Mathieu de Costa
| Mathieu da Costa | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Lusofonia date unknown |
| Died | after 1619 Quebec City, Quebec |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Other names | Mathieu da Costa (sometimes d'Acosta) |
| Occupation | Translator and Explorer |
| Known for | First recorded black person in Canada, Exploration of New France, Bridge between the Aboriginal peoples in Canada and the European explorers through his translation |
Mathieu da Costa (sometimes d'Acosta) is the first recorded free black person in Canada. He was a member of the exploring party of Pierre Dugua, the Sieur de Monts and Samuel de Champlain in the early 17th century.
There is little documentation about da Costa, but he is known to have been a freeman favoured by explorers for his multilingual talents. His portfolio of languages is thought to include Dutch, English, French, Portuguese and pidgin Basque, the dialect many Aboriginals used for trading purposes.
He was originally acquired by the Portuguese for his translating abilities, having learned their language so quickly. It was thought that his skills would be valuable in future cartography expeditions to the new world. As early as 1499 João Fernandes Lavrador explored Greenland and the north Atlantic coast of Canada. The following year brothers Gaspar and Miguel Corte-Real explored what is today the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Greenland, claiming these lands for Portugal. João Álvares Fagundes and Pêro de Barcelos established fishing outposts in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia around 1521; however, these were later abandoned, as the Portuguese focussed their efforts on South America.
The tradition of Europeans depending on such translators was more than a century old by this time. An interpreter, translator, and general go-between such as da Costa was known as um grumete in the Portuguese-speaking world. After learning the Language of the L'nug (Mi'kmaq) on a Portuguese expedition da Costa would later be sought by both the English and the Dutch to help in their contacts with Aboriginal peoples but it would be the French that secured his services for hire.
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