# Pedro de Mendez — Gulliver’s Travels character guide

> Pedro de Mendez in Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Don Pedro, Don Pedro de Mendez

**First appearance:** 0044-xi

## Snapshot

A Portuguese sea captain of unfailing courtesy who finds Gulliver half-mad among the Houyhnhnms and refuses to abandon him to his own disgust.

## Who they are

After Gulliver has come to loathe the very sight of his own species, Don Pedro is the first human to test that loathing with simple decency, offering clean clothes, a berth, and patient conversation. He neither mocks Gulliver's ravings nor indulges them, treating him as a man worth saving rather than a spectacle. His kindness is the quiet counterargument to everything Gulliver has concluded about humanity, and it is what makes the return home so painful.

## Relationships

### [Lemuel Gulliver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/characters/lemuel_gulliver)

_friendship_

Pedro de Mendez again shows Gulliver compassion and practical help, offering him passage and care after his final voyage.

### [Lemuel Gulliver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/characters/lemuel_gulliver)

_friendship_

Pedro de Mendez again shows Gulliver compassion and practical help, offering him passage and care after his final voyage.

## In the story

### [Chapter I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/i)

Not present in this chapter.

### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/iii)

Not present in this chapter.

### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/viii)

The Portuguese captain who rescues Gulliver from the sea, treats him kindly, refuses payment for freight, and listens to his story.

### [Chapter I: The Third Voyage Begins](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/i)

Not directly present in this chapter, but referenced as a contrast to the Dutchman's malice.

### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/xi)

Not present in this chapter.

### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/iii)

Not present in this chapter.

### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/xi)

The Portuguese captain who rescues Gulliver, treats him with great civility, and persuades him to return to his family in England.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/characters/pedro_de_mendez
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/characters