Ieronimo da Santo Stefano

by Paul Lunde

Ieronimo (Gerolamo) da Santo Stefano was a Genoese merchant who left a brief itinerary of his journey from Cairo to India, Ceylon, Indochina, Sumatra, Hormuz, Iran, and finally Syria. He wrote his report in Tripoli in 1499, the year after Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape. Despite its brevity, this short text is valuable for the light it sheds on the itinerary of Nicolò de’ Conti and on the Muslim-controlled Indian Ocean trading network through which Ieronimo moved.

Ieronimo da Santo Stefano and his companion Gerolamo Adorno, both merchants from Genoa, set off from Cairo in 1495. They sailed up the Nile to Qene, then crossed the desert to the port of al-Qusayr, the ancient Myos Hormos. They took ship down the Red Sea to Massawa, then sailed to Aden. Like Ludovico de Varthema, they were very impressed with the honesty and justice of the ruler. They spent four months there, waiting for the monsoon winds which would carry them to India They crossed the Indian Ocean in a craft sewn together with coir, exactly like those described in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea 1500 years before. After a quick crossing of 25 days, they landed at Calicut. Ieronimo describes pepper and ginger, correcting certain common errors about the former, gives an accurate account of the religious beliefs of the Hindus, and mentions the local custom of polyandry.

The two travellers then sailed to Ceylon, where they only stayed a single day. Ieronimo nevertheless mentions cinnamon and the precious stones for which Ceylon is still famous.

They sailed on to Coromandel, where sandalwood grew. They stayed seven months, then sailed to Pegu. They wanted to visit Ava, but could not because of a local war, so they sold their merchandise in Pegu for 2000 ducats. They stayed in Pegu a year and a half. Here Gerolamo Adorno fell ill and died, after suffering terribly for 55 days. Ieronimo da Santo Stefano was distraught at the loss of his companion and friend, and took a long time to recover his spirits. Finally, he sailed for Malacca, but was driven by bad weather onto the coast of Sumatra. The local ruler was a Muslim, and when he learned that some of Ieronimo’s merchandise belonged to his deceased friend, claimed it for himself, as Gerolamo Adorno had died without issue. The case was finally resolved in Ieronimo’s favour by the intercession of the local qadi, whom he had befriended. Ieronimo then sold all his goods, invested the money in silk and other things, and sailed for Cambay. He was shipwrecked off the Maldives and only saved himself by clinging to a piece of floating wood. He was eventually plucked out of the sea by a passing ship and taken to Cambay. There he met some kindly Muslim merchants from Alexandria and Damascus, who loaned him money. He accompanied a merchant from Damascus to Hormuz, then joined some Armenians heading overland to Tabriz. From there he made his way to Aleppo and then to Tripoli, where he wrote down his itinerary at the request of the local Genoese merchants.