Luís Vaz de Torres

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Luis Váez de Torres)
Jump to: navigation, search

Luís Vaz de Torres (Galician or Portuguese), also Luis Váez de Torres in the Spanish spelling, (born c. 1565; fl. 1607) was a 16th-17th century maritime explorer serving the Spanish Crown, noted for the first recorded navigation of the strait which separates the continent of Australia from the island of New Guinea, and which now bears his name (Torres Strait).

Contents

[edit] Origins and early life

Nothing is known of Torres' origins.[1] The year and place of his birth are unknown; assuming him to have been in his late thirties or forties in 1606, a birth year of around 1565 is considered likely.

Since the 19th century, Torres has been presented by Portuguese and some British historians as Portuguese, without giving any evidence other than his name; which could just as well be Galician.[2][3][4] However, all his writings, which all relate to serving the Spanish Crown, were in Spanish and no records ever referred to him as Portuguese; the very same records which are clear in noting the remarks made by crew members, during the long voyage, on the Portuguese origins of expedition's commanding officer, de Queirós. Torres is recorded as having been called a "Breton" during the voyage, which points to an origin in the northwest province of Spain, Galicia.[5][6][7]

Torres, at some point, entered the naval service of the Spanish Crown and found his way to its South American possessions. By late 1605 he first entered the historical record as the nominated commander of the second ship in an expedition to the Pacific proposed by the Portuguese born navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, searching for Terra Australis.

[edit] The Queirós voyage

Pedro Fernandes de Queirós was a Portuguese born navigator who commanded a party of three Spanish ships, San Pedro y San Pablo (150 tons), San Pedro (120 tons) and the tender (patache) Los Tres Reyes. The three ships left Callao in Spanish Peru, on 21 December 1605, with Torres in command of the "San Pedro." In May 1606 they reached the islands which Queirós named La Austrialia (sic)[8] del Espiritu Santo (now Vanuatu); Austrialia being a compliment to the House of Austria, to which the king of Spain belonged.[9]

After six weeks Queirós’ ships put to sea again to explore the coastline. On the night of 11 June 1606 Queirós in the San Pedro y San Pablo became separated from the other ships in bad weather and was unable (or so he later said) to return to safe anchorage at Espiritu Santo. He then sailed to Acapulco in Mexico, where he arrived in November 1606. In the account by Prado, which is highly critical of Queirós, mutiny and poor leadership are given as the reason for Queirós’ disappearance.[10] Torres remained silent on the subject other than to write his “condition was different to that of Captain Queirós.” [11][12]

[edit] Torres assumes command

Torres remained at Espritu Santo for 15 days before opening sealed orders he had been given by the Viceroy of Peru. These contained instructions on what course to follow if the ships became separated and who would be in command in the event of the loss of Queirós. The orders appear to have listed Prado as successor to Queirós, as he was capitan-entretenido (spare captain) on the voyage.[13] However, there is overwhelming evidence Torres remained in command, including Prado’s own account.[14][15]

[edit] The south coast of New Guinea and Torres Strait

In 26 June 1606 the San Pedro and Los Tres Reyes under Torres command set sail for Manila. Contrary winds prevented the ships taking the more direct route along the north coast of New Guinea. Prado’s account notes that they sighted land on 14 July 1606, which was probably the island of Tagula in the Louisiade Archipelago, south east of New Guinea. The voyage continued over the next two months along the southeastern coast, and a number of landfalls were made to replenish the ships’ food and water. The expedition discovered Milne Bay including Basilaki Island which they named Tierra de San Buenaventura, taking possession of the land for Spain in July 1606.[11] This brought the Spanish in close and sometimes violent contact with local indigenous people. Prado and Torres both record the capture of twenty people, including a pregnant woman who gave birth several weeks later.[10] From these islands, Torres sailed along the southern coast of New Guinea reaching Orangerie Bay, which he named Bahía de San Lorenzo because he landed on 10 August, the feast of Saint Lawrence or San Lorenzo. The expedition then sailed to the Gulf of Papua, exploring and charting the coastline. Prado drew a number of sketch charts of anchorages in the Gulf of Papua, several of which survive.[16]

For many years it was assumed that Torres took a route close to the New Guinea coast to navigate the 150 kilometre strait that now bears his name, but in 1980 the Queensland master mariner Captain Brett Hilder demonstrated that it was much more likely that Torres took a southerly route through the channel now called Endeavour Strait, on 2–3 October 1606.[17] From this position, he would certainly have seen Cape York, the northernmost extremity of Australia. According to nineteenth century Australian writer George Collingridge, Torres "had discovered Australia without being aware of the fact." [18]Whether or not he did so, Torres never claimed that he had sighted the southern continent. "Here there are very large islands, and more to the south" he wrote.[11]

Torres followed the coastline of New Guinea, and took possession of the island in the name of the King of Spain on 18 October 1606. On 27 October he reached the western extremity of New Guinea and then made his way north of Ceram and Misool toward the Halmahera Sea. At the beginning of January 1607 he reached Ternate, part of the Spice Islands. He sailed on 1 May for Manila arriving on 22 May. The expedition proved that New Guinea was not part of the sought after continent.

[edit] Results of the voyage

Torres intended to personally present the captives, weapons and a detailed account to the king on his return to Spain. His short written account of the voyage indicates this.[11] However, it appears there was no interest in Manila in outfitting his voyage back to Spain, and he was told his ships and men were required locally for the king’s service.[19]

On 1 June 1607, two ships arrived in Manila from South America, one being Queirós former flagship San Pedro y San Pablo, now under another name, but with some of her former crewmen still aboard. Learning that Queirós had survived, Torres immediately wrote a report of his voyage to Queirós. Although that account no longer survives, Queirós himself referred to it in some of his many memorials to the king, agitating for another voyage.

Torres, his crew and his captives disappear entirely from the historical record at this point, and their subsequent fate is unknown. Prado returned to Spain, possibly taking one of the captive New Guineans with him.[20] Most documents of Torres's discoveries were not published, but on reaching Spain, filed away in Spanish archives, including Prado’s lengthy account and the accompanying charts.

Some time between 1762 and 1765, written accounts of the Torres expedition were seen by British Admiralty Hydrographer Alexander Dalrymple. Dalrymple provided a sketch map which included the Queirós - Torres voyages to Joseph Banks, who undoubtedly passed this information to James Cook.[21][22]

[edit] Accounts of the voyage

There are a number of documents describing the Queirós – Torres voyages still in existence. Most significant are

  • Queirós’ many subsequent Memorials to the King Philip III regarding the voyage and further exploration,[23]
  • Torres brief account to the king (written July 1607),[11]
  • Prado’s narrative Relacion Sumaria (first written in 1608) and 4 charts of New Guinea [24]
  • Juan Luis Arias de Loyola’s memorial to King Philip IV (written about 1630 and based on discussions between Queirós and Loyola) [25]

1617 may be the date of the first English translation of one of Queirós’ memorials, as Terra Australis Incognita, or A New Southerne Discoverie.[26] A short account of Queirós’ voyage and discoveries was published in English by Samuel Purchas in 1625 in Haklvytvs posthumus, or, Pvrchas his Pilgrimes, vol. iv, p. 1422-1432. This account also appears to be based on a letter by Queirós to the King in 1610, the eighth on the matter.[23]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Australian Dictionary of Biography on-line
  2. ^ Alan Villiers, The Coral Sea, Whittlesey House, 1949, p. 99.: "The second-in-command, or at any rate the commanding officer of the second ship, was a Portuguese pilot named Luis Vaz de Torres".
  3. ^ William A. R. Richardson, Was Australia charted before 1606? The Java la Grande inscriptions, National Library Australia, 2006, p. 20. ISBN 0642276420, 9780642276421: "Pedro Fernandes de Quirós and Luis Vaz de Torres, both Portuguese in command of Spanish vessels..."
  4. ^ Kenneth Gordon McIntyre, The secret discovery of Australia: Portuguese ventures 250 years before Captain Cook, Pan Books, 1987, p. 181. ISBN 0330271016, 9780330271011:"In these Spanish expeditions to the South Seas, the Portuguese explorers Pedro Fernandes de Queiros and Luis Vaz de Torres played a leading part. ..." - Found in the search results.
  5. ^ Estensen, M. (2006) Terra Australis Incognita: The Spanish Quest for the mysterious Great South Land, p. 115. Allen & Unwin, Australia. ISBN 978 174175 0546. Estensen claims that Don Diego de Prado y Tovar, a Spanish nobleman who accompanied Torres, refers to him in his account as a "Breton" - Estensen points out that this was used to refer to Galicians at the time, and that, therefore, Torres was almost certainly from Galicia. (The Latin name "Galicia" derives from the peoples of northwest Iberia when it was conquered by the Romans - the celtic Gallaeci.)
  6. ^ 'The voyage of Torres : the discovery of the southern coastline of New Guinea and Torres Strait by Captain Luis Vaez de Torres in 1606' Brett Hilder, University of Queensland Press, 1980, ISBN 070221275X
  7. ^ 'A history of Spain from the beginnings to the present day' by Rafael Altamira ; translated by Muna Lee, 1966

    "The Celtic zones par excellence, however, continued to be Galicia and Portugal."

  8. ^ No, not a typo! See accounts of the voyage cited, e.g. Estensen, M (2006)
  9. ^ Hilder, B.(1980) The Voyage of Torres. p.17. University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia. ISBN 07022 1275x
  10. ^ a b Prado's account can be read online
  11. ^ a b c d e Translation of Torres’ report to the king in Collingridge, G. (1895) Discovery of Australia p.229-237. Golden Press Edition 1983, Gradesville, NSW. ISBN 0 855589566
  12. ^ Brett Hilder notes that there are “at least a dozen (letters in Spanish archives) from various officers denouncing Queirós(as) an incompetent leader.” Hilder, B. (1980) p.175
  13. ^ The claim he assumed command, made by Prado himself, was accepted by some writers in the 1930s, including Stevens, H.N. (Ed) New Light on the Discovery of Australia as Revealed by the Journal of Captain Don Diego de Prado y Tovar. Hakluyt Society, London, 1930
  14. ^ Hilder, B. (1980) p.17+
  15. ^ Estensen, M. (2006) p186-189
  16. ^ For colour photos of the charts, see Hilder, B. (1980). Also see Collingridge’s The First Discovery of Australia and New Guinea, 1905, which includes Collingridge’s own copies of three of the charts [1]. The charts are the coloured maps 5,6 and 9.Map 9 is incorrectly titled “Moresby's Map of the Islands at the South-east end of New Guinea.” It is in fact based on Prado’s Mappa III - showing Orangerie Bay, New Guinea
  17. ^ Hilder, B.(1980) p.89-101
  18. ^ George Collingridge (1905) The First Discovery of Australia and New Guinea. [2]
  19. ^ Hilder, B. (1980). p.130
  20. ^ Hilder, B (1980) p132-133. Prado wrote letters from Goa in December 1613, indicating he had taken the Portuguese route home. Sometime afterwards he is described as “ a monk of our father Saint Basil the Great of Madrid.” Estensen, M. (2006) p.219
  21. ^ Hilder, B (1980) p.31
  22. ^ Estensen, M. (2006) p.222
  23. ^ a b A copy at the Library of Congress can be read online
  24. ^ For colour photos of the charts, see Hilder, B. (1980). Also see Collingridge’s The First Discovery of Australia, 1895, which includes Collingridge’s own copies of three of the charts [3] The charts are the coloured maps 5,6 and 9.(Map 9 is incorrectly titled “Moresby's Map of the Islands at the South-east end of New Guinea” . It is in fact based on Prado’s Mappa III - showing Orangerie Bay, New Guinea.)
  25. ^ Hilder, B (1980) p.175-176
  26. ^ The La Trobe Library of Victoria lists a copy of this as one of its rare books [4]

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lu%C3%ADs_Vaz_de_Torres&oldid=479392165"
Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export
Languages