A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Ii Part 20

[1] At this place Grynaeus calls him Batrinense; though he had named him rightly Bati-mansa before.--Astl.

[2] This is now called Cape St Mary.--E.

[3] This seems to allude to what is now called Bald Cape, about twenty miles south from Cape St Mary, and stretching somewhat farther west; from which there extends breakers or sunken rocks a considerable distance from the land.--E.

[4] Between the mouth of the Gambia and that of the Casamansa, there are three inlets, which appear to be smaller mouths of the latter river.

The most northern of these is named St Peter, the most southerly Oyster river; the intermediate one has no name.--E.

[5] The actual distance is barely a degree of lat.i.tude, or less than seventy English miles. Cada Mosto probably estimated by the log, the more circuitous track by sea.--E.

[6] Cada Mosto does not mention the remarkable change which takes place here in the direction of the coast. From the Gambia to Cape Rosso, the coast runs direct south; after which its direction is E.S.E. to the mouth of the river St Ann.--E.

[7] Called in modern charts, Rio S. Dominica.--E.

[8] According to de Faria, Rio Grande was discovered by Nunez Tristan in 1447, nine years before it was visited by Cada Mosto.--Astl.

[9] Cada Mosto is exceedingly superficial in his account of the Rio Grande; and it even seems dubious if he ever saw or entered this river, as he appears to have mistaken the navigable channel between the main and the shoals of the Rio Grande for the river itself; which channel extends above 150 English miles, from the island of Bulam in the E.S.E.

to the open sea in the W.N.W. This channel agrees with his description, in being twenty miles wide, whereas the real Rio Grande is greatly smaller than the Gambia.--E.

[10] These may be the island of Waring and the Marsh islands, at the north-western entry of the channel of the Rio Grande, forming part of the Bissagos islands.--E.

SECTION XI.

_The Voyage of Piedro de Cintra to Sierra Leona, and the Windward coast of Guinea; written by Alvise da Cada Mosto._

The two voyages to the coast of Africa in which Cada Mosto was engaged, and which have, been narrated in the foregoing Sections of this Chapter, were followed by others; and, after the death of Don Henry, two armed caravels were sent out upon discovery by orders from the king of Portugal, under the command of Piedro de Cintra, one of the gentlemen of his household, with injunctions to proceed farther along the coast of the Negroes than had hitherto been effected, and to prosecute new discoveries.

In this expedition, Piedro de Cintra was accompanied by a young Portuguese who had formerly been clerk to Cada Mosto in his two voyages; and who, on the return of the expedition to Lagos, came to the house of his former employer, who then continued to reside at Lagos, and gave him an account of the discoveries which had been made in this new voyage, and the names of all the places which had been touched at by Piedro de Cintra, beginning from the Rio Grande, the extreme point of the former voyage[1].

De Cintra first went to the two large inhabited islands at the mouth of the Rio Grande which I had discovered in my second voyage, where he landed, and ordered his interpreters to make the usual inquiries at the inhabitants; but they could not make themselves understood, nor could they understand the language of the natives. Going therefore into the interior, they found the habitations of the Negroes to consist of poor thatched cabins, in some of which they found wooden idols, which were worshipped by the Negroes. Being unable to procure any information in this place, Cintra proceeded, in his voyage along the coast, and came to the mouth of a large river between three and four miles wide, which he called Besegue, from a lord of that name who dwelt near its mouth, and which he reckoned to be about forty miles from the mouth of the Rio Grande[2]. Proceeding about 140 miles from the river Besegue, along a very hilly coast; clothed with high trees, and having a very beautiful appearance, they came to a cape to which they gave the name of Verga[3].

Continuing along the coast, they fell in with another cape, which, in the opinion of all the seamen, was the highest they had ever seen, having a sharp conical height in the middle like a diamond, yet entirely covered with beautiful green trees. After the name of the fortress of Sagres, which was built by the deceased Don Henry on Cape St Vincent, the Portuguese named this point Cape Sagres of Guinea. According to the account of the Sailors, the inhabitants of this coast are idolaters, worshipping wooden images in the shape of men, before which they make offerings of victuals as often as they eat or drink. These people are more of a tawny colour than black, having marks on their faces and bodies made with hot irons. They go almost entirely naked, except that they wear pieces of the bark of trees before them. They have no arms, as there is no iron in their country. They live on rice, millet, beans, and kidney beans, larger than ours; and have also beef and goats flesh, but not in any great abundance. Near to Cape Sagres there are several very small uninhabited islands.

The inhabitants of this river have large almadias, carrying from thirty to forty men, who row standing, without having their oars fixed to any thing, as formerly noticed. They have their ears pierced with many holes, in which they wear a variety of gold rings. Both men and women have also a hole through the cartilage of the nose, in which they wear a gold ring, just like that of iron in the noses of our buffalos, which they take out when eating. The ladies belonging to the kings and great men, by way of extraordinary grandeur, have gold rings on other parts of their body, which decorum prevents us from particularizing.

Pa.s.sing Cape Sagres, they sailed about forty miles farther along the coast, and came to the Rio de San Vincents, which is about four miles wide; and about five miles farther they found another, which they called Rio Verde, larger at the mouth than the former[5]. Both of these rivers were so named by the sailors in the caravels. About twenty-four miles beyond the Rio Verde, they came to another cape which they called _Cape Liedo_, signifying the _cheerful_, because of the beautifully verdant country in its neighbourhood[6]. From Cape Liedo there extends a large mountain for about fifty miles along the coast, all of which is very high, and covered with tall verdant trees. At the end of this mountain, and about eight miles from the sh.o.r.e, there are three small islands, the largest of which does not exceed ten or twelve miles in circ.u.mference. To these the sailors gave the name of _Saluezze_[7]; and they named the mountain _Sierra Leona_, or the Lion Mountain, on account of the continual roaring of thunder on its summit, which is always enveloped in clouds.

Proceeding beyond Sierra Leona, the coast was quite low, and the sh.o.r.e full of sand banks running out into the sea. About thirty miles from the southern extremity of the mountain, they found a river near three miles wide at the entrance, and because the water had a red colour, they called it Rio Roxo[8]. And farther on they found a cape, likewise of a red colour, which they named Cape Roxo[9]. And they gave the same name of Roxo to a small uninhabited island, about ten miles off at sea, where the north polar star seemed only the height of a man above the horizon. Beyond Cape Roxo, the sea forms a gulf, about the middle of which there enters a river, which the seamen called St Mary del Nievos, or of the snow, as having been discovered on the day of that Saint. On the other side of the river there is a cape, with an island close beside it[10]. This gulf is full of sand banks, running ten or twelve miles along the coast, on which the sea breaks with considerable violence, and has a strong current both in the ebb and flow of the tide; and the little island just mentioned is named _Scauni_, on account of these sand banks. Twenty-four miles distant from this river is a large cape called St Ann, having been discovered on the day of that saint; and the whole coast between is low, with very shallow water. Twenty-four miles beyond this cape is the river of _Palms_, so named from the abundance of these trees which were seen there. The mouth of this river, though of sufficient width, is so full of shoals; and sand banks as to render its entrance very dangerous. About seventy miles farther on, there is another small river called _Rio de Fumi_, or Smoke River; so named, because at the time of its discovery, they saw nothing but smoke along this coast, made by the Negroes[11]. Beyond this river, about twenty-four miles, there is a cape which runs a great way out into the sea, on which stands a high mountain, on which account it was called _Cabo del Monte_, or Cape Mount About sixty miles still farther on, to the S. E. there is another and smaller cape, on which is a small mountain or hill, which was named Cape _Cortese_, or _Misurado_. The first night after their arrival at this place, the voyagers saw many fires among the trees, made by the Negroes on seeing the ships, as they had never seen such objects before.

About sixteen miles beyond Cape Misurado, there is a large forest of trees close to the sh.o.r.e, to which they gave the name of St Mary's Grove. The caravels came to anchor beyond this wood, and several almadias came off from the sh.o.r.e towards them. There were two or three naked negroes in each, having sharp pointed sticks in their hands, which our seamen supposed to be darts; some of them had small knives, and they had only two targets and three bows among them all. These Negroes, had their ears and noses pierced, from which hung some strange ornaments resembling human teeth. The interpreters spoke to them, but could not understand their language. Three of these Negroes ventured on board one of the caravels, one of whom was detained by the Portuguese, and the other two allowed to go away; for Cintra had been ordered by the king, in case of discovering any country where the interpreters did not understand the language, that he was to bring away one of the natives either by force or fair means, that he might be able to give an account of his country, either by some of the Negroes in Portugal happening to understand his language, or after he had acquired the Portuguese.

Piedro de Cintra, having determined to proceed no farther, returned back to Portugal from Cape Misarado, to which he had traced the coast of Africa from the Rio Grande. Upon his return, this negro who had been detained off Cape Misurado, was examined by several Negroes, and at length was understood by a Negress who belonged to an inhabitant of Lisbon; not indeed by his own proper language, but by means of another which was known to them both. Whatever intelligence may have been procured on this occasion, was not made public, except that there were unicorns in his country. After this Negro had been kept for some months in Lisbon, and had been shewn many of the curiosities of Portugal, the king ordered him to be supplied with clothes, and sent him back in a caravel to his own country.

But from that coast no other ship had arrived before my departure, which was on the first of February 1463[12].

[1] For this exordium or introduction, we are indebted to the editor of Astley's Collection of Voyages and Travels, said to have been a Mr John Green. The infant Don Henry of Portugal died in 1463; so that there must have been an interval of six or seven years between the second voyage of Cada Mosto and this of Piedro de Cintra: Though de Faria seems to put this voyage as having been executed before the death of that excellent prince, yet Cada Mosto, who then actually resided at Lagos, could not be mistaken is this important particular.-- Astl.

[2] In a note to the second voyage of Cada Mosto, it has been already noticed that he seems to have given the name of Rio Grande to the channel between the Bissagos islands, or shoals of the Rio Grande and the Main. This river Besegue, may possibly be the strait or channel which divides the island named particularly Bissagos, or more properly Bissao, from that of Ba.s.sis or Bussi. Yet, this river Besegue may even have been that now called Rio Grande, in which, about twenty-four leagues above its mouth, there is an island called Bissaghe.--E.

[3] It is strange that the Rio de Nuno, close by this cape, the estuary of which is not less than seven or eight miles wide, should be here omitted; but the present voyage is very superficially narrated throughout.--E.

[4] The text is here obviously defective, as no river is mentioned before; but the allusion must be to the river Pongo, Pongue, or Pougue, at the mouth of which Cape Sagres is situated; indeed that cape seems to be formed by one of the islands off the mouth of the river.--E.

[5] There are a number of small rivers on the coast, between Cape Sagres and Cape Tagrin, such as Tofali, Dania, Buria, Berrea, Tanna, Pogone, Cagrance, dos Casas; but our modern charts have none named as in the text on this part of the coast.--E.

[6] This is now called Cape Tagrin, and forms the northern point at the entrance of the Sierra Leone river, otherwise called the Mitomba or Tagrin river. The southern point is named Cape Sierra Leone; and in some maps is likewise named Liedo very improperly. It is necessary to distinguish carefully between the _Cape_ of Sierra Leone, and the mountainous ridge of the same name, which appears to extend a considerable way along the coast to the S. E. near fifty miles, to the river Kates, or Sa. Ma. della Neue. But, from the baldness of the narrative, there is great difficulty in tracing out this voyage.--E.

[7] These are now called Bananas islands, in lat. 8 N.--E.

[8] Perhaps the Camaranca.--E.

[9] Probably that now called Ta.s.sa Point, or Cabo de S. Anna.--E.

[10] This account seems again to refer to the river Camaranca and Ta.s.sa Point; otherwise called Cape St Ann; yet this cape is brought in immediately afterwards. Indeed this voyage is inextricably confused, probably incorrect or corrupt.--E.

[11] The large island of Sherbro, with Sherbro Strand and Shoals, a very prominent feature of this part of the African coast, is here entirely overlooked; unless we suppose de Cintra to have gone on the outside of that island, considering the sound as a river, and naming the N. W.

point of Sherbro island Cape St Ann.--E.

[12] We have already seen that Don Henry died in this year, which must, therefore, be here an error of the press, either in the original publication by Cada Mosto, or in some of the after editions.--E.

CHAPTER V.

CONTINUATION OF THE PORTUGUESE DISCOVERIES ALONG THE COAST OF AFRICA, FROM THE DEATH OF DON HENRY IN 1463, TO THE DISCOVERY OF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE IN 1486[1].

SECTION I.

_Progress of Discovery from Cape Verga to Cape St Catherine; from the Death of Don Henry to that of King Alphonzo V_.

After the decease of Don Henry, the ill.u.s.trious father of maritime discovery, the progress of the Portuguese along the coast of Africa received a considerable check, as the military ardour of Alphonzo the Fifth was princ.i.p.ally directed to the support of his pretensions to the throne of Castile, the circ.u.mstances of which are unconnected with the plan of this work. King Alphonzo was not however entirely inattentive to the trade for gold and slaves, which his ill.u.s.trious uncle Don Henry had commenced with that part of Africa which is now called Guinea. The origin of this name of Guinea, or _Ghinney_, is unknown. It is not in use among the natives, and seems to have been imposed by the Portuguese from the appellation of _Ghenchoa_, given to a country on the south side of the Senegal, us first mentioned by Leo and afterwards by Marmol. Ever since the year 1453, as already mentioned, considerable importations of gold had been made to Portugal from the coast of Africa; but little or no progress had been made in extending the discoveries farther south, for some time previous to the decease of Don Henry. In 1470, King Alphonzo sailed with a considerable army, in a fleet of above 300 ships, and carried the strong fort of _Arzila_ on the Atlantic coast of Africa, a little way to the south of the Straits of Gibraltar. But of his military exploits in Africa, from which he acquired the appellation of _Africa.n.u.s_, and a.s.sumed the additional t.i.tle of _Lord of the coasts on both seas_, our present purpose does not call for any recital. In 1479, the disputes between the crowns of Portugal and Castile were compromised by a treaty entered into by Alphonzo V. king of Portugal, and Ferdinand king of Castile; by which the trade of Guinea, and the navigation of its coast, with the proposed conquest of _Fez_, were guaranteed to Portugal, and the Canary islands were annexed to the crown of Castile.

From the want of any accurate history of the progress of the Portuguese discoveries, it is utterly impossible to determine the dates or circ.u.mstances of many of the progressive discoveries along the western coast of Africa, and of its islands. In 1469, Alphonzo farmed the Guinea trade for five years to Fernando Gomez, for the yearly rent of 500 ducats, or about 138 pounds; taking, him bound at the same time, to extend the discoveries for 500 leagues to the southwards during the period of his exclusive privilege. In 1471, according to Marmol, Juan de Santareu and Pedro de Escobar, discovered the _Oro de la Mina_, or the _Gold coast_; and advancing still farther, under the guidance of two experienced pilots, Martin Fernandez and Alvaro Esteves, they discovered _Cabo Catalina_, or Cape St Catherine, in lat. 1 40' S. This promontory, which is thirty-one leagues to the south of Cabo de Lope Gonzales, derived its name from the day of the saint on which it was first seen, and forms the northern boundary of the great kingdom of Congo. The discovery of this cape is a.s.signed by some writers to Sequiera, a knight belonging to the royal household.

The celebrated Portuguese historian, Emanuel de Faria, in his _Asia Portuguesa_, has recorded all the Portuguese voyages, from their first attempts under Don Henry, to their developement of China and j.a.pan, and has even left an account of all the ships that sailed from Lisbon for Africa and Asia, down to the year 1600; but was unable to ascertain the dates of many important events. Neither he nor De Barros have been able to remove the uncertainty respecting the first discovery of the island of St Thomas on the coast of Africa, the south end of which touches the equinoctial. During the remainder of the reign of Alphonzo, the line of coast, from Cape Verga in lat. 10 N. to Cape St Catherine in 1 40' S.

was much frequented by the Portuguese. Of this coast an ample account has been given by Dapper and Barbot, chiefly following a tract published by Gotard Artus of Dantzick, which is to be found in De Bry's Collection, and that of David von Nyendael and others. This was the work of a Dutch navigator, which was first translated in to German, and thence by Artus into Latin. But our peculiar department is confined to actual voyages and travels, and the progress of discovery; and it would both much exceed our proper limits, and would be an entire deviation from our plan of arrangement, to admit lengthened geographical and topographical disquisitions; which, so far as they are at all admissible, must be reserved for the more particular voyages and travels, after those of general discovery have been discussed.

There are four princ.i.p.al islands in the Gulf of Guinea, or Bight of Biafra, as it is usually called by English navigators, Ferdinand Poo, Princes isle, St Thomas, and Ann.o.bon, the discovery of which have been related as follows by Barbot, and his account seems the most probable[2].

Fernando Lopez discovered the first of these in 1471, in lat. 3 40' N.

giving it the name of _Ilha formosa_, or the Beautiful Island, which was afterwards changed to that of _Fernando Poo_, which it still retains. In an account of the kingdom of Congo, in Churchill's Collection, viii. 527, more properly named the Oxford Collection, or that of Osborne, v. 2. This island, and a river on the coast of the continent of Africa, directly east, now called Cameroon River, are said to have taken their names of Fernando Poo from their first discoverer. Some writers a.s.sign the discovery of these four islands, and that of St Matthew, to Fernando Gomez, who formed the Guinea trade. Perhaps they were discovered under his auspices, by the navigators whom he employed. This island is composed of very high land, easily seen at a great distance, and the Portuguese had formerly sugar plantations upon it. The _Ilha do Principe_, or Princes Island, in lat. 1 30' N. was either discovered by Fernando Lopez, or by Santaren and Escobar, about the same period, and probably received its name in honour of the ill.u.s.trious prince, Don Henry. This island is described as consisting of high table mountains, pyramidal at their bases, and visible at the distance of twenty leagues; being about nine leagues long by five leagues broad. It is said to abound in oranges, lemons, bananas, cocoa-nuts, sugar-canes, rice, many species of sallad herbs, and to be susceptible of producing the European grains. The mandioca, or root of the ca.s.sada plant, is generally used for bread, of which the juice while raw is said to be a virulent poison; while its meal, or rasped root, after the malignant juice is carefully pressed out, is used for bread.

The inhabitants also, have sheep, hogs, goats, and an immense number of poultry; but these have probably been introduced by the Portuguese.

The _Ilha de San Thome_, or island of St Thomas, which is said to have received its name from the saint to whom the chapel of the great monastery of _Thomar_ is dedicated, and to which all the African discoveries are subjected in spirituals, has its southern extremity almost directly under the equinoctial, and is a very high land of an oval shape, about fifteen leagues in breadth, by twelve leagues long.

The most southerly of these islands, in lat. 1 30' S. now called Ann.o.bon, was originally named Ilha d'Anno Bueno, or Island of the Happy Year, having been discovered by Pedro d'Escovar, on the first day of the year 1472. At a distance, this island has the appearance of a single high mountain, and is almost always topt with mist. It extends about five leagues from north to south, or rather from N. N. W. to S. S. E. and is about four leagues broad, being environed by several rocks and shoals. It has several fertile vallies, which produce maize, rice, millet, potatoes, yams, bananas, pine-apples, citrons, oranges, lemons, figs, and tamarinds, and a sort of small nuts called by the French _noix de medicine_, or physic nuts[3]. It also furnishes oxen, hogs, and sheep, with abundance of fish and poultry; and its cotton is accounted excellent.