Pilot major
A pilot major or pilot-major is a chief navigator of a ship or fleet. This person is usually experienced in naval exploration and has distinguished himself as both a sailor and a voyager. This term is mostly used to describe persons from the early modern period. In Spain, this was also an office.
On 6 August 1508, the Spanish government ordered the establishment of the Padrón Real as a template for the official map used by Spain to avoid confusion from a multitude of sailing charts. A commission consisting of the best pilots in the kingdom was constituted, with Amerigo Vespucci as its president and Pilot-Major. The Pilot-Major would receive new geographical information and, in twice-monthly consultations with his majesty's cartographers, decide whether to include it in the master Padrón Real and its copies, the Padrón General.[1]:{{{1}}} The Pilot-Major was eventually given permission to sell copies of the Padrón General for his own benefit.[1]:{{{1}}}
Pilots major include:
- Sebastian Cabot[1]:{{{1}}}[2] (c. 1474–c. 1557), Venetian explorer, Pilot-Major for Spain from 5 February 1518 to 25 October 1525, succeeding Juan Díaz de Solís (see below),[3] and again from 1533 to at least October 1547[1]:{{{1}}}
- John Davis (c. 1550–1605),[4] English explorer, one of the chief navigators of Queen Elizabeth I
- Juan Díaz de Solís (c. 1470–1516),[3] Portuguese or Spanish navigator and explorer, appointed pilot major in 1512[5]
- Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512),[6] Italian explorer
- Frans Jacobszoon Visscher,[7] 17th century Dutch explorer who served as pilot-major on the first voyage of Abel Tasman
John Blackthorne, the fictional protagonist of the James Clavell novel Shogun and its adaptations, also holds this rank.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Harrisse, Henry (1896). John Cabot: The Discoverer of North America, and Sebastian, His Son. B. F. Stevens. Retrieved 20 October 2024. Search this book on
- ↑ Skelton, R. A. (1966). "Cabot, Sebastian". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. 1. University of Toronto/Université Laval. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Giovanni Vespucci: World Map". Hispanic Society of America. Archived from the original on 8 November 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ↑ Markham, Albert Hastings, ed. (1880). The Voyages and Works of John Davis, the Navigator (PDF). Hakluyt Society. p. 78. Retrieved 20 October 2024. Search this book on
- ↑ Afonso, Paulo Manuel João (2023). "The Double Nationality of João Rodrigues Cabrilho, Portuguese-Born, Naturalized Castilian. Part I – A Much Needed Review" (PDF). Bulletin for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies. 48 (1): 6. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ↑ Pohl, Frederick J. (1944). Amerigo Vespucci: Pilot Major (2nd ed.). Columbia University Press. p. 184. ISBN 9780231902861. Retrieved 20 October 2024. Search this book on
- ↑ Chapman, Peter. "Tasman and a Dutch Discovery" (PDF). Australian Natural History. Vol. 20 no. 2. Australian Museum. p. 39. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
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