Part II

(the description of the forts) has been abridged, as compared with Port. 1. The portraits in this latter are more neatly done than in Port. 36. No reference to the source of these full-length portraits is made by the author. They certainly differ from the portraits designed in 1547 by a native artist under the supervision of Gaspar Correa, and published in the Lisbon edition of his _Lendas_ (see t. iv, p. 596). Lord Stanley (_Vasco da Gama_, p. ix) says that Correa’s portraits are “better” than those in Rezende’s work. All that we can say is that they are not worse. Our full-length portrait is from a MS. of Barretto de Rezende in the Bibliothéque Nationale, as reproduced in Charton’s _Voyageurs anciens et modernes_. The small oval portrait is from a copy of Correa’s painting which was made by order of D. Francisco, da Assumpção de Brito, who was installed Archbishop of Goa in 1774. It was first published in 1817 in a work entitled _Retratos e Elogios de Varões e Donas_.

FIRST VOYAGE, 1497; FOUR SAILS.

King John II of Portugal having died without a legitimate son, Dom Manuel was proclaimed King on October 27th, 1495; and as this fresh dignity entailed that he should prosecute the undertakings initiated by his predecessors, he proposed to himself to go on with the discovery of Oriental India by sea, which, seventy-five years before, had been set going.

In 1496 he had many councils on this affair, and in consequence of the resolutions arrived at he agreed (_assentou_) to despatch on this enterprise one Vasco da Gama, and forthwith arranged for the fleet to be sent, the work upon which was carried on with such expedition that rigging and all was ready by Saturday, July 8th, 1496.

The fleet (_armada_) only included three ships of from 100 to 320 tons, and there went in them, between sailors and soldiers, 260 persons. In addition there was a ship carrying provisions.

The flag-ship, in which Vasco da Gama, the captain-major, embarked, was called the _São Gabriel_, and Pero de Alemquer was the pilot. The second ship was called the _São Raphael_; Paulo da Gama, the brother of said Vasco, was captain, and João de Coimbra, pilot.

The third vessel was called the _Berrio_; Nicolao Coelho was her captain and P^o. Escolar her pilot.

Gonsalo Nunes, a retainer (_criado_) of Vasco da Gama, was captain of the cargo-ship (_nao_); only provisions went in her. These, as also the crew, having been transferred to the other ships at the Cape of Good Hope, they set fire to her.

They set sail from the bar of Lisbon on July 8th, 1497, arrived at Moçambique on March 1st, 1498, made Mombasa on Palm Sunday, the 7th of April,[390] and Melinde on the 15th of the same month.

There he took pilots to guide him to India, and on May 16th of the same year, ’498,[391] he made the land at a port on the coast of Mallavar (Malabar), in the kingdom of the Samorim, two leagues below Callecut, which is the principal city and capital of that kingdom. There he remained seventy-four days, in the course of which, induced thereto by the Moors who live in that country, he practised upon us a thousand deceits. But having discovered that for the sake of which he had been sent, namely, India, of which he was able to take home such good intelligence, he determined to return to Portugal, and set sail on August 29th of this same year, namely, ’498. At the Anjediva islands he careened the ships and took in water, and there he took a Jew who, by order of Sabayo, the King of Goa, had visited him, it being the intention, immediately after the return of this Jew, to send a fleet against him (Vasco da Gama).

Vasco da Gama departed thence and made the coast of Melinde. Wishing to depart thence for this kingdom, the ship _São Raphael_, in which was his brother, was lost on the same shoals on which she had already once grounded on the way out to India. The loss of this ship did not give much concern to Vasco da Gama, for he was short of men, and those in her were distributed among the two other vessels. He passed Moçambique, doubled the Cape of Good Hope on March 20th, 1499; when near the Cape Verde Islands a severe storm separated the two vessels, namely, that in which he (Vasco) was from her consort in which was Nicolau Coelho, who, leading, lost sight of Vasco da Gama, and reached the bar of Lisbon[392] on July 10th of said year.

Vasco da Gama only arrived on August 29th in a caravel, for his brother, Paulo da Gama, being very ill, he went from the island of São Thiago to that of Terçeira, allowing his ship to be taken to Lisbon by João de Sá.

And Vasco da Gama buried his brother, whose death much afflicted him, in the island of Terçeira, and after that landed at Lisbon on August 29th, as stated above, or two years after he had started on his discovery.

From the _Livro das armadas e capitaes que forão a India_, which, as already stated, forms an Appendix to Rezende’s _Livro do estado da India_, we take the following:—

_Vasco da Gama, captain-major, 1497._

He departed on July 8th, by order of King Dom Manuel, with four ships to discover India, viz.:

Vasco da Gama in the _S. Gabriel_. Paulo da Gama, his brother, in the _S. Raphael_. Nicolao Coelho in the ship _Berrio_. Gonçalo Nunes in a store-ship.

The people and provisions in the ship of Gonçalo Nunes were distributed among the other ships after the Cape of Good Hope had been passed, and beyond the Aguada (watering-place) of S. Braz, and this ship, having been stripped, was set on fire.

The ship of Paulo da Gama stranded on the voyage home to Portugal on the shoals between Guilva [Kilwa] and Mombaça, and these shoals were named after the _S. Raphael_ which had now run aground upon them. Her people were distributed among the two companion-ships.

APPENDIX D.

[Illustration: THE “SÃO GABRIEL”.

(_From a Model designed by Captain A. A. Baldaque da Silva, drawn by Herbert Johnson._)]

VASCO DA GAMA’S SHIPS AND THEIR EQUIPMENT.

All authorities agree that the fleet, or armada, fitted out for Vasco da Gama’s voyage numbered four vessels, but they are not agreed as to the names which these vessels bore. We are not, however, likely to be misled if we accept the unanimous testimony of the author of our _Roteiro_, of João de Barros, Lopez de Castanheda, Pedro Barretto de Rezende, and Manuel Faria y Sousa: according to whom the names of the ships and of their principal officers were as follows:—

_S. Gabriel_ (flag-ship).—Vasco da Gama, captain-major; Pero d’Alenquer, pilot; Gonçalo Alvarez, master; Diogo Dias, clerk.

_S. Raphael._—Paulo da Gama, captain; João de Coimbra pilot; João de Sá, clerk.

_Berrio._—Nicolau Coelho, captain; Pero Escolar, pilot; Alvaro de Braga, clerk.

_Store-ship._—Gonçalo Nunes, captain.

Correa and the unknown author of the _Jornal das Viagens_ (p. 145) call the “Berrio” _S. Miguel_, and make the _S. Raphael_ the flag-ship; whilst L. de Figueiredo de Falcão (p. 147) substitutes a _S. Miguel_ for the _S. Raphael_. It is just possible that the vessel popularly called _Berrio_, after its former owner, had been re-christened _S. Miguel_.

The _Berrio_ was one of those swift lateen-rigged vessels for which Portugal was famous from the thirteenth to the beginning of the sixteenth century, and which, after the _barinel_[393] had been discarded, were exclusively employed in the exploration of the African coast. Their burthen did not exceed 200 tons, and they had two or three masts, and occasionally even four.[394] The _Berrio_ is stated to have been a vessel of only 50 tons. She was named after her former owner and pilot,[395] of whom she was purchased expressly for this voyage.

[Illustration: A Caravel.

(_After a Painting of the sixteenth century, in the Monastery of the Mother of God at Lisbon._)]

The store-ship was of more considerable size. Sernigi (p. 123) says she measured 110 tons; Castanheda credits her with 200. She may have been a so-called _caravela redonda_, that is a caravel which carried square sails on the main and fore-masts and triangular ones on the mizzen-mast and the bowsprit. This vessel was purchased of Ayres Correa, a shipowner of Lisbon.

The _S. Gabriel_ and _S. Raphael_ were specially built for this voyage. Bartholomeu Dias, who superintended their construction, discarded the caravel in which he himself had achieved his great success, in favour of square-rigged vessels of greater burthen, which, although slower sailers and less able to ply to windward, offered greater safety and more comfort to their crews. He took care, at the same time, that the draught of these vessels should enable them to navigate shallow waters, such as it was expected would be met with in the course of the voyage. The timber for these two vessels had been cut during the last year of the reign of King John, in the Crown woods of Leiria and Alcacer. The vessels having been completed, the King ordered them to be equipped by Fernão Lourenço, the factor of the house of Mines, and one of the most “magnificent” men of his time.[396]

No contemporary description or picture of these vessels has reached us, but there can hardly be a doubt that their type[397] is fairly represented on a painting made by order of D. Jorge Cabral, who was Governor of India from 1549 to 1550. This painting subsequently became the property of D. João de Castro. A copy of it was first published by the Visconde de Juromenha, who took it from a MS. dated 1558.[398] The fine woodcut in W. S. Lindsay’s _History of Merchant Shipping_ (II, p. 5), from an ancient picture which also belonged to D. João de Castro, seems to be derived from the same source, but as the vessel carries the flag of the Order of Christ at the main, and not the Royal Standard, it cannot represent the flag-ship. At all events, it is not more authentic than either of the ships delineated in the drawing first published by Juromenha.

[Illustration: The supposed Armada of Vasco da Gama.

(_From a Painting made by order of Jorge Cabral (1549-50.))_]

Authorities differ very widely as to the tonnage of these two vessels. Sernigi (see p. 123) says they were of 90 tons each, thus partly bearing out Correa, who states that the _three_ ships (including the _Berrio_) were built of the same size and pattern.[399] D. Pacheco Pereira[400] states that the largest of them did not exceed 100 tons; J. de Barros gives them a burthen of between 100 and 120 tons; whilst Castanheda allocates 120 tons to the flag-ship and 100 to the _S. Raphael_.

But whilst the authorities quoted dwell upon the small size of the vessels which for the first time reached India from a European port, and even give reasons for this limitation of burthen,[401] there is some ground for believing that the tonnage of Vasco da Gama’s ships, expressed according to modern terminology, was in reality much greater than is usually supposed. Pedro Barretto de Rezende (p. 151) may therefore have some justification when he states that these vessels ranged from 100 to 320 tons. Mr. Lindsay (_loc. cit._) would go even further. The _S. Gabriel_, according to him, was constructed to carry 400 pipes, equivalent to 400 tons measurement, or about 250 to 300 tons register. He adds that Sr. E. Pinto Bastos agrees with him.[402]

In considering this question of tonnage, it must be borne in mind that “ton”, at the close of the fifteenth century, was a different measure from what it is at present. We learn from E. A. D’Albertis[403] that the _tonelada_ of Seville was supposed to afford accommodation for two pipes of 27½ arrobas (98 gallons) each, and measured 1.405 cubic metres, or about 50 cubic feet. The _tonel_ of Biscay was 20 per cent. larger. According to Capt. H. Lopez de Mendonça, the _tonel_ at Lisbon measured 6 palmos de goa in length (talha), and 4 such palmos in breadth and height (parea), that is, about 85 cubic feet.[404] This, however, seems excessive, for my wine merchant tells me that two butts of sherry of 108 gallons each would occupy only 75 cubic feet. At any rate, these data show that the ton of the fifteenth century was considerably larger than the ton measurement of the nineteenth.

Two attempts have been made recently by distinguished officers of the Portuguese Navy, Captains Joào Braz d’Oliveira[405] and A. A. Baldaque da Silva,[406] to reconstruct Vasco da Gama’s flagship, or rather to design a ship of a type existing at the close of the fifteenth century, and answering as nearly as possible to the scanty indications to be found within the pages of the historians of this memorable voyage. In this reconstruction good use has been made of an early manuscript on shipbuilding by Fernando Oliveira (_O livro da fabrica das Nãos_), which Captain Lopez de Mendonça proposes to publish.

The designs produced by the two naval officers differ widely in several respects, and more especially as regards the relation between the total length of the ship and the breadth of beam. In Captain B. da Silva’s ship the beam is equal to one-third of the length, whilst the proportion in Captain J. Braz d’Oliveira’s ship is as one to five. The former of these ships is broad-beamed, as befits the period, whilst the latter is almost as slim as a modern clipper. It must be remembered that, until comparatively recent times, it was held that the length of a sailing ship should not exceed four times the breadth of beam; and this maxim was undoubtedly acted upon by the shipbuilders of the fifteenth century.

Captain Baldaque da Silva’s design of the _S. Gabriel_ has been embodied in a model, and from a photograph of this model Mr. Herbert Johnson has produced the illustration placed in front of this Appendix.

The dimensions of the ship designed by Captain Baldaque da Silvia are as follows:—[407]

Length over all 84.1 feet. Water-line (when laden) 64.0 ” Keel 56.7 ” Breadth of beam 27.9 ” Depth 17.1 ” Draught, abaft 7.5 ” ” forward 5.6 ” Metocentric height above the water-line (laden) 7.4 ” Displacement 178 tons. Tonnage 4,130 cubic feet, or 103 ”

This, as I learn from a private letter of Captain B. da Silva, is supposed to be the gross under-deck tonnage, but on calculating the tonnage according to the Builders’ Old Measurement Rule, I find it to amount to 230 tons of 40 cubic feet each, whilst the “expeditive” method practised at Venice[408] during the fifteenth century yields 896 botte of 28 gallons, or about 250 toneladas.

The ship was flat-bottomed, with a square stern and bluff bow, the latter ornamented with a figure of her patron saint. Wales were placed along the sides to reduce her rolling when going before the wind. Formidable “castles” rose fore and aft, having a deep waist between them. These “castles,” however, had not then grown to the portentous height attained at a subsequent period, when they rendered it difficult to govern the ship in a gale, and it often became necessary to cut down the foremast and dismantle the forecastle to enable them to keep her head to the wind.

These “castles” were in reality citadels, and enabled the crew to make a last stand after the vessel had been boarded. A notable instance of this occurred in the course of the fight with the _Meri_ in 1502.[409]

The captain was lodged in the castle rising upon the quarter-deck, the officers were accommodated in the room below his and in the forecastle, whilst the men had their quarters beneath the gang boards which ran along the top-sides from castle to castle. The men were each allowed a locker, to contain such goods as they might obtain by barter with the natives. Ladders led from the main deck up to the fighting decks (_chapitéo de ré_ and _de vante_) of the two castles, and these were defended against boarders by nettings. The tiller of the rudder entered the battery abaft the captain’s apartments, where also stood the binnacle. The armament consisted of twenty guns. The lower battery of the “castle” rising on the quarter-deck was armed with eight breech-loaders made of wrought-iron staves, held together by hoops and mounted on forked props. The upper battery held six bombards, and the forecastle the same number.[410] We may at once state that the men carried no firearms. Their arms included cross-bows, spears, axes, swords, javelins, and boarding-pikes. Some of the officers were clad in steel armour, whilst the men had to be content with leather jerkins and breast-plates.

Amidships stood the _batel_, or long boat, in addition to which there was available a yawl rowed with four or six oars.

There were three masts and a bowsprit. The main-mast rose to a height of 110 ft. above the keel and flew the Royal Standard at its head, whilst the captain’s scarlet flag floated from the crow’s-nest, nearly 70 ft. above deck. A similar crow’s-nest was attached to the foremast. In the case of an engagement these points of vantage were occupied by fighting men, who hurled thence javelins, grenades, and powder-pots upon the enemy. The sails were square, with the exception of that of the mizzen, which was triangular. When spread they presented 4,000 square feet of canvas to the wind; this was exclusive of the “bonnets” which were occasionally laced to the leeches of the mainsail, and served to some extent the same purpose as a modern studding-sail.[411] The Cross of the Order of Christ was painted on each sail.

The anchors, two in number, were of iron, with a wooden stock and a ring for bending the cable.

The hold was divided into three compartments. Amidships were the water barrels, with coils of cable on the top of them—a very inconvenient arrangement; abaft was the powder-magazine, and most arms and munitions, including iron and stone balls, were kept there; the forward compartment was used for the storage of requisites, including spare sails and a spare anchor.

The lower deck was divided by bulkheads into three compartments, two of which were set apart for provisions, presents, and articles of barter. The “provisions”, according to Castanheda, were calculated to suffice for three years, and the daily rations were on a liberal scale, consisting of 1½ pounds of biscuit, 1 pound of beef or half a pound of pork, 2½ pints of water, 1¼ pints of wine, one-third of a gill of vinegar, and half that quantity of oil. On fast days, half a pound of rice, of codfish, or cheese was substituted for the meat. There were, in addition, flour, lentils, sardines, plums, almonds, onions, garlic, mustard, salt, sugar and honey. These ships’ stores were supplemented by fish, caught whenever an opportunity offered, and by fresh provisions obtained when in port, among which were oranges, which proved most acceptable to the many men suffering from scurvy.

The merchandise was not only insufficient in quantity, but proved altogether unsuited to the Indian market. It seems to have included _lambel_ (striped cotton stuff), sugar, olive-oil, honey, and coral beads. Among the objects intended for presents, there were wash-hand basins, scarlet hoods, silk jackets, pantaloons, hats, Moorish caps; besides such trifles as glass beads, little round bells, tin rings and bracelets, which were well enough suited for barter on the Guinea coast, but were not appreciated by the wealthy merchants of Calecut. Of ready money there seems to have been little to spare. All this is made evident by the letters of D. Manuel and Signor Sernigi.

The scientific outfit of the expedition, it may safely be presumed, was the best to be procured at the time. The learned D. Diogo Ortiz de Vilhegas[412] furnished Da Gama with maps and books, including, almost as a matter of course, a copy of Ptolemy, and copies of the information on the East collected at Lisbon for years past. Among these reports, that sent home by Pero de Covilhão found, no doubt, a place,[413] as also the information furnished by Lucas Marcos,[414] an Abyssinian priest who visited Lisbon about 1490.

The astronomical instruments were provided by Zacut, the astronomer, and it is even stated that Vasco enjoyed the advantage of being trained as a practical observer by that learned Hebrew. These instruments included a large wooden astrolabe, smaller astrolabes of metal, and, in all probability, also quadrants; and they were accompanied by a copy of Zacut’s _Almanach perpetuum Celestium motuum cujus radix est 1473_, a translation of which, by José Vizinho, had been printed at Leiria in 1496.[415] These tables enabled the navigator to calculate his latitudes by observing the altitude of the sun.

There was, of course, a sufficient supply of compasses, of sounding leads and hour-glasses, and possibly also a _catena a poppa_, that is, a rope towed at the stern to determine the ship’s leeway, and a _toleta de marteloia_, a graphical substitute for our modern traverse tables, both of them contrivances long since in use among the Italians. It is also possible that Vasco was already provided with an equinoctial compass for determining the time of high water at the ports he visited, and with a variation compass. This instrument consisted of a combination of a sun-dial with a magnetic needle. It had been invented by Peurbach, _c._ 1460, was improved by Felipe Guillen, 1528, and by Pedro Nunes, 1537, and used for the first time on an extensive scale by João de Castro, during a voyage to India and the Red Sea, in 1538-41.[416] We are inclined to think that Vasco had such a variation compass, for the Cabo das Agulhas, or “Needle Cape”, thus named because the needle there pointed, or was supposed to point, due north, has already found a place on Cantino’s Chart, and can have been named only as the result of an actual observation, however inaccurate.

[Illustration: Cão’s Padrão at Cape Cross.]

Lastly, there remain to be noticed the Padrãos, or pillars of stone which were on board the vessels, and three of which, by the king’s express desire, were dedicated to S. Raphael, S. Gabriel, and S. Maria (see p. 80). Barros and Castanheda tell us that these pillars resembled those set up by Cão and Dias in the time of D. João II; and in a series of pictures which D. Manuel desired to have painted in celebration of the discovery of India, the Padrão to be shown at the Cape of Good Hope, or “Prasum promontorium”, was to have been surmounted by a cross, and to bear the Royal Arms and a Pelican, with an inscription giving the date.[417]

Correa, on the other hand, affirms in his _Lendas_ that the pillar set up at the Rio da Misericordia (the Rio dos Bons Signaes of the _Roteiro_) was of marble, with two escutcheons, one of the arms of Portugal, and the other (at the back) of a sphere, and that the inscription was “Do senhorio de Portugal reino de Christãos”. The pillar at Melinde had the same escutcheons, but the inscription was limited to the words “Rey Manoel”.[418] As Correa had an opportunity of seeing these pillars, his description of them may be correct, though he is an arrant fabulator.

APPENDIX E.

[Illustration: VASCO DA GAMA.

(_From A. Morelet’s French version of the “Roteiro”, 1864._)

After a Portrait formerly the property of Conde de Farrobo, now in the _Museu das Bellas Artes_, Lisbon.]

MUSTER-ROLL OF VASCO DA GAMA’S FLEET.

The officers and men in Vasco da Gama’s _armada_ were carefully selected. Several of them had been with Bartholomeu Dias round the Cape; all of them, as appears from this “Journal”, justified by their conduct under sometimes trying circumstances the selection which had been made.

Authorities widely differ as to the number of men who embarked. Sernigi (p. 124) says there were only 118, of whom 55 died during the voyage and only 63 returned. Galvão says there were 120, besides the men in the store-ship. Castanheda and Goes raise the number to 148, of whom only 55 returned, many of them broken in health. Faria y Sousa and San Ramon say there were 160, and the latter adds that 93 of these died during the voyage, thus confirming a statement made by King Manuel in his letter of February 20th, 1504, to the effect that less than one-half returned.[419] According to Barros there were 170 men, including soldiers and sailors. Correa raises the number to 260, for he says that in each of the three ships there were 80 officers and men, including servants, besides six convicts and two priests.[420] He says nothing of the store-ship. By the time Vasco da Gama had reached the Rio da Misericordia only 150 out of this number are said to have been alive.

Correa, no doubt, exaggerates. On the other hand, Sernigi’s numbers seem to us to err quite as much on the other side. It is quite true that a Mediterranean merchantman of 100 tons, in the sixteenth century, was manned by 12 able and 8 ordinary seamen;[421] but in the case of an expedition sent forth for a number of years and to unknown dangers, this number would no doubt have been increased. We are, therefore, inclined to believe that the number given by De Barros—namely, 170—may be nearer the truth, namely 70 men in the flag-ship, 50 in the _S. Raphael_, 30 in the caravel, and 20 in the store-ship. The men in the flag-ship may have included 1 captain, 1 master, 1 pilot, 1 assistant pilot, 1 mate (contramestre), 1 boatswain (guardião), 20 able seamen (marinheiros), 10 ordinary seamen (grumetes), 2 boys (pagens), 1 chief gunner or constable, 8 bombardiers, 4 trumpeters, 1 clerk or purser (escrivão), 1 storekeeper (dispenseiro), 1 officer of justice (meirinho), 1 barber-surgeon, 2 interpreters, 1 chaplain, 6 artificers (ropemaker, carpenter, calker, cooper, armourer and cook), and 10 servants. One or more of these servants may have been negro slaves. The “Degradados”, or convicts on board, to be “adventured on land” (p. 48), are included in the total. Whether private gentlemen were permitted to join this expedition as volunteers history doth not record.

The following “muster-roll” contains short notices of all those who are stated to have embarked at Lisbon in Vasco da Gama’s fleet, or who subsequently joined it, either voluntarily or upon compulsion.

Apart from natives, thirty-one persons are mentioned, and with respect to twenty-six of these no reasonable doubt can be entertained that they were actually members of the ships’ companies.

Those among them whose names appear in the “Journal” are distinguished by an asterisk.[422]

CAPTAINS.

*_Vasco da Gama_, Captain-Major in the _S. Gabriel_.

*_Paulo da Gama_, his brother, commanding the _S. Raphael_.

*_Nicolau Coelho_, Captain of the _Berrio_ or _S. Miguel_. He subsequently went out to India with Cabral (1500), and for a third time with Francisco d’Albuquerque, in 1503.

On February 24, 1500, the King granted him a pension of 70,000 reis. He also received a coat-of-arms, viz.: a field _gules_, charged with a lion rampant between two pillars (_padrãos_), _silver_, standing upon hillocks by the sea _vert_; and two small escutcheons charged with five _bezants_ (Severim de Faria, _Noticias de Portugal_, Disc. 3, § 15). He seems to have been dead in 1522, for on December 19 of that year, his son, Francisco, begged the King to transfer the pension of his late father to himself.—(Cunha Rivara, _Arch. Port. Oriental_, fasc. v, p. 254; and Texeira de Aragão, _Boletim_, 1886, p. 573.)

_Gonçalo Nunes_, Captain of the store-ship (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 279; Castanheda, I, p. 7). Castanheda, 1st edition, erroneously calls him Gonçalo Gomez. He was a retainer of Vasco da Gama.

PILOTS AND MASTERS.

*_Pero d’Alenquer_, pilot of the _S. Gabriel_ (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 279; Castanheda, I, p. 7; Goes, I, 69; Faria y Sousa, p. 29). He had been with Dias in the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope, and with the Congo mission in 1490.

*_João de Coimbra_, pilot of the _S. Raphael_ (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 279). A negro slave belonging to him deserted at Moçambique (see p. 30).

_Pero Escolar_, pilot of the _Berrio_ (Barros, _ib._; Faria y Sousa, p. 29). On February 18, 1500, the King granted him a pension of 4,000 reis. He went as pilot with Cabral.

_Gonçalo Alvares_, master of the _S. Gabriel_ (Barros, _ib._). He subsequently held the office of pilot-major of India (Correa, _Lendas_, I, p. 570). On January 26, 1504, the King granted him a pension of 6,000 reis (Texeira de Aragão, _Boletim_, 1886, p. 674).

_André Gonçalves._ According to Correa (_Lendas_, I, p. 148), he had been with Vasco da Gama, whose interest had procured him an appointment in Cabral’s fleet. The same untrustworthy author states (p. 152) that Cabral sent him back from Brazil with the news of his discovery, and that the King, immediately after his arrival, fitted out a fleet to continue the explorations in the New World. Barros (I, pt. 1, p. 384) and Castanheda (I, p. 97) state that Cabral sent back Gaspar de Lemos. Neither they, nor, as far as I am aware, any other authority, mention an André Gonçalves in connection with Gama’s or Cabral’s expeditions.

PURSERS OR CLERKS.

*_Diogo Dias_, clerk of the _S. Gabriel_ (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 279; Castanheda, I, pp. 54, 80; Goes, I, p. 90; Faria y Sousa, I, p. 29). He was a brother of Bartholomeu Dias, the discoverer of the Cape of Good Hope.

_João de Sá_, clerk of the _S. Raphael_ (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 370; Castanheda, Goes, Faria y Sousa). He again went to India with Cabral (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 403), and subsequently became treasurer of the India House (Castanheda, I, p. 54).

_Alvaro de Braga_, clerk of the _Berrio_ (Barros, Castanheda, Goes). Vasco appointed him head of the factory at Calecut. Correa (_Lendas_, I, pp. 89-91) erroneously calls him Pedro de Braga. He was rewarded by the King, February 1, 1501 (_Boletim_, 1886, p. 675).

INTERPRETERS.

*_Martim Affonso_ (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 289; Castanheda, I, p. 15; Goes, I, p. 74; Faria y Sousa, p. 29). He had lived in Congo.

_Fernão Martins_ (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 290; Castanheda, I, pp. 51, 54; Goes, I, p. 89). Vasco sent him to the King of Calecut, and he was present at the audience which Vasco had of the King (Goes, I, p. 95). Subsequently he filled several positions of trust in India. He is the “African slave” who spoke Arabic, referred to by Correa (Stanley’s _Vasco da Gama_, pp. 76, 203).

_João Martins_, see João Nunez, _infra_.

PRIESTS.

_Pedro de Covilhã_, called Pero de Cobillones by Faria y Sousa (I, p. 29), who refers to ancient documents and the assertion of F. Christoval Osorio, of the Order of Trinity, as his authorities. He was Prior of a monastery of the Order of the Trinity at Lisbon, and went out as Chaplain of the Fleet and Father Confessor. According to Francisco de Sousa’s _Oriente Conquistado_, I, p. 477, he died a martyr on July 7, 1498, and this statement is accepted by P. Francisco de S. Maria (_Anno historico_, II, Lisbon, 1794, p. 323). Fr. Jeronymo de São Jose (_Historia chronologica da Ordem da S. Trindade_, Lisbon, 1789-94) enlarges upon this by stating that this apocryphal “protomartyr” of India “was speared whilst expounding the doctrines of the Trinity”. At the date of his alleged death, Vasco da Gama was still at Calecut. He may have died of disease. Neither Barros, Castanheda, nor Correa mentions the name of this priest.

_João Figueiro._ Correa claims to have derived much information from a diary kept by this priest, of which only fragments appear to have come into his possession. Other authors ignore the name (see Stanley’s _Vasco da Gama_, pp. ii, vi, 260).

SAILORS AND SOLDIERS.

_João d’Ameixoeira_ or _Dameiroeiro_. According to Correa (I, p. 136), he was one of the mutineers who returned to Portugal. No other writer mentions him.

_Pedro de Faria e Figueiredo_, died at Cabo das Correntes (Faria y Sousa, I, p. 29).

_Francisco de Faria e Figueiredo_, brother of the preceding. He wrote Latin verses. He, too, died at Cabo das Correntes (Faria y Sousa, I, p. 29).

*_Sancho Mexia_, incidentally mentioned in the _Roteiro_ (see p. 6).

_João Palha_, one of the thirteen who attended Vasco da Gama to Calecut (Correa, I, p. 96).

_Gonçalo Pirez_, a mariner and retainer of Vasco da Gama (Castanheda, I, p. 54). On May 31, 1497, he had been appointed master of a caravel recently built at Oporto (Texeira de Aragão, _Boletim_, 1886, p. 563).

_Leonardo Ribeyro._ According to Manuel Correa’s commentary on the _Obras do grande Camões_, Lisbon, 1720, this, on the authority of the poet himself, is the full name of the “Leonardo” mentioned in Canto VI, stanza 40. Faria y Sousa (_Asia Portuguesa_, I, p. 29) identified this “Leonardo” with Francisco de Faria e Figueredo, but subsequently (_Commentos aos Lusiadas_, 1639) he gave up the point.

_João de Setubal_, according to Correa (I, pp. 96, 104, 107), was one of the thirteen who accompanied Vasco da Gama to Calecut (see Stanley’s _Vasco da Gama_, pp. 119, 213).

_Alvaro Velho_, a soldier (Castanheda, I, p. 54; Goes, I, p. 90; Faria y Sousa). Perhaps this is the Alvaro Velho de Barreyro mentioned by Valentin Ferdinand (Valentino de Moravia or Alemão), in his _Description of Africa_ (1507), as having resided eight years at Sierra Leone (see Kunstmann, in _Abhdlgn. d. bayer. Ak. d. W., Cl. iij_, t. IX, Abt. 1).

*_Fernão Veloso_, a soldier (Barros, I, pt. 1, p. 283-6; Castanheda, I, p. 9; Goes, I, p. 71; Faria y Sousa; Camoens, Canto VI, stanza 41).

CONVICTS OR BANISHED MEN (DEGRADADOS).

_Pedro Dias_, nicknamed “Northeasterling”. Correa (_Lendas_, I, p. 46) says that Vasco da Gama left him behind at Moçambique, and that subsequently he came to India (compare Stanley’s _Vasco da Gama_, p. 106).

_Pero Esteves._ Correa (_Lendas_, I, p. 236) says that Vasco da Gama left him behind at Quiloa, and that when J. da Nova reached that port in 1501, he came out to meet him. Barros (I, pt. 1, p. 467) says that the convict who met J. da Nova had been landed by Cabral, and that his name was Antonio Fernandez.

_João Machado_, according to Correa (_Lendas_, I, pp. 41, 160), was left behind by Vasco da Gama at Moçambique, but according to Barros (I, pt. 1, p. 406) it was Cabral who left him at Melinde, with instructions to make inquiries about Prester John. Cabral may have transferred him from Moçambique to the more northern port. He subsequently did good service, and Affonso de Albuquerque appointed him alcaide mór of Goa. He was slain in battle, 1515 (see Stanley’s _Vasco da Gama_, pp. 93-5).

_Damião Rodriguez_ was a friend of João Machado, and a seaman on board the _S. Gabriel_, from which vessel he deserted at the shoals of S. Raphael. When Cabral came to Moçambique, his grave was pointed out. All this is stated on the sole authority of Correa (_Lendas_, I, p. 160). Compare Stanley’s _Vasco da Gama_, p. 94.

_João Nunez_, a “new” Christian (_i.e._, a converted Jew), who knew a little Arabic and Hebrew, and was landed at Calecut. In the Portuguese edition of Correa (I, p. 78) he is erroneously called João Martins (see Stanley’s _Vasco da Gama_, pp. 159, 180, 206).

NATIVES AND OTHERS EMBARKED IN THE EAST.

*_Gaspar da Gama._ This is the “Moor”, or renegade, who joined Vasco da Gama at Anjediva Island. Our anonymous author describes him as about forty years of age, and as being able to speak “Venetian” well. He claimed to have come to India in early youth, and was at the time in the service of the Governor of Goa. Vasco da Gama carried him to Portugal, where he was baptized and received the name of Gaspar da Gama. In the _Commentaries of Afonso Dalboquerque_ (Hakluyt Society, 1884) he is frequently referred to as Gaspar da India. Correa (_Lendas da India_) usually refers to him as Gaspar da Gama, but also calls him Gaspar de las Indias, or Gaspar d’Almeida. King Manuel, in his letter to the Cardinal Protector, calls him a “Jew, who turned Christian, a merchant and lapidary”. Sernigi (see p. 136) held a conversation with him at Lisbon. He speaks of him as a Sclavonian Jew, born at Alexandria.

According to the information given by Barros and Goes, the parents of Gaspar fled from Posen, in Poland, at the time when King Casimir cruelly persecuted the Jews (about 1456). After a short residence in Palestine they removed to Alexandria, where Gaspar was born (Barros, I, pt. 1, pp. 364-5; Goes, pt. 1, c. 44).

He accompanied Cabral as interpreter. Vespucci met him on his homeward voyage at Cape Verde, and in his letter of June 4, 1501, published by Baldelli (_Il Milione_, 1827), he speaks highly of Gaspar’s linguistic attainments, and refers to his extensive travels in Asia.

Gaspar repeatedly accompanied Portuguese expeditions to India, and was last heard of in 1510. Goes (_loc. cit._) says that King Manuel liked him, and appointed him a cavalier of his household.

Correa (Stanley’s _Vasco da Gama_, p. 247) describes this Gaspar as a Jew, who, “at the taking of Granada was a very young man; and who, having been driven from his country, passed through many lands ... on to India”. But, as Granada was only taken in 1492, this is absurd.

Lunardo da Chá Masser, who came to Lisbon in 1504 as ambassador of the Signoria, in a letter written about 1506 and first published in the _Archivio Storico Italiano_ (Florence, 1846), says that Gaspar married a Portuguese lady,[423] and was granted a pension of 170 ducats annually, in recognition of the valuable information which he furnished respecting the Oriental trade.

*_Monçaide_, who came on board Vasco da Gama’s vessel at Calecut, is stated by Barros (I, pt. 1, pp. 330 _et seq._) and Goes (I, p. 98) to have been a native of Tunis, who, in the time of King John II had done business with the Portuguese at Oran, and spoke Castilian. He accompanied Vasco da Gama to Portugal and was baptised. In King Manuel’s letter to the Cardinal Protector he is referred to as a “Moor of Tunis”. The author of the _Roteiro_ calls him a “Moor of Tunis” whom the Moors of Calecut suspected of being a Christian and emissary of the King of Portugal (p. 75).

Correa (Stanley’s _Vasco da Gama_, pp. 162-5, 221) says that he was a native of Seville, who, having been captured when five years old, turned Moslem, although “in his soul he was still a Christian”. He generally refers to this man as “the Castilian”, and says that his true name was Alonso Perez.

Castanheda (I, p. 50) tells us that the Portuguese corrupted Monçaide into Bontaibo, a combination of the Portuguese _bom_, “good”, and the Arabic _tayyib_, having the same meaning. Monçaide is probably a corruption of El Masud, the “happy-one” (Burton’s _Camoens_, iv, p. 432).

*_Malemo Canaqua_, or _Cana_, the pilot who guided Vasco da Gama from Melinde to Calecut. He was a native of Gujarat (Barros, I, pt. 1, pp. 319, 328, 330; Goes, I, c. 38; Castanheda, I, p. 41). Malemo stands for “muallim” or “mallim”, “master” or “teacher”, the usual native designation of the skipper of a vessel, whilst “Kanaka” designates the pilot’s caste.

_Davane_, of Cambay, said to have been taken out of a dhau to the south of Moçambique, to have agreed to accompany Vasco da Gama to Calecut as broker, and to have been ultimately discharged with good testimonials in November 1498 at Cananor, is only mentioned by Correa (Stanley’s _Vasco da Gama_, pp. 79, 84, 113, 128, 235). No other historian knows anything about this mythical personage.

*_Baltasar_, and the four other Moors, forcibly carried away from Calecut (see pp. 73, 75, and 79, and King Manuel’s letter to the Cardinal Protector, p. 115) were taken back by Cabral, as was also the Ambassador of the King of Melinde (_Alguns Documentos do Archivo nacional_, 1892, p. 97).

Vasco da Gama originally detained eighteen “Moors”. He is stated in the “Journal” to have subsequently liberated six, and to have sent one with a letter to the Zamorin. This would leave eleven, not five. The number of those liberated must, therefore, have been twelve, and not six.

APPENDIX F.

[Illustration: CALECUT IN 1876.

(_From a Sketch by Mr. Herbert Johnson._)]

THE VOYAGE.

The King was at Montemór o novo[424] when he despatched Vasco da Gama and his fellow-commanders upon the momentous expedition which was to place Portugal for a time in the forefront of maritime and commercial powers. It was summer, and His Majesty did not, therefore, desert the beautiful hills of Monfurado for the stifling heat of the capital, in order that he might witness the embarkation of his “loyal vassal” whom, on account of his proved valour and past services he had deemed worthy of the honourable distinction of being entrusted with the conduct of so important an enterprise.[425] Vasco da Gama and his officers, the night before their departure, kept vigil in the chapel of Our Lady of Belem, which was not then a stately pile such as that which now occupies the site of the original unostentatious _ermida_ founded by Prince Henry for the convenience of mariners.

On the following morning, which was Saturday, the 8th of July, 1497,[426] Vasco da Gama and his companions were escorted to the beach by a procession of priests and friars. They all carried lighted tapers, and an excited crowd muttered responses to the litany which was being intoned by the priests. On reaching the place of embarkation, the vicar of the chapel celebrated mass and received a general confession; after which, in virtue of a Bull published by Pope Nicholas V in 1452, he absolved the departing adventurers of their sins. And thus they left on their errand with the blessings of the Church, in the favour of their King, and amidst the acclamations of a sympathising people.

_Lisbon to the Cape Verde Islands._

Winds and currents being favourable, the voyage to the Cape Verde Islands was accomplished in good time, and the flag-ship, notwithstanding some delay caused by a dense fog on the Saharan coast, reached the Ilha do Sal, 1,590 miles from Lisbon, in the course of fourteen days, if not earlier, and on July 27th the little armada lay snugly in the harbour of São Thiago.

_The Voyage across the Southern Atlantic._

The accounts of Vasco da Gama’s remarkable voyage across the Southern Atlantic are of so scanty a nature that it is quite impossible to lay down his track with certainty. What we learn from the “Journal” may be condensed into a few words. The little armada left São Thiago on August 3rd, _going east_! On the 18th of that month, when 200 leagues (680 miles) out at sea, the main-yard of the flagship sprung in a squall, and this necessitated laying to for a couple of days and a night. On the 22nd of October,[427] when 800 leagues (2,700 miles) out at sea, going S. by W.,[428] large birds were seen flying to the S.S.E. as if making for the land, as also a whale.[429] On October 27th more whales were seen, besides seals. On November 4th, at 9 A.M., the main land was sighted, probably about 150 miles to the north of St. Helena Bay (30° S.).

In these days of hydrographic offices and sailing directories we know how a sailing vessel desirous of proceeding from the Cape Verde Islands to the Cape would shape her course. She would endeavour to cross the equator about long. 22° W., pass to the leeward of Trinidad Island (20° S.), and then, gradually gaining a higher latitude, trust to the “brave” westerly winds carrying her beyond Tristão da Cunha to the Cape, or beyond.[430]

But Vasco da Gama had none of this information to guide him in shaping his course. He was informed, as a matter of course, about the winds and currents prevailing off the Guinea coast, but of what might be experienced in the open sea beyond he knew nothing.

It is just possible that he may have considered the possibility of reaching the Cape by a direct course of 3,770 miles, and he may even have attempted to carry out such a scheme. In the end, however, he would never have been able to work down against the strong S.E. “trades” and northern currents, for his ships could not be laid nearer than six points to the wind, and even then they would have made considerable leeway.

His actual course, in any case, must have been a circuitous one, and we may suppose it to have been as follows:—Having left São Thiago in an easterly direction,[431] he kept in the direction of the coast for a considerable distance, but when he came within the influence of the dreaded _doldrums_ he met with unpleasant weather in the shape of calms, baffling winds, and squalls, which prevail more especially during the months of June, July, and August. One of these squalls sprung the mainyard of the flagship, and heaving up a new yard necessitated a delay of two days and a night. When attempting to make southing he was driven to the westward, but managed to cross the equator in about 19° west.

Thence he followed a circuitous course, which brought him within 600 miles of the coast of Brazil. The northern part of this assumed course lies to the west of a track recommended by Captain Horsburgh as being most favourable for vessels proceeding between April and October from the Cape Verdes to St. Helena, whilst its southern part lies to the west of the usual track of sailing vessels going from Ascension to the Cape. In this manner we suppose Vasco da Gama to have reached lat. 30° S. long. 15° W., by October 22nd. This point lies about 800 leagues, or 2,700 miles, in a direct line from São Thiago; but by the track assumed by us the distance is 1,030 leagues, or 3,480 miles. As Vasco da Gama spent eighty days in making this distance, including the time lost in repairing his yard, his daily run only amounted to 44 miles.

It was here that Vasco da Gama saw birds flying to the S.S.E. They were no doubt making for Tristão da Cunha, which lies at a distance of about 400 miles in that direction. He also saw a whale, a very common sight in these latitudes.[432]

Thus far the course followed had been more or less southerly, but Vasco da Gama had now passed beyond the S.E. “trades”, and found himself under the welcome influence of “brave” west winds and of an eastern current, running at the rate of a knot in the hour. This speeded him on his course, and he covered the 500 leagues, or 1,700 miles, which still separated him from the west coast of Africa, in the course of thirteen days, making his first landfall on November 4th in about 30° S. His average daily run on this course must, therefore, have amounted to 131 miles.[433]

This may seem a high rate, but it is by no means an exceptional one. Vasco himself made at least 114 miles daily during his passage from Lisbon to the Cape Verdes, and 125 between the Cape and the Guinea coast when homeward bound. Columbus, during his first voyage, averaged 84 miles[434] daily between Gomera and Guanahani, but on nine days his daily run exceeded 150 miles, and on one day—the 4th of September—he actually covered 210 miles, although he had to take into account the bad sailing qualities of one of his vessels, the _Niña_.

We have laid down Vasco da Gama’s hypothetical track with a considerable amount of diffidence. The passage might, of course, have been effected in various other ways.[435] When Cabral started for India in 1500 he was instructed by Vasco da Gama himself to sail southward from the Cape Verde Islands, until he should have reached the latitude of the Cape, and then to head to the east. Cabral, however, was carried by winds and currents towards Brazil, which he made in lat. 17° 20´ S., and thence followed a track which took him past Trinidad and Fernão Vaz,[436] and does not differ much from that now recommended to sailing vessels.

João da Nova, who left for India in March 1501, did not follow the route of his predecessor, perhaps on account of the terrible disaster which overtook Cabral when in the vicinity of Tristão da Cunha. Nova seems to have attempted a direct passage; for following perhaps the eastern route recommended to a later generation by Laurie’s _Sailing Directory for the Ethiopic Ocean_ (4th edition, by A. G. Finlay, p. 74), he discovered the island of Ascension on the outward voyage, and is generally credited with having reached the Cape without coming within sight of the coast of Brazil.[437]

Vasco da Gama, during his second voyage in 1502, seems to have seen no land from the time he left Cape Verde until he arrived at Sofala, that is, during ninety-nine days, viz., from March 7th to June 14th: a remarkably quick passage. He seems on that occasion to have given the Cape of Good Hope a wide berth.

His nephew, Estevão da Gama, who left Lisbon on April 1st, took the western route. He passed the Cape Verde Islands on April 15th, Trinidad,[438] in the Southern Atlantic, on May 18th, doubled the Cape about the beginning of June, and first made land, on July 11th, at the Cabo Primeiro, on the coast of Natal, one hundred and two days after his departure from Lisbon.

When Affonso de Albuquerque reached Cape Verde on his voyage to India, in 1503, he took counsel with his pilots whether to follow the “usual route” along the coast of Africa, or to make boldly for mid-ocean. The latter course was decided upon. After a voyage of twenty-eight days, the Island of Ascension[439] was reached, at an estimated distance of 750 to 800 leagues from the Cape. Subsequently de Albuquerque touched the coast of Brazil, and then stood across the Atlantic for the Cape of Good Hope, which he made on July 6th, having thus accomplished the passage from Lisbon in the course of ninety-one days.

Duarte Pacheco, who wrote his _Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis_ in 1505, recommends vessels to go south from Cape Verde for 600 leagues, to lat. 19° S., and thence to make for a point 40 leagues to the S.W. of the Cape of Good Hope, in lat. 37° S. Such a course would take a vessel to the windward of Trinidad.

These notes prove that the Portuguese, in the course of a few years, must have acquired a remarkably correct knowledge of the winds and currents of the Southern Atlantic; for the tracks laid down and followed by their pilots in the beginning of the sixteenth century differ but little, if at all, from those recommended in our modern sailing directories.

_Doubling the Cape_.

Three days after his landfall we find Vasco da Gama in the Bay of St. Helena, where he careened his ships, took in a fresh supply of water, and observed the latitude.[440]

He left this anchorage on November 16th. Two days afterwards he sighted the Cape, but the wind being from the S.S.W. he was obliged to stand off and on until the 22nd, when he succeeded in getting beyond it “without encountering the storms and perils expected by the mariners”; and following the coast he cast anchor in the Bay of S. Braz on the 25th, and there set up his first padrão. In that run he must have been favoured by the wind, which along the coast and in November blows generally from the S.E., although westerly winds and even gales are not infrequent.

Barros, Castanheda, and Goes give the same account of the doubling of the Cape, but Correa would have us believe that Vasco da Gama, after having made a landfall to the north of the Cape, stood out for the open sea for a month, until there were scarcely six hours of sunlight in the day; and that, even after that, and after he had once more failed to reach the southern extremity of Africa, he continued south for two more months. Then at last he turned again to the east, and found that he had doubled the Cape. Beyond it he discovered lofty mountains and many rivers, one of which was ascended by Coelho for twenty leagues.[441] The utter absurdity of this account is evident, and it is surprising that it should have been accepted by serious historians. A day of six hours may be experienced in lat. 58° 30´ S. in mid-winter—that is in June—but nowhere in the southern hemisphere during summer. In November the duration of daylight in that latitude is about sixteen hours, and to talk about “darkness” under these circumstances seems absurd. It would, moreover, have been impossible to reach so high a latitude without coming amidst masses of drift-ice, which surely would have proved a stranger experience to Vasco’s companions than “tremendous seas” and “high winds”, and better worth recording.

_Along the East Coast of Africa._

On December 8th Vasco left the Bay of S. Braz, and four days afterwards experienced a heavy westerly gale (p. 18).

Barros, Goes, and Castanheda refer to this gale, but Correa, not content with a gale, conjures up a succession of storms, continuing for days, so that the crews clamoured to be taken back to Portugal. The men in Coelho’s ships are actually said to have conspired to mutiny at the earliest opportunity. Their intention, we are expected to believe, was made known to the captain-major by a mysteriously-worded message shouted from ship to ship by Coelho. Vasco at once summoned his people, declared to them that “if the bad weather came again he had determined to put back; but to disculpate himself with the King it was necessary for some among them to sign a document giving the reasons for putting back.” Having invited on this pretence his pilot, his master and three leading seamen into his cabin, he treacherously put them in irons, and, flinging all the instruments necessary for navigating the ship into the sea, declared that God would henceforth be their master and pilot. The men were released on reaching the River of Mercy, but on their return to Portugal they were ironed once more, to be presented in that degrading state to their King![442]

Osorio[443] likewise gives an account of a mutiny, but says that it occurred before the Cape was doubled. He differs in other respects from Correa, stating, for instance, that “_all_ the pilots were put in chains.” As Osorio’s book was published in 1571, whilst Correa’s MS., although written in 1561, only reached Lisbon in 1583, it is not probable that the former borrowed from the latter. They may both have derived their information from the same impure source, and accepted an idle tradition as the record of a fact. That there may have been some discontent among the men is quite possible, but we cannot believe that the pilots intended to head a mutiny. We quite agree with Professor Kopke,[444] when he prefers the authority of Barros, Goes, and Castanheda, and of the author of this “Journal”, to that of Osorio. This applies with still greater force to the absurdly elaborate account of Correa. Professor A. Herculano, in the second edition of the _Roteiro_ (p. viii), discredits Professor Kopke’s notes on the insufficient ground that the eminent authorities referred to above refrained from every allusion to a mutiny from a “fear of tarnishing the fame of Vasco da Gama’s companions.” But Herculano believed in Correa—we do not.

Early on December 15th, Vasco once more made for the land, and found himself abreast, the Ilhéos Chãos (Bird islands) in Algoa Bay, having thus covered only a couple of hundred miles in the course of seven days. Fair progress was made for a couple of days after this. The vessels kept near the coast, and being favoured by the wind, and also by an inshore counter-current, were able to pass beyond the pillar set up by Dias and the furthest point reached by that navigator. But on December 17th the wind sprang round to the east. Vasco da Gama stood out to sea, and was thus made to experience the full force of the Agulhas current, which here runs at a distance of about ten miles from the land. He was unable to make head against the combined forces of wind and current, and when, on December 20th, he again approached the land he found himself at the Ilhéo da Cruz, 27 miles to the westward of the group of islets from which he had started on the 15th (see p. 15).

Henceforth, for a number of days, the wind proved propitious, and by December 25th our voyagers, clinging all the while to the coast, had proceeded 240 miles beyond the furthest point reached by Dias (as estimated by the pilots); and three days afterwards they cast anchor and took a quantity of fish. This locality we identify with Durnford Point—the Ponta da Pescaria of the old charts—300 miles beyond the Rio de Infante (which was Dias’s furthest), and 370 miles beyond the Ilhéo da Cruz. The daily run since December 20th had thus averaged 46 miles.

Vasco da Gama then stood off the land, for reasons not given by any of the historians. Whether it was from fear of being driven upon a lee-shore by a strong easterly wind, or the hope of being able to shorten his passage by a more direct north-easterly course, we are unable to tell. However that may be, a fortnight passed before the vessels returned to the land, so that drinking-water began to fail, and the men had to be put on short rations. It was on the 11th of January that Vasco da Gama found himself off the mouth of a small river, the Rio do Cobre, where he established friendly relations with the “good people” of a country ruled by petty chiefs.[445] The distance of this river from the “Fishing Point” is only 315 miles, and contrary winds must therefore have driven the little flotilla far out of its direct course, but not as far as the neighbourhood of Madagascar, for southerly winds would have been picked up there, which would have carried it more speedily towards its destination than was possible in the face of the south-easterly winds prevailing along the coast of Africa.

After a stay of five days, Vasco da Gama left the Rio do Cobre on January 16th, and without further incident, and leaving Sofala far to the west, he arrived off the mouth of the Rio dos Bons Signaes (Kilimani) on January 24th, having thus accomplished a distance of 480 miles in eight days. Coelho’s caravel at once crossed the bar to take soundings, and the two ships followed on the next day. In this river Vasco da Gama stayed 31 days, careening his vessels, refreshing his crews, and erecting a padrão dedicated to S. Raphael (see p. 19). It was here that he heard the glad tidings of more civilised regions in front of him.

On February 24th the vessels once more gained the open sea, and following the coast for six days arrived off Mozambique on March 2nd. During this voyage of 330 miles they kept outside the islands which here skirt the coast, and lay to at night, as usual, which accounts for the slow rate of progress made during this coasting voyage. Coelho, as before, led the way, and entered by the shallow southern channel, between the islands of S. Thiago and S. Jorge. The three vessels anchored in front of the town (see p. 23). Later on they removed to the island of S. Jorge, where mass was read on March 12th, after which the little flotilla set sail for the north. Two days afterwards, the Soriza Peaks rose in the distance. In the course of that day they were becalmed. A light easterly wind arose, and at night on the 14th they stood off shore; and when in the morning of the 15th they looked about them, they found that the Mozambique current, which here frequently runs at the rate of two to four knots to the southward, had swept them twelve miles abaft Mozambique. Sailing vessels are advised,[446] under such circumstances, to stand to the eastward for sixty miles or more, and regain their northing beyond the influence of the southerly current. Of course, Vasco da Gama knew nothing about all this. Fortunately, he was able to recover his old anchorage at the island of S. Jorge in the course of the afternoon.

A fresh start was made on March 29th. This time the wind was favourable. The Moorish pilot whom Vasco da Gama had on board took him past Kilwa, which the captain would have liked to have visited, and shaped a course outside Mafia, Zanzibar and the other islands lying off that coast. Early on April 7th the _S. Raphael_ ran aground near Mtangata, but was speedily got off; and on April 7th Vasco da Gama cast anchor in the outer road of Mombasa, the finest port on the whole coast of Eastern Africa. The distance thus accomplished in the course of nine days was 690 miles (see p. 34).

Sixty miles more brought the Portuguese to the roadstead of Melinde, where they cast anchor on April 14th, and remained until the 24th. This was the only town at which they met with a cordial reception (p. 40).

_Across the Arabian Gulf to Calecut._

On April 24th Vasco da Gama, who had secured the services of a Gujarati pilot, started for India. By that time the S.W. monsoon was blowing steadily, though not as yet very strongly. The African coast was kept in sight for a couple of days, after which the vessels stood boldly across the “Great Gulf.” They passed in all probability to the south of the _Baixos de Padua_. They had been twenty-one days at sea, and were still 24 miles from the land, when there rose in front of them a lofty wooded mountain. This was Mount Eli, 2,220 miles from Melinde, and the day on which India was first beheld by Europeans who had come direct from a European port was May 18th, a Friday (see p. 47).[447]

Galvão[448] is the only author who mentions the “Flats of Padua,”[449] as having been discovered by Vasco da Gama on his outward voyage, and we freely accept his statement, for the Portuguese must either have crossed the Laccadives or passed to the north of them. As these islands are very low, the author of the _Roteiro_ may not have thought it worth while to mention them. It is evident, however, from what Sernigi says (p. 134), as also from the evidence of the earliest maps illustrating this voyage, that the Portuguese learnt a good deal about them from the pilots whom they employed.

On the following day, having stood off during the night, the captain-major again approached the land, but the western Ghats were wrapped in clouds, and it rained heavily, so that the pilot failed to identify the locality. The day after, however, the 20th of May, having passed Monte Formosa (see p. 47, note 6), he recognised the lofty mountains above Calecut, and in the evening of that day the little fleet was riding at anchor about five miles off Capocate, or Capua, a small town only seven miles to the north of the much-desired city, which was pointed out to the expectant Portuguese (p. 48). Soon afterwards Vasco da Gama took up a position right in front of that city;[450] but on May 27th a pilot of the Zamorin guided him to an anchorage off Pandarani, thirteen miles to the north, on the ground of its greater safety, and at that anchorage the Portuguese remained no less than 88 days, until August 23rd, when Vasco da Gama once more took up a position four leagues to the leeward of Calecut. From that time to the day of his final departure, in the afternoon of August 30th, he hovered about that city, standing off and on, as the state of the weather or the exigencies of his relations with the Zamorin required.

_The Voyage Home._

In the afternoon of August 30th, a tornado carried Vasco da Gama out to sea (p. 77), and when making his way along the coast he was obliged to tack, depending for his progress upon land and sea breezes, and laying-to when becalmed. At Cananor he sent ashore one of his captives (p. 79), but held no communication with the town himself. On September 15th he landed on a small island, and erected the padrão dedicated to St. Mary (p. 80).[451]

On September 20th Vasco da Gama arrived at the Anjediva Islands, about 14° 45´ N., having thus spent twenty-one days in accomplishing 240 miles. He seems, first of all, to have anchored near the Oyster Rocks, off the Kalipadi river, but on September 24th he landed on the largest of these islands, where he remained until October 5th, waiting for a propitious wind, and availed himself of the enforced leisure to careen the flagship and the _Berrio_ (p. 83).

The passage across the gulf proved a fearful trial for the Portuguese. Foul winds and calms impeded their progress, whilst a renewed outbreak of scurvy carried off thirty victims and prostrated the remaining men, so that only seven or eight were fit to do duty in each vessel. Vasco da Gama had left Anjediva on October 5th (a Friday!), although the N.E. monsoon only sets in at the end of the month, and ninety days elapsed before the African coast came within sight, near Magadoxo, and five more before the hard-proved mariners once more found themselves with the friendly Sultan of Melinde (p. 89).

The remainder of the voyage home calls for little comment. Having left Melinde on January 11th, Vasco da Gama, passing between the mainland and Zanzibar, stopped for a fortnight at the “baixos” upon which the _S. Raphael_ had run in the outward voyage, and there that doomed ship was set on fire, as there were no men left to sail her. Late on February 1st the remaining two vessels hove to in front of S. Jorge Island, where a padrão was erected on the following morning in drenching rain. The voyage was continued without communicating with the town of Moçambique, and on March 3rd Vasco once more found himself in the Bay of S. Braz.

The Cape was doubled on March 20th. The wind proved fair during twenty-seven days—that is, to April 16th or 17th—but after came calms and foul winds; and on April 25th, when the wearied mariners already believed themselves to be near S. Thiago, the pilots told them that they had only reached the shoals off the Rio Grande (p. 93).

Here the two consorts appear to have parted company, under circumstances not known; and whilst Vasco da Gama accompanied his dying brother to Terçeira, Coelho is said to have made straight for Lisbon, where he arrived, after a voyage of seventy-six days, on July 10th. The distance along the coast of Africa is only 1,900 miles, and that by way of the Azores, the only route at all suitable for sailing vessels, is 2,920 miles. The passage ought certainly to have been accomplished in forty days.[452] What did he do during the remaining thirty-six days? We cannot suppose for one moment that an experienced sailor like Coelho would have faced the head-winds of the coast for the sake of shortening the distance to be run. Still, such things _have_ happened.

From the following statement of distances run it will be seen that from July 8th, 1497, the day of Vasco da Gama’s departure from Lisbon to the return of Coelho on July 10th, 1499, there elapsed 732 days, or two years and two days. Of this time 316 days were expended before Calecut was reached, 102 at Calecut and in its vicinity, and 314 on the homeward passage.[453]

--------------------------------------------+-------+--------+--------+------- | |Old Por-| |Average Dates and Places. | Days. | tuguse |Nautical| Daily | |Leagues.| Miles. | Run, | | (1) | | Miles. --------------------------------------------+-------+--------+--------+------- Lisbon to S. Thiago, July 8 to 27, 1497 | 19 | 515 | 1740 | 90 S. Thiago to First Landfall, 30° S., Aug. 3 | 93 | 1533 | 5180 | 54 to Nov. 4 | | | | To S. Helena Bay, Nov. 4 to 7 | 3 | 49 | 165 | 55 S. Helena Bay to Cape of Good Hope, | 6 | 34 | 115 | 19 Nov. 16 to 22 | | | | Cape to Bay of S. Braz, Nov. 22 to 25 | 3 | 59 | 200 | 67 S. Braz to Rio do Cobre, Dec. 8 to Jan. | 34 | 259 | 875 | 26[454] 11, 1498 | | | | Rio do Cobre to Rio dos Bons Signaes, | 8 | 1 | 480 | 60 Jan. 16 to 24 | | | | Rio dos Bons Signaes to Moçambique, | 6 | 98 | 330 | 55 Feb 24 to March 2 | | | | Moçambique to Mombaça, March 29 to | 9 | 204 | 690 | 77 April 7[455] | | | | Mombaça to Melinde, April 12 to 14 | 2 | 18 | 60 | 30 Melinde to Mount Eli, April 24 to May 18 | 24 | 657 | 2220 | 93 Mount Eli to Capocate near Calecut, May | 2 | 16 | 53 | 26 18 to 20 +-------+--------+--------+------- Total Outward Passage | 209 | 3584 | 12108 | 58 +-------+--------+--------+------- | | | | Calecut to Anjediva, Aug. 30 to Sept. 20, | 21 | 71 | 240 | 11 1498 | | | | Anjediva to Melinde, Oct. 5 to Jan 7, 1499 | 94 | 710 | 2400 | 25 Melinde to Moçambique, Jan. 11 to Feb. 1 |21[456]| 219 | 740 | 35 Moçambique to S. Braz, Feb. 2 to March 3 | 30 | 500 | 1690 | 56 S. Braz to Cape, March 12 to 20 | 8 | 59 | 200 | 25 Cape to Rio Grande, March 20 to April 25 | 36 | 99 | 3360 | 93 Rio Grande to Lisbon (Coelho’s vessel), | 76 | 4 | 2920 | 25 April 25 to July 10, 1499 +-------+--------+--------+------- Total Homeward Passage | 286 | 3417 | 11550 | 40 --------------------------------------------+-------+--------+--------+-------

APPENDIX G.

EARLY MAPS ILLUSTRATING VASCO DA GAMA’S FIRST VOYAGE.

It must ever be matter for regret that none of the sailing charts prepared by Vasco da Gama’s pilots should have reached us. In tracing the progress of his expedition with the aid of charts we are consequently dependent upon compilations which, although contemporary, embody also materials brought home by other navigators.

One great drawback of all the charts available for our purpose is their small scale.[457] This compelled their compilers to make a selection from the names which they found inserted upon the larger charts at their disposal, and this selection may not always have been a judicious one. The compilation of a map from discordant materials presents difficulties even in the present day, and these difficulties were much greater at a time when the compiler had not at his command trustworthy observations for latitude which would have enabled him to check the positions of intermediate places, and bring into agreement the records brought home by successive explorers. As an instance, we may mention that in the five maps which we shall bring more fully under notice, the latitude assigned to the Cape of Good Hope varies between 29° and 34° S., its true position being 34° 22´ S. As to longitudes, they had to be determined by dead reckoning, and it need not therefore surprise us if, on the maps referred to, the Cape is placed from 3° 50´ to 10° 20´ too far to the eastward. Nay, this near approach to the truth, in at least one instance, compels our recognition of the skill of the men who piloted the first ships around that long-sought _Cabo desejado_.

Another difficulty arises from the crabbed characters employed by the map draughtsmen of the early part of the sixteenth century: a difficulty all the more serious when these illegible characters had to be reproduced by Italians having no knowledge of the language of the documents they used, or the meaning of the uncouth names which they were called upon to copy. It is one of the great merits of Mercator to have caused these characters to be banished from the maps of his countrymen; but a second Mercator is still wanted to do the same good work for their printed books.

I now proceed to a consideration of the charts which illustrate more especially Vasco da Gama’s first voyage.

The first of these charts is by Henricus Martellus Germanus. It is one of many in a MS., _Insularium illustratum_, now in the British Museum (Add. MS. 15760). It is a map of the world, very roughly drawn and without a scale, and is dated 1489, that is almost immediately after the return of Dias in the December of the preceding year. The author, no doubt, was an Italian, and other maps by his skilful hand are known to exist.[458] Unfortunately for our purpose, the coast beyond the Cape is very incorrectly drawn, and there are but six names, viz., Golfo dentro delle serre (False Bay), Rio della vacche (Gouritz), Cavo dalhado (talhado, Seal Point), Golfo de Pastori (St. Francis Bay), Padrom de S. George (instead of Gregorio), and Ilha de fonte (instead of infante).[459]

The first map illustrating, or rather attempting to illustrate, Vasco da Gama’s voyage is that compiled by Juan de la Cosa, the famous pilot of Columbus, in 1500. The author was fairly well informed of the discoveries made by his own countrymen, but knew apparently but little about those of the Portuguese. Thus, although Vicente Yanez Pinzon only returned to Spain on September 30th, 1500, the coast explored by him to the westward of the Rostro hermoso (the Cabo de Agostinho of the Portuguese) is laid down properly; whilst Santa Cruz, discovered by Cabral in April 1500, is incorrectly indicated,[460] although Gaspar de Lemos, whom Cabral sent back with the news of his discovery, arrived in Portugal three months before the Spanish navigator. As to two groups of islands in the southern Atlantic, namely, “thebas, yslas tibras etiopicas yn mare oceanum austral” (lat 1° 40´ S.), and “Y. tausens, ylas tausens montises etiopicus oceanas” (lat. 15° S.), they seem to be quite imaginary, and I only refer to them here because they kept their place on later maps, and might be mistaken for the islands discovered by João da Nova in 1501-2. Of the results of Vasco da Gama’s expedition Juan de la Cosa must have been very ill-informed; among the many uncouth and incomprehensible names inserted by him along the Eastern coast of Africa there is not one which can be traced to Gama. Not even such places as Sofala, Quiloa, Moçambique and Mombaça can be identified, whilst Zanzibar and Madagascar lie far out in the Indian Ocean.[461]

The coastline of the Indian Ocean is Ptolemaic; there is no hint at the peninsular shape of India, the map being in that respect inferior to that of the Catalan, more than a hundred years older, and the only indication of Vasco da Gama’s visit to these seas is the name “Calicut”, placed on the south coast of Caramania (Kerman), with a legend to the east of it: “tierra descubierto por el rey dom Manuel rey de Portugal.”[462]

Our next chart shows a great advance upon the preceding. It was purchased at a sale in London, and is now the property of Dr. Hamy, who published a description of it, with facsimiles, in his _Études historiques et géographiques_, Paris, 1896. The author is not known. His chart places on record the discoveries made by Vicente Yanez Pinzon, Cabral, Sancho de Toar, and Cortereal, and by the expedition which King Manuel sent to Brazil in 1501, and which returned at the beginning of September, 1502.[463] This expedition, which was accompanied by Vespucci, explored the American coast as far as the Rio de Cananea, in lat. 25° 45´ S. The author knows nothing of the discoveries of João da Nova, who returned to Lisbon on September 11th, 1502. We may therefore safely date his map “1502”, as is done by Dr. Hamy.

One curious feature of this map is its double equator: that for the western half of the map being the ‘new’ equator, to which the recent discoveries of the Spaniards and Portuguese are to be referred, whilst that for the east lies four degrees to the north of the former, and is taken from Ptolemy. Indeed, the outline of the Indian Ocean is Ptolemy’s, and so is the nomenclature, with a few exceptions to be noticed presently. In the south-east, however, the author has broken through Ptolemy’s encircling barrier, and has thus opened a way from the _Indicum mare_ to an outer ocean where room has been found for Seilam, Iava and far Quinsai. The eastern edge of his Oekumene lies 205° to the east of Lisbon (196° E. of Greenwich).[464] The only original features within the Indian Ocean are a peninsular India, which is made to project from Ptolemy’s old coastline to the west of Taprobana, with a town, “Colochuti”, and the islands of Madagascar and Tangibar lying far out at sea in lat. 20° S. The only other modern name within this wide area is “Malacha”, which is placed in the Aurea Chersonesus.

The nomenclature along the African coast is fairly full, and evidently taken from original sources,[465] but the spelling is so corrupt, and the letters are frequently so illegible, that I failed to make out many of the names, although I had that portion of the map which specially interested me enlarged from Dr. Hamy’s facsimile by photography. An examination of the copy, which I give, will show that the drawing of the coast-line leaves very much to be desired.

A very great advance upon the preceding is shown by a chart which Alberto Cantino, the correspondent of Hercules d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, caused to be specially designed for his patron, at Lisbon, and for which he paid twelve golden ducats. There can be no doubt about the date of this map. It was begun after Cortereal’s return, October 11th, 1501, and had been completed some time before November, 1502. The MS. of this valuable chart is deposited in the Biblioteca Estense at Modena. The American portion of it has been published by Mr. Harrisse (_Les Cortereals_, Paris, 1888[466]), and the Indian Section by the Vienna Geographical Society.[467] Through the kindness of Signor M. C. Caputo, librarian of the Biblioteca Estense, who procured for me an excellent photograph, I am enabled to publish Africa from the Gulf of Guinea to Makhdesho. An examination of this reproduction will at once establish the superiority of this chart over those already noticed, as also over later charts. The outline of Africa is wonderfully correct, considering the age of the chart, and the broad face presented by that continent to the south is brought out most satisfactorily. Unfortunately, several of the names along the south coast are rendered illegible, even on the original, owing to the coloured Table Mountain, and I have failed to decipher these satisfactorily, notwithstanding the kind help afforded me by Signor Caputo. Along the east coast there is a paucity of names. It should be observed that the padrões and Portuguese flags have been located somewhat at haphazard.

Whilst the African coast is taken exclusively from recent Portuguese sources, that of India and Further India is largely based upon native information. This is proved by some of the legends. At Çatiguam we read “esta em xi pulgados a o norte,” but these “pulgados” or inches are clearly the “isbas” of the “Mohit,” a mode of expressing the latitude which is peculiar to the Indian Ocean and has been explained by me on p. 26, note 4.

[Illustration: Sidi Ali Ben Hosein’s MOHIT 1554.]

In order to enable the reader to judge of the extent to which the compilers of early Portuguese maps were indebted to native sailing directories and charts, and of the judgment exercised by them in their use, I insert here a reduction of Dr. Tomaschek’s elaborate reconstruction of a chart in accordance with the data contained in Admiral Sidi Ali ben Hosein’s “Mohit,” or “Encyclopædia of the Sea,” which, although only written in 1554, embodies the local knowledge gained in the course of centuries, and is not indebted to Portuguese charts for its superiority.[468]

The next chart to be considered is by Nicolas de Canerio, of Genoa. Its date is undoubtedly the same as that of the Cantino Map, that is, it was drawn before the results of João da Nova’s voyage had become available. This is proved by finding “y. tebas, iste insulle chamada secular” in the mid-Atlantic (9° S.), with a Portuguese flag, for these islands are borrowed from Juan de la Cosa, and have nothing to do with Conceiçao (Ascension) or St. Helena, discovered by João da Nova. It is almost wholly based upon the materials previously utilised by Cantino’s draughtsman, although more detailed in outline and with a more ample nomenclature in some places. The shape of Africa, however, is far more correctly given on Cantino’s chart than on Canerio’s,[469] and the technical workmanship of the former is of a superior character. The legends on both maps have evidently been taken from the same source: those on Cantino’s map, as far as I have been able to examine it, appearing to be more numerous and in some cases fuller.

The MS. of this important chart is at present in the Hydrographic Office at Paris. Prof. L. Gallois, whose contributions to the history of geography are highly appreciated by all interested in the subject, has given an account of it in the _Bulletin_ of the Geographical Society of Lyons.[470] This account is accompanied by a reproduction of two sections of the map, viz., America and Africa. Prof. Gallois has had the extreme kindness to supply me with a tracing of the Asiatic portion of the map, and has thus enabled me to produce Map VII, illustrating this volume. My reproduction contains all the names of the original to the east of the Cape of Good Hope, whilst the legends for which there was no room upon the Reduction are given at the end of this Appendix.

On examining this chart it will at once be seen that the author—not the Italian copyist, whose name alone appears upon it—drew very largely upon native information. Still, he has not ventured to disassociate himself altogether from Ptolemy. He has, however, made some use of Marco Polo, though he puts the names taken from him—such as Murfulu, Var and Coilu—in the wrong places. The island in the middle of the Indian ocean—Y. rana—is not one of the Mascarenhas, as might be supposed, but the Illa Iaua of the Catalan map, that is, Java. The legend tells us that “In this island is much benjoim, and silk and porcelain.” Still further south there are three islands, representing the Mascarenhas, then known by Malabari names.

A few words remain to be said about the Portuguese maps published in the Strassburg edition of Ptolemy, in 1513. The originals upon which these maps are based were sent to Duke Renée II of Lorraine (died 1508), from Portugal. Uebelin and Essler, the editors of Ptolemy, state that they were drawn by an “admiral” of King Ferdinand. But Lelewel[471] points out that the king meant must be D. Manuel of Portugal. They may have been forwarded together with the French translation of Vespucci’s _Four Voyages_, 1504, and Vespucci may even have had something to do with their compilation, even though not the actual compiler. But however this may be, and whatever the date of actual publication, there can be no doubt that they are identical in all essentials with Canerio’s chart, and must be referred to the same date, that is 1502.[472]

On placing side by side some of the above charts it almost looks as if they were not merely based upon the same original authorities, but had actually been slavishly copied one from the other, or from some common prototype. On a closer examination, however, this opinion is not sustainable, for the latitudes and longitudes assigned by the authors to the leading points will be found to differ very considerably. The following little table show this as regards the latitudes:—

-----------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+---------- —— | True Lat.| Cosa. | Hamy. | Cantino. | Canerio. |Strassburg | | | | | | Ptolemy. -----------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+---------- Congo | 6° 5´ S.|5° 30´ S.| 7° 50´ S.| 6° S. | 10° S. | 10° S. Cape of | | | | | | Good Hope|34° 22´ S.| 29° S. |30° 40´ S.|32° 45´ S.| 34° S. |33° 40´ S. Malindi | 3° 20´ S.| — | 3° N. | 3° 25´ S.| 1° S. | 1° N. Calecut |11° 50´ N.| 18° N. | 13° N. | 10° N. |13° 20´ N.|17° 30´ N. Malacca | 2° 13´ N.| — | 2° 30´ N.| 14° S. |12° 30´ N.| 8° S. -----------+----------+---------+----------+----------+----------+----------

The latitudes from Dr. Hamy’s chart are referred to the Western Equator.

I now append the legends to be found in Canerio’s chart, together with a translation. The spelling is that of the original. A few legends from the Cantino chart, not to be found in Canerio’s, have been added. The bold Roman Capitals are references to Map vii. The printer is not responsible for the mistakes of the original copyist.

+A.+ Aqui he amina douro emque dia multra abondancia de la mais que em outro.

(Here is the gold mine yielding greater abundance than any other.)

+B.+ Aqui ha laquar et panos finos de toda sortes et figuos pasados et ubas et ensenso et almizquer et ambre et aljofar que tud bem de demtro pello a sertam da careto [cidade].

(Here are to be found lac, fine cloth of all kinds, corn, food-stuffs, grapes, incense, perfumes, ambergris and seed-pearls, all of which come to this city from the interior.)

+C.+ Aqui he Caliqut he multo noble cidade descoberta pel el muy escarrado prip. Rey dom Manoel Rey de Portugall aqui ay molto menxas [benjoim] desua naturea [de fina natura] e pimenta et outras muitas mercedarias que vem de multas partes, & canella gengiber cravo emcenso sandalos et tode sortes de especiaria pedras de grande vallor et perlas de grande vallor et aliofar.

(This is Caliqut, the most noble city discovered by the most illustrious prince Dom Manuel, King of Portugal. There is here much fine benzoin, pepper, and many other kinds of merchandise coming from many parts, also cinnamon, ginger, cloves, incense, sandal-wood and all kinds of spices; stones and pearls of great value and seed-pearls.)

+D.+ Aqui ha panos muitos finos de reda et dalgodom et aros e azucar et cera, e outras multas mercedarias.

(There are here very fine silk and cotton stuffs, and rice, sugar, wax, and many other kinds of merchandise.)

+E.+ Aqui a sandalos e menxuim e ruibarbo e aiofa.

(Here are sandal-wood, benzoin, rhubarb and seed-pearls.)

+F.+ Em esta cidade ha todas as mercadarias que bem a Caliqut, cravo e benjoym e lenhaloes e sandalos, estoraque, ruybarbo e marfim e pedras preciosas de muyto valor e perlas ed almizquer e porçelanas finas e outras muytas mercadarias. (From the Cantino Chart.)

(In this city are to be found all kinds of merchandise which go to Caliqut: cloves, benzoin, aloes, sandal-wood, storax, rhubarb, ivory, precious stones of much value, pearls, perfumes, fine porcelain and many other kinds of merchandise.)

+G.+ Aqui ha chumbo almizquer e menzoy e sandalos.

(Here are lead [tin], perfumes, benzoin and sandal-wood.)

+H.+ Aqui ha almizquer e sandalos e menioim e estoraque e linolos et chumbo.

(Here are perfumes, sandal-wood, benzoin, storax, aloes and lead [tin]).

+I.+ Esta insulla chamada ataprobana he maior insulla que se en lo mondo et mais richa de todos os cousas s. auro e praia e predas preciosos et perlas et rubis muito grandes et finos et todas sortes de speciaria et sedas et borcados et a gente son idolatres et multo dispostas e tradam com os de fora et achan daqui multas mercedarias per a fora, e trasem outras que [nam] ay em esta insulla.

(This island, called Taprobana, is the largest island in the world, and is very rich in all things, such as gold, silver, pearls, precious stones and rubies of large size and fine quality; all kinds of spices, silks and brocades. The inhabitants are idolators and well disposed, and take much merchandise abroad, bringing back other kinds not to be found in their island.)

+K.+ Aqui naca a canella e muitos sortes de espeçiaria, ed aqui pescam as perlas ed aljofar, sam as gentes de esta ylha idolatres e tratam muito cravo com Caliqut.

(Here grows cinnamon and many kinds of spices, and there they fish pearls and seed-pearls. The people of the island are idolators, and take many cloves to Caliqut.)

+L.+ Em esta ylha ha gente do que comase huum as outras. (Cantino Chart.)

(In this island there are people who eat one another.)

+M.+ Em estas tres ylhas nam ai nada sinam gente nuito pobre a nua (Cantino Chart.)

(In these three islands the people are very poor and naked.)

The following list of place-names includes all names found upon the maps referred to from the Cape of Good Hope to Malindi. Beyond that place the principal names only are given.

In addition to the names to be found on the maps, we have introduced those given in Duarte Pacheco Pereira’s _Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis_, written in 1505.

LIST OF PLACE-NAMES.

The authorities are referred to by Arabic numerals thus:—

1. Henricus Martellus Germanus. 2. Juan de la Cosa. 3. Dr. Hamy’s Chart. 4. Cantino Chart. 5. Canerio. 6. Strassburg Ptolemy. 7. Duarte Pacheco.

Place-names having an asterisk prefixed to them are mentioned in the _Roteiro_. The small letters in _Italics_ refer to the Notes.

The Dates, in the first column, are those of the Saints after whom localities have been named.

------------------------+--------------------------------+--------------- +In Portuguese.+ | +Names on the Maps.+ |+Modern Names.+ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- *+Cabo da boa Esperança+|1, Cavo desperanza; 2, C. de boa|+Cape of Good | esperança; 3, Cabo di bona | Hope+ | speranza; 4, Cabo de boa | | esperança; 5 and 6, Cabo di | | bona speranza | | | G. dentro das serras |1, Golfo dntº delle serre; 3, |False Bay (gulf within the | Praia sabio (pablo?) _[a]_; | mountain ranges) | 4, abaia | | | Ponta espinhosa _[b]_ |2, Punta espinosa (chrinosa ?) |Cape Hangklip (thorny point) | | | | As serras |4, As seia (a serra ?) | | | Ponta de S. Brandãāo, |2, Mastradios (nutrador ?); 4, |Quoin Point May 16 | S. biado; 7, Ponta de | | S. Brandam | | | +Cabo das Agulhas+ |2, Punta de gra?; 7, Cabo dos |+Cape Agulhas+ Golfo das agulhas | agulhos | _[c]_ | | (Needle Cape or Bay) |4, G. das agullas |Struys Bay | | Serras seccas (dry |2, Sieras secos |Bare sandhills ridges) | | to E. of Struys | | Point | | A bahia |2, Abaia dal es ... las |Marcus Bay | | A praia (shore) |4, Apraia | | | +Cabo de Infante+ |3, C. de infante; 4, C. do |Cape Infanta! (Cape of João Infante) | infante; 5, Cabo donfante; | | 6, C. do infante; | | 7, Punta de infante | | | —— |4, G. do Coberti |St. Sebastian | | Bay. | | Rio de Nazaret |2, R. de nazaren; 3, Croa de |Breede River | nazare; | | | Cabo do Salto |4, C. de resunancal ...; |Cape | 5, Cabo do Ialta; | Barracouta | 6, G. de Salco | | | —— |3, Rio de fo...oas |Kaffirkuyl | | River | | Rio dos vaqueiros |1, Rio della vacche; |Gouritz River (herdsman river) |3, Rio vachoeros | | | Angra das vaccas |2, Angra das vaccas |Flesh Bay | | Cabo das Vaccas |2, C. delgado; 7, Cabo dos |Cape Vacca (Cow point) or C. | vaccas. | delgado (slender | | or cattle cape) | | | | Ponta da estrella |2, Punta destrella |Cape St. Blaise (Star point) | | | | Terra de S. João, |5 and 6, Terra de S. Joham |The country west June 24 and Dec. 27 | | of Mossel Bay | | +Golfo dos Vaqueiros+ |2, G. de baguros; 3, Baia de |Mossel Bay _[d]_ (herdsmen bay) or | anguada; 4, G. de Sanbras; | +Angra+ (aguada) +de | 5, G. de Sanbras; 6, G. de | São Braz+ (bay or | Sanbras; 7, Angra or Anguada | watering-place of | de S. Braz | St. Blasius) Feb. 3 | | | | —— |4, Rio de frung |Harten bosch | | River | | Serra de S. Lazaro, |3, Serra de S. Lazaro |W. Outeniqua Dec. 17 | | mountains | | (Brocks Bosch, | | 5,000 ft.) | | Ponta da Pescaria |5 and 6, Ponta da pescaria |Gerieke Point (Fishery Point) | | | | Lago cerrado and |4, Alago carrado; 5, Lago |Zwarte Vlei Angra da lagôa | cairado; 6, Lago cairado; | | 7, Angra de lagoa | | | Serra da Estrella |3, M. dastrella; |Outeniqua | 4, Serra da estrella | mountains | | +Cabo talhado+ (steep |1, Cavo dalhado; 2, Punta de |Seal Cape cape) | canar (astar? astros?); | | 3, C. ta... de 4, C. talhado; | | 5, Cabo talcado; 6, C. calcado | | | Bahia das alagoas |4, Abaia das alagoas; |Plettenburg (Bay of the Lagoons) | 5 and 6, Plaiadas alagoas; | Bay _[e]_ | 7, Angra dos alagoas | | | Terra das trovoadas |2, Montanas; 4, terra dos |Langekloof (land of thunderstorms) | montes 3, terra dos trovados | | | Ponta de Ruy Pirez |4, Punta de Ruyez ... |Seal corner Costa da areia (sandy | 5 and 6, Costa darea | shore) | | | | Ponta (golfo) das |3, Pta. da semados; |Cape St. Francis queimadas _[f]_ | 4, Pūta dasqūmadas; | and Krom Bay | 5 and 6, G. dos quemadas | | | Golfo dos vaqueiros |1, Golfo de pastori; |St. Francis Bay (Herdsmen Bay) _[g]_ | 3, G, vacheoros; 5, Angra | | | Cabo do recife (reef |5, P. do reciffe; 4, C. do |Cape Recife cape) | arreciffe; 5 and 6, Cabo do | | recisi; 7, C. de recife | | | +G. da Roca+ (rock |3, G. do Roca; 4, Baia da Roca; |Algoa Bay _[h]_ bay) | 5, G. do raca; 6, G. daraca | | | Serra branca (white |3, Serra do blanco ... |Zuurberg, or mountains) | | Addo Heights | | +Ilhéo da Cruz+ (Cross |4, Ilheos da Cruz; 5, Ilheos da |St. Croix Island Island) | Cruz; 6, Insule de Cruz; | | 7, Penedo dos Fontes | | or I. da Cruz | | | +Ilhéos chãos+ (low |4, Ilheoos chaos; 5, Ilheos |Bird Islands islands) | chaaos; 6, Insule chaaos | | | Ponta do carrascal |4, Puta do carascal; 5, Porto |Woody Cape _[i]_ (Green-oak Point) | de charseal; 6, Porto datharson| | | +Padrão de S. Gregorio+,|1, Padrom de S. George; |Cape Padrone March 12 | 3, P. de S. Gregorio; 4, Padro | | de S. Gregorio | | | Rio da lagoa (Lagoon |3, Rio de lago; 4, Rio de lagoa |Kasuga River river) | | | | Praia das alagôas. |4, Praia das alagoas | | | Penedo das fontes _[j]_ |2, Penedos; 4, penedo da ... |Ship Rock (Fountain Rock) | | | | Furna (cove) ... |4, Furna ... |Port Arthur | | +Ilha de Infante+ |1, Ilha de Fonte; |Three Sisters off | 2, Ys de ynfante |Riet Point? | | *+Rio de Infante+ |4, Rio do infante; |Great Fish river | 5 and 6, Rio de infante | | | —— |5, Cabo | | | Rio S. Thomé, Dec. 21 |5, Rio san tome; 7, R. S. thome |Umtata River Ilha de S. Christovão, | 3, Ilha de San Xpistofa; | Keiskamma July 25 | 5, Ilheos San Cristofe; | Point _[k]_ | 6, Insule de S. Chrifero; | | 7, Ilheos de Sanxpono; | | | Praia corada? _[l]_ |4, Praia; 5, Praia; 6, Corrada | —— | 5, Gorffo boscho; _[m]_ 6, G. | | postho(hostio?) | | | Cabo primeiro |3, Cabo primero; |Cape Morgan (first cape) | 4, Cabo primeiro | | | +Porto de Natal+, |5, Gorffo de natal; |Port Natal Dec. 25 |6, G. do natal | | | +Terra do Natal+ |3, Terra de Natall | | | Porto da pescaria |3, Pescarias; 5 and |Durnford Bay |6, Porto das pescarias | | | +Porto de S. Lucia+, |3, Pr. de S. lucia; 5 and |St. Lucia Bay Dec. 13 |6, Porto de Sta. lucia | | | Terra das mesas (land |5, Tierram das mesas; |Flat hills S. of table-hills) | 6, Tiram das mesas | of Cape Vidal | | Rio dos medões de |3, Modosdosoro; 4, Rio dos |Kosi River Ouro (river of the | medos douro; 5 and 6, Rio do | golden downs) | medos | | | Serranias (mountain |5 and 6, Serramas |Sandhills N. ridges) | | of Kosi River | | Ponta dos medões |5, Ponta de medons |Cape Colatto, (point of downs) | | 250 feet. | | Terra dos Fumos _[n]_ |3, Terra dos Fumos; 5, T. | | chrimias; 6, T. thrimias | | | +Rio da lagoa _[o]_+ |Rio do lagoa; 4, Rio da lagoa; |Umbelasi River, | 5 and 6, Rio de lago | Delagoa Bay | | Rio dos reis, Jan. 6 |3, Ri do reis; 5, G. de lom |Inkomati River | raios De Barros confounds the | | Rio dos Reis and the Rio do | | Cobre | | | *+Rio do Cobre _[p]_+ |3, Agoa de bona passa; 5, Rio |Zavora River and | d’aguada; 6, Rio dagarda | *+Terra da boa Gente+ | | | | Barreiras |5 and 6, Bariras | | | +Cabo das correntes+ |3, C. das correntes; 4, Cabo |Cabo das (Cape of Currents) | das correntes; 5 and 6, C. das | Correntes | coreateso | | | Cabo de S. Maria |3, C. de Sta Maria |Ponta da Burra | | Golfo das Manchas |5 and 6, Gorffo (b.) das |Inyamban (g. of specks) | manchas | | | G. de meros (g. of |5 and 6, Gorffo de meros |Cove at Burra whitings) | | falsa | | Cabo do Pichel (tankard |3, Cabo de picell; 5 and |Shivala Cliff cape) | 6, Cabo de pichel | | | +Cabo de S. Sebastian+, |4, Cabo de Sam Sebastiam |Cape St. Jan. 20 | | Sebastian | | Ilha de S. Domingos, |3, Igoa decico texoda; 5, Ilha |Bazaruto ? Aug. 4 | de Sam Domingo; 7, Insule S. | Islands | Dominico | | | Ilha de S. Sebastian, |3, Sanustiam; 5, Ilha de Sam |Bazaruto Jan. 20 | Sebastiam; | Islands | 6, Insule de S. Sebastiam | | | +Çofalla+ |3, Zafalla, Sofalla; |Sofala | 4, Cafalla; 5 and 6, flag | | shown, but name omitted | | | Rio de S. Vicente, |3, Rio de Sam Vincenso; |Pungwe River Jan. 22 | 5, Rio de San Vicenso | | | *+Rio dos bons _[q]_ |3, Rio de bon signale; |Kilimani River Signaes+ | 4, Rio das bons sinaes; | | 5, Rio de bono futaes; | | 6, Rio de bonsuraes. | | | *+Padrão de S. Raphael+,|3, Padro de San Rafaell; | Oct. 24 | 5, Portode Sam Rafaell | | | Barreiras |5, Barreiras; 6, bareiras | | 3, “Questo avemo visto” | | (this we saw) _[r]_ | | | *+Ilhas primeiras |3, Insulas primeras, 4, Ilhas |Ilhas primeiras _[s]_+ | primeras; 5 and 6, Insulla | | primeras | | | Cabo das ilhas |5, Cabo dos ilhas; |Makalanga | 6, C. insularum | Cape | | Ilhas de S. Maricha |5, Ilhas de Sta maricha; |Angoshe Islands | 6, Insule de S. Maricha | | | Aguada do Lago |3, Agea do Lago |Angoshe River | 5, Ilhetos | | 5 and 6, Curaes _[t]_ | | | *+Moçambique+ |3, Mōsenbichi; 4, Moçambique; |Mozambe | 5 and 6, Moncambiqui | | | *Ilhéos de S. Jorge, | —— |Ilhéo de S. April 23, p. 31 | | Jorge |3, Monquique (duplication of | |Moçambique) | | | +Rio de Fernão |3, Rio de Fernanesso; 4, Rio de |Mazazima Bay Veloso _[u]_+ |fernam veloso; 5 and | |6, Rio do fernam Velloso | | | Furna (cove) |5 and 6, Furna | | | *+Ilha do açoutado |3, P. asoutado; 5, Ilha de |Kiziwa Island _[v]_+ | acutado; 7, Insule de amrado | | | Ilha das palmas |5, Ilha das palmas; 6, Insule |Ibo | de palinis | | | Ilhas de S. Lazaro, |4, Ilhas de S. Lazaro |Kerimba Islds. Dec. 17 | | | | Ilhas das cabaças |3, Cabesa seca; 5, Ilhas das |Islands S. of (gourd islands) | cabecas; 6, Insule das Cabeas | Cabo Delgado | | Cabo delgado |3, Cavo de Sco |Cabo Delgado | | Rio de S. Pantaleone |5 and 6, Rio de Sam Pantaleone |Lindi River July 28 | | | | *+Quiloa+ |3, Quilloa; 4, Quillua; |Kilwa | 5, Quiola; 6, Quiloa | | | Ilhas desertas |3, Ilha de sechas; 5, Ilhas |Islands thence | desertas; 6, Insule desertas | to Mafia | | —— |3, Ilha de baxo | | | —— |3, Baxo | | | Ponta redonda |3, Punta redonda |Ras Kimbiji | | *+Zanzibar+ |4, Zamzibar | | | *Tamugata, pp. 33, 92 | |Mtamgata | | *+Baixos de S. |3, Baxi dop lochio (_i.e._, |Mtangata Reefs Raphael _[w]_+ | farolhos, shoals); 4, 5, and 6,| | Baixos de Sam Rafaell | | | *Serras de S. Raphael |3, T ... de Rafael; 5 and |Usambara | 6, Terra de baixos | Mountains | | *+Mombaça _[x]_+ |3, Mombaça; 4, Mōbaça; 5, |Mombasa | Monbacha; 6, Monbacha | | | —— |5, Vutual; 6, butual | | | *Benapa, p. 40 | —— |Mtwapa | | *Toça (Tocanugua) | —— |Takaungu p. 40 | | *Nuguoquioniete | —— |Kioni (Quioniete), p. 40 | | | | *+Melinde+ |3, Melindi; 4, 5 and 6, Melinde |Malindi | | *Pate _[y]_ |4, Pate; 5, Parte |Pata | | Bar (Land) Lamu |4, Berrama; 5, Berlama |Lamu | | *+Magadoxo+ _[z]_ |4, Mogodoxo; 5, Magadoxo; 6, |Mukhdisho | Magadozo | | | Obbia |5, Opim |Obbia, 6° 40´ N | | —— |5, Animalla, caralla, |Along coast to | lacurcella, carapui, gargella | Cape Guardafui | (gargeia), cabo d’angra | | | Socotora |5, Çacotoia |Sokotra | | +Aden+ |5, Adam |Aden | | Mascate |5, Porto dama lemeniaco |Maskat | | Soar |5, Siffar |Sohar | | +Ormuz+ |5, Collomoco; 6, Collomoro |Hormuz | (Marco Polo’s Cormuso) | | | —— |5, Betras; 6, Bertas |Beyt Island, at | | entrance to | | Gulf of Cutch —— |5, Dabo | Diu | | +Cambaia+ |*Cuambey; 4, Combaya; |Cambay | 5, Cambaia | | | Surat |5, Cuia; 6, Cura |Surat | | Baroche |5, paruça; 5, paruca; 6, Parnea |Broach | | Damão |5, Dema |Daman | | Canara |5, Canarea |Kanara | 5, Ginia; 6, Binia. The Ras | | boria of the “Mohit” | | 5, Meria. The Ras Meria of the | | “Mohit” | | | Ilhéos queimados |5, Dobascha; 6, Dobastha. |Vengorla Rocks (burnt islands) | Dandabashi of the “Mohit” | | | Goa |5, A flag, name omitted | | | +Anjediva _[aa]_+ |5, Andegiba |Anjediva | | Ilhas dos pombos |5, Niture; 6, Nicare |Netrani | | *Ilhas de S. Maria | —— |St. Mary’s | | Islands _[bb]_ | | Onor | —— |Honowar | | Mangalor |5, Māgalor |Mangalore | | Cananor [cc] |6, Cananor |Cannanore | | *Capua, Capocate _[dd]_ |*Capua (Capucate of Castanheda | | and Barros) | | | *Pandarani _[ee]_ |*5, Pandarani |Pantharini | |Kollam *+Calecut+ |2, Calitcut; 3, Colochuti; 4, |Calicut | Caliqut; 5, and 6, Calliqut | | | Panane |5, Panade; 6, Panane |Ponani | | Cranganor |5, Cangalor. *Quorongoliz |Kranganur | of the “Roteiro” | | | Cochijn |5, Cochin; 6, Cothim |Cochin | | Coulãoo |5, Collium; 6, Collum. *Coleu |Quilon | of the “Roteiro” | | | +Cabo Camorij+ |4, Comaria; 5, Cano de curiam |Cape Comorin | | Cael, *Cael |5, Cail. Qail of the “Mohit” |Kayal, see p. 98 Mutapili |4, Mutapalay | | | Masulipatão |5, Tessulpata |Masulipatam | | Godavari |4, 5 and 7, Gudarim |Godavari River | | Satigam |4, 5 and 6, Çatiguam, the |Satgaon, on | capital of Bangala. Shadigam | Hugli | of the “Mohit” | | | Chatigam |4, Çatigam |Chittagong | | +Arracam+ |4, Arecāni; 5, Arcagna |Arakan | | Pegú |4, Çatimpegno; 5, Carinpaguo |Pegu, near | | the Satam | | or Sittang | | Sadoe |4, Patoo; 5, Facto. Satowahi of |Sandoway |the “Mohit” | | | Martabão |4 and 5, Martabane |Martaban | | Tavai |4, Taoo; 5, Lioa; 6, Taoo |Tavoy | | +Tenaçarij+ |4 and 5, Danasaguim. *Tenacar |Tenasserim |of the “Roteiro” | | | Cara |4, Carza; 5 Carta |Kra | | Tacoa |4, Tacoaa; 5, Tacoa |Takuwa or | | Takoa | | Modobar |4, 5 and 6, Modobar |Meduar on | | Lingga River | | Malaca |4, 5 and 6, Malaqua |Malacca | | +Cingapura+ |4, Bar Singuapura; 5, Bar |Singapore | sinigapura; 6, Barginigapor | | | Os baixos de Padua |4 and 5, Os baixos de Padua |Munyal-par | | Ilha malique |4, Malaqym; 5, Mallo. Molaki of |Minicoy | the “Mohit” | | | +Ceylão+ |4, Cillam |Ceylon | | Triquinamala |4, Tragonamalay; |Trincomali | 5, Traganollaneos; 6, Tragana | | | Andemão |3, Bonae fortunae (Ptolemy); 4 |Andaman | and 5, Indana and Indrona | Islands | | Nicovade |4, Nagolarim; 5, Nagolainu |Nicobar Islands | | Çumatra |4, Ataporbana; 5, Ataprobana; |Sumatra | 6, Taprobann | ------------------------+--------------------------------+---------------

[a] Juan de la Cosa places “a praia s. plo” (pablo) outside the Cape.

[b] On the anonymous map published by Dr. Hamy, this Point (punta spinosa) is placed on the _west_ coast, and may possibly be Bok Point.

[c] The name of Ponta de gran (“scarlet cloth cape”) may have been given to the Needle Cape before the supposed fact that the needle in its vicinity pointed due north had been observed.

[d] For notes on the identification of this bay, see p. 9, note 4.

[e] Bay of lagoons seems a misnomer. Subsequently the bay was dedicated to S. Catherine.

[f] “Queimada” means a forest-fire, but there are no “forests”, at all events near the coast. The hills, however, are partially covered with bush, which may have been set on fire.

[g] This second “golfo dos vaqueiros” may be a duplication.

[h] Our present Lagoa Bay seems originally to have been called “Bay of the Rock”. Subsequently it became known as Bahia dos lobos (Seal Bay) and Bahia de lagoa (Lagoon Bay), perhaps after the Rio da lagoa (Lagoon River), which figures very prominently on Dr. Hamy’s and Cantino’s Charts, and almost seems to represent the Rio de Infante in the case of the former.

The Kasuga River, which is closed at its mouth, and forms a lake-like expansion at the back of the dunes, seems to correspond more nearly with the conditions required. Several other rivers, to the east and west of it, present the same feature, and these may have given rise to the designation “Praia das alagôas”, _i.e._, Shore of Lagoons.

For identifications of localities within this bay, see p. 14, _note_.

[i] Thus named after the evergreen oak (_Ilex crocea_), known in South Africa as Safraan hout.

[j] Along this coast the pent-up water of several rivulets soaks through the coast-ridge, giving rise to springs. This may account for the “Fountain Rock”.

[k] Keiskamma Point looks like an island when seen from the sea, and this may account for the island of St. Christopher, of the first explorers, developing into a river dedicated to the same Saint when the country became better known.

[l] “Praia corada” (Red shore), I am unable to identify, as there are no red cliffs along this part of the coast. Perhaps we ought to read “_cerrada_”, with reference to the rocks which fringe the coast.

[m] I can make nothing of “Golfo boscho”. Bósco is the Italian for “wood, forest”, and is the synonym of “bosque” in Portuguese. Woods are plentiful along this coast.

[n] For its identification, see p. 17.

[o] Delagoa Bay seems to have been known originally as “Golfo dos tres Reis magos” (Gulf of the Three Kings); see p. 18, _note_. The Rio do Ouro is the Limpopo.

[p] See p. 19, _note_: The “barreiras” to the east of it may be a reef forming a “barrier” along the coast.

[q] See p. 19, note 1, and p. 21.

[r] These words prove that the compiler of Dr. Hamy’s Chart was able to utilise materials brought home by Vasco da Gama’s pilots, for it is just in this locality that he again turned to the land, and discovered his “first islands”. See p. 21.

[s] See p. 21, note 2.

[t] “Coraes” means “corals”. “Moçambique Flat” is a great coral bank.

[u] This river was named after one of Vasco da Gama’s companions. See p 177.

[v] See p. 32.

[w] For the baixos de S. Raphael, etc., see pp. 33, 92.

[x] For Mombaça and places to the north of it, see p. 40.

[y] See p. 58.

[z] See p. 88.

[aa] See p. 80.

[bb] See p. 200.

[cc] See p. 79.

[dd] See p. 48.

[ee] See p. 48.

APPENDIX H.

[Illustration: THE COAT-OF-ARMS OF VASCO DA GAMA.]

HONOURS AND REWARDS BESTOWED UPON VASCO DA GAMA, 1499-1524.[473]

King Manuel has not infrequently been charged with a niggardly disposition, but whatever his conduct may have been in other instances there can be no doubt that he dealt most liberally with the navigator who was the first to sail a ship from a European port to India. This liberality had been called forth by the sensation produced by the discovery of an ocean highway to India, and the expectation that great wealth would pour into Portugal as a consequence; it was kept alive by the persistent importunities of the discoverer.

Vasco da Gama certainly did not undervalue the services he had rendered to the King. He considered himself entitled to a high reward, and in the end secured it. His ambition, from the very first, seems to have been to take his place among the territorial nobles of his native land. His father, Estevão da Gama, had at one time been Alcaide-mór of Sines, he himself had been born at that picturesque old fishing town, and his desire to be territorially connected with it was therefore only natural. The King was quite willing that this should be, but Sines belonged to the Order of S. Thiago, of which D. Jorge, Duke of Coimbra, a natural son of D. João II, was master; and although a papal dispensation had been received in 1501, which empowered the Order to exchange Sines for some other town, the Order refused to part with it (see Document 1). Meanwhile the King, on February 22, 1501, had granted Vasco da Gama not only an annual pension of 1,000 cruzados (_£_483), but also the territorial title of “Dom” (Documents 2 and 3).[474]

Still further favours were conferred upon Vasco da Gama on January 10, 1502, only one month previous to his second departure for India; and this, we are told, was done “freely”, and without these favours having been solicited either by their recipient or by any of his friends (see Document 4). These favours included an annual hereditary pension of 300,000 reis (_£_362), the title of “Admiral of India”, with all the valuable privileges conferred by it;[475] the right of sending annually to India 200 cruzados, to be laid out in merchandise, upon which no import duties were to be levied, excepting the 5 per cent. claimed by the Order of Christ,[476] and confirmation of the hereditary title of “Dom”, which was also to be borne by his brother Ayres, and in its feminine form of “Dona” by his sister Theresa.

A few months after Vasco da Gama’s return from his second voyage, the King, who was especially pleased with the “tribute” received from the Sultan of Kilwa, bestowed upon him a further hereditary pension of 400,000 reis (1,000 cruzados, or _£_483). This was done on February 4, 1504 (Document 5).

Meanwhile the negotiations for putting Gama in possession of Sines had made no progress, and the Admiral, impatient of the delay, took up his residence in that town, began to build himself a manor-house, and generally conducted himself as if the town were his own. The alcaidemór, D. Luiz de Noronha, did not venture to interfere, but the Order of S. Thiago complained to the King; and the King, justly incensed at the masterful conduct of his vassal, peremptorily ordered his Admiral to quit Sines within thirty days, and not to return to it except by special permission of the Master of S. Thiago. This order was dated March 21, 1507 (see Document 7). We need scarcely say that it was obeyed.

But the Admiral still hankered after the territorial honours which had been promised him. He enjoyed already three royal pensions amounting to 2,750 cruzados (_£_1,328), and Leonardo Masser,[477] the Venetian Ambassador at Lisbon, estimated the whole of his income at that time at 4,000 ducats, or rather cruzados (_£_1,930). This was a very large sum indeed. There were at that time only six noblemen, two archbishops, and seven bishops in all Portugal whose income exceeded his.[478]

In November, 1508, the King authorised Luiz d’Arca to cede to Vasco da Gama the alcaideria-mór of Villafranca de Xira (see Document 8), but the negotiations appear to have led to no result. Ten years were allowed to pass, when the Admiral informed the King that, the promised title of “Count” not having been conferred upon him, he desired permission to emigrate with his family. The King, on August 17, 1518 (see Document 13), granted this permission, on condition that the Admiral should defer his departure until the end of the year. In the meantime he seriously looked about him for the territorial qualification which would enable him to confer upon his importunate Admiral the title of Count. D. Jayme, Duke of Bragança, a nephew of the King, who held Vasco da Gama in high respect, was willing to accommodate his uncle. By an agreement signed on November 4, 1519, he surrendered the towns of Vidigueira and Villa de Frades, in consideration of Vasco da Gama ceding to him an hereditary Royal pension of 400,000 reis (1,000 cruzados), and in addition, paying the sum of 4,000 cruzados in gold. This transaction having been completed at Evora, on November 7, the King, in Document 16, granted to Vasco da Gama, his heirs and successors, the towns of Vidigueira and Villa de Frades, together with all revenues and privileges hitherto enjoyed by the Duke of Bragança; and on December 29 he conferred upon his Admiral the title of “Conde de Vidigueira” (see Documents 14-17).

And thus, when Vasco da Gama, in April, 1524, departed for the last time for India, the great ambition of his life had been realised. He died at Cochin, on Christmas eve of the same year.

ABSTRACTS OF OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS.

1.—_Lisbon, December 24, 1499._[479]

By Letters Patent, dated Lisbon, December 24, 1499, the King, in recognition of the merits of Vasco da Gama, and the great services rendered by him in the discovery of India, grants to him, his heirs and successors, the town of Sines, together with all the revenues, privileges, and tithes pertaining thereto, as well as civil and criminal jurisdiction. But inasmuch as this town belongs to the Order of São Thiago, the formal title-deeds are to be drawn up only after this Order shall have received satisfaction by the grant of another town belonging to the Crown, and dispensation of the Holy Father, sanctioning this exchange, shall have been received.

Satisfaction was, moreover, to be given to D. Luiz de Noronha, the alcaide-mór of the said city. But should D. Luiz refuse to surrender the said alcaideria, then, the dispensation of the Pope having been received, the King promises at once to put Vasco da Gama in possession of the said town, and likewise of the castle, as soon as terms shall have been arranged with D. Luiz de Noronha.

2.—_Lisbon, February 22, 1501._[480]

D. Manuel orders the Casa da Mina to pay annually to Vasco da Gama the of sum 1,000 cruzados in gold [at that time equal to 390,000 reis], until he shall have been placed in possession of the manor of Sines.

3.—_Lisbon, November 19, 1501._[481]

The King orders Gonçalo de Sequeira, chief treasurer of the Casa de Ceuta, to deliver to Dom Vasco da Gama 15 moios [43 imperial quarters] of wheat, of the value of 28,000 reis, in part-payment of 70,000 reis due to him this year, the balance of 41,200 reis to be levied upon the Casa da Mina.

The receipt given by Vasco da Gama for this wheat is still extant, and is one of the very few autographs of the Admiral in existence.

[Illustration: Facsimile of a Receipt given by Vasco da Gama]

That is to say:

dõ v^{co} da gama dygo que he verdade que receby os dytos q’nze moyos de trygo do dyto g^o de sequeyra feito a xxbiij de novẽbro de q’nhẽtos hu.

dõ v^{co} da gama.

Or, in English:—

Don Vasco da Gama acknowledges to have received said 15 moios of wheat from said g^o de Sequeyra. Done on November 28, 1501.

Dom Vasco da Gama.

4.—_Lisbon, January 10, 1502._[482]

D. Manuel after pointing out, in these letters-patent, that the explorations begun by the Infante D. Henry [the Navigator] in 1433,[483] in the hope of discovering a new highway to India, had been continued by King Alfonso and King John, at an expenditure of many lives and of much treasure, until, in 1482,[484] the Rio do Infante, at a distance of 1,885 leagues, had been reached, continues:

“Being animated by an ardent desire to continue the work initiated by the Infante and our predecessors, and being assured that Vasco da Gama, a gentleman of our household, was well qualified for rendering us this service, and would disregard the perils to his person and the risk of life which he ran in accomplishing the task set him, we sent him to India as captain-major of our fleet, and with him Paulo da Gama, his brother, and Nicolau Coelho, likewise a gentleman of our household. In this voyage he did most excellent service, for whilst only 1885 leagues of coast had been discovered during the many years which had elapsed since the commencement of this enterprise, and by the many captains sent out, he by himself, in this single voyage, discovered 1550 leagues, in addition to a great gold-mine and many wealthy towns and cities, having a great trade, and finally reached and discovered that India, which all those who have given descriptions of the world rank higher in wealth than any other country, which from all time had been coveted by the Emperors and Kings of the world, and for the sake of which such heavy expenses had been incurred in this kingdom, and so many captains and others forfeited their lives—a country, in fact, which all kings not only desired to possess but even to discover.

“This discovery, begun years ago, he accomplished at a greater sacrifice of life and of treasure, and at greater peril to his own person, than suffered by those who preceded him. Paulo da Gama, his brother, died in the course of the voyage, as also one-half of the people whom we sent out with this _armada_, they having passed through many perils, not only because of the length of this voyage, which exceeded two years, but also because of the desire to furnish trustworthy information on these territories and all connected with them.

“And bearing in mind the great services yielded to ourselves and our kingdoms by this voyage and discovery; the great advantages accruing thence, not only to our kingdoms but to all Christendom; the injury done to the infidels [_i.e._, Mohammedans] who, up till now, have enjoyed the advantages offered by India; and more especially the hope that all the people of India will rally round Our Lord, seeing that they may easily be led to a knowledge of His holy faith, some of them already being instructed in it; desiring, moreover, to recompense him for his services, as befits a prince when dealing with those who have so greatly and so well served him, and to bestow upon him a grace and favour; with full knowledge, and out of our royal and absolute power, without his having solicited it, nor any other person on his behalf, we grant him, freely and irrevocably, from this day in perpetuity, an annuity of 300,000 reis, to be paid to him and his descendants.”

For the payment of this annuity the King assigns the new tithe on fish imposed upon the towns of Sines and Villanova de Milfontes, supposed to yield 60,000 reis annually, which tithe has been surrendered by Martinho de Castelbranco, who held it from the Crown, and has been compensated elsewhere. Any surplus receipts out of this tithe were to be retained by Vasco da Gama, the King, on the other hand, not being obliged to make up any deficiencies. Secondly, the King surrenders 130,000 reis annually out of the excise levied upon Sines, any deficiency in that amount to be made up out of the excise of S. Thiago de Cacem. Thirdly, the King assigns to him 40,000 reis, to be paid out of the excise of S. Thiago. Lastly, the 70,000 reis still wanted to make up the 300,000 reis shall be paid out of the receipts of the timber octroi of the city of Lisbon.

In addition the King appoints him Admiral of India, conferring all honours, franchises and revenues which that rank carries with it, throughout the territories which shall be placed under the rule of the King.

Moreover, he is granted the privilege of sending annually, by the royal vessels, 200 cruzados to India, to be laid out in merchandise, upon the importation of which no duties whatever shall be levied except the 5 per cent. payable to the Order of Christ; this privilege to be transmitted to his descendants.

The King, moreover, confers upon him, his brother Ayres da Gama, and his sister, Tarayja (Theresa) da Gama, the hereditary title of Dom (Dona).

Finally, the King desires that the heirs of Vasco da Gama shall always bear the name of Gama, in memory of the said Vasco da Gama.

5.—_Lisbon, February 4, 1504._[485]

The King, having pointed out that as Divine justice recompenses, in the other world, those who have firmly adhered to the Catholic faith and practised good works, so should the Kings and Princes of this world recompense those who have rendered them faithful service, directs attention to the signal services rendered by Vasco da Gama during his first voyage, when he discovered India. This discovery has resulted in a great accession of wealth. What the Romans, and Emperors and Kings have vainly attempted, has been accomplished by the said Admiral, and the advantages coveted by all nations have been secured to his kingdoms. These results have been attained at a great loss of life, for more than half the men in this first expedition have succumbed, and among them Paulo da Gama, the brother of the Admiral. On his return honours and other rewards were conferred on the Admiral.

In the course of a second voyage[486] the services rendered by him have been equally brilliant. The King of Kilwa has been reduced to submission, and compelled to pay an annual tribute of 1,500 mitkals in gold,[487] the first instalment of which has been received. This king is very powerful, and the owner of the gold mines of Sofala, the richest in that part of the world. In all other respects Vasco da Gama has faithfully guarded the royal interests, both in making war upon the Moors of Mecca, and in peaceable negotiations with the kings of those countries. The fleet intrusted to him, owing to the wisdom and judgment exercised, has returned richly laden. On these grounds he is entitled to some recompense. Acting as becomes a King, and considering his merits, he, D. Manuel, therefore grants him, and his male descendants in the direct line, an annuity of 400,000 reis, to commence on the first of January of this year, 1504, and to be secured on the salt tax of the city of Lisbon.

6.—_Lisbon, February 20, 1504._[488]

The King instructs Fernão Lourenço, factor of the Guinea and India trade, to pay henceforth the annuity of 1,000 cruzados to Vasco da Gama; each caravel coming from the city of S. Jorge da Mina is to contribute 32,500 reis, the payments out of twelve caravels thus making up a total of 390,000 reis.

7.—_Thomar, March 21, 1507._[489]

In a letter dated Thomar, March 21, 1507, and signed by Antonio Carneiro, the King’s chief secretary,[490] Vasco da Gama, the Admiral of India, is informed that within thirty days after date he must withdraw from the town of Sines, with his wife and the whole of his household, and that neither himself, nor his wife, nor his household can be permitted to return to that town, or its precincts, except by permission of the Master [of the Order of São Thiago and Aviz], In case any of them should enter the town without such permission, they will render themselves liable to a fine of fifty cruzados, beyond which they will incur the punishment deserved by those who refuse obedience to the orders of their King and Lord. In a postcript the King orders, moreover, that the same penalty shall be incurred if Vasco da Gama continue the buildings he has commenced.

(This Royal Edict was presented on June 26, 1507, at the office of the Master of the Order at S. Thiago de Cacem, by one João da Gama,[491] and ordered to be placed in the Archives of the Order).

8.—_Tavira, November 18, 1508._[492]

The King authorises Luiz d’Arca to surrender his Alcaideriamór of Villafranca de Xira[493] to the Admiral of India (Vasco da Gama).

9.—_Lisbon, November 19, 1511._[494]

The King orders the authorities (“judges”) of the Order of S. Thiago to afford the receiver appointed by the Admiral every facility for collecting the revenues assigned him in the towns of S. Thiago de Cacem, Sines and Villanova de Milfontes.

10.—_Lisbon, June 1, 1513._[494]

The King informs all whom it may concern that in consideration of the merits and very great services of Dom Vasco da Gama, it pleases him to order that no freights be charged upon merchandise forwarded to the Admiral from India, whether sent by royal or private ships, the expenses, in the latter case, being charged to the India House. This privilege is not to extend to certain spices reserved for the Crown.

11.—_Lisbon, August 22, 1515._[495]

The King authorises the Admiral to send with each fleet sailing to India a person to attend to his business, this person to draw pay as a man-at-arms.

12.—_Lisbon, August 29, 1515._[496]

1). Manuel, having quoted _in extenso_ the conditions of a pension of 400,000 reis granted on February 4, 1504, orders that one-half this pension shall be paid in future out of the revenues of the town of Niza,[497] and the other out of the salt-tax, as before.

13.—_Lisbon, August 17, 1518._[498]

The Admiral having reminded the King that the title of “Count” has been promised him, but has not yet been conferred, asks permission to leave the kingdom. The King, in a letter in which he addresses Vasco da Gama as “Almirante amiguo”, replies: “We order you to remain in our kingdom up to the end of December of the present year, and we hope by that time you will have seen the error you are about to commit, and desire to serve us as is seeming, and not take the extreme course proposed. But if by that time you are still minded to go, we shall not hinder your departure, with your wife, your sons, and all your moveable property. Done at Lisbon by the Secretary [Antonio Carneiro], August 17, 1518.... The King.”

14.—_Evora, October 24, 1519._[499]

The King authorises Vasco da Gama to surrender his pension of 400,000 reis [see No. 5], to D. Jayme, Duke of Bragança, and the latter to give in exchange the towns of Vidigueira and Villa de Frades.

15.—Villa Viçosa, November 4, 1519.[500]

D. Jayme, Duke of Bragança and Guimaraes, authorises his “ouvidor” (bailiff), João Alves, to surrender the towns of Vidigueira and Villa de Frades, with all their revenues, etc., to D. Vasco da Gama, on condition of the latter ceding to him an hereditary pension of 400,000 reis, which he has from the King, and of paying, in addition, a sum of 4,000 cruzados in gold.

[This transaction was completed at Evora, where Vasco da Gama resided, on November 7, the 4,000 cruzados being paid in Portugueses of 10 cruzados each. As the eldest sons of the contracting parties, D. Theodesio of Bragança and D. Francisco da Gama, were still minors, it was agreed that the King should be asked to “overlook this deficiency of age”, so that they, too, should be bound by this agreement.[501]]

16.—_Evora, December 17, 1519._[502]

The King, having sanctioned the arrangement between the Duke of Bragança and Vasco da Gama, and having dwelt once more upon the good services rendered by the latter not only to the Crown, but also to the inhabitants of the kingdom, and to all Christendom, grants to him and his heirs, irrevocably and for all time, the towns of Vidigueira and Villa de Frades, together with all privileges, including civil and criminal jurisdiction and church patronage, which had been enjoyed by the Dukes of Bragança, [These privileges, it should be understood, exceeded those usually enjoyed by a mere Count.]

17.—_Evora, December 29, 1519._[503]

D. Manoel, after a glowing eulogy of the services rendered by his Admiral of India, confers upon him the title of Count of Vidigueira, together with all prerogatives, rights, graces, privileges, liberties and franchises enjoyed by the Counts of the Kingdom by usage and ancient custom.

18.—_Lisbon, March 30, 1522._[504]

D. João III confirms Vasco da Gama’s claim, as Admiral, to the anchorage dues paid at Malacca, Goa and Ormuz, and authorises him to appoint receivers.

19.—_Evora, February 5, 1524._[505]

The Admiral, being about to proceed to India for a third time, the King, D. João III, is pleased to order that in case of his death his son and heir shall forthwith assume the title of Count of Vidigueira, and enter upon the enjoyment of all privileges, etc., to which this rank entitles him.

[Illustration: Church and Monastery of Our Lady of the Relics at Vidigueira.

(_From a woodcut in Teixeira de Aragão’s Paper._)]

FOOTNOTES:

[1] He was thus eighteen years of age when Queen Isabella, in 1478, granted a safe-conduct to him and Fernão de Lemos, enabling them to pass through Castile on their way to Tangier (Navarrete, iii, p. 477). According to P. Antonio Carvalho da Costa’s unsupported statement, Vasco da Gama was born in 1469.

[2] According to Castanheda, the appointment was at first offered to Paulo da Gama, Vasco’s elder brother. He declined on account of ill-health, but offered to accompany his brother as captain of one of the vessels.

[3] Vasco da Gama, after his return from India, married Catarina de Ataide. He proceeded a second time to India in 1502. When returning from Cananor he shaped a direct course across the Indian Ocean to Mozambique. After a long period of rest, King João III again sent him to India in 1524, but he died at Cochin on December 25th of the same year, at the age of sixty-five. His remains were taken to Portugal in 1538, and deposited at Vidigueira. Since 1880 they are supposed to have found their last resting-place in the church of Belem.

For an interesting estimate of the character of the great navigator, see Lord Stanley of Alderley’s _The Three Voyages of Vasco da Gama_ (Hakluyt Society), 1869. See also the Appendices of this volume for further information on the first voyage.

[4] Ruy Gonçalves da Camara in 1473, Fernão Telles in 1474.

[5] Toscanelli’s letter to Columbus was written long after that addressed to Fernão Martinz, for the expression _ha dias_ (perhaps a rendering of _pridem_ or _haud diu_) does not mean “a few days ago”, but “long ago.” Columbus himself uses it in that sense when he writes from Jamaica that the “Emperor of Catayo asked long ago (_ha dias_) for men of learning to instruct him in the faith of Christ.” The request for missionaries had been made to the Pope in 1339 (Navarrete, _Colleccion_, 2nd ed., I, p. 457).

[6] Barros, _Dec. I_, l. 3, c. ii.

[7] It is quite possible that the draughtsman of the Cantino Chart placed St. Helena Bay incorrectly, and not as determined by Vasco da Gama. Canerio places this bay in lat. 32° 30´ S., which is only 10´ out of its true position.

[8] See Wieser, _Die Karte des Bartolomeo Columbo_, Innsbruck, 1893. Cuba is not shown on this chart, possibly because Bartolomeo would not do violence to his conscience by representing it as a part of Asia (as his brother believed it to be to the day of his death) after its insularity had been recognised.

[9] _The Journal of Christopher Columbus_, by C. R. Markham (Hakluyt Society), 1893.

[10] Thus Correa states correctly that the Cape was rounded in November, that is, in the height of summer, but introduces accessory details—perhaps taken from an account of some other voyage (Cabral’s, for instance)—which could only have happened in mid-winter. (See p. 193).

[11] An excellent translation of Correa’s account of _The Three Voyages of Vasco da Gama_, by Lord Stanley of Alderley, was published by the Hakluyt Society in 1869. It is accompanied by foot-notes, directing attention to those numerous instances in which Correa differs from other writers.

[12] Most of the documents discovered on these occasions were made known by Texeira de Aragão and Luciano Cordeiro, to whose published works frequent reference will be made.

[13] _Roteiro_, prim, edição, p. xix.

[14] _Roteiro_, seg. edição, p. xii.

[15] Prof. Kopke (_Roteiro_, prim. ed., pp. ix-xiv) deals much more fully with this subject. We have been content to give the substance of his remarks.

[16] See livro I, c. xxvii, of the first edition (1551) of his _Historia_. In the edition of 1554 this passage is suppressed, but further particulars of the voyage are not given.

[17] For a conclusive proof of this see p. 2. After the _S. Raphael_ had been broken up, the author may have been transferred to Coelho’s vessel, and have returned in her.

[18] This is the “secretary” (escrivão) of Vasco da Gama. Castanheda (I, p. 54) mentions also the comptroller (veador) of the captain-major, but we are inclined to think that this is a duplication of the same person, namely, Diogo Dias, the clerk or purser of the _S. Gabriel_.

[19] See p. 54, note 2, for this anecdote.

[20] _Roteiro da Viagem que em descobrimento da India pelo Cabo da Boa Esperança fez Dom Vasco da Gama em 1497._ Porto, 1838. 8vo, pp. xxviii, 184.

[21] _Roteiro da Viagem de Vasco da Gama em_ MCCCCXCVII. Segunda edição. Lisboa (Imprensa Nacional), 1861. 8vo, pp. xliv, 182.

[22] Compare p. xvii, and numerous references to Correa throughout this volume.

[23] Reproduced on p. 150.

[24] _Journal du Voyage de Vasco da Gama en_ MCCCCXCVII, _traduit du Portugais par Arthur Morelet_, Lyon, 1864.

[25] Reproduced by us, p. 171.

[26] For a copy of this contemned portrait, see p. 109.

[27] These vessels, as appears in the course of the Journal, were the _S. Gabriel_ (flag-ship), the _S. Raphael_ (Paulo da Gama), the _Berrio_ (Nicolau Coelho), and a store-ship (Gonçalo Nunes). The author served on board the _S. Raphael_. See Introduction.

[28] In the suburb of Restello, four miles below the Arsenal of Lisbon, stood a chapel or _ermida_, which had been built by Henry the Navigator for the use of mariners. In this chapel Vasco da Gama and his companions spent the night previous to their departure in prayer. After his victorious return, D. Manuel founded on its site the magnificent monastery of Our Lady of Bethlehem or Belem.

[29] The forbidding line of low cliffs, extending for 35 miles from Leven Head to Elbow Point, in lat. 24° N., was known to the Portuguese of the time as _terra alta_ (see D. Pacheco Pereira, _Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis_, p. 40). The Rio do Ouro or River of Gold is a basin, extending about 20 miles inland and four miles wide at its mouth. No river flows into it. The real “River of Gold” is the Senegal or the Upper Niger.

[30] Castanheda attributes the separation of the vessels to the fog and a storm.

[31] At the southern extremity of Ilha do Sal, in lat. 16° 31´ N., is the Porto de Santa Maria.

[32] S. Jorge da Mina, the famous fort built on the Gold Coast in 1482, by Diogo d’Azambuja, one of whose captains had been the very Bartholomew Dias who five years afterwards doubled the Cape, and who now returned to the _Mine_, having been made its captain, in recognition of his great services. (See L. Cordeira, _Diogo d’Azambuja_, Lisbon, 1890, and Barros, edition of 1778, to. I,