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=== Discovery of the island (1501) === [[File:TAAF JuanDeNova83.jpg|alt=The cemetery on Juan de Nova Island.|thumb|The cemetery on Juan de Nova Island.]] [[João da Nova]], a Galician admiral in the service of Portugal, came across the uninhabited island in 1501 while he was crossing the Mozambique Channel during an expedition to India. He called it Galega or Agalega (the Galician) in reference to his nationality. The island then came to be named for him, with the Spanish spelling: on subsequent maps it was labeled ''Johan de Nova'' on a map by [[Salvatore de Pilestrina]] (1519), ''Joa de Nova'' ([[Gerardus Mercator|Mercator]], 1569), ''San-Christophoro'' ([[Abraham Ortelius|Ortelius]], 1570), ''Saint-Christophe'' ([[Jean-Baptiste Lislet Geoffroy|Lislet Geoffroy]]), before finally being dubbed ''Juan de Nova'' by the British explorer [[William Fitzwilliam Owen]]. Historically, the island was sometimes confused with the nearby island [[Bassas da India]], which is completely covered at high tide.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Malick|first=M.|date=1976|title=Notes sur les îles françaises de l'océan Indien|url=https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_5/pt5/travaux_d/29301.pdf|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=Biologie marine et exploitation des ressources de l’océan Indien occidental|language=fr}}</ref> Although the island was located along the [[Spice trade|spice route]], it was not of interest to the colonial powers because of its small size and little utility as a stopover. However, it is possible that it served as a refuge for pirates, such as [[Olivier Levasseur]].
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