Leading up to Spain’s National Day (Columbus Day) on the 12th of October, we start a story of a man, Juan de la Cosa, who played a central role in Columbus’ quest to expand Spain’s horizon, to find new land and to subjugate these in the name of the crown – complete with natural resources and local populations. A mariner, an adventurer and possibly with a past as a spy Juan became a key figure in Spain’s colonization of South America in the second half of the 15th century. Juan de la Cosa owned and captained Columbus’ flagship, the Santa Maria, and identified and mapped resources in the New World that helped the newly reconquered Spain build its international reputation and not least its wealth. The relationship between Juan and Columbus however was not simple – at best it was characterized by respect and trust, at worst, they hurled the harshest accusations at each other. Before Juan de la Cosa was killed by a poison arrow launched by natives who were less than enthusiastic about European colonization, he managed to draw the first world map, made by a European, that included the Americas.
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Juan de la Cosa must have been a complex person: adventurous enough to embark on journeys into the great unknown, but bureaucratic enough to carry out meticulous mapping tasks for domestic authorities. He became an invaluable figure in the Spanish colonization of South America.
Historians have relatively little fully verified knowledge about Juan’s upbringing and life. They do not know exactly where or when he was born – it is only when the competition between Portugal and Spain to conquer lands on the new continent takes off in earnest towards the end of the 15th century that Juan de la Cosa emerges as a distinct figure.
Spain can be said to be a new nation at this time. The re-conquest of Spanish territory from Muslim rulers had taken several hundred years. The so-called “reconquista” lasted from 718 AD until it was completed under King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1492 AD. The latter was a royal couple with great ambitions for their now united kingdom.
Presumably, Juan de la Cosa was born sometime between 1450 and 1460. In light of the average lifespan at the time, he must be described as a well-grown and experienced man in 1492. It is believed that he was a native of Sta. Maria del Puerta (Santoña) in Cantabria – at least his wife and daughter lived in that city at the time.
He is said to have started gaining experience as a sailor in the rough waters of the Bay of Biscay at an early age. Later he expanded his area of operations and took part in expeditions to the Canary Islands and West Africa. In addition to learning seamanship, he must have acquired thorough knowledge of cartography, i.e. the specialist knowledge of how to make and use maps.
In time, Juan became a respected sea captain, his good reputation is said to have reached the rulers of the newly liberated and militarily strong Spain. The royal couple Ferdinand and Isabella were ambitious – and they believed that Spain’s future lay in expansion, trade and colonization. On the Iberian Peninsula there were few opportunities to conquer new land of importance. Spain and Portugal were competitors and both had what we today might call “superpower ambitions”. It was about acquiring territories, control over trade routes and access to valuable natural resources.
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Spy and explorer, but in dubious company
The first confirmed information we have about Juan is from 1488. At this time, he was in Portugal. The Portuguese nobleman and explorer Bartolomeu Dias had just returned from a voyage past the Cape of Good Hope, the southernmost point of the African continent. Many historians believe the Spanish monarchs sent Juan to Lisbon to learn as much as possible about Dias’ journey. And he was curious to the point of arousing suspicion. On his way back to Spain, Portuguese officers tracked him down, but he managed to cross the border without being apprehended.
Juan de la Cosa reappears in the early 1490s. Now as a ship owner based in El Puerto de Santa Maria, a port town between Jerez and Cádiz. It is believed that this is where he met three brothers from the Pinzón family. The relationship between them was to play an important role in Spain’s conquests in the west. The brothers and their family had established themselves as ship-owners after making good money from coastal fishing and legitimate trade, but also from pure piracy.
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Both Juan de la Cosa and the Pinzón brothers were well known in the waters of the eastern Atlantic – and they had been quite successful. Moreover, they were willing to make significant financial contributions to Columbus’ expedition. Ferdinand and Isabella did not put up much of the money that Columbus needed to complete his journey west. The expedition funding had to be found through his travel companions. Hence, the choice of Juan de la Cosa and the Pinzón brothers, all of which were fairly wealthy ship-owners, probably did not meet much opposition from Columbus, given the circumstances. Incidentally, the middle of the Pinzón brothers became second mate on Pinta, while his older brother captained the same ship. The third brother and Juan de la Cosa became captains of their respective ships, the Niña and the expedition’s lead ship, the Santa Maria.
On 12 October 1492, the members of the expedition landed on the newly discovered continent – at least from a European point of view. But, on their first trip, they only got to see a small part of the Caribbean. Juan’s ship, the Santa Maria, ran aground and sank off Haiti. But, the Spanish monarchs handed him a generous compensation for his loss. Among other things, he was given the right to transport a certain amount of flour from Andalusia to Biscay, and he was exempted from taxes which the authorities usually charged in connection with such activities. Free or full market competition was not an idea encouraged by the elites in contemporary Europe.
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A conflicted relationship
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Juan continued to explore the new continent in the years that followed. He made a total of three voyages together with Columbus, although their relationship was by no means tension free. Among other things, Columbus accused de la Cosa of having caused the Santa Maria’s accident – he had sought refuge on the Niña when the lead ship he owned sank after running aground. The accusation must have weighed heavily on de la Cosa.
Nevertheless, the conflict did not ruin the relationship between the two, because the following year Columbus gives de la Cosa command of his own ship when he sets out on his second trip to America. In 1495, we once again find Juan de la Cosa on an expedition with Columbus, this time going further west from Hispaniola to Jamaica and along the south coast of Cuba. But again a fierce disagreement arose between the two.
The man, who was convinced that he had found the sea route to India when he landed on the American continent, challenged the map-savvy and experienced sea captain de la Cosa. And he was stubborn: Columbus demanded that the captain and his entire crew take a public oath that Cuba was not an island as de la Cosa believed, but a peninsula – as Christopher Columbus maintained.
De la Cosa is said to have felt compelled to take the oath, but got his sweet revenge when, a few years later, he drew the first map made by a European that also included the American continent.
We will continue the story of Juan de la Cosa next time here at Find Your Spain.com.
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