THE PORTUGUESE IN SOUTH AFRICA FROM 1505 TO 1700.

CHAPTER XVIII.

FRUITLESS SEARCH FOR SILVER MINES.

The power of the Portuguese in the East was irrecoverably-broken, and their possessions were falling one after another into stronger hands, but the individual who was most affected by the change could not, or did not, realise the extent of his loss. That individual was Philippe, the third of Spain, the second of Portugal, who among his numerous titles still retained that of Lord of the Conquest, Navigation, and Commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and India. Perhaps he did not know of all the disasters that had overtaken his subjects, for he heard nothing except through the ears of the duke of Lerma, and that all- powerful favourite was not the man to point out that his empire was crumbling away, or to suggest any efficient means of preserving what still remained of it.

Accordingly in the royal orders to the viceroys of India, which commenced with the phrase "I the king", instructions were given in as lofty language as if Philippe was still really lord of the East and in receipt of an ample revenue. With regard to the coast of South-Eastern Africa, a hundred and fifty — a little later raised to three hundred — soldiers were to be stationed at Mozambique, the fortifications of Sofala were to be thoroughly repaired and provided with a garrison, forts were to be constructed at the different mouths of the Zambesi to protect the entrances of that river, Tete and Sena were to be made secure, and a fleet of armed vessels was to be kept cruising up and down the coast, so as to make the whole line impregnable. But where were the men and the ships and the money to come from ? That question could not be answered, and thus matters remained in the most wretched condition imaginable.

On the 21st of March 1608 the king wrote to Dom Joao Frojas Pereira, count of Feira, then viceroy of India, that Sebastiao de Macedo and Dom Estevao d'Ataide, successively captains of Mozambique, had sent specimens of silver ore to Lisbon so rich as to yield two-thirds of their weight pure metal. The exact locality where the ore was obtained was unknown, but it was believed to be at Tshicova, on the southern bank of the Zambesi some distance above Tete. The king therefore ordered the viceroy to send a force of five hundred men under Sebastiao de Macedo, Dom Estevao d'Ataide, or some other suitable person, to search for the mines and take possession of them. In addition to the fortifications and garrisons already mentioned, four strongholds, which Dom Estevao d'Ataide had represented as necessary to secure the country, were to be built and occupied, namely one each at Tshicova, Masapa, Bukoto, and Luanze. No ground except the actual mines was to be taken from the inhabitants, nor was the government of the monomotapa over his people to be interfered with in any way. The general in command of the expedition was to have supreme control in South-Eastern Africa, and upon his arrival was to appoint a new captain of Mozambique, who was to command the garrison and town in subordination to him.

War in the Kalanga country.

The time was opportune for such an enterprise, as the principal Kalanga tribe had for some years been engaged in civil war, and the Portuguese had acquired considerable influence in the country. In 1597, when Nuno da Cunha was captain of Mozambique, a powerful tribe on the border, under a chief named Tshunzo, made war upon the monomotapa, and sent two strong armies into his territory. One of these, under the induna Kapampo, marched as far as Masapa, but retreated on learning that an immense Kalanga force under Ningomosha, the monomotapa's general in chief, was rapidly approaching. In retreating, Kapampo laid the country along his line of march utterly waste, so that Ningomosha was unable to follow him. The monomotapa of the time, Gasilusere by name, was addicted to the use of dacha, and was otherwise a cruel, passionate, faithless tyrant. Though Ningomosha was in no way to blame for what had occurred, and was the next in rank to himself in the tribe, he caused him to be put to death for having failed to overtake Kapampo, and by this act raised against himself a large section of the people.

The other division of Tshunzo's force, under the induna Tshikanda, marched to within a short distance of the great place, and there made peace with the monomotapa on condition of being permitted to retain possession of the district it was then occupying. Two years later, however, the war was renewed, when Tshikanda robbed some slaves who were trading for their Portuguese masters, upon which the inhabitants of Tete and Sena joined the monomotapa against him. They were seventy-five in number, and took with them about two thousand Kaffir warriors, the whole force being under the command of Belchior d'Araujo, captain of Tete. Tshikanda was found within a lager, surrounded by about thirty thousand Makalanga. He had only six hundred warriors with him, but he had made as light of his opponents as a cat would of so many mice, attacking them by day and night and slaughtering many of them. The Portuguese approached the lager under cover of wickerwork screens carried before them, and shot so many of those within that Tshikanda offered to surrender on condition that the lives of his people should be spared. The Makalanga would not agree to this, so that night the besieged band attempted to cut its way through them, and Tshikanda and a few of his followers eseaped. At dawn next morning the Portuguese entered the lager and found a considerable amount of spoil. They then returned to their homes, after having obtained from the monomotapa, in recompense of their services, permission to carry arms wherever they should travel in his country, a privilege they had not enjoyed before.

The defeat of Tshikanda, instead of restoring peace to the Kalanga tribe, brought on civil war, for the party that resented the death of Ningomosha, being no longer apprehensive of danger from a foreign foe, rose in revolt against the drunken and ferocious monomotapa. They gained some successes, but when a few Portuguese under the leadership of Francisco da Cunha, captain of the Gates, went to the monomotapa's aid, they lost heart and fled to the territory of a chief who was supposed to be friendly to their cause. This chief, however, instead of receiving them as they had anticipated, seized their leader, cut off his head, and sent it to the monomotapa. By this act another of the rebel commanders, a man of great energy and ability, named Matuzianye, became the head of the insurgents, and he carried on the war so skilfully that in a few years he was master of nearly the whole country.

The monomotapa was in a sore plight when a Portuguese trader named Diogo Simoes Madeira, who had been some time resident at Tete, volunteered to assist him. This man raised a small company of Europeans armed with arquebuses, with whose assistance the legitimate Kalanga ruler recovered a large part of his territory. As a reward to his Portuguese friend for such valuable service he made him a present of the district of Inyabanzo adjoining the lands subject to Tete, with sovereign rights over the people residing in it. Further, on the 1st of August 1607, being encamped on the bank of the river Mazoe, he attached his mark to a document formally drawn up by the notary Miguel Nunes, in which he ceded to the king of Portugal all the mines of gold, copper, iron, pewter, and lead in his country, on condition that the king should maintain him in his position. All silver mines he granted to Diogo Madeira, who in the same document trans- ferred them to the king. Under his name on the deed of gift the monomotapa with his own hand made three crosses, and the document was signed as principals by Miguel Nunes and Diogo Simoes Madeira. As witnesses the signatures were attached of the friar Joao Lobo, vicar of Luanze, the friar Manuel de Sao Vicente, chaplain of the force, and twenty-four other Portuguese, in addition to the marks of several who could not write.

As a proof of good faith the monomotapa delivered to Diogo Madeira two of his sons, in order that they might be educated at Tete and brought up as Christians, and he promised to give two of his daughters for the same purpose. Shortly after this event the principal army of the insurgents was defeated in a pitched battle, and the monomotapa regained possession of his great place. The Portuguese then returned to Tete, taking with them the two young chiefs, — the daughters were never given to them, — and the country was apparently again in a condition of peace. The sons of the great chief were maintained in the house of Diogo Madeira, and having received instruction from the Dominican friars were baptized with the names Philippe and Diogo. The elder of the two, Philippe, then returned to his father, but Diogo remained at Tete, where he was taught to read and write as well as to assist the friars in the services of the church.

A year passed away, and the monomotapa collected his army again to attack the rebels who had not submitted. The tribe under Mongasi had hitherto maintained neutrality, but he now fell upon that chief and caused him to be killed. Thereupon the Mongasis effected a junction with Matuzianye, and at once the tide of success turned. The monomotapa's forces were defeated, and in a short time he was reduced to the greatest straits. Matuzianye then invaded Inyabanzo, but was driven back by Diogo Madeira, who built a strong lager and stationed twenty arquebusiers and three hundred Kaffir warriors in it. It was hardly completed when messengers arrived from the monomotapa, urgently begging for assistance. The great chief had just been defeated by Matuzianye in a battle in which he had been wounded himself and his eldest son had been killed. Diogo Madeira sent out a party that found the distressed fugitive, and escorted him to the lager at Inyabanzo, where he remained three months under the protection of the Portuguese. Then he removed to Tshidima, farther up the southern bank of the Zambesi, where he would be within easy reach of European aid should his enemies attack him again. Surely romance furnishes nothing more strange than the hereditary chief of the largest and most advanced tribe of Southern Africa depending for existence upon the favour of a European adventurer with barely a couple of score of arquebuses at his command.

This was the state of affairs when the king's orders concerning the search for the silver mines were issued. The count of Feira, to whom they were addressed, died while they were on the way out, and the friar Dom Aleixo de Menezes, archbishop of Goa, was acting as governor-general of Portuguese India when they arrived. He could not carry them out completely, but he did what was possible by appointing Dom Nuno Alvares Pereira, an officer of energy and ability, captain general of the conquest, and giving him a hundred soldiers to accompany him to South- Eastern Africa. In March 1609 the captain general arrived at Tete, and at once sent thirty soldiers to act as a bodyguard to the monomotapa. Having made the necessary arrangements, he directed Diogo Madeira to proceed to Tshidima in command of the remaining seventy soldiers and two thousand Kaffirs of Tete, and instructed him to deliver a valuable present to the monomotapa, whom he was to persuade to accompany the expedition to Tshicova and point out the silver mines. The monomotapa consented to this arrangement. On the way the chief of the clan that occupied Tshicova met the party and presented three small pieces of silver ore to the Portuguese leader, but he and his attendants disappeared immediately afterwards, and on arriving at the place neither the monomotapa nor any one else was able to point out a mine. Still it was believed that if the fugitive chief and his people could be captured they would be able to do so, and therefore it was resolved to suppress the insurrection as a preliminary measure.

1611] Defiant attitude of the Kalanga tribe. 439

After a stay of eighteen days at Tshicova the Portuguese army with all the warriors the monomotapa could collect marched against Matuzianye, and in a series of engage- ments inflicted such losses upon him that he was at length compelled to take refuge with a few followers on a strong mountain. The Portuguese, however, met with some reverses as well. At Bukoto they were defeated, and for a short time that station was occupied by the enemy. When at length Matuzianye's adherents were completely dispersed Diogo Madeira left ten soldiers as a bodyguard with the monomotapa, who was then at his great place, and with the remainder of his force he returned to Tete, taking with him several men of rank who were directed by the chief to transfer the silver mines to the captain general. Shortly after this Matuzianye was treacherously assassinated by an agent of the monomotapa, and organised opposition to the authority of the legitimate ruler entirely ceased throughout the country, though some robber bands still held out in the mountains.

In the meantime Ruy Lourençco de Tavora had arrived at Goa as viceroy, and had appointed Dom Estevao d'Ataide captain general of the conquest. Dom Estevao had arrived at Sena, and Dom Nuno Alvares Pereira had gone down the river to meet him and transfer the government. Diogo Madeira therefore proceeded to Sena with the monomotapa's envoys, and introduced them to the new captain general, at the same time reporting all that had occurred. But now a great change took place in the attitude of the Kalanga deputies. Their tribe was once more united, and they felt themselves strong enough to resist the little party of Portuguese to whom they had been so submissive while Matuzianye was alive and in rebellion. They therefore put on a bold face, and demanded the merchandise which each new captain of Mozambique had been obliged to send to the monomotapa on entering office. Dom Estevao d'Ataide made large promises, but gave no cloth. He sent the Kalanga deputies back to Masapa with Diogo Carvalho and fifty soldiers, who built a stockade or strong lager there, and occupied it as a garrison. A robber band, consisting of the most determined of the late rebels, was in possession of a mountain stronghold close by, so the monomotapa sent an army to encamp in the neighbourhood, in expectation that tbe Portuguese would assist to destroy it. The robbers attacked Masapa twice, and caused some loss, but Carvalho was not to be drawn from his fort.

As Dom Estevao's promises were not fulfilled, the monomotapa grew weary of waiting for the merchandise which his envoys had asked for, and ordered a general empata, or confiscation of Portuguese property, throughout his country. Several traders were killed in resisting it, and even Diogo Madeira, who was on a bartering expedition at the time, although he had performed such eminent services for the great chief, was robbed of all his goods and barely escaped with his life. Diogo Carvalho, on learning what was taking place, formed an alliance with the robbers in his neighbourhood, and together with them fell upon the Kalanga camp one night and created great havoc in it. He then abandoned Masapa and retired to Tete, leaving no Portuguese in the interior of the monomotapa's country.

Dom Estevao d'Ataide now resolved upon war with the Kalanga tribe. The force under his command, consisting of only one hundred and twenty-five soldiers, was altogether too puny for such an undertaking, but he hoped to obtain the aid of the clans that had been recently in rebellion as well as of the tribes along the Zambesi that were the hereditary enemies of the monomotapa. He shifted his head quarters from Sena to Tete, and sent Diogo Carvalho two days' journey farther up the river to build and occupy a fort to be called Santo Estevao. This was just accomplished when a complete break in the proceedings occurred. It was reported in Lisbon that a fleet of unusual strength was about to leave Holland for India, so on the 10th of October 1611 the king issued instructions that the captain general of the conquest was at once to reinforce the garrison of Mozambique, which then consisted of only twenty-five soldiers. In consequence of this order, in March 1612 Dom Estevao was obliged to leave Tete with all his force, and seven months elapsed before he could return. Diogo Madeira, who had received from the viceroy the appointment of captain of Tete for life, remained behind with the permanent residents of the place, but they, though assisted by their Bantu subjects and by the people of the district of Inyabanzo, could do nothing more than defend themselves against the strong army which the monomotapa sent to attack them.

In 1612 reinforcements of troops arrived at Mozambique from Portugal, and Dom Estevao d'Ataide was enabled to return to the Zambesi. But the king was becoming dissatisfied with the want of progress in conquest or discovery, and he found fault with the terms on which the viceroy Buy Lourenco de Tavora had engaged the captain general. To the new viceroy, Dom Jeronymo d'Azevedo, he wrote that his predecessor had no authority to promise high honours and favours to Dom Estevao in the event of his being successful, and he directed that the agreement with him should be annulled. Dom Estevao was to proceed to India, leaving the direction of military matters in the hands of Diogo Simoes Madeira, who was made a member of the order of Christ and was granted a small annual pension, besides being confirmed in possession of the district of Inyabanzo and promised the rank of a nobleman should he succeed in discovering and opening the silver mines. He was not, however, to have the position of captain general of the conquest, as Buy de Mello de Sampayo, who had a claim to the captaincy of Mozambique under the former condition of affairs, was to have the civil administration and independent command of Fort Sao Sebastiao given to him with a monopoly of the commerce south of the Zambesi on the usual terms.

Ruy de Mello de Sampayo was not in India when this order arrived, so the viceroy appointed his own brother Dom Joao d'Azevedo captain of Mozambique for one year, and recalled Dom Estevao d'Ataide. Nothing of any consequence had been done since his return to Tete, and in July 1613 Dom Estevao laid down the command and set out for India, but died at Mozambique on the way, leaving property in gold, ivory, &c, worth one hundred and ten thousand cruzados, which the judge Francisco da Fonseca Pinto, who had been sent from India to conduct the usual examination into his conduct, placed in safe keeping. It was subsequently confiscated for the benefit of the royal treasury, and was used to pay for repairing the fortifications of Mozambique. The death of Dom Estevao saved him from the punishment often inflicted upon the unsuccessful, whether they were guilty of misconduct or not. On the 8th of March 1613 the king wrote to the viceroy to have him arrested and tried for furthering his own interests at Tete instead of proceeding with the conquest and for having taken to the Zambesi a hundred and fifty disciplined soldiers from Fort Sao Sebastiao and left in their stead only forty or fifty recruits, whereas he was under obligation to maintain at Mozambique two hundred soldiers and to employ five hundred in the expedition in search of the mines. If he was found guilty of these offences he was to be sent to Portugal a prisoner in chains. This was the fate designed by the king for the man who had so gallantly defended Mozambique against the Dutch, but who had failed to carry out an engagement to raise an army when neither volunteers nor pressed men were to be had.

1613] Destruction of Tshombe's clan

Diogo Madeira with the slender force under his command now undertook the enterprise in which two officers of superior rank and authority had failed. On the 10th of August 1613, having received transfer of the soldiers and a trifling quantity of military stores, he left Sena to proceed up the river in boats, but had hardly set out when he encountered opposition. There was a clan living close to Sena under a chief named Tshombe, who during the recent disturbances had come under the protection of the Portuguese, and had agreed to pay as tribute a certain quantity of millet yearly. Seeing the weakness of his protectors now that the civil war in the country was ended, this man was disposed to assert his independence, and when the new commander called upon him to pay his tribute and to surrender some fugitive slaves whom he was harbouring, he refused to comply. He even attempted to prevent the flotilla passing up the river until a toll was paid to him, but was defeated in an engagement, and the boats proceeded onward.

As it was necessary to keep open the communication by the Zambesi with the sea, on his arrival at Tete Diogo Madeira raised as large an army as he could to proceed against Tshombe. It consisted of one hundred European and mixed- breed arquebusiers and six thousand Bantu warriors from the lands of Tete and Inyabanzo. With these he marched down the river bank and attacked his opponent, who was found entrenched in a very strong lager and well supplied with means of defence. The attack failed, and all the men that could be collected at Sena, consisting of forty arquebusiers and three thousand Kaffirs under a friendly chief named Kwitambo, were then summoned to assist. Again an attempt to take the lager by storm was unsuccessful, so it was besieged for over two months in the hope of starving the defenders. In an assault on the 16th of November some advantage was gained, and that night Tshombe and a few of his followers made their way through the blockading force and escaped. On Sunday the 17th of November the Portuguese obtained possession of the lager, and secured as spoil some ivory and loincloths of native manufacture, besides eight thousand adults and as many children, who were made slaves. Fifty soldiers was left in the lager to prevent its being reoccupied, and Tshombe was pursued until nearly all of his warriors were slain. The territory he had occupied was then given to Kwitambo, who engaged to pay yearly-tribute for it, and Diogo Madeira with his army returned to Tete.

Here he was gladdened by a message from the monomotapa that if he would pay the quantity of merchandise usually given by those entering office he might take possession of Tshicova in peace. Goods to the value of four thousand cruzados were at once forwarded, and in return a man of rank was sent by the Kalanga ruler to transfer the district supposed to contain the silver mines. Accordingly, on the 15th of April 1614 Diogo Madeira left Tete with a hundred soldiers, six hundred Bantu warriors, and a number of slaves carrying stores, and on the 8th of May reached Tshicova, where he set about building a fort or stockaded enclosure which he named Sao Miguel. The envoy of the monomotapa was with him, but could not point out a mine, and the chief of the locality fled as soon as the object of the expedition became known. On being applied to, the monomotapa sent a piece of silver ore weighing about a quarter of a kilogramme, and with it a man named Tsherema, who had found it at Tshicova ; but Tsherema could only point out loose pieces of ore, not a mine. Diogo Madeira caused him to be beaten and imprisoned, but to no purpose, for he was never able to show his tormentors what they so much desired to see.

The northern bank of the Zambesi opposite Tshicova was occupied by an independent chief named Sapoe, who professed to be a friend of the Portuguese. He gave them permission to trade freely in his country, and offered them a road through it to Tete. Diogo Madeira availed himself of this, and a path was explored on the Bororo side of the river past the rapids of Kebrabasa to navigable water. With Sapoe's consent a stockade, named Santo Antonio, was built and occupied opposite Sao Miguel, so that the ferry was completely under Portuguese control. Fort Santo Estevao farther down on the southern side was destroyed, as there were no men to occupy it.

1614] Difficulties with the Monomotapa.

Being without means either to explore the country or even to feed those who were with him, as no aid of any kind had yet reached him from Portugal or India, on the 24th of June Diogo Madeira was compelled to leave for Tete and Sena, taking with him nearly the whole of his people. During his absence Diogo Teixeira Barros, with forty-four soldiers and some slaves, was entrusted with the defence of the stockades Sao Miguel and Santo Antonio. On arriving at Sena, instead of finding the assistance he was hoping for, Madeira received instructions from the king that he must send the soldiers brought by Dom Estevao d'Ataide back to Mozambique, as that island was in danger of being attacked. In consequence of this order thirty were despatched in a pangayo, all that could be mustered, as some had died and the others were at Tshicova. Nothing could illustrate better than this event the exhausted condition of Portugal at the time.

The captain still hoped that a supply of merchandise would be sent from India to enable him to carry on his work, so he resolved to keep the monomotapa in good humour by means of presents and to engage every resident along the river that would enter his service. He therefore sent the great chief a silken banner, a gold head ornament, and a small quantity of cloth, with a complimentary message; but as the whole was of trifling value it was regarded with contempt by the Kalanga ruler, who imprisoned the men that took it to him and made a demand for a number of articles that he named. To obtain these Diogo Madeira was obliged to compel such inhabitants of Sena as were in possession of goods to sell them to him on credit without any prospect of payment being ever made, and thus he created enemies when he sorely needed friends. The monomotapa, however, appeared to be appeased, and released his prisoners, so Madeira set out on his return to the stockade Sao Miguel with all the men and stores he had been able to collect.

Meantime Barros found himself in great difficulties at Tshicova. He was so badly in want of food that he was compelled to take it by force from the blacks, which naturally aroused their enmity. Then the son of the monomotapa who had been baptized with the name of Philippe having displeased his father fled to Fort Sao Miguel and claimed protection. This was given to him, upon which the monomotapa sent an army to destroy the stockade. On the 18th of March 1615 it was attacked, but was successfully defended until the 20th, when Diogo Madeira arrived at Santo Antonio with the reinforcements he had collected, and while he was crossing the river with them the hostile army withdrew.

There was now a small band of Portuguese with a considerable number of slaves, having provisions for only a few months, in an advanced stockade in an enemy's country. A line of retreat was open by crossing the river and marching down its northern bank past the rapids, and then recrossing to Tete. There defence for a long time was possible, as a strong Bantu force could be raised from the subject clans and in the district of Inyabanzo, and in case of necessity the river would furnish conveyance to Sena and the sea. Under these circumstances Diogo Madeira decided to remain where he was until aid could reach him from Portugal or India. He sent the young chief Philippe to Tete, and provided for his maintenance there, as his friendship might be of importance at some future time. He then caused as thorough a search as was possible to be made by men who were without experience or special knowledge in the vicinity of the stockade, and though nothing that could be called a mine was discovered, the prisoner Tsherema pointed out a place where several loose pieces of rich silver ore were picked up, some weighing many kilogrammes..

To send specimens of these to Lisbon and to Goa, and thus to create such an interest in the undertaking as would cause sufficient assistance to be sent to him, was now the first object of Diogo Madeira. This was not so easy of accomplishment as might be supposed. It was believed that the jealousy of Euy de Mello de Sampayo, who in 1615 447 became captain of Mozambique, would be aroused by the intelligence, and that the specimens would probably never get beyond that island except as coming from him. To meet this difficulty Gaspar Bocarro, a faithful friend of Diogo Madeira, volunteered to go overland to some port high up on the eastern coast, and thence by way of the Red sea and the Mediterranean to Portugal. He was an old inhabitant of the country, and as he was wealthy he offered to perform this service at his own cost and in addition to contribute two thousand cruzados towards the maintenance of Fort Sao Miguel during his absence. At the same time the Dominican friar Francisco d'Avelar offered to proceed to India by way of Mozambique and thence to Portugal, trust- ing that his habit would protect him from interference on the way.

1616] Exhibition of Silver Ore in Lisbon

In February 1616 the two envoys set out, each taking with him a quantity of silver ore and attested certificates that it had been found at Tshicova. The friar reached Goa in safety, and after delivering a report to the viceroy, proceeded to Lisbon and thence to Madrid, where the specimens and documents which he produced caused great satisfaction to the king and the court.

Gaspar Bocarro, who was an experienced African traveller, took with him ten or twelve slaves to carry the specimens of ore, a quantity of beads, some calico, and a thousand bracelets of copper wire. With this merchandise he procured food, guides, and porters, and so made his way without difficulty from Tete to the southern extremity of Lake Nyassa. He crossed the Shire — called the Nhanha in his journal — in canoes close to its outflow from the lake, and proceeding upward between the eastern side of Nyassa and the coast, was ferried over other rivers named the Ruambara and the Rofuma. Part of the country on his route was found still a desert waste, as it had been left by the Mazimba. On the fifty-third day after his departure from Tete he reached Kilwa, where he procured a conveyance to Mombasa. Here he found it would be impossible to go up the Red sea, on account of wars then being carried on in those parts, so with much regret he went to Mozambique and thence returned to the Zambesi.

While the envoys were on their way Diogo Madeira tried to make the best of matters at his stockades. He dared not go far from Sao Miguel, but in its vicinity more pieces of silver ore were found, which were sent down to Tete and exchanged for calico, so that he was able for a time to obtain provisions. In January 1616 he had been joined by the Dominican friar Joao dos Santos, who had petitioned to be sent from India to South-Eastern Africa as soon as he heard that the monomotapa Gasilusere had consented to two of his sons being educated as Christians. His experience, he thought, might even be instrumental in converting the monomotapa himself. His provincial consented, and the king ordered his expenses to be defrayed by the royal treasury and that he should be employed on some official mission to the monomotapa that would add to his dignity and influence. Dos Santos was an old man when he reached the Zambesi again, and he must have been bitterly disappointed with the turn affairs had taken. He was, however, as full of zeal as in his younger years, and when a message reached him at Sena that the departure of Francisco d'Avelar would leave the defenders of the stockade Sao Miguel without a spiritual comforter, he did not hesitate, but proceeded up the river to the lonely post to minister to them and to share their discomforts.

Some time before the friar Francisco d'Avelar reached Goa with the specimens of silver ore, Dom Jeronymo d'Azevedo had received bitter complaints from the traders whose merchandise Diogo Madeira had practically seized by force, and also from the residents of Mozambique concerning similar conduct by the captain Kuy de Mello de Sampayo. The viceroy, therefore, by the advice of the council of state, appointed the judge Francisco da Fonseca Pinto a commissioner to investigate matters in South-Eastern Africa, and gave him very large powers to settle disorder of every kind. He was also supplied with calico and beads for the expedition under Diogo Madeira, in case he should think it proper to assist that enterprise. The judge was accompanied by one of his friends named Salvador Vaz da Guerra. He arrived at Mozambique in March 1616, where he summarily dismissed Ruy de Mello de Sampayo from office, and appointed Da Guerra in his stead. He then went on to the Zambesi, and arrived at Kilimane in May.

By this time the garrison of Fort Sao Miguel was reduced to great distress. The summer had been so intensely hot that for weeks together to touch a stone exposed to the sun's rays caused the skin to blister, and sickness had prevailed to an alarming extent. Most of the able-bodied slaves had run away, those who remained could not venture outside the stockade, and so great was the scarcity of food that if not relieved the place must soon be abandoned from hunger. There were only forty-four soldiers left to guard it. As soon therefore as Diogo Madeira heard that a commissioner with extensive powers had arrived at the rivers he wrote urging that assistance should be forwarded without delay, but received no reply.

Instead of sending at least some calico that food might be purchased with it, the judge passed a couple of months at Sena and Tete, exchanging the merchandise he had brought from India for gold and ivory. He was able to do this to unusual advantage, as for two years in succession the trading vessels from Mozambique had been lost, and calico and beads were in great demand. He listened to all the complaints against Diogo Madeira, and without a trial confiscated his property at Tete and made his nephew a prisoner. On the 1st of August 1616 he left Tete for Tshicova with a hundred and fifty soldiers and two thousand Kaffirs, but when he was within a day's march of Fort Sao Miguel Diogo Madeira, fearing to place himself in the power of a man who had acted in so hostile a manner, crossed the river to the stockade Santo Antonio, though he left the soldiers behind. On learning this, the judge at once returned to Tete.

All hope of retaining the position at Tshicova was now abandoned. The soldiers had parted with their shirts for food, and were half naked as well as more than half starved. Mass was said for the last time in the little structure used as a church, and then Dos Santos with a heavy heart stripped the altar of its ornaments and removed whatever could be taken away. Some slave women and children were first ferried over to Santo Antonio, the soldiers followed, and last of all Diogo Madeira himself bade farewell to the stockade he had held so long in hope of relief being sent to him. It was the 17th of August 1616. On the 18th Santo Antonio was in like manner abandoned, and the party commenced to march down the bank of the river. The soldiers were so weak that two of them died before they reached the ferry below the rapids. Diogo Madeira retired to his district of Inyabanzo, where he remained for a time, and the others went to Tete.

The judge now pronounced the discovery of silver ore at Tshicova to be a fable, as the pieces found had probably been carried there from some other place, and he induced the soldiers to sign a document to that effect. Diogo Madeira he proclaimed an outlaw. The monomotapa, who had already destroyed the abandoned stockade Sao Miguel, sent an army against the unfortunate captain, and he was obliged to leave Inyabanzo and take refuge with the chief Kwitambo near Sena until the judge returned to Mozambique, when he went back to Tete an utterly ruined man. The Kalanga army overran Inyabanzo and the territory subject to Tete, until nothing was left to the Portuguese but the fort and the village adjoining it, and even these might have been lost if the residents had not appeased the monomotapa with presents.

The government at Lisbon disapproved of these proceedings, and instructions were sent to the viceroy to cause the judge Francisco da Fonseca Pinto to be tried by the inquisitor general of India for his conduct, to restore Ruy de Mello de Sampayo to the captaincy of Mozambique for the time wanting to complete his term of three years, and to place Diogo Madeira again in his former position, with means necessary to carry out his enterprise. In accordance with these instructions, in January 1618 some calico was sent from India, and when it reached Sena Diogo Madeira endeavoured to raise and equip another expedition. A few soldiers arrived from Mozambique to take part in it, but before anything of consequence could be done a complete change was made.

It was first resolved to form a separate government of South-Eastern Africa, as in the time of King Sebastiao, and a new viceroy of India was appointed and left for Goa under this arrangement; but on the 10th of March 1618 the king wrote to him that the plan had been abandoned. Instead of it a governor of Monomotapa was appointed, who was to reside at Tshicova and carry out the conquest of the district in which the mines were situated. Dom Nuno Alvares Pereira, then commander in chief at Ceylon, was the officer selected for the situation. He was to take with him the seasoned troops at Mozambique, whose places were to be supplied by recruits sent from Lisbon, and the viceroy was directed to aid him with trustworthy officers, soldiers, sailors, materials of war, and provisions, at the expense of the treasury of India. Skilled miners and smelters were to be sent from Portugal and also from India to search the country and develop its mineral wealth. Commerce was to be carried on by the royal treasury, and was to be under the control of Antonio de Maris Lobo, who was appointed overseer of the revenue of Monomotapa. Towards defraying the cost of all this, twenty-two thousand cruzados would be sent from Lisbon, with which merchandise was to be purchased and sent to the Zambesi, there to be used in providing for the conquest. The viceroy was to furnish presents for the monomotapa and other rulers in the country. Dom Luis de Menezes, or in his default Dom Alvaro da Costa, was to be appointed commander of the garrison of Mozambique, subordinate to the governor of Monomotapa, as the captain of Sofala was also to be. Diogo Simoes Madeira was to be retained in favour, and was to be induced to assist in carrying out the conquest.

1622] Recognition of failure

These instructions are a fair sample of those commonly sent by the king to India at this period. They were written as if almost unlimited resources were at the disposal of the viceroy, whereas it was frequently a matter of the greatest difficulty for him to meet the most essential expenses of his government. The royal orders therefore do not represent what was really done, or what could possibly be done, but merely what the viceroy, without any means to carry them out, was directed to do. In 1618 Portuguese India had not resources equal to effecting an extensive conquest in South-Eastern Africa, even if it could have been done with two hundred soldiers, as an enthusiastic writer, Diogo da Cunha de Castelbranco, believed it might be, provided sufficient calico was supplied for presents to the chiefs.

In February 1619 Dom Nuno Alvares Pereira reached Goa from Ceylon, and soon afterwards sailed for Mozambique with as many men and as good an equipment as the viceroy could furnish him with, though both were inadequate for the task he had in hand. Pangayos were procured at the island, the men and stores were transferred to them, the seasoned troops in Fort Sao Sebastiao were embarked, and the expedition left for the Zambesi. The details of events after its arrival cannot be given, as the reports and journals of occurrences have disappeared, and Bocarro's chronicle does not extend so far. But it succeeded no better than its predecessors, and no silver mine was found nor was a square metre of ground added to the Portuguese dominions by it.

In January 1620 two vessels were sent from Lisbon with supplies of different kinds for the expedition, and with instructions to Dom Nuno to fortify the entrances to the / Zambesi, as the Dutch coveted the mines of Monomotapa and might at any time endeavour to get possession of them. This order could not be carried out for want of means. The Dutch frequently landed at places along the coast and traded with the inhabitants, chiefly for provisions, and it was out of the power of the Portuguese to prevent them doing so ; but at this time they made no effort to occupy any part of South-Eastern Africa.

Two years later it was recognised in Portugal that the expedition was a failure, and that the expense of maintaining it was too great a drain upon the treasury to be continued. The trade too, as conducted by the government, had resulted only in loss. With the ships that left Lisbon early in 1622, therefore, instructions were sent by the king to the viceroy to recall Dom Nuno Alvares Pereira to India and to desist from any further attempt to effect a conquest in the monomotapa's country. Everything was to revert to the former condition, when the captains of Mozambique, under the direction of the viceroy, had control of civil and military affairs, and held a monopoly of commerce south of the Zambesi on payment of forty thousand cruzados a year to the royal treasury and keeping up the establishments.

Nuno da Cunha was appointed captain under this system. He was directed to persevere in the effort to discover the silver mines, but by means of peaceful exploration and con- ciliation of the monomotapa. For this purpose not only were the presents made to that ruler according to ancient custom to be forwarded to him, but two horses with equipments and some fine cloth were to be added. Further two Portuguese who were particularly obnoxious to him were to be banished from the country. The knowledge and diligence of Diogo Simoes Madeira, who had conducted himself in such a manner as to deserve favour, were to be made use of, and in addition to the often-repeated promise of the rank of a nobleman was now added that of a commandery with a revenue of two thousand cruzados a year if he should succeed in finding the silver mines and bringing them into working order. The new captain was to make enquiries about the mines from which the copper used by the Makalanga was obtained, and to ascertain whether they could be acquired and worked to advantage.

The order that the captain of Mozambique should use every effort to make these discoveries was frequently repeated during the following years. Diogo Madeira persevered in the endeavour, and though in 1624, owing to certain proposals that he made, he fell into disfavour with the viceroy, who intended to have him arrested and sent out of the country, the king continued to hold out tempting offers to him if he should succeed. But no silver mines were ever discovered by the Portuguese along the Zambesi above Tete, nor was it ascertained whether the loose pieces of ore which beyond all doubt were found at Tshicova were there in situ or had been brought from some other locality.

While everything was thus in turmoil along the Zambesi the Dominicans were unable to carry on their mission work among the Makalanga, but they were active at Sena and Tete, and some of them accompanied the Portuguese forces wherever they went. In 1605 they had been reinforced from Europe, and by order of the king those who went out were not permitted to return again unless under special circumstances. When the first expedition under Dom Nuno Alvares Pereira was sent from India by the archbishop De Menezes some members of the Company of Jesus went with it, but the Dominicans, fearing complications, objected to their rivalry. The king therefore, on the 23rd of January 1610, issued instructions that they alone were to labour in Africa south of the Zambesi, still the Jesuits did not entirely withdraw, and at a little later date they were in considerable strength at Sena. For the support of the Dominicans Dom Nuno Alvares Pereira made considerable grants of land, though as these were still to be conquered their value was purely prospective. From the royal treasury the missionaries received such a trifling allowance that for their maintenance they were chiefly dependent on alms.

The design of King Sebastiao half a century earlier concerning the ecclesiastical government of South-Eastern Africa was at this time carried into completion. On the 21st of January 1612 at the request of the king Pope Paul V separated the country from Cape Guardafui to the Cape of Good Hope from the archbishopric of Goa, and created the office of ecclesiastical administrator for it, with powers, however, somewhat less than those of an ordinary bishop. The friar Dom Domingos Terrado, titular bishop of Sale, was appointed to the office, with a yearly salary from the royal treasury of two hundred thousand reis, about £125 sterling. The island of Mozambique, as the seat of the civil and military government, was selected as his place of residence.

At Sofala nothing of any consequence had happened for many years. Being in the territory of the kiteve and unaffected by occurrences in the monomotapa's country, com- merce could be carried on with the Bantu just as when the friar Joao dos Santos lived there. Owing to fear of an attack by the Dutch, in 1615 the fort was put into repair, and thereafter fifteen or twenty soldiers were stationed in it as a garrison. The pangayo with goods from Mozambique once a year formed the principal means of com- munication with the outer world, though the little vessel that traded at Inhambane and Delagoa Bay every second or third year sometimes called on her passage up or down the coast. In all the world there could not have been a duller place of existence for Europeans.

The journey of Gaspar Bocarro from Tete to Kilwa had drawn the momentary attention of the king and his court to the country north of the Zambesi, but no steps whatever were taken to form stations in it or to open it to commerce by any other means than before. An order was indeed issued by the king that the captain Nuno da Cunha should endeavour to ascertain whether the lake (Nyassa) would not furnish a road to Abyssinia, but with that order the matter ended. The Portuguese were no longer a nation of explorers.

CHAPTER XIX. EVENTS OF INTEREST FROM 1628 TO 1652