A Mariner with Crippling Arthritis and Bleeding Eyes

A 41-year-old mariner developed acute arthritis affecting his legs more than his arms or hands during a violent storm on his return from the first of four voyages of discovery. He experienced repeated attacks of the arthritis over the ensuing 14 years, which on at least two occasions were accompanied by painful eyes “much affected with bleeding.” He died shortly before his 55th birthday “quite paralyzed and bedridden.” Who was he, and what was the likely etiology of his disorder?