Part 1

# A voyage to Senegal : $b or, Historical, philosophical, and political memoirs, relative to the discoveries, establishments and commerce of Europeans in the Atlantic Ocean, from Cape Blanco to the river of Sierra Leone ### By Durand, Jean Baptiste Léonard

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[Illustration: Map _of the Western_ COAST of AFRICA _from Cape Blanco to the River of Sierra Leone_ with the Courses of the Rivers

_SENEGAL and GAMBIA, Shewing the Journey of_ M. DURAND from SENEGAL to GALAM.

_Published Sept. 30th 1806 by Rich. Philips New Bridge Street._]

=A VOYAGE TO SENEGAL;=

OR,

HISTORICAL, PHILOSOPHICAL, AND POLITICAL _MEMOIRS,_

RELATIVE TO THE DISCOVERIES, ESTABLISHMENTS, AND COMMERCE OF EUROPEANS IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN,

FROM _Cape Blanco to the River of Sierra Leone._

TO WHICH IS ADDED AN ACCOUNT OF A JOURNEY FROM ISLE ST. LOUIS TO GALAM.

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BY J. P. L. DURAND, FORMERLY GOVERNOR OF ISLE ST. LOUIS.

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_Translated from the French, & embellished with numerous Engravings._

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_LONDON:_ PRINTED FOR RICHARD PHILLIPS, 6, NEW BRIDGE STREET, _By J. G. Barnard, 57, Snow Hill._

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1806

PREFACE.

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SINCE the activity of commerce, and the necessity of understanding its relations, induced the maritime powers of Europe to attempt fresh discoveries, all their efforts have been directed towards the new world. When the most fertile parts of that continent, and its still more productive isles, were discovered and explored, the enterprising spirit of navigators carried them even to the south pole; in short, the most distant and hazardous expeditions were undertaken, and immense sums were disbursed to find out a few corners of the earth which were uninhabited.

While, however, those navigators were pursuing their adventures, the discoveries which had long before been made, and the establishments which had been formed in the richest country in the world, a country most proper for producing colonial goods, and one situated nearest to Europe, were neglected. That country would probably have been abandoned altogether, if the necessity of obtaining for other regions its robust cultivators, had not drawn many vessels towards the part which exclusively afforded such a resource.

I allude to the western part of Africa, which, whether on the shores of the sea, or in the interior districts, is of the greatest importance in the double respect of agriculture and commerce. It appears that the ancients were only acquainted with the northern coast of Africa, which extends from the straits of Gibraltar to the isthmus of Suez, and with the eastern coast, contiguous to the Red Sea. The southern part was totally unknown to them; while their notions of the western coast were very confined, and they did nothing but sail along it: even this route, which is now so easy, was to them a dangerous adventure: the Phenicians, Persians, Greeks, Carthaginians, and Romans, successively attempted to reconnoitre in this direction; and it is said, that the Phenicians cleared the pillars of Hercules, passed the straits, and established colonies and factories on several parts of the coast. But the accounts which we have received of all those expeditions, are so replete with fables, and evident contradictions, that it is difficult to place in them any degree of confidence.

According to Herodotus, a few Phenicians left the Red Sea during the reign of Necas, king of Egypt; and after a three years’ voyage, returned to their country by the straits of Gibraltar, but they saw only the coast. Eudoxia, to avoid the wrath of Ptolemy Lathyrus, succeeded in the same enterprise; but no advantage was derived from her voyage. Satas, in the time of Xerxes king of Persia, and Hanno and Himilcon, by order of the republic of Carthage, made similar attempts at discovery, by proceeding from the pillars of Hercules; but they failed in their undertaking. The Nasamones, or ancient inhabitants of the kingdom of Tunis, undertook a similar voyage, though without success. Hence, all those navigators, and many others who might be mentioned, far from affording us information, only gave rise to doubts, and prove the general ignorance and fear which pervaded the ancient sailors. Certain it is, that if such expeditions did take place, the ships kept at a great distance from the continent: for we have no proofs of the appearance of these people, much less their residence, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Romans, who were so ardent in extending their empire, did not succeed in fixing it on the western coast of Africa. It is believed that they penetrated from the isthmus of Suez as far as the Niger, and thence to Mount Atlas. But if they reached this famous mountain, it certainly stopped their discoveries in that part of the world: for they thought, that under the torrid zone, the lands burned, and the rivers were torrents of fire; an opinion which was long credited, even by the learned men of those times: and when the Christians, who were the first that presumed to suppose, the countries under the torrid zone to be inhabited, expressed such an opinion, they were looked upon as heretics.

The Spaniards, in more modern times, pretended to have examined all the coasts of Africa, several centuries before the birth of the Messiah; but they said nothing of the interior, and we must give them credit for their reserve. They pretended to have conducted to America the vessels of Solomon and Hiram, when they went in search of the treasures mentioned in scripture; but this pretension was seriously combated by the Portuguese, who insisted on the honour of having made the first discovery of those countries; and with such obstinacy did the latter maintain their opinions, that the subject was brought under legal discussion, and a verdict given in their favour. At this period, some Frenchmen of Dieppe interfered in the famous dispute, and proved, that they were the first navigators who had entered the Senegal, and that they had formed establishments on that part of the coast, long before the Portuguese and other navigators had made their appearance.

These expeditions of the merchants of Dieppe, took place at the commencement of the fourteenth century, and from that time they established themselves on the Senegal, and along the coast as far as Sierra Leone. In September, 1365, they engaged with some merchants of Rouen; and the next year they undertook the strongest maritime expedition which had till then been seen on the African coast. They formed factories at certain distances, which served as an asylum for their merchandise and the persons in their employ, by which the Africans always found a ready market, and the French vessels constant cargoes. From this beginning were produced the establishments of the Senegal, Rufisque, Goree, the river Gambia, Sierra Leone, and two others on the coast of Malaguette, one of which was called “Little Paris,” and the other “Little Dieppe.” In 1382, they erected forts at the gold mine on the coast of Guinea, at Agra, and at Cormentin. The consequences of these discoveries, were immense wealth, and the best profit was probably that afforded by ivory. In 1392, owing to the violent agitation of France, in consequence of the civil war and the illness of Charles VI. the commerce of Africa was entirely abandoned; and the factories for which such great sacrifices had been made, fell into the hands of the Dutch, the Portuguese, the English, and the Spaniards. The Portuguese were the most ardent plunderers, as they were authorised by the Popes, who conceded to them in perpetuity all the territories which they might discover from Cape Bojador to the Indies inclusively; they therefore made several fortunate expeditions, and for a long time enjoyed a decisive superiority.

Pope Martin V. in the plenitude of his divine authority, very liberally granted to Portugal, the right of seizing and confiscating all the property of infidels, in order that they might have the opportunity of becoming converts, to which he added a plenary indulgence for the souls of those who might fall in such pious expeditions. This donation, which was made in 1432, was afterwards confirmed and augmented by Popes Eugene IV. Nicolas V. and Sextus IV.; and the kings of Portugal assumed the title of “Lords of Guinea and the Coast of Africa.”

Spain now became anxious to have a share in the acts of temporal authority of the sovereign pontifs; and in 1492, Alexander VI. divided his liberalities, by investing Spain and Portugal with the territories of the East and West Indies.

The English were slow in their courses, and were restrained by the express orders of their court, which, out of respect for the Popes, and consideration for Portugal, would not permit its subjects to proceed towards the western coast of Africa; nor did they emancipate themselves from this restriction, till the middle of the sixteenth century, when being at war with Portugal, they directed their arms against her establishments, and gradually succeeded in destroying their power.

The French, who were the legitimate proprietors, recovered their rights, and regained several of their ancient possessions; but as these events took place gradually, and at different periods, I shall not here describe them, though I ought to say, that we maintained for a long time by force of arms, the possessions which we had acquired from Cape Blanco to the Cape of Good Hope; and that the French have always considered that vast extent of coast, as dependent on their commercial operations.

It will be equally needless to trace the progress of our commercial companies in Africa down to the present period. It is known, that in 1664, the merchants of Dieppe and Rouen sold their establishments to the West India Company, for the sum of 150,000 livres; and that the new owners, by the extent of their speculations, had more than they could manage, and were crushed beneath the weight of their own projects.

The English captured isle St. Louis and Senegal in 1758; the French regained them twenty years afterwards, and had the possession ensured to them by the treaty of peace with England in 1783, which also guaranteed to France, the isle of Goree, all the coast between Cape Verd and the river Gambia, and the factory of Albreda, situated at the mouth of that river; which, however, as well as fort James, is in the possession of England.

From the left bank of the river Gambia, which forms Cape St. Mary, as far as the river of Sierra Leone, the coast belongs exclusively to no foreign nation; but the French share with the English, the Portuguese, and all commercial people, the right of frequenting, and that of forming new establishments on such points as are not occupied.

Soon after the peace of 1783, it was proposed to create a company for the Senegal; when the king granted to the Guiana company the exclusive privilege of the gum trade for nine years; and this company ceded its new privilege in 1785, to a body of merchants, who assumed the title of the Gum Company. By a decree of the council on the 10th of November, 1786, the king subjected the company to pay the colonial expences, which were fixed at 260,749 livres; and granted them in return, the exclusive right of the slave trade, with an extension of the commerce in gum for three years longer. It then took the name of the Senegal Company; but being badly organised, it met with little success, and was abolished by a decree of the Constituent Assembly in 1791.

Previous to this time, I belonged to the naval department, when the marshal de Castrées appointed me principal director of the company at Isle St. Louis. I therefore left Havre on the 13th of March, 1785, and arrived at my new destination on the 10th of April following; at which time, M. de Repentigny was governor-general, and to whom I was particularly recommended by M. Vergennes, the minister for foreign affairs. This wise and modest officer received me with the greatest kindness; and we lived together in the most perfect harmony, till he was succeeded by M. de Boufflers, whose talents and celebrity were of the greatest advantage to the country.

My memoirs were begun at Senegal, and terminated at Paris. I have shewn them to several persons; and the two great authors, Lalande and La Harpe, have published reflections on my journey to Galam; in consequence of which, and at the urgent desire of many friends, I have submitted my manuscript to the press. I shall only observe, that all the people of Africa are so much alike, that I have found it impossible to give a just and precise idea of them, without making what may be deemed repetitions; and as to the style of my work, I declare that I have no literary pretensions: I have only occupied myself in describing facts with accuracy and truth; while my object is to promote the power and riches of my country, with the hope that the inhabitants of Africa may thereby become more happy.

VOYAGE TO _SENEGAL._

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CHAP. I.

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CAPE BLANCO AND ITS ENVIRONS. — DANGERS OF THAT PASSAGE. — BARBAROUS AND CRUEL CHARACTER OF THE MOORS WHO INHABIT THE COAST. — SHIPWRECK OF M. DE BRISSON. — CAPTURE OF HIM AND HIS COMPANIONS. — CHARACTER OF A MOORISH CHIEF. — HARDSHIPS OF CAPTIVITY IN THE DESERTS. — LIBERATION OF M. DE BRISSON AND ONE OF HIS COMPANIONS.

ON reaching the western coast of Africa, navigators meet first with Cape Blanco, which is situated in 20° 55 m. 30 sec. lat. and 19° 30 m. long. It is a spot almost circular, insomuch that, on account of its far projections, it is more difficult to discover than any other point on the coast: it is surrounded with dangerous banks, which are with difficulty avoided; and it derives its name from the white colour of its burning and arid soil. The next point is Cape St. Anne, which is to the eastward on the same parallel; the distance from one cape to the other, is computed at eight leagues. They form between them a large and deep bay, about twelve leagues north and south, which contains various mouths of torrents or rivers, in which the sea ascends so high as to spoil the fresh water, and thus deprives vessels of the only resource which this part of the coast would otherwise afford them.

From Cape St. Anne to Salt Cape, the coast runs S. E. for about six leagues. This cape received its name from a variety of natural and abundant salt-pits which it contained, and from which, before the rainy season, a quantity of salt used to be collected. The Europeans, however, have abandoned them; but it is probable that the Moors turn them to advantage. About six leagues farther, at the point called Hof, is another bay as large and deep as the former: it contains three isles, the largest of which is to the eastward, and is called Arguin. It is necessary to pass all these capes, in order to arrive at the French possessions. The coast is uncommonly dangerous for navigators, on account of the frequent storms and continually heavy sea; while there are numerous currents which set violently in towards land, and which prove a new Taurida to such vessels as have the misfortune to fall in their tracks. The natives, who are subjects of the emperor of Morocco, are, in every sense of the word, barbarians, with whom it has hitherto, and doubtless always will be impossible to trade. They consider wrecked ships as presents sent them by heaven; enrich themselves by the plunder they afford, and reduce the unfortunate mariners to the most disgusting slavery. From this state of bondage, indeed they have not the least hope of escaping, as they can only regain their liberty by means of a serious demand on the part of their country at the emperor’s court; in which case, the monarch compels his subjects to give up the slaves when they can be discovered, but, to which they do not consent, without receiving a considerable ransom. We have several instances of the payment of this ransom, by the emperor of Morocco himself, when he has wished to make his court to the French government. Sometimes these savages, in order to avoid the demands of their emperor, and keep the slaves they have seized on, retire to inaccessible parts of the desert, where I have good reason to know that they amuse themselves by subjecting the unfortunate Europeans to the most shocking torments and cruel death. But navigators may avoid these dangers by sailing to the westward of the Canaries.

I shall give an account of a shipwreck, which happened on this coast while I was at isle St. Louis, which will be the best means of illustrating the dangers I have mentioned, while it will afford some interesting information relative to the desert which borders on the Senegal.

M. de Brisson left France in the month of June, 1785, for isle St. Louis, in a vessel called the St. Catharine, Captain Le Turc. On the 10th of July following, they found themselves at midnight, between the coast of Africa and the Canary islands, in a sort of creek formed by rocks. The captain being alarmed, steered the ship towards the shoal; and the vessel being driven with great force by the currents, struck three times, and then remained motionless. During the whole night, it resisted the attacks of the sea, which seemed ready every instant to swallow it up; but towards morning the storm abated, and M. de Brisson, with all the crew, got to land. But these unfortunate people found themselves on a barren and unknown country; they ascended the highest rocks, and could perceive nothing but an immense plain covered with white sand, on which a few plants were interspersed, similar to branches of coral; they bore a small seed of the same colour, resembling in size and shape that of mustard. The Moors call it _avezoud_, and make a paste of it, with which they regale themselves. In the distance, they discovered several hillocks, which, being overspread by a kind of wild fern, resembled a vast forest.

[Illustration: _Shipwreck at Cape Blanc._]

[Illustration: _Catching Slaves._]

They advanced towards the hillocks, and soon perceived a number of camels feeding, from which they had no doubt that the neighbourhood was inhabited. This was a valuable discovery for the poor mariners, who were almost perishing with hunger and thirst. Some men who were watching the camels, as soon as they perceived the Europeans, gave the alarm to a neighbouring encampment, and they soon found themselves surrounded by Moors, who appeared to be overjoyed, and made the most dreadful shouts and cries. The shipwrecked crew not being together, were seized by the collar with a ferocious eagerness, and immediately stripped; while those who attempted resistance, were wounded and thrown almost expiring on the sand.

During this barbarous transaction, M. de Brisson perceived a Moor unarmed, and from his costume, he recognised him to be one of those who had accompanied the king Alikouri on a visit which he paid him at isle St. Louis. He therefore ran and threw himself at his feet, as did M. Devoize, the second officer of the ship, and five of the crew who had not left him: but they soon perceived that they were as unfortunate as their companions; for the Moor received them with contempt. He asked M. de Brisson in a severe tone, who he was, from whence he came, and what brought them all there? This officer answered by drawing on the sand the form of a ship, and by means of expressive gestures, with the assistance of a few Arabic words, which he had learned at isle St. Louis, he made him understand that they had been shipwrecked, and begged his assistance to conduct them to their destination; adding, that he possessed the means of rewarding him for his trouble. This last remark was perfectly understood, and gave great pleasure to the Moor, who immediately composed his features, and placed his fingers between those of M. de Brisson, as a testimony that they were friends, and would be always united. He demanded the effects of which M. de Brisson had spoken, and received two watches, one of them a repeater; two chains, a gold stock-buckle, two pair of silver shoe-buckles, a brilliant ring, a silver goblet and cover, and 220 livres in specie. The money gave him more pleasure than all the other articles; he secreted the treasure very mysteriously in his blue shirt, and promised M. de Brisson that he would never abandon him. The surrender of this property had induced our countryman to think that he should gain the kindness of those into whose hands he had fallen; but it proved to him a source of the greatest misfortune. The Moor then asked M. de Brisson, at what part he had been shipwrecked; and on being informed, he called several of his fellows, and made a sign to them to follow him. By the manner in which they approached, M. de Brisson perceived that his protector was a man of some consideration; and he afterwards learned that he was one of the priests, whom they called a Talba.

On reaching the sea-shore they shouted with joy; but their eagerness for plunder soon set them at variance. Several of them swam off to the remains of the wreck in order to get what they could, while those who remained behind were afraid that they should not obtain their share: the women, in particular, became quite outrageous.

The news of this shipwreck becoming known in the country, the savages ran towards the shore in great numbers; and their disputes about the plunder attained such a height that several lives were lost. The women, enraged at not being able to get to the ship, fell upon the unfortunate Frenchmen, and partly stripped them naked, disputing all the time who should possess the clothes of M. de Brisson, which were better than the rest.

The talba, who had become the master of the ship-wrecked crew, but who, though a priest, was a warrior by profession, perceiving that the number of savages increased every instant, found himself obliged to join with two friends in order to secure the portion of plunder which he had obtained. The arrangements being made, as well concerning the share of plunder as that of the slaves, the three Moors retired from the crowd for the purpose of hiding their booty. The Frenchmen were conducted to a miserable hut covered with moss, about a league distant from the sea, where they were crowded together and rigorously searched in case they might have concealed some valuables; but nothing being found on them, they were stripped quite naked, and even robbed of their shirts and handkerchiefs. M. de Brisson then learned that his master was called _Sidy Mahammet-del-Zouze_, of the tribe of _Labdesseba_, the most ferocious of any in the desert, and the irreconcilable enemy of the _Wadelims_, who are not much better.