Jorge de Menezes (c. 1498[citation needed] – 1537) was a Portuguese explorer. Due to a monsoon, he was forced to reside in Versya, posited by Pieter Anton TieleasWaisai, between 1526 and 1527.[1] Menezes called the region Ilhas dos Papuas,[2] though the name of "Papua" was already known at the time. Yet he was still the first European to go ashore[3] and thus credited with the European discovery of New Guinea.[4]
As a nobleman,[5] he was possibly the "D. Jorge de Meneses" present at the His Most Faithful Majesty's CouncilofManuel I of Portugal in 1518 and 1519.[6] In 1526, Menezes traveled to Brunei, detailing the city as being fortified by a brick wall and having a moderate number of notable buildings.[7] His visit opened a new route to the Moluccas,[8] becoming the favored course to Ternate.[9] Successor to Antonio de Brito,[10] Menezes was the Portuguese Governor of the Moluccas [pt] from 1527 until 1530, residing in Ternate.[11] On 22 August 1526, he left Portuguese Malacca[12] with 100 men[13] to take his post but was sidetracked by a monsoon, leading to his discovery of New Guinea; he arrived in Ternate on 31 May 1527.[12]
In 1528, he captured and plundered[14] a lightly-defended Spanish fort commanded by Hernando de la Torre,[15] during the competition between the empires over the Moluccas that ended with the Treaty of Zaragoza as well as a personal treaty with the Spanish and Menezes in 1529.[16] He further involved the Portuguese in the affairs of the sultanate and held Boheyat and Dayal prisoner in Fort Kastela. Officials suspected of conspiring against him were executed.[10] Beyond his political interferences, he committed atrocities against the population.[11][14][17] Under orders of Dayal's mother, the fort was besieged.[10][17] Subsequently, Menezes was arrested and sent to Old Goa, Portuguese India[11][14] by his successor, Gonçalo Pereira.[10][18] After his return to Portugal, he was banished to the Colony of Brazil.[14] During a trip to Lisbon, Vasco Fernandes Coutinho left Menezes in charge of the Captaincy of Espírito Santo.[5][19] He captured indigenous people and enslaved them on his sesmaria [pt],[19] provoking an attack that temporarily destroyed the captaincy and eradicated the colonists in 1537.[5][19] Menezes died in combat during the assault.[14]
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