships loaded with cargo, they prepared to leave for Spain. However, that same day a water leak was discovered in the Trinity, requiring a long repair.
Under his command, the expedition achieved the objective of locating the Spice Islands, establishing an alliance with its leaders.
There, after suffering a breakdown on the ship Trinidad, the ship in which he was traveling, he ordered Elcano to set sail west to circumnavigate the world, while he and his crew would try to return through the Pacific after the ship was repaired.
The two ships separated, leaving the Victoria, under the command of Elcano, on the 21st alone to the west. The Victoria reached Sanlúcar de Barrameda on 08.09.1522, completing the first circumnavigation of the Earth.
Espinosa completed the repair of the Trinidad on 06.04.1522 and went to sea, but continuous storms prevented its advance, and a strong storm severely damaged the ship.
He asked for help from the Portuguese captain António de Brito who was nearby, which caused the seventeen men who remained to be taken prisoner by the Portuguese in the port of Benaconora.
The prisoners were transferred to the island of Ternate in the Moluccas. Then, in February 1523, they were taken to the islands of Banda, and from there to the island of Java. They were later transferred to Malacca, and in November 1524 to Cochin in India.
The small number of remaining prisoners, including Espinosa, were transferred to Lisbon by order of Governor Henrique de Meneses.
He was released four and a half years after those from the ship Victoria had arrived in Spain.
His merits were widely recognised by Charles I, who initially appointed him as captain of the galleon San Antonio, the second ship of the new expedition that was then organised towards the Especiería. However, this was cancelled in April 1529, after an agreement was reached with the King of Portugal for the possession of the Spice Factory.
For his merits and services Gonzalo Gómez de Espinosa was rewarded with a life pension, according to royal decree of 24.08.1527, and was granted a motto and certain attributes in his family Coat of Arms according to royal decree of 04.02.1528.
He served as chief sheriff until his death, a position to which he had volunteered due to his previous experience as a man-at-arms.
Then Charles I assigned Gómez de Espinosa a position in the civil service of the Casa de Contratación de Indias in Seville, where he served as “visitor of ships going to the Indies” until 1544.
The Stamp:
Rajan Trikha has commented:
ReplyDelete"Very comprehensive and informative post."
Thank you so much, Trikha sahab.
DeleteSantosh Khanna has commented:
ReplyDelete"A VERY interesting and informative article. Thanks for sharing this post."
Thank you so much Khanna sahab.
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