BETHENCOURT, JEAN DE

born c. 1360 died 1422, Grainville, Fr. Norman-French explorer, known as the conqueror of the Canary Islands. Bthencourt set out for the Canaries from La Rochelle, Fr., on May 1, 1402, in a joint expedition with Gadifer de La Salle. Soon after their arrival (June), Bthencourt, by agreement with Gadifer, departed for Spain to seek help. He returned after about 18 months, with the title of king, bestowed upon him by Henry III of Castile, and with a bull from the antipope Benedict XIII recognizing the conquest. Bthencourt's title caused a quarrel with Gadifer, who had meanwhile explored and taken possession of the islands. The associates sought the arbitration of the king of Castile; he decided in Bthencourt's favour and Gadifer returned to France. Bthencourt then profited from Gadifer's efforts to colonize the Canaries with Norman peasants. Bthencourt entrusted the kingdom to his nephew, Maciot de Bthencourt, and returned to France in 1406.