The Fourth Armada’s third squadron—five ships under…
June 1502 CE
The Fourth Armada’s third squadron—five ships under Estêvão da Gama had finally set out from Lisbon on April 1, 1502.
Charting its own course, the third squadron will only catch up with the main body of the Fourth Armada in India.
After making watering stops in Madeira and Cape Verde, this third squadron reportedly spots an island in the south Atlantic.
This could be one of the Cape Verde islands or the Penedo de São Pedro islets off the Brazilian coast, or even the islands of Trindade and Martim Vaz further south, but Gama does not stop to investigate.
(By coincidence, this very same month, the returning Third Armada of João da Nova discovers the island of Saint Helena.
Despite the timing, the returning fleet will not encounter any of the ships of the outward armada, but they will pick up letters Nova left behind in Malindi, probably describing his outgoing journey and the latest news from India.)
Estevão da Gama’s squadron is caught on June 7 in a terrible storm around the Cape and splits into two groups—the ship of Estevão da Gama and the ships of Lopo Dias and Thomaz de Carmona, with Bergamo on board, hold together as a trio, while Lopo Mendes de Vasconcellos and the ship of Buonagrazia (with Lopes on board) form a separate pair.