Pero de Ataíde (also known as Pedro d'Ataíde, d'Atayde, or da Thayde; c. 1450 – February/March 1504, Mozambique Island), nicknamed "O Inferno" (Hell) "for the damage he did to the Moors in Africa," was a Portuguese sea captain, explorer, and navigator active in the Indian Ocean in the early 1500s. He served briefly as captain-major of the first permanent Portuguese fleet in the Indian Ocean, succeeding Vicente Sodré, and is the author of a famous letter to King Manuel I recounting the fate of that fleet.
Background
Pero de Ataíde was one of three known illegitimate sons of Dom Pedro de Ataíde, Abbot of Penalva do Castelo, himself an illegitimate son of D. Álvaro Gonçalves de Ataíde, the 1st Count of Atouguia. He had two brothers, Vasco de Ataíde and Álvaro Gonçalves de Ataíde, and a sister, Isabel Coutinho. Chronicler Gaspar Correia described him as a "very honored nobleman, a good knight, of virtuous condition."
A common but likely erroneous assumption links him to Vasco da Gama. The confusion arises because Vasco da Gama married Catarina de Ataíde, daughter of the alcaide-mór of Alvor — but she belonged to a different branch of the Ataíde family (the Ataídes of Alvor), not the Ataídes of Atouguia to which Pero belonged. No documentary evidence of a connection has been found.
First Journey to India (1500–1501)
In 1500, Pero de Ataíde and his brother Vasco joined the 2nd India Armada under Pedro Álvares Cabral. Pero was appointed captain of the São Pedro, a small 70-tonne carrack. His brother Vasco was lost with his ship in late May while attempting to round the Cape of Good Hope.
In India, Cabral assigned Ataíde to intercept an Arab smuggling ship carrying war elephants for the Zamorin of Calicut. The Zamorin watched from the beach as the smuggler initially slipped past, but Ataíde gave chase, caught the vessel near Cannanore, personally led his crew in boarding and defeating the larger crew, and brought the ship and its cargo (minus one elephant killed in the fighting) back. Cabral presented the ship and elephants to the Zamorin as a gift.
After relations with the Zamorin soured and the Portuguese were expelled from Calicut, Ataíde began the return journey. At Mossel Bay (Aguada de São Brás), he wrote a letter detailing the state of affairs in India and warning future captains to avoid Calicut. He placed the letter in a shoe at the Post Office Tree by the watering hole. The letter was found later that year by João da Nova, admiral of the outgoing 3rd Armada.
Second Journey to India (1502–1504)
Ataíde set out again in February 1502 commanding the carrack São Paulo as part of the 4th India Armada under Vasco da Gama. In February 1503, he was appointed captain of one of six caravels left behind as a naval patrol under Vicente Sodré — the first permanent Portuguese fleet in the Indian Ocean.
After da Gama's departure, Vicente Sodré disobeyed orders to protect the Portuguese factories in Cochin and Cannanore, instead leading the patrol to prey on Arab ships in the Gulf of Aden. In April 1503, the patrol anchored at the Khuriya Muriya Islands (off Oman). Despite warnings of an approaching tempest, the Sodré brothers refused to move their ships to shelter and both were sunk. The remaining captains elected Pero de Ataíde as the new captain-major.
Ataíde oversaw repairs and set course back to India, but bad weather forced a lengthy stop at Anjediva Island. There, in late August/early September 1503, they were joined by the vanguard of the 5th Armada under Francisco de Albuquerque, who helped finish repairs. They proceeded to Cochin and forced the Zamorin to lift the siege.
Death in Mozambique
In January 1504, Afonso de Albuquerque assigned Ataíde to captain a spice-laden nau back to Portugal. Ataíde set out on January 30, 1504, but after parting ways with accompanying ships, his heavy-laden vessel ran into shoals and capsized off the East African coast (probably near the Quirimbas Islands, Mozambique). He lost the ship and cargo, but most of the crew survived.
Stranded, Ataíde reached Mozambique Island by longboat and arranged rescue vessels for his crew. Already feverishly ill (likely malaria), and concerned that Captain António do Campo would deliver an unfavorable report to Lisbon, he composed his famous letter to King Manuel I in February 1504. The letter recounts the travails of Vicente Sodré's patrol, the loss of his own ship, and his loyal service, petitioning the king for the offices and benefices of the citadel of Tomar (formerly belonging to Vicente Sodré).
Pero de Ataíde died shortly after finishing the letter. It was picked up by the outgoing 6th Armada under Lopo Soares de Albergaria when it stopped at Mozambique Island in late July 1504.
Legacy
Ataíde's letter to King Manuel I survives as an important primary source for the early Portuguese presence in the Indian Ocean, particularly regarding the fate of Vicente Sodré's patrol. His use of the "Post Office Tree" at Mossel Bay is one of the earliest recorded instances of a message left for a later ship at a pre-arranged location — a practice that became common among Portuguese navigators.
