Gil Eanes
Gil Eanes (1395-?) was an early Portuguese explorer, and the first Portuguese sea captain to sail past the physical and psychological barrier of Cape Bojador in what is now Western Sahara.
The discovery of a navigable route around Cape Bojador, in 1434, by Eanes was an important development for European sailors hoping to sail south around Africa and on to India. Eanes' achievement was an important milestone in the Age of the Discoveries as Portuguese ships began to traverse the globe.
Eanes was born in the Algarve port town of Lagos and as a young man appears to have served in the household of Henry the Navigator.
Eanes first tried to round the treacherous winds and current off Cape Bojador in 1433 but failed. His next attempt the following year was successful and was to open up the west African coast to Portuguese traders including slavers.
Black African slaves were first brought to Lagos from the western coast of Africa in 1444. The Slave Market Museum in Lagos details the history of this pernicious trade in human beings. Eanes, along with Afonso Gonçalves Baldaia, made one more recorded voyage, again, the next year in 1435 and sailed a considerable distance south of the cape.
Gil Eanes, alas, then rather disappears from the pages of Portuguese history though he is remembered and celebrated at the Portuguese Discoveries Wax Museum (Museu de Cera dos Descobrimentos) in his hometown of Lagos. Numerous streets and cafes throughout Portugal are also named after him as well as a pleasure boat that plies the River Douro in the north of the country.
Gil Eanes' feat of rounding Cape Bojador, which was feared to be inhabited by sea monsters, is celebrated in Mensagem by Fernando Pessoa.
