Fernão Lopez is reputed to have been a Portuguese prisoner, who on his return to Portugal in 1513, marooned himself on Saint Helena, an island in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, thereby becoming its first permanent resident. He is only said to have left the island for Europe to confess his sins to the Pope before returning to spend his final 30 years in isolation on Saint Helena. Events January 20 - Christian II becomes King of Denmark and Norway. ...

In Portuguese service

Lopez accompanied Alfonso de Albuquerque, a Portuguese general and coloniser, on his first voyage to Goa in India in 1503. Albuquerque sailed for Portugal shortly after his arrival, in order to secure reinforcements, but he left a garrison behind to keep the peace and rule over the local population with Lopez as the commander. When Albuquerque returned two years later, he found that discipline at the garrison fell apart. The men mingled with the Indians. Some of them took wives from among the locals, and some converted to Islam. They also sided with the Muslim resistance against Portuguese rule. Afonso de Albuquerque Afonso de Albuquerque, Afonso dAlbuquerque or Alfonso de Albuquerque (1453 _ December 16, 1515) was a noted Portuguese naval general whose activities helped establish the Portuguese colonial empire in India. ... Founded in the 15th century, the city of Goa in south-western India was under Portuguese rule from 1510 until its incorporation in the Republic of India in 1961. ... Events January 20 - Seville in Castile is awarded exclusive right to trade with the New World. ... Islam (Arabic al-islām الإسلام,  listen) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith and the worlds second-largest religion. ...

Once Albequerque had captured the renegades, he tortured them so savagely that half of them died within three days. Lopez, as the leader of the group, received the harshest punishment. He was bound with ropes to two wooden posts, and Albuquerque's men severed his nose, ears, right arm, and left thumb (according to others, his index and middle fingers as well), and hair and beard were scraped off with clam shells. All of the men were then released, and fled to the jungles where they could hide their deformities and be left alone. The Iron Maiden of Nuremberg was a famous torture device Torture is the infliction of severe physical or psychological pain as an expression of cruelty, a means of intimidation, deterrent or punishment, or as a tool for the extraction of information or confessions. ... This article is about Jungle, the terrain. ...

Lopez stayed in India until 1513 he set sail for Portugal. His ship stopped at Saint Helena for food and water. Saint Helena had been discovered by the Portuguese on 21 May 1502, and later became well used by Portuguese ships sailing to the East Indies. When the sailors were making ready to leave, they discovered that Lopez was missing. After a search of the island proved unsuccessful, they sailed without him, but left a barrel of biscuits, some dried meat, a tinderbox and a saucepan. Legend has it that he became its first exile. Events January 20 - Christian II becomes King of Denmark and Norway. ... May 21 is the 141st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (142nd in leap years). ... Events January 1 - Portuguese explorers sailed into Guanabra Bay, Brazil and mistook it for the mouth of a river which they named Rio de Janeiro May 9 - Christopher Columbus leaves Spain for his fourth and final trip to the New World. May 21 - Portuguese discover island of St Helena. ... A biscuit is a type of food. ... Meat is animal tissue (mainly muscle) used as food. ... For information regarding Mozillas Tinderbox, see Tinderbox (software). ... cast-iron iron enamel stainless steel The cooking pan is a type of food preparation utensil commonly found in the kitchen which includes many more specific cooking vessels such as saucepans and frying pans (or fry pans). ...

Marooned on St. Helena

At the time, Saint Helena was a very fertile place, full of trees, lemon groves and grasses, along with goats and birds, but had many barren plains. Although it did rain very frequently and the wind was biting, the weather was very mild. Lopez acclimatised himself to his new home. Nearly a year passed before another ship docked at Saint Helena. The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth A tree can be defined as a large, perennial, woody plant. ... In popular language grass means a short, green, ground covering or lawn, usually, but not necessarily comprised of a true grass or grasses, called turf. ... A goat is an animal in the genus Capra, which consists of nine species: the Ibex, the West Caucasian Tur, the East Caucasian Tur, the Markhor, and the Wild Goat. ... Orders Many - see section below. ...

Saint Helena is located in the South Atlantic Ocean.

The following is from a contemporary account of the first ship to encounter Lopez after he had been left on Saint Helena, found in the Hakylut Society journal: File links The following pages link to this file: Saint Helena Fernão Lopez Categories: GFDL images | Country locator maps ... File links The following pages link to this file: Saint Helena Fernão Lopez Categories: GFDL images | Country locator maps ...

"The crew was amazed when they saw the grotto and the straw bed on which he slept...and when they saw the clothing they agreed it must be a Portuguese man.

So they took in their water and did not meddle with anything, but left biscuits and cheeses and things to eat and a letter telling him not to hide himself the next time a ship came to the island for no one would harm him.

Then the ship set off, and as she was spreading her sails a cockerel fell overboard and the waves carried it to the shore and Lopez caught it and fed it with some rice which they had left behind for him."

The cockerel that Lopez saved from the ship became his only friend on the island. During the night, it roosted above his head and during the day it followed behind him, and would come if he called to it. As time went on, Lopes began to be less and less afraid of people. When a ship would lay anchor in Jamestown Harbour, Lopes would greet the sailors, talking to them as they came ashore. Lopes began to be considered a saint, because of his deformities and the fact that he would not leave Saint Helena for any reason. Many people thought him to be the epitome of human suffering and alienation, and they took pity on him. The travellers who went to Saint Helena gave Lopez many things, animals, livestock, and seeds. Eventually, Lopez became a gardener and a keeper of livestock, working the soil, planting fruit trees, grasses and many other forms of vegetation. In a few years, the island was fully covered in trees where once there had been only a few, all thanks to Lopez. ... A sailor is a member of the crew of a ship or boat. ... A gardener is any person involved in the growing and maintenance of plants, notably in a garden. ...

Eventually it is claimed, Lopez returned to Portugal to see his family and then visited the Pope in Rome, for his final absolution. The Pope was very impressed with Lopez, and decided to grant him a single wish. Lopez had one desire, and that was to return to his home on Saint Helena. Lopez returned there, and died there, after living on the island for 30 years. The Pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. ...

Online references

• Saint Helena's official website (http://www.sthelena.se/history/cron.txt)
• Poetry Africa - 2001 biographies (http://www.und.ac.za/und/carts/pa2001bios05.html)