Christopher de Haro

Christopher de Haro (in Portuguese, Cristóvão de Haro) was a Lisbon-based merchant of Flemish origin. As a financier and representative of the Fuggers he provided the financial backing to Ferdinand Magellan's 1519 voyage, the first circumnavigation around the world.

His brother Jacob de Haro headed a commercial firm based in Antwerp. Christopher de Haro, as a representative of this firm, had been based in Lisbon and later joined Magellan in Spain.

Christopher de Haro had a dispute with the Portuguese king, Manuel I, and as a result left Lisbon and moved to Seville. There he met again with Magellan whom he knew from Lisbon. Familiar with the secret Portuguese expeditions, he thought Magellan's plan was worthy of his financial backing. He provided about one-quarter of the cost of Magellan's expedition directly. Three-quarters of the cost was defrayed by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, much of it loaned by Haro at high interest.

The author Maximilianus of Transylvania (Maximilianus Transylvanus) was married to Frances, daughter of Jacob de Haro, and was thus well-positioned to write the first account of Magellan's voyage, which was published in 1523. Transylvanus had observed that de Haro had assisted Magellan and Ruy Faleiro considerably in presenting their proposals before the Spanish royal counselors.

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