THE BEGINNING-

OF

SOUTH AFEICAN HISTOBY

THE BEGINNING

OB’

SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY

BY

GEOBGE M’OALL THEAL. Litt.D., LL.D.

IfOBEiaK MBMDllB OF THE ROYAL AGABISMY OF liOIENOBfl, AMSTEHDAM, OOliriBSl'OITDUrH
jieubbb of thb royal HisToiiroAL aooiKTY, LONDON, Bm, jsm, um,

FORMERLY ICBEPBR OF THB ABOHITB8 OF TB» OAFB COLONY, AND AT FUlCSBHT
OOLOKUL mFrOSIOORAFlIBB

WITE MAPS AND PLATM

T. MASKED MILLEB

3$(rofts{elTcr a»^

OAPE TOWN, PAASL AND BULAWAYO
1902

MlHUCiH:

J'lUHTKJi J»Y mWAM QI.OWB« ASH KONS, JJMimi,

DUKIS bTftWm, STAMPOllll OTJUJKl', S.M., AND DREAT WlKDMttD HtUERTi W.

PREFACE.

In January 1896 I completed a small volume whicli was
published iu Loudon and Oapetown with the title of The
Portuguese in South Afrioa, and which is now out of print,
The preface to that volume was as follows: —

“A. very few years ago, when I prepared my large History,
the expression 'South Africa’ meant Africa south of the
Limpopo. Mainly through the ability of one man — ^the
Bight Honourable Oeoii John Ehodes— that expression to-
day means Africa south of the Zambesi. The event which
I took as an initial point— the arrival of Van Biebeek in
Table Valley in April 1652— has thus come to be incorrect
for that purpose, the true starting-point now being the arrival
of D’ Anaya in Sofala in September 1505. I have therefore
written this volume, iu o;pd^' '''t6‘ ’3eectify the beginning of
my work. '

“ As Bantu tribes that w“^ not encountered by the Dutch,
and that differed in several respects from those south of the
Limpopo, came into contact’ |with. - the Portuguese, it was
necessary to enlarge and recast the chapters in my other
volumes descriptive of the South African natives. I need
not give my authorities for what I have now written concern-
ing these people, for I think I can say with truth that no
one else has ever made such a study of this subject as
I have.

' " The Portuguese iu South Africa are not entitled to the

VI

Preface.

same amount of space in a history as the Dutch, for they
did nothing to colonise the country. 1 think that in this
little volume I have given them their just proportion. In
another respect also I have treated them differently, for I
expended many years of time in research among Dutch
archives, and I have obtained the greater part of my informa-
tion xrpon the Portuguese by the comparatively trifling
labour of reading and comparing their printed histories. I
should not have been justified, however, in issuing this volume
if I had not been able to consult the important documents
which the Eight Honourable C. J. Bhodas caused to be copied
at Lisbon for his own use.”

The government of the Cape Colony took a different view
of the relative interest of the Portuguese occupation, and
considered it advisable that deeper research should bo made
into the ptu'ticulars of their intorcouTsc with the native tribes
south of tho Zambesi in the sixteenth, sovonteontli, and
eighteenth centuries. I therefore came to ISuvope in October
1896,, and the greater portion of my time since that date has
been devoted to .collecting Portuguese manuscripts and early
printed books relating to South-Eastern Africa, translating
them into English, and publishing the original texts and
the translations. So me Dutch and English manuscripts have
also been included. Each volume con tains over five hundre d
pages Ta^ the ninth is now in course of preparation . Tho
series, termed Eeaords of Soutli-lSastern Africa , prepared and
printed at the cost of the Cape government, can be seen in
the principal public libraries of Europe and the British colonies
throughout the world.

The volume iu the reader’s hands is an abstract of the
documents and printed matter thus collected, with a couple
of additional chapters giving a brief narrative of events
daring the nineteenth centmy and a chapter upon the
earliest inhabitants of the country. It contains about three

Preface. vii

times as much, matter as The Portuguese in, Souih Africa,
and must therefore be regarded as a new book. As it
stands, it forms V olume I of my History of South Africa.
ihe second edition of Volumes II and III was published
in London . in September 1897 u nder the titl e History of
South Afri ca unde r the Admunistration oftJie Dutch East
I^ia Uom^pany, t^ 17 95 . Volume ("second edition

in coui'se of preparation) contains t he History of the Cape
Col ony from 1795 to 1834: ; Volume V (second edition pub*
lished in 1893) the History of the Cape Colony from 1834
to 1848, the History of Natal to 1846, and the History of
the Emigrant Fanners to 1854; and Volume VI contains
the History of the Republics and Native Territories from
1854 to 1872 (second edition in 1900),

The sources of information consulted by me when pre-
paring an account of the early English and Dutch voyages
to India were records in the India Office, London, and in
tli6 Ar chive Office at the Eagn^ . os well* as ^e following
printed books :

T he Princiyal Navigation s. Voyages, Traffics , a nd Diseovmes
o f tlte English HaUgp ,. i r^e h/ Sea or over Lan d, to the
South and S outh-east ^g/rts of the Worl d, by Richard" Hakluyt,
preacEier, t wo quarto volum es. L ondon. 159^ ; and Purohas
his Pilgrimes , five large volumes, London, 1625. Haklnyt’s
work was the^ means of his obtaining oarators hip of
th e Bstorical and geogr a^i^l documents of the English
East India Com pa ny. After his death these papers were
entrusted to Purchas, by whom many of them were' con-
densed and published in his work above named, 'The
original manuscripts have perished. The dates are according
to the old style.

Eerste Schipvaert der Hollanders <mer Oast Indim, inet met'
Seheyen ondet' ’t ieleydt vm Oornelis Houtmm uyt Tetsd ghegaen,
Anno 1696. Contained in the collection of voya,ges knowp

viii

Preface.

as Begm, mde Yatyrigangh van ds VeremdgluU NederlanUehe
Geootrogmrde Oost Indisahe Gmnpagnie, printed in lOdO, and
also published separately in quarto at Amstordain in 1648,
with numerous subsequent editions. The original journals
kept in the different ships of this fleet are still in existence,
fram which it is seen that tho printed work is only a com-
pendium. At the Hague I made verbatim copies for the Cape
government of those portions of the original manuscripts
referring to South Africa, and I found that one or two
curious errors had been made by the compiler of tho printed
journal. As an instance, the midshipman Frank van dor
Does, in the ship HoUmdia, when describing tho Hottentots
states: “Haet haer opt hooft stadt oft affgesohroijt waer
vando zonne, ende sien daer wyt cenioh gelyok eon dielf
die door hot langhe hanghen verdroocht is.” This is given
in tho printed journal: “llet hayr op horo hoofden is als
’t hayr van een mensoho die oen tijdt langli ghohangheu
heeft,” an alteration whioh^ turns a graphic sontcnco into
nonsense.

Begin ende Voortgangh vm de Vereenighda Nederhmiaolto
Oeoatroyeerde Ooat Indisohe Oompagnie, vervatende de voornaeuiate
Begem ly de Inwoonderen deraelver Provmcien derwaerte gedaen.
In two thick volumes. Printed in 1646. This work contains
the journals in a condensed form of the fleets under Oornelis
Houtman, Pieter Both,, Jons van Kpilbergen, and others, as
also the first charter of the East India Company.

Joumael vm de Voyagie gedaen met d/rie Scheprn, gmiaemt
den Bam, Sohaep, ende het Lorn, gevmm v/yt Zeelandt, van
' dev Stadt Gamp-Vere, naer d’ Ooat Indian, onder ’t ledeyi
vm den Eeer Admirael Joria van Spilbergen, gedaen in de
javen 1601, 1602, 1603 ea 1604. Contained in the collec-
tion of voyages known os Begin ende Yoen'tgangh van • de
Veree/dghde Nederlantsohe Geoetroyeerde Oost Indisohe Oom-
pagnie, printed in 1646, and also published separately in

Preface. ix

(Quarto at Amsterdam in 1648, with, numerous editions there-
after. An account of the naming of Table Bay is to be
found in this work,

Loffehjche Yoychgie oji Oost InMen met 8 Sehee^en v/yt Te^d
geva/ren in Jaer 1606 onder hst heleyt van den Adinmael
Pavlus van Oaerden, haer weoh genomen hdibende tmsohen Madci^
gasear ende Ahiesma dew. A pamphlet of forty-eight pages,
published at Amsterdam in 1646.

Beaehrijvinghe van de tweede Yoyagie ghedaen met 12 Seheyen
iiaer d' Oost Indien onder den Seer Admirael Steven van der
Sagen, waer in/ne verhaelt wert het veroveren der Portngeaer
Forten op Amhoyna ende Tydor. A pamphlet of ninety-one
pages, printed at Amsterdam in 1616.

de Jonge, J. K. J, : Be Ophomst van het Nederlansoh Geeag in
Oost Indie. Yenameling van omiigegeven Stalcleen mt het oitdko-
loniaal Areimf. Uitgegeven en hewerht door Jhr. Mr. J. K. J,
de Jonge. The Hague and Amsterdam, The first part of this
valuable history was published iij. 1862, the second part in
1864, and the third part in 1865. These three volumes
embrace the general history of Dutch intercourse with the
East Indies from 1695 to 1610. They contain accounts of
the several early trading associations, of the voyages and
successes of the fleets sent out, of the events which led to
the establishment by the states-general of the great Chartered
East India Company, and of the progress of the Company
until the appointment of Peter Both as first governor-general.
Bather more than half of the work is composed of copies of
original documents of interest. The fourth part, published
in 1869, is devoted to Java, and with it a particular account
of the Eastern possessions is commenced. The history was
carried on as far as the tenth volume, which was published
in 1878, but the work was unfinished at the time of the
author’s death in 1880.

When preparing the last two chapters of this book I con-

X Preface,

suited a quantity of manusoiipt records in various places aud
the following printed volumes: —

Prior, James: Voyage abng tlie Bast&i'tt, OoctM of Afvioa to
M omnM qiie, Jolimna, and QvMoa, in the Nisus fr igate. An
octavo volume of one hundred and fourteen pages, published
at London in 1819. .

Narrative of Voyages to etsplore the Shores of Africa, Arabia,
and Madagasear, performed in S.M. ships Leven and Barraeouta,
wider the direetion of Captain W. F. W. Omn, B.N., hij com-
mand of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. Two octavo
volumes, London, 1833. The expedition was engaged in sur-
veying the East African coast from Belagoa Bay northward
at intervals between October 1822 and September 1826. In
these volumes there is a good deal of information conccwning
the Portuguese settlements,

Botelho, Sebastiao Xavier : Memoyna Msiaiistioa solve os
JDomitdos Portugwm na Africa Oriental. A crown octavo
volume of four hundred pages, published at Lisbon in 1836.
The author of this book was governor and captain general of
Mozambique from the 20th of January 1826 to the 2l8t of
Augxxat 1829, and therefore one might reasonably expect some-
thing authoritative from his pen. But the historical aud
geographical ijoaocuracies are so numerous as to prove that
his power of observatiou was small and his capacity for
research still less. The boob is of very little value. The
only chapter in it from which I derived any information at
all that I could depend upon is the one containing on account
of the prazos of Tote and Sena.

Fnsaios solve a StaUsUoa das FossessSea Portuguegas na Africa
Oeddenicd e Oriental, na Asia Oodd&ntal, na China, e na Oceania,
eseriptas de ordem do Govemo de sm Mageatade Fidelissima a
Smhora Bond Maria II, por Jos6 Joaquim Lopes de Lima e
Francisco Maria Bordalo. Three volumes were written before
Senhor de Lima’s death, and were published at Lisbon' 1844

XI

Preface.

to 1846, l)ut he did not reach as fai- as Eastern Africa. The
work was then entrusted to Senhor Bordalo, who completed
it in three more volumes. Tlie first of Bordalo’s volumes was
published at Lisbon in 1859, and is devoted entirel}’ to Eastern
Africa. It has been most carefully written, and as its materials
were drawn from original documents in the public records and
from other trustworthy sources, it is thoroughly reliable. The
author treated his subject in a judicial manner, though, as a
patriotic Portuguese, he was unable to detect the true causes
of his country’s want of success in Eastern Africa. No T^ng lia b
writer could deal more severely than he with the general
corruption of the seventeenth century, or with the decline
and fall of missionary enterprise.

I dvingstone, David, M.D. : A Popula/r Aom mt of Missionary
Travels and Besearelies in South Africa. An octavo volume
of four hundred and thirty-six pages, published at London in
1861. _

de Lacerda, D. Jose: Emme das Viagem do Doufor XAving-
stone. An octavo volume of six hundred and thirty-five pages,
published at Lisbon in 1867.

Ddagoa Bay. Oorrespondenoe respecting the claims of Her
Majesty’s Government. A bluebook of two hundred and fifty-
one pages, printed at London in 1875, and presented to both
Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty. This
bluebook contains all the documents and maps put in on both
sides when the question of the ownership of the southern and
eastern shores of Delagoa Bay was referred for decision to the
president of the French Eepublic. The Portuguese submitted
their case in their own language, with a French translation
in parallel columns, and the latter only appears in the English
bluebook. Those who desire to consult the former can do so
in the Portuguese yellow-books entitled, Questao entre Poi’tugcd
e a Qran-Bretcmha svjeita d arUti'ogem do Presidmte da Bepul-
liea Frano&ia, published at Lisbon in 1874.

CONTENTS.

OHAPTIE L

(THIS EABIinigT INHAOITAKVS OB BOOTH ABBIOA.

EBidenco afforded by OHoient ebell moundB. — Stome veapooB of a remote age. —
Ancient workshops, — ^FrogresB in ‘tbe manufacture of stone impIementB. —
Phyaieal featurea of the country. — ^Hunger, disease, and war as factors of
progress. — Speculataons upon the origin of the Hottentots. — Migrations of
the Bantu. — ^Areas occupied at the close of the fifteenth century by the
Hottentots, the Bantu, and the Bushmen. — Skull measurements of tbe three

. races. — ’Yoriations in appearance of the three races.

Buslimen : Language. — ^Dwellings. — ^Food. — ^Weapons. — Stone implements. —
Clothing. — Oinaments. — Fire-stickB. — Frolificnesa. — Disposition. — Loto of
liberty. — ^Absence of government — SuperstitionB. — Low reasoning faculty.
— ^Power of mimicry. — ^Artistic skill, — Braise of locality. — Ordinary mode of
living. — Inoapability of improvement

Hottentots; Different appearance from Bushmen. — ^Language. — ^Division into
tribes. — ^Form of government — ^Possession of domestio animala — Food. —
Hse of intoxicants. — Clothing. — Ornaments. — Dwellings. — Weapons.-—
Knowledge of metallurgy. — Manufactures. — Degraded mods of life of
impoverished clans. — Superstitions. — Beligion. — Disposition. — Marriage
customs. — ^Imaginative powers.— Pastimes, — Capability of improvement

Page 1

OHAPTEE n.

DHBOBimON OF THH BANTU TBmES OF SOUTH AFIOOA.

Knowledge of the Bantu derivable from Portuguese sources. — ^Area occupied by
the Bantu at the be^nning of the sixteenth century. — Origin of the title
Bantu. — ^Tribal variaticnB. — Features. — ^Mixture of blood, — Comparative
freedom from disease.— DeBtruotiou of deformed children.— Longevity. —
Language.— Form of government — ^Privileges of members of ruling familieB.
— ^Law of Buccesrion to the obieftainship,- Method of formation of new
tribes. — Standard of virtue, — Form of oath. — Eevenue of the ohiefo. —

XVI

Contents.

Chaigea upon the government. — ^Nature of religion.— -Instance of the effect
of religion.— Belief in qjirits. — ^Method of interment of dooenaetl chiefii.—
Treatment of 'widows of deceased oMefs. — Origin of the belief in Qainata. —
Belief in the appearanoe of the spirits of the dead in the form of diffoi’ont
animals, — Origin of tribal titles.— Superstitions. — Instances of effect of the
belief in water spirits.— Belief in the existence of people living under the
water. — ^Instance of the effect of this belief. — Story of the ohainoleon and
the little lizard. — ^Legend of the origin of men and animals.— Festivities on
the appearance of a new moon. — Duties of tribal priests. — Effect of religion
on government.' — Belief in witchcraft. — Bainmakers.^ — Herbalists. — Belief
in charms. — Eevolting cruelty to animals. — Use of the daula. — ^Eeoeptaole
for charms. .. .. Page 29

CHAPTER HL
nnsoBiFTiON OP tub bantu —

System of traditional law. — Communal responsibility. — Form of legal proceed-
ings. — ^Modes of punishment. — ^Trials for witchcraft. — Groat destruction of
life caused hy such trials. — ^Instance of effect of the belief in witchcraft. —
Dreadful punishment of relatives of pei'sons pronounced guilty of dealing in
witchcraft. — Trial hy ordeal. — Method of rooboning time. — Traditional
history. — ^Iroperfeotion of such history. — Charaoterlstics of folklovo.—
Cause of such tales giving pleasure. — Specimens of proverbs. — ^Poetry. —
War chants. — Musical instruments. — Ofiioiol praisors of chiefs. — Dynastic
names. — ^Method of giving names to individualB. — Pi'aotioo of oiroumclsion.
— ^Honible oustoms connected with this practice. — Corresponding rites for
females. — Ceremonies oonneoted therewith. — ^Practice of polygamy .—Posi-
tion of women.— Method of oontraotiug marriage.— Marriage festivities.
— ^Bestriotions with regard to the rdationsbip of the man and the woman. —
Practice with regard to ohildless women. — ^Instance of its observance. —
Reasons for marriage ^ving cause to much litigation. — Slight regard paid
to chastity of females. — 'Polyandrous marrioges. — Custom of hlonipa. —
Respect of women for their husbands’ male rtiatives in the ascending line.

Page 66

CHAPTER IV,

DEBOBIPTIOF OP THE BAKTD-— (cOnWuued).

Agricultural industry.- Method of making beer.— Use of wild hemp for
smoking.— Method of preserving grain. — ^Preduots of gardens.— Animal
food,— Method of capturing game,— Insect food.— Hospitality,— Canni-
hahem.-^Land tenure. — Law of trespass. — Sites of kraals. — Huts. —
Domestio oatde. — Law of descant Cf pre^erty. — Weapons of war. —
Military training.— Clothing. — Ornaments. — ^Modes of dressing the hair. —
Head rests. — Iron manufactures. — Smelting furnaces Extent of the

Contents.

XVII

blacksmitli’B art, — ^Manufactures of copper. — Manufactures of wood. —
Oanoes. — Q-lue vases. — Preparation of skins for dothing, — CoUeclaan of gold.
— Manufacture of earthenwai-e. — ^Basketwork. — Use of stone. — Habits of
the men. — Cattle stealing. — ^Disregard of truth. — ^Deceptive powers. —
Comparison of the coast tribes with those of the interior. — Freedom from
care. — Ordinary life of women. — ^Amusements of children. — Outdoor games.
— ^Indoor games.— Toys. — ^The nodiwu. — ^Method of keeping birds from
gardens. — ^Porms of greeting. — Condition of the Bantu at present. —
Intellectual power of children. — Occasional ability of individuals. —
Instances of ability. — Want of mechanical genius. — Strong conservatism of
the mass of the people Page 7&

CHAFrEE V.

ASUTIO mUiaBANTS IN: SOUTH-IIABIEnN AEItlOA.

Appearance of Asiatics in South Africa in remote rimes. — Erection of nrunerous
massive stone buildings. — The temple of Great Zimbabwe. — Comparative
civilisation of its builders. — ^Their religion. — ^Articles found in the ruins. —
Extensive gold-mining operations of the Asiatic intruders. — ^Use of African
slaves as labourers. — Irrigation works. — Length of the ancient Asiatic
oooupation. — ^Fusion of Asistio and African blood.— Disappearance of tbc
Asiatics from tradition. — Origin of the Emozaidi.— Foundation of Maga-
dosho and irava by Arabs. — ^Discovery and occupation of Sofala. — ^Arrival
of 'a patty of Persians. — Foundation of Kilwa. — ^Description of Eilwa. —
Quarrels between the different Asiatic settlers. — Conquest of Sofala by
Kilwa. — Great power of Kilwa. — ^Usurpation of the government of Eilwa
by the emir Abraham. — ^Independence of Sofala under the sheik Isuf.—
Oommeroe of the Asiatic settiements.— Utility of the cocoa palm. — Style of
vessel in use. — ^Method of navigation to India, — ^Articles obtained from
India, Persia, and Arabia.— Commerce with the Bantu.— Taxes on trade. —
Extent of government by the Asiatics. — ^Description of the Asiatic colonists.
— Deecription of the mixed breeds, — Description of Magadosho, Brava,
Melinde, Mombasa, Pemba, Zanzibar, Mafia, Eilwa, Mozambique, the
Zambesi river, SoMa, and Ihbambane in 1600.— Cause of Cape Oorrentea
being the limit of navigation by the Asiatics .. . . , . Page 101

CHAPTEE TI.

DIBCOVEBT OIP an OOEAN BOOTB to INDIA.

Importance of the discovery of an ocean route to India. — ^Position of the
Mohamedan states at the time^ — Previous routes of eastern commerce. —
Gteographioal knowledge before this event. — Devotion of Prince Henrique
of Portugal to maritime discovery.— Early exploration by the Portuguese.
—Voyages of Diogo 0am.— Exp^ition under Bajrtholomeu Dias. — ^Visit to
' Angrtt' Pequena.— First entry of European ships into the Indian ooean, —

' I

XVIll

Contents,

Visit to A-Ugra dos Vaquoiroa, Agoada do S5o Bras, and the islet of Santa
Cim,— Eetum of the expedition finm the month of the river Infante. —
Discovery of the Oape of Good Hope. — Journey to Aden of Affonso do
Paiva and JoSo Fires.— Visit of JoSo Fires to India and Sofala.— Expedi-
tion under Vasoo da Gama. — ^Visit to Saint Helena Bay. — First intercourse
between Europeans and Hottentots. — ^Adventure of Eemiio Veloso. — Visit
to Agoada da SSo Bras. — ^Naming of Hatal. — ^Intercourse with Bantu at thq
mouth of the Limpopo. — ^Viait to the river Kilimane. — ^Arrival at Mozam-
bique. — Events at this island. — ^VMt to Mombasa. — ^Friendly reception at
Melinde.— Arrival of Da Gama at Oaliout. — ^Events during the return
paa'sage to Po) tugal .. .. .. .. .. .. Pago 123

CHAPTER VII.

BnaaEBniHa vovaobb abd oonqubbts.

Departiue ft'om the Tagus of a fleet under Pedro Alvares Cabral. — ^Disooveiy of
South America. — Loss of four ships in a tornado. — ^Death of Bartlwlomou
Dias. — ^Arrival of Cabral at Mozambique. — ^Visit to Kilwa. — Events at this
]flace. — Visit to Melinde. — ^Events during the return passage,—- Visit of
Sanobo de Toar to Sofala.— New titles assumed by the king of Portugal. —
Voyage of Joao da Nova. — Election of a place of worship at Agoada de
Sao Bras. — ^Discovery of the island of Saint Helena.— -Second voyage of
Dom Vasco da Gama.— Visit to Sofala. — Events at Kilwa. — Barbarous
treatment of the crew of a captured vessel. — Departure of a squadron
under Antonio de Saldanha. — First visit to Table Bay. — Naming of Table
Mountain. — Cruise of Buy Loureupo Bavaeoo. — Voyage of Lopo Soares
d’Albergaria. — ^Pirst shipwreck on the South African coast. — Extension of
Portuguese authority iu the Bast. — ^Appointment of Dom Franoisco
d’ Almeida as viceroy. — Stoming and sacking of Kilwa. — Erection at
Kilwa of the first Portuguese fort in the East. — Settlement of the govern-
ment of Kilwa.— Storming and sacking of Mombasa. — ^Friendly intercourse
with Melinde. — ^Voyage of TristSo da Cunha. — ^Destruction of the town of
Oja. — Storming and Backing of Brava. — Prcdommance of the Portuguese
on the eastern coast of Africa. — Destruction of a great Mohamedan fleet
off Din. — SuoooBsiou of Affonso d’Alhoquorquo to Dom Froncisoo
d* Almeida.— Slaughter of Dom Francisco d’ Almeida and sixty-four others
in a skirmish with Hottentots near Table Valley. — Names given by the
Portuguese to places on the South African coast . , .. . , Page 161

CHAPl’ER Vin.

OCOUPATIOS OP BOPALA AND MOZAMBIQUE.

Exaggerated rumours oonceming the gold of Sofala.- Expedition under Pedro
d’Anaya.— Ocouirence at Flesh Bay.— Shipwreck on the East African

Contents.

XIX

const. — ^Arrival of tte expedition at Sofala. — ^Intemew of Pedro d’Anaya
with the sheik Isuf. — Feuds among the Mohamedans. — Erection of a fort at
Sofala. — ^Barharous conduct of Francisco d* Anaya, — ^Deaths from fever at
Sofala. — ^Attack upon the fort. — Eepulse of the assailants. — Death of the
sheik Isuf. — Subjection of the Mohamedans. — ^Death of Pedro d’Anaya, —
Voyage of Oyde Barhudo and Pedio Qaaresma. — Account of affairs at
£ilwa. — Eegnlations respecting trade. — Voyage of Vasco Glomes d’Ahreu. —
Occupation of Mozambique. — Great mortality at Mozambique. — ^Loss at
sea of four ships under Vasco Gomes d’Abreu. — ^Events at Kilwa. —
Abandonment of Kilwa by the Portuguese. — ^Decadence of Kiiwa. — Manner
of conducting trade at Sofala. — ^Information given by Diogo d’Aloafova. —
Beport of Dusa-te de Lemos. — Clandestine traffic of tho Mohamedans.
— Beport of Pedro Vaz Soares. — Treatment of the Mohamedans. —
Amount of the gold trade. — Dealings with Bantu chiefs. — Unsuccessful
attempt to form a station on the Zambesi. — Beport of Francisco da Brito. —
"War between Bantu tribes. — Amount of the ivory trade. — Second attempt
to form a station on tho Zambesi. — Method of obtaining pearls at the
Bozaiiita islands .. .. Pago 182

OHAPTBB IX.

nrxEiiaouHSE oe the voottoctbsb with the basth.

Position of tho MakalangB. — ^Position of the Batonga. — Origin of the title
Monomotapa. — Description of the Makalauga. — Meaning of the word
Zimbabwe. — ^Division, of the Kalanga tribe into two sootions. — Origin of
the Tshikanga chieftainship. — Dealings of the Portuguese with chiefs of
dans. — Establishment of the outpost Sene on the Zambesi, — ^Foundation of
Tete. — Foundation of Kilimane. — Exploration of Delagoa Bay by Louien^o
Marques and Antonio Oaldeira. — Opening of trade at Delagoa Bay and at
lubambane. — ^Amount of the ivory trade. — Condition of the Portuguese in
South-Eastern Africa. — ^Prevdenoe of repadty and corruption. — ^War with
the Turks. — Siege of Diu by the pasha Soleiman. — Heroic defence by the
Portuguese under Antonio da Silvdra. — Construction of Fort Stto Bebastifto
at Mozambique. — ^Formation of the Company of Jesus, — Account of Dom
Gomfalo da Silveira. — ^Attempt by the Jesuits to establish a mission in
South Africa. — ^Arrival of the misaionaries at Ctongwe near Inhambane. —
Baptism of the chief Gamba and many others. — Journey of Dom Gonpalo
da Silveira to tho kraal of the Monomotapa. — Separation of the Kitevo
chieftainship from that of the Monomotapa.— Baptism of the Monomotapa
and many of Ms people. — ^Enmity of the Mohamedans to the missionBry.
— Mui'dor of Dom Gonpalo da Silveira. — Account of tho mission at
Otongwe, — Abandonment of tbe misBion Page 211

XX

Contents.

OHAPTEE X.

BIBASXBOITB EXFBmTIOirS TJNDBIt BABBBTO AND HOUBM.

Accession of Doin Sebastiao to tlia throne of Portugal. — Scheme of o vast
African empire. — Speoiilationa concerning the gold mines of South Africa.
— Dedsion of the table of conscience. — ^Division of India into three govern-
ments. — ^Appointment of Francisco Baireto as commander of an expedition
to South Africa. — ^Departure of the ex 2 :>edition. — ^Events on the passage. —
Arrival at Mozambique. — Abandonment of the captaincy of Mozambique
by Pedro Barreto. — Condition of Mozambique. — Visit of Francisco Barreto
to the northern ports. — ^Events at Mozambique after liis return. — Arrival
of the expedition at Sena. — Condition of the expeditionary force. — ^Disaster
from sicImesB at Sena. — ^Barbarous treatment of the Mohamodans there,
— Communioation with the Monomotapa. — Advance of the expedition up
the Zambesi, — ^Attack upon the tribe under Hongaai. — Suocossivo victorious
encounters. — ^Distress from aiaknesa and want of provisions.— Necessity
of retreating to Sona.— Treacherous conduct of Antonio Poroira BrandSo.
— Satisfactory arrangements with the Monomotapa. — Construction of a
fort at Sena. — ^Visit of Franoisoo Barreto to Mozambique. — ^Return of
Barreto to Sena with reinforoements.— Dreadful mortality at Sona. —
Death of Francisco Barreto.— Succession of Vasco Fernandes ITomem to
the chief command. — ^Betu'eraent to Mozambique of the remnant of the
expeditionary force.— Eenewed attempt to invade the country by way of
Sofala.— Defeat of the Kitovo tribe. — ^Maroli of the expedition to Masikesi,
— Arrangements with the Tshikanga and the Kiteve. — ^Loss of two hundred
men on the Zambesi. — Abandonment of the scheme of conquest.— Eeversion
to the old system of government Page 232

OHAPTEB XI.

EVBNTB TO TUB OIiOSB OF THB BIXXBBKTH OBHTITBV.

Death of King Sebastiao. — ^Immediate decline of Portugal, — Causes of her
dedine in power. — ^Dnion of Portugal and Spain under one king.—
Establisbment by the Dominicans of missions in South Africa. — Besi-
^ence of the friar Joao dos Santos at Sofala. — ^Description of Sofala.—
Condition of the Mohamedans. — Productions of Sofala. — Account of a
Portuguese chief. — Manner of oondnoting the coasting trade. — ^Dealings
with ^e Kiteve.— Wars among the Bantu. — Desoription of Sena.— Mode
of pa;^ent of ofSLoials. — ^Dealings with the Monomotaia. — ^Description of
Tete. — Account of Bantu subjects of Tete. — ^Description of the trading

stations Masapa, Lnanze, and Bukoto. — Account of the Sedanda tribe.

Ignorance of the Portuguese of the country west of the Monomotapa's
territory. — Manufactures of the Bantu. — Route of ships between Portugal

Contents,

XXI

and India. — ^Appearance on the Zambesi of a horde of ferocious savages. —
Separation of the horde into soctionB. — ^hlaroh of one section to the shore
of the Indian sea. — Gireat damage dona by it to Mozambique, Kilwa, and
Mombasa. — ^Defeat of a section of the horde by the captain of Tete. —
Practice of cannibalism by the Mnmbos and the Maaimba. — Destruclion cf
a Mumbo clan by the captain of Tete. — ^War between a dan of the
Mazimba and the Portuguese of Sena. — ^March of the people of Tete to
the assistance of Sena. — Complete destruction of the Portuguese of Tete. —
Murder of the friar Nicolau do Bosario. — Defeat of the people of Sena.
— ^Unsncoessfiil attempt of the captain of Mozamlnqne to subdue the
enemy. — ^Unsatisfactory terms of jteace. — Metlrods of carrying on trade
iuiing the sixteenth century Page 265

OHAPTEB Xn.

KNOWLEDcm nEBivnn irnou shipwbeokb. '

Loss of the galleon Bafi JoSo near the mouth of the Umzimvubu river. —
Journey of the wrecked people to Dolagoa Bay. — Friendly conduct of the
Inyaka. — Fate of Manuel da Sousa Sepulveda, his wife Dona Leonor, and
many others on the northern bank of the Espirito Santo. — ^Arrival of a
few survivors at Mozambique. — ^Loss of the Bao Bento at the mouth of
the Umtatn river.— -Tevrihle journey through an almost iminhabited
coHutry. — ^Arrival at Delagoa Bay. — Sufferings from hunger there. —
Bescue of a few survivors. — Account of the passage of Frandsco Barreto
from India to Europe. — Survey of the South African coast by Monnd de
Mesquita Perestrello. — ^Naming of Saint Sebastian's Bay, Saint Francis
Bay, and Point Ddgoda.— Wreck of the Santiago in the Mozambique
channel. — Account of the commerce of the delta of the Zambesi. — Wreck
of the SSo Tkome off the eastern coast. — Pitiful scene on the departure of
a boat. — Devotion to duty of the frier ITioolau do Bosario. — Arrival at
Delagoa Bay of the people iu the boat. — Sufferings of the people at Delagoa
Bay. — Plunder of the trading pangayo by the natives. — Journey of some
of the people to Sofala. — Wreck of the Banto Alberto near the mouth of
the Umtata. — Account of the natives at the place of the wreck. — ^Remark-
able journey to Ddagoa Bay. — ^Dealings with the natives on the way. —
Account of the Bantu tribes south of Delagoa Bay. — ^Insignidcanoe of the
dans south of Natal .. .. Page 277

CHAPTER Xin.

.APPGABANOE OS' BTVAXiB IN EASTEBK SEAS,

Ihfii'mity of Portugal under ihe Castilian kings. — ^Early voyages of the French
to the eastern seas.— Residence of the Jesuit father ’Phomas Stephens in

xxii

Contents.

India. — Note upoii the book of Sir John Mandovillo. — ^Voyage of Sir
Francia Drake round the world. — 'Adventures of soveriil Englishmen in
India. — Voyage of Thomas Gandiah. — ^Yisit of English ships to Tabic Bay.
— Attempts of the Dutch to discover a north-east passogo to India. —
Account of Jan Huyghen van Linsohoten. — ^Hesidence of Linsohoton iu
India. — ^Valuo of his published writings. — 'Deaoriptian of Mozambique. —
First voyage of a Dutch fleet to India.— Formation of several ooinpanies in
the Netherlands to trade with India. — Account by John Davis of the
variation of the magnelio needle at the Cape of Good Hope. — Naming of
Mossel Bay, Flesh Bay, and Fish Bay by Paulus van Oaerdeu. — Naming
of Table Bay by Jorie van Spilbergen. — ^Naming of Doesen Island by Sir
Edward Miohelbume. — Union of the different trading associations in the
Nothetlands into one great Company. — Charter of the United Netherlands
East India Company. — Capital of the Company. — ^Advantages to the State
from the formation of the Company. — Suhsequent modifications of the
constitution of the Company. — Deptu'ture of its first ficots.' — Success of the
Company in ohtaining territory at the expense of tho Portuguese. —
Enormous dividends ];)aid to tile shamholdors ., .. .. Page 1102

CHAPTER XIV,

PKOOISHDINQB OF TUB BtraCH ABB ESaUfllJ.

Desire of the Dutch to obtain possession of the eastern coast of Africa. — Skgo
of Mozambique by Steven van der Hagen. — Invasion of the territory of tho
Monomotapa by tho Cabires.— Defeat of the Portuguese in tlie war with
the Cabires.— Failure of Van der Hagen to get possossion of Fort Silo
SebastiSo. — Siege of Mozambique by Paulus van Caerden. — Successful
defence of Fort Silo SebastiiCo by Dom EstevSo d’Ataide.— 'Destruction of
the town and the plantations on the mainland by the Dutch.— Partial
repair of the damages by the Portuguese, — Siege of Mozambique by Pieter
Willemazoon Verhoeff. — Gallant conduct of Dom EstovSo d’Ataido. — Cop-
ture of the ship Bom. Jeaui . — ^Abandonment of the siege. — Commercial
progress of the Dutch. — Use made of Table Bay by the Dutch. — Visit
to Table Bay of the first fleet fitted out by the English East India
Company, — ^Voyage of Sir Edward Miohelbume. — ^Last voyage of Captain
John Davis. — ^Use made of Table Bay by tho English. — Proclamation of
Brifish sovereignty over South Africa by Captains Bhillingo and Filz-
herbert, — ^Attempted alliance between the English and Dutch East India
Companies. — Occurrences with Hottentots on the shores of Table Bay. —
Account of the Hottentot Cory. — ^Landing of English Convicts on the
^ores of Table Bay. — Objects of this measure, — ^Visit of Sir Thomas Eoo
to Table Valley, — ^Neglect of South Africa by the English at this time.

Pago 321

Contents.

xxui

CHAPTEB XV.

' FauiTLBSS SBAEOH FOB BILTBB MIMES,

Pompous instructions issued by King PhUippe 11. — Rich specimens of silver
ore sent to Lisbon from Mozambique. — ^War between the chief Tshunzo
and the Monomotapa. — Ghavaoter of the Monomotapa Gasilusere. — ^Assist-
ance given by the Portuguese of Tata and Sena to the Monomotapa. —
Success in 'war of the chief Matuzianye. — ^Account of Dlogo SimSes
Madeira. — Cession of mines to the king of Portugal by Gasilusero. —
Continuation of the 'war bet'ween Gasilusere and Matuzianye. — Dependence
of the Monomotapa upon Diogo Madeira. — ^Arrival of Dom Nuno Alvares
Pereira at Tete as head of an expedition in search of the silver mines. —
Defeat and death of Matuzianye. — Arrival of Dom DstevEIo d’Ataide as
successor of Dom Nuno Alvai-es Peroira. — Changed attitude of the Maka-
langa towards the Europeans. — War between the Portuguese and the
Monomotapa. — Recall and death of Dom EstevSo d’Ataide. — ^Proceedings
of Diogo Madeira. — Conquest of the tribe imder the chief Tshombe. —
Conclusion, of peace with the Monomotapa. — Occupation of Ohioova. —
Journey of Gaepar Booarro from Ohioova to KlLwa. — ^Arrival of the friar
Joffio doa Santos at Chioova. — Deplomhle condition of the garrison of
Ohioova. — ^Arrival of the commissioner Prancieco da Fonseca Pinto. —
Ahandonnaont of Ohioova, — ^Arrival of Dom Nuno Alvares Pereira as
commander in chief. — Failure to discover silver miuea — Reversion to the
old form of government. — Appointment of an ecdcsiastical administrator.
— Occurrences at Sofala .. .. .. Page 341

CHAPTER X7I.

EVENTS OF IHTEBEBT FEOM 1628 TO 1662.

Hostility of the Monomotapa Kapranzine to the Europeans. — ^Murder of an
envoy. — Attack upon Masapa and Luanze. — Elevation hy the Europeans
of Manuza as Monomotapa. — Defeat of Kapranzine. — Declaratioa by
Mannza of vassalage to the king of Portugal. — Baptism of Manuza. —
Snooessful raid by Kapranzine. — Murder of two Dominican friars. —
Ai-rival of the captain of Mozambique with an army. — Conquest of
Manika. — ^Defeat and flight of Kaprandne. — ^Establishment of new trading
stations. — Groat extension of mission work by the Dominicans. — Search
for mines. — ^Absurd letters from the king. — Oonstrnciiou of a stockade at
Kilimane. — ^Report upon the country by Pedro Barreto de Rezende. —
Description of Sofala, Sena, and Tete. — ^Account of the Dominican and
Jesuit missions. — Condition of the Mohamedans, — Account of the adminis-
tration of justice.— Wreck of the ship SSo Gmtalo at Pletteuhergfs Bay.

XIV

Contents.

— Wreck of tke sMp Wossa Simhora de Belem on tlio coast of Tondoland. —
of the duke of Bragaufa to the throne of Portugal. — Truco
between Portugal and the Netherlands. — Oi^eumg of tho slave trade with
Brazil.— Baptism of the Kitove.— Dealings with an English ship at Mozam-
bique. — Death of tho Monomotapa Manuza. — Baptism of hia successor. —
Formation of a Dutch settlement in Table Valley .. .. Pago 3(55

OEAPTBR XVII.

WBAXHTBSa OIT nOBTUOUBSli BITliB IX SOUTH AXBIOA.

Succossiva sovereigns of Portugal. — Close connection between Portugal and
England. — ^Disintegration of the Bantu tribes between tho Zambesi and
Sabi livers. — ^Acquisition of great pmzos by individual Portuguese. —
Position of tho prazo holders. — ^War between some of the prazo holders
and the Monomotapa. — ^Murder of the Monomotapa. — Appointment of his
successor by the Portuguese. — System of female prazo holders.— Dosoriirtion
of Sena, Tete, and Sofala in 1667. — ^Trading stations in tho country.—
Administration of justice.— Number of places of worship. — (Jonoral cor-
ruption and oppression. — ^Viewa of tho Jesuit father Manuel Barreto. —
Different systems of carrying on trade.— llovoU of tho Mohamoclans to tho
north. — ^Attack upon Mozambique.— Bostoration of comparntivo onlor by
Dom Pedi’o d*Alinoida. — ^Establishment of free trade,— Sohemos of colonisa-
tion. — ^Buinous competition of Indian tradcra — General discontent In the
country. — ^Abolition of free trade,— Establishment of a chartered trading
company, — ^Dissolution of the oompany. — ^Resumption of oomjneroo by tlio
royal treasury. — Account of the Jesuit raissiona in tho ooimtry. — ^Estab-
lishment by the Jesuits of a seminary at Sena. — Care of tho hospital at
Mozambique by the order of Saint John of God. — Causes of the decline
of tho Dominican order. — ^Activity of the commissary friar Francisco da
Trindade. — ^Destruction of stations. — ^Extent of teriitory traversed by
missionaries. — ^'i'rouble caused by pirate ships and by illicit traders, —
Abandonment by tho Portuguese of the trade at Delagoa Bay .. Page 387

CHAPTEB XVra.

nVBlWB DUBUre the EiaHTBEWTH OBSTUBZ.

Condition of the Porhiguese government at home.— Ability of the marquis of
Pombal. — Perpetual wars among the Bantu. — Instances of wars between
. ' the Portuguese and the Bantu. — ^Attempt to support the Monomotapa. —
Events oonneoted with the friar Constantino do Bpsario, son of the Mouo-
motppa.— Oomiption in commercial affairs. — ^Reasons of the court at Lisbon
to trymg to preserve the African trade, — Occupation of Delagoa Bay by

Contents.

XXV

tho Datcli from 1721 to 1730. — ^Ttade witli foreiguern at Mozambiqno. —
Chaugo ill tlio oharactor of the commerce. — Attempts of the Dutch to carry
on commoroe at Inhambaue. — Oonstruotion by the Portuguese of a fort at
Inhambauo. — Dceoriptiou of Inhaiubone in 1771. — Introduction of municipal
government.— Treatment of the Mohamedaus. — ^Deoliue of the Dominican
order. — ^Number of missionaries in the country. — ^Expulsion of the Jesuits
from the Portuguese dominions. — Suppression of the Company of Jesus.—
"Withdrawal of the Donunioaus from Sonth-Eaetem Africa. — Establishment
of seonlar priests in the country.— Extinction of Christianity among the
Bantu. — ^Number of professing ChristianB in the country at the beginning
of the nineteenth century. — ^Failure of an attempt to introduce oolonists
& 0 Ta India. — ^Negleot of Delagoa Bay. — Attempt of an Austrian Company
to occupy Delagoa Bay.— Erection of a fort at Lonrenfo Marques by the
Portuguese. — ^Deetruotion of the fort hy the French.- "Dse made of Delagoa
Bay by English and American whaling ships. — Condition of the country
at the olOBO of tho eighteenth oentmy. — ^Exploration of the territory to the
westward Page 40a

OHAFPEB XIX.

THE lOWEST POIHT OE POBTHaUESB AtITHOBrrX.

Condition of Portugal during tho first half of tho nineteenth century. — State of
affau's in South-Eastern Africa.— Progress of the slave trade. — ^Events at
Delagoa Bay. — ^Bstablishmeut hy the Portuguese of a Whale Fishing
Company. — ^Visit of an English suiveying expedition to Delagoa Bay.—
Partioulai-s otmoerning the cession of territory to Great Britain. — Ohangca
in tho old names of rivers. — Captain Owen’s descriptipn of Portuguese East
Africa. — ^Partioulara concerning tho slave trade. — ^Visit of Commodore
. Noutse to Delagoa Bay. — ^Account hy the reverend Mr. ThrelM. of occur-
rences after Commodore Nourse’s departure.— Exterminating wars of the
AbagazB.— Destruotioii of Lourenjo Marques.— Career of the Angoni.—
Destruction of Inhambsne and Sofala. — Description of Sena. — Partial
destruction of Sena. — Dreadful havoc among the Bantu. — ^Boocoupation of
the Portuguese stations. — Further attacks upon Libamhane and Lourenpo
Marques. — Census of Lourenso Marques in 1878.— Occupation of Chiloane
and Santa Carolina. — Continuation of the slave trade. — Laws regarding
other commerce. — Creation of a council for the province of Mozambique.
— ^Improvement of the courts of justice. — Beocoupation of Zumbo, —
Crossing of the continent in both directions between Tete and Loanda
by two native traders. — Account of the exploring expedition under Major
Monijgiro.— Crossing of the continent from Zanzibar to Angola by thiee
Arab'traders. — ^Account of the chief Sebetuane. — Grossing of the continent
by the reverend Dr. Livingstone Page 42^

xxvi

Contenis,

CHAPTER XX.

BBVIVAIi Off AOTIVITy IN POEl’UOUESB SOUTH AiaHOA.

Effect upon the importance of Helagoa Bay of tlio occupation of tlie interior by
Europeans. — Declaration of British sovereignty over the islands luyoka and
Elephant. — Account of the civil war in the Qa'/a tribe. — Conduct of the
chief Umzila towards the Portuguese. — Conclusion of a treaty between the
Portuguese and the South African Republic. — Submission to arbitration of
Great Britain’s claim to the southern and easteru shores of Delagoa Bay
— ^Adverse decision of the president of the French Republic. — Construction
of a railway from Louren^o Marques to the interior. — ^Present condition of
Lonrenfo Marques. — Foundation of the town of Beira. — ^Faitionlors con-
cerning the dispute between Groat Britain and Portugal as to the possession
of the interior. — Occupation of Rhodesia by tlie British South Africa
Chartered Company. — Dealings vrith the chief Umtasa. — Services performed
hy Qouveia. — Occurrences between British and Portuguese ofllcials at
Tlmtasa’s ki-aal. — ^Defeat of Portuguese volunteers by British police, —
Treaty between Great Britain and Portugal fixing a boundary and pro-
viding commercial facilities.' — Conatruotion of a railway from Boira inland,
-—Description of Beira. — ^Account of tho Mozambique Company.^ — Insurrec-
tion of Nyaude and his son Bonga. — Description of Tete.— Suooossibl war
with Gungtmyana. — Condition of tho country ot present

Index

Mapb and Plates.

Map showing the territory oooupied by different races in
South Africa in 1500 .. ..

-Ohartof the eastern coast of Africa frequented hy Mohamedans

ia 1600

Photograph of Manuel de Mesquita Perestrello’s map of the

South African coast in 1676

Photograph of a plan of Sofala in 1634 by Pedro Barreto de
Rezende

Photograph of a picture of the hapriBin of the Monomotana in

1632

Map of Portuguese South Africa in 1902

, Page 44ft

. Page 460

To face page 100
» 1 ) 122

» ,, 200

» 374

)> )i 386

THE BEGINNING

OS'

SOUTH AEBIGAN HISTOBY.

CHAPTEE I.

TUB EAULIEST INHABITAm’S OB SOUTH APBICA.

In the present condition of geological knowledge it is impossible
to determino whether South Africa has been the home of human
beings for as long a time as Europe, but it is certain that men
have roamed over its surface from an exceedingly remote period.
The ancient shell mounds along the coast are usually regarded
as furnishing one proof of this fact. The first of these that
was examined was a heap formerly, to be seen in a cave at
Mossel Bay, but one much larger has of late years been dis-
covered on the left bank of a tributary of the Buffalo river at
East London. Its discovery was d;Ue to the opening of a quarry,
for it bad the semblance, of a natuiul mound, being covered with
a deep layer of vegetable soil, in which trees were growing ; and
this appearance it had presented as far hack as could he traced.
Upon examination — which was very thorough, as some forty-two
thousand cubic yards of it were removed to fill a lagoon — ^it was
found to consist of a mass one hundred and fifty feet long and
forty feet deep, composed of oyster, mussel, -and other shells,
mixed with bones of animals of various kinds, ashes, and pieces
-of •eoai’se pottery, ITo stone implements were obtained in it, but
stones showing the action of fiire were common.

B

2

History of South Africa.

The most ancient shell heaps that have yet been discovered,
however, may have had their origin at a time not vastly remote,
though beyond doubt a great many centuries must have passed
away since such a one as that at East London began to be formed.
Much older are various atone implements shaped by human
hands, which have been found in situations where they must
have lain undisturbed for an incalculable length of time. They
have been picked up, for instance, in gravel washed by a stream
into a recess when its bed of hard rock was more than forty feet
higher than it is at present; in a stratum that once was the
muddy bottom of a pond, but is now the crown of a hill, and
where they must have been deposited before the commencement
of the wearing down of the ravine that separates the hill from a
long slope beyond it ; and at great depths in leolian rock, wliero
hones of animals end shdls are also found.*

None of the spearheads, scrapers, knives, or choppers for
cracking bones were ground or polished, as chipping comprised all
the labour that was bestowed upon them. They were the products
of the skill of man in the lowest stage of his existence. Workshops
where they were manufactured hate been discovered in vaiious
places, and to some of these the raw material, or uncMpped stone,
must have been brought from a considerable distance. Tho
artisans may have lived there permanently, or, what is more
probable, some superstition may have been connected with the
localities. At these factories a quantity of stone from which
flakes have been struck, some raw material, a very few finished
artioles, and a great many broken ones usually lie wholly or
partially hidden by drift sand or mould, and it is generally by
accident that they are discovered.

The most ancient implements were almost as skilfully made
as those in use |or similai purposes by one section of the in-
habitants — the Bushmen — when Europeans first visited the
country, but during the long period that must have elapsed the
iavsntive faculty of man had not been entirely idle. One imple-

”■ See the paper ou The Aniig^ity Mm in Bmith Africa, by George B,
McKay, Esqre., in the paiuphlet No. 2 of Belangrijhe MiitonscJie Bohmmtm
publi^ed by me in Capetown in 1896

Early Inhabitants.

3

meiit at least, and that one req^uiriiig inora shill, time, and
patience to prepare it than ware needed in forming any of the
others, had been brought into general use. The spherical per-
forated stone, which is not found in any of the oldest deposits,
shows a considerable advance in art upon the chipped lance head
of the early river gravel washings. Still, progress, though thus
measurable, was exceedingly slow during the countless centuries
that had passed away. In the earliest stages of man’s develop-
ment three causes must have operated in forcing him to think :
hunger, disease, and war. These were the elementary factors of
civilisation. In favourable localities in other parts of the world
commerce, as a powerful factor, came at a later period, but in
South Africa that stage was not easily arrived at.

This is not surprising if the physical condition of the country
be considered. The land rises from the ocean level in terraces
or steps, until a vast interior plain is reached. Deep gorges have
bean worn by the action of water, in some places internal forces
have caused elevations, in other places depressions, and every-
where along the margins of the terraces distortions may be
seen. There are no navigable rivers, and the coast is bold and
unbroken. The steep fronts of the terraces, which from the
lower aide appear to be mountain ranges, and the absence of
running water in dry seasons over large surfaces tended like-
wise to prevent intercourse, not only with the outer world, but
between the different parts of the country. The rude people
were left to themselves, without that stimulus to improvement
which contact with strangers gives. There was no necessity to
exert the mind to provide clothing or habitations, for the climate
is mild, and even on the elevated interior plain, though the
nights in winter ore sharp and cold, snow never lies long on the
ground. Like the wild animals, man on occasions of severe
weather could find some temporary shelter.

Hunger must have forced him to think, to plan the destruction
of game, to search for edible plants, and to reject those that were
noxious;, but after becoming acquainted with the flora in his
locality khd with the use of poison in the chase, that factor would
lose much of its potency. The cultivation of the ground or the

B 2

4

History of South Africa.

domestication of animala could no more enter the mind of a savage
in the early paheolitldc stage than into that of a (ihild learning to
walk Disease would compel him to think, but only in an in-
finitesimal degree when compared with a modern European, for
his ailments were few and were in general attributed to witchcraft.
War would be a more powerful factor in obliging him to exorcise
his mind, and to it probably was dire the gradual tliough tardy
improvement in his weapons by the selection of harder stone and
by fashioning them more carefully. But slow indeed was the
progress in cultivation from the hunter who used the ronghly
formed spear-head of shale found in the reolian conglomerate to
the Bushman who shot his bone-tipped arrow at an antelope only
a century ago.

At length, however, another class of human beings appoarud
on the western and southern coasts. Whore thoy came froin no
one can say, nor how they reached South Africa, t’lnnpletcly
isolated, few in number, in many respects differing greatly fi’oin
Bushmen while in others closely resembling those people, their
presence here is as yet an unsolved mystery. That their occupa-
tion is only modem is, however, tolerably certain : that is the
time that has elapsed since their arrival is but short compared with
the long period that-Bushmen have been living in the country.

The highest authority upon the Hottentot language, the late
Dr. Bleek, was of opinion that these people were of North African
origin, and their speech decidedly favours that view. It is
possible that in some very remote age and in some locality
beyond the equator, a section of the Bushman race was forced
to adopt a different language, to mingle its blood with that of
conquerors, and to live under circumstances favourable to im-
provement", and that in course of time one of its offshoots made
its way intact to the southern shore. But as the obstacles in the
way of such a migration jappear to be almost insurmountable, it
has been suggested by some writers as more hkely that a party of
intruding males of light brown or yelloiv colour, driven down
froin the' north _ia such vessels as were in use three, ,or four
thousand years ago, took -to themselv&s women of Bushman
blood, and thus- gave origin to the people whom Europeans term

5

Early Inhabiiants,

Hottentots. The difficulties to be met by this supposition seem
to be as great as those ]pre3ented by the other, for instance under
it the possession of oxen and sheep by the Hottentots cEinnol bo
accounted for; so that the question ren^ains as yet entirely
speculative.

At a period still later than the advent of the Hottentots, a
gradual pressure of tire Bantu tribes of Central Africa into the
southern part of the continent began to take place. When they
crossed the Zambesi cannot be determined, but probably it was
earlier than the commencement of the Christian era by many
Imndi'eds of years. They did not extend beyond the Limpopo,
however, until a much later date. The legends of all the tribes
south of that river, none of which can. be more than a few
centuries old, point to a distant northern origin, and in some
instances ijarticulars are given which prove the traditions to be in
that respect correct. For instance, tire Barolong antiquaries assert
that their ancestors, in the time of a chief whose name is still
preserved, migrated from a country where there were great lakes
amd where at one time of the year shadows were cast towards the
north.

Towards the close of the fifteenth century of our era, when
Europjeans first had communication, with natives of South Africa,
the belt of land comprising the lowest and the second terrace
along the western coast from about twenty or thirty miles above
Walfiah Bay southward to the Gape of Good Hope, and thence
eastward to the Umtamvuna river, was occupied — though thinly —
by Hottentot tribes. The same people were to be found aboxit the
lower courses of the Vaal and Modder rivers and along the banks
of the Orange from the junction of the Voal to the sea. They
were not known eithei’ on the eastan side of the continent or else-
where in the interior.

The Bantu at that time occupied the choicest parts of the
countiy north of a straight line from a point a little above Walfish
Bay through the head waters of the Vaal liver to the second range
of monnlains from the Indian ocean, and extended south of that
liue along the eastern coast as far os the Umtamvuna river. They
were not to he found in the remaining portion of South Africa.

6 History of South Africa,

Bushmen roamed over the entire country south of the Zambesi
from sea to sea, and were the only inhabitants of the rugged
mountains and arid plains between the Hottentot and Bantu
borders. As they could hold then: own fairly well against the
Hottentots, they were more numerous along the westoni and
southern coasts than along the eastern, where the Bantu had
hotter moans of exterminating them.

The skull measurements show great differences in the three
race.s, though the number — especially of Hottentot skulls — care-
fully examined by competent men is as yet too small for an
average to ha laid down with absolute precision.

What is termed the horizontal cephalic index, that is the
proportion of the breadth of a skull to its length, is given by
Professor — now Sir William — ^Flower, conservator of the museum
of the Eoyal College of Surgeons of England, from thirteen Bantu
specimens as 73 to 100. The highest in this series is 76*8, and
the lowest 68*4. Dr. Gustaf Fiitsch, from thirteen specimens,
gives the average as 72 to 100. The highest in this series is 78,
and the lowest 64' 3. M. Paul Broca, the French authority, gives
the average of bis measurements as 72. Thus the Bantu are
dolichooephali, that is people whose skulls average in breadth
less than three-fourths of their length. The average horizontal
cephalic index of white people is 78 * 7.

Of Hottentots, only four that are certainly genuine specimens
are given in Professor Flower’s volume. The average horizontal
cephalic index of these is 72-7, the highest being 75, and the
lowest 70 '3. Dr. Fritsch had also only four skulls which were
certainly those of Hottentots. The average horizontal cephalic
index of these he found to be 72' 6, the highest being 77, and the
lowest &5* 9. M. Broca gives this index from his measurements
08 72. The Hottentots are thus certainly true doliohocephali.-

Of genuine Bushman skulls. Professor Flower gives the
measurements of five. The average horizontal cephalic index is
76*6, the highest being 78-4, and the lowest 75 ‘7. The late
Dr, George Eolleston, professor of anatomy in the University of
Oxford, in an appendix to Oates’ Maiahddwnd, gives the measure-
ments of eix Bushman skulls in the museum of the university.

7

Early Inhabitants,

The average horizontal cephalic index he found to be 75 '7. the
highest being 81, and the lowest 70. Dr. Tritsch measured five
Bushman skulls, and found the average horizontal cephalic index
74-2, the highest being 78 -5, and the lowest 69 -5. M. Broca
found the average of his measurements as low as 72, but it is
doubtful whether his specimens were not Hottentot skulls. It
would appear that the Bushmen are on the border line separating
the dolichocephalic from the mesaticeidialio races, the breadth of
skulls of the latter averaging between thine-fourths and four-fifths
of the length.

The cranial capacity, or size of the brain of each, is given by
Professor Flower as : Bantu 1485, Hottentot 1407, and Bushman
1288 cubic centimetres. The average brain of a European is 1 497
cubic centimetres in size. Dr. EoUeston found the average
cranial capacity of his six Bushman specimens as low as 1195
cubic centimetres, and aU other recorded measurements jdace these
people among tire extreme microcephalic or small-skulled races.
The Hottentots in this classiflcation are mesocephaU, a name
applied to races whose average cranial capacity is between 1350
and 1460 cubic centimetres, and the Bantu, like Emopeans, are
megacephali or large-skulled.

The alveolar index, index of prognathism, or the sloi^e of a line
from the top of the forehead to the point in the upper jaw between
the insertion of the front teeth, is an important characteristic.
According to the angle which this line makes with the horizontal
ifiane of the skull, races are classified as orthognathous, mesog-
nathous, or prognathous. In this classification the Bushman
comes nearest the European, his face being much more vertical
than that of either of the others. Between the Hottentots and
the Bantu there is scarcely any difference.

A marked feature of the Bushman skull is the smallness of
the lower jaw and the want of prominence of the chin. In this
respect he is among the least advanced of all races. The lower
jaw of the Hottentot is much better formed, but is not by any
means as massive as that of a member of the Bantu femily or a
European. The skulls of these South African races also differ
from each other and from those of Europeans in many particulars

8

Htstory of South Africa.

which, aie only intelligible to professional anatomists. This
subject can be studied in special works, and it is not necessary
therefore to enter more deeply into it hare.

The greatest differences between the three divisions of people
who lived in South Africa in ancient times are now believed
to be in the constitution of their minds, but early observers did
not detect these. The variations which they noticed were chiefly
the following :

Bushmen: fraino dwarfish,* colour yellowish brown, face
fox-like in outline, eyes small and deeply sunk, head dotted over
with little knots of twisted hair not much larger than pepper-
corns, ears without lobes, stomach protuberant, back exceedingly
hollow, limbs slender ; weapons bow and poisoned arrow ; pursuits
those of a hunter; government none but parental; habitations
caverns or mats spread over branches of trees ; domestic animal
the dog ; demeanour that of perfect independence ; language
abounding in clicks and in deep guttural sormds.

Hottentots : frame slight but sometimes tall, better formed
than Bushmen, but back hollow, head scantily covered with little
tufts of short crisped hair, cheeks hollow, nose flat, eyes far apart
and often to appearance set obliquely, hands and feet small,
colour yellow to olive; weapons assagai, knobkerie, bow and
poisoned arrow, shield; pursuits pastoral and to a very limited
extent metallurgic; government feeble; habitations slender
frames of wood covered with skins or reed mats; domestic
animals ox, sheep, and dog; demeanour inconstant, marked by
levity ; language abounding in clicks.

Bantu: frame of those on the coast generally robust and as
well formed as that of Europeans, of those in the interior some-
what weaker, head covered closely with crispy hair, cheeks full,
nose usually flat but occasionally prominent, bands and feet large,
colour brown to deep black ; weapons assagai, knobkerie, shield,
and among the northern tribes battle-axe and bow and arrow ;

* OccffinoDall; among the MaBanvo, or Buehmen of the Bettihuaua country,
indlvidaals over five feet and. a half in height are found, hut these am to a
certainty mixed hreeds. They show Bantu blood in their darker colour as well

9

Description of the Bushmen.

pursuits agricultural, pastoi-al, and metallurgic ; government
iirmly constituted, with perfect system of laws ; habitations
strong framoworlc of wood covered with thatch ; domestic animals
ox, goat, sheep, dog, barnyard poultry; demeanour ceremonious,
grave, respectful to superiors in rank; language musical, words
abounding in vowels and inflected to produce harmony in
sound.

THE BUSHMEN, TEllMED BY THE HOTTENTOTS SANA, BY THE
BANTU ABATWA.

The pigmy hunters, who were the oldest iuhabibauts of South
Africa, received from the first European colonists the name of
Bushmen, on account of their preference for places abounding
in bushes, where they had a wonderful faculty of concealing
themselves, owing to the colour of their skins being almost the
same as that of the soil. They were members of a race that
in early ages was spread over the whole continent south of the
Sahara, and of which remnants still exist on both sides of the
oq.uator.

Their language has not been examined very carefully, except
by the late Dr. Bleek and by Miss L. Lloyd, whose researches
have only partly been published. It is known, however, to be
low in order as a means of expressing any but the simplest ideas,
and to be divided into a great mrmber of dialects, some of which
vary as widely as English from German. Many of its apparent
roots are polysyllabic, but there is a doubt whether some of
these are not really compoisites. It is so irregular in its con-
struction that the plural of nouns is often formed by reduplica-
tion, as if we should say " dog dog ” instead of " dogs,” and some-
times a plural idea is expressed hy a word which has nothing in
common with the one which expresses the singular. Yet there
is an instance of a dual form in the firat personal pronoun. In
none of the dialects has any word for a numeral higher than three
been discovered, from that number up to ten being indicated by
showing fingers, and all beyond being termed a great many. Dr.
Bleek and Miss Lloyd found that the language could be repre-

10

History of South Africa.

sented in ^s'liting, Lhough to the ear it sounds liko a continuous
clattering combined 'with hoarse sounds proceeding from the
depths of the throat.

The Bushmen inhabited the deserts, which they possessed
undisturbed by invasions of other races, and the mountains in
those parts that were occupied by Hottentots and Bantu, against
whom they carried on incessant war.

A cave with its opening protected by a few branches of trees,
or the centre of a small circle of bushes over which mats or skins
of wild animals were stretched, was the best dwelling that they
aspired to possess. Fading either of these, they scooped a hole
in the ground, placed a few sticks or stones round it, and spread
a mat or a skin above to serve as a roof. A little grass at the
bottom of the hole formed a bed, and though it was not much
larger than the nest of an ostrich, a whole family could manage
to lie down in it.

The ordinary food of these people consisted of roots, berries,
wild plants, locnsts, larvaa of ants — now commonly called Bush-
man rice by European colonists, — reptiles, birds, and mammalia
of all kinds. Ho chance of plundering the pastoral tribes of
domestic cattle was allowed to escape them. They were capable
of remaining a long time without food,* and could then gorge
immense quantities of meat without any ill effects. They were
caroless of the futme, and wei’e happy if the wants of the moment
were supplied. Thus, when a large animal was killed, no trouble
was taken to preserve a portion of its flesh, bnt the time was
spent in alternate gorging and sleeping until not a particle of
carrion was left. When a drove of domestic cattle was stolen,
several wore slaughtered at once and their carcasses shared with
birds of prey, while if their recapture was considered possible,
every animal was hamstrung or killed. Such wanton destruction
caused them to be detested by the other dwellers in the land, by
whom they were regarded simply as wild animals. Even in the

* Dr. Alfred Uillier, wlio lias made a special study of these people, is of
opiaiou that this is at least partly due to the great quantity of adipose matter
stored- up in their pretuhersnt hips, wMch. is mpst observahle when they have
alwadanoe of food,

Description of the Bushnun, [ i

last years of the uineteenth century missionaries have only with
much difficulty been able to persuade the most intelligent Bantu
that Bushmen had rights as human beings, which it behoved them
to respect.

Their weapons wore bows and arrows. The bows were
nothing more than pieces of saplings or branches of trees about
four feet in length, scraped down a little, and strung with a
thong oL raw hide or a cord formed by twisting together the
sinews of animals. The ari’ows were from twenty to thirty
inches in lengtli, made of reeds pointed generally with bone,
but sometimes with sharp atone flakes, and with triangular iron
heads whenever these were taken from Hottentot enemies. The
arrowhead and the lashing by which it was secured to the reed
were coated with a de.adly poison, so that the slightest wound
caused death. The aiTows were earned in a giuver usually made
of the bark of a species of euphorbia, which is still called by
Europeans in South Aftica the kokerboom or guiver tree. They
were formidable solely on account of the poison, as they could
not be projected with accuracy to any great distance, and had but
little force. In after years the colonists considered their clothing
ample protection at fifty yards’ distance. The Bushmen made pita
for entrapping game, and also poisoned pools of water, so that
any animal that drank perished.

They used stone flakes for various purposes, but took no
trouble to polish them or give them a neat appearance. Their
knives, scrapets, and awls for piercing skins wore commonly made
of horn or hone. There was a stone implement, however, which
was in general use. It was a little spherical boulder, from three
to six inches in diameter, such as may ho picked up in abundance
in many parts of the country, through the centre of which the
Bushman drilled a hole laige enough to receive a digging-stick,
to which it gave weight. With the tools at his disposal, this
must have required much time and patience, so that in bis eyes
a stone when drilled nndonbtedly had a very high value. On it
he depended for food in seasons of drought, when all the game
had fled from Ms part of the country. Drilled stones from an
inch to three inches in diameter have occasionally been found in

1 2 History of South Africa .

tracts of country once inhabited by Bushmen, but from which
those savages have long since disappeared. None so small os
those have been noticed in use in recent times. It is conjectured
that they were intended as amulets.

There is no record of a European having ever seen a Bushman
manufacturing stone implements, and no one appears to have
made inquiry into the matter until it was too late to derive any
information from the people themselves. Whan they were first
met, they hod such implements in use, and wherever they lived
such implements are stiU to be found, hence it is assumed that
they made them.

In many other parts of the world perforated stones are plenti-
ful, but most of them differ in some respects from those drilled
by the Bushmen, which were nil of one type. In the Antiquarian
Museum at Edinburgh there is a very fine collection of such
stones found in Scotland. There are small ones evidently used
in comparatively recent times as weights for nets and in spinning,
there are enormously large ones also of not very ancient manu-
faeture, and there are many four' or five inches in diameter, the
usual size of the Bushman implement. Borne are elegantly
ornamented, showing the use of tools of metal. Others have
holes the same size throughout, leading to a similar conclnsion.
Those that have holes narrowing from both sides towards the
centre, like all the Bushman stones, are usually flat at top and
bottom, not globular in form. The Bushman for some unlcnown
reason preferred an approximate sphere, thus any observant eye
with a series of each in view would at once detect that they were
made by different classes of workmen.

A few ohqjped flakes and other weapons of stone much larger
than tjiose ordiaarily used by Bushmen have been picked up in
South Africa in situations where it is supposed they cannot have
been left by individuals of the stronger Hottentot race, and these
have given rise to an opinion that the country may once have
been occupied by more robust savages. Traditional stories have
been gathered from Bushmen themselves, in which they speak of
an older race. But weapons made by Hottentots for their own
ttse could have been taken from them and removed to a great

Description of the Bushmen. 13

distance by their pimy enemies, and the traditions probably refer
to the supplanting of one horde by another in a particular locality.
There is no other evidence that the Bushmen were not the earliest
inhabitants of South Africa, and this seems altogether too slight
a foundation to build a theory upon.

People in a low condition of society do not use clothing for
purposes of modesty, but to protect themselves against inclement
weather. And as the Bushmen were hardly affected by any
degree of either heat or cold that is experienced in this country,
whether on the plains in midsummer or on the mountains in
midwinter', the raiment of the males was usually scanty, and in
the chase was thrown entirely aside. At the best it consisted
merely of the akin of an animal wrapped round the person.
Adult females wore a little apron, and fastened a skin over their
shoulders in such a way that an infant could bo carried on their
backs. Both sexes used bolts, which in times of scarcity they
tightened to assuage the pangs of hunger, and whenever they had
the means they rubbed their bodies with grease and clay or
soot, which made them even more ugly than they were by
nature.

When the men expected to meet an enemy, they fastened
their arrows in an erect position round their heads, in order to
appear as formidable as possible. But they never exposed them-
selves unnecessarily to danger, and tried always to attack from
an ambush or a place that would give them the advantage of
striking the first blow before their adversaries were aware of their
presence. A poisoned arrow, shot from a little scrub in which
a Bushman was lying concealed, often ended the career of an
unwary Hottentot traveller.

The Bushmen wore few ornaments, not because they were
careless about decorating their persons, but because it was diffloull
to obtain anything for the purpose. They were without metal,
and in the vast interior, as they knew nothing of commerce, they
could not obtain sea-shells. Yet some of them contrived to make
necklaces, which were worn by the men and women, not by the
children. They out little circular disks of tortoise and ostrich
egg shells, drilled holes in them, and strung them on thongs. It

14

History of South Africa,

requires some reflection to realise the amount of patient lahoiiv
expended upon a single oraamout of this klndj manufactured
with, stone and hone iinplomants. In other cases they made
grooves round the teeth of animals, and then strung a number
together.

A consideration of how much value such a simple implement
as a tinder-box would have had to these people may aid in
enabling a European to comprehend the hfe that they led. They
knew how to procure fire by twirliug a piece of wood round
rapidly in the socket of another piece, but the preparation of the
apparatus took much time, and a considerable amount of labour
was needed to produce a flame. Under these circumstances, it
was a task of the women to preserve a fire when once made, and
as they moved their habitations to a large animal when it was
killed, instead of trying to carry the meat away, tlris was often
a diffloulb matter. Sometimes it necessitated carrying a burning
stick fifteen or twenty miles, or when it was nearly cousnmod,
kindling a fire for the sole purpose of getting another brand to
go - on with. hTo small amount of labour would tlioi'eforo have
been saved by the possession of a flint and a piece of steel.

These wild people lived in small societies, often consisting of
only a couple of families. The early Dutch colonists observed
that they were amazingly prolific, a circumstance that is not
surprising if one reflects that they were much less subject to
disease than Europeans, and that every woman without excep-
tion bore children. Still, living as they did in a state of constant
strife not only with the other races but among themselves, their
numbers were kept small, for a very large proportion of them died
by violence.

They were vindictive, passionate, and cruel in the extreme,
though after the colonisation of the country Europeans often
observed that many of those who lived temporarily on farms
were not insensible to acts of Irindness, and wete even capable
of feeling gmtitude. In this respect they were like those wild
animals that in a state of restraint show attachment to their
keepers. Human life, even that of their nearest kindred, was
sacrificed on very slight provocation. They did not understand

Description o/ the Bitshmen. i s

what quarter in battle luoimt, and as they never siiavcd an enemy
who was in their power, when thomsolvos suiTouuded so that all
hope of escape was gone, they fought till their last inoir fell.

Their manner of living was such as to develop only qualities
essential to hunters. In keenness of vision and fleetness of foot
they were surpassed by no people on earth, they could travel
immense distances without taking rest, and yet their frames
were so feeble as to be incapable of protracted labour.

They possessed an intense love of liberty and of their wild
wandering way of life. Hereditary chieftainship was not recog-
nised by them. It sometimes happened that the bravest or most
expert of a party became a leader in predatory excursions, but
his authority did not extend to the'*T!5esiTOise of judicial eou-
trol. Each man was independent of every oHi^. Even parental
authority was oommouly disregarJed by a youKcas soon as he
could provide for his own wants.

They were Arm believers' in charms and witoluimltS'iu'l wore
always in dread of violating some custom — as fort instance
avoiding qoatiug a shadow upon dying game — which they
believed would cause disaster. A .jliiahmau would' not make
a hole in the sandy bod of a river iu order to obtain water,
without first ofleriug a littlo piece of meat, or some larva; of
ants, or an arrow if he had nothing else, to propitiate the spirit
of the stream. And so with every act of his life, something had
to be done or avoided to avert evil.

Their reasoning power was very low. They understood the
habits of wild animals better than anything else,, yet they be-
lieved the different species of game could converse with each
other, and that there were animals and human beings who could
exchange their forms at will, for instance that there were girls
who could change themselves into lions, and baboons that could
put on the appearance of men. The moon, according to the
ideas of some of them, was a living thing, according to the notions
of others it was a piece of hide which a man threw into the sky.
In the same way the stars were once human beings, or they were
pieces of food hurled into the air. As well might one attempt
to get reasons for their fancies from European children five or six

i6

History of SotUh Afncii.

years of age as from Bushmen : the roflootivo fuonliios of ono were
as fully developed os of the other.

Dr. Bleek and Miss Lloyd ohtaiued from several individuals
prayers to tlie moon and to stans. But everything connected with
their religion — that is their drotul of something outside of and
more powerful than themselves — ^was vague and uncertain. Tliey
could give no explanation whatever about it, and indeed they did
not all hold the same opinions on the subject.

It is diffiLcnlt to conceive of a human being in a more degraded
condition than that of a Bushman. In some respects, however, he
showed considerable ability, and there was certainly an enormous
gulf between him and the highest of the brute creation. He
possessed extraordinary poAvers of mimicry. Enclosed in a frame-
work covered with/,he skiu of on ostrich, ho Avas in the habit of
stalking game, and, by carefully keeping his prey to windward,
was able to approach within shooting distance, when the poison
of his ar»*ow completed the task. He could imitate the ijeculi*
arities c| individuals of other races with whom he came in contact,
and wa^ond of creating mirth by exhibiting them, in the drollest
manner.

He was aisff^Pwi^^- , Qh the walls ,t>f.cay|ss andtheshe-Jj^red
sidi^ bf gieatTodts he oS&vMude ^otures in ;i^rdfile of.-fife
with whioh V 'W'as acquainted. The tints were made, with
different kinds of ochre having considerable capability of wilh-
standiug^ the, decay, of time, and they were mixed Avith grease, so
that &ey penetrated the rock more or loss deeply according to its
porousness. There are caves on the margins of rivers containing
paintings which have been exposed to the action of water during
occasional floods for at least a hnndred years, and the colours are
yet unfaded where the rock has not crumbled away. '

In point of artistic meiit, however, paintings Were seldom
superior to the drawings on slates of European cMdren eight or
-nihe years of age, though there were occasional instances of game
heittg delineated not only in a fairly correct hut in a graceful
manner^ showing that some of the workmen possessed more a In’ll
others. In none of them was any knowledge of perspective
or of shading displayed. Two colours AVme sometimes used, as.

Description of the Bushmen. 17

for instance, the head or legs of an animal might he white, and
the remainder of the body brown, but each colour was evenly laid
on as far as it went. In shorl^ the paintings might have been
mistaken for the work of children, but for the impressions of the
hands often accompanying them, and the scenes being cluelly
those of the chase.

In some places, where the face of the rock was very dark,
the Bushman drew an outline of a figure, and then chipped away
the surface within it. The labour reijuired for such a task, with-
out metallic implements, must have been great, and the workman
was undoubtedly possessed of much patience. He was a sculptor
in the elementary stage of the art.

These wild peojile possessed too a faculty — it might almost be
termed an additional sense — of which Europeans are destitnte.
They could make thaii- way in a straight line to any place where
they had been before. Even a child of nine or ton years of age,
removed from its parents to a distance of over a hundred miles
and without opportunity of observing the featoes of the country
traversed, could months later return uneiTingly. They could give
no explanation of the means by which they accomplished a task
seemingly so difficult. Many of the inferior animals, however,
have this faculty, as notably the dove, so that it is not surprising
to find the lowest type of man in possession of it.

If the stone, horn, and bone implements and the shell beads
already mentioned be excluded, the Bushmen had little knowledge
of manufactures. They had not advanced beyond the stage of
making the coarsest kind of pottery, and even this was extremely
limited in use. Add to it rush mats and net bags of fibres, in
which their women carried ostrich egg shells filled with water,
and the list is exhausted.

The life led by these savages was in truth a wretched one,
judged from a European standard. They had no contact with
people beyond their own little communities, except in wav, for
they were without a conception of commerce. If a pestilence had
swept them all from the face of the earth, nothing more would
have been left to mark where they had onoe been than the drilled
stone's, rudely shaped arrowheads, rough pottery, rock paintings,
and crude sculptures. Their pleasures were hardly superior to

History of South Africa.

i8

those of dumb animals. They had a musical instrumenli like a
how, with a piece of quill attached to the string, but the sounds
produced from it by strong inhalations and exhalations of the
breath could hardly be termed harmonious. Their dancing was
a mere quivering of the body and stamping of the feet. The
games that they practised were chiefly — if not entirely — imitation
hunts, in which some or all of them represented animals. In this
pastime they displayed much deverness, whether they acted as
men or as lions in pursuit of antelopes. But it was not often
that they engaged in play, for the effort to sustain existence was
with them severe and almost constant.

At early dawn the Bushman rose from his mat or bed of grass
in a cavern an the side of a hill, and scanned the veilley or plain
below in search of game. If any living tiling was within range
of his far-seeing eye, he grasped his bow and quiver of arrows,
and with his dog set off in pursuit. His wife — he had hut one,
for he was a strict monogamist — and his children followed, carry-
ing Are and collecting bulbs and anything else that was ediblo on
the way. They could pursue his track unen’iugly by indications
that would escape the keenest European eye: a broken twig, a
freshly turned stone, or -bent blades of grass being suffloient to
gnide them in the right direction. At nightfall, if they were
fortunate, they collected about the body of an antelope, and there
they remained till nothing that could be consumed was left. And
so ftorn day to day and year to year life passed on, without
anything of an intellectual nature to ennoble it.

It can now be asserted in positive language that these people
were incapable of adopting European civilisation. During the
'first half of the nineteenth ^ipntuiy agents of various missionary
societies made strenuous efforts for their improvement, and often
believed they had in some eases succeeded and in othjgrs-were in
a fair way towards success. Men more devoted to their work
t^ian many of these missionaries have never e:dBted, and it would
be.', unjust, to accuse them of wilfully misstating the result of their
very, excess of their zeal, and their dwelling
e^a1i8i|L^ Tqgrqn the ^pression t^t .the whole human race is of
nne.hjllQi^i^wi^out r^ecting that different branches of the race
in Europe are incapable of thinking alike led them to distort

Jbescripiiou of the B-ushmen. 19

what they saw and heaxd, so that their reports are commonly
misleading. In these reports Bushmen were represented as
having become civilised and Cluistian. Bixt no one else ever
saw those transformed savages, and no trace of them exists at
the present day. The wild people in the missionary writings are
described as offshoots of a higher stock, degraded by oppression
or neglect, and needing only instruction and gentle treatment to
elevate them again. Some of the reasoning in favour of this
theory is highly acute, but it is not borne out by the deeper
investigations of our day.

Apart from missionary teaching also many persons tried
during long years to induce families of Bushmen to abandon
their savage habits, and there were oven experiments in providing
groups of them with domestic cattle, in order to encourage a
pastoral life, but all were without .suocess. To lljis day there
has not been a single instance of r Bushman of pul’s blood having
permanently adopted the habits of a white man, though a few
mixed breeds are to be found among the least skilful class of
labourers iu some ports of the country. Even those are generally
too feeble in body to endure anything like severe toil, and unless
they intermingle with blacks — as in the instance of the degraded
Batlapin tribe — c[uiokly decrease in number. Those of unmixed
blood could not exist iu presence of a high civilisation, hut
dwindled away rapidly, and have now nearly died out altogether.
It would seem that for them progress was possible in no other way
than by exceedingly slow development and blending their blood
in successive stages with races always a little more advanced.

TaB HOTTENTOTS, TEEMED BY THE BANTU AMALAWU.

The Hottentots termed themselves Khoikhoi, men of men, as
they prided themselves upon their superiority over the other race
with which they were best acquainted, and in fact they were
considerably more advanced towards civilisation than the Bush-
men, -though a stranger at first sight might not have seen much
difference in personal appearance between the two. ' A little
observation, however, would have shown that the Bushmen were
not only smaller and uglier, but that their faces were broader.

20

Hisiovy of South Africa.

their eyes not nearly as full and bright, their lobeless eai’s rounder
in shape, and their chins leas prominent. Their wild expression
also was not observed in the Hottentot face.

The investigations of the late Dr. Bleek have shown that the
languages of these two classes of people were not only different
in the words, but that they varied in construction. That spoken
by the Hottentots was free of deep guttural sounds, and though it
was accompanied by much clapping of the tongue, the clicks were
not so numerous as in Bushman speech. It was inflected by
means of aflflxes only, which placed it in contrast with the Bantu
language, as this was inflected chiefly by preflixes. It had three
numbers, singular, dual, and plural. Its system of notation was
decimal, and was perfect at least up to' a hundred. Some words
ware composites, but most were monosyllables, as were all the
roots. The liq^uid consonant I was wanting. There were many
dialects, but these did not vary more than the forms of English
spoken in different counties.

No diffloulty has been experienced by European missionaiies
iu reducing this language to writing, and some religions literature
has been printed in it. "Words to express ideas unlmown before
were formed from well-known toots according to its grammatical
structure, and were at once understood by every one. This is
sufflcient to show that it was of a high order. It is now, however,
rapidly dying out, as the descendants of the people who once
used it have long since learned to converse in Dutch, and by force
of caxcumstances nearly all have forgotten their ajicestral speech.

The Hottentots were divided into a number of tribes, each of
which was usually composed of several dons loosely joined
together. The tribes were 'freq^uently at war with each other.
Every clan had its own hereditary chief, whose authority, how-
ever, was very limited, .as his subjects were impatient of control.
The succession was from father to son, and in the absence of a
son to brother or nephew. The several heads of clans recognised
the supremacy in rank of one of their number, who was accounted
the pMamount oMaf of the tribe, but unless he happened to he a
man of more force of character than the others, he exercised no
real power over them. The petty rulers were commonly jealous
of each other, so that they could only unite in cases of extreme

21

Description of the Hottentots.

danger to all. The government was tlma particularly frail, and
a very slight shock was sufficient to break any combination of
the people into fragments.

The principal property of the Hottentots consisted of homed
cattle and sheep. They had great skill in training oxen to obey
certain calls, as well as to carry burdens, and bulls were taught
not only to assist in guarding the herds from robbers and beasts of
prey, but to aid in war by charging the enemy on the field of
battle. The milk of their cows was the chief article of their diet.
They did not kill homed cattle for food, except on occasions of
feasting, but they ate all that died a natural death. The ox of the
Hottentot was an inferior animal to that of Europe. He was a
gaunt, bony creature, with immense horns and long legs, but he
was hardy and well adapted to supply the wants of his owner.
Ho served instead of a horse for riding purposes, being guided by
a idem or thoug of raw hide attached to a piece of wood passed
through the cartilage of his nose. The sheep were covered with
hair instead of wool, were of various colours, and had long lapping
ears and taUa six or seven pounds in weight. The milk as well as
the flesh was used for food. Children were taught to suck the
ewes, and often derived their whole sustenance from this source.
The only other domestic animal was the dog. He was an ugly
creature, his body being shaped like that of a jackal, and the hair
on his spine being tinned forward ; but he was a faithful, servico-
ahle animal of his kind.

In addition to milk and the meat of oxen and sheep, of which
they rejected no part except the gall, the food of the Hottentots
consisted of the flesh of game obtained in the chase, locusts, and
various kinds of wild plants and fruits. Agriculture, even in its
simplest forms, was not practised by them. They knew how to
make an intoxicating drink of honey, of which large quantities
were to be had in the season of flowers, and this they used to
excess while it lasted. Another powerful intoxicant with which
they were acquainted was dacha, a species of wild hemp, and
whenever this was procurable they smoked it with a pipe made
of the horn of an antelope. That its effects were pernicious was
admitted by themselves, still they could not refrain from making
use of it.

22

History of South Africa.

Their women were better clotJied than those of the Bnahmen,
but the men were usually satisfied with very little coveringi and
had no sense of shame in appearing altogether naked, The dress
of both sexes was made of skins, commonly prepared with the
hair on. When removed from the animal, the skin was cleansed
of any fleshy matter adhering to it, was then stretched and dried,
end was afterwards rubbed with grease till it became soft and
pliable. The ordinary costume of a man was merely a piece of
jackal skin suspended in front, and a little slip of prepared hide
behind. In cold weather he wrapped liimself in a ' kaross or
mantle of furs sewed together with sinews. The women wore at
all times a headdress of fur, an apron, and a wrapper or a girdle of
leather strings suspended from the waist. In cold weather, or
when carrying infants on their books, they added a scanty kaross.
Children wore no clothing whatever. Bound their legs the
females sewed strips of raw hide like rings, which, when dry,
rattled against each other and made a noise when they moved.

Both sexes ornamented their heads with copper trinkets, and
hung round their necks strings of shells, leopards’ teeth, or any
other glittering objects they could obtain. Ivory armlets were
worn by the meh.- Tiom earliest infancy their bodw were
SBtteored -ypith grease and rubbed over with clay,- soot, or powdered
hixchu, and to this partly may be attributed the stench of their
persons. The ooat of grease and clay was not intended for
ornament alone It protected them from the weather and from
the vermin that infested their huts and clothing.

Their dwellinga were oval or circular frames of light undressed
wood, sometimes covered with skins, hut risuaUy with mats made
of rushes. They were not more than five feet in height, and had
but one small opening through which the inmates crawled. In
cold weather a fire was made in a cavity in the -centre. The huts
of a kraal were arranged in the form of a circle, the space enclosed
being used as a fold for cattle. They could be taken to pieces,
placed' on pack-oxen, removed to a distance, and set up again,
withivery ^ttle labour and no waste.

.'The :^l^on8 -used by the ■ Hottentots in' war and the chase
were' 'bow a^d ’’arrows, slacks with clubbed heads, and assagais.
They usually covered the, head of the arrow with poison, so that

23

Description of the Hottentots,

a wound from one, however slight, was mortal. The assagai could
be hurled with precision to a distance of thirty yards. The
knobkerie, or clubbed stick, was almost as formidable a weapon.
It was rather stouter than an ordinary walldng cane, and had a
round head two or three inches in diameter. Boys were trained
to throw this with so accurate an aim as to bit a bird on the wing
at twenty or thirty yards distance. It was projected in such a
manner as to bring the heavy knob into contact with the object
aimed at, and antelopes as large as goats had their legs broken or
were killed outright with it. The bow was a weapon of little
force, and the arrows would have been harmless to large game if
they had not been poisoned.

The Hottentots were acquainted with the art of smelting ii’on,
but were loo indolent to turn their knowledge to much account.
Only a few assagai and arrow heads were made of that metal,
Horn and bone were ready at hand, were easily worked, and were
commonly used to point weapons. Stone was also employed by
some of the tribes for this imrpose, but not to any great extent,
tliough weights for digging sticks w'ere formed of it by them'
as hy the Bnshmen. Masses of almost solid copper were obtained
in Hamaqnaland, and this metal was spread over the neighbouring
country by means of barter and war, but was not used for any
other purpose than that of making omtonents for the person.

In the districts that they ooonpied a very few polished imple-
ments of shale have been found in situations where they must
have lain a considerable time. They consist of arrow heads whose
points have been ground, and disks like quoits with sharp edges,
which are supposed to have been held in the hand and used in
combat. Ho European has ever seen such impleiuents in the
possession of a Hottentot, or ever heard them spoken of, and any
remarks concerning them can only be founded on conjecture.
But few, as is the number of such ground stones as yet discovered,
they are evidence that there was a tinje when individuals — if not
tribes; — not Bantu, in South Africa were in the neolithic stage of
progress, though it is possible that iron may have been in use at
the same period. .

The Hottentots manufactured earthenware pots for cooking
purposes, which, though in general clumsily shaped and coarse in

24

History of South A/rica,

appearance, were capable of withetanding intense heat, Milk was
kept in skin bags or in large bowls made by hollowing out blocks
of wood. Ostrich egg shells and ox horns were used for carrying
water and other domestic purposes.

Some small and weak clans of Hottentots who had lost their
cattle in war or by disease lived along the shore, and depended for
existence upon the produce of the sea. They had neither boats
nor hooks, but they managed to catch fish by throwing spears
from rooks standing out in deep water and by making stone walls
across gullies in order to enclose considerable spaces which were
nearly dry at low tide. Shell-fish also formed a portion of their
food, and occasionally a dead whale would drift asliore and furnish
them with a feast. Shell and ash heaps made by these people
bearing signs of being qnite modern, that is dating back only
hundreds, not thousands of years, ere found in many places along
the coast from Walfish Bay to Hatal.

The heaps contain ordinary Hottentot implements, in rare
instances human skeletons, and generally hones of auimals
obtained in tbe chase, always broken in order that the marrow
might be extracted. The perforated stone weights found in them
are usually of the shape of compressed spheres, nearly resembling
in form, those of Scotland referred to on a previous page, which
has given rise to the supposition that those made by Hottentots
were always of a distinct type from those made by Bushmen.
This is, however, not certain,* though only spherical weights are
picked up in South Africa in tracts of country that were ex-
dusively occupied by Bushmen, and compressed spheres axe
common wherever Hottentots lived, where also there are a few
stones that have first been perforated and then chipped into a
convenient shape for use. The coarse earthenware pots that are
found in these recent shell heaps frequently have a number of
holes neatly drilled in them, sometimes near the bottom, in order
to make them serve as strainers.

■ "^ottentota were found living in the manner here indicated
■ ;;^^eft,,.&TOpaans, first oame to the country, and on the coast of
there were, some existing in a similar state after

Museum there is a round flat perforated stone found in
oannot have been manufactured by Hottentots.

Description of the Hottentots. 25

tlio mitlcUa of the muoteoiilh eonfctiry. As far as food, elothiuy.
1111(1 lodging were concerned, they were in no better condition tluiu
Bnshiuen, but there was always the hope before them of aciiniriiig
cattle by a successful raid, in which case they would at once
revert to the ordinary mode of living of their race.

The whole of the recent shell heaps on the South African
coast, however, were not made by impoverished Hottentots.
Some were made by Bushmen, as is proved by the paintings
on rocks overhanging the deposits, and these may be taken as
forming a connected series witii the most ancient mounds. There
must also have been mixed breeds along the coast in former
times, os there are to-day in the tenitory about the lower Vaal
river, and some of the remaina may bo due to them. These
mixed breeds arose from the union of Hottentot men with cap-
tured Bushwomeu, for though the inces were constantly at war,
young females were generally spared by the less savage of
the two.

The Hottentots were a superstitions people, who placed groat
faith in the efficacy of charms to ward off evil. They believed
tliat certain occurrences foreboded good or ill luck, tliat a mimlis
alighting on a hut brought prosperity with it, and many other
absurdities of a lOce nature. They Hvod in droad of ghosts and
evil spirits. They invoked blessings from the moon, to whoso
praise they sang and danced when it appeared as new. They also
invoked blessings from dead ancestors, to whose shades sacrifices
were offered by priests on important occasions, and they implored
protection and favour from a mythical hero named Heitsi-eibib,
who was believed to have died and risen again many, times, and
whose worship consisted in throwing a bit of wood or an addi-
tional stone upon a cairn. Cairns of considerable size raised
in this manner are to be found at lie present day within territory
occupied by Bantu tribes, showing, hke many other indica-
tions, that the Hottentots once occupied a larger area than when
Europeans became acquainted with them. They made offerings
also to a powerful evil spiilt, with a view of averting his wrath.
Their system of religion could not he explained by themselves,
what they understood being little more than that the oustoms
connected with it had come down to them from their ancestors.

n

26

History of South Africa,

They had not the faintest expectation of tlieir own resurrection,
or conception of a heaven and a helL

A more improvident, unstable, thoughtless people iiovev
existed. Those among them who had cattle were without care
or grief, and usually spent the greater part of the day in sleeping.
They delighted, however, iu dancing to music, which they pro-
duced from reeds. Active in this exercise and in hunting, in all
other respects they were extremely indolent. Their filthiness
of person, clothing, and habitation was disgusting. They enjoyed
eating food that would have turned the stomach of the least
delicate of Europeans, for the sense of smelling with them — ns
with aU people of a low type — ^was extremely dull. Still they
were not without good quahties. Their tempers were in general
ndld, and their hospitality to peaceable strangers as well as to
people of then’ own clan was unbounded.

They were in the habit of abandoniug aged and helplos.s
persons as well as sickly and deformed children, whom they
allowed to perish of hunger. But they regarded this as mercy,
not as cruelty. Better that a helpless wretch or a cripple should
give up life at once than linger on in misery. For the same
reason, when a woman giving suck died, the child was bmiod
with its parent.

The Hottentots were polygamous in the sense that their
customs admitted of a wealthy man having more wives than one,
but the practice was by no means general. There were many
kraals in which there was not a single case of polygamy. It was
customary with some, perhaps with all, to take wives not from
their own but from another clan. The marriage customs required
that cattle should be given by the bridegroom to the nearest rela-
tives of the bride, but temporary unions were common, and indeed
a system almost as bad as that of free love prevailed, for chastity
on both sides was very Kghtly regarded.

The women were more nearly the equals of the men, and were
permitted to exercise much greater freedom of speech in domestic
disputes, than among most savages. They were mistresses within
the huts. The stores of milk were under their control, not under
that of their husbands, as was the- case witli the Bantu tribes.
The men tended the cattle, but their daughters milked the cows.

Descripimi of th& Hottentots, 27

Among some— not all — of the Hottentot clans theves was a
custom which, though described by many early observers, has
within the nineteenth century without sufficient investigation
been regarded by most writers as so utterly incredible that they
have not noticed it. Yet it is practised at the present day by
people who are certainly not of Hottentot blood, but who must
have dei-ived their language as well as many of their customs from
Hottentot conquerors in times long gone by. It stands to them
in the same relation that circumcision does to many Bantu clan,s,
that is among them a youth cannot enter the society of men or
take to himself a wife until he has become a mcmorch {jjuovofyxii).
A custom so extraordinary shows what force habit and supersti-
tion have among savages.

With all their degrading habits, the Hottentots possessed large
powers of imagination. They speculated upon objects in nature
in a way that no Bantu ever did, and their ideas on those subjects,
though seemingly absurd, at least bore ovidonco of a disposition to
think. Thoy were excellent stoi’y-tellers. Seated round fires of
an evening, they told tales of tiro doings of men and of animals —
usually the baboon or the jackal — ^whioh produced boundless
mirth. Those stories generally contained coarse and obscene
expressions, or what Europeans would regard as such, but their
sense of delicacy in these matters was naturally low.

The evening with them, as probably with aU barbarians, was
the time for enjoyment. What could bo more cheerful than the
dance in the bright moonlight or listening to a merry tale by a
fire under a starry sky? Then the young men tried their
strength in wrestling matches, or in lifting one another from
the ground, while the young women looked on and applauded
the successful competitors. Then, too, they played games which,
though apparently suited to the capacities of little children only,
afforded them much amusement. The commonest of these games
was adopted by the Bantu on the eastern border when they
conquered the Hottentots thei’e, and is performed by adults
among them to-day, though the people with whom it originated
have long since forgotten it.

It was played by two persons or any number exceeding two.
The players sat on the ground, and each had a pebble so small

28

History of South Africa.

that it could easily be concealed in a folded hand. If there were
many players they formed themselves into sides or parties, but
when they were few in number one played against the rest. This
one concealed the pebble in either of his hands, and then throw
both arms out against his opponent, at the same time calling that
he met or that he evaded. His opponent throw his arms out in
the same manner, so that his right hand was opposite the first
player’s left, and his left opposite the first player's right. The
clenched hands were then opened, and if the pebbles were found
to meet, the first player won if he had called out that he met, or
lost if he had called out that he evaded. When there were many
players, one after another was beaten until only two wei'e left.
Those two then played against eaoh other, when tho one who
was beaten was laughed at and the winner was applauded. In
playing, the arms were thrown out very quickly, and the words
were rapidly uttered, so that a stranger to the game might have
fancied there was neither order nor rule observed. Young men aird
boys often spent whole nights in this childish amusement, which
had the same hold upon them as dice upon some Ewopeana.

Probably, if intellectual enjoyment be excluded, the Hottentots
were among the happiest people in existence. They generedly
lived until old age without serious iUness. They did not allow
possible future troubles to disturb them, and a sufficiency of food
was all that was needed to make them as merry and light-hearted
as children at play.

They were capable of adopting the habits of Europeans, though
the process iequired to bo so gradual that the training of two
centuries and a half has been very far from sufficient to complete
, it. They have learned to cultivate the ground, to use the same
food as white people, to wear European clothing, and to act as
rough handicraftsmen, but there is no instance of one of .them
havihg ever attained a position that required either much intel-
lectual power or much mechanical skill. Since they came in
contact with Europeans and African slaves, however, their blood
haC/been so mixed that, except in Great Hamaqualand and along
th^e'-lower' banks of tho Orange river, very few pure Hottentots are
irL’tea8tSefice'|id%'and every successive generation sees the number
heceffie smaller.' '

Description of the Bantu.

29

CHAPTER II.

DBSCBIPTION OB THE BANTtT TRIBES OB SOUTH AFRICA.

Observations made during the sixteenth ceutuiy by Portuguese
missionaries and travellers in South Africa throw much light
upon the origin of several customs which to more reoont ob-
servers of Bantu habits have always boon obscuro. With the
Hottentots or Bushmen the Portuguese rarely came in coutai'.t,
and of these people they give no information of any value. But
with sections of the Bantu they lived in as close intimacy as
Dutchmen or Englishmen have over done, they Icavnod the
language of those people, studiod their customs, and several of
the best informed recorded what they observed. They toll of no
golden ago of peace and happiness disturbed by the intrusion of
white men, but of jilmost constant strife and cruelty and misery.
Erom them we learn that long before the time of Tshaka despots
as clever and as ruthless as he spread desolation over wide tracts
of land, that cannibalism as practised in the Lesuto and in
Hatal during the early years of the nineteenth century was no
new nustom with sections of the Bantu race. Stuch besides can
be learned from their writings, so that any description of the
black tribes south of the Zambesi published in English ten years
ago can now be considerably amplified.

South of Cape Negro, the western coast of Africa, being
without harbours until Wjdfish Bay is reached, was never
examined with any care by the Portuguese. It is therefore
impossible to state with any pretension to accuracy how far
the Hottentot race extended along that shore at the beginning
of the sixteenth century, or where it was in contact with the
widely dissimilar black people of the north. All that can be

E 2

30

History of South Africa.

said with certainty is that the border line was same dialance
north of Walflsh Bay, and that in the territory now known as
Damaraland at some previous period a desperate struggle had
taken place between the two peoples, in which at least one black
tribe bad been conquered and reduced to the lowest state of
servitude by the Hottentots, But what became of tho con-
querors is a mystery that cannot be solved by any evidence noAv
in being. They may have been exterminated, or they may have
been driven south, by some powerful Bantu ruler. In tradition
they are not Icnown, but their existence at a remote period so
far north is certain, as they stamped their language and some of
their strangest customs upon the people whom they subjugated
there.

On the eastern coast the dividing line between tho two races
was not far south of the present colony of Natal, fifty years later
it was the Umzimvabu river.

In the centre of the country it is most unlikely that the black
tribes had then reached the Voal river, but hero there is no
other evidence than tradition of a migratory movement from tho
north at sOme unknown period, and no native tradition that oan
he verified extends so far into the past.

It will thus he as close an approximation to tho actual con-
dition of things as it is now possible to arrive at, if it be said
that north of a line drawn from a point about five and twenty
or thirty miles above Walfish Bay on the Atlantic shore to the
upper waters of tho Vaal river, and thence curving to the mouth
of the Umtamvuua, the country was occupied in the year 1500
by the swarthy race now termed Bantu. A few Bushmen were
intermixed with them in the wildest pai’ts, but not a Hottentot
lived north of that line.

These black people, together with their kindred who possessed
a vast extent of Africa north of the Zambesi, are now usually
termed the Bantu, in accordance with a proposal of the late
Dc. Bleek. They had no word except tribal names to distin-
guish themselves from other races, nto* in their language

• In, tlw diftlert of tho Temhu, Poiid(^ Zulu, and other coast tribes : v.m-vtu
a person, plural tAa-nim people; diminutive um-ntmana a child, plural cUia-

Description of the Bantn. 3 1

meaning a human being or person of any colour or country ; but
ethnologists felt the want of a specific designation for them, and
adopted this as a convenient oue. In the division of mankind
thus named are included all those Africans who use a language
which is inflected principally hy means of prefixes, and which in
tlie construction of sentences follows certain rules dependmg
upon harmony of sound.*

Tribes occupying for many generations the greater portion of
a country of such extent as Africa south of the Zambesi, and not
having much intercourse with each other, natm’ally developed
differences, and there were circumstances connected with the
Bantu which increased the tendency towards variation. First
there was the hlonipa custom, by which women were obliged
constantly to invent new words, so tliat each dialect niiderwont
gradual dissimilar changes. Next, and more imporhmt still,
was an influx of Asiatics at some remote time, who mixed their
blood with that of tho people on the oastorn side of tho country,
and brought about great improvements in their mental ctmditiou.

In a general description, such as this, it will bo snlliciont to
classify the tribes in three groups, Ihongh it should bo romem-
bored that there arc many trifling differences hotween the
various branches of each of these. In the first group can bo
placed the tribes along the eastern coast south of the h'abi river,
and those which in recent times have made their way from that

nttiima children ; abstract derivative uhi-ntu the qualities of human beings,
diminutive uhu-ntwana the qualities of children. In the Herero dialect:
omM-ndu a parson, plural ova~ndu people. In tho diideot of the Basutd;
mo-tho a person, plural la-tJw pei'sons. The pronunciation, however, is nearly
the same, tho h in batho hoing Bounded only as an aspirate, and the o as oo,
lacei-hoo.

* This definition is of course only a general one, and must he subject to
exceptions, hecause races cannot he grouped by means of language alone. Thus
the people called Berg Pamaras, who have already been teferr^ to and who
live in the tract of country along the western coast north of Walfish Bay, are
Bantu hy blood, though they speak a Hottentot dialect, and resemble Buahmen
in their habits, After ihtir subjugation in remote times, they were fm-ced to
adopt the language of their conquerors. This may also have been the case
with tribes in other parts of the continent.

32

Hisioty of South Africa,

part of the country into the highlands of the interior. Tlio heat
known of these are the Amaxosa, the Abatembii, the Amam-
pondo, the Amnbaca, the Abambo (now broken into numerous
fragments), the Amazulu, the Amaswazi, the Ainatonga, the
Magwamba, the Matshangana, and the Matabele. This group
can be tenned the coast tribes, though some members of it are
now far from the sea.

The second group can include the tribes that at the beginning
of the nineteenth century occupied the great interior plain and
came down to the ocean between the Zambesi and Sabi rivers.
It will include among many others the Batlapin, the Batlaro,
the Barolong, the Bahurutsi, the Baugwaketsi, the Bakwena, the
Bamangwato, all the sections of the Makalanga, and the whole
of the Basnto, north and south. This group can bo termed the
interior tribes.

The third will comprise all tho Bantu living between the
Kalahari and the Atlantic ocean, such as tho Ovahororo, tlie
Ovainpo, and others. These have no mixture of Asiatic blood.
They are blacker in colour, coarser in appearance, and duller in
intellect than the others, if an average is takoji. Tho dialects
spoken by them are also more primitive. This group has only
recently come into contact with Europeans, and has talcen no
part in South African history. The feuds between its different
members, if they could be accurately traced, would be of no
interest, and no lessons could be drawn from them. It will be
sufficient therefore to say of these western tribes that their
language, religion, laws, mode of living, and customs generally
were similar to those of their kindred of the interior and the
eastern coast, but wore in many respects lower in order.

The individuals who composed the first and second named
groups varied in colour , from deep bronze to black. Some had
features of the lowest negro type : thick projecting lips, broad
flat noses, and narrow foreheads j while others bad prominent and
in rare instances even aquiline noses, well developed foreheads,
and lips but little thicker than those of Europeans. Among the
eastern tribes these extremes could sometimes be noticed in the
same family, but the great majority of the people were of a type

33

Description of the Bantu.

higher than a mean between the two. They were of mixed blood,
and the branches of the ancestral stock differed considerably, as
one was African and the other Asiatic.

Those who occupiedi the land along the south-eastern coast
were in general large without being corpulent, strong, muscular,
erect in bearing, and with all their limbs in perfect symmetry.
Many of them were haughty in demeanour, and possessed a largo
amount of vanity. The men were usually handsomer than the
women, owing to the girls being often stunted in growth and
hardened in limb by carrying burdens on their heads and toiling
in gardens at an early age. The people of the interior were in
general somewhat smaller than those of the coast, though thoy
were far from being diminutive specimens of tho human race.

Though at times the Bantu presented the appearance of a
peaceable, good-natured, indolent people, thoy were subject to
outbursts of great excitement, when tho most savage passions
had free play. Tho man who spent a great part of his life
gossiping in idleness, not knowing what it was to toil for bread,
was hardly recognisable when, plumed and adorned with military
trappings, ho had worked himsolf into frenzy with the war dance.
The period of excitement was, howevor, short. In the same way
their outbursts of grief were violent, but wore soon succeeded by
cheerfulness.

They were subject to few diseases, and were capable of under-
going without harm privations and sufferings which the hardiest
Europeans would have sunk under. Occasionally there were
seasons of famine caused by prolonged drought, when whole
tribes were reduced to exist upon' nothing else than wild roots,
hulhs, mimosa gnm, and whatever else unaided nature provided.
At such times they became emaciated, but as long as they could
procure even the most wretched food they did not actually die,
as white people would have done under similar circumstances.
Nor did pestilence follow want of sustenance to the same extent
as with us.

One cause of their being a strong healthy people was that no
weak or deformed children were allowed to live long. There was
no law which required an end to be put to the existence of such

34

History of South Africa.

infants, but it always happened that they died wlieu very young,
and public opinion was opposed to any inquiry into the mode of
their death. Every one, eA'en the parents, believed that it was
better they should not live, and so they perished from neglect.
But owing to the prevalence of this custom in preceding
generations, the number of weaklings born was very small
indeed. For some reason an exception was occasionally made in
the case of albinos, who, though regarded as monstrosities, were
not always destroyed in childhood. These hideous individuals,
with features like others of their race, were of a pale sickly
colour, and had weak pinkish eyes and hair almost white. Very
few, however, were to be seen in any tribe, and in some none
at all

Under natural conditions the Bantu were a longer-lived people
than Europeans. The friar Dos Santos found several women at
Sofala who perfectly remembered events that had taken place
eighty years before, and modern observers in other i)arts of tho
country have noticed the same circumstance, A man of this
race placed beside a white colonist of the same age invariably
looks the younger of the two, and in any tribe individuals
can be found with personal knowledge extending over the
ordinary span of life in Europe or America. They were probably
tho most prolific people on the face of the earth. All the
females were married at an early age, very few women were
childless, and in most of the tribes provision was even made
by custom for widows to add to the families of their dead
husbands. In some parts the brothers of the deceased took
them, in others male companions were selected for them by their
late husband’s friends, in each case the children bom thereafter
being regarded as those of the dead man.

The language spoken by the Bantu was of a high order, subject
to strict grammatical rules, and adequate for the expression of
any ideas whatever. Its construction, however, was very different
from that of the languages of Europe. It was broken up into
many dialects, so that individuals from the western coast, from
the interior, and from the eastern coast could not understand
each, other, though the great majority of the words used by all

Description of the Bantu. % 5

were formed from the aame roots, in tlio sonth-oaslern dialecta
the English sound of the letter r was wanting, while in some of
the others the sound of our I was never heard. In all there were
ooinhinations of consonants which it was very difficult for
strangers of mature years to master.

There were clicks in only a few dialects of the langirago spoken
by the Bantu family. These wore derived in the south from
Hottentot, and elsewhere probably from Bushman sources. They
were introduced by females who were spared whan the hordes to
which they belonged were conq[uered, as is evident not only from
tradition, but from the words in which they occur being chiefly
those pertaining to the occupations of woinon. Thoro is this
peculiarity in the language, that somo of the dialects spoken
on tho coasts of lower Guinea and tlie Indian ocean boar a
closer resemblance to each other than to those between them.
Tribes from one of these coasts seem to have boon scattered and
forced across the continent by violent convulsions in some long-
forgotten time.

The form of government varied from that of a pure despotism,
established by a successful militiu’y ruler, to a patriarchal system
of a simple order. In the former evorything coutrod in the
person of one individual, at whose word the lives of my of his
subjects were instantly sacrificed, who was the owner of all the
property of the tribe, and who appointed officials at his pleasure.
He was served by attendants in the most abject attitudes, could
only be approached by a subject unarmed and crouching, and
arrogated to himself a form of address clue to a deity. He was
an absolute ruler in every respect, and by his will alone his
subjects were guided, though to retain such power for any length
of time it was necessary for him not to counteract any strong
desire of the warriors of his tribe. This purely despotic form of
govermment was rarely found among the people of the interior,
who were in general more peaceably disposed than those of the
coast. It ended as a rule when a man of feeble intellect succeeded
the one who established it.

The more common system, the one indeed that may be termed
normal except when interfered with by a chief possessing great

36

History of South Africa.

military genius, was of a milder character. Under it a trihe was
composed of a number of sections which may bo tennod clans,
each under its own chief, but all aoltnowletlging the supremo
authority of one particular individual. Sometimes the heads of
the clans were members of the family of the paramount chief,
more or less distantly connected with him by blood, in which case
the tribe was a compact body, every individual in it having a
common interest with every other; but it often happened that
clang broken in war, though retaining their own chiefs, were
adopted as vassals by a powerful ruler, and in these cases the
cohesion of the different sections, owing to the object of their
worship being different, to jealousy, and to rival views, was much
less firm.

Among the interior tribes, owing to the misconduct or incom-
potency of individual chiefs, this system sometimes broke down,
when a condition of greater freedom resulted. Hero the common
people acquired sufficient power to make their wishes respected
to some extent, and nothing of importance was undertaken with-
out a general assembly of the men of tho tribe being first hold,
when each one was at liberty to express his views. But even.in
these cases the opinion of a member of the mling family was
regarded as of vastly greater weight- than that of a commoner.
Merit was of small account against privilege of blood in the
estimation of any branch of the Bantu race.

Among the tribes under the normal system of government
the rule of the paramount chief in times of peace was hardly felt
beyond his own kraal. Each clan possessed all tho machinery of
administration, and in general it was only in cases of serious
quarrels between them or of appeals from judicial decisions that
. ^6 tribal head used his authority. In war; however, he issued
commands to Ml, and on important occasions he summoned the
minor, chiefs to aid him with advice.

The members of the ruling families, even to the most distant
branches, were of aristocratic rank, and enjoyed many privileges.
Their persons were inviolable, and an indignity offered to one
of %«ifL w considered a crime of the gravest nature. Even the
customs of thq people were set aside in favour of the chiefs of

37

Description o/ the Bantu,

highest rank. A cniniiKm man of Iho coast trihoH, for instance,
could not marry certain relatives by blood, no matter how distant,
but a great chief could, though couuections nearer than fourth
or fifth cousins were very rare. Such a luarriago was strictly
forbidden to a commoner, but was allowed in the chief’s cases, in
order to obtain a woman of suitable birth to he the mother of the
heir in the great line.

Portuguese writers relate that the principal chiefs in the terri-
tory between the Sabi and Zambesi rivers took their own sisters
and daughters as their wives of highest rank, bnt perhaps this
statement arose from their attaching the European meaning to
the words sister and daughter, which when used by people of the
Bantu race applied equally to cousins and nieces on the father’s
side, No marriages with sisters or daughiers in the European
sense is permitted at tlio present day, but with cousins — sisters
in the Bantu sense — they are common fuuojig the interior
tribes.*

With regard to the common people, the theory of the nnivcfvsal

* Tho following words In tlvo Xoaa dialect, will fiirthor llliiHtrnl.o llio diffcroiKso
between European and llautu itleiia ns to roUvtiunslilp. Jiawo is tlio word vised
in addressing father, father’s brother, or father’s lialf-hrotlior. Little oliildron
■ say Tata, But there are lliroo different words for father, according as a person
IS speaking of his own fatlvor or uncle, of tlio father or unolo of the person ho is
speaking to, or of the father or uncle of tho person he is speaking of. Bpeiiking
of my father, hawo is the word used ; of your father, tinjiUo ; of his father, 'uj/iee.
Ma is the word used in addressing mother, any wife of father, or the sister of
any of these, Tho one we should term mother can only he distinguished from
the others, when speaking of her, by deaorihiug her ns tM»o viwm hanye, i.e. my
real mother; or «mo midixalayo, f.e. the mother who bore mo. Speaking of
my mother, ma is the word used; of your mother, wnyoJco; of his or her
mother, mma. Malwme is tho brother of any one called mother, A paternal
.aunt is addressed as doMolawo, i.e. sister of my father, showing a distinction
between lelatives on the paternal and maternal side. Mnakwetu is the word
used by females in addressing a brother, half-brother, or male cousin. Males
when addressing any of these relations older titan themselves, use the word
mkiduwa; and when addressing one younger than theraselves, say mninawe,
A sister and a female cousin are alike termed odade wetu, owf sister — ^the
pronoun being always used in the plural form though sometimes tho word
mna, an abbreviation of amaalviana, i.e, of our family, is applied to a cousin
on the mother’s side by females older than the one addressed. Mtoiikwrm is
an endearing form of expression, meaning child of my motbuv.

38 iJisiory of South Africa^

Bantu law was that they were the property of the rulers, oonse*
quently an offence against any of their persons was atoned for
by a fine to the chief. Mnrder and assaults were punished in
this manner. When a man died, his nearest relative was required
to report the circumstance to the head of the clan, and to take
a present of some kind with him as consolation for the loss
sustained.

But while the government of all the tribes was thus in theory
despotic, the power of the chiefs in those which were not under
military rule was usually more or less restrained. In each clan
there was a body of councillors — commonly hereditary^ — whose
advice could not always be disregarded. A. great deal depended
upon the personal character of the chief. If he was a man of
resolute will, <the councillors were powerless ; if he was weak
they possessed not only influence, but often real authority.
Then there was a custom that a fugitive from one clan was
entitled to protection by tho chief of another with wliicli ho took
refuge, so that an arbitrary or unpopular rulor was in (soualiuit
danger of losing his followers. This custom was an offoolual
cheek upon gross and unrestrained tyranny.

The law of succession tp the government favonred the for-
mation of new tribes. The first wives of a paramonnt chief were
usually the daughters of some of his father’s principal retainers ;
but as he grew older and increased in power his alliance was
courted hy great families, and thus it generally happened that
his consort of highest rank was taken when he was of advanced
age. Usually she was the daughter of a neighbouring ruler and
was selected for him by tho councillors of the tribe, who provided
the cattle required by her relatives. She was termed the great
wife, and her eldest son was the principal heir.

Another of his wives was invested at an earlier period of his
life, hy the advice of his councillors and friends, with the title of
wife of the right hand, and to her eldest son some of his father’s
retainers were given, with whom he formed a new clan. The
government of this was entrusted to him as soon as he was full
grown, so that while his brother was still a child he had oppor-
tunities of increasing his power. If he was the abler ruler of the

39

Description 0/ the Bantu.

two, a fj[itarr«l betwewn them arose tilmosl. to a (KU'ltiinty ns soon
as the groat heir roaohod manhood and was also invested ivilh a
separate command. If peace was intiiulainisd, npoii the death of
his father the son of tho right hand aokuowledgod his brother as
superior in rank, but neither paid him tribute nor admitted his
right to interfere in the internal government of the now clan.

In some of the tribes three sous of every chief divided their
father’s adherents among them. In the latter case the third
heir was termed the representative of the ancients or tho son of
the left hand.

In this manner new tribes, entirely independent of the old
ones from which they sprang, were freciuently formed. This was
especially the case when the adjacent territory was thinly occu-
pied by a weak people like the Hottentots, affording means for
tiro ruler of lower rank without difficulty to romovo to a distance
from his brother. The disintegrating process was to some oxlout
chocked hy frequent tribal wars and feuds, which forced chiefs
of the some family to make common cause with oacb. other, but
whenever there was comparative peace it was in active operation,
and BO a steady and rapid expansion of the Bantu race towards
the south was effected.

With the limitations that havo been menthmod, in tho life of
the people the ohiof was everything, his wishes wore the guide
of their conduct, his orders were implicitly obeyed, tho best of
all they had was at his disposal. To every one else they could
tell the grossest falsehoods without disgrace, but to him they
told the simple truth, and that in language which could not bear
two meanings. They could not even partake of the crops in
their own gardens until he gave them leave to do so. In this
case, when the millet was ripe the chief appointed a day for a
general assembly of the people at his residence, that was known
as the great place ; he then went through certain rites, among
which was the offering of a small quantity of the fresh grain to
the spirit^ of his ancestora, either by laying it on their graves or
by easting it into a stream, after which ceremony he gave the
people permission to gather and eat.

Every people has its own standard of virtue, which if it doea

40

History of South Africa,

not live up to, it at least respects. The Bantu had theirs, which
consisted in fidelity to the chief. A man might be a thorough
scoundrel according to Europetm ideas, cruel, lascivious, in-
temperate, mean ; all this mattered nothing if he was devoted
to his chief, in which case in tho estimation of his tribe he
was virtuous. There was a reason for this, as will presently
he seen.

The most solemn oath that a man could take was by either
some greet legendary ruler or the one then living, though he
did not regard even that as binding if he believed that by
speaking falsely the interest of the chief would he advanced,
Portuguese writers state that the people near the Zambesi swore
hj Mamho, which was rather one of the titles of tho head of a
great tribe than his proper name, but the individual or his line
of ancestors was meant. At present the form of oath varies
slightly in different places, the most common expression being
I call to witness or I point to, as Ki supci ha, Mahatshane, the
usual oath of a Mosuto, I poiut to Makatshane.

The amount of taxes paid by tho people for the maintenance
of government was not fixed, as it is in European states. The
ordinary revenue of a chief was derived from confiscations of
property, fines, and presents, besides whi(^ his gardens, that were
usually large, were cultivated by the labour of his people. The
right of the ruler to the personal service of his subjects was
everywhere recognised, and it extended even to his requiring
them to serve others for his benefit. The Portuguese engaged
carriers from a chief, who took a considerable portion of their
earnings, just as the tribal heads at present send their young
men to a distance to work for them. Men who would not think
of assisting in the onltivation of their own gardens went willingly,
when called upon to do so, to labour in those of their cjiief. The
breast of every animal killed, which was regarded as the choicest
meat, was sent to him as his right, and certain furs were his
alone. When he felt so disposed, he made a tour through his
tribe, when each kraal visited provided food for him and his
attendants, and. if he was in need, made him a present of cattle.
TTje oxen, oftdn from fifty to a hundred, needed to procure his

Description of the Bantu, 4 1

principal wife — ^who was to be tbe motber of the future ruler —
were contributed by hia retainers.

In some of the tribes the chief might be said to be the owner
of everything. Cattle taken in war were his property, and
though the cows were distributed among the people, who had
the use of the milk, he could demand their restoration at any
time. All trade with strangers passed through his hands, and
he kept as much of the gains as he chose. Though this system
was confined to the military tribes, even in those less highly
organised it was usual for the chiefs to exact heavy dues upon
commercial transactions between their subjects and others.
When, for instance, the first fairs were established by the British
authorities on the Xosa border, the chiefs fixed the quantity of
beads or other merchandise to be received for every ox or tusk
of ivory, and commonly took about half for themselves, without
the people raising any objection.

The charges upon the government, except in the case of the
military tribes, were limited to the cost of entertainment of
attendants and visitors, and of presents to favourites or for services
performed. There were no salaries to be paid, and no public
works to be provided for. In all the country from the Zambesi
to the southern coast there was not so much as a road, nothing
better than a footpath, which, though leading towards a fixed
point, wound round every obstacle in the way, great or small,
for no one cared to remove even a puny boulder to obtain a more
direct line. Many of these footpaths were worn deep by constant
use for years, but they ware never repaired. The simplest bridge
over a stream was irnknown, nor was there any other public
work, if barricades of stones in the approaches to hill tops are
excepted.

The religion of the Bantu was based upon the supposition of
the existence of spirits that could interfere with the affairs of
this world. These spirits were those of their ancestors and their
deceased chiefs, the greatest of whom had control over lightning.
When the spirits became offended or hungry they sent a plague
or disaster rmtil sacrifices were offered and their wrath or hunger
was appeased. The head of a family of commoners on such an

42

History of South Africa,

occasion killed an animal, and all ale of tko meat, as the hungry
ghost was supposed to be satisfied with the smell. In ease of
the chief or the oommunity at large being affected, the sacrifice
was' performed with much ceremony by the tribal priest, an
individual of great influence, who had as other duties to ward off
from tho ruler the malevolent attacks of wizards and to prepare
charms or administer medicine that would make the warriors who
conducted themselves properly invulnerable in battle.

An instance may be given to illustrate the operation of this
religion. Upon tho death of Gwanya, a chief of great celebrity
in the Pondomisi tribe, he was bnried in a deep pool of the Tina
river. The body was fastened to a log of wood, which was sunk
in the water and then covered with atones. The sixth in the
direct line of descent from this chief, Umhlouhlo by name, to
save himself from destraotion by on onemy became a British
subject at his own request, but in October 1880 treacherously
murdered three English officials, and went into rebellion, which
resulted in his being obliged afterwards to take shelter in Basuto-
land. In 1891 one of TJmhlonhlo’s sons ventured into the district
where his father had lived, and there committed an assault, for
which he was arrested and sent before, a colonial court to be
tried. It was a time of intense heat and severe drought, which
the tribe declared were caused by the spirit of Gwanya, who in
this manner was expressing displeasure at the treatment accorded
to his descendant. As a peace-offering therefore, cattle were
killed on the banks of the pool containing his grave, and the
flesh was thrown into the water, together with new dishes full of
beer, The prisoner was sentenced to pay a fine, which was at
onoe collected by the people for him. A few days later rain fell
in copious showers, which of course confirmed the belief of the
tribe that what was right had been done, and that the spirit of
Gwauya was appeased.

The Bantu had no idea of reward or punishment in a world to
come for acts committed in this life, and thus there was no other
restraint of religion upon their actions than was connected with
loyalty to their chiefs dead and living, Except when compelled
by circumstances; to do so, they thought as little as possible of

Description of the Bantu, ' 43

their own after fate, and seldom allowed reflection of any Icind to
disturb them.

A belief in the existence of spirits would seem to have as its
consequence a belief in some special place where they resided,
but the Bantu power of reasoning in such matters did not extend
so far. Their minds in this respect were like those of little
children, who are content to credit marvellous things told to
them, without attempting to investigate any of the particulars.
It is only since European ideas have been disseminated among
them that such a question has arisen, and that one has said the
spirits resided in the sky, another that their place of abode was a
cavern under the earth. They acted as if the ghosts of the dead
remained at or neat their habitatious when in life, and they were
constantly fearful of meeting them at night. In all parts of the
country there were localities, usually wild or secluded glens,
which had the reputation of being haunted, and where no one
would venture to appear alone after dusk. This might be said,
however, of almost every part of Europe os well, so tW in it the
Bantu id not differ from the most highly civilised section of
mankind.

No man of this race, upon being told of the existence of a
single supreme God, ever denies the assertion, and among many
of the tribes there is even a name for such a Being, as, for
instance, the word Umkuluukulu, the Great Great One, used by
the Hlubis and others. From this it has been assumed by some
investigators that the Bantu are really monotheists, and that the
spirits of their ancestors are regarded merely as mediators or
intercessors. But such a conclusion is incorrect. The Great
Great One was once a man, they all assert, and before our con-
ception of a deity became known to them, he was the most
powerful of the ancient chiefs, to whom tradition assigned
supernatural knowledge and skill.

When a person was killed by lightning no lamentation was
made, as it would have been considered rebellion to mourn for
one whom the great chief had sent for. In oases of death
within a kraal the relatives and friends of the deceased often,
exhibited the most passionate symptoms of grief, which, how-

44

History 0/ South Africa.

ever, seldom lasted long, thoiigli they generally shaved their
heads as a sign of mourning. There was an idea that something
connected with death attached to the personal effects of the
deceased, on which account whatever had belonged to him that
could not be placed in the grave, his clothing, mats, head
rest, &o., was destroyed by fire. The hnt in which he had lived
was also burned, and no other was allowed to be built on the
spot. If he had bean the chief, the whole hraal was removed to
another site. Those who touched the corpse or any of the dead
man’s ofifeots were obliged to go through certain ceremonies, and
then to bathe in running w'ater before they could associate again
with their companions. Except in oases of persons of ranlc,
however, very few deaths oocurred within kraals. As soon as it
was seen that any one’s end was near, the invalid was carried to
a distance and left to die alone, in order to avert the danger
of the presence of the dreaded something that could not be
explained.

If it happened that a common person died within a kraal, the
corpse was dragged to a distance, and there left to bo devoured
by beasts of prey ; -but chiefs and great men were interred with
much ceremony. A grave was dug, in which the body was
placed in a sitting posture, and by it were laid the weapons of
war and ornaments used in life. When the grave was closed,
such expressions os these were used: Eeaiember us from the
place where you are, yon have gone to a high abode, cause us to
prosper. To prevent desecration of any kind, watchers were
then appointed to guard the grave, who for many months never
left its neighbourhood. In some instances it was enclosed with
a fence large enough to form a fold, within which selected oxen
were confined at night. These cattle were thenceforward regarded
as sacred, were well cared for, and allowed to die a natural
death. The watchers of the grave also ware privileged men ever
afterwards.

Before the interment of the paramount chief of a powerful
tribe, especially of a great military ruler, a number of his
attendants were killed, and their bodies were placed around his
in the grave in fuoh a way ss to keep it from contaot with the

45

Description of ifie Batiitt.

earth. The object was to provide him with servants in the spirit
world. His principal wives either took poison voluntarily or
were killed, to serve him as companions, If he had a favomito
dog, ox, or other animal, that was also slaughtered, to give him
pleasure. It does not follow that such animals were regarded as
immortal, but there was something unexplainable connected with
them that the dead chief could enjoy, just as there was with his
assagais and his metal bracelets. Afterwards, especially when
drought occurred or any disaster overtook the people, sacrifices
were offered at the grave, and prayers were made to him for
assistance. When a number of chiefs had thus been interred, a
tacit selection was made of the one who had been the wisest and
most powerful in his day, and tho others were neglected and
gradually forgotten except by the antiq^uaries who preserved
their names.

The custom of slaughtering wives and attendants upon tho
death of a great chief was not observed by the less important
tribes, nor upon the death of more chiefs of clans or of other
individuals of position ; but a practice carried out to the present
day shows that it must at one time have been general. When a
man of what may be termed aristocratic rank died bis widows
betook themselves to forests or lonely places, where they lived
in seclusion as best they could for a month or longer, according
to the time of mourning customary among their people. During
this period no one even spoke to them, and when, as sometimes —
but not always — happened, they were supplied with food, it was
done by leaving a little millet in a place near their haunts
where they would probably find it Death from exposure and
starvation was frequently the result of this oustom. At the end
of the time of mourning the emaciated creatures returned to
their kraals, when ceremonies of pmdfication were observed, their
clothing and ornaments were burned, and their relatives supplied
them with the new articles that they needed. This method of
mourning must have been developed from - the practice of
slaughtering such wives of a man of rank as could not make
their escape when he died, in order that they might accompany
him to the land of spirits.

46 History 0/ South Africa.

The tribe adjoiuiug the Hotteatot border ou the south-east
had a dim belief in the existence of a powerful being, whom they
termed Qamata, and to whom they sometimes prayed, though
they never offered sacrifices to him. In a time of great danger
one of them would exclaim : “ 0 Qamata help me,” and when the
danger was over he would attribute his deliverance to the same
being. But of Qamata nothing more was known than that he
was high and mighty, and that though at times he helped
iirdividuals, in general ha did not interfere with the destinies of
men. Becent investigations have shown that this belief did not
extend far among the Bantu tribes, and it is now supposed to
have been acquired from tbe Hottentots. Not that the
Hottentots venerated a deity thus designated, but that a know-
ledge of some other object of worship than their own ancestral
shades having been obtained through Hottentot females whom
they took to themselves, this name was given to the unknown
divinity.

The Bantu believed that the spirits of the dead visited their
friends and descendants in the form of animals. Each tribe
regarded some patticnlar animal as the one selected by the
ghosts of its kindred, and therefore looked upon it as sacred.
The lion was thus held in veneration by one tribe, the crocodile
by another, the python by a third, the bluebnek by a fourth, and
so on. When a division of a tribe took place, each section
retained the same ancestral animal, and thus a simple method is
nflbrded of ascertaining the wide dispersion of various com-
munities of former times. Eor instance, at the present day a
species of snake is held by people as far south as tbe month of
the Fish river and by others near the Zambesi to be the form in
which their dead appear.

This belief caused even such destructive animals as the lion
and the crocodile to be protected from harm in certain parts of
the country. It was not indeed believed that every lion or every
crocodile was a disguised spirit, but then any one might be, and
so, none were molested unless under peouliari circumstances, when
it was clearly apparent that tbe animal was an aggressor and.
therefore hot related to the tribe. Even then, if it could be

47

Description of the Banhi.

driven away it was not killed. A Xoaa of the present time will
leave his hut if an ancestral snake enters it, permitting the
reptile to keep possession, and will shudder at the thought of
any one liurting it. The animal thus respected by one tribe was,
however, disregarded and killed without scruple by all others.

The great majority of the people of tho interior have now lost
the ancient belief, but they still hold in veneration the animal
that their anoestors regarded as a possible embodied spirit.
Most of them take their tribal titles from it, thus the Bakwena
are the crocodiles, the Bataung the lions, the Baphuti the little
blue antelopes. Each terms the animal whoso name it bears its
aihoJeo, and not only will not kill it or eat its flesh, but will not
touch its skin or come in contact with it in any way if that can
be avoided. When one stranger meets another and desires to
know something about him, ho asks “ to what do yon dance ? ”
and the name of the animal is given in reply. Dos Santos, a
Portuguese writer who had excellent opportunities of observation,
states that on certain occasions, which must have been frequent,
men imitated the aotious of their siboko ; but that custom has
now almost died out, at least among the southern tribes.

The people along the south-eastern coast, though separated
into distinct communities absolutely independent of each other
from a time as far back as their tradition reaches, are of common
tribal origin. They all regard the same species of snake as the
form in which their anoestral shades appear. Further, their
tribal titles, with few exceptions, are derived from the chief who
left the parent stock, thus the Amahlubi are the people of Hluhi,
the Abatembu the people of Tembu, the Amaxosa the people of
Xoaa, Hlubi, Tembu, and Xosa being the chiefs under whom
they acquired independence. The exceptions are derived from
some peculiarity of the people, but in these cases the titles were
originally nicknames given by strangers and afterwards adopted
by the tribes themselves.

Hearer than the spirits of deceased chiefs or of their own
anoestors was a whole host of hobgoblins, water sprites, and
malevolent demons, who met the Bantu turn which way they
would. There was no beautiful fairyland for them, for all the

48 History of South Africa.

beings who hannted the monntaiiis, tho plains, and the rivers
were ministers of evil. The most feared of these was a large
bird that made love to women and incited those who returned its
affection to cause the death of those who did not, and a little
mischievous imp who was also amorously inclined. Many
instances could bo gathered from the records of magistrates’
courts in recent years of demented women having admitted their
acquaintance with these fabulous creatures, as well as of whole
communities living in terror of them.

The water spirits wore believed to be addicted to claiming
human victims, though they were sometimes willing to accept an
ox as a ransom. How this belief works practically may be
illustrated by facts which have come under the writer’s
cognizance.

In the summer of 1875 a party of girls went to bathe in a
tributary of the Keiskama river. There was a deep hole in the
stream, into which one of them got, and she was drowned. The
others ran home as fast as they could, and there related that
their companion had been lured from their side by a spirit
calling her. She was with them, they said, in a shallow part,
when suddenly she stood upright and exclaimed ‘^It is calling."
She then walked straight into the deep place, and woirld not
allow any of them to touch her. One of them heard her saying
" Go and tell my father and my mother that it took me.” Upon
this, the father collected his cattle as quickly as possible, and
went to tho stream. The animals were driven into the water,
and the man stood on the bank imploring the spirit to take the
choicest of them and restore his daughter.

Oil another occasion a man was trying to cross one of the fords
of a river when it was in flood. He was carried away by the
current, hut succeeded in getting safely to land some quarter of
a mile farther down. Eight or ten stout fellows saw him carried
off bis feet, but not one made the slightest effort to help him.
On the contrary, they all rushed away frantically, shouting to
the herd hoys on the hill sides to drive down the cattle. The
escape of the man from the power of the spirit was afterwards
attributed to his being in possession of a powerful charm.

49

Description of the Bantu.

Besides these spirits, according to the belief of the Bantu,
there are people living under the water, pretty much as those do
who are in the upper air. They have houses and furniture, arid
even cattle, all of their domestic animals being, however, of a
dark colour. They are wiser than other people, and from them
the witohfinders are supposed to obtain the knowledge of their
art. This is not a fancy of children, but the implicit belief of
grown-up men and women at the present day. As an instance,
in July 1881 a woman came to the writer of this chapter, who
was then acting as magistrate of a district in the Cape Colony
inhabited by Bantu, and asked for assistance. A child had died
in her kraal, and the witchfinder had pointed her out as the
person who had caused its death. Her husband was absent, and
the result of her being msli out was that no one would enter her
hut, share food with her, or so much as speak to her. If she was
in a path every one fled out of her way, and even her own
children avoided her. Being under British jurisdiction she
could not be otherwise punished, but such treatment as this
would of itself, in course of time, have made her insane. She
denied most emphatically having been concerned in the death
of the child, though she did not doubt that some ono had
caused it by means of witchcraft. The witchfinder was sent for,
and, as the matter was considered an important one, a larger
number of people than usual appeared at the investigation. On
putting the ordinary tests to witchfinder he failed to meet
them, and wheai he was compelled, reluctantly, to admit that he
had never held converse with the people under the water, it was
easy to convince the bystanders that he was only an impostor.

Of the origin of life or of the visible universe the Bantu never
thought, nor had any one of them ever formed a theory upon the
subject. There was indeed a story told in all the tribes of the
cause of death, but it is in itself an apt illustration of their want
of reasoning power in such matters. The chameleon, so the
tale was told, was sent to say that men were to live for over.
After he kad gone a long time the little lizard was sent to say
that men were to die. The lizard, being fleet of foot, arrived first
at his journey’s end, and thus death was introduced. But in

50 History of South Africa.

whom the power lay of forming these decisions, and of sending
the animals with the messages, they did not ^rouble themselves
to iuq^uire, nor did it strike them that the narrative was incom-
plete without this information until Europeans questioned them
concerning it.

Some of the eastern Bantu had a legend that men and animals
formerly existed in caverns in the bowels of the earth, but at
length found their way to the surface through an opening in a
marsh overgrown with reeds. They always pointed to the north
as the direction in which this marsh lay. The Ovaherero on the
western coast believe that human beings and every kind of
animal sprang from a particular kind of large tree in their
country, to which on that account they pay such respect that
they will not even lop a twig from it, wherever it may be
growing. For this reason it is now commonly called by the
Europeans in the country the Damara mother tree, Damiip,
corrupted by the Dutch colonists into Damara, being the
Hottentot name of the black people living north of Walfish Bay.
But this belief is probably of Hottentot, not of Bantu origin, for
the dans that hold it have sti'angely mixed up the worship of
Heitsi-eibib with tliat of their own ancestral shades. This must
have arisen from the predominance of the Hottentot race in
remote times in the country now occupied by the Ovaherero.

Dos Santos states that the people of his time in the Zambesi
basin observed certain fixed days as holy, and abstained fi’om
labour upon them ; but this custom was certainly not universal,
and very likely the friar was mistaken. At any rate modem
observers in that part of the country as well as in the south
have noticed that no days or seasons are considered more sacred
than others, though there are times marked by particular events
when it is considered unlucky to undertake any enterprise, and
even movements in war are delayed on such occasions,

Still it must he observed that, though no days were considered
holier than others, or were specially dedicated to religious
observances, with the Bantu, as probably with all uncivilised
people, the time of a new moon was one of special rejoicing.
Next to the apparent course of the sun through the sky, the

Description of the Bantu. 5 1

changes of the moon are those which to every one are most
striking. This is particularly so in a country like South Africa,
where a moonlit evening, when the winds are lulled and the air
is deliciously fresh and cool, is to Europeans the pleasantest part
of the twenty-four hours, far more so to people who knew of no
other artificial light than that of burning wood. It is no wonder
therefore tliat the new moon was hailed with shouts of joy, that
its praises were chanted in set words, and that among some of the
tribes dances and other ceremonies took place in its honour.
With all this, however, the moon was not regarded as a deity,
nor was the evening of rejoicing considered more holy tlran any
other. After the crops were gathered, many of the tribes were
accustomed to offer special sacrifices to the spirits of their dead
chiefs, though there was no fixed day in every year set apart for
the purpose, and indeed they did not even know how to reckon
time as we do. A chief who considered that his people, male or
female, needed rest, might issue an order that no work was to ho
done on a particular day, but that did not cause it to be regarded
as holy.

Each ruling family had an individual connected with it, one
of whose duties can properly be described as that of a priest, for
it was he who in times of calamity sacrificed cattle for the tribe
to the spirits of the dead chiefs. Another of his duties was by
means of charms and incantations to ward off evil influence of
every kind from the reigning ruler. When a community was
broken in war and compelled to become a vassal clan of some
other tribe, it retained its priest until by time or ciicumstancea
a thorough incorporation took place. That was a process,
however, not usually completed until several generations had
passed away.

As a factor in the government of a Bantu tribe religion was
more powerful than in any European state, for the fear of offend-
ing the spirits of the deceased chiefs, and so bringing evil upon
themselves, kept the clans loyal to their head. He was the
representative, the descendant in the great line, of those whose
wrath they appeased by sacrifices. A tribe all of whose clans
were governed by offshoots of the family of the paramount chief

52

History of Sotttli A frica.

was thus immensely stronger in war than one of equal size made
up of clans thrown together by chance. In the one case the
religions head was the same as the political, in the other they
were separated.

The belief in witchcraft was deep-seated and universal. The
theory w’as that certain avil-diaposed persons obtained power from
the demons to bewitch others, and so to cause sickness, death, or
disaster of some kind. They were believed often to use snakes,
baboons, and other animals as their messengers. They could
only be discovered by individuals who went through a very
sevei’e novitiate, and to whom the necessary knowledge was
imparted by people who lived under water. Undoubtedly some
of the witchfinders were impostors ; but many of them- were
really monomaniacs, and had the firmest conviction in their
ability to do wbat they professed.

Occasionally a person believed that he had received revela-
tions from the spirit world. If his statements were credited,
his pow'er at once became enormous, and his commands were
implicitly obeyed. Crafty chiefs sometiiues mode use of such
deranged beings for the purpose of exciting the people to war,
or of inducing them to approve of measures which would otherwise
have been unpopular.

There were individuals who professed to be able to make rain,
and whose services were frequently called into use when any part
of the country suffered from drought. If it happened soon
afterwards that rain fell they received credit for it, and were
amply rewarded, while if the drought continued they asserted
tiiat some unknown powerful wizard was working against them,
a statement that was in mo.st cases believed. Sometimes, how-
ever, the chief and people lost faith in them, when they were
pronounced guilty of imposture, and were tied hand and foot and
thrown over a precipice or into a stream.

There were also persons who were skilful in the use of herbs
'as ■ remedies for diseases, and who were well acquainted with
kinds of poison. This knowledge was transmitted in
from father to son, and was kept profoundly
'Se^s®ATOdBi,the mass of the neouie. Some of their medicines were

53

Description of the Bantu.

beyond doubt of great efficacy, such as those used for the cure of
dysentery, for causing virulent sores to heal, and to counteract
snake bites.* But with these, and classified as of equal value,
they professed to have inedioinoa that would cause love from a
woman, favour from a chief, &o. The writer of this was once so
fortunate as to come into possession of the whole stock in trade
of a famous Xoaa herbalist. Each article in it was afterwards
submitted to different practitioners, under exceptionally favour-
able einiumstances for eliciting information, when most of them
were at once recognised and their uses pronounced. Some
wore cures for various diseases, one was a love philter, and one
was a piece of wood which was to bo burned and the smoke
inhaled, when the person using it would find favour in the eyes
of his superior. But there w'ere several whose use no one would
divulge, their properties being regarded as secrets upon tho
strictest maintenance of which the fortunes of the herbalist
families depended. In every case, in addition to the medicine,
charms were made use of, and the one was as much relied upon
as the other by tho people at large.

It often happened that the three offices of witohftiuler, ram-
maker, and herbalist were combined in the same person, hut this
was not always the case, and the occupations were distinct.
When practising, these individuals attired themselves fantasti-
cally, being painted with various colours, and having the tails of
wild animals suspended around them.

Charms were largely depended upon to preserve the wearers
against accident or to produce good luck. They were merely
bits of wood or bone, which were hung about the neck, and were

* A vaUinlilc pamphlet, in which tho botanic#!, native, and colonial names,
and the uses of o, gveat many oC these medicinal plants are given, was not long
ago prepared and piihlished by the late Andrew Smltli, Bsqre., M.A., for many
years a teacher in the higher department of the Lovodnle Missionary Institution,
who expended a great deal of tune and thought in the investigation of this
subject. My friend the leverend Dr. W. A. Soga, a medical missionary with
the Boravaiias in the district of ISlliotdale, informed me a few years ago that a
remedy for one form of cancer was certainly known to some herbalists of his
acquaintance, but though ho had long been endeavouring to acquire their secret,
he had been unable to do so.

54 History of South Africa.

regarded just as lucky pennies and fortunate days are by some
silly Europeans. But tbe belief was flm in cbarms and medi-
cines which gave to an assagai the property of hitting the mark,
to an individual the property of winning favour, and such like.
The issue of warlike operations was divined by revolting cruelties
practised on animals. At the commencement of hostilities, and
often before an engagement, two bulls were selected to represent
the opposing parties. These were then skinned alivo, and
success was foretold to the combatant represented by the one
that lived longest. By some means, however, each band of
warriors was made to believe that the result denoted victory to
its side. While this was taking place pieces of flesh were cut
from other living bulls, which the warriors devoured raw, in the
supposition that by this means their courage in battle would be
increased. Cruelty of so dreadful a kind shocked no heart
among the spectators, for the Bantu in general were utterly
indifferent to the sufferings of animals, except favonrites such as
a man’s own race-ox or his pet dog.

The tribes of the interior were more superstitious than those of
the coast, as they were guided in nearly all their actions by the
position in which some pieces of bone or wood of the character of
dice fell when they were cast on the ground. The largest made
of wood were oblong tablets, about six inches in length, two
inches in width, and five-eighths of an inch in thickness, but
usually those of wood, and almost invariably those of hone, were
smaller, the commonest being about two inches and a half long,
an inch wide, and an eighth of an inch in thickness. On each
tablet a difterent pattern was carved, and each had a significa-
tion different from the others. Sometimes instead of tablets
pieces of bone or of ivory carved in various shapes were used, in
the manufacture of which a great deal of patient labour was
expended. The usual number employed was five, but more were
sometimes found in a set. If an ox strayed the was

thrown to ascertain in what direction it had gone, if a hunt was
to take place it was consulted to indicate in what quarter game
was most readily to be found, in short it was resorted to in every
case of doubt. Each individual carried with him a set of these

55

Descnpiion, of the Bantu.

mystic articles strung on a thong, to be used whenever required.
This superstitious practice, just as it was described more than
three hundred years ago by the friar Dos Santos, is still prevalent
and firmly believed in.

With many of the tribes there was a custom upon the
accession of a chief to kill the commoner with the largest head
among the people, in order that his skull might be used by the
priest as a receptacle for the charms against witchcraft employed
in the protection of the ruler. Such a receptacle was regarded
as requisite for that particular purpose. Duly a generation ago
a man was killed with this object by a section of the Xosa tribe
that was not then under British rule, but that had been to some
extent for many years under European influence. The writer
has heard his grandchildren speak of the event without the
slightest feeling of horror, with as much indifference, in fact, as
if they were relating any ordinary occurrence.

56

History of South Africa.

CHA.PTER III.

Desguii'Tion op the Eantu (contimiad).

The Bantu had a system of common law and perfectly orga-
nised tribunals of justice, which, however, wero sometimes set
aside by the great military tribes. Their laws came down from
a time to which even tradition did not reach, and those which
related to ordinary matters were so well known to every momber
of the community that trials were mere investigations into
statements and proofs of occurrences. When complicated cases
arose, precedents were sought for, antiquaries were referred to,
and celebrated jurists even in other tribes were consulted. If
all these means of ascertaining the law failed, and the chief
before whom the case was being tried was not a man of generally
recognised ability, it often happened that no judgment was
given, for fear of establishing a faulty precedent. From the
decisions of the minor chiefs Idiere was a right of appeal to the
head of the tribe.

The law held every oue accused of crime guilty, unless he
could prove himself innocent. It made the head of a family
responsible for the conduct of all its branches, the kraal col-
lectively in the same monner for each resident in it, and the clan
for each of its suh-divisions. Thus if the skin of a stolen ox was
found in a kraal, or if the footmarks of the animal were traced to
it, the whole of the residents were liable to be fined. There was
no such thing as a man’s professing ignorance of his neighbour’s
doings : the law required him to know all about them, or it made
him suffer for neglecting a duty which it held he owed to the
community. Every individual was not only in theory hut in
practice a policeman.

57

Description of the Bauht.

A lawsuit among these people was commonly attended by all
the men of the kraal where it took place. Nothing was more
congenial than to sit and listen to the efforts of the querists to
elicit the truth, or for the ablest among them to assist in the in-
vestigation, The trial took place in the open air. The person
charged with crime or the defendant in a civil suit underwent a
rigorous examination, and anything like warning him against
criminating himself was held to be perversion of justice.

The accuser or plaintiff or a Mend prosecuted, and a friend of
the individual on trial conducted the defence ; the councillors,
who acted as assessors, or any individual of recognised legal
ability who happened to be present, put any questions they
chose; and the mass of spectators observed the utmost silence
and decorum. At the conclusion of the trial, the councillors
expressed their opinions, and the chief then pronounced
judgment.

There were only two modes of punishment, fines and death,
except in cases where an individual was charged with having
dealt in witchcraft, when torture, often of a horrible kind, was
practised. In this class of trials every one was actuated by fear,
and was in a state of strong excitement, so that the formalities
required on other occasions were dispensed with. The whole
clan was assembled and seated in a circle, the witchfinder, who
was fantastically painted and attired, went through certain in-
cantations ; and when all were worked into a state of frenzy ho
pointed to some individual as the one who had by bewitchment
caused death or sickness among the people, murrain among cattle,
blight in crops, or some other disaster. The result to the person
so pointed out was confiscatiou of property and torture, often
causing death. The number of persons who perished on charges
of dealing in witchcraft was very great. The victims were
usnally old women, men of property, persons of eccentric habits,
or individuals obnoxious to the chief. Any person in advance of
his fellows was specially liable to suspicion, so that progress of
any kind towards what we should term higher civilisation was
made exceedingly difficult by this belief.

No one except tbe chief was exempt, however, from being

58

History of South Africa.

oliarged with dealing in witchcraft. The cruelties practised upon
the unfortunate individuals believed to be guilty were often
horrible, but a single instance, which occurred in July 1802, will
be sufficient to exemplify them. A wife of the Pondo chief
Sigeawu being ill, a witchflnder was directed to point out the
person who caused the malady. He declared that Ma Matiwane,
sister of the Pondomisi chief Umhlonhlo end widow of Sigoawu’s
father, was the guilty person, and that she had a lizard and a
mole as her servants in the evil work. By order of Sigeawu, a
number of yonng men then seized Ma Matiwane, stripped her
naked, fastened her wrists and ankles to pegs driven in the
ground, and covered her with ants irritated by pouring water
over them. She suffered this torture for a long time without
confessing, so they loosed her, saying that her medicines were
too strong for the ants. They then lashed her arms to a pole
placed along her shoulders, and taking her by the feet and the
ends of the pole, they held her over a fire, tinder this torture
she confessed that she was guilty, but as she could not produce
the lizard and the mole, she was roasted again three times within
two days. No European could have survived such a burning ;
but she was ultimately rescued by an agent of the Cape govern-
ment, and recovered. This woman had taken care of Sigeawu
after the death of his own mother, yet on the mere word of a
witchfinder she was thus horribly tortured. And instances of
this kind were common evente in the olden times.

Frequently, when a great calamity had occurred, or the life of
a chief was believed to ho in danger, not only the individual
pointed out by the witchfinder, but his or her whole family w’as
exterminated, and even entire kraals were sometimes wiped out
of existence on such occasions. So strong was the belief in
witchcraft and in the power of witchfinders to detect those guilty
of practising it that instances were not rare of pmsons accused
admittiug that the charge against them must he Correct and that
they ought to suffer death, because some evil emanation over
wiich they had no control must have gone forth from their
bodies and caused the disaster, though. they had done nothing
directly to.produo6 it. .

59

Description of the Bantu.

The Bantu were seen in the most favourable light at ordinary
lawsuits before the chiefs and coimcillars, and in the most
unfavourable light at trials for the discovery of wizards and
witches. In the one case men were found conducting themselves
with the strictest gravity and propriety, in the other case the
same people were seen as a panic-stricken horde, deaf to all
reason, and ready to perform most atrocious acts of cruelty, even
upon persons who just previously were their companions.

The sentences pronounced in ordinary cases were often such
as would have seemed unjust to Europeans, but that was becauso
our standard of comparative crime is not the same as theirs, and
because with us there is supposed to be no difference of punish-
ment according to the rank of the criminal. With them the
ruling families in all their branches had the privilege of doing
many things with impunity that commoners w'cre severely
punished for. Bribery was not unknown, but in courts as open
as theirs, and where there was the utmost freedom of enquiry, it
could not be practised to any great extent. When a case was
talked out, every one present was usually acquainted with its
minutest details.

Among the northern tribes trial by ordeal was resorted to in
cases where personal or circiunstantial evidence was wanting, and
ill appeal from decisions of witehfinders. Tbe form of ordeal
varied. In some instances the accused person was required to
lick or to pick up a piece of red hot iron, and if he was burnt he
was condemned as guilty. In other cases he drank the poisonous
juice of a certain herb, and if it had effect upon him he was
doomed to immediate death. In others again he was forced to
drink a huge basin of hot water mixed with a hitter emetic, and
if he could not retain it the charge against him was regarded
us proved. Yet so confident were innocent persons that no
harm would come to them from the iron, the poison, or the
emetic, that they accepted the ordeal with alacrity. Among
the southern tribes this practice was not common, though it was
well known.

The Bantu knew of no other periods in reckoning time than
the day and the lunar month, and could describe events only as

G

6o

History of South Africa.

happening before or after some roinavkable occnri'eneo, such aa
the fleath of a. chief, a season of faiuine, or an unusnally heavy
flood. The rising of the Pleiotles shortly after sunset waa regarded
as indicating the planting season. To this constellation, as well
os to several of the prominent stars and planets, they gave
expressive names. They formed no theories concerning the
nature of the heavenly bodies and their motions, and were not
given to thinking of such things. In later times, if questioned
by a European, they might venture to remark that the sky was
smoko which had risen from fires, hut in such oases it would be
evident that the effort to find a solution to a query of this kind
was new to them.

They had no knowledge of letters or of any signs by which
ideas could be expressed. There were old men who professed to
be acquainted with the deeds of the past, and who imparted their
knowledge to the young, but their accounts of distant times
seldom corresponded in details. They touched very lightly
upon defeats sustained by their own tribe, but dihated upon all
its victories. In the traditions of each independent community
a particular chief, usually the second or third in descent from
the founder, was invariably represented as having confeiTed
extraordinary benefits upon his people. He was the inventor of
iron weapons, the one who decorated them with copper orna-
ments, and who taught them to use millet for food. Thus
among the Bavolong at the present day all this is attributed to
Noto, son of Morolong ; among the Amaxosa to Tshawe, great-
grandson of Xoaa ; among the Abatetwa to Umyambosi, son of
tJmtetwa. Now it is absolutely certain that long before the
time of Morolong, Xosa, and Umtetwa, who founded these
modem tribes, iron, copper, and millet were in general use by all
sections of the Bantu. But in praise of chiefs who probably
gained some important victory, or under whose rule tWe was
unusual prosperity, whatever the succeeding generations could
think of AS being- great improvements was ascribed to thoir
wisdom, and bas been handed down as tribal history from one
antiquary to another. Thim these narratives convey incorrect
impressions, and little is beyond question except the genealogies

Description of the Bantu. 6 1

of the great chiefs, which hare been carefully preserved for ten
or twelve generations.

Their folklore was neither of a moral character, nor did it
convey anj' useful lessons. The actors in it were animals which
spoke as human beings, persons who were bewitched and com-
pelled to appear as beasts, individuals with magical powers,
fantastic creatures, imps, cannibals, young chiefs, girls, etc., etc.
There was nothing that led to elevation of thought in any of
these stories, though one idea, that might easily be mistaken on
a first view for a good one, pervades many of them : the
superiority of brain power to physical force. But on looking
deeper it is found that brain power was always interpreted as low
cunning ; it was wiliness, not greatness of mind, that won in the
strife against the stupid strong. Such an idea was in full
accord with the life of the people, and it may have been on this
account that the talcs were so much liked. Where force was
directed as mercilessly as it is among brutes, it was necessary for
the weak to scheme against the strong. The little boy, who lived
in constant terror of larger ones, the woman, who was the drudge,
not the companion, of her husband, the petty clan, that felt the
exactions of a powerful neighbour, all were obliged to scheme,
and no people on earth ever learned the art of deception more
thoroughly than the Bantu. Thus these traditional tales, which
came down from a remote time, — as they were found with little
variation among tribes that could have had no intercourse with
each other for many centuries, — gave a large amount of pleasure
to those among whom they passed current, though to European
minds there was nothing amusing or interesting in them.

Many of the proverbs in common use, on the contrary, con-
veyed excellent practical lessons of prudence and wisdom. The
following are a few of those collected by the writer when
residing ^yith the Xosaa, and they might he extended to fill
many pages : —

A brand burns him who stirs it up, equivalent to our English
one Let sleeping dogs lie.

Like the marriage feast of Mapasa, used to denote anything
unusually grand. The marriage festivities of one of the ancients,

G 2

6 a History of South Africa.

Mapasa by name, are said to Lave been carried on for a whole
year.

Miaforltmo of soup made of abanks and feet, applied to any
person who never does well, but is always getting into trouble.
The kind of soup spoken of is very lightly esteemed.

One fly does not provide for another, a saying of the industrious
to the idle, meaning that each should work for himself as the
flies do.

Bakuba is fat away, no person ever reached it. Bakuba is an
ideal country. This proverb is used as a warning against undue
ambition, or as advice to be content with that which is within
reach. It is equivalent to our English saying It is no use
building castles in the air.

They have slaughtered at Eukwane, where much meat is
obtainable. According to tradition, there was once a very rich
chief who lived at Kukwane, and who entertained strangers in a
more liberal manner than any who wont before or who came after
him. This proverb is used to such persons as ask too much
from others, as if to say : It was only at Kukwane that such
expectations were realised.

It is not every one who is a son of Gaika. Gailra was at the
beginning of the nineteenth century the most powerful chief
west of the Kei. This proverb signifies that all are not equally
fortunate.

He has drunk the juice of the flower of the wild aloe. Said of
a dull, sleepy person. This juice when drunk has a stupefying
effect, and benumbs the limbs so as to make them powerless for
a time.

The walls have come into collision, said of any dispute between
persons of consequence.

A person who will not take advice gets knowledge when
trouble overtakes him.

You have east away your own for that which you are not sure
of, equivalent to the English proverb A bird in the hand is
worth two in the bush.

He is a buck of on endless forest, a saying applied to a
shiftless person, one who never continues long in any occupation.

63

Descripiion of the Bantu.

You are lighting a Are in the wind, said to any one who
favours strangers in preference to relatives, or to their dis-
advantage.

There is no beast that does not roar in its den, meaning that a
man recognises no superior in his own establishment. Equivalent
to Every code crows on his own dunghill.

A dog of the wind, a saying applied to any one who has no
settled plan of living.

I, the adhesive grass, will stick fast to you. This proverb is
used as a warning to any one to avoid a bad habit or an unworthy
companion that cannot easily be got rid of.

The sun never sets without fresh news.

They are people of experience who do not sleep at a strange
place, said in inaise of one who is smart in going a message, or
who performs any duty at a distance quickly.

The land is dead, a saying which implies that war has
commenced.

One does not become great by claiming greatness, used to
incite any one to the performance of noble deeds. It means that
a man’s actions, not his talk and boasting, are what people judge
of bis greatness by.

It is the foot of a baboon, a saying denoting a treacherous
person.

He has gone in pursuit of the (fabulous) birds of the sea, a
saying applied to one whose ambitious aspirations are not likely
to be realised.

You are creeping on your knees to the fireplace. Used as a
warning to any one who is following a course that must lead to
ruin. It is as if one said : You are like an infant crawling
towards the fire circle in the middle of the hut, who is sure to
get burnt.

It has stuck fast by one of the front legs. This saying is used
when any one has committed himself to a matter of importance.
An animal cannot extricate itself easily when fast by one of its
front legs,

It dies and rises like the moon. Said of any question that
springs up again after it is supposed to be settled.

64

History of South Africa.

There is no plant that comes into flower and does not wither.
Descriptive of the life of man.

The crab has stuck fast between the stones at the entrance of
its hole. Said of any one who is involved in difflcnlties of his
own creation, or of one who raises an argument and is beaten
in it.

To-morrow is also a day. Said to any one who is in undue
haste or who is impatient in the execution of a task. It is the
proverb most acted upon by men of the Bantu race.

Of poetry they had a fairly rich store, but there was nothing
particularly grand in it. It was chanted by individual men on
special occasions, and consisted chiefly of adulation of the chiefs,
deeds of war, and actions of animals. Thus a favourite ox might
have a chant in its praise. The war chants, in certain parts of
which the whole of the men present joined, were certainly
impressive, but those in ordinary use were monotonous and dis-
agreeable to a European ear. All were distinguished by a note
of sadness. These people, though their voices were rich and
melodious, had no conception of such vocal music as we are
accustomed to ! they had neither rhymic hymn, nor song, nor
glee. Their musical instruments were of the rudest kind, mostly
calculated to make noise rather than melody, those in ordinary
use being capable of producing only a monotonous thrumming
sound. The best consisted merely of j)iece8 of wood or iron for
keys, with calabashes attached to them, arranged on stretched
strings, and struck with a small round-headed cane, or of thin
iron keys fastened over a gourd ox hollow block of wood, and
touched by the hand. Of these there were several kinds, but all
were constructed on the same principle.

Every chief of highest rank in the military tribes was attended
by individuals whose duty was to act as ofScial praisers. These
persons were attired in the most fantastic costumes, thus one
might have his head’ and every part of his body covered with the
skin of a lion, another with that of a leopard, and so on. On
any appearance of the chief, they shouted in a kind of chant a
poem in which greatness of every kind was attributed to him,
using such terms as great elephant, great despoiler, great

65

Description of the Bantu.

ravisher, great conqueror, anti great soothsayer. Very often at
the same time drums were beaten and horns were sounded,
making a din gratifying to the IBantu ear, but intolerable to that
of a European. The chiefs of tribes in the ordinary condition
had also their official praisers, who were, however, more modest
in their words, and whose chants were seldom accompanied by
such a deafening noise of discordant instruments.

The heads of the independent communities along the eastern
coast from the Zambesi river to Kosi Bay had dynastic names,
which they assumed upon succeeding to the chieftainship, and
by which they were afterwards known, just as all the rulers of
ancient Egypt were termed Pharaoh. Thus the paramomrt
chiefs of the tribe that occupied the south-eastern shore of
Delagoa Bay took the name Nyaka, those of the adjoining tribe
to the westward Kapela, those of the tribe living along the lower
course of the Limpopo river Mauisa, and those of the great
Makalanga tribe, that oooupied the eastern part of what is now
Bhodesia and the adjacent territory to the sea, Mnamatapa.
Each of these dynastic names originally had a special significa-
tion, and was derived from some occurrence connected with the
founder of the ruling family or one of the most distinguished of
his descendants. The custom applied only to paramount chiefs.
South of Kosi Bay dynastic names were not used, owing probably
to the manner in which the tribes were formed and their recent
origin.

The names given to children at birth were often changod at
a later age, especially in the case of ohiefs who performed any
noteworthy act, or with a view to flattery, a custom that makes
research into their history somewhat difficult. It frequently
happened also that a chief was known to his own people by one
name, and to neighbouring tribes by another very different. In
our own day there are many instances of this custom. Thus a
chief of a Barolong clan, Montsiwa as his own people call him,
is termed Seyangkabo (moaning intruder in a had sense) by some
of his immediate neighbours, and Motshele oa Maaka (the
fountain of lies) by others. Some of the names given to notable
persons were very expressive, and of these also there are many

66 Hisiory of South Africa.

iiistaucss at present. Thus Sigcawu (the great spider), the
pai'amouiit Xosa chief, was so named on account of his supposed
cleverness, Dalindyeho (creator of wealth, from roots uku dala to
create and indyebo riches), the paramount Tembu chief, on
account of liis having been born during an exceedingly abundant
harvest, Ngonyama (the lion), a Gaika chief, on account of his
personal bravery, Uzwinye (one word, from roots izwi a word and
nye one), the reverend Mr. Hargreaves, on account of his con-
stantly recommending peace. When a woman is married, her
husband’s parents give her a new name, by which she is known
to his family afterwards. Upon the birth of her first child,
whether son or daughter, she is usually called by every one else
after the name given to the infant, Ma * *, the mother of * *.

When about fifteen or sixteen years of age boys in nearly all
the tribes were circumcised. The rite was purely civil. By it a
youth was enabled to emerge from the society of women and
children, and was admitted to the privileges of manhood. Its
performance was attended with many ceremonies, somo of a
harmless, others to European ideas of a criminal nature. At a
certain period in every year, unless it was a time of calamity or
the chief had a son not yet ready, all the youths of a clan who were
old enough were oircumcised. Thereafter for a couple of months
or longer they lived by themselves, and wore distinguished hy
wearing a peculiar head-dress and a girdle of long grass about
the loius, besides having their bodies covered with white clay.
During this period they had license to steal freely from their
relatives, provided they could do so without being caught in the
act. After returning to their homes, they were brought before
the old men of the tribe, who lectured them upon the duties and
respoiisihilities which they had taicen upon themselves. Presents
of cattle and weapons were afterwards made by their friends to
give them a start in life, and they could then indulge in
immorality without let or hindrance from their elders.

In case a scion of the ruling house was growing up, the per-
formauee of the rite of circumcision Avas generally allowed to
stand over for a year or two, so that he might have a large
number of companions. These were all supposed to be b ound j ji

6 ;

Description of the Bantu.

him by ii very strong tie. In after years they were to be his
oounoillora and attendants, and in case of danger were to form
his bodyguard. In modern times no instance has been known of
any one who was circnmcised at the same time as a chief after-
wards proving unfaithful to him, but numerous instances liave
come under the notice of Europeans where such persons have
sacrificed their lives for him.

With some — if not all — of the interior tribes at the time of
circumcision the youths were formed into guilds with passwords.
The members of those guilds were hound never to give ovidence
against each other. The rites of initiation were kept as secret as
possible, but certain horrible customs connected with them were
known. One of these was the infusion of courage, intelligence,
and other qualities. Whenever an enemy who had acted bravely
was killed, his liver, which was coirsidered the seat of intelligence,
the sldn of his forehead, which was considered the seat of perse-
verance, and other members, each of which was supposed to he
the seat of some desirable quality, were cut from his body and
baked to cindors. The ashes were preserved in the horn of a
hull, and during the circumcision ceremonies were mixed with
other ingredients into a kind of paste and administered by tho
tribal priest to the youths, the idea being that the qualities which
they represented were communicated to those who swallowed
them. This custom, together with that of using other parts of
tho remains of their enemies for bemtching purposes, led them
to mutilate the bodies of all who fell into their hands iu war, a
practice which infuriated those whose friends were thus treated,
and often provoked retaliation of a terrible kind.

Females who arrived at the age of puberty were introduced
into the state of womanhood by peculiar ceremonies, which
tended to extinguish virtuous feelings within them. Originally,
however, among the coast tribes the very worst of the observances
on these occasions was a test of discipline. The object of the
education of the males was to melee them capable of self-restraint.
They were required to control themselves so that no trace of
their emotions should appear on their faces, they were not to
wince when undergoing the moat severe punishment. In olden

6S History of South Africa.

times a further test was applied, which has now degenerated into
the most abominable licentiousness. It will be sufficient to say
that the young women who attended the revels on these occasions
were allowed to select temporary companions of the other sex,
and if they declined to do so, the chief distributed them at
his pleasure. As the first edition of this chapter was being
prepared, a chief, who was regarded as being more advanced
towards civilisation than most of his people, came into legal
collision with the European authorities for distributing a large
number of girls in this manner in a district within the Cape
Colony.

But degrading as this rite was among the Bantu of the coast,
among some of those of the interior it was even more vile. All
that the most depraved imagination could devise to rouse the
lowest passions of the young females was practised. A description,
is impossible.

The other ceremonies observed on this occasion varied among
the tribes, but an account of those of the Amaxosa at the present
day will give a general idea of all. When a girl of this tribe
arrives at the age of puberty, messengers are sent by her father
to all the neighbouring kraals to invite the young women to
attend the "utonjane.” The girl in the meantime is kept
secluded in the hut of au aunt, or other female relative, aud lior
father does not see her. Soon parties are seen coming from all
sides, singing as they march. The first that arrive halt in front
of the cattle kraal, where they axe joined by those who come
later. When the girls are all assembled, the father selects an ox
to be slaughtered, and the meat is cooked for a feast. The
women then dress the girls for the dance, and when this is done
they are ranged in rows in front of the cattle kraal. They are
almost naked, having on only a girdle round the waist, and an
apron, called eacam, made for the occasion out of the leaves of a
certain plant. In their hands they hold assagais, using them as
walking sti(«ks.

When all is ready, four of the girls step out of the front row
and dance, the rest singing; and when these are tired four others
step out, and so on, until all the girls present have danced. The

Description of the Bantu,

6(j

spectators then applaud the best dancer, or if they do not at once
fix upon the same person, the girls dance until all present agree.
The girls then give room to the men and women that in the
mean time have arrived, who form themselves in lines in the same
manner, and dance until it is decided which of them surpass the
others. The dancing is continued until sunset, when the men
and women return home, leaving the party of girls, called the
jaka, who remain overnight. Next day dancing is resumed in
the same order, the guests usually arriving very eaidy in the
morning.

Tf the girl’s father is a rich man three oxen are slaughtered,
and the ntonjane is kept up for twelve days. On the thirteenth
day the young woman comes out of the hut where she has all
the time been living apart from her family. If the girl is a
chiefs daughter the ntonjane is kept up for twenty-four days.
All the councillors send oxen to he slaughtered, that there may
be plenty for the guests to eat.

The following ceremony takes place on the occasion of a chief’s
daughter coming out of the house in which she was concealed
during the twenty-four days : —

A son of her father’s chief councillor puts on his head the two
wings of a blue crane (the indwe), which are regarded as an
emblem of bravery only to be worn on this occasion and by
veterans in times of war. He goes into the hut where she is, and
when he comes out she follows him. They march towards the
kraal where the dancing took place, the girl’s mother, the jaka
or party of young women, the girl’s father, and his councillors,
forming a procession. More cattle are slaughtered for the indwe,
and then dancing is renewed, after which the girl drinks millc for
the first time since the day when she was concealed in the hut.
Large skin bags containing milk are sent from different kraals to
the place where the ntonjane is held. Some milk is put into a
small vessel made of rushes, a little of it is poured on the fire-
place, the aunt or other female relative in whose charge the girl
was takes the first mouthful, then she gives the milk to the girl,
who, after having drunk, is taken to her mother’s house. 'The
people then disperse, and the ntonjane is over.

70

History of South Africa.

This ceremony acts as an advertisement to people far and wide
that the girl can now be applied for in marriage.

The Bantu were polygamists, and women occupied, a lower
position than men in their society. Marriage was an arrange-
ment, without any religious ceremony, by which in return for a
girl cattle were transferred to her relatives by the husband or
his friends. It did not make of a woman a slave who could be
sold from hand to hand, not did it give her husband power to
maim her. In its best aspect this method of marriage was a
protection to a woman against ill usage. If her hushaud maimed
her, or treated her with undue severity, she could return to her
father or guardian, who was allowed in such cases to retain both
the woman and the cattle. In its worst aspect it permitted a
parent or guardian to give a girl in marriage to the man who
offered most for her, without the slightest reference to her
inclinations. A woman was a drudge, upon whom the cultivation
of the ground and other severe labour fell, she could inherit
nothing, and she was liable to moderate castigation feom her
husband, such as a parent is at liberty to inflict upon a child,
■without protection from the law. Wealth was estimated by the
number of wives and cattle , that a man possessed, and the one
was always made use of to increase the other. The husband was
head or lord of the establishment, and the wives were reCLuired to
provide all the food except meat and milk. Each had a hut of
her own, which she and her children occupied, and the hnsband
used his caprice as to which of them he associated with at any
time.

Though the transfer of cattle alone made a marriage binding,
it was customary to engage in festivities in connection with it.
Those ordinarily observed in the Xosa tribe at the present day
are fairly typical of all. Among these, people the whole of the
marriage ceremonies are included in the term wn&uAo, a word
derived from the verb uTeu &ada, which means to dance by
springing up and down, as viku xentsa means to dance by moving
the upper parts of the body. The dance at a marriage is con-
sidered of more importance than any of the others, and is therefore
frequently practised until skill in its performance is attained.

Description of the Bantu, 71

The marriage of a young woman is arranged by her father or
guardian, and she is not legally supposed to be consulted in the
choice of a husband. In point of fact, however, matches arising
from mutual love are not uncommon. In such cases, if any
difSeulties are raised by the guardians on either side, the young
people do not scruple to run away together, after which their
relatives usually come to an arrangement. Yet instances are not
wanting of girls being compelled against their wishes to marry
old men, who have already perhaps five or six wives. In practice
the nmdudo is often deferred to a convenient season, but the
woman is considered not less a wife, and her children not less
legal, provided always that the transfer of cattle has taken place
according to agreement.

Marriage proposals may come from the father or guardian of
the young woman, or they may first be made by the man himself
or the relatives of the man who wishes to take a wife. The
father of a young man frequently selects a bride for him, and
intimates his wish by sending a messenger to make proposals to
the girl’s father or guardian. In this cose the messenger takes
some cattle with him, when, if the advances are favourably
received, an assagai is sent back, after which the relatives of the
young people discuss and finally arrange the terms of the
marriage. If the proposal comes from the girl’s father, he sends
an assagai, which is accepted if the suit is agreeable, or returned
if it is not.

When the preliminary arrangements are concluded, unless, as
sometimes happens, it is considered expedient to permit the
marriage at once to take place, but to postpone the festivities to
a more convenient season, a bridal procession is formed at the
young woman’s kraal, to escort her to her future home. It
consists of her relatives and all the young people of both sexes
who can get away. It leaves at such a time as to arrive at its
destination after dark, and endeavours to reach the place without
attracting notice. The bridal party takes with it a cow, given by
the bride’s father or guardian to confer fortune upon her, and
hence called the in^cihm. This cow is afterwards wdl taken care
of by the husband. The pai-iy has also an ox provided by the

72

History of South Africa.

same person, as liis coiilributiou towards the marriage feast. On
the following morning at daylight the ox is killed, when a portion
of the meat is taken by tlie bride’s jjarty, and tho remainder is
left for the people of the kraal. The bridegroom’s friends then
send messengers to invite the people of the neighbourhood .to the
feast, and as soon as these arrive the dancing commences.

In the dance tho men stand in lines three, four, or more rows
in depth, according to their number, and at a little distance
behind the women stand in the same order. The men stand with
their heads erect and their arms locked together. They are
nearly naked, but wear ornaments of brass around their waists.
The trappings of the war dance are altogether wanting. The
women are, however, in full dress, for their part consists only in
singing. When all are ready, a man who has been selected for
the purpose commences to sing, the others immediately join in,
and at a certain note the whole of the men rise together from the
ground. The dance consists merely in springing straight up and
coming down with a quivering of the body ; but when tlie men
warm to it, it gives them great satisfaction. The song is very
monotonous, the same note occurring at every rise from the
ground. This dancing, with intervals of rest and feasting,
continues as long as the bridegroom’s relatives supply oxen for
slaughter. A day sufiSces for a poor man, but a rich man’s
marriage festivities may last a week or upwards.

On the closing day the bridegroom and his friends march from
one hut, while the bride and her party march from another, so as
to meet in front of tho entrance to the cattle kraal. The bride
cames an assagai in her band, which she throws so as to stick in
the ground inside the kraal in an upright position. This is the
last of the ceremonies, and the guests immediately begin to dis-
perse, each man taking home the milk-sack which he had brought
with him. In olden times ox-racing usually took place on the
closing day, but this custom has of late years fallen into neglect.

There were different restrictions with regard to the females
whom a taan was at liberty to marry. No man of any coast tribe
would marry a girl whose relationship by blood to himself on his
father’s side could be traced, no matter bow distantly connected

Description of the Bantu.

73

they might be. So scrujmlous was he in tliis respect tliat he
would not oven marry a girl who belonged to another tribe, il'
she had the same family name as himself, though the relationship
could not be traced, k. man, for instance, whose family title
was the Amanywabe, might belong to the Dushane clan of the
Xosa tribe. Among the Tombus, the Pondos, the Zulus, and
many other distinct communities, are people with this same
family title. They cannot trace any relationship with each other,
but wherever they are found they have ceremonies peculiar to
themselves. Thus the customs observed at the birth of a child
are exactly the same in every part of the country among people
of the same family title, though they may never have heard of
each other, while neighbours of tbo same clan, but of dilTereiit
family titles, have these customs altogether dissimilar. This
indicates that the tribes and clans of the present day are com-
binations of others that were dispersed before their traditional
history commenced. No marriage between the Amanywabe is
permissible.

In some tribes, as at present in tbe Pondos, Tembus, and
Xosas, the same rule was applied to relatives by blood on the
mother’s side also. Children take the family title of the father,
and can thus marry those of the same family title as the mother,
provided their blood relationship cannot be traced. Every man
of a coast tribe regarded himself as the protector of those females
whom we would call his cousins, second cousins, third cousins,
and so forth, on the father’s side, while some had a similar feeling
towards the same relatives on the mother’s side as well, and
classified them all as sisters. Immorality with one of them would
have been considered incestuous, something horrible, something
unutterably disgraceful. Of old it was punished by the death
of the male, and even now a heavy fine is inflicted upon him,
while the guilt of the female must be atoned by a sacrifice per-
formed with due ceremony by the tribal priest, or it is believed
a curse will rest upon her and hex issue.

Of late years this feeling has become less operative than
formerly among those Bantu of the coast belt who have long
been in contact with Europeans, still immorality between persons

74

History of South Africa.

related to eaoli other as above described is extremely rare. It
is still more so among those who have learned little or nothing
from white men. Shortly after the annexation of Pondoland to
the Cape Colony the principal chief of the western division of
that territory instituted an inquiry into one such case, which he
reiiortcrl to a magistrate, and wished the usual punishment to bo
inflicted. The common ancestor was found on investigation to
be seven generations back, still in public opinion the crime was
enormous.

In contrast to this prohibition the native of the interior almost
as a rule married the daughter of his father’s brother, in order,
as he said, to keep property from being lost to his family. This
custom more than anything else created a disgust and contempt
for them by the people of the coast, who term such intermarriages
the union of dogs, and attribute to them the insanity and idiocy
which in recent times has become prevalent among the inland
tribes.*

In no section of the Bantn was there any restriction in regard to
marrying a wife’s blood relatives. Thns a man might marry two
sisters, though not at the same time, and of course two brothers
might marry two sisters. Sometimes it happened that a man and
his wife could not agree and that he could bring some substantial
charge against her, when, if she had a young unmarried sister,
an arrangement was usually made by which she returned to her
parents and her sister took her place, on the husband’s making
a small addition to the cattle that had been transferred on the
first occasion.

This was also the case when, as sometimes happened, a woman
«as childless. Such a person finds little favour in Bantu society,
so that on becoming a mother a wife who has been married some

* Among the trihas within tha Cape Colony at the present time the tlifferencoa
are (is follows ! —

Xosas, Tamhns, and Pondos; marry no relative hy hiood, however distant, on ‘
either father’s or mother’s side.

Hlubis and others i»mmonly called Fingos: may marry the daughter of
mother’s hrotler and other relatives on that side, bnt not Qu father’s fade.

. Bssuto, Batlaro, Batliqiih, and Baroiong ; very fteqiiently marry cousins on
faihePs side, and know* of no rostrictiona beyond actual sisters.

75

Desc‘riptio7i of the Bantu.

time may say from the bottom of her heart, with Elizabeth of
old, that " her reproach is taken away from among men.” A
childless woman is usually exchanged for a marriageable sister,
but the husband is required first to perform a ceremony which
can be illustrated by a case tried before the writer when act-
ing as a border magistrate in 1831. A sued B to recover the
value of a heifer supplied to him two years before under these
circumstances, B’s wife, who was distantly related to A, had
been married more than a year without bearing a child. B
thereupon applied to him for a heifer, the hair of the tail of
which was needed by the doctor of the clan to make a charm to
put round the woman’s neck. He had supplied one for the
purpose, and now wanted payment for it. The defence was that
A, being the woman’s nearest relative who had cattle, was bound
to furnish a heifer for the purpose. The hair of the tail was
needed, the doctor had made a charm of it and hung it round
the woman’s neck, and she had thereafter given birth to a son.
The heifer could not be returned after being so used. In this
case, if the plaintiff had been so nearly related to defendant’s
wife as to have participated in the benefit of the cattle given by
hex husband fox hex, he could not have justified his claim undex
Bantu law ; but as he was very distantly connected, he got judg-
ment. The feeling entertained by the spectators in court in this
instance was that B had acted very ungratefully towards A, who
had not even been present at the woman’s marriage feast, but
who had cheerfully acted in conformity with the custom which
requires that a charm must be made out of the hair of the tail
of a heifer belonging to a relative of a childless wife, in order to
cause her to hear children.

Ear the greater number of lawsuits among tbe Bantu arose
from their marriage customs. The cattle to be transferred to the
family of a woman were seldom or never fuUy paid until long
after the union, and in the meantime if the husband died disputes
were almost sure to arise as to what family the widow and her
children belonged, , whether she had a right to return to her
parents, if so whether she could take any of her offspring with
her, and so on. The nearest relative of the deceased man had

H

76

History of South Africa.

it in Ms power to settle tbe matter at once by paying the cattle
still dne, but lie did not always follow that course. If there were
any dangliters, an arrangement was possible that of the cattle to
be received for them when they should marry the number due on
account of the mother should be paid. But even in this case
disputes were sure to arise. One party would fix the number
very differently from the other, and then the case would have to
be tried, when every little particular from first to last was
entered into, and the utmost patience was needed before a decision
could be arrived at. Sometimes these cases depended upon the
payment or non-payment of cattle three generations back, for in
Bantu opinion if a grandmother had not heen fully incorporated
into the family of her husband, that is if the full number of cattle
had not been transferred for her, the position of her descendants
was doubtful, two distinct families having claims upon them. In
their expressive way of speaking, such eases did not die.

Chastity in married life was exceedingly rare among the coast
tribes. By custom every wife of a polygamist had a lover, and
no woman sank in the esteem of her companions on this becoming
publicly known. The law allowed the husband a fine from the
male offender, and permitted him to chastise the woman, provided
he did not maim her; but in the opinion of the females the
offence was venial and was not attended with disgrace. Favoured
guests had female companions — ^who were, however, generally
widows — allotted to them. StiU, chastity had a value in the
estimation of the men, as was proved by the care with which the
harems of a few of the most powerful chiefs were guarded. It
might be thought that the ftamework of society would fall to
pieces if domestic life were more immoral than this, hut in point
of fact a kraal on the coast was a scene of purity when compared
with, one in some parts of the interior.

There it was a common oceuiTence for a chief to secure the
services and adherence of a young man by the loan of one of Ms
inferior wives either temporarily or permanently. In either case
the children belonged to the chief, who was regarded by the law
ua their father. Another revolting custom among them was that
of polyandrous marriages. A man who had not the req^uisite

77

Description of the Bantu.

number of cattle to procure a wife, and whose father was too poor
to help him, obtained assistance from a wealthy individual on
condition of having joint marital rights.

In some of the tribes women were obliged to invent for many
purposes different words from those used by every one around
them, and it sometimes happened that these newly formed words
supplanted the old ones. This arose from a custom which pro-
hibited females from pronouncing the names of any of their
husband’s male relatives in the ascending line, or any words
whatever in which the principal syllables of such names occurred.
If a traveller came to a kraal and happened to ask a woman who
was its headman, if that individual was her husband’s father or
uncle or elder brother she could not reply, but was obliged to call
some one else to give the required information. The violation of
this custom was considered as showing a want of respect for
connections by marriage. Women avoided meeting their
husband’s mal© relatives in the ascending line, whenever it was
possible to do so, and never sat down in their presence.

78

History of South Africa.

CHAPTER IV.

DESOHIPTION OP THE BANTU (pontimied).

The Bantu were agrioulturists. Millet of several varieties, all
now called by Europeans kaf0r-com, was the grain exclusively
grown. They raised large qxiantities of this, which they used
either boiled or brnised into paste from which a very insipid kind
of bread was made. In good seasons much millet was converted
into beer. It was steeped in water until it began to sprout, then
dried in the sun, and afterwards partly crushed in wooden
mortars made by hollowing tho end of a block of wood about
three feet high. Two women, standing by the mortar, stamped
the contents with heavy wooden pestles, keeping time with the
strokes and usually lightening their labour by chanting some
meaningless words. The malt was then boiled, and leaven mixed
with it to cause it to ferment. Sometimes a hitter root was
added to flavour it. It could be made so weak as to form a
harmless and refreshing beverage, or so strong as to be
intoxicating. In the latter ease unmalted com was crushed and
mixed with water, which was then boiled, and malt was added
afterwards until it was almost as thick as gruel, and to a
European palate wonld have been nauseating. Millet beer was
largely consumed at feasts of all kinds. It was used as soon as
it ceased fermenting, for it speedily became sour. Some women
were reputed to be able to make it much better than others, and
on that account their services were largely in demand. In some
parts of the country an intoxicating drink was also made from
honey, which was plentiful in the season of flowers.

More pernicious was the custom of smoking the dried leaves of
wild hemp, which had the effect of producing violent coughing.

79

Description of the Bantu.

followed by stupefaction. The usual pipe was a horn, but
sometitaes the smoke was inhaled through a clay tube made on
the surface of the ground, and sometimes it was drawn through a
vessel partly filled with water. A number of men would sit
round the smoking apparatus, and each in turn make use of it
until all were helpless. Another means of intoxication was
afforded by the same leaves of the wild hemp, which, when dried
and reduced to powder, were mixed with water and drunk. The
practice, however, either of smoking or drinking bangue was
confined to a small section of each community, and the baneful
plant was only obtainable at certain seasons of the year. In the
form of snuff the stalks as well as the leaves and fibres, dried
and beaten into powder, could be preserved, and were more
generally used.

Among the coast tribes a supply of grain sufficient to last
until the next season was preserved from the attacks of weevil
by burying it in air-tight pits .excavated beneath the oattle-folds.
When kept for a long time in these granaries, the grain lost the
power of germinating, and acquired a rank taste and smell, but
it was in that condition none the less agreeable to the Bantu
palate. The interior tribes preserved their grain either in huge
earthenware crocks or in enormous baskets, which were perfectly
watertight, and which could be exposed to the air without
damage to their contents.

Different kinds of gourds, a cane containing saccharine matter
in large quantities, and a sort of ground nut were the other
products of their gardens. In the coimtry between the lower
Zambesi and Sabi rivers rice and various foreign vegetables had
been introduced by the Arabs long before the beginning of the
sixteenth century, but the cultivation of these had not extended
to the interior or the southern tribes. Everywhete wild bulbs
and plants, the pith of certain shrubs, and different kinds of
indigenous fruit formed no inconsiderable part of the vegetable
diet of the people. Children at a very early age were taught to
look for edible plants, and soon acquired such extensive know-
ledge in this respect that they were able to support themselves
easily where Europeans would have perished.

8o

History of South Africa.

As food they had also milk and occasionally flesh, though
domestic cattle were seldom slaughtered except for sacrifices and
feasts. The flesh of all that otherwise died was, however, eaten
without hesitation. Milk was kept in skin hags, where it
fermented and acquired a sharp acid taste. As it was drawn off
for use by the master of the household, who was the only one
permitted to touch the hag, new milk was added, for it was only
iu the fermented state that it was used. Amasi, or fermented
milk, was exceedingly nutritious, and at the present day is
relished by most Europeans. In warm weather, especially, it is
a pleasant and wholesome beverage. The art of making butter
and cheese was unknown.

Eish was consumed only by the tribes living along the large
rivers in the interior and those on the eastern coast from Delagoa
Bay northward. South of Delagoa Bay it was not used, except
by offshoots from the northern tribes that had settled at a few
places along the sea shore, possibly because in ancient times it
may have been regarded as connected with the snake in whose
form the ancestral spirits appeared. This, however, is mere
conjecture, as the people themselves at the present day can
give no other reason for not eating fish than that their fathers
did not do so.

Occasionally large quantities of meat were obtained by means
of the chase. The chief would select a day, and give instructions
for all his people to assist in the hunt. A tract of country many
square miles in extent would then he surrounded, and the game
would be driven towards a large and deep pit, with a strong
hedge extending some distance on each side of it. The pit was
made in such a way that no animal forced into it by pressure
of the herd behind could escape until it was full. By the war-
like tribes the pit was often disdained as a means of capturing
such game as antelopes and zebras, and they preferred gradually
to contract the circle of hunters and drive the animals towards
the centre, killing with their assagais all that could not break
through the ring. After one of these hnnts feasting was con-
tinued until not a particle of meat was left, as the palates of the
people did not reject what Europeans would regard as carrion.

Description of the Bantu. 8i

Veiy lai-ge animals, such as the elephant, the hippopotamus,
and the rhinoceros were generally captured either by means of
snares that caused a heavily weighted spear to fall upon them as
they passed under a tree, or by means of carefully covered pits
with sharp stakes in them, made in the beaten tracks of tlie
animals towards water. Sometimos, however, men were found
sufficiently corirageous to lie in ambush beside the paths and
hamstring the animals as they went by, when their destruction
was easy. North of the Sabi river the tusks of the elephant and
the hippopotamus were always saleable to the Mohamedan.
traders along the coast, and everywhere among the Bantu ivory
arm rings were esteemed as ornaments. The flesh of all these
animals was much prized, especially that of the hippopotamus.

Another occasional article of food was dried locusts. Swarms
of these destructive creatures sometimes appeared, when every
one engaged in capturing and preserving them, the legs, when
dried, being regarded as not only nutritious, but pleasant to the
taste. By the people of the interior a species of caterpillar was
considered a special dainty, and the little field mouse was
eagerly sought for as another. Boys before being circumcised
were permitted to eat any kind of meat, even wild cats and other
carnivora, but after that ceremony was performed the flesh of
animals of prey was usually rejected.

Ordinarily two meals were eaten every day : a slight breakfast
in the morning, and a substantial repast at sunset. Anyone
passing by at that time, friend or stranger, provided only that
he was not inferior in rank, sat down without invitation or
ceremony, and shared in the meal. So great was the hospitality
of the people to equals and superiors that food could almost have
been termed common property.

When reduced to great extremity of want by the ravages of
enemies, sections of the Bantu sometimes resorted to cannibalism,
but the horrible practice was by no means common, Portuguese
writers indeed mention tribes whose habitual food was human
flesh, still everything related concerning them shows that they
were war-stricken hordes driven from their ancestral homes and
wandering about with their bauds against every man and every

82

History 0/ South Africa,

man’s hands against them. Xn just the same manner in the
early years of the nineteenth century parties of absolutely
destitute people in the Leauto and in Natal, drWen into the
forests and mountains by the devastations of Tshaka, preyed
upon their fellows, whom they pursued as game ; hut as soon as
a condition of comparative peace was restored, most of them
returned to their normal way of living. A few indeed, who had
acquired a taste for human flesh, though they were held in
execration by all othera, continued to exist as cannibals until
they died out or were exterminated. It must have been the
same in olden times with the tribes along the Zambesi of whom
information is given by Dos Santos and other Portuguese
writers : it was the direst necessity, not by any means their own
choice, that led them to adopt a mode of maintaining life so
different from that of their race in general. They may have
continued longer in that condition than those in the south in
the days of Tshaka, but it is certain that no tribe depended
permanently upon human flesh for its subsistence.

The Bantu had au admirable system of land tenure. The
chief apportioned to each head of a family sufficient ground for
a garden according to his needs, and it remained in that indi-
vidual’s possession as long as it was cultivated. He could even
remove for years, with the consent of the chief, and resume occu-
pation upon his return. He could not lend, much less alienate
it. But if he ceased to make use of it, or went away for a long
time without the chiefs permission, he lost his right. Under
the same conditions he had possession of the ground upon which
his huts stood, and of a yard about them. All other ground was
common pasture, but the chief had power to direct that portions
of it should be used in particular seasons only. No taxes of any
kind were paid for land, air, or water.

The gardens were not enclosed by hedges or fences, and they
were very irregular in outline, as were also the different
cultivated plots within them, for the eyes of the women were
indifferent as to straight rows of plants, If the crops were
damaged by cattle at , night, the owner of the cattle was required
by law to make good the loss, because he should have seen that

Description of the Bantu. 83

his herds were either confined in a fold or guarded on a pasture
so distant that they could do no harm. But if the damage was
done in the daytime there was no redress, because some member
of the family of the owner of the garden was then supposed to be
watching it. So sensible and practical was the common law of
these people.

Eraals were usually built in situations commanding an exten-
sive view of the surrounding country, and always on ground with
good natural drainage. The brow of a hiU, with a clear flowing
stream at its base and fertile garden ground beyond, was the site
most favoiu’ed. Sanitary arrangements, even of the simplest
kind, were unknown and nncared for, as the sense of smell was
much duller with these people than with Europeans, and an
impure atmosphere did not affect their health. Their supersti-
tion too required them to remove their residences whenever a
man of importance died, so that kraals seldom remained many
years on the same site.

Clans exposed to sudden attack by powerful enemies had
naturally little or no choice in selecting sites for kraals. They
were under the necessity of constructing their habitations in the
best possible defensive position, which was usually the crown of
a steep hill difficult of approach. Such hills are found in different
parts of the country, often with sides so precipitous that the top
can be reached by only one or two paths. When these were
barricaded with rough stone walls, the space above became a
fortress, impregnable or nearly so. Such sites for kraals were,
however, only resorted to as a last means of defence, on account
of the occupants being cut off from gardens and pasture for
their cattle as well as from easy access to w-ater. Along the
Zambesi some clans lived in stockaded enclosures, but these were
unknown farther south.

The huts of the tribes along the coast were shaped like domes
or beehives, and were formed of strong frames, thatched with
reeds or grass. They were proof against rain or wind. The
largest were about twenty-five feet in diameter, and seven or
eight feet in height at the centre. They, were entered by a low,
narrow aperture, which was the only opening in the structure. A

84 History of South Africa.

hard aad smooth floor was made of antheaps, moistened with
water and then kneaded with a round stone. When this had
set, it was painted with a mixture of cowdung and water, which
was the material used afterwards for keeping it in good order.
In the centre of the floor a fireplace was made, by raising a band
an inch or two in height and three or four feet in diameter, and
slightly hollowing the enclosed space. Many women bestowed
a great deal of attention upon their fire-circles, often enclosing
them with three bands, a large one in the centre and a smaller
one on each side of it, differently coloured, and resembling a coil
of large rope lying between concentric coils of less thickness.
Against the wall of the hut were ranged various utensils in
common use, the apace around the fire-circle being reserved for
sleeping on. Here in the evening mats were spread, upon which
the inmates lay down to rest, each one’s feet being towards the
centre. Above their heads the roof was glossy with soot, and
vermin swarmed on every aide. It was only in cold or stormy
weather that huts were occupied during the day, for the people
spent the greater portion of their waking hours in the open air.

The habitations of the people of the interior were much better
than those of the people of the coast. With them the hut had
perpendicular walls, and consisted of a central circular room,
with three or four small apartments outside, each being a
segment of a circle. It was surrounded with an enclosed court-
yard, but was destitute of chimuey or window. On the coast no
effort was made to secure privacy.

Horned cattle constituted the principal wealth of the Bantu,
and formed a convenient medium of exchange throughout the
country. Great care was taken of them, and much skill was
exhibited in their training. They were taught to obey signals,
as, for instance, to run home upon a certain call or whistle being
given. Every man of note had his racing oxen, and prided
himself upon their good, qualities as much as an English squire
did upon his blood horses. The horns of the animals were
trained into the most fantastic shapes, and were often divided
into two, three, or more parts, which was effected hy slitting
them as soon as they appeared on the young animal. The

85

DescHptim of the .Bantu.

intelligence displayed by some of these oxen was as wonderful as
the patience and skill shown by their trainers. They were
taught to lie down at an order, to run in a circle, or to dance in
rows. Ox racing was connected with all kinds of festivities.
The care of cattle was considered the most honourable employ-
ment, and fell entirely to the men. They milked the cows, took
sole charge of the dairy, and would not permit a woman so much
as to touch a milksack.

The other domestic a n imals were goats, dogs, and barnyard
poultry everywhere, and in the north sheep of the large-tailed
hair-covered breed.

The descent of property was regulated in the same manner os
the succession to the chieftainship, and disputes could not easily
arise concerning it. Every head of cattle a man acquired was
immediately assigned to a particular branch of his family, that is
either to the house of his groat wife, to that of his wife of the
right hand, or to that of his wife of the left hand. If he had
more wives than three, the remainder were in a subordinate
position in one or other of these houses. When ho died, the
eldest son of each of the three principal wives inherited every-
thing that belonged to his mother’s house. But the distribution
of wealth was more equal than in any European society, for each
married man had a plot of garden ground, and younger brothers
had a recognised claim upon the heirs of their father for assist-
ance in setting them up in life.

The Bantu of the coast were more warlike in disposition and
braver in the field than those of the interior. The universal
weapons of offence were wooden clubs with heavy heads and
assagais or javelins, and shields made of ox-hide were carried,
which varied in size and pattern among the tribes. The assagai
was a slender wooden shaft or rod, with a long, thin, iron head,
having both edges sharp, attached to it. Poising this first in his
uplifted hand, and imparting to it a quivering motion, the
warrior hurled it forth with great force and accuracy of aim.
The club was used at close quarters, and could also be thrown to
a considerable distance. Bbys were trained from an early age to
the nse of both these weapons. To those above named the

86

History of South Africa.

nortliem tribes added the battle axe and bow and arrow, which,
thongh known to, were not used by the men of the south.

In the moat warlike of the Bantu communities the men were
formed into regiments, and were trained to act in concert and to
go through various simple military evolutions, but in the others
the warrior knew nothing but the use of his weapons. With
these a battle was a series of individual engagements, in which
it sometimes happened that a man would challenge a noted
adversary by name, and a duel would take place in presence of
the others on both sides as mere spectators. In such cases the
victor was presented by his chief with a crane’s feather to be
worn on his head, and he was thereafter a man of note among
his people. A classification thus arose of the plumed and the
unplumed in the following of a chief, though the former did
not thereby become leaders or officers, that distinction being
reserved exclusively for members of the ruling house. It was
a custom for a man to be marked, usually with a scar from a
gash or a brand, for every adversary slain, and warriors prided
themselves relatively upon the number of these.

Among the military tribes reviews in presence of the chiefs
and mock combats were of frequent occurrence. The warriors
were in full dress on such occasions, with their kilts of animals’
tails around them, and their ornaments on their persons. Every-
thing was conducted with as much order and ceremony as were
observed by our own ancestors in their tournaments. At the
command of the chief one regiment would he pitted against
another, and each would attack, retreat, skirmish, and go through
all the evolutions of a real battle until the weaker side became
exhausted, when the other was pronounced the conqueror. Or
it might be a general skirmish of the whole army against an
imaginary enemy, or an attack upon a hill supposed to be
fortified, or simply a march of the regiments past the com-
mander in chief. Sometimes oxen were brought to take part in
the manoeuvres and to prove the skill of their trainers. A feast
and a dauoe invariably followed, hut^ often jealousies had been
roused by the events of the day which led afterwards to engage-
ments in real earnest between different regiments.

Description of the Banht. 87

The dress of the people between the louver Zambesi and Sabi
rivers at the beginning of the sixteenth century was partly
composed of skins of animals and partly of cloth either obtained
in barter or manufactured by themselves of wild cotton or the
fibres of a certain bark. The home made cloth was coarse but
strong, and was woven in the simplest manner in squares large
enough to be fastened round the loins. The art of weaving,
though not much more difficult than mat making, was not
practised by all the clans, but by certain of them who traded
with their productions. At a much earlier date the Arabs and
Persians had introduced Indian calico, and squares of this
material, obtained in exchange for ivory and gold, wore in
common use in that part of the country.

Elsewhere the ordinary dross of men when the air was chilly
was composed of skins of wild animals formed into a square
mantle the size of a large blanket, which they wrapped about
their persons. The skin of the leopard was reserved for chiefs
and their principal councillors, hut any other could be used by
common people. Married women wore a leather wrapper like a
petticoat at all times, and big girls at least an apron of leather
strings, usually much more. In warm weather men and little
children commonly went quite naked.

They were fond of decorating their persons with ornaments,
such as neoklaces of shells and teeth of animals, arm-rings of
copper and ivory, head bands, etc. They rubbed themselves
from head to foot with fat and red oohre, which made them look
like polished bronze. Their olothing was greased and coloured
in the same manner.

Many of them worked lines and 8inij)le patterns on different
parts of their bodies— chiefly the breasts, shoulders, cheeks, and
stomachs— by raising the skin in little knobs with a sharp iron
awl and burning it, a process that to European eyes disfigured
them much more than tattooing would have done, but which
they regarded as ornamental. Each commimity that adhered to
this custom favoured a form of cioati-ioe different from that of its
neighbours, but there were numerous tribes that were without
such markings. So with the front teeth : some dans filed them

88

History of South Africa,

to a point, a few removed the two upper, hut most allowed them
to remain in their natural state. The hideous boring and
plugging the lips and cheeks, so common north of the Zambesi,
was not practised south of that river.

More attention was bestowed upon the hair than upon any
other part of the body. Each tribe had its own fashion of
wearing it, so that at first sight the nationality of an individual
was known. Some worked it with wax and strings into imitations
of horns, others into arches, others into circles, and so on. This
neoossitated the use of a peculiar head rest when sleeping, to
prevent the hair from becoming disordered. The rest was made
of a single piece of wood, according to the fancy of its owner.
Some ware eighteen inches long, two or three inches wide, and
as many deep, with a slightly concave surface. Others were
only six to eight inches long, four to eight inches high, and two
to three inches wide, with a deep concave surface for the head
to lie in. Some of these were beautifully carved out of a block
of hard wood, and were highly pjolished by being frequently
rubbed with grease. In no other manufaotnre of wood was so
much ingenuity displayed in designing patterns. An elaborate
head rest used by a chief, for instance, might be a carved band
snpported by two, three, four, or even six colnmns standing on
an oval or oblong base, each column fluted or otherwise decorated,
and the base covered with little knobs or marked with a herring
bone pattern. Or it might be of almost any conceivable design
between that and a plain block of wood of the requisite shape.
It was never more than three or four inches wide, because it was
necessary for the head to project beyond it, in order that the
horns or other forms into which the woolly hair was trained
might remain undisturbed.

Their manufactures, however, were not of a very high order
when judged by a Europeaa standard of the present day.
Eoremost among them must be reckoned metallic wares, which
included implements of war and husbandry and ornaments for the
peraon. In many parts of the country iron ore was abundant, and
this they smelted in a simple manner. Forming a furnace of clay
or a boulder with a hoUow surface, out of which a groove was

89

Description of the Bantu.

made to allow the liquid metal to escape, and into which u hole
was pierced for the purpose of introducing a current of air, they
piled up a heap of charcoal and virgin ore, which they afterwards
covered in such a way as to prevent the escape of heat. The
bellows by which air was introduced were made of skins drawn
from the animal with as little cutting as possible. These were
inflated by opening the ends, which were then closed, when the
air was pressed through horns of large antelopes tightly fixed at
the other extremities. Two skins were worked by one man,
using his hands alternately, and thus a continuous cuiTent was
kept up. The molten iron, escaping from the crude yet effec-
tive furnace, ran into clay moulds prepared to receive it, which
were as nearly as possible of the same dimensions as the
implements they wished to make. These wero never of great
size, the largest being the picks or heavy hoes required for
gardening,

The smith, using a boulder for an anvil and a hammer of
stone, next proceeded to shape the lump of metal into an assagai
head, an axe, a pick, or whatever was wanted. The occupation
of the worker in iron was hereditary in certain families, and was
carried on with a good deal of mystery, the common belief being
that it was necessary to employ charms unknown to those not
initiated. But the arts of the foimder and the blacksmith had
not advanced beyond the elementary stage. Instead of an
opening for inserting a handle in the hoe, it terminated in a
spike which was driven into a hole burnt through the knob of
a heavy shaft of wood. The assagai was everywhere in use, and
in addition the interior tribes made orescent-shaped battle-axes,
which were fastened to handles in the same manner as the hoes.
On these implements of war they bestowed all their skill, and
really produced neatly finished arUcles. They worked the metal
cold, and were unable to weld two pieces together.

Knives, or more properly daggers, for the ends were pointed
and both edges were sharp, were also made of iron. The handles,
which were of wood, bone, horn, or even occasionally of ivory,
were frequently ornamented, as were also the sheaths of wood
or bone in which they were carried. The amount of labour

90

History of South Africa.

requited to make one of these implements and its sheath was
very considerable, so that its value relatively to other articles
was high, and it was not every man who was so fortunate as to
possess a knife. It was carried about by means of a thong round
the neck, and lay on the chest a little lower than the charms
and strings of teeth and other ornaments, so that it was always
ready for use. It was not regarded as a weapon of war, and
indeed was unfit for much real service in combat.

Copper was found in several parts of the country, and was
distributed over it by means of barter. It was used only for
making such ornaments for the person as large heads, earrings,
and armlets. Much less skill was employed in working this
metal than in manufacturing iron implements, the articles pro-
duced being of a very rough kind, not to be compared in point
of finish with a battle-axe or an assagai. The armlet was a mere
bar bent until its ends met, and the earring was of no better
wotkmamhip. The beads were nothing more than drilled lumps
of metal globular in shape, and were strung with hits of wood
and teeth of animals on a thong. The neater ornaments of
copper and brass wire now in use, and exhibited in various
museums as specimens of Bantu industry, are of modern date,
made of materials obtained from Europeans.

In the manufacture of wooden articles, such as spoons, bowls,
fighting-stieks, mortars, etc., they were tolerably expert. Each
article was made of a single block of wood, requiring much time
and patience to complete it, and upon it was frequently carved
some simple pattern or the figure of an auimal. Standing on
the handle of a spoon might be seen a lizard, an ox, or an
elephant, though always stiff in attitude, encircling the, fighting
stick might he seen two or three snakes with spots burnt upon
them to make them resemble the living reptiles.

The tribes bordering on some of the rivers of the interior and
along the eastern coast north of Delagoa Bay were able to con-
struct canoes out of the trunk of a single tree, and knew how to
-^pel them with paddles, but this simple art was not practised
elsewhere. Ho means for crossing a swollen rivet, other than
carrying a stone under each arm if the water was not too deep,

Description of the Bantu. gi

had been devised by the Bantu of the coast below Delagoa Bay,
and ocean navigation was of course unthought of.

A product of some ingenuity was a little vase used for various
purposes. It was made of the scrapings of skins, which when
soft were spread over clay moulds, and when dry became solid
cases. The clay was then talcen out with an idlania, or large
iron pin which every man carried about with him to extract
thorns from his feet, and the vessel was ready for use. Some
were in the shape of animals, others of gourds, or whatever else
the moulders desired. ITsnally while the gluey matter was still
soft it was creased, or raised in ridges, or pricked all over with a
sharp piece of wood, which greatly improved its appearance.
Some of these articles, especially those in the form of European
vases or decanters, were really extremely neat and pretty.

Skins for clothing, when the fur was preserved, were prepared
by scraping them carefully and then thumping them with the
hand and rubbing them for a length of time with a very smooth
stone, by which means they were made nearly os soft and pliable
as cloth. The interior tribes excelled in the art of dressing
skins, and were able to make beautiful fur robes, which they
stitched with sinews by the help of an awl. When the hair W'as
removed from skins to malre wrappers for women the process of
preparing them was different. They were steeped in water,
scraped on both sides, then dried, and afterwards beaten and
nibbed with grease till they were soft. Einally they were
cut into shape' and sew^d with sinews to the required size,
when the wrapper was coloured with red oohre and was ready
for use.

In one comparatively small district of South Africa, — the
territory between the loivor courses of the Zambesi and Sabi
rivers, — ^men were sometimes engaged in an occupation altogether
unknown to their kindred elsewhere. This was the collection of
gold. The chiefs were induced by the Mohamedan traders of
the coast to emxiloy hands of their subjects in searching for the
precious metal, principally by alluvial washing in the rainy
season, though sometimes by mining and extracting quartz from
reefs by the aid of fire. The quartz when brought to the surface

I

92

Histoty of South Africa.

was crushed, aud the gold was then obtained by washing. This
gold was inferior to the other in quality, and was known by a
difPerent name. According to Dos Santos the diggers were
termed botonghi, which is evidently an approximation to the
Sekalanga word for gatherers, from the root uTm huta, to collect
or gather. This industry must have come down from very
remote times, when it was practised to a much greater extent
than at the beginning of the sixteenth centuiy.

The industries above mentioned were confined to males, but in
other departments the women were equally skilful. Earthen-
ware vessels containing from half a pint to fifty gallons were
constructed by tbom, soma of wbioh were almost as perfect
in form as if they had been turned on a wheel. Though they
were frequently not more than an eighth of an inch in thickness,
they were so finely tempered that the most intense heat did not
damage them. These vessels were used for beer pots, grain jars,
and cooking utensils. The potter’s art has now become nearly
if not wholly lost by the Bantu of South Africa, owing to the
cheapness of importations from abroad. The women have found
by experience that with much less labour they can earn sufficient
money to purchase earthenware crooks, iron pots, and wooden
kegs, and so contact ^ith civilisation has had the effect in this
respect of diminishing their former skill.

Boskets for holding corn, rush mats for sleeping on, small
mats used like plates to serve food on, and grass bags were made
by the women. The bags were so carefully and strongly woven
that they were used to hold water or any other liquid. In
general none of these articles were dyed, nor was any attempt
made to ornament them, though by a few of the people of the
interior simple patterns were worked with materials of different
cClout,

Of the use of stone for building purposes, the coast tribes
knew nothing, and the' interior tribes very little. Norm of them
ever dressed a block, but the cattle-folds, which along the .coast
were constructed of branches of trees, in parts of the interior
were made of round stonep roughly laid together to fom a wall.
The or handmUl for grinding corn, which was in common

Description of the Bantu. 93

use, consisted of untrimmed stones, one flat or hollow and the
other round or oval.

When not engaged in the industries that have been mentioned,
the men were habitual idlers. A great portion of their time was
passed in visiting and gossip, of which they were exceedingly
fond. They spent days together engaged in small talk, and were
perfect masters of that kind of argument which consists in
parrying a question by putting another. Though not pilferers,
they were invetemte cattle thieves. According to their ideas,
cattle stealing except from people of their own clan was not so
much a crime as a civil offence, and no disgrace was attached to
it, though if it was proved against a man the law compelled him
to make ample restitution. But any one detected in the act of
lifting cattle might be killed with impunity by the owner, and
a chief punished with death any of his subjects whose conduct as
a robber from other clans had a tendency to involve his own
people in war.

The interior tribes were the more advanced in skill in such
handicrafts as were common to them all. Their males sometimes
aided the females in agriculture, though the hardest and most
constant labour was by them also left to the women. But with
these exceptions, all comparisons between the tribes must be
favourable to those of the coast. The Bantu of the interior were
smaller in stature and less handsome in appearance than the
splendidly formed men who lived on the terraces facing the
sea. In all that is comprised in the word manliness they were
vastly lower.

Truth is not a virtue of barbarian life. In general if a man
could extricate himself from a difiSoulty, escape punishment, or
gain any other advantage by telling a falsehood, and did not do
so, he was regarded as a fool. Many of the chiefs of the coast
tribes, however, prided themselves on adhering faithfully to
their promises ; but the word of an interior chief was seldom
worth anything.

The deceptive power of all these people was great. But there
was one member which the coast native could not entirely
control, and while with a countenance otherwise devoid of

I 2

94

History of South Africa.

expression he related the grossest falsehood or the most tragic
event, his lively eye often betrayed the passions he was feeling.
When falsehood was brought home to him unanswerably, he
cast his glances to the ground or around him, but did not meet
the eye of the man he had been attempting to deceive. The
native of the interior, on the contrary, had no conception what-
ever of shame attached to falsehood, and his comparatively
listless eye was seldom allowed to betray him.

The native of the coast was brave in the field: his inland
kinsman was in general an arrant coward. The one was modest
when speaking of hia exploits, the other was an intolerable
boaster. The dijferenoe between them in this respect was great
and was shown in many ways, but a single illustration from an
occurrence of the present generation will give an idea of it.
Faku, son of Gungushe, chief of the Pondos, by no means the
best specimen of a coast native, once wished to show his regard
for a white man who was residing with him. He collected a
large herd of cattle, which he presented with this expression :
"Tou have no food to eat, and we desire to show oui good
will towards you, take this basket of com from tbe children of
Gungushe.” An inland chief about the same time presented a
half-starved old goat to his guest, with the expression ” Behold
an ox!”*

Among the coast tribes the institution of slavery did not exist,
but ihere could be no more heartless slave-owners in the world
than some of the people of the interior. Their bondsmen were
the descendants of those who had been scattered by war, and

* This was unqueslionaMy the case whon Earopeans first came into contact
with the different tribes and placed on record tlie peonlisriticB of each, but it is
not 80 in all instances at the present day. The chief of our time who possesses
the highest moral q^ualities of any in South Africa is Ehama, ruler of the
Bamangwato. Bathoen, chief of the Bangwaketsi, and Sehelo, chief of the
Bakwena, are also superior to most of the otW Bantu rulers. All of these are
heads of interior tribee. It ie not only ftom the ohservationa of others, but
from personal experience, that the writer of these pages is able to state that the
cMefe here named are capable of acting with such generosity and good feeling as
would do credit to any European. But they are exceptions to the general rule,
and unfortunately few of their followers come up to their standard.

95

Description of the Bantu.

who had lost everything but life. They could not own so much
as the skin of an antelope, and upon any caprice of their masters
they were put to death with as little compunction as if they
were vermin.

In a state of society in which women were drudges performing
all the severest labour, in which a man carrying only an assagai
and a knobbed stick walked in front of his wives and daughters
all bearing heavy burdens on their heads, it might be supposed
that the females were unhappy. Such a supposition, however,
would be erroneous, Preedom from care to anything like the
extent that is common to most individuals of our own race
tended to make Bantu females as well as males far happier on
the whole than white people.

The women were quite as cheerful as the men, and knew as
well as Europeans how to make their influence felt. In times of
peace, after working in her garden a great part of the day,
towards evening a woman collected a bundle of sticks, and with
it on her head and a child on her back, trudged homeward.
Having made a fire, she then proceeded to grind some soaked
millet upon a quern, humming a monotonous tune as she worked
the stone. When sufficient was ground, it was made into a roll,
and placed in the hot ashes to bake. Meantime curdled milk
was drawn by the head of the household from the skin bags in
which it was kept, and the bags were refilled with milk just
taken from the cows. The men made a hearty meal of the milk
and the bread, with sometimes the flesh of game and different
vegetable products, and after they had finished the women and
children partook of what w'os left. Then the men gathered
round the fire and chatted together, and the young people sat
and listened to the stories told hy some old woman till the time
for sleep arrived. Different games were also played occasionally,
but as the only artificial light was that of burning wood, they
were usually carried on in the daytime.

At a very early age boys commenced trials of skill against
each other in throwing knobbed sticks and imitation assagais.
They enjoyed this exercise in little groups, those of the same
age keeping together, for there was no greater tyrant in the

96

History of South Africa,

world than a hig lad over his younger fellows. Commencing
with an ant-heap at a distance of ten or fifteen yards for a target,
they gradually became so perfect that they could hit an object a
foot s<3[uaro twice or even three times as far off. The knobbed
stick and the imitation assagai were thrown in different ways, the
object with the first being to inflict a heavy blow upon the mark
aimed at, while that with the last was to pierce it. This exercise
strengthened the muscles of the arms and gave expansion to the
chest. The result was that when the boys were grown up they
were able to use their weapons without any further training.
When practising, they kept up a continual noise, and if an
unusually successful hit was made the thrower uttered a cry of
exultation.

Boys above the age of nine or ten years were fond of sham
fighting with sticks. They stood in couples, each with a foot
advanced to meet that of his antagonist, and with a cudgel
elevated in the right hand. Each fixed Ms eye upon the eye of
his opponent, and sought to ward off blows as well as to inflict
them. In these contests pretty hard strokes were sometimes
given and received with the utmost good humour,

A game of which they were very fond was an imitation hunt.
In this, one of them represented a wild animal of some kind, a
second acted as a hunter, and the others took the part of dogs in
pursuit. A space was marked off, withiu which the one chased
was allowed to take breath, when he was said to be in the hush.
He tried to imitate as closely as possible the animal he was
representing. Thus if he was an antelope he simply ran, but if
he was a lion he stood and fought.

The calves of the kraal were under the care of the boys, and a
good deal of time was passed in training them to run and to obey
signals mode by whistling. The hoys mounted them when they
were eighteen months or two years old, and raced about upon
their backs. When the boys were engaged in any sport, one
of the number was selected by lot to tend the calves. As
mkny blades of grass as there were boys were taken, and -a
iaadt Was made on the end of one of them. The biggest boy
held the blades between the fingers and thumb of his closed

Description of the Bantu. 97

hand, and whoever drew the blade with the knot had to act
as herd.

They had also a simple game called hide and look for, exactly
like our own. As a training for the eye and hand nothing could
be better than their method of playing with little round pebbles.
Each boy had a certain number, which he threw into the air one
after another, catching them on his hand by turns as they fell,
and throwing them up again before any touched the ground.
He who ooidd keep the whole longest in the air was the winner.
Or they would try who could keep the greatest number in the
air at once.

If they chanced to be disinclined for active exercise, they
amused themselves by moulding olay into little images of cattle,
or by making puzzles with strings. Some of them were skilful
in forming knots with thongs and pieces of wood, which taxed
the ingenuity of others to undo. The cleverest of them some-
times practised tricks of deception with pebbles. They were so
sharp that although one was sure that he actually saw the pebble
taken into the right hand, that hand when opened would be
found empty, and it would be contained in the left, or perhaps it
would be exhibited somewhere else.

The above comprised the common outdoor sports of boys up to
the age of fourteen or fifteen years. At that time of life they
usually began to practise the different dances which they would be
required to take part in when they became men. These dances
differed from one another almost as much as those practised by
Europeans.

The dommonest indoor game of the extreme southern tribes at
the present time is the w^a, but this is of Hottentot origin, so
need not be described here. A game of Bantu children every-
where Mas the imfumha. One of the players took a pebble or
any other small substance in his hands, and pretended to plane
it in the hands of the others, who were seated in a circle around
him. He might really give it to one of them, or he might keep
it himself. One after another then guessed in whose possession
it was. A variation of this game was played by men in rows of
holes in the ground, but it was much more complicated.

98 History of South Africa.

Anotker common indooi game of okilclren was called aumhuleh.
Three or four little ones stood with their closed hands on top of
each other, so as to form a column. They sang omnbvMe, emn~
hulde, pangalala, and at the last la they drew their hands bock
sharply, each one pinching with his thumb nail the hand above.

Toys as playthings were few in number, and were almost con-
fined to clay oxen, wooden darts, bows and arrows, and the
nodiim. This was a piece of wood about six or eight inches long,
an inch and a half or two inches wide, and an eighth or a
quarter of an inch thick in the middle. Towards the edges it
was bevelled off, so that the surface was convex, or consisted of
two inclined planes. At one end it had a thong attached to it
by which it was whirled rapidly round. The other end of the
thong was usually fastened to a small round piece of wood used
as a handle. The nodiim, when whirled round, gave forth a
noise that could be heard at a considerable distance. Besides
the use which it was put to by the lads, when a little child was
crying inside a hut, its mother' or nurse would sometimes get a
boy to make a noise with it outside, and then induce the child to
be still by pretending that a monster was coming to devour it.
There was a kind of superstition connected with the nodiwu,
that playing with , it invited a gale of wind. Men would, on that
account, often prevent hoys from using it when they desired
calm weather for any purpose. It was much in evidence when
the millet crops were ripening, and women and children were
engaged from early dawn until darkness set in keeping the birds
away. Little stages were then erected in the gardens, and on
the appearance of a flock of finches each watcher shouted,
clapped hands, whirled a nodiwu, or otherwise made as much
noise as possible.

The form of greeting when, people met varied greatly among
the tiibes. In the north clapping hands was the commonest
form, accompanied by prostration of an inferior before a superior.
“ I see you ” was the expression used by. others on the coast.
Among some of the interior tribes one person on meeting another
aisked the question “ what are you eating ? ” and received as a
conventional reply “ nothing at all.” In the south, on meeting

99

Description of the Bantu.

a chief the salutation was ah! There was no general custom
observed in this respect by all the branches of the race.

This was the condition of the Bantu at the beginning of the
sixteenth century, when Europeans became acquainted with a
section of the race, and it is the condition of the great majority
of them to-day, except where their customs have been modified
by the authority or influence of white people. The opinion of
those who have most to do with them now — four hundred years
after their first contact with Caucasian civilisation — is that an
occasional individual is. capable of rising to a high standard, but
that the great mass shows little aptitude for European culture.
In mission schools children of early age are found to keep pace
with those of white parents. In some respects, indeed, they are
the higher of the two. Deprived of all extraneous aid, a Bantu
child is able to devise means for supporting life at a much
earlier age thau a European child. But while the European
youth is still developing his powers, the Bantu youth in most
instances is found unable to make further progress. His intellect
has become sluggish, and he exhibits a decided repugnance, if
not an incapacity, to learn anything more. The growth of his
mind, which at first promised so much, has ceased just at that
stage when the mind of the European begins to display the
greatest vigour.

Numerous individuals, however, have emerged from the mass,
and have shown abilities of no mean order. A score of ministers
of religion might now be named as earnest, intelligent, and
devoted to their calling as average Europeans. Masters of
primary schools, clerks, and interpreters, fairly well qualified for
their duties, are by no means rare. One individual of this race
has translated Bunyan’s Pilgrim' a Progreas into the dialect of the
Xosa tidbe, and the translation is as faithful and expressive as
any that have been made in tho languages of Europe. Plaintive
tunes, such as the converts at mission stations love to sing,
have been composed by another for a considerable number of
hymns and songs in the same dialect. Still another edits a
newspaper, and shows that he has an intelligent grasp of political
questions.

100

History of South Africa.

Ab mechaiuos they do not succeed so well, thongh an indi-
vidual here and there shows an aptitude for working with iron.
No one among them has invented or improved a useful imple-
ment since white men first became acquainted with them. And
the strong desire of much the greater number is to live as closely
like their ancestors as the altered circumstances of the country
will permit, to make use of a few of the white man’s simplest
conveniences and of his protection against their enemies, but to
avoid his habits and shut out his ideas. Compared with
Europeans, their adults are commonly children in imagination
and in simplicity of belief, though not unfrequently one may
have the mental faculties of a full-grown man.

TEUTHTORY nCflUPIED BY DIFFERENT KAOES IN SIIUTH AFRICA IN 1500.

AH ACOtrUATELY AS CAN BE ASCERTAINED. *

niUST BE RKOAUBBI) AS ONT.T AI'PKOXIMATK ]

Asiatic Immigrants.

101

OHAPT^IE V.

ASIATIC IMMIGBANTS IN SOUTH-EASTEEN AFRICA.

At some unknown period in the past, probably many
centuries before the commencement of tbe Christian era, people
more civilised than the Bantu, but still very for from reaching
the level of modern Europeans, made their appearance on
the central tableland of Africa south of the Zambesi. They
were Asiatics, but of what nationality is uncertain. It is
indeed possible, if not probable, that they came from the
great commercial city of Tyre on the eastern shore of the
Mediten-anean sea, and that in holy scripture there is an
account of them. The conditions mentioned of those fleets
that went down the Bed sea to Ophir in the time of Solomon
are perfectly applicable to voyages to the mouths of the
Zambesi or to Sofala, and the articles — gold, silver, precious
stones, almug trees, ivory, apes, and peacocks — with which
they returned are all found in South-Eastern Africa, if by
almug trees ebony or some other very hard wood is meant,
by precious stones pearls, and by peacocks the bustards that
to-day are called wildo pauwen (wild peacocks) by the Dutch
colonists.*

Mr. J. Theodore Bent, en eminent arohseologist, who spent
a portion of the year 1891 in examining the ruins of maSsi^,
buildings in the country, came to the opinion, however, that

* The ntune of the bird giren in the Bible is said, howerer, to be of Tamil
origin, and> to be used for the peacock (pavo oristatus) at -tbe present day in
Ceylon. .This appears to be the greatest impediment to the eupporition that the
Ophir of soriptnre is the Ehodesia of to-day, unless there was intercourse
between Eastern Africa and Southern India in those early times, in which
case an African bird might hare received from strangers a Braridian name.

102 History of South Africa.

the men who constructed them were probably Sabaeans from
Southern Arabia.* Be that as it may, the intruders must have
come down in vessels to some part of the coast, and then
gone inland, for no traces of them have been found north of
the Zambesi.

They erected buildings of dressed stone without cement or
mortar, some of considerable size, the ruins of which excite the
wonder of all who see them. From their position and form
there can he no doubt that most of the buildings were con-
structed as forts, by means of which the foreigners could
dominate the earlier inhabitants of the country. At least oue,
however, is pronounced by Mr. Bent to have been exclusively
a temxile, and several others appear to have been combined
fortresses and places of worship. The temple at the place now
termed the Great Zimbabwe, in latitude 2U° 16' 30" south,
longitude 31° 10' 10" east, fourteen miles from the present
township of Victoria, was elliptical in form, two hundred and
eighty feet in its greatest length, and was built of granite
blochs dressed to about double the size of ordinary bricks.
The greatest height of the wall still standing is thirty-five
feet, and its thickness varies from sixteen feet two inches to
five feet. The only ornamentation consists of two courses of
stone laid in oblique positions in contrary directions along a
fourth part of the wall, hut in some other structures courses
of outer stones were laid about two inches apart for the same
purpose. These ornamentations ore always on the south-eastern
faces of the buildings, and lines drawn from the centres of
the structures through the entrances point to the sun rising
or setting at the time of the solstices.

The labour required for the erection of such a building as
the temple at Great Zimbabwe, or of the fortress on the hill
beside it, would ha enormous at the present day; what then
must it have been at a time when mechanical appliances such
ar are now in common use were unknown? But this was

* ^ee his very interesting volume The EvineA OiHes of Mashondmd, with. a
Chester on- the OrimMicm a«(i Mermiraiion of the Tem^fiee htfE. M, W< 8w<m,
pttblUtied in tiondon in 1892, with several subsequent editions.

Asiatic Immigrants . 103

only one of a very large number of sites similarlyi though not
so massiYoly, built upon over the whole extent of country
between the Zambesi and Limpopo rivers.

The civilisation of the builders was not of a high order,
however, for these structures were not perfectly regular in
form, nor were any of the walls absolutely perpendicular or
of equal thickness throughout. The architects, were not suffici-
ently refined to appreciate mathematical correctness" of shape
or finish. The masoniy in some of the buildings, which are
believed to be the oldest, was much superior to that in others,
the courses being far more regular. This shows that decadence
took place, which is easily accounted for by the supposition,
amounting almost to a certainty, that a mixture of blood with
that of the Bantu was in progress from the outset.

A large solid tower in the temple at Great Zimbabwe,
supposed to have been a phallua when perfect, and numerous
stone phalli found in the ruins show the nature of at least one
branch of the religion of the intruders, while from peculiarities
in the buildings sidereal worship is supposed to have formed
another. There is no trace of either of these systems in the
religiou of the Bantu now, from which circumstance it might
be concluded that the blood of the Asiatic immigrants does
not flow in the veins of the present inhabitants of the country,
if it was not certain that ancestor worship has in another instance
to he related elsewhere entirely driven out a foreign creed
adopted for a time by a section of the people.

figures of birds and other animals, mdely carved in a soap-
stone which when quarried was almost aa soft as moistened clay
but which hardened upon exposure to the air, exhibit the
extent of the knowledge possessed by these people of the ait
of sculpture. Smelting furnaces, an ingot moffid, crucibles,
fragments of soapstone bowls, bits of excellent pottery, and-
beads, tacks, and thin plates of gold have been found in the
soil at the ruins. The thin plates or leaves of gold in little
squares of uniform size were intended to overlay wood, perhaps
the ceilings and ornaments of grand buildings in the ancient
world, and the wedge shaped tacks were for fastening them on.

104 History of South Africa.

The object^ of the intrusion of the Asiatics was to obtain
gold, and for this purpose they carried on mining operations
over” an immense tract of country. They were sufiSciently
skilful to be able to sink pits and run underground galleries
along reefs, but they were obliged to cease operations when
water was reached, as they had no means except buckets and
human labour for keeping the excavations dry. The quantity
of a reef that could be removed depended thus entirely upon
its position, and where drainage was good considerable depths
were reached.

With the appliances at their disposal there was only one way
in which this kind of mining could be carried on profitably,
for a vast amount of labour needed to be expended in bringing
the gold bearing rock to the surface of the ground, there
crushing it to powder, and then washing the dust to obtain
less than an ounce of metal from a ton of quartz, though the
value of that mefarrelativeTy to other afficles'must then have
been very much greater than it is now. With the Bantu popu-
lation reduced to a condition of slav ery, the men employed
in extracting and crushing ore an(f the women in ra ising food,
it was possible to make gold mining profitable, and^ it may be
taken for certain that this w^ the condition of things in those
fai-off times in the territory called Eastern Ehodesia to-day.

As little as possible was left by the enterprising imjnigrants
to chance. Dry seasons were guarded against by a systein, of
irrigation pronounced by competent authorities from its remains
to have been almost as perfect as could be devised at the
present day, so that abundance of grain could always be relied
upon, for here, as everywhere else in the country, only water
yras needed to make the soil as productive as any p the world.
At first sight it xnight seem that to conserve it nothing more
necessary than to oonsriruot dams across the Qom'ses of
streams, but so violent were the floods in the rainy season
that unless the dams were immensely strong they would oeitainly
SYfspt away. Under such circumstances artificial r^eryqirs
requisite, into which water could be led when the streams
ware- and from which it could be drawn into furiows for

Asiatic Immigrants. 105

irrigating purposes when dry weather set in. Such reservoirs
required skill and much labour to construct and afterwards to
preserve in order. This part of Africa must therefore have
presented a scene of industry in building, mining, and cultiva-
tion of the soil that is not easy to picture by those who know
it at the beginning of the twentieth century of the Christian
era. It is possible, however, that the whole of the vast territory
from the Zambesi to the Limpopo was not occupied at the
same time, but that sections of it were successively brought
under the dominion of the Asiatic rulers.

How long a connection was kept open between the country
from which the strangers came and that into which they had
made their way there are no means of determining, but from
the vast extent of their building and mining operations it
seems likely to have extended over many centuries. Prom
the first the intruders, being’ unaccompanied by females of their
own race, would have taken to themselves harems of native
women, and thus gradually a considerable class of mixed breeds
must have arisen. These, as in all such cases, would have
been lower in intellect, enterprise, and morality than their
fathers, but they would have been unable to form a perfectly
separate caste, because connection with one or other of the
races from which they sprang was needed to create a balance
of blood on one side, without which they must have died out.
Half-breeds of negroes and Europeans or negroes and Asiatics
are incapable of producing offspring among themselves alone
for many generations. The males most likely would ally
themselves with the Bantu, and the females with the ruling
people, as is usual at present under similar conditions farther
north on the coast. At last something occurred to prevent
the arrival of any more foreignef 87 cOTnmuHcaHon"by~sea~mth
the country they had come* from ceased, and then a ooiaplete
fhrion of blood between. thqse in. South Africa and tKeTBantu
tool'pper^^hia is of course largely conjectural, hut .everything
that can he observed in connection with the subject points in
that direction.

Gold mining ivas not carried on to any large extent after

io6 History of South Africa.

the cessation of intercourse with the country from which the
promoters of it had come, but the art was never entirely lost,
and q^nartz crushing continued on a small scale down to the
beginning of the nineteenth century. Far the greater portion
of the valuable metal obtained daring the traditional and
historical period, however, has been obtained from alluvial
washing. When the massive buildings were abandoned, material
accumulated within their walls, in which at length great trees
sprang up and helped to complete the rnin, The pits by which
the mines were reached became filled, and the irrigation
worhs were all but completely obliterated. The Bantu,
though improved by the mixture of foreign blood, when left
to themselves without control or guidance reverted to their
normal condition.

At the begiimiug of the sixteenth century, when South-
Eastern Africa was first visited by the Portuguese, all traditions
concerning the ancient builders and miners had died out, and
other Asiatics who had arrived at a much later period were in
possession of the trade of the country, though not of its soil,
or of dominion over its inhabitants. From the Moors, as they
termed' these people, the Portuguese learned of the existence
of extensive ruins inland, which they do not appear at any
time to have visited themselves, for the descriptions given by
their writers are very far from being correct. Thus the temple
at Great Zimbabwe, according to their accounts, was a square
building, not circular as it really is, and they stated that there
was an inscription over one of its doors which no Arabic scholar
could decipher, whereas not only is there no such inscription
now, but no indication of a stone having been removed on
which one could have been displayed at any time.

, The Asiatics who were found trading and occupying various

i stations along the coast were Arabs and Persians, and as they
possessed a literature and preserved records of their original
settlements and subsequent transactions, the Portuguese writers
into whose hands these records came were able to give a very
cle^ aocouut, not only of their condition in the early years
of the sixteenth century, but of their previous history and

Asiatic Immigmnts, 107

dealings with, the Bantu inhabitants. That history was as
follows ; —

A certain man named Zaide, great-grandson of Ali, nephew
and Bon-in-law of Mohamed, maintained religious opinions that
were not in accordance with the koran as interpreted by the
Arabian teachers, and was therefore banished from hia home.
With his adherents, who from him were termed the Emosaidi,
he passed over to the African coast, and formed some temporary
settlements of no great importance along it. These people
were of a roving disposition, and gradually moved southward,
avoiding conflicts with the natives but incorporating many
of them, until in course of time they became hardly distinguish-
able from Africans except by the profession of a form of the
Mohamedan creed and a somewhat higher way of living. The
trading instinct of the Arabs led them, however, to carry on
a petty commeroe in gold and j)robably in other productions of
the country. How far south the Emozaidi eventually wandered
cannot he ascertained with precision, but some of them
appear to have reached the etjuator before the next stream of
emigration set in; '

This was from Central Arabia, and consisted of a number
of femilies driven out by the oppression of a neighbouring
sheik. In three vessels they crossed over to the African coast,
and founded first the town of Magadosho, and subsequently
that of Brava, both not far north of the equator. In time
Magadosho became a place of importance, various subordinate
settlements were made to the southward, and its trade grew
to large proportions. The Emozaidi, who were regarded as
heretics by these later immigrants, would not submit to their
authority, and were driven inland and forced into still closer
connection than before with the natives of Africa. They became
the wandering traders of the interior, the people who collected
the products of the country and conveyed fJtiem to the coast
for sale,

A vessel belonging to Sfagadosho, having been driven from
her course by a storin, put into the port of Sofala, where her
crew learned that gold was to he obtained in trade. This led

K

io8 History of South Africa.

to a small settlement of Arabs at that place, and to a knowledge
of the coast as far as Oape Oorrentes.

Rather more than seventy years elapsed after the founding
of Magadosho and Brava when, towards the close of the fourth
century of the Mohamedan era, that is about the time of the
Herman con(][nest of England, another band of strangers settled
on the East African seaboard. A ruler of Shiraz in Persia died,
leaving seven sons, one of whom, named Ali, was despised by
his brothers on account of his mother having been an Abyssinian
slave. He was a man of energy and ability, however, so to
avoid insult and wrong he resolved to remove to some distant
land. With his family and a few followers he embarked in
two vessels at the island of Ormuz, and sailed to Magadosho.
The Persians and the Arabs were alike followers of the creed
of Mohamed, and professed to hold the koran as their guide,
but they formed rival sects, and at that time regarded each
other with great bitterness. Ali could not settle at or near
Magadosho therefore, so he steered down the coast in search
of a place where he could build a town of his own, free of the
control of every one else.

Such a place he found at Kilwa, the Quiloa of the Portuguese.
The island was occupied by blacks, but they were willing to
sell their right to it, which Ali purchased for a quantity of
cloth, when they removed to the mainland. He then formed
a settlement, and constructed fortifications sufficiently strong
for defence against the African natives and the Arabs higher
up the coast who were unfriendly towards him. Whether the
island had a name before is not known: he called it Kilwa.
Admirably situated for commerce, the settlement attracted
immigrants and grew rapidly, so that even in Ali's lifetime
it was able to send out a colony to occupy the island of Mafia
not far to the northward. Successively different settlements
ware formed or those founded by the Arabs were conquered,
until in course of time Kilwa, notwithstanding various civil
wars, became not only the most important commercial station,
but the ruling town on the East African coast.

At first the houses were built of wood and clay, but these

Asiatic Immigrants.

109

were afterwards replaced by otters of stone and mortar, witli
flat roofs or terraces which coold be used for the same purposes
as stoeps in the Cape Colony in our day. The streets between
the rows of houses were very narrow, mere alleys in fact, but
in the outskirts were large gardens planted with various kinds
of vegetables, in which grew also palms and different trees
of the orange species. In front of the town, close to the
harbour, was the residence of the ruler, which was built to serve
also as a fortress, and was ornamented with towers and turrets.
The mosques were adorned with minarets, so that, as looked
upon from the sea, Kilwa presented the appearance of a beautiful
and stately eastern town.

There were now three distinct communities of Asiatic origin
on the East African coast ‘."the Emozaidi, deemed by both
t3ie ' (Jtliefs~to be heretics, the orthodox Arabs, holding one
form of the Mohamedan faith, and the Persians, holding another.
They were all at variance, and strife between them was constant.
This is the key to their easy conquest by the Portuguese in
later times. They termed the Bantu inhabitants of the main-
land Kaffirs, that is infidels, an epithet adopted by modem
Europeans and still in use. None of them, however, scrupled
to take women of that race into their harems, and thus at
all their settlements the number of mixed breeds was large.
At the conunenoement of the sixteenth century the majority
of those who called themselyes Ambs, including the descendants
of the Persian immigrants, were - undistinguishable in. colour
and features from the ordin ary BantiC R' followed that while
MtoBeinwhom the A8iatioBIoo3~wa8 predominant were strict
Mohamedans, the others were almost indifierent in matters
oonoeming that religion.

Sofala was wrested from Magadosho fay the people of Kilwa
in the time of Soleiman, ninth successor of Ali, and with it
a trade in ivory and gold was seemed which greatly enriched
the conquerors and enabled them to extend their power. In
the zenith of its prosperity Kilwa was mistress of Melinde
and Sofala on the mainland, the islands of Momhasa, Pemba,
Zanzibar, Mafia, Comoro, Mozambique, and many others of less

K 2

no History of South Africa.

note, various stations on the coast of Madagascar, and numerous
small trading posts along the Afrioan shore as far south as
Oape Oorrentes, beyond which no vessel in those times ever
passed. But owing to internal strife and perpetual feuds among
the different communities, all of these places except Mozambique
were lost before the beginning of the sixteenth century, and
each of the others had become a petty but sovereign state.

The forty-third ruler of Kilwa after Ali was named Abraham,*
and it was he who held the government when the Portuguese
arrived on the coast. He did not rule, however, by right of
descent, but had seized the supreme authority under pretence
of keeping it in trust for an absent heir. On this account he
was conceded no higher title than that of Emir. When he
thus usurped the administration of Kilwa a man named Isufi"
was governor of Sofala, having received that appointment many
years before. This Isuf was held in high esteem for ability
and valour, and as he did not choose to acknowledge Emir
Abraham os a superior, he made himself independent and
opened his port to the trade of Melinde and other towns on
the coast.

The Asiatio communities on the African seaboard existed
a^Qist^entirdy^^ commerce. Except at Pemba, ZsSziBar,
and one or two 6the?^'55§S'lJrey did not carry on agriculture
to any large extent, though they introduced various fruit-trees
and the cultivation of rice and probably a few foreign vegetables
among the Bantu. The small islands were not adapted for
the grourth of grain, and the supplies of food needed by the
inhabitants of such towns as Kilwa and Mombasa could be
obtained without difficulty in exchange for such wares as they-
had to barter. One product of the ground, however, they paid
particular attention to. That was the cocoa palm, without
which they could not have ffitisted as they did. Prom its fruit
they obtained not only an agreeable article of diet, but a dbre
of the greatest utility; from its leaves material for mats and'
thatdung; and from its trunk timber for. the habitations of

- Habrahemo acaording to Barros, Abraemo aoootdiug to De Goes,
t accoTdbtg to Bams, Qulo according to Castanheda and Pe Goss.

A siatic Immigrants. 1 1 1

the poorer olasses, masts and spai's for their vessels, and wood
for a great variety of other purposes. There was no part of
this valuable tree of which some use could not be made.

They built vessels adapted for the navigation of the upper
part of the Indian sea, where the monsoons blow regularly at
different periods of tho year from the east and from the west,
though in them they could not venture on such stormy waters
as those south of Oape Correntes. In these vessels no iron
was used, the planks being fastened to the timbers with wooden
treenails, and all the parts sewed or bound together with cord
of coir. As they did not use saws, the planks were formed by
splitting the trunks of trees down the centre, and then trimming
each block with an axe, a tedious and clumsy process, in which
much timber was lost. The sails were of close and strong
matting, and the standing and running gear alike was made
of coir. The largest of these vessels — now called dews — were
used for crossing over to the coasts of Arabia, Persia, and
Hindostan; those next in size — which were called pangayos
by the first Europeans who saw them — for the most important
part of the home trade; and the smallest — ^termed zambucos
and luzios — for commnnicating between the settlements, con-
veying cargoes up and down the mouths of the Zambesi, and
other purposes where heavy tonnage was not needed. The
zambucos and luzios, indeed, w'ere nothing more than large
boats, half decked, and commonly provided with awnings.
In shallow places, as in rivers, they were propelled with poles.

The pilots, called malemos, who conducted the vessels to
foreign ports, were remarkably expert. Steering across to the
coast of Hindostan, for instance, they seldom failed to make
the land within a very few miles of tho place they were bound
to. They determined the latitude by means of measuring
the angular altitxide of certain stars when on the meridian,
for which purpose they used an instrument which they regarded
as superior to that by which the first Portuguese navigators in
those seas found, their way. Of any other method of determin-
ing longitudes than by dead reckoning, however, they were
as ignorant as all the rest of the world at that time.

II2

History of South Afiica.

The commerce carried on by these people with distant lands
was indeed small when compared with that which passed from
India either up the Persian gulf and thence by coraTans to
the shore of the Mediterranean, or up the Red sea, then over-
land to Cairo, and down the Nile to Alexandria, where the
produce of tho East was obtained by the Venetians to be dis-
tributed over Europe; but for Africa it was considerable, and
it was not subject to much fluctuation.

Prom India they obtained silks, spices, and other articles
of luxury “for the use of their own people of pure or nearly
pure Asiatic blood, and cotton cloth and beads for trade with
the Bantu ; from Arabia and Persia rich fabrics, dates, scimitars,
large sheathed daggers, and various other kinds of merchandise.
Every man, no matter how black, who claimed to be a Mohame-
dan, wore at least a turban and a loin cloth, and carried a
weapon of some kind on his person. The men of rank and
wealth, who were of lighter colour, dressed in gorgeous robes
of velvet, silk, or cotton, bad sandals on their feet, and at
their sides ornamented scimitars of finely tempered steel. The
women naturally were clothed more or less richly according
to the position of their parents and husbands, and they were
particularly fond of trinkets. Every article of dress or adorn-
ment, all glassware, the beat of the furniture of every description,
the choicest weapons, and various luxuries of diet were imported
from abroad.

With pieces of calico to he used as loin-cloths, beads, and
ornaments of trifling value, the traders went among the Bantu
on the mainland. Ingratiating themselves with the chiefs
by means of presents, they induced those despots to send out
men, here to hunt elephants, tliere to wash the soil for gold,
and so forth. Time was to them of less importance than to
Europeans, and their mode of living was so nearly like that of
the native Africans that they could reside or travel about
without discomfort where white men could hardly have existed.
Thus the trade that they carried on was much greater in
quantity than that of their Portuguese successors, though its
exact amount cannot he ascertained. Npoh their wares they

Asiatic Immigrants.

113

obtained enormous profits. They received in exchange gold,
ivory, pearls from the oyster beds at the Bazaruta islands, strips
of hippopotamus hide, gnm, and ambergris washed up on the
coast, with which they carried on their foreign commerce ; and
millet, rice, cattle, poultry, and honey, which they needed for
home consumption.

Oommerce was open to any one who chose to engage in it,
but practically was confined to the pure Asiatics, who employed
the mixed breeds as their agents in conducting the inland
barter, working the vessels, and performing the rough labour
of every kind. The governments, Arab, Persian, and Bantu
alike, derived a revenue from the trade that to-day seems
extortionate. When an elephant was killed, the tusk next the
ground belonged to the chief, and when the upper one was
sold he took about half the proceeds. On all other articles
disposed of by his subjects, hia share was about the same
proportion, besides which the traders on the other side were
obliged to make him large presents before commencing • to
barter. When Mombasa after the independence of Isuf was
able to trade with Sofala, an export duty of rather over fifty
per cent was levied on the merchandise for the benefit of the
government of that town. At KUwa any one desiring to trade
with Sofala was obliged to pay about seventy per cent of the
value of the goods before leaving the port, and on arrival at
his destination one-seventh of what was left. Upon his return
he paid a duty of five per cent of the gold he had acquired.
The duty on ivory brought to Kilwa was very heavy, so that
in fact the government obtained a large proportion of the
profits on commerce.

On the islands the governments of the Asiatics were not
only independent, but all other authority was excluded, and
on some of them fortifications ^ere erected, as well as mosques
and houses of stone. But on the mainland south of Kilwa, it
was different. Here the mixed breeds were permitted by
Bantu chiefs to reside for purpose? of trade, but they were
by ho means lords of the country. The sheiks ruled their
own people, but no others, like native clans which are often

1 14 History of South Africa.

found intermingled, whose idea of gorernment is tribal rather
than territorial. They were obliged to make the Bantu rulers
large presents every year for the privilege of living and trading
in the country, which presents may be regarded rather as rent
for the ground and license fees than as tribute. Under these
I ciroumstanoes they did not construct any buildings of stone,
i The pure Asiatic settlers on the African coast were grave
' and dignified, though' courteous in demeanour. They were as
' hospitable as any people in the world, but they were attached
to their ancestral customs, and keenly resented anything like
an affront. They were enterprising, though so conservative
in their ideas that they were incapable of making what Euro-
peans would term rapid progress in civilisation. As superstitious
as their Bantu neighbours, they especially regarded dreams as
figuratively foreshowing events, and he was regarded as wise
who pretended to he able to interpret them. The tombs of
men. celebrated for piety were places of ordinary pilgrimage,
but every one endeavoured when in the prime of life to visit
the city of Mecca in Arabia, thereby to obtain the highly
honoured title of hadji.

The mixe d br eeds, who formed the great bulk of the nominally
Mohamedan popuJalion, had all the superstitions of both the
races from which they were descended. They would not venture
to sea on a coasting voyage if one among them had an adverse
dream, or without making an offering, if only of a shred of
calico or a piece of coir cord, at the tomb of some holy man.
They believed that the winds could be charmed to rise- or fall,
that the pangayos were subject to bewitchment, that even the
creatures of the sea could be laid under spells. They lived
in short in the atmosphere of the Araiicm NigUs, darkened by
the gloom of Bantu fear of malignant sorcery.

Coming, down the eastern coast of Africa in the year 1500,
the principal Mohamedan settlements and trading stations were
in geographical order as follows : —

* Magadosho,* in latitude ,2'’ 2' north of the eejuator. The

Vadowsly- spelt in books and on charts at -presenik as well as to olden times
Ifsgadoxo, Hagadsze^ Magadosho, Ifogdishu, and Mukdeesha.

Asiatic ImmigTants.

iiS

town was on the coast of the mainland, partly built upon an
eminence rising to a height of about forty feet above a sandy
plain. It contained several mosques and many stone houses
with flat roofs. In front, at no great distance from the shore
and parallel with it, was a coral reef four or five miles in length,
which protected the channel within from the fury of the sea.
At low spring tides the water in the channel was only two
fatlioins in depth, but that was suflSoient for the dows used in
the Indian trade. There was no other port.

Brava, in latitude 1° 7' north, was also built on the coast of
the mainland. It stood on an eminence about a hundred feet
above the beach, and was enclosed with a wall. The towm was
well built, and was governed as an aristocratic republic, the
only one of the bind on tho coast. The port somewhat resembled
that of Magadosho, being a channel along the shove partly
protected by islets and reefs, but was more exposed to heavy
rollers from the sea.

Melinde,* in latitude 8° 15' south of the equator, situated on
the coast of the mainland, was also a well-built town. Adjoining
it was an extensive and fertile plain, covered with beautiful
gardens and groves, in which flourished fruit trees of various
binds, principally orange and lemon. To gain this advantage
the town was built some distance from the nearest anchorage,
which itself was far from safe, being a roadstead protected to
some extent by a reef, but made dangerous by numerous
shoals. It possessed, however, in a narrow roeby peninsula
extending, into the sea an excellent natural pier for lauding
cargo from boats.

Mombasa, on a coral island about three miles long by two
broad, was situated in the estuary of the Barrettd river, in lati-
tude 4:° 4' south. The island was like a huge fortress,' standing
from forty to sixty feet out of the water and presenting steep
cli% of libadrepore on the seaward side. It possessed one of the
best natural harbours in the world, easily accessible at all times.
Qn each sid,e posat^e between the island and the, T^n.-nirg of
the estuary was broad and deep, though winding, and when in
* Vftricmsly spelt Mriinde, Melindfi, Maleends, sjjd JEalindi,

ii6 History of South Africa.

them or in the fine sheet of water to which they led a vessel was
perfectly sheltered. This sheet of water could only be reached
by large vessels through the northern strait, because a sub-
merged reef stretched across the inner end of the other, and
at low tide formed a ford to the mainland. The town was bruit
along the steep shore of the northern passage, not far from the
sea, and was next to Kilwa the most celebrated on the coast.
The houses were of stone, so well constructed that the first
Europeans who saw them compared them favourably with
residences in Spain. Mombasa, owing to its excellent site and
to the prevalence of sea breezes, was less troubled with fever
than any other settlement on that part of the coast.

Pemba, a coral island, rising in the highest part to three
hundred feet above the level of the sea, was thnty-eight miles
in extreme length by thirteen in width. It was about eighteen
miles from the mainland, with a clear passage for ships inside,
though coral reefs abounded near the shore. The island was
fertUe, and produced large quantities of provisions, particularly
rice, for exportation. The principal Arab settlement on it was
in latitude 5" 25' south.

Zanzibar, not far south of Pemba, was an island similar in
every respect, though larger, being forty-s'even miles in extreme
length by twenty miles in breadth. It rose to a height of four
hundred and forty feet above the level of the sea. The principal
Arab town, from which the island took its name, was on the
western side, in latitude 6“ 3' south. The anchorage in front
of it was good and capacious, and there were many secure
harbours among the islets and reefs in the channel between it
and the mainland. Here were built the greater number of the
vessels used in the Indian and , the coasting trade, and from
the island considerable quantities of provisions wwe exported.

Mafia,'!' a coral island rising abruptly from a great depth of
water, lay about nine miles from the mainland. This island
was about twenty-seven miles in length by nine in extreme
breadth, between T 38' and 8° south latitude. It was of much
• unportanoe than either Zanzibar or Pemba.

• Written also Monfia and Mpnfeea,

Asiatic Immigrants.

117

Jlilwa, a low coral island, rather over four miles in length
hy two in breadth, rising on the northern side to forty-five feet
above the sea level, was set like an arrow in a drawn how in
the estnary of the Mavndyi river. It lay in latitnde 8° 57'
south. With the sea in front, a strait on each side, and a sheet
of water extending ten or twelve miles beyond its inner
extremity, it was a very strong position. As at Mombasa, the
southern strait was crossed at its far end by a reef, along which
access to the mainland could be had at low water. This strait
was interspersed with islets, and made a capacious harbour,
admirably adapted for shipping, but that on the northern side
of the island was difficult to navigate on account of its containing
numerous reefs and sand banks.

Passing south of Cape Delgado, in latitude 10° 40', a chain
of coral islets and reefs parallel to the coast at a distance of
eight to thirteen miles, and extending one hundred and seven-
teen miles along it, was to be seen. The principal islet was
termed Kerimba, or Querimba, and from it the whole group
was named. Next in importance was Ibo. Most of the others
were uninhabited, being mere rocks rising from the sea. Along
the strait within were numerous harbours for ships.

The northern extremity of the Mozambique channel has now
been reached, and halfway across it lay the Comoro islands, all
of volcanic origin. The principal of these were named Comoro,
Johanna, Mohilla, and Mayotta, but there were many smaller in
size. These islands were also possessed by the Arabs, who made
use of them as convenient stopping places on their way to the
great Island of the Moon, which we term Madagascar,

Keeping down the African coast, an inlet about five miles
and a half across and six in depth was reached, in latitude 15°
south. Into its inner end ran three streamlets, hut of inconsider-
able size. Lying across the centre of the mouth of the inlet,
within a line joining its two outer points, was a low coral island,
about a mile and a half in length and forir hundred yards in
breadth, named Mozambique. About three miles farther out
in the sea were two others, similar in formation, then unin-
habited, one of which is now called Saint George and the other

120 History of South Africa.

Sena now stands, about one bundred and forty miles from the
sea, but it is doubtful whether they had any fixed post farther
inland, though travelling trader's probably penetrated the
country to a great distance. About two hundred and thirty-
five miles from the sea the great river passed through the
Lnpata gorge, a narrow cleft in the range that separates the
interior plain from the coast belt, where the rapids were so strong
that they may not have cared to go beyond them, with their
boats, though the Portuguese afterwards navigated the stream
up to the Kebrabasa rapids, about twenty miles above Tete, or
three hundred and twenty miles from the sea.

At the mouth of the Pungwe river, where Beira now stands,
there was a very smell Mohamedan trading settlement, perhaps
not a permanent one, and only at best on outpost of Sofala.

Sofala, the most important station south of Eilwa, was in
latitude 20° 10'. It was at the mouth of an estuary a mile and
three quarters wide from the northern bank to an island named
Inyansata, between which and the southern hank there was only
a narrow and shallow stream when the tide was low. Across
the entrance of the estuary was a shifting bar of sand, which
prevented large vessels from crossing, and inside there were, so
many shoals that navigation was at all times dangerous. The
land to a great distance was low and swampy, and the hanks of
the estuary were fringed with belts of mangrove, so that the
place was a hotbed of fever and dysentery. Farther in the
interior the stream was of no great size, but it was always
bringing down material to add to the deposits of sand and mud
above the bar. The sole redeeming feature was a high rise of
tide, often nearly twenty feet at full moon, so that when the
wind was fair it was accessible for any vessels then used in the
Indian trade. Along the coast was a great shoal. or hank like a
submerged terrace, extending far into the sea, upon which the
waves ran so high at times and the currents were so strong that
the locality was greatly dreaded by the mariners of olden days,
3ut all these drawbacks were disregarded in view of the fact that,
gold was to be obtained here in exohange for merchandise of
little value.

Asiatic Immigrants. 1 2 1

At Sofalft there were two Tillages : one close to the sea, on a
sand flat forming the north- eastern point, contained about four
hundred inhabitants ; the other, a couple of miles higher up the
bank of the estuary, also contained about four hundred residents.
The sheik lived in the last named. His dwelling house was
constructed of poles planted in the ground, between which
wattles were woven and then plastered with clay. It was
thatched, and contained several apartments, one of considerable
size which could be used as a hall of state. The floor, like that
of Bantu huts, was made of antheaps moistened and stamped.
It was covered with mats, and the room occupied by the sheik
was hung with silk, but was poorly furnished according to
modern European ideas. This was the grandest dwelling house
in Africa south of the Zambesi, indeed the only one of its size
and form, in the first year of the sixteenth century.

The island of Ohiloane* lay partly in the mouth of the
Ingomiamo river, in latitude 20° 37' south. The island was
about six miles long by three wide, but a great part of it was a
mangrove swamp, The channel into the Ingomiamo on the
northern side of the island, now called Port Singune, was used as
a harbour by an occasional pangayo or zambuoo that put in
to trade.

The Bazaruta islands were of much greater importance, for
there were the pearl-oyster beds which yielded gems as much
coveted by the Arabs and Persians as by the people of Enrope
andr India. There were five islands in this group, stretching
ove|i|(£jE^ miles along the coast northward from the cape now
cialled Saint Sebastian, which is in latitude 22° 6' south. The
principal island, from which the group takes its name, is
eighteen miles in length.

The last place to the southward frequented by the Moha-
medans was the river Nyambana, or Inhambane, the mouth of
which is iu latitude 23° 46' south. They had a small settlement
where the Portuguese village now stands, fourteen miles by the
channel, though only eight in a direct line, above the bar. The
liver was easy of access, and formed an excellent harbour. It
* Variously 8i>elt Chilwin, Chilwun, Ohuluwan, Kiloane, &o.

122 History of South Africa.

was navigable for boats about five miles farther up than the
settlement, which formed a good centre for collecting ivory, an
article always in demand in India. This place was reputed to be
the healthiest on the whole coast.

Beyond Cape Oorrentes, in latitude 24° 4' south, the Arabs
and Persians did not venture in their coir-sewn vessels. Here
the Mozambique current, from which the cape has its present
name, ran southward with great velocity, usually from one to
three miles an hour, according to the force and direction of the
wind, but often much faster. The cape had the reputation also
of being a place of storms, where the regular monsoons of the
north oonld no longer be depended upon, and where violent
gusts fi.’om every quarter would almost surely destroy the
mariners who should be so foolhardy as to brave them. The
vivid Arab imagination further pictured danger of another kind,
for this was the chosen home of those mermaids — ^believed in
also by the Greeks of old — who lured unfortunate men to their
doom. So Cape Correntes, with its real and fictitious perils, was
the terminus of Mohamedan enterprise to the south, though
there were men in Kilwa who sometimes wondered what was
beyond it and half made up their minds to go over land and see.

Dtscovery of an. Ocean Route to India.

123

CHAPTER VI.

DISOOVEEY OF AN OOBA.N KOUTE TO INDIA.

The discovery of an ocean route from Europe to India,
followed by the establishmeut of the Portuguese as the pre-
ponderating power in the East, is one of the greatest events
in the history of the world. It is not too much to say that
every state of Central and Western Europe was affected by
it. The time was critical, for the Turks were then menacing
Christendom, and if they had secured a monopoly of the
Indian trade their wealth and strength would have been so
augmented that it is doubtful whether they might not have
succeeded in entering Vienna in 1529. As yet the Moslem
power was divided, for Egypt was still under the Mameluke
rulers, and the greater portion of the Indian products that
found their way to Europe was obtained by the Venetians at
Alexandria. To that city they were conveyed in boats doMm
the HUe from Cairo, after being carried by camels from the
shore of the Red sea, whither they were brought by ships
from the coast of Malabar. Erom this traffic Alexandria had
thriven greatly, and from it too Venice, — ^whose citizens dis-
tributed over Europe the silk and cotton fabrics, pepper, and
spices of the East, — had become wealthy and powerful. That
portion of the Indian merchandise which was brought over-
land by oaravans from the Persian gulf to the Meditemineau
coast was under the control of the Turks, and a few years
later, when in 1517 the sultan Selim overthrew the Mamelukes
and made Egypt a province of his dominions, the whole would
have been thedrs if the Portuguese had not just in time fore-
stalled them.

h

124 History of South Africa.

In the early years of the fifteenth century the Christian
nations were little acquainted with distant countries, America
and Australia were entirely unknown, Eastern Asia was very
imperfectly laid down on the maps, and the greater part of
Africa had never been, explored. This continent might have
terminated north of the equator, for anything that the most
learned men in Europe knew to the contrary. The Portuguese
were at this time the most adventurous seamen of the world,
and they were the first to attempt to discover an ocean high-
way round Africa to the East. Under direction of a justly
celebrated prince of their royal family, Henriqne by name —
known to ua as Henry the Havigatoi' — fleets were fitted out
rvhlch gradually crept dowm the western coast until the shores
of Senegambia were reached. In 1434 Gape Bojador was
passed for the first time, in 1441 Cape Blanco was seen by
Europeans, and in 1445 Capa Verde was rounded by Diniz
Dias.

Then, until after the death of Prince ' Henrique — 13bh of
November 1460 — discovery practically ceased. The lucrative
slave trade occupied the minds of the sea captains, and ships
freighted with negroes taken captive in raids, or purchased from
conquering chiefs, frequently entered the harbours of Portugal.
The commerce in human flesh was regarded as highly meritorious,
because it brought heathens to a knowledge of Christianity.
But never has a mistake or a crime led to more disastrous
results, for to the introduction of negroes as labourers in the
southern provinces of Portugal the decline of the kingdom in
power and imj)ortance is mainly due.

The exploring expeditions whidx Prince Henrique never ceased
to encourage, but which the greed of those who were in his
service had turned into slave hunting voyages, were resumed
after his death. In 3461 the coast of the present republic
of Liberia was reached, and in 1471 the equator was crossed.
Kihg JoSo II, who ascended the throne in 1481, was as
resolute as bis grand-uncle the Navigator in endeavouring to
discover an ocean road to India. He had not indeed any idea
of the great oonsaquences that would follow, his object being

Discovery of an Ocean Route to India. 125

simply to diverti the eastern trade from Venice to Lisbon,
which would be effected , if an unbroken sea route could be
found. In 1484 he sent out a fleet under Diogo Gam, which
reached the mouth of the Congo, and in the following year
the same ofScer made a greater advance than any previous
explorer could boast of, for he pushed on southward as far
as Cape Cross, where the marble pillar which he set up to
mark the extent of his voyage remained standing more than
four hundred years.

The next expedition sent in the same direction solved the
secret concerning the extent of the African continent. It was
under the chief command of an officer named Bartholomeu
Dias, of whose previons career unfortunately nothing can now
be ascertained except that he was a gentleman of the king’s
household and receiver of customs at Lisbon when the appoint-
ment was conferred upon him, and that he had at some
former time taken part in exploring the coast. At the end
of August 1486 he sailed from the Tagus with two vessels
of about fifty tons each, according to the Portuguese measure-
ment of the time, though they would probably be rated much
higher now. He bad also a small storeship with him, for
previous expeditions had often been obliged to turn back from
want of food.

The officers who were to serve under him were carefully
selected, and were skilful in their professions. They were: —
Leitao (probably a nickname) sailing master and Pedro d’Alan-
quer pilot of the flftg ship; JoSo Infante captain, JoHo Orego
sailing master, and Alvaro Martins pilot of the Sao Fantalcno;
and Pedro Dias, brother of the commodore, captain, Joao Alve.s
sailing master, and JoJio de Santiago pilot of the storeship. On
board the squadron were four negresses — convicts —from the
coast of Guinea, who were to be set ashore at different place.s
to make discoveries and report to the next white men they
should see. This was a common piacdce at the time, the
persons selected being criminals under sentence of death, who
were glad to escape immediate execution by risking anything
tbat might befal them in an unknown and barbaroirs country.

126 History of South Africa.

In this instance women were chosen, as it was considered
likely they would be protected by the natives. It was hoped
that through their means a powerful Christian prince called
Prester John, who was believed to reside in the interior, might
come to learn of the greatness of the Portuguese monarchy
and that efforts were being made to reach Mm, so that he
might send messengers to the coast to communicate with the
explorers. King JoSo and his courtiers believed that if this
mythical Prester John could but be found, he would point
out the way to India.

Dias, like all preceding explorers, kept close to the coast
on his way southward. Somewhere near the etjuator he left
the atoresHp with nine men to look after her, and then con-
tinued his ootu'se until he reached an inlet or small harbour
with a group of islets at its entrance, the one now called
Angra Peq^uena or little Bay, but wMch he named Angra
dos Ilheos, the Bay of the Islets. The latitude was believed
to be 24° S., but in reality it was 26^°, so imperfect were
the means then known for determining it. There he cast
anchor, and for the fij’st time Christian men trod the soil,, of
Africa south of the tronio .

A more desolate place than that on wMch the weary seamen
landed could hardly be, and no mention is made by the early
Portuguese historians of any sign of human life being observed
as far as the explorers wandered. Unfortunately the original
journal or log-book of the expedition has long since disappeared,
so that much that would be intensely interesting now can
never be known. But this is certain, that refreshment there
could have been none, except fish and the eggs and flesh of
sea-fowl that made their nests on the islets. It was no place
in which to tarry long. Before he left, Dias set lip a marble
cross some six or seven feet in height, on an eminence that
he named Serra Parda, the Urey Mountain, as a token that
he had taken possession of the country for his king. For
more than three hundred years that cross stood there above
, the dreary waste, just as the brave Portuguese explorer erected
it. The place where it stood so long is called Pedestal Point.

Discovery of an Ocean Rente to India, 127

Here one of the negresses >vas left, almost certainly to perish,
when the expedition moved onward.

Jb:om Angra Pequena Dias tried to keep the land in sight,
but as it was the season of the southeast winds, which were
contrary, he could not make rapid progress. At length by
repeatedly tacking ha reached an inlet to which he gave the
name Angra das Yoltas. the of the Turnings. There is
a curve in the land in the position indicated, 29° S., but the
latitudes given are not to he depended irpon, and the expedi-
tion may have been far from it and farther still from the
point at the mouth of the Orange river called by modern
geographers C ape Voltaa . in remembrance of that event. At
Angra das Voltaa, wherever it was, Dias remained -five days,
as the weather was unfavourable for sailing, and before he
left another of the negresses was set on shore.

After making sail again heavy weather was encountered and
a boisterous sea, such as ships often experience in that part
of the ocean, and which is caused by the cold Antarotio current
being slightly deflected by some means from its usual course
and striking the hot Mozambique current at a right angle off
the Cape of Good Hope. Very miserable Dias and his com-
panions must have been in their tiny vessels among the
tremendous billows, ■with the sails close reefed, and hardly a
hope of escape from being lost. But after thirteen days the
weather moderated, and then they steered eastward, expecting
soon to see the coast again. For several days they sailed- in
this direetion, bi^t as no land appeared Dias condndad that
he. must have passed the extremity of the oontment. It was
so, for on turning to the north he reached the ^ore at an
inlet which he name d An gi’a doa Vaquei ros, the ^hay of the
Herdsmen, on account ’of the” numerous dro^ of cattle which
he saw gazing on its shores. Its position cannot he fixed
wiUt ’certaiEty, for the common belief that it was the one now
known ^ FLeah Bay i s mere conjecture. The natives gazed
with astonishment upon the strange apparition coming over the
sea, and then fled inland ■with their cattle, so that it was
not found possible to have any intercourse with the wild people.

128

History of South Africa.

They did Ihe same at another tay which he put into, and
which he named the Waterin g Place of SSo Bras , hut whether
this was on the outward or homeward passage is uncertain,
the event being only incidentally alluded to by one of the
early historians. In any case no information concerning the
inhabitants of the South African coast, except that they had
domestic cattle in their possession, was obtained by this ex-
pedition.

How long Dias remained at Angra dos Vaqueiroa is not
known, but his vesBels, good sea-boats as they had proved
to be, must have needed some refitting, so he was probably
there several days at least. He and his officers were in
high apirita, aa, unless they were in another deep bay Uke
the gulf of Guinea, they had solved the question of a sea
route to India. As for as their eyes could reach, the shore
stretched east and west, so, sailing again, they continued along
it until they came to an uninhabited islet in latitude 33f° S.
This islet is in Al goa Bay as now termed — ^the Bahia da Lagoa
of the Portuguese lifter the nuddle of the sixteenth century, —
and stiU hears in the Prench form of St. Croix the name Ilheo
da Santa Cruz, the islet of the Holy Cross, which he gave it
on account, of the pillar bearing a cross and the arms of
Portugal which he erected upon it.

Dias visited the mainland, where he observed two native
women gathering shellfish, who were left unmolested, as ' the
king had issued iustructions that no cause of offence should be
given to the inhabitants of any countries discovered. Here the
last of the negresses was set ashore, os one had died on the
passage. The coast was examiued some distance to the east-
ward, and to a prominent rock upon it the name Penedo das
Fontes, the Eock of the Fountains, was given by some of the
people, heoause two springs of water were found there.

Here the seamen protested against going farther. They
complained that their supply of food was running short; and
tho storeship was far behind, so that there was danger, of
pffltislihag from hunger. They thought they had surely done
sufficient in one voyage, for they were fourteen hundred .miles

129

Discovery of an Ocean Rente to India.

beyond the terminus of tlie preceding expedition, and no one
had ever taken such tidings to Portugal as they would carry
back. Further, from the trending of the coast it was evident
there must be some great headland behind them, and tlierefore
they were of opinion it would be better to turn about and
look for it. One oau hartUy blame thorn for their protest,
considering the fatigue and peril they had gone through and
the wretcjhedly uncomfortable life they must have been leading.

Bias, after hearing these statements, took the ofhcei's and
some of the principal seamen on shore, where he administored
an oath to them, after which he asked their opinion as to
what was the l3Bst course to pursue for the service of the

king. They replied with one voice, to return home, where-

upon he caused them to sign a document to that effect. He
then begged of them to continue only two or three days’
sail farther, and promised that if they should find nothing
within that time to encourage them to proceed on an easterly
course, he would put about. The crews consented, but in the
time agreed upon they advanced only to the month of a
river to which the commander gave the name Infante, owing
to JoJLo Infante, captain of the (Siao Pantalmo, being the first
to leap ashore. The river was either the Howie, the Pish, or

the Keiskama, as known to us. Its month was stated to he

twenty-five leagues from the islet of the Cross, and to be in
latitude 32f “ S., which was very incorrect.

But now, notwithstanding this error, there should have been
no doubt in any mind that they had. reached the end of the
southern seaboard, which in a distance of five hundred miles
does not vary 'ninety miles in latitude. The coast before them
trended away to the north-east in a bold, clear line, free of
the haze that almost always hung over tire western shore
And down it, only a short distance from the land, flowed a
swift ocean current many degrees warmer than the water on
either side, and revealing itself even to a careless eye hy its
deeper blue. That current could only come from a heated sea
in the north, and so they mi^t have known that the eastern
/tide of Africa had surely been reached.

H Z

130 History of South Africa.

Whetlier the explorers observed these signs the Portuguese
’Writers •who recorded their deeds do not inform us, but from
the liver Infante the expedition turned back. At Santa Cruz
Dias landed again, and bade farewell to the cross which he
had set up there with as much sorrow as if he was parting
with a son banished for life. In returning, the great headland
was discovered, to which the commander gave the name Cabo
Tormentoso — the Stormy Cape — afterwards changed by the king
to Cabo de Boa Esperanga — Gape of Good Hope — owing to the
fair prospect which he could now entertain of India being at
last reached by this i-onta. What particular part of the
peninsula Dias landed upon is unlcnown, bnt somewhere upon
it he set up another of the marble pillars he had brought from
Portugal, to which he gave the name SUo Philippe. The country
about it he did not explore, as his provisions Avere so scanty
that ha was anxious to get away. Keeping along the coast,
after nine months’ absence the storeship was rejoined, when
oidy three men were formd on hoard of her, and of these,
one, remSo Colafa by name, died of joy upon seeing hia
countrymen again. The other six had been murdered by
negroes with whom they were trading.

Having replenished his stock of provisions, Dias set fire to
the storeship, as she was in need of refitting and he had not
men to work her; and then sailed to Prince’s Island in the
bight of Biafra, where he found some Portuguese iu distress.
A gentleman of the king’s household, named Duarte Pacheco,
had been sent to explore the rivers on that part of the coast,
bui: had lost his vessel, and was then lying ill at the island
with part of the crew who had escaped from the •wreck. Dias
took them all on hoard, and, pursuing his course in a north-
•westerly direction, touched at a river where trade was carried
on and also at the fort of SSo Jorge da Mina, an established
Portuguese factory, of which J0S.0 Fogaja was then commander,
Here he took charge of the gold that had been collected, alter
Vfhloh -he proceeded on his way to, Lisbon, where' he arrived
1487 , sixteen months and seventeen days frotn
the time of his setting out,

Discovery of an Ocean Route to India. 131

JTo otpher dates than those mentioned aie given by the
early Portuguese hiatoriana, thus the exact time of the dis-
covery of the Cape of Good Hope and the coast onward to
the mouth of the Infante river is doubtful, and it can only
be stated as having occurred in the early months of 1487.
The voyage siu-oly was a memorable one, and nothing hut
regret can bo expressed that more of its details cannot be
recovered. Of the three pillars set up by Dias, two — those
of the Holy Cross and Sao Philippe — disappeared, no one has
ever been able to ascertain when or how; that of Sao Thiago
at Angra Pequena remained where it was placed untU.
it was broken down by some unknown vandals in the
nineteenth century.

Meantime the king sent two men named. Affonso de Paiva,
of Oastelbrauco, and JoJto Pires, of Covilhao, in another direc-
tion to search for Prestar John. For this purpose they left
Santarem on the 7th of May 1487, and, being well provided
mth money, they proceeded first to Naples, then to the island
of Ehodes, and thence to Alexandria. They were both con-
versant with the Arabic language, and had no difficulty in
passing for Moors. At Alexandria they were detained some
time by iUness, but upon recovering they proceeded to Cairo,
and thence in the disguise of merchants to Tor, Suakin, and
Aden. Here they separated, Affonso de Paiva having resolved
to visit Abyssinia to ascertain if the monarch of that country
was not the potentate they were in search of, and JoSio Pires
taking passage in a vessel bound to Oananor on the Malabar
coast. They arranged, however, to meet again in Cairo at a
time fixed upon.

JoSo Pires reached Cananor in safety, and went down the
coast as far as Calicut, after which he proceeded upwards to
Goa. Here he embarked in a vessel bound to Sofala, atid
having visited that port, he returned to Aden, and at the time
appointed was back in Cairo, where he learned that Affonso
de Paiva had died not long before. At Cairo he found two
Portuguese Jews, Eahhi HahrSo, of Beja, and Josepe, a shoe-
maker of Lamego. Josepe had been in Bagdad, on the

132 History of South Africa,

Euphrates, some years previously, and had there heard of
/ Ormuz, at the mouth of the Persian gulf, and of its being tlie
warehouse of the Indian trade and the point of departure for
caravans to Aleppo and Damascus. He had returned to
Portugal and informed the king of what he had learned, who
thereupon sent him and HabrSLo with letters of instruction to
Affonso de Paiva and JoSo Pices, directing them if they had
not already found Preater John, to proceed to Ormuz and
gather information there.

Upon receiving this order JoSo Pires drew up an account
of what he had seen and learned in India and ou the
African coast, which ho gave to Josepe to convey to the
king, and baking HabrSo with him, he proceeded to Aden
and thence to Ormuz. Prom Ormnz HahrSo set out with a
caravan for Aleppo on his way back to Portugal with a
duplicate of the narrative sent to the king by Josepe.
None of the early Portuguese historians who had access to
the records of the country ever saw this non’abive, so that
probably neither of the Jews lived to deliver his charge.
Not a single date is given in the early accoitnts of this
journey, except that of the departure from Santarem, which
De Goes fixes as May 148 G and Castanheda and De Banns
as the 7th of May 1487. There is no trace of any know-
ledge in Portugal of the commerce of Sofala before the
return of Vasco da Gama in 1499, but as such a journey
as that described must in the fifteenth century have occupied
several years, it is just possible that Josepe or HabiSo
reached Lisbon after that date.

JoSo Pires went from Ormuz by way of Aden to Abys-
sinia, where he was well received by the ruler of that
country. Here, after all his wanderings he found a home,
for as he was not permitted to leave again, he married and
had children, hving upon property given to him by the
government. In 1616 Dom Eodrigo de lima arrived in
Abyssinia as ambassador of the king of Portugal, and found
him , still -alive. With the embassy was a priest, Erandsep
MVares -by name, who wrote an account of the mission and

Discovery of an Ocean Route to India. 133

of the statement made to him hy JolLo Pires, and also gave
such information on his return home as enabled the Portu-
guese historians to place on record the above details. As
far as actual result in increase of geographical knowledge la
concerned, this expedition therefore effected nothing.

Upon the return of Dios to Portugal with information
that he had discovered the southern extremity of Africa and
found an open sea stretching away to the eastward from
the farthest point he had reached, King Joao II resolved to
/' send another expedition to foUow up the grand pathway of
exploration which now offered so fair a prospect of an ocean
route to India being found at last. But at that time things
were not done as q^uickly as now, and there was besides
much else to occupy the monarch’s attention. The outlay
too would be considerable, as ships would have to be built
specially to withstand the stormy seas off the Cape of Good
Hope, and the kingdom was then by no means wealthy.
Orders, however, were given to the chief huntsman, JoSo do
Braganja, to collect the necessary timber, and by the year
1494 it was ready at Lisbon. Whether anything further
was done towards the construction of the vessels before the
death of the king, which took place at Alvor on the 26th
of October 1495, is not certain; but probably some progress
had been made, as a commander in chief of the intended
expedition was selected in the person of Bstevao da Gama,
chief alcaide of the town of Sinis.

King JoSo H having no legitimate son, was succeeded by
his first cousin Dom Manuel, duke of Beja, who possessed
a full measure of that fondness for prosecuting maritime
discoveries which for tlrree-ijuarters of a century had dis-
tinguished the princes of Portugal. Within a year of his
accession the subject of making another attempt to reach
* India by sea was mooted at several general councils held
at New Montemor, but met with strong opposition. There
were those who urged that Portugal was not strong enough
to conquer and keep possession of such a distant country
should it be reached, that too much public treasure had

134 History of South Africa.

alraady been thrown away in fitting out exploring ships,
that no adequate return had yet been made, and that even
if a route to India should be opened, it would only bring
powerful rivals into the field at least to shore its commerce.
Those of the nobles, however, who were anxious to please
the Mng favoured the design, and at length it was resolved
to send out another expedition.

Accordingly under direction of Bortholomeu Dias two ships
were built with the timber that was ready, his experience
enabling him to point out where they required special
skengthening. Very clumsy indeed they would be considered
now, with their bluff bows like the breant of a duck, broad
square sterns, lofty poops and forecastles, low waists, and
great length of beam ; hut they were staunch sea boats,
capable of receiving without damage the buffeting of the
furious waves they were intended to encounter. The larger
of the two, named the Sao Odbrid, was rated as of one
hundred and twenty tons, and the smaller, named the Sao
Hafael, as of one hundred; but a Portuguese ton of that
period, as has already been observed, was probably much
larger than an English ton of our times, and from their
build they would be able to carry a great deal more than
their registered capacity would denote. They were fitted with'
three masts, the fore and main each carrying two square
sails, and the mizen a lateen projecting far over the stern.
Under the bowsprit, the outer end of which was so greatly
elevated that it was almost like a fourth mast, was a square
spritsaU, which completed the spread of canvas. Jibs and
staysails there were none, nor anything but a flag above the
topsail yards. Such was the build and rig of vessels from
which the- graceful barques of our times have been evolved.
To accompany these ships a stout caravel was purchased from
a man named Berrio, whose name it bore, A storeship of
two hundred tons burden was also purchased by the king
from one Ayres Oorrea, of Lisbon, so that a supply of pro-
yitsions sufficient for three years might be taken by the
expedition.

135

Discovery of an Ocean Route to India.

Spare spare, sails, and rigging were placed on board the
ships, as also samples of various lands of merchandise and
many articles that could be used for presentation to such
potentates as might be found. In all respects the fleet was
thus as well fitted out as was possible at that period.
When all was ready the vessels dropped down the Tagus
to EasteUo and anchored in front of Belem, with a caravel
under command of Bartholomeu Dias, which was to accom-
pany them to the Cape Verde islands, and after seeing them
on then* course in safety, proceed to Sao Jorge da Mina,
Estevao da Gama was now dead, so King Manuel offered
the chief command of the expedition to his eldest stm
Paulo da Gama. He, however, respectfully declined on ac-
count of a complaint from which he was suffering, and
asked to have the second place, in which the responsibility
would be less, and that hia younger brother Vasco might
be appointed commander in chief. The king consented, and
in January 1497 summoned Vasco da Gama to Estremoz,
where he was then residing, and conferred the highest post
in the expedition upon him. ,,

Vasco da Gama is the hero of Portugal, because he was
successful in reaching India, and because his exploits were
the theme of the famous poem of Luis de Camoes. And
if intrepidity, energy, perseverance under difficulties, and
intense application to duty are the (qualities that constitute
greatness, he was beyond question one of the foremost that
ever Hved. But he was far from being a lovable man.
Cold, harsh, stem, severe in punishing, fearful when iu a
passion, he was obeyed not from affection, but because of
his commanding spirit. Perhaps if be had been as tender-
hearted and humane as Iris brother Paulo he would not
have succeeded iu the great enterprise entrusted to him,
where what was needed was an iron will. He was a man
of medium height, at this time unmaiTied, and about thirty-
seveh years , of age. He had served the late king at sea
with much credit to himself, and was experienced in nautical
matters.

136

History of South A ftita.

Skortly before setting sail the king presented to him a
silken banner, having on it a cross of the order of Christ,
when he made the usual homage and swore to execute - the
trust confided to him to the best of his ability. All being
ready for sea, and only waiting for a fair wind, he and
the other officers repaired to the hermitage of our Lady of
Bethlehem, where they passed some time in devotion. On
the morning of Saturday the 8th of July 1497, not quite
five years after Columbus sailed from Palos to discover a
new continent in the west, the wind was favourable, so
they prepared to leave. At the hermitage a procession was
formed of friars and priests from Lisbon, a large number
of people from the city, and Vasco da Gama and his
companions carrying tapers ; and chanting a litany, they
proceeded to the shore where the boats were in waiting.

All knelt down while the vicar of the hermitage pro-

nounced an absolution, and then with the echo of these
closing rites of religion in their ears Da Gama and his
associates embarked. The sails were unfurled, and the five
vessels stood away. As was afterwards ascertained, it was
not the proper time of the year to set out, but nothing
was then known of the periodical monsoons in the Indian

sea or of the prevailing summer and winter winds off the

African coast.

On board the Sao Gabriel, which was the flagship, -was
Vasco da Gama himself, and with him as sailing master
was Gonpalo Alvares, and as chief pilot Pedro d’Alanquei-,
who had been with Bartholomeu Dias to the river Infante.
Diogo Dias, a brother of Bartholomeu, accompanied him, as
secretary. Of the Sao Mafad Paulo da Gama was captain,
Jofto de Coimbra was pilot, and JoSo de Sd secretary. Of the
Berrio Nicolau Ooelho was captain, Pedro Escolar was pilot,
and Alvaro de Braga seoretary. Of the storeship Gonpalo
Nunes was captain. The number of men on board the four
vesaefe is given by Gastanheda as one himdred and forty-eight
and' by Barros as about one hundred and seventy, between
soldiers and sailors. The discrepancy may be accounted for by

Discovery of cm Ocean Route to India.

the officers not being included by the first writer. A friar of
the Holy Trinity, named Pedro de CobUhoes, accompanied the
expedition as chaplain, and a number of criminals were sent
with it to be put on shore in remote and dangerous places to
gather . information. Probably the criminals were not included
in either of the numbers given above.

The Cape Terde islands were appointed as a rendezvous in
case the vessels should be separated by any accident, and this
actually happened in a storm after passing the Canaries, but
eight days later they came together again, and on the 28th of
July cast anchor off Santa Maria in the island of Santiago.
Here they remained seven days taking in water and repairing
the damages sustained in the storm. On Thursday the 3rd
of August they again set sail, and soon afterwards Bartholomeu
Dias bade Da Gama farewell, and steered towards SSo Jorge
da Mina.

AU preceding expeditions in this direction had kept close to
the coast, thereby losing much time; but Da Gama adopted
a bolder plan. The longitude of the Cape of Good Hope being
unknown, he could not steer directly for it, but by keeping
almost due south he could run down his latitude, and then if
necessary steer eastward where the degrees of the smaller
circle were shorter. Holding this course during the months
of August, September, and October, during ubich time they
were often in peril , from boisterous weather, but always
managed to keep together, the four vessels turned eastward
when it was believed they were in or near the latitude of the
Gape, and on S aturday the 4th o f November the South Afiicau
coast w^ first" seen. They ran in close,' put aia it did uot
offer a~fitting place for andioring, they stood off again, and
continued sailing along it until Tuesday the 7th, when they
discovered a deep curve which would provide sufficient shelter.
The pilot . Pedro d'Alanc[uer did not know the place, not
having seen it in his earlier voyage, but they dropped their
anchors in it, and gave it the name St. Helene Bay, which it
still bears. It is about one hundred and twenty English miles
north of the Gape of Good Hope.

138 History of South Africa.

Here Da Gama -went on aliore, but found the land sterile
and apparently uninhabited. He was in want of water, and
as none could be discovered, he sent Nicolau Coelho in a boat
along the coast to seek for the mouth of a stream. At a
distance of about seventeen miles from the ships — ^reckoning
four English miles and a q^uaiter to a Portuguese league —
Coelho came to the outlet of a river, to which the name SSo
Thiugo was given. It is now known as the Berg. Here they
procured water, fuel, and the flesh of seals, there being a great
number of these animals on the shore.

To ascertain the po.sition of the place Da Gama took a
woodeu instrument for measuring the angle of the sun’s
altitude to land, where it could be fixed more steadily on a
tripod than on board ship. It would be interesting to know
just what kind of instrument this was, but that cannot be
ascertained. Burros terms it a wooden astrolabe, — ^which it
can hardly have been, — and says that he has described it in
hia Geography, a book now unfortunately lost. Probably it
was a kind of cross staff, several varieties of which were in
common use at a little later date, but this is only conjecture.
A method of using the brass astrolabe at sea had been devised
in 1480 by two physicians of King JoSo 11, one of whom
was a Jew, in association with the astronomer Martm Behaim,
of Huremherg, and tables of the sun’s declination had been
drawn up for the purpose. But the astrolabe, beautiful an
instrument as it was,* gave very imperfect results, exoept in
calm weather and when the angle observed was large. A
century and a quarter later the celebrated navigator John
Davis described its utility at sea as small in compaaisoti with
that of the cross staff. Da Gama had several brass astrolabes
with him, hut he placed no reliance upon them, and so with
' this wooden instrument, whatever it was, he went on shore to
make observations. While he was thus engaged, some of his
pec^le observed two natives who appeared to he gathering herbs

' ’ • There ia a very fine ooUeotdon from different opnntriee in' the ’Briflah
Museum, that ' inetitution of which every Englishman has -such just reason
to ho proud.

139

Discovery of an Ocean. Route to India.

and honey at the foot of a hill, as each had a firebrand with
him. Snrronnding them qxtietly and stealthily, one was cap-
tured, who appeared greatly terrified on being made a prisoner
by such strange beings as Europeans must have been to him.

He was taken to Da Gama, who was desirous of gatheriug
as much information about the country as possible, and
particularly of ascertaining how far distant was the Cape of
Good Hope ; but no one in the fleet could understand a word
of what he said. He was kept on board ship that night, and
ate and drank freely of the food that was set before him.
Two boys, one of Avhom was a negro, ware placed with him
as companions, but could only communicate with him by
signs. The next day he was provided with one or two articles
of clothing, and some trinkets were given to him, after which
he was set at liberty. This kind of treatment made such a
favourable impression upon him and his countrymen that it
was not long before a party of fifteen or twenty made an
appearance. Vasco da Gama pleased them greatly with
presents of pewter rings, little bells, beads, and other articles
of trifling value, but he could obtain by signs no information
of any kind from them, nor did they show the slightest
knowledge or appreciation of the samples of gold, silver,
pearls, and spices which he exhibited to them.

In the description given of these people there is but one
observation that shows they were Hottentots of the beach-
ranger class, not Bushmen, which is that among their weapons
were assagais or ^afta of wood pointed with bone or horn,
which they used as lances or darts. They were small in
stature, ill favoured in countenance, and darkish in colour.
Their dress was a kaross of skin. When speaking they used
so many gestures that they appeared to be rolling or staggering
about. Their food consisted of wild roots, seals, whales that
washed up on the coast, seabirds, and every kind of land
animal or bird that they could capture. They had no domestic
animal but the dog. This description would apply to Bushmen
as well as to heaohranger Hottentots, if the weapon had
not been mentioned, and perhaps the kaross, which is said - to

140 History of South Africa.

harve been woriL like a French cloak, and was probably there-
fore composed of several skins sewed together, whereas the
Bushman was satisfied with one.

A friendly intercourse having been kept up with these
savages for a couple of days, a soldier named Fernao Veloso
requested leave to accompany them to their place of residence
when they were preparing to return to it. This was granted,
with the object of his obtaining some knowledge of the style
of their habitadous and of the condition of the country about
their kraal, which was believed to be at a distance of about
eight or nine miles. On the way a seal was captured and
eaten, and then Yeloso, though the most arrant braggart of
his exploits and his bravery in the whole fleet, became
suspicious of some evil design against himself. There is no
proof of treachery of any kind on the part of the Hottentots,
but when people cannot understand each other distrust arises
easily. Yeloso began to retrace his steps in great haste, and
was followed by the Hottentots, who could certainly easily
have overtaken him if they had wished to do so. That they
did not is a strong iudicatiun that they were acting from
cariosity rather than enmity.

Hicolau Goelho was in a boat near the shore when Veloso
was seen running towards the embarking place, shouting loudly-
for helpj but he and the others with him rather enjoyed the
spectacle, on account of the man’s boastful disposition. Ha
Gama was seated at table at his evening meal when through
the window of the cabin he saw a commotion on shore, and
immediately got into a boat and was rowed towards the beach
to ascertain what was the matter. Some of the officers of
the Sao Gabriel and of the other vossels followed. On the
fltst boat reaching the shore, two of the natives went towards
it, but were driven back with their faces covered with blood.
Then followed a skirmish, in which Yasoo da Gama himself,
Gonpalo Alvares, and two sailors were sightly wounded witii
' the- stones, assagais, and arrows showered upon them by -the
Hottentots, The white men, on their part, made use of their
crossbows, and believed they caused some exeontioin with

Discovery of an Ocean Route to India. 141

them. Though in all the Portuguese accounts the natives
are charged with treachery, the whole affair appears to have
arisen through a mistake, as FernSo Veloso remained uninjured,
and was taken safely on board.

In this hay of St. Helena muyfish were found in great
abundance, which must have proved a very welcome relief to
men so long confined to salted provisions. Some fish were
also secured with the hook, and a whale was captured, which
nearly cost the lives of Paulo da Grama and a boat’s crew.
They had fastened the harpoon line to an immovable thwart
of the boat, and the whale in its struggles would have pirlled
them gunwale under and swamped them if it bad not
fortunately for them grounded in shallow water.

On the morning of Thursday the 16th of November Da
Gama set sail from St. Helena Bay. At this time of the
year the wind is usually dead ahead for vessels on his course,
but on this occasion it was blowing from the south-south-west,
so that he was able to nm along the coast with his yards
sharply braced. On Saturday afternoon he saw the Cape of
Good Hope, but thought it prudent to stand away on the
other tack for the night, and therefore did not double it
until Monday the 20th. All on board were in high spirits
and made merry as well as they could, for instead of the
stormy seas they had expected to encounter here, the weatlier
was BO fine that they could keep close to the land on thedr
ea^feffard course, and had sight of people and cattle upon it.

Sunday the 26th of November the fleet reached the
wSftdtelg place of Sao Bras, now Mossel Bay, Here, after
they hlid been several days at anchor, a number of natives
appealed, some — men and women — riding on pack oxen. They
wry friendly, for on Da Game’s going on shore they
Mith much pleasure the bawbles which he presented
to j^d exchanged some of their ivory armrings for

Afterwards more arrived, bringing a few sheep,
wWb' ■Vt*6^j>%btained in barter. The Portuguese hatened with
plSaSSOtS ijtoj tunes which these Hottentots played with
iWfeSirtiWal way of entertaining strangers. Treachery,

142 History of South Africa.

ho-wever, wm suspected, and quarrels arose, so after a -while
Da Gama moved from, his first anchorage to another to get
away from the wild people, but they followed him along the
shore, upon which he fired at them to frighten them, when
they fi.ed inland.

The little island in the bay was found covered with seals
and penguins. While at anchor here Da Gama set up on the
high southern point a pillar having on it a cross and the
arms of Portugal, but the natives broke it down before he left.
Everything was now removed from the storeship to the other
vessels, and she was then burned, as there was no further need
for her. Having taken In water, on Eriday the 8th of December,
after a detention of thirteen days, the Sao ffabrid, Sao Bafael,
and Serno sailed from the watering place gf Sao Bras, and
proceeded on their course eastward.

Shortly afterwords a storm arose, which caused great terror
to the seamen, hut the -wind was from the westward, so they
ran before it under short canvas until the 16th of December,
when they found themselves at the low rooks now called the
Bird islands, on the eastern side of Algoa Bay. Here the wind
became light and variahle, and after attaining a point consider-
ably beyond the river Infante, the current carried them back
again as far as the isle of the Cross. On the 20th, however,
a westerly breeze set in, which enabled them to make good
progress onee more. They kept close to the land, and observed
that it constantly improved in appearance, the trees becoming
higher, and the cattle on the pastures more numerous. The
green hills and forest-clod, mountaius formed indeed a striking
contrast to the sterile waste they had seen at St. Helena Bay.
On the 26th of December the charming countay in sight was
named by Da Gama Natal, in memory of the day when
Ghriarian men first saw it. It is uncertain what part of the
coast be was then sailing along, the only indication — and that
a' very imperfect one, namely the distamoe run-— given by any,
eaa^ - Portuguese writer placing it a little north of the, TJmzim-

Wherever it was, from this point for some i^eason Da Gama

Discovery of an Ocean Route to India.

143

stood out to sea, and was not in sight of the coast again until
the 6th of January 1498, when he reached the mouth of a
stream to which he gave the name Kio dos Reys, or River of
the Kings, the day being the festival of the wise men or kings
of the Roman calendar. By othera, however, it was termed
the Copper river, on account of the quantity of that metal
fmmd in use by the natives, and it was subsequently known by
both names. It was the Limpopo of our day.

It was observed from the ships that the people on shore
were black and of large stature, so a man named Martin
Affonso, who could speak several of the Bantu dialects of the
western coast, was sent with a companion to gather information.
He foimd them very friendly, and was soon able to understand
a little of what they said to him, for he was quick of percep-
tion and many woi-ds in use there and on the coast of Guinea
are almost identical. Having ascertained this, Ha Gama sent
the chief a present of some red clothing and a copper bracelet,
and so favourably disposed was every one that Martin Affonso
and his companion remaiaed on shore that night and were
lospitably entertained. The next day a return present, con-
.isting of a number of hens, was sent on board by the chiefs
nd a friendly intercourse was thereupon established which
■emaiaed unbroken until the Portuguese left. The article most
n demand by these Bantu was linen cloth, for which they
were willing to give a high price in copper. Owing to the
manner in which he was treated, and to the provisions— chiefly
millet— which he obtained in barter, Ha Gama gave to the
countiy the name Land of the Good People. Having taken in
water, he set two of the convicts on shore to collect informa-
tion to give him upon his return, and on the 15th of January
sailed again.

He now kept away from the cotust, fearing that he might he
drawn by the currents into some deep bay from which it would
be difficult to get out again, and saw nothing more of it until the
24th, when he arrived at the mouth of the Kilimane or Quhi-
mane river. This he entered, and sailing np it he observed
that the natives on its southern bank wore loin dotbs and

N

144

History of South Africa.

that they Tised canoes "with mat sails. Some of them came on
board the ships fearlessly, as if they were accustomed to see
such objects, and several could speak a few words of Arabic,
though they were not able to carry on a conversation in that
language. Three days after the ships anchored a couple of
chiefs came on board, one of whom wore a silken turban and
the other a green satin cap. Among the people also were
some lighter in colour than the others, who seemed to be partly
of foreign blood. To the Portuguese these were evidences not
to be mistaken of intercourse with more civilised men, so they
gave to the stream the name Eiver of Good Omens.

Einding the inhabitants friendly and disposed to barter,
though Martin Affonso could not understand their dialect. Da
Gama resolved to stay here some time and refit Ms sMps.
They were accordingly hove down, cleaned, reoaulked, and
generally put in better condition than before. During this time,
however, scurvy appeared among the people in a very bad form,
and many died, while others suffered from fever. In this
distress the humanity of Paulo da Gama was displayed in his
visiting and comforting the sick, night and day, and liberally
distributing among them the deMoacies he had provided for his
own use. The ships being ready, a pillar, bearing the name
SS .0 Bafael, was set up, and Wo convicts were left -behind
when the fleet sailed, wMoh was on the 24th of February,
The Sao Bafael grounded on the bar when going out, bu1
fortunately floated off unharmed with the rising tide.

Keeping well away from the land. Da Gama continned on
his course until the afternoon of the Ist of March, when some
islands were seen, and on the following morning seven or eight
zamhnoos or small undedted sailing vessels were observed
coming from one of them towards Mm. The anchors were
immediately dropped, as the fleet was close to the island of,
St. George where the water was not deep, and soon the sound
of kettle-drums was heard and the litlie vessels were alongside.
The men in them were dark coloured, hut were dothed with
striped calico, and had silken turbans on their heads and
scimitars and daggers at their sides. They entered the ships

Discovery of an Ocean Route to India. 145

fearlessly, taking the Portuguese to be Mohameclans like them-
selves, and began to converse in Arabic, which language was
familiar to one of the sailors named Pernao Martins. After
being entertained at table, they stated that the island from
which they came was named Mozambique, that it was subject
to Kilwa, and was a place of considerable trade with India and
with Sofala lower down the coast, whore gold was obtained.
They offered to pilot the ships into the harboiu', but Da Gama
thought it better not to go there until he was better informed
of the condition of things.

After his visitors had taken their departure, however, he sent
Nicolau Ooelho in the caravel to Mozambique, who reached the
harbour safely, though by keeping too close to the island he
struck lightly on a reef and unshipped his rudder. Metvntime
the men who had been aboard the Portuguese ships had reported
to the governor what they had seen and that they believed the
strangers to be Turks, so with a large retinue he went on
board the caravel. His name was Zakoeja. He was a tall
slender man of middle age, dressed in a white cotton robe
'covered with an open velvet tunic, his silken tm-ban was richly
embroidered with gold thread, and he had velvet sandals on his
feet. At his side was a jewelled scimitar, and in his belt a
handsome dagger. He was weU r-eceived and entertained by
Hicolau Coelho, but as there was no interpreter on board he did
not stay long.

After this the other two ships came to the anchorage, when
Zakoeja with a number of attendants paid a visit to Vasco da’
Gama, and was received with as much state as possible. A
long conversation was held through the medium of FemSo
Martins as interpreter, presents were interchanged, and the
governor promised to supply two pilots to conduct the ships to
India, which was what Da Gama most of all desired. The
governor afterwards brought two pilots on hoard, who were paid
in advance, and remained in the ship. A trade in provisions
was opened, and the intercourse between the different peoples
was of the most fciendly kind. The paxtieultprs of the commerce
carried on with the coimtries along the shores of the Indian

2

146 History of South Africa.

ocean were ascertained, and much that aroused the cupidity of
the Portuguese was learned of Sofala, the famous gold port to
the south.

So far all had gone well. But now the Mohamedans came
to discover that their visitors were Christians, and immediately
everything was changed. The wars of many centuries carried
on between the adherents of the two creeds had created a
feeling of the deepest animosity between them, and wherever
they met — except under very peculiar circumstances — they
regarded each other as natural foes. Even here in the Indian
sea, where the only Christians hitherto seen were a few humble
Neatorian traders, tliis was the case. One of tlie pilots deserted,
and the attitude of the people on shore was so altered that
Da Gama, fearing his ships might be secretly set on fire,
removed to the island of St. George. Here a piUar bearing
that name was set up, and beside it an altar where the first
religious service of the combined crews was held since their
departure from Lisbon.

Da Gama and Hicolau Ooelho then left St. George in
boats to demand the absconding pilot at Mozambique, but on ’
the way met a number of zambuoos, and a skirmish followed
in which the Portuguese were victors, though after beating off
their opponents they thought it best to return to their ships.
The fleet then set sail, hut the wind was so light and variable
and the current so strong that no progress could be made, and
after several days the anchors were again dropped at the island
of St. George. Here an Arab came on board with his little
son, and offered his seivioes in case of need as a pilot to
Melinde, as he said he wished to return to his own country,
and this place was on the way. His offer was accepted, and
he remained in the /SSo Gdhnd.

By this time the water was getting short, so Da Gama
resolved to retnrn to Mozambique to replenish his casks, as
the pilot furnished by Zakoeja promised to show him a
spcing at a convenient place on the mainland. The night
siter coming to the harbour the boats were sent out, but the
place eofuld not be found until the next day, and then it was

Discovery of an Ocean Route to India. 147

necessary to nse force to get possession of it. In the confusion
the pilot made Ms escape. Enraged with the opposition shown
and the insults received,. Da (Jama now determined to inflict
punishment upon Ms adversaries, which he felt confident M.s
superior weapons would enable him to do. Accordingly he
attacked the village on the island with his boats, destroyed a
palisade intended for defence, and killed several people, among
whom was the first pilot that absconded. A few days later
he bombarded the village from his sMps, and did as much
damage as was in his power, wMch brought the Mohamedans
to solicit peace. An agreement, professedly of good will on
both sides, was then entered into, and a pilot declared to be
competent to conduct the fleet to India was provided by
Zakoeja, under whose guidance on the 1st of April the voyage
was resumed.

About two hundred and fifty miles north of Moaambiq^ne
the new pilot took the vessels among some islets, where they
were in danger of being wrecked, and as this was believed to
be an act of treachery on his part, Da Gama caused Mm to
be soundly flogged. On tMs account the islets received the
name Do Ayoutado, that is Of the Scourged. Kilwa was the
port the captain-general wished to visit next, as he had been
told that many of its inhabitants were Christians, but owing
to the strong current he was unable to put into it, and there-
fore steered for Mombasa farther on. On the way the fS'ao
Jta/cul grounded on a shoal, and at low water lay high and
dry, where she was visited by some people itom the coast;
but when the tide rose she floated off uninjured.

On the 7th of April the fleet arrived off Mombasa. Da
Gama would not exiter the inner harbour at first, though he
received pressing invitations to do so, but he sent two convicts
oh shore, apparently to convey presents to the sheik, really as
spies to make observations. They were watched so closely,
however, that they could gather very little information. The
messages that passed to and fro were fliendly in words, but
both parties were evidently on their guard against treacheiy,
and only a limited number of visitors at a time — and those

148 History 0/ Sotith Africa,

unarmed — were allowed on board the ships. After some days
Da Gama, to allay suspicion, promised to go in, but in doing
so his ship drifted towards a shoal, and such a clamour was
made in letting the anchor go that some visitors to the
different vessels became alarmed and jumped overboard. The
pilot supplied by Zakoeja did this also, and was picked up
and conveyed to land by a boat that was close by at the time.
This was regarded by the Portuguese as clear proof of intended
treachery, and a very strict watch was kept and no visitors
were allowed on board again as long as the fleet remained
there.

As soon as he could get away Da Gama set sail for
Melinde, under guidance of the Arab who had come with him
from St. George. On the passage he captured a 2ambuco, and
learned from the men in her that the ruler of Melinde would
most likely give him a welcome reception, and that there were
three or four Indian trading vessels then in his port. The
antagonism between the people of that place and those of
Mombasa was indeed so inveterate that the enemy of one
would to a certainty be regarded as a friend by the other, '
Upon hia arrival at the port, which was at some distance from
the town, communication was opened with the ruler, and so
satisfaotbiy were the assurances given on both sides that a
meeting was arranged to take place on the water.

This was conducted with as much state as possible, the boats
being decorated with flags and awnings, and trumpets and
other instruments being sounded. A long conversation between
Da Gama and the ruler of Melinde was followed by a pledge
of peace and friendship between them, which was never after-
wards broken. In token of this agreement a pillar, named
Kspirito Santo, with the ruler’s consent was set up in the
town. By this time nearly half the Portuguese who left
Lisbon were dead, and many of the others were ill and weak j
hut the rrfrediments obtained at Melinde and the strong con-
fidence now felt that their voyage, would terminate favourably
did mnqh towards the restoration of health and vigour. The
Indian vessels in the port were manned partly by Hindoos

149

Discovery of an Ocean Route to India.

and partly by Mobamedans. Among these strangeis was one
named Cana, a native of Guzerat, who was a skilful pilot, and
whose services Da Gama secured to conduct him to India,

Leaving Melinde on the 24th of April, twenty-two days later
tho fleet made the land a few nules below Oaliout, and the
object for ■which the Portugnese had striven so long and so
bravely was attained. Of the occurrences which followed in
Hindostan it is unnecessary to treat in this narrative, which
has to deal with Africa aldnb. On his return passage Da
Gama touched again at Melinde, where he was received in the
same friendly manner as before, and where he remained five
days to obtain refreshments, during which time several of his
men died. An ambassador from the ruler of the town to tho
king of Portugal accompanied him when he left. Proceeding
on his way homeward, the S&o Hafad struck on the same
shoal where she had grounded on the outward passage, and
could not be got off again. Da Gama did not regret this much,
as after dividing her crew between the 8ao Gabriel and the
Berrio, there ware barely sufficient men to work these two
vessels, so many having died.

He touched at the island of St. George, where divine worship
was held, and also at the watering place of Sao Bras ; and
doubled the Cape of Good Hope on the 20th of March 1499.
Hear the Cape Verde islands the two vessels parted in a storm,
and the Benno was the first to reach the Tagus, on the 10th
Jttly 1499. two years and two days after she had sailed
away from it. The Sao Gabriel touched at the island of
Santiago, where, as she was in urgent need of repairs, JoSo de
Sa was instnicted to have them made and tako her home, and
Vasco da Gama hired a caravel in which to proceed at once.
His brother Paulo da Gama was very ill with consumption,
and he wished to get him to Portugal as speedily as possible.
But the invalid gi'ew worse on the way, so the caravel put in
at Terceira, where he died. Having interred his remains in
ttie monastery of St. Francis, Vasco da Gama proceeded to
Lisbon, which he reached on the 29th of August, and after
making his devotions at the hermitage of our Lady of Bethlehem,

150 History of South Africa.

was received in tlie city with, every possible demonstration of
joy, thongh of all the company that sailed with him only fifty-
five men saw their homes again.

The ocean highway to the rich lands of the East had now
at last been traversed from end to end, and great was the
satisfaction of King Manuel, Ms courtiers, and his people. It
was indeed something to rejoice over, though at this distance
of time the exploit of Da Gama does not seem much more
meritorious than that of Dias. The earlier navigator had
uncertainty always before him, yet he traced fully fourteen
hundred miles of previously unknown coast, and he doubled
the southern cape. From ^e river Infante to the Quilimane
Da Grama sailed over twelve hundred miles of unexplored sea,
but he hod more, larger, and better equipped ships. At the
Quilimane he saw proofs that by keeping steadfastly on his
oourse he must succeed in reaching his goal, so that from this
point onward he could have been disturbed hy no fear of
finding some insurmountable physical barrier in his way. But
it is only the final winner of a race who receives the prize, and
so honours .were heaped upon him, and his name was made to
occupy a large and proud place in the history of Portugal,
while Dias was left almost unnoticed and very inadequately
rewarded. As a foretaste of favours to come. Da Gama had
at once the title of Dom conferred upon him, with a small
pension and the privilege of trading annually in Indian wares
to a certain amount.

Succeeding Voyages and Conquests.

151

CHAPTER VII.

SUCOEBDING 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 king-
dom 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 modem gunboat could in less than
^alf an hour send to the bottom the whole of the fleet that
King Mannel despatched on this occasion, the Mohamedans
on the Indian ocean — even if they could have combined —
had nothing fit to oppose it. Ihe approximate time at which
the different monsoons set in was now known, and to take
advantage of them it was necossary 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
hoartl, and an able officer, Pedro Alvares Oabrel by name,
was in chief command, witlr another named Sancho da 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 acceptaug the Christiau faith and
engaging in commerce, but if these terms were refused, relent-

152 History of South A/i'ica.

less war was to be made upon them. Eight Mars of the
order of St. Erancis were sent in the fleet to malce the
tenets of the Christian religion known, in addition to whom
there were eight chaplains in the ships, and a vioar 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 8 th of March the offlcers 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 proces-
sion was formed to conduct them to the river aide, where they
embarked. On the following morning sbH was set, and the
Tagus was left behind. Of those who had been with Da
Gama, hTicolau Coelho, who commanded a ship, and JoSo de
Sd are the only ones known to have sailed with Cabral.

On the passage to the Gape Yerde 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 Gninea, on the 24th of April to his great sur-
prise Cabral discovered a country unknown before, the main-
land of South America. There, at a harbour on the coast
of Brazil, he took in water and sat 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 mcmth a violent tornado was encountefed,
which was preceded by a calm, and the wind suddenly struck
the ships with terrific force. It at once heoarae dark ■ as
night) the raging of the tempest drowned all other sounds,
and the sea rose in such tremendous billows that the sailors
regfwded themselves as lost. When the tornado ceased four
vessels haA disappeared, never to be seen again. One was
that of whidb. Bartholomeu Dias was captain and thus the

Succeeding Voyages and Conquests. 153

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
Barbholomeu, 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
boai-d. By the 10th 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 stonny
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
Poteima, uncle of the ruler of that town. Upon hearing
this, Cabral immediately liberated them, and restored the
zambuoo 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 siaoere friendship, and did what they
could to assist the Portuguese. Here Cabral refitted his ships,
and then, having obtained a good pilot, sailed for Hilwa.

Upon his arrival at this port he sent a message to Emir
Abraham by Affonso Fuilado that he had letters for him
from the kiag 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
tp be treated as an independent sovereign. Probably had he
known the position of the messenger he would have felt
doubly indignant, for Alfonso Furtado had been sent out as

154

History of South Africa.

secretaxy of the factory which Bartholomeu Uias was to have
established at Sofala, the most valuable of the andent
dependencies of Kilwa. There could not be a really friendly
feeling towards the strangers, but the emir dissembled, ex-
pressed 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 ou apparently friendly conversation was held. But when
Cabral requested the emir to adopt tlie Christian faith and
to surrender part of his claim to the gold trade of Sofala,
he evaded giving an immediate reply, and proposed that
Aflbnso Furtado should be sent ashore again to conclude an
agreement of peace and amity. With this understanding
Cabral ported 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 then 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 witli real demonstrations of satisfaction, as the rulei’
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 Furopean ofifioers 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
Mag. ' ’ Two convicts, named Jo5o Machado and Luis de
Moura, were set ashore well equipped for a joumey into

Succeeding Voyages and Conquests. 155

tlie inteilor, 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 Guzorat engaged in
Melinde.

On his return passage, the ship commanded by Sanoho
de Toar was wrecked on tlie coast near Melinde, and when
hei’ crew was rescued she was set on fire, as nothing could
be saved from her. The sheik of Mombasa, however, after-
wards recovered her guns, which he mounted on fortifications
in Ms town. Cabral arrived th\ts at Mozambique with only
five of the thirteen sMps with wMch he sailed from Lisbon.
Here he oansed them to be cleaned and refitted, and then
gave the smallest of them to Sanoho de Toar with instruc-
tions to proceed to Sofala and make himself acquainted with
the condition of that place. With the romaining four vessels
he sailed from Mozambique, but one, under command of
Pedro d’Ataide, was separated fcom Mm in a storm, and
was obliged to put into the watering place of SSo Bras to
refit. With three ships therefore Cabral doubled the Cape
^ Good Hope on the 23nd of May 1501, and reached Lisbon
on the Slst of July.

Of the visit of Sanoho de Toar to Sofala very little infor-
mation is given by Portuguese writers who had access to
the journal of the voyage, and the other early accounts axe
most conflicting. One of these is by a pilot in Cabral’s
fleet, whose name is unknown, and who could only have
acquired bis knowledge from hearsay. It is to the following
effeot : —

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 re-
turning, he set sail for Portugal, and reached Lisbon the
day after the captain general. Prom information given by
his captive, added to his own observations, De Toar learued
that the Mohamedan settlement was not large, and that the
gold was obtained from natives of the interior in exchange

156 History of South Africa.

for merchandise, but of the condition of the country and
the details of the trade he remained in ignorance.

In the Legmda of India Gaspar Correa gives what appears
to he a much more complete account. But with respect to
events previous to the government of AJfonso d’Alboquerque
this writer was a novelist rather than a historian, and though
the first part of hia work possesses great value as a reflection
of his times, neither his statements 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 ex-
perienced 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. Tlie Portuguese captain
then landed with ten attendants carrying a present of con-
siderable 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, pro-
vided the Portuguese kept good faith and acted as friends.
He thjen made a counter present of gold for the captain
general and one for i)e 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

157

Succeedwg Voyages and Conquests,

goods before binij and wlien 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, Sanoho de Toot 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 CahraTs 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 1602 by Poi>e Alex-
ander VI.

Before the return of Cabral, on the 5th of May 1601

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 tire eastern trade was not entirely
monopolised by the government, and two of these ships were
(Twned 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 Conception — ^was dis-
covered, and on the 7th of July the fleet came to anchor
at the watering place of SSo Eras.

Here in an old shoe fastened to a tree was found a
letter written by Pedro d’A-taide, giving an accotmt of Cabral's
voyage to the time when he separated from that commander. .
Erom it Da Nova learned the intended factory at

Sofala had not been established on account of the loss at
sea of Baitholomeu Dias aud his ship, and that a fort had
not been built at CaUcut, where hostility had been encoun-
tered and the factor Aires Conea and a number of other
Portuguese had been murdered, but that mercantile houses
with Portuguese officials had been opeued 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,

158 History of South Africa.

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 sma ll and must have been very
roughly conatmoted, the walls were so strong that more than
half a century later they were standing to the height of
three or four feet. While this work was going on some
cattle were obtained in barter from the Hottentots and the
ships wore supplied with water, and when it was completed
the fleet soiled 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 tlis-
covered and named the island of St. Helena, where he took
in water, and on the 11th of September 1602 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 instruc-
tions were to protect the two factories at Goohin and Oonanor,
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 aimed for battle. A Portuguese ship could dischEcrge
cannon at them, very clumsy indeed, but still capable of
HTTikin g them, and was herself perfectly safe if she could
keep their boats from boarding her. Her crew were accus-
tomed to war, and were full of religious ze'al, 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
hercdo and glorious acts, for they were living in an age of
ecuelty, when the meaning of the word mercy was almost
unknown, and demency to enemies of another creed was rarely
practised. The MToslero trading vessels, running before the

Succeeding Voyages and Conquests. 159

monsoon from tUe coast of India with rich cargoosj weie
legardcd by them as prizes given into their hands by the
Most High.

The enormous profit upon the eastern merchandise, notwith-
standing the length of the voyages and the loss of so many
ships and men, induced the king to send out in 1602 a laager
luunber of trading .ships than had ever gone before. The chief
command was offered to Pedro Alvarea Cahral, but he made so
many objections to the nearly independent authority given to
Vicente Sodro that the offei' was withdrawn, and Horn Vasco
da Gama, who had now the title of Admiral of the Eastern
Seas conferred upon liim, was selected for the post. On tlio
lOLh of Fobruaiy 1502 the fleet set sail from the Tagus, it
consisted of the five ships commanded 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, hut
were not then ready for sea, and did not sail until the Ist 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
lie 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 edl
except one commanded by Antonio do Campo, that was some-
where behind. Here he sent Vicente Sodre on to Mozambique
with the ten largest vessels, and with the four smallest he
steered for Rofala, in accordance with instructions from the
king. He crossed the bar and anchored in front of the lower
villago, where ho exdianged coratesies and presents with the
Isuf and confirmed the agreement of friendship witli
but did not obtain much gold in barter. Horo ho 10 -
twenty-five days, making himself acquainted with the
and the particulars of the interior trade. When
one of his vessels struck on the bar and was lost, but
and cargo were saved.

0

i6o History of South Africa.

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 sliips nearly ready for aca. She was named
the Pomjaosa, and had been designed by the king to guard the
ooast 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 SerrSo was appointed
to command her. Zakoeja was then dead, and a much more
friendly or perhaps more timid governor filled Ms place, so
everything went on smoothly at Mozambique, where Da Gama
remained four days, and then set sail for Kilwo.

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 Ahraham to submission owing to what had happened to
Pedro Alvarea 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 zambneos, when Da
Gama caused him to be seized, and informed Mm that he
must become a vassal of Portugal and pay a yearly tribute of
two thousand maticals of gold, about £893 I 65 . English sterling
money, or he would he 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 compli-
ance with Da Gama’s terms. A hostage was given to the
admiral in the person of one Mohamed Ankoni, a man of rank
n 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 jealo^isy and ill will entertained towards him, paid
it himself to recover Ms freedom. The transaction does not
seem very conclusive now, but Da Gama was satisfied with it,
and Ejlwa was thereafter considered a vassal state of Portugal.

Shortly after this the squadron under Estevtto da Gama
joined the admiral. It had been becalmed off Sofala, and lay
at anchor outside the bar there from the 16th to the lYth of
July, hut did not attempt to enter the river, though smoke

Succeeding Voyages and Conquests. i6i

signals to do so were made &om tlie shore. From Kilwa tlie
admiral proceeded towards Meliude, but could not reach that
port owing to the currents, so anchored at a distance of about
thirty-four miles from it and by means of a messenger ex-
changed 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 mimber of pilgrims — including over
fifty women and children — she was proceeding to tlie Eed 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 after-
wards 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 1603, 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 he devoted to the
service of religion.

In 1603 three squadrons, each of three ^ps, were sent out,
respectively under Francisco d’Alhoquerque, Affonso d’Albo-
querque, 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 Bed seer, and
destroy all the Arab commerce that he could before proceeding
.to India. The captains who sailed under bis flag were Diogo
Fernandes Pereira and Buy Lourenpo Eavaaco, but before
I'eochiag the Gape of Gkiod Hope the three ships separated

0 2

1 62 History of South Africa.

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 rook, nearly throe thousand six hundred
feet in height, with its top making a level line more than a
mile and a half in length on the sky. This grand mountain
was hanked 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 he without people, but after a while
some Hottentots made their appearance, from whom a cow
and two sheep were purchased. The natives 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 oUmhed 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. Ikom its summit he could see the sheet of water
now known as Palse Bay, and on the isthmus connecting
the Gape peninsula with the mainland some lakelets were
visible, These he mistook for the mouth of a large liver
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
tt^Snceforih called after him Agoada de Saldanha, the watering
place of Saldanha, until a century later it received ite present
name, of Table Bay,

Succeeding Voyages and Conquests. 163

The sHp commanded by Diogo Fernandes Pereira was
separated from the other two in a stoimi 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 X504 set in, when she went on to India.

Iluy Lourenjo Eavasoo 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 AMcan
coast. He was ahead of the commodore, and continued on
his course round the Gape of Good Hope until he reached
Mozambique, where he took in refreshments, and then pro-
ceeded to EHwa, 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. Eavasco, who was xitterly fearless,
even ventured to drop anchor before the town of Zanzibar,
where he attacked a large force coUeoted for its defence, and
won a battle in which among others the heir to the govern-
ment of the island was killed. The ruler then begged for
peace, and agreed to pay a yearly tribute of one hundred
maticala of gold — ^£44 13s. — and thirty sheep to the king

of Portugal,

Eavasco next went to the assistance of the fiiendly town
of Melinde, which was threatened by a Momhasan army.
While thus engaged he captured some vessels in which he
found the principal members of the government of Brava,
whom he compeBed to ransom thedr persons and to agree
that their town should pay a yearly tribute of £223 8 s, 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, hut 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.

164 History of South Africa.

In 1604 a fleet of thirteen ahips wae sent from Portugal
to India under command of Lopo Soares d’Alhergaxia. 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 tahen from captured prizes, Lopo Soares touched at
KQwa, and demanded from the emir Abraham the tribute
tlien due. The emir refused to pay it, and no attempt was
made to force liim to do eo. 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. Prom
Mozambique the two fastest sailing ships, under command of
Pedro de Mendonga 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 Mendonpa ran ashore at night
some distance west of the watering place of Sao Bras, and
was lost with all her crew. Lopo Soares reached the Tagus
again on the 22nd of July 1606, after the most successful
voyage yet made.

And now a great stop 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, Cananox, Anjediva, Elwa, and Sofala, and the main-
tenance of two aimed fleets, one to keep the seas from Cape
Guardafui to the gulf of Cambay, the other from the gulf
of Cambay to Gape Comorin, which would give him absolute
control of the whole commerce of ‘Western India and Eastern
.Mrica. 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 Indiaii wares of every kind. These
ivexe 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,

Succeeding Vc^ages and Conquests. 165

wliose merchants dre-w their supplies from the great wai’ehouses
on its hanks. 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 i-egular
pay was fifteen shillings and four pence a month, with food or
seven slullings and eight pence a month maintenance money;
hat each one received in India every year in addition three
hundred and thirty pounds avoirdupois of pepper, which he was
I)ei-mitted to send home in the king’s ships to be sold on liis
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 dutie.s. 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 three pence halfpenny
a pound when sold for coin, bnt if bartered for European
goods or provisions it produced many times as much as it
.would to-day.

To carry out the king’s design a great fleet was made ready,
in wliich 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 everytliing that would be needed for the object
in Aiew had been carefully provided. A capable officer, named
TristSo da Cunha, was selected ah bead of the expedition, but
when all was in readiness for leaving he was seued 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 Ahrautes and
brother of the bishop of Coimbra, He was a man of valour,
'who had distinguished liimself in various positions, and who
was generally esteemed for his probity and generosity. The
iustntctions issued to ' him provided that he should be styled
chief captain and governor until the several fortres.ses were

1 66 History of South Africa,

built, after wMoh 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 sliips. Another
gentleman, named Pedro Ferreira Fogapa, 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 ICilwa, 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.

On the 25iih of March 1505 Dom Francisco d’Ahneida set
sail, from Belem. Kever 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 fl,eet 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
sliips 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 6 th of April the fleet arrived at Cape Verde, and
after taking in water at some harbours on that coast, left on
the 16th. 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 Papanha, and with
the remaining fourteen Dom Francisco tried to push , on more

Succeeding Voyages and Conquests. 167

c[iiickly. On the 6tli of May in a heavy sea the ship com-
manded by Pedro PeiTeira Poga^a was obseryed to be sinking,
and her crew were hardly rescued when she went down with
nearly everything on board. The Gape 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 sMps were covered with snow. Turning
now to the north-eastward, without touching anywhere on the
way himself, but sending two ships under Gonpalo de Paiva
and PernSo Bermudes to Mozambique for information, Dom
Francisco d' Almeida reached Kilwa on the 22nd of July.
His squadron was intact, except the vessels dotached and one,
of which JoJto Serrao was captain, that Lad parted from him
in a gale.

Joilo da Hova, 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
^6 fllagship 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 Jo5o
da Nova to meet Dom Prancisoo 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, ho 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.

Tliereupon Dom Prandsco resolved to take forcible possession
of the place. To do this, at early dawn in the morning of tlio
24th he landed at the head of three hundred men at one point,
and his son Dom Lourengo d’Almeida with two hundred at
another, when each marched towards the lesidence of the emir.

1 68 History of South Africa.

Hardly any resistance was offered, except in one of tlie 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 ootdd carry away.
The residence of the emir, -which was in a commanding
position, was thus easily secured, after -which the Tranoisoan
friars in the fleet landed and set up a cross, before which the
canticle Te Dmm Laudamm was chanted, and when this was
concluded the place was given up to plunder. A great
q^iiantity of calico, spices, and other Indian produce, as well
as ivory, ambergris, and African provisions, was coUeoted 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 commander himself included,
joined with alacrity in the task of carrying stones and earth,
and lightened the lahom* -svith 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 os it was, except by ohanging the person
at the head of the administration, and to permit the inhabi-
tants of the town to return and resume possession of their
houses in peace and security, pro-vided they would accept the
ne-w ruler appointed by him. The emir Abraham, being a
usTliper, had no strong hold upon the attections of the people,
tod they consented readily to his heing displaced. Between
him and Mohamed Ankoui, who has been mentioned before,

169

Succeeding Voyages and Conquests,

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 Pranciaco, 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 hod 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 hiohamed Aukoni 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 — ^lie stipulated that
on his death the heir of the last legitimate ruler, the- youth
who had been kept out of liis inheritance by the emir
Abraham, should take his place. To this Dom Francisco
agreed, attributing the proposal to the new' goodness

of disposition. Mohamed Ankoni made oath to pay the
^ibute imposed by Dom Yasco da Gama fully and regu-
larly, and in all respects to act as a loyal and faithful vassal
of Portugal. In this manner the difBculty of government,
which the conquerors were too few in number to take upon
themselves, was satisfactoiily overcome.

Pedro Feireira Fogaja was instaUed as captain of the fortress,
with Francisco Coutinho as magistrate, and FernSo 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 SBo Thiago os a garrison. Instructions
were given that a small vessel which wus being constructed of
timber brought from Lisbon and the caravel under command of
Gonjalo Vaz de Goes, then in the squadron under Manuel
Pafanha, should be kept to guard the coast as far down as
Sofala, making Kilwa their home station and base of opera-
tions. Thus was commenced the Portuguese douiinioii on the
coast of Eastern Afidco, and in tha Indian sea as well, for
Fort Sao Thiago was the first stronghold built and gari'isoued
anywhere beyond Angola.

170 History of South Africa,

WMle these events -were talcing place the strayed ship under
Joao Serrao arrived, and also the two under Gonpalo 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 affaira in India and of his successful voyage,
which gave much satisfaction to Dorn Francisco and those
with him. Nothing more now remaining to be done at Kilwa,
on the 8th of August the fleet set sail, and in the evening
of the 13th oast anchor outside the bar of Mombasa.

Gonpalo 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 harboiu’,
"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 fli;e
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 soimdings were
then completed, and it was ascertained that the fleet could
enter without danger.

Thereupon Dom Frandsco d’ Almeida stood . into the harbour
and anchored his ships iu 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 end
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 renegade
— called out to him to inform the captain general that the
warriors of Mombasa were not like the hens of Kilwa to
he frightened at the sound of artillery, as he would find if,
he attempted to enter the town, Ikom an inhabitant of
the place who was taken prisoner by some boats that were

Succeeding Voyages and Conquests. 171

sent up the strait, it Tvas 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 JoSo Serrao was severely wounded and two others
were killed with poisoned mtows, Dom Krancisco next pre-
tended to be preparing to attack the town in a particular
place opposite bis main squadron, and even sent his son Dom
Loureufo 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
hna-d fighting. Dom Louren^o carried out these instructions,
hut lost two men killed and many wounded in doing so. By
^is 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 neeirly
the whole Portuguese force, after having received absolution
from the priests, left the ships in boats to attack Mombasa.
One division, under Dom Lourenpo, went straight ashore to
the front of tiie town, whecre the skirmish had taken place,
and for a time was believed by the defenders to constitute
the whole body of assailants. Another, but much srnaBeT*
division, rowed up the strait to the vessels from India, to
sound trumpets and make aa much noise as possible, in order
to draw the attention of the enemy to that point. This, how-
ever, was only a feint, for the principal attacking force, xmder
the captain general in person, leaving the smaller squadron
which was anchored off the inner and 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

172

History of South Africa.

that huge boulders could be rolled down them, and where
arrows were discharged from the -windows and stones hurled
from the hat roofs until the Poituguese 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 them
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 sat 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 hea-yy punishment of a people
whose chief offence was refusing to surrender their inde-
pendence, Dom Francisco d’ Almeida was for his day a humane
man. None of those revolting mutilations and harbarities
practised hy the great Affonso d’AlbocLuerq[ue on similar occa-
sions, and which must ever stain the memory of his name,
were inflicted upon the cap-tLves who, trembling with fear,
were brought before the victorious captain general. He selected
two htmdred to he retained in bondage, and set the others at
liberty. This was regarded as magnanimity in the early years
of the sixteenth century, and particnlaxly so when dealing
with Mohamedans,

The caravel commanded hy Gonpalo Yaz de Goes was laden
with calico, part of the spoil, and sent to Mozamhiqiie to he
ready for the trade of Sofala whmi 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 Christiaus retired.

173

Succeeding Voyages and Conquests.

It was the intention of Dom Franciaco d’Almeida to put
into Melinde nextj to greet the friendly ruler of that town,
but the currents carried him beyond it, so he anchored in a
bay about twenty-fiTO imles farther on, where he found two
of the ships of the squadron under Manuel Pajanha. Prom
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 Bom Prancfeco witli
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 huilt
and garrisoned, after which the captain general tooh the title
of viceroy. The whole of the squadron under Manuel Papanha
had ijreviously joined him, except one ship, commanded by
Lopo Sanches, which it was afterwards ascertained had been
wrecked near Cape Correntes, and another, under Lucas
d’Affonseca, 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
TristSo da Cunlia, and the otiier, of five ships, was under
Affonso d’Alboquerque. On the passage the islands of TristSo
da Gmiha were discovered and part of the coast of Madagascar
was explored, Mozambique was txniohed 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 seventy miles
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 aide ; but it was without a hoi'bour. To please the friend
of Portugal, TrisUio da Cunho rindertook to reduce it. He
sailed to the place, and having anchored in the roadstead, sent
a message ashore demanding an interview with the ruler aud
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

1 74 History of Sotdh Africa.

to the prophet Mohamed, and vsnthont whose permiasiou he
conltl have no dealings with strangers who were acting ua
enemies. The next day the Portirguese landed in two divi-
sions, under TriatSo da Ounha and Affonso d’Alboquerque, and
without much difficulty defeated the inhabitants and killed the
sheik. The town was then plimdered and set on fire, when
the flames spread so q^uiokly that several soldiers who were
still seeking spoil lost their lives.

The fleet then proceeded to Lamu, a town of no great im-
portance about sixty miles 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. M. To
this the Portuguese officers agreed, when the amount for that
year was at once delivered, together with a < 3 [uanlity of pro-
visions, so no damage was done to the town or its people.

Brava, one of the strongest cities on the coast, was ne-xt
aimed at. Some of the principal men of this place had been
captured in trading vessels by Buy Louren^o Eavasoo in 1603
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 TriatSo da Ounha end Affonso d’Alhoquerque,
Diogo Pewandes Pereira, captain of the ship Ceme, 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 wamors were
negroes, whose weapons were assagais and hows and arrows, so
the display by no means intimidated the Portuguese.

At dawn the next morning TristSio da Ounha and Affonso
d’Alhoquerque 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
spqU.' was immense. ShooMng barbarities were committed by
sOihe of the soldiers, who even cut off the hands of the Arab
women to get the silver armrings which they wore, Ent such

Smceeding Vcyages and Conqmsts, 175

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 drowniag of a number of soldiers was a manifestation
of God’s wrath upon the evil doers for their excesses in muti-
lating the unfortunate females. After Brava was plundered it
was given to the flames, and was left a smouldesring mass
of ruins.

Tliis was by no means an end of the Portuguese conquests
on the eastern coast of Africa, but formidable military opposi-
tion 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 beheved 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 Euiventurers thus lay elsewhere.
They had as opponents the ruler of CaUout, 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 ont a great war

fleet on the shores of the Bed sea, which ha placed under

command of a native of Kurdistan, named Hocem 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, helouging to all the nationalities of the
Levant.

Dom Louren^o d’Almoida, who was in command of a
squadron of considerable strength, was at anchor in the
harbour of Chaul whon the emir Hocem sailed in and attacked
bim. He defended himself successfully until a fleet from
Diu arrived also, when the opposing force became so dispro-
portionate to his own that no hope was left except that
of escape. Most of his ships managed to get. away, hut his
own grounded, and after a desperate combat was taken when
nearly every man on hoard was either dead or wounded. The.

1 ’

176

History of South Africa,

young oommaader — ^he was not twenty-one yeaxs of age — was
among the dead. During the action one of Ms legs was badly
hurt by a cannon ball, but he had it hastily bandaged, and
then took a seat by the maiamast of Ms ship and continued to
issue orders until he was struck in the breast by another ball,
when he fell back dead.

Por a short time the Egyptian flag was supreme, but the
viceroy collected all Ms ships of war, and with a much
stronger force than Ms gallant son had commanded, he sailed
from Oananor against Ms foe. On the 2nd of February 1509
a great naval battle was fought off Diu, wMeh 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 1638 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 6th of November 1509 Affonso d’Altaoq^uerque succeeded
the viceroy Dom Francisco d’ Almeida, 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 un-
willingly; perhaps it would not have been made even then,
for many officers of note supported the viceroy in resisting
D’Alboquerque’s claims, hut the arrival of a powerful fleet
tmder the marshal Dom Fernando Ooutinho 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 FronoiscQ d'Almeida favoured the main-
tenance of a powerful fleet to command the sea, and was
apposed to the establishment of many fortresses on land, as
too heavy a hiirden for the little kingdom of Portugal to
bear. AJfonso d’Alboq^uerque was imbued with imperialistic
ideas i he desired a great territorial domimon, wMch he be-
. eoMd be easily maintained, owing to the rivalries i and

^uds among, the various nationalities' in the East. ‘ In 1619

Succeeding Voyages and Conquests.

177

he reduced G-oa to submission and made it the capital of
Portuguese India, of which the coast of Africa formed part.

Dom Prancisco d’Almeida sailed from Cochin on the 19th
of Hoyember 1509 in the ship Qarga, of which Diogo d'TTnhos
was master, with the Bdem, commanded by Jorge de Mello
Pereira, and the Santa Drug, commanded by Louranjo de
Brito, in his company. On board these vessels were also the
high offlciala 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 Bde^n 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 in-
dividuals 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 reUaved and he thanked God that
tl\pir 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 foxmd 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 iu such a
friendly maimer that twelve or thirteen Portuguese subsequently
requested and., obtained leave to acedmpany the natives to their
kraal, which was at a distance three or four miles, 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 wbat 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 iu a miauudeistanding. At any
rate a servant of D’Almeida and one of Jorge de MelLo
Pereira, with some others, were severely handled in the fray,
and on their return presented themselves befoie their masters
with their faces covered vrith blood.

T 2

178 History of Smith Africa.

At once a clamour for vengeance was raised by most of the
ofBicers, though Lourenpo de Brito, Jorge de Mello Pereira, and
Martim Ooelho were of opinion that no notice should he
taken of the matter, as very likely their own people were at
fault ; but the others maintained that it was necessary to imbue
the natives with respect for Bnropeans, and prevailed upon the
late viceroy to consent to an attack upon the Hottentot Icraal.
Accordingly 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 Port
Craig. A few were armed with crossbows, hnt 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 Ms age at the time. Hiogo d’Unhos, master of the
Cfarfo,, 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 Hottentols,
about a hrmdred and seventy in number, attacked them with
stones and assagais of fire hardened wood, against wMch their
weapons proved useless, so they were obliged to retreat in
disorder towards the hosts. 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 effact. Many were killed on the way to the beach,
and &ose 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 Prancisoo d’ Almeida and several
others of high rank stood at the mercy of the incensed
Hottentots. The royal standard was committed to the care of
Jcntge de Mello Peremi, who, however, was unable to save it,
and just after handing it to him the late viceroy, already

Succeeding Voyages and Conquests. 179

wounded with sticks and stones, fell pierced in the throat with
an assagai.

By this time there had perished the captains Pedro Barreto de
MagalhSes, Lourenpo de Brito, Manuel TeUes, Martim Coelho,
Antonio do Campo, Prancisoo Coutinho, Pedro Teixeii,*a, PemSo
Pereira, end Gaspar d’Aluieida. Diogo Pires, who had been
Dom Lourenfo d’Almeida’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 feR 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 MeRo Pereira landed with
Diogo d’Hnhos and a party of men to bury the dead. The
corpses bad been stripped of clothing, and that of Dom
Francisco d’Almeida had been out open. Those lying on the
shore were haslaly interred, but the others were not sought,
os time was wanting and to move inland was considered
dangerous. Early on the following morning the three ships set
sail for Portugal.

In 1512 OhristovSo de Brito, when returning homeward, put
into the watering place of Saldanha to visit the grave of his
brother, who had faRen 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,
hut 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
Srft River,

1 8o History of South Africa.

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 observations were usually very inoorroct. On this
acoount 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 pmnly
imaginary. And so with many other names. Still a consider-
able number can be determined with exactitude, and remain in
use to the present day, though generally in on English' form.
Such are the following : St. Helena Bay, Table Mountain, Cape of
Good Hope, False Bay, Cape Agulhas, Natal, St. Lucia Bay, Cape
Correntos, 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.

There is great tUffloulty in oorreotly converting Portuguese money
of the sixteenth century into its English equivalent of the present day,
hecouse the real (plural reis), in -which accounts -were usually kept, has been
constantly changing in velue. At the time of the diecovery of the sea route
to India it -was -worth a little more than an English farthing, at the present
moment it is -valued at less than one-twentieth of a penny. Thus to express
a certain number of reis at any given time in modem sovereigns and
shillings, it is necessary to kno-w what was indioated by a real at that
particular time. The rate of exchange, if that could be ascertained, would
not eufiice, because English coin in the sixtemith and seventeenth centuries
was never worth its face value abroad, on account of its being eo generally
clipped. Another difficulty when dealing -ivith South-Eastern Africa arises
from the fadt that hardly any coined money was in circnlation, the matical,
mitical, or mithkal as variously -writtraj, which was a certain quantity in
-weight of fine rough gold, being the standard of exchange. This mstical
diffiered from that of India, where it represented about seventy-three grains,
■while at Mozambique and Sofala, according to Antonio Nunes, who prepared
tables , of money, weights, and measures' in 1654, it was taken to represent
four himdr^ and sixty-seven r«s. Barros also gives five hundred, maticals
as equal to five hundred and eighty-four cruzados of four hundred reie each.

Succeeding Voyages and Conquests. i8i

The curator of the coin department of tlie British Museum did me the
great favour of accurately ureighing a number of Portuguese gold coins of
the reigns of Manuel, JoSio lH, and SebastiSo, and giving me their value in
reis at the time of issue, the pmity of the metal being about the same as
that of the present Bnglish sovereign. The coins of Manuel and Ja3o III
were slightly worn, and showed one real to weigh *108 of a groin Troy. One of
Sebastitio was in perfect condition, and weighed ‘ 118 of a grain Troy to the real.
Another of the some monarch, ^ghtly worn, gave '1166 of a grain Troy to
the real The x>rosent Bnglisli sovereign weighs 123 '27447 grains Troy, and
is therefore equal in intrinsic value to nearly 1044' 7 reis at the time that
Castanheda, Bairus, and De Goes wi-ote. On this basis I have converted the
real during the part of the sixteenth century preceding the death of King
8ebaeti&o into Bnglish money at the rate of '2207 of a penny, and have
valued the matioal at eight shillings and eleven pence fai thing. I know
of no better %vay of dealing with this question, still it may bo as well for
the reader to consider the sums mentioned as only .approximatoly corioct.
Of course this matter has no hearing whatever upon the relative value of
gold to other commodities in the early years of the sixteenth century and the
present time.

The late Sir Henry Yule by a difterent method from that here followed
found the value of the real at different times to bo:

At the beginning of the 16th century . '268d.

At the beginning of the 17th ceutuiy . '160d.

At the beginning of the 19 th century . '060d. to '0€6d.

In 1886 -oeOd.

He also gives the value of the ooin called S3o ThomS, of one thousand
rds, struck by Garcia de 84 in the mint at Goa when he was governor
general of India in 1648-9, as £1 2s. 4d., or one real equal to '268d.

See Eoham-Jobton! leing a Q-lossary of Anglo-Indian Gollogwtal Worda
and JPkraset, and of Kindred Terms ; Ktgmological, Sistorieal, Cfeegraphical,
and Discursive. By Col. Hem-y Yule, B.B., C.B,, LL.P., and the late
Arthur Coke Bumell, Ph.D„ OJ.E. An ootavo volume of 870 + xlviii
pages, Looldon, 1886. Article Pardao, page 837.

Bor ioformation upon the real see also the Vbcdbulario Portugues e
Latino, by Padre P. Baphaol Bluteau. Lisboa, 1720. Article Seal.

Another, and still greater, difliculty in giving values arises from the fact
that the Portuguese historians are not in all cases in agreement as to
amounts. Thus Castanheda and De Goes state that the tribute to be paid
yearly by the ruler of Kilwa was two thousand maticals of gold, while
Bartos states that it was Qve hundred. In such esses there is no other
course to adopt than tp decide by the balance of evidence, the weight due
to the testimony of each narrator, and the probability as to which is correct.
In this instance 1 give the preference to Pe Goes on account of bis position
os Keojior of the Archives.

1^2

history of South Africtt,.

CHAPTEE -VIII.

OCOTIPATION OP SOPAJjA AND MOZAMBIQDK.

Ekom the, data of Vaaoo da Gama’s return from Ms first Toyage
to India rumours concerning the gold of Sofala had fascinated
the minds of all classes of men in Portugal, Those rnmours
greatly exaggerated the quantity of the precious metal actually
obtainable, and all the difficulties of acquiring it were lost
sight of. It was believed that nothing needed to be done except
to replace the Mohamedans -with Christian traders, when
enormous wealth would flow into the national treasury. Dif-
ferent efforts, 03 has been related, were made from time to
time not only to acquire accurate information, but also to get
possession of the gold trade; and Sancho de Toar and Da
Gama himself on their visits to Sofala had obtained much
knowledge, though before 1605 all attempts to secure the
commerce of that place had failed.

Dom Eraucisoo d’Almeida was to have erected a fortress
there, but Pedro d'Anaya, who had been selected as its captain
by the king, lost the ship in wMoh he was to have sailed by
her sinking in the Tagus, and was thus unable to accompany
the fleet. After its departure the original design was enlarged,
and it was determined to make ready a squadron of six sMps
with wMoh ho should proceed to Sofala. When the fortress
was completed three of these were to be sent on to India,
and the otheo; three, under Erancdscc d’Anaya as commodore,
were to be kept to guard the Adfiican coast. On board these
sMi^ everything was laden' that could he needed for the
eqmplhent of the fortress, as well as a stock of merchandise
for the purpose of barter, and on the 18th of May 1605 they

sailed from the Tagus. Pedro d’Anaya was in command of the
Santo JSqiirito, the largest in the squadron. The other captains
were his son Pranoiaco d’Anaya, Pedro Barreto de Magalhaes,
JoSbO Leite, JoSio de Queiroz, and Manuel Fernandes, the last
of whom was appointed factor at Sofala.

On the passage, when off Sierra Leone, JoSlo Leite, while en-
deavouring to harpoon a fish, fell overboard and was drowned.
The crew then elected Jorge Mendes to be their captain. In
heavy weather some of the ships got separated from the
commodore, who ran so far south to make sure of passing
the Cape of Good Hope with a westerly wind that the men
could not work the sails on account of the cold, but he was
soon in warm latitudes again, and early in September arrived
off the bar of Sofala with the ships commanded by bis son
and Manuel Fernandes. There he anchored, and awaited the
appearance of the remamder of his squadron before entering
the river.

The next to arrive were the Santo Antonio, under command
of Jorge Mendes, and the Sao Paulo, of which Jotto de Queiroz
was captain when she left Portugal. They brought word that
De Queiroz, after parting from the others in a storm, put
into a curve on the South African coast then named Baliia
das Vacas, now Flesh Bay,* and being in want of meat, pro-
ceeded two or three miles inland with twenty of his people in
searob of cattle, Antonio do Oampo, when returning from
India, had touched at the same place, and though treated in a
friendly manner by the natives, had seized several of them and

* JoSo de Btuxoa states that this took plocs at the present Delagoa Bay, which
he terms Bio da Lagoa, and fixes its position as about two hundred and fifty
miles south of Cape Correntes, DamiSo de Goes and Feritilo Lopes de Oastanheda
state that it took i^lace at the Bahia das Yacas, Manuel de Mesquita Fereatrdlo,
in the report of his survey of the South airican coast, also gives this as the
eoene of the occurrence. It is possible that Barros may hare falten into an error
through there being then a bay named Alogoa on the southern seaboard, as may
he seen in the EsmercUdo de &tu Orhie of Duarte Pacheco, written before the
death of King Manuel, in which its position is given as fifteen leagues east
of the watering-place of Sdo Bras, that is the locality of the present Plettenberg’s
Bay. I'hn descriprion of the Bahia Alagoa of Pacheco also answers to Pletten-
heig’s Bay.

184 History of South Africa,

carried them a^ay, so that De Quehoz fotuid them hostile.
They attacked him, and in a skirmish he and fifteen of Hs
party, including the sailing master and the pilot of his ship,
■were killed. Only the secretary, AntSo de Gd,, who was badly
wounded, and four others escaped. There was no one left who
could navigate the ship, but fortunately she fell in with the
Sm.ta Antonio, and Jorge Mendes sent on board his sailing
master and as captain a gentleman named JoSo Vaz d'Almada,
who conducted her to Sofala.

The last to arrive was the ship commanded by Pedro Barreto
de Magalhaes, She anchored near Cape Saint Sehastitm, and
as her pilot was unacquainted with the shoal of Sofala and
would not venture upon it, Antonio de MagalhSes, brother of
the captdn, was sent in a boat to seek assistance from any
vessel that might have reached her destinatiou. On the way
he put into a river, where he found five half famished Portu-
guese, who had a doleful story to tell.

They had belonged to the ship of Lopo Sanches, which
had sailed ftom the Tagus with Dom Francisco d’AJmeida.
South of Gape Oorrentes stormy weather was encountered, and
the ship became so leaky that she could not be kept afloat, so
she was run ashore to save the lives of her people. An ahim-
dance of provisions was saved, and also ample material to build
a caravel, but discord arose and the authority of Lopo Sanches
was completely disregarded. After a time sixty men set out
to travel overland to Sofala, where they hoped to find a
Portuguese fort in course of erection, and the others remained
at the wreck constructing a caravel. Of these last nothing was
ever heard again. Those marching overland suffered so terribly
from hunger that they became scattered, and most of them
perished. The five found hy Antonio de Magalhttes had been
living for twenty days upon raw crabs alone. They were taken
into the heat, and conveyed to the flag ship anchored outside
the bar of Sofala.

. Pedxo d’ Anaya at, once sent the vessel under Joao Vaz
d’Ahnada with , 1 ihe pilot of the Sao Joao, Francisco d’Anaya’s
shi p,* to the assistance of Pedro Barreto de MagalhSes, with

Occupation of So f ala and Mozambique. 185

whose arrival some days later the squadron was complete. He
then made arrangements for entering the river. The two largest
ships were left outside, and with the four smallest he crossed
the bar and cast anchor in front of the lower Mohamedan
village. The real condition of things there at the time seems
to have been unknown to him. In point of fact, the true
owner of the land was a Bantu chief, and the Mohamedans
were living at the port on sufferance and payment of tribute
in the form of yearly presents, but he regarded Isuf os the
sovereign proprietor whose consent alone was necessary to enable
him to build a fort without the use of arms.

As soon as he had dropped anchor some of the principal
inhabitants went on board, and desired to know the object of Ms
visit, to wliich ha replied that he wished to have a conference
with the sheik. To this they at first raised many objections,
such as the distance to his residence, the great age and infirmity
of the sheik, and the impossibility of the ships going farther
up the narrow river; but at last they consented, and went in
advance to prepare for the captain's reception. D'Anaya
fbllowed them with a large number of aimed attendants, in
boats decorated with flags and with trumpeters sounding their
instruments.

Having arrived at the upper village, he lauded and proceeded
to the sheik’s residence, where he was courteously received. In
the large hall were gathered the leading men of the place,
clothed from the waist downward with calico wrappers, with
silken turbans on their heads, and soimitars with ornamented
ivory handles at their sides. In a recess hung with cloth of
silk at the upper end of the hall, Isuf, a man of large stature,
but infirm, blind, and about seventy years of age, reclined on
a cushioned couch, or as it would be termed in South Africa

a katel, made by stretching thouj^ of hide across a frame of
was more richly dressed than the others, and frail
had still a stately and commanding appearance,
laving his soldiers in the courtyard, which was ea-
thick thorny hedge, with the officers entered the
vere seated on low three-legged

1 86 History of South A/ncct,

stools, rose and bowed to salute him, and he passed tlirough. to
the couch of the sheik.

The people of Sofala had heard of the occurrences at Kilwa
and Mombasa, and were divided in opinion as to how they
should act. Mengo Musaf, a son-in-law of Isuf, was at the
head of a party that wanted to resist the Christians by force,
but another party was filled with fear, and the old sheik
thought it wiser to rely upon the effects of the climate rather
than upon arms. He therefore greeted H’Anaya apparently in
a moat friendly manner, and when the captain spoke to him
of the advantages to be gained by the establishment of a
Portuguese fort and trading station, and by his coming under
the protection of the king of Portugal, taking care to draw
his attention to the fact that Ms villages had often been
pillaged by Bantu clans in the neighbourhood, he professed to
agree with what was said, and gave Ms consent to the erection
of the proposed buildings. He stated that he was a friend of
Europeans, and as a proof twenty Portuguese whom he had
rescued from starvation were brought forward by Ms order and
restored to the society of their countrymen. They were the
only remaining survivors of the sixty who had left the wrecked
ship of Lopo Sanches, and who hod gone through almost in-
credible suffering in tbeir overland journey.

There were feuds between nearly all the Mohamedan settle-
ments on the ooast, and not only that, but in each of them
there were jealousies among the pimcipal inhabitants, which
made them an easy prey to the Portuguese. It was so at
Sofala. At this place there was living a man named Acote,
an Abyssinian by birth, who had been made a captive when
he was only ten years of age, and who hod embraced the
Mohamedan faith from necessity rather than choice. He had
come to occupy a position of influence, and was at the head
of a patty at variance with Mengo Musaf, Isufs son-in-law.
As the one advocated armed resiat^oe to the Portuguese, the
.other acted as their friend, and now Acote offered Ms services
to'- the Christians. Through him D’ Anaya engaged a number
of 'Btotu who were at Sofala, and on the 2l8t of September

Occupation of So/ala and Mommbique. 187

1605 set about building a fort on a sand-flat on the northern
bank of the river near its mouth. It was in the form of a
square, large enough to oontam barracks for the garrison, store-
houses, a warehouse for goods, and quarters for the officers.
Jlo atone was procurable near at hand, so a moat, a hundred
and twenty paces long on each side, was dug, and the earth
taken out was formed into a waU, which was supported by
stakes and beams of mangrove wood. The structure was thus
of the roughest description, but it was regarded as sufficiently
strong for defence until time and favourable circumstances
would permit of something better taking its place.

After three months’ labour the fort and the buildings within
it were completed. The heaviest work, suoh as carrying wood
from the mangrove swamps, was performed by the blacks,
though on one occasion they were induced by Mengo Musaf
to desert for several days. Acote continued to assist, and the
Portuguese, who were spared as much as possible from severe
toil, were not as yet stricken with much sickness. In the
mean time the vessel commanded by Gonjalo Vaz de Goes,
which Dom Francisco d'Almeida had sent from Mombasa with
a cargo of calico, part of the spoil of that town, arrived in the
river. Her lading together with the stores and merchandise
brought from Portugal was then taken on shore, and the three
largest ships were made ready to proceed to Inffia. Gonpalo
Alvares, previously chief pilot, was appointed oaptaiu of the
^api/Hto, mid smled with JoEo Yaz d’Almada and Pedro
Barreto de MagalhSes, the latter acting as commodore. They
were to report themselves to the viceroy, under whose direc-
tions they were to take in cargoes of pepper and return to
lishon. On crossing the bar of Sofala the commodore's boat
was lost with most of the men in her and the chest of money
intended for the purchase of the pepper, and in leaving Kilwa,
where he put in, he had the further misfortune of losing hia
ship.

A few days after the, departure of this squadron Francisco
d’ Anaya was sent with the Sao Jo5o and the Sao Paulo to
cruize along the coast, and with him the vessel under

i88

History of South Africa,

Gonpalo Vaz de Goes and the remaining one that had come
from Portugal went to Mozambique. On liis passage north-
ward he captured a ship from India laden with calico, and
ha'ving sixty Mohamedana on board. This ship was subse-
quently wrecked, when he caused all the prisoners to be put
to death, through fear of their rising against him. A zambuoo
laden with ivory also fell into his hands, and her crew shared
the fate of the others. But Ms ruthless barbarity was soon
checked. Both the Bao Joao and the Sao Pmlo were lost, one
at Mozambique and the otlier a little farther north, and the
commodore, on arriving at Kilwa in the captured zambuco,
was put under arrest by Pedro Perreira Fogapa on a charge
of carelessness in the king's service. He was permitted, how-
ever, soon afterwards to proceed to India to be tried there.

At Sofala fever, wMoh had not been very prevalent at
first, now began to spread to an alarming extent, and at the
close of the year the greater number of the men composing
the garrison were laid up with it. A more wretched condition
than that in which they were, on the border of a mangrove
swamp, in a hot and pestilential atmosphere, drinking the
impure water of wells, and cut off from all companionship,
can hatrdly be imaged. Their mental and bodily suffering
must have been so great tliat death, which was stalking
among them, would be regarded as a relief. Trade was
earned on, for the factor Manuel Fernandes seemed to he
fever proof, hut the quantity of gold obtained in barter was
small compared with their earlier expectations or those of the
king. They had not even the satisfaction therefore of knowing
that their suffering was productive of pecuniary profit to the
treasury of their country.

While they were in this state, early in January 1606 Aoote
mformed Pedro d’ Anaya that the faction of Mengo Musaf
yrith Isufs concurrence had come to a determination to wait
no longer for fever to do its work, hut to drive away the
Chrisrians at once] and as they were afraid to make war
they had persuaded a Bantu clan to assist them in
the fort. That they had good cause to oppose the

Occupaiion of Sofala and Mozambique. 189

Portuguese, vlio were striving to wrest the commerce of the
country from them, is evident. But perhaps there was another
and stronger reason for their openly assuming a hostile
attitude. In the Legends of India Gaspar Oorrea states that
the treatment of the people of the country hy the Christians
was the cause of it, and on such a question his evidence is
certainly of great weight. He says they were treated worse
than slaves, and though the captain Pedro d'Anaya punished
some of the offenders when complaints were made to him, the
disorderly conduct of the soldiers went on increasing until at
length it caused hostilities. By none of the historians, it is
true, is there any reference made to immoral or overbearing
behaviour by the white men, but they were not given to finding
fault in such matters when only Mohamedans or heathens
were affected.

There was a Bantu clan in the neighbourhood of Sofala^
under a chief named Mokonde, who was induced by the
prospect of plunder to ally himself with the Mohamedans.
The two parties joined, and advanced against the fort, armed
with soimitaiB, assagais, and bows and arrows. There were at
the time only thirty-five Portuguese capable of bearing arms
inside, and even most of these were weak with fever; but
Acote had come to their assistance with about a hundred men,
and they were enclosed within walls on which artilleay was
mounted. The assailants fiUed the moat with wood, and tbpn
endeavoured to scale the wall, at the same time pouring in a
shower of arrows and assagais. Some of these weapons were
burning, the object being to set fire to the roofs of the
buildings, but Pedro d'Anaya had provided against this by
removing the thatch from the houses that were most exposed
and laying in a good supply of water. Very little harm was
done therefore beyond wounding a few of Acote’s people. On
the other side the defenders with their artilleiy and crossbows
caused such execution that the enemy, finding their efforts
useless to break down or get over the wall, after a time
began to mthdraw disoomfiteA Pedro d’Anaya with fifteen of
the b^altbiest Portuguese and some of Aoote’s followers t.bpT i

190 History of South Africa.

sallied out and attacked them with swords and lances, putting
them completely to flight.

During three days, however, they frequently renewed the
attack, though always with the same result, Their camping
ground was a palm grove at no great distance, within easy
range of the artillery, where some damage vras caused to them
not only by the balls but by splinters of wood from shattered
trees. D’Anaya hod two powerful dogs, which were of such
use in keeping watch by day and night and attacking the
enemy in sallies that he attributed his preservation largely to
them. In the end the Bantu, upou whom the principal part
of the fighting Ml, were suddenly seized with a conviction
that the Mohamedaus had brought them there purposely to
ensure their destruction, and under this impression they fled
homeward, plundering laufs village on their way.

That evening Pedro d’Anaya mustered as many men as he
could, and iu a large boat that he had went up the river.
His spies had informed him that Isufs residence was poorly
guarded, as no attack was expected from the fort on aceoupt
of the. sickness there. He proceeded straight to it, and met
little resistance as he forced .his way in; but the olji sheik,
though blind, s^ed an assagai from a bundle that he always
kept beside him, end hurled it in the direction of the
advancing footsteps. The captain was slightly wounded by it
in the neck, but in another instant Isufs head was rolling on
the ground, severed from his body by the sword of Manuel
Pernandes, With it as a trophy the Portuguese returned to
the fort, where it was set up on the point of a lance upon
the waU to strike awe into those who had been his subjects,

On the morning foEoyrag this daring raid the dain sheik’s
sons raised os large a force as they could and attacked the
fort again. But their efforts were fruitless, as they could not
get over the waU, and the defenders kept up a deadly fire
upon them, by which many were killed and wounded. Even
the sick assisted with their crossbows, danger, acting upon
thetu more powerfolly than medioiae. Having failed in’ this
attempt, the Mohainpdans began to quarrd. among themselves

Occupation of Sof ala and Mozambique. igi

as to 'who should be their ruler, and they actually applied to
the Portuguese to settle the question. Both Damiao de Goes
and Pemao Lopes de Gastanheda state that Pedro d’Anaya
made Acote sh.eik, in return for the services performed by
him, and the friar Joao dos Santos confirms this account and
relates that in 1586 he found people still living at Sofala
who remembered the building of the fort and the events that
followed it. But JoSo de Barros says that through Acote’s
influence a son of Isuf named Soleiman was made sheik, and
that he lived at peace with the Portuguese and in obedience
to them until 1507, when he was deposed by Vasco Gomes
d’Abreu, captain of Sofala, who selected one of his brothers
to succeed him. This brother and some of the principal
Mohamedans of the place, it is added, were subsequently
banished, as their presence was considered prejudicial to
Portuguese interests, and they all died in exile.

Such conflicting statements make it difficult to arrive at the
truth, and there are no origiaal documents relating to the
transaction to refer to. Very likely, however, Acote was made
sheik of the Emozaidi, os he is stated to have been of that
sect, and Soleiman sheik of the other Mohamedans; and as
the nominal authority of the sons of Isuf was lost so soon
afterwards, their names were speedily forgotten. However this
may be, Portuguese supremacy was so firmly estahlisbed that
the Mohamedans never again ventured to dispute it.

A few days after these occun-ences Pedro d’Anaya was
stricken with fever, of which he died. It was a custom at a
later date for every officer in command of a remote and
secluded station to carry with him a sealed letter from the
king, in which temporary successors were named in rotation,
so that in case of his death or disability some one would be
legally in charge until a new appointinent could be made.
There being no one at Sofala with such authority, the factor
Manuel Fernandes, who was the highest in rank of the,
officials at the fort, assumed the vacant position, He was a,
man of great energy, and with only the few sick and en-
feebled soldiers under his command he managed to build a

Q

192 History of South Africa.

strong stone toifyer at one of the comers of the fort. Carved
and dressed blocks for doors and windows had been brought
from Portugal, so only the plain work had to be done, but
the exeeixtion of this was regarded as so meritorious under the
circumstances that the king granted him as a reward a coat of
arms with a tower emblazoned on it surmounted by a sheik’s
head, in remembrance of his having killed Isuf.

A few months after Pedro d' Anaya left Lisbon a ship and a
caravel were fitted out to take supplies to Sofala and also to
search along the South African coast for the crew of Pedro de
Mendonpa’s wrecked vessel and for one in which Prancisco
d’Alboquetqne had sailed from India and that had not since
been heard of, Oyde Barhudo was in command of the ship,
with authority as commodore, and Pedro Quaresma was in
command of the caravel. The principal pilot had acted in the
same capacity under Lopo d’Ahreu, and had seen Pedro de
Mendonja’a ship in the position where she was supposed to
have been lost, consequently he knew what part of the coast
should be examined.

These vessels left the Tagus on the 10th of KTovamber 16(f6,
and ran down to thixl^Taeven degrees and a half south
latitude, when , they tamed to the noith'eaat expecting to make
the land beyond the Cape of Good Hope, but bo fax out were
they in th^ calculations that they reached the western coast
more than eight hundred miles north of Table Bay. Even at
the beginning of the sixteenth century there were few such
instances of error in navigation. Steering again to the south,
on the 18th of April 1506 they cast anchor at the watering
place of Saldanha, where they remained eight days, Cyde
Barhudo now removed to the caravel, taking his pilot with
him, in order to examine the coast, and Pedro Quaresma
assumed command of the ship. After sailing from Table Bay
they counted the pillars, as the expression then was,, that is
tiiay kept so close to the land during daylight that they could
see eveiylhing along it, and on the 2nd of May they reached
the watffldng place of SSo Bras, which they recognised by the,
hermitage built there by JoEo da Nova,

Occupation of Sofala and Mozambique. 193

As they had passed the coast some distance to the westward
by nightj Oyde Barbudo now tried to run back along it in
the caravel, but was unable to do so owing to a strong head
wind. He therefore again dropped anchor iu Mossel Bay, and
sent a convict and a ship’s boy to seai-ch along the shore.
After travelling three days along the beach they returned, and
stated that they had found a man’s skeleton and part of a
mast, beyond -which no information was ever obtained con-
cerning the lost ship of Pedro de Mendonpa. Her crew must
have perished, like many others in later years, in a land
inhabited only by barbarians. It was never known either
what was the fate of Francisco d’Alboguerque and those with
him, whether they went down at sea, or were wrecked on
some desolate coast and died there.

On the 16th of May the two vessels left the watering place
of Silo Bras, and keeping close to the shore whenever possible,
on the loth of June Oyde Barbudo arrived at Sofala and
Pedro Quaresma on the following day. They found the
fortress in the last stage of. distress. The captain Pedro
d’ Anaya, as has been already related, had died of fever, as had
also the magistrate and seventy-six of the soldiers, and the
provisions were nearly exhausted. Oyde Barbudo reinforced
the garrison and replenished the stores, and then sailed for
India, leaving Pedro Quaresma in the caravel to assist Manuel
Fernandes. This vessel was afterwards employed for a time in
plying between Sofala, Mozambiq^ue, and Hilwa, taking pro-
visions and goods from one place to another as they were
needed.

On his passage to India Oyde Barbudo touched at Kilwa,
where he found matters in a state of confusion. King Manuel
had issued instructions prohibiting barter by private persons
with KafBrs for gold, in order to seom-e the whole trade for
the royed treasury, and Pedro Ferreira Fogapa had fitted out a
couple of small vessels to assist in suppressing the traffic that
had thus become illegal Among other prizes made by them
was one on board of which was a son of the sheik of a small
settlement near Kilwa, and as he was a relation of the former

t94

Histoi^y of South Africa.

emir Abraham, the Portuguese captain kept him and his family
prisoners. Mohamed Ankoni, who wished to gain the goodwill
of his neighbours, hereupon ransomed the young sheik at his
own expense, made him presents of rich clotldng, and sent
him and his family to their home. The young man’s father
was profuse in expressions of gratitude, and invited Mohamed
to visit him, suggesting marriages between their children. The
Mug of Kilwa accepted the invitation, and was murdered while
he was lying asleep in the zambnoo in which he went. The
treacherous sheik, by whose order the deed was committed,
excused himself by saying that the duty of avenging the emir
Abraham, whose blood relative he was, was more binding upon
him than gratitude for a favour conferred by such a man as
Mohamed Ankoni.

At once there was a dispute as to the sucoession. A few of
the inhabitants of Kilwa and most of the Portuguese ofdcers
were in favour of Hadji Hooem, son of Mohamed Ankoni; but
Pedro Ferreira Fogaja and the great majority of the Mohamedan
people desired that Micante, the legitimate heir of the anci^t
rulers, should be appointed. The dispute aroused strong feeling
on both sides. The cessation of commerce caused by King
Manuel's ordei and the capture of their vessels under aUy pre-
tence by the Portuguese threatened ruin to the mercantile
class, so .that from one cause or the other large numbers of
people were leaving the town with the intention of settling
somewhere else, and it appeared as if Kilwa would soon be
uninhabited. This was the condition of things when Oyde
Baxbudo put into the harbour, and which he reported to the
viceroy soon as he arrived in India.

Horn Francisco d’Almeida immediately appointed a new staff
of officials for Sofala. He selected Huno Vaz Pereira, a man
of generally recognised ability, to be captain, and gave him in
addition large powers as commiBsiouer to settle affairs at
Kilwa. Huy de Brito Patalim accompanied him as chief
alcaide of tiie fortress, and Antonio Bapoao and Sancho Sanches
^ notaries. A number of gentlemen without office, who were
attached by Mendship to the new captain, also went with hiTti,

Occupation of Sofala and Mosambique. 195

Among these were Luis Maudes de Vasconcellos, Antonio de
Sousa, and FernSo MagalhSes who afterwards entered the ser-
vice of Oastile and discovered the strait which still hears his
name. Francisco d’Auaya at the same time returned to Sofala
to look after the property left hy his father. In order that
Pereira might appear in a manner befitting his dignity, the
viceroy sent two ships under hia flag, the one in which he
sailed himself and another commanded hy his nephew.

At the end of November 1606 he reached Mehnde, where
the Portuguese were always well received. The dependent
position of the ruler of that town is shown, however, hy his
receiving os a favour on this occasion permission to send under
forty pounds weight of Indian heads to Sofala to he exchanged
for gold. At Mehnde Nuno Yaz Pereira learned all particulars
of the condition of things at Kilwa. He saw at once that
Yitict Manuel’s order regarding trade was causing the depopula-
tion of the two places on the coast — Sofala and Kilwa — ^where
it could he enforced, owing to the presence of Portuguese
garrisons; and that elscAvhere it was having little effect beyond
exasperating the Mohamedans. In their light zamhucos the
people of aU the other settlements could run close along the
shore, and enter the rivers, particularly the Zambesi, where
they could cany on commerce without fear of capture. It
appeared to him that if the ocean was so guarded that supplies
of goods could not he obtained by sea from India, the traffic
would be diverted into a route mainly overland: it could not
he destroyed hy any force, which Portugal could furnish. On
the other hand, by permitting private trade the people of
Kilwa would remain there, and the king’s treasury would be
benefited, for they would pxurchase goods wholesale at the
Portuguese factory and pay for them in gold, ivory, and other

produce of, the country, Nuno Yaz Pereira therefore took upon
himself tbe ’|!6i|p.&UBibLlity of suspending the king’s order as far

as Kilwa'
carry on .
time of is
received' i

ed, and announced that its people might
in exactly the same manner as in the
aham until further instructions should be

1 t

196 History of South Africa.

This course of action had the desired effect. In the middle
of December the commissioner arrived at Kilwa, and vdth him
wre more than twenty zambucos filled with, emigrants returning
to their homes. He caused Mieante and Hadji Hoeem to
appear before him and state thdr cases, mid with them he
summoned all the principal men. of the town to express their
opinions and wishes. The general voice was in favour of
Moante, but to make it plain that the Portuguese had the
light of appointing any one they chose, as Hadji Hoeem pro-
duced the patent granted by Dorn Francisco d' Almeida to his
father, decision was given in his favour, and he was proclaimed
Tdng of Elwa. The inhabitants, who were elated with the
privilege of being able to carry on trade again, submitted
without open remonstrance, though they were by no means
satisfied.

Huno Vaz Pereira, after thus arranging matters at Kilwa,
appointed his friend Luis Mendes do VaacouceHos to a vacant
office in the fortress, and then sailed for Sofala, where he took
over the captaincy firom Manuel Fernandes. This officer, feeling
aggrieved that after his display of so much zeal aud energy he
had not received the fixed appointment to the first position in
the place, declined to resume the duty of factor, and proceeded
to India when the ships that brought Pereira returned.

In the mean time intdligenoe of the death of Pedro d' Anaya
had reached Lisbon, and the king, not knowing that the viceroy
had sent a successor, appointed Vasco Glomes d’Abreu captain
of Sofala. Ever since tbe first voyage of Vasco da Gama the
island of Mozambique had been used as a place of refreshment
by the Indian fleets both in going and returning, but as yet
no establishment of any kind had been formed there. Sofala
was not adapted for a port of call, being dangerous to approach
with large vessels, and not having sufficient depth of water on
the bar to enable them to enter the inner harbour. It was
considered advisable therefore to form such an establishment at
Mozambique that the fleets should always be able to obtain
whatever they needed, that if they were . obliged to wait on
tine coast for a change of monsoon they m^ht have a good and

Occupation of Sqfala and Mozambique. 197

easily accessible port to lay at anchor in, and that a properly
furnished hospital might be ready for the reception of scurvy
stricken soldiers and sailors arriving from Europe, Eor these
purposes Vasco Gomes d’Abren was instructed by the king to
erect the necessary birildings, and a competent staff was pro-
vided to perform the duties. It was not intended that Mozam-
bique should be a sepamte government, but a dependency of
Sofala, one captain having command of both places. He was
to reside at the island, whenever possible, during the months
in which the Indian fleets usually arrived there, and during
the remainder of the year at Sofala, leaving a subordinate
officer at each place to carry out his orders during his absence.
Duarte de Mello was appointed factor of the new establish-
ment, and Euy Vaxella notary.

Vasco Gomes d’Abreu sailed from the Tagus on the 20th of
April 1507 as commodore of seven ships. The one in which
he sailed and four others, commanded respectively by Lopo
Gabreira, Pedro Lourenjo, Euy Gonpalves de Valadares, and
Joao Obanoca, were to remain as a fleet of war to guard the
African coast south of Mehnde and suppress tire ocean traffic
of the Mohamedans, and the other two, under Martim Coelho
and Diogo de Mello, were to join the naval force commanded
by Affonso d’Alboquerque on the coast of Arabia. At Gape
Verde Joao Gbanoca’a ship ran on shore at night and was lost,
but the people on board got safely to land, and after being
plimdered by the negroes, were resoued by the commodore.

The new captain arrived at Sofala on the 8 th of September
1507, and the government was immediately transferred to him
by Nuno Vaz Pereira, who embarked in the ship under Euy
Gonpalves de Valadares, that was to be sent on to Mozam-
bique. On the 19th she and the vessels under Martim Coelho
and Diogo de Mello sailed, and soon afterwards fell in with a
ship imder command of Jorge de Mello Pereira that had left
Portugal for India before them. The greater number of her
crew were helpless with scurvy, so they kept her in company
and gave hex as much assistance as they could. On the 241^
of October they all reached Mozambique, where they found

1 g8 History of South Africa.

they could go no farther until the change of the monsoon, and
there they were joined in a few days hy three other ships on
the way to India, commanded by Pemao Soares, Filippe de
Castro, and Henrique Nunes de LiSo. Duaxte de MeUo and
the other ofi&cers appointed hy the Icing to the Mozambique
establishment had been sent on with Buy Gonpalves de Vala-
dares to prepare stone for the bvuldinga to be erected, and
Vasco Gromas d'Abreu sent with them the plans that had been
prepared in Portugal and letters to the commanders of any
ships that might be there, requesting them to assist in the
work, aa it was for the service of the king, and he would be
unable for some tim e to leave Sofala to direct it in person.

One and all, the captains of the various ships at anchor in
the harbour entered with enthusiasm into the matter. The
stone was soon quarried, lime was prepared, and then, as
Vasco Gomes d’Abreu did not make his appearance, they set
about building. They had plans of all that was to be done,
and the parts of the structures that required skilled workman-
ship or foreign materials had been brought from Portugal, so
that rapid progress could be made. They first erected a large
and comfortable hospital wiUi its necessary appurtenances,
which would have been of the greatest advantage if the ohmate
of the island had not been so unheoltliy that serious illness
was almost invariably followed by speedy death. Men afflicted
with scurvy, however, arriving there during the least insalubri-
ous months, might hope to eaoape the deadly fever and dysen-
tery, and to recover from that complaint. And scurvy, it must
be remembered, was in those days of long voyages and no
other diet than salted provisions the disease most dreaded hy
Knropeons frequenting the eastern seas.

A church, dedicated to Saint Gabriel, was the building next
taken in hand. It is said by the early historians to have been
large and well finished and ornamented, hut it is probable that
most of the ornamentation was done at a later date, and that
lifcti© more than the walls and roof was completed at this time.
A^ltfflge space around it was enclosed for a cemetery, and here
lihe graves were soon more numerous than in any other church-

199

Occupation of Sofala and Mozambique.

yard of the Portuguese out of EuropSj so great was the
mortality among the sick landed from the outward bound
Indian fleets, notwithstanding the care and attention bestowed
upon them in the hospital.

Lastly a fort, with magazines and quarters for the officials
and the garrison, was commenced. The fort was on the site
of the present residence of the governor, and was nothing more
than a square two-storied building, though it answered the
purpose for which it was intended for more than half a century.
The warehouses were large, as the king had resolved to make
Mozambique a depdt from which goods should be distributed
to all parts of the African coast, and to which the gold, ivory,
ambergris, wax, gum, and other products of the contiuent
should be sent to be forwarded to India or Ernope. Here also
were to be stored everything needed for the repair of damaged
ships and supplies of provisions for such as should be in want
of them. These buildings were commenced in 1507 by the
men of the ships detained in the harbour by the unfavourable
monsoon, and were completed after their departure by those
stationed on the island, with such assistance as could be
obtained from fleets that called.

Thus the island of Mozambique, which to-day is the principal
seat of government of the Portuguese on the eastern coast of
Africa, was taken in possession without any opposition on the
part of its Mohamedan occupants. Yasco Gomes d’Abreu, to
whom the tt^sk of forming the establishment there was en-
trusted, never saw the work that had been done. After
strengthening the garrison of Sofsla and landing supplies of
provisions, he erected a new hall and improved the buildings in
the fort, and while this was being done a caravel of forty tons
burden was put together, the timber for which had been
brought from Portugal ready prepared. Then having generally
arranged matters at that place, he left the chief alcaide Puy
de Brito Patalim in command during his absence, and set sail
with the three ships of his squadron and the caravel. Whether
he intended to proceed to Mozambique or to craise along the
coast was not known, and some parsons even suspected that he

200

History of South Africa,

designed to explore the island of Madagascar, where it was
rumoured that valuable apices were to be found. Some time
after he set out the fringe of one of those terrible cyclones
that occasionally cause widespread destruction in the islands of
the Indian sea passed over Sofala, and it was supposed that he
perished in it. Nothing but a broken mainmast, which drifted
on shore at Kilwa, was ever seen of any of the three ships or
the caravel again.

Euy de Brito Patalim remained in command until September
1509, when Antonio de Saldanha, whom the king appointed
captain of Sofala and Mozambique when the death of Vasco
Gomes d’Abreu was no longer doubtful, arrived at the gold
port and took over the government. At the same time Duarte
Teixeira assumed duty there as factor. It had been ascertained
by experience that goods of European manufacture were not in
demand by the Bantu, so that henceforward only Indian wares
— chiefly calico and beads — ^were sent to Sofala to be bartered
for gold and ivory, The calico was of a coarse but strong
kind, and was sold in pieces usually termed squares, though
they were about four yards in length and one in width, to be
Used as loin cloths. The beads were of various sorts* as the
fashion in colour and size was constantly changing. These
articles and some others in smaller quantities were brought
from India to Mozambique in Portuguese ships, aud were there
stored in the king’s warehouses Tmtil lequisitionB were sent from
Sofala, Kilwa, and other trading stations, to which they were
forwarded in the caravels employed on the coast.

Kilwa did not long remain a garrison town. Hadji Hocem,
who had been made its iamy by Nuno Vaz Pereira, turned
bis whole thought to avenging the death of his father, and by
means of large gifts obtained the assistance of a powerful
Bantu tribe under a chief with the high-sounding name of
Munhamonge, that is Lord of all. This chief with a strong
amy marched by land, while Hadji Hocem with as many
Mohainedans as he could muster by devotion, pay, or force
iweoeeded by sea, and together they attacked the settlement of
■fe tfrfeaeherotis sheik and completely destroyed it. Munhamonge

201

Occupation of Sofala and Mozambique.

and his followers were rewarded witli most of the captives and
the spoil, and Hadji Hooem was satisfied with revenge, though
the sheik himself escaped.

Everywhere on the coast the Mohamedans were indignant
that a man who had gained the distinction of being a hadji by
making a pilgrimage to Mecca should have called in the aid
of Kaffirs against people of his own faith, and should have left
disciples of the koran as slaves in the hands of infidels. This
indignation was increased by the haughty attitude assumed by
Hocem, who, relying upon Portuguese protection, wrote to the
different sheiks in the country in a tone of superiority, and by
the heavy taxation which he imposed upon his subjects to
make good the personal losses he had sustamed by his gifts
to Munhamonge. To all Mohamedans, subjects and strangers
alike, he became an object of detestation. The friendly ruler
of Melinde and the vassal ruler of Zanzibar, who was believed
to be thoroughly loyal to King Manuel, wrote to the viceroy
that if he wished for peace in the land he should deprive
Hocem of power, and Dom Erancisco d’Almeida, to put an
end to the distimbance, instructed Pedro Ferreira Fogapa to
depose the Idng of Kilwa and substitute another’. This was
accordingly carried into effect. Hadji Hocem, who feared
assassination if he remained in his native town, merely begged
to be sent to Mombasa, and there shortly afterwards he ended
his days in extreme poverty and distress.

The vacant situation was first offered to the fugitive emir
Abraham, whose acceptance of it would have satisfied every
one ; but he distrusted the Portuguese so much that he declined
the overture. It was then given to Micante, the former rival
of Hadji Hocem. This man’s habits were those of a licentious
drunkard, and he soon became as much despised hy the
Portuguese as hated hy his subjects ou account of his cruelty
and his lawless amours. The consequence was that numbers of
the people of Kilwa abandoned the place and joined Abraham,
who was living at some distance on the mainland.

The three years term of office of Pedro Ferreira Fogapa
having expired, he was succeeded by Francisco Pereira Pestaua

202

History of South Africa.

as captain of Kilwa. This officer found affairs in great
disorder, and depression ruling among the people oTfing to
the trading regulations that were again being enforced by order
of King Manuel. Foreign commerce by sea was entirely out
off, and intercourse with the Bantu was restricted as much as
possible, because the Mng and his advisers feared that Mohame-
flan influence might prevent the reception of Christianity by
these people. Nuno Vaz Pereira’s opinion that the treasury
would not suffer by alloAviug the inhahitants of Ejlwa to barter
gold as in olden times might ha correct, but the pious king
had tlie propagation of the Christian faith also at heart, and
could not permit it to he endangered. And so the largest,
best built, and most famous town on the East Afrioau coast,
the town that once had dominion from Melinda to Cape
Oorrentes, was dwindling away to an insignificant village.

Things were in this condition when Mioante declared war
against Abraham, of whom he was extremely jealous. The emir
had a strong body of followers, and he obtained powerful Bantu
allies, with whom he not only drove back the army sent
against him, but made a descent upon Kilwa in his turn.
There were at the time only forty Portuguese soldiers in the
fort , capable of bearing arms, all the others being iU with
fever. The healthy men went to Mioante's assistance, but were
defeated in an engagement, and several of them were killecl,
though the fort was not taken. After this there were many
incursions on both sides, in one of which Abraham’s party
suffered heavy losses as they were crossing the strait between
the island and the mainland, and one of his nephews was made
prisoner. Still nothing decisive occurred, and hostilities went
on with no other result than destruction of property and loss
of Mfe. Mioante indeed gained some respect tom the Por-
tuguese by his personal valour, and he was as submissive to
them as could be desired, but otherwise there was little or no
improvement in his conduct.

"When information of this reached King Manuel he deter-
B^ed, to withdraw the garrison tom Elwa, which was no
Iwgfic a place of any importance either for strategic or

. Occupation of So/ala and Mommbique. 203

commercial purposes. Affonso d’Alboquerque was then governor
general of India, and cared nothing about the retention of a
stronghold established by Dom Francisco d' Almeida, so took no
steps to change the king’s decision. Orders were issued to
Francisco Pereira Pestana to dismantle the fort, remove the
king’s property of every kind to ships provided for the purpose,
and retire to Socotra with the men under his command. As
Micante was entirely dependent upon the Portuguese, tins
order deprived him of all power and influence. He fled to
Querimba, where ha died in poverty and obscurity. Negotia-
tions were opened with the emir Abraham, who at first
suspected treachery, but when the Portuguese had embarked
and were ready to set sail he consented to an interview on the
water with Francisco Pereira Pestana, and was recognised by
him as ruler of Kilwa in vassalage to King Manuel. Abraham
accepted the position, and kept his agreement faithfully as long
as he lived. The fugitives from the town returned, and order
was restored under the emir’s prudent management, hut the
importance and glory of the place were gone for ever. Under
the stringent commercial regulations that were in force it sank
almost out of sight within a very few years. Thus the first
fort built and occupied by the Portuguese on the border of the
Indian sea was the first abandoned by them, and that while
they were still in the full career of conquest and under the
direction in the east of the great Affonso d’Alboquerque.

Sofala was now the station where it was hoped the greatest
profit from trade would be gained, as it was the port from
which the Mohamedans had sent away all the gold and much
of the ivoiy obtained in South-Eastern Africa. But the
Portuguese were as yet -without experience of the only way of
obtaining these articles, and imagined that if they could
prevent the former itinerant dealers from going inland and
could keep up a good supply of merchandise in their factory,
everything that the .country produced would be brought to
them for sale at their own prices. The Mohamedan mixed
breeds, living like Kaffirs and caring little whether they were
one month or twelve on an expedition, travelled about the

204 History of South Africa.

country 'with, a few slaves carrying their wares, and if gold
and ivoiy were not at hand, were content to wait till they
were collected, all the time tempting the natives by a display
of articles that they coveted most. The Portuguese, on the
contrary, sat still and waited for what never came.

Among the of&cers who accompanied Pedro d’Anaya when
he went to build the fortress and establish the factory was one
named Diogo d’Alcapova, who remained there long enough to
learn the condition of affaii’s in the country, but as he suffered
Hinoh from fever, was sent to India by an early opportunity.
He professed to have made a special study of the gold barter,
and sent to the king a long report upon it, which is still
in existence. In it he stated that in former times from four
hundred and forty'six thousand eight hundred and seventy-five
to five hundred and eighty thousand nine hundred and tinrty-
seven pounds sterling worth of gold was exported from Sofala
every year. Tliis was probably far beyond the real quantity,
for considering the relative value of gold to other merchandise
then and now, such an amount would have representesj^
trade much greater than the appearance of Sofala when first
visited by Europeans would warrant one in believing it
possible to have been carried on there. That Ettle or none
was brought to the Portuguese factory while he was resident
in it he attributed to wars between different sections of
Bantu, which made the country unsafe to travel in. Peace
was not concluded between the different factions, he thought,
because the Mohamedan rulers of Kilwa and Sofala, who
could bring it about, were unvulling to do so, as they did
not wish the Christians to obtain the profits of the trade.

In September 1508 Duarte de Lemos, an officer of ability
who was then in charge of a ship, wrote to the king from
Mozambique that only £894 to £1341 worth of gold had
been obtained at Sofala from the departure of Yasco Gomes
d’Abreu to that time. He believed that it was plentiful in
the countiy, and there was an abundance of merchandise in
tha'.&clMtfy, still it was not brought for barter. In his opinion
the reason was that the Mohamedans along the coast south of

Occupation of So/ala and Mozambique. 205

Mozambiq^ue were all engaged in a smuggling trade, which
could not be prevented, as they conveyed the gold and their
goods in little boats and fishing canoes that it was not possible
for the caravels guarding the sea to capture. Merchants from
Arabia and Persia resorted to secluded places, and maintained
this clandestine trade, providing the retail dealers with goods
and receiving the gold from them in return. Even in Mozam-
bique he believed there were some mercliants from the north
engaged in this traffic, so detiimental to the king’s treasury.
Certain it was that they purchased from the crews of ships
arriving there ealico which the men had for sale on their own
account, and which they obtained for a mere trifle. Thera was
but one remedy for the evil in his opinion, and that was to
expel every Mohamedan from the whole cotmtiy south of
Mozambique. Sofala, he was assured, was not an unhealthy
place, for during the preceding year not a single individual
had fallen ill there. The only article of European manufac-
ture that could be used in commerce in the country was
Fl egis h linen, which would need to be broad enough to be
used for loin doths.

That a considerable trade was carried on by the Mohame-
dans with the Bantu in defiance of the Portuguese is highly
probable, but that it amounted to a very large sum in gold
yearly is not at all likely. The difficulty of getting goods
into the country must have prevented that. The Mohamedans
had always lived hy commerce, and no doubt were shrewd
and wiuy dealers, they iknew the country and its people and
could easily escape observation by the Christians, but without
a source of supply, now that their ships were destroyed and
their connection with India entirdy cut off, they could not
traffic to the extent the Portuguese believed they were doing,
Posmbly they may have dealt in a very small way in native
made cloth, but even that would have necessitated their
possession of beads and bangles, which they could only obtain
at great risk by means of zambucos coming down :&om the
north. According to Duarte Barbosa they were reduced to
such straits that they began to cultivate cotton and manu-

2 o 6 History of South Africa,

facture loin-cloths themselves, but this, iE correct at all, can
only have been on a very limited scale.

In October 1512 Antonio de Saldanha, who had then served
the full term of three years as captain of Sofala, was
succeeded in that office by Siinilo de Miranda de Azevedo,
with whom came as factor a very intelligent man named
Pedro Vaz Soares. When the captain was absent on his
periodical visits to Mozambique, the factor acted as com-
mandant of the fort, and in that capacity on the 30th of
June 1613 he wrote to the king a long and interesting
report upon the condition of things there, which, unHlce most
of the documents of that period, has fortunately escaped
destruction, Pefore this report was written a slight change
had taken place in respect to commercial . transactions with
Mohamedans. From those at Sofala gold was now bartered
in exchange for merchandise, though they could only obtain
it by going inlanci and dealing with the Bantu, thus to that
extent at least the earlier regulations had been relaxed.
Mohamedans were also employed by the Christians in various
capacities, though only to a limited extent, and under oir-
cumatanoes where no other persons could perform the same
service.

Soares reported that during the eight months of his residence
at Sofala he had only obtained in barter gold to the value of
from J&2905 to £3128, the greater part of which was procured
from the Mohamedan residents. Kaffirs or native traders
from the interior he had seen so seldom that from them
he had not bartered £223 worth. The cormtry was in a
state of perfect peace, and every one was free to come
and go in security, for the captain had made agreements to
that effect with numerous Bantu chiefs and was paying
them fixed subsidieB every six moons to keep the trading
routes open. There was gold in various parts of the country,
but no one possessed a sufficient quantity to maJce it worth
his ■^Hle to bring it to Sofala for sale, therefore the Mohame-
diassiweut inland with merchandise and established fairs at
suit&ble places. These Mohamedans secretly prejudiced the

Ocmpatton of Sofala, and Mommbiqne. 207

n'hriat.ifl.Tia in the eyea of the Bant^i, whom they discoiiiagod
from proceeding to the factory by telling them that goods
were dearer there than in the interior aa offered for sale by
them. The gold that was procured was mostly in very
small pieces like little beads, only a trifling proportion being
melted into nuggets.

The receipts of the factory were not more than sufiicient to
cover the cost of its maintenance and that of the caravels
employed on the coast below Mozambique, and on one occasion
the captain was even obliged to make use of the property of
deceased persons to meet current esqjenses. Soares was of
opioion that under these circumstances retrenchment was advis-
able, as a smaller and less expensive establishment would
serve the purpose now that the land was at peace and the
Portuguese perfectly secure. The Mohamedans at the islands
of Angosha and on the lower banks of the Zambesi, he
asserted, drew away the greater portion of the trade, on
which account they ought to be expelled, when matters would
improve.

•JBhe captain SimSo do Miranda de Azevedo had endeavoured
to establish a trading station on the Zambesi and explore the
river upward, and for that purpose had sent an embassy to a
Bantu chief residing on a large island between two mouths of
the stream to propose friendship and aUianoe with him. A
favourable reply was received, upon which a caravel was
despatched to the river with a quantity of merchandise .and
a factor and secretary. Some respectable Mohamedans of
Sofala were engaged to go in her to be the means of com-
munication with the chief, to whom presents of sorue value
were forwarded. Upon her arrival the resident Mohamedans
induced the chief to ask that her captain with the factor and
secretary should visit him to ratify his agreement with the
Portuguese, and when they with a bombardier who acted aa
interpreter went on shore for the purpose without suspicion
of danger, all were immediately murdered. The Sofala
Mohametos, who. were on land at the time, swam off - to
the caravel, which was soon afterwards attacked by a munber

B'

2o8

History of South Africa.

of zambucos oontaiiuiig men armed with, bows and arrows.
Her crew defended themselves with their crossbows and bombs,
and were fortunate enough to be able to out their cables and
escape.

Soares reported that a considerable quantity of ivory was
procurable, and that a very large profit was to be made on it.
Since his arrival he had bartered for articles of trifling value
about three tons, which had been sent to India to meet the
cost of merchandise that had been applied for.

Of the affairs of Sofala during the time that ChristovUo de
Tavora was captain, that is from 1515, when he succeeded
iVancisoo Harecos who acted for a few months after the death
of SimHo de Mhanda de Azevedo, to 1618, when Sancho de Toax
assumed the command, nothing is known. The original reports
are no longer in existence, and the eai'ly historians are silent
about the place, from which, however, it may be assumed that
nothing of consequence occurred. Sancho de Toar, the same
officer who was sent by Pedro Alvares Cabral to gather infor-
mation about the locality and the gold trade, became captain
of Sofala in September 1518, and at the same time Fransufio
de Brito took over the duties of factor. In circumstances
simihir to those under which Pedro Yaz Soares reported to
King Manuel six years earlier, He Brito on the 8th of August
1619 addressed to the same monarch a long letter, which is
stm preserved in the archives at Xasbon.

At that time trade and even communication with the in-
terior was out off, owing to internecine wars among Bantu
clans or tribes. A powerful chief named Inyamunda, who
resided at no great distance from Sofala, was engaged in
hostilities with the Monomotapa, the people of Manioa, and
others farther inland; and the trading rentes were closed, as
travellers were liable to be robbed and murdered. At the
factory therefore the outlay was as usual, while there was
hardly any income, a condition of things which was very
dispiriting to the officiala. A vessel j&om India bring ing
:ati^handisB for Sofala had arrived at Chiloane, an island about
^firiy-five miles, diatant, and had discharged her cargo, con-

Occupation of Sofala and Mommbique, 209

sistmg of caloo of different (jneHties, beads, pieces of tin, and
small coins. The cost price of these aitiolea is stated by the
factor, and also the price at which they were bartered in
Sofala when any trade was being done, from which it is seen
that the smallest profit on any thing was four hundred per
cent, and that on some things it rose to two thousand eight
hundred per cent. The pieces of tin and the coins that were
not required to pay salaries were evidently disposed of as
omamente, for money was not in use by the Bantu, all
transactions with them being by barter. During the eleven
months that De Brito had been factor he had obtained gold
to the value of a little over £358 and eight tons and a
quarter of ivory, of which the cost is not given.

Sancho de Toar had resolved to establish a trading outpost
on the southern bank of the Zambesi about thirty-five miles
above its mouth, and for that purpose had caused a square
timber tower to be constructed, which could be taken to pieces
and conveyed in caravels to its destination, there to be put
together again. The completion of the plan had been delayed,
hqs^er, as one of the caravels had recently been wrecked at
Ohiloahe, and another, which had been built at Mozambique to
assist in guarding the coast, had been lost on the bar when
bxingiag a cargo of millet for the use of the fort. She had
not long previously taken a prize, but had left part of the
spoil at Mozambique, and the remainder was on board when
she was wrecked. This, had happened only a few days before
the ./letter was written. ! Sancho de Toar had immediately
resolved ,to have another caravel buUt, as weU as a aruftiler
vessel to be stationed at the Cuama mouth of the Zamhesi to
prevent the entrance of zambucos with merchandise for the
Mohamedan traders. Francisoo de Brito’s chief desire was to
get away from a place where neither honour nor profit was to
be had, and he earnestly begged the king to transfer hirn to
some other post in India.

In neither of the reports from the factors, of Sofala which
are still in existence is any mention made of ambergris or
pearls, though Duarte Barbosa, who wrote about the same time,

210

History of South Africa,

abates that both were articles of trade among the Mohamedans.
Probably the Portuguese had not yet an opportunity to obtain
them in barter, as they could so easily be concealed and
removed from place to place. The pearls, obtained at the
Bazaruta islands, were said to be greatly damaged and dis-
coloured by the method used in extracting them, which was by
placing the oysters in embers until the flesh was dried away.
The pearl fishers were nearly aH Mohamedans or slaves, as the
Bantu did not engage in the occupation unless compelled to
do so by extreme want.

With the report of Fmncisco de Brito, the substance of
which has been given, direct and indirect information alike
ceases concerning Sofala until some time after the death
of King Manuel the Fortunate, which took place on the 13th
of December 1621, and the accession of his son, Joao HI, to
the throne of Portugal. That matters there remained without
much change as successive captains and factors came and went
and the graves of the victims of malarial fever and dysentery
grew ever more numerous is, however, certain, for the next
dear view given by either historian, chronicler, or manu-
Bcript records reveals a state of things differing little from
that described.

Intercotirse with the Bantu.

2 ir

CHAPTER IX.

httebootjesb oe the POBTUatrESB with the bantct.

WHEif the European fort and trading station at Sofala was
formed in 1505 the predominant people in the country between
the rivers Sabi and Zambesi were the Mokaranga as termed by
the Portugueaej or Makalanga as pronounced by themselves, a
word which means the people of the sun. This tribe occupied
territory extending from the shore of the Indian ocean to the
interior of the continent far to the west, but just how far it is
impossible to say. Along the southern bank of the Zambesi and
scatMFed here and there on the sea coast were clans who were
not Makalanga by blood, and who were independent of each
other. South of the Sabi river lived a tribe named the Batonga,
whose outposts extended beyond Cape Correntes.

There are people of this name in various parts of South A&ica
stiH, but it does not follow that they are descended from the
Batonga of the sixteenth century. The country has often been
swept by war since that time, and of the. ancient communities
many have been absolutely destroyed, while others have been
dispersed and reorganised quite difiPerently. There is not a
single tribe in South Africa to-day that bears the same title, has
the same relative power, and occupies the same ground, as its
ancestors three hundred years ago. The people we call
Mashona are indeed descended from the Makalanga of early
Portuguese days, and they preserve their old name and part of
their old Country, but the contrast between their condition and
that of the tribe in the period of its greatness is striking.
Discord, subjection, and merciless treatment h;om conquerors
have destroyed most of what was good in their foreftithers. '

212 History of South Africa.

This tribe — the Makalanga — was the one with which the
Portuguese had most to do. Its paramount chief was called by
them the monomotapa, which word, their writers state, meant
emperor, but in reality it was only one of the hereditary titles
originally given by the official praisers to the great chief, and
meant either master of the mountain or master of the mines.
The Portuguese were not very careful in the orthography of
Bantu names, and in those early days they had not discovered
the rules which govern the construction of the language, so that
probably monomotapa does not represent the exact sound as
spoken by the natives, though most likely it approximates
closely to it. About the first part of the word there is no
uncertainty. In one of the existing dialects mo»p means master
or chief, in another omuhona has the same meaning. The plural
of mong is heng, and one of the Portuguese writers gives the
word as henomotapa, evidently from having heard it used by
natives in a plural form. Another Portuguese writer, in relating
the exploits of the chief Mnnhamonge, says that word meant
master of the world, and his statement is perfectly colMet.
Thus monomotapa (more likely mnamatapa) meant chief of
something, but what that something was is not so certain.

It seems on analysing it to be chief of the mountain, and
there are other reasons for believing that to be its correct
signification. The great place, or residence of the monomotapa,
was close to the mountain Pura, which he would never permit
a Portuguese to ascend, probably from some superstition con-
nected with it, though they believed it was because he did not
wish them to have a view over as much of his country as could
be seen from its top. The natives, when going to the great
place, most likely used the expression going to the mountain,
for the Portuguese soon began to employ tire words d serra in
that sense, without specially defining what’ mountain was meant.
In our own time one of the titles given by the official praisers
to the Basuto chief Moshesh was chief of the mountain, owing
to his possession of Thaba Bosigo, and the Kalanga chief
probably , had, his title of monomotapa from his possession
of Fura.

Intercourse with the Bantu.

213

But there is auother possible explanation of the word, which
would give it a much more romantic origin. It may have
meant chief of the mines, for the termination, slightly altered
in form, in one of the Bantu dialects signifies a large hole in
the ground. In this cose the title may have come down from
a very remote period, and may have originated with the ancient
gold-workers who mixed their blood with the ancestors of the
Kalanga people. This is just possible, but it is so unlikely that
it is almost safe to translate the word monomotapa, manamotapa,
mcmomotapa , — as different Portuguese writers spelt it, — chief of
the mountain. In any case it signified the paramount or great
chief of the Kalanga tribe, and was applied to all who in
succession held that office.

Some interest is attached to this word Monomotapa, inas-
much as it was placed on maps of the day as if it was the
name of a territory, not the title of a ruler, and soon it was
applied to the entire region from the Zambesi to the mouth of
the Fish river. Geographers, who knew nothing of the Country,
wrctib the word upon their charts, and one copied another until
the belief became general that a people far advanced in civilisa-
tion, and governed by a mighty emperor, occupied the whole of
South-Eastern Africa.

Then towns were marked on the chart, and rivers were traced
upon it, and men of the highest standing in science lent their
names to the fraud, believing it to be true, until a standard map
of the middle of the seventeenth century was as misleading as
it was possible to make it. Readers of Portuguese histories
must have known this, but no one rectified the error, because
no one could substitute what was really correct. And even in
recent years educated men have asked what has become of the
mysterious empire of Monomotapa, a question that can be so
easily answered by reading the books of De Barros, De Oouto,
and Bos Santos, and analysing the Sekalanga words which, they
repeat. Such an empire never existed. The foundation upon
which imagination constructed it was nothing more than a
Bantu tribe. The error arose mainly from the use of the words
emperor, king, and prince to represent African chiefs, a mi at, aka ,

s 2

214 History of South Africa,,

however, which was not confined to the Portuguese, for it per-
vades a good deal of English literature of the nineteenth
century, where it has done infinitely more to mislead readers
than those expressions ever did in times gone by.

The Kalanga tribe was larger and occupied a much greater
extent of territory than any now existing in South Africa. It
was held together by the same means as the others, that is princi-
pally by the religious awe with which the paramount chief was
regai’ded, as representing in his person the mighty spirits that
were feared and worshipped. There was always the danger of
a disputed succession, however, when it might not be certain
which of two or more individuals was nearest to the line of
descent and therefore the one to whom fealty was due. How
long the tribe had existed before the Portuguese became
acq^uainted with it, and whether it had attained its greatness
by growth or by conquest, cannot be ascertained, but very
shortly afterwards it was broken into several independent
communities.

The tribe belonged to that section of the Bantu family wlrirfi
in general occupies the interior of the country. It was divided
into a great number of clans, each under its own chief, and
though all of these acknowledged the monomotapa as their
superior in rank, the distant clans, even with the religious
bond of union in full force, were very loosely connected with the
central government. Thus those near the coast were found by
the Portuguese making war on their own account, and acting
otherwise in a manner that among Europeans would be regarded
as indicating perfect independence. There was one peculiar
custom, however, that prevented them from forgetting their
dependence upon the paramount ohief, a custom that most likely
had a foreign origin. Every year at a certain stage of the crops
a command was sent tlunughont the country that when the next
new moon appeared all the fires were to he put out, and they
could only be lit again from the spreading of one kindled by
the moucmotapa himself.

The Makalanga had developed their religious system and
their industries more highly than any of the other tribes of

Intercourse zvith the Bantu.

215

Southern or Eastern Afrioa. Of all the Bantu they had the
largest proportion of Asiatic blood in their veins, which will
account for their mental and mechanical superiority. Almost
at first sight the Europeans observed that they were in every
respect more intelligent than the blacker tribes along the
Mozambique coast. But they were neither so robust nor so
courageous as many of their neighbours. Like their near
kindred the Basnto and Bapedi of to-day, they were capable of
making a vigorous defence in mountain strongholds, but were
disinclined to carry on aggressive warfare, and could not stand
against an equal number of men of a coast tribe in the open
field. Their language was regarded by the Christians as being
pleasanter than Arabic to the ear. The residence of each
important chief w'as called his Zimbabwe, which the Portuguese
writers say meant the place where the court was held, though
the buildings were merely thatched huts with wattled walls
covered with clay. The word was equivalent to “the great
place ” as now used, though the roots from which it was derived
are not absolutely certain.

^hen the Portuguese in 1506 first came in close contact with
the Makalanga, the tribe had been engaged in civil war for
twelve or thirteen years, and was in a very unsettled condition
A monomotapa, Mokomba by name, had made a favourite of the
chief Tshikanga, one of his distant relatives, who was hereditary
head of the powerful clan which occupied the district of Manika.
Some other chiefs became jealous of the privileges conferred
upon this man, and took advantage of his absence on one
occasion to instil in the monomotapa’s mind that he was a
sorcerer and was compassing the death of his benefactor. There-
upon the monomotapa sent him some poison to drink, but
instead of obeying, he made an offer of a large number of cattle
for his life. The offer was declined, and then in despair he
collected his followers, made a quick march to the great place,
surprised Mokomba, aud killed him.

. Tshikanga then assumed the government of the tribe. He
endeavoured to extermmate the family of his predecessor, and
actually put twenty-on® cf Mokomba’s children to death,

2I6

History of South Africa.

Only one young man escaped. After four years’ exile, this
one, whose name is variously given, as Kesarinuto or Kesarimyo,
returned and collected a force which defeated the usurping
monomotapa’s army. Tshikanga then took the field himself,
adherents gathered on both sides, and a battle was fought
which continued for three days and a half. On the fourth
day Tshikanga was killed, when his army dispersed, and
Eesarimyo became monomotapa. But Tolwa, Tshikanga’s son,
would not submit, and with his ancestral clan kept possession
of the Monika district, and carried on the war. To this
circumstance the Portuguese attributed the small quantity
of gold that was brought to Sofala for sale. In course of time
the war was reduced to a permanent feud, Tolwa’s clan became
an independent tribe, and Monika was lost to the monomotapa
for ever.

For many years after their occupation of Sofala the Portu-
guese lived on fairly good terms with the Makalanga, and after
the failure to drive them from the fort in IsuFs time no attempt
was made to expel them from the country. They paid subsidies
in the form of presents to the nearest chiefs of note, an^ so
secured their goodwill and freedom for trade. These presents
usually consisted of beads, bangles, pieces of coarse oolioo, and
other inexpensive articles, so that the valne of the whole was
trifling. In return the chiefs sent a tusk or two of ivory, which
was often worth as much as what they received.

But even after the employment of the Mohamedans as agents
to collect gold and ivory, the amount of commerce carried on
was very far short of the earlier anticipations of the Europeans.
Their next effort to increase it was by stationing individuals at
outposts on the Zambesi, which at first were quite unprotected,
and existed entirely by the favour of the people in whose lands
they were situated. After various ineffectual attempts by other
officials, in 1531 Vicente Pegado, the ablest and most enterpris-
ing of all the early captains of Mozambique and Sofala, who had
then resided a year in the country, succeeded in establishing
a foil at the place afterwards known as Sena, where there was- a
small Mohamedan village. The particulars of this event are

Intercourse with the Bantu.

217

not now on record in manuscript that can be found, and the
historians of the time were so deeply engrossed with the
stirring deeds of their countrymen in India that they altogether
neglected 'transactions of comparatively little importance in
South Africa, hut no imagination is needed to understand how
it must have taken place. The Bantu would certainly not
object to the presence of unarmed traders, and the Mohamedans,
who at an earlier date would have acted either as open or secret
enemies, were then in a condition of dependence upon the
Portuguese. The contraband trade, as the Europeans termed it,
had been almost completely suppressed. There was but one
place where foreign merchandise could be obtained, and that was
the king’s warehouse at Sofala. The factor there, acting under
instinotions from his government, fixed the price of everything
and required an enormous profit on whatever he bought or sold,
but a portion of the retail bartering with the Bantu was again
in the hands of those who had once enjoyed a monopoly of it.
So the Mohamedans at Sent, would not object to getting their
supplies at home, instead of going to Sofala for them, and
besides it was to their interest not to offend their employers.
Thus the fair or trading-post of Sena came into existence, and
the quantity of ivory and gold obtained was so much increased
that the captain Vicente Pegado was rewarded for his exertions
by being retained in office for the unusual term of eight years.

The exact date of the formation of a similar outstation at Tete
cannot be asoeitained, but it was not long after the establish-
ment of the fair farther down the river. At both these places
for many years white men lived in the same precarious manner
as the first English traders in the Xosa country three centuries
later. Favoured by the chief one day, abused and robbed by
him the next, nothing but the prospect of considerable gain
could induce any others than missionaries to exist in such a
condition. Those at Sena and Tete were of the class that
accommodates itself readily to barbarian habits, and in morals
at least were liitle above the Bantu with whom they associated.

In 1544 the factory of Quiiimane was founded on the northern
bank of the jiver of Glood Tokens, about fifteen miles from the

2 i 8 History of South Africa.

sea. The object was partly to carry on commerce with the
Bantu in the neighbourhood, but principally to command the
route to the interior by that stream, which was then more used
during several months of the year than the other outlets of the
Zambesi. The station is still in existence, but as it is beyond
the territorial limits dealt with in this narrative, it will not he
referred to again.

In. the same year the captain of Sofala and Mozambique sent
two men named Lourenfo Marques and Antonio Oaldeira in a
pangayo on an exploring voyage to the southward. They
inspected the lower course of the Limpopo river, and ascertained
that copper in considerable quantities was to be obtained there
from the natives. They then examined the great bay which
before that time had been obscurely known as Da Lagoa. Three
large rivers flowing from different directions, — ^known now to
British geographers as the Maputa, the English, and the Manisa,
— discharge their waters into this bay, and it was believed that
the centrM one of these, or rather the central one of the streams
now called the Tembe, the Dmbelosi, and the Matola, which
have as their estuary the English river, had its source in a great
lake &x in the inWior, hence the TJmbelosi and the English
were named Bio da Lagoa, and the bay Bahia da Lagoa-
On the banks of the TJmbelosi the explorers saw a great
number of elephants, and purchased tusks of ivory from the
natives at the rate of a few beads for each. In the neighboar-<
hood of the Maputa river, which they next visited, elephants
were also seen, and ivory was plentiful. The chief of the tribe
that occupied the country between this river and the sea, whose
hereditary title was Inyaka, was very friendly to his European
visitors. Though quite black, he was a fine looking old man,
with a white heard, and as Marques and Oaldeira fancied his
features bore some resemblance to those of Garoia de S&, then
captain of Malacca, who wm subsequently — 1548-9 — captain
general and governor of India, and one of whose daughters, Dona
Leonor, wife of Manuel de Sousa de Sepulveda, in 1562 perished
in a moat pitiable manner on the shore of this very bay, they
gave him that official’s name. We sh^U njeet him again,

hitercours6 iMth the Bantu.

219

particularly in the account of the wreck of the galleon Bao Joao,
and shall find that his friendship for white people was not a mere
passing whim.

The inspection of the country around the bay was followed by
a change of names. The Umbelosi — with its estuary the English
river — was thereafter termed by the Portuguese Bio de Lourenpo
Marques, though geographers of other nations continued to call
it the river De Lagoa, until the restoration in recent years of its
Bantu name. The bay — ^previously Bahia da Lagoa — ^now took
the name among the Portuguese of Bahia de Lourenjo Marques,
though to all other Europeans it remained known as Delagoa
Bay, and it is still so called.

In 1546 King Joao III issued instructions that Lourenpo
Marques should he provided with a suitable vessel to complete
the exploration of the coast and to open up a trade with the
residents on the shores of the great inlet. This was done, and
thereafter a pangayo was usually sent every year or every second
year from Mozambique to obtain ivory. While they were
engaged in bartering by means of boats manned by mixed breeds
or Mohamedans that went up the different rivers, the traders
resided on one of the islands Inyaka — so called by the
Portuguese from the title of the chief Garcia de Sa, — ^Elephant,
or Shefina, where some rough huts were built for their accommo-
dation, and as soon as all the tusks that had been collected by
the natives were purchased, they returned to Mozambique. No
permanent factory or fort was built at this place until a much
later date. Lourenpo Marques probably remained some years in
charge of the trade at the bay which bore his name, as in 1667,
in reward for his services there, he was appointed intendant
at Cochin.

At Inhambane, or Nyombana as termed by the natives, which
is about two hundred and thirty miles farther up the coast, a
similar trade was carried on from this time forward by means of
a pangayo sent every year or two from Mozambique. Temporary
huts were erected on the site of the present village, off which
the pangayo lay at anchor until the traders were ready to return.
Neither here uoy at Delagoa Bay, any more than at Sena or Tete,

220

History of South Africa.

did the Portuguese authorities attempt to exercise the slightest
control over the Bantu inhabitants. Their object at all these
places was simply and solely to carry on commerce, and not by
any means to involve themselves in difficulties. At times
indeed the traders were subject to gross ill treatment from
barbarous chiefs, which they were obliged to endure patiently,
without any effort being made to retaliate or redress their
wrongs.

After trade at these places was opened, from thirty to thirty-
six tons of ivory were usually collected at Mozambique and sent
from that island to India every year until 1551, when only a
little more than five tons was obtained. The quantity subse-
quently rose again, but fluctuated greatly according to the
condition of the country as regarded peace or war.

The Portuguese, whether soldiers or traders, were in South
Africa so circumstanced that they degenerated rapidly. A Euro-
pean female was very rarely seen, and nearly every white man
consorted with native women. Fever, when it did not kill them
outright, deprived them of energy, and there was notffing to
stimulate them to exertion. Out off from all society but that of
barbarians, often until towards the close of the sixteenth century
without the ministrationB of the church, sunk in sloth, and
suffering from excessive heat and deadly malaria, no, lives led
by Europeans anywhere could be more miserable than theirs.

The. natives teimed them Bazung^— singular Mozunga, — and
were generally well disposed Inwards them. Individual white
men often gained the confldence of chiefs, and exercised great
influence over them. Instances were not wanting of such
persona abandoning their fornaer associates, and going to reside
permanently either on tracts of land presented to them, where
they became petty rulers, or at native kraals, where they held
authority of some kind under the chiefs. , Thereafter they were
regarded as renegades, though their mode of living was little
worse than that of many of their countrymen at the fort and
trading stations.

This was the condition of affairs in South-Eastern Africa
during the reign pf King Joao III, a period . far less glorious in

Intercourse with the Banht.

221

the history of Portugal than that in which his father Manuel the
Fortunate sat upon the throne. To outward appearance the
country exhibited every mark of prosperity, and its commerce
and wealth were the wonder of Europe, but the zenith of its
greatness was passed before the sixteenth century had run half
its course. The king had many sons, but all died in childhood
except the youngest, Dom Joao, who married the infanta Joana,
daughter of the emperor Charles V. He died in early manhood,
on the 2nd of January 1554, eighteen days before his widow
gave birth to a boy, who received the name Sebastitto. On the
16th of June 1557 this child of little more than three years of
age became by his grandfather’s death sovereign of Portugal,
and as his mother had retired to Spain, his grandmother. Dona
Oatharina, daughter of Philippe I of Castile and widow of the
deceased monarch, became regent of the kingdom.

Corruption had by this time become so general among the
Portuguese in India that even a virtuous viceroy such as Dom
JoHo de Castro was powerless to check it. They retained indeed
the daring spirit of their fathers, so that military prowess was
conspicuous still, but beyond that avarice liad become their
ruling passion. To collect wealth, whether honestly or dis-
honestly hardly mattered, had become the great object of their
lives, and as power was theirs, under such circumstances good
government was impossible. Even at this early period the
rapacity of the officials was preparing Portuguese India for the
fate that overtook it as soon as a rival European power dealt it a
puny blow. Eastern Africa was included in India, and if a
course of spoliation was not practised there, the reason was that
no weak peoples other than the Mohamedans existed sufficiently
wealthy to he despoiled.

Before 1545 Mozambique had been without other protection
than the slight defensive works constructed when the island was
first occupied. In that year Dom Jo5o de Castro put in there
on his way to Goa to assume the government of India, and was
struck with the weakness of a place of such importance. In his
opinion the position of the so-called fort was not only had in a
military point of view, but was insanitary as well. He selected

222

History of South Africa.

another site, gathered some materials, and during his short stay
constructed a small outwork for temporary use. Upon his
report of the condition of the island reaching Lisbon, the king
gave order for larger and better defensive works to be built, but
the death of the eminent viceroy followed soon afterwards, aiid
the matter was then allowed to fall out of sight.

The power that Portugal had to contend with now in the
eastern seas was the Grand Turk, in the zenith of his pride, and
aided always openly or secretly by one or other Mohamedan
state. To put a fleet upon the waters of the Indian ocean, every
part of the material, wood, iron, cordage, and canvas, had to be
conveyed up the Nile to Cairo, and thence on the backs of
camels to the shipyards of Suez, a seemingly impossible task.
Tet that it could be done had been proved by the sultan
Soleiman II in 1527, and stiH more conspicuously in 1538. On
the 22nd of June of this year the faithless and ferocious pasha
Soleiman, who had governed Egypt for the saltan at Constanti-
nople, sailed from Suez with a great fleet built of materials so
transported from European Turkey, having with him a powerful
force of janizaries. His siege of the fort of Din — 4th September
to 5th November 1538— and its heroic defence by Antonio da
Silveira with only six hundred mOn, most of whom lost their
lives before Soleiman withdrew discomfited to commit suicide
rather than be put to death by his master for having failed in
the enterprise, must be regarded as among the most memorable
events in the history of India. This Antonio da Silveira who,
with only forty men left capable of bearing arms, with his
ammunition exhausted and his provisions consumed, saw from
his battered and half destroyed fort the remnant of the Turkish
fleet sail away, had been captain of Sofala and Mozambique from
1524 to 1527, but had there no opportunity of distinguishing
himself in any way.

From the time of the pasha Soleiman’s defeat onward Turkish
subjects in smaller force were encountered, sometimes in one
place, sometimes in another, allied with Indian princes ; and it
was apprehended that an attempt to secure the eastern obm-
metce might again be made by them with a very powerful

Intercourse with the Bantu.

223

armament. To be prepared for suob an occurrence, in 1568
among other measures the regent Dona Catharina resolved to
construct a fortress of the drst class at Mozambique, and to make
the island the residence of the highest oi&cial in authority on
the African coast. Previously there had been uo permanent
garrison, and the captain had resided during the greater part of
the year at Sofala, which was regarded as the more important
place of the two. Henceforth each was to have a captain, but
the one at Sofala was to be subordinate to the one at Mozam-
. bique.

To plan the new fortress, an engineer architect was sent out
who was a nephew of the archbishop of Braga, and had learned
his profession in Flanders. He selected as the best site the
eastern extremity of the island, off which ships jiassed to and
from the anchorage, and there on the margin of the sea he
laid the foundations of the massive walls that afterwards arose.
The fortress was quadrilateral in form, with a bastion at each
angle, and was so large that from eighty to a hundred guns
could bo mounted on its ramparts. The whole structure was
termed Fort S 80 Sebastiao, but the outwork at each angle had
its own name, the one first passed when coming in from sea
being called Hossa Senbora, tbe one nearest the anchorage SiLo
JoSo, the landward one on the inner side of the island Ssio
Gabriel, and the landward one on the outer side Santo Antonio.
The walls were of great height, which subsequent experience
proved to be disadvantageous. A work of snob magnitude,
though the heaviest labour was performed by slaves, required
many skilled artisans, and could only be slowly carried on.
The political condition of Portugal also retarded progress, so
that the sixteenth century was nearly ended before the walls
and the numerous buildings they endosed were fully finished.
The want of fresh water was at first regarded as its principal
defect, but this was remedied in course of time by the construe*
tion of enormous cisterns, which contained, an ample supply to
last from one rainy season to another.

Affier laying out the fortress at Mozambique and preparing
plans for carrying on the work, the architect proceeded to

224 History of Sottth Africa.

Daman to perform a similar duty there. After that was done he
returned to Europe and entered a religious order, when he was
favoured by Philippe II of Spain, and from his designs parts of
the Escurial were constructed. Thus in Fort Sao SebastiSo
there exists a specimen of the highest shill of the sixteenth
century.

The conversion of the heathen to Christianity was from the
very beginning of the Portuguese explorations and settlements
in Africa and India kept constantly in view by the Mng and by
the authorities of the Eoman catholic church, but the far East
offered the most promising field to the Franciscans, Dominicans,
and other long established religious orders, and there were no
men to spare for the enlightenment of the barbarous tribes
between the Zambesi and the bay of Lourenfo Marques. The
whole territory east of the Gape of Good Hope to Japan had
formed a single see since March 1539, when Dorn JoSo d’Albo-
querque assumed duty at Goa as first bishop of India. But even
the Portuguese themselves were neglected in Africa, for the
garrison of Sofala was seldom provided with a chapMn, and
Sena and Tete were left altogether without one. ■

On the 27th of- September 1540, however, a buU was issued by
Pope Paul III, approving of the -order, founded by Ignatius
Loyola, and the Company of Jesus, the greatest and most
zealoua of all the missionary associations of the Eoman catholic
church, came iuto existence. Within seven months, on the
7th of April 1541, the celebrated Francisco Xavier sailed from
Lisbon for India, and he was soon followed by others into
various parts of the heatheU world. The fi^rst college of the
order was founded 'at Coimbra by Joao III of Portugd in 1542,
and speedily attracted within its walls many of the most religious
and most energetic of the youth of the kingdom. Into this
college in 1543 a young man of noble parentage, named Gonpalo
da Silveira, a native of Almeirim on the Tagus, sought admis-
sion for the purpose of completing his education. Shortly after-
wards he entered the order, and in 1556 was sent to Goa.
There , he became conspicuous for his zeal and general ability,
and it was mainly owing to his exertions that the magnificent

Intercouf'se with the Banin. 225

ohuroh. of Slk) Thome was built in the capital of Portuguese
India.

On one of the voyages of the little vessel that went occa-
sionally from Mozambique to Inhambane to purchase ivory, a
son of a chief of some impoitanoe was induced to return in her.
It was the custom to treat such persons with much attention, in
order to secure their friendship, and the young chief was' greatly
pleased with the favours that he received. In course of time he
professed his belief in Christianity, and was baptized mth all
the pomp that was possible in the church of SSo Gabriel, the
captain of Sofala and Mozambique being one of his godfathers.
When the vessel made her next voyage he returned to Inham-
bane, and induced his father to send a request to the Portuguese
captain that he might be supplied with missionaries. This
request was forwarded to Goa, whore it was referred to the
provincial of the Jesuits, with the result that the fathers Gonjsalo
da Silveira and Andr4 Fernandes, with the lay brother Andr^
da Costa, were directed to proceed to South-Eastern Africa, and
attempf to convert the natives there to Christianity. Dom
Gonpalo was the head of the party, and was entrusted by the
viceroy Dom Constantino de Braganpa with friendly messages
and presents for the chief who had made the application and for
the paramount ruler of the Mahalanga tribe.

On the 2nd of January 1560 the missionaries sailed from
Ghaul, and after a pleasant passage reached Mozambique on the
4th of Februmy, where they found a trading vessel nearly, ready
to sail for Inhambane. She was only a zambuco, with so little
accommodation that, as one of them wrote, they could neither lie
down comfortably, stand erect, or exercise their legs in her, blit
on the 12tb of February they embarked, together with two
Portuguese — one of whom was to be their guide — and a native
who was wdl acquainted with the coast. The zambuco was to
touch at Sofala on the way. At this place they arrived after a
passage of twenty-seven days, and here they secured the service
of a halfbreed born at the fort, named JoSo Baposo, who spoke
Portuguese and Sekalauga with equal fluency, and who was a
handy man in other respects, as he had travelled much in the

226 History of South Africa.

country. After five days’ stay at Sofala, the zambuoo sailed
again, and eight days later reached Inhatnbane, where five
Portuguese were found trading for ivory.

Dorn Q-onjalo and the lay brother were suffering severely from
fever, and landed in such a debilitated condition that for a time
their lives were despaired of. Their countrymen, however, took
such care of them that shortly they began to mend, and as soon
as they were out of danger the father Andrd Fernandes was sent
in advance to the kraal of the chief who had applied for mis-
sionaries, to announce their arrival and to rec^uest that carriers
might be provided to convey, the others in hammocks. The
distance of the kraal from Inhambane is stated to have been
thirty leagues, but as the father Andrd Fernandes and those with
him traversed it on foot in three days and a half, it can haydly
have been so far. The name of the place is given by the mis-
sionaries as Otongwe, and of the chief as Gamba. He was the
head of a clan of Makalanga that had been driven from its own
country in a war with its neighbours, and bad taken refuge in
territory occupied by the Batonga, where it had acquired & right
of possession by force of arms. This condition of things at once
accounts for its desire to secure the friendship of the Portuguese.
Father Andrd Fernandes and Jo&o Eaposo, who was with him,
were provided with a hut to live ha, and carriers were despatched
who brought up the others seventeen days later. Dorn Gonpalo
and Andid da Oosta arrived so weak that they could hardly
stand, but the father soon became stronger, and the lay brother
was sent back to the coast for a time to recuperate.

Shortly after their arrival the xhission party— the first in
South Africa— witnessed a striking instance of the nature of the
heathenism they had come to destroy. A son of the chief had
just died, and the witohfinder had pointed out an individual as
guilty of having caused his death by treading in his footprints,
whereupon the man accused was tortured and killed. They
found, too, people in the last stages of sickness abandoned by
eve:^ one, even their nearest relatives, who feared that death —
the invisible destroyer— might seize them as well as the decrepit,
if they Wffice close at hand when he came. ,

Intercourse with the Banhi. 22,7

Having delivered the complimentary message of the viceroy
and his presentj the missionaries were very well treated. Hnts
were given to them to live in, and they were supplied with
abundance of food. They commenced therefore without delay to
exhort tho people to become Christians, There is a custom of
the Bantu, with which they were of course unacquainted, not to
dispute with honoured guests, but to profess agreement with
whatever is stated. This is regarded by those people as polite-
ness, and it is carried to such an absurd extent that it is often
difficult to obtain correct information from them. Thus if one
asks a man, is it far to such a place ? politeness requires him to
reply it is far, though it may be close by. The questioner, by
using the word far, is supposed to be under the impression that it
is at a distance, and it would be rudeness to correct him. They
express their thanks for whatever is told to them, whether the
intelligenee is pleasing or not, and whether they believe it or not.
Then, too, no one of them ever denies the existence of a Supi’enie
Being, but admits it without hesitation as soon as he is told of it,
though^he may not once have thought of the subject before.

The missionaries must have been deceived by these habits of
the people, for they were convinced that their words had taken
deep root, and within a very short time they baptized about four
hundred individuals at the kraal, including the chief and his
family. The chief received the name Constantino, his principal
wife Isabel, and his sons and councillors the names of leading
Portuguese nobles. It is not easy to analyse the thoughts of
those uncultivated barbarians, but certainly what they under-
stood by this ceremony must have been something very different
from what the missionaries understood by it.

After a sojourn of only seven weeks at Otongwe, Dom Gongalo
da Silveira returned to Inhambone, leaving behind him the other
members of the mission and what he believed to be an infant
Christian community. The little vessel had taken in the cargo
obtained in barter, and the Portuguese traders, who were ready
to go on board, were waiting for him. The missionary embarked
with them, the sails were set, and he proceeded to Mozambique
to prepare for a visit to the Monomotapa.

S 28 History of South Africa.

Having made his arrangements with the assistance of the
captain Paiitaleao de Sa, on the 18th of Septemhor J560 he left
the island again, with the Kalanga country as his destination.
He was accompanied by six Portuguese, one of whom, Antonio
Dins by nanae, was a competent interpreter. The zambuco in
which ho was a passenger tonehed at the mouth of the Kilimane,
and then proceeded to the Cuama, up which she made her way
to Sena. From ten to fifteen Portuguese and a few Indian
Christians were found at this place, living in the most dissolute
manner. There was no resident clergyman, so during the two
months that he remained here waiting for a reply to a message
that he sent to the Monomotapa, he pursued his calling and
induced some of his countrymen to amend their habits, besides
which he baptized about five hundred natives, mostly "servants
and slaves of the Europeans. At Sena he was joined by a
Portuguese resident of Tete, named Gomes Ooelho, who was
living on terms of friendship with the paramount Kalanga chief,
and who was conversant with his language.

At length a reply was received from the Monomotapa, firviting
the missionary to visit him, so he and his attendants set out over
land for Tete, sending their luggage and other goods up the
river in boats. • At Tete a stay was made only sufficiently long
to engage more native carriers, and the party then proceeded
onward, forming quite a little caravan. Gomes Ooelho
remained at the river to attend to any forwarding business
that was to be done, as he had ascertained that his presence
with Dom Goupalo would not be needed. The road was long,
and food became so scarce that they were glad to get any kind
of edible wild plants, but on the 26th of December they reached
their destination in safety.

At the kraal of the great chief there was living at this time a
Portuguese adventurer named Antonio Caiado, one of a class of
men met with then as now, who, while retaining affection for the
country of their birth, can make themselves perfectly at home
^ong barbarians. Oaiado had ingratiated himself with the
Monomotapa, and was a councillor of rank and principal military
authority in the tribe. He was deputed by the chief to wait

Intercourse with the Bantu,

229

upon tJie stvaiigors, to Lid llioni wclcomo as messnngovs from
the viceroy of India, and to olfei’ their leader a jtreseni of gold
dust, cattle, and female slaves, ns a token of friendship. The
missionary declined the present, but in sncli a way as not to give
offence, and shortly afterwards the groat chief admitted him to
an interview. He was received with all possible honour as an
ambassador from the viceroy, who, from accounts of previous
Portuguese visitors to the great place, was believed to be a
potentate of enormous wealth and power. The message of
friendship and the present which he brought gave great satisfac-
tion. Food and huts for himself and his retinue were offered
and accepted with thanks, but the African chief was surprised
when the missionary, so unlike all other white men he had met,
courteously declined to accept the gold and female companions
pressed upon him.

The same mistake was made here as at Gamha’s kraal, the
missionary addressed the fthief and his assembled people through
an interpreter, they professed to believe what he said, and
allowed themselves to he baptized. This took place within a
month from the date of his arrival. The Monomotapa was a
mere youth, and one of his half brothers, Tshepnte by name,
was in revolt against him. The insurgeirt had taken the title of
Kiteve, and was in possession of a broad tract of territory along
the coast from Sofala to the Tendankulu river, in which he was
quite iudependeat. Under these circumstances it was evidently
the interest of the Monomotapa and his adherents to do nothing
to offend any one who offered him friendship, especially one who
represented a powerful, though distant ruler. Looking at the
matter in this light, there is nothing strange in what occurred.
The Monomotapa received at his baptism the name Sebastiao,
and bis motber at hers Maria. Some three huneb-ed of his
eonncillors, attendants, and followers were baptized with him.

The chief evidently thought his visitors would not make a
long stay, and he was very willing to entertain them for a few
weeks and please them to the best of his ability, but shortly
after his baptism he began to ' get weary of their presence. lie
had no intention whatever of abandoning any of the enstoms of

T 2

230 History of South Africa.

his race, and was irritated when the missionary nrged him to do
so. Some Mohamodau refugees from Mozambique, who were
staying with him, took advantage of his growing coldness to
persuade him that Silveira was a mighty sorcerer. They
reminded hinx of the loss of the presents which the officials of
Sofala had made to his predecessors, and that Dom Gonjalo had
been in Tahopute's country, from which they inferred that he
had left people behind him there and had come in advance as a
spy to ascertain the condition of the land and bewitch the people
in it. In the end they so worked upon his credulity and his
feat that he resolved if the missionary would not leave to put
him to doatiti, with which resolution Dom Gonpalo was made
acquainted. He, however, declined to remove, and took no other
precautions than to give some articles that he regarded as sacred
to Caiado, with an injunction to preserve them from injury. In
the belief that he was making converts he was willing to face
death, and presently he baptized fifty individuals who expressed
a desire to become Christians, probably for the sake of the beads
and pieces of calico that he distributed among them. This was
regarded by the Monomotapa as a defiance of his authority, and
in his wrath he issued orders to a party of men, who strangled
the missionary during the night of the 16th of March 1561 and
cast his dead body into the river Monsengense. The newly
baptized narrowly escaped the same fate.

A drought of some duration occurred not long afterwards, and
was followed by a great plague of locusts. Caiado and other
Portuguese now persuaded the chief that these evils were con-
sequences of the murder of Silveira, so he caused the principal
Mohamedans who had poisoned his mind towards the missionary
to he put to death.

Father Andrd Fernandes -and the lay brother Andrd da Costa
had been left by Dom Goupalo at Gamba’s kraal Otongwe.
Whether the lay brother died or left the country is unknown ;
in numerous letters written, by Father Fernandes at a little later
dat§ neither he nor JoSo Eaposo is mentioned, and the father
refers to himself as being quite alone. It was trvdy a wretched
condition .for a Exxropean to be in, especially as it soon became

Intercourse with the Bantu.

231

evident that the supposed converts were altogether indisposed
to lay aside their old customs or to submit to ecclesiastical
discipline. They would not abandon polygamy, or the belief in
charms, or the practice of divination, or punishment of persons
charged with dealing in witchcraft, and were greatly offended
with the preaching of the missionary against their habits. They
had a custom also — which still exists — that when a man died his
brothers should take liis widows and raise up a family for him,
and this the missionary denounced to their great annoyance.
At length matters reached a climax. There was a drought in
the country, and the chief Gamba, who was also the rainmaker
of his clan, went through the ordinary ceremonies to obtain a
downpour. For doing this Father Fernandes openly and fear-
lessly rehnked him before his people, with the result that
whatever influence he had before was now at an end. Ho had
nothing left to buy food with, and at timoa was nearly starved.
Neglected, often fever-stricken, regarded as a wizard to be
avoided, after a residence of over two years at Otongwe he
received instructions from his provincial to return to Goa, and
so he left a country in which under the circumstances then
existing he must have perished had he remainod longer, witlmiit
a chance of doing any good. Making his way as best he could
to Inhambane, he proceeded, to Mozambiq^ue in the trading
vessel, and there embarked in a ship which conveyed him in
an extremely debilitated condition to the convent of his order
in Goa.

Thus ended the first mission to the Bantu of South Africa.' It
is possible that some traces of the doctrine of the teachers may
have remained, for instance a belief in the existence of the
devil ; but as far as the introduction of Christian morals is con-
cerned the mission had no result whatever. Without something
beyond natural agency it could not have been otherwise among
people such as the Makalanga at that time, whoso race instinct
was exceedingly strong, and whose political and social system
was based upon ideas utterly antagonistic to those of Europeans.

232

History of South Africa.

CHArTEE X.

DISASTllOirS EXPEDITIONS UNDEtt BARRETO AND HOMEM.

Dona Oathaeina acted as regent of Portugal until 1562,
when she retired and the cardinal Dorn Henriquo, younger
brother of King Jo3o III, took her place. While he was
head of the government nothing worthy of mention occurred
in South-Eastern Africa, It was his intention to station at
Mozambique an ecclesiastical administrator, with authority
almost equal to that of a bishop, and a bull was obtained
from the pope for the purpose. The archbishop of Goa gave
his consent to the separation from his diocese of the territory
from the Cape of Good Hope to Melinde. The licantiate
Manuel Ooutinho, one of the royal chaplains, received the
appointment, with a salary of about 801 . a year from the
1st of April 1563, But something occurred to prevent the
plan being carried into execution, and it was not revived
until half a century later.

In 1568 Dorn Sebastiao, though only in his fifteenth year,
was declared to be of age, and was croivued king of Portugal,
then an absolute monarchy. His was a strange character :
gloomy, but adventurous to the last degree, deeply religious
according to the standard of his time, but wilful and vain,
brave as any warrior who ever held lance in hand, but rash
as the most imprudent of those crusaders whom in many
respects he greatly rcsomhled. Ho had hardly assumed the
reins of govoniment when ho resolved to create a vast
dominion in Africa south of the Zambesi, a dominion which
in .wealth and importance would rival that of Castile in the
countries subjected to that crown by the daring of Cortes and
Pizarto.

Disastrous Military Expeditious. 233

Ever since tlie establisliment of the trading station at
Sofala a quantity of gold had been obtained yearly in com-
merce, but that quantity was so small as to be disappointing.
Compared with the wealth which flowed into Spain from
Mexico and Peru it was almost as nothing. Yet the belief
was general in Portugal that the mines of South Africa were
as rich as those of America, and that if possession of them
was taken, boundless wealth would be obtained.

Were not these the mines from which the queen of Sheba
got the gold which she presented to King Solomon? said
the Portuguese enthusiasts. Was not Masapa the ancient
Ophir ? Why even then the Kalanga Kaffirs called the
mountain close to the residence of their great chief Para,
and the Arabs called it Aufur, what was that but a corrup-
tion of Ophir? There, at Abasia, close to Masapa and to
the mountain Pura, was a mine so rich that there were
seldom years in which nuggets worth four thousand cruzados
(1904Z. ISa. 4d.) * ware not taken from it. Then there were
the mines of Manika and far distant Butua, worked only by
Bantu, who neither knew how to dig nor had the necessary
tools. Only by washing river sand and soil in pools after
heavy rains, these barbarians obtained all the gold that was
purchased at Sofala and the smaller stations : what would
not be got if civilised Europeans owned the territory? For
it was to be borne in mind that the Bantu were extremely
indolent, that when any one of them obtained sufficient gold
to supply his immediate wants, he, troubled himself about
washing the soil no longer.

All this and more of the same nature was exciting the
minds of the people of I*ortugal, and was reflected in the
glowing pages of their writers. It was therefore a highly
popular enterprise that the boy king was about to embark
upou, 0110 in which ho coiild employ the best men and much

* The weight of tlie cruzado of Kiug Sehastiiio ia given to me by the curator
of the coin department of the British Muaeum as 58' 7 gralna Tioy, and its
purity as practically the same as that of Engheh gold. I have therefore
estimated it at

234 History of South Africa.

of the wealth of the country without a murmur from any one.
Before the necessary preparations Avere made, however, the
pious sovereign submitted to a board termed the table of
conscience the question whether aggressive warfare against
the native ruler of the coveted territory would be lawful and
just. The reply must have been foreseen, but it would relieve
the monarch of personal moral responsibility in the eyes of
Christendom, probably even in his own, if his learned advisers
favoured his views.

The board of conscience consisted of seven individuals, who
took the circumstances of the case into consideration, and on
the 23rd of January 1569 pronounced their opinion. They
declared that as the Monomotapa and his predecessors had
been guilty of killing and robbing their own innocent subjects
as well as several Portuguese traders, that one of them had
ordered the father Dorn Gonjialo da Silveira, a peaceful
missionary, to be murdered, that by them two Portuguese
ambassadors from the captain of Sofaln had been robbed and
detained as prisoners, that they sheltered in their dominions
many Moors, the enemies of the Christian faith and instigators
of evil, and that apostolic bulls were in existence conceding
to the king all the commerce of the country from Cape Nun
to India upon condition of his causing the gospel to he
preached there, it would be right and proper to demand in
moderate terms that the African ruler should receive and
protect Christian missionaries, expel the Moors, cease tyran-
nical conduct tow'ards his subjects, carry on commerce in a
friendly manner, and make snfBcient compensation for all
damage done and expenses incurred ; and upon his failing
to do so war might justly bo made upon him. It would
certainly be difficult to find bettor reasons for hostilities than
those here given, if the true object had not been something,
very different.

The next step was the division of India into three govern-
menta. - Complaints were unceasing that in places distant from
Goa it was almost impossible to carry on business properly,
owing to the length of time required to obtain orders and

Disastrous Military Expeditions. 235

instruotious, and it was evident that war on an extensive
scale could not be conducted successfully in Eastern Africa
if the general in command should he in any way hampered.
The whole sphere of Portuguese influence in the East was
therefore separated into three sections: the first extending
from Cape Oorrentes to Cape Guardafui, the second from
Cape Gruardafui to Pegu, and the third from Pegu to China.
As head of the first and commander in chief of the expedition
about to be sent out the king’s choice fell upon Francisco
Barreto, an ofiScer of experience in war, who had been governor
general of India from 1555 to 1558, and who was then in
chief command of the royal galleys. The appointment was a
popular^one, for Barreto had the reputation of being not only
brave and skilful, but the most generous cavalier of his day.
He was instructed to enrol a thousand soldiers, and was
supplied with a hundred thousand cruzados (47,616?. 13a. 4A)
in ready money, with a promise of an equal sum in gold and
a reinforcement of five hundred men every year until the
conquest should he completed. All Lisbon was in a state of
excitement when this became known, and so great was the
enthusiasm with which the project was regarded that from
every side cadets of the best families pressed forward and
ofiored their services. The recruiting offices were so crowded
that only the very best men were selected, and those who
were rejected would have sufficed for another expedition.
Three ships were engaged to take the troops to UTozaanbique.
One of these — ^the Eainha — was a famous Indiaman, and the
largest in the king’s service. In addition to the crew, six
hundred soldiers, of whom more than half were of gentle
blood aud two hundred wete court attendants, embarked with
Barreto in this ship. In each of the others two hundred
soldiers embarked. One was commanded by Vasco Fernandes
Homem, the other by Louren 9 o Carvalho. The viceroy at
Goa was instructed to forward supplies of provisions and
military stores to Mozambique, and to procure horses, asses,
aud camels at Ormuz for the use of the expedition. A
hundred negroes were sent out to take care of the animals

236

History of South Africa.

when they arrived. To accompany the expedition four
fathers of the Society of Jesus were selected, one of whom—
Erancisco Monolaros by name — wrote an account of it which
is still in existence.

On the 16th of April 1569 tho expedition, that was supposed
to have a brilliant career before it, sailed from Belem amidst
the roar of artillery and a great sound of trumpets. Almost
immediately the first trouble was encountered, in tho form of
a gale which caused so much damage to the ship commanded
by Lonrenpo Carvalho that she was obliged to return to
Lisbon, where she was condemned. The other two took
seventy-seven days to reach, the eq^uator, and then separated,
Vasco Fernandes Homem proceeding to Mozambique, where he
arrived in August, and the captain general steering for the bay
of All Saints on the coast of Brazil to procure water and
refreshments. The Mcmha dropped anchor in this bay on the
4th of August, and remained until the end of January 1570,
waiting for the favourable monsoon. During this time saxty
of the soldiers died, but as many others were obtained in their
stead.

At the bay of All Saints Francisco Barreto received
information of a destructive plague that had broken out in
Lisbon, and that his wife, Dona Beatriz d’Ataide, had died
of it only two days after his departure. Having sailed again,
the Cape of Good Hope was passed in safety, but on the
banks of Agulhas a storm was encountered which drove the
ship so far back that she was thirty-six days in recovering
her position. In consequence of this, Mozambique was not
reached until the 16th of May 1570, where Vasco Fernandes
Homem was found with his men all ill and having lost many
by death, among them his oivn son Antonio Mascarenhas.
Hone of the requisite supplies or animals had yet arrived
from India. Pedro Barreto, a nephew of the commander in
chief, had been captain of Sofala and Mozambique, but upon
hearing of the new arrangement in a fit of jealousy had
thrown, up his appointment and embarked in a ship returning
to JSavope. This is the man whose shabby treatment of Luis

Disastrous Military Expeditions.

237

de Camoas has Mackeued his aame for aver in I’ortuguese
history. He died on the passage to Lisbon, His affairs in
Africa were wound up by his agent, from whom Vasco
jpernandes Homem, who assumed the government, demanded
the proceeds of his property, amounting to about thirty-three
thousand pounds sterling. This money was transferred to
Francisco Barreto upon his arrival, who made use of it in
defraying some of the expenses of the expedition.

The town of Mozambique at this time contained about a
hundred Portuguese residents and two hundred Indians and
EafiSrs. The Mohamedan village on the island was in a
ruinous condition. The construction of Fort SSo Sebastiao
was progressing, and some heavy artillery brought out in the
Bamlia was landed to be mounted on its walla,

Francisco Barreto appointed Lourenpo G-odinho captain of
Mozambique provisionally, and in October sent Vasco Fernandes
Homem with three hundred soldiers to the ports along the
coast to the northward to obtain provisions and then take
possession of the Comoro islands. A few weeks later* he
followed himself in pangayos with the remainder of his force
who Avere in health, and overtook Homem at Kilwa, which
Avas then a place of very little importance. From Kilwa he
proceeded to Mafia, and after a stay there of tw’o or three
days, to Zanzibar. At this island some Kaffirs who were in
insarreotion were reduced to order. After this Barreto visited
Mombasa, ' Melinde, Oamho, mid Pate. At the place last
named the inhabitants were more hostile to the Portuguese’
than at any other settlement on the coast, and on . that
account it Avas intended to destroy the town; but it was
found almost deserted, and the few people left in it begged
for mercy and were spared on paying five thousand seven
hundred and fourteen pounds sterling, partly in gold and
partly in clotb and provisions. They avenged themselves
after the expedition sailed, however, by robbing and murdering
several Portuguese traders. As many of tlie soldiers had died
along the coast and others were very ill, Barreto here
abandoned his design against the Comoro islands, and from

238 History of South Africa.

Pate returned to Mozambique with the tribute money and
provisions he had obtained.

Upon his arrival at the island he found a small vessel
under command of Manuel de Mesquita Perestrello, that had
been sent from Portugal to his assistance. The JBmnha was
lying a wreck on the coast of the mainland, having been
driven from her anchors in a hurricane, but her cargo had
previously been taken on shore. Two ships which the viceroy
Dorn Luis d’Ataide had sent from India with munitions of
war, stores of different kinds, horses, and other animals for
the use of the expedition, had just made their appearance.
With these, however, Barreto received information that a
powerful hostile force was besieging Ohaul, so he called a
council of his officers and put the question to them whether
it would not be, more advantageous to the king’s service to
defer the African conquest for a time, and proceed to the
relief of that place. The council was of opinion that they
should first force the enemy to raise the siege of Ohaul, and
then return and take possession of the gold mines, so pre-
parations for that purpose were at once commenced.

Before Barreto could sail for Ohaul, Dom Antonio do
Noronha, the newly appointed viceroy of, India from Cape
Guardafui to Pegu, arrived at Mozambique with a fleet of
five ships having on hoard two hundred soldiers to reinforce
the African expedition. His appearance put a differeut aspect
upon affairs. He was very ill when he reached the island,
but after a few days lie recovered sufficiently to he present at
a general council, which was attended by a large number of
officers of high rank and more than twenty fathers of the
Society of Jesus and the order of Saint Dominic, when it was
unanimously resolved that the African expedition should at
once he proceeded with. With one exception, the members
of the council were of opinion that Sofala should he made
the base of operations, the father Prancisco Monclaro,s alone
holding that the route should he up the Zambesi to a certain
point, and then straight to the mountain where the paramount
chief of the Ealanga tribe resided, in order to punish that

Disastrous Military Expeditions, 239

despot for the murder of the miHsieuflry Dom Goupalo da
Silreira.

Barreto acceirted the decision of the majority of the
council, and commenced to send his stores to Sofala in small
vessels, but after a time his mind misgave him. lie had
been specially commanded by the king on all occasions of
importairce to follow the advice of Father Monclaros, wlio
was in high favour at court. After another consultation witli
him, the captain general suddenly recalled the pangayos from
Sofala, and in November 1.571 left Mozambique for Sena with
twenty-two vessels of different sizes conveying bis army and
stores. Two years and seven months had passed away since
he sailed from Lisbon, many of the men who had embarked
there in high hope of glory and wealth were no more, and
most of those who remained alive were enfeebled by the long
sojourn on that unhealthy coast. It is creditable to them
that at last, when the time of action appeared to have arrived,
they were still found eager to press forward.

On .the way down the coast the flotilla put into several
ports before reaching the Quilimane, where Barreio procured
a number of luzios or large boats ; but finding that mouth
of the Zambesi not then navigable into the main stream, he
proceeded to the Luabo. At Quilimane only two or three
Porluguese were residing. The Bantu chief, whose name was
Mongalo, had a distinct remembrance of Vasco da Gama’s
visit seventy-five years before.

Sixteen days were required to ascend the river from the
bar of the Luaho to Sena. Sometimes the sails were set, at
other times the vessels were towed by boats, and where the
current was •very strong warping was resorted to. Barreto
resolved to make Sena his base of proceedings. Ten Portu-
guese traders were living there in wattled huts, but there
was no fort or substantial building of any kind. The troops
were lauded, and were found to number over seven hundred
arquebusiers, exclusive of officers, slaves, aud camp attendants
of every description. Their supply of provisions was ample.
They had horses to draw the artillery and mount a respectable

240

History of South Africa.

coinpany, a iiiimber of asses to carry skin water-bags, and
some camels for heavy transport. As far as war material was
concerned, the expedition was as well equiiiped as it could
be. But this first campaign of Europeans against Bantu in
Southern Africa was opened under exceptional difficulties, for
the locality rvas the sickly Zambesi valley, and the time was
the hottest of the year.

Agents were at once sent out to purchase oxen, and the
work of building a fort was commenced without delay. Stono
for the purpose was drawn to the site selected by cattle
trained to the yoke, the first ever so employed in South
Africa, which caused great astonishment to tho Bantu specta-
tors. The beginning of trouble was occasioned by thirst. The
river, owing to heavy falls of rain along its upper course, was
so muddy and dirty that its water could not be used without
letting it settle, and the only vessels available for this purpose
were a few calabashes. Then sickness broke out, and men,
horses, and oxen began to die, owing, as the captain general
supposed, to the impurities which they drank. Father wMon-
claros, however, was of a different opinion. He believed that
the Mohamedans who resided at Sena were poisoning the
grass to cause the animals to perish, and were even practising
the same malevolence towards the men, when opportunities
occurred, by putting some deadly substance secretly in the
food. He urged Barreto to expel them, who declined to do
so, and to ascertain whether purer water could not be obtained,
caused a well to be dug. The excavation was made, and
stone was being brought to build a wall round it, when one
Manhoesa, a man of mixed Arab and Bantu blood, went to
Barreto privatoly and told him that there was a plot to put
poison in it.

The Mohamedan residents of the place were traders who
purchased goods from the Portuguese and paid for them in
gold and ivory. Some of them owned many slaves, whom
they employed as carriers in their bartering expeditions and
agents in pushing their traffic far into the interior. They.
were gorerned by their own sheik, and were quite inde-

Disastrous Military Expeditions. 241

pendent of other control. Most of them could spenk tho
Portuguese language sufficiently well to be undorstooclj and
after the expedition arrived professed to entertain friendship
for the members of it, though at heart it was impossible for
the two races at that time to be really well disposed towards
each other. Apart from the wide gulf which religion caused,
the Christians had come to destroy the commerce with the
Bantu by which these mongrel Arabs lived, how could there
then bo friendship between them?

Barreto believed Manhoasa’s statement, and caused the
well to be filled up. The horses were now dying off at an
alarming rate, — ^just as would happen to-day, for in that
locality they cannot long exist, — and upon the bodies being
opened, the appearance of the lungs convinced the Portuguese
that they had been poisoned. Tho grooms were arrested, and
os they protested that they were innocent, the captain general
commanded them to be put to the tortnro. Under this
ordeal some of them declared that they had been bribed by
a Mocttish priest to kill the horses, and tlmt ho luid supplied
them with poison for tho purpose,

Upon this evidence Barreto ordered his soldiers to attack
the Mobamedans suddenly and put them to the sword. The
country around was thereupon scoured to a considerable
distance, and all the adult males were killed except seventeen,
who were brought to the camp as prisoners. Their property
of every kind was seized, most of which was divided , among
the soldiers as booty, though gold to the value of over 6700?.
was reserved for the servioe of the king. The prisoners were
tried, and were sentenced to death. They were exhorted to
embrace Christianity, in order to save their souls, hut all
rejected the proposal except one, who was baptized with the
name Lourenpo, and was accompanied to the scaffold by a
priest carrying a crucifix. This one was hanged, some were
impaled, some were blown from the mouths of mortars, and
the others were put to death in various ways with exquisite
torture. Of the whole adult male Mohamedan population
of Sena and its neighbourhood only Mauhoesa was left alive.

242 History of South Africa.

Such dreadful l)arbarity iuliicted upon people innocent of
the crime with which they were charged was regarded by
Father Monclaros as a simple act of justice, and he recorded
the horrible event without the slightest recognition of the
infamy attacheil to it.

Shortly after he reached Sena Barreto sent Miguel Bernardes,
an old resident in the country, to the Monomotapa; but he
was drowned on the way by the overturning of his canoe in
the river. Another was then despatched on the same errand.
A messenger went in advance to ascertain whether ho would
be received in a manner becoming the representative of the
king of Portugal, because in that capacity he would not be at
liberty to lay aside his arms, to prostrate himself upon the
ground, and to kneel when addressing the chief, as was the
ordinary custom when natives or strangers presented them-
selves. Some Mohomedans were at the great place when the
messenger arrived, and they tried to induce the Monomotapa
not to see the envoy except in the usual manner. They
informed him that the Portuguese were powerful sorcerers,
who, if permitted to have their own way, might bewitch and
even kill him by their glances and their words. The chief
was alarmed by their statements and therefore hesitated for
some days, but in the end he promised that the envoy might
present himself in the Portuguese manner, and would be
received with friendship.

Barreto’s agent then proceeded to the Monomotapa’s kraal.
He had several attendants with him, and before him went ser-
vants carrying a chair and a carpet. The carpet was spread
on the ground in front of the place where the Monomotapa
was reclining with his councillors and great men half
surrounding him, the chair was placed upon it, and the
Portuguese official, richly dressed and armed, took his seat
in it, his attendants, also armed, standing on each side and
at his back. The European subordinate and the gr-eatest of
all the South African chiefs were there in conference, and
the European, by virtue of his blood, assumed mid was
conceded the higher position of the two.

Disastrous Military Expeditions, 243

After some compliraentary remarks from eack, the envoy,
through his interpreter, introduced the subject of his mission,
which he said was to obtain the grant of a right of way to
the gold mines of Manika and Butua, and to form an
alliance against the chief Mongasi — (variously written by the
Portuguese Omigos, Mongas, and Monge), — the hereditary
enemy of the Makalanga. The real object of Barreto’s expe-
dition, the seizure of the gold mines in the Kalanga country
itself, was kept concealed. The Monomotapa, as a matter of
course, was charmed with the proposal of assistance against
his enemy. The tribe of which Mongasi was tho head
occupied the right bank of the Zambesi at and above the
Lupata gorge, and during several preceding years had com-
mitted great ravages upon its neighbours. Its territory was
small compared with that over which the Kalanga clans were
spread, but its men were brave and fond of war, and to the
Portuguese it was not certain which of the two was really
the more powerful, Mongasi or the Monomotapa himself. The
condition of things indeed was somewhat similar to that in
the same country three centuries later, except that Mongasi
and his lighting men were in power far below Lobengula and
the Matabele bands. The chief had given the Portuguese
cause for enmity by robbing and killing several traders, and
on one occasion sending a party to Teto who, finding no
white men there at the time, murdered about seventy of their
female slaves and children.

The Monomotapa was so pleased that he readily agreed to
everything that the envoy proposed. He offered to send a
great army to assist against Mongasi, and he said that a
way through his territory to the mines beyond would bo open
to the Portuguese at all times. This wirs very satisfactory
from Barreto’s point of view, though ho did not avail himself
of the offer of assistance, as he wished to avoid any com-
plications that might arise from it.

After a detention of seven months at Sena, the return
of the envoy enabled the captain general to proceed towards
his destination. The fort which he ■ had nearly completed.

If

244 History of South Africa.

named SSo Marpal, gave the Portuguese at least one strong
position on the great river, though the country about it was
not subdued, and the Bantu were left in absolute inde-
pendence there. He had lost by fever at that unhealthy
place a great many of those who had accompanied him from
Portugal with such high hope, among them his own son
Buy Hunes Barreto, and of the men who were left some were
barely able to walk. At the end of July 1572 ha set out.
A flotilla of boats containing provisions and stores of all
kinds ascended the river, and along the bank marched the
army accompanied by twenty-five waggons drawn by oxen,
and the camels, asses, and a few horses that had lecontly
arrived from India. The troops, about six hundred and fifty
in number, including eighty Indians and mixed breeds,
were divided into five companies, commanded respectively by
Barreto himself, Antonio de Hello, Thome de Sousa, Jeronymo
d’ Aguiar, and Jeronymo d’Andrada. Vasco Fernandes Hoinem,
who had the rank of colonel, filled an office coji’esponding to
that of q^uarter master general. Over two thousand, slaves
and camp attendants were with the army.

A whole month was occupied in marching from Sena to the
confluence of the Mazoe and the Zambesi above the Lupata
gorge. Frequently a soldier became too ill to walk, and he
was then placed on a waggon until nightfall, when the
camp was pitched on the margin of the river and he was
transferred to one of the boats. The expedition was now to
ascend the Mazoe to Mongasi’s great place, so near its mouth
Barreto formed a camp on a small island, and left there his
sick with the boats and all the superfluous baggage and
stores, for there was no possibility of proceeding with a
heavily enoumberod column. An officer named Buy de Mello,
who had been wounded by a buffalo, was placed in charge of
thi$ camp. On the northern, or Bororo side of the Zambesi,
there was a tribe of considerable strength living under a
chief named Tshombe, who was an enemy of Mongasi and
thereferre as soon as he ascertained the object of the expedi-
tion professed to be a friend of the Portuguese. He supplied

Disastrous Military Expeditions. 245

t\v& hundred men to assist in carrying the baggage and to
act as guides.

With his force now reduced to five hundred and sixty
avquebusiers, twenty-three horsemen, and a few gunners with
five or six pieces of artillery, Barreto turned away almost
due south from the Zambesi. In this direction the column
marched ten days, the men and animals suffering greatly at
times from want of water. How the slaves and camp
attendants fared is not mentioned by either Do Oouto or
Dather Monolaros, but the soldiers lived chiefly on scairty
rations of beef, which they grilled on embers or by holding
it on rods before a fire, though often they were so exhausted
with the heat and fatigue that they were unable to oat
anything at all. Their spirits revived, however, when on the
eleventh day they came in sight of Mongasi’s army, which
was so large that the hillsides and valleys looked black with
men.

Barreto immediately arranged his soldiers in a strong
position resting on a hill, and awaited an attack, but none
was made that day. All night the troops were imder arms,
getting what sleep they could without moving from their
places, but that was little, for the natives at no great distance
were shouting continuously and making a great noise with
their war-dmms. At dawn the sergeant-major, Pedro do
Castro, was sent out with eighty picked men to try and
draw the enemy on. This manesuvre succeeded. The natives
rushed forward in a dense mass, led by an old female witch-
finder with a calabash full of charms, which she threw into
the air in the belief that they would cause the Portuguese to
become blind and palsied. So implicitly did the warriors
of Mongasi rely upon these charms, that they carried riems
to bind the Europeans who should not be killed. Barreto
ordered one of his bast shots to try to pick the old sorceress
off, and she fell dead trader his fire. The natives, who
believed that she was immortal, were checked for an instant,
hut presently brandishing their weapons with great shouts,
they came charging on.

u 2

24 ^ History of South Africa,

Tken, with, a cry of SSo Thiago from, the Portuguese, a
storm of balls from cannons and arquebuses and unwieldy
firelocks was poured into the dense mass, which was shattered
and broken. Barreto now in his turn ehaiged, when the
enemy took to flight, but in the pursuit several Portugnose
were wounded with arrows. Fearing that his men might get
scattered, the general caused the recall to be sounded almost
at once, so that within a few minutes from its cominence-
lueut the action was over.

The horsemen were then sent out to inspect the country in
front. They returned presently with intelligence that there
was a large kraal close by, belonging to JTapote, one of
Mongasi’s sub-ohiefs, so the general resolved to set it on fire
as soon as the men were a little rested and had broken their
fast. About ten o’clock the expedition reached the kraal,
which was nearly surrounded by patches of forest, and it was
horned, but immediately afterwards the natives were seen
appimching. There was just time to form a kind of breast-
work at the sides of the field guns with stakes an^ bushes
when Mongasi’s army, arranged in the form of a orescent
with its horns extended to surround the position, was upon
the invading ba-nd. It was received as before with a heavy
fire, which was kept hack until the leading, rank iwas within
a few feet, and which struck down the files far towards the,
rear. The smoke which rolled over the Europeans and hid
them from sight was regarded by the Bantir with superstitious
fear, it seemed to them as if their opponents were under
supernatural protection, and so they fled once more. They
were followed some distance, and a great many were killed,
among whom was the chief Kapote, but the Portuguese also
suffered severely in the pursuit, for when Barreto’s force
came together again it was found that more than sixty men
were wounded, some indeed only slightly hut not a few
mortally, and two were dead. Of the enemy it was believed
that over six thousand had perished since dawn that morning,
though very probably this estimate was much in excess
of the actual mrinber.

Disastrous Military Expeditions. 247

The progress of the expedition was now delayed by the
necessity of establishing a hospital. I’ortunately the site of
the captured feraal was a good one, and water was plentiful
close by. But at daylight on the sixth day after their
arrival the natives attacked them again. On this occasion
the Europeans were protected with palisadesj which the Bantu
were unable to pass, though they continued their efforts to
force an entrance until au hour after noon. Their losses
under these circumstances must have been very heavy, and
they were so disheartened that they accepted their defeat as
decisive and sent a messenger to beg for peace.

Barreto’s position at this time was one of great difficulty.
He w'as encumbered with sick and wounded men, the objective
point of his expedition was far away, Ms supply of ammn-
uition was small, and his slaughter cattle were reduced to a
very limited number. Yet he spoke to Mongasi’s messenger
in a haughty tone, and replied that he would think over the
matter: the chief might send again after a couple of days,
and he “would then decide, A present of fifty head of cattle
and as many sheop, a little gold, and a couple of tusks of
ivory, uas sent to him, and he gave in return some irou
hoes, but no terms of peace were arranged. The animals
were of the greatest service, so small was his stock of food.

In leas than a week fi-om this time a council of war was
held, when there was but one opinion, that the only hope of
safety was in retreating without delay. The expedition there-
fore turned hack towards the Zambesi, and so great were the
sufferings of the men fox want of food on the way that they
searched for roots and wild plants to keep them alive, At
length, at the end of September, the bank of the river was
reached, and a canoe wa.s obtained, with which a letter was
sent to Buy de Mello, who was in command of the camp on
the island. That oflScer immediately despatched six boat
loads of millet and other provisions, and thus the exhausted
soldiers and camp attendants were saved. They bad not
penetrated the country farther than forty-five miles in a
straight line from the river.

248 History of Smith Africa.

There were more than two hundred men either wounded
or too ill to be of any service, and the losses by death had
been large, so Barreto resolved to return to Sena, where a
reinforcement of eighty soldiers who had recently arrived was
awaiting him. The sick were sent down the river in boats
after the rcinainder of the expedition had crossed to the
Bororo side with the animals and baggage, aud the waggons,
now useless, had been burned. On the march provisions were
obtained from the natives, who were subjects of Tshombe, and
two kraals hostile to that chief were destroyed.

A few days after crossing the river Barreto received
information that his presence was urgently needed at
Mozambique. When he sailed from that island he left there
as captain a man eighty years of age, named Antonio Pereira
Brandao, and assigned to Lourengo Godinho the office of
factor. Brandito was under the deepest obligation to him.
In the Maluccas he had committed crimes for which he was
tried and condemned to confiscation of all his property and
banishment to Africa for life. Ho threw himself ujJbn the
compassion of Barreto, who obtained permission from the king
to take him with the expedition, and made him captain of
Mozambique purposely that he might acquire .some property
to bestow upon his daughter. In return he acted with such
treachery towards his benefactor that he planned the detention
of supplies forwarded from Goa, in order to ruin him.

Illjon learning this Barreto left Yasco Fernandes Homem
in command of the retreating force, and proceeded down the
river in a luzio. At Sena he found an embassy from the
Monomotapa, who brought a message expressing good will
and desiring friendship with the king of Portugal and com-
merce with the white people. The captain general mentioned
three conditions as requisite to a compact between them:
first that the Mohamedans should be expelled from the
country, secondly that Christian missionaries should be
received, and thirdly that a number of gold mines should
be ceded. He added that if these conditions were agreed to,
upon his return from Mozambique he would deal with other

Disastrous Military Expeditions. 449

obstacles in, the way of friendly commerce as he bad dealt
with Mongasi. The principal man in the embassy replied
that the conditions were acceptable, and it was then arranged
that some Portuguese should return with the party to learn
from the Monomotapa himself whether he would agree to
them.

For this purpose Barreto appointed three gentlemen named
Francisco de MagalhSes, Francisco Eafaxo, and Gaspar Borges,
whom he sent in company with the Kalanga embassy on its
return home with a valuable present of cloth and other articles
to the Monomotapa. It was afterwards learned that Francisco
de Magalhries died on the journey, and that the two others
were very well received. The Monomotapa, as was natural
under the circumstances, was profuse in friendly sentiments.
He promised to expel the Mohamedans from his country, to
receive Christian missionaries with friendship, and to give
some gold mines to the Portuguese to work; but probably he
had no intention of literally carrying out the first and the
last of these concessions. He .sent back a present of gold,
though it was of trifling value compared with what he bad
received.

As soon as the remnant of the army reached Sena the
captain general instructed Vasco Fernandes Hoinem to com-
plete the construction of Fort Sao Marpal and the necessaiy
buildings connected with it, and then with Father Monclaros
and a few attendants he proceeded to the mouth of the Luabo
and embarked in a pangayo for Mozambique. Shortly after
his arrival at that island a ship arrived from India with
stores for the expedition, and in her came Jo5o da Silva, a
natural son of Barreto, who delivered to his father a number
of defamatory letters which Antonio Pereira Brandao had
written concerning him to the king, and which Dom Jorge
de Menezes, his relative by marriage, had intercepted. With
this new proof of Brandao’s treachery in his possession the
captain general dismissed him from office, bnt was too
generous to punish him further. Lourenpo Godinho was
appointed captain of Mozambique in his stead.

250 History of South Africa.

With his sou, all the recruits ho could obtain, a good
supply of aminunitiou and other material of war, and a large
quantity of calico with which to purchase provisions and
meet other expenses, on the 3rd of March 1573 Francisco
Barreto sailed again from Mozambique with a fleet of qjan-
gayos, intending to invade Monika from Sena. But misfortune
still pursued him. Contrary winds were encountered, which
compelled him to put into several ports, and two of the
pangayos, laden with ammunition and provisions, were lost.
At Quilimone intelligence was received of fearful mortality
among the troops at Sena. The captains Jeronymo d’ Aguiar
and Antonio de Mello with all the inferior officers of the
several companies and moat of the soldiers had died, and
Vasco Fei'nandcs Homem and the Jesuit fathers were very ill.
All hope of being able to invade Manika was thus lost, but
Barreto felt that it would be disgraceful to abandon his
people in such a time of distress, and so he pressed forward.
On the Ist of May he loft the mouth of the river, and on
the 15lh arrived at Sena. •

At the landing place about fifty soldiers, all that were
able to stand, were waiting to receive him with hanuers dis-
played, but there was not an oflScer with them until Vasco
Fernandes Homem was brought down in a state of great
debility. The captain general and the priest passed on to the
hospital, where the sick tried to welcome them, but only one
man was able to discharge an arquebus. The sole remaining
physician was dying. It was a pitiful sight, this terrible end
of an expedition entered upon with such enthusiasm and sncli
unbounded hope of success.

Some of the sick improved in health owing to the medical
comforts Barreto had brought with him, hut the whole of tlie
recruits just arrived were struck down almost at once. Tho
oaptain general, eight days after he reached Sena, had an
angiy altercation with Father Monclaros, in which the priest
reproached him for not having abandoned the enterprise long
before and told him that God would bring him to account for
all ' the lives lost. Immediately after this the unfortunate

Disastrous Military Expeditions. 251

commander took to hia ted, and after a brief period of
exbaustion died in great distress of mind, tbongh apparently
free of fever. In India and in his native country ho had
been regarded as a man of high ability, bat South Africa
destroyed his reputation, like that of many others since. lie
was buried in the newly erected church within the fort Sao
Marpal, but his remains and those of his sou liuy Nunes
Barreto were subsequently removed to Portugal, where by
order of the king a pompous state funeral was accorded to
them. His natural son, Joao da Silva, was taken by his
servants from Sena to Mozambique, prostrate with illness,
and died there. Ho had been wealthy, but his father had
borrowed all he possessed for the use of the army, as he had
done from many others, so that Francisco Barreto's executors
found that he not only left no property, but that ho was
responsible for a hundred and twenty thousand cruzados
(07,140Z.) thus raised.

Upon opening the first of the sealed orders of succession
which ‘had been given by the king to tho late captain
general, the name of Pedro Barreto was found; but lie had
long been dead. The second order of succession ivas then
opened, which contained the name of Vasco Fernandes
Homem, who thereupon assumed the title of governor and
captain general of the African coast from Gape Gruardafui to
Cape Oorrentes. Acting upon the advice of Father Monclaros,
the new governor retired to Mozambique as speedily as pos-
sible, taking with him all the material of war and men except
sufficient for a small garrison that he left in Fort Sao Marpal
at Sena.

Shortly after he reached the island, an officer named
Francisco Pinto Pimentel, who was his cousin, arrived there
from India on his way home. This officer expressed the
utmost astonishment at his having abandoned an enterprise
which the king had resolved should he carried out, and for
which reinforcements were even then being sent from Portugal.
In his opinion it was gross dereliction of duty, and he re-
minded his relative that a high official had not long before

a53 History. of South Africa.,

lost his head for an act which might be regarded as similar.
The advice of Father Monclaros, he said, would not serve as
an excuse, because a priest could not be supposed to be a
guide in military matters. The father had already embarked
in a ship returning to Lisbon, so Pimentors reasoning was
not counteracted by his influence.

Tho captain general therefore resolved to resume the
effort to get possession of the gold mines, and to make his
base of operations the port that had been recommended by
the council of officers and clergy in 1.571. As many recruits
as could be obtained from ships that called were added to
the remnant of Barreto’s force and the fresh soldiers just
arrived from Europe, a flotilla of coasting vessels was collected,
provisions were procured, and an army of some strength, well
provided with munitions of war, was conveyed to Sofala. The
date of its arrival cannot be given, as no Portuguese
chronicler or historian mentions it, and tho original manuscript
of Father Monclaros terminates with the death of E’rancisco
Barreto. The Kiteve and Tshikauga tribes were found to be
at variance with each other, a circumstance that was favourable
to the captain general’s views. As soon as his soldiers were
on shore, who mustered five hundred in number, exclusive of
attendants and camp followers, he sent presents to the Kiteve
chief, and requested a free passage to the Tshikanga territory,
hut met with a refusal. The Bantu rulers always objected
to intercourse between white people and the tribes beyoud
their own, because they feared to lose their toll on the
commerce which passed through their territories, aud they
were also apprehensive of strangers forming an alliance with
their enemies.

Homem made no scruple in marching forward without the
chief’s permission, and when the Kitevea attempted to oppose
him with arms, a discharge of his artillery and arquebuses
immediately scattered them. They had not the mettle of the
gallant warriors of Mongasi. After several defeats the whole
tribe,, fled into a rugged tract of country, hiking their cattle
with them, and leaving no grain that the invaders could find.

Disastrous Military Expeditions.

Homem marclied on to their ssinibabwe, whioh consisted of
thatched huts, to which he set lire. Two days later he
reached Tshikanga’s territory. There he met men bringing
a present from the chief, who was delighted at the overthrow
of his enemy, and who gave him a warm welcome.

The Portuguese force went on to the great place, where a
comp was formed, the utmost good feeling being .shown on
both sides. After a short rest Honiem and some of his
principal men visited the mine.s, but were greatly disap-
pointed. They had expected to find the precious metal in
such abundance that they could take away loads of it, instead
of svhich a number of naked blacks carrying baskets of earth
from a deep cavity were seen, with some others washing the
earth in wooden troughs and after long and patient toil
extracting a few graius of gold. They at once concluded that
it c0.uld be of no advantage for them to hold the country.
An agreement was therefore made with the Tshikonga chief
that he should do everything in his power to facilitate com-
merce. with his people, and for that purpose should allow
Portuguese traders or their agents to enter his conutry at any
time, in return for which the captain of the fort of Sofala
was to make him a yearly present of two hundred rolls of
cotton cloth.

The expedition went no farther in the Manika country, the
point reached being the place now known as Masikesi, or
somewhere near it. As soon as his people were refreshed,
Homem set out again for the coast, without attempting to
penetrate to the territory of the Monomotapa. On the way
messengers from the Eiteve chief met him, and begged for
peace, so an agreement w'os made with them similar in terms
to the one concluded with the owner of Manika.

It was at this time believed that silver was plentiful
soniewhere on the southern bank of the Zambesi above Tete,
— the j6®act locality was uncertain, — and as the native tribes
in that direction were too w'eak to offer much resistance, the
captaiii- geaeiial resolved to go in search of it and endeavour
to rfetifeye thef' pecuniary losses he and hi.s predecessor had

254 History of South Africa.

sustained. Accordingly he proceeded by sea from Sofala to
the Zambesi, and having ascended that river to Sena he
disembarked and marched upward along it. At first the
natives were friendly and he had no difficulty in adding to
his supply of provisions, but after a time he found that as he
advanced they abandoned their kraals and fled, so he built a
fort of wood and earth, in which he stationed a garrison of two
hundred men under Antonio Cardoso d’ Almeida, and with
the remainder of the force he returned to Mozambique.

The natives now went back to their kraals, but kept away
from the fort. After a time provisions began to fail, so
D’ Almeida sent out a raiding party that secured a quantity of
millet and a few cattle. Some of the natives after this asked
for peace, and terms were agreed upon, but when a band of
soldiers left the fort to explore the country, it was attacked,
and only a few men got back again. The place was then
surrounded, and the siege was maintained until the provisions
were exhausted, when the Portuguese tried to out their way
out, but were all killed. »■

Thus ended the expeditions under Francisco Barreto and
Vasco Fernandes Ilomem, imdertaken to ^get possession of the
mineral wealth of South-Eastern Africa. Nothing more disas-
trous had happened to the Portuguese since their first
appearance in Indian waters. The original army and all the
reinforcements sent from Lisbon had perished, excepting a
few score of worn out and fever stricken men who reached
Mozambique in the last stage of despondency. To compensate
for the large expenditure that had been incurred, there was
nothing more than the fort Sao Mar9al at Sena and the few
buildings within it. The extent of the disaster was realised
by the king, and after a short and uneventful term of office
by Dom Fernando de Monroy, who succeeded Vasco Fernandes
Homem, an end was put to the captam generalship of Eastern
Africa, which thereupon reverted to its former position as a
dependency of the viceroyalty of India.

Events to the Close of the Sixteenth Century. 255

OIJAPTEK XL

EVENTS TO THE CLOSE OP THE SIXTEENTH CBNTUBY.

On tlie 4:tli of August 1578 the great tragedy took place of
the death of King SehastiSo in battle with the Moors of
N’orthern Africa, and the total destruction of tlie army which
he commanded in person, the entire force of Portugal. At
onco the little kingdom lost the proud position she had
occupied among tire nations of Europe, and thereafter was
regarded as of trifling importance. The country had been
drained of men, and was completely exhausted. It must be
remembered that she never was in as favourable a condition
for conducting enterprises requiring large numbers of sailors
and soldiers as the Netherlands wore at a later date. She
had no great reservoir of thews and muscles to draw from as
Holland had in the German states. Spain was behind her, as
the German states were behind the Netherlands, but Spain
found employment for all her sons in Mexico and Peru.
Portugal had to depend upon her own people. She was
colonising Brazil and Madeira too, and occupying foi'ts mirl
factories on the western coast of Africa as well as on the
shores of the eastern seas. Of the hosts of men— the very
best of her blood — that went to India and Africa, few ever
returned. They perished of fevere or other diseases, or they
lost their lives in wars and shipwrecks, or they made homes
for themselves far from their native land.

To procure labourers to till the soil of her southern
provinces slaves were introduced from Africa. In IMl Antao
Gonpalves and Nimo TristSo brought the first home with
them, and then the doom of the kingdom was sealed. Nq

256 History of SotUh Africa.

other Europeans have ever treated negroes so mildly as the
Portuguese, or been so ready to mix with them on equal
terms. But even in Estremadura, Alemtejo, and the Algarves
it was impossible for the European without losing self respect
to labour side by side with the African, and so all of the
most enterprising of the peasant class moved away. The
slaves, on embracing Christianity, had various privileges con-
ferred upon them, and their blood became mixed with that
of the least energetic of tho peasantry, until a new and
degenerate stock, frivolous, inconstant, incapable of improve-
ment, was formed. In the northern provinces Entre Douro
e Miuho and Tras os Montes a pure European race remained,
fit not only to conquer, but to hold dominion in distant
lands, though too small in proportion to the entire popula-
tion of the country to control its destinies. There to the
present day are to be met men capable of doing anything
that other Europeans can do, but to find the true descendants
of the Portuguese heroes of the sixteenth century, one must
not look among the lower classes of the southern andrlorger
part of the country now.

Further, corruption of the grossest kind was prevalent in
the administration everywhere. The great offices, including
tho captaincies of the factories and forts in the distant
dependencies, were purchased from the favourites of the king,
though they were said to be granted on account of meri-
torious services. Reversions were secured in advance, often
several in succession, and there were even instances of
individuals acquiring the reversion of captaincies for unnamed
persons. Sirch offices were held for three years, and the
men who obtained them did their utmost to make fortunes
within that period. They wera like the Monomotapa of the
Kalanga tribe, no one could approach thorn to ask a favour
or to conduct business without a bribe in his hand, every
commercial transaction paid them a toll. They had not
yet sunk in tho deep sloth that characterised them at a later
dath, but they lived in a style of luxury undreamed of in
earlier days.

Events to the Close of the Sixteenth Century. 257

The esaot manner in whioh Dom Sebastian met his death
was never known. Many of the common people refused to
believe that he had been slain: he was hidden away, they
aasertecl, and in Grod’s good time would return and restore the
kingdom to its former glory. Many generations passed away
before this strange conviction ceased to be held, and all the
time, in expectation of some great supernatural occurrence in
their favour, the nation allowed matters to take, their course
without making a supremo effort to rectify them. The
cardinal Dom Henrique, an imbecile old man, ascended the
throne, but he died on the 31st of January 1580, and with
him the famous dynasty of Avis, that had ruled Portugal so
long and so gloriously, became extinct in the direct male
line.

The duchess of Bragauja as the nearest heir in blood
might have sneceeded, her title being unquestionably clear, but
the spirit of the nation was gone, and the duke, her husband,
did not choose to maintain her right against Philippe II of
Spain, .who based his pretensions to the Portuguese throne
on his being descended on his mother’s side from a younger
branch of the late royal family. Dom Antonio, prior of
Orato, an illegitimate son of the duke of Bejn, second son of
Manuel the Fortunate, however, seized the vacant crown, but
in April 1581, as the whole people did not rally round him,
was easily expelled by a Spanish army commanded by the
duke of Alva, Philippe II then added Portugal to his
dominions, nominally as an independent kingdom with all its
governmental maohinery intact as before, really as a subor-
dinate country, whose remaining resources, such as they were,
he drew upon for his wars in the Netherlands. To outward
appearance the little state might seem to occupy a more
impregnable position after such a close union with her power-
ful neighbour, but it was not so in reality. The enemies of
Spain now became her enemies also, bet factories and fleets
were exposed to attach, and she received no assistance in
defending them. The period of h.er greatness, had for ever
passed away.

258 History of South Africa.

The establishment of missions among the Bantix by the
Dominicans was the most important occurrence in South-
Eastern Africa at this period. In 1577 Dom Luis d’Ataide,
when on his way to Q-oa to assume duty as viceroy, found
at Mozambiq[ue two friars of this order, named Jeronymo de
Oouto and Pedro Usus Maris, who had come from India and
were preparing to proceed to Madagascar to labour among
the natives of that island. The viceroy induced them to
remain where they were, and provided them with means to
build a convent, in which six or seven of the brethren after-
wards usually resided. This was the centre from which their
missions were gradually extended in Eastern Africa. South
of the Zambesi, Sofala, Sena, and Tete were occupied within
the next few years.

The missionaries found the Europeans and mixed breeds at
these places without the ministrations of chaplains, and sadly
ignorant in matters spiritual. In the church within the
fortress at Sena, for instance, the friars were shocked to see
a picture of the Eoman matron Lucretin, which hail been
suspended over a shrine in the belief that it was a portrait
of Saint Catherine, and they o^erved with mitch surprise
that no one made any distinction between fast and - feast,
days. . ■

They turned their attention therefore first to the nominal
Christians, and succeeded in effecting some improvement in
the condition of that class of the inhabitants, most of whom,
however, continued to live in a way that ministers of religion
could not approve of. They next applied themselves to the
conversion of the Bantu, but did not meet with the success
which they hoped for, though they baptized a good many
individuals. It was hardly possible for them to make converts
except among those who lived about the forts as dependents
of the white people, and who were certainly not the best
specimens of their race. The condition of the tribes was then
such that anything like improvement was well nigh impossible.
Wats and raids were constant, for an individual to abandon
the faith, and customs of his forefathers was regarded as

Events to the Close of the Sixteenth Century. 259

treason to liis chief, and sensaality had attractions too strong
to be set aside. Away from the forts the missionaries were
compelled to endure hardships and privations of every hind,
hunger, thirst, exposure to heat, fatigue, and fever ; but the
• initial part of their duty, as they understood it, was to suffer
without complaint.

In 1585 Dom Joao Gayo Bibeiro, bishop of Malacca, wrote
to the cardinal archdnko Albert of Austria, who then governed
Portugal for the king, requesting him to obtain a reinforce-
ment of missionaries for the islands of Solor and Timur,
whore Ohriatiuuity was believed to be making rapid progress.
Ho addressed a similar letter to the provincial of the
Dominicans, and this, when made public, created such enthu-
siasm that a considerable number of friars at once volunteered
for service in India. Among them was one named Joao dos
Santos, to whom we are indebted for a minute and excellent
account of South-Eastern Africa and its people. Dos Santos
sailed from Lisbon with thirteen others of the same order on
the 13th of April 1686, and on the 13th of August of that
year reached Mozambique, where he received instructions
from his superior to proceed to Sofala to assist the friar Joito
Madeira, who was stationed there. Accordingly he set out iu
the first pangayo that sailed, and after touching at the islands
of Angosha and the rivers Quilimane, Old Cuama, and Luabo
on the way, reached his destination on the 5th of December,
Two others of the party, the friars Jeronymo Lopes and JoSo
Erausto, went to Sena and Tete, where they remained three
years and a half. When Dos Bantos took up his abode at
Sofala Garcia do Mello was captain of the station, subject to
the control of the captain of Mozambique.

The fort built by Pedro d’Anaya had before this time been
reconstructed of stone, and nothing of the original walls
remained, hut the tower oreeted by Manuel Fernandes was
still standing. The form of the first structure — that of a
square — ^was preserved, and a circular bastion had been added
at eacJi of the comers. The buildings within the walls were
a church, warehouses to contain goods and stores, offices, and

a6o History of South Africa.

residences for all tlie officials and people engaged in trade.
There was also a large oistern in which rain was collected, as
the water obtained in wells was not considered good. With
the exception of a bomhardier, a master gunner, and six
assistants, the fort was without other garrison than the
European residents of the place and their servants.

Close by was a village containing six hundred inhabitants
professing Christianitj'. These were mixed breeds and negro
slaves or others employed by the Portuguese, who in case of
necessity would have been called upon to assist in defending
the station. In this village there was a chapol, and while
Dos Santos resided there a second place of devotion was built
in it, as well as another some distance outside. The friar
himself went with a party of men to an island in the Pungwe
river to cut the timber needed in their construction and to
repair and strengthen the church within the fort. The dwell-
ing houses in the villa.ge were tiny structures of wattles and
mud covered with thatch, not much larger or better than the
huts of Bantu. •<

Farther away was a hamlet occupied by about a hundred
Mohomedaus, very poor and humble, the descendants of. those
who had acknowledged Xsiuf as their, lord. -There was still’ on©
among them termed a sheik, but he was without any real
authority. So entirely dependent were these Mohamedans
upon the Portuguese, and so subject to control, that they
were obliged to pay tithes of their garden produce to the
Dominican fathers, just as the residents in the neighbouring
Christian village. A few individuals of their creed were
scattered about the country, but all were in the same abject
condition as those at Sofala.

The gardens cultivated by the inhabitants produced a
variety of vegetables, such as yams, sweet potatoes, cabbages,
melons, cucumbers, beans, and onions, in addition to millet,
rice, sugar canes, and sesame, the last of which was grown to
express the oil. Sugar was not made, but the juicy pith of
the cone was esteemed as an article of diet. Fruit too was
■ |)lentifhl. The most common hihds were pomegranates,

Events to the Close of the Sixteenth Century. 261

oranges, limes, pineapples, bananas — usually called Indian
figs, — and cocoa nuts. There were even groves of lime trees
that bad been allowed to become wild, the fruit of which any
one who chose could gather. The principal flesh consumed
• by the Europeans was that of barnyard poultry, as in some
parts of South-Eastern Africa at the present day, although
horned cattle, goats, and pigs were plentiful. Venison of
various kinds was abundant, and fish of good quality was
always obtainable. Everything here enumerated could be
had at trifling coat in barter for bends and squares of calico,
which were used instead of coin, so that tho cost of living in
a simple manner was very small ; but wines and imported pro-
visions were exceedingly dear. The maticnl of gold was the
common standard of value in commercial transactions betsveon
Europeans.

Four leagues above the fort there was in the river an island
named Maroupd, about eight leagues in length by a league
and a half in breadth. The greater part of this island had
been given by the Kiteve to a Portuguese named Eodrigo
Lobo, whom he regarded as his particular friend. Bat it was
in no way a dependency of the European establishment at
the mouth of the stream, for Lobo, though he still maintained
intercourse with his countrymen, ruled there as a vassal of
the Bantu overlord, just as a Kalanga sub-chief would have
done. He lived in a more luxurious style than any white
man at Sofala, had a harem of native women, and was attended
upon by numerous slaves. His descendants are to be found
in the coimtry at the present day, and still call themselves
Portuguese, though they are not distinguishable from Bantu
in features or colour.

Sofala was never visited now by a ship direct from Portugal
or India, its imports coming from Mozambique and its exports
going to that island. The coasting trade was carried on with
pangayos and Inzios manned by black men who claimed to be
Mohamedans, but really knew and cared very little about
religion, though they were excessively superstitious and paid
much attention to forms. The master, a mate, and a super-

X 3

262 History of South Africa.

cargo were commonly the only Europeans on board, and it
sometimes happened that even these were mixed breeds.

Every year the Kiteve sent to the fort at Sofala for the
cloth that was duo to him under the agreement made by
Vasco Fernandes Homem. It consisted of two hundred rolls,
not mere squares, for each piece was worth more than a
cruzado. It was necessary also, in order to maintain friend-
ship with the powerful chief, to make presents of beads and
calico of some value to his messengers, as they were selootod
by him with that expectation. This made commerce within
his territory free, but any one passing through it to that of
his neighbour the Tshikanga, in order to trade there, was
obliged to pay him one piece of cloth out of every twenty.
There was almost constant war between the four independent
Ivalanga chiefs, the Monomotapa, Tshikanga, Kiteve, and
Sedanda, which of course had a disturbing effect upon
commerce.

Sena was at this time really a place of greater importance
than Sofala, though it did not rank so high as a •govern-
mental station. The salaries paid to its ofEcials amounted to
little more than £500 a year, while those' paid at Sofala
exceeded £1100. This^ however, gives nolhing upon which to
form an opinion of the value of an office at either place, as
incomes were regarded as derivable from perq[uisites, not from
pay. A few years later it was ascertained that one individual,
whose salary during his term of office amounted to £850, had
realised a fortune of not less than £57,000, — an enormous
sum for that period. This was of course a very exceptional
case, but probably there were few who did not in some way
receive their nominal salaries many times over.

Sena was the emporium of the trade of the Zambesi basin.
Goods were brought here from Mozambiq[ue and stored in the
warehonse within the fort until they were sent up the river
to Tete in luzios, or up the Shire to the head waters of
navigation, thence to he conveyed by carriers in different
directions, or to the territory of the Tshikanga to he bartered
for gold. The fort was not yet fully completed, but several

Events to the Close of the Sixteenth Century. 263

pieces of artillery were mounted on its walls. It contained a
church, the factory with its storehouses, the residences of the
captain and other officials, and the public offices. No soldiers
were maintained here, the resident Portuguese and their
dependents being regarded as sufficiently strong to defend the
place if it should be attacked. The officials were appointed
by the captain of Mozambique. In the village just outside
the fort there were about fifty Portuguese residents and over
seven hundred and fifty Indians, mixed breeds, and blacks.
At this time' slaves were not exported from the Zambesi, but
captives were purchased from teibea that were at war, and wei'e
kept for service at all the stations. The blacks residing at
Sena were of this class.

Every three years an embassy from the Monomotapa visited
Sena to receive calico and beads of the value of three
thousand cruzados, which each captain of Mozambique on
assuming office was obliged to pay for the privilege of
trading in the great chief’s territory during the term of his
government. The embassy was conducted with much state,
having at its head men of rank who acted in the capacities
so well known to those who have dealings with Bantu, as
eyes, ears, and mouth of the chief. A Portuguese returned
with it, to deliver the calico and beads formally, so that
everything might be carried out in a manner satisfactory to
both parties. The Monomotapa had a very simple way of
enforcing this payment. If it was not made when due he
ordered an empafa, that is a seizure and confiscation of every-
thing belonging to Portuguese in his country, and stopped all
commerce. The goods so seized were never restored, though
trade was resumed when merchandise to the full value of
three thousand cruzados was fomvarded to him. This system
prevented payment hy promises or running up accounts,
which might otherwise have come into practice.

Up at the terminus of the river navigation by the
Portuguese, one hundred and eighty miles from Sena, on
the Botonga or southern bonk of the stream, on ground five
hundred feet above the level of the sea, stood Tete, the base

264 History of South Africa.

of tke trade with the interior. It contained a fort built of
stone, with seven or eight pieces of artillery on its walls,
Avhioh enclosed a chapel, dedicated to SSo Thiago, warehouses,
offices, and other buildings. In the village adjoining it
resided about forty Portuguese and some five hundred and
fifty Indians, half breeds, and blacks professing Christianity,
of the same class as those at Sofala and Sena. There was
no garrison of soldiers, the fort being intended for the
resident Europeans and their dependents to retire into in case
of being attacked. The captain or head of the establishment
was appointed by the captain of Mozambique and was subject
to his authority.

"Within a circuit of three or four leagues from Tete there
Avere eleven kraals of Bantu, that could muster among them
more than two thousand men capable of bearing arms. They
had been conquered by the Monomotapa some time before,
and by him presented to the captain of Tete, who acted ns
their supreme ruler. So perfectly subject were they to him
that they brought all cases of importance to him to be tried,
and he appointed their headmen and could call, out their
warriors for service whenever he chose. They were the only
Bantu south of the Zambesi, except the slaves and servants
of the Europeans at the different stations, who were under
Portuguese authority.

Prom Tete goods Avere conveyed on the backs of native
carriers who travelled in caravans to three stations in the
Kalanga territory, named Masapa, Luanze, and Bukoto, at
each of Avhich a Portuguese who had charge of the local
barter resided Avith some assistants. Tho most important of
these stations, or pieces of fairs as they were called, was
Masapa, on tho river Manzovo — ^now Mazoe, — about one
hundred and fifty miles by footpath from Tete, and near
the mountain Fura. Tho principal Portuguese resident at
Masapa, though selected for the post by the European
inhabitants of the country conjointly Arith the Kalanga ruler,
held the office of chief under the Monomotapa, by whom he
A\;as vested with poAver, even of death, over tho Bantu

Events to the Close of the Sixteenth Century. 265

residents at the station. No white man or native trader
acting for one conld pass Masapa without permission from the
Portuguese chief or the llonomotapa himself, and the chief
acted as agent for the Monomotapa in receiving and forward-
ing to him one-twentieth of all the goods brought into that
part of the country to he bartered for gold and ivory. This
appointment he held for life. So far he was simply a Kaffir
chief, and his domestic establishment was that of one. But
he was also a Portuguese official. He held a commission
from the viceroy of India giving him considerable authority
over the Portuguese who went to Masapa for purposes of
trade, and he was the medium through whom all oommunioa-
tions with the Monomotapa passed. He had the title of
Oapitilo das Portas — Captain of the Gates, — on account of his
peculiar position.

Luanze was about one hundred and five miles almost due
south of Tete, between two rivulets which united below it and
then flowed into the Mazoe. The principal Portuguese resident
here was also a sub-chief of the Monomotapa, who placed the
Bantu living at the station under his authority. He held a
commission from the viceroy, making him head of the
Portuguese frequenting the place; but he was not such an
important personage as the Captain of the Gates.

Bukoto was about thirty miles from Masapa, thirty-nine
from Luanze, and one hundred and twenty from Tete. It
was situated just above the junction of two streamlets, and
was the least important of the three places of fairs, with
nothing particular to note about it. At none of them had the
Portuguese any authority whatever over the natives except
such as was derived from the Monomotapa, who permitted the
trading stations to be established in his country on account of
the benefit which he derived from them. By doing so he did
not consider that he had diminished his right of sovereignty,
and the exercise of authority by the captains over men of
their own race, by virtue of power derived from the viceroy of
India, was in full accordance with Bantu ideas of government
being tribal rather than territorial.

266 History of South Africa.

The Monomotapa of the time when Dos Santos resided at
Sofala, who bore also the title Mambo, was well disposed
towards the Portuguese. He gave the Dominicans leave to
establish missions in his country, and they had already put
up little structures for places of prayer at Masapa, Liianze,
and Bukoto. They had not as yet, however, men to occupy
these places permanently, but the friar who resided at Tete
occasionally visited them. The white people never made a
request from Mambo without accompanying it with a present
— usually a piece of coloured calico — for himself and some-
thing of equal value for his principal wife, their special
pleader, whose name was Ma Zarira. This was the custom
of the country, for no native could obtain an audience unless
he presented an ox, a goat, or something else according to
his means.

In describing the country Dos Santos mentions several king-
doms bordering on the territory of tho Monomotapa, but in
reality these were nothing more than tracts of land inhabited
by native tribes under independent chiefs. The kingdom of
Sedanda was one of those which he named. This was the
territory lying between Sofala and the Sabi river, occupied by
a tribe of the same blood as the Makalanga, under a chief who
bore the hereditary title of Sedanda. One of the Sedaudas in
Dos Santos' time committed suicide, on account of his being
afSicted with leprosy. Of the region west of the Monomotapa’s
territory the Portuguese knew nothing except from vague
native reports, for no one of them or of the wandering
Mohamodans had ever visited it. It would be useless there-
fore to repeat tho names of the so-called kiugdoms given by
the Dominican friai*. Of the longitudes of places he had of
course "ho knCwledge. He believed Angola could not be very
far distant, and he states that a blanket brought overland
from that country by native traders was purchased by a
Portuguese at Manika and shown to him at Sofala as a
curiosity. It is just possible that the blanket was carried
across the continent, but it is much more likely that the
friar was deceived as to the plane from which it caUie. At

Events to the Close of the Sixteenth Century, 267

that time the head waters of the Zambesi were quite unknown,
though the Portuguese were fairly well acquainted with the
principal features of the great lake region, through accounts
obtained from Mohamedan traders as well as from natives.
Owing to this circumstance their maps of East Central Africa
were tolerably correct, while those of South Africa were utterly
misleading.

Dos Santos states that copper and iron were plentiful in the
country. The iron was regarded as of superior quality, so
much so that a quantity was once sent to India to make
guns of. Thbugh the smelting furnaces were of the crudest
description, implements of this metal manufactured by them-
selves were used by tlie Makalanga in great abundance, just
as a few years ago among the Bapedi farther south, where
waggon loads could be collected at a single kraal. Ho
mentions also the manufacture by some of the natives of
maohiras, or loin cloths, from cotton which grew wild along
the hanks of the Zambesi.

As yet no attempt had been made to colonise any part of
Africa south of the Zambesi on one coast and Benguela on
the other. Commerce and the conversion of the heathen were
the sole objects of the Portuguese who visited the country,
and indeed they had no surplus population with which to
form settlements in it. They did not touch at any part of
the coast between Benguela and Delagoa Bay when they
could avoid doing so, because there was no tmde of any
kind to be carried on there and becaTise after the slaughter
of Dom Francisco d’ Almeida and his people on the shore
of Table Bay the Hottentots were regarded as the most
ferocious of savjvges, with whom it wtis well to have as little
iutercoiu'so as possible. They w'oiild have been pleased had
they found a port somewhere on the southern shore that their
ships could have taken shelter in when returuing from India
to Lisbon during the time of the westerly gales, but they
always tried to pass by in the summer season and to make
the run from Mozambique to the island of Saint Helena
without a break.

2 68 History of South Africa.

Some years before the arrival of Dos Sautos at Sofala a
dreadful wave of war and destruction rolled over the country
north of the lower Zambesi. A horde of savages made their
appearance from a distant part of the continent, probably —
judging from the few words of their language that have been
preserved — from some locality on or near the western coast,
and laid the whole territory along their course utterly waste.
Theirs was just such another march as that of the horde
under Ma Ntati, which passed over the country from the
upper Caledon to the border of the Kalahari desert in the
early years of the nineteenth century, leaving nothing behind
it, where a thickly populated land had been, but ashes and
skeletons of men and animals. And just as the horde under
Ma Ntati broke into fragments and perished, so did this
which appeared on the Zambesi opposite Tete in 1570.

Kinding that stream a barrier which it could not cross
intact, one large section turned to the north-east, and finally
reached the shore of the Indian sea, along which it comJmitted
the most frightful ravages. The island of Mozambiqu® could
not be attacked, but its inhabitants suffered severely from the
famine caused by the devastation of the mainland. A body
of about forty Portuguese, under the captain Nunq - Velho
Pereira, with as many slaves as could be collected, endeavoured
to protect the plantations at Cabaceira, but nearly .the whole
of them perished in the attempt, and their bodies were eaten
by the savages on the shore. Only Nnno Velho Pereira- and
two or three other Europeans managed to escape. Thus the
greater number of the inhabitants of the island were cut off,
and those who remained were in the direst straits for want
of food until supplies reached them by sea. This happened
in the year 1585, What remained of ancient Kilwa was
wiped out of existence, Mombasa was nearly destroyed, and
the progress of the cannibal horde was only stopped at
Melinde, where Mattheua Mendes de Vasooncellos, head of
■fee factory, with thirty Portuguese, and three thousand Bantu
warriors aided the Mohnmedan ruler in infiioting a defeat
upon, them in which they were nearly exterminated. .

Events to the Close of the Sixteenth Century, 269

Shortly after the first appearance of the great horde on
the Bororo or northern bank of the Zambesi, a small party
managed to cross the river, and appeared in the neighbour-
hood of Tete, but Jeronymo d’Audrade, captain of that
station, had no difficulty in driving thorn back, as the savages
were so amazed at the effects of the fire from a few arque-
buses, which they attributed to witchoraft, that they fled
without resistance.

Not long after this event another and much larger band,
consisting of ten or twelve thousand men under a chief
named Sonza, by some means got across the river, and
attacked a clan that was friendly to the Portuguese, killing
every living thing and destroying whatever they came across.
Jeronymo d’ Andrade got together a force of about a hundred
Portuguese, and with some four thousand Batonga allies took
the field against Sonza, On his apjjroach some of the
invaders constructed a rough lager or euclosure of bushes
and earth, within which they attempted to defend themselves,
but as* they were still exposed to the fire of arquebuses they
were speedily drivou out and dispersed. They and the others
of their party were then hunted until it was believed about
fi.ve thousand had been killed. The remainder of the band
escaped, and joined the horde that was laying waste the country
towards the coast of Mozambique.

In 1592 two sections of these savages remained on the
northern bank of the lower Zambesi. One was called by the
Portuguese the Mumbos, the other was the fax-dreaded
Mazimba. Dos Santos says that both wore cannibals, and
thei'e is no reason to doubt his assertion, for traditions con-
cerning' the Mazimba are still current all over Southern
Africa, in which they are represented as ogres or inhuman
monsters, and their name is used generally to imply eaters of
human flesh. But in all probability they had adopted that
custom from want of other food, and would have abandoned
it gradually if they had obtained domestic cattle and could
have cultivated gardens. The men were much stronger and
more robust than Makalauga. They carried immense shields

2 70 History of South Africa.

made of os hide, and were variously armed with assagais,
battle-axes, and bows and arrows.

One of the chiefs of the Mumbos, named Kwizura, with
about six hundred warriors, attached a clan friendly to the
Portuguese at Tshikarongo, north of the Zambesi, ten leagues
from Tete. The clan fled after sustaining severe losses, and
applied to Pedro Fernandes de Chaves, captain of Tote, for
assistance. The captain thereupon summoned his eleven sub-
chiefs, who at once joined him with their men, and with these
and the resident Portuguese he crossed the river and marched
against Kwizura, who was found in a chum bo or lager of
stakes and earth which he had constructed. Together with
the followers of the dispossessed chief the attacking force
was so sti’ong that it was able to surround the chumbo and
storm it, when Kwizura and every one of his warriors fell.
The courtyard of the hut in which the Mumbo chief had
lived was found paved with the skulls of those he had killed
and eaten. After resting a few days, the people of Tete
returned to their homes, taking with them as slaves Kwizura’s
women and children. Such was the stylo of warfare on the
Zambesi at the close of the sixteenth century.

I)os Santos was at Tete just before this event. After a
residence of three years and a half at Sofala, during which
time they baptized seventeen hundred individuals, most of
whom must have been Bantu, he and his associate the friar
Joao Madeira bad been summoned to Mozambique by their
provinoial to labour in another field, and had left Sofala in
July 1590 and travelled overland to the Zambesi in order
to obtain a passage in a pangayo. But on their arrival they
found no vessel would be leaving that year, so tliey arranged
that Joao Madeira should remain at Sena and Dos Santos
should proceed up the river to Tete to do duty for tho priest
there, who was prostrate with illness. Ho arrived at Tete in
September 1590, and remained at that place until May 1591,
Vfben he went down to the mouth of the Zambesi, and with
the fathffl: JoSo Madeira proceeded to Mozambique. He was
then- sent to the island of Querimba, but in April 1594 was

Events to the Close of the Sixteenth Century. 271

instructed to proceed to Sofala again on a special mission.
In consequence of this he went to Mozambique, and when
the favourable monsoon set in took passage in a pangayo
bound to Delagoa Bay, which was to touch at Sofala on the
passage. Five days after leaving Mozambique he reached his
destination. The pangayo proceeded to Delagoa Bay, where
her officers employed themselves in bartering ivory for nearly
a year. She was about to return to Mozambique when some
Bantu fell upon her captain Manuel Malheiro and another
officer, murdered them, and plundered the hut in which they
had lived and the vessel. One white man remained alive,
who succeeded in getting away with the empty pangayo and
lier Mohamedan crew. To such perils wore the Portuguese
exposed at the distant trading places on tlie coast.

On the 16th of April 1595 Dos Santos once more left
Sofala for Mozambique, from which place he went to India,
and then to Portugal, where his volume Ethiopia, Oriental was
printed in the Dominican convent at Eyora in 1609. But
his career in Africa was not yet ended, and we shall meet
him again on the Zambesi in another chapter. His successor
at Tete was the friar Nioolau do Rosario, of the same order,
a man of great devotion, who had suffered much in the
wreck of the ship 8ao ThomS in 1589. '•

Before the destruction of Kwizura’s band, while Dos Santos
was still on the river, a powerful chief of the Mazimba, named
Tondo, attacked some people who were on very friendly terms
with the Portuguese and who lived on the northern, bank of
the Zambesi opposite Sena, dispossessed them of their land
and killed and ate many of them. In 1592 these fugitives
apijlied to Andre de Santiago, captain of Sena, for aid, and
he, desiring to emulate the action of Pedro Fernandes de
Ohavee, collected as large a force as ho could, Portuguese,
mixed breeds, slaves, and friendly Bantu, and with two cannon
taken from the walls of his fort crossed the river to attack
the Mazimha, who were entrenched in a chumho of unusual
height and strength. Finding his force unequal to the
enterprise he had undertaken, the captain of Sena formed a

272 History of SotUh Africa,

camp on the hank of a rivulet flowing into the Zambesi, and
jsent to Tele for assistance.

Pedro Fernandes de Ohaves responded by calling out his
Bantu retainers and nearly all the Portuguese and half-breeds
of Tete, with whom he crossed the Zambesi and marched down
its northern bank towards the locality of the war. The
Dominican friar Nicolau do Bosario accompanied the force
as chaplain. When within a few miles of their destination
the Portuguese and principal half-breeds, totally 'unsuspicious
of danger, entered a thicket through which the path passed.
They wore half a league in advance of their Bantu auxiliaries,
and, as was their usual way of travelling, were in palanquins
and hammocks borne by their slaves, with other attendants
carrying their arquebuses, when they were suddenly attacked
by a band of Bfazimba. Every man of them was killed on
the spot except the friar, who was badly wounded and seized
as a prisoner. He was taken, to the ohumbo and bound to a
tree, where he was made a target for the arrows of his
captors till death came to his relief. The Bantu auxiliaries,
upon ascertaining what had happened, returned with all haste
to Tete.

On the following morning the Mazimha appeared in triumph
before Andr6 de Santiago’s camp, with a man heating upon the
drum taken from the Portuguese. Their chief was dressed in
the murdered friar’s robes, and the head of Pedro Fernandes
de Ohaves was carried aloft on the point of an assagai. The
spoil taken in the thicket was exhibited in bravado, and
with it the limbs of those who had fallen, which were
destined to supply a feast for the cannibal hand. The
captain of Sena and his men looked at the cruel Mazimha
with horror and dismay. That night they attempted to
retreat, but on the bank of the Zambesi the enemy fell
upon them, and after a stout resistance killed Andi6 de
Santiago and many of his followers. The two captains, the
priest of Tete, and a hnndied and thirty white men and
mixed breeds had now perished. The Portuguese power and
influenoe on the Zambesi was almost annihilated. ,

Events to the Close of the Sixteenth Century. 273

While these events were taking place Dom Pedro de SoiTsa
succeeded Lourenjo de Brito as captain of Mozambique. At
a later date he became very unpopular as a governor, being
tyrannical in his conduct and permitting his son Horn
Francisco to conduct himself as a brawler without reproof.
For this he was punished by order of the king, but at the
time to which this narrative has reached he was new to his
ofSce and therefore untried. He resolved to recover the
position that had been lost on the Zambesi, and for this
puirpose lie enlisted as many Europeans as were obtainable,
and with them, seventy-five or eighty soldiers drawn from
the garrison of the fort, and a good supply of artillery and
other munitions of war, in 1593 he sailed for Sena. Here he
formed a camp, and enlisted white men, mixed breeds, and
Bantu, until he had a force under his command of about two
hundred arquebnsiers and fifteen hundred blacks armed in
the native manner.

With these he crossed the river and attacked Tondo’s
stronghold, into which he tried to open an entrance with his
cannon, but failed. Then he endeavoured to take the chumbo
by storm, but when bis men were crowded together close to
it, the Mazimba shot their arrows, hurled their barbed
assagais, and threw boiling water and burning fat upon them,
until they fell back discomfited. Hext he began to form
huge wickerwork frames to be filled with earth, from, the
tops of which arquebusiers could keep the wall of the chumbo
clear with their fire while men below were breaking it down,
but before they could be completed the people he had
engaged at Sena, who had now been two months in the
field, olamourad to be allowed’ to return home, fearing, as
they said, that their wives and children were in danger.
Horn Pedro was obliged to accede to their demand, and
commenced to retreat. While he was leaving his camp the
Mazimba attacked him, and after killing many of his men,
took his artillery and the greater part of his baggage. He
and the remnant of his army escaped to Sena with difficulty,
and from that place he returned to Mozambique, leavmg

274 History of South Africa.

matters along the great riTor in a worse condition thfl.T^
ever before,

Tondo, however, made an offer of peace to the people of
Sena, on condition that they should not interfere again in
matters that only concerned Bantu tribes. The Mazimha,
they wore informed, had no desire to quarrel with white
people, , and had acted in Self-defence throughout the war.
The few traders at Sena were only too pleased to accept the
propo.sal and resume their ordinary manner of living, though
they had thereafter to submit to many insults and exactions
from the victorious tribe. In 1597 some cannon and a
quantity of ammunition and other supplies needed in war were
sent from India by the viceroy, and the forts at Sena and
Tete were equipped so that the inhabitants could find safety
within them in case of attack. Gradually also men came to
these stations to replace those who had been killed, so that
in the time of Nuno da Ounha, who followed Jeronymo de
Azevedo, Dom Pedro da Sousa's successor as captain of Mozam-
bique, the villages recovered their earlier oppearauce, •

The methods of carrying on trade in the country varied at
different periods during the sixteeiuth centiu'y. . At, firft^,it .waB
oondueted by factors appointed by the, hing, who sent nut
agents to sell goods supplied by’ the royal treasury, into
which the proceeds were paid. After a time, however, the
principal officials, whose salaries were very small, were allowed
a share of the commerce, which was strictly defined. Thus,
in 1559 the viceroy gave permission to PantalofLo de Sa,
oaptaiu of Sofala and Mozambique, to purchase and send to
India twenty-four tons* of ivory every year for sale ou his
own account. In 1562 PemSo Martins Preire d’Andrade,
oajjtain of Sofala and Mozambique, was granted by royal
authority a monopoly of the commerce of the coast in pitch

• Oeio hundred liarB, The bar was a vavying weight m the. East African
epast. At Mozambique it was equal to 220 '6 kilogrammes of our time ; on the
Zambesi to 203 -8 kilograramcs; at Sofala, if of ivory 239 ’8 kilogrammes, if of
, other merchandise 247 ' 9 kilogrammes. Under these ciroumstances It is impos-
sible to maay instances to reduce these weights to English tons with absolute
ikoouracy,

Events to the Close of the Sixteenth Century. 275

aud coir, oue-twentietli of the proceeds of the ivory barter
upon his contributing one-twentieth of the capital employed
in it, and was further to have a two-hundredth pai’t of the
profits on all other trade within the territory south of the
Zambesi; and the factom and notaries were to have another
two-hundredth part divided amongst them. The trade was
still to be conducted for the royal treasury, and the captain
was to send requisitions to Goa for the merchandise needed
to carry it on.

In 1585 Dom Jorge de Menezes, chief ensign of Portugal,
succeeded Nuno Velho Pereira as captain of Mozambique. On
his appointment the viceroy Dom Duarte de Menezes granted
him a monopoly of the trade of Inhambane and of the whole
coast south of Delagoa Bay, and subsequently farmed out
to him the entire commerce of the country south of the
Zambesi for fifty thousand cruzados a year. But in addition
to this he was to maintain the forts in good order and to pay
all the ofScials and expenses of government of every kind,
aocordiqg to a list which was drawn up. On the expiration
of his term of office he was to undergo a trial, and was to
prove that these conditions had been faithfully observed and
that all public buildings were in the same state as when he
took them over.

This system had the advantage of adding something to the
royal treasury, and of extending commerce more than ever
hefesea, Whw the experiment' was made Sofiala was yielding
nothang except the profit on a small quantity of ivory,
insufficient to meet the trifling cost of the maintenance of
the station : four years later elephants’ tusks weighing twenty-
three tons were collected there yearly. Greater profit was
gained from ivory than from any other article of commerce
in Eastern Africa at this time. Taking one year with another,
a quantity weighing nearly one hundred thousand avoirdupois
pounds was sent annually to India by the captains while
they had a monopoly of the trade. Gold came next, but the
quantity obtained cannot be even approximately stated.
Ambergris followed, aud then in order pearls, gum, and wax.

Y

276 History of South Africa,

The system made the whole of the Portuguese inhabitants
of the country dependents of the captain of Mozambique, but
their position was quite as bad before. The most that can
be said in favour of it is that the law protected them in
person and property, and that after 1548 no sentence of
death could be carried into execution until it was confirmed
by the supreme court of India.

In 1591 the government at Lisbon ordered the trade to be
carried on. again by the hing’s treasury, but two years later
another experiment was made. This was to allow the captain
of Mozambique a monopoly of the commerce in ivory,
ambergris, and coir, and one-fiftieth of all the gold col-
lected ; and to throw open the trade in gold and other
articles to all Portuguese subjects. Customs duties at the
rate of six per cent upon goods imported and of twenty
per cent upon gold exported were to be paid. This plan
was in operation only two years when it was abandoned, and
the system of farming out the whole of the commerce of the
country south of the Zambesi to the captain of Mozg-mbique
was again resorted to. In 1596 Muno da Ounha was
appointed to that office, when the viceroy entered into a
contract with him to pay forty thousand pordaos, of £9^600,*
a year for Ms monopoly, to which the king added that he
must also pay customs duties on merchandise imported.

North of the Zambesi the inhabitants of Mozambique were
allowed to trade, as the policy of the government was to
encourage them, in order to strengthen the means of defence
of the fort. The jurisdiction of the captain at the close
of the sixteenth century extended to all the stations and
trading places from the island of Inyaka to Cape Delgado.

* Beckoning the pardao at throe hundred end ei^ty rets, aud the real as at
this time e(|ual to 0'16df. But it is very doubtful what the word pardao really
dgmfied iu the contract. In another document 1 have fouud it used as an
eq^airalent for cruzado, and in still another as equivalent to a xerafin of three
hundred reis. If the gold coin of the name was meant, the amount would
he about £14,000. It is not possible to give the exact equivolent, as unless
wBsfe expressly stated as of gold, the pardao of the accounts, like the real,
, wee an imaginary coin, represeating different values not only at different times
hut at different places at the same time.

Knowledge derived from Shipwrecks.

277

CHAPTER XU.

KNOWLEDGE DERIVED FROM SHIPWRECKS.

Off the JBantu trihes along the seaboard north of the Bashee
a good deal of knowledge was obtained during the sixteenth
century by the -crews of wrecked ships, some of whom under-
went almost incredible suffering before their restoration to the
society of civilised men. By order of King Sebastiao a flying
survey of the coast between the Cape of Good Hope and
Cape Gorrentes was also made during the years 1575 and 1576,
by which much information was supposed to have been
gained.

OccSsionally vessels disappeared after leaving Portugal or
India, and were never heard of again. Some of these were
probably lost on the African shore, though of this there is no
certainty except in one instance, when part of a stranded ship
was found at the mouth of the river now known as the Saint
Lucia, but without a trace of any one that had sailed in her.
Particulars, however, have been preserved of the loss succes-
sively of the Sao Soao, the 8ho Bettto, the Santiago, the Sao
Thome, and the Santo Alberto, ttom each of which some of
the crew escaped, and after much intercourse with the natives
succeeded in reaching Mozambique.

The Sao Joao was a great galleon laden with a very valuable
cargo, which left Cochin on the 3rd of February 1652 to
return to Portugal. She had about two hundred and twenty
Portuguese and nearly four hundred slaves on board, and, as
was usual at that time, an officer of high rank who was
going home was captain in command. The master of the
ship directed the working, and the pilot pointed out the

V 2

2^8

History of South Africa.

course, but the captain gave instructions in such matters as
what ports they were to put into and when they were to sail;
he also preserved discipline and exercised general control.
The captain of the Saa Joao — ^Manuel de Sousa Sepulveda by
name — was accompanied by his wife, Dona Leonor, a young
and amiable lady of noble blood, his two little sons, and a
large train of attendants and slaves, male and female.

On the 12th of May, when only seventy-five miles from
the Cape of Good Hope, tiie galleon encountered a violent
gale from the west-north-west, and soon a very heavy sea was
running, as is usually the case when the wind and the Agulhas
current oppose each other. Some sails had been lost in a
storm on the equator, and there were no others on board than
those in use, which were old and worn. On this account it
was not considered prudent to attempt to lie to, and so the
ship was put before the wind under her fore and main courses.
After some days the gale veered to another quarter, shifting
at last to the west-south-west, when the tremendous seas
caused the ship to labour so heavily that she lost heu masts
and rudder. Those on board feared every moment that she
would go down. ' An attempt was made, however, to set up
jury masts, to fix a new rudder, and with some cloth that was
on board converted into a substitute for sails to endeavour to
reach Mozambique. But the new rudder, being too small,
proved useless, and the galleon like a helpless log was driven
towards the coast, from which there were no means of keeping
her. On the 8th of June she was close to the land a little
to the eastward of the mouth of the Umzimvubu, very near if
not exactly off the spot where the English ship Orosvenor
was lost two hundred and thirty years later. There, as the
weather had moderated, the bower anchors were dropped,
between which the galleon lay at a distance of two crossbow
shots from the shore, almost waterlogged.

The captain now resolved to land the people and as much
'pirovisions and other necessaries as possible, to construct a
teinpdrary fort, and with materials taken from the ship to
biultl' a small caravel that could be sent to Sofala for aid.

Knonf ledge derived from Shipwrecks. 279

There was no hope of saring the cargo, but he thought of
getting out some calico with which to obtain food in barter
from the natives of the country, if that should be needed.
Only two boats were left, of which one was little larger than
a skiff. In these the captain, his family, and about seventy
others were conveyed to the shore. But on the third day the
wind freshened and caused a heavy swell, both the boats were
dashed to pieces on the rocks, aird the seaward cable of the
galleon parting, she was driven on shore and within a few
hours broke into fragments. Over a hundred men and women
were lost in the surf, and many of those who reached the land
alive were badly braised.

All hope of getting timber to build a caravel was now lost,
and only a small quantity of food was secured. As soon there-
fore as the bruised people were sufficiently recovered to travel,
the whole party set out to try to walk along the shore to the
river of Lourenfo Marques. To that place a small vessel was
sent nearly every year from Mozambique to barter ivory, and
the only faint chance of preserving their lives that remained
to the shipwrecked people was to reach the river and find the
trading party. They had seen some Kaffirs on the hills close
by, and had heard those barbarians sbonting to each other, but
had not been able to obtain any information or provisions from
them.

On the 7th of July they left tiie scene of the wreck. At the
end of a month they were only ninety miles from it, for they
had been obliged to make many detours in order to cross the
rivers. Their sufferings from thirst were at times greater than
from cold, hunger, and weariness combined. Of all the party
Dona Leonor was the most cheerful, bidding the otliers take
heart, and talking of the better days that were to come. They
eked out their little supply of food with wild plants, oysters,
and mussels, and sometimes they found quite an abundance of
fish in pools among the roolcs at low tide.

And now every day two or three fell behind exhausted, and
perished. To add to their troubles, bands of Kaffirs hovered
about them, and on several occasions they were attacked, thoqgh

aSo History of South Africa.

as they had a few firelocks and some ammunition, they were
easily able to drive their assailants back. At the end of three
months those who were in advance reached the territory of the
old Inyaka, whom Lonrenpo Marques and Antonio Oaldeira had
named Garcia de Sa, and whose principal kraal was on the
right hank of the TJmfusi river, which flows into Delagoa Bay.
This chief received them in a friendly manner, supplied them
with food and lodging, and sent his men to search for those
who were straggling on behind. In return, he asked for assist-
ance against a chief living about twenty miles to the southward,
with whom he was at war. De Sousa sent an officer and twenty
men to help him, witii whose aid he won a victory and got
possession of all his opponent’s cattle.

Garcia de Sd, wished the white people to remain with him,
and he warned them against a tribe that lived in front, hut as
soon as they were well rested and had recovered their strength,
they resolved to push on. They crossed the Maputa in canoes
furnished by the friendly chief, and five days later reached the
Espirito Santo, where they learned from some natives, through
the interpretation of a female slave from Sofala who had picked
up a little of the dialect, that a vessel from Mozambique,
having men like thmnselves on board, had been there, but
was then a long time gone. Manuel de Sousa now become
partly demented, and his brave wife. Dona Leonor, who had
borne all the hardships of the journey so cheerfully, was
plunged by this new misfortune into the greatest distress.

With what object is not stated, but for some reason they
still pressed on northward. They were reduced to one hundred
and twenty souls, aU told, when they crossed the Espirito Santo
or river of Lourenpo Marques in canoes supplied by the natives
at the price of a few nails, and entered the territory of the
chief of whom Garcia de S4 had warned them. His kraal was
about three miles farther on. He professed to receite them
with favour, and for a few days supplied them with provisions,
but at length informed them that they must entrust him with
thu hare of their arms while they were in his country, as that
waa one of his laws. Dona Leonor objected to this, but the

Knowledge derived from Shipwrecks. 281

males of the party complied with the chiefs demand, in the
belief that by doing so they wonld secure his friendship. As
soon as they were in a defenceless condition he caused them
to be separated, under pretence of distributing them among
different kraals where they would be provided with food, but
kept the captain with his family and about twenty others at
his own residence.

Those who dispersed were immediately stripped of their cloth-
ing and driven away to perish. Then the captain was robbed
of a quantity of precious stones — ^worth several thousand pounds
— as well as some gold that he had with him, and he and his
family and attendants were ordered to leave the kraal. They
wandered about for two days, without meeting any of their
late associates in misery, when some natives fell upon them
and stripped them naked. Dona Leonor, who fought like a
tigress while the savages were tearing her garments from her,
sat down on the ground with her two little boys, her half
demented husband, and a few faithful female slaves beside her.
The white men of the party, who could do nothing to relieve
such anguish as hers, went on in search of wild plants with
which to prolong their lives. Shortly afterwards one of the
boys died of hunger, when the father scraped a hole in the
sand and buried the body. The next day he went to seek
some roots or berries for his starving wife, and on his return
found her and the other child dead and the slave women wail-
ing loudly. They buried the mother and child in the sand,
after which the sorely afflicted nobleman disappeared in a
thicket, and was never seen again.

Eight Portuguese, fourteen male slaves, and three of the
female slaves who were with. Dona Leonor when she died,
managed to preserve their lives. Some of them wandered to a
distance of fifty miles from the scene of the last disaster. At
length a trading vessel put into the bay in search of ivory,
and her captain, hearing of the unfortunate people, rescued
them by offering for each one a trifling reward in beads.

They reached Mozambique on the 25th of May 1553. Diogo
do Mesquita, who was then captain of that island and the

282 History of Sotith Africa.

stations soutii of tlie Zambesi, sent a little vessel to search
along the coast, but no trace of any of the lost people could
be found.

The Sao Bento was one of a fleet of five ships sent by King
Joito the third to India in March 1553. Among those who
sailed in her on her outward passage was Luis de Oamoes,
whose name still lives as that of the prince of Portuguese
poets. She was one of the largest vessels of her time, and
was commanded by FernSo Alvares Cabral, who was commo>
dore of the squadron. Having reached her destination in
safety, she took in a return cargo, and sailed from Cochin on
the let of February 1554. On the passage stormy weather
with a very heavy sea was encountered, in which the ship
sustained great damage, and when she reached the African
coast it was feared every moment that she would go to the
bottom. On the 21st of April she struck upon a rocky ledge
on the western side of tho mouth of the Umtata,* and in a
few minutes broke into fragments.

Forty- four Portuguese and over a hundred slaves lost their
lives in trying to reach the shore, and two hundred and
twenty-four slaves and ninety-nine Portuguese, many of them
severely bruised, managed to get to land. Among the latter
was Manuel da Castro, one of the few survivors of the orew
of the Bao Joao, who died, however, a few hours later from
injuries received during the breaking up of the ship. A
small quantity of provisions was washed ashore with the
debris of the cargo, but it was so much damaged with salt
water that it could not long remain fit for use.

* Termed the Infante in the account of the wreck given by one of the
ofiScors who was eaved, hnt there is ample widence in this document and in
another hy the same officer that the Umtata was the scene of the disaster.
On that wild and little frequented coast tho month of any oonsiderahle stream
south of the TJmzimvuhu would he set down as the Infsnte by a Portuguese
who saw it. He would know there was a large river of that name somewhere
between xhe Cmzimvubu and the islet of the Cross, and he would not know
there were many others. The orew of the SSo Bento passed pver no stream
of ' any Importance before they reached the TJmzimvuhu, the SEto ChristovEo
as the^ termed it.

Knowledge derived from Shipwrecks. 283

After this was oollected and a temporary shelter was made of
carpets and silks, a general consultation took place as to what
was best to ha done. Some thought it advisable to try to
march overland to the Watering Place of Saldanha, but this
was overruled by the majority, because of the fierceness of the
natives in that direction, as had been proved by the slaughter
of the viceroy D’Almeida and ao many of his companions, and
further because vessels very seldom called there and conse-
quently, even if they should arrive with life, most probably
all would perish before relief appeared. Others were of opinion
that they should remain where they were and endeavour to
construct some kind of craft that could be sent to Sofala for
aid, but this too was overruled, as the supply of food would
soon be exhausted and they had no proper materials for build-
ing a boat. There was then but one other plan. Before they
left India Lourenpo Marques was preparing for a voyage to
the river which bore his name, in order to trade for ivory, and
their only hope of life was to make their way northward and
reach Mm before his departure, which would be some time in
June, or, if that should fail, to push on to Sofala,

Accordingly, on the 27 th of April they set out, each one
heavily laden with food, pieces of calico, and nails or other
iron for barter. A ship’s boy and a female slave, who were too
severely hurt to live long, w'ere of necessity left behind. They
had seen a few naked natives at the place of the wreck, but
there were no huts or any indications of kraals in the neigh-
bourhood, so after crossing the river they directed their course
inland, towards the north-east, in hope of finding people from
whom they could obtain guides and provisions in exchange for
iron. But for four days they were disappointed, and when on
the fifth day of their march they came to a kraal of about
twenty huts, its inhabitants were found to be living on wild
roots and plants, so that no food was to he had from them.

binding the country almost uninhabited, a little later they
resolved to turn towards the shore, where they could at least
obtain shellfish, and where they believed the rivers could be
more easily crossed than inland, as all had bars of sand at

284 History of South Africa.

their mouths. Before they reached the TJmzimvuhu several
of the weakest of the party became utterly exhausted, and were
abandoned on the way. The passage of this river was accom-
plished with the greatest difficulty, and on the following day,
the thirteenth of the journey, the sea was reached at the place
whore the Bho Jom was lost. Some of her timbers were still to
bo soon, and in a deserted kraal in the neighbourhood pieces
of chinawarc and other articles used by Europeans were
found.

After this, keeping along the shore, they found a good
supply of mussels and oysters, and considered the beach much
better for travelling over than the rough mountains and
Talleys inland. The country was inhabited, but the natives
were hostile, bands of them constantly hovering about, ready
to attack loiterers. Five days after leaving the TJmzimvubu
they reached the TJmtamvuna, which they crossed on rafts,
after a skirmish with the natives. Four days later they were
on the right hank of the TJmzimkulu. Here the people were
very friendly, singing and clapping their hands as thGy came
forward to see the strangers, and bringing food to sell for
little pieces of iron. It was the first they had been able to
purchase since they set ortt on their journey twenty-two days
before. Here was found a young man from Bengal who bad
been left behind by Manuel de Sousa’s party, but as he could
not speak Portuguese he was of little or no servica He
declined to leave the connections he had formed, and when
Cabral went on two Portuguese and about thirty slaves
remained with him and the friendly natives.

Three days march farther brought them to the Umkomanzi,
which they crossed at a ford pointed out by some Kaffirs,
whose friendship they requited by endeavouring to make prize
of a large basket of millet. This brought on a skirmish,
which ended, however, in their opponents being compelled to
retire. At the Umkomanzi they were joined by a young man
named Caspar, a Moor by birth, who was left behind by
Manuel de Sousa. He had acquired the native language, hnt
was glad of on opportunity to get away from the country,

Knowledge derived from Sfdjnvrecks, 285

and so went on with them and made himself useful as an
interpreter.

At the end of another three days they W'ere at a place
which they called the mouth of the Pescaria, and which, from
the description given, was in all probability the inlet on
which the present city of Durban ia situated. They were not
the firat whito men, liowever, that saw it, for Manuel de Sousa
had passed round its shores, and of his party n Portuguese
named Eodrigo TristSo, a young man from Malabar, and two
slaves were then living there. The natives wore very friendly,
and brought such a quantity of provisions, inchuling goats,
to sell for iron, that they easily supplied themselves with as
much as they could consume and carry away. Eodrigo TristSo
went on with them, but the Indian and the slaves preferred
to remain where they were.

They were six days marching to the Tugela, which they
termed the Saint Lucia, stopping on the journey only to
purchase a cow and to take the needful rest, though they
suffered* greatly from thirst. The river was crossed on rafts,
but the captain PernSo Alvares Cabral and another white
man were overturned in the current and lost their lives,
Francisco Pires, the boatswain, was then chosen to lead the
party, and after resting a day they moved on.

South of the Tugela they had suffered much from hunger,
thirst, and fatigue, but they had managed to move forward
about eight miles a day in a direct line, perhaps actually
walking thirteen or fourteen. They were now entering a
district much more difficult to travel in, owing to the swamps
and ^eets of shallow water that abounded in it, the want of
shellfish on the sandy coast, and the poverty of the natives,
most of whom were hostile. Their iwm for barter was nearly
exhausted, and only on a very few occaoions were they able to
purchase a little food. One day’s hardships resembled those
of the next ; struggling through marshes, fainting with hunger,
skirmishing with natives, their number decreased rapidly. To
such a condition were they reduced that some of them cooked
and ate human flesh. At length, on the 7 th of July fifty-six

286

History of South Africa.

Portuguese and six slaves, reduced almost to skeletons and
covered with rags, reached the kraal of the Inyaka, Garcia de
Ha, on the south-eastern shore of Delagoa Bay.

Here they were at first well received, but from the avidity
with which the Portuguese ivory traders the year before had
purchased tho gold and jewels taken from Manuel de Sousa
the chief had learned how valuable these things were, and
presently ho required the unfortunate men to give him every-
thing they had in exchange for food. Wlien they had done
this they found that there was at the time such a scanty
supply of provisions in the country that the chief, with the
best intentions, could not furnish sufficient to keep them
alive, and thus they were little better off than before. From
their faulty chart they believed the river of Lourengo Marques
to be still eighteen leagues distant, but they were so destitute
and exhausted that they could go no farther. Hunger, sickness,
ravenous animals, and vermin had to be contended with, and
to add to their distre.ss the interpreter Gospar, who had
ingratiated himself with the chief, treated them with the
utmost cruelty and scorn.

Then they scattered about in different kraals, and were
everywhere treated with such indignity and suffered such
misery that the living envied those who died. At last, on
the 3rd of November a sail appeared in the bay, to the
inexpressible joy of the few who still survived. It was the
trading vessel from Mozambique, commanded by Bastiao de
Lemos, who received hia almost expiring countrymen with
every mark of kindness, and did what he conld to restore them
to health and vigour. From him they learned that the cause
of Loureu^o Marques not having visited that part of the coast
during the preceding season was his having suffered shipTOeck
on the passage.

Four months and a half the little vessel remained in tho
bay, her crew trading for ivory with the different chiefs in
reach of their boats. On the 20th of March 1555 with the
first westerly wind of the season she sailed for Mozambique,
taking with her Eodrigo TrisUto, of tho /Si«o Jb«o, and twenty

Knowledge derived from Shipwrecks. 287

Portuguese and four slaves, of th.e Sao Bento. Of the tliree
hundred and twenty individuals who set out from the mouth
of the XTmtata, all the others had either perished or were loft
behind at native kraals on the line of march,

A few years later Prancisco Barreto, shortly after being
governor*general of India, narrowly escaped shipwreok on the
African coast. Upon the arrival of his successor, the viceroy
Bom Constantino de Braganpa, on the 20th of ilanuary 1559
he left Groa in the slrip Aguia to return to Portugal, Very
heavy weather was oucountereil oft’ the southern shore, and the
ship was so disabled that it was with difficulty she could bo
kept afloat. Barreto then resolved to get ns far back towards
Mozambique as possible, to keep close to the land on the
way, and to run the hulk aground in the last extremity.
Fortunately, however, he was not obliged to resort to this
extreme measure, for the wind was favourable and the island
was reached without further disaster.

The Aguia was unladen and repaired at Mozambique, and
on the 17th of hTovember she set sail onco more. Bhe bad
not proceeded far when slie again sprang a leak, and soon
afterwards a westerly gale was encountered which lasted three
days. The pilot, who was a veteran in the service, declared
that such an occurrence at that time of the year had never
been known before, and as all on hoard looked upon it as a
warning from God not to persevere in the voyage, the ship’s
head was again turned towards Mozambique.

Barreto now abandoned tbe Aguia and proceeded to India
in a little vessel, in which he nearly perished of thirst on the
passage. After some delay at Coa he embarked in the hQme>
ward bound ship 8tto Guio, and without further mishap reached
Lisbon in June 1061, twenty-nine mouths after ho first set
out to return to that city.

Owing to this occurrence and othcra of a similar nature,
King SebastiUo issued instractions to Manuel de Mesquita
Perestrello, one of the surviving officers of the 8ao Bento, to
survey the African coast from Cape Correntes to the Cape of
Good Hope, and ascertain if there were any harbours in which

288 History of South Africa.

ships could winter if necessary and at all times find shelter
during those gales from the westward that caused the heavy
sea. For this purpose the experienced seaman left Mozambique
in a small vessel on the 22nd of November 1575. No method
of determining longitudes was then known, and the instrument
used for ascertaining the sun’s altitude at noon was so clumsy
that observations made with it on shipboard were almost always
incorrect, yomo of the latitudes of points on the coast given
by Manuel de Mesquita are more than fifty miles from their
true position, and in his report, which was intended to be a
guide for navigators, he lays down as a rule that the
topography of the different places visited must alone bo
depended upon.

His survey therefore was nothing more than nn inspection
from the deck of his vessel of the shore from about the Kowie
river westivard, but soundings were taken, the compass bear-
ings of the points of the bays from the anchorages witliin them
were ascertained, and sketches — some of them almost grotesque
—of the scenery at each one were made. Distances were laid
down merely by guess. As far as the coast between "the Bird
islands and Delagoa Bay was concerned he depended upon his
overland journey twenty-one years bs^re, and as he mistook
the Umtata for the river nqw known as the Fish, his observa-
tions upon that part of the seaboard were most inaccurate. Thus
he estimated the mouth of the Umzimvuhn — by him called
the Sao Christovao — as only about twenty-eight English miles
from that of tho Fish, and in his chart also he lajs it down
in that position. Hero ho actually made an error of fully one
hundred and sixty English miles.

The best shelter along the whole coast, according to him, was
to be found within the curve of the land at the mouth of tho
Bteede river, to which as a complhneut to the king ho gave
the name Saint Sebastian’s Bay. There, he reported, a vessel
would be protected from, all winds except those from east-
north-east to south-east .An east wind was blowing when he
was there, to which he attributed the heavy surf on the bar
at the mputh of the Breede river, but he thought that during

289

Knowledge derived from Shipwrecks,

the westerly monsoon the passage would he smooth, and then
a whole fleet might enter the inner harbour and be perfectly
landlocked. The place abounded with fish, and plenty of fresh
water was to be had.

Next in importance he regarded the Watering Place of Saint
Bras, now called Mossel Baj'. Ho described it as sheltered
from all winds except those from north-east to south-east by
cast, and as having good holding ground for anchors. The
islet in it he found covered with seals and penguins. Of the
hermitage built there moro than half a century earlier, and
dedicated to Saint Bras, nothing now remained but portions of
the walls three or four feet iu height. On the highest point
of the western cape on the 7tli of January 1676 ho set up
a wooden cross, and attached to it a. sealed tube containing a
record of the event.

Formosa Bay — now Pletteuborg’s Bay — and the bay which
he named Saint Francis he also regarded as good ports for the
purpose needed, both being sheltered from all winds excejiting
those from the north-east to the south, having good ground for
anchoring, and plenty of fresh water within reach. Of the
bay Da Lagoa — now Algoa — he thought less highly, though
he was of opinion that shelter could be found near the islet
of the Cross.

His latitudes and distances are so incorrect that it is impos-
sible to state with precision the limits of his land of Natal,
but he seems to have regarded the coast from about the Kei
to the TTmkomanzl as coming under that designation. He de-
scribed it as being without ports or rivers into which large
ships could enter. Of the inlet termed iu modern times the
hay of Natal ho makes no mention whatever, though his Point
Pesoaria is most probably the present Bluff.

The bay into which the rivera Maputa, Santo Espirito, and
llauisa flow he was able to describe more accurately than any
other on the south-eastern coast, owing to his residence on its
shores in former years. The old Inyaka Grorck de Sti, who
had assisted the wrecked people of the Sao Jom and the
Sao Bento, was still alive in 1576.

History of South Africa.

2 go

Of the remaiumg part of the survey it is needless to slate
anything more than that it was in all respects so defective
that it could uot have been of use to vessels frequenting the
coast, if there had been any such. Manuel de Mesquita’s
report marks the highest point of knowledge of the African
shore south of Delagoa Bay acquired by the Portuguese before
they were superseded in the eastern traffic by the Dutch, but
for any other purpose it is valueless. Saint Sebastian’s Bay,
Saint Francis Bay, and Point Delgada still retain the names
which he gave to them, and it is interesting to remember that
the first of these serves to conneot South Africa with the young
and gallant king who disappeared in battle with the Moors at
EI-Kasr ei-Kebir, but who, in the beKef of the lower classes of
the Portuguese for generations, was one day to reappear and
reatore his country to its former glory.*

The narrative of the wreck of the ship Santiago throws hardly
any special light upon the condition of the natives, but firom
it some particulars concerning the trade of the Portuguese
along the lower Zambesi are to be obtained. The Santiago
sailed from Lisbon for Goa on the 1st of April 1585, with
more than four hundred and fifty souls on board, and in the
night of the 18th of August struck upon a shoal in the
Mozambique channel, where she went to pieces. Five, or sis
rafts were made, and on these and in two small boats some of
the people tried to get to the African coast. One raft and the
two boats succeeded in reaching the shore between the Luaho
and the Quilimane mouths, the people on the other rafts were
either drowned or perished from starvation.

The commerce of the delta of the Zambesi and of the terri-

* The names on Fercstcello’s ohnet are the following ; Cabo do Boa Esperan 9 a,
Cabo False, Cabo das Agulbas, Cabo do Infante, Bahia de S. Behastiiio, Cabo ihis
Vacas, Caho de S, Bras, Agoada de S. Bras, Caho Talhadu, Bahia de S. Catorinfi,
Cabo das Baxas, Ponta Delgada, Bahia Fermosa, Cabo das Berras, Bahia de
8k Francisco, Caho do Ai-recife, Ilha da Cruz, Bahia da Lagoa, llheos Chaos,
Fcmta doFadrSo, Biu do Infante, Bio de 8. Christovlto, Frimeira Fonta do Natal,
doMeio, Ponta Dorradeiro, Posta de Pescaiia, Fonta de S. Lucia, Bio do
8. Luoio, Mo dos He^os do Ouio, Fonta dos Fumos, Terra dos Fiimos, Bahia
dis Lmmnjo'HarqUes, Bio do Santo Esj>uito, Bio do Manila, and Bio do Oaro.

PHOTOGRAPH OF PERESTRELLO’S CHART.

/Cnozu/edffe derived front Shipzorecks. 29 1

tory Wrderiiifj upon it to the south was at this time to a
small extent in the hands of Arab mixed breeds, who professed
to bo vassals of the Portuguese. The principal man among
them was ono Muinha Sednea, who was wealthy and had a
largo establislimont. llo .showed much kindness to those of the
wroekeil people who landed near his residonee, and assisted
them to roach a pliwie of safety.

The chief eomineree, howovor, was in tho hands (d‘ a I’ortn-
gnose named Framusco llroehudo, who had a(;c[«ired great
influonco imd power in thn conntry. llo was a man of gooil
family, and had settled on tlio ZamWsi thirty years before. Hf>
had two groat establishments, eonaisting entirely of slave’s, tm(»
at Qniliinauo, tho other on the Lnabu, and at eaeh ho resided
during a portion of the year. His genonwity to his wrecked
countrymen was unbounded, and by him they were clothed and
otherwise cared for until they could embark at Quilimane for
Mozambique.

Francisco Broebado held the title of an office from the Portu-
guese government, but his power was not due to that: it was
owing solely to the influeiioe which a resolute, active, and able
man had acquired over a community of barbarians. It was
entirely personal. Portuguese rule existed at Quilimane, and,
above the delta, at Sena, but except at those stations native
chiefs governed their followers, and knew nothing of foreign
supremacy beyond the influence which Brochado had gained
among them. He had leased from the captain of Sofala and
Mozambique a monopoly of the commerce of the delta, and ail
the boats on the rivers— excepting a few small ones owned by
the Arab mixed breeds — were in his service. The jirofits were
commonly enormous, bnt tho trade wms fluctuating and subject
to many rrjverses.

In January ioSO the ship Soo Thome sailed from (Cochin for
Portugal. No vessel so richly latlcn had loft the Indian seas
for many years, bnt so widespread wtw corniption among tho
officials nf all classes that she was very insufficiently furnished
for the passage. Her captain was a man of little ability, named
Estevao da Yeigju There were many passengers on board,

z

2 92 History of South Africa.

among whom were IJoni Pan! rle Lima and hia lady Dona
Beatrice, Bernardim de Oarvalho, Gregorio Botelho and his
daughter Dona Mariana, who was proceeding to Portugal to
rejoin her husband Guterre do Monroy, Dona Joanna do
Mendoufa, widow of Gonpalo Gomes d’Azevedo, who had her
only child, a little girl not tw’o years of age, with her,
and Diogo do Conto, w'ho had beon wrecked before in tho
Sanfiaffo.

Tho officers Avero desirous of reaching tho island of St.
Helena before any of the other vessels which left Cochin at
the same time, so they crowded on sail until the ship sprang
a leak off the southern point of Madagascar. The leak was
partly stopped, and the ship continued on her course until the
12th of March, when a south-westerly wind was encountered,
and the water began anew to gain rapidly on the pumps. An
effort was then made to reach Mozamhicpie, pumping and
baling were carried on incessantly, and the ship was lightened
as much as possible, but a few days later it was seen that she
could not float many hours longer. •

There was a very large boat on the deck, which was now got
into the water. A scramble took place, each man striving to
light his way into it, so that by the time it got clear of the
ship it contained no fewer than one hundred and nine indi-
viduala The three ladies were among the number, but the
agony of the widow De Mondonpa was intense, for her child
was in the sinking ship, and its nurse would not give it up
unless she too were rescued. This was not possible, for already
the boat was so overcrowded that to lighten her twelve men
were thrown out and drowned.

There was a Dominican friar, Nicolau of the Rosary by
name, on board the Sno Thome, and those in the boat shouted
to him to jump overboard and swim to them, when they would
pick him up, but he would not leave the ship until he had
attended to tho spiritual needs of those who were about to die.
When that was done, he sprang into the sea, swam to the
boat, and was taken in.

At ten in the morning the ship was seen to go down. Early

293

Knowledge derived front ShipwrCiks.

noxt (lay, the 22ii(l nf Starch, the heat rcaehi'tl tli(j cit.ist (if
the territory now (uilhid Tiniguland, whicli was tlieii oceupajd
by the Slakomnta trila^. Rome sailors landed, and louiid a
kraal not far off, where they were treated in a friendly
manner, d'ho oHii-'ors now resolved to pnxjeiod alonj' tlio eo.i?,t
to the river of lamrom^o Sfawiues, hut iia the wind fre.shoU(5d
they wore nimble to carry out timt diisigu in the boat, which
Would uertainly have foundorod. They therefore ran htH‘
ashore, and burned luir to get nails to trudfi uith, after which
tliey sot out to maroh overland. They ucre in all niiioty-
eight souls, and they had five guns with ammuuitiou, as many
,SttordB, and a little food.

On their journey they oiieonntcrijd many natives, a few
hostile, but the greater number friendly, and they were able
to exchange their nails for hens, goats, lish, and bruised
millet, so that they did not suffer much from hunger before
their arrival at the kraal of the luyaka chief, who was son
and successor of Garcia dc Sa. This chief treated them as
well a# he could, but hia resources were insullieient for the
luaintenaiioe of so many persons thrown thus suddenly upon
him. He therefore proposed that they should take up their
abode on Elephant Island, then called Sotimiiro, where he
would send them as much food os he could collect until the
arrival of the trading vessel from Mozambique in the follow-
ing year. The one of this season had sailed only a few days
before.

Tho wrecked people fell in with this proposal, and wero
(conducted to Elephant Island, which was uninhabibHl. It was
on that u(,‘couut used as their principal statiou by tho Portu-
guese ivory traibii’s when they visited the h,iy. 'I'ho huts
whicli they had put up provided iiccomrnodation for the cast-
aways, and they had left tliuro two native Imats that could
be turued to account. Tho want of food, which the luyakn
could not supply in sufiicienl quantity, hero after a short time
became so pressing that the party resolved to attomiit to push
on to Sofala as their only hope of life.

On tho 18th of April sixty of them set out in the two

^94 History of South Africa.

boats for lliu northern shore of the bay, after arranging that
a few sailors should return for the others, thirty-six in number,
who wore loft behind. One of the boats safely reached the
mouth of the Slaiiisa, where its crew were informed that at
tlie kraal of the ehiof, twelve leagues up the stream, there
wore some Portugueso, I’hcy therefore wont up the river, and
found Jcroiiyinc) Loitao, the master of the trading vessel that
had left Elephant Island about a month before, with hi.s com-
panions. lie informed them that he had put into the Linipojto,
where ho had been robbed of his vessel and cargo, and had
then travelled overland to the kraal of Manisa, who had
treated him kindly. The chief received the people of the
boat in a friendly manner, and provided for their wants.

The other boat got into the surf, and was run ashore near
the mouth of the Limpopo, where she was of necessity aban-
doned. Her crew then set out to march northward. Most of
the natives on the way gave them assistance, but their suft'er-
ings were so great from hunger, thirst, fatigue, and fever, that
nearly half of them perished. The survivors passed through
G-amba’s country and Inhambane, and a little farther on found
a Portuguese trader with a boat. He took them across to the
island of Bazaruta, which was then occupied by Arabs of
mixed blood, who treated them very well. There was also a
native of Sofala living on the island, and this man procured
a small vessel, in which they completed their journey to tho
Portuguosc station, where their troubles ended.

Meantime fever attacked the Europeans at Manisa’s kraal
and those left on Elephant Island, so that it was some time
Iwfore the latter could be taken across to their friends. Manisa
was able to provide them all with food, so they did not
attemi>t to go farther. .Teronymo Leitao, who was aecnstomed
to deal with natives, had sent messengers overland to Sofala,
to iuturm the captain there of what had oocurred. That
ofScer, on receiving the intelligence, at once sent a small
pangayo with necessary articles, and as at that season of the
year she could not sail to the river Manisa, her cargo was
landed at Inhambane and then forwarded overland by native

295

Knowledge dcyived from Sklpjorecks.

carriers, liefore this assistance amvecl, Dom Paul do Liuia,
Eernardirn de Carvalho, and many other male>s of tlie party
had died, but the thvo(» ladies ^yero still living. 'I’iiey re-
inairtod at iVlaiiisa’s kraal until the (diatige of the iiionsooii
permitted a paugayo to hes sent ft)r tlunii, in w hit’ll they
went to Idojiiiiiihiipie, and there embarked in a sliip hotiiwl
to Goa.

On the Slst t)f JttUUiiry IfllKl the ship Hanto AVhsHo saileil
from (Joehiu for liishou. Khc was coinmnudeil by thi! eaphiin
Julido do h’uriti Otnvcirii, and had as pilot a man of cxpericiino
named Rodrigo Bliguels. Among those on hoard acre Dona
IsahcUa Percini, dnughtor of Francisco I’eroiva, an oflicer at
G<Jii, ami widow of Diogo do Mollo Ooutiiihi*, who had been
captain of Ceylon, Dona Luiza, daughter of that lady, a girl
sixteen year.s rif age, Nuno Vedho Pereira, recently captain of
Mozambique, and two friars. There were many other passengers,
some of them gentlemen of iwaition.

In latitude Hf y. the ship spring a leak, and could not
afterw'jrrds he freed of water. On the 2l8t of March the African
coast was in sight, in latitude Sli® accoixling to observations
with the astrolabe, aud hero the leak increased greatly. The
ship was lightened as much as possible, the pumps were kept
constantly at work, and baling was rostn'ted to, but the water
in the hold continued tu rise. In order therefore to save the
lives of those on hoard, as there was no hope of being able to
keep afloat much longer, the Sanio Alberto vias run ashore.
Between nine and ten o’clock in the morning of the 24th of
Mansh she struck aliout three or four hundred yanks from tlio
beucli. One hundred and twenty-live Portuguese, including
the two ladie.s, and ouo hundrwl and .si.xty slaves got safely
to hind, and twenty-eight PoriugucBO and thirty-four slaves
were di'owucd.

Fortunately a quantity of stores of different kinds, arms,
ammunition, bales of calico, pieces of metal, heads, an astrolabe,
some writing paper, and other articles were saved from the
wreck. The pilot liolieved the hititudo of the plaeo to ho .‘12 .i°
S., hut that was certainly uu error, because there was only one

296 History of South Africa.

large river between it and the Uinzimvubii, and if it had
been correct the Eaabea and the Uintatn must have been
crossed, The Portuguese maps were still so defective that the
position of all but very prominent places upon them was
uncertain. The wreelred crew of the Banto fHherto believed
the remarkable rock now Icnown as the Hole in tlie AVall,
close to which they were, to be the Penedo das Fontes of
Dias, and the first river beyond, w’hich was the Uintata of our
day, to be the Rio do Infante of that explorer. From this
time onward until their arrival at Delagoa Bay, to which place
they resolved to proceed, the pilot kept a journal, in which
he noted the distances travelled, the direction, occasionally the
latitude, particulars concerning barter, observations upon the
natives, and other matters of interest, Many Bantu words
given in this journal are easily made out, and from the obser-
vations recorded the route of the party can bo laid down
nearly — if not quite — accurately on a modern map,*

The wrecked people commoncoil their journoy from the
streamlet Mpako, about ten miles west of tho niontli,,of the
Uintata. Tho groat rock, whicli then, according to the journal,
bore tho name Tizombe, is now called Zikali. Nuno Velho
Pereira, being a man of rank and experience, was elected
leader, and Antonio Godinho, who had for a long time traded
at stations in the Zambesi valley, took charge of the barter,
on which the very lives of the travellers depended. Arrange-
ments were made for tho journey similar to those of a trading
caravan. Calico, beads, and pieces of metal were done up in
packs to be carried by the slaves, and tbo arms and provisions
were borne by the Portuguese.

While these preparations were in progress, on the 27 th of
March a native chief with sixty followers made his appear-
ance. His name, as recorded, was Luspanco. Calling out
Hanbatal Hanhata! in a friendly tone, the band came for-

* I am indebted for assistance in tracing this ronto to Walter Stanford,
Bsqulre, C.M.G,, recently chief magistrate of Griqualand East. This gentleman
ie thoroughly acquainted with tho territory, which I have not hod an opportunity
of examining.

497

Knowledge derived from Shipwrecks,

■ward, when the chief presented two large sheep with heavy
tails like those of Ormna, Among the slaves was one who
could make himself understood by Luspance, and who spoke
also the language of the Bantu of Mozambique. Another
slave spoke the last-named language and also Portuguese, so
that through two intermediary interpreters the Europeans
could make their wants known. And throughout one of the
most remarkable journeys ever made in South Africa slaves
of the party could always converse with the natives, a circum-
stance which tended greatly towards the safety of all.

Luspance is described as a man of good stature, light in
colour, of a cheerful countenance, and about forty-flve years of
age. He and his people wore karosses of oxhide made soft by
rubbing and greasing, and they had sandals on their feet.
They could run with great speed. In their hands they carried
sticks with jackals’ tails attached to them, and the chief had
ns an ornament a piece of copper suspended from his left ear.
They were husbandmen and graziers. Their grain was millet
of the. size of peppercorns, which was ground between two
stones, and of which they also made boer. Their wealth con-
sisted of cattle, whose milk was one of their ordinary articles
of diet. Their huts were round and low, were covered with
reed mats, and were not proof against rain. They had pots
made of clay, used assagais in war and the chase, and kept
dogs. They were without any form of worship, but were cir-
cumcised, as were nearly all the natives south of the twenty-
ninth parallel of latituda They were very sensual, each man
having as many wives as he chose. Gold and silver were
esteemed by them as of little value, but for very small pieces
of iron or copper they were willing to sell oxen or sheep.
Their language was a dialect of that in use by all the people
of Kaffraria, and their chief, like the petty rulers in the
country to the north, was termed an Inkosi.

Erom this description it is evident that Luspance’s clan was
of mixed Bantu and Hottentot blood, the former, however,
prevailing, and that in 1593 the condition of things along the
Umtata was similar to that along the Eish river two centuries

2 g 8 History of South Africa.

later, wlien the incorporation of tho Glonaqnas in tlie Xosa
tribe bad recently taken place.

On tho 3rd of April tho travellers commenced their march.
Lnspance sold them two cows and two sheep, and went with
them himself as a guide ns far as tho Umtata. A negro hoy,
one of whoso legs had been broken in getting to land, was
left behind with the friendly natives. On the afternoon of
the next day they crossed the Umtata, which they believed
to be the Infante, and then Lnspance bade them farewell,
after directing a guide whose name is given as Inhanoosa —
(evidently Nyana wenkosi, i,a. son of the chief) — to conduct
them onward.

On the 5th they obtained eight cows in barter, on tho 7th
they passed a field of millet, of which thoy purchased some,
and on the 9th they reached a little kraal that was in posses-
sion of a hundred head of horned cattle and a hundred and
twenty sheep of tho large-tailed breed. The chief prcseutefl
calabashes of milk, and sold them four cows for pieces of
copper worth as many ponce. A little farther on theyl'oaohcd
a kraal under a chief nam 6 d Ubabu, who was a brother of their
guide. He was a man of middling stature, not very black in
colour, with an open cheerful countenance. He entertained
the strangers with a dance, in which about sixty men took
part, the Women clapping their hands and singing in time.
Though Ubabu had about two himdred head of large cattle
and as many sheep, he would not part with any except at
prices which the Portugirese regarded as extortionate, but he
was very pleased to accept of the presents they made him.

Soon after leaving his kraal some natives were seen with
beads of Indian manufacture hanging from their ears, which
the journalist conjectured must have been brought down from
the trading station at Delagoa Bay, though it is much more
likely that they were obtained from the wrbek of the Sao Joao
or the 8ao Bento. Progress was slow, often little more than a
league in a day being covered, but on the 14:th the caravan
reached the Umzimvubu at the ford now known as the Btyeni,
where' the passage of the stream was safely made.

299

Knowledge derived from Shipwrecks.

After crossing this river, the largest in Kaffraria, the tone
of the journal changes. The traveUei’s found themselves now
in a more thickly populated country, and the iuhahitants were
blacker in colour. They had not proceeded far when a chief
named Vibo, who was much more powerful than any they had
seen before, and who is described as being very black and
about eighty years of age, came to meet them. After that
chiefs in possession of kraals of considerable size were
found at intervals along their whole line of march, except
when they were on the high plateau from which rises the
Drakensberg. They had no difficulty in purchasing as many
horned cattle, sheep, hens, gom-ds, and millet cakes, and as
much millet and milk as they needed. For the millet cakes,
probably on account of their being so different from European
bread, they used the native name isinkwa, which the journalist
wrote sincoa. The gleeful exclamation Halala! Halala! they
mistook for a form of greeting, but they were correct in believ-
ing that tho word manga (properly isimanga) referred to the
sea, though literally it means a wonder.

They passed over the high ground behind the present
mission station Palmerton, along by the Ingele mountain,
which they called Moxangala, and on the 3rd of May saw the
Drakensberg to the northward and north-eastward covered
with snow. This part of the country, being too cold in the
winter season to be pleasant for Bantu, they found uninhabited.
Turning now towards the lowlands, on the 13th of May they
crossed a beautiful river which they called the Mutangalo,
the Umzimkulu of onr day.

The present colony of Natal they found thickly peopled.
By this timo they were inured to travel, the weather was in
all respects favourable, and they could usually obtain com-
petent guides, so they made much longer stages than at first.
It took them only sixteen days to go over the ground from
the Umzimkulu to the Tugelo — ^the Uohugel they termed it, —
which stream they crossed on the 29th of May.

Continuing at this rapid rate, they reached Delagoa Bay
on the 30th of June, having marched as they computed three

300

History of South Africa.

kunclred leagues in eigkiy-eiglit ilays. li'rom the Mpako to
the Espirito Santo a straight lino measures only ono hundred
and fifty leagues, but they thought tho various turns in the
footpaths had doubled that distance. They had nineteen head
of cattle when they reached the bay. On the journey they
had been compelled to abandon nine Europeans who were
worn out with sickness and fatigue, and they lost ninety-five
slaves, mostly by desertion. This wonderful success was due
to its being the best time of the year for travelling, to their
being so strong and so well armed that no natives dared to
attack them, to their being provided with means to purchase
food, and to their having slaves who could make themselves
understood by the Bantu along the route.

At Delagoa Bay they fomxd tho trading vessel iVossa Sentiara
da SalvagMo nearly ready to return to Mozambinno. She
was not large enough to contain them all, but her mixed-breed
Moslem sailors, who had their wives with them, consented for
liberal payment to remain behind, and tlms she was lightened
of forty-five individuals. It was the custom of thesa people,
instead of receiving wages, to be allowed to trade in millet,
honey, and anything else except ivory or ambergris on their
own account, and therefore they would have little ditfioulty in
providing for themselves on shore. Erom them the chief
captain purchased an ample supply of millet for food on tho
passage. Twenty-eight Portuguese soldiers and sailors resolved
to travel overland to Sofala, but only two of this party reached
their destination ; the others perished on the way in conflicts
brought on by tbeir own misconduct. Eighty-eight Portu-
guese, including the two ladies, and sixty-four slaves embarked
in the trading vessel, which sailed on the 22nd of July, and
reached Mozambique in safety on the 6th of August.

, In all the region traversed by the crews of these wrecked
ships not a single tribe is mentioned of the same name as any
now existing. The people were all of the Bantu race as far
south as. the TJmzimvubu, spoke dialects of the same language,
had the same customs, but were not grouped as at present.
South of the TJmzimvubu there was a mixture of Bantu and

Knowledge derived from Shipwrecks. 301

Hottentot blood, but how far the former extended in this
diluted form cannot be ascertained. Probably not far, as the
country was very sparsely populated. It is noticeable also
that the whole of the high plateau from which the Drakens-
. berg rises was without inhabitants at least as far north as the
present colony of Natal.

It would serve no useful purpose to give the names of the
tribes about Delagoa Bay and farther northward, as placed on
record by the Portuguese writers, for even if those names were
accurate at the time, the communities that bore them have
long since ceased to exist, and never did anything to merit
a place in history. Along the coast south of Delagoa Bay
only four tribes of importance are mentioned. Tho first was
that of the Inyaka, occupying tho island now known by that
name and the territory between the Maputa river and tho
sea. Joining them on the south wore the Makomata, under a
chief called Vimgune by the Portuguese, whose kraals were
scattered over the country from the coast ninety miles inland.
Then cawo the Makalapapa, who lived about the St. Lucia
lagoon. Soutli of them was a tribe termed tho Yambe by the
Portuguese, which was to a certainty the Abambo of Hlubi,
Zizi, and other traditions, from whom Natal is still called Embo
by the Bantu.

All the paramount chiefs of these tribes were termed kings
by tho Portuguese, and the territories in which they lived
were described as kingdoms. In the same way the heads of
kraals were designated nobles. Phraseology of this kind, so
liable to lead readers into error, ended, however, with the so-
called Yambe kingdom, as farther south there were no tribes
of any importance, no chiefs with move than three or four
kraals under their control, and to these a high-sounding title
could not bo given. The Pondo, Pondomisi, Tembu, and Xosa
tribes of our day were either not yet in existence as separate
communities, or were little insignificant clans too feeble to
attract notice.

302

History of South A frim.

CHAPTER XIII,

APPEARANOE OP EIYALS IN THE EASTERN SEAS.

The debt which, the world owes to the Portuguese for
weakening the Mohamedan power and thus preventing the
subjugation of a larger portion of Eastern Europe than was
actually overrun by the Turks should not bo forgotten, but
long before the closo of the sixteenth century they had
ceased to be participants in the groat progressive movement
of the Caucasian race. ) Upon a conquering nation rests an
enormous responsibility: no smaller than that of benefiting
the world at large, Was Portugal doing this in h«r tiastorn
possessions to suoh an extent as to make her displacement
there a matter deserving universal regret? Probably her
own people would reply that she was, for- every nation
regards its own acta as better than those of others ; but
beyond her borders the answer unquestionably would be
that she was not. ( Rapacity, cruelty, corruption, have all
been laid to her charge at this period, and ngt without
sufficient reason. But apart from these yices^'^^er weakness
under the Castilian kings was such that she was incapable
of doing any good.^ When an individual is too infirm and
decrepit to manage his affaiis, a robust man takes his place,
and so it is with States. The weak one may cry out that
might is not right, but suoh a cry finds a very feeble echo.
India was not held by the Portuguese under the only inde-
feasible tenure: that of making the best use of it; and thus
it could be seized by a stronger power without Christian
nations feeling that a wrong was being done.

Before recounting in brief the commencement of the Dutcdi

Appectrance of Rivals in the Eastern Seas. 303

conquests, a glance may be given to the acts of other
nations, and especially to those of our own countrymen, in
the eastern seas at an earlier date.

The French were the first to follow tho Portuguese round
the Oape of G-ood Hope to India. As early as 1507 a corsair
of that nation, named Moadragon, made his appearance in the
Mozambique channel * with two armed vessels, and plundered
a ship under command of Job Queimado. He also captured
and robbed another Indiamau nearer home. On the 18th of
January 1509 a fleet commanded by Duarte Pacheco fell in
with him off Oape Finisterre, and after a warm engagement
.sanlt ono of his ships and captured the other. Mondragon
was taken a prisoner to Lisbon, where he found means of
making his peace with tho king, and he was then permitted
to return to France.

Twenty years lator three ships, fitted out by a memhant
named Jean Ango, sailed from Dieppe for India. The
accounts of this expedition are so conflicting that it is impos-
sible to "relate tho occurrences attending it with absolute
accuracy. It is certain, however, that one of the ships never
reached her destination. Another was wrecked on the coast
of Sumatra, where her crew were all murdered. The third
reached Diu in July 1627. She bad a crew of forty French-
men, but was commanded by a Portuguese named EstevSo
Dios, nicknamed Brigas, who had fled from his native ooimtry
on account of misdeeds committed there, and had taken
service with the strangers. The ruler of Diu regaitied this
ship with great hostility, and as he was unable to seize her
openly, he practised deceit to get her crew within his power.
Professing friendship, he gave Dias permission to trade in his
territory, but took advantage of the first opportunity to arrest
him and his crew. They were handed over as captives to the
paramount Mohamedan ruler, and were obliged to embrace

* The paTticukvs of this event cannot be asoortaiued, and it would even,
be doubtful whether Mondragon really rounded the Oape of Good Hope if it
were not expressly stated in a Buramary of the directions issued hy the kin§
for his capture, that it took place "no canal do Mo^ainh^ue,’’

304 History of South Africa.

lits creed to preserve their lives. Tliey w.ru then taken into
his service and remained in Tndia.

Early in 1529 two ships commanded by Joan and Eaoul
Parmentier, fitted out paiily by Jean Ango, partly by
merchants of Eouen, sailed from Dieppe. In October of the '
same year they reached Sumatra, but on account of great
loss of life from sickness, on the 22nd of January 1530 they
turned homeward. As they avoided the Portuguese settle-
ments, nothing was known at G-oa of their proceedings except
what was told by a sailor who was left behind at Madageiscar
and was afterwards found there. This expedition was almost
as unsuccessful os the preceding one. On their return passage
the ships were greatly damaged in violent storms, and they
reached Europe with diffloulty.

Erom that time until 1601 there is no trace of a Erenoh
vessel having passed the Capo of Good Hope. Tn May of
this year tho Gorbin and Oroiasmt, two ships fitted out by
Messrs. Laval and Vitre, Bretagne merchants, sailed from St.
Malo. They reached the Maldives safely, but there the OorUn
was lost in July 1602, and her commander was unable to
return to Prance until ten years had gone by. The Orommt
was lost on the Spanish coast on her homeward passage.

On the 1st of June 1604: a French East India Company
was established on paper, but it did not get further. In
1615 it was reorganised, and in 1617 the first successful
expedition to India under the Prench fiag sailed from a port
in Normandy. Prom that date onward ship.? of this nation
were frequently seen in the eastern seas. But the French
made no attempt to form a settlement in South Africa, and
their only connection with this coirntry was that towards
the middle of the seventeenth century a vessel was sent
occasionally from Eochelle to collect a cargo of sealskins
and qil at the islands in and near the present Saldanha
Bay.

The Uingiish were the next to appear in Indian waters. A
few individuals of this nation may have served in Portuguese
ships, and among the missionaries, especially of the Society of

Appearance of Rivals in the Eastern, Seas. 305

Jesus, who went out to convert the heathen, it is not unlikely
that there wore several. One at least, Thomas Stephens by
name, was rector of the Jesuit college at Salsette. A letter
written by him from Goa in 1570, and printed in the second
volume of Hakluyt’s work, is the earliest account extant of an
English voyager to that part of the world.* It contains no
information of importance.

The famous sea captain Francis Drake, of Tavistock in
Devon, sailed from Plymouth on the 13th of December 1577,
with the intention of exploring the Pacific ocean. His fleet
consisted of five vessels, carrying in all one himdred and
sixty-four men. His own ship, named the Pcliom, was of
one hundred and twenty tons burden. The others were the
BUmbeth, eighty tons, the Marigold., thirty tons, a pinnace of
twelve tons, and a storeship of fifty tons burden. The last
named was set on fire as soon as her cargo was transferred
to the others, the pinnace was abandoned, the Marigold was
lost in a storm, the Blitsaleth, after reaching the Pacific, turned
back throflgh the straits of Magellan, and the Pelican alone
continued the voyage. She was the first English ship that
sailed round the world. Captain Drake reached England
again on the 3rd of November 1580, and soon afterwards was
made a knight by Queen Elizabeth on board his ship. The
Pelican did not touch at any part of the South African

* I do not mention Sic John lilandevillo in the text, because modem
oritioism has proved that what he states concerning India in his hook The
Yoiaye a/nd trmayle of »yr John Maundmille, knight, ■mhidh treaieth of the
way toward Jliemaalem, and of maruayke cf Jnde, with other Hands and
Gountryes was compiled from earlier foreign writers, though bis work was
regarded as genuine and trustworthy by Englishmen until recently. Nothing
is known of him from oontemporary records, and it is even regarded ns
possible that Mondoville was a pseudonym. In his hook ho states that he was
bom at St. Albans, and travelled in the oast as far as China between the
years 1322 and 1367. It is now believed that he really visited Palestine,
and Ms account of that country is considered as partly baaed on personal
observation, but the remainder of the volume is spurious. The original was
written in I’renoh, See the Enoydopedia BriUmnica, article MandeviUe. Of
the numerous copies of the hook, in many languages, in the library of the
British Museum, the earliest was printed in 1480,

306 History of South Africa.

coast, but there is the following paragraph iu the account of
the voyage: —

“We ran hard aboard the Cape, finding the report of the
Portuguese to be most false, who affirm that ifi is the most
dangerous capo of the world, never without intolerable storms
and present danger to travellers Avho como near tlie same.
This oapo is a most stately thing, and tho fairest cape wo saw
iu the whole circumference of the earth, and we passed by it
on the 18th of June.”

1583 four English traders iu precious stones, acting
partly on their own account and partly as agents for
merchants in London, made their way by tho Tigris and the
Persian gulf to Ormuz, where at that time people of various
nationalities were engaged in commerco. John Ne\Yb6ry, the
leader of the party, had been there before. The others were
named Ealph Pitch, William Leades, and James Story.

^Shortly after thoir arrival at Ormuz thoy were arrested by
tho Portugnoso authorities on the double charge of being
horotios and spies of the prior Dora Antonio, who was a
claimant to tho throne of Portttgal, and under these pretences
they wero sent prisoners to Goa. (There they managed to
clear themselves of the first of the charges, Story entered a
convent, and the others, on finding bail not to leave the city,
were set at liberty in December 1584, mainly through the
instrmnentality of the Jesuit father Stephens and Jan
Huyghen van Linschoten, of whom more will be related in
the following pages.^ Pour months afterwards, being in fear of
ill-treatment, they managed to make their escape from Goa.
After a time they separated, and Pitch went on a tour through
India, visiting many places before his return to England in
1591. t An account of his travels is extant in Hakluyt’s collec-
tion, otit there is not mnoh information in it, and it had no
effect upon subsequehtlevents.^

Thomas Candish sailed from Plymouth on the 21st of July
1586, with three ships— the Desire, of one hundred and twenty
tons, the Content, of sixty tons, and the Hugh GaUmt, of forty
tons— carrying in all one hundred and twenty-three souls,

Appearcmce of Rivals in the Eastern Seas. 307

'After Btiiling roaud tlio globe, lie m-ived again in Plymoatli
on the 9tli of Seplemhor 1588, having passed the Cape of
Good Hope on the 16th of May.

The first English ships that put into a harbour on the
South African coast were the Penelope, Merohmit Royal, aird
EAwa/rd Bonaventwre, which sailed from Plymouth for India
on the 10th of April 1591, under command of Admiral George
Eaymond. This fieet put into the Watering Place of Saldanha
at the end of July, The crews, who were suffering from
scurvy, were at once sent on shore, where they obtained fresh
food by shooting wild fowl and gathering mussels and other
shell-fish along the rocky beach. Some natives had been seen
when the ships sailed in, but they appeared terrified, and
at once moved inland. Admiral Eaymond visited Eobben
Island, whero he found seals and penguins in great nmnbers.
One day some hunters caught a native, whom they treated
kindly, making him many presents and endeavouring to show
him by signs that they were in want of cattle. They then let
him go,«and eight days afterwards he returned with thirty or
forty others, bringing forty oxen and as many sheep. Trade
was at once commenced, the price of an ox being two Imives,
that of a shoep one knife. So many men had died of scurvy
that it was considered advisable to send the Merehant Royal
back to England weak handed. The Penelope, with one
hundred and one men, and the Edward Bo^imeniure, with
ninety-seven men, sailed for India on the 8th of September.
On the 12th a gale was encountered, and that night those in
the Edwavd Bonaveniwe, whereof was captain James Lancaster
— who was afterwards famous as an advocate of Arctic explora-
tion, and whose name was given by Eylot and BafSn to the
sound- which terminated their discoveries in 1616 — saw a
great sea break over the admiral’s ship, which put out her
lights. After that she was never seen or heard of again.

The appearance of these rivals in the Indian sens caused
much concern in Spain and Portugal, There was as yet no
apprehension of the loss of the sources of the spice trade,
but it was regarded as probable that English ships would lie

2 A

3o8

History of South Africa.

ill wait ftl iSiiiiit neleuii for ricliiy ladoii vessols lioinowartl
bound, so in 1/593 the king flire<3lo(l the viceroy t,o iustmct
the captains not to touch iti, that isliunl.

It was not by Euglishraeii, however, though they visited
India at this early period, but by the Dutcii, that the
Portuguese j)OAvor in the East was overthrown. That power
was like a great bubble, but it required priclcing to make it
burst, and our countrymen did not often come in contact
with it. Sir Erancis Dralce indeed, who was utterly fearless,
went wherever he chose, and opened fire upon all who
attempted to interfere with him, but his successors, whose
object was profit in trade, were naturally more cautious. The
Indies were large, and so they avoided the Portuguese
fortresses, and did what business they could with native
rulers and people.

The merchants of the Netherlands had been accustomed to
obtain at Lisbon the supplies of Indian products which they
required for home consumption and for the largo European
trade which they carried on, but after 1580, whon Portugal
came under the dominion of Philippe II of Bpain, they were
shut out of that market. They then determined to open up
direct communication Vfith the Bast, and for that purpose
made several gallant hut fruitlesB efforts to find a passage
along the northern shores of Europe and Asia. When the
first of these had failed, and while the result of the second
was still unknown, some merchants of Amsterdam fitted out a
fleet of four vessels, which in the year 1595 sailed to India
by way of the Cape of Good Hope, ^efore this date, how-
ever, a few Netherlanders had visited the eastern seas in the
Portuguese service, and among them was one in particular
whose writings had great influence at that period and for
more than half a century afterwards."^

J an Huyghen van Linschoten w as Dorn at Haarlem, in the
province of Holland. Ho received a good general education,
but froin an early age he gave himself up with ardour to the
special study of geography and history, and eagerly read such
books, of travel its wero within his reach. In 1579 he

Appearance of Rivals in the Eastern Seas. 309

obtained permission from his parents, who were then residing
at Enkhuizen, to proceed to Seville, where his two elder
brothers were pushing their fortunes. He was at Seville
when the cardinal king Henrique of Portugal died, leaving
the succession to the throne in dispute. The duke of Alva
with a strong Spanish army won it for his master, and shortly
afterwards Liuschoten removed to Lisbon, where he was a
clerk in a merchant’s office when Philippe made his triumphal
entry and when Alva died.

Two years later he entered the service of a Dominican friar,
by name Vicente da Fonseca, who had been appointed by
Philip pe prima t e of Ind ia, the see of Goa having been raised
to ai^archbishopric in 1557. In April 1583, with his employer
he sailed from Lisbon, and after touching at Mozambique —
where he remained from the 6th to the 20th of August,
diligently seeking information on that part of the world — ^he
arrived at Goa in September of the same_year. He remained
in India Until January 1589. When returning to Europe
in the •ship Bmita Grum from Cochin, he passed through a
quantity of wreckage from tire ill-faled 8eio ThomS, which had
sailed from the same port five days before he left, and he
visited several islands in the Atlantic, at one of which —
Terceira — ^he was detained a long time. He reached Lisbon
again in January 1592, and eight months later rejoined his
family at Eukhuizen, after an absence of nearly thirteen
years. From this date his name is inseparably connected
with those of the gallant spirits who braved the perils of the
polar seas in the effort to find a north-eastern passage
to China.

/ Early in 1595 the first of Linschoten’s books was
;^blished, in which an account is given of the sailing direc-
tions followed by the Portuguese in their navigation of the
eastern waters, drawn from the treatises of their most
experienced pilots. This work shows the highest knowledge
of navigation that Europeans had then acquired. They had
still no better instrument for determining latitudes than the
astrolabe and the cross staff, and no means whatever for ascer-

2 A 2

310 History of South Africa.

taininpj longitudes. The vicinity of tlus Capo of Cood Ifopo
was Icnowii by the appeavanco of seabirds callod Capo pig(!ons
and the great drifting plants that are yet to bo aeon any
day on the shores of the Capo peninsula. 'I'ho different hinds
of ground that adhered to the tallow of the sounding leads
to some extent indicated the position, as did also the varia-
tion of the magnetic needle, hut whether a ship was fifty or a
hundred miles from any given point could not be ascertained
by either of these means. When close to the shore, however,
the position was known by the appearance of the laud, the
form of the hills and mountains, and the patches of sand and
thicket, all of which had boon carefully delineated and laid
down in the sailing directions.^

^Linsohoten’s first book was followed in 159C by a descrip-
tion of th(5 Indies, and by several geographical treatises
drawn from Portuguese sources, all profusely illustrated with
maps and plates. / Of Mozambique an ample account was
given from personal ohservatiou and inquiry. Dom Pedro
de Castro had just been succeodod as captain by Nuna Volho
Pereira, who informed the archbishop that in his three years
term of office ho wonld , /realise a fortune of about nine tons
of gold, ’or £76,000 sterling, derived chiefly from the trade in
the precious metal carried on at Sofala and in the territory
of the Monomotapa. Fort SSo SehastiSo had then no other
gairison than the servants and attendants of the captain, in
addition to whom there were only forty or at most fifty
Portuguese and half-breed male residents on tho island
capable of assisting in its defence. There were three or four
hundred hnts occupied hy negroes, some of whom were
professed Christians, others Mohamedans, and still others
heathens. (The exports to India were gold, ivoryj ambergris,
ebony, and slaves. African slaves, being much stronger in
body than the natives of Hindostan, were used to perforin
the hardest and coarsest work in the eastern possessions of
Portugd, and — ^though Linschoten does not state this— they
were employed in considerable numbers in the trading ships
to. relieve the European seamen from the heavy labour of

Appearance of Rivals in the Easton Seas. 31 1

pumping, hauling, stowing and nnstovving cargo, cleansing,
and so forth. These slaves were chiefly procured from the
lands to the northward, and very few, if any of them, were
natives of the country south of the Zambesi.^

It serves to show how carefully and minutely Linseboten
elicited information at Mozambique, that he mentions a
harbour on the coast which is not named by any of the
Portuguese writers of the time except Dos Santos, whose
book was not then published, and who only refers to it
incidentally, though it is now known to be the best port
between Inhambano and the Zambesi. This is Beira, as at
present termed, then known to the sailors of the pangayos
that traded to the southward as Porto Bango. Linseboten
gives its latitude as 19^°, half a degree north of Sofala. He
mentions also Dolagoa Bay, that is the present Algoa Bay,
and gives its latitude as 334°. ’/it® describes the monsoons
of the Indian ocean, and stater that ships from Portugal
availed themselves of these periodical winds by waiting at
Mozambique until the 1st of August, and never leaving after
the middle of September, thus securing a safe and easy
passage to the coast of Hindostan.

Ho frequently refers to the gold of Sofala and tho country
of the Monomotapa, of which ho had heard just such reports
as Vasco da Gama had eagerly listened to eighty-six years
before, Yet he did not magnify the importance of these
rumonrs as the Portuguese had done, though it was mainly
from his writings that his countrymen became possessed of
that spirit of cupidity which induced them a few years later
to make strenuous efforts to become masters of South-Eastern
Africa.

Linsohoten’s treatises were collected and published in a
single large volume, and the work was at once received as a
text-book, a position which its mei-its entitled it to occupy.
The most defective portion of the whole is that referring to
South Africa : and for this reason, that it was then impossible
to get any correct information about tbe interior of the con-
tinent below the Zambesi west of the part frequented by the

312 History of South A/rua.

Portiigaese. Linsclioteu himself saw no more of it than a
fleeting glimpse of Piilso Cape affordotl on liia outward passage,
and his description was of nocessity based upon the faulty
maps of the geographers of his time, so that it was full of
errors. But his account of India and of the way to reach its
several ports was so correct that it could serve the purpose of
a guide-book, and his treatise on the mode of navigation by
the Portuguese was thus used by the commander of the first
Dutch fleet that appeared iix the eastern sens.

The four vessels which left Texel on the 2nd of April
1595 Avere under the general direction of an officer named
Oomelia Houtman. In the afternoon of the 2nd of August
the Oape of Good Hope was seen, and next day, after passing
Agulhas, the fleet kept close to the land, the little Buiflee
sailing in front and looking for a harbour. On tho dth tlie
bay oalled by the Portuguese Agoada do Rao Bras was dis-
covered, and as the Buifhe found good holding ground in
nine or ton fathoms of water, tho Manritim, IToUandia, and
Amstevdam entered and dropped tlioir anchors, •

Here the fleet ijomained until tho 11th, when sail was again
set for the East, goring the interval a supply of fresh Avater
was taken in, and some oxen and shoep were pAArchased from
the natives for knives, old tools, and pieces of iron. The
Europeans were surprised to find tho sheep covered Avith hair
instead of wool, and Avith enormous tails of pure fat. ^ No
women or habitations Avere seen. The aixpearance of the
Hottentots, their clothing, their assagais, their method of
making a fire by twirling a piece of wood rapidly round in
the socket of another piece, their filthiness in eating, and
the clicking of their language, are all correctly described;
but it was surmised that they were cannibals, because they
were observed to eat the half-raw intestines of animals, and
a fable commonly believed in Europe was repeated concerning
their mutilation in a peculiar manner of the bodies of con-
q[uered enemies. , The intercourse with the few natives seen
was friendly, though at' times each suspected the other of
‘ evil intentionB,

Appearance of Rivals in the Eastern Seas. 313

A chart of the inlet was made,* from which it is seen to
be the one now called Mossel Bay. A littlo island in it
was covered with seals and penguins, some of each of which
were killed and eaten. The rariation of the compass was
observed to be so trifling that the needle might be said to
point to the north.

From the Watering Place of SSo Bras Hontman continued
his voyage to India, but it is not necessary to relate
occurrences there. After his return to Europe several com-
panies were formed in different towns of the Netherlands,
with the object of trading to the East and wresting from
the Portuguese that wealth which they were then too feeble
to guard.

In the Leeuw, one of the ships sent out in 1598, and which
put into the Watering Place of Saldanha for refreshment, the
famous English seaman John Davis was chief pilot. He
wrote an account of the voyage, in which ha states that the
Hottentots in Table Valley fell by surprise upon the men
who vsere ashore bartering cattle, and killed thirteen of them.
In his narrative Davis says that at Cape Agulhas the
magnetic needle was without variation, but in his sailing
directions, written after another voyage to India, ho says :
“At False Gape there is no variation that I can find by
observing south from it. The variation of Cape Agulhas is
thirty minutes from north to west. And at the Cape of
Good Hope the compass is varied from north to east five
and twenty minutes.”

No fresh discoveries on the African coast were made by
any of the fleets sent out at this time, but to some of the
hays new names were given.

In December 1599 four ships fitted out by an association
at Amsterdam calling itself the New Brabant Company sailed

* It is attacliccl lo tlio iniginal joumala, now in the avcliives of tins Nether-
lamia. I mmle a ooisy of it on tracing linen foi the Cape govoruinent, aa it
diffei'B considerably from tho chart in the printed eondunaed journal of the
voyage. In other rospectn also tho compilation of the pdiitcd journal haa
been very careloasly exoeutod.

314 History of South ^I/rim.

from Texel for the Imliea, nmlov command of IHolev Bolh.
Two of thorn returned early in KiUl, leaving tlio Vercmigdo
Landmi and the Hof van Holland undor ohargo of Paulns
van Oaorden to follow as soon as they could obtain cargoes.
On the Sth of July ItiOl Van Caerdon put into the
Watering Place of Sao Bras on the South African coast,
for the purpose of repairing ono of his ships which was
in. a leaky condition. The commander, with twenty soldiers,
went a short distance inland to endeavour to find people
from whom he could obtain some cattle, but though
he came across a party of eight natives he did not succeed
ill getting any oxen or sheep. A supply of fresh water
was taken in, but no refreshment except mussels could
be procured, on account of which Van (Jaerdon gave
tbe inlet the name Mossol Bay, whicli it has over since
retained.

On tlie 14th, the Hof van Holland having been repaired,
tho two ships sailed, but two days lalov, as they woro
making no progress against a head wind, they pid< into
another bay. Here natives were found, from whom tho
voyagers obtained for pieces of iron as many liornod cattle
and sheep as they could consume fresh or had salt to pro-
serve. Tor this reason the commander gavo it the name
Flesh Bay,

On tho 2l8t sail was set, but tho Hof van Hollcmd being
found leaky again, on tbe 23rd another bay was entered,
where her damages were repahed. On account of a westerly
gale the ships were detained here until the 30th, when
they sailed, but finding the wind contrary outside, they
returned to anchor. No natives were seen, but the com-
mander visited a river near by, where he encountered a party
from whom he obtained five sheep in exchange for bits of
iron. In the river Avere numerons hippopotami. Abundance
of fine fish haying been secured here, the oommauder gavo
the inlet the name Fish Bay.

On the 2nd of August the snips sailed, and on the 27th
passed the Oape of G-ood Hope, to the great joy of all on

Appearance of Rivals in the Eastern Seas. 315

board, who had begun to fear that they would be obliged to
Heek a port on the eastern side to winter in.

On the 5th of May 1601 a fleet of throe vessels, named
the Bam, the Behaap, and the Lam, sailed for the Indies
from Vere in Zeeland, under command of Joris van Spil-
bergen. On the 15th of November the fleet put into St.
Helena Bay, where no inhabitants were seen, though many
fires were observed inland. The only refreshment procurable
was fish, which were caught in great quantities.

On the 20th Spilbergen sailed from St. Helena Bay, and
beating against a head wind, on the evening of the 28th he
anchored off an island, to which he gave the name Elizabeth.
Four years later Sir Edward Michelburne termed it Oony
Island, which name, under the Dutch form of Dassen, it
still boars. Seals in great numbers, sea-birds of different
kinds, and conies were found. At this place he remained
only twenty-four hours. On the 2nd of December ho cast
anchor close to another island, which he named Cornelia.
It was .the llobben island of the present day. Hero were
found seals and penguins in great numbers, but no conies.
The_ next day at noon Spi^ ergon re ached the Wateri ng
Place of Saldauha, the anchorage in front of Table Mountain,
and gave it the name Table Bay, which it still bears.

The sick were conveyed to land, where a hospital was
established. A few natives were met, to whom presents of
beads were made, and who were understood to make signs
that they would bring cattle for sale, but they went away
and did not return. Abundance of fish was obtained with a
seine at the mouth of a stream which Spilbergen named the
Jacqueline, now Salt River; but, as meat was wanted, the
smallest of the vessels was sent to Elizabeth Island, where a
great number of penguins and conics were killed and salted
in. The fl eet remained in Table Bay until the 23rd of
December.*' When passing Cqnielux_ Island, a couple of
conies were set on shore, and seven or~clght sheep, wMoh
had 'been left there by some previous voy^ers, wem shot,
and tEeTr carcase s talien on ^boarcH Off the ._papo of Good

3 i 6 History of South Africa..

Hopo tlie two French ahips of which mention lies been
mado were seen.

Spilbergen kept along the coast, noticing the formation of
the land and the numerous streams falling into the sea,
but was sorely hindered in Ms progress by the Agulhas
current, which he found setting so strong to the south-
westward that at times ho could make no way against it
even with the breeze in his favour. On the 17th of January
1602, owing to this cause, he stood off from the coast, and
did not see it again.

The fleets sent out by the different small companies which
had been formed in the chief towns of the Free Netherlands
gained surprising successes over the Portuguese in India,
Wt as they did not work in concert no permanent conquests
could be made. For this reason, as well as to prevent
rivalry and to conduct the Indian trade in a manner the
most bonofloial to the iieoide of tho whole republic, the
statoa-genoml resolved to unite all tho small trading associa-
tions in one groat company with many privileges tuid largo
powers, Tlio charter, or terms upon which the Oompany
came into existence, was dated at the Hague on the 2 l)th of
March 1602, and contained forty-six clauses, the principal
of which were as follow

All of the inhabitants of the United Netherlands had tho
right given to them to suhscrihe to the capital in as small
or as large sums as they might choose, with this proviso,
that if more money should be tendered than was needed,
those applying for shares of over two thousand five hundred
pounds sterling should receive less, so that tlie applicants
for smaller shares might have allotted to them tbe full
amounts asked for.

The chambers, or offices for the transaction of business, were
to participate in the following proportion ; that of Amsterdam
one-half, that of Middelburg in Zeeland one quarter, those of
Delft and Eotterdam, otherwise called of the Maos, together
one-eighth, and those of Hoorn and. Bnkhuizen, otherwise
called those of the North Quarter or sometimes those of

Appmrance of Rivals in the Eastern Seas. 317

North Holland and West Friesland, together the remaining
eighth.

The general directory was to consist of seventeen persons,
eight of whom were to represent tho chamber of Amsterdam,
four that of Middelburg, two those of the Maas, two those
of the North Quarter, and the seventeenth was to be chosen
alternately by all of these except the chamber of Amster-
dam. The place of meeting of the general directory was
fixed at Amsterdam for six successive years, then at Middel-
burg for two years, then at Amsterdam again for six years,
and so on.

The directors of each chamber were named in the charter,
being the individuals who were the directors of the companies
previously established in those towns, and it was provided that
no others should be appointed until these should be reduced by
death or resignation: in tho chamber of Amsterdam to twenty
persons, in that of Zeeland to twelve, and in those of DeHt,
llotterdam, Hoorn, and Enkhuisen each to seven. After that,
whenever a vacancy should occur, the remaining directors
were to nominate three qualifled individuals, of whom the
states of the province in which the chamber was situated
were to select one.

To qualify an individual to be a director in the chambers of
the North Quarter it was necessary to own shares to the value
of £250 sterling, and double that amount to be a director
ill any of the other chambers. The directors were to be
bound by oatb to be faithful in the administratiou of the
duties entrusted to them, and not to favom' a majority of
the shareholders at the expense of a minority. Directors
were prohibited from selling anything whatever to the Com-
pany without previously obtaining the sanction of the states
provincial or the authorities of the city in which the chamber
th»t they represented was situated.

S,ll inhabitants of the United Provinces other than this
Company were prohibited from trading beyond the Straits of
Magellan, or to the eastward of the Cape of Good Hope, during
the period of twenty-one years, for which the charter was

3i8

History of South Africa.

granted, invdor penalty of Ibrfoituro of ssUip and cargo. Within
these limits the East India Company was (uupowored to enter
into treaties and make eontracla in the name of tlio slates-
general, to build fortresses, to appoint governors, military com-
manders, judges, and other necessary oflicors, who were all,
however, to take oaths of fidelity to the statcs-goneral or high
authorities of the Netherlands, who were not to be prevented
from making complaints to the states-general, and Avhose
appointments were to be reported to the states-general for
confirmation.

Eor these jnivileges the Company was to pay £12,500
sterling, which amount the states-general subscribed towards
the capital, for the profit and. at the risk of the general
government of the provinces, fi’ho capital was nominally
furnished in the following proportions: Amsterdam one-half,
Zeeland one-fourth, the Maas one-eighth, and the North
Quarter one-eighth ; hut in reality it was contributed as
under : —

Aiualorilam

Zooland

Tho Mans
Tho Novlit

5 Uultt . .

X HoUoi'dam

f Hoorn

Quartov | jjjjjjmjgon

£ », « < 1 ,
:m,m lo o
108,801 10 0
88,880 3 4
14,Bd6 16 8
23,805) 3 4
'17,380 3 i

Total working capital . .

The aharo of tho Btatos-gonoral

630,083 0 8
12,600 0 0

Total nominal capital 540,183 6 8

The capital was divided into shares of £250 sterling eaeh.
The shares, often sub-divided into fractions, were negotiable
like any other property, and rose or fell in value according
to the position of the Company at any time.

The advantage which the State derived from tho estab-
lishment of this great ' association was apparent. The sums
received in payment of import dues would have been con-
tributed to an equal extent by individual traders. The'

Appearance of Rivals in the Eastern Seas, 319

amounts paid for the renewal of the charter — in 11547 the
Company paid £133,333 6s. 8^?, for its renewal for twenty-five
years, and still loi’ger sums were paid subsequently — ^might
have been derived from trading licenses. The Company
frequently aided the Bepublic with loans of large amount
when the State was in temporary need, but loans could then
have been raised in the modern method whenever necessary.
[Apart from these services, however, there was one supreme

vantage gained by the creation of the East India Company
Avhich could not have been obtained from individual traders.
A powerful navy was called into esistenoo, great armed fleets
working in unison and subject to the same control were
always ready to assist the State. What must otherwise have
been an element of weakness, a vast number of merchant
ships scattered over the ocean and ready to fall a prey to
an enemy’s cruisers, was turned into a bulwark of strengldi.’

In course of time several modifications took place in the
constitution of the Company, and the different provinces as
well as. various cities were granted the privilege of having
representatives in one or other of the chambers;^ Thus the
provinces Geldorland, Utrecht, and Friesland, and the cities
Dordrecht, Haarlem, Leiden, and Gouda had each a rejire-
sentative in the chamber of Amsterdam; Groningen had a
representative in the chamber of Zeeland; Overyssel one in
the chamber of Delft, &c. The object of this was to make
the Company represent the whole Bepublic.

Notwithstanding such regulations, however, the city of
Amsterdam soon came to exercise an immoderate influence in
the direction. In 1672 it was estimated that shares equal to
three-fourths of the whole capital were owned there, and of
the twenty-five directors of the local chamber, eighteen were
chosen by the burgomasters of the city. Fortunately, the
charter secured to the other chambers a stated proportion of
patronage and trade.

Such was the constitution of the Company which set
itself the task of destroying the Portuguese power in the
East and securing for itself the lucrative spice trade. It had

320 History of South Africa.

no clifKculty in oblaining as many men as wore nocileil, for
the Grorman siatoa— nut then as now nuitud in one great
empire — formed an almost inexhaustible reservoir to draw
soldiers from, and the Dutch lishorios, together with Norway,
Sweden, and Denmark, furnished an adequate supply of
excellent seamen. It sent out strong and well armed fleets,
capable of meeting any force the enemy had to oppose them,
and of driving him from the open seas. The first of these
fleets consisted of three large ships, commanded by Sebald
de Weert, which sailed on the Slat of March 1602, and it
was followed on the 17th of .Tune of the same year by eleven
large ships and a yacht, under command of Wybrand van
Waerwyb.

The Company soon wrested from the Portuguese their
choicost possessions in tho East, besides acquiring other
valuable territory from native owners. Its dividends to the
sharoholders were enormous, owing largely to the spoil
captured by its fleets. In ouo year they rose to sevouty-llvo
per cent of the paid-up capital, and for upwards of a .century
they averaged above twenty per cent.

Proceedings of the Dutch and English,

321

CHAPTEE XIV.

PROOEEDINQS OP THE BUTOH AND ENGLISH.

Though the Dutch were soon in almost undisputed possession
of the valuable Spice islands, they were never able to eject the
PortTiguesc from the comparatively worthless coast of South-
Eastern Africa. That coast would only have been an encum-
brance to thorn, if they had secured it, for its commerce was
never worth much more than the cost of its maintenance until
the highlands of the interior wore occupied by Europeans,
and the terrible mortality caused by its malaria would have
been a sgrious misfortune to them. It was out of their ocean
highway too, for they steered across south of Madagascar,
instead of keeping along the A&ican shore. But they were
drawn on by rumours of the gold which was to be had, and
so they resolved to make themselves masters of Mozambique,
and with that island of all the Portuguese possessions sub-
ordinate to it. In Lisbon their intentions were suspected,
and in January 1601 the king issued instructions that Dom
Alvaro d’Abranehes, Nuno da Ounha’s successor as captain of
Mozambique, was on no account to absent himself from the
island, as it ■ might at any time be attacked by either the
Turks or the Dutch.

On the 18th of December 1603 Steven van der Hagen left
Holland for India with a strong armed fleet, consisting of the
Tereenigde Provinden, Amsterdam, Dordrecht, Doorn, and West
Friesland, each of three hundred and fifty tons burden, the
Qelderhmd and Zeelandda, each of two hundred and fifty tons^
the Sof van Solland, of one hundred and eighty tons, the
Delft and Enhhidzen, each of one hundred and fifty tons, the

322 History of South Africa.

ModmiWh, of one hundivjd iiud tw<'iity-Jivo toiiM, iitul a d('Hpat(‘,]i
boat iiunied tho Duijlten, of Ihivty tons burden. In tlioso days
sncli a fleet was vogardod as, and actually was, a very fonuid-
able force, for tliougb there wore no ships in it of the size of
the great galleons of Spain and Portugal, each, one was much
loss unwieldy, and had its artillery better placed. Tliore were
twelve hundred men on hoard, and tho equipment cost no
less than £184,94:7 Gs. 8(^.

Van der Hagen arrived before Mozambique on the 17th of
June 1604. Fort SSo Sebastiao had not at the time its
ordinary garrison of one hundred soldiers, owing to a disaster
that had recently oociirrod. A groat horde of barbarians,
called the Cabiros by the Portuguese, had ontoreil the terri-
tory of the Monomotapa, and were laying it waste, so the
captain Lourenpo de Brito, by the king’s order, wont to the
assistance of the Kalanga chief, hut was defeated and lost ten
or twelve Portngnoso and part of his stores. Sebastitto d(}
Maoedo waa thou In command at Mozambique. Ho sent a
vessel with fifty soldiers to I)e Brito’s assistance, birt on tho
passage she was lost with all on hoard. None had yet
arrived to replaoo them, hut tho resident inhabitants of the
island had retired to the fort with everything^ of value that
they could remove, so Van der Hagen considered it too strong
to be attacked and therefore proceeded to blockade it. There
was a carrack at anchor, waiting for some others from Lisbon
to sail in company to Gloa. The boats of the Dutch fleet cut
her out, in spite of the heavy fire of the fort upon them.
She had on board a quantity of ivory collected on the Bast
African coast, hut nothing else of much value.

On the 30th of June a small vessel from one of tho
factories, laden with rice and ivory, came running up to the
island, and was too near to escape when she discovered her
danger. She was turned into a tender, and named the
MoeemUque. Then, for five weeks, the blockade continued,
without any noteworthy incident. On the 5th of August five
ptpigayos arrived, laden with rice and millet, and were of
course seized. Three days later Van der Hagen landed on

Proceedings of the Dutch and English. 323

the islaiul with one hundred and fifty men, hut found no
sign of hunger, and saw that the prospect of the surrender of
the fort was remote. He did no other damage than setting
fire to a single house, and as night drew on he returned on
board.

He was now anxious to proceed to India, so on the 12th
of August he set fire to the captured carrack, and sailed,
leaving the Delft, EnJehuixen, and Dmfjten, to wait for the
ships expected from Lisbon. These vessels rejoined him, but
without having made any prizes, before he attacked the
Portuguese at Amboina and Tidor, and got possession of the
Spice islands. In this manner the first siege of Mozambique
W'as conducted, and failed.

The next attempt was in 1607, On the 29th of March
of that year a Dutch fleet of eight large ships — ^the Banda,
Bantam, Geylm, Walcheren, Ter Veere, Eierihee, Ohina, end
Patane , — carrying one thousand and sixty men, commanded
by Paulus van Caerden, appeared before the island. The
Portuguese historian of this event represents that the fortress
was at the time badly in wont of repair, that it was in*
suffloiently provided with cannon, and that there were no
artillerymen nor indeed regular soldiers of any branch of the
service in it, its defence being undertaken by seventy male
inhabitants of the to\m, who were the only persons on the
island capable of bearing arms. But this statement does not
agree either with the Dutch narrative or with the account
given by Dos Santos, from which it appears that there were
between soldiers and residents of the island one hundred and
forty*five men in the fortress. It was commanded hy an
officer — Dom EstevSo d’Ataide by name — who deserves a
place amoug the bravest of his countrymen. He divided his
force into four companies, to each of which he gave a bastion
in charge. To one, under Martim Gomes de Carvalho, was
committed the defence of the bastion SSo JoSo, another,
under Antonio Monteiro Corto Eeal, had a similar charge in
the bastion Santo Antonio, the bastion Mossa Senhora was
confided to the core of Andrd de Alpoim de Brito, while the

2 B

324 History of South Africa,

bastion Sao (Tabriol, which was tho uno most exposed to
assault on tho laud aide and whore the stoiitost rosiataiice
would have to bo made, was entrustod to tho company xmder
Biogo de Carvalho. The pioople of tho town hastily took
shelter within the fortress, carrying their most valuable effects
with them.

.Van Caerdeu, in the Banda, led the way right under the
guns of Sao SebastiSLo to the anchorago, where the Sofala
packet and two carraoks were lying. A heavy lire was
opened on both sides, but, though the ships were slightly
damaged, as the ramparts were of great height and the
Portuguese guns could not bo depressed to command the
Dutch position thoroughly, no one except the master of
the Oeylm was wounded. Two of the vessels at anchor were
partly burned, but all were made prizes, after their crews
had escaped to the shore.

On the lat of April Van Oaerdou landed with seven
hundred men and soven heavy guns, several of them twenty-
eight-pounders, in order to lay siogo to Port Sllo*Sobastiao.
Tho Portuguese set Are to the town, , in order to prevent their
enemy from getting possession of spoil, though in this object
they were unsuccessful, os a heavy fall of rain extinguished
tho flamoa before much damage was done. The Dutch com-
mander took possession of the abandoned buildings withont
opposition, and made tbs Dominican convent his headquarters,
lodging his people in the best houses. He commenced at
once making trenches in which the fortress could be ap-
proached by men under shelter from its fire, and on tbe 6tli
his first battery was completed. The blacks, excepting the
able-bodied, being considered an encumbrance by both com-
batants, D’Ataide expelled those who were in the fort, and
Van Oaerden caused all who were within his reach to be
transported to the mainland.

Prom the batteries, which were mere earthen mounds with
level - surfaces, protected on the exposed sides with boxes,
naskS) aud. bags filled witli soil, a heavy fire was opened, by
which the pwapet of the bastion Santo Antonio was broken

Proceedings of the Dutch and English. 325

clown, lint it was rejiiiired at night by the tlefenrlers, the
women and others incapable of bearing arms giving assist-
ance in this labonr. Tho mnskoteers on the walls, in return,
caused some loss to their opponents by shooting any who
exposed themselves. The Portuguese historiaji makes special
mention of one Dutch officer in a suit of white armour, who
went about recklessly in full view, encouraging his men, and
apparently regardless of danger, until he was killed by a
musket ball.

The trenches were at length within thirty paces of the
bastion SSo Gabriel, and a battery was constructed there,
which could not be injured by the cannon on the fortress
owing to their great elevation, while from it tlie walls could
be battered with twenty-eight pound shot as long as the
artillerymen took care not to show themselves to the mus-
keteers on the ramparts. The Dutch commander then pro-
posed a parley, and D’Maide having consented, he demanded
the surrender of the fortress. He stated that the Portuguese
could expect no assistance from either Europe or India, as
the mother country was exhausted and the viceroy Dom
Martim Affonso de Castro had been defeated in a naval
engagement, besides which nearly all the strongholds of the
East were lost to them. It would therefore he better to
capitulate w'hile it could be done in safety than to expose
the lives of the garrison to the fury of men who would
carry the place by storm. Further, even if the walls proved
too massive for cannon, hunger must soon reduce the fortress,
as there could not he more than three months’ provisions in
it. The Portuguese replied with taunts and bravado, and
defied the besiegers to do their worst. They would have no
other intercourse with rebels, they said, than that of arms.

During the night of the 17th some of the garrison made a
sortie for the purpose of destroying a drawbridge, which they
effected, and then retired, after having killed two men
according to their owu account, though only havhig wounded
one according to the Dutch statement. A trench was now
made close up to the wall of the bastion iSao Gabriel, and

2 B 2

326 History of South Africa.

was covc'vod with nioviiLlo sluolds op tiiiibov of antdi tliioknoss
that they could imt be destroyed by anything thrown upon
them from the ramparts. During the night of tho 29 th,
however, the garrison made n second sortie, iu whhh they
killed five Hollanders and wounded many more, and on the
following day they succeeded iu destroying tho wooden
shields by fire.

In the meantime fever and dysentery had attacked Van
Caerden’s people, and the prospect was becoming gloomy
in the extreme. The fire from the batteries and ships had
not damaged the walls of the fortress below the parapet, and
sickness was increasing so fast that the Dutch commander
could not wait for famine to give him tho prize. He there-
fore resolved to raise the siege, and on the 6th of May ho
removed his cannon.

War between nations of different creeds in those days was
carried on in a merciless manner. On the 7 th of May Van
Caerdeu wrote to Captain D’Ataide that he intended to
burn and destroy all the churches, convents, hdxises, and
palm groves on the island and the buildings and plantations
on. tho mainiand, unless they were ransomed; but offered to
■make terms if messengers were sent to him with that ohjeot.
A tiTice was entered into for tho purpose of correspondence,
and six Hollanders dressed in Spanish costume went with a
letter to the foot of the wall, where it was fastened to a
string and drawn up. D’Ataide declined the proposal, how-
ever, and replied that he had no instructions from his
superiors, nor intention of his own, except to do all that was
possible with his weapons. He believed that if he ransomed
the town on this occasion, he would only expose it to similar
treatment every time a strong Dutch fleet should pass
that way,

Van Oaerden then burned all the boats, canoes, and
houses, out down all the cocoa-nut trees, sent a party of
men to the mainland, who destroyed everything of value
that they could reach there, and finally, just before embark-
ing, he set fire to the Dominican convent and the church of

Proceedings of tJie Dutch and English. 337

Sao Gabriel. What was more to be deplored, adds the
Portuguese historian Barbuda, “the perfidious heretics burned
with abominable fury all the images that were in the
ohurohes, after which they treated them, with a thousand
barbarous indignities.” The walls of the great church and
of some other buildings were too massive to be destroyed
by the flames, but everything else was utterly ruined.

On the morning of the 16th of May, before daylight, the
Dutch fleet set sail. As the ships were passing Fort Sao
SebastiSto every gun that could bo got to bear was brought
into use on both sides, when the Zieriltzee had her tiller shot
away, and ran aground. Her crew and the most valuable
effects on board were rescued, however, by the boats of the
test of the fleet, though many men were wounded by the
fire from the fort. The wreck was given to the flames.

In the second attempt to gat possession of Mozambique
the Dutch lost forty men, either killed by the enemy or
carried off by fever, and they took many siok and wounded
away. The Portuguese asserted that thpy had only thirteen
men killed during the siege, and they magnified their slain
opponents to over three hundred.

After Yan Oaerden sailed the Portuguese set about repairing
the damage that had been done. In this they were assisted
by the crews of three ships, under command of the newly
appointed viceroy Dom Jeronymo Ooutinho, that called on
their way from Lisbon to Goa. The batteries were removed,
the trenches were levelled, the walls of the ruined Dominican
convent were broken down, and the fortress was repaired and
provided with a good supply of food and munitions of war.
Its garrison also was strengthened with one hundred soldiers
landed from the ships. Tho inhabitants of the town returned
to the ruins of their former habitations, and endeavoured to
make new homos for themselves. These efforts to retrieve
their disasters had hardly been made when the island was
attacked by another and more formidable fleet.

It consisted of the ships Gemieerde Provintien, Sollmdia,
Amsterdam, Eoode Lemm met Pylmi, Middelhurg, Zeelandia,

328 History of South Africa,

Delft, Bottenlmi, Thom, Areiul, Paauw, Valle, iiiid Grifiomt,
(•tirryiiig in all LoUvoon (’lightonn ami iiiimtomi hnndwil mon,
and was linden- iJio eomnniuil of I'ioler Willomszoon Voi-hooll',
an officer who had greatly distinguished himsolf after Admiral
Heemskerk’s death in the famous battle in Gibraltar Bay.
Verhoeff left the Netherlands on the 22nd of December 1607,
and after a long stay at the island of St. Helena where he
waited for the westerly winds to take him past the Cape of
Good Hope, on the 28 th of July 1608 arrived at Mossam-
bique. He was under the impression that Van Oaerden had
certainly obtained possession of the fortress, and his object
was to lie in wait for Portuguese ships in the Ohannel; but
he was undeceived when his signals were answered with
cannon halls and a dag of defiance was hoisted over the
ramparts.

In the port wore lying four coasting vessels and a
carraok with a valuable cargo on board, ready to sail for
Goa. In endeavouring to eseapo, the carraok ran aground
under the guns of the fort, whore the Dutch got possession
of her, and made thirty-four of the crew prisoners. Those
were roinoved, but before much of the cargo could be got
out the Portuguese from - the fortress made a gallant dash,
retook the carraok, and burned her to tho water’s edge.
Two of the coasters wore made prizes, the other two were in
a position where they could not be attacked.

Within a few hours of his arrival Verhoeff landed a strong
force, and formed a camp on the site of tho destroyed
Dominican convent. Next morning he commenced making
trenches towards the fortress, by digging ditches and filling
bags with earth, of which banks were then made. The Portu-
guese of the town had retired within the fortress in such
haste that they were unable to remove any of their effects,
and the blacks, as during the preceding siege, were now
sent over to the mainland to. he out of the way. Some of
tho ships wore directed to cruise off the port, the others were
anchored. out of , cannon range. A regular siege of the fortress
was commenced.

Proceedings of the Dutch and English. 329

In the mode of attack tliie siege differed little from
that by Van Oaerden, as irenohes and batteries were made
in the same manner and almost in the same places. But
there were some incidents connected with it that deserve to
be mentioned. At its commencement an accident occurred in
the fortress, which nearly had disastrous consequences. A
soldier, through carelessness, let a lighted fuse fall in a
quantity of gunpowder, and by the explosion that resulted
several men were killed and a fii-e was kindled which for a
short time threatened the destruction of the storehouses, but
which was extinguished before much harm was done.

On the second day after the batteries were in full working
order the wall of the fortress between the bastions Santo
Antonio and Sao Gabriel was partly broken down, and, ac-
cording to the Portuguese account, a breach was opened
through which a storming party might have entered. “If,”
says the historian Barbuda, “they had been Portuguese, no
doubt they would have stormed ; but as the Dutch are
nothing more than good artillerymen, and beyond this are
of no account except to ho burned as desperate heretics, they
had not courage to rush through the ruin of the wall.” That
this was said of men who had fought under Heemskerk leads
one to suspect that probably the breach was not of great
size, and the more so as the garrison was able to repair it
during the following night. It is not mentioned in the
Dutch account, in which the bravery of their opponents is
fully recognised.

On the 4th of August Verhoeff sent a toumpeter with
a letter demanding the surrender of the fortress. D’Ataide
would not even write a reply. He said that as he had
compelled Van Oaerden to abandon the siege he hoped to
be able to do the same with his present opponent. The
captain of the bastion Sao Gabriel, however, wrote that the
castle had been confided by the king to the commandant,
who was not the kind of cat to be taken without gloves.
Verhoeff believed that the garrison was ill supplied with food,
so his trumpeter was well eutertaiued, and on several occa-

330 History of South Africa.

siouB goats and pigs were driven ant nf the gateway in a
spirit of bravado.

Sorties wore freq^uently made by tbe besiogod, who had tbo
advantage of being able to obsorvo from the ramparts the
movements of the Dnteh. In ono of those a soldior named
Moraria distingnished himself by attacking singly with his
lance three pikenien in armour at a distance from their
batteries, killing two of them, and wounding the other.

D’Ataide was made acquainted with his enemy’s plans by a
French deserter, who claimed his protection on the ground
of being of the same religion. Four others Bubseq[uently
deserted from the Dutch camp, and were received in the
fortress on - the sarao plea. Yerhoeff demanded that they
should be surrendered to him, and threatened that if they
were not given up he would put to death the thirty-four
prisoners he had taken in tho carraok. D’Atuide replied
that if tho prisouens were thirty-four thousand he would not
betray men who wore Catholics and who had claimed his
protection, but if the Portuguese captives were murdered
their blood would certainly be avenged. Yerhoeff rolatos in
his journal that the whole of the prisoners were then brought
out. in sight of the garrison and shot, regarding the act in
the spirit of the time as rattier creditable than otherwise;
hut tho version of the Portuguese historian may be correct,
in which it is stated that six men with their hands bound
were shot in sight of their countrymen, and that the others,
though threatened, ivere spared.

Until the 18th of August the siege was continued. Twelve
hundred and fifty cannon halls had been fired against tbe
fortress, without effect as far as its reduction was concerned.
Thirty of Yeihoeff’s men had been killed and eighty were
ly4ig wounded. He therefore abandoned the effort, and em-
barked his force, after destroying what remained of the town.

On the 21st a great galleon approached the island so close
that the ships in tho harbour could he counted from
her deck, hut imt about the moment the Dutch fiag was
distinguished. Yerhoeff sent the ships ArenAi Chiffloen, and

Proceedings of t/te Duick and English. 331

V(^ in purauitj and she was soon overtaken. According to
the Dutch account she made hardly any resistance, but in a
letter to the king from her captain, Francisco de Sodre
Pereira, which is still preserved, he claims to have made a
gallant stand for the honour of his flag. The galleon was
poorly armed, but he says' that he fought till his ammunition
was all expended, and even then would not consent to sur-
render, though the ship was so riddled with cannon balls
that she was in danger of going down. He preferred, ho said
to those around him, to sink with his colours flying. The
purser, however, lowered the ensign without orders, and a
moment afterwards the Dutch, who had closed in, took
possession. The prize proved to be the Bom, Jesus, from
Lisbon, which had got separated from a fleet on the way to
Goa, under command of the newly appointed viceroy, the
count Da Feira. She had a crew of one hundred and eighty
men. The officers were detained as prisoners, the others were
put ashore on the island Saint George with provisions suffi-
oiont te last them two days.

On the 23rd of August the fleet sailed from Mozambique
for India. There can be little question that this defeat of
the Dutch was more advantageous to them than victory
would have been, for if their design had succeeded a very
heavy tax upon their resources and their energy would have
been entailed thereafter. They did not realise this fact, how-
ever, and flfty-flve years later another unsuccessful attempt
was made to acquire the coveted East African possessions.

Although Fort Sao Sebastiao after the last siege was
provided with a garrison of one hundred and fifty men and
some small armed vessels were kept on the coast to en-
deavour to prevent the Dutch from communicating with the
natives or obtaining provisions and water, their ships ^kept
the Portuguese stations in constant alarm. In the eastern
seas they were by this time the dominant power, and were
fust building up a commerce greater by far than the Portu-
guese had ever carried on. They distributed their spices and
silks over Europe, whereas their predecessors were satisfied

332 History of South Africa.

witih making Lisbon a luiirkotj lo whicli puvoliasors of other
nations might come for wbatover they noodecl.

On the 2l8t of Noyembor 1609 Pietor Loth was nppoiutod
first govoruov'general of Netherlands India. He left Texel
with the next fleet, which sailed in tlio following January.
In a great storm off the Cape his ship got separated from
the others, so he put into Table Bay to repair some damages
to the mainmast and to refresh his men. In July 1610
Captain Nicholas Downton called at the same port in an
English vessel, and found Govenior-General Both’s ship lying
at anchor and also two homeward bound Dutch ships taking
in train oil which had been collected at Robben Island.

In May 1611 the Dutch skipper Isaac le Mairo, after
whom the stmits of Lo Maire are named, called at Table
Bay. When he sailed, he loft behind his son Jacob and a
party of seamen, who resided in Table Valley for several
months. Thoir object was to kill seals on Robben Island,
and to harpoon whales, which wore then very abundant in
South African waters in the winter season. They also, tried
to open up a trade for skins of animals with the Hottentots.

In 1616 the assembly of seventeen resolved that its outward
bound fleets should always put into Table Bay to refresh the
crews, and from that time onward Dutch ships touched there
almost every season. A kind of post office was established
by mai'king the dates of arrivals and departures on stones,
and burying letters in places indicated. But no attempt was
made to explore the country, and no port south of the
Zambesi except Table Bay was frequented by Netherlanders,
so that in the middle of the century nothing more con-
cerning it was known than the Portuguese had placed on
record.

In ^England an East India Company was also established,
whose first fieet, consisting of the Dragon, of six hundred
tons, the Sector, of three hundred tons, the Ascension, of two
hundred and sixty tons, and the Sman, of two hundred and
forty tons -burden, sailed from Torbay on the 22nd of April
1601, The admiral was James Lancaster, the same who had

333

P<yoceedifigs of the Dutch and English,

commanded the Edward Bonaveidure ten years earlier. The
chief pilot was John Davis, who had only returned from, the
Indies nine months before. On the 9th of September the
fleet came to anchor in Table Bay, by which time the crews
of all except the admiral’s ship were so terribly afflicted with
scurvy that they were unable to drop their anchors. The
admiral had kept his men in a tolerable state of health by
supplying them with a small quantity of limejuice daily.
After his ship was anchored he was obliged to get out his
boats and go to the assistance of the others. Sails were then
taken on shore to serve as tents, and the sick were landed
as soon as possible. Tra.de was commenced with the natives,
and in the course of a few days forty-two oxen and a
thousand sheep were obtained for pieces of iron hoop. The
fleet remained in Table Bay nearly seven weeks, during
which time most of the sick men recovered.

On the 5th of December 1604: the Tiger — a ship of two
hundred and forty tons — and a pinnace called the Tiger’s
WItelp .set sail from Cowes for the Indies. The expedition
was under command of Sir Edward Miohelbnme, and next to
him in rank was Captain John Davis. It was the last
voyage that this famous seaman was destined to make, for he
was killed in an encounter with Japanese pirates on the 27th
of December 1605, The journal of the voyage contains the
following paragraph

“The 3rd of April 1005 we sailed by a little island which
Captain John Davis took to be one that stands some five
or six leagues from Saldonha. Whereupon our general.
Sir Edward Michelburne, desirous to see the island, took
his skiff, accompanied by no more than the master’s mate,
the purser, myself, aud four men that did row the boat, and
so putting off from the ship we came on land. While we
were on shore they in the ship hod a storm, which drove
them out of sight of the island; and we were two days
and two nights before we could recover our ship. Upon
the said island is abundance of great conies and seals,
whereupon we oalled.it Cony Island,"

334 History of South Africa.

On the Sth of April they anclioreil in Table Bay, where
they remained nntil the 3rd of the following month
refreshing themselves.

From this date onward the fleets of the English East India
Company made Table Bay a j)ort of call and refreshment,
and usually procured in bturter from the natives as many
cattle as they needed. In 1614 the board of directors sent a
ship with as many spare men os she could carry, a quantity
of provisions, and some naval stores to Table Bay to wait for
the homeward bound fleet, and, while delayed, to carry on a
whale and seal fishery as a means of partly meeting the
expense. The plan was found to answer fairly well, and it
was continued for several years. The relieving vessels left
England between October and Fobruary, in order to bo at
the Cape in May, when the homeward bound fleets usually
arrived from India. If men wore much needed, the viotiraller
— which was ooininonly an old vessel—was then abandoned,
otherwise an ordinary crew was left in her to capture whales,
or sho proceeded to some port in the East, according to
oiveumstanoes.

The advantage of a place of refreshment in South Africa
was obvious, and as early as 1613 enterprising individuals
in the service of the East India Company drew tiie attention
of the directors to tho advisability of forming a settlement
in Table Valley. Still earlier it was rumoured that tho lung
of Spain and Portugal had such a design in contemplation,
with the object of cutting off thereby the intercourse of all
other nations with the Indian seas, so that the strategical
value of the Cape was already recognised. The directors
discussed the matter on several occasions, but their views
in those days were very limited, and the scheme seemed too
large for them to attempt alone.

In their fleets were officers of a much more enterprising
spirit, as they were without responsibility in regard to the
cost of any new undertalcing. In 1620 some of these pro-
olainied ' King James I sovereign of the territory extending
from Table Bay to the dominions of the nearest Christian

Proceedings of the Dutch and English, 335

prince. 'J'he records of this event are interesting, as they
not only give the particulars of the proclamation and the
reasons that led to it, bxrt show that there must often have
been a good deal of bustle in Table Valley in those days.

On the 24th of June 1620 four ships bound to Surat, under
command of Andrew ShiUinge, put into Table Bay, and were
joined when entering by two others bound to Bantam, under
command of Humphrey Fitzherbert. The Dutch had at this
time the greater part of the commerce of the East in their
hands, and nine large ships under their flag were found at
anchor. The English vessel JAm was also there. Com-
modore Fitzherbert made the acquaintance of some of the
Dutch oflicers, and was informed by them that they had
inspected the country around, as their Company intended to
form a settlement in Table Valley the following year.
Thereupon he consulted with Commodore ShiUinge, who
agreed with him that it was advisable to try to frustrate the
project of the Hollanders. On the 25th the Dutch flee
sailed* for Bantam, and the JAm left at the same time,
but the Schiedam, from Delft, arrived and cast anchor.

On the 1st of July the principal English ofScers,
twenty-one in number, — among them the Arctic navigator
William Baffin, — ^met in council, and resolved to proclaim
the sovereignty of King James I over the whole country.
They placed on record their reasons for this decision, which
were, that they were of opinion a few men only would be

needed to keep' possession of Table Valley, that a planta-

tion would be of great service for the refreshment of the
fleets, that the soil was fruitful and the climate pleasant,
that the natives would become willing subjects in time
and they hoped would also become servants of God, that

the whale finery would be a source of profit, but, above all,

that they regarded it as more fitting for the Dutch when
ashore there to be subjects of the king of England than for
Englishmen to be subject to them or any one else. "Buie
Britannia” was a very strong sentiment, evidently, with that
party of adventurous seamen.

33^ History of South Africa,

Oil the Jhtl of July a proclamation of sovisroignty was
read in presence of as many men of the six ships as eonld
go ashore for the purpose of talcing part in the coroinony.
Skipper Jan Oornelis Kunst, of the SaMeclmn, and some of
his officers were also present, and raised no objection. On
the Lion’s rump, or King James’s mount os Fitzhorbert and
Shillinge named it, the flag of St. George was hoisted, and
was saluted, the spot being afterwards marked by a mound
of stones. A small flag was then given to the natives to
preserve and exhibit to visitors, which it was believed they
would do most carefully.

After going through this ceremony with the object of
frustrating the designs of the Dutch, the English officers
buried a packet of despatches beside a stone slab in the
valley, on which were engraved the letters V, they being
in perfect ignorance of the fact that those symbols denoted
prior possession taken for the Dutch East India Company.
On the 25th of July the Surat fleet sailed, and on the next
day Eitzherbort’s two ships followed, leaving at anchor in
the bay only the English ship Bern", which had arrived on
the 10th. ’ ...

The proceeding of Eitzherbett and Shillinge, which was.
entirely unauthorised, was not confirmed by the directors of
the East India Company or by the government of England,
and nothing whatever came of it. At that time the ocean
commerce of England was small, and as she had just entered
upon the work of colonising North America, she was not
prepared to attempt to form a settlement in South Africa
also. Her king and the directors of her India Company
had no higher ambition than to enter into a close alliance
with the Dutch Company, and to secure by this means a
stated proportion of the trade of the East. In the Nether-
lands also a large and influential party was in favour of
either forming a federated company, or of a binding union
of some ' kind, so as to put it out of the power of the
. Spaniards and Portuguese to harm them. Erom 1613 ouwavd
this matter was frequently discussed on both sides of the

Proceedings of the Dutch and English, 337

Ohannolj and delegates went backward and forward, but it
was almost impossible to arrange terms.

The Dutch had many fortresses which they had either
built or taken from the Portuguese in Java and the Spice
islands, and the English had none, so that the conditions
of the two parties were nneq^ual. In 1617, however, the
kings of Erance and Denmark sent ships to the eastern
seas, and there was a possibility that one or other of them
might unite with Holland or England. Accordingly each
party was more willing than before to make concessions,
and on the 2nd of June 1619 a close alliance was entered
into. The English Company was to bear half the cost of
offensive and defensive operations in the Indian seas, and
was to have one-third of the trade of the Moluccas, Banda,
and Amboina, the remaining eastern commerce to be free
for each party to make the most of.

The rivalry, however, — bordering closely on animosity —
between the servants of the two Companies in distant
lands prevented any agreement made in Europe being
carried out, and though in 1623 another treaty of alliance
was entered into, in the following year it was dissolved.
Thereafter the great success of the Dutch in the East placed
them beyond the desire of partnership with competitors.

Wiiile these negotiations were in progress, o proposal was
made from Holland that a refreshment station should be
established in South Africa for the joint use of the fleets of
the two nations, and the English directors received it
favourably. They undertook to causa a search for a proper
place to be made by the next ship sent to the Cape with
relief for the returning fleet, and left the Dutch at liberty
to make a similar search in any convenient way. Accordingly
on the 30th of November 1619 the assembly of sever\teen
issued instructions to the commodore of the fleet then about
to sail to examine the coast carefully from Saldanha Bay to
a hundred or a hundred and fifty miles east of the Cape of
Good Hope, in order that the best harbour for the purpose
might be selected. This was dona, and an opinion was

338 History of South jifrka.

proncmnoail. in favuuv of Tultlo l>uy. In Kj’i'i n portion of
iUo ooaat was inspiietud for tin* Biimo purpose l)y Cajituiu
.Tohnaou, in tlio English ship ihwc, but liia opinion of Table
Bay anrl the other places which ho viaiteJ was snoli that
ho would not recommend any of them. The tenor of his
report mattered littlo, however, for with the failure of the
close alliance between the two companies, the design of

establishing a refreshment station in South Africa was
abandoned by both.

Perhaps the ill opinion of Table Bay formed by Oaptain
Johnson may have arisen from an occurronco that took

place on its shore during the previous voyage of tho Bose.
That ship arrived in the bay on tho 28th of January 1620,
and on tho following day eight of her crew wont ashore

with a seine to catch fish near the month of Salt Elver.

They never returned, but the bodies of four were afterwards
found and buried, and it was believed that the Hottentots
had either carried tho other four away as prisoners or had
murdered them and concealed the corpses.

This was not tho only occurrence of the kind, for in
March 1632 twenty-three men belonging to. a Dutch ship
that put into Table Bay lost their lives in conflict '»irith the
natives. The oanse of these quarrels is uot known with
certainty, hut at the time it was believed they were
brought on by the Europeans attempting to rob the Hottentots
of cattle.

An experiment was once made with a view of trying to
secure a firm friend among the Hottentots, and impressing
those people with respect for the wonders of civilisation. A
savage named Cory was taken from the Cape to England,
where he was made a great deal of, and received many
rich and valuable presents. Sir Thomas Smythe, the governor
of the East India Company, was particularly kind to him,
and gave him among other things a complete suit of brass
armour. He returned to South AMca with Captain Nicholas
DowntoU in the ship Nm Peor’s Qift, and in June , 1614
landed in- Table Yalley with all his treasures. But Oaptain

Proceedings of th£ Dutck and English. 339

Downton, who thought that he was overflowing with grati-
tude, saw him no more. Cory returned to his former habits
of living, and instead of acting as was anticipated, taught
his countrymen to despise bits of copper in exchange for
their cattle, so that for a long time afterwards it was
impossible for ships that called to obtain a supply of fresh
meat.

It has been seen what use the Portuguese made of
convicts when they were exploring unknown countries, or
when there were duties of a particularly hazardous or
unpleasant nature to be performed. The English employed
criminals in the same manner. In January 1616 tho
governor of the Bast India Company obtained permission
from the king to transport some men under sentence of
death to countries occupied by savages, whore, it was
supposed, they would be the means of procuring supplies
of provisions, making discoveries, and creating trade. The
records in existence — ^unless there are documents in some
unknown place — furnish too scanty material for a complete
account of the manner in which this design was carried out.
Only the following can be ascertained with certainty. A few
days after the consent of the king was given, tho sheriffs of
London sent seventeen men from Newgate on board ships
bound to the Indies, and these were voluntarily accompanied
by three others, who appear to have been convicted criminals,
but not under sentence of death. The proceeding was
regarded as “a very charitable deed and a means to bring
them to Grod by giving them time for repentance, to crave
pardon for their sins, and reconcile themselves unto His
favour.” In June the fleet arrived in Table Bay, and nine
of the condemned men were set ashore with their own free
will.

In one of the ships of this fleet Sir Thomas Roe, English
envoy to the Great Mogul, was a passenger. A pillar
bearing an inscription of his embassy was set up in Table
Valley, and thirty or forty pounds weight of stone which he
believed to contain quicksilver and vermilion was taken

2 a

340

History of South Africa,

away to l»o aatiiiyeil in England, l)\it of particulars that
would bci much nioro interesting now no information whatever
is to be bad from the records of his journey.

Again, in June IGlti, threo condemned men were set
aabore in Table Valley, and a letter signed by them is
extant, in which they atdmowledgo the clomoncy of King
James in granting them their forfeited lives, and promise to
do his Majesty good and acceptable service.

There may have been other instances of the kind, of
which no record is in existence now. How the criminals
lived, what effect their residence had upon the native clans,
and how they died, must be left to conjecture. The fate
of oidy a very few is known. These made their way back to
England, and were there executed for fresh offences.

No further effort was made by tho English at this time
to form a connection with the natives of South Africa,
though thoir ships continued to mil at Tahlo Bay for tho
purposo of taking in water and getting such other refresh-
ment as was obtainable. They did not attempt to explore tho
country or to oovroot the charts of its coasts, nor (lid they
froq^uont any of its porta except Table Bay, and very rarely
Mosael Bay, until a much later date. A few remarks in
ships' journals, and a few pages of observations and opinions
in a book of travels such as that of Sir Thomas Herbert,
from none of which can any reliable information be obtained
that is not also to be drawn from earlier Portuguese writers,
are all the contributions to a knowledge of South Africa
made by Englishmen during the early years of the seven-
teenth century. Though our countrymen were behind no
others in energy and daring, as Drake, Ealeigh, Gilbert,
Davis, Hawkins, and a host of others had proved so well,
not forgetting either the memorable story of the
w'hioh Jan Hnyghen van Linschoten handed down for a
modern historian to write in more thrilling words, England
had not yet entered fully upon her destined career either
of discovery or of, commerce, the time when “the ocean
wave should be her home” was still in the days to come.

Fruitless Search for Silver Mines.

341

CHAPTER XV.

ffBUITLBSS SEABOH FOB SILVBB MINES.

The power of the Portuguese in the East avus 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 seoond of Portugal, who among his numerous titles still
retained that of Lord of the Conquest, Navigation, and Com-
merce 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 ooast 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

2 0 2

342 Hist my of Soutk A/nca,

Ite anaweved, aucl thua aiatlors rouiuiuml in tUo moat, wretolioA
oomlition imaginablo.

On tbo 21st, of Mavcli l(i08 the king wrote to Doin JoKo
Proyas Pereira, count of P’oira, then viceroy of India, that
Sebastirio de Maceclo and Doni Eatuvao d’Atixide, snecessivoly
captains of Mozambique, bad sent spooimous of silver ore to
Lisbon so rich ns to yield two-tbircls of their weight pure
metal. Tho exact locality where the ore was obtained was
unknown, but it was believed to be at Chioova, 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 Sebastino do Macodo, Dom Estev^o
d’Ataide, or some other suitable person, to search for the
mines and take possession of them. In addition to the forti-
fications and garrisons already mentioned, four strongholds,
which Dom EstevJio d’Ataide had represented as necessary to
secure tho country, wore to bo bnilt and oconpied, naraoly
one each at Chioova, Mtxsapa, llukoto, and Lnaimo. No
ground except the actual ininos was to bo taken from tho
natives, nor was tho govornmout of tho Monomotapa over his
people to be interfered with in any way. The general in
command of the expedition was to have supromo control in
South-Eastern Africa, and upon his arrival was to appoint
a new captain, of Mozambique, who was to command tho
garrison and town in subordination to him.

The time was opportune for such an enterprise, as the prin-
cipal Kalanga tribe bad 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
indnna Eapampo, marched as far as Masapa, but retreated on
learning that an immense Kalanga force under Ningomosha,
the Mouomotapa’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

l^nntless Search for Silver Mines,

343

him. The Monomotapa of the time, Glaailuaere hy name, was
addicted to the use of dacha, and was otherwise a cruel, pas-
sionate, faithless tyrant. Though Ningnmosha was iu no way
to blame for what had occurred, and was tlie next in rank to
himself iu the tribe, he caused him to bo put to doath 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, imder the induna
Tshikanda, marched to within a short distance of the great
place, and there made peace with the Monomotapa on con-
dition 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 wore
trading foi' their Portuguese masters, upon which the inhabit-
ants of Tote and Bona joined tho Monomotapa against him.
They wore soventy-livo in luimbor, and took with thorn about
two thousand Kaftir warriors, tho whole force hoing undor tho
command of Bolohior d’ Araujo, oaptfun of ^Poto. Tshikanda
was found within a higor, surroitudod by about thirty thousand
Makalauga. lio had only six huudrod warriors with him, but
ho had made as light of his opponents us a oat wonhl of so
many mice, attacking thoin by day and night ami slaughter-
ing many of thorn. 'I’he Portuguoso ai)pi'oaohcd the lager
under cover of wickerwork screens carried before thorn, and
shot so many of those within that Tshikanda ottered to sur-
render on condition that the lives of his people should bo
spared. The Makalanga would nut agree to this, so that
night the besieged baud attempted to cut its way through
them, and Tshikanda and a few of his followers escaped. 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 irom the Monomotapa,
in recompense of their services, permission to carry arms
wherever they should travel iu his country, a privilege they
had not onjoyecl before.

The defeat of Tshikanda, instead of restoring peace to tho
Kalanga tribe, brought on civil war, for the party that resented

344 History of South Africa,

the death of Ningoinoaha, being no longer apprclianflivo of
danger from a foreign foe, rose in rovolt against the dnniken
and ferocious Monoinolapa. They gained some successes, but
when a fow rortngin3So under the leadership of Francisco da
Cunha, captain of the bratos, went to tho 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 tliey had anticipated, seized
their leader, CTit off his head, and sent it to the Mononiotapa.
By this act another of the rebel commanders, a man of great
energy and ability, named Matuzianyc, became the head of
the insurgents, and he carried on the war so slcilfully that in
a fow years ha was master of nearly tho whole country.

The Monoinotapa was in a sore plight when a Portuguese
trader named Diogo Simoes Madeira, who had been some lime
residont at Tete, volunteered to assist him. This man raised
a small company of Europeans armed wiili ivtijncbuHOs, with
whoso assistance tho legilimalo Kalanga ruler rc'csovered u
large part of his territory. As a reward to his Purtuguest^
friend for such valuable service ho made him a prosont of tho
district of Inyahanzo adjoining the lands subject to Toto, with
sovereign rights over tho people residing in it. h’urthov, on
the 1st of August 1607, being encamped on tbo bank of tho
river Mazoe, he attached his mark to a document formally
drawn up hy 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 tho king
should maintain him in his position. All silver mines ho
granted to Diogo Madeira, who in the same document •♦I'ans-
ferred them to the king. Dndor his name on tho 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 JoSo Lobo, vicar of Luanze, the friar
Manuel de Sao Vicente, ohaplain of the force, and twenty-four
other Portuguese, in addition to the marks of several who
could not wrife."

345

Fruitless Search for Silver J\Iiiies,

As a proof of good faith tho Monomotapa tlelivorcd to
Diogo Madeira two of his sons, in order that they might be
educated at Tote and brought up as Christians, and iio pro-
mised to give two of his daughters for tho same purpose.
Shortly after this event the principal army of the insurgents
was defeated in a pitched battle, and the Monoraotapa
regained possession of his great place. The Portuguese then
returned to Tete, tailing with them the two young chiefs, —
the daughters were never given to them, — and the country
was appai'ently again in a condition of peace. The sous of
the gi’eat chief wei-e maintained in the house of Diogo
Madeira, and having received instruction from the Dominican
friars wera baptized with the names Philippe and Diogo. Tho
older of the two, Philippe, then returned to his father, but
Diogo remained at Tete, ivhoro he was taught to road ainl
write as ivell as to assist tlio friars in the services of the
church.

A year passed away, and tlio Monomotapa oollootod his
army af'laiu to attack tho vohcls who had not auhmitttjd. Tli<i
tribe und(U' M'ongasi had hitherto maintained neutrality, but
ho now fpll upon that chief and caused him to be killed.
Tliercupon tho Mongasis effected a junction witlx Matuziauyi',
and at once tho tido of success turned. Tlio Monomotapa’s
forces Avei'o defeated, and in a short tirao ho was reduced to
the greatest straits. Matuzianye then invaded Inyabauzo, but
was driven back by Diogo Madeira, who built a strong lager
and stationed twenty aiq^nebnsieis and three hundred KafSr
warriors in it. It was hardly completed when messengers
arrived from the Monomotapa, urgently bogging for assistance.
The greixt 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 pro-
tection of the Portuguese. Then he removed to Tshidima,
farther u]> the southern bank of the Zambesi, where he woxdd
he within easy reach of European aid should his enemies

346 History of South Africa.

attack kirn again. Surely roniance furnishes nothing more
strange than the hereditary chiof 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 con-
cerning 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 do Menezes,
archbishop of G-oa, was acting as governor-general of Portu-
guese India when they arrived. He could not carry them
out completely, but ha did what was possible by appointing
Dorn 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 Monomo-
tapa. 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 Chicova and point out the silver mines. The
Monomotapa consented to this arrangement. On the way
the chief of the clan that occupied Chicova met the party
and presented three small pieces of silver ore to the Portu-
guese leader, but he and his attendants disappeared imme-
diately afterwards, and on arriving at tho 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.

After a stay of eighteen days at Chicova the Portuguese
army with all the warriors the Monomotapa conld collect
marched against Matuzianye, and in a series of engagements
inflicted such losses upon him that he was at length com-

Fruitless Search for Silver Mines. 347

pelled to take refuge with a few followers oa a strong
mountain. The Portuguessj 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 trans-
fer 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 Buy Lourengo de Tavora had arrived at
Goa as viceroy, and had appointed Dom BstevKo d’Ataide
captain general of the Conquest. Dom Bstevito had arrived
at Sena, and Dom Ntino 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 genera], at
the same time reporting all that had occurred. But now a
great change took place in the attitude of the Balanga
deputies. Their tribe was once more united, and they felt
themselves strong enough to resist the little party of Portu-
guese 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 EstevSto d’Ataide made large pro-
mises, 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 strong-
hold close by, so the Monomotapa sent an army to encamp
in the neighbourhood, in expectation that the Portuguese

348

History of South Africa.

would assist to destioy it. The rohbeis 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 Mono-
motapa grew weary of waiting for the merchandise which his
envoys had asked for, and ordered a general empata, or con-
fiscation of Portuguese property, throughout his country.
Several traders were killed in resisting it, and even Diogo
Madehra, who was on a bartering expedition at the time,
although he had performed suoh eminent services for the
great chief, was robbed of aU his goods and barely escaped
with his life. Diogo Carvalho, on learning what was taking
place, formed an alliance with the robbers in his neighbour-
hood, 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 EstevSo d’Ataide now resolved upon war with tho
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 heredi-
tai’y 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 hnild and occupy a fort
to be called Santo EstevSo. This was just accomplished
when a complete break in the proceedings occurred. It was
repotted 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 Mozam-
bique, which then consisted of only twenty-five soldiers. In
consequence of this order, in March 1612 Dom EstevSo was
obliged to leave Tete with all his force, and seven months
elapsed before he could return. Diogo -Madeira, who had
received jfrom the viceroy the appointment of captain of Tete

Fruitless Search for Silver Mines. 349

for life, remained behind with the permanent residents of the
place, hut they, though assisted by thoir Bantu subjects and
by the people of the district of Inyabanzo, could do nothing
more than defend themselyes against the 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 dissatis-
fied with the want of progress in conquest or discovery, and
he found fault with the terms on which the viceroy Euy
Louxenfo de Tavora had engaged the captain general. To
the neAv 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 EstevSo was to proceed to India, leaving the
dii-ection of military matters in the hands of Diogo Bimoes
Madeira, who was made a member of the order of Christ
and was granted a small annual pension, besides being con-
firmed 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 Euy de Mello
de Sampayo, who had a claim to the captaincy of Mozam-
bique under the former condition of affairs, was to have the
civil administration and independent command of Port Sao
SebastiSo given to him with a monopoly of the commerce
south of the Zambesi on the usual terms.

Euy do Mello de Sampayo was not in India Avhen this
order arrived, so the viceroy appointed his own brother Dom
JoSo d’Azevedo captain of Mozambique for one year, and
recalled Dom EstevSo 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, &g, worth one hundred and ten thousand cruza-
dos, Avhich the judge Prancisco da Ponseca Pinto, who had

350

History of South Africa.

■been sent from India to conduct the usual examination into
his conduct, placed in safe keeping.* It was subsequently
oonfisoated for the benefit of tbo royal treasury, and was used
to pay for repairing the fovtiflcations of Mozambique. The
death of Doiu Estevtlo 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 hina arrested and tried for
farthering hia own interests at Tete instead of proceeding
with the conquest and for having taken to the Zambesi a
hundred and fifty disciplined soldiers from Port Sfto SebastiSo
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 Idng for the man who hod so gal-
lantly defended Mozambique against the Dutch, but who had
failed to carry' out an engagement to raise an andy when
men were not to he had. , ,

Diogo Madeira with the slender force under his commend
now undertook the enterprise in which two officers of superior
rank and authority had failed. On the lOfch 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 bad hardly set out when be encountered opposi-
tion. There was a clan living close to Sena under a chief
named Tshombe, who during tiie recent disturbances bad come
under the protection of the Portuguese, and had agreed to
pay as tribute a certain quantity of millet yearly. Seeing
the weakness of bis protectors now that the civil war in the
country was ended, this man was disposed to assert his inde-
pendence, and when the new commander called upon him to

* The cln'oniolQr of those events in one place incidentally states that
eighteen meticals of gold were eq.ual to nearly thirty cruzados, so that this
omount would represent about £29,500. Whenever the cruzado of King
SehakiSo is meant it is tenned a cruzado d’ouro.

Fruitless Search for Silver Mines. 351

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 Hiogo 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 Kwi-
tambo, 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
were 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 Kwi-
tambo, who engaged to pay tribute for it, and Diogo Madeira
with his army returned to Tete.

Here he was gladdened by a message from the Monomo-
tapa that if he would pay the quantity of merchandise
usually given by those entering office he might take posses-
sion of Ohicova in peace. Goods to the value of four
thousand cruzados were at once forwarded, and in retuin a
man of rank was sent by the Kolanga ruler to transfer the

352 History of South Africa.

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
Ohieova, where he set about building a fort or stockaded
enclosure which he named SSo Miguel. The envoy of the
Monomotapa was Avith him, but could not point out a mine,
and the chief of the locality ded as soon as the object of
the expedition became Imown. On being applied to, the
Monomotapa sent a piece of silver ore weighing about half
a pound, and with it a man named Tsherema, who had found
it at Chieova; 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 Ohieova was
occupied by an independent chief named Sapoe, who pro-
fessed to be a friend of tho 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 Hebrabasa to navigable water. With
Sapoe’s consent a stockade, named Santo Antonio, was built
and occupied oiJposite SSo Miguel, so that the ferry was
completely under Portuguese control. Port Santo Estevao
farther down on the southern side was destroyed, as there
were no men to occupy it.

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 Portr^al 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 SSo . Miguel and Santo Antonio. On arriving
at Sena, instead of -finding the assistance he was hoping for,

Fruitless Search for Silver Mines. 353

Madeira received instructions from the king that he must
send the soldiers brought by Dom EstevSo d’Ataide back to
Mozambique, as that island was in danger of being attacked.
In consequence of this order thirty were despatched in a
pairgayo, all that could be mustered, as some had died and
the others were at Ohioova. 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 resolvod to keep the Monomotapa in good humour by
means of presents and to engage every resident along the
river that woxdd 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 con-
tempt 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 Madeha 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 Mono-
motapa, 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 difSculties at
Chicova. He was so badly in want of food that he was

compelled to take it by force from the natives, which

naturally aroused their enmity. Then the son of the Mono-
motapa 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

354 History of South Africa.

Santo Antonio with the reinforoemeuta he had collected, and
while he was crossing tho river with them the hostile army
withdrew.

There was now a small baud of Portuguese with a con-
siderable 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 Tote. 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 oase 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 made as thorough
a search as was possible iu the vicinity of the stookade, 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 poupds.

To send specimens of these to Lisbon and to G-oa^ and
thus to create such an interest in the undertaking as would
cause sufficient assistance to be isent 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 Buy de Mello de Sampayo, who in 1615
became captain of Mozambique,* would be aroused by the

♦ Tho following are tho piiucipal olatiBoB of the contract entered into with
him by the government at Lisbon, dated 17th of March , 1614-. His three
years term of ofiioo was to commence on tho day that ho took formal
possession of the fortress. Ho was to pay annually 40,000 xerafins of
SOO reis each (about £7,600). All the expenses of the forts constructed for
the defence of tho trade, inoludiug the pay of the troops necessary for that
purpose, ware to bo defrayed by him. The ordinary expenses of the fortress
of Mozambique and of Uie hospital at that plaoo were to be defrayed by
bun, but, wore to be deducted from, the 40,000 xerafins, and the balance

Fruitless Search for Silver Mines. 355

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 Bed sea and
the Mediterranean to Portugal. He was an old inhabitant of
the country, and as he was wealthy ho 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 go to India and Portugal
by way of Mozambique, trasting that his habit would protect
him from interference on the way.

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 Ohicova. The friar reached Goa
in safety, and after delivering a report to the viceroy, pro-
ceeded 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

was to be sent to Goa. He was not to be present, personally or by repre-
sentative, when the duty of one per cent was being levied on his mer-
chandise. All the usual presents to the chiefs of the interior were to be
sent by him, at the proper times, at his own cost. He was to take over
his pr^ecesBor’s stock of goods. He was to have the solo right to trade
upon the banks of the rivers Zambesi and Sofala (the whole country south-
ward being included). He was authorised to seize and appropriate any
merohandiae taken into the country without his permission.

♦ This journey of Gaspar Bocarro does not detract in the least degree
from the merit of the reverend Hr. liivmgstone’s discovery of Lake Nyassa,

2 D

35<5 History of South Africa.

pTOceeding upward between tlio eastern side of Nyassa and the
coast, was ferried over other rivers named the Ruambara and
the Rofuina. Part of tire 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 Teto he reached
Kilwa, where he procured a conveyance to Mombasa. Here
be 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. Ho dared not
go far from Sao Miguel, but in its vicinity more pieces of
silver ore were found, whioh were sent down to Tete and
exchanged for calico, so that he was able for a time to
obtain provisions. In Jannary 1616 he had been joined by
the Dominioan friar JoSo dos Santos, who had petitioned to
be sent from India to South-Eastern Africa as soon as he
heard that the Monomotapa Gasilnsere had consented to twi>
of his sons being educated as Ohristians. His experience,
he thought, might even be instrumental in converting the
Monomotapa himself. His piovinoiBl 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 stookade SSo Miguel without a spiritual

The great mlssiouary traveller first saw the outflow of the Shire on the
16th of September 1659, two hundred and forty-three years after Booorro
- was at the same spot. But the aooount given here was' then buried in
the Portuguese arohives, and waf entirely unknown to any one. Besides
thoi^h it is ea^ now to follow Booarro’s route from his desoription of it,
it would have been impossible to do so before Dr. Livingstone’s minute
desori-pthm of the country was published,

Fruitless Search for Silver Mines. 357

comfoiter, he did not hesitate, but proceeded np 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
aimiTar conduct by tho captain Buy de Mello de Sampayo.
The viceroy, therefore, by the advice of the council of state,
appointed the judge Francisco da Fonseca Pinto a commis-
sioner to investigate matters in South-Eastern Africa, and
gave him very large powers to settle disorder of every kind.
He w'as 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
Buy dg Mello de Sampayo from ofSce, and appointed Da
Guerra in his stead. He then went on to the Zambesi, and
arrived at Quilimane in May.

By this time the garrison of Fort Sfto 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

2 D 2

358 liisiory of Sonih Africa.

from India for gold and ivorN', He was able to do this to
tinusual advantage, as for two years in succession the trading
vessels from Mozambique had been lost, and calico and beads
were in great demand. Ho listened to all tho 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 Ohicova with a hundred
and fifty soldiers and two thousand Kaffirs, but when he was
within a day’s march of Port SSo 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 Chioova was now
ahandcned. 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 he taken away. Some slave women and children were
first ferried over to Santo Antonio, the soldiers followed, and
lost of' aU Diogo Madeira himSelf hade farewell to the
atodkade 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 com-
menced 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 Inyabonzo, where he remained for a time, and the others
went to Tete,

The judge now pronounced the discovefry of silver ore at
Ohicova to be a fable, as the pieces found had probably been
carried there from seme 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
■de'stoyed the abandoned stociade SSo MigUel, sent an atmy
against the nnfottuhS'te daptain, tod he was obliged to leave

Fruitless Search for Silver Mines. 359

Inyabanzo and take refuge witli the chief Kwitambo near
Sena until the judge loturned 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 hut 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 pro-
ceedings, 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 Euy 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 accordanco with
these instructions, in January 1618 some calico was sent
from India, and when it reached Sena Diogo Madeira en-
deavoured 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 Ohicova 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 wore to be

360 History of South Africa,

sent from Portugal and also from India to search the country
and develop its mineral wealth. Commerce was to he carried
on hy the royal treasury, and was to he under the control of
Antonio de Maris Loho, 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. Dorn Luis de Menezes, or in
his default Dom Alvaro da Costa, was to be appointed com-
mander of the garrison of Mozambique, subordinate to the
governor of Monomotapa, as the captain of Sofala was also
to be. Liogo Simoes Madeira was to be retained in favour,
and was to be induced to assist in carrying out the conquest.

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, mthout 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 conld have been done with two
hundred soldiers, as an enthusiastic writer, Diogo da Ounha
de Oastelbronco, believed it might be, provided sufficient
calico was supplied for presents to the chiefs.

In Eebruary 1619 Dom Nuno Alvares Pereira reached Groa
from Ceylon, end 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 Port SSo SehastiSiO were embarked, and the expedition left
for the Zambesi. The details of events after its arrival

Fndthss Search for Silver Mines. 361

cannot be given, as the reports and jonrnals of occurrences
have disappeared, and Booarro’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 yard 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 in-
structions to Dom Ifuno 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 natives, 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 loo 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 Alvaras Pereira* to India and to desist
from any further attempt to effect a conquest in the Mouo-
motapa’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 different establishments.

Nuno da Gunha was appointed captain under this system*

* This ofQoer evidently thought flomething oould he made in Africa, for a few
years later he petitioned the king to grant him on feudal tenure four hundred
leagues of coast from Inhamhane towards the Cape of Good Hope, of which he
and his heirs should he hereditary captains. The pefllaon was under considera-
tion for a time, but eventually was rejected. We shall meet him again as
captain of Mozambique.

363 History of South Africa,

He ^Vl^B directed to persovere in tlie effort to discover the
silver mines, bnt by means of peaceful exploration and con-
ciliation of the Monomotajia. 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 eepuipments and
some fine cdoth 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 t]3.e
mines from which the copper used by the Makalanga was
obtained, and to ascertain whether they conW 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 disfavoim with the viceroy, who
intended to have him arrested and sent out of the coimti'y,
the king continued to hold out tempting offers to him if he
should succeed. But silver mines, if any really existed along
the Zambesi above Tete, were never discovered by the
Portuguese, nor was it ascertained whether the loose pieces
of ore which beyond all doubt were found at Ohioova 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, hut 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
hot , permitted to return again unless under special oircum-

Fruitless Search for Silver Mines. 363

stances. When the first expedition under Dorn Nuno AlTures
Pereira was sent from India by the archbishop De Menezes
some members of the Society of Jesus accompanied 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 pro-
spective. Prom the royal treasury the missionaries received
such a trifling allowance that for their maintenance they
were chiefly dependent on alms.

The design of King Sebastilto half a century earlier con-
cerning the ecclesiastical government of South-Eastern Africa
was at this time carried into completion. On the 2l8t 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, how-
ever, 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 os 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 natives just as when the
friar Jo?to 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 communication with the
outer world, though the little vessel that traded at Inhambane

3^4

History of South Africa.

and Delagoa Bay ©very second or tMid 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 comt 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 Ounha 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.

Events of Interest from 1628 to 1652 . 365

CHAPTER XVI.

EVENTS OE 'INTBEEST EEOM 1628 TO 1652.

The great tribe over wMch the Monomotapa ruled was about
to be involved again in civil war, and the Portuguese traders
at Sena and Tete were once more to acquire an influence in
the country altogether out of proportion to their number,
even if each one be regarded as a chief and his slaves as a
clan of followers, which was practically their position. Kapran-
zine, son and successor of Giasilusere, showed himself most
unfriendly to the Europeans. One of his near relatives,
whose name is given by different writers as Manuza and
Mavura, was possessed of much more intelligence, and had
incurred his extreme jealousy. This man, under the instruc-
tion of the Dominican friar Manuel Sardinha, showed an
inclination towards Christianity, and was therefore made much
of by the Portuguese,

In November 1628 Jeronymo de Barros, an agent of Dom
Nuno Alvai'es Pereira, who had recently assumed duty as
captain of Mozambique, arrived at the great place, bringing
with him the present which it was necessary to make to the
Monomotapa for the privilege of trading in his territory.
Whether the quantity or quality of the merchandise forming
the presents was such as to cause Xapranzine to be dis-
satisfied is uncertain, at any rate immediately after receiving
it he sent messengers through' the country with orders that
upon a certain day all the Portuguese and their friends were
to be put to death. Andre Ferreira, the captain of the
Gates, who happened to he at the great place when this
order was issued, was informed of it by some faithful servants.

366 tlisiory of South A/rkd.

and that night with the Bantu who were threatened he
managed to get away to Masapa, where the stockade con-
strnoted hy Diogo Carvalho was hastily prepared for defence.
De Barros and his attendants wore murdered, as they were
unable to escape. Messengers were immediately sent out by
Ferreira to warn the traders scattered over the country, and
in a very short time all the Christians and their adherents —
including Manuza — were collected either at Masapa or at
Luanze, where another rude fort was built.

The Monomotapa despatched a great force against these
places, but as the defenders fought despemtely for their lives,
the assailants were beaten hack. Several Europeans, however,
fell. Meantime the Portuguese at Sena and Tete, having
received intelligence of whs^ was transpiring, assembled their
people and raised an additional force of Batonga, at whose
head they marched to Luanze to assist their countrymen.
The defenders of the stockade were relieved) and then by
advice of the friars in the camp a very decisive step was
taken. Manuza was proclaimed Monomotapa, the banner Qf
the cross was raised) and the army, having elected a man
named .Manuel Gomes Sen'So commander in chief, marched
against Eapranzine. The two forces met, and Kapcanzine
waa defeated.

The baffled Monomotapa retired deeper into the country,
and raised a still larger army, with which he returned aud
twice attacked the Christian camp, but on each occasion was
beaten back. Then Manuza took possession of the Zimbabwe,
or great place, and was acknowledged os paramount chief by
most of the surrounding clans.

On the 24th of May 1629 a document was drawn up, in
which the new Kalauga ruler acknowledged himself a vassal
of the king of Portugal. He promised to tdlow the mission-
aries to build churches and make converts anywhere in his
countiry, to receive ambassadors without obliging them to go
through humiliating ceremonies, to treat the captain of
Masapa with great respeci and to admit him to an interview
at any time without a present, to opeu hia country freely to

Events of Interest from 1628 to 1652 . 367

commerce, to protect traders, and not to sliolter fugitive
slaves. He imdertook not to alienate gold mines to powerful
chiefs, to allow mines of all descriptions to be sought for and
worked by the Portuguese, and especially to enquire where
silver was to bo fotind, to inform the captain of Masajia of
the places, and to allow the Portuguese to dig for it without
any impediment. He engaged also to expel all the Mohame-
dans from his country within a year, and to permit the
Portuguese afterwards to kill them and confiscate their pro-
perty. He surrendered his claim to the lands at one time
subject to the captain of Tete, and hound himself to send
three pieces of gold to every new captain of Mozambique.

The whole aimy was drawn up, and the document having
been read, Manuza was asked by the captain Serrao if he
agreed to these conditions. Naturally he replied that he did.
The friar Luis do Espirito Santo then wrote under it
"Manuzn, Emj)eror of Monomotapa,” to which with his own
hand he affixed a cross. Then followed the signatures of
Manuel Gomes SerrSo, chief captain in the war, Priar Goupalo
Ribeiro, vicar of Masapa, and sixteen other Portuguese. But
it matters little with what foimality the document was
attested. It is evident that it was of very little value, for
its terms — whether committed to writing or merely verbal —
would be observed as long as Portuguese assistance was
needed, and not a day longer.

A little later, eight months after he had been raised to the
chieftainship, Manuka consented to profess Christianity openly,
and was baptized with as much pomp as possible by the friar
Luis do Espirito Santo, vicar of Tete. He received the name
Philippe, which Portuguese writers thereafter used when
mentioning him.

The government at Madrid regarded the document to
which he had affixed his mark as of equal validity with an
agreement between two European powers. In the opinion of
the king the time had at last arrived when the mineral
wealth of the Kalanga country was at his disposal, and
pompous orders were issued to the viceroy of India to tali;e,

368

/fis/o)y of Smtf/i Africa.

nioasui'os for the clisoovory and opouiiig up of tlie gold, silver,
aud copper minos. He was also to build a st,rongbold iu tlie
beat place to keep the Monoiuotapa iu submissiou, aud the
old instruotions were repeated to fortify the mouths of the
Hilimane and the Luabo. As the Monomotapa was now a
vassal, the presents formerly made for the privilege of
carrying on commerce would no longer be requited, and the
money thus saved, together with the amount obtained for the
lease of the islands of Angosha, could be used in defraying
the cost of the fortifleations. The three pieces of gold
received as tribute were to be sent to the king, who would
make a present to the Monomotapa in return. That potentate
was to be invested with the ordey of Ohrist, and permission
was given to him to trade in cloth , on his own account to tho
value of three or four thousand matioals of gold.

These instructions were issued by the king in April 1681.
But matters were not yet settled iu the Knlanga country, and
thus, even if he had possessed the means in men and money
to carry them out, the viceroy was unable at the tiyie to do
anything. Manuza, after occupying the great place and
receiving the homage of a number of clans, neglected to
watch Kapranzine closely, and the result was a sudden
. surprise, in which nearly the whole of the Europeans and
halffareeds in the country and a great number of Bantu were
killed, and the friars Luis do Bspiiito Santo and JoSo da
Trindade were made prisoners. The last named was badly
wounded, but the barbarians subjected him to torture, and
Anally before he was quite dead threw him over a precipice
where he was dashed to pieces. Luis do Espirito Santo, who
was a native of Mozambique, was taken into Kapranzine’s
presence, and was ordered to make the usual obeisance. This
he refused to do, as he said that to such homage God alone
was entitled. He was then bound to the trunk of a tree, and
stabbed with assagais till life was extinct. All the Bantu
who were made prisoners were likewise put to death.

Eapranzine appeared now to be master of the situation.
Many of the clans that had submitted to Manuza went over

Events of Interest from 1628 to 1652 . 369

to him, and the low Portuguese that remainod — only twenty
at Sena, thirteen at Tete, five at one trading statiou, tuid six
and a Jesuit father at another — were too disheartened at the
moment to attempt anything. The Tshikanga also, ruler of
Manika, declared in favour of Kapranzine, and sent an army
to support him.

Diogo de Sousa e Menezes was then captain of Mozam-
bique, Dom Nuno Alvares Pereira having died. He called
out every man that could carry an arquebus, and sailed with
them to the Zambesi, where he raised a large force of Bantu
warriors from those living on the island of Luabo. Having
brought the disturbed districts adjoining Sena into subjection,
he marched to Manika, where he overthrew the unfriendly
Tshikanga, put him to death, and raised one of his brother's,
who made a profession of Christianity and was baptized, to
bo chief as a vassal of Portugal. In the mean time the friar
Manuel Sardinha, a man of great force of oharaeter, had got
together an army of twenty thousand men, chiefly from the
tribes along the Zambesi who were at fend with the Maka-
langa, and who were willing therefore to espouse the cause
of Manuza. The two forces joined and marched against
Kapranzine. The friar who was the chronicler of these
occurrences relates that when they were setting out Philippe
—as Manuza was called — looked up and saw a resplendent
cross in the sky. Thereupon he sent for the father Manuel
Sardinha, who was not with him at the time, hut who also
saw the cross on joining him.. It was similar to that which
appeared before the emperor Constantine, except that there
were no words beneath it.

It may have been that some fleecy white clouds drifting
across the deep blue African sky appeared to the heated
imaginations of the friar and the Kalanga chief to assume
the form of a cross, for it is not likely that a deliberate
untruth was placed on record by the Dom ini c a n missionary
who reported this event. Be that as it may, the apparition
is said to have given such courage to the whole body of
warriors, all of whom saw it, that they marched on with the

370

liisfory of South Africa.

greatest eonfldenco. On the fbaat i»f Saint Jolm tUe two
armies met, and a tremondows battle was fouglit, in which,
according to the account of tlio Portuguese captain, the saint
himself appeared, and assisted the Christian cause. A
brilliant victory was won, the carnage being so great that no
fewer than thirty-five thousand of the enemy were slain. It
will not do to be certain about the ni\uibec of the killed, but
the defeat of Kapranzine and his flight are assured facts.

Much booty in women, children, and cattle was obtained.
Kapranzine’s son of highest rank, a young boy, was among
the prisoners. He was sent to G-oa, where he was entrusted
by the viceroy to the Dominican fathers, by whom he was
baptized with the name Miguel, and educated and maintained
by the royal treasury.

The hostile Monomotapa, however, was not uttetly over-
thrown. He had still the support of a very able chief named
Makamoasha and many others of less note, and he gave a
great deal of trouble before the war was ended. It must be
remembered that no force supplied by the PovLuguesss govern-
ment, other than a few men from Mozambique, was in the
field. The contest was between two members of the ruling
family of the Kalanga tribe for the paramount chieftainship,
and' the weaker of the two was aided by a little bamd of
Portuguese missionaries and other residents in the country.
But these few white men and half-castes were able to turn
the scale in favour of the chief rvhose cause they adopted,
because they could obtain the service of warriors of other and
braver tribes who would follow them out of a desire to wash
their assagais in Kalanga blood, and because they could
procure firelocks and gunpowder’. In the final battle, which
ended in complete victory for Manuza, as many as two
hundred men on his side were armed with Portuguese
weapons.

The Dominican friars regarded the contest as a holy war,
foi it was certain that if Kapranzine was successful their
■work in the Kalanga country would cease. The part taken
by Manuel SaTcUnha has been related. Another friar, DamiSto

Events of Interest from 1628 ^ 1652. 371

do Espirito Santo, was equally active in raising men, and it
was by a force of six thousand robust warriors brought into
the field by him that Philippe — or Manuza — was at length
firmly secured in the position of Monomotapa. The Portu-
guese laymen and the mixed breeds served their own
interests when aiding him, because by that means alone was
it possible for them to continue there as traders. Their
position at this time was better than at any previous period
since the first occupation of the country, for Kapranzine,
though in very reduced circumstances, was still alive, and
Manuza, being dependent on them, was obliged to bestow
whatever favours they chose to ask. The former trading
stations were reoocnjjied, and new ones were established at
Matuka, Dambarare, Ohipiriviri, Umba, and Ohipangura,
situated in different pai’ts of the country.

The Dominican missionaries also were able to extend their
work greatly. A commencement was made with the erection
of a church at Manuza’s place of residence, in recognition of
the help, which he had received from the Almighty against
his opponent, and the chief himself laid the foundation stone
in presence of a great assembly of people. The friar Aleixo
dos Martyres took up his residence there, and nine others of
the same order came from Goa and were stationed at various
trading places. The vicar general, Manuel da Cruz, removed
from Tete to Matuka in the district of Manika, in order to
be in a more central position. At Luanze a neat church W€is
built, but at the other trading stations it was only possible
to oonstmot buildings of wattles covered with day.

The Dominicans were naturally affected by the prostration
of the wealth and power of Portugal, but they hod a reserve
force which supported them for a time. The most intelligent
and energetic individuals in the kingdom, looking with
despair upon the apathy and feebleness that bad taken hold
of the great mass of their countrymen, sought refuge in
convents, where a life of activity and usefu^ess was still
open to them. General poverty alone prevented these
institutions being more generally resorted to. At a dittle

2 li

372 History of South Africa,

later date ooTasidetable numbers of Asiatics unci Africans were
admitted into tbe Doininican order, under ibe mistaken idea
that they would be able to exert more inflnenco in tbeir
respective countries than Europeans could, and then a failure
of energy set in ; but during the first half of the seventeenth
centmry most of the missionaries south of the Zambesi were
white men.

There were complaints against some of tliem that they were
practically traders, but as a whole they worked zealously for
the conversion of the Bantu, though at times they suffered
even from want of food. Their observations upon the people
among whom they were living are highly interesting. They
state, for instance, that the Makalanga did not object to a
profession of Christianity, but could not be induced to follow
its precepts, especially in the matter of not taking more
wives than one. The slight regard in which chastity of
females was held surprised them, and they were particiilarly
astonished that the men seemed almost indifferent to the
misconduct of their wives. They noticed too that in. war the
men did not scruple to shield themselves behind their
women, just as the Basuto often did in our own times in
their conflicts with the Orange Free State. Seeing these
things, they set their hopes chiefly upon the children, whom
they took great pains to instruct.

A hotter opportunity thou ever before was now offered to
search for mines, and rich specimens of several metals were
forwarded to Lisbon. In none of the records still preserved
and available for use, however, is there any teace of the
ancient underground workings having been discovered. To
assist in the search a few miners were sent out at the cost of
Dom Philippe Mascarenhas, though he protested against the
charge as not being mentioned in his contract, and because
he was then giving as much for the monopoly of commence
south of the Zambesi every year, namely forty thousand
paidaos, as his predecessors had given for their whole term
of office, besides maintaining the garrison of Mozambique,
defraying all other expenses connected with the administra-

Events of Interest from 1628 /o 165a. 375

tion, and paying twenty per cent customs duties on the
merchandise he imported from India.

The government at Madrid was of course highly elated
with the prospect of wealth, and the most fantastic schemes
were devised for opening up the coimtiy. Colonisation even
was to be undertaken on a large scale. Thus, on the 24th
of February 1635 the king wrote to the viceroy that two
hundred soldiers and two hundred families of colonists would
be sent from Portugal that year to settle along the Zambesi,
and that others would follow with every fleet. They were to
be accompanied by physicians, surgeons, women and girls
from charitable institutions, and mechanics of all kinds, even
to a gun founder. More Dominican and Jesuit missionaries
would also proceed to the country, as well as some Capu-
chins, Two hundred mares would be sent, that horse-
breeding might be carried on. A large quantity of ai'tillery
and other material of war would also be forwarded. On
reading documents like this, so absurd do they appear from
the con(iition of Portugal at th^ time, that one is inclined to
doubt whether they were really intended to be serious state
paper’s, or whether they merely represented the day dreams
of children. At any rate the whole scheme came to nothing.

At the same time the viceroy was directed to have the
search for mines carried on diligently, and to change the
method of government of South-Eastern Africa. He was to
appoint a governor of Monomotapa, subordinate to himself,
and a castellan of Mozambique, subject to the governor. The
system of carrying on trade was also to be altered. For a
long time the king and his court had been endeavouring to
devise some means of recovering the. commerce of Indio from
the English and Dutch, and in 1629 and following years an
effort had been made to form a powerful Company for the
purpose, in which the national treasury was to be the
principal participant, and the cities of Portugal and India,
as well as individuals, were to be shareholders. There was
to be a chamber in G-oa to manage local matters, but the
controlling power was to be vested in a board of directors at

2 E 2

374 History of South Africa.

Lisbon. The effort to form suoli a Oompany, however, had
failed; and now the king instructed the viceroy to throw
open the commerce of South-Eastern Africa to all his subjects
upon payment of customs duties. This order for some
unknown reason was not carried into execution.

The subject of fortifications was also dealt with. In 1632,
owing to a report that the English were fitting out an
expedition to survey the East African coast, the king
announced that a couple of small vessels would be sent from
Lisbon to Sofala with men and munitions of war to protect
that place, and that the outgoing fleet would convey rein-
forcements to Mozambiq^ue. It had become a custom to
employ convicts in oversea service, so that by emptying the
prisons a few men could be had at any time. But Sofala
remained without a garrison, notwithstanding this announce-
ment. A couple of years later an engineer named Bar-
tholomeu Ootao was sent with a few assistants from Lisbon,
some Indian carpenters were despatched from Goa, and
at last a small fort of stakes and earth was constructed at
Kihmane. This was tho most that could be done, but in
the king’s letter of the 24:th of Eebruary 1685 the viceroy
was instructed to fortify Sofala strongly and station a

garrison of two hundred soldiers there, and also to cause the
mouths of the Zambesi to be well protected with defensive
works. Such instructions, it must be repeated, were

altogether illusory.

A report upon the condition of the country at this time,
to be found in manuscript in the library of the British
Museum, is particularly interesting, from the care which was
taken in. its preparation. It was drawn up in 1634 by order
of the count of Linhares, viceroy of India, by his secretary
Pedro Barreto de Eezende, who had visited the places he
describes, and it was submitted for revision to Antonio

Bocarro, keeper of the archives at Goa, before it was sent to

King Philippe III of Portugal.

■ Sofala is described in it as having a square fort of stone
thirty feet in height, with circular bastions at the corners,

Events of Interest from 1628/0 165a. 375

and nine small pieces of artillery on tlie walla. It was
without other 5 j;arri 8 on than tho cajitaiu and his servants,
and had no stores either of provisions or materials of war.
In tho villnfife adjoining it throe married and two single
Portuguese resided, who with their slaves and a few mixed
breeds were its only defenders in case of war. The foi-t and
village were on an island at high tide, formed by the river
and a broad trenoh, as shown in the plan accompanying
the description ; but at low tide the trench was dry. A
Dominican friar resided in the village, but there were very
few Christian natives. The only commerce carried on was in
ivory and ambergris. The Kiteve, in wliose dominions the
fort was situated, had ten or twelve thousand warriors at his
command, but was in general friendly to the Portuguese, and
on payment of the usual quantity of merchandise allowed
them to trade in freedom and safety.

Sena was a much more important place, though the old
fort was out of ropair and almost destroyed. There were
thirty anairied Portuguese and mixed broods in tho village,
who owned a large number of slaves, and there were no
fewer than four ohurches, with religious of the Dominican
order and the Company of Jesus. Tho principal building
was the factory, which was \inder tiled roof. It was a
great warehouse, in which the goods of the captain of
Mozambique were stored, and where merchandise was sold
wholesale to the traders who traversed the country. There
were two dwelling houses under tiles, all the others being
thatched. Along the river np and down were great tracts of
land, occupied by fully thirty thousand natives, that had
been assigned to individual Portuguese, who, however, did
not derive much benefit from them, as most of the Bantu
were disobedient. This system was in accordance with feudal
ideas, the persons to whom the districts were assigned having •
extensive powers wherever the natives were submissive, but
being themselves vassals of the captain of Sena. Among the
owners of districts in tliis way was the Dominican order,
^vhose claim was confirmed by the king in 1638,

376

History of Scnith Africa,

At Tete there were twenty married Portuguese residouls and
a few halfbreeds, all living within a kind of fort, which
consisted of a wall seven or eight feet high with six bastions,
on which a few small pieces of artillery were mounted. They
had many slaves under their control. Adjoining Tete were
lands occupied by about eight thousand Bantu, parcelled out
among individual Portuguese, like those connected with Sena.

Scattered over Manika and the country of the Monomotapa
were numerous so-called forts, which were really only
palisaded enclosures or earthen walls, occupied by traders
and their servants. At most of these Dominican friars also
resided, who occupied themselves with the conversion of the
Bantu. By the king’s orders this field was open to them
alone, though the Jesuits, who occupied Kilimane and the
country to the northward, were permitted to have an estab-
lishment at Sena, and often evaded the command and
stationed missionaries with the Makalanga. By a royal order
the Dominicans were entitled to tithes in the country south
of the Zambesi. The Jesuits had a large estate assigned to
them on the island of Lnabo, between two mouths of the
great river, which was regarded as being within their sphere
of action. The only soldiers in the whole country were
thirty men who accompanied the Monomotapa wherever he
went, nominally as a body-guard to protect him and add to
his dignity, really, it may be believed, to keep watch upon
his movements.

There were still a good many Mohamedans scattered about,
£«id they were regarded by the Portuguese as in general
irreconcilable enemies. Those on the island of Lnabo were
said to be behaving well, but those in the Monomotapa’s
territories had aided Kapranzine, and after his defeat were
reduced to abject circumstances. It had not been found
possible to expel them.

The only epurts of law open to Portuguese subjects in the
country south of the Zambesi at this time were those of the
captains of Sofala, Sena, and Tete. These officials were
appointed by the captain of Mozambique, who selected theift

Events of Interest from 1628 to 1652. 377

from tlie circle of his friends more to promote his interests
in trade and to ward off hostilities with the natives whenever
the 7 conld do so, than with an eye to their qualifloationa
as magistrates. Under these circumstances it cannot be
supposed that justice was at all times administered. There
was, however, a right of appeal from the sentences of the
captains to the judge at Mozambique, which may have
prevented gross abuses.

This is the picture of Portuguese South Africa given by
the most competent writer of his day, and certainly it differs
greatly from that presented by the royal despatches.

Some wrecks which took place on the South African coast
during these years furnish matter of sufficient interest to be
preserved in history. That of the Bao Joao Battista, in 1622,
and those of the Nossa SenJiora da Atalaya and the 8aera-
mento in 1647, have been referred to by me at sufficient
length in a chapter upon the Xosa tribe in another volume;
but two others remain, the nairatives of which may here be
given. •

On the 4th of March 1680 the Sao Qonqalo, commanded
by Captain Pernao Lobo de Menezes, sailed from Goa for
Lisbon.' On the passage she became leaky, and in the
middle of June put into Bahia Permosa — Plettenberg’s Bay
as now termed — in a sinking condition, to be repaired. Por
this purpose some of her cargo was lauded, and more would
have been, if the officers had not shown themselves quarrel-
some and incompetent for their duties. Some of the crew
took up their residence on shore, but the greater number
remained on board. Pifty days after her arrival in the ibay
the ship was lying at anchor off the mouth of the Pisang
river when she was struck by a storm and driven ashore,
one hundred and thirty-three persons perishing in the wreck.
The captain, five friars, and about a hundred men were on
land at the time, and fortunately they were able to collect a
quantity of provisions and a good supply of carpenter’s tools
when the storm ceased. In anticipation of being obliged to
lemain there until the change of the monsoon in September

378 History of South Africa.

or October, they bad made a garden, from nbicb they
obtained sucb vegetables as pnmpltins, melons, onions, and
encumbers, From the bay they drew supplies of fish, and
from the Hottentots, who were very friendly, they bartered a
number of horned cattle and sheep for pieces of iron. They
were thus enabled to put by much of the rice that had been
landed before the wrack and such food in casks as drifted
ashore, while they were building two large boats in which to
make their escape.

The captain was old and feeble, so with his consent they
elected Eoque Borges to be their commander. There was
plenty of good timber in the forest close by, and as much
iron as they needed was obtained from fragments of the ship.
For tar they used benzoin, recovered from the cargo, and
mixed with the oil of seals, which they killed in great
numbers on an islet off the mouth of the river. Having
plenty of food they lived in comparative comfort, and they
were not forgetful of the worship of God, for they built a
chapel in which religions services were frequently held.
Eight months passed away before the boats were completed
and ready for sea When all was prepared for sailing the
friars erected a wooden cross on the site of their residence,
and a rude inscription was engraved on a block of sandstone,
recording the loss of the ship and the building of the
pinnaces. Part of this stone was removed some years ago
from the summit of a hill a little to the eastward of the
mouth of the Pisang river, and is now hi the South African
Museum in Capetown.

Some of the people wished to proceed to Angola, others
thought it would be better to return to Mozambique, so the
two boats steered in opposite directions. The one reached
Mozambique safely, the other after a few days fell in with
the homeward-bound ship Santo Igmdo Loyola, and her
people were received on hoard. But these were less fortu-
nate than the others, for they perished when neat their
homeis hy the loss of the ship that had apparently saved
them, ,

379

Events of Interest from 1628 to 1652.

The m’eck of the JVbssa Senhora de Belem was in many
respects similar to that of the 8ao Gongalo. Where every
one, as in Goa at that time, regai’ded bribery and corruption
as the natural means of acquiring wealth, even a ship could
not be sent to sea in a condition fit for a long passage. She
would be repaired with rotten timber, her caulking would be
defective, her rigging and stores would be of an inferior
description. Thus the Nossa Senhora de Belem, commanded
by Captain Joseph de Cabreyra, sailed from Goa for Lisbon
on the 24th of February 1636 shorthanded and quite unfit
for navigation in stormy seas. As usual, a large proportion
of those on board were negro slaves.

The ship soon became so leaky that it was with the

greatest difficulty she could be kept afloat, and when she

reached the South. African coast the only hope of saving the
lives of those on board was in running her ashore. Some-
where north of the mouth of the Umzimvubu river — the exact
spot cannot be made out — she lay almost water-logged close
to the eoast, when a boat was got out, and the captain landed
with a few men to look for a place where she could he

beached with the least danger. Night came on, and some

natives appeared, who attacked the little party, but they were
easily driven away. In the morning those on board, fearing
every moment that the ship would go down with them, waited
no longer for the captain’s signal, but ran her ashore, and
fortunately for them she held together, so that no lives were
lost.

Two hundred and seventy-two individuals, among whom
were five friars, were now safe on land. For seventeen days
they were engaged in getting provisions, tools, and other
articles out of the wreck; then by an accident, either from
the party that had been on board during the day having left
a candle burning or a fire in the stove, she caught alight
and the whole upper part was consumed. This, however,
turned out to be an advantage rather than a misfortune, as
an abundance of nails and other iron was now easily obtained
from the charred timber.

380 History of South Africa,

There was much rlifforonco of opiuion as to the best course
to bo pursuotl, but at length they agreed to build a couple of
small vessels and try to get to Angola. There was a river
close by that offered a favourable site for a shipyard, and
plenty of timber was to be had in the neighbourhood, so on
tho 20th of July they set about the task. Soon afterwards
they were cheered by tho appearance of a cabra, that is the
sou of a mulatto by a black vroman, who called himself a
Portuguese, and in broken language told them that his name
was Antonio and that he had been wrecked in the Bmto
Alhet'to and left there by Nuno Velho Pereira’s party that
went to tho north more than forty years before, when he was
a boy. He was now wealthy and a man of influence. He
was accompanied by a chief with a band of attendants,
with whom an agreement of friendship was made. Through
Autonio’s influence and assistance 110 fewer than two hundred
and nineteen head of cattle were obtained in bai’ter for pieces
of iron, which not only furnished plenty of fresh meat for the
time being, but abundance of biltong, or strips of drPed flesh,
for provisioning the boats. After a time the shipwrecked
men suspected Antonio of hostility, and there was some
trouble with the natives ; but thoir wants had then been
supplied, and they were too strong to be attacked.

Six months were occupied in building and fitting out the
vessels, which were decked and of such beam that they could
carry the whole of the people. They were provisioned with
eighty small bags of rice and a quantity of biitong. On the
28th of January 1636 they sailed from the river, but found
the weather rough on the coast, and during the second night
after leaving one of them disappeared and was not seen
again.' The other, in which was Captain De Oabreyra, put
into Algoa Bay on tho passage, and forty-eight days after
leaving the river reached Bengo Bay, close to the town of SSo
Paulo de Loanda, with her provisions exhausted and without a
of fresh, water lefti There> just in time, those on board
V^I^K^ireseued from death by starvation and thirst, and soon
, ' ^teliv^ards they dispersed to different parts of the world.

Events of Interest from 1628 to 1652. 381

In 1640 the revolution in Portugal took place which
elevated the eighth duke of Braganpa to the throne as King
JoSo IV. Margarida, duchess of Mantua, was then governing
Portugal for Philippe III— the 4th of Spain, — and her court
was almost entirely composed of Spanish grandees, who
treated the Portuguese nobles with such disdain as to rouse
their passion. The people were discontented, and attributed
the poverty and distress they were suffering to the Castilian
yoke which lay heavy upon them. Though under the same
head for sixty years, they had never fraternised with the
Spaniards, and the loss of their most valuable eastern posses-
, sions, which had been the result of the political union of the
two countries, was ever in their minds,

The time was opportune for a revolution. The Catalans
were in insurrection, and Franco could be depended upon to
favour anything that would weaken tho power of Spain. A
number of Portuguese noblemen then conspired to eject the
hated dynasty. On the 1st of December 1640 they seized the
palace and forts in Lisbon and the Spanish armed ships in
the Tagus, and made the duchess of Mantua a prisoner. A
few of the Castilian ofScials were killed in the first moments
of the rising, but moat of them were merely placed in safe
confinement. The duke of Bragan 9 a, though timid and half
reluctant, had than no option but to ascend the throne, for
he was the legitimate heir of the ancient kings, and his life
would not have been worth a week’s purchase if Philippe
should recover his authority. On the 15th of December he
was crowned in the cathedral of Lisbon, and the cortes, which
met as soon as possible, unanimously took an oath of alle-
giance to him on the 19th of January 1641. The whole
country declared in his favour, the Spanish garrisons were
expelled, and Portugal again took her place among the
nations of Europe as an independent power. War with Spain
followed as a matter of course, but Joao IV found powerful
allies among the northern rulers, his people sprang to arms,
and he was able to preserve the throne on which his
descendants sit to this day.

382 History of South Africa.

In India tidings of the successful rovoliitiou were looeived
with the greatest joy. Tlio silly orders of the Castilian
monarchs sent through the regency at Lisbon, and the affec-
tation of boundless wealth and numberless men being at the
disposal of the viceroy, must have disgusted the ofQoiala
everywhere. ITrom the new monarch they had reason to
expect instructions dictated by common sense, and indeed in
his first letters to the viceroy he spoke plainly of his empty
treasury and of the necessity there would be of observing the
strictest economy in every part of his dominions. Then ho
was their own countryman, and blood cements loyalty.

Among the first of foreign powers to recognise him was the
Eepublic of the United Netherlands, and on the 12th of
June 1641 a truce for ten years was concluded between the
two governments, in which, among other clauses, was ono
defining the Portuguese possessions in South-Eastern Africa
that were thereafter to be respected by the Dutch. They
were Mozambique, Kilimane, the rivers of Ouama, Sena,
Sofala, Oape Oorrontes, and the adjacent rivers, by which
were meant Inhambane and the bay of Lourenpo Marques.
This truce was broken a few years later through events that
toot place in Brazil, but while it was observed it was of
much importance to the new king. It gave him sympathy
and some practical assistance from the Dutch people in his
struggle with Spain, and it freed the eastern possessions that
were left to him from fear of attack, of which they had
before been apprehensive. The king indeed was led even to
hope that some of the ancient conquests, particularly Malacca,
might be restored to Portugal. Still he was not without some
uneasiness when he reflected upon the defenceless condition of
his dominions on the borders of the Indian sea, the activity
of the Dutch in that part of the world, and his inability to
afford any assistance, owing to his empty treasury. He there-
fore instructed the viceroy to keep a close watch upon the
rpovements of the Dutch, but to act with the greatest
caution, and to avoid everything that might irritate or offend
any one,

Events of Interest from 1628 to 1652. 383

The measures adopted by the government of King Joao lY
with regard to South-Eastern Africa were not productive of
good, however, much as the more honest and sensible tone of
his despatches is to be admired. In December 1643 com-
merce between Portugal and India was declared free and open
to all his subjects, with the single exception of the trade in
cinnamon, which was reserved as a royal monopoly. This, to
Englishmen of the present day, will appear a liberal measure.
But there are circumstances when the admission of all par-
sons under the same government to equal commercial rights
may prove utterly ruinous to the class that ought to be
encouraged most, and it would have been so in this instance
in the eountiy south of the Zambesi if the existing contracts
with the prospective captains of Mozambique • had not pre-
vented its coming into operation for several years, and if in
the mean time other measures had not been adopted. This
will be dealt with more fully in another chapter.

In 1644 the slave trade between Mozambique and Brazil
was opened by individual adventurers with the king’s per-
mission and encouragement. In these days such traffic is
justly regarded with the greatest horror, but during the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries not a voice appears to
have been raised against it. It certainly was not looked upon
as cmel or immoral to remove negroes from an environment
of barbarism to a condition of subjection to Christian masters.
The system brought upon the lands to which the slaves were
taken a terrible and perpetual punishment, which ought to
have been foreseen, but was not, or at least was disregarded
in the prospect of immediate gain. The proprietors of the
prazos, or great estates, along the Zambesi had now a new
source of wealth opened to them. Hitherto they had re-
garded the captives obtained in war and reduced to slavery
as personal followers, and employed them as trader's, soldier’s,
attendants, and so forth, he who had the greatest number
being esteemed as the most wealthy and powerful. The
negroes readily fell in with this system, which appeared to
them natural and proper ; and in general they were found

384 History of South Africa.

ItutWiil. It gave them what they uoodod: some one to think
for them, some one to direct and look iiftov them.

But after 1644 all this wna changed. The Biitouga and
Makalanga who were made captives were considered as worth
so many matiools of gold a head, and any that the owners
did not care to keep were sent to Mozambique for sole, to
serve in ships like the leas intelligent Makiia, or to be con-
veyed to Brazil to work on plantations, in either case to be
severed for life from early associations and companions. As
time went on the abominable traffic grew larger and larger,
until it became far the most important in money value of all
the commerce of the Zambesi basin. There could be no ex-
tension of agriculture, no mining, no progress of any kind
where it was so extensively carried on.

In 1644 there was a war between the Kiteve and a chief
named Sakandemo, in which the Portuguese took part on the
side of the former. The result was the defeat of Sakandemo,
the baptism of the Kiteve with the name Sebastiao, and his
promise to regard himself thereafter as a vassal of IJprtugal.
But conversions of this kind, however gratifying to the vanity
of the Europeans, and especially of the clergy, were of no
real value, and such promises df vassalage by men possessing
any real j)ower were not carried into prsiotioe.

The sparseness of the European population made the pos-
session of the country extremely insecure, for no troops could
be provided to guard it. But how or where could settlers be
obtained ? Not in Portugal, for there were much more attrac-
tive places than South-Eastern Africa before the eyes of the
peasantry there. Not voluntarily in India, as had been
proved by the viceroy’s invitations and tempting offers to
migrate having had no effect. And so they were sent invo-
luntarily. After the middle of the seventeenth century what
colonisation was effected on the banks of the Zambesi was
largely the result of criminals being sentenced by the supreme
court at Goa to become residents there. If morality before
this ha 4 been low, hereafter it sank to a point seldom reached
elsewhere by Europeans.

Events of Interest from 1628 to 1652. 385

At this time our countrymen began to frequent the coast,
as the Dutch, notwithstanding repeated orders to prevent them
from trading with the natives, had previously done, and
English adventurers soon became a source of much uneasi-
ness to the government at Lisbon. The first difficulty con-
nected with them occurred in 1650, when an English trading
vessel arrived at Mozambique. Alvaro de Sousa was then cap-
tain, and finding that he could do a profitable business with
the strangers, he purchased a quantity of goods from them,
hoping that the transaction would never he discovered.
"When the head of the local government acted in this manner,
it may well be believed that the subordinate officials and the
residents in the village, who had the right of trading with
the Bantu on the mainland, were equally dishonest. The
matter came to the knowledge of the king, but the death of
Alvaro de Sousa prevented the punishment that would other-
wise have been inflicted upon him. Orders were again issued,
strictly prohibiting commercial intercourse with strangers, who
were to* be permitted to take in fresh water and to purchase
necessary refreshments, but nothing more.

On the 25th of May 1652 the Monomotapa Manuza — or
Philippe — died. He had not renounced Christianity and had
always kept on the best terms with the Portuguese, acknow-
ledging himself a vassal of the king, protecting traders, and
making numerous grants of prazos to individuals. He could
not do otherwise while Kapranzine lived, nor while Kap-
ranzine’s son of highest rank, the heir to the chieftainship in
the direct line, was practically a prisoner in Groa. This young
man had entered the Dominican order, and applied himself
most assiduously to study, so that, according to the chronicler,
he was by his example the most powerful preacher in the
country. In 1670 the general of the order sent him the
diploma of Master in Theology, equivalent to Doctor of
Divinity, and this man, born a barbarian, heir to the most
important chieftainship in Southern Africa, died as vicar of
the convent of Santa Barbara in Goa. Eiction surely has no
stranger story than his.

$86 History of South Africa.

Manuza’s aucoessor adhered to the old Bantu faith, and in
consequence the Dominicans were in much distress, as their
work aeemed likely to be thrown back seriously. Great was
the pleasure therefore which they felt when the new chief,'
under the teaching of the friar Aleixo do Bosario, announced
his conversion, and requested to be baptized. His example
was followed by a multitude of the sub-chiefs and others.
On the 4th of August 1662 these were all received into the
church, the Monomotapa taking the name Domingos and his
great wife Luiza. The intelligence of this event created a
joyful sensation in Europe. At Borne the master-general of
the order caused special services to be held, and had an
account of the baptism engraved in the Latin language on a
bronze plate. At the Dominican convent in Lisbon there was
a grand thanksgiving service, which was attended by King
Jofto IT and all his court, for the event was regaided as one
of the greatest triumphs of Ohristianity, as well as a consoli-
dation of Portuguese rule in South Africa.

Such an opinion, however, was altogether erroneous? for in
this same year, 1662, the Dutch East India Company foimed
a settlement in Table Valley, which was destined to have a
vastly greater effect upon the southern portion of the conti-
nent than the Portuguese occupation of the eastern coast, that
had now lasted nearly a century and a half.

BAPTISM OF THE MONOMOTAPA.

Photograph from a picture in the Voinmican llmiee, Howe,

Weakness of Portuguese Rule in South Africa. 387

CHAPTER XVII.

WEAKITESa OP POBT0GDBSE R0LE IK SO0TH APBIOA.

Kikg Joao IV, tke first monareli of the house of Bragaufa,
died on the 0th of November 1656, leaving a son named
Affonso, only thirteen years of age, heir to the throne. The
queen dowager, a woman of imusnal ability and force of
character, then became regent, and held that oflSce until the
21st of June 1662, when Affonso VI became king. His sister,
Catherine of Braganpa, only a few weeks before had been
married to Charles II of England. A close connection be-
tween the two countries was thus commenced, which was of
great advantage to Portugal by giving her assistance in her
war with Spain, and which led some years later to important
commercial arrangements. For more than a quarter of a
century Spain strove to suppress what was termed at Madrid
the rebellion of the duke of Bragan^a, but at length a series
of victories gained by the Portuguese with the assistance of
their foreign friends made the attempt hopeless, and on the
13th of February 1688 peace was concluded by a treaty in
which the independence of Portugal under the sovereigns of
her choice was fully recognised. The character of Affonso VI
was a compound of imbecility and brutality: he was one of
the most worthless individuals tliat ever sat upon a throne.
On the 23rd of November 1667 he was forced into retirement,
and his brother Dom Pedro, duke of Beja, became regent.
Sixteen years later Affonso died, and the regent then became
Xing Pedro II. The Portuguese regard him as one of the
best and most prudent of their sovereigns, though there was
nothing particularly brilliq^ut or eyen enterprising in his
nature,

8 ?

388 History of Sout/i Africa.

During the seventeenth century a general disintegration of
the Bantu tribes between the Zambesi aiid Sabi rivers was
taking place, and individual Portuguese who were possessed
of ability, though they were devoid of anything like high
morality, were busily engaged in forming new clans under
their own control. The process commenced when the legiti-
mate Mononiotapa Kapranzine was deposed, and it was
furthered when the Tshikanga was defeated and slain. The
Batonga along the Zambesi were the first to be influenced by
it. They had no affection for the Makalanga rulers, nor had
those rulers any attachment for them, so that Portuguese who
performed any service for the Monomotapa could readily obtain
from him grants of land more extensive than the largest
county in England. The people on these lands as a rule sub-
mitted to the new head as long as he governed them in
accordance with their ideas, and rebelled when he did not,
but in the course of a few years his authority was usually
firmly established. He was then to all intents and purposes a
Kaffir chief, possessing absolute power over his people."

Father Manuel Barreto, superior of the Jesuit college at
Sena, reported to the viceroy in 1667 that nearly the whole
of the territory in the triangle formed by the river Zambesi,
the sea coast, and a straight line drawn from Ohioova to
Sofola, was thus held by individual Portuguese, though many
of its Batonga inhabitants were in rebellion. Some of the
prazos, as the districts were termed, were, ha said, the size
of kingdoms, especially those held by Antonio Lobo da Silva,
Manuel d’Abreu, Andrd Oollajo, and Manuel Paez de Pinho.
The last named had among his subjects the whole of the old
tribe ctf Mongasi. But Kaffir chiefs as they were, these men
wished to be considered Portuguese subjects, and were ambi-
tious of holding ofiSce and obtaining titles of distinction from
the crown. They professed even to hold their prazos from
the king under grants for three lives, on payment of quitrent
and performing military service with their followers when
oalled upon to do so." The whole of the quitrent, however,
that ffowed into the royal treasury from ihis soproe

Weakness of Portuguese Rule in South Africa. 389

amounted to little more than six hundred maticals of gold,
or £268 2s. 6d., a year. The holders of the prazos were
constantly quai-relling, and at times were even carrying on
war with each other, hut they were always sufSciently loyal
to obey a call to arms from the king’s representative. Por
a long time they formed the sole military force of the
government.

Many of them amassed great wealth and lived in a style
of barbaric splendour, but they were always exposed to the
chauces of war, for they had no protection beyond what they
could supply themselves. On some of the prazos large
buildings were erected, with lofty rooms and thick walls to
keep out the heat, aud their proprietors were noted for the
most profuse hospitality to the strangers and travellers who
oooasionally visited them. Their tables were spread with
vegetables and fruit of almost all varieties, grown in their
gardens, with the flesh of domestic and wild animals, the
costliest wines of Europe, and imported delicacies of every
description. They were waited upon by numerous slaves,
never moved from their premises except in a palanquin, and
lived altogether in luxurious ease, the condition perhaps most
respected by the natives around them. But such people were
not colonists, nor did they set an example of morality that
was worthy of being followed by their dependents.

After the Batouga territory was thus parcelled out, adven-
turers sought to get possession of prazos elsewhere, and many
were acquired by purchase from the Monomotapa and from
his subordinate chiefs. The adventurers did not scruple to
use threats and commit acts of violence to obtain what they
desired, until the Monomotapa became seriously alarmed. In
1663 he sent a petition to the king to provide him with a
bodyguard like that supplied to his predecessor, in order that
he might be protected from insult and wrong. The king
instructed the viceroy to comply with his request, but after
a long delay, in 1668 he replied that he could not do so for
want of men. The king also directed that the prazos which
had been obtained by violence or by purchase from those

2 p 2

390 History of South Africa.

who hod no light to sell them should be restored to the
ILonomotapa, who was a Christian prince; and an officer
named Francisco Fires Ribeiro was sent to enforce the
order, Bnt the power of the Icing proved too weak in
South-Eastern Africa to carry out a measui’O like this, which
was in conflict with the opinions of the Portuguese land-
holders. They would not admit that the Stonomotapa was a
Christian in anything bnt name, and instead of surrendering
the prazos, they declared war against him.

The leader of this movement was a lawless individual
named Antonio Rodrigues de Lima, who had previously been
guilty of much misconduct. He and his assooiates got
together an army of slaves and other dependents, with
which they took the field. The Monomotapa assembled his
forces and marched to meet them, but when the armies wore
near each other, his captains rose in rebellion, murdered him,
and submitted to the Portuguese, offering to admit as their
head any one whom the white people might choose to
appoint. Had he been their legitimate ruler in tlfe right
line of descent they would probably have preferred to die for
him, blit .as he was in their eyes only a usurper he could
command neither devotion nor respect. The Portuguese
thereupon raised a young man of the ruling family to be
Monomotapa, expecting him to he a pliant tool in their
hands, but he proved an able chiei^ and found means to
make himself respected. To keep him in chedr, indeed, the
government was obliged to send Antonio Lobo da Silva, the
most powerful of all the prazo holders, to reside with him as
the king’s representative.

A condition of things in which mere adventurers, acting
without authority from the nominal government, could
appoint and depose chiefs of tribes at their will, and could
establish themselves as practically independent sovereigns
over great tracts of country, can only be described as one of
anarchy. Father Manuel de Grouvea, of the Jesuit mission,
wrote to the prince regent in 1673 that a military force of
two hiindyed men was needed to restore order and compel

Weakness of Portuguese Rule in South A frica. 39 1

the lawbreakers to respeet tke rights of others, bat the reply
■was that they coaid not be sent, as there were no means of
meeting the expense. In 1675 a plan was devised in Lisbon
which it was hoped might meet the difficulty. This was to
send out orphan girls from charitable institutions, to give
them prazos as dowries, and upon their marrying Portuguese
to appoint their husbands to civil, judicial, and military
offices. The eldest daughter was to inherit the estate, upon
condition of marrying a Portuguese bom in Europe, and in
the same manner it was to descend to the next generation.
After the death of the third proprietress it was to revert to
the crown.

But this schema could only be carried out on a very
limited scale, and in places where the natives bad lost all
their former spirit. To acquire a prazo in the first instance
a man needed knowledge of Bantu habits, a strong will,
reckless daring, and power of governing others. He esta-
blished his right, and his heirs, if they were at all capable,
might succeed him. Certainly they never could command
such devotion as the ancient hereditary chiefs, because the
religious element of loyalty was w'anting in theii’ case, but
as those chiefs had been displaced, and as the government
of a strong man is willingly obeyed by the Bantu under
such circumstances, they could remain the beads of clans.
It was very different when a stranger, a woman too, was
appointed to rule over the people of a district. They would
not submit to such an innovation, and therefore the scheme
could not be applied in many instances.

The prazos went on increasing until there were no fewer
than eighty-flve of them. In other words, there were eighty-
five Bantu clans under Portuguese, Goanese, or half-breed
chiefs, almost constantly at strife with each other. Most of
them bad native headmen, or petty chiefs, serving under
them, through whom their orders were carried out. It was
the ancient feudal system of Europe transplanted in Africa,
but that system where the king was weakest and the barons
most turbulent. There was still a Monomotapa, a Tshikanga,

392 History of South Africa.

and a Kiteve, ruling over leuinants of once powerful tribes;
but the individuals who held these titles were little more
than puppets. They were generally regarded with distrust
and suspicion, and the slightest offence was sufficient pretext
for war against them. The power of the Portuguese in South
Africa had never been so great before, bitt the power of the
Portuguese government had never been so small.

In his report to the viceroy in 1667 Father Manuel
Barreto described Sena ^ containing thirty houses occupied
by Portuguese and many others] occupied by half-breeds. It
was the principal place in the country, as the factory to
which all the traders resorted was there, and its captain had
greater power than any of the others, because with him
rested decisions of peace and war. He was appointed by the
captain of Mozambique. Tete contained forty houses of
Portuguese and mixed breeds. Sofala was almost deserted,
and no friar was then residing there. Its trade in gold
was only five hundred pastas* a year, whereas nearly three
thousand pastas a year were obtained at other placBs and
exported through Kilimane. In the Monomotapa’s country
there Avere trading stations, Avith Portuguese captains, at
Dambarare, Ongwe, Lnanze, and Ohipiriviri, and a captain
with a considerable body of followers at the residence of the
chief, to keep that barbarian in check. The three captains
of Sena, Tete, and Sofala Avere still the only administrators
of justice in the country, but they could be tried by the
supreme court at Goa for pronouncing illegal sentences.

There were sixteen places of worship in the country. Of
these, six belonged to the Company of Jesus, one — at Sena —
was ministered to by a secular priest, and nine belonged to
the Dominicans, thoi^h they had then only six missionaries
in the field. The distribution of these places of worship was,

* The quantity contained in a pasta, or pasteboard case, is uncertain.
The word is also used to siginfy a thin plate' of metal, but evidently that
is not what is meant here. Probably gold was kept in oases of a particular
size; and the expression at the time would convey a dofiuite meaning to
those engaged in the trade,

’’ft

Weakness of Porhiguese Rule in South Africa. 393

nine in tlie lands occupied and ruled by Portuguese, two in
Manika, and five in the country of the Monomotapa.

Corruption must have been prevalent everywhere, for
Father Barreto states that even the ofQce of ecclesiastical
administrator at Mozambique was purchased with money. He
laid oppression also to the charge of the highest ofScer in
rank in East Africa. Trading privileges with the Bantu on
the mainland north of the Zambesi had been granted by the
king to the inhabitants of the island of Mozambique, in
order to encourage people to settle there, but the captain
had deprived them of their rights that he might secure the
profit for himself. They were obliged to purchase mer-
chandise from him at his own price, instead of importing it
from India, and in the same way they could sell to no one
but him.

Father Barreto was an enthusiast, who had day dreams of a
great Portuguese empire in Africa, stretching from the Bed
sea to the Cape of Good Hope. He does not seem to have
been £wvare that the Dutch bad formed a settlement in Table
Valley, or if he was, he ignored it as an obstacle to the
extension of Portuguese authority. He speaks of the
cruelty, rapacity, and lawlessness of the holders of the prazos
then in existence, and fears that the wrath of the Almighty
may be poured out on them for their sins. Yet he advises
that they should be employed in conquering their Bantu
neighbours, and that the system should be maintained until
not only the whole of the mainland south of Abyssima, but
the island of Madagascar as well, was parcelled out in this
manner. Then, indeed, there would bo an empire surpassing
the greatest in Asia. Then the natives could be compelled
to wear cotton clothing and to dig for gold, and commerce
would fiourish and boundless wealth flow into the treasury of
the king. As for mission work, it should be carried on with
tenfold vigour. Lvstead of an ecclesiastical administrator,
there should be an archbishop at Mozambique, with two or
three sufiragans and numerous zealous priests. Surely Cortes
and Pizarro were more moderate in their schemes of con-

394 History of Sotifh Africa.

quest with, slender resources than this Jesuit missionary at
Sena.

As regular troops could not be provided to defend the
oonntry, the government at Lisbon was doing all that was
in its power to promote colonisation. In 1665 an order was
issued that no settler should he allowed to remove without
special leave, and this was afterwards stringently enforced.
In 1671 the prince regent instructed the viceroy to throw
open the commerce of the Elvers to every one as soon as
the contract then existing with the captain of Mozambique
expired, principally with tho object of inducing individuals
to take up their residence in South-Eastern Africa, and in
the following year this order was repeated, March 1673 being
named as the date from which it was to have effect. It was
anticipated that the volume of trade would be greatly in-
creased by private competition, because the captains fixed
very high prices for selling and very low ones for buying,
so that there was little inducement to collect gold and ivory.
It was thought also that a larger sum would be realised from
customs duties, after all expenses were met, than was paid by
the. captain for the monopoly, and that tho administration
could be conducted in a more satisfactory manner.

The viceroy Luis de Mendonpa Eurtado, however, brought
forward many objections to unrestricted trade, and suggested
an alternative, which the prince regent left to his discretion
to carry out. Accordingly, in 1673 the commerce of South-
Eastern Africa was taken over by the state, to be canded on
for the benefit of tho royal treasury, and to be conducted
under the direction of a council at Goa by a board of six
members at Sena. It was about as clumsy and expensive a
scheme as could well be devised, and it was made still more
cumbersome by the conferring of extensive judicial power
upon the board at Sena, some of whose members w'sre
eCclesiaBtics. Under the new system all persons employed
received salaries, and the civil and military authority were
separated. An officer named J 0 S .0 de Sousa Ereire, with the
title .of. commander in chief, was appointed head of the

Weakness of Portuguese Rule in South Africa. 395

military branch of tha goveinment, with power to call out
the residents in the villages and the holders of prazos with
their retainers to perform service in war. One of his first
acts was to get ready a force to attack the Monomotapa if
the silver mines which were supposed to be known to that
chief were not delivered to the Portuguese.

The aspect of affairs along the whole coast was at this
time exceedingly gloomy. The weakness of the Portuguese
was so apparent that the Mohamedans took courage, and in
various places to the north attempted to recover their inde-
pendence. In 1670 they even attacked Mozambiq^ue, and
though they did not succeed in getting possession of Fort
SSo Sebastiao, they inspired great alarm everywhere. In
1673 Father Manuel de Grouvea, a member of the board of
commerce at Sena, wrote to the prince regent that without
five or six small armed vessels it would be impossible to
trade to the north; but they were not supplied through want
of means. Matters at length reached such a pass that the
viceroy ljuis de Mendonfa Furtado, finding his despatches
produced no effect, sent the Jesuit father Andr6 Furtado to
Lisbon to represent that all East Africa must be lost unless
a military and naval force to maintain Portuguese authority
could be provided. North of the Zambesi the sheik of Pate
and other petty rulers were in open rebellion, and south of
that river the confusion and disorder caused by the jealousies
and strife of the prazo holdera were so great that — as one of
the viceroy’s advisers wrote — obedience to the government
was regarded as a mere matter of courtesy.

The court at Lisbon was then compelled to make a
supreme effort. In April 1677 Dom Pedro d’Almeida was
appointed viceroy of India, and was directed to proceed to
Goa and take over the administration, but very shortly after-
wards to return to the rivers of Cuama to meet a force of
six hundred soldiers that would leave the Tagus in five
vessels in September. With these ships and men he was to
restore order in East Africa, punishing the sheik of Pate
first. During bis ab,9ence horn Goa the government there

39 ^ Hisiory of SoiUh Africa,

would be carried ou by a board acting with full power, so
that his whole time and thought might be devoted to the
duty speoially assigned to him. He was to remain two
years in Africa, and then place JoSo de fcjonBa Hreire at the
head of the local government and proceed again to Goa.
The board of administration there was directed to give him
all the assistance possible during his absence, though he was
to have no control over it. Dom Pedro carried out these
instraotions, and though he died before everything was
satisfactorily arranged, he managed to bring the petty sheiks
of the north to submission once more and to establish
comparative order south of the Zambesi.

The method of conducting trade on account of the govern-
mont proved a complete failure. The council at Goa com-
menced with debt, not only for goods purchased and vessels
chartered, but for the payment of thirty thousand xeraflns, or
nine million reis, to each of the prospective captains of
Mozambique in return for relinquisliing their rights. The
goods it purchased in India were often bad in quality and
unsuited to the requirements of the Bantu. The persons
employed as agents were careless and indifferent, the costs
were great, and the returns too small to meet the salaries
and other expenses. Under these circumstances in March
1680 the prince regent issued instructions that the affairs of
the council were to he wound up, and that the commerce of
the country south of the Zambesi was to be thrown open to
all his subjects in Europe, Asia, Brazil, and Africa, upon
payment of twenty per cent of the value of imports and
exports as customs duties. The existing debts were to be a
charge upon these duties.

When tliis order reached Goa a council of state was
convened, and every member voted for suspending it until
representations of the consequences could he made aud fresh
directions be given. But in February 1681 Francisco de
Tavora was appointed viceroy, and was instructed to throw
open the trade and to see that the Monomotapa was so
treated as to preserve his friendship.

Weakness of Portuguese Rule in South Africa. 397

In September 1681 the new viceroy reached Groa. Soon
afterwards ho laid his instructions before the council, when it
was decided that the prince regent’s orders, issued after full
deliberation and advice, must be carried out, no matter what
the consequences might be. In November, therefore, a pro-
clamation to that effect was issued, and the affairs of the
board of commerce were placed in the hands of liquidators.
Custom houses were speedily thereafter opened at the African
ports, and every one was free to buy and to sell whatever
he chose. In March 1682 Gaetano de Mello de Castro was
appointed governor and commander in chief of Mozambique
and the Rivers, the name by which the territory south of the
Zambesi and the Kilimane mouth was usually known. He
was allowed a salary of eight thousand cruzados a year.
With him were sent two or three hundred such soldiers as
could be raised, to enable him to defend Fort Sao SebastiSo
and maintain his authority elsewhere, and he was particularly
charged to see that the revenue was not defrauded by the
system nf unrestricted trade.

For a long time the government at Lisbon had been
endeavouring to induce Portuguese men and women to settle
in South Africa. In 1677 the troops that were sent out were
accompanied by a few artisans and labourers, and by eight
reclaimed women from a house of mercy, some of whom took
up their residence at Mozambique and others on the bank of
the Zambesi, After their arrival all trace of them is lost,
but they can only have prospered in such pursuits as the
former residents had followed. Nowhere in the world could
a European labourer have been more out of place than in
Portuguese South Africa, and as for mechanics, half a dozen
masons and carpenters would have been too many for all the
building that was to be done. There were in Goa a number
of Portuguese and Eurasians sunk in the lowest depths of
poverty, mere mendicants in fact, and it was under the
consideration of the government to remove them to Africa to
colonise the country. Common sense prevailed, however, and
this most injudicious scheme was not carried out. And now

39^ History of South Africa.

tlie samo goverumeut that cleBired tho increase of the
Eni’opeau population adopted n commercial system under
which the few white men in the villages and at the trading
stations must bo driven out.

Against all the advantages that are derivable from an
Asiatic possession, one tremendous disadvantage must be sot
down: that its inhabitants may become entitled to privileges
ruinous to their conquerors. In wliat remained of Portu-
guese Asia there were numerous mixed-breeds, and besides
these a large class of Indian traders, commonly termed
Oanarins or Banyans. These people are among the keenest
traffickers in the world, whether as merchants or as pedlars,
and no white man can compete with them, as it costs thorn
tho merest trifle to live. They add nothing to the strength
of a country, as they are wholly unfit to bear arms in war,
and they contribute little or nothing to its revenue beyond
what they pay in customs duties. They are the most
dangerous of all immigrants into a territory with a warm
climate, where equal rights when they are ooncerafbd can
only mean the speedy removal or ruin of the European.

As soon as the commerce of South-Eastern Africa was open,
the Oanarins began to talre part in it, and the inevitable
result quickly followed. Within six years no fewer than
seventeen Banyan houses of business — somo of oourso very
paltry establishments — were opened on tho island of Mozam-
bique alone, and the Portuguese trading community had
dwindled to fifteen individuals. Sena and Tote were
threatened with utter extinction as Portuguese villages, and
the outlying stations Avere rapidly being lost to white men.
The price' of gold too had been raised by competition until
there was no longer a fair profit to be gained on it.

The country was involved in other troubles as well. The
prazo holders were discontented and sullen, foreseeing the
loss of their means of acquiring wealth. Some of them had
been obliged by the government to surrender estates obtained
in an ^ improper manner, and all of them resented recent
legislation so -keenly that they no longer troubled themselves

Weakness of Poriugnese Rule in South Africa. 399

to search for gold, in consequence of -which the quantity-
obtained, was -much less than formerly. Their turbulent and
violent conduct was irritating the Mouomotapa, and war was
constantly expected. The customs dues collected were
insnfBoient to defray the charges of the administration, paltry
ns these were, and no means could be devised to increase the
revenue. It was indeed in contcmidation to collect ivory in
payment of overdue qnitrent, and to levy a yearly poll tax
of a matioal of gold upon every native, but a little reileotion
showed both these schemes to be impracticable. If the prazo
holder would not pay his qnitrent in tho normal manner he
would not pay it in ivory, and as for the poll tax, the
nath'-es would certainly flee from Portuguese jurisdiction
rather than submit to it.

King Pedro II took all these circumstances into considera-
tion, and on the 20th of March 1690 issued orders that free
trade in South-Eastern Africa was to cease at once. An
attempt was to be made to form a Company to carry it on,
and in Ifche mean time the royal treasury would undertake it.
These orders preserved the country for the Portuguese crown,
but the Banyans had got a hold upon the commerce which
could not be entirely destroyed until 1783, when they were
expelled from the country south of the Zambesi.

‘ Gaetano de Mello de Castro was succeeded as governor and
commander in chief by Dom Miguel d’ Almeida, whose term
of office expired in 1688. Thome de Sousa Correa, a very
diligent and upright man, followed, and to him was entrusted
the task of directing the commerce on behalf of the king.
This he did with such care and ability that it yielded a
considerable profit above all expenses, though the villages did
not fully regain their European inhabitants.

Several years elapsed before a Company could be formed
with sufficient capital to undertake the -trade. Some persons
in India first subscribed for a number of shares, and a pro-
visional charter was drawn up there, which was sent to
Lisbon and altered by the king in council, As finally
arranged, its principal clauses were: that any one in Portugal

400

History of South Africa.

or India could subscribe for shares; that the royal treasury
■was to take part in it to tbe value of the vessels then
engaged in the commerce and of the inorokandise on hand;
that every viceroy during his whole term of office should be
a shareholder to the extent of fifteen thousand xeraflns, which
sum was to be deducted from the first payment of his salary
and repaid to him when received in like manner from his
successor ; that the management of business should be
entrusted to a board of five directors to be selected in the
first instance by the viceroy from the largest shareholders,
and afterwards, as vacancies occurred, by the viceroy from a
double list of names presented to him by the remaining
directors; that the Company was to pay the same customs
duties as individual traders had paid; that it was to pay
yearly to the royal treasury fifty thousand cruzados towards
the coat of the naval defence of India, thirty thousand
cruzados, being the amount formerly paid by the captains of
Mozambique for a monopoly of trade south of the Zambesi,
and three thousand cruzados, being the amount formerly paid
by the some official for a monopoly of the trade of the islands
of Angosha ; that the Company was to have an absolute
monopoly of all the trade from Mombasa to Cape Correntes ;
that it should be entirely commercial in its character and
not interfere with the different governments; and that the
charter was to hold good for twelve years, with three years
notice thereafter before it could be cancelled.

The chartered Company thus formed came into existence in
1697, but the amount of capital subscribed was too small to
enable it to carry on the commerce of South-Eastern Africa
sueoessfnlly, and the obligations imposed were too heavy for
it to bear, so after a feeble attempt during tbe next three
years to maintain itself, in 1700 it was dissolved, and the
trade was again nndertalsen by the royal treasury. Just at
this- time expectations of ^eat wealth, derived from reports of
ihe, richness of the pearl fisheries and from specimens of ore
jejtiS to Lisbon, were cherished by tbe king and his court, so
thafe'the failure of the Company and the reversion of the trade

Weakness of Portuguese Rule in South Africa. 401

to tho treasury were not regretted. King Pedro indeed be-
lieyed for a while that the Rim's were the most valuable
oversea possession in his dominions. In this strain he, the
lord of Brazil, which had then already begun to pour its
wealth into the mother country, wrote of them, regretting
only his want of means to develop their immense resources at
once; but, as on so many occasions before, high hopes regard-
ing South African treasures were doomed to end in bitter
disappointment.

The disturbed condition of the country was unfavourable to
the progress of mission work, though the decadence of tho
ruling Bantu families made the conversion of tho people more
easy than before. The Jesuits were strong in Mozambique,
where they had a large convent, and where they were often
called upon to aid the government with advice in political
and commercial matters. At one time even the superinten-
dence of the repairs of the fortress was entrusted to them by
the king, who believed that they would be more likely to see
the work carried out properly than the civil or military offi-
cials. At Sena they had an establishment, and here also their
services were requisitioned by the government for many pur-
poses unconnected with religion. They were the most refined
and most highly educated men of the day, so that they were
naturally regarded as the most competent to give advice in
all matters. Their reports are the clearest, best written, and
far the most interesting documents now in existence upon the
country. Compared with the ordinary state papers, they are
as polished marble to unhewn stone.

In 1697 the Jesuits established a seminary at Sena for the
education of the children of the Portuguese in tho country
and the sons of native chiefs. This institution was aided by
the state, and wealthy traders and prazo holders contributed
largely to its support. At Tete they had also a mission, and
further several stations along the river where they were
favoured by prazo holders, and could thus remain notwith-
standing tlie claim of the Dominicans to that territory as the
sphere of labour assigned to them by royal order. Though

402

History of South Africa.

the Jesuits were so active, they reported at. a later date that
their worlc among the Jlaivtu at those places was almost fruit-
less. They had no diffteulty in indnoiug people to call them-
selves Christians, hut they could not persuade them to change
their mode of living', to abandon polygamy, or to observe the
ordinances of the church.

The order of Saint John of God had not yet sent any of

its members to the Bivors, though in 1681 tlio hospital at

Mozambique was entrusted to its care. This order was

founded purposely to attend upon the sick, and its members
wore trained as hospital nurses are now. Previous to this
date the sick sailors and soldiers at Mozambique had no
other attendants than slaves, who acted under direction of
the surgeons; hut henceforward they vrero tenderly looked
after. Nearly half a century later a shipwrecked Dutch
traveller, named Jacob de Bncqnoi, who was for several weeks
an inmate of this hospital, wrote of it in terms of unbounded
admiration. He said that no one, however rich, conld he

oared for and tended better than the sick wore there,* without
any exception, whether they were Portugxiese or strangers.

The Dominican convent at Mozambique was still the prin-
cipal station of that order in South-Eastern Africa, but the
country south of the Zambesi was the field in which most of
its missionaries laboured. Not long after the baptism of the
Monomotapa Domingos their zeal began to flag. In the time
of their prosperity, as is often the case with men in other
pursuits, the friars did not display the great qualities which
characterised them daring the period of trial. Some of them
fell into habits of indolence, and others into a spirit of in-
difference, Clearly the introduction of foreign blood and the
condition of the mother country were producing their natural
effects. The ecclesiastical administrator at Mozambique,
though he had not the same control over members of reli-
gious associations as over secular priests, threatened to intro-
duce some other order, and actually proceeded to Goa with
‘ object. There, however, he was induced by the Pro-
vrocii^- of the Pominioans to desist from his purpose, on

Weakness of Portuptese Rule in South Africa. 403

condition tliat a commissary and visitor should be sent at
once to the country south of the Zambesi, and that some
active missionaries should accompany him.

Friar Francisco da Trindade was appointed commissaiy, and
brought five associates with him. One of these, the father
Joao de SKo Thomd, he stationed at Sofala, another, the
father Damaso de Santa Rosa, he stationed with the Mono-
motapa, the third, the father Diogo de Santa Rosa, he
direotod to renew the work that had been abandoned at
Masapa, the fourth, the father Jorge do Sao Thome, he
directed to do the same at Ongwe, and the fifth, the father
Miguel dos Archanjos, he sent to the Kiteve country to
establish a mission. The commissary was a man of great
activity, and during the time that he had the oversight of
the mission everything went on well. Ho resided first at
Sena, and made himself master of the Bantu dialect spoken
there, in which he prepared a catechism and another reli-
gious hook termed a oonfessionario. He then proceeded to
Tete, studied the dialect used by the clans in that part of
the country, and translated his catechism into it. One of the
sons of the Monomotapa came under his influence, and was
baptized and trained by him. This youth was afterwards
sent to Goa, where he entered the Dominican order, and
became known as the friar Constantino do Rosario. In the
next chapter it will be necessary to make a better acquaintance
with him.

This period of activity, however, did not last long. There
were energetic men of the Dominican order in South Africa
at the close of the seventeenth century, hut the spirit of
languor in which Portugal and her foreign possessions were
steeped embraced the great body of the friars also. Further
many of them were Asiatics and Eurasians, and a few were
Africans not half weaned from another creed, all quite unfit
to carry on mission work unless under the close supervision
of white men. Under these circumstances, though baptisms
were numerous real converts were few. In the interminable
fends of the country statioia were often destroyed, as Ongwe

2 G

404 History of South Africa,

and Damboiare— tlie latter the principal gold market at the
time — were in 1692. In 1696 Sol'ala was attacked by a
powerful clan, which, was repxilsed, but a largo portion of the
back country was closed to Europeans during the next thirty*
three years, and the station at the Kiteve’s kraal had to be
abandoned. Without protection, without homos — much less
church buildings, — the missionaries could have done wery
little except in the villages even if their zeal had not passed
away.

It is impossible to ascertain how far westward missionaries
had penetrated the country by this time, because they had no
means of determining longitudes, and no descriptions of their
travels are extant from which their routes can be traced. As
they could not erect substantial buildings there are no ruins
to mark the limits of their wanderings, and the old names of
the places where they laboured are known no more. On the
actual hank of the Zambesi they had reached a point as far
west as the present station of Zumbo, but it is exceedingly
improbable that they had got farther. About seventy miles
north-east of Buluwayo, in some ruins called by the present
natives Umtungala ka Mamho, which date from a time far
earlier than the appearance of the Portuguese in South
Africa, a few years ago a seal was found bearing the name
Beraabe de Ataide encircling the symbol I H S, but it Is
(juite as likely to have been carried there as an ornament or
charm by some native as to have been lost there by tlie mis-
sionary who once owned it. Neither the Dominicans nor the
Jesnits until our own times ever explored the conntry farther
than they did during the seventeenth century.

At this period and later when dealing with the Portuguese
in South Africa one is never certain whether he is recounting
the deeds of Caucasians, of Asiatics, of Africans, or of mixed
breeds, unless he can trace their origin, which is not always
possible. An individual with the name of a European grandee
was as likely as not to be a negro or' a half-caste from G-oa.
Who,, for instance, would recognise a son of the Kiteve under
the name Dom Antonio Lanparote, who in 1681 applied t

Weakness of Porhiguese Rule in South Africa. 40 ^

the king ^or permission to remove from Goa to Africa? If
deeds performed are worthy of mention they should bo re-
lated, but it would be more satisfactory if the nationality of
the actors could be stated as well.

Since the accession of the house of Braganjsa to the throne
of Portugal the closest friendshij) with England had existed,
still English ships were causing much trouble and anxiety to
the authorities on the eastern coast of Africa, though the
British government was in no way responsible for what was
being done by them. Some of these ships were avowedly
pirates, similar to those that infested West Indian waters,
that plundered and scuttled vessels under every flag but their
own. Their crews were composed of ruffians of every mari-
time nation, though the vessels were British built, and all
the names of the officers that are known are English.
Delagoa Bay and the ports on the coast of Madagascar
afforded them convenient places for repairing, provisioning,
and otherwise fitting out for cruises in search of booty.
These pirates were for many years a cause of terror to navi-
gators in the eastern seas, tWigh they only murdered the
crews of their prizes when they were apprehensive of danger
to themselves should their prisoners Hve. Sometimes a ship
left India, and was not heard of again for years. Such was
the fate of the JVbssa Smhora da Ajuda, which was captured
by two pirates off the African coast, when all on board were
put to death except one Malay boy who was kept as a slave.
In 1682 these same pirates put iuto Mozambique, where one
of them was wrecked, and the Malay gave information of the
destruction of the Indiaman and also of a vessel bound from
that island to Brazil with, slaves, which had afterwards been
captured. Port Sao Sebastiilo was at the time provided with
a fairly strong garrison, so the rovers were seized and sent to
Goa for trial.

Another class was composed of ships that visited the coast
for trading purposes in defiance of the English East India
Company, They were either not provided with olearaaoe
papers from any English port, or they had papers giving

2 G 2

4 o 6 History of South Africct.

some destination beyond the limits assigned in the Uast
India Company’s cliartov, so that in oacli case they were
liable to be seized wherever there was sirfficient force to
capture them. Except at Mozambique no such force existed
on the south-eastern coast of A.frica or on the shores of
Madagascar, wiiioh they therefore frequented. It had been
the custom for nearly a century and a half to send a pangayo
occasionally from Mozambique to Inhambane and Delagoa
Bay to barter ivory from the natives, and in 1685 one left
for that purpose. Upon her return, Domingos Lourenpo, her
master, reported that at Delagoa Bay he had found five
English trading vessels provided with merchandise of a better
quality than his, and that they had bought all the ivory and
ambergris in the surrounding country.

On the 6th of August 1686 the governor of Mozambique,
Dom Miguel d’ Almeida, and his council met to consider this
matter. The council consisted of the lieutenant-general
I’rancisco d’ Aviles Ramires, the castellan Paschoal d’Abreu
Sarmento e Moraes, the factor JoSo Machado Sacerto, the
rector of the Jesuit college Eather Manuel Ereire, the vicar
of the parish church Father Domingos Dias Bibeiro, and the
superior of the Dominican convent Friar. Jolto da Magda-
lena. The governor and council unanimously resolved not to
send a pangayo to Delagoa Bay that year, because most pro*-
bably English ships would continue to frequent that port and
she might be robbed or insulted by them, and further because
there would be little or nothing to obtain in barter, as that
part of the country had been thoroughly cleared of its
marketable produce.

This resolution was communicated to Dom Bodrigo da
Oosta, governor-general of India, who overruled it, and gave
direotiofas that a pangayo should be sent to the bay again,
even at a pecuniary loss, in order that the English might
n,ot -take .possession of it under the pretext that it was neg-
lected by the Portuguese. Our countrymen continued to
. trade there, and from an account given by one of them,
Robert Everafd by name, it is seen that they set about their

Weakness of Portuguese Rule in South Africa. 407

business witb oharacteristio energy. Everard was in Delagoa
Bay in 1687, in the ship Bmden. They had materials ready
on board, and put together a small vessel, which was sent
up and down the coast to trade for ivory. At the bay itself
they obtained only two tons until some chiefs went on board,
whom they put in irons and detained until more was brought
for sale. One day a small boat arrived with three English-
men in her, w'ho had formed part of the crew of a trading
vessel lihe the one they had put together. This vessel had
been wrecked on the coast, and the boat’s crew had suffered
greatly from hunger before they reached the bay, for when
they went ashore to try to get food the natives robbed them
of their clothing and would give them nothing to eat. The
Bauden lay there at anchor three months, and then sailed for
Madagascar.

In 1688 Delagoa Bay was visited and roughly surveyed by
the Dutch galiot Noord. An English trading vessel was
lying there at the time, and also a Portuguese pangayo from
Mozambique. The English had put up a tent for trading
purposes on one of the islands, and the Portuguese had con-
structed a temporary lodge for the same purpose near the
mouth of the Manisa river. So matters continued until the
end of the century, vessels of both nations frequenting
•the bay ; but then the Portuguese abandoned it for many
years-. Their pangayo was seized wheu at anchor by a pirate
ship that sailed in under Erenoh colours, and was plundered
and destroyed, though most of her crew managed to escape
to the shore. Then the effort to carry on a profitless and
dangerous trade was given up, and the next century was far
advanced before the Portuguese flag was again seen anywhere
on the mainland south of Inhambane.

4o8

History of South Africa.

CHAPTER XYIII.

EVENTS DTTMNG THE BIGnTEENTH OENTUEY.

Dtjeing the eighteenth century the history of Portugal
presents hardly any subject of interest except the close com-
mercial connection of the country with Great Britain, the
growth of Brazil, and the extraordinary vigour of the
celebrated minister Sebastifto Jose de Carvalho e Mello,
better known in his later life as marquis of Pombal. X^iog
Pedro II died on the 9tb. of December 1706, and was
succeeded by his son JoRo Y, a monarch of no importance,
who reigned forty-four years. On his death in 17S0 the
throne was ascended by hia son Job4 I. He chose as his
prime minister the man whose commanding intellect and
utter fearlessness made the country for a brief space a power-
ful factor in the affairs of Europe, and whose enmity to the
Jesuits has given him a world-wide reputation. The marquis-
of Pombal, however, regarded Portuguese India and Eastern *
Africa as of so little value that he did nothing to raise thoso
dependencies from their state of depression, and it is there-
fore unnecessary to relate his actions here. Upon the death
of Josd I, 24th of February 1777, and the fall of the great
minister from power immediately afterwards, Portugal at once
sank again into her former obscurity. The king, having
left no son, was succeeded by his daughter Maria Franoisca,
who was married to her uncle, her father’s younger brother,
and he was crowned with her as Pedro III. Both of them
were of weak mind, and after her husband’s death Queen
Maria Franoisca became so imbecile that it was necessary
for her son Dom JoSo to carry on the government some

Events during the Eighteenth Century. 409

years before 1799, wlien he assumed the title of regent. In
Ifovember 1807 he with his family and his elemented mother
abandoned Portugal and sailed for Brazil in an English man-
of'war, just before the entry of the Erench army under
Marshal Junot into Lisbon. Such being the condition of the
government at home, progress in a distant dependency with
no special advantages was out of the q[uo8tion.

It may be asserted indeed that from the beginning of the
eighteenth century until our own times the Portuguese power
in South Africa was almost as unsubstantial as a shadow, and
that it continued to exist at all was due to the breaking up
of the large Bantu tribes and the perpetual wars in which
the petty seotions were thereafter involved, when the aid of
a few Europeans was usually sufficient to turn the scale of
victory in favour of any chief whose cause they espoused.
Sometimes, however, Portuguese prazo holders were defeated
and driven from their estates, which were afterwards occupied
by independont Bantu chiefs. These men were generally so
jealouji of each other that union for common defence, except
under extraordinary circumstances, was next to impossible.
The country thus presented politically as continual a change
as the colours and forms in a kaleidoscope, and if it were
possible to do so, it would be as useful to describe in minute
detail the varying appearances of the one as of the other.
A few instances may be given as specimens of the whole,
and a single short chapter will afford ample space for a
recital of aU that is worth knowing of the transactions of
the Portuguese in South Africa during the eighteenth
century.

In 1701 Sena and Tete narrowly escaped destruction in a
general rising of the Bantu caused by the oppressive conduct
of the commander in chief Jos6 da Fonseca Coutinho. Be
had attacked the most powerful native chief in his neigh-
bourhood, defeated him and put him to death, and then
elevated his brother to the vacant place. Having been so
far successful, ho proceeded to conduct himself in such a
highhanded manner that his own people rose in revolt. Fifty

410 History of South Africa,

soliliors weve sent from Mommbiqno to the E-ivovs^to support
tlie king's authority, hut the iusurreetimi sproail. In 1708
the captain Antonio Siinijoa Leitllo was killed in battle. His
successor Eafaol Alvares da Silva inanagod, however, more
by concession than by force, to arrange terms of peace. This
was hardly effected when a ditBculty arose between the
captain of Tete and the chief of Inyabanzo, who was nomin-
ally a vassal of the Portuguese government. In 1710 the
chief overran the whole of the prazos connected with Tete,
added them to his own domain, and left the white men the
village only.

In 1717 a jprazo holder named Pedro Carvalho openly
rebelled, and many others refused to pay their qnitrents.
Some were at war with others, just as if they had been
Bantu chiefs. One of the most powerful among them, named
Manuel Gonsalves Guiao, pu^ued his opponent into Sena,
where ho not only caused a groat many negroes to be killed,
but destroyed and burned much property. He oven
attempted to prevent the newly appointed captain, wlio
arrived while he was there, from entering upon his duty.
The government was so powerless that it did not so much
os endeavour to punish this rufBan, but tried instead to con-
ciliate him, and actually held out inducements of rank and
office if he would conduct himself as a dutiful subject.

In 1722, in return for assistance against his enemy, a
chief named Masisa affixed bis mark to a document ceding a
tract of. land about sixty-five miles in length along the coast
opposite the Bazaruta islands.

In 1735 a trader at Sofala, named Joao Pires, went into
the interior with a party of slaves carrying goods for barter.
On bis way he met a son of the Kiteve with a band of
warriors marching towards the territory of a chief with whom
they were at wav, and through whose lands Pires wished to
pass. ,Tbe young chief stopped him, and showed such enmity
that the slaves fled through, fear, when Pires was murdered
and hds goods were seized. As soon as his widow heard of
this,' with the consent of the captain of Sofala she raised an

Events (hiring the Eighteenth Centwy. 41 1

army and made war upon the Kitevo. After conquering
several of his sub-chiefs she directed . her march towards his
groat place, but he became terrified, and to appease her sent
her the head of her husband’s murderer and offered to cede
a valuable district named Chironde to her. She accepted the
offer, peace was made, and tiro district remained Portuguese
territory for more than a century afterwards

In 1753 the Portuguese of Mozambique were defeated in
an engagement with a native tribe on the mainland, when
about half of the whole military force they could muster
perished. This prevented them for several years from assist-
ing their countrymen south of the Zambesi, and in conse-
quence many prazos w'ere lost in the interminable feuds of
tliat period.

In 1760 a chief named Beve, irf return for assistance in a
war with Ms neighbour, ceded a Jfirge tract near Tete, which
had been possessed once before, 'but had been lost. It was
partitioned out again as prazos.

In 1714 tlie country of the Kiteve was overrun by a hordo
from the interior, and the only Portuguese trading station
in it except Sofala was destroyed.

In the early years of the century by express order ol the
king an effort was made to support the Monomotapa, and a
Dominican friar with a captain and twenty-four soldiers as a
bodyguard accompanied him wherever be went. He was now
always of necessity a nominal Christian, for the Portuguese
would not acknowledge the right of any one to fill tho ofSce
unless he had been baptized, and without their assistance he
was helpless. The name of the man who held the position
at this time was Pedro. But little more than the title
remained to him, for the old tribe was broken into frag-
ments, each absolutely independent of the others. The
succession had of late been nearly always disputed, and the
majority of those who claimed to be the heirs had met
violent deaths. A clan under a chief named Tshangamira
was much more powerful than the one that remained to the
Monomotapa. In a war between them a considerable number

412 History of South Africa.

of Portuguese were made prisoncvH by Tshiingtiniira, and they
were kept under guard for several years, until they were
finally ransomed by the eeclosiastioal administrator of
Mozambique.

Under such cireunistancea it might reasonably be thought
that a cession by the Monomotapa of territory at a distance
from his own kraal would not have been regarded as of much
value. Yet the court at Lisbon attached considerable import-
ance to a grant of silver mines made by the Monomotapa
Pedro, and desired to have it confirmed by his son the friar
Constantino do Bosario, who was resident in India. Friar
Constantino had not conducted himself to the satisfaction of
the vicar general of his order, and in consequence had been
deprived of his habit and banished to Macao, but in 1709
by the king’s instructions had been brought back to Goa
and taken again into his convent, where the viceroy was
directed to see that he was treated with every courtesy. In
1711 Pedro died, leaving no othor son than Constantino}
and a brother of the deceased chief, termed by the Portu-
guese Dorn J'oao, took possession of the vacant place.
Thereupon the mother of the friar sent him word of what
had happened, and desired him to return and . claim . his
inheritance.

The king was of opinion that if Constantino was made
Monomotapa, great advantages would accrue to the Portu-
guese, as he had so long been accustomed to live as a
European that his fidelity could be depended upon, and the
silver mines, wherever they were, would be secured. He
therefore directed the friar Francisco da Triadade, who was
then in Lisbon, to proceed to Goa in the first ship that
sailed for that port, and to conduct his former pupil from
the convent of our Lady of the Bosary to Sena, where the
Portuguese were to receive him as the legitimate chief. He
was to he treated with such kindness and coTirtesy as to call
forth his lasting gratitude. Constantino, however, had no
desire to place himself in Buch a difficult and dangerous
position as that hs was invited to strive for, and in 1713 he

Events during the Eighteenth Century. 413

wrote to the long that he was a professed friar of the
Dominican order and had abandoned all hopes of worldly
advancement. So ho remained at G-oa, and the prospect of
acquiring silver mines through his agency had to be given
up. The king made him an allowance of two hundred
xerafins a year from the royal ti-easury for his maintenance,
and orders were issued that he was to be treated with all
possible i-espect.

Six yoars later Friar Constantino do Eosario appears again
in the records of India. He had misconducted himself once
more in such a way as to incur the displeasure of the vicar
general, and had been threatened with imprisonment. There-
upon, on the 21st of April 1720, the king issued instructions
that he was to be sent to Lisbon, without being permitted
to land at Mozambique on the way.

The system of can'ying on trade, though avowedly for the
benefit of the royal treasury, did not prevent private indivi-
duals from engaging in it. Such persons frequently obtained
licenses from the council of commerce at Goa either to traffic at
a particular place or in a particular article, naturally on paying
for the privilege as much as or more than could be gained
by the council’s selling and buying through its own agents.
But fraudulent practices were so common tliat a large portion
0 ^ the commerce of South-Eastern Africa did not pass through
the legitimate channel at all. The governor of Mozambique
himself and even some of the members of the council were
engaged in traffic on their own account, and if these men,
the guardians of the king’s interests, were corrupt, what could
be expected of theii' subordinates? The ivory sold in India
far exceeded in quantity that which passed through the
custom houses, yet the viceroy could devise no other remedy
than the sale of a monopoly again. In 1720 he made a con-
tract for the trade with Dom Francisco Alarpao Sotomayor,
the newly appointed governor of Mozambique, but the king
disapproved of it, and it was cancelled.

By the Portuguese court the retention of the commerce of
South-Eastern Africa was not regarded alone as a question

41 + History of Sonih Africa.

of pro^t, though that waa a weighty eousitlevatiou, but as a
question of national honour. It was all that was left to them
of the vast trade of the East that had once been theirs.
The English and the Dutch had doprivod them of all share
of tho commerce of Asia, to such an extent indeed that at
Groa itself they had to purchase Indian wares from one or
the other of these. Eastern Africa alone remained, and they
clung to it, though their grasp was feeble. In 1700 Mombasa
was wrested from them. In 1726 it was recovered, but four
years later the blacks rose in insurrection against Alvaro
Oaetano de Mello e Oastro, the last of the Portuguese cap-
tains, and drove him away. A littlo later the Arabs acquired
the sti'onghold. Peeling its helplessness, the government at
Lisbon then withdrew its representatives from Zanzibar and
Pate, to prevent their forcible expulsion, and thereafter con-
fined its claims to Pemba and the coast below Capo Delgado.

Prom this seaboard they were threatened to bo driven by
other nations who coveted what littlo trade was to bo carried
on there. In 1721 it waa brought to the notice of tho king
that the English East India Company had resolved to form
an establishment at Delagoa Bay, but upon representations of
the rights of Portugal being made to His Britannic Majesty,
the design was abandoned.

In the preceding year the Dutch East India Company,
incited by a report of the existence of valuable gold mines
in the neigbboui'hood of the bay, resolved to take possession
of the place, and fitted out an expedition in Holland for
that purpose. In March 1721 this expedition arrived, and
finding no representative of Portugal, nor even any trace of
visits previously made by Portuguese except an aged runaway
slave and some ruins of a temporary trading station on one
of the islands, proceeded to select a site for a fort and a
factory. The place chosen was on the northern bank of the
Bspirito Santo, where recently the town of Lonrenpo Marques
has been built. The Dutch were thus the first Europeans to
attempt to establish themselves permanently on th§ shores of
D&lagoa Bay, and their fort wa? the fimt structure of the

Events dtt.ring the Eighteenth Century. 415

kind erected there. Though on the 12th of April 1723 the
king wrote to the yieeroy that it was rumoured the Dutch
had established themselves in a port on the coast, which
might be that of Lourenjso Marques, and that he had resolved
to send a frigate to compel them to withdraw, the position
was retained by them, without the slightest interference or
remonstrance from the Portuguese, until December 1730,
when it was abandoned, owing to its unhealthiness and the
lack of material for profitable trade.*

The country around the bay was thoroughly explored by
them, and the various rivers were examined as far as they
could be ascended by boats. It was ascertained that native
traders travelled overland from Inhambane with goods pur-
chased from the Portuguese, and that ivory obtained in
exchange was carried back by them. Among other articles
brought to the fort for sale were copper and tin in small
quantities, and it was believed that the natives had learned
to mix these metals and to make bronze arm and neck
rings, «In April 1722 three pirate ships plundered the fort,
and early in 1723 some English vessels visited the bay, but
no Portuguese appeared there at any time during the Dutch
occupation.

Corruption was everywhere so prevalent in Eastern Africa
that the orders of the king or the viceroy were disregarded
by the officials when they stood in the way of making money.
The very powder sent for defence was misappropriated by the
men who were entrusted with its care. The inhabitants of
Mozambique did not hesitate to trade with foreigners, and
when the king issued instructions to enforce the law most
strictly, it was found impossible to do anything in the
matter because the whole of the officials were involved in the
guilt. In 1726 a French frigate was allowed to take sound-
ings and survey the harbour of Mozambique, and the

* A full account of tUa occupation by the Dutch of the fort on the
western shore of Delagoa Bay is given in the flrfet volnmo of my Sivtmy
qf South JJHoai under the adminittration of the Butch East Jeidia Obm-
pmy. The station was a dependency of the Oape Colony.

4 i 6 History of South Africa,

governor, Antonio JoJto ilo Siqueira, gnvo her Officers free
access to Fort SJto Sebastifto, entertained them, and received
entertainment from them on board their ship in retiirn. li'or
this he was ordered to bo ai’reatcd and tried at Goa, and the
instmctions to the viceroy to do everything possible to keep
foreigners away from the coast were repeated by the king.
They had utterly destroyed the oommerco of India, he said,
and that of Africa must by some means be retained. But as
merchandise could he purchased at a cheap rate from the
French and the English, who would also pay well for ivory
and slaves, matters went on as before. In 1747 the governor
of Mozambique was ascertained to have sold a number of
slaves to a French ship, and not only so, but to have entered
into a contract with her captain to supply him with many
more in the following year and to have received a consider-
able sum of money in advance. The commerce of the coast
north of Mozambique was at this time entirely in French
hands.

The council that had the management of the African trade
had conducted it in such a manner that by the year 1784 it
was two hundred thousand cruzados in debt, and was then
borrowing money at the rate of thirty per cent yearly , interest,
to meet its moat pressing needs. This oould! not continue,,
and in 1789, when some of its members were found guilty of^
peculation, it was abolished, and the traffic was undertaken
directly by the treasury, just as in the eaidy years of the
sixteenth century. This system, however, lasted only until
the 29th of March 1755, when a royal decree was issued,
reserving the traffic in beads as a monopoly of the treasury
and throwing open aU other trade to any one who chose to
engage in it. Thereafter the principal officials carried it on
almost exclusively, taking care to manage things in such a
way that private individuals could not compete with them.

. From this time forward the character of the commerce of
South-Eastern AMoa underwent a gradual change. Constant
wars almost' destroyed the collection of gold and ivory, and
instead of these articles slaves were exported in ever inoreas-

Events during the Eighteenth Century. 417

ing nuBibers. The prazos at a distance from tlie Zambesi
were Buccessively wrested from their European holders, and
reverted to the condition of pure Bantu territory, so that it
was no longer an object for a Portuguese resident in the
country to have a large personal following. A few slaves for
domestic service were all that he needed, and so whole hordes
of the unhappy creatures were sold to strangers or to be con-
veyed to the plantations of Brazil. At the close of the
eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century this
odious traffic was at its height, and our own countrymen were
not the least busy of those who were taking in shiploads of
negroes from the barraooons at Kilimane and Luabo.

On the 19th of July 1727 a little vessel named the Victoria
was sent from the Dutch factory in Delagoa Bay to Inham-
bane to ascertain if any trade could be done there. Upon
her arrival no Portuguese were found, but there was evidence
that they were in the habit of frequenting that port, for
there was a church standing near the river bank, besides a
large house built of reeds and some empty huts. About forty
Mohamedans were living there, who stated that they were
collecting ivory and slaves in expectation of the arrival of a
pangayo from Mozambique, The Dutch were able to pur-
chase twenty-four slaves, ninety-eight pounds of ivory, two
ounces of ambergris, and thirty-eight pounds of wax, and were
about to leave when a pangayo, under command of Captain
Bernardo de Castro Soares, made her appearance. There was
an exchange of civilities between the two vessels, but nothing
more. The Victoria reached Delagoa Bay again on the 13th
of November with many of her crew down with fever.

In April 1728 she was sent once more to lahambane to try
to open up n trade. Upon hex arrival she found the same
pangayo at anchor that had been there the previous year, and
her captain living in a palisaded enclosure on shore. He at
once sent a protest against the Dutch trading in Portuguese
territory. The Dutch officers thereupon sought an interview
with him, and represented that as the Portuguese had no fort
or other symbol of possession of any kind at the place they

4 i 8 History of Sottih Africa.

regarded tlieir right to trado as equal to his. "Ho replied
that hia right was based on discovery by his nation, and on
the Portuguese, and they alone, having traded there in the
past. The Dutch officers responded that if he would show
them clear proofs of Portuguese possession they would leave,
aa they wished to act in a friendly manner only. He then
said that he had done his duty by protesting, and could not
prevent them from trafficking with the natives. Sixteen men
had deserted from the fort at Delagoa Bay some time before.
Upon enquiring concerning them the Dutch officers were
informed that thirteen of them had reached Inhambane, and
that the captain had provided them with some merchandise
to buy food and sent them on to Sofala to get rid of them.
After this the two parties were outwardly on very friendly
terms, and the Dutch had obtained forty-two slaves, six
hundred and seventy-three pounds of ivory, five ounces of
ambergris, and fifty pounds of wax, when one day they found
that no native would come near them. The reason was that
a Portuguese officer with a large band of armed blades had
arrived from Sofala, and was executing dire vengeance upon
all who had been dealing with them. They returned therefore
at once to Delagoa Bay,

The -Dutch, however, were persistent in their efforts to
secure a share at least of the commerce of South-Eastern''
Africa, and on the 14th of September 1731 two little vessels
named the Snuffelaar and the Zeepost left Table Bay on another
venture. The Snuffelaar arrived at Inhambane on the 11th
of October, and found that a palisaded fort in the form of a
square had been built there in the preceding year, and was
then occupied by a few soldiers under the command of
Captain Joao da Fonseca Moniz. The captain received the
Dutch officers most civilly, and informed them that as they
were of a friendly nation they would be supplied with as
much water, fuel, aud refreshments as they were in need of,
hut that he could not permit them to carry on any trade.

. The place, he said, yielded very little profit, and the estab-
■ lishment was maintained principally as evidence of the rights

]£ vents during the Eightee^ith Century. 419

of the king. Upon being questioned as to bow far tbose
rights extended, be replied from Delagoa Bay to Cape G-nard-
afui. A priest was present daring the conversation. There
was no Portuguese vessel in the river at the time, but on
the 14tb of October one well armed arrived. The SnuffelcLan'
sailed on the 23rd, without having done any trade whatever,
but at Delagoa Bay, where the Zeepoat was rejoined, twenty-
two slaves, thirteen hundred and seventy-six pounds of ivory,
and two hundred and thirteen pounds of tin were obtained.
From this date onward Inhambane h^ been permanently
occupied by the Portuguese, and no European power has
molested them there.

A description of the place in 1771 given by some wrecked
Dutch seamen who were hospitably treated at the fort shows
that the garrison consisted of a captain and thirty-six
soldiers, and that eight or ten private individuals were
residing at the place in httts little better than those of the
natives. They were all convicts banished to Inhambane
either "for life or for a term of years, iind were occupied in
collecting ivory, which was sent to Mozambique in n vessel
that came for it once a year.®

In 1763 municipal government was introduced into the
little settlements. A delegate of the governor went round,
■^d with as much ceremony as possible inaugurated the new
system. At Mozambique, Kilimane, and Zumbo, north of
the Zambesi, and at Tete, Sena, Sofala, and Inhambane,
south of that river, a magisti'ate, a prosecutor who was also
treasurer, a secretary, and three aldermen were elected. But
in most of these places municipal institutions were mere
names. There was not a sutBcient number of people com-
petent to flU the offices, much less an adequate body of
electors. There was no revenue, nor any means of raising
one. The only purpose served was to make a shoAV on paper,

* I?or the journey of the wreoked men see pamphlet No, 2 of Bdtmgrijke
HistoriKhe Dokumenten published by me for the Capo govemioeut in Cape-
town in 1896. The account of the survey of Delagoa Bay in 1888 is iu the
same pamphlet,

2 «

420

History of Soni/i Africa.

for no object of utility coubl bo giiinert by siuiu parodies of
Em’opetui town governmouta.

The Mohamecian population of tho Portuguese stations had
always been treated with harshness. These people had in
general sunk into a servile state, and were not formidable
either in spirit or in number. They still carried on some of
the retail trade among the Bantu, they furnished crews for
the pangayos and luzios employed on the coast, and
performed other services that required more skill than that
of pure negroes. In 1727 the viceroy JoJto de Saldanha da
Gama decreed that they must sell to Christians all slaves
brought by them from the interior within six months after
reaching the coast, in 1728 he prohibited them from buying
baptized slaves, and in 1730 he issued a final order that they
could only hold slaves whose fathers and gi-andfathors had
been Mohamedans, or heathen slaves if they caused them to
become Christians and did not attempt to pervert them, hut
they were not to sell slaves except to Christiana nor to take
them to any country not under Portuguese dominion? Care
was taken to prevent them from making converts to thoir
creed among the free Bantu. And at length, fsoBx fear that
they, might assist their co-religionists in case of an attaqk-. by
the IVtohamedans of the north, it was resolved to expel them
altogether. In 1765 they were driven from Sofala, and-
between that year and 1769 many were compelled to remove
from Mozambique and the banks of the Zambesi. But as
they could only take shelter in other parts of the country
where they would be equally dangerous, they were gradually
allowed to return, though tliey were not permitted to own or
carry arms.

As regards mission work in South-Eastern Africa in the
eighteenth century, there is not much that is satisfactory to
be related. The Dominican order, to whom the task of
christianising the Bantu south of the Zambesi was mainly
entrtisted, was very largely affected by the prevailing lassi-
tude and decay of public spirit in the nation, and so many
■ oif its „ members were cither Asiatics, Africans, or mixed

421

Events during the Eighteenth Century.

breeds that little zeal could be expected from it. In 1719
by a royal order all the missionaries in the country wbo
were not vicars of churches or commissioners of the inqui-
sition were removed, as they were believed to be doing more
harm than good to the Christian cause. Again in 1725
seven of them were recalled for misconduct. The reformed
Franciscans were at this time permitted to collect alms in
the country, and had the privilege of removing two thousand
six hundred pounds weight of ivory from the Eivers every
year free of duty. This should have stimulated the
Dominicans to reform themselves, as it showed that others
might be sent to take their places, but it did not have that
effect. In 1728 so many complaints were made regarding
their manner of living that the king caused a notification to
be made to the superior of the order in Goa that if better
men were not employed in the mission field the whole of
those who were there would be removed, and Jesuits or
secular priests be sent to replace them. Beyond doubt the
superior did all that was in his power to correct abuses, but
the prevailing habits of most of the men he bad to deal
with were not to bo overcome. In 1751, according to the
yearly report furnished to the viceroy, the Dominicans had
two friars at Sena, one at Tete, one at Sofala, three at
5ifferent outstations south of the Zambesi, and one at Zumbo,
the most distant faading station in the interior, on the
northern bank of the great river. It was intended, however,
to send five others to the country in the course of the year.
The Jesuits were stUi represented at Sena, but had
abandoned all their other stations south of the Zambesi.

On the 1st of September 1759 the famous decree was
signed by King Jos4 I, at the instance of the marquis of
Pombal, hy which the Jesuits were expelled from all the
possessions of Portugal. Then: usefulness as evangelists
among the heathen was denied, and their property every-
where was confiscated. At Mozambique their house was con-
verted into a residence for the governor. But the minister
was not satisfied with this, and did not cease his antagonism

2 H 2

422 History of South Africa.

imtil Pope Olomeivt XfV issued ji brief, un tUo 2ffrd of July
1773, which suppressed the famous order. It hud thou
nearly twenty-three thousand professed moiuhers. Banished
from Eoman Oatholio countries, and disowned by the pope,
the Society of Jesus continued to exist in Eussia, however,
until its restoration by a hull of Pope Pius VII, issued on
the 7th of August 1814:.

In 1775 the Domuricana in South-Eastern Africa were
ordered to Goa, and were replaced by secular clergy, eight
of whom were considered sufficient for the whole coast. Of
these eight only three were white men, the others being
Asiatic mixed breeds, with a great deal of conceit but very
little ability. In 1749 the officials at Mozambique had
petitioned the king that the ecclesiastical administrator
might have power conferred upon him to ordain priests, in
which respect — and in this only — ^his authority was less than
that of a bishop. They stated that the population of the
islahd was growing, and they were of opinion that people of
the country, who understood the language of the ’Bantu
inhabitants, if ordained, would he more useful than strangers.
The petition was referred to the yiceroy^ the' marquis of
Tavora, ivho replied in 1751 that on Ms passage out he, had
been detained two months at Mozambique, and had observed
that the number of persons there qualified for admittance tw
, holy orders was extremely small, so he saw no reason for a
change. The matter was then allowed to drop. And so,
between wars and want of competent teachers, Christianity
declined in Portuguese South Africa, and among the Bantu
quite died out. At the beginning of the nineteenth century
there were only twelve hundred and seventy-seven professing
Christians in the whole region south of Gape Delgado, and
they comprised the white people and mixed breeds of both
sexes and all ages. In addition to these there were in the
different villages five htmdred and eighty-nine free indi-
viduals who were not professing Christians, making one
’ thousand eight hundred and sixty-six persons in all. This
was the condition of things after an interconrse between

Events during the Eighteenth Century. 423

tlie Caucasian and black races extending oyer neaa*l 7 three
hundred years.

An attempt •was made in the middle of the eighteenth
century to induce the Portuguese and mixed breeds of the
lost Asiatic settlements to colonise South Africa. Many of
these people had removed to Groa, Tyhere there was nothing
for them to do. They were offered free passages and grants
of land along the Zambesi, but the country had acquired
such an evil reputation that they declined to attempt to
make homes in it. In January 1753 the viceroy — the same
marquis of Tavora who was so soon thereafter to lose his
head in Lisbon for participation, real or imaginary, in the
conspiracy that is known by his name — reported that not a
single family could be persuaded to remove.

But it would not be correct to attribute such an utter
failure to christianise the natives and to improve the country
as has bean described in the last few pages either wholly to
want of zealous teachers, or to an incapacity of the Bantu to
assimilate European thought, or to want of energy on Iho
part of the Portuguese. Without colonisation on a suffi-
ciently large scale to make the higher indisputably the
ruling race, no part of Africa can be brought permanently
within the domains of civilisation, and for settlement by
•Caucasians the portion of the continent along the Indian
Ocean north of Delagoa Bay was then not at all adapted. On
the lower terraces facing the sea and on the hanks of the
Zambesi fever is endemic, and white children rarely grow up.
On the highlands of the interior and in some localities on
the third terrace upward from the ocean the climate is
healthy, but under the conditions which existed before the
middle of the nineteenth century it was not possible to plant
colonies there. White people conld only make their way
gradually onward from the south, and even now, though there
is a railroad through the fever and tsetse fly belt down to
the nearest coast, the southern route is preferred by nearly
every one. Portugal with her limited means cannot justly he
blamed for not doing what the wealthiest and most populous

4^4 History of South Africa,

country of Europo must have failed to accorapiisli if an
attempt tad teon made.

During the greater part of the eighteenth century Delagoa
Bay was neglected by tlie Portuguoso. In 1755 a trading
party from Mozambique occupied for a few weeks a site on
the soirthern bank of the Espirito Santo, just as others had
done on one of the islands during the preceding century, but
they resided there temporarily on sufferance of the native
chief, not at all as proprietors.

In June 1757 the Dutch ship NaartAiglmd put into the bay
dismasted and so leaky that it was with difficulty she could
be kept afloat. Her crew remained there over two years
before they were relieved, without seeing or hearing of any
Portuguese. The country around was thoroughly explored,
and several men, while endeavouring to make their way to the
Cape of Good Hope, travelled beyond Port Fatal. At the
farthest point which they reached they found some half-breods,
children of two Englishmen who had been saved from a
wrecked ship. They also loarnod that a Dutch vessfil hatl
recently visited Port Natal. At that time the most powerful
chief in the neighbourhood of the bay was a man B»med
Mangova, who was the ruler of the tribe along- Tombs
river, and who had the hereditary title of Kapela, just as the
chief of the Makalanga had the hereditary title of Monomo-*"
tapa. The tribe that ocoupied the island Inyaka and the
peninsula south of it was then in a state of vassalage
to -him.

In 1776 an Austrian expedition, fitted out with the sanction
of the empress Maria Theresa by an association termed the
Asiatic Company of Trieste, arrived in the bay with the object
of establishing trading stations on its shores. The expedition
was commanded by an Englishman, Lieutenant Colonel William
Bolts, who selected sites for posts on the island of Inyaka
and near the mouth of the Maputa river. At the last-named
place a small fort was constructed, and thirteen guns were
mounted on it. No Portuguese were there at the time, but
-nfea.rly .two years afterwards, when the viceroy at Goa came to

Events during the Eighteenth Century, 425

learn of tie existence of the Austrian establishment, he sent
a protest against its continuance, on the ground that the
shores of the bay were Portuguese territory.

The goTernment at Lisbon followed up this protest by an
order to the viceroy to endeavour to assert his right by arms,
and in consequence the frigate Santa Anna was sent from
G-oa with as strong a force as could be got together to expel
the Austrians. Meantime the people at the bay were stricken
with fever, and in a quarrel with the natives some of the
principal officers were killed and the station on the island of
Inyalta was destroyed.

On the 30th of March 1781 the Santa Anna reached her
destination. There were two unarmed vessels under the
Austrian flag in tho bay when she arrived, both of which were
seized and sent to Goa. Tho few fever-stricken people at the
fort on the Maputa river were incapable of offering resistance.
The Portuguese commandant, Joachim Vicente Godinho de
Mira, made them prisoners, and destroyed the little building.
This matter caused some correspondence between the Austrian
and Portuguese governments, but the former did not attach
much importance to it, and ultimately, without any close
examination, the sovereignty of the latter over the territory
enolosing the bay was recognised.

To prevent other powers feom taking possession of the place
on the ground of its being unoccupied, it was now considered
necessary to erect a small fort there, and in January 1782 tba
captain Joaquim d’Araujo was sent with a few men from
Mozambique for that purpose. The captain’s death, sickness
among the men, and the hostility of the natives prevented the
completion of the design, and in 1783 the acting captain,
JoSo Henriquas d’Almeida, abandoned it and returned to
Mozambique. In 1784 another party was sent with the same
object, but was wrecked at the Bazaruta islands. In 1785
still another expedition was made ready, and this one was
successful, for in 1787 a small fort was completed on the site
which the Dutch had occupied more than half a century earlier
on the northern bank of the Espirito Santo. A trading estab-

426 I'listoiy of South Africa.

lialuneut was ailrlocl to it, now, for tho fh’at time, the
Poi’tnguGso occupation was more than trauHiout.

In 1794. civil wav broke oxifc in tbe Kapola’a tribe, and Jose
Correia Monteiro de Mattos, eommaaidant of tho little fort, by
taking part with one of tho combatants obtained a nominal
deed of cession of tho whole Kapela country to rortugal. Tho
document was dated 10th of November 1794, but no stops
were taken to assert authority of any kind over tho natives or
the territory.

In October 1796 two Frendh frigates entered the bay and
destroyed the fort, which was then occupied by an unusually
strong garrison of eighty men. The Portuguese retired into
the back country, where they lived in the greatest discomfort
until May 1797, when a vessel arrived from Mozarabitjue and
rescued most of them.

For some years British and American whalers had frequented
tho bay and made of it a base of operations, just as the
buecaneers and illicit traders had done at the beginning of
the century. They did not trouble themselves abotlt any
question of ownership, but came and wont as suited their con-
venience, and trafficked with the natives without any recog-
nition of Portuguese authority or customs laws. , In- June 1798
the British Indiatnan lAm put in there in distress, and .found
three English and three American whaling ships at anchow
Captain Sever, who commanded her, engaged the three British
vessels to take his cargo home, as the hion was not seaworthy.
She was anchored in the river, abreast of the site of the fort,
which the French had levelled with the ground. Several
Portuguese soldiers and a few Mohamedans of the coast were
living in the neighbourhood, expecting a vessel from Mozam-
bique with the next favourable monsoon to take them away.*

* Journal qf a Voyage performed in the Lion extra Indiaman, from
Madras to Oolmibo, and La Lagoa Bay, on the eastern coast of Africa
• (wftsre ike ship was condemned) in the year 1798. With some account of
t/k' manners and oustoms of the inhabitants of La Lagoa Bay, and a
• ' Ygedbahary of the Language. By William White, Es(i., Captain in. tho 73rd
Highland Eegjment of Foot. A quarto pamphlet of aeventy pages, puh-
-at. London in 1800.

Bvents during the Eighteenth Century, 427

Tlie placo remained without a gamson until the 7th of June
I799j when the captain Louis Jos 6 arrived with a detachment
of troops from Mozambique. There was war at the time among
the Bantu on the northern side of the Bspirito Santo, so he
entrenched himself on the other bank, where he remained
about a year, when with comparative safety he was able to
remove to the site of the destroyed fort and rebuild it.

At the close of the eighteenth century the trading and
mission stations that had once existed in the interior were so
completely lost that no one could even point out their sites,
and all vestiges of the influence once exercised by the Portu-
guese in the Kalanga country had disappeared. The native
tribes of earlier days had been enthely broken up, and the
ancient titles had been forgotten, except that of ICiteve, which
remained until 1803, when the chief Pika, the last who bore
it, died. Tete, Sena, and a few prazos along the lower Zambesi
and in the neighbourhood of Sofala, with the forts at Inham-
bane and Lourenjo Marques comprised the Portuguese
dominidns in South Africa, and these were held with very
feeble hands. Commerce was almost confined to the export of
slaves. Depression and decay w'ere visible everywhere, and
no feature of a pleasing kind, except a slightly increased
knowledge of the country towards the west, is to be found at
this period.

Prom very early days there was a desire on the part of the
government at Lisbon to form a connection between the
.eastern coast and Angola by means of a caravan path, but it
was impossible to open such a road. The tribes in the way
were constantly at war, they spoke different dialects, and each
one was ready to strip a traveller who should attempt to pass
through its territory. Trifling articles of merchandise, which
probably changed hands many times in transit, passed over at
long intervals from coast to coast, but no individual, white or
black, is known to have accomplished the journey before the
nineteenth century, nor was any reliable information obtained
oonoerning the upper course of the Zambesi or the territory
south of it.

42 B I//shfy of Soui/i Africa.

In May 179(5 a man named Sfamiol Gaetano Pereira, the son
of a Goanese and a negresa, loft Tote for a jonrney inland,
and upon his return reported that ho had roaohed the
residence of the chief Oazeinho, in about longitude 29" east
of Greenwich, hut the information ho gave was confused and
could not be relied upon, He accompanied the expedition
of 1798, and was found to have no knowledge of value.

On the 3rd of July 1798 an expedition properly equipped
by the government, and commanded by Dr, Francisco Jose de
Lacerda e Almeida, a gentleman of scientific attainments,
great general ability, and much previous experience' in
Brazilian and African travel, left Tete with the object of
trying to reach the western coast. Dr. Lacerda’s instructions,
issued in the name of the queen, weire that he should ascer-
tain the source of the Ounene river which flows into the
Atlantic, find out if a road for oommerco could not he opened
between the two coasts, and report upon tho condition of
the tribes on the route and the means necessary for bringing
them into the Christian fold. The expedition consSsted of
fifteen to twenty Portuguese and mixed breeds, fifty so-called
soldiers, and a number ever varying from one to four hundred
slaves and native porters. Dissension, among the l^uropeans
and mixed breeds was rife from the beginning of the, journey,
and it was with great difficulty that the resolute leader
preserved anything like order among them. Frequent deser-
tion of slaves and hired porters also caused great annoyance
and delay.

After encountering all the difficulties of African travel
where the tribes are uncontrolled, the expedition arrived at
the kraal of Oazembe, but there the leader, worn out with
fever, fatigue, and annoyance, died on the 18th of October.
The. chaplain Francisco JoSo Pinto then took command. He
did not attempt to proceed farther, and after remaining with
Oazembe until July 1799, set out to return to Tete, which
place he reached on the 22nd of November of the same year.
The iesults of .this expedition were meagre, though some
. ' knowledge, of the country to the north-west was obtained.

"The Lowest Point of Portuguese Authority. 429

OHAPTEE XIX.

THE LOWEST POINT OP POBTUQUESB AUTHORITY.

The condition of Portugal from th.e time of the departure
of tte regent Dom JoSo to Brazil until 1855, when Pedro V
ascended the throne as a constitutional monarch, was such
that very little attention could he given to her African
possessions. War succeeded war, revolution followed revolu-
tion, councils of regency appeared and disappeared, democrats
and aristocrats rose in turn and fell, all was chaos and
confusion. This is the least interesting period of the history
of the mother country, and it would he the least interesting
period it the history of South-Eastern Africa also if the wars
among the Bantu had not been more destructive than ever
before. A rapid glance at the principal events that took
place is therefore all that is necessary.

While the war with Prance continued French cruisers and
pfivateers preyed upon the coasting trade until it was nearly
annihilated. The stations were garrisoned with blacks, who
were so poorly and so irregularly paid that they were often
in wolt against their officers. Even Fort Sao Sehastiao
seldom contained more than fifty or sixty European and
mixed breed soldiers, who were aided by three or four
hundred negroes. The walls of this fort were badly in need
of repair, and the guns mounted upon them were old and
almost useless. The governor was now, as a measure of
policy, made independeut of the viceroy at Goa, that he
might have more freedom of action and greater responsibility.
M nu g the Zambesi strife and disorder were constant, and
in 1807 the piincipal officer there lost his life at the hands
of the natives.

430 Histoty of Sou/// Afu/ca,

During] the Arst half of tUo coutiivy tho slavo trade was
almost tho only sourco of roveuue. Vossols badly fitted out
aixd crowded with negroes to their utmost capacity sailed
from Kilimano and tho other ports for llrazil, often arriving
at their destination with less than a third of the munher
taken on hoard. Some of those vessels put into Table Bay
in distress, with hardly any provisions or water left, for their
owners calculated from the outset upon obtaining supplies
there aud thus being able to transport more slaves. For a
time this plan succeeded, os humanity forbade the vessels
being sent away without food; but when it was ascertained
that this was depended upon as a means of furthering the
traffic, all assistance was refused. The passage had then to
be made without a break, so the vessels left with fewer
slaves and more provisions. The horrors of these voyages,
especially when any accident happened or whon sickness
broke out, can hardly be overdrawn.

Events at Delagoa Bay at this period began to assume
greater importance than in earlier years. On the’ 5th of
April 1805 Job6 Antonio Oaldos, who was then captain of
the fort at Lourenpo Mar(iues, obtained from a native chief a
deed of cession to Portugal ’ of a considerable- trait of land
north, of the Espirito Santo, which that chief had ' 'Wrested
from its proper owner. But the weakness of the garrison a»d
the circumstances of tho time were such that no real cession
was intended, and the relation of the two parties to each
other remained as it had been before.

The English and Americans evidently made whale fisbrng
pay, so in 1817 the Portuguese formed a company to carry
on the some pursuit, and commenced operations at Delagoa
Bay. But the effort was not attended with much success,
for there were too many officials in proportion to the number
of seamen, and they did not display - the same activity
' as their competitors. Theii* jealousy of the English aud
Americans,, though only natural under the circumstances, led
them whenever an opportunity occurred to illtreat subjects of,
■ the Bantu • chiefs who had dealings with thoir rivals, until

The Lozvesi Point of Portuguese Authority, 431

sucb, animosity was arousetl tliat on the 29th of June 1818
the superintendent of the fishery, JoSo Pereira de Sousa
Oaldas, lost his life in a quarrel with the natives.

Towards the close of 1822 an English exploring and
sm’veying expedition, under Captain William FitzWilliam
Owen, of the royal navy, entered Delagoa Bay. It was
provided with credentials from the government at Lisbon to
the Portuguese officials on the coast, in which they were
requii’ed to render all the assistance in their power, as the
object was purely scientific. But when Captain Owen
requested proteotiou for his boats’ people while they were
surveying the rivers, he was informed by the commandant of
the fort that the natives were not subject to the Portu-
guese government, and that he must depend upon his own
resources. That was the true condition of matters at the
time. Accordingly the English officers acted thereafter as if
Portuguese sovereignty did not extend beyond the range of
the guns of the fort, and when Mayeta, the chief of the tribe
along the Tembe river, was understood as offering to cede
his country to Great Britain, Captain Owen accepted the
cession. A document to that effect was drawn up and
formally signed and witnessed on the 8th of March 1823.

A close examination of this paper and of the reports con-
cerning it show, however, that the object of the chief was
something very different from what appears on the surface.
Tshaka had then commenced his murderous career in the
country to the south, and some clans of the great tribe after-
wards welded together by Manikusa bad made tbeir appear-
ance on the shores of Delagoa Bay, where they were causing
great havoo among the earlier inhabitants. It was pro-
tection from them that Mayeta desired, not subjection of
himself and his followers to foreign authority. Captain Owen
described the conquering clans, whom he termed Vatwahs, as a
martial people of free air end noble carriage, marked by
piercing very large holes in the lobes of their ears. They
were clothed with the skins of animals, lived chiefly on
animal food, used oval shields of oxhide large enough to

432

Nisioiy of Simf/i Africa.

f

cover thoir liotliea, anti oarriotl from thrt'o to six assugais and
a stabbing spear. One niglit a band of thoiu attacked an
Eaglisli surveying party tliat was ouoainpod in tents, .so lie
bad more than a uiisual nequaintauco with thoiu.

The original inhabitants of the country around tho bay ho
described as a timid race, armed with assagais and spears,
and sometimes carrying a small shield. Many of them ivore
hardly any clothing at all, but some were dressed in calico
obtained from the Portuguese and others in woollen garments
bartered from whalers. They possessed horned cattle, goals,
and barnyard poultry, and had in their gardens rice, maize,
millet, sweet potatoes, onions, cabbages, pumpkins, pineapples,
bananas, and other foreign and indigenous fruits. Most of
these vegetables and fruits had been introduced by Euro-
peans, and were cultivated by the natives not only for their
own nse, hnt for disposal to the crews of whalers. Through-
out the country heads were used as coin; four hons could be
had for a penny’s worth, and tho labour of a man for a day
cost the same. With beads and calico these natives Wterod
from others ivory and ambergris, which they disposed of to
Europeans at a large pr^t^ ' Captain OVeu estimated the
populjttion of the-shores of the hay touth of thd '-MaailBa
at oUe hundred thousand souls, ‘'

Into the territory of these timid agricultural and oouJ-
mercial people, the ferocious Vatwahs, Idnsmen of the Zulus,
had come like lions into a herd of antelopes, and no wonder
they sought protectors. The Portuguese in the fort did not,
and could not, help them, they even purchased from the
invaders the spoil gathered in murderous raids. The main
body of the Vatwahs was then encamped at a distance of
only thirty or forty miles, so the need was urgent. This was
the cause of the chief of Temhe affixing his mark to the
doeument that purported to he a deed of cession of his
country to the king of England. A native who had served
iw' U whaler and who could speak a little broken English
■ ;ad*yif^ him’ to make the application, and he followed the
- houhsel '-‘Sut that he -did not realise what be was doing is

The Lowest Point of Portngmse Authonty. 433

howavor, eoiiiaiu, and this claod of cession was of no greater
value, honestly oonsiderod, than tlia one covering the saino
ground made to the Portugneso in November 1794. The
document was purely European in word and spirit, and con-
tained clauses that no Bantu chief in South Africa was
capable of understanding.

On the same day that it was signedi 8th of March 1823,
the British flag was hoisted on the bank of the Tembe river,
and was saluted with twenty-one guns. As soon as possible
thereafter notice was given to the captain of the Portuguese
fort that the tribe had become British subjects, but no autho-
rity of any kind was ever exercised over them, nor was the
least protection against their enemies given to them. They
were left as before to themselves, and in the terrible wave of
war that soon afterwards rolled over their laud they were
almost exterminated by Manikusa without the British govern-
ment as much as knowing what was taking place.

On the 23rd of August 1823, Makasane, chief of the tribe
ocoitpyiifg the teiTitory between the Maputa river and the
sea, that is the same tract of land tliat had once belonged
to the friendly ruler Gtu’cia do Sa, affixed his maak to a
document by which he placed himself and his country under
the protection of Great Britain, Captain Owen’s object in
obtaining this declaration was to secure for England two
islands Inyaka and Elephant, which were regarded as more
healthy stations than any on mainland, and behind
which there was good anchorage for ships. He wrote that
he considered iDelagoa Bay as a place of considerable political
and commercial importance. It was the only good harbour
on the coast south of Mozambique, over which it had many
advantages, as it was easy of access at all seasons of the year,
was free of such currents as would obstruct navigation, and
had a better country behind it. It was the door for commerce
to the vast interior, was the base of a valuable whale fishery,
and commanded intercourse with the entire seaboard of
Madagascar at all seasons of the year, Erom it British
sovereignty might be extended southward to embrace Hatal

434

I li story of SoittJi Africa.

tiTitl tlio whole of the (‘oust. In the poaseasiou "of a foreign
power it could ho inado ruinoiis to the Onjio Colony and to
the cojninerco of India, cither in pctico or war. In ponce it
could he made a dep6t for eastern productions, and in war
one of the finest ports in the world whence hostile expedi-
tions might issue at pleasure. These were tho reasons
assigned by Captain Owen for taking the preliminary steps
to mako the south-eastern shore of the bay an English
dependency. But no force was left for Makasane’s protection,
and hey on d the existence of the formal document there was
nothing to show that Great Britain had obtained a foothold
there.

Some of the names of tho rivere wore changed by this
expedition into English ones. Thus the Mauisa became the
King George’s, hut the old designation of that stream near
its mouth survives until to-day, and the now one is now
aoldom used, while the upper course is always known as tho
Komati. The Da Lagoa or Louroixfo Maviiues became the
Dundas, hut recently the Bantu name Umbelosi has driven
all the others out. The estuary called tho Espiiito Santo
was changed, into the English river, and, is still frequently
sokjtermed.

In October 1823 Captain Owen sent from Mozaimhique a
report to the Admiralty office upon the condition of Eastern
Africa at the time. He stated that there were then in that
harbour seven vessels taking in slaves for Eio Janeiro, one
of them, of six hundred tons burden, being intended to carry
twelve hundred. Not fewer than twenty-five thousand slaves
were exported from Mozambique annually. From Kilimane
sixteen vessels had taken during the preceding year ten
thousand slaves. Between Inhambane and Brazil there was
also direct communication, but from that port the number
sent away was not So large. At Delagoa Bay the trafiSo was
BtUl less. The cost of a slave to the Portuguese at Kili-
mane, Inhambane, and Delagoa Bay was rarely more than
two or three, dollars, and they were sold to the owners of the
ships at from twenty to thirty dollars each. These owners

'The Lowest Point of Portugtiese Aut ferity. 435

cousiderecl Aat they made a good voyage if a third of the
miDiber embarked reached Rio Janeiro, ■where they brought
from one hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars each.
Sometimes half were sa'ved, when, the gain became a strong
motive for more extensive apeoulation.

Sofala, he reported, was the most miserable of all the
Portuguese establishments on the coast except Lourenpo
Marques: it could not even famish a boat to assist one of
his ships when aground. Strangers everywhere visiting the
stations for purposes of trade were subject to wanton in-
dignity and exaction. In Mozambique an English vessel,
even in distress, was obliged to pay five per cent of the
value of any goods it might be necessary to land, and
twenty-five par cent on everything that was sold. Inham-
hane was the most thriving of all the settlements, owing to
the exceptional ability of its captain, who encouraged
industry in the free natives by his example, counsel, and
manner of administration.

Except along the lower Zambesi the Portuguese had then
no dominion or authority beyond tho limits of their forts and
factories. At Sofala, however, they professed to have recently
conquered with fifty men the whole of the old Kitevo
country as far as Manika, though when he was there he
fqund them almost shut up in their establishment by tribes
at war with them, and along the Zambesi it was feared that
some hostile chiefs might destroy Sena and Tete.

Mozambique was in such a critical state that the governor
found it necessary to reside within the fort. He had not
more than twelve or fourteen European soldiers, and only
eight officers on whom he could rely, mostly very young
men. In the market nothing except slaves was exposed for
sale, and it was with much difficulty that any other pro-
visions than rice and shellfish could be procured. Moat of
the traders were Arabs so-called and Banyans. In short,
the whole country from Delagoa Bay northward presented a
lamentable picture of decay and ruin, owing to the indolence
and incapacity of those who claimed to he its possessors.

436

History 0/ Sou i It rl/rica.

Captain Owen ret^oinmoiuleil that Uiu treaty whioli per-
Blitted the Portufvnese to carry on tlio slave trade iu tlieir
dominions botwoon Capo Dtdgado ami Delagoa Hay should
not he construed to inoludo independent native territory
within those limits.* Nowlioro soutii or north of tlie Zambesi
had they any dominion whatever hoyond the innsizles of
their guns. In most parts, indeed, they wore even oscluded
by the natives. Great Britain could inako treaties with the
independent chiefs which would destroy the slave trade, or
she could establish factories for commerce where she could
undersell the Portuguese and starve them out. Or, as
Delagoa Bay must he considered as of groat importance to

* The foUowjug are tlie dauaes of llie treatioa liniitiug the extent of lorhtury
.in whloli the Portugnoae could carry on tho slave trade: —

Arlielo X.

HIh Royal Higliness the Prince Regent of Portugal being fully convinced of
tbo Injustice and Impolicy of tlio Blave Trade, and of tbe groat disadvantages
wbioli prise from the uooossity of iutroducteg and continually renewing a P'oroign
and Factitious Population for tbe purposo of Labour and Tiidnstry within His
South American Dominions, hae resolved to co-opei‘ate with Hia Rritounio Majesty
in the cause of Humanity and tTustice by adopting the most etHcaoions menus
fur bringing about a gradual abolition of the Slave Trade tluvughout the whole
of His Dmuinions. And actuated by this PrboiplB Hie Royal ©igtoess the
Prlnoe Regent of Portugal engages that His Subjects shall not be permitted, to
carry on tbe Slave Trade on any part of the Coast of Africa not aotusftly
belonging to His Royal Highness’s Dominions, in which that Trade has been
discontinued and abandoned by tire Powers and States of Europe, wbiob
formerly traded there, reserving however to His Own SirbjootB the Right of
purchasing and trading in Slaves witMn the African Dominions of the Crown of
Portugal.— Treaty of 10th February 1810,

Article U.

The Territories in which the Traffic in Slaves continues to he permitted, under
the Treaty of the Twenty second of January one Thousand Eight Hundred and
fifteen, to the Subjects of His most Faithful Majesty, are the following:
Isj* ITie Territories possessed by the Crown of Portugal upon the Coast of
Africa to tbe South of the Equator, that Is to say, upon the Eastern Coast of
Africa, the Territory laying between Cape Ddgado and tbe Bay of Louren 9 o
l^rque^' and upon the Western Coast, all that which is situated from the
Eij^th to the .Eighteenth Degi-ee of South Latitude.— Treaty of 28th July 1817,

The Lowest Point of Portuguese Authority. 437

the Oape Colony, an arrangement might be made with the
Portuguese government that it should withdraw its claims to
all territory south of Inhambane and abolish the slave trade
farther north, conditionally upon Great Britain abstaining
from entering into any relations with the chiefs beyond
Oape Oorrentes.

Probably a neutral party would have drawn a less gloomy
picture of the condition of South-Eastern Africa at this time,
and would have disputed Great Britain’s right to do what
Captain Owen recommended, but there can be no question
as to the weakness of the Portuguese government or the
extent of the slave trade.

On the 3rd of November 1823 Commodore Joseph Notirse,
who was then in command of the British naval force on the
Cape station, arrived in Delagoa Bay in the Ai>Avcmadi)£. Au
English trading vessel named the Orange Grove was lying at
anchor there at the time. Commodore Nourse obtained from
the captain of the fort a promise to abstain from interference
with natives trading with the English, but after the depar-
ture of the two ships he took a different comm The
reverend Mr. Threlfall, a Wesleyan missionary who had gone
to the bay with Captain Owen, and wbo remained there
until 1824, when he returned in ill health to Capetown in
the whaler Nei'sid, reported that immediately after- the
departnre of the Andromaohe and the Ormge Grove the
Portuguese captain showed a disposition to subjugate the
native states, and threatened the chiefs with immediate war
if they would not accede to his terms. In December be
caused the Portuguese flag to be hoisted in Tembe, and
appointed three soldiers to guard it. About the same time
au oflioial of the chief of Maputa ceded the south-eastern
territory to the Portuguese, but the chief refused to confirm
the cession, upon which the captain sent a compauy of
soldiers and a large number of enlisted natives of another
tribe against bim. Makasane obtained assistance from the
chief of Tembe, but was defeated with a loss of many killed,
and his followers then dispersed.

2 I 2

•loB History of South Africa.

A good deal of Hkinnialiing among tlm viiHouB tribes
followed, until tlio PtJi’tnguGSo and their allios word destroyed
by an aot of troachery rather than of war, Ono of the chiefs
sent a pnsaent to the captain with n mossugo that it was
intended us giving his consent to the arvaugoment proposed,
and invited him to come to the territory and hoist the
Portuguese flag. The captain, Lupe de Cardonas by name,
fell into the snare laid for him. With all the ofiloei's of the
garrison except Lieutenant Teixeira who was sick, forty-five
soldiers, and most of Ms native allies, he was proceeding to
the place arranged for hoisting the flag with due ceremony,
when he fell into an ambuscade and the whole party,
excepting three soldiers and a few of the native allies,
perished under the assagai. Those who escaped fled to the
fort, which was at once besieged, bnt the attacking pai*ty
was induced to withdraw by presesnts of beads. Internecine
strife among the various tribes followorl, and this alone saved
the Portuguese establishment from entire annihilation.

TMs account, however, is not quite in acoordanoe iJfith the
ofllcial documents on the other side. According to thorn
the chiefs who had affixed their .marks td the English docu-
ments’ signed a' counts declaration to %e' hffeoii.fe^ .they
, were subjeots of the king of Portugal, as their fathef^ -foom
time immemorial had been. The captain Lnpe de Cardenas
with a junior officer and thirty-nine black soldiers then pro-
ceeded to hoist the Portuguese flag on the banks of tbe
Tembe river, whereupon Mayeta, the chief who was asserted
to be a subject of Portugal as his ancestors had always been,
attacked the party, killed Cardenas and twenty-six of Ms
men, and obliged the ensign and the remaining thirteen
negroes to surrender and submit to Ms mercy.

In this precarious manner the fort or trading station con-
tinued to be held imtil 1833, without authority of any kind
over the. neighbouring Bantu clans being exercised. It was
jnst the other' way, for the tenure under wMch the Portu-
gn^e occupied the ground on which they lived was one of
sufferance on condition of Mendly behaviour towards the

The Loxmst Point of Portuguese Authority. 439

strongest of* their neighbours. They were there at the mercy
of the barbarians.

With the object of trying to keep strangers away, on the
13tb of November 1824 a royal charter was issued in which an
exclusive monopoly of the commerce of the bay was granted
to the Fishing Company, as it was supposed its agents would
show a good deal of energy in the matter. This charter
remained in force until January 1835, when the Company
was dissolved.

For some years the country round Delagoa Bay had been
devastated by war of an exceptionally ferocious charactoi*.
The principal section of the tribe now known as the Abagaza
had broken away from the terrible destroyer Tshaka, and
was spreading havoc among the less highly disciplined people
of the north. Many of the clans were exterminated, and
others were reduced to tho most abject condition, all their
property being seized, and their serviceable children of both
saxes being taken away to swell the ranks of their con-
qnetovsf On the 22ad of October 1888 a strong body of
warriors of the Gaza tribe appeared before the fort on the
Espirito Santo. They were provided with no other weapons
than short-handled stabbing assagais, so they could not effect
an entrance, but during the night of the 27th the captain
Dionysio Antonio Bibeiro, seeing an opportunity to escape,
evacuated the place, and with his men retired to the island
Sheflna, which lies close to the coast. On the following day
the Abagaza destroyed the fort, and then pursued the Portu-
guese to the island and captured them all. The prisoners
were brought back to their ruined habitation, and were there
put to death.

The Abagaza were under a chief named Manikusa, often
called Sotshangana. They routed and destroyed the tribes in
front until they reached the Sabi river, where they setided.
Shortly afterwards another horde, now known as the Angoni,
fleeing from Zululand, reached the Sabi by another route.
They and the Abagaza fought for a while, but presently they
resumed their march and pushed their way northward to the

4‘P Hkiory of Sout/i Africa.

western sliore of Lake Nytiaaa, whore they heoamo a st'oerge
to all ar(3uud thorn. IManikusa roimilued hohintl, devastating
th.e territory from Dolagoa Bay to the Zamhesi, and destroying
the clans Avithin itj tlie doscomlants of fclio tribes Unit three
centuries earlier had been governed by the Sedanda, the
Kiteve, and the Tshikanga, ns well as the various divisions
of the Batongn south of the Sabi.

The captain of Inhamhane Avas so rash as to attempt to
assist a friendly clan against Mauikusa. Inhamhane had
then about twenty-flve Portuguese residents, all told, and the
garrison of the little fort Sito Joito da Boa Vista consisted of
ahont a hundred negroes. The village contained a church
dedicated to onr Lady of the Conception, and a few houses
huilt in the European style, though none of great size, as the
station was inferior in importance to those on the Zambesi.
The result of the interference with Manikusa hy the captain
of Inhamhane was the plunder of the village and the slaughter
of the captain himself and all the inhabitants except ten
individualB who managed to escape, 3rd of Novomher 1884.

Sofala had sunk to be a plaoe of very little note. Its fort
hod fallen into decay, and its best houses rrere built of mud.
Still it had a captain and a garrison of negroes. In 1888 it
was attacked by the Ahagaza, when the fort managed to hold
out, hut all else was plundered and destroyed. The militarjs
commandant, Jose Marques da Costa, then collected the
friendly natives in the neighbourhood, and with them and
Ms negroes ventured to give the enemy battle, with the result
that every individual of his force perished.

Sena contained ten houses built in the European style, one
church, and a small fort. A number of native huts stood
close hy. There were not more than twenty white inhabitants,
including three military officers and a priest, and in 1830
these had been obliged to abandon the place temporarily on
account of a famine. There wore fifty or sixty mixed breeds
and sixty blacks called soldiers, hut they were very little
, ' in^ advance- of the barhaiians around them. The Ahagaza
-Attacked’ the place, and after killiug fifty-four of the Portu-

The Loxvest Point of Portuguese AtUhority. 441

g\i©se and Jhixed breeds, drove the remaining inhabitants
of the village to the islands in the Zambesi. An arrangement
was then made that the traders should pay to the chief of
the conquering horde a certain quantity of merchandise yearly,
and on this condition they were allowed to return.

The government at Lisbon, was unable to supply a com-
petent force to protect the stations while the Abagaza were
in the first flush of their victorious career, and could devise
no other expedient than to make the government of the
Eivers independent of that of Mozambique. In 1834 Jos^
Gregorio Pegado was appointed military governor of 3Iozam-
bique, and Isidro Manuel de Carrezedo was sent to the
Eivers to do the best ha could without any interference. He
could do nothing, as has been seen, for military force was
what was needed, and with his failure the former system of
government was reverted to.

The havoc created among the Bantu between the Zambesi
and the Limpopo by the Abagaza on the south, the
Makololh on the north-west, and the Matabele on the west,
was very great. Many of the ancient clans were quite
exterminated, and of those that remain in existence few
occupy the same ground that their ancestors did. In the
yesiis 1852 and 1853 especially they were scattered and
destroyed with no more compunction than if they had been
vermin. The Portuguese stations were reoccnpied within a
few years, but they were held with difficulty. In 1849 the
captain of Inhambane was killed, as was his successor in 1850.
In these years Louienpo Mai’ques and Sofala were attacked,
fl.Tif1 narrowly escaped destruction the second time. Loureufo
Marques, indeed, was held under the most precarious of
tenures until quite recently. In 1868 it was attacked hy a
tribe in the neighbourhood that was assisted by a European
renegade, and was only saved by the bravery of the captain
Jos4 Axignsto de Sa e Simas. As late as 1878 there were
only four hundred and fifty-eight Europeans, Asiatics, and
mulattos combined living there. Of these, two hundred and
ninety-five were men, thirty-two were women, and one hundred

442 Histojy of South Africa.

aud thirty-oue wore oliiUlvou. Niunty-lhreo roriuj^fiose, twenty-
eight Europeans of other nationalities, sixty-six mulattos, and
eighty-throe Asiatics profossotl Christianity, nud one hundred
and thirty-threo Indians and flfty-flve others did not.

The prozos south of the Zambesi ware of course nearly all
overrun, and on the 22nd of December 1854 a decree was issued
by the government in Lisbon abolishing tho system. The
decree was not enforced, however, by the local authorities,
except that the method of inheritance was no longer observed,
and a few prazos held by individuals who arrogated to them-
selves the rights of feudal lords and who regarded their people
as mere serft, continued in existence.

There is a little island called Ohiloane (Tshilwan5) off the
coast about forty miles south of Sofala. It is nearly divided
into two by a sluggish creek, and is not at all an attractive
place, but it has a fairly good harbour, and it is secure against
ravages by Bantu from the mainland. Some of the half broods
and others who lived among the natives in the neighbourhood
of the ancient gold port removed to this island, and sinue 1802
a military force has been stationed there to protect them, A
lighthouse has also been built on Tshingani Pojnt on tho
island, though the oommeroe of the place is very sinall.

In 1855 some of the refugees from the mainland went to
reside on the island of Santa Carolina, one of the Bazaruta
group, and a small garrison was stationed there as an evidence
that the Portuguese were the owners.

On the 10th of December 1836 a decree was issued by tbe
govermnent at Lisbon abolishing the traffic iu slaves
throughout the Portuguese dominions. But so far from its
coming into force in Eastern Africa, the marquis of Aracaty,
who was then governor of Mozambique, issued a proclamation
on the 11th of November 1837 suspending its operation, on
the plea of absolute necessity. This led to correspondence
with the British government, which had then emancipated
the slaves everywhere within its own dominions and was
exerting itself to the utmost to induce foreign nations to
follow its example. But the traffio continued, and when after

The Loxvest Point of Porhiguese Authority. 443

a time i?»- accordauoe with treaty arrangemeiits British
cruisers were stationed on. the coast to endeavour to suppress
it, they could generally be evaded by the slave vessels
getting away from one port while they were watching
another. It has only been in our own times that this traffic
has ceased.

The law regarding commerce by strangers was now greatly
modified.* In 1811 it was made legal to import goods of
foreign manufacture, provided they were carried in Portu-
guese vessels manned to the extent of three-fourths of the
crew by Portuguese subjects. But restrictive laws, except
where a government is very strong, invariably foster illicit
traffic, and it was so in this instance. Poreigners could not
be kept away. Seeing this, in 1853 the government at
Lisbon wisely adopted a system under which a revenue from
strangers would be obtained, while smuggling was made too
unprofitable, compared with the risk, to be carried on.
Under this system Portuguese goods imported into Eastern
Africa * in Portuguese ships were charged four per cent of
their value as customs duty, foreign goods imported in Portu-
guese ships were charged eight per cent, and foreign goods
imported in foreign ships twelve per cent. Articles exported
in Portuguese ships to Portuguese ports were charged one
•per cent of their value, in Portuguese ships to foreign ports

* According to treaty Siitisli subjeote nominally had rights of trade in-
Eastem Africa, except in certain reserved articles ; but as these included gold,
ivory, and of course slaves, they were praoUcolly prohibited from putohasing
auything else tliau provisions. The following is the text of the article referring
to Bast Africa in the treaty of commerce between Glreat Britain and Portugal :

Article XSIT.

All Trade with the Portuguese Possessions situated on the Eastern Ooasfc of
the Oontinent of Africa (in Articles not included in the Exclusive Contracts
possessed, by the Crown of Portugal) which may have been fbrmerly allowed
to the Subjects of the Great Britain, is confirmed, and secured to them now
and for ever, in the same Maimer as the Trade which has hitherto been
permitted to Portuguese Subjects in the Ports and Seas of Asia is oouflnned
and seourod to them by Virtue of the Sixth Article of the Prosemt Treaty. —
Treaty of 19th February 181Q.

444

History of South Africa,

tliToe per rout, and in foreign ahipH to foreign pofta fivo per
cent. This cannot be regarded as an nnreasonablc tariff for
tilmt time, and tliongh it baa been inodiiiod of recent yeara,
Portagncae goods still have the advantago of difforontial
duties in tlieir favour, which is only right in tho case of a
remote dependency.

In 1856 the farce was enacted of creating a council for the
province of Mozambique, consisting of thirteen members, in
Avhich Tete was allotted two representatives, and Sena, Sofala,
Inhambane, and Lonronjo Marques each one. At the same
time the term of oilioe of the heads of the stations was
extended from three to five years, in order to obtain tho
advantage of experience. Ten years later, on the 1st of
December 1866, a more practical decree was issued, which
established improved courts of justice, both inferior and
superior, in Eastern Africa.

Beyond Tete the whole country to the westward had long
been lost to tho Portuguese, and, with it of course the station
that had once been regarded as the most important fbr the
commerce of the interior and the conversion of the Bantu.
This was Znmbo, on the northern bank of the Zambesi,
nearly two hundred and fifty English miles by the stream
upward from Tete. Projects for the reoccupation of this
post had frequently been discussed, but nothing could her
done before 1862, when Albino Manuel Pacheco hoisted tlie
Portuguese flag there once more. The ruins of the ancient
church and of the house once inhabited by the captain
mai’ked the site of the station. But Zumbo, though re-
oconpied, has never attained its former importance, and only
five or six Europeans have since resided there at a time. Its
principal value to the Portuguese has been that it gave
them a right, acknowledged by Great Britain, to the terri-
tory along the river bank that distance westward, and
secured for them a boundary line including it when the
interior of the continent was divided between different
olahnants a few years ago.

, The most interesting event during this period is the pro-

The Lowest Point of Porhiguese AnthoHty, 445

gress of g^s^rapliical knowledge concerning South Africa,
and for this the world is mainly indebted to an intrepid
Scotch missionary. The honour of accomplishing the journey
across Africa for the first time, however, is due to two native
traders named Pedro Joilo Uaptista and Amara Jos A who were
in the employment of Lieutenant-Oolonel Praneisco Honorato
da Costa, director of the fair of Mucary in the district of
Pungo Andongo. These men were entrusted with a letter to
the captain of Tete, and left Muropue in Angola on the
22nd of May 1806. One of them, Pedro JoUo Baptista, was
sufficiently well educated to bo able to keep a sort of journal,
but they had no instruments of any kind with them, nor were
they competent to make observations. On the 2nd of Pebru-
ary 1811, four years and eight months after setting out, they
delivered the letter at Tete, and in May of the same year
left on their letiirn journey. They reached Loanda again
safely, and thus accomplished the feat of crossing the continent
in both directions. Some knowledge of the interior far north
of the Zambesi was gathered from these intrepid travellers, but
no information whatever concerning the country or tlie people
to the south.

On the 1st of June 1831 a large expedition left Tete to
follow up Dr. Lacerda’s exploration to the west coast.
Major Jos 6 Maria Correia Monteiio was in command. Captain
Antonio Oandido Pedroso Gamitto was next in authority and
also journalist, and there were no fewer than foirr hundred
and twenty blacks in different capacities. But the difficulties
encountered were so great that from the kraal of Oazembe
the expedition turned back, after despatching a letter to the
governor of Angola by some trustworthy black traders of the
party. The letter was dated 10th of March 1832, and was
delivered on the 25th of April 1839. Thus it was not by
Europeans, hut by blacks, that this transit of the continent
was effected.

On the next occasion it was performed by three Arab
traders from Zanzibar, who, finding themselves far in the
interior in want of merchandise, pushed on to the nearest

44<5 IJishny 0 / SouiJi A/rka.

e

‘

coast, and reached Beugnohi on the 3rd of lViay^rdS52. The
governor of Angola offered a million rois and the honorary
title of captain to any one who would rofcnrn to Zanzibar
with the traders, and describe the route botwoou tho two
coasts. A resident of Angola named Antonio Francisco
Ferreira da Silva Porto accepted the offer, but after travelling
a hundred and seven days he could go no farther, and
therefore tnrned bach. He sent some of his people on,
however, who reached Mozambique safely on the 12th of
November 1854.

It was reserved for the reverend Dr. David Livingstone to
be the first white man to cross Africa from coast to coast,
and to be also the first to give reliable information upon
the interior of the country south of the upper course of the
Zambesi. This famous explorer proceeded northward from
tho Cape of Good Hope along tho healthy highlands of the
interior to Linyanti, the residence of tlie paramount ruler of
the Makololo tribe, about midway between tho two oceans.
There he resided long enough to acquire the confidence of
the chief Sebetuane,* and, oftor tho death of that renowned
warrior, of his son Sekoletn, In order to open a trade route
to the sea, the value of which these chiefs were capable of
appreciating, Sekeletu provided Dr. Livingstone with an
ample escort, and sent a quantity of ivory with the caravaU'
for sale on the coast.

Having Linyanti in the centre as a base of supply, more

* Sebetuaue was boiu on tie northern hank of the Caledon river, near
the territory now teimed British Basutoland. In 1821 the tribes between the
Caledon and the Vaal were attacked hy others who were fleeing from the
Zulu spear, and in one great body, known as tho ManUti horde, they
crossed the Yaal and made their way westward, , destroying everything in
their line of march. On tho 26th of June 1823 they were defeated near
Lithako by a body of Criqua horsemen, and they then broke into seotions
and dispersed in different directions. ' Sebetuane, at the head of one strong
party, cut hie way northward, and settled at Linyanti, on tho river Ohobe,
a tributary of the Zamheei. Here he was a terrible ecourge to the clans far
and near. Eis son Sekeletu, who succeeded him, died of leprosy, and then
the Makololo, as the tribe formed by Sebetnane was teimed, broke up. See
- -veil, iv of my E-uiory qf South A/riea.

The ^.Qxvcst Point of Portuguese Authority. 447

than half of crossing the continent was done

away with. To that point a waggon road was open from the
south, and everything needed for the journey was collected
there with little difficulty. On the 11th of November 1853
the caravan left the Maltololo kraal, and on the 31st of May
1854 arrived safely at Loanda in Angola. After resting there
nearly four months, on the 20th of September Dr. Livingstone
set out to return, but the journey back to Linyanti could
not be accomplished in less than a year.

It was evident that the route to the west coast was too
difficult to be of much use, and the explorer therefore
resolved to try to open up a water way by tho Zambesi to
Kilimane. Leaving Linyanti on the 3rd of November 1855,
equipped and attended as before, he followed the great river
down to the sea, discovering on the way the magnificent
Victoria fall. After touching at Tete, where he left most of
his companions to await his return from England, he arrived
at Kilimane on the 20th of May 1856. Thence he pro-
ceeded, to Europe, and four years later returned to Linyanti
by the same route.

Since that timo tho continent has frequently been crossed,
and soon the various details of its features were known, and
full information was obtained concerning the tribes that
4 )coupy it.

448

History of South Africa.

CHAPTER XX.

EBVIVAl OP ACTIVITY IN PORTUGUESE SOUTH APRIOA.

Ayter 1838, when the emigrant farmers from the Cape Colony
began to settle on the highlands of the interior between the
Vaal and Limpopo rivets, the southern part of the territory
claimed by the Portuguese along the eastern coast acquired
a value it never had before. The excellent harbour at the
mouth of the Espirito Santo in Delagoa Bay was the nearest
port to the newly occupied territory, and efforts were repeatedly
mado to open a road to it.* These did not succeed for many
years, owing to the prevalence of fever near tho coast ^laud to
the intermediate bolt of land being infested with the tsetso
fly, but the position of the bay made it certain that in time
all the diffi-culties of establishing communioalaon through it
between the South African Republic and the outer world
would bo overcome.

In 1852 the independence of the farmers north of the Vaal
was acknowledged by Great Britain,, and the importance of
the bay was realised in England, where the documents
obtained by Captain Owen in 1823 were not forgotten, though
no action beyond a little correspondence between the autho-
rities at London and Lisbon had ever been taken upon them.
Matters were left in abeyance, however, until the 6th of
November 1861, when Captain Bickford, commanding her
Majesty’s ship Narms-ua, planted the British flag on the
islands Inyaka and Elephant, which be proclaimed British
territory, and together with the adjoining roadstead he

, *. Jor a full account of tbese efforts, see vole, v and vi of my History
o(f Smith J/rica,.

Revival of Activity. 449

deolared tcK4rtP*8amox0fl to tlie colony of Natal. This action
was protested against by the Portuguese, and a lengthy
correspondence between the two governments ensued.

Captain Bickford had hardly set sail when a man, who Avas
destined to occupy a prominent position thei’eafter in South-
Eastern Africa made his appearance at the Portuguese fort on
the Espirito Santo. His name was TJmzila. He was a son
of the recently deceased chief Manikusa, and having incurred
the jealousy of his father he had been obliged to flee and
for some time had been living as a refugee in the South
AMoan Eepublio.* Upon the death of Manikusa, Ms son
Maweva succeeded as chief of the Abagaza, but a strong
party favoured Umzila, who was much the abler man of
the two.

On the 1st of December 1861 Umzila applied to Onofre
Lourenjo d’Andrada, captain of the fort on the Espirito Santo,
for assistance against his brother. Manikusa, his father, had
been a terrible scourge to the Portuguese, and Maweva, his
brothes, bade fair to be equally hostile. He, on the contrary,
offered to recognise the sovereignty of the king of Portugal,
and to cede all the land up to the Manisa river, in return
for military assistance. The captain Andrada was not in a
position to give much help. His whole force could not have
,ptood five minutes in the open field against the weakest of
Maweva’s regiments, but he recognised that a crisis -had come,
and that if Umzila was unsuccessful, the Portuguese, possession
of any part of the coast .south of the Zambesi river would bo
at an end. What Umzila needed also was not so much men
as arms and ammunition, and he could spare a few antiquated
firelocks and a quantity of gunpowder.

An arrangement was therefore entered into, and on the
2nd of December 1861 the cession of the territory— though it
was not yet in the giver’s possession — was formally made.
All the assistance that was possible was then afforded to
Umzila. The war between the brothers lasted many months,

* For an acooTint of Umzila’s rsaklenoe in the South African Republic
see yol. vi of my Eistory of South Afi'ina.

450 History of South Africa.

but afc lougtb. in two battlfls fouglit, on of the

Mauisa on the 17th anti tho 20lh of Angiiat 18(.(2 Braweva’s
adherents were oomplotoly erushod. Uinailii then became
undisputed chief of tlio Gaza tribe, imd until his death ruled
over nearly all tho Bantu in that largo expauso of territory
marked in the maps as Gazaland, extending from tho Zambesi
river on the north to the Manisa on the south, and from the
fringe of the great interior plain down to the shore of the
Indian’ sea. Throughout his life ho remembered the assistance
that had been given to him by the Portuguese, but did not
always refrain from hostile actions towards them, and certainly
never regarded himself as their subject. To control a tribe as
powerful as his, the means to compel obedience to authority
must be ever present, no matter what flag is supposed to wave
over the territory, and the Portuguese at that time had no
force in South-Eastern Africa that could command respect.

They wore, however, beginning to iroprovo their position,
which had already passed its lowest point of depression. A
favourable turn in their affairs was taking place in tbp lower
Zambesi valley, as will presently be related, and on tho
Espiiito Santo a much stronger and better fort than the uno
previously existing was constructed in 1864!, which was
strehglihened three years afterwards by the addition of, .four
small batteries. A few houses were built on the adjoining
ground, and thereafter the site came to be generally called
Lourenjo Marques.

On the 29th of July 1869 a commei’oiRl fteaty was con-
cluded between the governments of Portugal and of the South
African Eepublic, as the state established by the emigrant
farmers from the Cape Colony was called, and in it a
boundary Ihie was fixed from the parallel of 26° 30' south
latitude along the highest ridge of the Lebombo mountains to
the centre of the lower pooxt of Komati, where the river of
that name passes through the range, thence in a straight line
about north by east to Pokioenskop on the northern hank of
the Olifants , river where it passes through the mountains,
thence in a direction about north-west by north to the nearest

Revival of Activity 451

point, of tht!*^onutains of OLacnndo on the Umvubu river,
and tlionco in a straight lino to the junction of the Pafuri
and Limpopo rivers.

Such n treaty could not be regarded with indifference by
the British government, whose interests in South Africa were
likely to be seriously affected by it. Accordingly the claim
to the southern and eastern shore of Delagoa Bay, based on
the documents obtained by Captain Owen, attracted greater
attention, but naturally the Portuguese government refined to
acknowledge it. Arbitration was then decided upon, and on
the 25th of September 1872 a protocol was signed at Lisbon,
by which the contending parties agreed to submit their
I'espective olaincs to the decision of the president of the
French Republic.

The case for Portugal was well worked out, though many
mere suppositions wore made to appear as incontrovertible
facts, and numea-ous papers were put in which could easily
have been proved to be of no weight whatever. Their records
and ancient histories were searched, and everything that
favoured their claim was brought forward, while all that
opposed it was carefully held back. Among their documents
was a treaty between Gireat Britain and Portugal, in which
the territories of the latter on the East African coast were
declared to extend from Gape Delgado to the bay of
Lotirenpo Marques, which they reasonably interpreted as
including that bay. Real effective occupation of any part of
the country beyond the precincts of their fort they could not
prove, nor could they show the exeroiss of substantial control
over any of the native clans living in the vicinity. But their
discovery of the bay, their commercial dealings with the
tribes on its shores, the cessions on paper made to them, and
what more has been related in these chapters, they fully
proved.

The English case was less carefully prepared. It could not
have been brought to appear as good as that of the Portu-
guese, but by a careful search in the archives of the Cape
Colony and in printed and manuscript volumes in the library

2 K

Ilistoyy of South Africa.

of tlui Britinli Mnsouiu, if. might. Iiavo lif'W.weoiiaidGrably
atreiigtlimoil. An uttompt was iiuulo to show tluit tiio bay
of Ijouronvo MimiUisa liKvntioniHl in tho tmity i>nt in by tlio
I'ortnguose really meant the estuary of the Touibo, Umbnlosi,
uiid, Matola, that ia the Espicito Hnnto cn* Eiigliah llivor, and
not the largo sheet of water of which this is only a very
small part, but such an interpretation was easily proved to
he incorrect. Some of the documents relied upon by the
other side were explained away, but the fact that the terri-
tory in dispute had for centuries been within the sphere of
influence of the Portuguese — though at irregular intervals and
to a very limited extent only — could not bo disturbed. If
the Portuguese claim to the southern and eastern shores of
the bay was weak, the English claim was weaker still.

On the 24th of July 1875 Marshal Mactnahon, president of
the Eienoh Republic, issued his award, which gave to Por-
tugal the territory as far south as the parallel of latitude of
2f5° 30' from the ocean to the Lobombo inoirntainB. 'Phat
included the territory of Tembo, defined as hounded on
the north by the Espirito Santo or English river and the
Lourenpo Marques, Dundas, or TJmbelosi river, on the west
by the Lehombo mountains, and on the south and the east
by the river Maputa and the shore of Delagoa Bay, In it
was also comprised the territory of Maputa, between thft
Maputa river and the sea, including the Inyaka peninsula
and the islands Inyaka and Elephant.

Yai'ious schemes for the construction of a railway between
Lourenpo Marqires and the capital of the South African
Republic had been projected before the publication of the
award which secured the seaboard to Portugal, but all had
fallen through. On the 11th of December 1875, less than
five months after that event, a treaty was entered into
between the governments of the two countries, which pro-
vided for the free interchange of the products of the soil and
industry of the republic and the Portuguese po,9seS5ions, for
' the importation free of customs duties through the port of
Dpurettpo Marques of a great many articles destined for the

453

Revival of Actwity,

ropublic ansUdViv th(' imporliitiun uf nil utlior articles thus
destined upon payment of duty at the rate of three to six
per cent of their value, as also for the couslructiou of a rail-
way from the harbour inland. Owing to political events in
South Africa this treaty could not be carried into effect for
some years, but it was revived and ratified again on the 7th
of October 1882.

On the 14th of December 1883 the Portuguese government
granted a concession for the construction of a railway about
fifty-two miles in length, from Lourenjo Marques to Homati
Poort, on the western boundary. The subsidy offered was
ample, still it was only in March 1887 that a Company was
formed in London to carry out the work. In November 1888
the line was opened to a point which was believed to be on
the Portuguese boundary, though soon afterwards it was ascer-
tained to be some distance short, and then, as it could not
be completed within the stipulated time, the government
took advantage of the opportunity and on the 24th of June
1889 cioufiscated the railway. This led to interference by
Great Britain and the United States on behalf of the share-
holders, but after much negotiatiou the Portuguese authori-
ties retained the line, and the amount of compensation to be
awarded to the Company was referred for decision to three
Swiss lawyers. These gentlemen did not issue their award
until March 1900, when they adjudged the Portuguese
government to pay £941,511, less Idian half of what the
claimants considered themselves entitled to.

Meantime on the republican side a railway was being con-
structed from the Portuguese border at Komati Poort towards
the heart of the country. In July 1895 this was completed
and joined to the southern line through the Orange Free
State and the Gape Colony, so that there is now complete
communication between Capetown and Lourenjo Marques.
A large proportion of the oommerce of the territory between
the T'aal and the Limpopo finds its way to Delagoa Bay,
and with the development of the gold fields during recent
years, the traffic is as much as the line can carry,

2 It 2

451 //a/f)/ ]' 0/' .SoHf/i

linui'uiit'o luis tKiw !«triiiui‘ ii, pliu'ir^frTi'ousidi'rublB

h»iiin‘tiiu»n‘. \ tiiwn ul' siiuu* liii» spnin;' up, uiiil is

mpidly f^ritwiii*!;, thiiii^}i tlitt ili-alli ru(,i' is liijfli.

It is Ix'UoYtHl, Udwi'VBV, that with th» uf a ffraat

luarsli adjdiniaj? it thy i»hu*y will hyyimio. h'ss unhealthy,
4’hy menus oF landing niul shipping gt)i)(ls with iaeility are
licitig provided, and a lightliouso at the (mtrauce to the
harhour has been Imilt. Tho residents of the town are of
various nationalities, a large proportion being English and
Germans. There is no eommoree of any eonaeciuonco with the
surrounding territory, whieh is, as of old, in possession of
Eantii clans, the existonce of Louroiifo lMarf|nes as a town
being due solely and entirely to the transit of merchandise
mid passengers between the shipping and tho railway to the
interior. Yot it is to-day much the moat important place iii
tho Portngnoso possosaious in South-Eastern Africa.

Next to it ftomos Beira, a town unknown fifteen ytsara ago,
and which sprang into being m the ocean torminitH of a mail
from a settlement — not Portuguese — in the interior, dloira is
at the mouth of the Pungwe tivev, not far north of Sofala.
It has . an excellent harbour, eapacious, with good depth of
water, and easy of access. The Arabs had once h small
settlement there, but the Portuguese never occupied the
place in olden times, and when the Asiatics retired, it fell
into such decay that for more than three centuries it was
almost forgotten.

Owing to negotiations with Germany and France relative
to the partitioning of the continent, iii 1887 Portugal
advatLced a claim to the whole territory between Angola and
Mozambique down to the South African Eepubiic, but Great
Britain immediately announced that her .sovereignty would
not be recognised in places not occupied by a sufficient force
to TnaintaTTi order. There were no Portuguese at all at that
time on the highlands north of the Limpopo, nor had a
single, individual of that nation, as far os is known, even
. Jj^fiitfediAhe clans there within the preceding century. The
Ski^ele ohibf Moselekatse had conquered the greater part of

Revival of Aciivity. 455

tlie c(»autry*Yn J 808 and subsequent years, had slaughtered
most o! its inhabitants, and ruled over the others with a
ferocity unknown except among African tribes. The border
of the Matabelo raids on one side was the border of the
G-aza raids (tn the other, and Lobengula, son and successor of
Moselekatse, was tlie recognised lord of the interior plateau
from the Limpopo to the Zambesi, acknowledging or pretend-
ing to acknowledge no superior. Gunguuyana, son of Umzila
and grandson of Manikusa, was tho real lord of nearly all the
territory between the edge of the interior plateau and the
sea, and though the Portuguese claimed him as a subject, he
was to all intents and purposes independent of control.

This condition of things was indisputable, yet the intense
jealousy of many Portuguese was aroused when early in 1888
an agreement was made by a British commissioner with
Lobengula, in which that chief bound himself to refrain from
entering into correspondence or concluding a treaty with any
other state or power, and the territory governed by him was
declared to be within the British sphere of influence. That
they had never occupied the country, and never could
occupy it, was not taken iuto consideration, it was the back-
ground of a line of coast which their navigators had first
discovered and along which they had military and trading
stations, and that was sufficient in their opinion to justify
their claim to it.

Negotiations were opened between the governments of
Great Britain and Portugal, but while they were proceeding
subjects of both countries were busy securing rights from
native rulers. Two Portuguese — Colonel Joaquim Carlos
Paiva d’Andrada and Lieutenant Cordon— with some black
troops visited various petty chiefs, and induced them to
accept flags and in some instances to allow a few of the
so-called soldiers to be stationed at their kraals. At the
same time several energetic Englishmen obtained from the
Matabele chief various concessions, which were united in
the hands of one strong Company, to which on the 29th
of October 1889 a royal charter was granted.

History of South Africa,

lu August ISOO ivu rtgVLH'mout wiw oiituriMl intti |jy tlio
govommeuts of (»imt ffrituin nrul Purtugiil, in wliieh tho
eastern limits of the British South Africa t Jhartcrctl Com-
pany’s terriUiry wore (loiiiied, hut it was not ratiPiod by the
cortes, though it served as a basis for a tomporai’y uuder-
standing between all tho laurties whoso interests or whose
passions were involved. At this time a strong body of men,
fitted out by tho Ohartored Company, was on the way from
tho Cape Colony to tho northern territory, and on tho 11th
of September 1800 reached tho site of the present town of
Salisbury, whero the British flog was formally hoisted and
the country taken in possession in the name of the Qneeu.

On the way up the pioneer expedition had constructed
forts at Tuli, Victoria, and Charter. From Charter tiio
Company’s administrator, Mr. Archibald Oolquhoun, with
Mr. Frederick Courteney Selous and a small escort, travelled
eastward to the Imial of Umtosa, tho principal chief of the
Manika country. With this chief, on tho Mth of Soptorabor,
an arrangemont was made, by which ho placed himsoJf nudor
the proteotiem of the British South Africa Company, to whom
he granted a concession of - mineral and other rights in Ins
country. He declared that he was not, and never had been,
under subjection or vassalage to tho Portuguese governmont,
but that a trading station had with his consent he^Sh
established by the Mozambique Company in 1888 at a place
called Andrada in the Masikesi district, some twenty miles
to the south-east, and he knew that an agent of this
Company — JoSo de Eezende by name— was residing there.
A policeman and a native interpreter were left with Umtasa
to represent the British South Africa Company, and Mr.
Colquhoun then rejoined the pioneers at Salisbury.

Mr. Selous rode over to Masikesi to visit the Portuguese
station, and on tho way mot two officers with a party of
black attendants, who were bearers of a protest against the
arrangement jtrst made- with Umtasa, and who claimed a vast
-exteut of territory to the westw'ard as being in the dominions
of their sovereign. In that territory not a single Portuguese

Revival of Activity. 457

was tlien rSs'idont, and there were not ten individuals of that
nation in the wholo of Manika.

That they had a special claim upon the allegiance of
TJmtasa, resting chiefly upon the position in which he stood
to a man named Gouveia, was afterwards brought forward.
This Gouveia, or Manuel Antonio de Sousa as he was called
by the Portuguese, was a native of Goa who had settled in
Africa shortly after the middle of the century. He was a
man of considei’able force of character, and had performed
services of great importance for the crown. Having obtained
a prazo, he armed and trained his dependents upon it, and
then acted like a powerful feudal lord in mediaeval times in
Europe, being in matters affecting his retainers and in dis-
putes with his neighbours almost, if not quite, independent,
though in everything else acknowledging the supremacy of
the Portuguese government.

He went to the aid of the people of Sena, drove away
their Gaza oppressors, and released them from the ignominy
of paying tribute. He recovered much of the territory that
had formerly been prazos and that had been overrun by the
subjects of Manikusa. Seiwices so eminent were warmly
acknowledged by the governor general at Mozambique and
by the authorities in Lisbon, and Gouveia was appointed
•chief captain of a great district and had the honorary title
of colonel conferred upon him. For twenty years the body
of men that he commanded, consisting entirely of Ms black
dependents, was almost the only miUtaiy force employed by
the Portuguese in South-Eastern Africa at a distance from
their stations. Under these circumstances war could not be
conducted as if the combatants were European soldiers, and
Gouveia's reputation among his neighbours was rather that
of a daring and successful freebooter than of an ofBcial of a
civilised government.

In 1873 the chief of the largest clan in Manika died, and
there was a quarrel concerning the succession. One of the
claimants was TJmtasa, but he was defeated in battle and
driven away. This was just such an opportunity as Gouveia

458

History of South ri/rka.

was wont to ttike advautaf'O of, 8i» ho wont to'lho aid of
Umtasa, whom ho suoooQtled in oatnldishing liinily in tho
chioftainship as a vassnl of his own. At tint same timo, how-
ever, Umtasa necessarily hocamo a depeiulout of Um/ihi, who
was parnmonnt over all the Bantu in that region. 'Hras he
had two overlords, which meant that two individuals more
powerful than hiinaolf claimed and exorcised the right of
levying trihute from him and his people at any timo. And
as both of these overlords were regarded as Portuguese
subjects, it followed that be also was in the same position.

In addition to this be had been invested with the office of
chief by the commandant of Sena, and bad received the
appointment . of sergeant-major of Manika, Further, in
February 1888 Colonel D’Andrada had hoisted the Portuguese
flag at his kraal, and had loft tlie flag in his keeping. On
all these grounds, the Portuguese authorities claimed Umtasa
as a subject and the district occupied by his people os part
of the dominions of their crown.

The British South Africa Company’s officers, on the other
hand, declined to take any notice of the Portuguese cleiin,
because it was evident Umtasa himself did not recognise it,
and because those who mode it had no mpans of maintaining
order or protecting life and property, the essential duties of
sovereignty. They did not admit that Gouveia’s followers,
constituted a force such as a civilised government had a right
to employ.

In October a report reached Salisbury that Colonel
U’Andrada and Qouveia with a band of followers were on
the way from the east towards Umtasa's kraal. Mr. Oolqu-
houn at once sent a few policemen to support the chief, and
soon afterwards increased the number to thirty and directed
Captain Patriclt William Forbes to take command. Captain
Forbes arrived at Umtasa’s kraal on the 5th of November,
and formed a temporary camp at a shoi-t distance from it.
He. > then sent a messenger to Masikesi, where Colonel
U’Andrada and Gouveia then were, with a protest against
, their proceeding farther with an armed force.

Revival of Activity, 459

(Joioiiol J9’A.ndm<.la liad no wish to precipitate matters. He
was a irighly educated and amiable man, who hod resided
ten or twelve years in South Africa, where ho had held
various oflices under the government, besides being the
occupant of a piazo at the mouth of the Zambesi. He knew
perfectly well that any force which he and G-ouveia could
bring into the held would be unable to meet the British
South Africa Company’s police in battle. Besides he was a
director of the Mozambique Company, and his interests were
all on the side of peace. But he was also a Portuguese
colonel of artillery, and his pride and patriotism revolted
against being turned away from a place that he had more
than once visited before, and that he regarded as Portuguese
territory. His ostensible mission was to open a road to the
interior from the head navigable water of the Pimgwe and to
arrange matters in connection with the exploitation of some
mines, in the interests of Ms Company, He resolved there-
fore to proceed on his journey. On the 8th of Hovember
Couvein arrived at XJmtasa’s kraal, and was followed shortly
aftei’wards by Colonel D’Andrada and JoEto de Bezende, when
their whole following amounted to between two and three
hundred men, inclnding palanquin-bearers, carriers, and personal
attendants.

Captain Porbes now resolved upon decisive action. On the
I4th of November with twelve troopere of his police he
entered Umtasa’s kraal, and arrested Gonveia and the two
Portuguese gentlemen, who had just retired from an interview
with the chief. The natives looked on with approbation, and
were ready to assist if that had been necessary. Gonveia’s
men were encamped undei- some trees several hundred yards
away, where they were surprised by the remainder of the
British police, and were disarmed before they could make any
arrangement for resistance, De Bezende was permitted to
return to Masikesi, but Colonel D’Andrada and Gonveia were
sent as prisoners to Salisbury, and left that place under
escort for Capetown. At Tnli, on the way, they met Dr.
Jameson going up to assume the administration of the

.l6o //isfi»y of South j^frua,

Bi'ltish llhartoreil (’Jompany’H tmiliiry, tuitl by" liiui were
rolensctl from furtlvor restraint. Kroin tiapotctwu (louvoia
proceeded to Mozaml)i«[ne by st<iaiui‘V, mul Oolonol D'An-
drada took passage to I’ortugal to lay the matter before bis
goverumoiit.

After tbe arrest of tbeir loader and the soiznre of their
arms, Gonveia’s men lied homeward, and to prevent the
Mozambique Company’s trading station at Andrada in
Masikesi from being plundered. Captain Eovbos placed a
temporary guard there. He then proceeded to visit various
native chiefs living between the Busi and I’niigwe rivers,
with whom he entered into friondly arrangements, his object
being to secure a road to the coast at Eeira, a place which
the Mozambique Company had recently made use of as a
harbour.

There was groat excitement in Portugal when intelllgouco
of the events at XJmtasa’s kraal reached that country. Banda
of students pressed forward as voluntoers to defend the
honour of their flag, and were sent with all haste to** Boira.
It seemed as if the ancient spirit of the people of tho little
kingdom had revived, and that they were ready to proceed
to the last extremity in an attempt to get nominal possession
of a territory that could bo of no use whatever to them.
The government, however, was not so far carried away witl>
the prevailing excitement as to cease negotiations for a
friendly settlement with the British authorities.

Upon the arrival of the first party of volunteers at Beira,
they were sent forward with some negroes from Angola, undor
command of Major Oardas Xavier, to occupy Andrada. They
arrived at that station on the 5th of May 1891. Hot far
distant was a camp of the British South Africa Company’s
police, fifty-three in number, commanded by Captain Heyman.
On the llth of May a Portuguese force, consisting of
about a hundred Europeans and three or four hundred
Angola blacks, was sent out to make a reconnaissance, and
at two in. the afternoon fell in with the English pickets, who
retired upon • the camp. The Portuguese followed, and an

Revival of Activity, ^6i

iu!ti(ju mis'bixmglit on, wLieli resulted in their total defeat,
witli a heavy loss iii Itillad and wounded. There were no
casualties on tho British side. Umtasa and his followers
watched the engagemeirt from the top of a hill out of range
of the shot, and expressed great satisfaction with the result,
though probably they would have done the same if the
position of the combatants had been reversed.

The whole Portuguese force now fled precipitately to the
seacoast, abandoning Andrada, which the British Chartered
Company’s men occupied on the following day. They found
there some stores, of which they took possession as lawful
spoil of war, but the most valuable part of the booty con-
sisted of eleven machine guns that had been left behind.

Meantime tlie negotiations between the two governments
in Europe had been brought nearly to a close, and when
intelligence of the collision arrived, they were quickly
completed. On the 11th of June 1891 a treaty was signed
at Lisbon, in which the boundary between the British and
Portuguese possessions south of the Zambesi was declared to
be a line starting from a point opposite the mouth of the
river Aroangwa or Loangwa, tumiing directly southward as far
tis the sixteenth parallel of south latitude, following that
parallel to its intersection with the thirty-first degree of
longitude east of Greenwich, thence running eastward direct
to the point where the river Mazoe is intersected by the
thirty-third degree of longitude east of Greenwich, following
that degree southward to its intersection by the parallel of
south latitude of 18° 30', thence following the upper part of
the eastern slope of the Manica plateau southward to the
centre of the main channel of the Sabi, following that
channel to its confluence with the Lunte, and thence striking
direct to the north-eastern point of the frontier of the South
Afrinnn Bepuhlic. It was agreed that in tracing the frontier
along the slope of the plateau, no territory west of longitude
32° 30' east of Greenwich should be comprised in the Portu-
gxtese sphere, and no territory east of longitude 33° east of
Greenwich should ho comprised in the British sphere, except

46a Ih'iloty t>/ Souf/i ^l/i'ica.

that thn line should, if iu)i‘i'8S(iry, ho clotloi^tod so tvs to leave
irmtnaa’H kraal in th(\ Llritiah sphovit and MaHiknai in the
Tortugueso sphere.

The treaty provided furllior that in the event of either of
the powers proposing to part with any territory south of the
Zambesi assigned to its sphere of influence, tho other should
have a preferential right to the territory in question, or any
portion of it, upon similar terms.

It provided for the transit of goods across tho Portuguese
territory during the following twenty-live years npon pay-
ment of a duty not exceeding throe per cent of their value,
for the free navigation of tho Zambesi, for the constriujtion
of lilies of telegraph, and for facilitating transit of persons
and goods of every description over the waterways of tho
various rivers and over tho landways which supply moans of
communication where tho rivers are not navigable.

A very important ohuise provided for the iimnediato survey
and speedy construction of a railroad between tho British
sphere of iufliieuca and tho navigable water of tho Pflngwo
river, and for encouraging, commorce by that route.

And now, for the first time, the I, Portuguese territory in
South Africa was properly defined on all sides, and was
secured from invasion by tribes boyond its border. It con-
tained as great an area as its owners could by any possibility *•
make beneficial uso of, and as many natives as they had
sufficient power to control. It would not have been to their
advantage if the boundary had been laid down farther west-
ward. They could not colonise any of the land beyond it,
and without colonisation on a large scale an addition of
territory would have implied nothing more than additional
expense arid additional responsibility. Now, with ample scope
for their commercial enterprise, with an assured revenue, and
with two flourishing seaports-^Lourenpo Marques and Beira — >
in their possession, their prospects were brighter than ever
before. This they owed to the settlement of other EurCpean
nations on the highlands away from the coast, and theiv
pride, which was wounded by seeing the vast interior of the

Revival of j^lcfivify, 463

fonliimnt. in utlioi- liandh' luiglit bo soothed by the rodectiou.
fu UL-oiird 111 10(1 with tho terms of the treaty, a railroad lias
1)0011 omistruotod between Boira and Salisbury, through
llmfali, the British town nearest the border. The capital
was furnished by the British South Africa and Mozambique
companies, the former contributing rather more than the
latter. Beira is built on a tongue of sand extending into
the Pungwe river. The site is the healthiest on that part
of the const, but the flat country stretching away behind
is a hotbed of fever. The town has advanced with rapid
strides, and is now a place of considerable importance.

The whole of Portuguese South Africa between the Zam-
besi and Sabi rivers, except the district of which Tete is the
centre, is now ruled by the Mozambique Company. This
Company was formed in 1888 as a mining corporation, the
acquisition of the gold-fields of Mnnikn being the inducement
to tho shareholders to subscribe the capital. On the 11th
of Pobruavy 1891, however, the Company obtained a royal
chartery which conferred upon it large administrative powers.
Tho charter was followed on the 30th of July by a royal
decree, and on the 28th of December of the same year by
the publication of statutes, which doouments combined form the
present constitution. The Company has a monopoly of all
^nineral and commercial rights, which it may lease in detail
to associations or individuals, it is under an obligation to
introduce a limited number of colonists, and it has taxing
and governing powers subject to the supreme authorities at
Lisbon.

The chief official of the Mozambique Company in the terri-
tory between the- Zambesi and Sabi rivers has the title of
governor, and resides at Beira. The country is divided into
districts, over each of which a commissioner, subordinate to
the governor, presides. The officers who administer justice
are appointed by the supreme government,- and are not
subject to the Chartered Company, but to the governor-
general at Mozambique. There are courts at Beira, Sena,
Andrada, Sofala, Chiloane, Gonveia, and Ohupanga. Sena

His/ofy of Soufh Africa .

«ui(l Rijfala havo luit thoivold tiupui'liuivt', aiuall tiH

that was, uud ant now insif^tiihcaiil. [iliKats coinitiirotl wiMi lltdra.
Aiitlmda and ('liiloane havo boon dosoribod. (^ouvoui and
Ohupanga, rcooiitly tho uentros of prazus, can Inmlly yut bo
dignified with tho name of hamlets, 'i’ho last-named — Ohu-
panga — on the southern bank of tho Zambesi, ia well known to
ISnglish xendera as the burial place of JVlrs. Livingstone, wife of
the celebrated exjdorer, and of Mr. Kilpatrick, a member of tho
surveying expedition under Captain Owen. It is one of the
most beautiful localities in a land that abounds with charming
scenery, but the deadly fever must for ever prevent it from
becoming a place of note.

The old system of giving out great tracts of country as
piazos has been abolished, unless the whole territory bo
regarded as one great prasio in possossion of the Oluirtored
Mozambique Company, By that Company unoccupied
ground is now allotteil for agricultural purposes on quil-veiit
tonuro, but no area larger than ftvo thousand English acres
can bo hold by any individual or association. Ocojipation
of ground and mining are open to people of all uatioualitu's,
upon condition of theii' submission to tho lavrs of iho
country.

The tract of land between the Limpopo and Manisa rivera,
from the inland border to the sea, is held by another Com-
pany under a concession, from the crown, dated ICtli of
November 1893, but nothing of consequence has yet been
done to develop its resources.

lahambane, the port of the territory between the Limpopo
and the Sabi, has made some progress of late years, though
as it ia dependent upon trade with the natives only, it is
far less important than Louren 9 o Marques or Beira. Tho
village consists of a church and a few houses and shops.

-There remains the territory of which Tete is the seat of
government, between the Zambesi and the Anglo-Portnguese
^ border west of the Mozambique Company’s district. Early
in the nineteenth century the greater number of the prazos
there were ahnost denuded of people, so many were sent

Revival of Activity,

465

tuvtiy as slaves to Hra/iil. * Washing for goliT ceased, and the
largor ])art of tln^ tevi’itory reverted to tiio condition iu which
it was when wlnitu people lirst saw it. The village of Tete
sank to be a mere depot of the ivory trade.

Thus long before 1844 Portuguese influence had been
declining, and in that year it was completely lost by the
insurrection of a Goanese half-breed named Joaquiin Jos4 da
Cruz, commonly called Nyaude, who was the holder of an
extensive prazo. This man armed and trained some four
hundred black dependents, and then built a strong stockade
at the confl-uence of the Luenya with the Zambesi, from
which he exacted tribute upon all commerce passing up and
down. Two of the neighbouring chiefs were induced hy the
authorities of Tete to attack him, but were repulsed, and
their people were exterminated as a warning to others.

Nyaude then sent a division of his force, under his son
Bonga, or as called by the Portuguese Antonio Vicente da
Cruz, against Tete, when the village was plundered and
moat of ‘the buildings burned. The church and a few houses
wore spared, and the fort, into which the inhabitants retired,
was not taken. In the following year, 1854, two hundred
men were sent from Lisbon to suppress the revolt, but after
suffering from hunger, fever, and other forms of misery,
tj;iey were defeated by Bonga, and those who remained alive
were obliged to retreat.

In 1855 an amnesty was offered to Nyaude, but he
declined to accept it, and continued his career of robbery.
The unfortunate inhabitants of Tete were reduced to great
distress, but nothing could he done to relieve them, and no
shadow of Portuguese authority remained beyond the range
of the guns of tbe fort.

A few years later Nyaude died, and was succeeded hy his
son Bonga. Efforts were made to conciliate the new chief,
who was appointed sergeant-major of Masangano, hut he
would not desist from plundering far and near, nor submit
to control of any kind. Early in 1867 he massacred a
number of people, and then a force eight hundred strong

466 History of South Afriiu,

was Viiiseil at ]!iltizambi(|iu' aiitl sfut ii{j;auist hilii. ()u tlin
(itli ol' August this t\»rt*o, wluui cIdsm in tin* slufUatlo, wan
attacked by tho rubber captain, ami was dutValcd with
great slaughter. I’wo otlior expeditious scut against liiin in
the sumo year also failed.

In 1869 Portugal made auutkuc oft'ort to recover her autho-
rity. A hundred artillerymen and four hundred fusil eers,
well equipped with war material, wore sent frimi Lisbon, and
were joined by three hundred and fifty soldiers from Goa and
as many Africans as could be enlisted and armed along the
Zambesi. But the campaign was so badly conducted that the
men were suffering from want of food before they reached
the scene of action, and tho military movements wore carried
on with the utmost vacillation and want of skill. Bonga’s
stockade was bombarded with artillery for three days without
a broach being clfootocl, and the army was so tUstvilmtod that
the heat section of it was surprisod and annihilated. The
failure of tho expedition was complete, and thoso who escaped
slaughter were few. •

From that time until 1888 Bonga’s powor^ — tho power »f an
audacious and moroiless ruffian— -was supreme. Thou Gouvoia
took the matter in band, and not the least- of the scrviee.s
which he performed for his government was the capture (jf
the stockade and the dispersion of the robber band. Arraugi^-
ments with various chiefs along the river followed, and the
Portuguese influence was again restored.

Tete has been rebuilt, and now contains the church which
was spared when the village was plundered by Bonga and
from, twenty to thirty stone houses of European pattern, roofed
with red tiles. It is protected by a small garrison of black
troops with white officers, who occupy a quadrangular fort
overlooking the river. The European residents, officials in-
duded, do not number more than twenty-five or thirty, for
the commerce of the place is small. A native town of
ordinary huts stands close behind the European quarter. The
government of -Tete, as of all the Fortugnese stations in
South Africa except those under the administration of the

Rcviml of ActivUy, 467

Chiirterod Obiapany, ia military iu form, and subordinate to
Mozambiquo. The Jesuits have reeeiitly established a mission
here and also at a station a few miles distant. There are
oxtousive coal fields in the neighbourhood, and it is possible
that, owing to them, the village may some day become a
thriving place.

Throughout the whole territory from the Zambesi to
Lourenfo Marques difficulties in controlling the Bantu have
heeu experienced, but Portugal has opened her eyes to the
fact that it is necessary to employ other and better forces
than convicts and uncivilised negroes, and she has succeeded
in establishing her authority fairly well. In a war with a
chief named Makoinhi in 1892 Gouveia lost his life, but his
opponents were subsequently vanquished. Then TJmdungazwe,
or Gnngunyana as called by the Portuguese, son and
successor of Umzila, gave a great deal of trouble. He
assumed an attitude of independence, and demanded that
tribute should be paid to him by the Portuguese. This led
to wav in 1896, when Gnngunyana was made a prisoner and
banished from South Africa. Since that event the peace of
the country has not been seriously disturbed.

Liues of English and German steamships now connect the
various harbours with Europe by way of the Eed sea, and
Wth the British settlements of Natal and the Cape Colony. >
The commerce of the territory has made rapid progress.
Unfortunately a large proportion of it is in the hands of
Indian traders, a class of people who do not contribute to
the strength of a country, nor improve it in any way. But
in all other respects the prospects of Portuguese South
Africa seem brighter to-day than at any previous time since
Pedro d’Auaya built the first fort on the river bank of
Sofala.

INDEX

Abogaza, Bautu tvibe; azoftpo from Tsbnia and ravoga tha country round
Colagoa Bay; In 1838 doatroy the Portuguaae fort at Iiourenpo Marques
and murder the garrison; sattlo on the Sabi river and carry on war with
tho Augoni, 489; plunder Inhambano and slaughter the Inhabitanta;
doatroy Sofola; attack Sana, kill most of tho inhabitants, and exact
tribute from that poet thoroafter, 440 and 441. See Qungunyana,
Hanikusa, and Umzila

Abraham, emir of Kilwa: particulars oonoeming, 110, 133, 164, 160, 167,
16S, 194, 201, 302, and 208. See Kilwa
d'Abranohea, Dom Alvaro; succeeds Nuno da Ounha as oaptain of Mozam-
bique, sei

d'Abrou, Manuel : is the holder of au onormoua prazo, 388
d’Abron, Yasoo Gomes; is the fourth oaptain of Sof^a, 196; on the 8th of
Soptoinbor 1607 assumes duty, 197; sails with four vessels from that
port, and is never hoard of agidn, 199 and 200
Alfonso VI ; on 21st 7uue 1662 becomes king of Portugal ; on account of
his worthless character is forced into retirement on the 23rd November
*1667, and dies sixteen years later, 887
Africa; ignorance of the limits of at the beginning of the fifteenth century,
124; the south-western coast of is never carefully examined by the
Portuguese, 29

Agoada de Soldauha : in 1603 is visited by Antonio de Saldanha, and is there-
after called by his name, 162. See fCable Bay
Agoada de Boo Bras; is visited and named by Bortbolomon Bias, 123; is
visited by Paulus van Caeiden in 1601, who changes its name to Mossel
Bay, 814

AgrlCultiue: among the Bantu is maiuly left to women, 98; is not much
practised Asiatic settlers on the eastern coast of Africa, 110
d’ Aguiar, Teronymo ; commands a company in Pranolsoo Barreto’s expedition,
244; dies at Bona, 260

d’Alonquer, Pedro: sails as pilot with Bartholomeu Dios, 126; and in the
same capacity with Yasco da Gama, 186
d’Alborgaria, Lopo Soares: in 1504 sails from Lisbon in command of a -fleet,
164; touches at Kilwa on return passage; ooourrenoes there, 164

2 L 2

470

Jlisioyy of South Afyka,

Albert of Austria, aroluliiko: K'Worns I'ortufjal for the fetiig*, in tbflJi reooivoa
a lobtoc from tho InKlioir of Malacca asking for inisainnarios,

Albinos: aro somotimcin allowed to lire among tlin litvnbu, :ii
d’Alboquorquo, Attonso: in lf)0!i nniU from Xiihlinn witli a squadron fur India,
161; on 0th Mavoli 150(1 nails for tho si'i'ond timo from Lisbon uith a
iloot for India, 176; assists Trisldo da Cunlui in destroying tlju, making
Lanin tributary to Portugal, and doatrciying llravii, 171 and 175; on
Sth November 1500 suceoeds Horn Frnncihco d’Alintiida in tbo govornmont
of PortugueHe India, 176

d’Alboquerque, Prancisoo ; in 1603 sails with a squadron for India, 161 ; leaves
India to return home, and is novor again hoard of, 106 and 103
d'Alboquerquo, Dom loilo ; in March 1539 assumes duty at doa as first
bishop of India, 664

d'Aloaqova, Biogo : accompaiiioB Podro d* Anaya to Sofala, and sends a report
to the king upon tho trade thero, 204

Algoa Bay : is not oommendod as a port by Manuel do Mosqulta Perostrello,
689 ; is mentioned by Ian Huyghen -vafa Idnseboten, 811
Ali, sou of tho ruler of Bhiras : Is the founder of Itilwa, 108
Alliauoo betwoon tho ISugltsb and Butoh Hast India Qompanies; is eiiterod
into in 1619 and again In 1623, bat is novor carried into elfsot, 887
d* Almeida, Antonio Oardoso i is loft by Vasoo Pornandos llomom in ohargo
of a gavrisonod fort on the Zambesi; suiuls out u raiding party to obtain
mlllot and cattle j is bosiogod by the natlvos niilil his provisions foil;
trios to out his way out, ond is killod with all his moii, 654*
d’ Almeida, Bom Pronoisoo; partioulars oonoerning, 166; on lUo 26111 of
March 1606 sails from the Tagus with a largo fleet for liullii whore
after tho eieotion of oertaln fortresses he Is to assnnie tbo tillo of
viesroy, 166 ; on the 22nd of Inly reaohes ICilwa, 167 ; on the 24th soisos
and sacks the tovm, IGS; buil^ and garrisons a fort there, 168; and
.establisheB a government tributary to Portugal, 169; on tho 13th of
August arrives at Mombasa, 170; after sovoro fighting takes tho ?own
by storm, pillages, and bums it, 171 and 172; makes largo presents to
the friendly ruler of Melindo, and then sails for India, 173 ; on 2nd Pobru-
ary 1609 defeats a great Egyptian Hoot off Bin, 176 ; on 5th November
1609 trsiusfers the government to Ailonso d'Alboquerquo, 170; on 19 th
November 1609 soils from Ooohin for Portugal, 177 ; on tho passage
puts into Table Bay, and on let Marob 1610 is killed by Hottentots, 178
d’ Almeida, loSo Henriques: in 1783 abandons tho fort at Lourouqo Marques,
426

d’ Almeida, Bom Lourenqo; assists in the seizure of ICilwa, 167; assists in
the reduction of Mombasa, 171; is killed in battle with Emir Hooem in
the harbour of Ohanl, 176

d’ Almeida, Bom Miguel: encoeeds Gaetano de Mello de Oastro as governor of
Mozsmbique, 399, 406

d’ Almeida, Bom Pedro; in April 1677 is appointed viceroy of India, 396;

'restores order on. eastern coast of Africa, 396
I'masi, fermented milk: used as food by Bantu, 80

Index.

471

Amerioiin whalora ;» fceqiioiit Dolagok Bay, 423

ArastorJam, merchants of: in 1596 Ht out fleet for rndia, 308; piaponder-
auoe of the city iu the Dutob mast India Oompany, 019
d’ Anaya, fl’ronoiBoo: in 1606 oommandB a eguadron of war on the Bast
African coast, 187 \ oommits ruthless acts of barbarity ; loses two ships
by wreck, 188

d Anaya, Bedro ! on the 18th of May 1606 sails with she ships from the
Tagus to build u fort at Sofala, 182; arrives at his destination and has
on interview with the sheik Isuf, 186; on 21st September commences
to build a fort, 180; repels an attack of the Mohomedans aided by a
Bantu clan, and firmly establiahas Portuguese authority, 188 to 191;
shortly ofterwards dies of fever, 191

Andrada, trading station : Oaptain Porbes places a guard at ; on &th May
1891 Major Cardas Xavier with Portuguese volimteers arrives at, 460;
is abandoned by the Portuguese and token possession of by the English,
461

d’ Andrada, Oolonel ; in Pehmary 1888 hoists the Portuguese flag at Umtasa’s
kraal; marohos against that chief on hearing of his oouaessions to the
British, 468 ; is arrested by Oaptain Porhes and sent to Salisbury as a
prisoner, 469 ; is released by Dr, Jameson, and proceeds to Portugal, 460
d' Andrada, letonymo : oommands a oompany in Pranoisco Barreto’s expedition,
244

d’ Andrada, Quofre Loureufo, oaptain of fort at Lourenpo Harfiues : aids Umzila
against his brother, and on 2ud December 1861 receives oession of territory,
449

d’ Andrade, Potnso Martins Preire, captain of Mozambiq.ue ; has oertaln trading
privileges, 274 and 276

d’ Andrade, Terouymo, oaptain of Tete : is sucoessful In wars against invading
barbarians, 209

Augo, Jean, Preuoh merohaut : sends from Dieppe three ships to India, SOS
An|P)la, governor of ; ofiers reward to any one crossing Aiiioa to Zanzibar, 446
Angoni, Bantu horde : reach the Sabi river from Zululond and carry on war
with the Ahagaza; proceed northward to Lake Eyassa, 489
Angosha ; islands and river desoribed, 118

Angra dos Uheos, now Angra Pequena: discovery of by Bartholomeu Dias,
126

Animsls : domestic, of Hottentots, 21 ; certain kinds held in respect by Bantu
tribes, 46 ; cruelty of Bantu towards, 64 ; domestic, of Bantu, 86
Ankoni, Mohamed : particulars concerning, 160, 169, and 194
Antiquity "of man in South Africa: proofs of, 1 and 2
Antonio, Dom, prior of Orato : seizes the mown of Portugal, but in April 1681 '
is expelled by a Spaxush army, 287
Antonio, a oahra wrecked in the Santo Alberto ; account of, 380
Aracaty, marquis of, governor of Mozambique : on 11th Hovemher 1887 issues
a proclamation declaring the ueoessity of continuing the slave trade, 442
d’ Araujo, BeloMor, captain of Tete; suooessfully oonduota an expedition
against a force Of Bantu, 343

<!l 72 History of So7(i/i A/rifo.

d’Amujo, Joftquim; in 17B2 in sont lo Ilolnlfeoa Bay t,a ooiisitvuot a Inrt, hut
disB tihoro, 420

Afhlti'atioii : of tho protiidont of tUo l^runeh Ro])ubUo autuioi'tiiiig tliu Bi-itiHli
and the Portuguoso olaluiB to Dalagoa Bay, 451 ; of tliroo SwiaB lawyers
oonoeming tho amount to ho paid by the Portuguoso government for
oondsoated railway, 453

dos Archonjos, Father Miguel; ostabliBhos a mission in the Kitovo counti 7 ,
403

Anns ; permission to carry in Monomotapa's territory granted to Portuguese,
343

Arquebuses; terror caused to barbarians by, 260

Asiatic Oompany of Trieste : attempts to ostablish trading stations at Delagoa
Bay, 424

Asiatios: settle in South-Eastern Afrioa at somo remote time and introduce
great changes, 81 j may have come from Tyre, 101; build temples and
forts, 102; religion of, 103; carry on gold mining oxtensively and have
good system of irrigation, 104; ally themselves with native women, and
finally become fused with the Bantu, 105; those foiiud along tho coast
in 1600 are Arabs and Persians, whose literature and history have been
preserved, 106 ; oharaoter and superstitions of, 114
Astrolabe, the: use of, 138 and 309

d’Attude, Bona Beatiia, wife of Francisoo Barreto; dies of plague at Iiisiion
two days after her husband’s departure for South Africa, 2S0
d’Ataide, Bom Estovgo, oaptain of Mosamhiquo: defends Fort Stto Sohasliao
gallantly against tho Butoh under Paulus van Ooerden, 823 to 827 ; and
under Pieter Verhoeff, 828 to 881; sends speoiinens of rich silver ore to
Lisbon, 342 ; is appointed captain general of the Oonquosl and proooods to
Sena, 947 ; account of his proceedings until Ms rooall, 347 to 340 ; dios at
Hozomhiqne, 340; conduct of the king towards him, 860
d’Ataide, Bom Luis, viceroy of India ; sends horses and stores for Fraucisco
Barreto's espedition, 238; iudnoes the Bominioons to estahlish a hoGse
of their order at Mozambique, 268

d’Avelar, Father Franoisoo: oorrics speoimens of silver ore from Ohioova lo
Lisbon, 855

d’Azevado, Bom Jeronymo, viceroy of India; dealings of with Soutli-Eastorn
Africa, 849 and 867

d'Azevedo, Bom Toao: is appointed captain of Mozambique for one year, 349
d’Azevedo, Simao de Miranda: in October 1512 assumes duty as seventh
captain of Sofola, 206

- Bahia Fermosa (Plettenherg's Bay) : aooount of the wreck of tho Siio Gonqalo
- in 1680 at, 877

Bangne (dacha or iwlld hemp) ; use mode of by tbs Hottentots, 21 ; by tho
Bantu, 79

Bantu : pressure into South Africa of the, 6 ; area ooeupled in 1600 by, 6 ;
skull measurements of, 0 and 7 ; distinguishing oharaoteriatios of, 8 ;
geimral description of, 29 ; 'Why so oalled by ' Br. Bloek, SO ; variations

Index.

473

among, fU ; ipotsonal appoaiHuoo of, 32 ; caiiso of woman being often
stuiitod iu growth, 33; passions and diuaasoa of, 39; weak or deformed
ohildron allowed to dio, 98; are long-lived and prolific, 34; in.ngiin.gA of,
34 ; fonns of govommont, 35 ; affinity of dialects of eastern and western
coasts, 35; marriage laws, 37; formation of new tribes, 39; powers of
chiefs, 39; standard of virtue, 40; dues to chiefs on trade, 41; duties of
priests, 42 ; religion of, 41 et scg. ; mode of interment of chiefs, 44 ; account
of Qomata, 40 ; respect paid to certain animals, 46 ; superstitious regarding
domous and water spirits, 47 ; belief in sorcery, 49 ; legend regarding the
origin of men and animals, 50 ; festivities on the appeaimoe of the new
moon, 61 ; influence of religion on government, 61 ; belief in revelations
from the spirit world, 52; belief in i-ainmohers, 52; use of herbs as
medicine, 52 ; belief iu charms and divinations, 53 to 55 ; laws and tribunals
of justiee, 56; trials for witolioraft, 57; mode of reckoning time, 59;
legandory history, 00; folklore, 81; specimens of proverbs, 61 to 64; poetry
and musical instruments, 64; offleial praisors of chiefs, 64; dynastic titles,
06; modo of naming individuals, 65; praotioe of oirearuaision and corres-
ponding rito for females, 66 to 09; marriage oustoms, 70 to 75; want of
chastity, 70; language of women, 77; agriculture, 78; use of beer, 78;
use of daoha, 78 ; mode of preserving grain, 79 ; milk and flesh food, 80
and 91 ; prooUcs of cannibalism in ostramo necessity, 81 ; land tenure, 82 ;
desoription of gardens, 82; description of kraals and huts, 83; domestic
animals, 84; law of Inheritanoo, 86; weapons of war, 86; military training,
80 ; clothing and ornaments, 87 ; headrests, 88 ; manufactures of iron, 88
aird 80 ; of copper, 90 ; of wood, 90 ; of glue vases, 91 ; of skin robes, 91 ;
of oarthouwaro, 92; of mats and baskets, 02; Idleness of men, 93; disregard
of truth, 08 ; differences between tribes of coast and interior, 93 and 94 ;
cheertulnoss of woman, 95 ; evening occupations, 95 ; gomes of obUdren, 96
to 08; toys of children, 98; forms of greeting, -98; capabilities of indi-
viduals, 99; want of meohanical aptitude, 100; reduction to slavery of
some trlbea iu remote times, 104 ; are termed Kaffirs or infi.dels by Moha-
medon Immigrants, 109 ; first interoouise with Europeans, 148 ; ocnsidei it
polite to agree with honoured guests, 227 ; are baptized by Portugnose
missionariea in large numbers, 227, 229, 270 ; failure of the first mission to,
231 ; superstitious feat of smoke from guns, 246 ; important tribes south of
Delagoa Bay in 1600, 301; disintegration of tribes through oontoot with
Portuguese, 888 ; general frultlessness of mission work by the Portuguese,
402; perpetuol. wars among tribes, 409, 427, 429, and 441; during the
eighteenth century lose all knowledge of Ohristianity, 422

Banyans; particulars concerning, 898 and 399

Baptism: of chief and others at Otongwo, 227; of the Monomotapa and
others hy Bom Gonijalo da Sllveira, 229 ; of seventeen hundred persons at
SofeJa, 270; of two sons of the Monomotapa at Tete 346; of the Mono-
motapa Manuza, 367; of the Kiteva, 384; of the Monomotapa Domingos,
886

Baptista, Pedro JoSo, native trader : crossing of Africa by, 446

Bar : varying weight of, 274

- 17‘1

liistoyy of Soufh A/nitr.

Uiirbuila, Piii'lnguoso Iiiatiiriaii : rnfoiMnci”; aiul :V3il «

Bai'buclu, {.lyrtu; voynKO of in IfiOC mid IMk'i, Bill iiitid I!*!!

Barreto, Ifutbcv Miviniol: report of, adS, 3!ft3, and

Burrotu, JPraiiaiHOo : from iridfi to Ifiiia iB govornut gouoral of l^ortuguoae
India, 235; ovcuts on paHstigo from (loa to Iitbbon, 2H7; particularii coii>
corning, 233 ; is axipointcd. oomnmndor of on espcdilioii to conquer Huiith*
Eiuitortt Africa, 21IS ; on Kith April ISli!) oailH from liolom ; on 4tli
AugUHt arrivoo at the liny of All Bainto ; in January 1570 oaiio again ;
on IGth May arrivoa at Mozambique, 236; viBitB various plocos on tlie
African coast, 237 ; makes ready to proceed to the roliuf of Cliaul, but
on the arrival of the viooroy that purpose is ohangod, 288; in November
1571 leaves Mozambique for Sena, 239; commences building a fort at
Sona, 240 ; inflicts barbarous orncltios upon Mobamedaus, 241 ; sends
envoys to the Monomotapa, 242 ; at end of July 1572 leaves Sena with
his army and marches up the Zambesi, 244 ; above the Lupata gorge
turns to the south to attack Mongasi, 246 ; gains several vieterios,
but from sickness and want of provisions is obliged to retreat, 246
and 247 ; returns to Sona and ibenoa to Mozambique, 24B and 241) ;
on IQbh May 1678 reaches Sena again with supplies, and flnds nearly
all his soldiers had porisbod, 260; dies in groat distress of mind, and is
buried in Fort Hilo Marfal, bull bis remains ate afliotwards removed
to T’ortugal, 251

Davrolo, Pedro ; is oaptatu of Mozambique, bill throws up his oflloo and
leaves for Europe in fit of Jealousy, 236 ; shabby troatmont of* Luis do
CamOes by, 286 ; dies on tho passage to Lisbon, 287 ; is named to sue-
coed bis unolo Frauoisoo Bareoto, hut is then long dead, 251
Barroto, Buy Nunes, son of Froneisoo Barreto : dies of fever at Sena, 244
Barros, Diogo 'Feixoiia : is oommander of a stookade at Ohiuovti, whore ho
Qxporlonoes many diflloulties, 852 and 868
de Barros, Jeronymo ; m November 1628 goes as an envoy to the Munomo-
tapa, 866; by whose order ha is murdered, 366
Baskets : as made by Bantu women, 92
Bntonga: aro found south of tho Sabi rivor, 211
Bondesi, English ship: in 1687 visits Delagoa Bay, 407

Bazaruta Islands: doscription of, 121; pearls obtained at, 121; visit of sbip-
wreoked people to, 294; occupation by the Portuguese of, 442
Bazunga; native name for Portuguese, 220
' Beads ; trofiic in reserved for the royal treasury, 416

Beatrice, Dona, wife of Dom Paul de Lima : is wracked iu tlie Sao Thome,
292

Beer ; method of making by tho Bantu, 78

Beira, formerly Porto Bongo, at month of tho Pungwe river : small Moha-
<medan Bottlement at, 120; excellent harbour at, 464; present importance
of, 468

Bent, j;:Pheodoie, arohcaologlst ; in 1891 examines ruins of buildings in
Sonth'Eastem Africa, 101
. Bietg Bamaras.; desoiiption of, SI

Index.

475

Borg Bivor : discovornd by Kiflolott Ooolho and nomad Bio da SSo Thiogo,

laa

BornordoUi Mtguol : is soufe by IPraneisco Barrato as on envoy to the
Monomotajia, but Is drowned on tbs way, 242
Bovo, Bantu ohlof : in 1760 oudes o largo tract of land near Oiete to the
Bortuguoso, 411

Bickford, Oaptoin : on Btli November 1861 hoists the British flog on Inyoko
and Ulephont Islands, 448
Board of Oonaoienoe; deoislon of in 1569, 234

Booorro, Antonio, keeper of the archives at Goa: revises a report on South-
Bostern Afrioa drawn up for the use of the king, 874
Booorro, Gaspar: journey from Obicova to Mombasa of, 856 and 366
Bolts, Lieutenant Oolonel William : tries to form trading stations at Belagoa
Bay for on Austrian Company, 424
Bonn Jesus, Portuguese gaUeon; capture of by the Butoh, 381
Bono Implements; partioulars conoeming, 11

Bonga or Antonio Vloente da Cruz : insurrection against the Portuguese of,
46S and 466

Borges, Gaspar: is envoy from Praucisoo Barreto to the Monomotapa, 249
Both, Piotor; rofercnoos to, 314 and 332
Bobonghi ; uanib given to gold diggers, 92

BrandSo, Antonio Pereira, captain of Mozambique ; treacherous conduct of,
248 and 240

Bravo t is founded by Arabs, 107; description of in 1600, 116; denlinga of
Buy Louronpo Bavasoo with some members of the government of, 1C8 ;
In 1600 is destroyed by TristSo da Cuuha and Alfonso d’Alboqnertiue,
174 ; shocking barbarities of some of the soldiers, 174
dc Brito, Andre de Alpoim : has command of a bastion in siege of Port SSo
SebastiSo by the Dutch, 828

de Brito, Pranoiaoo : in 1519 sonde a report to the king upon the trade of
Sofala, 208

de Brito, Lourenpo : in 1610 ia killed by Hottentots near Table Talley, 179
de Brito, Lourenpo : in 1604 is defeated in war with the Oabires, 822
Btoohodo, Pianoiaoo : eBtabllshmenta on the lower Zambesi of, 291
de Buoquol, Jacob: account of the ho^ital at Mozambique by, 402
Bukoto, trading station ; accounts of, 264, 2C5, and 842
Bulls : conceding commerce from Cape Nun to India to the kings of Portugal,
284

Burial of Bantu chiefs : sloughter of attendants, wives, and favourite animals
at, 44 and 46

Bushmen: weapons used by, 2, 4, and 11; area occupied by in 1600, 6; skull
measurements of, 6 and 7 ; distinguishing oharootaristios of, 8 ; Hottentot
and Bantu names for, origin of the European name, power of oonoealiug
themselves, language, 9 ; places of abode, habitatioua, food, power of
endurance, oaidess disposition, 10 ; use of stone implements, use of
poison, 11 ; clothing, hunger belts, mode of warfare, ornaments, 18 ;
mode of procuring fire, proUfloocy of, disposition of, 14 ; cbaraoteristics

476

HisUny of Soui/i Africa.

of poi'Hon, lovo of lihui'ty, hii]io[HtiU(>nri, i'nn*)umK I’oWrti', 1;^; powov of
nihuicry, avtifltio powoi’, JC; Rtront' (umhn of lonality, sosuitv luaiitifocturi'a
of, oi'diuary luodo al Vivhig, 17 ; uiuMSeiiil in«bvuuionLH, modo of diinuiiiij;,
gamoa, pmofaioo of akloli monogamy, iucapabilify of adopting olviliaod
habita, 18

Oabirea, hordo of barbariaiia ; invade the territory of tho Monomotapa, 3'2ti
Cabral, Foriulo Alvaros : is wrooked in lS5i neat the mouth of tho ITmtala,
282; ia drowned in the Tugela, 285

Cabral, Pedro Alvarea: on the 0th March 1500 sails from Lisboa for India
with thirtoen ships, 161 ; on the 2dth April disoovora tho coast of Brazil,
152 ; on tho 20th Huly lenchea Mosambiguo with only six ships, 1,53 ;
visits Kilwa, 163; at Moliiide obtains pilots and sails for tho Malabar
coast, 165; on the Slst July 1501 reaches Lisbon again, 165
do Oahroyra, Joseph: is wrechod on the coast of Pondolaud, 370; builds a
large boat in which he reaches Angola, 880
von Coordou, Paulus ; in ICOl names Mossel, Plesh, and Pish ba 3U ; in
1007 unsuQoessfully besieges Mozomhlguo, 828 to S27
Oaiodo, Antonio, Portuguoso advonturer: oooount of, 228
Ooldas, Jodo Pereira de Sousa, saporinlondout of whalo fishery; in 1818 is
killed at Dolagoa Bay by natives, 431

Oaldaa, JosA Antonio, oaptaln of Lourenpo Mariinos! in 1806 obtains a dood
of cosslou to Portugal of laud nortli of tho Kspirito Santo, 480
Oaldeira, Antonio: in 1644 assists in the exploration of Delngoa Bay, 218
Calico, use of: is introduood to tho Bantu of the eastern coast by the Arabs
and PotsiauB, 87

Calioat: in. Hay 1493 ia reached by the oxpoditiou under Yasoo da
G-orua, 149

Cam, Biogo; voyages of, 126

de Oamdes, Luis: shabby treatment of by Pedro Barreto, 237
do Oampo, Antonio: seizes and oarrles away sovoral Hottentots from Pleab
Bay, 183 ; is killed by Hottentots near Table Valloy, 179
Oauarins, Indian traders : aooouut of in Eastoru Africa, 808 and 309
Oaudisb, Thomas: oommands the second English expedition that sails round
the world, 306 and 307

Oaunibajism among the Bantu : references to, 29, 81, 82, 269, 271, and 272
Oouoas: construotion of by Bantu north of Belagoa Bay, 90
Cape Blanco : in 1441 is discovered, 124
Cape Bojador: in 1484 is passed, 124

Cape Gorrentes: is tho southern limit of navigation by the Mohainedans
before 1600, 110 and 122 ; is aoknowibdged as Portuguese territory by tho
' Butoh in 1641, 382
Cape Cross: in 1486 is reached, 126

Cape of Good Hope : in 1497 is discovered by Bartholomou Bias, 130
Cape Verde: in 1445 is discovered, 124
Captaincies : disposal of in Portugal, 256

Captain of 'the Gates : title of the chief Portuguese offioer at Masapa, 265

Index.

477

cIq Oai'doiw^ btipo, capldi* o£ Jjouvon^o Marques : oouduot of towards
natives, W ; is killed by thoin, 488

do Oarrozodo, Isidro Manuel: lu 1834 is appointed governor of the Rivera,
iiidopondonl of Mozambique, 441

do Oarvalho, Boruardim : is wraoked in the SBd Tlmni, 202 ; dies at Manisa's
kraal, 296

do Oarvalho, Hiogo : assists in the dofenoe of Fort Sflo SebastlSo against the
Dutch, 824 ; builds a stockade at Masapa, 347 ; abandons it and retires
to Tote, 848 ; builds and ocouples a stookade called Fort Santo BstevSo
on the bank of the Zambesi above Teie, 348
Oarvalho, Louceuiio : oonuuands a ship in the expedition under Francisco
Barreto, 235 ; but after a gale is obliged to return to Lisbon, where his
vessel is condenmod, 286

do Carvalho, Martim Qomes : assists in the defence of Fort SSo SebastiSo
against the Duteh, 823

Oarvalho, Pedro, prazo holder ; in 1717 rebels against the government, 410
de Oastro, Gaetano do Mallo: in 1682 Is appointed governor of Mozambique
and the Rivers, 897

do Oastro, Dom Joito, viceroy of India: references to, 221
do Oastro, Manuel, survivor from the wreok of the SOo dodo: is wrecked
again in the SSo Smito, and dies next day from injuries, 282
do Oastro, Martim Aflonso, viooxoy of India ; reference to, 826
do Oastro, Podto : is sergeant naajor lu Franclsoo Barreto's expedition, 246
Cathacina, Dona, widow of logo III ; in 1667 becomes regent of Portugal, 221 ;

orders the construotion of Fort SSo SebastiSo, 223; in 1663 retires, 232
Cattle : aro chief wealth of the Bantu, are highly prized and trained, 84
Cozombo, Bantu chief ; visits to kraal of, 428
Charms ; aro highly regarded by the Bantu, 58

Charter of the Dutch Bast India Company: particulars conoerning, 816 etssq.
Chastity : is lightly regarded by the Bantu, 76 and 872
de Chaves, Pedro FeiuimdeB, oaptain of Tete: conquers a horde of Bautu
under the chief Kwizura, 270; is kiiled with many others by the
Mazimba, 272

Ohioova: is believed to ho the site of silver mines, 342;- portioulars
oonoemlng its occupation and the search for mines, 342, 846, 861, 862,
and 858

Children, Bantu: games and toys of, 97 and 98; intelligonoe of at an early
age, 99

Chiloane Island: desoription of, 121; is ooonpied by the Portuguese, 442;
possesses a lighthouse, 442

Chironda, district of : is ceded by the Sitave to the widow of loSo Piros, 411
Christianity; daring the eighteenth century dies out among the Bantu of
Eastern Africa, 422

Ohuponga; Is the burial place of Mrs. Livingstone, 464
Churches : sixteen ore enumerated by Father Manuel Barreto in 1667, 392
Oicatrieea; are made by Bantu on their bodies as ornaments, 87
Ciimamon; royal monopoly In trade of, 388

.-| 7!5 7[hiory of Soufh J/n’i'a,

tiii’ouraeiRum ; ia pvactisod liy vaviiuw Hiuitiu lilt amt ,

(lUmnltM roiiuu'ka upon, ISO, SK), 4d!!, luul '1i<t
(j'lotli ; w inauufactuvuil by Homa Datitu, H7

Clothing: of HoltQiilol>t, ad; of Hantii, 87; of Muhaniaihnii) on tlio oaatorn
QoaHt, 112

Coal : ia found uonr I’eto, 407

Conoa palm; ia cultivatod by the Aaiatlcs on the Afeioau coaat and iniula
much uao of, 110

Coelho, Goinaa, losidout at Tote ; lueution of, 22B

Coolho, hlicalau; ia oaptaiu of a ship in tho expedition under Yas,co da
Gama, 136 ; ceaohea the 7?agua again on lOtb 7uly 1400, before Da Gama,
149; oommanda a ship in the fleet under Pedro Alvaroa Cabral, 152
Oolla<;o, Aadr6 : is the holder of a piaso of immonae extent, 38B
Oolouiaation ; mention of projeota of, 267, 378, 384, 804, 807, and 423
Colixuhoun, Arohibold ; action of in 1890 with tho chief Umtasa, 456
Commerce ; partioulavs conoeining, 41, 100, 110, 112, 113, 167, 216, 217, 210,
284, 268, 261, 262, 264, 274, 276, 276, 291, 296, 907, 310, 317, 319, 321,
881, 883, 861, 371, 378, 388, 898, 304, 806, 897* 398, 899, 400, 418, 410,
417, 448, 460, and 462
Comoro lelonda ; dogoription of in 1600, 117

Company, Iiingliah; ooiistruots a railway from Loiiron^o MarquoR to Komati
Poort, whioli ia oonflacated by thu Portuguone govenunont, 403; amouut
of componaatlou awarded to, 453

Compaaa: vadationa of at Palao Cape, Capo Agulhaa, and Capo of ftood
Hope, 318

Oongo, the : In 1484 la leoohad, 125

Oonviots: uao made of by tho Portugueae, 126, 187, 884, and 419 j and by
the SiUgllsh, 889 and 840

Copper ; ia uaed by the Bantu for ornainenta, 90; ia plentiful in South-
Bagtem Africa, 267

OorUn, Bronoh ahip : aoUs from St. Molo in May 1001, and ia lost at the
Maldives ia July 1602, 804

Correa, Tbom6 do Sousa : in 1088 becomes governor of Mozambique and the
Rivera, 899

Oorte Real, Antonio Monteirg : aagists in tho defence of Port Sfio SebaaUao
against the Dutch, 823

Cory, a Hottentot : la taken to England, where he reoeivos many presents,
888; in 1014 relurna to South Afdoa, resumes his former habits, and
teoehea hia countrymen to deapise bits of copper as payment for oattlo,
889

da OoBta, Andrd; is a member of the first band of misaiouadea in South
Afiioa, 225 and 226

da Coata, Dleutenaut Colonel Prauoigeo Honorato; sends two native traders
from Angola to Pete, 445

da Costa, iTogd Mkrques, oaptain of Sofola ; in 1836 is killed In battle with
the Abagaza, 440

da Costa, Dorn Rodrigo, governor general of India; mention of^ 406

Index.

479

Ootiio, BaqjiholoiuQU, nn oilginoor : oouBtruets a stookadQ at Kilimaaie, 874
Cotton; grows wild on the banks of the Zambesi, from which maohiras are
mounfautiu'od, 8G7

Goinioil of Mosjainbiquo : in 1856 is oreatod, 444
Coucte of JustioQ : partwalars oonoeming, 276, 876, 377, 444, and 463
Ooutinho, Dorn Jaronymo, viceroy of India: mention of, 327
Coutiiiho, Mauuol : is appointed eooleaiastioal administrator of Mosambigue in
1568, 232

do Oouto, loronymo; is one of the founders of the Dominican astabliahment
at Mozambigue, 258

Crime: oommrmal reapousibility for among the Bantu, 56
Criminals: see Oonvlots

Croissant, French ship; sails for India in May 1601, but is lost on the
Spanish ooast on her return passage, 804
Cross: is set up on Cape SBo Bras by Manuel do Mesquiia Ferestrello in
January 1676, 289; is asserted to have boon seen in the sky by the army
under the Monoinotapa Hauuza, 860; is erected at Blottenberg’s Bay by
the wracked craw of the SHo Omtqalo, 878
Cruelty ; practised by Bantu in divination, 54

da Cruz, Manuel, vicar general of the Dominicans in South Africa; mention
of, 871

Cruzado, gold, of King SebastlSo; weight and value of, 283; value of the
silver cruzado, 850

Oussna, delta; description of, 110; acknowledged in 1641 by the Dutch as
Portuguese territory, 382

Otinone Blvor : expedition iu eoaroh of the sources of, 428
da Gunha, Francisco, captain of the Gates; aids the Monomotapa against
rebels, 844

da Ounha, IiJono : in 1696 becomes captain of Mozambigue, 276 ; dlls the
ofdoe a second time, 361

da Gunha, Tlristdo : on 6th Match 1606 ssils from Disbon with a fleet for
India, and on the passage discovers the islands that ,bear his name, 173 ;
plunders and bums the town of Oja, makes Damu tributary to Portugal,
takes Brava after a desperate resistance, and pillages and hums it, 174
and 175

Oustoma duties: partionlars ooncernlng, 118, 276, and 448

Dacha: use of by Hottentots, 21; by Bantu, 79
Damaraland ; struggle between Bantu and Hottentots in, 30
Damharore, trading and mission station ; in 1692 is destroyed, 401
Dassen (Cony) Island: is so named by Sir Edward Miohdbume, 833
Davis, John: is chief pilot in the Lmm, and writes an aoconub of the
voyage, 818; is chief pilot of the first fleet fitted out by the English
East India Oompany, 839; is second in rank in Sir Edward Mlohel-
bome’s expedition; in Deoemher 1605 is killed by Japanese pirates,
383

Delagoa Bay : in 1644 is examined by liOUremjo Marguea md Antonio

4S0 History of South

Oaliloii'a, QiS ; iH aftocwardH iocmoil by tTicj Voi'lugutino 'tiho hay oC
Loavon<;o IMiu-quoa, 919; a Itado, ptlni-ipally in ivory, in opciiod up by
vesselH Bonl yearly {com bloiiiambitxuo, 919, 971, and 9Ut); !« icociuontod
by plraloB, -IDS ; aud by illioit tcadocH, 40i> ; ibt vlbited by Ibiliurii T&vocacd
iu 1687, is Bucvoyod by tbo l)atoh in 1688, is abauduuod by tUo i’ucbu-
guoso about 1700, 407; in 1721 is occupied by the Dutoli, 414; and
letaiiiod by thorn until n.lO, 415; is uooupiod by an Austrian Company
in 1770, 424; in 1781 la retaboii by tho Poctuguoao, 495; who in 1787
build a fort there, 495 ; which in 1790 is dostroyod by the Frenoh, 496 ;
is freiiuented by XingliBh and American whalers, 496 ; in 1799 the fort is
rebuilt by tho PortuguoBO, 427 ; ocourronoos connected with Captain
Owen’s visit, 431 to 434 ; in 1838 tho Portuguese establishment is
annihilated by the Abagaza, 430 ; is claimed by Great Britain, 461 ; but
is awarded to Portugal by the president of tho Prenoh Bepublio as
arbitrator, 452 ; is now a place of much importance, 458
Delta of tho Zambesi: description of, 119

Dias, Bartholomeu: in August 1485 sails from the Tagus with three small
vossela, 196 ; leaves his atoroship near the og,uator, 196 ; puts into Angra
Fo^uona, 196 ; puts into Augra das Voltas, whore ho remains dvo days,
197 ; oxperlenoes stormy weather after leaving, 197 ; roaches Augra dos
Vaq,aeicoa on tho southorn coast, 197 ; touches at Agoada do Sic Bras,
198 ; reaohes tho islet Santa Orus, 198 ; lauds at tho mouth of tho
Infante river, 199 ; from this point tutus homeward, 180 ; disoovors tho
Capo of Good Hope, 180 ; rejoins his storeshlp, 180 ; at Prinoe’e Itland
resouoB some wreoked Portuguoae, 180 ; touoheft at SBo ITotge d4 Hina,
130 ; in Deoemher 1487 reaohes .Dlshon again, 180 ; superintends tho
building of ships for another expedition, 184 ; sails os > captain ' oi a
oaravel in company with Yasoo da Gama, 185 ; loaves Da Gama's fleet
and piooeeds to SSo dorge da Hina, 187 ; is appointed captain of a fort
to he built at Bofsla, and leaves Lisbon for that purpose in command of
a ship in the fleot under Podro Alvaces Oabcal, but is lost at sea, 152
Diogo, a son of the Mouomotapa: account of, 346
Disease: a factor in man’s progress, 4
Divination; methods of praotising among the Bantu, 54
Dominioaue : establishment of missions among the Bantu by, 268 ; particulars
concerning their missions, 862, 863, 372, 376, 392, 409, 403, and 421 ; in
1775 arc withdrawn from South'Dastem Africa, 422. See dos Sautos.
Domingos, Monomotapa: baptism of, 386

Downton, Oaptaiu PTloholas ; In ' 1610 visits Tablo Bay, 332 ; and again in
1614, S88

Dows: trading vessels used by the Mohamedans in the Indian ocean. 111
Drake, Sir Francis ; la the first English navigator who sails round tbo world,
306

Dutch, the : in 1680 are - shut cut of the Lisbon market, 308 ; endeavour to
find a north-eastern *paBBage to Ohlna, 308 ; in 1595 send first fleet to
^ Lidia by way of the Gape of Good Hope, 319; take possession of the
Spice islan^, 891 ; are more succesefnl traders than the Portuguese, 881 ;

Index.

ill 1662 ppoupy Uio Oape* ponlnsulft, 386. Sea Mafioa
and Hoisambiquo

Butoh Eaai Indio, Oompony : establishment of, 316 to 320 ;
with tho English Boat Indio Qompony, 837

Boy, Inhambane,
proposed allionoo

Eftrtbenworo ; manufacture of by Boatu woman, 92

Ecoloaiostical Administrator for the country from Oopa Guordafui to the Cape
of Good Hope: In 1612 the office is created, 363; teferanoes to, 393 402
and 422 > > .

Egypt . position of at the beginning of the sixteenth oentury, 123 ; in 1608
the sultan sends a great fleet under Emit Hooem to operate ■<. ga.i\ Ht tho
Portuguese in India, 176; which fleet is destroyed off Diu by Dom
Eranolsoo d’ Almeida, 176 ; in 1617 Egypt becomes port of the Xurhish
dominions, 123

Elephant Island ; in 1861 the English flag is hoisted on, 448 ; It is awarded
to Portugal by arbitration, 462
Embo; Bantu name for Natal, 301

Emosaide, followers of Zaide: accompany him from Arabia and form settle-
ments on tho East African ooost, 465
Empata; general seizure of goods by order of the Monomotapa, 263
English : expeditions of to India, 306 of seg. ; make no attempt to explore
South Afi'loa, 340 ; begin to frequent the coast of East Africa as traders,
886; frequent Belagoa Bay, A06 and 426
EnglisI* Bast ludia Company : establishment of, 882 ; use made of Table Bay
by, 884 ; projeot of alllanoe vdth the Butch Bast India Company, 336 ;
project of ostahUshing a joint refreshment etation in South Afrloa, 837
English Biver; the Espirito Santo, 218
Equator, the; lu. 1471 is first orossed by the Portuguese, 124
do Espirito Sauto, BamiSo, Bominioan War, mention of, 871
do Espirito Santo, Luis, Bominioan friar ; baptizes the Monomotapa Manuza,
367 ; is mode prisoner by Eapranzine and is put to death, 868
Espirito Santo BlTer, English Biver, or Loutenqo Marques Biver ; is au
excellent hacbom', 448

Ethiopia Onentai, by JoSo doa Santos ; is printed in 1609 in the Bominioan
convent at Evora, 271

Everord, Bobert; in 1687 visits Belagoa Bay, 407
Eactors of progress in its earliest stage, 3 and 4

Eamine among Bantu : is less fatal in Its efieots than among Europeans, S3
de Eatia Oerveira, lullSo : in 1698 is wrecked on the South African coast, 296
Eeost among Bantu: description of, 68 and 70 to 72
Eermosa Bay (Plettenbeig’s Bay) : description of by Manuel de Mesquita
PerestreUo, 289; account of tire wreck of the Soo Qongalo at, 377
' Eemondes, Eather Andre : is one of the first missionaries in South-Eastern
Africa, 226 ; is stationed at a kraal named Otongwe, 226 ; undergoes
great privations and disappointments, and after two years returns to Goa,
231

Jlishity 0/ Smith . J/ru ii.

482

Ij’ornnndQa, Manual : in IIHIU niul ITiU? at<t>» au #at>tiim ni Hntalot t'Jl
li'orcoiica, Audi'u, (nviitiaiu of ilio : nai'i'iovly lui'uiui.'i Iwiiti;; muidernd liy

the Monomotapiv, .1(1.') ami MOti

B'ostivali) ftfc appnariMiyo of thn now nt4iuu: anion); thu lloltoiUotn, 2.'i, among
tho Bantu, fiO

Fovur ; in undoinic along thu couHt north of iHilagoa Bay umt on tho hank‘i
of tho kjtnuhcm, -I'ja

Fika, tlio Inut Kitovo; dioa in ItiO,), -l-iT

Firo : mode of proouving by Bushmon, II; io sont ovuit your by tho Mono*
motapa to all tho kroala of hia triliu, 211
Fish Bay: in 1601 ia ao named by Pauluavan lloordon, !tl-l
Fishery, whale and seal: after 1614 ia oarriud on at 'fable Bay, !):)1
Fitoh, Balph ; travola in India of, SOG

Fitsherbort, Humphrey : in 1620 viaita 'fable Bay and usaiats in proolaiming
ICnglish sovereignty over tho tuliacenl uoimtry, UH5
Flesh Bay : in 1(501 ia so named by Paulus van Caurdon, illl
Fogaqa, Pedro Forroira ; in Auguat 1605 ia luatallod enptain of Fm L Buo
'i’hlago at Kilwa, 160
X''olkloro of tho Bantu: desorlpllon of, 61

da Fonsnea Ooutinho, 7 qh 6; gonoral insurroctiou caused liy vioiunt condunt
of, 400

dtt Fonsooa Bintn, Franoisoo: is aont from India to iiuiuiro into the uonduet
of Bom BstovSo d’Atalde, 640 and GfiO; iw aenl afterwards ns eom*
missionor to tho BivorH, 367 ; eonduot of In that oapaailyt 657 muI 368 ;
is tried by the Inquisitor general of India lor hla eonduot, 360
da Fonsooa, Yloente, atohbishop of 0oa: mention of, 800
Forbes, OaptMn Patrick William: proosodings of at XTmtoaa'a kriutl, 468
to 460

Fort Santo Antonio; eonstruotion of, 6612; abandonment of, 868
Fort Santo EstevAo; oonstruotion of, 848; dostruotion of, 862
Fort Sao Maryal ; ia built at Sena 1^ Franoisoo Barreto, 240, 244, and 249
Fort St£o Miguel: is built at Ohioova by Diogo Madeira, 862; is bold undi
extreme difficulties, 863, 360, and 867 ; in August 1616 is abandoned,
368; and Is destroyed by tho Monomotapa, 868
Fort SSo BebastiSo; is built at Mozambique by ordor of the regent Bona
Oatbarina, 228; in 1604 is besieged by the Butch under Steven von dor
Hagen, 322 ; in 1607 by Faulirs van Oaerdon, 828 to 827 ; sold again in
1608 by Peter Verboeff, 828 to 831 , ‘

Fort SSo 'fhiago, the first ooenpied by the Portuguese^

August 1606 is built at Kilwa, 168 ^

Franoisoana, the; have the privilege of espCj^ing., ft,,- quantity of ivory
from the Rivers every year free of duty^ii^l ■ ■

Franato, {Toao, Bominioan friar ; ,nienHon .of) 2tS9

Fteiie, Manuel, rector Of the JesnUi College at Mozambique : mention of, 406
' French, - the eairly voyages to India of, 803 and 804 ; make no attempt to
form, a settlement in. South Afiioa, 804 ; in 1796 destroy the Portuguese
fort .at Iioureneo Marques, 426

Jjidt'x,

483

Prmioh Boat India Gompauy: roi-mation of, 80i

Fiiva, mountain ; is joalously guarded by tho Monomolapa, 312

Fiirtado, Fathor Andrfi: mention of, 396

da Gama, loSo de Saldaiilia, viooi'oy of India; orders of, oonosrning slaves of
Holiamodans, <130

da Gama, Paulo ; is offered tho command of an exploring expedition, but
doolinea the responsibility, 136; is ooptain of a ship in the expedition
under his brother, 136 ; adventure of with a whale in Bt. Helena Bay, 141 j
humane oonduot of, 144 ; dies at iFeroeira on the homeward passage, 149
da Gama, Vasoo: is appointed oommonder of an exploring expedition, 186;
particulars concerning, 136; on the 8ih of Jtdy 1497 .w ith .fo.m.,shH )3 sails
from the Tagus, 186; tabes in water at the island*of Santiago, 187; on
the 4th of Novomher oomes in sight of the Atrloan coast, 137; on the
7th anohors in St. Helena Bay, 187 ; where he is slightly wounded in a
skirmish with Hottentots, 140; on the 16th of HoremW sails again,
141; on tho 30bh doubles tho Gape of Good Hope, 141; and on the
SGtli anohors in tho bay of Silo Bras, 141; burns his storeship, and on
tho 8th of Becember sails again, 142 ; on the 26th of December names
the land in sight Natal, 142 ; on tho 6th of January 1498 reaches the
mouth of the Limpopo, 143 ; on the 15th leaves, 143 ; and on the 34th
enters the Kllimaiie river, 148; whore ho refits bis ships, 144; on the
24th of February sails, and ou the 2nd of Haroh arrives at Mosamhigue,
144 ; particulars of his iiiteroourse with the Mohamedaus here, 144 et seg. ;
on tho Ist of April sets sail from Mosambigne, and on the 7th reaches
Mombasa, 147 ; next visits Melindo, where he enters into on agreement
of peace and friendship, 148; obtains an experienced Indian pilot, with
whom on tho 24th of April he sets sail and twenty-two days later
reaches Oallont, 149; ou his return passage touches at Meiinde, loses one
of his ships on a shoal, puts in at the bay of SSo Bras, and on the
29th of Augu st 1499 reaofaas Lisbon , 1A9; has the title of Dom conferred
upon hi&i!' ibU';‘"liaa~thB title o^ Admiroi of the Eastern Seas conferred
upon him, 169 ; on the 10th of February 1602 soils for the second time
from Lisbon in command of a fleet, 169; visits Sofala, 169; puts in at
Kilwa, 160; ocourrenoes there, 160; destruction of the ship Jfen, 161;
ou the 1st of September 1603 reaches Lisbon again, 161
Gomba; is the first Bantu chief to receive Ohristian missionaries, 226; is
baptized, 227; but continues his previous customs, 231
Games played by Bantu boys, 96 and 97

Gamitto, Captain Antonio Oaudido Peroso ; in 1831 is journalist of an
erploring expedition, 446
Gardens of Bantu t description of, 82

Gasilusere, Monomotapa; is assisted by the Portuguese in wars against his
enemies, 842 et seg. ; in August 1607 cedes to the king of Portugal all
the mines in hie country, 344

Gaspar, a Moor wrecked on tho South African coast ; account of, 284 and 386
Geogtaphiosl knowledge at the beginning of the fifteenth century, 134

2 M

Ifistoyy of South A/rktu

QlioRti u{ dead : avu gi'sivtly (eart'd liy tha liauttUi
(Hi'Im, orphan: raoolvn piwAiB a« dowtiuii, :VJl
(hia: in IHIO bociomiw tlio capital of Povtuguinn India, 177
Uodinho, Antonin ; ia wruckud in tho Suntx .Ut/nutn, ‘j'.Hi
(iodinho, Loucoiivo, captain of Moviiuutmjun : lU'i’oiint of, UHT, ’Jit), and
fltO

tlold: oollaotion and liniter of, 91, 101, UXi, ilUd to "JOT, 909, tlOd, 2'19, d.'i'd,
276, 8i0, 811, H21, 398, and 399
do Gonvca, ITathor Alanucl : mention of, tHK) and 395

Crovivoin (Manuel Antonio do Souaa) : Horvico'i pocfcirmod ity, 137 ; dealings
with Umtasa, >158; in arrested hy Captain Fuihe!i, -159; ia rcloasod by
Dc. ilaiaoson, ABO; dispenics Bonga'a robber baud, ICO; is killed in 1893
in war with Makombi, 4G7
Grain: manner of presorviug by Bantu, 79
Greeting : vailous forms of among Bantu, 08
da Guerra, Sahador Vaz, captain of Mozamblciuo : moulioii of, 837
Guido, Manuel Gonyalvea, prozo holder: violent eouduct of, 410
Guilds: are formed among Bantu youths, 67
Guiigunyana, son of Umslla : aoooount of, 465 and 467
Gwanya, Bantu chief: mention of, 42

van dor ITagen, Hlovon: in Booombor 1608 loaves Holland with a strong
armed fleet, 821; in <Tuno 16Ut arrives at Mosaniliiipiu and cmninencns
a siege of Fort Hdo iSebastitlQ, 322; in August abandons t|,io siege
and sails for India, 829; wrosts Iho Hpioo islands from the Boctuguosu,
828

Hair, the ; inodes of dressing by the Bantu, 88
Head rests ; maoiutaature and use of by the Bantu, 88
Hentlque, Dorn, prinoa of Bortugal : exploration promoted by, 124 ; on 18th
Hovember 1460 dies, 124

Henrlciue, Cardinal Dom : in 1602 beoomes regent of Portugal, 2S2 ; in lS78r
beoomes king of Portugal, 267 ; in ITaaittary 1680 dies, 267
Herbalists, Bantu: remedies used by, 58

Heyman, Oaptoin: defeats a Portuguese fovea at Andrada, 400 and 461
Hlonipa custom ; mention of, 81

Hooem, Emir; oommands a great war fleet sent by the sultssi of Egypt
in 1608 to operate against the Portuguese in India, 176; defeats a fleet
under Bom Lourenpo d’ Almeida in the harbour of OhaUl, tt6; ',but is
utterly defeated himseE on the 2nd of February 1609 by-'iEtot
d’Almeida oft Diu, 176

Homem, Vasco Fernandes : is second in oommand of the expedition under
Franoiseo Barreto, 285 to 261; auooeeda Froindsoo ' Barreto as governor
and captain general, 261 ; enters the Klteve’s country with an army by
way of Sotala and vanquishes the Kiteve’s forces, 262; is welcomed in
the Tshikanga’s territory and makes a friendly agreement with the chief,
.268; makes peace with the Eiteve, 263; proceeds up the Zambesi and
.'then returns to Mozambique, 264

Index.

485

Horn implomonts ; partiouliu's ooucei'umg, U

Hospitgl at It'tezainbiqtue : in ICSl is entrusted to the order of Saint John of
God, 402

Hottentots : appearanoo in South Africa of, 4 j speoulations 011 the origin of,

4; area occupied by in ISOO, 8; skull tacasurements of, 6 and 7; dis-
tinguishing oharaoteristica of, 8; Bantu name of, 19; term theraselves
Khoikhoi, 19; moaning of the term, 19; different appearance from
Bushmen, 19 ; language, 20 ; division into tribes, 20 ; weakness of govern-
ment, 20; possession of horned cattle and sheep, 21; description of
domestlo animals, 21; food, 21; use of intoxicants, 21; clothing, 22;
ornaments, 22 ; dwellings, 22 ; weapons, 22 ; use of iron and copper, 28 ,
manufactures, 23 ; mode of living of impoverished clans, 24 ; superstiticns,

26 ; rallgiou, 26 ; disposition, 26 ; musical instruments, 26 and 141 ; practice
of polygamy, 26; position of women, 26; custom on entering manhood,

27 ; powers of imagination, 27 ; amusemeuts, 27 ; freedom from sick-
ness, 28; capability of adopting civilised habits, 28; are seldom met
with by Portuguese, 29 ; conquer and enslave Bantu tribes in Damaro-
laud, 30; first intercourse with Buropeans, 139 and 141; intercourse
with the people of Antonio do Seldanha's ship, 162; confiiot in 1610
with the Portuguese under Dom Branoisoo d’ Almeida, 177 flf seg. ; in
1606 kill sixteen Portuguese at Flesh Bay, 184; ore regarded by the
Fortuguese as ferocious savages and avoided, 267 ; in Table Valley fall
upon men bartering cattle and kill thirteen, 313; at the same place
quarrel with and Mil Bnglish and Dutch seamen, 888

Houtmem, Oornolis, commander of the first Dutch fleet that sailed to India :
mention of, 312

Hunger: a factor in mon's progress, 3

Hunting; method of by Bantu, 80

Huts, Bantu : description of, 88 and 84

Iceya, a Hottentot gome, 27 and 97
•imfumba, a game of Bantu children, 97

Incest as regarded by the Bantu, 73

Indian commerce with Europe: routes of at the beginning of the sixteenth
century, 128

Indwe, the blue crone: wings of are worn by Xosa warriors as an emblem
of bravery, 69

Infante, river : is the farthest point reached by Bartbolomeu Dias, 129

Ingomiamo Eivar: position of, 121

Inhamhane: in 1600 the Mohomedaus have a srnaU settlement at, 121; is
by the Portuguese after 1644 for purposes of trade, 219; is
visited by the first missionaries in South Africa, 326 and 226; the Dutch
rr...Tra efforts to open a trade at, 417 to 419; in 1730 is permanently
oecupied by the Portuguese, 419; description of in 1771, 419; is found
by Captain Owen to be the most thriving of aU the Portuguese settle-
ments, 435; is destroyed in 1884 hy the Ahagaza, 440; is now a small
trading village, 464

2 M 2

niaton’ It/ SoHf/i A/t'ka.

Inyfclmnao, tlirttrJcl olona ti» Tola; iit liajilowuil Uy I ho Mim.isnutiniri upon
l^logti Slindo)! Madeira, 34-1 ; Uti'V m-uiirwiiiiKs ul;, .Uft ami I’lO
luyaka, tha; la ahlof of llw trilii’i mi thi> Minth-nuitoi-ii iltow of Uot(t>;>ia Hay,
ai8 ; is frloiidly U> Iho PurtutKiuHn, aiH, and
Inyftlta taland; tho Asiatii; lloinpauy til 'PcUvdo iiiisiifcivisfiilly niulisavvmr tn
saWilisU a triirtiui' fibiitkm uu, ‘lUi; in Nitviimlun* turil llu> llvlllidi tlaK i«
lioi<it(id on, 448 ; ia awanlvd to PovtuRat liy arliitratton, 4.V.!
luytuiaata Island : montion of, 180

li'tigatiou, syatom of: is cncdud oat by tWalio iininigrtinls, lot
Iron ; nse of by tbo Hottcntofca, 23 ; by t.ho Bantu, 88 and 8!) ; is ploutitul in
South-13aatora Africa, 207

Tsnf, sheik of Sufala; pacllcvtlnca coucorning, 110, 185, 188, and 190
Ivory: amn-ings aro prised by tbo Bantu, 81; particulars of the trade in,
204, 208, 209, 218, 210, 220, 271, 276, 822, 406, 407, 41.3, and 419 ; Iho
TPranoiBoana havo the privilege ot collooling os alma a eortain quantity
every year and exporting it froe of duly, 421

7aka, party ot girls at Ktoujane ceremony, 09

Jameu I, Uug of Bngbmd: in 1620 is proolaimod Moveroign of Iho country
from Table Bay to tbo dominions of the uo.irost Ohrlstlan prince, 334
and ,886

3'eBUH, Company of: on Septombor 27th 16.10 unmos into oxistonuo, 224; in
1642 founds a oollego at Coimbra, 224; oouount ot mlastons in South
Africa, 226 to 281, 868, 87G, 892, 401, 421, and 467; on the 2856 July
1773 the order is suppresaed, 422 ; on the 7th August 1814 is restored, 422
loSo II: in 1481 asoonds tho throne of Portugal, 124; on tbo 26th Oetobor
1406 dioB, 183

loSo III: in BeoemboK 1621 becomes king of Portugal, 210; In 7uno 1667
dies, 221

loSo IV, duke ot Biaganga; In Beoember 1640 booomos king of Portugal,
881 ; in November 1666 dies, 887

JoSo V: in Beoember 1706 beoomes king of Portugal, 408; in 1760 dioS, 408
Jofio, Bom: in 1799 beoomes regent of Portugal, 409; in November 1807
loaves Portugal for Brazil, 409

JoSo, Bom: suooeeds his brother Pedro as Monomotapa, 412
lohnsou. Captain; inspeots Table Bay in 1620,- end reports unfavourably
upon it, 838

losfi I: in 1760 becomes king of Portugal, 408; in February 1777 dies, 408
lose, Amaro, native trader : crosses Africa in both directions between Angola
and Tete, 446

Job4, Luis ; in 1800 builds fort at Loureupo Marques, 427
Josepe of Lamego ; travels of, 131

Journey; of the people wrecked in the SOo Jocto to Belogoa Bay, 279 et hcq.;
of the people wrecked in the Sito Bento to Belogoa Bay, 28.3 et sag. ; of
the people wrecked in the SSo Thomi, 298 et seq . ; of tho people wrecked
in the Semto Albeiio to Belogoa Boy, 296 et seq . ; of Br. Franoisoo Josd
. de Liocerda e Almeida from Tete to the kraal of Gazembe, 428 ; of Major

Index, , 487

• •

rToB4 Maria Oorreia Montairo from Teie to tho kraal of Gazembe, US] of
the reverend Dr. Livingstone across the continent, 446 and 447
Justice: administration of by the captains of Sofala, Sena, and Teta, 376

and 877

Kaffirs ; name, meaning iufldols, given to the Bantu by the Mohamcdans, 109
Kapompo, induna of 'Tshunzo; particulars oonceming, 842
Kapela: dynastic name of the chiefs of a tribe on the southern shore of
Delagoa Bay, 60 and 424; in 1794 nominally cedes his country to Portu-
gal, 426 ; in 1823 nominally cedes his country to Qroat Britain, 431
Kapote, sub chief of Mongasi: particnlais oouoerning, 246
ICapronzino, Monomotapa; account of, 365 to 370; account of the sou of as
Dominican friar, 385

Kesarimyo, or Kosarinuto, Monomotapa: acoount of, 216
Kllimane Bivor ; description of, 118 ; in January 1498 is entered by Vasco da
Oama, 143 ; in 1644 a Portuguese factory is founded on the bank of, 217 ;
further particulars concerning, 239, 874, 882, 434, and 447
Kilwa : is occupied by Persians under Ali, 108 to 110 ; duties on commerce
at, 118; desoriptlon of, 117; is visited by the fleet under Pedro Alvares
Oabrol, 168 ; occurrenoes during the stay of the fleet, 163 and 184 ; in 1502
is visited by Dom Vasco da Gromo, 160; transaotious of Dom Vasco there,
160; is visited by Lopo Soares d*Albetgaria in 1605 on his return passage
ftowi Indio, 164; tho emir refuses to pay tribute to Portugal, 164; in July
1606 is seized and plundered by Dom Pranoisoo d’ Almeida, 168 ; a fort
is built and occupied there, 168; and a government is estabUsbed
tributary to Portugal, 169 ; events at, 193 to 196, and 200 to .203 ; is
obandonod by the Portuguese, 203; further particulars oonceming, 237
and 268

Kltove, the, chief of the tribe at Sofala : particulars concerning, 229, 252, 268,
• 261, 262, 876. 884, 410, and 411

Knives : manufacture of by Bantu, 89
Kraals, Bantu : favourite sites for, 88
Kuoma: see Cuama

Kwitamho, Bantu chief : mention of, 351
KWlzura, Bantu chief : war with, 270

de Looerda e Almeida, Dr. Pranoisoo Jos6 : journey of, 428
Lardu: in 1606 is made tributary to Portugal by TristSo da Ounha and
AfEonso d’Aftoguorque, 174

Lanoarote, Dom Antonio, son of the Kiteve : mention of, 404
Lancaster, Captain James: in 1691 visits Table Bay, 807; and again in
1601, 338

Land : tenure of among Bantu, 82

Latitude : imperfect means for determining. 111 and ISO

Leades, William : travels of, 306

Leittto, Oaptaln Antonio SirnOes : is killed In battle, 410

Hisfoyy of South A/rko.

iiUitfto, <T<3i'>niyntu : vossul uudiit' mnuituui vt ii aiiplun'il riiul iiluudurnil in
tho Limpopu rlvor, ii'.li

do Ijomoii, Uafitiao; rosmu's craw ot wn-abod siiip .S’lla Iknlo, !iS(>
do Leniort, Dmuto: in SAoptomlior IfiOa aeuds tv roxvort to tho ling iiiion tho
tmlo of Bofaia, iiOt

Loonor, Dona, wifo of Manuol do Boima Bopulvoda: ititiCul Htory of, 27rt
to 281

Leopard, akin of; ia roKOtvod for dreaa of mon ot rank among Ilia Bantu, 87
Leproay; death of tho Scdanda from, SGG; death of the chief Bekuietu
from, 446

Letters ; are unknown to the Bantu, 60
de Lima, Antonio Bodrigues, prazo holder ; account of, 300
do Lima, Dom Paul ; la wrecked in tho Sao Tltom^t 292 ; dies at MoniBo’a
kraal, 296

de Lima, Dom Bodcigo ; in X016 visits Abyssinia as ambassador of tho king
of Portugal, 182

Limpopo Blver: in 1498 is visited by Vasoo da Qama, 148; iu 1644 is
explored by homeaqo Marques, 218; a vessel ia oopturod and plundered
at, 204

van Linaohoten, Jan Huygben: partionlars concerning, 800, 808 to 812,
and 840

Linyanti, Makololo kraal : mention of, 440 and 447
Lion, Brltifih Indioman i in 1708 puts into Delagoa Bay In distress, 420
Livingstone, Kevotond Dr. David, miasionary explorer i ia the flrat white man
to cross Africa, 446 and 447

Lohengula, son of HosolckatBe : makes a treaty with British envoys, 466
Lobe, JoSo, vieor of Luanae; mention of, 844

Lobo, Bodrlgo ; as a vassal of the Bltevo holds the island of MatDup4, 201
Loouats: are eaten by tho Bantu, 81; plague of in tho Monomotapa’a terri-
tory, 280

Lopea, Joronymo, Dominican friar : mention of, 269
Lourenqo, Mohamedan prisoner at Sena : fate of, 241

Loureaqo Marquee, town of : census of in 1878, 441 ; present condition of, 454
Louranqo Marques, bay of : see Delagoa Bay

Louienqo Marques, river of ; is named tho Dnndas by Oaptaiu Owen, but is
now called the Umbelosi, 484

Luonze, trading and mission station! partionlars concerning, 264, 266, 342,
366, and 871

Luiza, Dona, daughter of Dona Isabella Pereira : is wrecked in the Santo
Alberto, 296

Lupata, gorge of: mention of, 120

Lusponoe, Bantu chief; friendly treatment of wrecked Portuguese by, 296 to
298

r Luzios, small vessels used in Baatem Africa, 111

de Msibedo, SebastiSo, captain of Mozambique; mention of, 822; sends
speoimens of tioh silver ore to Lisbon, 842

Index.

489

Maomahon, Mteshal, prasidanl ol the m-enoh BopubUo; on the 24th July

1876 issues oward giving Portugal the territory to 28° 30' south latitude
452 *

Madeira, Diogo SimBes : career of, 344 to 362
Madeira, Jolto, Domiuioan friar; mention of, 259 and 270
Maha, island of; la oolonieed from Kilwa, 108; description of, 116; mention
of, 287

Magadosho, town ol ; foundation of, 107 ; description of, 116
de Magolhacs, Pranoisoo ; is sent as envoy to the Monomotapa, hut dies on
the jouruay, 249

de MagalhSea, Pedro Banuto ; in 1606 aeoompanles Pedro d’ Anaya to huild a
fort at Sofala, 183 ; after the fort is huilt s^ls for India as commodore
of three ships, 187; loses his own ship at Kilwa, 187 ; on the lat Match
1610 Is killed by Hottentots near Table Talley, 179
de Magdalena, logo, Dominioan fria* ; mention of, 406
le Maira, Isaac : In May 1611 visits Table Bay, and leaves men there to kill
seals and 'wholes, 882

Makalanga, Bantu tribe; desoription of, 211, 214, 215, nnd 262
Hakolapapa, Bantu tribe : mention of, 801
Makamoasha, Bantu ohief; mention of, 870

Makasano, Bantu ohiof ; in 1823 signs a dooument placing himself under
British protootion, 488; dealings of the Portuguese with, 437
Makomata, Bantu tribe : mention of, 298 and 801
Makomt)i, Bantu ohief : war with, 467
Malamos, Mohamedau pilots ; ate very expert, 111
Malhoiro, Manuel; murder of, 271
Ma Matiwone : torture of on charge of witchoroft, 68
Mamho ; title of the Monomotapa, 266
Mondevllle, Sir John ; note on hook of, 806
Mangova, Bantu ohief; mention of, 424
Mangrove tree; description of, 119

Monhoesa, half-breed Arab at Sena; particulars concerning, 240 and 241
Manika; becomes independent of the Monomotapa^ 216; further mention of,
288 and 269

Mauikusa, or Sotshangana, Glaza ohief; destruotive oareer of, 439 and 440
Manisa, dynastic title of ohief of tribe on the northern shore of Delagoa Bay :

mention of, 66 and 294
Manisa Biver; mention of, 218, 294, and 484
Ma Htati : march of the destruotive horde under, 268
Manuel the Portunate ; in 1496 ascends the throne of Portugal, 138 ; resolvoa
to send an expedition to follow 1 ® the discoveries of Bartholomeu Dios,
184 ; in 1601 adds to Ms titles that ol Lord, of the Navigation, Conquest, ,
and Trade of Bthlopia, Arabia, Persia, and India, 167 ; in Deoemhor 1521
dies, 210

Manufaetories of stone implements; particulars oonoeming, 2
Manufactures : ol the Bushmen, 17 ; of the Hottemtots, 22 and 23 ; of the
Bantu, 88 to 92

//istoiy *y . l/rii'it.

MauuKii: in uitulo MuunmotiUta lt> llm iliiu t.t ;Vil,«ititd ;Wft

Mapiita Uivor; ni(*ivtit)ii of. ‘JH, tWO, mul IdJ

Mai'oocm, Frumiimifi: ftots (i»i‘ a short thwn hh oii^htti raptiiiii oE SoliUa, aort
Mitrittuii, Doiiu, wlfo nf Guton’o do Mmiroy ; w wivi'kiid l»i lEto iSdo 'I'hmtf,

aua

do Matw liolns, Aulonio: rtmlvgl of oommcruo by, ihHE
MuriR, I'tidro [Tsum, l^ominiottn fL'tur: iiitmtlini of, asd
'^^al■aupo, iHlaud of : ik givon by tho Ititovo to H.idrigo Tjtibo, atU
ManittOB, Lourouyo ; exploration of jHjlagou Hay by, airt ; opuJis up trade
there, S19

Marriage ouetoms ; of Bantu, 70 to 7 i
dos Martyres, Aleixo, Dominican fiitu: ; mention of, 071
Maaoarenhas, Antonio, aon of Vasoo ^arnandoB Hoiuem: dies at Mozambique,
S3G

MaBonreiiliOB, Bom FhUippo, captain of Aloxirmluquo : mention of, 379

Masapa, trading and mlBsion station; inontion of, 233, 204, 342, 347, and 300

Aiasat^Ta; partioulars oonoernlug tiie, 3

hUslicma: aro deaoended from the Maktdanga, Bll

Mnaikeid ; ia visited by Voaoo Fernaados Homoin, 2S3

Mnsisa, Bantu chief : in 1722 oedea a tract of land to tlic Portuguese, 410

Matlcal of gold; valuo of in BngUsh money, 181

do Mattoa, Josii Oorroia Monhoiro ; obtalna eesaion of laud to Portugal, 420
Katnaimrye; rebellion, of against the Monomutapa, 3'14to iH7
Mawova, eon of Manlkusa : is deposed by his brother Umslla, 441) and 4ft0
Hayeta, Kapela ohioC ; oedos his territory to Qreat Britalib 431 ; attaoks niul
kills Lupo do Oardonas and a number of soldiora, 438
Maaimba : wars with the, 260 to 378 , ^

Mediolnoe, need by Bantu hetbalietB, 68 ’ ,

Helinde ; doBorlption of, 116 ; ' in 1498 Is visited by Vaaoo da Oama,. 149 •
becomes a permanent ally of Portugal, 148'; ie visited by the AeOt tm^et
Pedro Alvares Oabral, 164; in 1608 is assisted hy the Portuguese in Its**
war with Mombasa, 108; poeition of in 1606, 105; further inontion of,
287 and 268

de Mello, Antonio ; is an oiliaer in Pranoisoo Barreto’s expedition, 244 ; dice
at Sena, 260

de Mello e Castro, Alvaro Oaetano, last Portugnose captain of Mombasa; in
1729 is driven away by rebel blacks, 414
de Mello, Garcia; in 1686 is captain of Sofala, 269

de Mello, Buy: is on ofiloer in Pranoiaoo Barreto's expedition, 244 and 247
de Moudonoa, Dona Joanna: is wrecked in the SUo Tluymi, 292
de Mendonpa Purtado, Luis, viceroy of India; mention of, 394 and 396
de Mendoni^a, Pedro : in 1606 is wrecked on the South African coast, and
periahee with the entire orew of Me ship, 164
da Menezes, Dom Aleixo, archbishop of Goo, acting governor general of
India: mention of, 346

de Menezes, Dom Duarte, viceroy of India ; mention of, 276
de. Meh^.zes,. Doth Jorge, oaptoin of Mozamblquo: mention of, 276

Index.

491

tla Menaisas, Bamflo Lobo; is’wreoied at Plettenbarg’a Bay, 877
Meri, the : deatruotion o£ )iy Dam Vasoo da Gama, 161
do Moaguita, Diogo, eaptaia of Mozambique : mention of, 281
do Mesquita PoreatreUo, Manual: aaaista in the expedition under Btanoiaoo
Barreto, 238; ia wroolied in the SSo Bento, 287; aurveya the South
AMoan eoaat, 287 to 290 ' > J

Mwhelburne, Sir Edward: in 1605 names Dasaen Island, 315; voyage of, 383
Migual, Bon of the Monomotapa Kapranzine; aoeount of, 370
Mignela, Eodrigo : is wrecked in the Smto Alberto, 296 keeps a diary of the
iourney to Delagoa Bay, 296
Millet; IS the grain used by the Bantu, 78

Mines : in 1607 are ceded by the Monomotapo to the king of Portugal, 8i4
Missions of the Jesuits and Dominicans: account of, 224 to 231, 248, 258
269, 266, 362, 863, 371, 401, 420 et scg.

Mnamatapa: dynastic title of the chief of the C6

Mohamedona on the East African coast; particulars concerning, 106 to 114,
234, 240 to 242, 248, 260, 802, 367, 976, 395, and 420
Mokomba, Monomotapa. account of, 216

Mombasa: doaoription of in 1600, 116 and 116; in 1498 is visited by Yasoo
da Gama, 147 ; in August 1606 is taken by storm by Dorn Eranciaco
d' Almeida, and is piUaged and burned, 172; further mention of, 287, 268,
and 414

Monolaros, Bather Eranoiaoo: accompanies the expedition under Eronoiaco
Barreto and writes on account of It, 286, 288, 240, 242, and 249 to 262
Mondragon, Eronoh corsair: account of, 803
Mongalo, Bantu chief at Kilimane; mention of, 239

Mongasi, enemy of the Monomotapa : war with, 243 to 247 ; destruction of, 346
Moniz, Jo&o da Eonaeoa, captain of Inhambane : mention of, 418
Monomotapa, or Mnamatapa, the ; mention of, 212 to 214, 228 to 280, 284,
242, 248, 248, 249, 263 to 266, 822, 846 to 348, S61, S68, 369, 366, 868,
376, 386, 888 to 890, 892, and 411

de Monroy, Dom Eernando, governor and captain .general of East Africa,
mention of, 264

Monsoons in Indian Ocean; mention of, 311
Monteiro, Major load Maria Oorroia: journey of, 446
Moraria, Portuguese soldier at Mozambique; bravery of, 330
Moselekatse, chief of the Matabele; mention of, 464

Mossel Bay ; rooelvea its present name in 1601 from Paulus van Coerden,
814 ; mention of, 312 and 340. See Agoada de Sdo Bras
Mourning of widows of Bantu of rank, 46

Mozambique ; desoription of the island, 117 ; condition of in 1498 when
visited by Yasoo da Gama, 145; in Oetoher 1607 is ooonpied by the
Portuguese, 198; further partioulars conoeming, 221, 228, 226, 232, 285
to 289, 249 to 261, 264, 268, 269, 263, 268, 270, 273, 274, 281, 286, 287,
300, 309, 810, 321 to 828, 341, 348, 349, 363, 861, 369, 382, 384, 385, 893,
395, 898, 401, 402, 406, 406, 411, 418, 416, 422, 426, 434, and 436
Mozambique Company: formation and working of, d63 and 464

4*53 //isit>fy I)/ Sauffi

w

MpKko Hiver: wiaok ot Ihtt iVtiH/u Alh'tlii At uAmlh of,

MuIhUa li^a^AeA, hiiU-bi'nitil Arnlt. lviu(lut<’U i<( ti> wrin'kmt J'll

Mumboii, onnuilial BAntii; ui^uuuitl u{, 2UU

Maicttalpal gnvornmnnt : in t7(i;< Ih i»tii*(ulttcA(l into Hunth-KAMtiu'ii Afi'uni, ‘ll'J
Munioftl inslintinont'i ; uf tlio lUmUmou, IH; ut Ihu Ituttuntiiti, aikI 141;
of the lluntu, IH

MubilAtion by Bantu of boilloa of hIuIu cuouituH, (IT

Natiniujlteid, tho, Dutcb Rhij>: in 1767 puta into Uoiagoa Bay in diatvoas,
and boc orow romaina tlioio two yoacH, 424
Humoa, dynaatio, of Bantu ohiofa, 05; given to women on matriage and
motheibood, 66

Katal: Is named by Vasoo da Qama, 142

Batal, bay of; is not mentioned by Manuel do Mesiinita Perestcello in hia
report of bis survey of the South African coast, S30
Bovigation; imporfeot knowledge of in tbe sixteenth century, 809
Beoklooes uaod by Bushmen: description of, IS
Bowbery, dohn; travolB of, 806

HingomoBha, general of Monomotapu’s army ; aooouni of, 849 and 849
Nodiwu, wooden toy usod by Bantu oMldton: daaoriptton of, 08
ffoortZ, tho, Tlutoh gallot; in 1088 eutvoys Bolagoa Bay, 407
do Noronha, Horn Autonlo, vloeroy of India : mention of, 388
Nbssa ffenhora da Ajvda, the : is oaptured by pirates and all her orew except
one boy ate put to death, 40B *

ifosaa Senhora de Salem, the : in 1686 is wraoked near the mouth of the
Umaimvubu river, 370

Hoto, son of Morolong! is oraditad by the Bftrolong tribe as tbe invebtos of
iron weapons, the maker of copper omamohts, and the 'introduder of
miUet os food, 80

Nourse, Oommodore Joseph : prooeedinga in Belagoa Bay of, 487 »

da Hova, JoSo; on tho 6th of May 1601 sails from Ijishon for India in
command of a fleet, 167; at the bay of SSo Bras finds an account of
OabraVs voyage, 167; is appointed commander of a fleet of war, and in
1605 oocompanies Dom Franolsoo d’ Almeida to India, 167
Htoujone ceremonies ; account of, 68 and 69

Nnnos, Miguel, notary: draws up tbe dooument coding tbe mines in Iba
Monomotapa’s country to Portugal, 844
Kyaka; dyuastio title of the chiefs of a tribe on tbo south-eastern shore of
Belagoa Bay, 66
Nyombana ; see Inhambane

Nyossa, Bake; in 1616 is visited by Qaspar Booarro, 356; Dr. Livingstone’s
discovery of, 866

bTyaude, or Joaguim JoBd da Qruz, praso bolder; insurrection and violent
- oonduot of, 466

'Oath ! _form. of among Bantu, 46
Ocean rood to India; importauoe of the discovery of, 138

Index.

493

flostroyeil by TrlstSo da Ounba and Aftonso

Oja, town of: in 1506

d’AlbQquerquo, 174

Opliir: productions ol found in SoutU-Baatarn loi

Ordea?' oonscienoe to King Sebastiao, 284

Oiaeal: trial by among Bantu, 69

Hottentots. 89; by Bantu, 87

and 231 * “««8ioii la South Africa is oommenoed at, 226, 227,

Owen, Captain WiHirai BiteWiHiam: prooaedings at Delagoa Bay
to 484} ° ^

of, 431

Pacheco. Albino Manuel: in 1862 hoists the Portuguese flag at Zumbo, 444
PaolMoo, Duarte: is wrecked at Prinoe’s Island, and is rescued by
Bartholomeu Dias, 130 ; in 1609 captures the French corsair

Mondrogon, 303

da Paiva, Aflonso ; travels of, 181
Pangayos, trading vessels ; description of, 111
Parddo: unoerlain value of, 276
Parmentlor, lean and Eaoul : voyage of, 304

Patollm, Buy do Brito; acts for some time as fifth captain of Sofala, 199
Pnto : mention of, 287, 896, ond 414

Paul Y, Pope: In 1342 separates South-Eastern Africa from the aroh-
bisjjoptio of Goa and oreatos the ofSce of ecoleeiastioal administrator for
it, 308

Pearls : are found at the Basaruta lalauds, 121, 210, and 400
Pedro IT, king of PortugM: mention of, 887, 399, 401, and 408
Pedro in, king of Portnoi: mention of, 408
Pedro Y, king of Portugal; mention of, 429

Pedro, Monomotapa : oarrles on war with Tshangamixa, 411 ; greuits silver
« mines to the Portuguese, 412 j in 1711 dies, 412;

Pegado, Jose' Gregorio, military governor of Mozambique; mention of, 441
Pegado, Ylflonte, oaptain of Sofala: mention of, 216 and 217
Pemba, island of: descriptiou of, 116
Pepper trade ; particulars conoemlng, 166

Pereira, Pzanoisco de Sodro, oaptaiu of tbe Bom Jesiui: is captured by the
Dutch, 331

Pereira, Dona Isabella : is wreoked in the Santo Alhm-to, 296
Pereira, Dom Joao Proyas, viceroy of India: mention of, 842
Pereira, Dom Nuno Alvares: prooeedings of in South Africa, 340 and 847,
369 to 861, and 363

Pereira, Manuel Gaetano; journey of, 428

Pereira, Buno Yolho; is captain of Mozambique, 268; is wrecked in tbe >
SamJto Alberto, 296 and 296 ; is again captain of Mozambique, SIO
Pereira, Buno Yaz : is tbe third oaptain of Sofala, 194
Perforated stones; partionlaie concerning, 11, 12, and 24
Pestsina, Bronoisco Pereira : succeeds Pedro Perreira Pogofa as oaptain of
Kilwa, 201 ; is instruoted to abandon that ^ace, and does so, 208

494 .History of South Afrit a.

I'lulipiHS T.I, king ut sApaiu : lu IfiHl uiWi. I'oclMijftl tn lii.i auiiiiiuoiw,
a67

fiUilippo 11 til rortneftl, III wf Spain: nwutioH nf, au ami ai'i
Philippe, Muuoiuutapn : aun Mnnum
'PhUippn, Mon o{ Iklouomotapa : nioutiun of, 046 and 050
PUyaloal tloaoriptiou ol South Alrioa, !l

Pillara aot up by narthoVoiiiun Dina: SSu 'Fhiugo at Angra P3q,uana, 1‘20;
Santa Orua at tho island of that namo, IQS; Silo Philippa on tho Cape
pouinsuia, 130

de Piiiho, Manual Paoz, pnv-so holder : mention of, Sftt)

Pinto, PennoisQO Joilo; in chaplain of Dr. Looordn’a expedition and takes
command after that gentleman's death, 4QS
Pirates; froi^uont Delagoa Bay, 405
Pires, Pranoisoo: is maokod in the SSo Bento, QSS

Fires, 7oao, of Oovilhilo: in May 1487 loaves Santarom and proceeds by 4vay
of Alexandria, Cairo, and Aden to Cauanor, Ualiout, and Goa, ccossea
over to Sofala on tho Afcloan eoast, and then returns to Cairo, 131;
with Bahhl HabrSo prooeeds to Ormus, and thenoe by way of Aden to
Abyssinia, whore ho sponds tho remainder of his life, 13Q
Piros, i'oilo, trader at Solala; in 17SS is robbed and murdered by a sou of
tho Kitove, 410; his widow makes war upon tho Kiteve, and obtaitm tho
district of Ohironde, 411
Plettenborg's Bay ; see Bahia Permosa

Poetry, Bantu: desoilptibn of, 64 '

Poison; montion of, 46, 316, and 341

Porto, Antonio Pranoleao Patteira da Silva; Journey of, 440

Port Singuue; mention of, 191

Portugal ; oauees of the deoUue of after the death of ,Elng SebasIdSo, 1& and
266; in 1681 hpaomes part of the Spanish dominions,'. 367 ; in jL640
recovers her iudopendenoe, 881 ; is olosely allied with England afterwards,,
887

Portuguase, the : in tho fifteenth oantury ore the most adventurous seamen
in the world, 124 ; in 1487 discover the southern limit of Afriea, 127 to
180 ; in 1498 reach India, 149 ; in September 1606 couunonco at Sofala
the European oooupation of South Africa, 187 ; rapidly degenerate in
Africa and India, 220 and 221 ; further particulars oonoorniiig, 302, 382,
892, 406, 409, 427, aud 481 ; territory in South Africa finally defined,
462 ; present condition of in South Africa, 407
Prozos, or great estates held under feudal tenure ; particulars concerning, 388,
888, 889, 891, 393, and 442

Presents : Bantu system of, 118, 216, 247, 249, 202, 204, and 363
Preater ^ohn: refexenoes to, 126, 182, aud 166
Priests, Bantu; duties of, 42 and 61
PrimeiroB Islands : desoxiption of, 118
Property distribution and inheritanoe of among the Bantu, 86
proverbs; speolmens of Xoea, 61 to 64
^ Pmdshtnent for oximes by Bantu, 67

Index.

495

QamttU: boliof^in, 43

Quiu-oama, I'odro : voyaga in 1S06 and 1506 ol, 193 and 193
Queimado, Job : ship commandad by is plunderea by the French corsair
Mondragon, 303

do Quoiroz, JoBo: in 1606 is killed by Hottentots at Flesh Bay, 184

CJuorlmba Islands: description of, 117

Querns used by Bantu, 92

Quilimane: see KHimaue

Quiloa; see Eilwa

Quitrents for prazos: are very small, 388 and 389

Babbi HabrSo, of Beja : travels of, 131

Bafaxo, Franoiaco; goes as envoy to the Monomotapa, 249

Boinmokers among the Bantu, 63'

Bailway from Iiourenpo Marques inland : account of, 463 j from Beira to
Solisbury, 463

Baznu’ss, Froueisco d'AvUes, lieutenant general ot Mozambique : mention of,
406

Baijoso, JoBo : assists in the first mission of the Jesuits, 236 and 226
Bavasoo, Buy Lourenqo : daring ornise on the Fast Afneon coast of, 163
Baymond, Admiral Oeorge : in 1501 visits Hable Bay, 307 ; is lost off the
coast, 307

Beal (plural reis) : note ui)on the value of in English money, ISO
Boligion of the Bushmen, 16 j of Hottentots, 26 j of Bantu, 41 and 61 ; of
early Asiatio immigrants, 103

Boport on the oondltion of South-Eastern Africa drawn up in 1684 by Fedro
Barreto de Bezende, 374
Bevenue : schemes for iuoreasing, 399
Beviews, military : held among Bantu, 86

de Bezende, JoSo, agent of the Mozambique Ccanpany; particulars oonoerning,
« 456 and 469

de Bezende, Fedro Barreto : report of, 874

Blbeiro, Biouysio Antonio, oaptain of the fort at Lourenqo Marques : murder
of by the Abagaza, 439

Bibeiro, Father Domingos Dias : mention of, 406

Bibeiro, Franoisoo Fires : is sent as oommissioner to South-Eastern Africa,
390

Bibeiro, Qonqalo, Dominiosn friar : mention of, 867
Bibeiro, Dom JoBo Giayo, bishop of Malacca; mention of, 369
Bobben Mand : in 1691 is visited by Admiral Baymond, 307 ; is named
Oornelia Island by Joris van Spilbergen, 816
Boe, Bit Thomas, Fugiiab envoy to the Great Mogul; visits Table Valley,

’339

do Bosario, Aleixo, Dominican friar : mention of, 386

do Bosario, Oonstontino, Dominioan frisTi son of the Monomotapa : particvdars
oonoerning, 403, 412, and 413

do Bosario, Bioolau, Dominioan frisa : displays great devotion to duty in

<*/ South A fyicit,

4t>6

tlio wft'i'W t\l iUb iS'rti) 'I'liitMi', UiW; nUiTWiiU Fctllim- .foin dui Hauloi ut
TbU, a7l ; U TOUtdewul liy tUa Ma<iiul>a, is'-J
KuiiiB in BhodoMtib. iiaiioi-faft urniiilvBUua nf, KKi

da |j&i GMoia, tiavtaiu at Malnura, fathak' a{ liotta Ijaottut’ whit iiurisliQil at
Doiafiaa tU} : inantian u{, dlH

do S&i (Tiu'oUk, Iktyako hu luirnuil by tho I’artuKutino : lucmtion of, ;fR3,

aao, ftiiii mo

do SA, Voutiiilouo, cikptiiiu ot inufihkk; monlUm of, tiTi

do SA 0 Kimns, Soak Augusto, captain uf Luuronvu Marriiuis; inuution of, 4<U
Sabtoaus: uto ooaoidoced by Mr. Bout to bo tho probaiilu buitilors of tho forts
and temples in Bhodueia, lOfi

Sabi Blver ; in foruiec timoe was tho boundiu-y botweon the Makaliviiga nikd
Batouga tribes, 211; is reached by the Abagaea and Angoiii from Bulu-
land, who fight with eaoh other tlioro, IBi)

Sneoto, 3 oSo Machado, factor at Mozambique; woution of, ‘lOti
SocrlhocB offered by Bantu at graves of ohiefs, 4S

Saint Proiiois, bay of ; description of by Manuel do Mesquita Percslrollo, RBO
Saint George, Island of; position of, 117

Saint Holena, island of; in 1602 Is discovered by Jofto da Mova, 160
Saint llolona Bay : in November WW is dlsoovered and named by Vasco da
Gama, 187

Saint 3ago, Island of ; dosoriptlou of, 118

Saint 3'ohn of God, order of; in 1681 takes charge of the hospital at
Moeamblquo, 402 *

Saint Bobaetian'a Bey; desoriptlon of by MannM de Meequlta Perostrello, 28B
Sakondemo, Bantu chief ; war between the Bltevq and, 884
Salaries of offlolale, 262 and 807

do Saldanba, Antonio : in 1608 saila from tjitfbon with a Bqltodr^ for' India,
161; pnta into the port now known as fDable Bay, 102; tra^aoMonp
there, 162; In September 1609 assumea duty as aixth oaptatn of
Sofala, 900 "

Saldanha, Agoada de: see Table Bay

Saiisbuiy, town of; on tho 11th Soptombor 1600 the British flag is hoisted
at, 466

Salt Blver; is named the Jaoqueliuo by Joris van Sxnlborgou, 615
de Bampayo, Buy de Hello, oaptain of Mozambique; particulars cuuoerning,
849, 864, 867, and 369

Sanches, Iiopo: in 1606 is wreokod near Oapo Oorreutes, when most of tho
orew of bis ship perish, 178 ; aooount of the wreck, 184 and 186
Sanitation ; is entirely neglected by tho Bantu, 88
Santa Barbara, convent of, in Goa ; Kapronzine’s son dies as vioar of, 885
. Santa Oaiollna, island of: in 1866 is occupied by refugees from the
mainiaind, 442

Senta Ornz, islet of; is visited by Bartholomeu Dias, 128
de Santa' <B^sa, Domaso; Dominioan friar; mention of, 408
, do. Santa BoBa,.Diogo, Dominioan friar; mention of, 408

Index.

497

Saniiago! wrook of the, 290 ,

de Santiago, Audr6, oaptadn of Sena : oarries on war with the Mazimba, 271 ;

is killed with many of his people, 272
Santo Alberto: wreck of the, 296

Santo Ignatno Loyola, the; resones a boat with people of the wrecked ship
Sao Qongdlo, and is lost near home, 878
doB Santos, JoSo, Hominioan friar: partioularB oonoerning, 3i, 250, 280, 266,
270, 271, 866, and 368
Sao Bento: wreck of the, 282

SSo Bras, Agoada de : is visited by Bartholomeu Dias, 128 ; and by Vasoo da
Gama, 141; in 1801 Jo5o da Nova builds the first place of worship in
South Africa on its shore, 167; is described by Manuel de Mesijuita
Perestrello, 289, See Mossel Bay

Sao Gabriel, ohuroh of, at Mozambique: is sat on flro by the Butch, 827

Sito Qmigalo ; wreck of the, 377

SSo ifo(io : wreck of the, 277

Stio Thiago; churoh at ifete dedicated to, 264

SOo Thomi: wreck of the, 291

de SSo IDhomi, 7030, Bominioan friar : mention of, 408

do Sgo Thomt, 7otgo, Bominioan friar; mention of, 403

de sao Vicente, Manuel, Dominican friar: mention of, 344

Sapoe, Bantu chief: aids the Portugueae, 352

Sarmento e Moraes, Fasohoal d'Abrou, castellan of Mozambique: mention
of, 406

m

Sardinha, Manuel, Bominioan friar : mention of, 366 and 869
Soulpture by Asiatic immigrants : remains of, 103

Seals ; ore found in abundance on the South African coast, 142, 815,
and 878

' ebaatiao. Bom : on the 16th of June 1667 Buooeeda to the throne of
Portugal at three years of age, 221 ; in 1668 is declared of age and is
crowned king of Portugal, 232 ; resolves to create a vast dominion in
South-Bastem Alriea, 282; subirdts to a board of conscience the question
of lawfulness of warfare against the Monomotapa, 284; on the 4th. of
August 1678 dies in battle with the Moors of North Africa, 265
Sebetuane, MakolOlo chief: mention of, 446

Sedanda : dynastio title of chiefs of the tribe living between Sofala and the
Sabi river, 266

Sekeletu, Makololo chief; mention of, 446
Selous, Frederick Oourteney : visit to Umtasa’s kraal of, 456
Sena, town of: partioulars concerning, 120, 216, 228, 239, 244, 248, 260, 251,
262, 268, 278, 274, 362, 868, 876, 382, 392, 894, 401, 440. and 441
SerrSo, Manuel Gomes ; is commander in chief in the war against Kapran-
mne, 366

Shell mounds: description of, 1, 24, and 25

ShilUnge, Andrew: in 1620 proclaims sovereigiity of King James I over
South Africa, 886

' Ships of the time of Vasoo da Gama : description of, 134

in*S liiattny 0/ Sanf/i A/rita,

KUioho; Mtima] ewtoemtid by it Hatitu tiilw, IT'

M5ag« of MosntmMtiuo by tbu UiitoU. the ilvnb, tlm wurHirt, ;W;i; the

third, 8da

dit SUv», Autoulo liidto, (irAKci hublor; nientioii uf, IVIM mid dlN)
dfc Stlviv, .rofiii, smi of Frunulmtii HArrolo: tiwiitiou of, siW inul 2fil
da Silvou'tt, Autimio, oAptiiin of Siifoht from lht!( to IfdT ; giiUivul, ciofout'o oi
Uiu in 1888 iiy, 983

da Kilvflira, Duin. Ooui,iato, luodur of thu Itrot inioiiiuu Xiarly in South Africa :
account of, 224 to 2B0

Silvor; epooimena of ora tuid aearch for miuoa of: 258, 342, iitO, 352, 354,
835, 839, 801, 302, 872, and 412
SiiiowB of auiuukls: ata uaod om thread by the litiutu, U1
do Slquoira, Antonio JoSo, govornor of Atoaambiriuo : moiitiou of, 410
Skina: luathoda of dtouaing by tho Bantu, 91
Skull mooaarei'nontB of Bantu, Hottentotn, and Buxhmeu, 0 and 7 '

Skulla, human : are uaecl by Bantu to hold oharms againat vvituhoriift, 55;

the courtyard of Kwlxiu'a'a hut ia found pavod with, 270
Slivvoa: partloulara oonoeming, 04, 256, 207, 810, 811, 880, and 420
Slave trado, the: oQeot upon Portugal of, 124; partloulara cunoovuing, 258,
863, 410, 417, 430, 434, 430, 442, and 443
SmoU: dulUonae of among Bantu, H3

Smith, Andrew, M.A. : book of on modlcliutl plauta iwod by Bantu, 6H
Smoking wild hemp ; it pvaotUad by Bantu, 70

Smytho, Sir Phomoii, governor of the BngUah fiSoet India Company : 'nnontiun
of, 888

BmtffeUuir, the; visit to Inhambone,^ dill. >

Sootea, Beraardd de Cfotbcft; Bdtcdi ttodlag'Oj^, Inham-

1j(wief.''4W”' ’ ’ ' "•'!■ * 'i‘. >«»'»!?'''/' ■’ y,.'

doovee, pefto Yah; Tune lOld' EendA a report to the king rfpoit tlru ^4
f -5f'-Sofeift,'ao0 ' '

Sodre.'Yldente; in 1303 aalls from Bisbon for India aa oommandor of a fleof'
otWar, 138

Sofola; under the Mobamodans, 107 to 110; doacriptlou of in 1500, 120 and
191 ; is visited by JoBo Plres, of CovilbBo, 131 ; accounts of tho wealth
of received by Vosoo da Gama, 145 and 146; is viaitod by Sanoho do
Tear, 16S ; is visited by Dom Vftsoo da Gama, 159 ; condition of in 1606,
185; on 9l8t September 1505 Pedro d' Anaya coinmonoos to build a fort,
186; oondition of tho Fortuguoso garrison In 1506, 16S; the fort ib
attacked by the Hobomedans aided by a Bantu clan, 180; who arc
vanguisbed, when Portuguese authority is firmly ostablisbod, 190 and
191; further pariioulars oonoeming, 103, 200, 203 et seq,, 211, 316, 225,
288, 989, 252, 269 to 261, 270, 294, 206, 841, 368, 374, 376, 382, 392, 404,

, 420, 436, and 440

, ‘^leinum, ninth ruler of Kilwa ; takes Soiaia from Magadosho and secures the
, ' _ ' , trode in ivory and gold, 109

; ' ‘‘Boleifton, lEurldsb governor ol'iBgypt; siege o£ Bin by, 233
) ul'Banttt : desoiiption of, 64

Index.

499

Sonza, Bantu oliiaf; war with, 260

Sotomayor, Dom ffraucisoo ABir^ao, governor ol Jlozambiauo; montion of
4X3

Sotahangauft: see Manikusa

ile Sousa, Alvaro, captain of Mozambique: mention of, 885
tie Sousa e Menezos, Biogo, captain of Mozambique: mention of, 869
do Sousa Proire, JoSo, military commander : mention of, 394 to 396
do Sousa Sepulveda, Manuel: miserable fate of in the wreck of the iSSo Jodo,
978 to 281

do Sousa, Dom Pedro, captain of Mozambique: mention of, 978
de Sousa, Thom4 : is an officer in Prandsoo Barreto’s expedition, 244
South Africa Chartered Company: formation of, 466; boundary with the
Portuguese settled, 461

South African Bepublio : independence of acknowledged by Great Britain in
1862, 448; boundary with the Portuguese settled, 460
Spice Islands : in 1604 are taken from the Portuguese by the Dutch, 828
von Spilbergen, Jorls : in 1601 gives Table Bay its present name, 316
St. Croix, islet of, in Algoa Bay:' see Santa Cruz

Stephens, Thomas, rector of the Jesuit college at Salsetto; mention of, 806
and 806

Stone : Is little used for building by the Bantu, 02

Stone implements of great age : partioulars oonoemlng, 2, 8, 18, and 28

Story, James : travels of, 306

Supemlitlons of Mohomedsns on the eastern coast of Africa, 114

•

Table iBay: is so named by Joris van Spilbergen, 815; is soon afterwards
much frequented by Bn^ish and Dutch ablps, 382 to 885, and 340, See
Agoada de Saldonha

Table Meuntaiu: in 1603 is so named by Antonio de Saldanha, 162
Table Valley; slaughter of Dom Bzauoisco d’Almeida and his people near,
267 ; proposed settlement in, S84 ; Bnglish and Dutch killed by Hottentots
in, 888 ; Bnglish criminals left in, 333 ; settlement formed in by Dutch
Bast Bidia Company, S86

do Tavora, OhristovSo ; m 1616 assumes duty as ninth captain of Sofala, 208
de Tavora, Brancisoo, viceroy of India : mention of, 896
Tavora, marquis of, viceroy of India ; mention of, 432 and 428
de Tavora, Buy liourmqo, viceroy of India: mention of, 847
Temhe Biver: position of, 218: the British fisg is hoisted on the bank of,
483; the Portuguese flag is hoisted on the bauk of, 487
Tenado, Dcm Domingos, titular bishop of Sale : is appointed flrat eoolesias-
tiosl administrator of South-Bastem Africa, 868
Tete : establishment of trading station at, 217 ; farther partioulars oonceming,
248, 268, 264, 270, 271, 846, 346, 848, 376, 302, 410, 428, 445, 405, 466,
and 467

ThrelfaU, Bev. Hr., Wesleyan missionary at Deiagoa Bay ; account of, 487

Time : method of computing by Bantu, 69 and 60

Tizombe, or Bikali, pronunent rook on the coast : mention of, 296

2 H

500

fihtoiy of South ^

ik TOiVf, S,iiu>ho; h di m\ in tomiii ui>l »t tin' tint J'ttl > AUiiics

Cttbrivl, Iftl; vi'iUs Hutuln, Tm, In tii-iiliinl' i 1 U Im -uti « ti'uMi t-iinHiu
uf Sornln, UOS

ToUva, Itautu oliluf: mniMtiti ii{, :*tt:

'IVuflo, Ikntu rliii'I; war wiHi, liil, a'lJ, anti a71

'I'orlaro o! Ma ]MiUi\vauu on uliaii;u cit \vil)')unafb‘ (i>'i ■nut of, 'i.

Towt't in tmuplo of (Vioat Zimliivliwo: it Httjiiiitst'il in hav.i lit'cn a i,»lialUH,
101

Toyw of Ttautn ehiWron: (loscripllun of, IH
Tcado; stio Uommorca

Ttoabioa liotwoon Groat Britain nuct Votlugal; niontlon oi, 401, tCt, aiicl
463

Trials, jndioinl: method of holding among Bantu, W
da Trludado, ITranoisoo, Domluicou tidar: mention of, It)') and 413
da Trindado, JoSo, Dominioan friar; mmdor of. :iOa

Tristito, Kuno; in 1441 briiiga drat slaves fium \Yu‘>t Afriea to Portugal,
366

TrlstSo, Bod)‘igo.‘ is wroclcod in tho AVlo JimIo, reniaiint in Kaffraria, and
loaves 'With the wrecked orow oi tho h'dn Xtenio, 306 and 306
Timth i la lightly oatoomod by tho Bantu, OS
Tshaka, f!alu ohiof: monlion of, 460

Tahangnmlta, Bantu ohiof : inakos vmr with tlto hloiiumotaim, 411 and 413
Tsbawo, groat grandson of Xosa ; is oroditod l)y tiio Ainaxma as tho luvuutuv
of iron weapons, tho makor of coppor orutuuuula, and tho lutvoduour of
millot as food, 00 «

Tehopnto, the drat Eltovo: aoeount of, 33U
Tehoroma: deaiinge of Blogo BimOoa Madoira with, 869 and 861
Tshikanda, Bantu aub'Ohtol ; dealings with, 848

Tehlkanga, dynastlo titlo of tho mlers of Manlka; origin, of, 318 and 3L0;

paxtieulaiB oonoorning, 369, 363, and 860
Tshombe, Bantu, ohief: portlaulora oonoorning, 341, 948, 860, and S6i
Tahunzo, Bantu ohiof: oarrloa on war with tho Honomotapa, 842 **

Turko, tho ; position of at tho beginning of tho olxtooulh ooutury, 128 ; carry
on war -with tho Portuguese in tho oastorn seas, 222
Tyre ; Asiatic immigrants into Afnoa possibly from, 101

Ubabu, Bantu ohiof : mention of, 298
tlmbeloBi Blver: discovery of, 218 ond 219

Umdungazwe, son and successor of Umzila : demands tributo from the
Portuguese, but ia mado prisoner and bonishod from South-lSabtom Africa,
467

TTmhlonhlo, Bantu ohief; mention of, 42

TJmkulnnknlu : Bantu name for a great spirit onoo human, 48

Umtosa, Bantu ohief : dealings with, 4 60 end 468

XJmtamvuno Biver: in 1600 is tho dividing lino botweon Ilotlontots and
Bantu, 30

tlmyambosi, son of XTmtetwa; la credited by tho Abatotwa as the invoutor of

Index.

501

lion woBipoaB, the makei ol coppei oinantcntB, aud tho lulcoclttosi of
milloi as jood, GO •

UmzUa, son of Hauiknsa ; aocouut of, HQ and 460

Yambe, Bonin tribo : mention of, 301

do VasconooUos, klattheus Mendes, footoi at Melindo; mention of, 263
Vases; ore made by Bantu fcom sciapingb of skins, 01
Yatwahs (Abogazo) ; mention of, 431 and 432

Veloao, I’emao: adventure of with Hottentots at Saint llalona Bay, 140
Yeulco ; position of at the beginning of the sixtoonth contnty, 123
YeihoeS, Pieter Willemazoou : siege of Mozomkigue by, 82S to 331
Vessels, Mohomedan trading: dosoription of. 111
Vibo, Bantu chief: mention of, 299
VictoHa, Dutch vessel: voyages to Inhambano of, 417
Victoria Palls on the Zambesi : are discovered by the reverend Dr,
Livingstone, 447

Viraguno, Bantu ohiet: mention of, 301

van Waorwyk, Wybrond : mention of, 820
Water spirits : aro believed in by Bantu, 48
War : a factor in man’s progress, 4

Weapons: of Bushmon, 11 j of Hottentots, 22 and 23; of Bantu, 85, 86,
and 89

do Woert, Sebald : mention of, 320

Whalosj in the winter are abundant in South African waters, 332
Whaling: carried on by English, Ameiioans, ond Portuguese at Delagoo
Bay, 426 and 430

Widows of T""" of rank : treatment by Bantu of, 45
Witchcraft : belief in by Bantu, 62, 67, 53, 226, 242, and. 246
Witohflndors ; mention of, 49 and 68
Wives of Bantu : particulars concerning, 38
•Women: position among the Hottentots of, 26*, among the Bantu of, 70,
74, 77, 92, 93, and 96
Wood: articles made by the Bantu of, 90

Wrecks; of tho S«o Joilo, 277, of the SOo Bento, 282; of the Santiago, 290;
of the SOo Thatni, 291 ; of the Saitio Alberto, 206 ; of the SSo Gcm^alo,
877 ; of the Nossa Senlwra de Belem, 879

Xavier, Major Oardas : ie in oommand of Portugnoso volunteers in 1891 in
the action with British polioo, 460

Zaide, a desoendaut of Mohamod: settles with his followers in Eastern

Zakoeja, sheik of Mozambigne in 1498 : particulars oonoorning 146 •

Zambesi Biver; description of the delta of. 119; oommeroa of the delta, 201;
the river is followed hy Dr. Liviugstono from the heart of the oontment
to tho sea, 447 ; the free navigation of is secured hy treaty, 462

502

History of Smik A/rmi,

9<iHnbtt(w% Ming vonds . amoriplion ot> lU

HSwndliftrt t«lM at; ^aseripUun ot, 110. fti inoiM ittbuUt) to , Poctogal b;
Un; Xiouvenfo Bavoaoo, 10.1; Inaanootlbu quulUd at, 217, tvitliOia.'Ral ot
PorfeugoeM tmm, 4U

jSxobabwo. pluoo ot toHidonoo ot a lloiitu ohtet, 21S

titobaWo, Groat; description of, lO end 100

SStittbas (Mtwlmba), cannibal honlo : ocoouali ot, SSGd

Xumbo, trading and mission station: paiUculau oonoeming, dll and 444

Lomoir KsniiiD bt mBLisju olowbs ahd buks, Lmim.

SOXB SKKBBi, siAMrono sraBEj), s s , and gbhai mmsttiiii sinssi!, w.