This booklet depicts the Spanish conquest in America, Portuguese Discoveries in America, and various important voyages around the world that influenced the culture in America
1.
2. )I . ~'-----=--..;.;... __________ _J
3.
4. THE SPANISH CONQUEST IN AMERICA, AND ITS RELATION TO THE HISTORY OF SLAVERY AND TO THE GOVERNMENT OF COLONIES. BY, ARTHUR HELPS. VOL.I. NEvV YORK: HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE. 1856.
5.
6. TO THE REV. I~ 0 BERT P II EL PS, D. D., MASTER 01<~ SID)'iF.Y S't'SS.l:X COLLEGE, CA)IBUIPGJ:. l\IY DEAR FRIEND, DEDICATE this book to you, because it is based I upon "Tlie Conquerors of tlie New World and tlteir Bondsmen," which I dedicated to you several years ago. Finding that, for the completeness of the work, it required to be more developed, I have been obliged to extend its plan and to enlarge its fonn. I need hardly dwell upon the difficulty of my enter prise, and the labor which, for many a weary year, it has entailed upon me. I feel, however, that the more it has cost me, with the greater confidence I can dedi cate it to you, who will not look so much upon the re sult, whether successful or unsuccessful, as upon the expense of life and energy which it represents. If the work should afford the least aid or enlighten ment to those who would legislate wisely upon mat ters connected with slavery or colonization, neither you nor I shall regret any labor that has been ex pended upon it. At the time of my former dedication you were Vice chancellor of Cambridge, and I had the additional
7. iv Dedication. pleasure of paying a mark of respect to the first officer in a University which I always look upon with due filial reverence and gratitude. These feelings have not grown weaker in the lapse of time, and I am glad to have an opportunity of renewing my expression of It is nearly seven years since I dedicated the "Con querors" to you; and it is a pleasure to think that, though so much has changed in us and around us during these boisterous years, we have the same se cure friendship for each other as we had then, and, in deed, as we had when we were at college together. I remain, my dear friend, yours aftectionately, ARTHUR HELP8. June, 1855.
8. PREFACE. T HEkind,present history being a work of a peculiar and the drift of it not likely to be perceived until the reader has advanced some way in the work, it may save him trouble, and may secure his attention to what he would otherwise be likely to pass by as unimportant, if I endeavor to explain at once the ob ject in view, and the mode in which that object has been pursued. Some years ago, being much interested in the gen eral subject of slavery, and engaged in writing upon it, I began to investigate the origin of modern slavery. I soon found that the works commonly referred to gave me no sufficient insight into the matter. Ques tions, moreover, arose in my mind, not immediately connected with slavery, but bearing closely upon it, with respect to the distribution of races in the New World. " \Vhy," said I to myself, " are there none but black men in this island; why arc there none but copper-colored men on that line of coast; how is it that in one town the white population predominates, while in another the aborigines still hold their ground? There must be a series of historical events, which, if
9. vi Preface. brought to light, would solve all these questions, and I will endeavor to trace this out for myself." In the simplicity of one who had never before de voted himself to historical writing, I thought, after a time, that I would give a slight sketch of what I had discovered, and that this- would be sufficient for my Eventually, however, I found that I was involved in a large work, and that there was much to be told about the early discoveries and conquests in America which is not to be met with in its history as hitherto narrated. I am confirmed in this opinion by one of the greatest lawyers and most learned men that Spain has produced, whose office* gave him access to all the colonial records of that country. He justly remarks that the historians of New Spain neglected to treat of that which was the great result of all the political transactions tl1ey narrated. He alludes to the subject of encomiendas. t I have, unconsciously as far as his remark is concerned (for I did not meet with it until * ANTONIO DE LEON PrNELO, Relator de! consejo de las Indias. He was also the author of the great bibliographical work Epitome de la biblioteca oriental y occidental nautica y gcografica. The Biographie Universelle thus describes his labors : " Le nombre des pieces dont il eut a faire le depouillement, est vraiment prodigieux : le tome premier contient l'extrait d'environ cinq cents volumes de cedules royales, com prenant 120,000 feuilles, et plus de 300,000 decisions." t "No parece tan fiicil el fundar, con dccisioncs Reales, 1 continua cion de tiempos, el estilo que en las Encomiendas se observa en ]'\ue va-Espana ; punto en que no ha reparado, siendo tan cssencial al govi erno, ninguno de sus historiadores Francisco Lopez de Gomara, Fr. Antonio de Rcmcsal, Antonio de Herrera, Fr. Juan de Torquemada, ni otros, que tratando sus materias politicas, dexan la de las Encomi a endas, siendo el fin quc todas se dirigen."-ANTON!O DE LEON PINE Lo.-Tratado de Confirmaciones Reales, part i., cap. 4. Madrid, 1630.
10. Preface. Vll I had matured my own plan), been endeavoring to write a history that should not be liable to this cen sure. To bring before the reader, not conquest only, but the results of conquest...:....__the mode of colonial gov ernment which ultimately prevailed-the extirpation of native races-the introduction of other races-the growth of slavery, and the settlement of the encomi endas, on which all Indian society depended-has been the object of this history. I have now a few words to say about the mode of accomplishing my object. I found that I could not avail myself of any thing that had been written be fore. Other men have written, and I believe success fully, of the various conquests and discoveries made in America; but I have been obliged, both for the read er's sake and for my own, to tell my story in my own way. It does not suffer itself to be told in any one conquest or in any one discovery. It sometimes lies wholly in the New "World, sometimes wholly at the court of Spain. It depends, at one time, on some powerful minister ; at another, upon some resolute conqueror. It follows the course of the remarkable men of the day, and now rises up in one colony, now in another, its direction not being governed by the rel ative importance of the colonies. Guatemala, for in stance-a country of which we have heard but little in Europe-becomes, at one period, a most important field for investigation in a general history of Spanish Conquest in America. A number of remarkable men happen to be in Guatemala at the same time. . Their proceedings give the most apt illustration of their the ories respecting slavery, colonization, and colonial gov
11. viii Preface. ernment. Hence Guatemala becomes, for several years, the geographical centre of the narrative, as the Pearl Coast had been at a former period. I feel that, in a work of such extent as this history of the Spanish Conquest, there must be much that is impe1fect, and much that is briefly narrated. Being obliged to take a general survey of a large field of his tory, as well as to enter minutely into detail in those parts of the subject which are important for my pur pose and comparatively new to the world, there are particular sections of the history which have necessa rily been treated by me with a certain brevity. But, as Oviedo, an historian constantly referred to in the following pages, declares, most men are delighted at coming to an end (los mas hombres son amigos de conclusion); and, therefore, any brevity which is not merely justifiable, but requisite, will, I doubt not, be readily accepted. I may add that, as regards the authorities I have had recourse to in writing this history, I am greatly indebted to the vast collections of the historian Munoz (wisely intrusted to the care of that courteous and learned body, the Royal Academy of :Madrid), to the publications which have taken place, in recent times, of documents and even of histories which had hitherto remained in manuscript; and also, incidentally, to the spirit of research which has grown up of late years in America, and which has brought to light many valua ble works connected with the early records of that I have also been singularly fortunate in the number of friends who have taken an almost paternal interest
12. Preface. IX in the book, and who have aided me by advice, criti cism, research, and co-operation.* I commend the work to the reader in the hope that it will make him desirous to turn from my pages to those of other historians, ancient and modern, who will enable him to supply for himself the deficiencies which there are in this history, and to correct the errors with which it must abound, whatever pains may have been * In speaking of the co-operation I have had the good fortune to meet with, I must especially mention the assiduous labors of a gentle man who has done much to add to the value of this work by illustrat ing it with maps, carefully executed according to scale, and, in several instances, based upon original authorities which he has anxiously scru A2 '
13.
14. CONTENTS OF VOL. I. BOOK I. PRINCE HENRY OF PORTUGAL. CHAPTER I. Introductory Remarks.-Discovery of the Canary Islands.-Bethen· court.-Portuguese Discoveries in Africa under Prince Henry of Portugal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 17 CHAPTER II. Ca da l\fosto's Voyage.-Prince Henry's Death.-His Character. Farther Discoveries of the Kings of Portugal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 B 0 0 K I I. COL UllIIlUS. CHAPTER I. Discovery of America. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 CHAPTER II. Administration of Columbus in the Indies ................... 131 BOOK III. OVANDO. CHAPTER I. ·written Instructions to Ovando.-Singular Interview between Ferdi· nand and Isabella and the new Governor.-State of the Royal Fam ily of Spain.-Ovando's Arrival at St. Domingo.-Revolt ofHiguey. -Ultimate Fonn of Repartimiento . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.7
15. xii Contents. CHAPTER II. Ovando's l\fode of managing the Spaniards.-His tyranny in Xaragua. -Barbarities in Higuey.-Death of Queen Isabella.-Capture of the Lncayans.-Don Diego Columbus appointed Governor of the In dies.-Character of Ovando' s Government ............. Page 199 BOOK IV. THE DOl\IINICANS. CHAPTER I. Don Diego Columbus !anus at St. Domingo.-New Repartimientos. Earliest Notice of Las Casas.,-Arrival of the first Dominican Friars. -Hispaniola dispeopled.-Modes of replenishing the Colony with Indians.-Ncgroes in the Indies .......·................... 227 CHAPTER II. The Dominicans protest against Indian slavery. - Father Antonio's Sermon.-Both the Colonists and the Monks appeal to Spain. Father Antonio sees the King.-The Laws of Burgos ..•.... 239 BOOK V. OJEDA AND NICUESA. CHAPTER I. Nature and Customs of the Indians. -Minor Voyages. -Ojeda and Nicuesa start on their Voyage. - Ojeda's Misfortunes. - His Death ...................•............................ 263 CHAPTER II. Enciso's Re-enforcements. - Establishment at Darien. - Nicuesa's Misfortunes with his own Colony.-Nicuesa r~jected by the Men of Darien . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
16. Contents. Xlll BOOK VI. VASCO l'..lINEZ DE BALBOA. CHAPTER I. Vasco Nunez's Dealings with the neighboring Caciques.-First No tice of the Pacific.-Factions at Darien.-Vasco Nunez resolves to discover the South Sea.-Succeeds in his Enterprise, and takes pos session of the Pacific for the Kings of Castile. - His Return to Darien ........................................... Page 321 CHAPTER II. The Government under Pedraias, with the various Expeditions under taken by his Captains. . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353 CHAPTER III. The Fate ofVasco Nunez ....................••.•...•••.•• 389 BOOK VII. CUBA. CHAPTER I. Cuba discovered by Columbus.-Colonized under Velasquez.-Fate of the Cacique Hatuey.-Expedition of Narvaez and Las Casas.-Mas sacre at Caonao, and its Consequences.-Towns founded in Cuba by Velasquez ............................................ 415 BOOK VIII. LAS CASAS AS A COLONIST AND A REFORMER. CHAPTER I. The Conversion of Las Casas.-His Voyage to Spain.-The Death of King Ferdinand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435 CHAPTER II. Las Casas sees the Cardinal Ximenes.-The Administration of Indian Affairs by the Cardinal.-Appointment of the Jeronimites.-Coming of Charles to Spain.-Death of Ximenes ................... 459
17.
18. BOOK I. PRINCE HENRY OF PORTUGAL.
19. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.-DISCOVERY OF THE CANARY ISLANDS. -BETHENCOURT.-PORTUGUESE DISCOVERIES IN AFRICA UNDER PRil(CE HENRY OF PORTUGAL. CHAPTER II. CA DA MOSTO'S VOYAGE.-PRINCE HENRY'S DEATH.-HIS CHARAC· TER.-FARTHER DISCOVERIES OF THE KINGS OF PORTUGAL.
20. THE SPANISH CONQUEST IN AMERICA. CHAPTER I. U'!TRODUCTORY RE::IIARKS. - DISCOVERY OF TIIE CA..""ARY ISLANDS.-BETIIENCOURT.-PORTUGL"ESE DISCOVERIES IN AFRICA Ul\"'DER PRL.'\CE II&,'"RY OF PORTUGAL. HE history of almost every nation tells of some T great transaction peculiar to that nation, some thing which aptly illustrates the particular character istics of the people, and proclaims, as we may say, the part in human nature which that nation was to explain and render visible. In English history, the contest between the Crown and the Parliament; in that of France, the French Revolution; in that of Germany, the religious wars, are such transactions. All nations of the same standing have portions of their several histories much alike. There are border wars, intestine divisions, contests about the succes sion to the throne, uprisings against favorites, in re spect of which, if only different names be applied to the account of one and the same transaction, it will serve very well for the history of various nations, and nobody would feel any strangeness or irrelevancy in the story, whether it were told of :France, England,
21. 18 Introductory Remarks. Germany, or Spain. Carrying on this idea to the history of our system, if the other worlds around us are peopled with beings not essentially unlike our selves, there may be among them many Alexanders, Cmsars, and Napoleons: the ordinary routine of con quest may be commonplace enough in many planets; and thus the thing most worthy to be noticed in the records of our Earth may be its commercial slavery and its slave-trade; for we may hope, though the dif ference be to our shame, that they have not had these calamities elsewhere. The peculiar phase of slavery that will be brought forward in this history is not the first and most natu ral one, in which the slave was merely the captive in war, "the fruit of the spear," as he has figuratively been called, who lived in the house of his conqueror, and labored at his lands. This system culminated among the Romans ; partook of the fortunes of the Empire; was gradually modified by Christianity and advancing civilization; declined by slow and almost imperceptible degrees into serfage and vassalage; and was extinct, or nearly so, when the second great pe riod of slavery suddenly uprose. This second period was marked by a commercial character. The slave was no longer an accident of war. He had become the object of war. Ile was no longer a mere acci dental subject of barter. He was to be sought for, to be hunted out, to be produced; and this change accordingly gave rise to a new branch of commerce. Slavery_ became at once a much more momentous question than it ever had been, and thenceforth, in deed, claims for "itself a history of its own. Black against mankind, and_ almost unaccountably mean and cruel as much of this history is, still it is
22. Introd1wtory Remarks. 19 not without a phase of true valor and noble endeavor, which may compensate a little for the deep darkness on the other side. The history of slavery is not merely an account of commercial greediness and reck less cruelty carried to the uttermost, but it embodies the efforts of the greatest men of niany periods ; dis plays in the fullest light their errors, their disputa tions, their bewilderments; partakes largely of the nice questions canvassed by ecclesiastics ; is com bined with the intrigues of courts and cabinets; and, alas! is borne on the winds by the resolute daring of hardy mariners and far-seeing discoverers-men who should have been foremost in the attack upon all mean cruelty, and some of whom thought that they were so. Again, in the history of slavery, if it could be well worked out, lie the means of consider ing questions of the first importance respecting colo nization, agriculture, social order, and government. The remarkable persons connected with the history of modern slavery are alone sufficient to give it some interest. These are the members of the royal family of Portugal throughout the fifteenth century, with Prince Henry at their head; then there are Ferdi nand and Isabella, Columbus, and the whole band of brave captains who ·succeeded him in the discovery and conquest of Spanish America; there are Charles the Fifth, Ximenes, Las Casas, Vieyra, and hosts of churchmen and statesmen from those times down to the present. Lastly, there is the fate of one continent, perhaps we may say of two, deeply concerned in the history of slavery.· The importance of the records in this matter is not to be measured by the show they make, which is
23. 20 Introductory Remarks. often poor enough. There is many a small skirmish in the history of slavery, which has had more effect upon the fortunes of mankind than pitched battles have had between rival nations contending apparent 1y for universal empire; for the result of any battle may almost be said to depend for importance, not so much upon the measure of success obtained by either side, nor certainly upon the original object of the war, as upon the essential difference between the contend ing parties, and upon the opinions they hold of each other: greatly on the contempt, whether deserved or not, which the victors have for the vanquished. Sup posing, therefore, that one nation or race fails to ap preciate another which it wars successfully against, the result of that war is likely to be larger, especially for evil, as the misappreciation in question is greater. The consequences of battle, whether between races or individuals, where each knows the worth of the other, are seldom such as to obliterate the fame and courage, or change the whole social aspect of the vanquished party. But when Spartan conquers Helot, barbarian Goth or Visigoth subdues tJ1e polished Roman, or civ ilized man with his many implements invades and op presses the simple savage, then come the cruelty and dire mismanagement which are born of ignorance and want of sympathy. And thus, as in all human af fairs, we have to discover the righteousness that there is in right understanding.* "With all due appreciation, however, of the subject of slavery, it must be confessed that it is one which, * "Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. ""When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleas ant unto thy soul."-Prov., chap. ii., v. 9, IO.
24. .Introductory Remarks. 21 if treated by itself alone, would lack dramatic interest for a history. It has no single thread to run upon, like the account of any man's life, or the history of a nation. The story of slavery is fragmentary and con fused-having a different state of progress to deal with in different parts of the world at the same tiine-and is deficient in distinct epochs to be illustrated by great adventures. :Moreover, people think that they have already heard all about it; but this, however, is not so. It may therefore be allowed that the reader must bring with him much of the interest which he would have to maintain in studying the history of slavery, if considered strictly by itself. Even then, however, it would not be without that clement of the sublime, whicl,i consists in great extent, although of desolation. In looking over a vast morass, unmarked by tower, or citadel, or town, which the horizon descends upon but does not bound, the shaping mind may discover more to think of than in the landscape that laughs with every variety of scenic beauty. And here, too, in this subject of slavery is one which, were it ever so dull, presents at all times an indefinite extent of human struggle and human suffering. Happily, however, a subject so deeply and terribly connected with human ity, and which demands the study of the historian, has entwined itself with the most interesting events in secular history; and whenever these are truly and fully told, it can not but appear, even though it be sedulously kept in the background. J'iiy intention in this work is to make a contribution to the general history of the second period of slavery, by giving such an account of the origin and progress of modern slavery as will embrace the principal events which led to the subjection of the Indians of the New
25. 22 .Di-scovery of the Canary Islands. ·world, and to the introduction of negro 'slavery in America and the vVest Indies. The work will thus become, in great part, a history of Spanish America; and, as such, will track Columbus over seas hitherto unsounded by mortal man, will follow the fortunes of V asco N ui'iez, Cortes, and Pizarro; and through the mother country-at that time the most important and menacing state in the world-be intimately connected with the perplexed affairs of European politics in the sixteenth century. Previously, however, to entering upon these inter esting times, the history of modern slavery must com mence with the history of African discovery ; and the first great step in that was the discovery of the Ca nary Islands. These were the "Elysian fields" and "fortunate islands" of antiquity. Perhaps there is no country in the world that has been so many times discovered, conquered, and invaded, or so much fabled about, as these islands. There is scarcely a nation upon earth of any maritime repute that has not had to do with them. Phcenicians, Carthaginians, Ro mans, :Moors, Genoese, Normans, Portuguese, and Spaniards of every province (Aragonese, Castilians, Gallicians, Biscayans, Andalucians) have all made their appearance, in these islands.* The. Carthagin ians are said to have discovered them, and to have reserved them as an asylum in case of extreme dan ger to the state. Sertorius, the Roman general, who partook the fallen fortunes of :Marius, is said to have meditated retreat to these "islands of the blessed," and by some ·writers is supposed to have gone there. * VIERA Y CLAVIGo, Historia General de las Islas de Canaria, Mad rid, 1772, lib. iii.
26. Discovery of tile Canary Islands. 23 Juba, the :Mauritanian prince, son of the Juba cele brated by Sallust; sent ships to examine them, and has left a description of them.* Then came the death of empires, and darkness fell upon the human race, at least upon the records of their history. "\Vhen the world revived, and especial ly when the use of the loadstone began to be known among mariners, the Canary Islands were again dis covered. Petrarch is referred to by Viera to prove that the Genoese sent out an expedition to these isl ands. t Las Casas mentions that an English or French vessel bound from France or England to Spain was driven by contrary winds to the Canary Islands, and on its return spread abroad in France an account of the voyage.t The information thus obtained (or per * v IERA, lib. i., sec. 18. t PETRARCA, de Vita Solitarid, lib. ii., sec. 6, cap. 3. t LAs CAsAs, Historia General de las lndias, MS., lib. i., cap. 17. The original of this work is to be found in the library of the Royal Academy of History at Madrid. Four or five copies have been taken, of which the author possesses one. It is a work of the highest his torical value, as Las Casas saw with his own eyes, and was himself engaged in, many of the transactions which he narrates; and, more over, he had taken care to collect contemporary documents, relating to important events, which have since perished. The course of the narrative is often broken by outbursts of gener ous indignation at the treatment of the Indians, or by laborious trains of argument to prove that they were free men. These parts, there fore, of the history, which were very fitly addressed to the reader of his own time, have ceased to interest the modem reader, who is gen erally too much disposed to agree with Las Casas to care to listen to his arguments or his denunciations. Occasionally, as will be seen, the narrative is admirable, sparkling with the vivacity and intelligence of the writer, and adequately expressing the deep concern which he took in his subject. Indeed, his history is in great part his autobiography. It would be surprising that a work of such value should not have been printed, but for the fact that Herrera, the royal historiographer of the Indies in the seventeenth century, has made the greatest use of Las Casas, weaving in long extracts from the Historia General, taken almost verbatim.
27. 24 Bethencourt's .Expedition. haps in other ways of which there is no record) stimu lated Don Luis de la Cerda, Count of Clermont, great grandson of Don Alonzo the "\Vise of Castile, to seek for the investiture of the Crown of the Canaries, which was given to him with much pomp by Clement the Sixth, at Avignon, A.D. 1344, Petrarch being pres ent.* This sceptre proved a barren one. The affairs of France, with which state the new king of the Ca naries was connected, drew off his attention, and he died without having visited his dominions. The next authentic information that we have of the Canary Isl ands is that, in the times of Don Juan the First of Castile, and of Don Enrique his son, these islands were much visited by the Spaniards. t In 1399, we are told that certain Andalucians, Biscayans, Guipuz coans,. with the consent of Don Enrique, fitted out an expedition of :five vessels, and making a descent on the island of Lanzarotc, one of the Canaries, took cap tive the king and queen, and one hundred and seventy of the islanders.t Ilitherto there had been nothing but discoveries, rediscoveries, and invasions of these islands; but, at last, a colonist appears upon the scene. This was Juan de Bethencourt, a great Norman baron, lord of St. Martin le Gaillard, in the county of Eu, of Bethen court, of Granville, of Sancerre, and other places in Normandy, and chamberlain to Charles the Sixth of France. Those who are at all familiar with the his tory of that period, and with the mean and cowardly barbarity which characterized the long-continued con tests between the rival factions of Orleans and Bur gundy, may well imagine that any Frenchman would * V !ERA, lib. i., sec. 21. t OnTIZ DE ZUNIGA, Annalcs, A.D. 13!J!J, p. 262. :j: \"1ERA, lib. iii, src 2'1.
28. Betliencourt's .Expedition. 25 then be very glad to find a career in some other coun try. ·whatever was the motive of Juan de Blthen court, he carried out his purpose in the most resolute manner. Leaving his young wife, and selling part ·of his estate, he embarked at Rochelle in 1402 with men and means for the putpose of conquering, and estab lishing himself in, the Canary Islands. It is not requi site to give a minute description of this expedition. Suffice it to say, that Bethencourt met with fully the usual difficulties, distresses, treacheries, and disasters that attach themselves to this race of enterprising men. After his arrival at the Canaries,finding his means insufficient, he repaired to the court of Castile, did acts of homage to the king, Enrique the Third, and afterward renewed them to his son Juan the Second, thereby much strengthening the claim which the Spanish monarchs already made to the dominion of these islands. Bethen_court, returning to the isl~ ands with renewed resomces, made himself master of the greater part of them, reduced several of the na tives to slavery, introduced the Christian faith, built churches, and established vassalage. On the occasion of quitting his colony in A.D. 1405, he called all his vassals together, and represented to them that he had named for his lieutenant and governor l\Iaciot de Be thencourt, his relation ; that he himself was going to Spain and to Rome to seek for a bishop for them ; and he concluded his oration with these words: "l\Iy loved vassals, great or small, plebeians or nobles, if you have any thing to ask me or to inform me of, if you find in my conduct any thing to complain of, do not fear to speak ; I desire to do favor and justice to all the world."* * VIERA, lib. iv., sec. 20. VoL. I.-B
29. 26 Portuguese .Discoveries in .Africa. The assembly he- was addressing contained none of the slaves he had made. vVe are told, however, and that by eye-witnesses, that the poor natives them selves bitterly regretted his departure, and, wading through the water, followed his vessel as far as they could. After his visit to Spain and to Rome, he re turned to his paternal domains in Normandy, where, while meditating another voyage to his colony, he died A.D. 1425. :Maciot de Bethencourt ruled for some time success fully; but afterward falling into disputes with the bishop, and his affairs generally not prospering, liia ciot sold his rights to Prince Henry of Portugal also, as it strangely appears, to another person-and afterward settled in Madeira. The claims . to the government of the Canaries were for many years in a most entangled state, and the right to the sovereign ty over these islands was a constant ground of dispute between the crowns of Spain and Portugal. Thus ended the enterprise of Juan de Bethencourt, which, though it can not be ·said to have led to any very large or lasting results, yet, as it was the first modern attempt of the kind, deserves to be chronicled before commencing with Prince Henry of Portugal's long-continued and connected efforts in the same di rection. The eyents also which preceded and accom panied Bethencourt's enterprise need to be recorded, in order to show the part which many nations, espe cially the Spaniards, had in the first discoveries on the Coast of Africa. ·we now turn to the history of the discoveries made; or rather caused to be made, by Prince Henry of Por tugal. This prince was born in 1394. He was the
30. Portuguese Discoveries in Africa. 27 third son of John the First of Portugal and Philippa the daughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of ·Lancaster. That good Plantagenet blood on the mother's side was doubtless not without avail to. a man whose life ' was to be spent in continuous and insatiate efforts to work out a great idea. Prince Henry was with his father at the memorable capture of Ceuta, the ancient Septem, in the year 1415. This town, which lies opposite to Gibraltar, was of great magnificence, and one of the principal marts in that age for the produc tions of the Eastern World.~ It was here that the Portuguese nation first planted a firm foot in Africa; and the date of this town's capture may, perhaps, be taken as that from which Prince Henry began to med itate farther and far greater conquests. His aims, however, were directed to a point long beyond the range of the mere conquering soldier. He was espe cially learned for that age of the world, being skilled in mathematical and geographical knowledge. And it I may be noticed here, that the greatest geographical --.... discoveries have been made by men conversant with · the book-knowledge of their own time. A work, for instance, often seen in the hands of Columbus, which his son mentions as having had much influence .with him, was the learned treatise of Cardinal Petro de J Aliaco (Pierre d'Ailly), the Imago JJ:fundi.. . But to return to Prince Henry of Portugal. We learn that he had conversed much with those who had made voyages in different parts of the world, and par ticularly with Moors from Fez and Morocco, so that * "Toda Europa considerava a Ceuta como hum erario das preciosi dades do Oriente, indo a ella buscar as drogas de pre~o, que produzia, nao so Alexandria, e Damasco, mas a Libia, e o Egypto."-Vida do· Infante, Lisboa, 1758, p. 26. ...
31. 28 Portuguese .Discoveries iii Africa. he came to hear of the Azenegues, a people bordering on the country of the negroes of Jalof. Such was the scanty information of a positive kind which the prince had to guide his endeavors. Then there were the suggestions and the inducements which to a willing mind were to be found in the shrewd con jectures of learned men, the fables of chivalry, and, perhaps, in the confused records of forgotten knowl edge once possessed by Arabic geographers. The sto ry of Prester John, which had spread over Europe since the Crusades, was well known to the Portuguese prince. A mysterious voyage of a certain wandering saint, called Saint Brendan, was not without its influ ence upon an enthusiastic mind. Moreover, there were many sound motives urging the prince to maritime discovery, among which a desire to fathom the power of the Moors, a wish to find a new outlet for traffic, and a longing to spread the blessings of the faith, may be enumerated. The especial reason which impelled Prince Henry to take the burden of discovery on him
32. Portuguese .Discoveries in Africa. 29 self was, that neither mariner nor merchant would be likely to adopt an enterprise in which there was no clear hope of profit.* It belonged, therefore, to great men and princes, and among such he knew of no one but himself who was inclined to it. This is not an uncommon motive. A man sees something that ought to be done, knows of no one who will do it but him self, and so is driven to the enterprise, even should it be repugnant to him. And now, the first thing for those to do who would thoroughly understand the records of maritime discov ery, is the same as it was for Prince Henry, in which we may be sure he was not remiss, namely, to stucly our maps and charts. Without frequent reference to * " E porque o dicto scnhor quis desto saber a verdade, parecen dolhe que se elle ou alguu outro senhor se nom trabalhasse de o saber, nehuiis rnareantes, nern rnercadores, nunca se dclle antremeteryam, porque claro sta que nunca nehuiis daquestes se trabalharn de navegar senom pera donde conhecidamente speram proveito." -A:i:uRARA, Chronica de Guine, cap. 7.
33. 30 Portuguese .Discoveries in Africa. m~ps, a narrative like the present forms in our mind only a mirage of names, and dates, and facts; is wrongly apprehended even while we are regarding it, and soon vanishes away. The map of the world being before us, let us reduce it to the proportions it filled in Prince Henry's time; let us look at our infant world. First, take away those two continents, for so . we may almost call them, each much larger than a Europe, to the far west. Then cancel that square, massive-looking piece to the extreme southeast: hap pily there are no penal settlements there yet.* Then turn to Africa : instead of that form of inverted cone which it presents, and which we now know there are physical reasons for its presenting, make a cimeter shape of it by running a slightly-curved line from Juba on the eastern side to Cape Nam on the western. De clare all below that line unknown. Hitherto we have only been doing the work of destruction, but now scat ter emblems of Hippogriffs and Anthropophagi on the outskirts of what is left in the map, obeying a maxim. not confined to the ancient geographers only: where you know nothing, place tenors. Looking at the map· thus completed, we can hardly help thinking to our selves, with a smile, what a small space, comparativeM ly speaking, the known history of the world has been transacted in up to the last four hundred years. The idea of the universality of the Roman dominion shrinks a little, and we begin to fancy that Ovid might have escaped his tyrant. t The ascertained confines of the world were now, however, to be more than doubled in the course of one century ; and to Prince Henry of * This was written before gold was discovered in Australia, and when penal settlements were the most notable things in the colony. t "But the empire of the Romans filled the world ; and when that
34. Portuguese .Discoveries in Africa. 31 Portugal, as to the first promoter of these vast discov eries, our attention must be directed. This prince, having once the well-grounded idea in his mind that Africa did not end where it was com monly supposed, namely, at Cape Nam (Not), but that there was a world beyond that forbidding negative, seems never to have rested until he had made known that quarter of the globe to his own. He fixed his abode upon the promontory of Sagres, at the southern part of Portugal, whence for many a year he could watch for the rising specks of white sail bringing back his captains to tell him of new countries and new men. We may wonder that he never went himself, but he may have thought that he served the cause better by remaining at home, and forming a centre whence the electric energy of enterprise was communicated to many discoverers, and then again collected from them. J\Iore over, he was much engaged in the public affairs of his country. In the course of his life he was three times in Africa, carrying on war against the Moors ; and at home, besides the care and trouble which the state of the Portuguese court and government must have given him, he was occupied in promoting science and encour aging education. In 1415, as before noticed, he was at Ceuta. In 1418 he was settled on the promontory of Sagres. empire fell into the hands of a single person, the world became a safe and dreary prison for his enemies. The slave of imperial despotism, whether he was condemned to drag his gildM-chain in Rome and the senate, or to wear out a life of exile on the barren rocks of Seriphus, or the frozen banks of the Danube, expected his fate in silent despair. To resist was fatal, and it was impossible to fly. On every side he was encompassed with a vast extent of sea and land, which he could never hope to traverse without being discovered, seized, and restored to his irritated master."-GrnsoN's Decline and Fall, vol. i., p. 97, Ox ford edition.
35. 32 Portuguese Ducoveries in .Africa. One night in that year he is thought to have had a dream of promise, for on the ensuing morning he sud denly ordered two vessels to be got ready forthwith, and to be placed under the command of two gentlemen of his household, J oham Gorn;al vez Zarco and Tristam Vaz, whom he ordered to proceed down the Barbary coast on a voyage of discovery. A contemporary chronicler, AzuRARA, whose work* has recently been discovered and published, tells th~ story more simply, and merely states that these cap~ tains were young men, who, after the ending of th~ Ceuta campaign, were as cager for employment as th~ prince for discovery, and that they were ordered on a voyage having for its object the general molestatioll · of the Moors, as well as that of making discoveries beyond Cape Nam. The Portuguese mariners had a proverb about this cape, "He who would pass Cape Not, either will return or not" ( Quem passar o Oabo de Nam, ou tomara ou nam), intimating that if he did not tmn before passing the cape, he would never return at all. On the present occasion it was not destined to be passed ; for these captains, J oham Gon c;alvez Zarco and Tristam Vaz, were driven out of their course by storms, and accidentally discovered a little island, where they took refuge, and from that circum stance called the island Porto Santo. "They found there a race of people living in no settled polity, but * This authentic and most valuable record was discovered in the Bibliothcque Imperiale at Paris, by Senhor Fernando Denis, in 1837; was published by the Portuguese embassador, the Visconde Da Carre ira, who transcribed the MS. with his own hand, and was annotated by the learned Visconde Da Santarem. It is a book well worth the care that has been bestowed upon it, as being" 0 primeiro livro escripto por au tor europeo sobre os paizes situados na costa occidental d' Africa alem do Caho Bojador."
36. Portuguese .Discoveries in .Africa. 33 not altogether barbarous or savage, and possessing a kindly and most fertile soil."* I give this description of the first land discovered by Prince Henry's cap "7.,;.\ ..: '\!>" 'Z ~ '"" ('l. 0 C). ' (;! eftJooilJfope' ><14> * " Hallaron alli gente nada polltica, mas no de! todo biirbara 6 sel vage, y posseedora de un benevolo y fertilissimo terreno."-FARIA Y SousA, Asia Portuguesa, Lisbon, ~666, tom. i., part i., cap. 1. B2
37. 34 Portuguese .Discoveries in Africa. tains, hinking it would well apply to many other lands about to be found out by his captains and by other discoverers. J oham Gonc;alvez Zarco and Tristam Vaz returned. Their master was delighted with the news they brought him, more on account of its prom ise than its substance. In the same year he sent them out again, together with a third captain, named Bar tholomew Perestrelo, assigning a ship to each captain. His object was not only to discover more lands, but also to improve those which had been discovered. He sent, therefore, various seeds and animals to Porto Santo. This seems to 11ave been a man worthy to direct discovery. Unfortunately, however, among the animals some. rabbits were introduced into the new island, and they conquered it, not for the prince, but for themselves. Hereafter we shall find that they gave his people much trouble, and caused no little reproach to him. "\Ve come now to the year 1419. Perestrelo, for some cause not known, returned to Portugal a,t that time. After his departure, J oham Gon9alvez Zarco and Tristam Vaz, seeing from Porto Santo something that seemed like a cloud, but yet different (the origin of so much discovery, noting the. difference in the like ness), built two boats, and, making for this cloud, soon found themselves afongside a peautiful island, abound ing in many things, but most of all in trees, on which account they gave it the name of Madeira (wood). The two discoverers, Joham Gon9alvez Zarco and Tristam Vaz, entered the island at different parts. The prince their master_ afterward rewarded them with the captaincies of those parts. To Perestrelo he gave the island of Porto Santo to colonize it. Pere strelo, however, did not make much of his captaincy,
38. Portuguese Discoveries in Africa. 35 but after a strenuous contest with the rabbits, having killed an army of them, died himself. This captain has a place in history as being the father-in-law of Co lumbus, who, indeed, lived at Porto Santo for some _time, and here, on new-found land, meditated far bold er discoveries• .Joham Gon9alvez Zarco and Tristam Vaz began the cultivation of their island of Madeira, but met with an untoward event at first. In clearing the wood, they kindled a fire among it, which burned for seven years, we are told ; and in the end, that which had given its name to the whole island, and which, in the words of the historian, overshadowed the whole land, became the most deficient commodity. The captains founded churches in the island; and the King of Por tugal, Don Duarte, gave the temporalities to Prince Henry, and all the spiritualities to the knights of Christ. ·while these things were occurring at l\Iadeira and Porto Santo, Prince Henry had been prosecuting his general scheme of discovery, sending out two or three vessels a year, with orders to go down the coast from Cape Nam, and make what discoveries they could; but these did not amount to much, for the captains never advanced beyond Cape Bojador, which is situ ated seventy leagues to the south of Cape Nam.. This Cape Bojador was formidable in itself, being termin ated by a ridge of rocks with fierce currents running round them ; but was much more formidable from the fancies which the mariners had formed of the sea and land beyond it. " It is clear," they were wont to say, "that beyond this cape there is no people whatever; the land is as bare as Libya-no water, no trees, no grass in it ; the sea so shallow that· at a league from
39. 36 Portuguese .Discoveries in Africa. the fand it is only a fathom deep; the currents so fierce that the ship which passes that cape will never "7 ~ -e ~ z >-3 ""' ('1 0 Clo 'f!> C'l/CocilHo "f4; l·eturn ;"* and thus their theories were brought in to justify their fears. This outstretcher (for such is the meaning of the
40. Portuguese .Discoveries in Africa. 37 word Bojador) was therefore as a. bar drawn aCToss that advance in maritime discovery which had for so long a time been the first object of Prince Henry's life. The prince had now been working at his discoveries for twelve years, with little approbation from the gen erality of persons (con poca aprovacion de muclws), the discovery of these islands, Porto Santo and :Ma deira, serving to whet his appetite for farther enter prise, but not winning the common voice in favor of . prosecuting discoveries on the coast of Africa. The people at home, improving upon the reports of the sailors, said that "the land which the prince sought ·after was merely some sandy place like the deserts of Libya ; that princes had possessed the empire of the world, and yet had not undertaken such designs as his, nor ·shown such anxiety to find new kingdoms ; that the men who arrived in these foreign parts (if they did arrive) turned from white into black men; that the king, Don John, the prince's father, had endowed foreigners with land- in his kingdom, to break up and cultivate it-a thing very different from taking people out of Portugal, which had need of them, to bring them among savages to be eaten, and to place them upon lands of which the mother-country had no need; that the Author of the world had provided these islands solely for the habitation of wild beasts, of which an additional proof was, that those rabbits the discoverers themselves had introduced were now dispossessing them of the island."* There is much here of the usual captiousness to be found in the criticism of by-standers upon action, mix ed with a great deal of false assertion and premature knowledge of the ways of Providence. Still it were * FARIA y SousA, tom. i., part i., cap. I.
41. 38 Portuguese J)iscoveries in Africa. to be wished that most criticism upon action was as wise ; Tor that part of the common talk which spoke of keeping their own population to bring out their own resources had a wisdom in it, which the men of future centuries were yet to discover throughout the Penin Prince Henry, as may be seen by his perseverance up to this time, was not a man to have his purposes diverted by such criticism, much of which must have been in his eyes worthless and inconsequent in the extreme. Nevertheless, he had his own misgivings. His captains came back one after another with no good tidings of discoyery, but with petty plunder gained, as they returned, from incursions on the Moor ish coast. The prince concealed from them his cha grin at the fruitless nature of their attempts, brit prob ably did not feel it less on that account. He began to think, vVas it for him to hope to discover that land which had been hidden from so many princes ? Still he felt within himself the incitement of "a virtuous obstinacy," which would not let hiin rest. Would it not, he thought, be ingratitude to God, who thus moved his mind to these attempts, if he were to de sist from his work, or be negligent in it?* He re * Porem quando os capitaes tomavam, faziam algumas entradas na costa de Berberia (como atras dissemos), com que elles refaziam parte da despeza, o que o Infante passava com soffrimento, sem por isso mostrar aos homens descontentamento de seu ·servi90, dado que nao cumprissem o principal a que eram enviados. Porque como era Prin cipe Catholico, e todalas suas cousas punha em as miios de Deos, pa rccia-lhe que niio era merecedor que per clle fosse dcscuberto, o que tanto tempo havia que estava escondido aos Principes passados de Hes panha. · Com tudo, porque sentia em si hum estimulo de virtuosa per fia, que o niio leixava descan9ar em outra cousa, parecia-lhe que era ingratidao a Deos dar-Ihe estes movimentos, quo niio desistisse da obra, e elle ser a isso negligente."-BA1tRos, Lisbon, 1778, dee. i., lib. i., cap. 4.
42. Portuguese IJUicoveries in Africa. 39 solved, therefore, to send out again Gil Eannes, one of his household, who had been sent the year before, but had returned, like the rest, having discovered nothing. He had been driven to the Canary Islands, and had seized upon some of the natives there, whom he brought back. With this transaction the prince had shown himself dissatisfied ; and Gil Eannes, now intrusted again with command, resolved to meet all dangers rather than to disappoint the wishes of his master. Before his departure, the prince called him aside and said, " You can not meet with such peril that the hope of your reward shall not be much great er; and, in truth, I wonder what imagination this is that you have all taken up--in a matter, too, of so little certainty ; for if these things which are reported had any authority, however little, I would not blame you so much. But you quote to me the opinions of four mariners, who, as they were driven out of their way to Frandes or to some other ports to which they commonly navigated, had not, and could not have 'Used, the needle and the chart ; but do you go, how ever, and make· your voyage without regard to their opinion, and, by the ·grace of God, you will not bring out of it any thing but honor and profit."* We may well imagine that these stirring words of the prince must have confirmed Gil Eannes in his re solve to. efface the stain of his former misadventure; and he succeeded in doing so ; for he passed the dread ed Cape Bojador-a great event in the history of Af rican discovery, and one that in that day was consid ered equal to a labor of Hercules. Gil Eannes re turned to a grateful and most delighted master. · He informed the prince that he had landed, and that the * AzURARA, cap. 9.
43. 40 Portuguese .Discoveries in Africa. soil appeared to him unworked and fruitful; and, like a prudent man, he could not only tell of foreign plants, but had brought some of them home with him in a barrel of the new-found earth-plants much like those which bear in Portugal the roses of Santa Maria. The prince rejoiced to see them, and gave thanks to God, " as if they had been the fruit and sign of the prom ised land; and besought our Lady, whose name the plants bore, that she would guide and set forth the doings in this discovery to the praise and glory of God, and to the increase of His holy faith."* The pious wish expressed above is the first of the kind that we have occasion to notice in this history; but similar wishes seem to have been predominant in the minds of the greatest discoverers and promoters of discovery in those times. I believe this desire of theirs to have been thoroughly genuine ~nd deep-seat ed ; and, in fact, that the discoveries would not have been made at that period but for the impulse given to them by the most pious minds longing to promote, by all means in their power, the spread ·of what to them was the only true and saving faith. There is much to blame in the conduct of the first discoverers in M- . rica and America; it is, however, but just to acknowl edge that t?e love of gold was not by any means the only motive which urged them, or which co:uld have urged them, to such endeavors as theirs. vVe shall more readily admit the above conclusion if we keep in our minds the views then universally entertained of the merits and efficacy of mere formal communion with the Church, and the fatal consequences of not being within that communion. A man so enlightened * DARRos, dee. i., lib. i., cap. 4. AzuRARA, cap. 9.
44. Portuguese .Discoveries i:n Africa. 41 as LAS CASAS scorns to be bound by passages brought against him in argument from the works of heathen writers-men who are now living in hell, as he says; and Columbus, in giving an account of his third voy age to the Catholic sovereigns, says that in temporal matters he has only a "blanca" for the offertory, and that in spiritual matters he is so apart from the holy sacraments of the holy Church, that if he were to die where he is, his soul w;ould be forgotten (que se olvi-. dard desta dnima si se aparta acd del cuerpo). "Weep for me," he adds, "ye that are charitable, true, or just." And, doubtless, in the minds of the common people, the advantage of this communion with the Churcq stood at the highest. This will go a long way to ex plain the wondeiful inconsistency, as it seems to us, of the most cruel men appealing to their good works as promoters of the faith. And the maintenance of such Church principles will altogether account for the strange oversights which pure and high minds have made in the means of carrying out those principles, fascinated as they were by the brilliancy and magni tude of the main object they had in vie,,.. \ The Old World had now obtained a glimpse be yond Cape Bojador. The fearful " outstretcher" had no longer much interest for them, being a thing that was overcome, and which was to descend from an im possibility to a landmark, from which, by degrees, they would almost silently steal down the coast, counting their miles by thousands, until Vasco de Gama should boldly cany them round to India. After the passing of Cape Bojador there was a lull
45. 42 Portuguese J)i,scoveries in Africa. in Portuguese discovery, the period from 1434 to 1441 being spent in enterprises of very little distinctness or importance: Indeed, during the latter part of this pe riod the prince was fully occapied with the affairs of Portugal. In 1437 he accompanied the unfortunate expedition to Tangier, in which his brother Ferdinand was taken prisoner, who afterward ended his days in slavery to the 1\Ioor. In 1438, King Duarte dying, the troubles of the regency occupied Prince Henry's attention. In 1441, however, there was a voyage which led to very important consequences. In that year Antonio Gorn;alvez, master of the robes to Prince Henry, was sent out with a vessel to load it with skins of" sea-wolves," a number of them having been seen, during a former voyage, in the mouth of a river about fifty-four leagues beyond Cape Bojador. Gon9alvez resolved to signalize his voyage by a feat that should gratify his master more than the capture of sea-wolves, and he accordingly planned and executed successfully an expedition for capturing some Azeneghi l\Ioors, in order, as he told his companions, to take home " some of the language of that country." Nufi.o Tristam, an other of Prince Henry's captains, afterward falling in with Gon9alvez, a farther capture of 1\Ioors was made, and Gon9alvez returned to Portugal with his spoil. In the same year Prince Henry applied to Pope Martin the :Fifth, praying that his Holiness would grant to the Portuguese crown all that it should conquer, from Cape Bojador to the Indies, together with plenary indulgence for those who should die while engaged in such conquests. The Pope granted these requests. "And now," says a Portuguese historian, "with this apostolic grace, with the breath of royal favor, and al ready with the applause of the people, the prince pur
46. Portuguese .Discoveries in Africa. 43 sued his purpose with more courage and with greater In 1442, the Moors whom Antonio Gorn;alvez had captured in the previous year promised to give black slaves in ransom for themselves, if he would take them back to their own country ; and the prince, ap proving of this, ordered Gorn;alvez to set sail immedi ately, "insisting as the foundation of the matter that if Gon9alvez should not be able to obtain so many negroes (as had been mentioned) in exchange for the three Moors, yet that he should take them; for, what ever number he should get, he would gain souls, be cause they (the negroes) might be converted to the faith, which could not be managed with the :Uoors."t Here again may be seen the religious motive predom inating; and, indeed, the same motive may be deduced from numerous passages in which this prince's con duct comes before us. Gon9alvez obtained ten black slaves, some gold dust, a target of buffalo hide, and some ostriches' eggs, in exchange for two of the Moors, and, returning with his cargo, excited general wonderment on account of the color of the slaves.t These, then, we may pre sume, were the first black slaves that made their ap pearance in the Peninsula since the extinction of the old slavery. * FARIA Y SousA, tom. i., part i., cap. 1. t " Ordcnou o Infante de o despachar logo em hum navio, fazendo fundamento, que quando Antao Gon~alves nao pudcsse haver tantos negros .a troco destes tres Mouros, ja de quantos quer que fossem gan hava almas; porque se eonverteriam aFe, o que elle nao podia acabar com os Mouros."-BARRos, dee. i,, lib. i., cap. 7. +" Entraron en el Reyno con admiracion comun, causada del color de los esclavos."-FARIA Y SovsA, tom. i., part i., cap. 1•. .. .
47. 44 Portuguese .Discoveriea in .Africa. I am not ignorant that there are reasons for ~llcging that negroes had before this era been seized and car ried to Seville. The Ecclesiastical and Secular .An nals of that city, under the date 1474, record that ne gro slaves abounded there, and that the fifths levied on them produced considerable gains to the royal reve nue; it is also mentioned that there had been traffic of this kind in the days of Don Enrique the Third, about 1399, but that it had since then fallen into the hands of the Portuguese. The chronicler states that the negroes of Seville were treated very kindly from the time of King Enrique, being allowed to keep their dances and festi,yals ; and that one of them was named "mayoral" of the rest, who protected them against their masters, and before the courts of law, and also settled their own private quarrels. There is a letter from Ferdinand and Isabella in the year 1474, to a celebrated negro, Juan de Valladolid, commonly called the "Negro Count" (el Conde Negro), nominating him to this office of" mayoral of the negroes," which runs thus: "For the many good, loyal, and signal services which you have done us, and do each day, and becaus(f we know your sufficiency, ability, and good disposition, we constitute you mayoral and judge of all the negroes and mulattoes, free or slaves, which are in the very loyal and noble city of Seville, and throughout the whole archbishopric thereof, and that the said negroes and mulattoes may not hold any festivals, nor plead ings among themselves, except before you, Juan de Valladolid, negro, our judge and mayoral of the said negroes and mulattoes ; and we command that you, and you only, should take cognizance of the disputes, pleadings, marriages, and other things which may take place among them, forasmuch as you are a person suf
48. . Portuguese .Discoveries in .;{frica. 45 ficient for that office, and deserving of your power, and you know the laws and ordinances which ought to be kept, and we are informed that you are of noble lineage among the said negroes. "* But the above merely shows that in the year 1474 there were many negroes in Seville, and that laws and ordinances had been made about them. These ne groes might all, however, have been imported into Se ville since the Portuguese discoveries. True it is, that in the times of Don Enrique the Third, and dur ing Bethencourt's occupation of the Canary Islands, slaves from thence had been brought to France and Spain; but these islanders were not negroes, and it certainly may be doubted whether any negroes were imported into Seville previous to 1443. Returning to the course of Portuguese affairs, an historian of that nation informs us that the gold ob tained by Gon9alvez "awakened, as it always does, covetousness ;"t and there is no doubt that it proved an important stimulus to farther discovery. The next year Nuno Tristam went farther down the African coast ; and, off Adeget, one of the Arguim Islands, captured eighty natives, whom he brought to Portugal. These, however, were not negroes, but Azenegues. The tide of popular opinion was now not merely turned, but was rushing in full flow in favor of Prince Henry and his discoveries. The discoverers were found to come back rich in slaves and other commod ,ities; whereas it was remembered that in former wars and undertakings, those who had been engaged in them * ORTIZ DE Zuili1GA, Annales Eclesiasticos y Seculares de Sevilla, p. 374. Madrid, 1677. t FARIA Y SousA.
49. 46 Portuguese JJiscoveries in Africa._ had generally returned in great distress. Strangers, too, now came from afar, scenting the prey. A new "" 0. 0 Cl ~ CefCooilDO "'14> mode of life, as the Portuguese said, had been found out ; and " the greater part of the kingdom was moved with a sudden desire to follow this way to Guinea."* * BARRos, dee. i., lib. i., cap. 8.
50. Portuguese .Discoveries in Africa. 47 In 1444, a company was formed at Lagos, who re ceived permission from the prince to undertake discov ery along the coast of Africa, paying him a certain por tion.ofany gains which they might make. This has been considered as a company founded for carrying on the slave-trade; but the evidence is by no means suf ficient to show that its founders meant such to be its purpose. It might rather be compared to an expedi tion sent out, as we should say in modern times, with letters of marque, in which, however, the prizes chiefly hoped for wer<;i, not ships, nor merchandise, but men. The only thing of any moment, however, which the expedition accomplished, was to attack successfully the inhabitants of the islands Nar and Tider, and to bring back about two hundred slaves.* I grieve to say that there is no· ev~dence of Prince Henry's put ting a check to any of these proceedings ; but, on the contrary, it appears that he awarded with large honors Larn;arote, one of the principal men of this expedition, and received his own fifth of the slaves. Yet I have scarcely a doubt that the words of the historian are substantially true-that discovery, not gain, was still the prince's leading idea. t vVe have an account from an eye-witness of the partition of the slaves brought back by Larn;arote, which, as it is the first transaction of the kind on record, is worthy of notice, more espe cially as it may enable the reader to understand· the motives of the prince, and of other men of those times. * BARROS does not say of what race these slaves were, but merely calls them" almas." FARIA v SousA gives them the name of"Moors," a very elastic word. I imagine that they were Azenegues. t " Porque huma das cousas, que o Infante naquelle tempo trazia ante os olhos, e em que o mais podiam comprazer, e servir, era em aquelle descubrimento, por ser cousa, que ella plantara, e creara com tanta industria, e despeza."-BARRos, dee: i., lib. i., cap. 8.
51. 48 Azurara's Lament. It is to be found in the Chronicle, before referred to, of AzURARA. The merciful chronicler is smitten to the heart at the sorrow he witnesses, but still believes it to be for good, and that he must not let his mere earthly commiseration get the better of his piety. "0 thou heavenly Father," he exclaims, "who, with thy powerful hand, without movement of thy divine essence, governest all the infinite company of thy holy city, and who drawest together all the axles of the up per worlds, divided into nine spheres, moving the times of their long and short periods as it pleases thee! I implore thee that my tears may not condemn my con science, for not its law, but· our common humanity constrains my humanity to lament piteously the suf ferings of these people (slaves). .And if the brute an imals, with their mere bestial sentiments, by a natural instinct, recognize the misfortunes of their like, what must this my human nature do, seeing thus before my eyes this wretched company, remembering that I my self am of the generation of the sons of Adam! The other day, which was the eighth of August, very early in the morning, by reason of the heat, ·the mariners began to bring-to their vessels, and, as they had been commanded, to draw forth those captives to take them out of the vessel; whom, placed together on that plain, it was a marvelous sight to behold, for among them there were some of a reasonable degree of whiteness, handsome and well made; others less white, resem bling leopards in their color ; others as black as Ethi opians, and so ill formed, as well in their faces as their bodies, that it seemed to the beholder,s as if they saw the forms of a lower hemisphere. *But what heart * " Mas qua! serya o cora~om, por duro que seer podesse, que nom fosse pungido de piedoso sentimen to, veendo assy aquella companha ;
52. .Azurara's Lament. 49 was that, how hard soever, which was not pierced with sorrow, seeing that company ; for some had sunken cheeks, and their faces bathed in tears, looking at each other; others were groaning very dolorously, looking at the heights of the heavens, fixing their eyes upon them, crying out loudly, as if they were asking succor from the Father of nature ; others struck their faces with their hands, throwing themselves on the earth; others made their lamentations in songs, according to the customs of their country, which, although we could not understand their language, we saw corresponded well to the height of their sorrow. But now, for the increase of'their grief, came those who had the charge of the distribution, and they began to put them apart one from the other, in order to equalize the portions ; wherefore it was necessary to part children and par ents, husbands and wives, and brethren from each oth er. Neither in the partition of friends and relations was any law kept, only each fell where the lot took him. 0 powerful fortune! who goest hither and thith er with thy wheels, compassing the things of the world as it pleaseth thee, if thou canst, place before the eyes ca huiis tiinham as caras baixas, e os rostros Javados com Jagrimas, olhando huiis contra os outros ; outros estavam gemendo muy dooras amente, esguardando a altura dos ceeos, firmando os olhos em elles, braadando altamente, como se pedissem acorro ao Padre da natureza ; outros feryam seu rostro com suas palmas, Jan9andosse tendidos em meo do chaiio ; outros faziam suas lamenta9ooes em maneira de canto, segundo o costume de sua terra, nasquaaes postoque as pallavras da linguajem aos nossos nom podesse seer entendida, hem correspondya ao graao de sua tristeza. ]\fas pera seu doo seer mais acrecentado, sobreveherom aquelles que tiinham carregb da partilha, e come~arom de os apartarem huiis dos outros ; afim de poerem seus quinhooes cm igualleza; onde conviinha de necessydade de se apartarem os filhos dos padres, e os molheres dos maridos, e os huiis irmailos dos outros. A amigos nem a parentes nom se guardava nhiia ley, somente cada huii caya onde o a sorte levava !" VoL. I.-C
53. uU A.zurara's Lament. of this miserable nation some knowledge of the things that are to come after them, that they may receive some consolation in the midst of their great sadness ! and you others who have the business of this partition, look with pity on such great misery, and consider how can those be parted whom you can not disunite! ·who will be able to make this partition without great difficulty ? for while they were placing in one part the children that saw their parents in another, the children sprang up perseveringly and fled to them; the moth ers inclosed their children in their arms, and threw themselves with them on the ground, receiving wounds with little pity for their own flesh, so that their off spring might not be tom from them ! And so, with labor and difficulty, they concluded the partition, for, besides the trouble they had with the captives, the plain was full of people, as well of the place as of the villages and neighborhood around, who in that day gave rest to their hands, the mainstay of their liveli hood, only to see this novelty. And as they looked upon these things, some deploring, some reasoning upon them, they made such a riotous noise as greatly to disturb those who had the management of this dis tribution. The Infante was there upon a powerful horse, accompanied by his people, looking out his share, but as a man who for his part did not care for gain, for, of the forty-six souls which fell to his fifth, he speedily made his choice, as all his principal riches were in his contentment, considering with great delight the salvation of those souls which before were lost. And certainly his thought was not vain, for as soon as they had knowledge of our language, they readily be came Christians; and I, who have made this history in this volume, have seen in the town of Lagos young
54. Portuguese .Discoveries in Africa. 51 men and young women, the sons and grandsons of those very captives, born in this land, as good and as true Christians as if they had lineally descended, since the commencement of the law of Christ, from those who were first baptized."* The good AzunARA wished that these captives might have some foresight of the things to happen after their death. I do not think, however, that it would have proved much comiolation to them to have foreseen that they were almost the first of many mill ions to be dealt with as they had been; for in this year, 1444, Europe may be said to have made a dis tinct beginning in the slave-trade, henceforth to spread on all sides like the waves upon stirred water, and not, like them, to become fainter and fainter as the circles widen. In 1445, an expedition was fitted out by Prince Henry himself, and the command given to Gonsalvo de Cintra, ''"ho was unsuccessful in an attack on the natives near Cape Blanco. He and some other of the principal men of the expedition lost their lives. These were the first Portuguese who died in battle on that coast. In the same year the prince sent out three other vessels. The captains received orders from the Infante, Don Pedro, who was then regent of Portugal, to enter the River d'Oro, and make all endeavors to * AzuRARA, cap. 25. I have not scrupled to give AzuRARA's de scription of this remarkable scene without abridgment ; and, indeed, throughout this narrative I shall be obliged to quote largely; Many of the works referred to are in manuscript. Several even of the print ed ones are of the highest rarity. In such a case, it seems to be ri service to literature to quote as copiously from the original documents as can be done without embarrassing the narrative or encumbering the
55. 52 Portuguese .Di.scoveries in .Africa. convert the natives to the faith, and even, if they should not receive baptism, to make peace and alliance with them. This did not succeed. It is probable '7 ~ '<:!' \" z ..; ..... ('l 0 + Cl ' a '!fCooilHiJpe~ "1,.v. that the captains founceedingly tame and apparently profitless in compari son with the pleasant forays made by their predcces
56. Portuguese JHscoveries in Africa. 53 sors. T11e attempt, however, shows much intelligence and humanity on the part of those in power in Portu gal. That the instructions were sincere, is proved by the fact of this expedition returning with only one negro, gained in ransom, and a Moor who came of his own accord to see the Christian country. This same year 1445 is signalized by a great event in the progress of discovery along the African coast. Dinis Dyaz, called by BARROS, and the historians who followed him, Dinis Fernandez, sought employment from the Infante, and being intrusted by him with the command of a vessel, pushed boldly down the coast, and passed the River Sanaga (Senegal), which divides the Azcnegues (whom the first discoverers always called l\foors) from the negroes of Jalof. The inhab itants were much astonished at the presence of the Portuguese vessel on their coasts, and at first took it for a fish, or a bird, or a phantasm ; but when in their rude boats (hollowed logs) they neared it, and saw that there were men in it, judiciously concluding that it was a more dangerous thing than fish, or bird, or phantasm, they fled. Dinis Fernandez, however, cap tured four of them off that coast; but as his object was discovery, not slave-hunting,* he went on till he dis covered Cape Verde, and then returned to his country, to be received with much honor and favor by Prince Henry. These four negroes taken by Dinis Fernan dez were the first taken in their own country by the Portuguese. t That the prince was still engaged in * " Como seu proposito mais era descubrir terra por servir o infante, que trazer cativos pera seu proprio proveito. "-BARRos, dee. i., lib. i., cap. 9. t "Os quaaes forom os primeiros que em sua propria terra forom filhados per Xpaiios, nem ha hi cronica nem estorya em que se conte o contrairo."-AzuRARA, cap. 31.
57. 54 Portuguese Discoveries in .Africa. high thoughts of discovery and conversion, we may conclude from observing that he rewarded and honor- · ed Dinis :Fernandez as much as if he had brought him large booty; for the prince "thought little of what ever he could do for those who came to him with these signs and tokens of another greater hope which he en In this case, too, as in others, we should do great injustice if we supposed that Prince Henry had any of the pleasure of a slave-dealer in obtaining these ncgroes: it is far more probable that he valued them as persons capable of furnishing intelligence, and, per haps, of becoming interpreters for his future expedi tions ; not that; without these especial motives, he would have thought it any thing but great gain for a man to be made a slave, if it were the means of bring ing him into communion with the Church. After this, several expeditions, which did not lead to much, occupied the prince's time till 1447. In that year, a fleet, large for those times, of fourteen vessels, was fitted out at Lagos by the people there, and the command given by Prince Henry to Lan9a rote. The object seems -to have been, from a speech that is recorded of Lan9arote's, to make war upon the Azeneghi l\Ioors, and especially to take revenge for the defeat before mentioned which Gonsalvo de Cintra suffered in 1445, near Cape Blanco. That purpose effected, Lan9arote went southward, extending the discovery of the coast to the River Garn bia. In the course of his proceedings on that coast, we find again that Prince Henry's instructions insisted much upon * " Que sempre !he parecia pouco o que fazia aquelles, que !he vinham com estas mostras, e sinaes d'outra maior esperan~a que elle tinha."-IlARRos, dee. i., lib. i., cap. 9.
58. Portuguese .Discovenes in Africa. 55 the maintenance of peace with the natives.* An other instance of the same disposition on his part de serves to be especially recorded. The expedition had been received in a friendly manner at Gomera, one of the Canary Islands. Notwithstanding this kind re ception, some of the natives were taken prisoners. On their being brought to Portugal, Prince Henry had them clothed and afterward set at liberty in the place from which they had been taken. t This expedition under Larn;arote had no great re sult. The Portuguese went a little farther down the coast than they had ever been before, but they did not succeed in making friends of the natives, who had already been treated in a hostile manner by some Por tuguese from Madeira. Neither did the expedition make great spoil of any kind. They had got into feuds with the natives, and were preparing to attack them, when a storm dissipated their fleet and caused them to return home. It appears, I think, from the general course of pro ceedings of the Portuguese in those times, that they considered there was always war between them and the Azeneghi J\Ioors-that is, in the territory from Ceuta as far as the Senegal River; but that they had no declared hostility against the negroes of Jalof, or of any country farther south, though · skirmishes would be sure to happen from ill-understo?d attempts * " Gomes Pires, a quern o Capitiio Lam;:arote mandou em hum bate!, que fosse a elles, parecendo-Ihe que os provocava mais a paz, que Jhe o inf11nte muito encommendava em seu regimento, Ian~ou-lhes em terra hum bollo, hum espelho, e huma folba de papel, em que hia t " Infilos libres, y.luzidos en su naturaleza."-FARIA Y SouZA, tom, i., part i,ca~i ·
59. 56 Portuguese .Discoveries in Africa. at friendship on the one side, and just or needless fears on the other. The last public enterprise of which Prince Henry had the direction was worthy to close his administra tion of the affairs relating to Portuguese discovery. He caused two. embassadors to be dispatched to the King of the Cape Verde teITitory to ,treat of peace, and to introduce the Christian faith. One of the em bassadors, a Danish* gentleman, was treacherously killed by the natives, and upon that the other re turned, having accomplished nothing. Don Alfonso the Fifth, the nephew of Prince Henry, now took the reins of government, and the future ex peditions along the coast of Africa proceeded in his name. Still it does not appear that Prince Henry ceased to liave power and influence in the manage ment of African affairs; and the first thing that the king did in them was to enact that no one should pass Cape Bojador without a license from Prince Henry. Some time between 1448. and 1454 a for tress was built in one of the islands of Arguim, which islands had already become a place of bargain for gold and negro slaves. t This was the first Portuguese establishment on the coast of Africa. It seems that a system of trade was now established between the Portuguese and the negroes.t * This employment of a foreigner, which is not the only instance, seems to show that the Portuguese prince cultivated good relations with intelligent men of other countries. a t " Porque las Islas de Arguim concurria rescate de oro, y negros, mando el Rey lcvantar a una del!as el Castillo de aquel nombre (y foe el primero que se levant6 en nuestras conquistas)."-FARIA. Y SousA, tom. i., part. i., cap. 2. :j: " A este tempo o negocio de Guine andava ja mui corrente entre os nossos, e os moradores daquellas partes, e huns com es outros se communicavam em as cousas do commercio com paz, e amor, sem '
60. Portuguese Discoveries in Africa. 51 Having come to an important point in the course of Portuguese discovery, we may now make a pause, not without some satisfaction at having got through a tedious part of the narrative-a part chiefly marked by names, dates, and bare events, which stand in the undiversified story like solitary post-houses in the "steppes" of Russia or the "landes" in France. Admitting, 110wever, to the full, any tediousness that there may be in this account of early Portuguese discovery, we ought not, I think, to consider it un interesting. The beginnings of great things, even if obscure, trivial, isolated, without the details which bring reality into presence, and round which the hopes and the fortunes of men have not yet gathered, still can not be devoid of interest to any thoughtful, fore casting ·mind. The traveler willingly dismounts to see the streamlet which is the origin of a great river, and the man of imagination (who is patient in research because he is imaginative), as, in science, he labori ously follows with delight the tracks now hardened in the sandstone of obscure birds which paddled over those buried plains ages ago, so, in history, he will often find material to meditate upon, and to observe, in slight notices, which, however, like the others, in dicate much to him of by-gone times and wondrous aqucllas entradas, e saltos de roubos de gucrra, que no princlpio houve."....;..BARRos, dee. i., lib. ii., cap. 2. See also AzuRARA, cap. 95. 02
61. CHAPTER II. CA DA l\IOSTO's VOYAGE.-PRINCE JIE:Nny's DEATH.-ms CHARACTER,-FARTHER DISCOVERIES OF TIIE KlNGS OF PORTUGAL. T the close of the preceding chapter it was in A timated that the narrative of these Portuguese voyages is rather uninviting. Could we recall, how ever, the voyagers themselves, and listen to their story, we should find it animating enough. Each enterprise, as we have it now, with its few dry facts, seems a meagre affair ; but it was far otherwise to the men who were concerned in it. "\Ve have seen that piety had a large part in these undertakings: doubt less the love of adventure and the craving for novelty had their influences also.* And what adventure it was ! new trees, new animals, new stars, to be seen : nothing bounded, nothing trite; nothing which had the bloom taken off it by much previous description! These early voyagers, moreover, were like children coming out to take their first gaze into the world, with ready credulity and unlimited fancy, willing to * "They err who regard the Conquistadores as led only by a thirst for gold, or even exclusively by religious fanaticism. Dangers always exalt the poetry of life ; and, moreover, the powerful age which we here seek to depict in regard to its influence on the development of cosmical ideas, gave to all enterprises, as well as to the impressions of nature offered by distant voyages, the charm of novelty and sur prise, which begins to be wanting to our present more learned.age in the many regions of the earth which are now open to us."-HuM BOLDT's Kosmos, Sabine's translation, London, 1848, vol. ii., p 272.
62. Oa da .llfosto's Voyage. 59 believe in fairies and demons, Amazons and " forms of a lower hemisphere," mystic islands, and. fountains of perpetual youth. 'rhen, too, besides the hopes and fears of each in dividual of the crew, the conjoint enterprise had in it , a life to be lived and a career to be worked out. It started to do something ; fulfilled its purpose, or at least some purpose; and then came back radiant with success, from that time forward to be a great fact in history. Or, on the other hand, there was some small failure or mischance, perhaps, early in the voyage: the sailors then began to reckon up. ill omens, and to say that little good would come of this business. Farther on, some serious misadventure happened which made them turn·; or from the mere lapse of time, they were obliged to bethink themselves of get ting back. Safety, not renown nor profit, now be came their object, and their hope was at best but the negative of some fear. Thereupon, no doubt, ensued a good deal of recrimination among themselves, for very few people are magnanimous enough to share ill success kindly together. Then, in the long, dull even ings of their voyage homeward, as they sat looking on the waters, they thought what excuses and ex planations they would make to their friends at home, and how shame and vexation would mingle with their joy at returning. This transaction, teeming as it did with anxious life, must make a poor show in some chronicle : they sailed ; and did something, or failed in doing, and then came back ; and this was in such a year : brief records, like the entry in an almanac, or the few em phatic words on a tombstone! At the period, however, we are now entering upon,
63. 60 Oa da Kosto's Voyage. the annals of maritime discovery are fortunately en riched by the account of a voyager who could tell more of the details of what he saw than we 11ave hith erto heard from other voyagers, and who was himself his own chronicler. In 1454, Cada :M:osto, a young Venetian, who had already gained some experience in voyaging, happened to be on board a Venetian galley that was detained by contrary winds at Cape St. Vincent. Prince Henry was then living close to the cape. He sent his sec retary and the. Venetian consul on board the galley. They told of the great things the prince had done, showed samples of the commodities that came from the lands discovered by him ·(Madeira sugars, Drag on's-blood, and other articles), and spoke of the gains made by Portuguese voyagers being as great as 700 or 1000 per cent. Ca da J\Iosto expressed his wish to be employecl, was informed of the terms that would be granted, and heard that a Venetian would be well received by the prince, "because he was of opinion that spices and other rich merchanclise might be found in these parts, and knew that the Venetians understood these commodities better than any other nation."* In fine, Cada J\Iosto saw the prince, and was evi dently much impressed by his noble bearing. He obtained his wishes, and, being furnished with a cara vel, he embarked his merchandise in it, and set off on a voyage of discovery. There was now for the first time an intelligent man on board one of these vessels, giving us his own account of the voyage. From Ca da 1.Iosto the reader at once learns the state of things with regard to the slave-trade. The * AsTLEY's Voyages, vol. i., p. 574.
64. Ca da .J.1fosto's Voyage. Gl Portuguese factory at Arguim was the head-quarters of the trade. Thither came all kinds of merchandise, and gold and slaves were taken back in return. The "Arabs" of that district (Moors the Portuguese would have called them) were the middle men in this affair. They took their Barbary horses to the negro country, and "there bartered with the great men for slaves," getting from ten to eighteen slaves for each horse. They also brought silks of Granada and Tunis, and silver, in exchange for which they received slaves and gold. These Arabs, or Moors, had a place of trade of their own, called Roden, behind Cape Blanco. The.re the slaves were brought, "from whence, Cada Jl.Iosto says, they are sent to the mountains of Barka, and from thence to Sicily; part of them are also brought to Tunis, and along the coast of Barbary, and the rest to Argin, and sold to the licensed Portuguese. Every year between seven and eight hundred slaves are sent from Argin to Portugal. 1'* " Before this trade was settled," says Ca da l\Iosto, "the Portuguese used to seize upon the Moors them selves (as appears occasionally from the evidence that has before been referred to), and also the Azcncgues who live farther toward the south; but now peace is restored to all, and the Infante suffers no farther dam age to be done to these people. He is in hopes that, by conversing with Christians, they may easily be brought over to the Romish faith, as they are not, as yet, well established in that of Mohammed, of which they know nothing but by hearsay."t No doubt the prince's good intentions were greatly furthered by the convenience of this mode of trading. In short, gain made for itself its usual convenient * AsTLEY's Voyages, vol. i., p. 577. t Ibid., p. 578.
65. 62 Ca da Nosto's Voyage. channels to work in, and saved itself as much as it could the.trouble of discovery, or of marauding. Ca da Mosto being, as was said before, the first modem European visiting Africa who gives, himself, an account of it, and being, moreover, apparently an honest and intelligent man, all that he narrates is most valuable. He notices the difference of the peo ple and the country on the opposite sides of the Sen egal River. On the northern side he finds the men small, spare, and tawny; the country arid and bar ren: on the southern side, the men "exceeding black, tall, corpulent, and well made; the country green and full of green trees." This latter is the country of J alof, the same that Prince Henry first heard of in his intercourse with the :Moors. Ca da lifosto gives a minute description of the people, which is well worth noting. Both men and women, he says, wash themselves four or five times a day, being very clean ly as to their persons, but not so in eating, in which they observe no rule. Although very ignorant and awkward in going about any thing which they have not been accustomed to, yet in their own business which they are acquainted with, they are as expert as any Europeans can be. They are full of words, and never have done talking; and are, for the most part, liars and cheats. Yet, on the other hand, they are very charitable, for they give a dinner, or a night's lodging and a supper, to all strangers who come to their houses, without expecting any return. " These negro lords often make war among them selves and with their neighbors. They have no cav alry for want of horses : they wear no arms save a large target for their defense, made of the skin of a ~east called Danta, which is very difficult to be pierced,
66. Oa da Jlfosto's Voyage. 63 and Azagays, or light darts, in throwing of which they are very dexterous. These darts are pointed with iron, the length of a span, barbed in different manners, so that they make dangerous wounds in the body wherever they enter, tearing the flesh griev ously when pulled out. They also have a Moorish weapon, which is like a Turkish half-sword; that is, bent like a bow, and made of ir~n (without any steel) brought from the kingdom of Gambia by the negroes, who thereof m().ke their arms; and if they have any rron in their own country, they know nothing of it, or want industry to work it. They use also anoth er weapon, like our javelin, besides which they have no other arms. " As they have but few arms, their wars are very bloody, for their strokes do not fall in vain. They are extremely bold and fierce, choosing rather to be killed than to save their lives by flight. They are not afraid to die, nor scared, as other people are, when they see a companion slain. They have no ships, nei ther did they ever see any before the Portuguese came upon their coast. Those inhabiting near the river, and some who live by the sea, have Zappolies or Al madias, made out of a single piece of wood, the largest whereof carries three or four men. In these they fish sometimes, and go up and down the river. These ne groes are the greatest swimmers in the world, by the experiments the author has seen of them in these \ parts."* Ca da J\Iosto left the country of the J alofs and pro ceeded eight hundred miles farther, as he says, but he must, I think, have over-estimated his reckoning, to * AsTLEY's Voyages, vol. i., p. 582.
67. G4 Cada Nosto's Voyage. the country of a negro potentate called King Budo mel. Budomel received the voyager courteously, and made purchases of him, which were paid for in slaves. Cada l\losto gives an account of the religion of Budo mel's country, which deserves ·notice: it seems to show that the religion of the court, at least, was l\Io hammedan ; but it was not very strong in the affec tions of the people, alfd must have been comparatively a recent introduction.* Perhaps there is hardly any thing \yhich tells more of the condition and the skill of a people than their markets. According to Ca Budomcl's country indicated the poverty of the people, and showed that they had not advanced beyond the state of barter in their commercial transactions. t * "Toward evening, Iludomel ordered the Azanaghi or Arabs, whom he always has about him, to say prayers. His manner was thus : Be ing entered into the mosque (which was in one of the courts) with some of the principal negroes, he first stood with his eyes lifted up, then he advanced two steps and spoke a few words softly, after which he stretched himself on the ground and kissed it. The Azanaghi and all the rest did the same. Then rising, he repeated the same acts over again ten or twelve times, which took up half an hour. \Vhen he had done, he asked the author's opinion of their manner of worship, and to give him some account of his own religion. Hereupon Ca da Mos to told him, in presence of his doctors, that the religion of Mohammed was false, and the Rornish the true one. This made the Arabs mad, and Budomel laugh;· who, on this occasion, said that he looked upon the religion of the Europeans to be good, for that none but God could have given them so much riches and understanding. He ·added, how ever, that the Mohammedan Law must be also good; and that he be lieved the negroes were more sure of salvation than the Christians, because God was a just Lord;· and therefore, as he had given the lat ter a Paradise in this world, it ought to be possessed in the world to come by the negroes, who had scarce any thing here in comparison of the others."-AsTLEY's Voyages, vol. i., p. 584. t " He, Ca da Mosto, went three or four times to see one of their. markets or fairs, which was kept on Mondays and Fridays in a mead ow not far from the place where.he was lodged. Hither repaired,
+1-315-636-4485
+91 98151-74050 
