From 1531 until his death, the Portuguese pilot João Afonso became a persistent nightmare for the Portuguese Crown. Considered a traitor since 1531, Afonso’s movements, knowledge, and service to Valois France deeply worried King John III of Portugal and, over time, King Charles I of Spain as well.
Afonso was a skilled oceanic pilot who had accumulated nautical experience in West Africa, Brazil, the Strait of Magellan, and, most concerning to the Portuguese, the Indian Ocean. He was first detected in France in 1531 by the Portuguese agent Gaspar Palha at La Rochelle. Palha attempted to negotiate Afonso’s return to Portugal, as he had already done with Leone Pancaldo, one of Ferdinand Magellan’s pilots, but he failed. In 1532, another Portuguese agent, the lawyer Gaspar Vaz, also failed to convince Afonso to return. Even more significantly, the renowned Diogo Gouveia, the Elder, the famous Portuguese rector of the University of Paris, was unable to succeed. Gouveia warned King John III that Afonso would soon pilot French expeditions against Iberian overseas interests, and that Portugal would be powerless to prevent this. Alarmed by these warning and failures, King John III issued a pardon letter to Afonso in 1533, hoping he would return. Afonso never did.
On the contrary, during this period, Afonso took steps to become a naturalized French citizen under the name Jean Alphonse of Saintonge. He enlisted his sons in the French navy, where they served as pilots and captains on numerous French voyages that challenged Portuguese and Spanish interests in West Africa, the Caribbean, and Brazil. Afonso also played a pivotal role in the development of the Dieppe cartographical school shortly after his arrival in France in 1531. Collaborating closely with Jean Ango, the viscount of Dieppe and the renowned shipowner and corsair who sponsored several anti-Iberian maritime expeditions, Afonso likely provided Portuguese nautical charts and rutters that influenced subsequent French cartography produced at this school.
The pinnacle of Afonso’s career occurred in 1542 when King Francis I appointed him as royal pilot for Jean-François de Roberval’s expedition to colonize modern-day Canada. This appointment came in recognition of Afonso's cosmographical work, which synthesized his extensive maritime and overseas experiences in the service of both Iberian and French interests. His cosmographical work, authored in French and published posthumously (see illustration), underscored his enduring influence and expertise in navigation and exploration.
However, Afonso met his demise some time after returning from Roberval’s expedition, when the fleet of the Spaniard Pedro Menéndez de Avilés captured and promptly executed him, likely in 1547, citing his alleged treachery over the years. The disappearance of the Portuguese pilot who had become a naturalized Frenchman (see the illustration of his French signature) had a profound impact on France. The Pleiade poets never ceased to celebrate Afonso’s maritime and overseas exploits as emblematic of France’s own, drawing parallels between his career and those of ancient sailors. In this way, Afonso not only facilitated and inspired French overseas ventures, but also fostered the development of French maritime and overseas national pride. A traitor to the Iberians and a hero to the French, João Afonso was above all a typical 16th century go-between. [Nuno Vila-Santa]
