In the late 1500s and early 1600s, ships moved regularly ...
“In the late 1500s and early 1600s, ships moved regularly among Europe, Africa, and the Americas. European merchants and explorers travelled to fish, trade, map coastlines, and establish settlements. Indigenous Peoples had lived on these lands since time immemorial and had their own languages, systems of trade, diplomacy, and knowledge of the land and water. Communication mattered. People involved in trade needed to explain what they wanted, understand agreements, and avoid misunderstandings. Interpreters could be highly valued because they knew languages and understood how to communicate across different settings. Mathieu Da Costa was a free Black man who worked as an interpreter. Surviving European records show that both French and Dutch interests wanted to hire him. This tells us that his knowledge and skills were considered useful and worth paying for. What the records tell us In 1608, a contract was signed in Amsterdam for Da Costa to work as an interpreter for Pierre Dugua de Mons. The agreement was supposed to begin in 1609 and involved overseas work. The contract is important because it identifies Da Costa’s occupation and connects him to French plans in the Atlantic world. A 1611 legal document from Le Havre, France, is also connected to Da Costa. The document was signed “Mateus Da Costa” and concerned a disagreement over an agreement for “the voyage of Canadas.” The archival record identifies him as a Black man. These documents provide real evidence. They show that Da Costa existed, that he was free, that he worked as an interpreter, and that his services were connected to overseas ventures. They also show that he could enter agreements and take legal action when an agreement was not honoured”
Summary
Mathieu Da Costa was a free Black interpreter who worked for both French and Dutch interests in the early 1600s. Contemporary records include a 1608 contract signed in Amsterdam for him to serve Pierre Dugua de Mons and French legal documents from the period that identify him as a Black man involved in voyages to Canada. These sources confirm the core elements of the claim.
Sources 58 searched
- Mathieu da Costa - Wikipedia
He was the first recorded free black person to arrive on the territory of today's Canada. There is little documentation about Mathieu da Costa. Of at least partial African ancestry, he is known to have been a freeman favoured by explorers for his multilingual talents. Numerous mixed-race African-Portuguese persons were part of the Atlantic Creole generation, often working as sailors or interpreters. His portfolio of languages is thought to have included Dutch, English, French...
- Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons - Wikipedia
Dugua then turned his attention to the colony of Nouvelle-France in the St. Lawrence River valley, after ceding Port-Royal to Poutrincourt. He never came back to the New World but he sent Champlain to open a colony at Quebec in 1608, thus playing a major role in the foundation of the first ...
- Mathieu Da Costa (17th Century?) | BlackPast.org
In 1608 he was said to have signed a three year contract with the Dutch to act as an interpreter and to return to Canada with, or for, Pierre Du Guade Monts. Apparently Da Costa was captured by the French because by December of 1609 he was ...
- Mathieu da Costa – Originalpeople.org
An interpreter, translator, and general go-between such as da Costa was known as um grumete in the Portuguese-speaking world. Da Costa would later be sought by both the English and the Dutch to help in their contacts with Indigenous peoples in North America, but the French secured his services. ...
- Mathieu da Costa, Explorer born - African American Registry
French documents record him working for the leaders of Port Royal in 1608. Da Costa accompanied Du Gua de Monts and Samuel de Champlain on one or more voyages to Acadia and the St Lawrence area.
- Mathieu Da Costa and Early Canada: possibilities and probabilities
Lawrence River, but that is not clarified. The following year, 1608, Da Costa signed a contract · in Amsterdam that committed him to sail with or on behalf of Dugua de Mons as an interpreter
- Mathieu da Costa — Grokipedia
For instance, while da Costa is frequently depicted as arriving in Acadia as early as 1605 and serving as the inaugural interpreter at Port-Royal, primary records only confirm a 1608 contract for future employment starting in 1609, with no direct ...
- Mathieu Da Costa | Biography | Research Starters | EBSCO Research
His life remains largely undocumented, with sparse records indicating his role as an interpreter during a time when European merchants sought to establish trade with African leaders.
- Mathieu Da Costa | The Canadian Encyclopedia
Mathieu Da Costa (depending on the language of the documents that mention his name, also known as “Mateus Da Costa,” “Mathieu de Coste,” “Matheus de Cost” and “een Swart genamd Matheu”), interpreter (dates and places of birth and death unknown). Da Costa is one of the most fascinating and elusive figures in the early history of Canada. Historians consider him the first Black person known to have visited Canada, probably in the company of Pierre Dugua de Mons and Samuel de Champlain). (See also Black Canadians; African Canadians.) But many aspects of his life remain unclear or unknown. Historical records describe Mathieu Da Costa as a Black African who, working as a free man, served as an interpreter for French and Dutch traders and explorers in the early 17th century.
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