Francisco Serrão

Francisco Serrão
Born	14?? Kingdom of Portugal
Died	1521 Sultanate of Ternate
Nationality	Portuguese
Occupation	Explorer, soldier
Known for	First known European to sail east past Malacca through modern Indonesia and the East Indies.

Francisco Serrão (died 1521) was a Portuguese explorer and a cousin of Ferdinand Magellan. His 1512 voyage was the first known European sailing east past Malacca through modern Indonesia and the East Indies. He became a confidante of the Sultan Bayan Sirrullah, the ruler of Ternate, becoming his personal advisor. He remained in Ternate where he died around the same time Magellan died.

Serrão served as captain of one of three vessels (and second in overall command under António de Abreu) sent from Malacca by Afonso de Albuquerque to find the Spice Islands of Banda in Maluku in 1511. Banda was the world's only source of nutmeg and mace, spices used as flavourings, medicines, preserving agents, that were at the time highly valued in European markets. The Portuguese sought to dominate the source, rather than relying on Arab traders who sold it to the Venetians for exorbitant prices.

Malay pilots guided the expedition east via Java and along the Lesser Sundas before steering them north to Banda via Ambon. When Serrão's ship had berthed at Gresik on Java, he married a Javanese woman as his wife, who then accompanied him on the expedition's further journey. In 1512 his ship was shipwrecked but managed to reach Luco-Pino island (Hitu), north of Ambon. The expedition remained in Banda for about one month, purchasing and filling their ships with nutmeg and mace, as well as cloves in which Banda had a thriving entrepôt trade. Serrão left Banda in a Chinese junk purchased from a regional trader to replace his lost ship. D'Abreu sailed through Ambon while Serrão went ahead towards Maluku islands.

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