Give Me a Pair of Gloves, I’ll Make You a Pilot

In the mid-16th century, the Spanish crown was very aware of the importance of navigation for the Empire, and the interests of the crown began to align with the interests of cosmographers: promoting the control of navigation, centralizing information and standardizing methods and techniques. It was the prosperity of the Empire that was at stake, so the safety of ships was a priority issue. The institution in charge of navigation matters was the Casa de la Contratación, in Seville, that also dealt with the training and examination of pilots.

Between 1550 and 1555 were registered the largest numbers of shipwrecks of the century, which generated several polemics and investigations at the Casa, in order to ascertain the causes of the wrecks. Accusations of corruption in the pilots’ examinations and the need to license competent pilots fostered greater attention to examination practices. The candidates were examined by a court of pilots and cosmographers, presided over by the Pilot Major. At this time it was very common to charge fees for services rendered, but this was not the case with the pilots’ examinations. In 1527 it was forbidden for the Pilot Major to accept payments for pilots’ exams. This measure was not agreeable to cosmographers, who could benefit greatly from the fees charged. Thus, several accusations of bribery appeared among the Casa cosmographers. By accepting bribes from pilots, the examiners were jeopardising national security (if they were foreigners, for example) and the safety of ships (licensing incompetent pilots).

However, according to some witnesses, accepting gloves was different from accepting money. A pair of gloves was seen as more legitimate because it was equivalent to university tuition, following the custom of doctoral exams. Payment in gloves was seen as a matter of honor agreed between the pilots. The examiners argued against the authorities of the Casa that not accepting the gloves nullified the analogy between the pilots’ exams and the university exams.

So, to get a pilot’s examination, one didn’t have to have much money, just a good pair of gloves! [Carmo Lacerda]