Tristão da Cunha Tristão da Cunha ( sometimes misspelled Tristão d ' Acunha ; ; c . 1460 – c . 1540 ) was a Portuguese explorer and naval commander . In 1514 he served as ambassador from king Manuel I of Portugal to Pope Leo X leading a luxurious embassy presenting in Rome the new conquests of Portugal . He later became a member of the Portuguese privy council . 1506 voyage . Cunha was born in Portugal , c . 1460 . He was nominated as first viceroy of Portuguese India in 1504 , but could not take up this post owing to temporary blindness . In 1506 he was appointed commander of a fleet of 15 ships sent to the east coast of Africa and off India . His cousin , Afonso de Albuquerque , was in charge of a squadron of five vessels in this fleet that subsequently detached . Their mission was to conquer Socotra and build a fortress there , hoping to close the trade in the Red Sea . They sailed together until they reached Mozambique . In the Mozambique Channel they found his friend captain João da Nova stranded while returning from India . They rescued him and the ship Frol de la mar , both joining the fleet . After a series of successful attacks on Arab cities on the east coast of Africa , they headed to Socotra island . On this voyage Tristão da Cunha discovered a group of remote islands in the south Atlantic Ocean , from South Africa . Although rough seas prevented a landing then , he named the main island after himself , Ilha de Tristão da Cunha , which was later anglicised to Tristan da Cunha . After discovering the Tristan da Cunha Islands , Cunha landed in Madagascar . He subsequently visited Mozambique . During his vist to Brava ( where he attempted to reduced Arab power during its influence under the Ajuuraan Empire ) , he was severely wounded . Realizing certain defeat Tristão heeded their advice and sailed for Socotra instead ( which he would conquer ) . He also distinguished himself in India in various actions , like the Siege of Cannanore : the Portuguese garrison was on the verge of being overwhelmed , when on 27 August the fleet of 11 ships under Tristão da Cunha coming from Socotra appeared and relieved them with 300 men . Embassy to Pope Leo X . After returning to Europe , Tristão da Cunha was sent as ambassador from king Manuel I to Pope Leo X in 1514 to present the new conquests of the Portuguese Empire , having Garcia de Resende as his secretary . The huge luxurious embassy of one hundred and forty persons made its way through Alicante and Majorca , arriving at Rome outskirts in February . They walked the streets of Rome on March 12 , 1514 in an extravagant procession of exotic wildlife and wealth of the Indies , with many dressed in " Indian style " . The procession featured an elephant named Hanno , as a gift to the pope , and forty - two other beasts , including two leopards , a panther , some parrots , turkeys and rare Indian horses . Hanno carried a platform of silver on its back , shaped as a castle containing a safe with royal gifts , including vests embroidered with pearls and gems , and coins of gold minted for the occasion . The pope received the procession in the Castel Sant ' Angelo . The elephant knelt down three times in reverence and then , following a wave of his Indian " mahout " ( keeper ) , aspired to a bucket of water with his trunk and splashed it over the crowd and the Cardinals . On 29 April the Portuguese were out of money , but got a sought bull signed by the pope , who sent back rich gifts to king Manuel . The king responded with a ship full of spices and , later , an Indian Rhinoceros sent to him from the sultan Muzaffar Shah II of Gujarat . The boat that transported it was wrecked off Genoa on early February 1516 and the Rhinoceros was portrayed by Albrecht Dürer in his very famous Rhinoceros woodcuts in 1515 . Although Tristão da Cunha had never assumed the post of Viceroy of India , his son Nuno da Cunha was the 9th Governor of Portuguese India in 1529 . The tomb of Tristão da Cunha is located at the Church of Sra . da Encarnação in Olhalvo ( near Alenquer ) .