THE PORTUGUESE IN SOUTH AFRICA FROM 1505 TO 1700.

CHAPTER X.

SUCCEEDING VOYAGES AND CONQUESTS.

The condition of affairs on the shores of the Indian sea, as reported by Vasco da Gama, was such that it was evident a display of force would be necessary to carry on trade, as the Mohamedans were nearly everywhere hostile. The whole kingdom of Portugal, however, was as resolute as the monarch himself in the determination to secure the eastern commerce, so that no difficulty was experienced in getting together what was believed in those days to be a very strong armament. And indeed, though a modern gunboat could in less than half an hour send to the bottom the whole of the fleet that King Manuel despatched on this occasion, the Mohamedans on the Indian ocean — even if they could have combined — had nothing fit to oppose it. The approximate time at which the different monsoons set in was now known, and to take advantage of them it was necessary that ships should leave Lisbon in February or March. Preparations were therefore made with all possible haste, and in the first week of March 1500 thirteen ships of different sizes, fitted out in the best manner, lay at anchor at Rastello ready for sea. Twelve hundred picked men, between soldiers and sailors, were on board, and an able officer, Pedro Alvares Cabral by name, was in chief command, with another named Sancho de Toar as next in authority.

The instructions of the king were that where they came peace and friendship were to be offered to the inhabitants on condition of their accepting the Christian faith and engaging in commerce, but if these terms were refused, relentless war was to be made upon them. Eight friars of the order of St. Francis were sent in the fleet to make the tenets of the Christian religion known, in addition to whom there were eight chaplains in the ships, and a vicar for a fortress which was intended to be built and garrisoned at Calicut. The reports that Da Gama had received of the gold trade of Sofala had caused a belief of its great value, and therefore a factory was to be established at that place, of which Bartholomeu Dias was sent out in command of one of the ships to take charge.

On Sunday the 8th of March the officers and principal people of the fleet attended divine worship in the hermitage of our Lady of Bethlehem, when the king delivered a banner to Cabral, and upon the conclusion of the service a procession was formed to conduct them to the river side, where they embarked. On the following morning sail was set, and the Tagus was left behind. Of those who had been with Da Gama, Nicolau Coelho, who commanded a ship, and Joao de Sa are the only ones known to have sailed with Cabral.

On the passage to the Cape Verde islands a storm was encountered, in which one of the ships got separated from the others, and therefore returned to Lisbon. Keeping far to the westward to avoid the calms usually met with on the coast of Guinea, on the 24th of April to his great surprise Cabral discovered a country unknown before, the mainland of South America. There, at a harbour on the coast of Brazil, he took in water and set ashore two convicts. Having despatched one of his vessels to Portugal with tidings of the discovery, on the 3rd of May he sailed again. On the 24th of this month a violent tornado was encountered, which was preceded by a calm, and the wind suddenly struck the ships with terrific force. It at once became dark as night, the raging of the tempest drowned all other sounds, and the sea rose in such tremendous billows that the sailors regarded themselves as lost. When the tornado ceased four vessels had disappeared, never to be seen again. One was that of which Bartholomeu Dias was captain, and thus the discoverer of the Cape of Good Hope found a grave in the Atlantic.

The remaining seven vessels were scattered in the storm. One, which was commanded by Pedro Dias, a brother of Bartholomeu, got as far as Magadosho, but had by that time lost so many of her crew that she put about, and returned to Lisbon, which port she reached with only six men on board. By the 16th of July the other six were together again beyond the shoals of Sofala, but had received so much damage in the tornado and in almost constant stormy weather that followed it as to be more like wrecks than sea-going ships.

Here two zambucos were seen, and one was captured, the other escaping to the shore. The prisoners stated that they had been trading at Sofala for gold, and were on their return passage to Melinde, their captain being the sheik Foteima, uncle of the ruler of that town. Upon hearing this, Cabral immediately liberated them, and restored the zambuco to the old sheik, whom he treated with the greatest courtesy on account of the alliance with the place to which he belonged. Then continuing his course, on the 20th of July he cast anchor in the harbour of Mozambique. The people of that island, remembering what had been done by a fleet only half as strong as the one now in their waters, professed the most sincere friendship, and did what they could to assist the Portuguese. Here Cabral refitted his ships, and then, having obtained a good pilot, sailed for Kilwa.

Upon his arrival at this port he sent a message to Emir Abraham by Affonso Furtado that he had letters for him from the king of Portugal, and as he was forbidden by his instructions to go on shore he desired that a place and time of meeting should be arranged. A tone of superiority was thus assumed from the first, which must have been exceedingly irritating to a man who had been accustomed to be treated as an independent sovereign. Probably had he known the position of the messenger he would have felt doubly indignant, for Affonso Furtado had been sent out as secretary of the factory which Bartholomeu Dias was to have established at Sofala, the most valuable of the ancient dependencies of Kilwa. There could not be a really friendly feeling towards the strangers, but the emir dissembled, expressed his pleasure at their arrival, and arranged to meet Cabral on the water. Some sheep and other provisions were sent as a present to the flagship, and a counter present was sent on shore.

With all the pomp and state that both parties could display the boats came alongside each other at the time fixed upon, the letter from the king of Portugal was delivered, and an apparently friendly conversation was held. But when Cabral requested the emir to adopt the Christian faith and to surrender part of his claim to the gold trade of Sofala, he evaded giving an immediate reply, and pro- posed that Affonso Furtado should be sent ashore again to conclude an agreement of peace and amity. With this understanding Cabral parted from him, but when Furtado landed on the following day he found preparations for defence being made on every side, and the tone of the emir was entirely changed. It was evident that rather than submit to the demands of the Portuguese he had resolved to resist them with arms, and as Cabral's force was so reduced that he did not wish to commence hostilities here,, the fleet set sail again. From this time onward Abraham was regarded as an enemy, and was made to appear as a treacherous tyrant.

Cabral proceeded from Kilwa to Melinde, where he was received with real demonstrations of satisfaction, as the ruler of that place relied upon Portuguese support in his feud with Mombasa. In consequence every thing in his power was done to assist the fleet, and he professed himself the servant of King Manuel in such terms that even the most exacting of the European officers was satisfied. The envoy that he had sent with Da Gama to Lisbon returned with Cabral, and a present of considerable value was delivered from the king. Two convicts, named Joao Machado and Luis de Moura, were set ashore well equipped for a journey into the interior, and were directed to endeavour to reach Prester John. On the 7th of August Cabral set sail for the Malabar coast, having with him two pilots of Guzerat engaged in Melinde.

On his return passage, the ship commanded by Sancho de Toar was wrecked on the coast near Melinde, and when her crew was rescued she was set on fire, as nothing could be saved from her. The sheik of Mombasa, however, afterwards recovered her guns, which he mounted on fortifica- tions in his town. Cabral arrived thus at Mozambique with only five of the thirteen ships with which he sailed from Lisbon. Here he caused them to be cleaned and refitted, and then gave the smallest of them to Sancho de Toar with instructions to proceed to Sofala and make himself acquainted with the condition of that place. With the remaining four vessels he sailed from Mozambique, but one, under command of Pedro d'Ataide, was separated from him in a storm, and was obliged to put into the watering place of Sao Bras to refit. With three ships therefore Cabral doubled the Cape of Good Hope on the 22nd of May 1501, and reached Lisbon on the 31st of July.

Of the visit of Sancho de Toar to Sofala very little information is given by Portuguese writers who had access to the journal of the voyage, and the other early accounts are most conflicting. One of these is by a pilot in Cabral's fleet, whose name is unknown, and who could only have acquired his knowledge from hearsay. It is to the following effect : —

De Toar found several Arab vessels at Sofala, from one of which he took an officer, whom he kept as a hostage for an Asiatic Christian sent ashore to make enquiries. After waiting two or three days without his messenger returning, he set sail for Portugal, and reached Lisbon the day after the captain-general. From information given by his captive, added to his own observations. De Toar learned that the Mohamedan settlement was not large, and that the gold was obtained from inhabitants of the interior in exchange for merchandise, but of the condition of the country and the details of the trade he remained in ignorance.

In the Legends of India Gaspar Correa gives what appears to be a much more complete account. But with respect to events previous to the government of Affonso d'Alboquerque this writer was a novelist rather than a historian, and though the first part of his work possesses great value as a reflection of his times, neither his state- ments nor his dates are to be relied upon. He did to some extent, in short, for the early history of the Portuguese in India what Sir Walter Scott did for the history of Scotland, though his Legends fall far short of the Heart of Midlothian or the Fair Maid of Perth as a vivid picture of national life. Correa's account, condensed, is as follows :

Sancho de Toar took with him from Mozambique an experienced pilot and a competent Arabic interpreter. He had also as passengers several Mohamedan traders, whom he received on board in order to learn their manner of con- ducting the gold barter. He crossed the bar of the river safely, and anchored before the lower village, when the traders proceeded to visit the sheik Isuf, each one taking a present with him. They informed the sheik who the stranger was and that he desired a conference, upon which Isuf at once consented, and sent a ring from his finger to Sancho de Toar as a pledge of safety. The Portuguese captain then landed with ten attendants carrying a present of considerable value, and was received with much cordiality. His object, he stated, was to ascertain whether the sheik was willing to carry on trade with people of his nationality in the same manner as with others, and if vessels laden with merchandise might be sent for that purpose to his port. Isuf replied that he was very willing it should be so, provided the Portuguese kept good faith and acted as friends. He then made a counter present of gold for the captain- general and one for De Toar himself, and sent a quantity of provisions on board the vessel. All trade, it was observed, passed through the sheik. The merchants displayed their goods before him, and when approved of he delivered to them gold in payment to the amount of twelve or fifteen times the cost price. Having obtained complete information concerning the place and its commerce, Sancho de Toar set sail from Sofala, and reached Lisbon within a few hours after the arrival of the other ships of the fleet.

There was naturally a feeling of sorrow for the loss of life sustained in Cabral's voyage, but otherwise the monarch and his people were very well satisfied with what had been accomplished. The king considered himself justified now in adding to his other titles that of Lord of the Navigation, Conquest, and Trade of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and India, which title was confirmed to him in 1502 by Pope Alexander VI.

Before the return of Cabral, on the 5th of May 1501 the third Indian fleet, consisting of four ships, sailed under command of Joao da Nova, principal magistrate of the city of Lisbon. At this time the eastern trade was not entirely monopolised by the government, and two of these ships were owned and fitted out by private individuals who had obtained licenses for that purpose from the king. On the passage out the island of Ascension — at first called Con- ception— was discovered, and on the 7th of July the fleet came to anchor at the watering place of Sao Bras.

Here in an old shoe fastened to a tree was found a letter written by Pedro d'Ataide, giving an account of Cabral's voyage to the time when he separated from that commander. From it Da Nova learned that the intended factory at Sofala had not been established on account of the loss at sea of Bartholomeu Dias and his ship, and that a fort had not been built at Calicut, where hostility had been encountered and the factor Aires Correa and a number of other Portuguese had been murdered, but that mercantile houses with Portuguese officials had been opened at Cochin and Cananor, which were peaceful and safe ports to enter. The latter part of this intelligence gave much satisfaction. On a knoll beyond the beach the chief captain caused a chapel, or hermitage as it was termed, to be built of stone, as a place for divine worship. It was dedicated to Saint Bras. This was the first Christian place of worship erected in South Africa, and though it was small and must have been very roughly constructed, the walls were so strong that more than half a century later they were standing to the height of a metre or more. While this work was going on some cattle were obtained in barter from the Hottentots and the ships were supplied with water, and when it was completed the fleet sailed again. Da Nova touched at Mozambique, Kilwa, and Melinde, but nothing occurred at either of these places that needs mention. On his return passage he discovered and named the island of St. Helena, where he took in water, and on the 11th of September 1502 he cast anchor again in the Tagus.

A great advance was now made by King Manuel towards the establishment of his authority in the eastern seas by stationing a fleet of war there permanently. It consisted of five ships, and was placed under command of Vicente Sodre, who was a brother of Vasco da Gama's mother. His instructions were to protect the two factories at Cochin and Cananor, and in the summer months to guard the strait of Bab el Mandeb and prevent the entrance or egress of Arab and Egyptian vessels. So small a force at first sight appears altogether inadequate for the duty imposed upon it, but its insignificance vanishes on remembering that its opponents were not armed for battle. A Portuguese ship could discharge cannon at them, very clumsy indeed, but still capable of sinking them, and was herself perfectly safe if she could keep their boats from boarding her. Her crew were accustomed to war, and were full of religious zeal, believing that the Almighty was on their side in the contest with infidels. Deeds that to us look like piracy and murder were to them heroic and glorious acts, for they were living in an age of cruelty, when the meaning of the word mercy was almost unknown, and clemency to enemies of another creed was rarely practised. The Moslem trading vessels, running before the monsoon from the coast of India with rich cargoes, were regarded by them as prizes given into their hands by the Most High.

The enormous profit upon the eastern merchandise, notwithstanding the length of the voyages and the loss of so many ships and men, induced the king to send out in 1502 a larger number of trading ships than had ever gone before. The chief command was offered to Pedro Alvares Cabral, but he made so many objections to the nearly independent authority given to Vicente Sodre that the offer was with- drawn, and Dom Vasco da Gama, who had now the title of Admiral of the Eastern Seas conferred upon him, was selected for the post. On the 10th of February 1502 the fleet set sail from the Tagus. It consisted of the five ships com- manded by Vicente Sodre, who was second in authority and next in succession in case of the death of the admiral, and ten others that were intended to return with cargoes. Still other five were being equipped, but were not then ready for sea, and did not sail until the 1st of April. They were commanded by Estevao da Gama, first cousin of the admiral, under whose orders he was to place himself upon his arrival in India.

Da Gama took in water at a port near Cape Verde, where he remained six days, and sailed again on the 7th of March. After encountering several storms in which some of his ships received much damage, he reached Cape Correntes with all except one commanded by Antonio do Campo, that was somewhere behind. Here he sent Vicente Sodre on to Mozambique with the ten largest vessels, and with the four smallest he steered for Sofala, in accordance with instructions from the king. He crossed the bar and anchored in front of the lower village, where he exchanged courtesies and presents with the sheik Isuf and confirmed the agreement of friend- ship with him, but did not obtain much gold in barter. Here he remained twenty-five days, making himself acquainted with the locality and the particulars of the interior trade. When leaving, one of his vessels struck on the bar and was lost, but her crew and cargo were saved.

Upon his arrival at Mozambique fifteen days after Vicente Sodre, he found a caravel that had been taken out in pieces on board the other ships nearly ready for sea. She was named the Pomposa, and had been designed by the king to guard the coast between the island and Sofala and carry on a trade in gold, but after what he had seen the admiral resolved to take her to India. A gentleman named Joao Serrao was appointed to command her. Zakoeja was then dead, and a much more friendly or perhaps more timid governor filled his place, so everything went on smoothly at Mozambique, where Da Gama remained four days, and then set sail for Kilwa.

This port he reached on the 12th of July, and entered it amidst a roar of artillery, as he had resolved to reduce the emir Abraham to submission owing to what had happened to Pedro Alvares Cabral. Upon his threatening to put the town to fire and sword if that potentate would not meet him, the emir with some attendants went off in zambucos, when Da Gama caused him to be seized, and informed him that he must become a vassal of Portugal and pay a yearly tribute of two thousand maticals of gold, about £893 15s. English sterling money, or he would be detained as a prisoner and taken to India. With this alternative before him, Abraham professed to be submissive, and an agreement was entered into in compliance with Da Gama's terms. A hostage was given to the admiral in the person of one Mohamed Ankoni, a man of rank in the town, and the emir was then permitted to return to land. But the tribute for the first year was not sent off as promised, so Mohamed Ankoni, knowing that Abraham would be rather pleased than otherwise with his detention or death, owing to jealousy and ill will entertained towards him, paid it himself to recover his freedom. The transaction does not seem very conclusive now, but Da Gama was satisfied with it, and Kilwa was thereafter considered a vassal state of Portugal.

Shortly after this the squadron under Estevao da Gama joined the admiral. It had been becalmed off Sofala, and lay at anchor outside the bar there from the 15th to the 17th of July, but did not attempt to enter the river, though smoke signals to do so were made from the shore. From Kilwa the admiral proceeded towards Melinde, but could not reach that port owing to the currents, so anchored at a distance of about fifty-five kilometres from it and by means of a messenger exchanged greetings with its friendly ruler. Thence he set sail for India, which he reached safely with the entire fleet except the ship commanded by Antonio do Campo, that did not cross over until the next favourable monsoon.

On the passage a large vessel, named the Meri, was fallen in with. She belonged to the Mameluke ruler of Egypt, and had a rich cargo of spices and other merchandise taken in at Calicut, with which and a number of pilgrims — including over fifty women and children — she was proceeding to the Red sea. There were two hundred and sixty men on board. She was captured without resistance, but when her cargo was being removed the Mohamedans tried to recover her. The result was that Da Gama caused her to be set on fire, and of all on board only twenty children were taken off, who were afterwards baptized and placed in a convent in Lisbon. All the others died by the sword or by fire.

On his return passage Da Gama touched only at Mozam- bique, where he took in water and refreshments. He reached Lisbon on the 1st of September 1503, and the tribute from Kilwa, the first from any state bordering on the Indian ocean, was received by the king with much gratification. It was presented to the monastery of Belem, to be devoted to the service of religion.

In 1503 three squadrons, each of three ships, were sent out, respectively under Francisco d'Alboquerque, Affonso d'Alboquerque, and Antonio de Saldanha. The transactions of the first two at any part of the African coast were too unimportant to need mention here. The last named was instructed to cruise for some time off the entrance to the Red sea, and destroy all the Arab commerce that he could before proceeding to India. The captains who sailed under his flag were Diogo Fernandes Pereira and Ruy Lourenco Eavasco, but before reaching the Cape of Good Hope the three ships separated from each other, and as the commodore did not know where he was, he entered a deep bay and cast anchor. Before him rose a great mass of rock, nearly eleven hundred metres in height, with its top making a level line more than two kilometres and a half in length on the sky. This grand mountain was flanked at either end with less lofty peaks, supported by buttresses projecting towards the shore. The recess was a capacious valley, down the centre of which flowed a streamlet of clear sweet water that fell into the bay just abreast of the ship at anchor.

The valley seemed to be without people, but after a while some Hottentots made their appearance, from whom a cow and two sheep were purchased. They were suspicious of the strangers, however, for on another occasion some two hundred of them suddenly attacked a party of Portuguese who had gone on shore, and Saldanha himself received a slight wound. Before this affray the commodore, who was in the full vigour of early life and filled with that love of adventure which distinguished his countrymen in those days of their glory, had climbed to the top of the great flat rock, to which he gave the name Table Mountain, the ravine in its face pointing out the place of ascent then, as it does to-day. From its summit he could see the sheet of water now known as False Bay, and on the isthmus connecting the Cape peninsula with the mainland some lakelets were visible. These he mistook for the mouth of a large river emptying into the head of False Bay, and thereafter for over a hundred and eighty years such a stream appeared on the maps of South Africa as coursing down from a great distance in the interior, though after a time it was made to enter the sea far to the eastward. From the top of Table Mountain Saldanha could also see the Cape of Good Hope, and so, having found out where he was, he pursued his voyage with the first fair wind. The bay in which he had anchored was thenceforth called after him Agoada de Saldanha, the watering place of Saldanha, until a century later it received its present name of Table Bay.

The ship commanded by Diogo Fernandes Pereira was separated from the other two in a storm off Cape Verde, and did not again fall in with either of them on the outward passage. She made prizes of a few Arab vessels on the East African coast, and then proceeded to the island of Socotra, where she was obliged to remain until the favourable monsoon of 1504 set in, when she went on to India.

Ruy Lourenço Ravasco parted from Saldanha in a storm after leaving the island of St. Thomas, for, instead of keeping out of the gulf of Guinea, they were hugging the African coast. He was ahead of the commodore, and continued on his course round the Cape of Good Hope until he reached Mozambique, where he took in refreshments, and then pro- ceeded to Kilwa. At this place he waited twenty days for the flag ship, and then, as she did not appear, he went on to Zanzibar. In a cruise of two months off that island he captured and either destroyed or held to ransom a great number of Arab vessels. Ravasco, who. was utterly fearless, even ventured to drop anchor before the town of Zanzibar, where he attacked a large force collected for its defence, and won a battle in which among others the heir to the government of the island was killed. The ruler then begged for peace, and agreed to pay a yearly tribute of one hundred maticals of gold — £44 13s. 9d. — and thirty sheep to the king of Portugal.

Ravasco next went to the assistance of the friendly town of Melinde, which was threatened by a Mombasan army. While thus engaged he captured some vessels in which he found the principal members of the government of Brava, whom he compelled to ransom their persons and to agree that their town should pay a yearly tribute of £223 8s. 9d. Here he was joined by Saldanha, who had also taken several prizes, and whose arrival brought the sheik of Mombasa to terms. He consented to make peace with Melinde, but his own independence was not subverted. The two Portuguese ships then set sail for the Arabian coast, where they did considerable damage, after which they proceeded to India.

In 1504 a fleet of thirteen ships was sent from Portugal to India under command of Lopo Soares d'Albergaria. It touched at Mozambique and Melinde on the outward passage, at both of which places it received good entertainment. When returning to Portugal with cargoes of great value, partly taken from captured prizes, Lopo Soares touched at Kilwa, and demanded from the emir Abraham the tribute then due. The emir refused to pay it, and no attempt was made to force him to do so. At Mozambique the fleet remained twelve days taking in provisions and water, as this island had now become the favourite refreshing place of the Portuguese whether outward or homeward bound. From Mozambique the two fastest sailing ships, under command of Pedro de Mendonca and Lopo d'Abreu, were sent in advance to Lisbon with a report of the condition of affairs in India, but the one under Pedro de Mendonca ran ashore at night some distance west of the watering place of Sao Bras, and was lost with al her crew. Lopo Soares reached the Tagus again on the 22nd of July 1505, after the most successful voyage yet made.

And now a great step forward in the extension of Portuguese authority in the East was resolved upon by King Manuel. This was the construction and garrisoning of forts at Quilon, Cochin, Cananor, Anjediva, Kilwa, and Sofala, and the main- tenance of two armed fleets, one to keep the seas from Cape Guardafui to the gulf of Cambay, the other from the gulf of Cambay to Cape Comorin, which would give him absolute control of the whole commerce of Western India and Eastern Africa. Such a design seems almost audacious for a little country like Portugal to attempt to carry out, but the people were full of energy, and the enormous profit on eastern produce gave promise of boundless wealth. Lisbon was rapidly becoming the storehouse from which all Western Europe was supplied with spices and Indian wares of every kind. These were not distributed in the places of consumption by the Portuguese, who were unequal to that additional task, and so the beautiful Tagus was visited by ships of many nations, whose merchants drew their supplies from the great warehouses on its banks. The glory of Venice had not yet quite departed, but every year her traffic was becoming less and less.

To encourage men to enlist as soldiers for service in India, they were offered a share in the pepper trade. Their regular pay was fifteen shillings and four pence a month, with food or seven shillings and eight pence a month maintenance money ; but each one received in India, every year in addition one hundred and fifty kilogrammes ' of pepper, which he was permitted to send home in the king's ships to be sold on his account. Officers of all ranks and the sailors in the fleets were paid in the same way, each one receiving a certain quantity of pepper according to the importance of his duties. At that time gold and silver had a very much higher purchasing power than they have at present, thus, according to Barros, pepper brought wholesale in Lisbon only about seven pence three farthings a kilo- gramme when sold for coin, but if bartered for European goods or provisions it produced many times as much as it would today.

To carry out the king's design a great fleet was made ready, in which fifteen hundred soldiers were embarked. A large number of noblemen and gentlemen, appointed to various situations which they were to hold for three years, were also on board, and everything that would be needed for the object in view had been carefully provided. A capable officer, named Tristao da Cunha, was selected as head of the expedition, but when all was in readiness for leaving he was seized with an illness which for a time deprived him of sight, so he was obliged to retire from the command. The vacant post was then offered to Dom Francisco d'Almeida, and accepted by him.

This nobleman was a son of the first count of Abrantes and brother of the bishop of Coimbra. He was a man of valour, who had distinguished himself in various positions, and who was generally esteemed for his probity and generosity. The instructions issued to him provided that he should be styled chief captain and governor until the several fortresses were built, after which he was to take the title of viceroy ; he was directed what ships he was to send back with cargoes, and what others he was to keep to guard the coasts ; he was to treat with justice and kindness all who should act towards him in a friendly manner, but was to wage relentless war against the Mohamedans who should oppose him ; and he was especially to favour all converts to Christianity.

As commander of the fortress which was to be built at Sofala, a gentleman named Pedro d'Anaya was appointed, who was to go out as captain of one of the ships. Another gentleman, named Pedro Ferreira Fogaca, was in the same way sent out to be captain of the fortress to be built at Kilwa. But the ship in which Pedro d'Anaya was to sail sank one night in the river, which caused an alteration in the plan regarding Sofala. Instead of going there first, the chief captain was to commence the erection of fortresses at Kilwa, and as soon as other ships could be made ready Pedro d'Anaya was to be sent with them to the coveted gold port, still, however, in a subordinate position.

Voyage of Dom Francisco d'Almeida

On the 25th of March 1505 Dom Francisco d'Almeida set sail from Belem. Never before had so many people assembled to take part in the religious observances usual on such occasions and to bid farewell to those who were leaving, for never had so many men of rank and position gone with such an expedition before. The fleet consisted of twenty-one ships, of which eleven were to return with cargoes, and the others to remain in the Indian sea. The materials for constructing several caravels were also on board. Well fitted out as the ships were, the crews were largely composed of landsmen, and in one in particular there was not a sailor who on leaving knew how to manage the helm.

On the 6th of April the fleet arrived at Cape Verde, and after taking in water at some harbours on that coast, left on the 15th. As some of the ships were very slow sailers, seven of them were here formed into a separate squadron, the command of which was given to Manuel Pacanha, and with the remaining fourteen Dom Francisco tried to push on more quickly. On the 5th of May in a heavy sea the ship commanded by Pedro Ferreira Fogaca was observed to be sinking, and her crew were hardly rescued when she went down with nearly everything on board. The Cape of Good Hope was doubled on the 26th of June, but the fleet had gone so far south to avoid danger that the cold was very severe and the decks of the ships were covered with snow. Turning now to the north-eastward, without touching anywhere on the way himself, but sending two ships under Goncalo de Paiva and Fernao Bermudes to Mozambique for information, Dom Francisco dAlmeida reached Kilwa on the 22nd of July. His squadron was intact, except the vessels detached and one, of which Joao Serrao was captain, that had parted from him in a gale.

Joao da Nova, who was going out to command the fleet of war that was to guard the sea from the gulf of Cambay to Cape Comorin, was at once sent ashore to arrange with the emir Abraham for a meeting. Some fruit was taken on board the flag ship as a present when she dropped anchor, but no other show of welcome was made, nor was the Portuguese flag that the admiral Dom Vasco da Gama had left there exhibited as a sign of dependency. The emir promised Joao da Nova to meet Dom Francisco on the water the following morning, but when the time came and the gaily decorated Portuguese boats were there in readiness, he sent word that a black cat had crossed his path on rising, which was an omen that no agreement made that day would be lasting, and therefore he wished to postpone the interview. Shortly after this, however, he fled to the mainland with a few attendants, but left about fifteen hundred men capable of bearing arms in the town, though there was nothing like a spirit of union among them.

Thereupon Dom Francisco resolved to take forcible possession of the place. To do this, at early dawn in the morning of the 24th he landed at the head of three hundred men at one point, and his son Dom Lourenco d'Almeida with two hundred at another, when each marched towards the residence of the emir. Hardly any resistance was offered, except in one of the narrow streets, for instead of attempting to defend the town most of the inhabitants followed their ruler to the mainland with as much of their movable property as they could carry away. The residence of the emir, which was in a commanding position, was thus easily secured, after which the Franciscan friars in the fleet landed and set up a cross, before which the canticle Te Deum Laudamus was chanted, and when this was concluded the place was given up to plunder. A great quantity of calico, spices, and other Indian produce, as well as ivory, ambergris, and African provisions, was collected and stored in a well guarded building close to the beach.

No time was lost in selecting a site for a fort, as the emir's residence was in a good position and could be altered and strengthened to serve the purpose. The adjoining buildings were cleared away to leave a large open space on three sides, and their materials were used for the necessary additions to the walls and for the construction of towers. On the fourth side the fort was so close to the shore of the harbour that at high water the waves beat against it. In twenty days the work was completed and cannon were mounted on the walls, as every one in the fleet, the com- mander himself included, joined with alacrity in the task of carrying stones and earth, and lightened the labour with jests and merry songs. The structure was named Sao Thiago, after the patron saint of the Iberian peninsula, on whose festival the work was commenced.

Meantime the form of the future government of Kilwa was taken into consideration. Dom Francisco d'Almeida resolved to leave everything as it was, except by changing the person at the head of the administration, and to permit the inhabitants of the town to return and resume possession of their houses in peace and security, provided they would accept the new ruler appointed by him. The emir Abraham, being a usurper, had no strong hold upon the affections of the people, and they consented readily to his being dis- placed. Between him and Mohamed Ankoni, who has been mentioned before, there was a deep feeling of enmity, which had caused Mohamed to be regarded by the Portuguese as their firm friend, as he professed to be. This was the man selected by Dom Francisco, with the consent of a council of his officers, to take the place of the deposed emir. He was not connected in any way with the family that had ruled Kilwa for centuries, but that was not regarded as of any importance, since he was to owe his position solely to the favour of the Portuguese.

Accordingly Mohamed Ankoni was offered the title of king, which he accepted, and he was crowned and proclaimed with much ceremony. He was about sixty years of age, and had sons who might succeed him, but for some reason or other — possibly to gain favour with the people — he stipulated that on his death the heir of the last legitimate ruler, the youth who had been kept out of his inheritance by the emir Abraham, should take his place. To this Dom Francisco agreed, attributing the proposal to the new king's goodness of disposition. Mohamed Ankoni made oath to pay the tribute imposed by Dom Vasco da Gama fully and regularly, and in all respects to act as a loyal and faithful vassal of Portugal. In this manner the difficulty of government, which the conquerors were too few in number to take upon themselves, was satisfactorily overcome.

Pedro Ferreira Fogaça was installed as captain of the fortress, with Francisco Coutinho as magistrate, and Fernao Cotrim as factor to conduct trade. Various other officials were appointed, and with the soldiers one hundred and fifty men in all were stationed in the fort Sao Thiago as a garrison. Instructions were given that a small vessel which, was being constructed of timber brought from Lisbon and the caravel under command of Goncalo Vaz de Goes, then in the squadron under Manuel Pacanha, should be kept to guard the coast as far down as Sofala, making Kilwa their home station and base of operations. Thus was commenced the Portuguese dominion on the coast of Eastern Africa, and in the Indian sea as well, for Fort Sao Thiago was the first stronghold built and garrisoned anywhere beyond Angola.

While these events were taking place the strayed ship under Joao Serrao arrived, and also the two under Goncalo de Paiva and Fernao Bermudes that had been sent to Mozambique to obtain information. These brought letters from Lopo Soares that had been left at that island, containing an account of the condition of affairs in India and of his successful voyage, which gave much satisfaction to Dom Francisco and those with him. Nothing more now remain- ing to be done at Kilwa, on the 8th of August the fleet set sail, and in the evening of the 13th cast anchor outside the bar of Mombasa.

Gonçalo de Paiva's vessel was a small one, and he was therefore sent on the following morning to take soundings before the other ships should attempt to enter the harbour. When doing this he was fired upon from a battery on the shore, on which were mounted the guns recovered from Sancho de Toar's ship that had been lost when returning from India with Pedro Alvares Cabral, and a ball from one of them went through his vessel from stem to stern, without, however, harming any one on board. He returned the fire with his artillery so effectually that the magazine of the battery exploded, when the guns were silenced, and the men who worked them fled into the town. The soundings were then completed, and it was ascertained that the fleet could enter without danger.

Thereupon Dom Francisco d'Almeida stood into the harbour and anchored his ships in two divisions before different parts of the town. When this was done a message was sent to the ruler by a pilot brought from Kilwa, offering peace and friendship on condition of his becoming a vassal of Portugal and paying tribute, otherwise war would be waged against him. The messenger was not even allowed to land, but some men from the shore — among whom was a Portuguese rene- gade— called out to him to inform the captain-general that the warriors of Mombasa were not like the hens of Kilwa to be frightened at the sound of artillery, as he would find if he attempted to enter the town. From an inhabitant of the place who was taken prisoner by some boats that were sent up the strait, it was learned also that as soon as the attack on Kilwa became known preparations for defence were hurried on, and that in addition to the Mohamedan residents over fifteen hundred Kaffir archers were in the town and more were hourly expected.

An attempt to bombard the place was then made, but without any effect, as the artillery of those days was not sufficiently powerful to cause damage at such a distance. An endeavour to set fire to some vessels from India that were anchored in the strait was also a failure, and in making it the captain Joao Serrao was severely wounded £,nd two others were killed with poisoned arrows. Dom Francisco next pretended to be preparing to attack the town in a particular place opposite his main squadron, and even sent his son Dom Lourencp with a strong party on shore there as if to try to set it on fire, but with orders to retreat to his boats without hard fighting. Dom Lourenco carried out these instructions, but lost two men killed and many wounded in doing so. By this means the captain- general drew the whole strength of the enemy to guard and protect that side, and was enabled to carry out the plan of operations he had formed.

Before dawn of the morning following this ruse nearly the whole Portuguese force, after haying received absolution from the priests, left the ships in boats to attack Mombasa. One division, under Dom Lourenco, went straight ashore to the front of the town, where the skirmish had taken place, and for a time was believed by the defenders to constitute the whole body of assailants. Another, but much smaller division, rowed up the strait to the vessels from India, to sound trumpets and make as much noise as possible, in order to draw the attention of the enemy to that point. This, however, was only a feint, for the principal attacking force, under the captain-general in person, leaving the smaller squadron which was anchored off the inner end of the town, landed round a point, and fell upon the place from behind.

The plan succeeded, though the defenders made a desperate resistance, especially in the narrow streets, which were so steep that huge boulders could be rolled down them, and where arrows were discharged from the windows and stones hurled from the flat roofs until the Portuguese made their way up and got possession of those terraces. The residence of the ruler was the point aimed at, and there Dom Francisco and his son, after a severe combat in the open space in front, met and found the building abandoned. The townspeople and their Kaffir auxiliaries now strove to flee to a palm grove at some distance, but were shot down with the firelocks and crossbows of the victors and pierced with their lances until it was believed that over fifteen hundred had perished. Fully a thousand, mostly women and children, were made prisoners. Mombasa was then given over to be plundered, and when the spoil was secured was set on fire and as much of it as was possible was destroyed. Only five or six Portuguese had lost their lives, but more than seventy had been wounded, some very severely.

Still, notwithstanding his heavy punishment of a people whose chief offence was refusing to surrender their independence, Dom Francisco d'Almeida was for his day a humane man. None of those revolting mutilations and barbarities practised by the great Affonso d'Alboquerque on similar occasions, and which must ever stain the memory of his name, were inflicted upon the captives who, trembling with fear, were brought before the victorious captain-general. He selected two hundred to be retained in bondage, and set the others at liberty. This was regarded as magnanimity in the early years of the sixteenth century, and particularly so when dealing with Mohamedans.

The caravel commanded by Gonçalo Vaz de Goes was laden with calico, part of the spoil, and sent to Mozambique to be ready for the trade of Sofala when a fortress should be erected there, after which the remainder of the fleet was towed over the bar and waited outside until a fair wind enabled it to proceed farther up the coast. No garrison was left to occupy Mombasa, so the inhabitants resumed possession of the ruins as soon as the Christians retired, and commenced to rebuild the town.

It was the intention of Dom Francisco d'Almeida to put into Melinde next, to greet the friendly ruler of that town, but the currents carried him beyond it, so he anchored in a bay about forty kilometres farther on, where he found two of the ships of the squadron under Manuel Pacanha. From this place messengers were sent to Melinde with a present from King Manuel to the ruler, to which the captain-general added a considerable quantity of the spoils of Mombasa. The destruction of this place occasioned great satisfaction at Melinde, and complimentary messages to Dom Francisco with a supply of refreshments for his ships were sent in return. On the 27th of August the fleet again set sail, and with a fair wind crossed over to Anjediva, where a fort was built and garrisoned, after which the captain-general took the title of viceroy. The whole of the squadron under Manuel Pacanha had previously joined him, except one ship, commanded by Lopo Sanches, which it was afterwards ascertained had been wrecked near Cape Correntes, and another, under Lucas da Fonseca, that remained at Mozambique until the next favourable monsoon.

On the 6th of March 1506 two fleets left Lisbon together for India. One, consisting of nine ships, was commanded by Tristao da Cunha, and the other, of five ships, was under Affonso dAlboquerque. On the passage the islands of Tristao da Cunha were discovered and part of the coast of Madagascar was explored, Mozambique was touched at, and Melinde was visited. There was a feud at this time between the sheik of Melinde and the town of Oja, which was about one hundred and thirteen kilometres distant. Oja was on the coast of the mainland, and contained many well built stone houses, with a wall to protect it on the inner side ; but it was without a harbour. To please the friend of Portugal, Tristao da Cunha undertook to reduce it. He sailed to the place, and having anchored in the roadstead, sent a message ashore demanding an interview with the ruler and submission to the crown of Portugal. To this he received a reply that the sheik of Oja would acknowledge no superior except the sultan of Egypt, who was the caliph in succession to the prophet Mohamed, and without whose permission he could have no dealings with strangers who were acting as enemies. The next day the Portuguese landed in two divisions, under Tristao da Cunha and Affonso dAlboquerque, and without much difficulty defeated the inhabitants and killed the sheik. The town was then plundered and set on fire, when, as it was built partly of wood, the flames spread so quickly that several soldiers who were still seeking spoil lost their lives.

The fleet then proceeded to Lamu, a town of no great importance about ninety-six kilometres farther on. The sheik of this place was so terrified by the fate of his neighbour that he at once offered to submit and pay a yearly tribute of £268 2s. 6c?. To this the Portuguese officers agreed, when the amount for that year was at once delivered, together with a quantity of provisions, so no damage was done to the town or its people.

Conquest of Brava.

Brava, one of the strongest cities on the coast, was next aimed at. Some of the principal men of this place had been captured in trading vessels by Ruy Lourenco Ravasco in 1503 and had been obliged to consent that it should become tributary to Portugal, but upon their return home this agree- ment was repudiated by the government, and every effort had since been made to prepare against attack. Upon the arrival of the fleet under Tristao da Cunha and Affonso d'Alboquerque, Diogo Fernandes Pereira, captain of the ship Gerne, was sent ashore to make the customary demand. The reply that he received was significant, though it was not in words : he was conducted to a spot where over six thousand armed men marched past before him. But most of these warriors were black barbarians, whose weapons were assagais and bows and arrows, so the display by no means intimidated the Portuguese.

At dawn the next morning Tristao da Cunha and Affonso d'Alboquerque landed at the head of their soldiers and sailors, and after a desperate resistance, in which forty-two Portuguese were killed and over sixty wounded, Brava was taken. The spoil was immense. Shocking barbarities were committed by some of the soldiers, who even cut off the hands of the Arab women to get the silver arm-rings which they wore. But such cruelties were not approved by every one, and some among those who regarded the butchery of defenceless Mohamedans as meritorious did not doubt that the loss of a boatload of goods and the drowning of a number of soldiers was a manifestation of God's wrath upon the evil doers for their excesses in mutilating the unfortunate females. After Brava was plundered it was given to the flames, and was left a smouldering mass of ruins.

This was by no means an end of the Portuguese con- quests on the eastern coast of Africa, but formidable military opposition to their predominance, after the fall of Kilwa, Mombasa, and Brava, was with good reason regarded as no longer to be feared, and it was believed that a few armed caravels would be sufficient to control or destroy the commerce of the whole of the Mohamedan settlements south of Magadosho.

The danger to the European adventurers thus lay elsewhere. They had as opponents the ruler of Calicut, the whole of the Moslem population on the coast of India, and those of the coasts of Persia and Arabia. To the aid of these came the sultan of Egypt, who was stirred to action by religious zeal and by the loss of the lucrative commerce that had once passed through his dominions. He fitted out a great war fleet on the shores of the Red sea, which he placed under command of a native of Kurdistan, named Husain and entitled emir, an able naval officer, and sent it to India to operate against the Portuguese. On board this fleet were fifteen hundred soldiers, belonging to all the nationalities of the Levant.

Dom Lourenço d'Almeida, who was in command of a squadron of considerable strength, was at anchor in the harbour of Chaul when the emir Husain sailed in and attacked him. He defended himself successfully until a fleet from Diu arrived also, when the opposing force became so disproportionate to his own that no hope was left except that of escape. Most of his ships managed to get away, but his own grounded, and after a desperate combat was taken when nearly every man on board was either dead or wounded. The young commander — he was not twenty-one years of age — was among the dead. During the action one of his legs was badly hurt by a cannon ball, but he had it hastily bandaged, and then took a seat by the mainmast of his ship and continued to issue orders until he was struck in the breast by another ball, when he fell back dead.

For a short time the Egyptian flag was supreme, but the viceroy collected all his ships of war, and with a much stronger force than his gallant son had commanded, he sailed from Cananor against his foe. On the 2nd of February 1509 a great naval battle was fought off Diu, which ended in the complete destruction of the Mohamedan fleet. Thereafter the supremacy of the Portuguese in the Indian ocean was assured, for until the appearance of other Europeans there they never again had an enemy so powerful at sea to contend with, though in 1538 the sultan of Turkey sent a strong fleet against them. And now for nearly a century the commerce of the East was as much a monopoly of the monarchs of Portugal as it had previously been of the Mohamedans.

On the 5th of November 1509 Affonso dAlboquerque succeeded the viceroy Dom Francisco dAlmeida, but had the title only of governor and captain-general. The transfer of power was delayed as long as possible, and was at last made most unwillingly ; perhaps it would not have been made even then, for many officers of note supported the viceroy in resisting DAlboquerque's claims, but the arrival of a powerful fleet under the marshal Dom Fernando Coutinho with positive orders from the king left no choice in the matter. Between the political opinions of these two high officials there was a great difference. Dom Francisco dAlmeida favoured the maintenance of a powerful fleet to command the sea, and was opposed to the establishment of many fortresses on land, as too heavy a burden for the little kingdom of Portugal to bear. Affonso d'Alboquerque was imbued with imperialistic ideas : he desired a great territorial dominion, which he believed could be easily maintained, owing to the rivalries and feuds among the various nationalities in the East. In 1510 he reduced Goa to submission and made it the capital of Portuguese India, of which the coast of Africa formed part.

Dom Francisco dAlmeida sailed from Cochin on the 19th of November 1509 in the ship Garça, of which Diogo d'Unhos was master, with the Belem, commanded by Jorge de Mello Pereira, and the Santa Cruz, commanded by Lourenço de Brito, in his company. On board these vessels were also the high officials who had served under him in India, whose appointments, having been for three years only, were now filled by others. Having touched at Cananor to take in some spices, he made Mozambique next, where he was detained twenty-four days, while a leak in the Belem was being repaired. Continuing his passage with favourable weather, he doubled the Cape of Good Hope safely, which gave him much satisfaction. It was an age of superstition, and certain individuals in Cochin had predicted that he would never get so far on his way home, which had caused him some uneasiness, but his mind was now relieved and he thanked God that their utterances had proved false.

As the ships were in want of water they put into Table Bay, where a party of men went on shore with empty casks to fill them. Some Hottentots were found on the beach, from whom a few head of cattle were obtained in barter for pieces of calico and iron, and the trade was conducted in such a friendly manner that twelve or thirteen Portu- guese subsequently requested and obtained leave to accom- pany the savages to their kraal, which was at a distance of five or six kilometres, probably on or near the site of the present village of Mowbray. At the kraal they were well treated, and some cattle were bartered, but on the way back a quarrel arose, from what cause it is impossible to say, as the accounts given by the early Portuguese historians are conflicting in this respect, though there is little doubt that it had its origin in a misunderstanding. At any rate a servant of DAlmeida and one of Jorge de Mello Pereira, with some others, were severely handled in the fray, and on their return presented themselves before their masters with their faces covered with blood.

At once a clamour for vengeance was raised by most of the officers, though Lourenco de Brito, Jorge de Mello Pereira, and Martim Coelho were of opinion that no notice should be taken of the matter, as very likely their own people were at fault ; but the others maintained that it was necessary to imbue the savages with respect for Europeans, and prevailed upon the late viceroy to consent to an attack upon the Hottentot kraal. According before dawn of the morning of the 1st of March 1510 about a hundred and fifty men embarked in the boats and were rowed to the head of the bay, where they landed on the sandy beach not far from the site of the present Fort Craig. A few were armed with crossbows, but most of them with only swords and lances, and they were led by D' Almeida in person, though he went somewhat unwillingly. As he left his ship he exclaimed : "Where are you taking sixty years?" that being his age at the time. Diogo d'Unhos, master of the Garça, was left in charge of the boats, with instructions to wait where he was until the return of the party.

The Portuguese reached the kraal without difficulty, and seized the cattle and some children, when the Hottentots, about a hundred and seventy in number, attacked them with stones and assagais of fire-hardened wood, against which their weapons proved useless, so they were obliged to retreat in disorder towards the boats. The Hottentots followed them, and increased their confusion by whistling the oxen in between to act as a protection and hurling assagais from behind with deadly effect. Many were killed on the way to the beach, and those who arrived there were dismayed to find that owing to a breeze that had set in Diogo d'Unhos had returned to the ships with the boats. On the sandy shore of the bay, too fatigued to attempt to escape by running towards the watering place where they could more easily be taken off, — as many of the soldiers were doing, — Dom Francisco dAlmeida and several others of high rank stood at the mercy of the incensed Hottentots. The royal standard was committed to the care of Jorge de Mello Pereira, who, however, was unable to save it, and just after handing it to him the late viceroy, already wounded with sticks and stones, fell pierced in the throat with an assagai.

By this time there had perished the captains Pedro Barreto de Magalhaes, Lourenço de Brito, Manuel Telles, Martim Coelho, Antonio do Campo, Francisco Coutinho, Pedro Teixeira, Fernao Pereira, and Gaspar d'Almeida. Diogo Pires, who had been Dom Lourengo dAlmeida's tutor, was at a little distance when he heard that Dom Francisco had been slain. Desiring to die by his side, he made his way to the corpse, and fell as he had wished. The slaughter still went on, but the boats were hastening towards the shore, and presently those who survived were rescued, many of them having waded out till up to their necks in water. On the shore and along the path to the Hottentot kraal lay sixty-five corpses, among them twelve of men of high rank or position, and hardly any who escaped were unwounded.

In the evening of the same day, as the Hottentots had returned to their kraal, Jorge de Mello Pereira landed with Diogo d'Unhos and a party of men to bury the dead. The corpses had been stripped of clothing, and that of Dom Francisco d'Almeida had been cut open. Those lying on the shore were hastily interred, but the others were not sought, as time was wanting and to move inland was considered dangerous. Early on the following morning the three ships set sail for Portugal.

In 1512 Christovao de Brito, when returning homeward, put into the watering place of Saldanha to visit the grave of his brother, who had fallen with D'Almeida. Diogo d'Unhos was then master of his ship, and he pointed out the place where the bodies were buried. De Brito raised a mound of earth and stones over it, and placed a wooden cross at the top, the only monument that it was in his power to erect in the time at his disposal. It would be interesting to know the exact site, but the description of the locality given by the Portuguese writers is so defective that it cannot be fixed more accurately than as being close to the sandy beach near the mouth of Salt River.

By this time many of the prominent capes and some of the bays on the coast had been named by Portuguese captains, but these cannot all be identified now. There were then no means known for determining: longitudes, and the instrument commonly used for measuring vertical angles required to be firmly fixed on shore, so that the latitudes given by seamen who did not land to take Value of the Real. 259 observations were usually very incorrect. On this account it cannot be stated with certainty, for instance, whether the river Infante was the present Kowie, Fish, or Keiskama, for its inland course as laid down on the maps was purely imaginary. And so with many other names. Still a considerable number can be determined with exactitude, and remain in use to the present day, though generally in an English form. Such are the following : St. Helena Bay, Table Mountain, Cape of Good Hope, False Bay, Cape Agulhas, Natal, St. Lucia Bay, Cape Correntes, and Cape St. Sebastian. Besides these, a good many corrupted Portuguese words are found on most modern maps of South Africa, but they do not always represent names given by the Portuguese to the places indicated.

CHAPTER XI.

OCCUPATION OF SOFALA AND MOZAMBIQUE.