Eustache de la Fosse
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Tassin or Eustache de la Fosse (also spelled Delafosse) (ca. 1451 - 23 April 1523) was a Flemish sailor and merchant from Tournai. In 1479-80, he traveled with Castilian sailors from Palos to the Gold Coast in West Africa.[1] However, near São Jorge da Mina, he was captured by Portuguese forces who claimed a Portuguese monopoly on trade in the region. De la Fosse was shipped to Portugal alongside the other merchants and was sentenced to death, but managed to escape.[2][3]
After returning to Flanders, De la Fosse set down the story of his travels in a manuscript. A copy of this work, dated 1548, has survived at the Valenciennes Library. It is an important primary source for Africanists studying this era.[2]
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