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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/35738-0.txt b/35738-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ad3b31c --- /dev/null +++ b/35738-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8456 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest +of Guinea, by Gomes Eannes de Azurara + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea + Vol. I + +Author: Gomes Eannes de Azurara + +Translator: Charles Raymond Beazley + Edgar Prestage + +Other: The Hakluyt Society + +Release Date: April 1, 2011 [EBook #35738] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DISCOVERY-CONQUEST OF GUINEA, VOL I *** + + + + +Produced by Chris Curnow, Joseph Cooper, Carol Ann Brown +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + [Transcriber’s Note: + + This text includes characters that require UTF-8 (Unicode) file + encoding: + + āīū (letters with macron or “long” mark) + Γαράμαντεσ (Greek) + ãẽñõ (letters with tilde) + äëïöü (letters with umlaut) + âîôû (letters with circumflex) + ç (c with cedilla) + ° (degree sign, with latitude and longitude) + + If any of these characters do not display properly--in particular, if + the diacritic does not appear directly above the letter--or if the + apostrophes and quotation marks in this paragraph appear as garbage, + ensure your text reader’s “character set” or “file encoding” is set + to Unicode (UTF-8). You may also need to change the default font. + + Additional notes are at the end of the book.] + + + + + WORKS ISSUED BY + + The Hakluyt Society. + + THE CHRONICLE + OF + THE DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST + OF GUINEA. + + VOL I. + + No. XCV. + + + + + THE CHRONICLE + OF THE + DISCOVERY + AND + CONQUEST OF GUINEA. + + WRITTEN BY + + GOMES EANNES DE AZURARA; + + NOW FIRST DONE INTO ENGLISH + BY + CHARLES RAYMOND BEAZLEY, M.A., F.R.G.S., + + LATE FELLOW OF MERTON COLLEGE, OXFORD; CORRESPONDING MEMBER + OF THE LISBON GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY; + + AND + + EDGAR PRESTAGE, B.A.OXON., + + KNIGHT OF THE MOST NOBLE PORTUGUESE ORDER OF S. THIAGO; CORRESPONDING + MEMBER OF THE LISBON ROYAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, + THE LISBON GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, ETC. + + + + + VOL. I + + (CHAPTERS I-XL). + + With an Introduction on the Life and Writings of the Chronicler. + + BURT FRANKLIN, PUBLISHER + NEW YORK, NEW YORK + + + + + Published by + BURT FRANKLIN + 514 West 113th Street + New York 25, N. Y. + + ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY + REPRINTED BY PERMISSION + + PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. + + + + + TO + HIS MOST FAITHFUL MAJESTY + DOM CARLOS Io, + KING OF PORTUGAL AND THE ALGARVES, + THIS WORK IS BY PERMISSION + DEDICATED. + + + + + COUNCIL + OF + THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY. + + + SIR CLEMENTS MARKHAM, K.C.B., F.R.S., _Pres. R.G.S._, PRESIDENT. + THE RIGHT HON. THE LORD STANLEY OF ALDERLEY, VICE-PRESIDENT. + SIR A. WOLLASTON FRANKS, K.C.B., F.R.S., VICE-PRESIDENT. + C. RAYMOND BEAZLEY, ESQ., M.A. + MILLER CHRISTY, ESQ. + COLONEL G. EARL CHURCH. + THE RIGHT HON. GEORGE N. CURZON, M.P. + ALBERT GRAY, ESQ. + THE RIGHT HON. LORD HAWKESBURY. + EDWARD HEAWOOD, ESQ., M.A. + ADMIRAL SIR ANTHONY H. HOSKINS, K.C.B. + REAR-ADMIRAL ALBERT H. MARKHAM. + A. P. MAUDSLAY, ESQ. + E. DELMAR MORGAN, ESQ. + CAPTAIN NATHAN, R.E. + ADMIRAL SIR E. OMMANNEY, C.B., F.R.S. + CUTHBERT E. PEEK, ESQ. + E. G. RAVENSTEIN, ESQ. + COUTTS TROTTER, ESQ. + REAR-ADMIRAL W. J. L. WHARTON, C.B., R.N. + +WILLIAM FOSTER, ESQ., _Honorary Secretary_. + + + + +[Illustration] + + + + +EDITORS' PREFACE. + + +The following translation of Azurara's _Chronicle of the Discovery and +Conquest of Guinea_ is the first complete English version that has +appeared of the chief contemporary authority for the life-work of Prince +Henry of Portugal, surnamed the Navigator; and we may remind members of +the Hakluyt Society, and other readers, that we have but lately passed +the fifth centenary of the Prince's birth (March 4th, 1394). + +The first volume includes about half of the text, together with an +Introduction on the Life and Writings of Azurara, which it is hoped will +be found more exhaustive and accurate than any previous notice of the +historian. + +In the second volume (which is due for the year 1897) will be given the +rest of the Chronicle, with an Introduction on the Geographical +Discoveries of the Portuguese, and Prince Henry's share in the same. It +will also contain notes for the explanation of historical and other +questions arising out of certain passages in the text of both volumes. +To illustrate the condition of geographical knowledge in the period +covered by the present instalment, we have included four reproductions +of contemporary (or almost contemporary) maps: (1) Africa, according to +the Laurentian Portolano of 1351 in the Medicean Library at Florence. +This is the most remarkable of all the Portolani of the fourteenth +century. Its outline of W. and S. Africa, and more particularly its +suggestion of the bend of the Guinea Coast, is surprisingly near the +truth, even as a guess, in a chart made one hundred and thirty-five +years before the Cape of Good Hope was first rounded. (2) N.-W. Africa, +the Canary Isles, etc., according to the design of the Venetian brethren +Pizzigani, in 1367. (3) The same according to the Catalan Map of 1375 in +the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris. The interior of Africa is filled +with fantastic pictures of native tribes; the boatload of men off Cape +Bojador in the extreme S.-W. of the map probably represents the Catalan +explorers of the year 1346, whose voyage in search of the "River of +Gold" this map commemorates. (4) The same, with certain other parts of +the world, according to Andrea Bianco in 1436. In the succeeding volume, +we hope to offer some illustrations of the cartography of Prince Henry's +later years, as well as a likeness of the Prince himself, either from +the Paris portrait (MSS. Port. 41, fol. 5 _bis_) or from the statue at +Belem. We had expected to be able to furnish our readers with a copy of +the portrait of the Prince from the important oil-painting on board +preserved in a corridor of the extinct monastery adjoining the Church of +S. Vicente de Fóra in Lisbon, but the photograph, which was taken by +Senhor Camacho with the permission of His Eminence the Cardinal +Patriarch, proved unsatisfactory, owing to the position of the picture +and want of sufficient light. + +We may add that a considerable part of the Paris manuscript of the +_Chronicle of Guinea_ has been collated for the present edition with the +printed text as published by Santarem, and the result proves the +accuracy of the latter. + +We have to thank Senhor Jayme Batalha Reis, who has looked through the +present version as far as the end of vol. i, and has kindly offered many +suggestions. Among other Portuguese scholars who have been of service to +us, we would especially mention Dr. Xavier da Cunha, of the Bibliotheca +National, Lisbon; Senhor José Basto, of the Torre do Tombo, and +General Brito Rebello. In a lesser degree we owe our acknowledgments to +D. Carolina Michaëlis de Vasconcellos and Dr. Theophilo Braga, the chief +authorities on all that pertains to Portuguese literature, as well as to +the late Conselheiro J. P. de Oliveira Martins, whose untimely death +robbed his country of her foremost man of letters. + + C. R. B. + E. P. + +_October, 1896._ + +[Illustration] + + + + +[Illustration] + + + + + THE LIFE AND WRITINGS + OF AZURARA. + + + + +LIFE. + +"Lidar sem descanço parece ter sido o moto d'Azurara." + VIEIRA DE MEYRELLES. + + +The materials at hand for a study of the life and work of the second +great Portuguese Chronicler are, considering the age in which he lived +and the position he held, somewhat disappointing, and no one of his +countrymen has been at the pains to work them up satisfactorily. They +naturally fall into three divisions--his own writings, documents +directly relating to his life or merely signed by him in his official +capacity, and the witness of historians. There exists but one +contemporary description of Azurara, that by Mattheus de Pisano, author +of the Latin history of the Capture of Ceuta, though this is +supplemented by the contents of two letters addressed to the Chronicler +by Affonso V and the Constable D. Pedro respectively, as well as by what +can be gleaned from documentary sources and from Azurara himself. In the +next century--the 16th--some assistance may be derived from the +traditions preserved by Barros, the historian of the Indies, as also +from his critical judgments together with those of Damião de Goes, the +famous Humanist and friend of Erasmus. These are all in a sense primary +authorities, while the others who have discoursed of, or incidentally +mentioned him are but secondary, namely, Nicolau Antonio, Jorge Cardoso, +Barbosa Machado, João Pedro Ribeiro, the Viscount de Santarem, Alexandre +Herculano, Vieira de Meyrelles, Innocencio da Silva, Sotero dos Reis, +and Rodriguez d'Azevedo. + +Gomes Eannes de Azurara, to give the modern spelling of his name, though +he always signed himself simply "Gomes Eanes" or "Gomes Annes",[1] was +the son of João Eannes de Azurara, a Canon of Evora and Coimbra; but, +beyond the fact of this paternity, we know nothing of his father, and +only by conjecture is it possible to arrive at the name of his mother, +as will hereafter appear. He is said to have come of a good family, on +the ground of his admission into the Order of Christ. + + [Footnote 1: In the _Chronica de Guiné_, ch. 97, he calls himself + "Gomez Eanes de Zurara."] + +As with several other Portuguese men of letters, the respective years of +Azurara's birth and death are unknown,[2] and two localities dispute the +honour of having given him to the world; but there seems little doubt +that this "bonus Grammaticus, nobilis Astrologus, et magnus +Historiographus," as his friend Pisano calls him,[3] was born in the +town of his name, in the Province of Minho, at the very commencement of +the 15th century. In proof of this it should be stated that Azurara +expressly declares in his _Chronica de Ceuta_, which was finished in +1450, that he had not passed "the three first ages of man" when he wrote +it.[4] + + [Footnote 2: Barros, writing before 1552, says, "I know not how long + he lived."--_Asia_, Dec. 1, liv. ii, ch. 2.] + + [Footnote 3: "De Bello Septensi," p. 27 (in the _Ineditos de + Historia Portugueza_, vol. i, Lisbon, 1790).] + + [Footnote 4: _Chronica de Ceuta_, ch. 23.] + +The dispute as to his birthplace between the Azurara in Minho and the +Azurara in Beira[5] is not easy to settle, but tradition favours the +former, and until the end of the last century no writer had ventured to +doubt that the ancient town at the mouth of the River Ave, which +received its first charter, or "foral", from the Count D. Henrique in +1102 or 1107, was the early home of the Chronicler.[6] Such evidence as +exists in favour of the latter place is slight, consisting only of +inferences drawn from a document, dated August 23rd, 1454, in which +Affonso V grants certain privileges to two inhabitants of Castello +Branco, who were accustomed to collect the Chronicler's rents and bring +them to Lisbon. From this it has been argued by such able critics as +Vieira de Meyrelles and Rodriguez d'Azevedo that these rents must have +issued out of family property situate at the Azurara in Beira, which +happens to be in the district of Castello Branco, and hence that the +Chronicler was a native of Beira rather than of Minho.[7] The conclusion +seems far-fetched, to say the least, for it is just as likely that these +two men were agents for a benefice, or "commenda", at Alcains, in the +same district, which Azurara possessed at the time this grant was +made.[8] + + [Footnote 5: This place is in Beira Alta, twelve kilometres east of + Vizeu, famous (_inter alia_) for the great picture of St. Peter as + Pope, lately reproduced by the Arundel Society.] + + [Footnote 6: The first to mention Azurara's birthplace was Soares de + Brito (born 1611, died 1669), who, in his _Theatrum Lusitaniæ + Litterarium_, p. 547, says: "Gomes Anes de Azurara ex oppido, sicuti + fertur, cognomine in Diocesi Portucalensi," voicing the tradition of + his time (MS. U/4/22 of the Lisbon National Library, dated 1645). + The first who suggested Beira in place of Minho seems to have been + Corrêa da Serra, editor of the _Ineditos_, _ibid._, vol. ii, p. + 209.] + + [Footnote 7: _Vide_ the articles on Azurara in the _Instituto de + Coimbra_, vol. ix, p. 72, _et seq._, by Vieira de Meyrelles, and in + the _Diccionario Universal Portuguez_, vol. i, p. 2151, by R. + d'Azevedo.] + + [Footnote 8: Azurara is named in this document "Commander of Alcains + and Granja de Ulmeiro".--_Chanc. de D. Affonso V_, liv. x, fol. 113, + Torre do Tombo.] + +The early life of the Chronicler is almost a blank. Until the year 1450, +in which he wrote his first serious Chronicle, though not, perhaps, his +first book, we have little beyond the meagre information, supplied by +Mattheus de Pisano,[9] that he began to study late--"dum maturæ jam +ætatis esset"--and that he had passed his youth without acquiring the +rudiments of knowledge--"nullam litteram didicisset"[10]--to which some +later authorities have added--he spent his early years in the pursuit of +arms, a statement likely enough to be true. It seems probable that he +obtained a post in the Royal Library during the brief and luckless reign +of D. Duarte (1433-1438), or shortly afterwards, as assistant to the +Chronicler Fernão Lopes, whom he succeeded, for he was actually in +charge of it early in the reign of Affonso V, in 1452, and finished the +_Chronica de Guiné_ in that place in 1453. + + [Footnote 9: According to Azurara, Pisano was tutor (_mestre_) to + Affonso V, and "a laurelled Bard, as well as one of the most + sufficient Philosophers and Orators of his time in + Christendom."--_Chronica de D. Pedro de Menezes_, ch. 1 (_Ineditos_, + vol. ii).] + + [Footnote 10: _De Bello Septensi_, p. 27.] + +Tradition has it that he entered the Order of Christ as a young man, for +he came to be Commander therein, a position only obtainable at that time +by regular service in the Order, and by seniority; but the nature of +these services, and the advancement which Azurara gained by them, cannot +precisely be determined, because the early private records of the Order, +together with the roll of its Knights, have been lost, those that exist +only reaching back to the commencement of the 16th century.[11] This +Order was founded by King Diniz in 1319, on the suppression of the +Templars, and it inherited most, if not all, their houses and goods +throughout Portugal. Its members were bound by the three monastic vows +of chastity, poverty, and obedience, which prevailed in Azurara's time, +although Commanders and Knights of the Order were at a later period +allowed to marry, by grant of Pope Alexander VI.[12] The Commanders were +bound to confess and communicate four times in the year, to recite daily +the Hours of Our Lady, to have four Masses said annually for deceased +members, and to fast on Fridays, as well as on the days ordained by the +Church. Membership of the Order was an honour reserved for Nobles, +Knights, and Squires, free from stain in their birth or other +impediment; while the Statutes directed a number of enquiries to be made +before a candidate was admitted, one being, was he born in lawful +wedlock?--a question our Chronicler could possibly not have answered in +the affirmative.[13] Besides this, aspirants were required to be +knighted before their admission, and then to profess. A gift of one or +more "Commendas", or benefices, followed in due course, but, to prevent +the abuse of pluralities which thus crept in, Pope Pius V afterwards +decreed that no Knight should hold more than one Commenda, and this he +was to visit at least once in every three years. The Knights possessed +many privileges, the most notable being that, in both civil and criminal +cases, they were exempt from the jurisdiction of the Royal Courts, and +subject only to those of their Order, which had all the old prerogatives +of those of the Temple and Calatrava, together with such as had been +granted it by name.[14] + + [Footnote 11: So says Corrêa da Serra--_Ineditos_, vol. ii, p. 207.] + + [Footnote 12: _Vide_ Ruy de Pina, _Chronica de D. Duarte_, ch. 8.] + + [Footnote 13: Because Azurara is found to have been the son of a + Canon, it does not necessarily follow that he was illegitimate, and, + in fact, no letters of legitimation exist in respect of him.] + + [Footnote 14: _Definiçoẽs e Estatutos dos Cavalleiros e Freires + da Ordem de N. S. Jesu Cristo com a historia da origem & principio + della._ Lisbon, 1628.] + +According to one authority, Azurara began his career as author in the +reign of D. Duarte by compiling a detailed catalogue of the Miracles of +the Holy Constable, Nun' Alvares Pereira.[15] The MS., which is said to +have existed in the Carmo Convent in Lisbon as late as 1745, has +disappeared, but the substance of this curious work may still be read in +Santa Anna's _Chronica dos Carmaelitas_, together with a number of +contemporary popular songs about the Constable, extracted from MSS. left +by Azurara.[16] + + [Footnote 15: D. Carolina Michaëlis de Vasconcellos, however, is of + opinion that this, and the popular songs hereafter referred to, are + pious frauds, invented in the first half of the seventeenth century + to form materials for the canonisation of Nun' Alvares.] + + [Footnote 16: _Chronica dos Carmaelitas_, vol. i, pp. 469, 486. + Lisbon, 1745.] + +More than ten years now elapse without any mention of Azurara's name, +and we hear of him for the first time, definitely, in 1450. On March +25th of that year he finished at Silves, in the Algarve, his _Chronicle +of the Siege and Capture of Ceuta_, an event that took place in 1415, +and formed the first of a long line of Portuguese expeditions, and the +starting-point in their career of foreign conquest. Fernão Lopes, the +Froissart of his country, and the father of Portuguese history, was +still alive at the time Azurara wrote this work, but had become too old +and weak to carry on his history of the reign of João I, to which it is +a sequel. After paying a tribute to Lopes as a man of "rare knowledge +and great authority",[17] Azurara tells us that Affonso V ordered him to +continue the work, that the deeds of João I might not be forgotten; and +this he did, culling his information from eye-witnesses as well as from +documents, with that honesty and zeal which are his two most prominent +features as an historian.[18] He began the _Chronicle_--which was +printed once only, and that in the 17th century--thirty-four years after +the capture of Ceuta, _i.e._, in the autumn of 1449, and concluded it, +as the last chapter states, on March 25th, 1450. It was, therefore, +written in the short space of about seven months, which, says +Innocencio, seems well-nigh incredible, considering how deliberately and +circumspectly histories were compiled in those days.[19] The narrative +is, with a few exceptions, full and even minute. + + [Footnote 17: _Chronica de Ceuta_, ch. 2.] + + [Footnote 18: Azurara's chief informants were D. Pedro, Regent in + the minority of Affonso V, and D. Henrique, in whose house he stayed + some days for the purpose by the king's orders; "for he knew more + than anyone in Portugal about the matter" (_Chronica de Ceuta_, ch. + 12). To this fact must be attributed the prominent place he gives D. + Henrique in his narrative. The same circumstance is noticeable in + the _Chronica de D. Duarte_, which was begun by Azurara and finished + by Ruy de Pina, of which hereafter.] + + [Footnote 19: _Diccionario Bibliographico Portuguez_, vol. iii, p. + 147.] + +We know not the precise date at which Azurara had begun to apply himself +to the study of letters, and he makes no allusion whatsoever, in his +writings, to his early life; but it is clear, from the _Chronica de +Ceuta_, that his self-training had been lengthy, and his range of study +wide.[20] In the Preface to this, his first literary essay still +existing, he quotes from many books of the Old and New Testament, as +well as from Aristotle, St. Gregory, St. Anselm, and Avicenna; while in +the body of the work he compares the siege of Ceuta to that of Troy, +talks of "Giovanni Boccaccio, a poet that was born at Florence", +mentions the _Conde Lucanor_, and wanders off into philosophical musings +that forcibly recall passages of the _Leal Conselheiro_ of D. Duarte, +and prove him to have been no tyro in the learning of the age. He was +equally well versed in astrology, in which he believed firmly, as in +history, and of the latter he says: "I that wrote this history have read +most of the Chronicles and historical works."[21] To understand how this +was possible, it must be remembered that the Portuguese Court, in the +first half of the 15th century, was an important literary centre, and +that João I and his sons, besides being themselves authors of books, +possessed libraries among the most complete in Europe.[22] The +atmosphere of learning that he breathed made Azurara what he was, and it +explains the ascendency he gained, as a pure man of letters, over the +mind of Affonso V. + + [Footnote 20: Pisano testifies of Azurara, "scientiæ cupiditate + flagravit".--_De Bello Septensi_, p. 27.] + + [Footnote 21: _Chronica de Ceuta_, ch. 38.] + + [Footnote 22: _Vide_ Theophilo Braga, _Historia da Universidade de + Coimbra_, Lisbon, 1892, vol. i, ch. 4, for the catalogues of these + libraries and an account of the books they contained.] + +Three years elapsed between the writing of his second and third books, +and there can be little doubt that Azurara spent this period partly in +the Royal Library and partly among the Archives, which were then housed +in the Castle of S. Jorge in Lisbon, continuing his study of the history +of his own and foreign countries in the chronicles and documents those +places contained. + +Some time in the year 1452 the King, who was then in Lisbon, charged him +with the book which constitutes his chief title to fame, owing to the +importance of its subject, and the historical fidelity and literary +skill that distinguish its presentment, namely, the _Chronica de Guiné_, +or, as it might be called, the _Life and Work of Prince Henry the +Navigator_. From the subscript we find it was written in the Royal +Library, and finished there on February 18th, 1453. Azurara sent it to +the King, five days afterwards, with a letter which has fortunately been +preserved, since it shows how friendly and even familiar were the +relations subsisting between them, and how these were maintained by a +regular correspondence. It appears that Affonso had urged Azurara to +obtain all the information possible about the life and work of D. +Henrique, and, this done, to write as best he could, "alleging a dictum +of Tully, that it sufficeth not for a man to do a good thing but rather +to do it well". Then the letter proceeds, addressing the King: "For it +seemed to you that it would be wrong if some example of such a saintly +and virtuous life were not to remain, not only for the sake of the +Princes who after your time should possess these realms, but also for +all others of the world who might become acquainted with his history, by +reason of which his countrymen might have cause to know his sepulchre, +and perpetuate Divine Sacrifices for the increase of his glory, and +foreigners might keep his name before their eyes, to the great praise of +his memory."[23] + + [Footnote 23: This letter defines the scope of the book, which was + not meant to be a general history of the Portuguese expeditions and + discoveries. It is printed in Santarem's edition of the _Chronica de + Guiné_, and precedes his Introduction.] + +The following is a summary of the contents of the _Chronicle_:-- + +Azurara begins (Chapter I) by some reflections on well-doing and +gratitude, the conclusion to which he illustrates by quotations, and +then goes on to tell the origin of his work, which lay in the King's +desire that the great and very notable deeds of D. Henrique should be +remembered, and that there should be an authorised memorial of him, even +as there was in Spain of the Cid, and in Portugal itself of the Holy +Constable, Nun' Alvarez Pereira.[24] The Chronicler justifies his task +by summing up the profits that had accrued from the Prince's +efforts--firstly, the salvation of the souls of the captives taken by +the Portuguese in their expeditions; secondly, the benefit which their +services brought to their captors; and thirdly, the honour acquired by +the fatherland in the conquest of such distant territories and numerous +enemies. + + [Footnote 24: This charming old chronicle of the life of the noblest + and most sympathetic figure in Portuguese annals was written + anonymously, and first printed in 1526.] + +Chapter II consists of a long and most eloquent invocation to D. +Henrique, and a recital of his manifold good deeds to all sorts and +conditions of men and his mighty accomplishments. Azurara presents them +to us as in a panorama, and his simple, direct language reveals a true, +though unconscious, artist in words. + +Chapter III deals with the ancestry of D. Henrique, and Chapter IV +describes the man himself, "constant in adversity and humble in +prosperity", his appearance, habits, and manner of life, all with much +force of diction. + +In Chapter V we have an account of the early life of D. Henrique, of his +prowess at the capture of Ceuta, and during its siege by the Moors, with +his fruitless assault on Tangiers, which resulted in the captivity of +the Holy Infant. His peopling of Madeira and other islands in "the great +Ocean sea", and presence at the gathering that ended in the battle of +Alfarrobeira are referred to, as also his governorship of the Order of +Christ and the services he rendered to religion by the erection and +endowment of churches and professorial chairs. The chapter ends with a +description of the Town of the Infant at Cape St. Vincent, "there where +both the seas meet in combat, that is to say, the great Ocean sea with +the Mediterranean sea", a place designed by the Prince to be a great +mercantile centre, and a safe harbour for ships from East and West. + +In Chapter VI, Azurara returns to his laudations of the Infant, whom he +apostrophises thus: "I know that the seas and lands are full of your +praises, for that you, by numberless voyages, have joined the East to +the West, in order that the peoples might learn to exchange their +riches"; and he winds up with some remarks on "distributive justice", +the non-exercise of which had been attributed to D. Henrique as a fault +by some of his contemporaries. + +Chapter VII is occupied with a recital of the reasons that impelled the +Infant to send out his expeditions. They were shortly as follows. First +and foremost, pure zeal for knowledge; secondly, commercial +considerations; thirdly, his desire to ascertain the extent of the +Moorish power in Africa; fourthly, his wish to find some Christian King +in those parts who would assist in warring down the Moors; and last but +not least, his purpose to extend the Faith. To these reasons Azurara, +quite characteristically, adds a sixth, which he calls the root from +which they all proceeded--the influence of the heavenly bodies, and he +essays to prove it by the Prince's horoscope. + +The narrative of the expeditions really begins in Chapter VIII, which +opens with an account of the reasons why no ship had hitherto dared to +pass Cape Bojador, some of them being at first sight as sensible as +others are absurd. The fears of the mariners prevented for twelve years +the realisation of their master's wish, and for so long the annual +voyages were never carried beyond the terrible cape. + +Chapter IX relates how at length, in 1434, Cape Bojador was doubled by +Gil Eannes, a squire of D. Henrique, and how, on a second voyage with +one Affonso Gonçalvez Baldaya, Eannes reached the Angra dos Ruivos, +fifty leagues beyond it. + +In the next Chapter (X) Baldaya passes one hundred and twenty leagues +beyond Cape Bojador to the Rio d'Ouro, and a short way beyond; but +failing to take any captives, as the Prince wished him to do, he loads +his ship with the skins of sea-calves and returns to Portugal in 1436. + +Chapter XI is a short one, and merely tells that for three years, +_i.e._, from 1437 to 1440, the voyages were interrupted by the affairs +of the Kingdom, which required all the attention of D. Henrique. These +affairs were the death of D. Duarte, and the struggle that followed +between the Queen, supported by a small section of the nobles, and the +Infant D. Pedro, backed by Lisbon and the people as a whole, over the +question of the Regency and the education of the young King Affonso. + +Chapters XII and XIII relate how Antam Gonçalvez took the first +captives, and how Nuno Tristam went to Cape Branco. + +In Chapter XIV Azurara dwells on the delight D. Henrique must have felt +at the sight of the captives, though he opines that they themselves +received the greater benefit: "for, although their bodies might be in +some subjection, it were a small thing in comparison with their souls, +that would now possess true liberty for evermore." + +Chapter XV contains an account of the embassy sent to the Holy Father by +D. Henrique to obtain "a share of the treasures of Holy Church for the +salvation of the souls of those who in the labours of this conquest +should meet their end." The Pope, Eugenius IV, granted a plenary +indulgence, on the usual conditions, to all who took part in the war +against the Moors under the banner of the Order of Christ; and D. Pedro, +the Regent, made D. Henrique a present of the King's fifth to defray the +heavy expenses he had incurred by the expeditions. + +In Chapter XVI Antam Gonçalvez obtains the Infant's leave for another +voyage, and is charged to collect information about the Indies and the +land of Prester John. He receives ten negroes, in exchange for two Moors +whom he had previously taken, together with some gold dust, and then +returns home. + +In Chapter XVII Nuno Tristam goes as far as Arguim Island and makes some +captures; this in the year 1443. + +Chapter XVIII begins the relation of the first expedition on a large +scale, and the first that sprang from private enterprise--namely, that +of Lançarote and his six caravels from Lagos. Azurara takes the +opportunity to insert here a short but interesting sketch of the change +that had taken place in public opinion with reference to these voyages. +In the beginning, they were decried by the great not a whit less than by +the populace, but the assurance of commercial profit had now converted +the dispraisers, and the voyage of Lançarote gave a tangible proof of +it. + +The next six Chapters (XIX to XXIV) relate the doings of this +expedition, which ended in the capture of two hundred and thirty-five +natives. + +Chapter XXV, which treats of the division of the captives at Lagos, is +the most pathetic in the book, and one of the most powerful by virtue of +the simple realism of the narrative. + +Chapter XXVI gives a lucid summary of the after-lives of the captives, +and their gradual but complete absorption into the mass of the people. + +Chapter XXVII narrates the ill-fated expedition of Gonçalo de Cintra and +his death near the Rio d'Ouro; while, in the next, Azurara refers the +accident to the heavenly bodies, and draws a profitable lesson from it, +which he divides into seven heads, for the benefit of posterity. + +Chapter XXIX contains a short notice of a voyage undertaken by Antam +Gonçalvez, Gomez Pirez, and Diego Affonso to the Rio d'Ouro, which had +no result. + +Chapter XXX deals with the voyage of Nuno Tristam, who passed the +furthest point hitherto discovered, and reached a place he named Palmar. +Azurara confesses himself unable to give more details about this +expedition, "because Nuno Tristam was already dead at the time King +Affonso ordered this Chronicle to be written"--a statement which proves +that he did not rely only on documents for the facts he related, but was +careful to glean as much as possible from the actors therein. + +Chapter XXXI tells how Dinis Dyaz sailed straight to Guinea without once +shortening sail, and how he was the first to penetrate so far, and take +captives in those parts. He pushed on to Cape Verde, and, though he +brought back but little spoil, he was well received by the Infant, who +preferred discoveries to mere commercial profits. + +Chapters XXXII to XXXVI recite the expedition of Antam Gonçalvez, Garcia +Homem and Diego Affonso to Cape Branco, Arguim Island and Cape Resgate, +where, besides trafficking, they took on board a squire, Joham +Fernandez, who had stayed full seven months at the Rio d'Ouro, among the +natives, to acquire for the Infant a knowledge of the country and its +products. + +Azurara refers in Chapter XXXII to Affonso Cerveira, whose history of +the Portuguese discoveries on the African coast, now lost, was used by +him in the compilation of this Chronicle; and in the next chapter he +employs one of those rhetorical periphrases of which his other works +afford many an example, though they are rather scarce in this his +masterpiece in point of style. + +Chapters XXXVII to XLVIII relate the doings of the first expedition from +Lisbon, which was under the command of Gonçalo Pacheco, and penetrated +to Guinea, or the land of the Negroes, the result being a large number +of captives, seemingly the chief object it had in view. + +Chapters XLIX to LXVII contain the acts of the great expedition of +fourteen sail which set out from Lagos in 1445, under the leadership of +Lançarote, for the purpose of punishing the Moors on the Island of Tider +and avenging Gonçalo de Cintra. In all twenty-six ships left Portugal +that year, being the largest number that had perhaps ever sailed down +the Western side of the Dark Continent at one time. + +After accomplishing their object some returned home, but others, more +bold, determined to explore further South, if perchance they might find +the River of Nile and the Terrestrial Paradise. Arriving at the Senegal +they thought they had found the Nile of the Negroes, and went no +further. A curious description of the Nile, and its power according to +astronomers, forms the subject of Chapters LXI and LXII, where Azurara +has collected all the learning and speculation of the Ancients and +Mediævals on the question. + +Chapters LXVIII to LXXV describe the doings of the remaining ships that +left Portugal in 1445, and relate descents on the Canaries and the +African coast, and the voyage of Zarco's caravel to Cape Mastos, the +furthest point yet reached. + +Chapters LXXVI and LXXVII contain valuable notes on the life of the +peoples south of Cape Bojador, together with an account of the travels +of Joham Fernandez, the first European to penetrate far into the +interior of Africa. + +In Chapter LXXVIII Azurara adds up the sum of the African voyages, and +finds that up to 1446 fifty-one caravels had sailed to those parts, one +of which had passed four hundred and fifty leagues beyond Cape Bojador. + +Chapters LXXIX to LXXXII are taken up by a description of the Canary +Islands, while Chapter LXXXIII deals with the discovery and peopling of +the Madeiras and Azores.[25] + + [Footnote 25: Azurara's laconism with reference to the history of + the discovery of the Madeiras and Azores is really regrettable. In + many respects his narrative needs to be supplemented from other + sources.] + +Chapter LXXXIV tells how D. Henrique obtained from the Regent a charter, +similar to the one he had previously secured in the case of Guinea, to +the effect (_inter alia_) that no one was to go to the Canaries, either +for war or merchandise, without his leave; and the following chapter +(LXXXV) relates a descent on the Island of Palma. + +In Chapter LXXXVI Azurara narrates in feeling terms the death of the +gallant Nuno Tristam in Guinea-land. + +In Chapter LXXXVII we read how Alvaro Fernandez sailed down the African +coast past Sierra Leone, and more than one hundred and ten leagues +beyond Cape Verde. + +Chapter LXXXVIII describes the voyage of another Lagos fleet of nine +caravels to the Rio Grande, while the next five chapters (LXXXIX-XCIII) +relate that of Gomez Pirez to the Rio d'Ouro in 1446. + +Chapters XCIV and XCV are devoted to the trafficking venture of the year +1447, the unhappy fate of the Scandinavian Vallarte, and an expedition +to the fisheries off the Angra dos Ruyvos. + +In Chapters XCVI and XCVII Azurara winds up his narrative, ending with +the year 1448. The captives brought to Portugal down to that date by the +various voyagers numbered, according to his estimate, 927, "the greater +part of whom were turned into the true path of salvation"; and this he +counts as the greatest of the Infant's glories, and the most valuable +fruit of his lifelong efforts. He then announces his intention to write +a second part of the Chronicle, dealing with the final portion of D. +Henrique's work--a purpose which to our manifest loss he never carried +out--and concludes by giving thanks to the Blessed Trinity on the +completion of his task. + +The _Chronica de Guiné_ has many features in common with that of Ceuta, +but on the whole it reveals a decided advance in power. The style, +though at times rather rhetorical, is generally plain and facile, ever +and anon rising to a true eloquence. While the narrative portions are +vivid, picturesque, and often majestic in their very simplicity, other +chapters bristle with quotations, and show a more extensive range of +reading and a knowledge truly encyclopædic. All the philosophy, the +geography, the history, and even the astrology of the age is called into +requisition to support an argument or illustrate a point. + +But to return to our subject--the Life of the Chronicler. + +On June 6th, 1454, Azurara received the reward of his past services, +being appointed Keeper of the Royal Archives (Guarda Mór da Torre do +Tombo), at the instance of, and in succession to, Fernão Lopes. It is +probable that the office of Chief Chronicler (Chronista-Mór) was +conferred on him at the same time and implied in the grant, though it is +not verbally mentioned there, since in the document next referred to he +is actually named Chronicler.[26] The King, in his letter of +appointment, after reciting that Fernão Lopes is very old and weak, so +that he cannot well serve his office, says he confides in Gomez Eanes de +Zurara, Knight Commander of the Order of Christ, "by the long education +(_criaçom_) we have given him and the service we are receiving and +expect to receive at his hands", and therefore grants him the post to +hold in the same manner, and with the same rights and profits as were +enjoyed by his predecessor therein.[27] + + [Footnote 26: The offices of Chief Chronicler, Keeper of the Royal + Archives and Royal Librarian were, as a rule, held by the same + individual and conferred at the same time, as in the case of Ruy de + Pina, but Azurara had the position of Royal Librarian for at least + two years before he obtained the others, namely from 1452, as + already mentioned (p. v).] + + [Footnote 27: _Chanc. de D. Affonso V_, liv. X, fl. 30. Torre do + Tombo.] + +It is noticeable that Azurara had already obtained a "Commenda" +belonging to the Order of Christ, and, although its name is not given +here, we know from another source it was that of Alcains, a place +situate in the Province of Beira (Baixa) and District of Castello +Branco, the value of which in 1628 amounted to one hundred and four +milreis.[28] The source referred to is a document, dated July 14th, +1452, which calls Azurara "Commander of Alcains" and "Author of the +notable deeds of our realm", and mentions that he had already at that +time charge of the Royal Library.[29] He appears to have exercised this +office with credit, though somewhat less strictly than would now be +considered necessary, for Pisano says of him in this connection:--"hic +bibliothecam Alfonsi quinti, cujus curam gessit, strenue disposuit atque +ornavit, omnesque scripturas Regni prius confusas mirum in modum +digessit, & ita digessit ut ea, quibus Regi & ceteris Regni proceribus +opus est, confestim discernantur; viros enim eruditos summe coluit, +atque nimio charitatis amore complexus est, quibus ut profecissent ex +Regia bibliotheca libros, si parebant, libenter commodavit".[30] But the +Chronicler received yet another advancement in the year 1454. From a +document bearing date the 4th August it appears that he was then living +in a house belonging to the King near the Palace in Lisbon which needed +some repairs. Affonso V therefore granted him leave to lay out ten +milreis upon it, and to make a cistern, with a proviso that he and his +heirs might continue to inhabit the house and use it as their own, until +the sum so expended should be repaid out of the Royal Treasury. In this +licence Azurara is dubbed "Commander of Pinheiro Grande and Granja +d'Ulmeiro, Our Chronicler, and Keeper of the Archives".[31] These two +Commendas belonged to the Order of Christ, and were probably conferred +upon him in this same year, though the deed of grant has not come down +to us. + + [Footnote 28: _Definiçoẽs e Estatutos dos Cavalleiros e Freires da + Ordem de N. S. Jesu Christo_, etc., p. 242.] + + [Footnote 29: Liv. XII _de D. Affonso V_, fl. 62. Torre do Tombo.] + + [Footnote 30: _De Bello Septensi_, p. 26.] + + [Footnote 31: _Estremadura_, liv. VII, fl. 255. Torre do Tombo.] + +Pinheiro Grande is situate in the province of Estremadura and +Archbishopric of Lisbon, and its ancient Commenda belonged to the +Templars down to the year 1311, and from 1319 to the present century to +the Order of Christ. In the Statutes of the latter Order, published in +1628, it is stated to have been worth 550 milreis for many years--"ha +muitos annos".[32] Granja d'Ulmeiro is a small place in the Bishopric of +Coimbra, and the same Statutes give the value of its Commenda. called of +St. Gabriel. at 150 milreis, "in the year 1582".[33] + + [Footnote 32: _Definiçoẽs e Estatutos_, etc., p. 236.] + + [Footnote 33: _Ibid._, p. 263. The situations of these Commendas are + taken from _Portugal Antigo e Moderno_, Lisbon 1873, and following + years.] + +Besides these two Commendas, Azurara still continued to hold that of +Alcains, as we learn from the document already referred to, granting +certain privileges to his agents in Castello Branco, and dated the 23rd +of the same month and year. The revenue of these three Commendas, +together with his official salary, must have sufficed to make of him a +wealthy man, for it should be remembered that the purchasing power of +the milreis was then nearly six times greater than at the present day. +He seems, however, to have relinquished the benefice of Alcains shortly +afterwards, for it does not appear again among his titles, and +henceforth he is only credited with the other two. + +In the above-mentioned document of privilege of August 23rd, 1454, after +reciting the services rendered to Azurara by Guarcia Aires and Afomsso +Guarcia--to employ the antique spelling--muleteers of Castello Branco, +in collecting his rents and bringing them to Lisbon, the King grants +them immunity from being forced into the service of either himself, the +Infants, or the local authorities of the district in which they live. +Their houses, cellars, and stables are not to be taken from them to +lodge others against their will, and they are to enjoy this freedom as +long as they continue to be of use to the Chronicler.[34] + + [Footnote 34: _Chanc. de D. Affonso V._ liv. X, fl. 113. Torre do + Tombo.] + +When next we hear of Azurara he is acting in his official capacity as +Keeper of the Royal Archives. It seems that the people of Miranda had +lost the "foral" given them by King Diniz in 1324, and required a copy +of it, which Azurara made and handed to them on the 16th February +1456.[35] This is the first of a series of certificates (certidões) +signed by the Chronicler that has come down to us, and the issuing of +these and similar documents appears to have been one of his chief duties +as Royal Archivist. + + [Footnote 35: Gav. 15, Maço 13, No. 21. Torre do Tombo. Azurara is + here described as "Commander of Pinheiro Grande and Granja + d'Ulmeiro, our Chronicler and Keeper" (of the Records).] + +But Azurara was too valuable a man to be allowed to spend his whole time +and energy in the routine work of an office; and so we find that when +the King had reigned twenty years or more, which would be in or about +1458, he commissioned him to relate the history of Ceuta under the +Governorship of D. Pedro de Menezes, to whom the city had been entrusted +on its capture.[36] The story runs, that for some time João I was unable +to meet with anyone who would undertake the responsibility of guarding +the new conquest, and, word of this having been brought to D. Pedro +while he was playing at "Chóca", he at once hastened into the King's +presence, and said he would engage to hold the city against the whole +strength of Africa with the olive-wood crook he had just been +wielding.[37] Be this incident true or not, certain it is that D. Pedro +de Menezes succeeded in maintaining Ceuta, despite all the efforts of +the Moors to expel him; and his achievements, as chronicled by Azurara, +form by themselves sufficient ground for Affonso's commission. But +another reason, no doubt, influenced the King, and that was the supreme +importance attached to the possession of the old city. Its position as +the key of the Straits enabled the Portuguese to hinder the Moorish +corsairs from raiding the Algarve, and, at the same time, to help the +Christian cause by attacks on the last relic of Mohammedan power in the +Peninsula, the kingdom of Grenada. Added to this, its conquest was +hailed as the first step in the realisation of that cherished ideal, an +African Empire: for, besides being a great trading centre and the +sea-gate of Mauritania, it formed a wedge driven into the heart of the +Infidel, and a fitting crown to the struggle of seven centuries, which, +commencing on the morrow of the battle of the Guadalete, had ended by +the establishment of the Cross in the land of the Crescent. The tide had +turned at last and for ever, and the Gothic monarchy was avenged. + + [Footnote 36: _Chronica do Conde D. Pedro de Menezes_, ch. 1.] + + [Footnote 37: "Chóca" is an old-fashioned Portuguese game played + with a stout staff and ball. The incident is referred to by Camöens + in _Eclogue I_, in the lines beginning, "Emquanto do seguro + azambugeyro", etc.] + +Azurara, who on previous occasions had proved himself a ready writer, +compiled the _Chronica do Conde D. Pedro de Menezes_ more slowly, owing +doubtless to the fact that his new official duties kept him from +devoting his whole time to the work, and the Chronicle was not finished +until 1463. + +In this very year of 1458 occurred the first African Expedition of +Affonso V, with its result, the capture of Alcacer. This event was +probably the immediate cause of the writing of the Chronicle, because +the record of his reign shows how the King cared more for African +expansion than maritime expeditions, and how, like the old-time cavalier +that he was, he preferred a land-war with the Moors to the seemingly +theoretical, or at least distant, advantages to be gained by voyages of +discovery. In 1460 D. Henrique died, leaving the fruit of his ceaseless +endeavours to be plucked by other hands; since it was not until 1498, +when Vasco da Gama cast anchor off Calicut, that the Infant's +expeditions came to their legitimate conclusion, and a century of +efforts received their reward. + +But if Azurara possessed many of the higher qualities of an historian, +he was by no means devoid of shortcomings; and two incidents, now to be +related, form serious blots on his character as a Chronicler and a man. + +In 1459 the Cortes met in Lisbon, and the Deputies of the People +requested that a reform should be carried out in the Torre do Tombo, or +Archive Office. They complained that the mass of old Registers which it +was necessary to search in order to obtain copies of the documents +existing there, together with the profitless prolixity of many of them, +had long proved a source of great expense; and they therefore begged +that such as were deemed of importance might be transcribed and the rest +destroyed. This petition met with the King's approval, and Azurara +charged himself with its execution, a task which seemingly occupied the +remainder of his life.[38] He acted with a zeal worthy of barbarous +times, and the memory of the destruction to which he condemned documents +of the highest historical importance has been preserved by tradition, +and his proscription is still spoken of. He appears to have been +unconscious of the harm he did, for he prefaces each of the new +Registers compiled by him from the old with an account of his handiwork. +True it is that Barros praises Azurara for these Registers, but in +reality they are only "dry, imperfect abstracts", as one writer calls +them, for they throw little light on the periods to which they relate, +and were, besides, the cause of the loss of their originals. +Fortunately, however, some records escaped the general destruction, for +it happened that certain Municipalities had previously obtained +transcripts of the most precious, while others that existed in duplicate +in the Archives, unknown to anyone, came to light during the +administration of another Guarda-Mór.[39] The authorities of the City of +Oporto obtained leave from Affonso V, on the 23rd March 1447, to have +copies made of all the documents in the Torre do Tombo which related to +them in any way, and these were furnished on December 25th, 1453, when +Lopes was still Keeper of the Archives. + + [Footnote 38: Particularly he "reformed" the Registers of the reigns + of Pedro I, D. Fernando, João I, and D. Duarte; and J. P. Ribeiro, + who gives a minute account of the state of these Registers and of + Azurara's compilation, winds up thus: "Such is the state of the + Chancellary books of the early reigns down to that of Affonso V; + some are still in their original condition, while others are + reformed or rather destroyed, by Gomez Eannes de Zurara."--_Memorias + Authenticas para a Historia do Real Archivo_, p. 171. Lisbon, 1819.] + + [Footnote 39: _Annaes Maritimos e Coloniaes_, No. 1, Segunda serie, + p. 34; and J. P. Ribeiro, _Memorias Authenticas_, etc., p. 21.] + +But Azurara was guilty of a yet graver delinquency than his destruction +of the old Registers, and a charge of forgery must be brought against +him. A detailed account of this affair may be read in the judgment of +the Casa de Supplicação, delivered on January 12th, 1479, from which it +appears that a dispute had arisen between the Order of Christ and some +inhabitants of Punhete over rights claimed by the former in the River +Zezere, a tributary of the Tagus. The Order based its claim on certain +documents, one being of the reign of D. Fernando, and said to have been +extracted from the Torre do Tombo, in which that monarch purported to +confer on the Order of Christ jurisdiction over the towns of Pombal, +Soure, Castello Branco and others, to the practical exclusion of his own +authority therein.[40] When a copy of this pretended grant was produced +in support of the contention, Azurara's successor in the Archives, +Affonso d'Obidos, received instructions to produce the Register of D. +Fernando for the purpose of comparison, and to bring the scribes engaged +in the Archive Office with him; whereupon the grant was found at the end +of the Register in a different writing from the rest of the book. +Neither d'Obidos, nor the scribe who had copied out the Register, could +say how it came there, or who had inserted it, and the latter declared +that no such grant existed in the old books from which he had +transcribed the present one. On further examination the pretended grant +proved to be in the handwriting of "Gomez Eannes, Cleric",[41] a servant +of Azurara, and it must have been fraudulently inserted in the Register +after the latter had been bound up. On the discovery of this act of +forgery, judgment was, of course, given against the Order, and it was +fortunate for our Chronicler that the offence he had committed in its +interests remained undiscovered until after his death.[42] + + [Footnote 40: There is a reference to this claim of the Order in the + _Definiçoẽs e Estatutos_, etc., p. 201, and to its defeat.] + + [Footnote 41: This must have been an adopted son of the Chronicler, + to whom he had lent his name.] + + [Footnote 42: This forgery must be reckoned a very passable one, + although the handwritings are obviously not the same, and the + parchment differs in texture and colour from that of the rest of the + book. The judgment of the Casa de Supplicação is printed _in + extenso_ by J. P. Ribeiro from liv. 1, "dos Direitos Reaes," fol. + 216, in the Torre do Tombo.] + +Curiously enough, in the same year Azurara was rewarded by a pension. +The grant dated from Cintra, August 7th, 1459, runs as follows:--"Dom +Affonso, etc., to all to whom this letter of ours shall come we make +known that, considering the many services we have received and expect +hereafter to receive from Gomez Eanes de Zurara, Commander of the Order +of Christ, Our Chronicler and Keeper of our Archives, and wishing to do +him favour, we are pleased to give him a pension of twelve white milreis +from the 1st day of January next, which amount he has had of us up to +the present time."[43] + + [Footnote 43: _Chanc. de D. Affonso V_, liv. xxxi, fl. 76vo. Torre + do Tombo. For the signification and value of these "white milreis", + see Damião de Goes, _Chronica de D. Manoel_, ch. 1.] + +It would appear from the last line that this document is rather the +confirmation of an old grant than the gift of something new, but it has +been interpreted to mean that Azurara had been receiving the money from +the King's privy purse, and was henceforth to have it out of the public +treasury. There can be no dispute that the recipient merited the gift +for his past literary services, which were an earnest of the work he was +to accomplish in the future, and the value of the latter will presently +appear. + +We possess the copy of one certificate issued by the Chronicler in the +following year, together with the record of another, their respective +dates being June 27th and October 22nd, 1460. The former, dated from +Lisbon, was granted in answer to the petition of the inhabitants of +Nogueira, who felt uncertain about the dues they were bound to pay the +Bishop of Coimbra;[44] the latter is mentioned by J. P. Ribeiro, but +seems to have disappeared from the Torre do Tombo. + + [Footnote 44: _Estremadura_, liv. II, fl. 279. Torre do Tombo.] + +In 1461 there occurred an event, simple enough on its face, but one +which Azurara's biographers have regarded as the mystery of his life, or +else employed as a weapon wherewith to smite their hero--his adoption by +Maria Eannes. In the king's confirmation of this, dated from Evora, +February 6th, 1461, we are told that "Maria Eannes, a Lisbon +tanner--considering the love and friendship that Johane añnes dazurara, +erstwhile Canon of Evora and Coimbra, had always shown to her mother, +Maria Vicente, as well as to herself and her husband, and the many good +deeds she herself had received at his hands, being his godchild and +friend, and considering that she had no children and was no longer of an +age to have any, and also the love and friendship she had felt for Gomez +Eannes dazurara, ever since his father's death, and the services he had +rendered her--thereby adopted him as her son and heir to succeed to her +real and personal property, including her country house at Valbom, in +the Ribatejo, and a house she possessed in the Parish of S. Julião in +Lisbon".[45] Such is the substance of this document, over the +explanation of which some controversy has taken place, because of the +social gulf that separated the parties to it. The true motive for the +adoption, as hints Senhor Rodriguez d'Azevedo, would seem to have been +the existence of some near relationship between Maria Eannes and the +Chronicler which it was not expedient to disclose; but whether this +opinion find acceptance or no, there is nothing to justify the old view +which regarded the grant as a proof of Azurara's avarice and +unscrupulousness: since, on the contrary, the preamble reveals a lively +sense of gratitude in the donor for real benefits conferred by the +donee. If, however, the above theory be worked out, the most plausible +conclusion to arrive at is, either that Maria Eannes and Gomes Eannes de +Azurara were brother and sister, both being children of the Canon and +Maria Vicente, or that the Chronicler was half-brother to Maria Eannes, +_i.e._, had the same father but not the same mother. It seems at least a +fair inference to draw from the wording that the Canon and Maria Vicente +were of a similar age, and the same may be said of the other pair, +because at this time the Chronicler would count nearly sixty years, and +his benefactress could not be much less, seeing that all possibility of +her bearing children had passed by. Either of these hypotheses would +account for the name Eannes being common to the lady and Azurara. The +Canon would then have left his property between his two children, and as +Maria Eannes was childless, it would be natural for her to bequeath her +share of her fathers property to her brother. But be this as it may, we +know from an independent source that Azurara had a sister, for she is +mentioned in the letter which Affonso V wrote him whilst he was living +in Africa and engaged on historical investigations. The fact, recorded +by Pisano, that the Chronicler began his studies relatively late in +life, unless it be ascribed to his adoption of a military career at +first, seems to show that he had passed his early years under a cloud, +and that his father, from one cause or another, lacked the power to +provide him with an education at the customary age. It is, however, +impossible to proceed beyond conjectures, and since the matter cannot +claim to be one of historical moment, we may leave it unsolved without +much regret. + + [Footnote 45: _Terçeyro dodianna del Rey Dom Alfonso Quinto_, fol. + 57. Torre do Tombo.] + +On June 14th, 1463, Azurara issued a certificate of documents in the +Torre do Tombo relating to land of one D. Pedro de Castro,[46] while yet +another proof of the influence he possessed with his royal master is +afforded by two grants, dated respectively June 22nd and 23rd of the +same year. By the first of these the office of Judge of Excise in the +town of Almada was conferred on a certain Pero d'Almada, servant of +Gomes Eannes, and the grant is expressed to be made at the latter's +request. The second appoints the same individual Judge and Steward of +the gold-diggers at Adiça, near that town.[47] + + [Footnote 46: The original of this certificate belongs to the famous + novelist, Senhor Eça de Queiroz, whose wife claims descent from this + de Castro. Doubtless others of the Chronicler's certificates, the + contents--or at least the dates--of which would fill up some of the + gaps in his biography, are in private hands, without any record of + their issue remaining, either in the Torre do Tombo or elsewhere, as + in the present case. Brandão mentions one such in his _Monarchia + Lusitana_, Quinta parte, p. 177. Lisbon, 1650.] + + [Footnote 47: Liv. IX de _D. Affonso V_, fol. 94. Torre do Tombo.] + +The _Chronica de D. Pedro de Menezes_, which had been commenced by +Azurara in or about the year 1458, was finished on St. John the +Baptist's Eve, June 23rd, 1463, at his Commenda of Pinheiro Grande. It +relates the history of Ceuta, from the capture of the city in 1415 until +the death of D. Pedro de Menezes, the first governor, in 1437, and gives +evidence of the author's progress in historical methods.[48] While it +contains less moralising and more matter than any of his previous works, +at the same time he appears surer of his own powers, and no longer feels +the same need of supporting every remark by a citation. Of course this +Chronicle has not as deep an interest for us as that of Guinea, but this +is due to the subject, not to any shortcomings in the narrator, whose +contemporaries were probably of a different opinion, for many of them +looked askance at the voyages of discovery, though there were few that +doubted the importance of the possession of Ceuta. + + [Footnote 48: Affonso V ordered Pisano to write the _Chronicle_ in + Latin, as he had previously done with the Capture of + Ceuta.--_Chronica do Conde D. Pedro de Menezes_, ch. 1. The MS. is + now lost.] + +Azurara confesses that he felt at first somewhat diffident of putting +pen to paper, so marvellous seemed the deeds he was called on to relate; +and he would never have persevered with his task had he learnt them on +hearsay evidence, or from the mouths of one or two witnesses; but he +found their truth confirmed on a perusal of the official reports sent to +the King from Ceuta, and this encouraged him to proceed. He appears to +have been assisted in his task by D. Pedro himself during his +lifetime,[49] and to have written out the book twice, while his +impartiality and the care he took to arrive at the truth are everywhere +visible.[50] Of course he cannot abstain altogether from citations, and +these have an interest as showing the measure of his literary knowledge: +witness his mention of Dante's _Divina Commedia_, Cinó da Pistoia and +_The Book of Amadis_, which he ascribes to "Vasco Lobeira, who lived in +the time of D. Fernando."[51] + + [Footnote 49: _Ibid._, ch. 64.] + + [Footnote 50: _Chronica do Conde D. Pedro de Menezes_, chs. 2 and 3. + The end of ch. 3 deserves perusal, for it shows how fully Azurara + realized the difficulties of an historian's task.] + + [Footnote 51: _Ibid._, ch. 63. This is the first reference in all + literature to the authorship of the famous romance.] + +For three years contemporary records are silent respecting the +Chronicler, and it is not until 1466 that he comes before us again. On +June 11th of that year, D. Pedro,[52] King of Aragon, son of him who was +Regent in the minority of Affonso V, and fell at Alfarrobeira, wrote +Azurara a short but familiar autograph letter, which affords another +proof of the intimate relations that existed between the Chronicler and +the great personages of the age. In this letter, which is in response to +one sent by Azurara, D. Pedro addresses him as "friend", refers to his +"old kindness and sweet nature", and goes on to accept his offer to keep +him informed of the progress of events in Portugal. He then takes the +Chronicler into his confidence, and complains of the difficulties of his +position as King of Aragon--difficulties which were aggravated by an +illness that ended in his death less than a month after he had penned +this epistle.[53] + + [Footnote 52: D. Pedro, _fils_, was a distinguished poet, and to him + the Marquis of Santillana addressed that famous letter which may be + described as a history of poetry in the Peninsula. It is transcribed + _in extenso_ by Dr. Theophilo Braga, in his _Poetas Palacianos_, pp. + 161-169. Porto, 1871.] + + [Footnote 53: The letter was first published in the _Panorama_ for + 1841, at p. 336. General Brito Rebello argues that the date 1406 is + impossible, and should read 1466, or possibly 1460. The former has + here been adopted. Other mistakes occur in the letter, as printed in + the _Panorama_, besides that of date. Some of its expressions are + ambiguous, and the subscript "From Aviz", an evident addition to the + original, may be put down to the copyist, who, knowing D. Pedro to + be Master of Aviz, concluded that the letter was written from there, + though the contents disprove it.] + +On July 27th, 1467, in answer to a petition of the inhabitants, Azurara +issued a certificate[54] of the "foral" of Azere (Azár), _virtute +officii_, and on the very next day he met with another piece of good +fortune. From the deed of grant it appears that, some ninety years +previously, a certain Gonçalo Estevez of Cintra had died, after having +built a chapel in honour of St. Clare in the Church of St. Mary +Magdalen, in Lisbon, where he desired to be buried, and had left his +property with the condition annexed that masses should be regularly said +there. This condition, the document goes on to declare, had been broken +by his heirs for about seventy years, in spite of judgments obtained +against them, and many had died excommunicate because of their neglect +and disobedience. Finally, the goods had been declared forfeit to the +Crown, and they were now granted out to Azurara, on condition that he +should provide for the masses and generally carry out the instructions +contained in the will of the founder.[55] A gift of this nature was +considered an extraordinary grace in those days, and it affords clear +evidence that the Chronicler stood high in the royal regard. + + [Footnote 54: Gav. 8, Maço 1, No. 17. Torre do Tombo.] + + [Footnote 55: _Decimo de Estremadura_, fol. 270. Torre do Tombo.] + +In August of this same year Azurara went to Africa, and, to explain the +journey, some introductory remarks are needed. On returning from the +fruitless African expedition of 1464, the King had written to him from +Aveiro, with instructions to leave all his other occupations--which the +Chronicler naïvely assures us were very important and profitable to his +countrymen--and forthwith to collect and put in writing the deeds of D. +Duarte de Menezes, late Captain of Alcacer.[56] This Duarte was the +natural son of D. Pedro, the hero of Azurara's last book; and he had +merited much from Affonso V for his long and faithful services at +Alcacer, ending with the sacrifice he had made of his own life to save +that of the King, during a reconnaissance against the Moors in the +last-named year. + + [Footnote 56: _Chronica do Conde D. Duarte de Menezes_ (_Ineditos_, + vol. iii), ch. 1. It would almost seem as though Azurara accompanied + the King in his first expedition in 1458, when Alcacer was + taken.--_Ibid._, ch. 34.] + +As before, Azurara hesitated to make a start on account of his +"untutored style and small knowledge", and through fear of hostile +criticism; indeed, under the latter head he says, with a touch of +bitterness, "there are so many watching me, that I have hardly put pen +in hand before they begin to damn my work."[57] But his obligations to, +and regard for, the King caused him to pluck up courage, and proceed +with a task which occupied some three or four years of his time. In +order to secure the best information possible, he considered that he +ought to visit Africa, because some of the dwellers in and about Alcacer +were the chief actors in the drama he was called upon to write, and +would be likely to have a clearer recollection of events than the +courtiers in Portugal; and also because he wished to view the district +which had been the scene of the struggle, and learn the disposition of +the land, the Moorish method of fighting, and the tactics employed +against them by the Portuguese. He confesses that he would have gone to +Ceuta before writing the _Chronica de D. Pedro_, but the King refused to +give permission, considering that his services were more needed inside +than outside the realm. Even after he had resolved on the present visit, +the King detained him a whole year, until fully convinced how necessary +it was, if his commands were to be satisfactorily carried out.[58] +Finally, in August 1467, Azurara crossed the Straits to Alcacer, where +he stayed for twelve months, occupied in studying the district and +taking part in the various excursions into Moorish territory that were +made by D. Henrique, son of D. Duarte de Menezes, who, to satisfy him +and aid his work, used even to change the plan of operations and go to +some spot the Chronicler desired to inspect.[59] With an impartiality +rare enough at that time, Azurara took care to obtain information from +the Moors themselves, both from such as visited Alcacer and from those +he met when accompanying D. Henrique to treat of matters with the +inhabitants of the neighbouring places.[60] + + [Footnote 57: _Ibid._, ch. 1.] + + [Footnote 58: _Ibid._, ch. 2.] + + [Footnote 59: _Ibid._, ch, 2.] + + [Footnote 60: _Ibid._, ch. 60.] + +The Chronicle, which is at once a life of D. Duarte de Menezes and a +history of Alcacer, supplements that of his father D. Pedro de Menezes, +and carries the history of the Portuguese in North Africa down to 1464. +We have no record of when it was finished, but the year 1468 seems the +probable date. It is, if not the most important, yet the longest, as it +proved to be the last, of the Author's historical works, and cost him +more labour than any of its predecessors; but, through some mischance, +no complete MS. exists, all having many and great lacunæ, as will +hereafter appear. It presents the peculiarities common to all Azurara's +writings--the same fondness for quotations, and the same reliance on +astrology as explicative of character. Among the more interesting of the +former, besides those from the Classics and the Fathers, are his +references to Johão Flameno's gloss on Dante, Avicenna, Albertus Magnus, +and the Marquis of Santillana. Speaking of this Chronicle. Goes notes +and condemns the "superfluous abundance and wealth of poetical and +rhetorical words" that are employed here and elsewhere by its author. + +During Azurara's stay at Alcacer the King addressed him an autograph +letter dated November 22nd, 1467 (?), which affords a striking proof of +Affonso's superior mind, as well as of the esteem in which he held men +of letters. He begins by saying that he has received the Chronicler's +letter,[61] and rejoices he is well, as he had feared the contrary, +owing to his long silence, and proceeds:-- + + "It is not without reason that men of your profession should + be prized and honoured; for, next after the Princes and + Captains who achieve deeds worth remembering, they that + record them, when those are dead, deserve much praise.... + What would have become of the deeds of Rome if Livy had not + written them; what of Alexander's without a Quintus Curtius; + of those of Troy without a Homer; of Cæsar's without a + Lucan?... Many are they that devote themselves to the + exercise of arms, but few to the art of Oratory. Since, + then, you are well instructed in this art, and nature has + given you a large share of it, with much reason ought I and + the chiefs of my Realm and the Captains thereof to consider + any benefit bestowed on you as well employed." + + [Footnote 61: Azurara seems to have corresponded frequently with + Affonso V; cf. _Chronica de Guiné_, ch. 7.] + +Affonso then goes on to praise Azurara for having voluntarily exiled +himself in his service, and says he would not have him stay in Africa +any longer than he pleases, and winds up as follows:-- + + "I count it as a service that you wish for news of my + health, and, thanks be to God, I am well in body as in other + respects, though on the sea of this world one is constantly + buffeted by its waves, especially as we are all on that + plank since the first shipwreck, so that no one is safe + until he reaches the true haven that cannot be seen except + after this life, to which may it please God to conduct us + when He thinks it time, for He is sailor and pilot, and + without Him no man may enter there.... I have not a painting + of myself that I can send you now; but, please God, you will + see the original, some time, which will please you + more."[62] + + [Footnote 62: The letter is printed in the _Ineditos_, vol. iii, p. + 3. According to Meyrelles, there are two copies of it in MS. No. 495 + of the Coimbra University Library.--Vide _Instituto_, vol. ix.] + +Herculano truly says of this epistle: "Had it been from one brother to +another, the language could not well have been more affable and +affectionate";[63] but, more than this, it proves that Portugal was +ahead of most European nations of that age in possessing a King who +could value the pen as highly as the sword. + + [Footnote 63: _Opusculos_, vol. v, p. 14. Lisbon, 1886.] + +Henceforth little or nothing is known of the life of Azurara, except +from the certificates he issued in the course of his official duties. + +On May 25th, 1468, one of these documents was issued from the Torre do +Tombo, and signed by a substitute, with the statement that the +Chronicler was living at Alcacer, on the service and by command of the +King. He probably returned to Lisbon to finish the _Chronica de D. +Duarte de Menezes_ in the autumn of this year. + +On October 22nd, 1470, Azurara gave a certificate of the Charter of +Moreyra. In their petition for the same, the inhabitants allege that +their copy is so written, and in such Latin, that they cannot understand +it; and they further wish to know how much of the present money they +must pay for the three _mealhas_ mentioned in the original as payable +for the carriage of bread and wine--a question which Azurara seems to +have experienced some difficulty in answering.[64] + + [Footnote 64: Maço 7 de Foraes Antigos, No. 3. Torre do Tombo.] + +On April 20th, 1471, he issued a similar certificate to the dwellers in +S. João de Rey.[65] In this same year took place Affonso's third African +campaign, which resulted in the capture of Tangier, Arzila and Anafe. + + [Footnote 65: Maço 3 de Foraes Antigos, No. 5. Torre do Tombo.] + +On September 5th, 1472, in answer to a petition of the inhabitants of +Cascaes, the Chronicler handed them a copy of the Charter of Cintra, in +which district Cascaes is situate,[66] and on December 5th in the same +year he issued copies of documents affecting the liberties of the Order +of Christ and the _couto_, or "liberty", of Gordam.[67] + + [Footnote 66: Maço 1 de Foraes Antigos, No. 11. Torre do Tombo.] + + [Footnote 67: Armario 17, Maço 6, No. 5. Torre do Tombo. It is + worthy of note that the Eytor de Sousa, here referred to, is the + same person that appears in the judgment of the Casa de Supplicacão + of January 19th, 1479, as representing the Order of Christ.] + +This latter is the last existing document signed by Azurara, though he +appears to have given another certificate on August 17th, 1473, nearly a +year after, relating to the forged grant of D. Fernando to the Order of +Christ, as mentioned by João Pedro Ribeiro.[68] + + [Footnote 68: _Memorias Authenticas_, p. 21.] + +There is no evidence to show when the Chronicler died, and tradition on +the point varies. The oldest authority who refers to it is Damião de +Goes, and, according to him, Azurara lived some years after 1472.[69] He +never married, and was succeeded in his post at the Torre do Tombo by +Affonso Annes d'Obidos; but the charter of this man's appointment has +been lost, and his first recorded certificate only bears date March +31st, 1475.[70] + + [Footnote 69: _Chronica de D. Manoel_, quarta parte, ch. 38.] + + [Footnote 70: _Memorias Authenticas_, p. 21.] + + * * * * * + +We have now followed the life of Azurara step by step, and seen him +honoured for his talents by his contemporaries, and rewarded for his +services to King and country by numerous benefactions.[71] We have also +seen him on intimate terms with the Royal Family, and corresponding +regularly with some of its members, as well as acquainted with the +leaders of the explorations and the learned men of the time, and must +conclude that this was chiefly due to his literary attainments and +genial character. It is therefore pleasant to be able to record that, in +our day, Portugal has marked her appreciation of him, as a man and a +writer, by a statue, whilst recognising that his works form his greatest +and most durable monument. In the Praça de Luiz de Camões in Lisbon +there rises a noble statue of the "Prince of Spanish Poets"[72], +surrounded by eight of the most distinguished men of letters and action +of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, his predecessors and +contemporaries, and among them is a life-size figure of Gomez Eannes de +Azurara.[73] + + [Footnote 71: Padre José Bayam, in p. 5 of his Prologue to the + _Chronica del Rey D. Pedro I_ of Fernão Lopes (Lisbon, 1761), states + that Azurara obtained the position of Disembargador da Casa do + Civel, or Judge of Appeal of the Civil Court, on the authority of + ch. 54 of Pina's _Chronica de D. Affonso V_, which mentions a + certain Gomez Eanes as holding the office in question and being sent + on an embassy to Africa; but João Pedro Ribeiro, in vol. iv, part 2, + of his _Dissertações Chronologicas e Criticas_, Dissertação XVI, + proves conclusively that Bayam is in error, and that the Judge had + no connection with his namesake the Chronicler.] + + [Footnote 72: The word "Spanish" is here used, in its correct sense, + to include all the peoples of the Peninsula. So the Archbishop of + Braga bears the title "Primaz das Hespanhas", denoting his primacy + over both Spain and Portugal.] + + [Footnote 73: No portrait of Azurara exists, and his signatures form + the only relic of him that we possess.] + + + + +CRITICAL REMARKS. + + +Azurara belongs to the line of Portuguese Chroniclers who rendered +illustrious the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, a line that began +with Fernão Lopes and culminated in Damião de Goes and João de Barros, +both of whom were almost historians in the modern sense of the term, and +at the same time masters of prose style. He is indeed the connecting +link between the chronicler and the historian, between the Mediæval +writers and those of the Renaissance; for, while he possesses much of +the sympathetic ingenuousness of Lopes, yet he cannot resist displaying +his erudition and talents by quotations and philosophical reflections, +as quaint as they are often unnecessary, proving that he wrote under the +influence of that wave of foreign literature which had swept in with the +new monarchy. + +Three literary tendencies may be said to have prevailed in Portugal +during the fifteenth century--firstly, a monomania for classical +learning; secondly, an increased taste for the mediæval Epics and prose +Romances, due to the English influence that had entered with Queen +Philippa, daughter of timeserving Lancaster, though it must be +remembered that _Amadis de Gaula_, the most famous romance of the Middle +Ages, was compiled in the preceding century and by a Portuguese hand; +and lastly, an admiration for Spanish poetry, which had made wonderful +strides since the great Italians, Dante and Petrarch, had become known +in the Peninsula. In philosophy, Aristotle, as expounded by Averroes, +was the chief authority--Azurara calls him "the Philosopher"--and +following him Egidius and Pedro Hispano, the Portuguese Pope and +scholar, enjoyed the widest influence. Platonic philosophy was +introduced at a much later period, chiefly through the medium of Italian +poetry, and it never took root. + +To the reader of Azurara's writings, it often seems as though the author +were overburdened by his knowledge, which was in truth very extensive, +if at times somewhat superficial; and the Chronicles bear witness to the +fact that Portugal had not remained foreign to the literary impulse of +the Renaissance. Besides citations from many books of the Bible, the +following classical writers appear in his pages:--Herodotus, Homer, +Hesiod, Aristotle, Cæsar, Livy, Cicero, Sallust, Valerius Maximus, +Pliny, Lucan, the two Senecas, Vegetius, Ovid, Josephus and Ptolemy. +Among early Christian and mediæval authors he mentions Orosius, St. +Gregory, Isidore of Seville, Lucas of Tuy, the Arabic astronomer +Alfragan, Gualter, Marco Polo, Roderick of Toledo, Egidius, St. Jerome, +Albertus Magnus, St. Bernard, St. Chrysostom, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. +Augustine, and Peter Lombard; while he has heard the legend of the +voyages of St. Brandan and knows the author of the _Amadis de Gaula_. He +was acquainted with the Chronicles and Romances of the chief European +nations,[74] and had studied the best Italian and Spanish authors. Added +to this, he had mastered the geographical system of the Ancients,[75] +together with their astrology, and his knowledge of the latter probably +came from the famous _Opus Quadripartitum_ of Ptolemy. Although he +obtained his education in the time of D. Duarte, or early in the reign +of Affonso V, an age which had ceased to believe in sidereal influences, +as appears from the _Leal Conselheiro_, his writings show that he +possessed a fervent faith in astrology as explaining the character and +acts, as well as governing the destinies, of man.[76] Various opinions +have been emitted about his style; for, while such a good judge as Goes +condemns his "antiquated words and prolix reasoning, full of metaphors +or figures that are out of place in the historical style", Barros speaks +of his "clear style" that, together with his diligence, rendered him +worthy of the office he held.[77] But perhaps the most perspicuous +criticism thereon is that of Corrêa da Serra, who declares, with +reference to the opinions just cited:--"Both may well be right, for the +style of Gomes Eannes is not uniform, and seems the work of two +different men. As a rule his narrative is simple, full of sound sense, +and not without elegance; but, from time to time, he remembers the rude +rhetoric he had learnt so late in life, and writes (if I may say so) in +a falsetto style. The first was what nature had bestowed upon him, the +last came from his immature studies. But these very defects are of +interest now, for they give an idea of the learning and taste of that +age."[78] And, in spite of all his pedantry, Azurara rises at times to a +true eloquence, some of his pages being equal to the best in Portuguese +prose. The grandeur of chapter ii of the _Chronica de Guiné_, and the +heartfelt pity of Chapter XXV, which relates the division of the +captives, prove conclusively that he could accommodate the style to the +subject like all writers worthy of the name. Had he lived a century later, +he would have certainly been placed in the first rank of Portuguese +prosists; while, as it is, his antiquated and at times inflated language +has gone far to prevent him from being appreciated, or even read, by any +save the studious.[79] + + [Footnote 74: _Chronica de D. Pedro de Menezes_, ch. 63, and + _Chronica de Ceuta_, ch. 38.] + + [Footnote 75: _Chronica de Guiné_, chs. 61 and 62.] + + [Footnote 76: _Chronica de Guiné_, chs. 7 and 28; _Chronica de + Ceuta_ chs. 34, 52, and 57; _Chronica de D. Duarte de Menezes_, ch. + 34.] + + [Footnote 77: _Chronica do Principe D. João_, ch. 6, and _Asia_, + Dec. 1, liv. ch. 2.] + + [Footnote 78: _Ineditos_, vol. ii, p. 210.] + + [Footnote 79: Compare the remarks on Azurara's style by Sotero dos + Reis in his _Curso da litteratura Portugueza e Brazileira_. + Maranhão, 1866, vol. I, lição xiv.] + +As an historian he had an unbounded respect for authority, on his own +confession, and the speeches he puts in the mouths of his heroes remind +the reader at times of Livy, and make it clear that he was writing under +the immediate influence of classical models.[80] The historical +importance of his Chronicles is of the first order. They are +contemporary with the events they relate, and contain the history of the +Portuguese expeditions to and rule in Mauritania from the reign of João +I down to that of Affonso V, and furnish a complete account of all the +voyages of discovery along the African Coast, due to the initiative of +D. Henrique, until 1448. True, the _Chronica de Guiné_ omits to mention +some other voyages that were the result of private enterprise, for +Azurara wrote it in the capacity of Chronicler to the King and as a +panegyric of the Prince, and never intended to relate discoveries +unconnected with his hero and with the land that gives his book its +title. The _Chronica de Guiné_ must, of course, always take rank as +Azurara's masterpiece. It was the first book written by a European on +the lands south of Cape Bojador, and it restores to us, in great part, +the lost work of Cerveira entitled a _History of the Portuguese +Conquests on the Coast of Africa_, on which it is founded, besides +making up for the regrettable disappearance of the naval archives of the +early period of modern discovery. + + [Footnote 80: Cf. _Chronica de Ceuta_, ch. 1.] + +Azurara's credibility as a narrator is both unquestioned and +unquestionable, for his position enabled him to get at the truth, and he +took pains to record nothing but the truth, thereby proving himself a +genuine disciple of his master, Fernão Lopes. He was moved, as a rule, +neither by human respect nor by petty jealousies, and accuracy seems +with him to have amounted to a passion.[81] So truthful was he that he +preferred to leave the relation of facts incomplete rather than tell of +them without having received exact information from eye-witnesses. He +was quite conscious of what he calls his "want of polish and small +knowledge", and his humility is shown by the declaration that he only +regarded the _Chronica de Guiné_ as material for some future historian +who would perpetuate the great deeds of D. Henrique in "a loftier and +clearer style".[82] + + [Footnote 81: Many passages from his Chronicles might be cited to + prove this, but the following will suffice: _Chronica de Ceuta_, + chs. 1, 2, 12, 51, 83, 91, and 95; _Chronica de Guiné_, ch. 30; + _Chronica de D. Pedro de Menezes_, ch. 1, and Bk. II, ch. 18; + _Chronica de D. Duarte de Menezes_, chs. 2 and 60.] + + [Footnote 82: _Chronica de Guiné_, ch. 6.] + +His attitude towards the Moors, those hereditary enemies of Portugal, +was only what we should expect, for, while he is strictly impartial in +distributing praise and blame to them equally with Christians, he leaves +us in no doubt on which side his sympathies lay. In the _Chronica de +Guiné_, for example, after descanting on the universal praise of the +Infant's life and work, he admits that a discordant note in the general +chorus was struck by the Moors whom the Prince had warred with and +slain, or, to quote his own words, "Some other voices, very contrary to +those I have until now described, sounded in my ears, for which I should +have felt a great pity, had I not seen them to come from men outside our +Law".[83] + + [Footnote 83: _Ibid._, ch. 2.] + +It has been already noted that Azurara, though he wrote under the very +shadow of the Palace, was anything but a flatterer of the great; indeed, +he has been accused by some of insisting too much on the defects in his +heroes.[84] On the other hand, it must be confessed that he shows a +marked partiality, if not a blind admiration, for D. Henrique in the +_Chronica de Ceuta_ as well as in the _Chronica de Guiné_. In the former +he attributes to the Prince the chief part in the capture of the city, +while in the latter he shows himself ever ready to defend him from his +dispraisers, and to convict of foolishness out of their own mouths the +opponents of the voyages of discovery. Nay, more, he even finds an +explanation for D. Henrique's neglect to defend his brother Pedro from +being done to death at Alfarrobeira, a neglect which is hard to explain +satisfactorily and must remain a blot on the Prince's fair fame. But +this bias may readily be accounted for by the fact that Azurara passed +much of his time in close intimacy with D. Henrique, and drew a great +part of the information for his Chronicles of Ceuta and Guinea from that +source, besides which he can hardly be blamed for the love he felt and +displayed for a great and good man, the initiator and hero of modern +discovery. + + [Footnote 84: The Azorean scholar, Dr. J. T. Soares de Sousa, calls + Azurara "a clever courtier rather than a severe and impartial + historian" (quoted by Dr. Theophilo Braga, in his _Historia da + Universidade de Coimbra_, vol. i, p. 138); but this is certainly + unjust and even untrue. K. Manoel de Mello gives a fairer estimate + in the witty phrase, "Chronista antigo, tão candido de penna, como + de barba."--_Apologos Dialogaes_, p. 455, ed. Lisbon, 1721.] + +Finally, while no serious critic would admit Azurara within the circle +of great historians, few would dispute his title to be named a great +Chronicler. That he was a laborious and truthful writer his pages make +clear; that he could tell a simple story vividly--nay, dramatically--and +that he had at times flashes of inspiration, the _Chronica de Guiné_ +attests, though, even bearing this work in mind, it is easy to perceive +his inferiority in the matter of style to Fernào Lopes, a point +constantly insisted on by Portuguese critics. In a word, if, as Southey +said, Lopes is "beyond all comparison the best Chronicler of any age or +nation", it may well be that Azurara, "notwithstanding an occasional +display of pedantry, is equal in merit to any Chronicler, except his +unequalled predecessor".[85] + + [Footnote 85: _Quarterly Review_, May 1809, p. 288.] + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY. + + +The following is a list of Azurara's works in the order in which they +were written:-- + +(_a_) "MILAGRES DO SANTO CONDESTABRE D. NUNO ALVRES PEREIRA." + +This volume, of doubtful authenticity, which was never printed, has now +been lost. Senhor Oliveira Martins was unable to find a trace of it when +engaged on his recently-published life of the Holy Constable,[86] and +suggests that it may have perished, along with so many other literary +treasures, in 1755, during the Great Earthquake. Jorge Cardoso, in his +_Agiologico Lusitano_,[87] quotes a passage from Azurara's work, and +Santa Anna gives the substance of it in his _Chronica dos Carmaelitas_, +expressly declaring that he had seen the original MS., which was then +preserved among the Archives of the Carmo Convent.[88] + + [Footnote 86: _A Vida de Nun' Alvares._ Lisbon, 1893.] + + [Footnote 87: Tom. iii, p. 217, ed. Lisbon, 1666. Barbosa Machado + mentions the MS. on the authority of Cardoso.--Vide _Bibliotheca + Lusitana_, tom. ii, art. on Azurara.] + + [Footnote 88: _Chronica dos Carmaelitas_, vol. i, pp. 469 and 486. + Lisbon, 1745.] + +(_b_) "CHRONICA DEL REI D. JOAM I DE BOA MEMÓRIA E DOS REYS DE PORTUGAL +O DECIMO. Terceira parte em que se contém a tomada de Ceuta." Composta +por Gomez Eannes D'Azurara Chronista Mór destes Reynos & impressa na +linguagem antiga. Em Lisboa. Com todas as licenças necessarias. Á custa +de Antonio Alvarez, Impressor del-rei N.S. 1644, pp. X-283 fol. Such is +the full title of the _Chronica de Ceuta_ as given in the one and only +published edition. + +Following the Chronicle come accounts of the death of King João and the +translation of his body to Batalha, extracted from the _Chronica de D. +Duarte_, as well as a copy, with translation, of the epitaph on his +tomb, and then his will and a general Index. MSS. of this Chronicle +exist in the Bibliotheca National in Lisbon, and in the Torre do Tombo. +The former place contains a defective one, dating from the middle of the +16th century, as well as one of the second part of the same period +apparently complete. The latter boasts a MS. (No. 366) of the 15th +century, in large folio, written on paper in red and black, which +derives importance from its early date, and exhibits a text practically +identical with that of the book described above; while of the others, +one may be attributed to the 16th century and two to the 17th. The +Oporto Municipal Library has an 18th-century MS. of this Chronicle.[89] + + [Footnote 89: There doubtless exist many other MSS. of Azurara's + Chronicles, besides those mentioned in this notice, both in public + libraries and private collections. Most of those described here are + in Lisbon, and neither the Royal Library at the Ajuda nor the rich + collection at Evora appear to contain a single specimen. Gallardo + states that D. Pedro Portocarrero y Guzman, Patriarch of the Indies, + the catalogue of whose library was printed at Madrid in 1703, + possessed a signed MS. of the _Chronica de Ceuta_.] + +(_c_) "CHRONICA DO DESCOBRIMENTO E CONQUISTA DE GUINÉ, escrita por +mandado de El-Rei D. Affonso V sob a direcção scientifica, e +segundo as instrucçoës do illustre Infante D. Henrique pelo +Chronista Gomez Eannes de Azurara; fielmente trasladada do +Manuscripto original contemporaneo, que se conserva na Bibliotheca +Real de Pariz, e dada pela primeira vez á luz per diligencia do +Visconde de Carreira, Enviado Extraordinario e Ministro +Plenipotentiario de S. Majestade Fidelíssima na corte da França; +precedida de uma Introducção e illustrada com algumas notas pelo +Visconde de Santarem ..... e seguida d'um Glossario das palavras e +phrases antiquadas e obsoletas." Paris, 1841. Fol. pp. XXV-474, with +frontispiece portrait of D. Henrique from this same MS. + +The letter which Azurara addressed to King Affonso V, when he +forwarded the Chronicle, is printed in facsimile and precedes the +Introduction. + +There are three separate impressions of this Chronicle--one on +parchment, of which the Bibliotheca National in Lisbon possesses a +copy, another on large paper, both of these being folio size, and a +third on small paper octavo size. + +Two early MSS. of the Chronicle exist: one, very handsome and +perfect, in the Paris National Library, from which the printed +edition was made; and the other, bearing date 1506, in the Royal and +National Library at Munich. The latter belonged to Valentim +Fernandes, a German printer, established in Lisbon from the end of +the 15th century to past the middle of the 16th, who owned many MSS. +of great value, which have been studied by Schmeller in his _Ueber +Valentī Fernandez Alemā und seine Sammlung von Nachrichten über die +Entdeckungen und Besitzungen der Portugiesen in Afrika und Asien bis +zum Jahre 1508_. The imprint of this essay is 1845. + +The Munich MS. is an abridgment; many of the rhetorical passages, +ch. i, and nearly the whole of chs. iii-vii, being omitted. Valentim +Fernandes, who transcribed, if he did not compile, this summary, +which he finished on November 14th, 1506, commences his chapters at +the eighth of the Paris MS., and reduces the original number of +chapters from ninety-seven to sixty-two. + +The text of the Paris MS. seems to have been added to at some later +time, and, at any rate, is not in the state in which Azurara left it +in 1453, the year the Chronicle was finished, because certain +passages speak of D. Henrique as though already deceased, while he +only died in 1460.[90] Innocencio thinks Azurara emended his work +after the Prince's death, and inserted some reflections on his life +and moral qualities, without continuing the narrative, or passing +the limit he had at first marked out, namely 1448. + + [Footnote 90: Cf. _Chronica de Guiné_, ch. 5.] + +The history of the MS., and the discovery in 1837 by the Lusophile, +Ferdinand Denis, of the Paris copy, together with a description thereof, +is related by the Viscount de Santarem in his Introduction, and deserves +perusal.[91] Fragments of the Chronicle were known to Barros, who +incorporated them in his _Asia_, but Goes never saw it at all, and it +would seem to have disappeared from Portugal in the 16th century.[92] +Frei Luiz de Sousa, the great Dominican prose writer, met with a MS. +copy at Valencia, in the possession of the Duke of Calabria, one of +whose ancestors, a King of Naples, had received it, he was informed, +from D. Henrique himself.[93] We know from another source that this MS. +was still in Spain at the beginning of the last century, but how it +reached its present resting-place, the National Library in Paris, +remains a mystery. + + [Footnote 91: _Chronica de Guiné_, p. xii, and compare the art. on + Azurara in the _Diccionario Universal Portuguez_, and Innocencio da + Silva, _Diccionario Bibliographico Portuguez_, vol. ix, p. 245.] + + [Footnote 92: Barros, _Asia_, Dec. 1, liv. ii, ch. 1, and Goes, + _Chronica do Principe D. Joào_, ch. 6.] + + [Footnote 93: _Historia de S. Domingos_, p. 1, liv. vi, ch. 15. + Santarem suggests that Affonso V sent it to his uncle, Affonso the + Magnificent of Naples, by his ambassador, Martin Mendes de Berredo, + between 1453 and 1457; but this cannot be reconciled with the fact + that certain passages in the Chronicle appear to have been written + after the death of D. Henrique.] + +(_d_) "CHRONICA DO CONDE D. PEDRO (DE MENEZES) Continuada aa tomada de +Cepta, a qual mandou El-Rey D. Affonso V deste nome, e dos Reys de +Portugal XII, escrepver." Such is the title of this Chronicle, which was +published in Vol. II of the _Ineditos_, and runs from page 213 to the +end. It is there preceded by an Introduction of six pages, dealing with +the life and works of Azurara, from the pen of the erudite Abbade Corrêa +da Serra. + +There exists a valueless MS. of this Chronicle in the Bibliotheca +National in Lisbon of the end of the 17th century, and another equally +devoid of interest in the Academia das Sciencias. Mr. Quaritch recently +offered one for sale,[94] which derives importance from having been +copied from another of early date, and was kind enough to send it for +our inspection. It is a small folio, beautifully written on paper, +containing 164 leaves with thirty-one lines to the page, and was +transcribed from a MS. on parchment of 233 folios in a single column, +which had been itself finished in Lisbon on July 24th, 1470, by João +Gonçalvez, the scribe who copied the Paris MS. of the _Chronica de +Guiné_. The copy belonging to Mr. Quaritch has some marginal notes +without value, and must, to judge from the writing, have been made in +Portugal at the very beginning of the 17th century, or, as he says, +about 1620. The text is the same as that printed in the _Ineditos_. + + [Footnote 94: Catalogue No. 148, _Bibliotheca Hispana_, February 1895.] + +(_e_) "CHRONICA DO CONDE D. DUARTE DE MENEZES." + +This was published for the first time in Vol. III of the _Ineditos_, and +has there no separate title page, but the heading of the first chapter +reads as follows:--"Comecasse a Historia, que fala dos feitos que fez o +Illustre e muy nobre Cavaleiro Dom Duarte de Menezes, Conde que foi de +Viana, Alferes Del-Rey e Capitão por elle na Villa Dalcacer em Affrica. +A qual foi primeiramente ajuntada e escripta per Gomez Eanes de Zurara, +professo Cavalleiro, e Comendador na Ordem de Christus, Chronista do +mesmo Senhor Rey, e Guardador mór do Tombo de seus Regnos." + +All the MSS. of this Chronicle are defective, and we know from the Royal +Censor that they were in the same state as early as the reign of Dom +Sebastião. In fact, more than a third of the work has disappeared, and +is represented by lacunæ. The Bibliotheca National in Lisbon has three, +the Torre do Tombo two, and the Bibliotheca da Academia Real das +Sciencias one MS. of this Chronicle; all show the same gaps. The only +MS. of value is one (No. 520) in the Torre do Tombo, dating from the end +of the 15th century, written on parchment, with the headings to the +Chapters in red and black, and an illuminated title-page. It must be +pronounced a fine specimen of caligraphy, and, though incomplete like +the rest, is otherwise in good condition. + + * * * * * + +The Writings attributed to Azurara consist of the following:-- + +(_f_) A CHRONICLE OF D. DUARTE. + +There seems to be little doubt that Azurara wrote some sort of a +Chronicle of this King which has not been preserved. The Chronicle we +possess goes under the name of Ruy de Pina, but, according to Goes, it +was begun by Fernão Lopes, continued by Azurara, and only finished by +Pina.[95] Barros is more explicit, for he not only states that Azurara +compiled the Chronicle in question, but adds that it was appropriated by +Ruy de Pina, who succeeded him in the post of Chronista Mór.[96] Azurara +himself does not help us much to a solution of the problem. In the +_Chronica de Guiné_ he refers twice to it somewhat vaguely, but in +another place mentions it quite clearly as his own work, though in the +future tense.[97] Again, in the _Chronica de Ceuta_ there is a similar +reference to it, also in the future tense.[98] Unsatisfactory as this +is, we must perforce be content with it in default of any better +information. It seems most unlikely that Affonso V would have employed +the Chronicler on the lives of great nobles like Pedro and Duarte de +Menezes, who, after all, were but private persons, without providing, in +some way, for a history of his father to be written. All we can say is, +that Azurara probably collected the material and possibly made a first +draft--although it is noticeable that he nowhere speaks of the Chronicle +as finished, but always as something that is to be done--then came Ruy +de Pina and put it into shape, for the style is certainly his, and, +while more smooth, is far less characteristic than the quaint rhetorical +sentences of Azurara. + + [Footnote 95: _Chronica de D. Manoel_, quarta parte, ch. 38.] + + [Footnote 96: _Asia_, Dec. 1, liv. ii, ch. 2.] + + [Footnote 97: _Chronica de Guiné_, chs. 1, 5, and 68.] + + [Footnote 98: _Chronica de Ceuta_, ch. 21, and cf. _Chronica de D. + Duarte de Menezes_, ch. 24.] + +(_g_) A CHRONICLE OF KING AFFONSO V. + +Both Barros and Goes agree that Azurara wrote a Chronicle of this +monarch, and carried it down to the death of D. Pedro in the year 1449, +and that it was finished by Ruy de Pina, under whose name it +appears.[99] More than this, Barbosa Machado actually cites it, as +though it existed in his day, thus--_Chronica del Rey D. Affonso V, até +a morte do Infante D. Pedro; fol. MS._[100] It is true that, in the +_Chronica de D. Pedro de Menezes_, Azurara declares that, in spite of +entreaties, the King would never allow him to write a history of his +reign; but this was in 1463, and Affonso may well have entrusted him +with the work in later years, and another passage of the same Chronicle +seems to imply it,[101] though Pina, while confessing that he was not +the first to receive a commission for the Chronicle of King Affonso, +declares that he found it uncommenced.[102] If we examine carefully the +first 124 Chapters of Pina's Chronicle, we shall at first sight conclude +the ideas to belong to Azurara and the phraseology to savour of Pina. +Such prominence is given to the acts and character of the Regent that +the work might well have borne his name, and he is treated with a +fervent veneration and a love which might naturally be expected from +Azurara, who must have known him intimately, as he certainly knew his +son, but which could hardly be looked for in a later writer. Again, D. +Henrique's neglect of his brother, a neglect which made Alfarrobeira +possible, is reprehended in terms that bring to mind the stern and +impartial Azurara rather than his more smooth-tongued successor, while, +curiously enough, the incident is not touched on in Chapter cxliv, +undoubtedly the work of Pina, where the character of the Prince is +summed up after his death and receives unmixed praise. On the other +hand, it must be remembered that D. Henrique's behaviour to his brother +Pedro at the last is referred to in the _Chronica de Guiné_ as a proof +of his loyalty under difficult circumstances, and this fact certainly +tells against Azurara's authorship of the Chronicle under consideration, +though hardly enough of itself to discredit the express statements of +Barros and Goes. To sum up. While it is certain that Azurara never wrote +a complete Chronicle of Affonso V, for the good reason that he +predeceased the King, it is impossible in the present state of our +knowledge to measure his share in the first part, with which alone he +has been credited, although one cannot help inclining to the opinion +that the Chronicle as it stands is substantially the work of Ruy de +Pina. + + [Footnote 99: _Asia_, Dec. 1, liv. ii, ch. 2, and _Chronica de D. + Manoel_, quarta parte, ch. 38. Goes says, too, that Azurara related + the taking of Arzilla, which happened in 1470.] + + [Footnote 100: _Bibliotheca Lusitana_, vol. ii, art. on Azurara.] + + [Footnote 101: _Chronica de D. Pedro de Menezes_, chs. 1, 2, and + parte II, ch. 26; and compare his references to the _Chronica Geral_ + in the _Chronica de D. Duarte de Menezes_, chs. 108, 111, 135, 142, + and 145, as well as in the _Chronica de Guiné_, ch. 5.] + + [Footnote 102: Prologue to the _Chronica de D. Affonso V_ + (_Ineditos_, vol. i, p. 202).] + +(_h_) A ROMANCE OF CHIVALRY, in three MS. volumes, existing in the +Lisbon National Library. + +The title of the First Volume runs:--"Chronica do Invicto D. Duardos de +Bertania, Princepe de Ingalaterra, filho de Palmeiry, e da Princeza +Polinarda, do qual se conta seus estremados feitos em armas, e +purissimos amores, com outros de outros cavalleiros que em seu tempo +concorrerão. Composta por Henrrique Frusto, Chronista ingres, e +tresladada em Portugues por Gomes Ennes de Zurara que fes a Chronica del +Rey Dom AFonço Henrriques de Portugal, achada de novo entre seus +papeis." + +There are three MS. copies of this volume which differ somewhat _inter +se_, the earliest dating from the second half of the 17th century. Two +of these copies contain eighty chapters, the other but seventy-six. They +are marked respectively U/2/100 B/10/6 B/10/7 in the Lisbon National +Library. + +The last, an 18th-century MS., though substantially the same work as the +two former ones, bears a different title: "Chronica de Primaleão, +Emperador de Grecia. Primeira Parte. Em que se conta das façanhas que +obrou o Princepe D. Duardos, e os mais Princepes que com elle se criarão +na Ilha Perigoza do Sabio Daliarte." Its composition is attributed to +"Guilherme Frusto, Autor Hybernio", and the name of Azurara does not +appear as translator, one "Simisberto Pachorro" being named as the +copyist. + +The Second Volume bears the title:--"Segūda parte da cronica do +Princepe Dom Duardos. Composta por Henrique Frusto e tresladada por +Gomez Enes Dazurara, autores da primeira parte." It contains eighty-six +chapters and is marked U/2/101. Underneath the title is written in a +flowing hand--"Podesse encadernar esta segunda parte da Chronica do +Princepe Dom Duardos. Lxa em Mesa. 21 de Outubro de 659", and signed +with three names. + +The Third Volume is headed:--"Terseira parte da Chronica do Princepe Dom +Duardos, composta por Henrrique Frusto e tresladada por Gomez Ennes +dazurara, Auctores da 1a, e 2a parte." It has thirty-five Chapters, and +ends abruptly. Its mark is U/2/102. + +All the MSS. described above are of relatively recent date, written on +paper and of folio size.[103] A certain want of connection appears +between Parts I and II, but this is not so as regards Parts II and III. +A very unpoetical Sonnet closes Chapter XI. of the last Part, and, since +it is not referred to in the text and its language is modern, may +possibly have been interpolated. From the form it cannot be earlier than +1526 or 1530, while a competent judge holds it to have been probably +composed after 1550. + + [Footnote 103: Dr. Theophilo Braga mentions another MS. of the whole + Chronicle, in a single volume of 644 folios, as being in private + hands. The name of the English (?) Chronicler is there spelt + "Henrique Fauste".--_Amadis de Gaula_, p. 196 _n._ Porto, 1873.] + +From a cursory examination of the Chronicle under consideration, it +would seem to be neither (1) a translation from the English, nor yet (2) +by the hand of Azurara, as alleged, but an original composition by some +anonymous writer. The value of the first statement may be estimated by +remembering how Cervantes declared he had copied _D. Quixote_ from the +Cide Hamete Benengeli; and, again, how João de Barros introduced his +_Clarimundo_ as a version from the Hungarian; in any case, no such early +English or Irish Chronicler as Frusto or Frost (?) can be shown to have +existed. The Cycle of the Round Table, and other British Romances of +Chivalry, which were known in Portugal early in the 14th century, became +more popular after the marriage of D. João I with D. Philippa of +Lancaster, and this accounts for the ascription to an English origin; +while Azurara's knowledge of such books, as displayed in his various +Chronicles, explains how this story of a mythical D. Duarte came to be +fathered on him. The considerations that weigh most against Azurara's +authorship of the MS. are those of date and style. It has been already +proved that he died in or about the year 1473, so that, assuming the +work to be his, it must have been written at least before that date, or +even much earlier, say before 1454; since it cannot be presumed that he +would have time for such an essay after his appointment as Chief +Chronicler of Portugal and Royal Archivist. Perhaps he would have lacked +the inclination as well, at least judging from the disdainful tone of +his reference to the _Amadis de Gaula_ in the _Chronica de D. Pedro de +Menezes_. Now, the first of the Palmerin series--to which our MS. +certainly belongs--the _Palmerin de Oliva_, was only printed in 1511; +and though both it and its sequel, _Primaleon_, may have existed in MS. +in the 15th century, contemporary literature has no record of the fact +as in the case of _Amadis_, and there is nothing to favour the +supposition. But, apart from this, a perusal of the first few chapters +of Part I of the present MS., and especially the opening lines of +Chapter 1, will convince most readers, without further proof, that it is +nothing else than a continuation of the _Palmeirim de Inglaterra_ of +Francisco de Moraes,[104] for it not only takes up the story where +Moraes had left off, but expressly refers to the _Palmeirim_ on more +than one occasion.[105] Now, the book of Moraes was only written about +the year 1543, so that, as far as the dates go, they are enough of +themselves to decide the question of Azurara's authorship in the +negative. To come to the question of style--that of the MS. has nothing +to correspond with the rhetorical expressions and the quotations, and +none of the idioms, peculiar to Azurara; nor does it belong to the 15th +century, but rather to the middle or latter part of the 16th, despite +the slight archaic atmosphere, shown more especially in the orthography, +that hangs about Part I, and ever and anon calls to mind the _Saudades_ +of Bernardim Ribeiro. The phrase "achada de novo entre seus papeis", on +the title-page of the Romance, evidences nothing, although it is +alleged, as already mentioned, that Azurara left MSS. behind him which +were explored in the last century by Padre José Pereira de Sant' +Anna.[106] + + + EDGAR PRESTAGE. + + "CHILTERN", BOWDON, + _Day of Camöens' Death, 1895_. + + [Footnote 104: But it is quite a distinct work from that of Diogo + Fernandes, though the same period seems to have given them birth.] + + [Footnote 105: _Vide_ Part I, chs. 1, 4, 6, 17, and 37.] + + [Footnote 106: Compare, on this question, the following + studies:--_Opusculo acerca do Palmeirim de Inglaterra e do seu + auctor_, by M. O. Mendes. Lisbon, 1860. _Discurso sobre el Palmeirim + de Inglaterra y su verdadero autor_, by N. D. de Benjumea. Lisbon, + 1875. _Versuch über den Ritterroman Palmeirim de Inglaterra_, by D. + Carolina Michaëlis de Vasconcellos. Halle, 1883.] + + + + + NOTE.--The elegant signature of Azurara, with its flourishes + and general ornateness, a woodcut of which appears below, + was copied by my friend the Viscount de Castilho, son of the + poet, from an original document in the Torre do Tombo. The + writing, it will be observed, is clear and firm, a + characteristic of all the Chronicler's signatures, which + exist to the number of some half-dozen in the Torre.--E. P. + +[Illustration of signature] + +[Illustration] + + + + + AZURARA'S CHRONICLE + OF THE + DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST OF + GUINEA. + + +THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE. + +Here beginneth the Chronicle in which are set down all the notable deeds +that were achieved in the Conquest of Guinea, written by command of the +most high and revered Prince and most virtuous Lord the Infant Don +Henry, Duke of Viseu and Lord of Covilham, Ruler and Governor of the +Chivalry of the Order of Jesus Christ. The which Chronicle was collected +into this volume by command of the most high and excellent Prince, and +most powerful Lord the King Don Affonso the Fifth of Portugal. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +Which is the Prologue, wherein the Author sheweth what will be his +purpose in this Work. + + +We are commonly taught by experience, that all well-doing requireth +gratitude. And even though the benefactor doth not covet it for himself, +yet he should desire it, that the recipient may not suffer dishonour +where the giver hath acquired virtuous merit. And such a special +communion is there between these two acts, to wit, giving and thanking, +that the first requireth the second by way of obligation. And did not +the former[A] exist, it would not be possible for there to be gratitude +in the world. Wherefore, Saint Thomas,[B] who was the most clear +teacher[N1] among the Doctors of Theology, saith in the second book of +the second part of his work, in the 108th section, that every action +returneth by nature to the cause from which it first proceeded. +Therefore, since the giver is the chief cause of the benefit received by +the other, it is requisite, by the ordinance of Nature, that the good he +doth should come back to him in the shape of a fitting gratitude. And by +this return we are enabled to understand the natural likeness between +the works of Nature and those that give moral aid, for all things bring +about a proper return, starting from a commencement and progressing till +in the end they accomplish the recompence we speak of. And, in proof of +this, Solomon saith in the book of Ecclesiastes, that the sun riseth +over the earth, and, having encircled all things, returneth to where it +first appeared. The rivers also proceed from the sea, and ceasing not +their course, are continually returning to it. A like thing happeneth in +the moral order, for all good that cometh from a generous will, doth run +a straight course until it arrive at the fitting recipient, and then +afterwards it returneth naturally to the place where the generosity +allowed it to begin; and such a return bringeth about that sweet union +between those that do good and those that receive it, of which Tully +speaketh when he saith that no service is more necessary than gratitude, +in order that the good may return to him who gave it. + + [Footnote A: _I.e._, conferring of favours.] + + [Footnote B: _I.e._, Aquinas. See note 1, in vol. ii. Throughout the + present volume the numbers inserted in the text refer to historical + and other notes which will be appended to vol. ii.] + +And in that the most high and excellent Prince and most mighty Lord, the +King Don Affonso the Vth (who at the time of the writing of this book +reigned in Portugal, by the grace of God, whose reign may God in his +mercy increase in length and in virtues), in that he, I say, saw and +knew the great and very notable deeds of the Lord Infant Don Henry, Duke +of Viseu and Lord of Covilham, who was his highly-valued and beloved +uncle, and in that the said deeds appeared to him so noteworthy among +the many actions of Christian princes in this world--it seemed to him a +wrong thing not to have some authentic memorial of the same before the +minds of men. And this most of all because of the great services which +the said Lord had ever rendered to past kings, and the great benefits +which by his efforts the Prince's countrymen had received. + +For these reasons the King bade me engage in this work with all +diligence, for although great part of his other actions are scattered +through the Chronicles of the Kings of his day, as, for instance, what +he did when the King Don John, his father, went to take Ceuta,[N2] and +when on his own account he went with his brothers and many other great +lords to raise the siege of the aforesaid town, and afterwards when in +the reign and by the command of the King Don Edward of glorious memory, +he attacked Tangier, where were done many very notable deeds, which are +mentioned in his history, yet all that followeth was done by his +ordinance[C] and mandate, not without great expense and trouble, all +which is truly to be set down to his account. For though in all kingdoms +men compile general Chronicles of their Kings, they do not fail also to +write separately of the deeds of some of those Kings' vassals, wherever +the greatness of the same is notable enough to warrant such especial +mention--as was done in France in the case of Duke John, Lord of +Lançam,[N3] and in Castille in the matter of the deeds of the Cid Ruy +Diaz,[N4] and in our own kingdom in the story of the Count Nunalvarez +Pereira.[N5] And with this Royal Princes ought to be not a little +contented, for so much the more is their honour exalted as they have +seigniory over greater and more excellent persons; for no Prince can be +great, unless he rule over great men; nor rich, unless he rule over the +wealthy. For this cause said the virtuous Roman Fabricius, that he would +rather be lord over those who had gold, than have gold himself. + + [Footnote C: _I.e._, all that follows in this book was done by + Henry's ordinance, etc.] + +But because the said deeds were written by many and various persons, so +the record of them is variously written, in many parts. And our Lord the +King, considering that it was not convenient for the process of one only +Conquest[D] that it should be recounted in many ways, although they all +contribute to one result, ordered me to work at the writing and ordering +of the history in this volume so that those who read might have the more +perfect knowledge. And that we may return the benefit he conferred on us +by gratitude to him from whom we received it, as I began to set forth at +the commencement of this chapter, we will follow the example of that +holy Prophet Moses, who, desiring not to let the people of Israel forget +the good that God had shewn them, often commanded the receivers to write +them upon their hearts, as in a book that should display to those who +considered it what was written therein. Further, seeing that the +remembrance of injuries is tender, and that the good deed is soon +forgotten, those that came after[E] set up signs that should be lasting, +on which people might look and remember the benefits they had received +in time past. And so likewise it is written of Joshua, that God bade him +take twelve great stones from the midst of the river Jordan, and carry +them to where the camp was pitched, after all had crossed. For this was +done in order that they should be in remembrance of the wonderful +miracle which God had wrought in presence of the people, when he parted +the waters, so that those which came from above stood up in a heap and +did not flow out towards the sides, while those which were below flowed +on until the river was dry. But some, considering that even by such +signs it was not always perfectly well known what had been done (just as +we see that the Pillars of Hercules[N6] do not signify clearly to all +who see them that they were placed there as a memorial of his Conquest +of Spain), began the custom of writing what could not otherwise be long +remembered. And in proof of this it is related in the book of Queen +Esther, that King Ahasuerus kept a record of all the notable services +that had been rendered to him, and that at certain times he caused this +record to be read, that he might reward the authors of those services. +So, too, the King Don Ramiro, desiring that the men of Spain should not +allow themselves to forget the great aid that the blessed apostle Saint +James had given them, when he delivered them from the power of the +Moors, and promised to be our helper in all our battles with the +Infidel, caused to be written the story of that event in the privileges +that he granted the Church of Santiago,[N7] that is to say, in providing +for the entertainment of the poor,--privileges which that Church now +receives from every part of Spain where Christians then lived. + + [Footnote D: Such as that of Guinea.] + + [Footnote E: _I.e._, after Moses.] + +Now this care that the ancients showed ought to be a custom of to-day, +and inasmuch as our memory is weaker than theirs was, and less mindful +of the good that it receiveth, so much the more careful should we be to +keep ever before us the benefits bestowed on us by others, since we +cannot afford to forget them without manifest injury to ourselves. And +because we received of God great benefit in the deeds hereinafter +recorded, in three ways--firstly, by the many souls that have been +already saved, and yet will be saved, of the lineage of our captives; +secondly, by the great benefits we all of us receive from the said +actions; thirdly, by the great honour that our realm is now gaining in +many parts by subjecting to itself so great a power of enemies, and so +far from our own land--for all these reasons we will put this history in +remembrance to the praise of God, and to the glorious memory of our +aforesaid Lord, and to the honour of many good servants of his, and +other worthy persons of our country who toiled manfully in the doing of +the aforesaid actions. Finally, because our said Chronicle is especially +dedicated to this Lord,[F] let us begin at once to speak of his habits +and of his virtues, and of his appearance also, in accordance with the +custom of various authors of credit whose chronicles we have seen. + + [Footnote F: "This Lord," the "aforesaid Lord," and so on, is of + course Henry.] + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +The Author's invocation. + + +O thou Prince little less than divine! I beseech thy sacred virtues to +bear with all patience the shortcomings of my too daring pen, that would +attempt so lofty a subject as is the recounting of thy virtuous deeds, +worthy of so much glory. For the eternal duration of these thy actions, +if the end of my attempt be profitable, will exalt thy fame and bring +great honour to thy memory, giving a useful lesson to all those princes +that shall follow thine example. For of a certainty it is not without +cause that I ask pardon of thy virtues, knowing my insufficiency to +compass such a task, and that I have more just reason to expect blame +for doing less than I ought, than for saying over much. Thy glory, thy +praises, thy fame, so fill my ears and employ my eyes that I know not +well where to begin. I hear the prayers of the innocent souls of those +barbarous peoples, almost infinite in number, whose ancient race since +the beginning of the world hath never seen the divine light, but who are +now by thy genius, by thy infinite expense, and by thy great labours, +brought into the true path of salvation, washed in the waters of +baptism, anointed with the holy oil, and freed from that wretched abode +of theirs, knowing at this present what darkness lay concealed under the +semblance of light in the days of their ancestors. I will not say with +what filial piety, as they contemplate the divine power, they are ever +praying for a reward to thy great merits--for that is a matter which +cannot be denied by him who hath well considered the sentences of St. +Thomas and St. Gregory[N8] on the knowledge possessed by spirits +concerning those who have been, or are, profitable to them in this +world. I see those Garamantes,[N9] those Ethiopians, who live under the +shadow of Mount Caucasus, black in colour, because of living just +opposite to the full height of the sun's rays--for he, being in the head +of Capricorn, shineth on them with wondrous heat, as is shown by his +movements from the centre of his eccentric, or, in another way, by the +nearness of these people to the torrid zone,--I see the Indians of the +greater and the lesser India,[N10] all alike in colour, who call upon me +to write of thy gifts of money and of raiment, of the passing of thy +ships, and of thy hospitality--which those received who, either to visit +the Apostle,[N11] or to see the beauty of the world, came to the ends of +our Spain. And those dwellers on the Nile, whose multitudes possess the +lands of that ancient and venerable city of Thebes,[N12] they, too, +astonish me, for I see them clothed in thy livery, and their bodies, +that had never known a covering, now carrying robes of varied colours, +while the necks of their women are adorned with jewels of gold and +silver in rich workmanship. But what has caused this save the +munificence of thine expenses and the labours of thy servitors, set in +motion by thy beneficent will, by the which thou hast transported to the +ends of the East things created in the West? Yet not even the prayers +and the cries of these peoples, though they were many, were of such +price as the acclamations I heard from the greatness of the Germans, +from the courtesy of the French, from the valour of the English, and +from the wisdom of the Italians,[N13] cries that were accompanied by +others of divers nations and languages, all renowned by lineage and +virtues. Oh thou, say these, who enterest the labyrinth of such great +glory, why dost thou busy thyself only with the nations of the East? +Speak to us, for we traverse the lands and encircle the circumference of +the Earth, and know the Courts of Princes and the houses of great lords. +Know that thou wilt not find another that can equal the excellency of +the fame of this man, if thou judgest by a just weight of all that +pertains to a great prince. With reason mayst thou call him a temple of +all the virtues. But how plaintive do I find the people of our nation +because I place the testimonies of some other race before theirs. For +here in Portugal I meet with great lords, prelates, nobles, widowed +ladies, Knights of the Orders of Chivalry, Masters and Doctors of the +holy faith, with many graduates of every science, young scholars, +companies of esquires, and men of noble breeding, with mechanics and an +untold multitude of the people. And some of these shew me towns and +castles; others villages and fields; others rich benefices; others great +and wealthy farms; others country houses and estates and liberties; +others charters for pensions and for marriages; others gold and silver, +money and cloth; others health in their bodies and deliverance from +perils which they have gained by means of thee; others countless +servants both male and female; while others there are that tell me of +monasteries and churches that thou didst repair and rebuild, and of the +great and rich ornaments that thou didst offer in many holy places. +Others, again, pointed out to me the marks of the chains they bore in +the captivity from which thou didst rescue them. What shall I say of the +needy beggars that I see before me laden with alms? And of the great +multitude of friars of every order that shew me the garments with which +thou didst clothe their bodies, and the abundance of food with which +thou didst satisfy their necessities? I had already made an end of this +chapter, had I not descried the approach of a multitude of ships with +tall sails laden from the islands thou didst people in the great Ocean +Sea,[N14] which called on me to wait for them, as they longed to prove +that they ought not to be omitted from this register. And they displayed +before me their great cattle-stalls, the valleys full of sugar cane from +which they carried store to distribute throughout the world: they +brought also as witnesses to their great prosperity all the dwellers in +the kingdom of the Algarve.[N15] Ask, said they, whether these people +ever knew what it was to have abundance of bread until our Prince +peopled the uninhabited isles, where no dwelling existed save that of +wild beasts. Next they shewed me great rows of beehives full of swarms +of bees, from which great cargoes of wax and honey are carried to our +realm; and besides these, lofty houses towering to the sky, which have +been and are being built with wood from those parts. But why should I +mention the multitude of things that were told me in thy praise, though +all of them were things that I could write without injuring the truth? +Let me tell how there now sounded in my ears some other voices very +contrary to these I have recounted hitherto: voices for which I should +have felt great compassion had I not discovered them to be the cries of +those outside our law. For there addressed me countless souls of Moors, +both on this side the Straits, and also beyond,[N16] of whom many had +died by thy lance in the cruel war thou hast ever waged against them. +And others presented themselves before me loaded with chains, their +countenances pitiable to behold, men who were captured by thy ships +through the strength of the bodies of thy vassals; but in these I +noticed that they complained not so much of the ill fortune that +overtook them at the end as of their fate in earlier life, that is, of +the seductive error in which that false schismatic Mohammed[N17] left +them. And so I conclude my preface, begging that if thy great virtues, +if the excellence of thy great and noble deeds, suffer any loss by my +ignorance and rudeness, thy magnanimous greatness may vouchsafe to look +on my fault with a propitious countenance. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +In which we recount the descent of the Infant Don Henry. + + +Two reasons move me to speak in this chapter of the descent of this +noble prince. First of all, because the long course of ages driveth out +of the memory the very knowledge of past things, which would be +altogether dimmed and hidden from our eyes were they not to be +represented before us in writing. And since I have determined to write +for the representing of this present time to those that come after, I +ought not to pass by in silence the glory of so noble a descent as our +Prince's, since this book must indeed be a work placed by itself. For it +may happen that those who read through this may not know anything of +other writings. + +But this digression must needs be brief, that I may not be drawn away +far from my projected task. + +And the second reason[G] is that we may not attribute the whole of such +great virtues to one man only, but may rather give some part to his +ancestors, for it is certain that nobility of lineage, being well +observed by one that hath sprung from such a stock--for the sake, as +often happeneth, of avoiding shame, or in some way of acquiring +virtue--constraineth a man to shew courage, and strengtheneth his heart +to endure greater toils. + + [Footnote G: _I.e._ for undertaking Prince Henry's genealogy.] + +Therefore you must know that the King Don John, who was the tenth King +of Portugal, the same that was victor in the great battle of Aljubarrota +and took the very noble city of Ceuta, in the land of Africa, was +espoused to Donna Philippa, daughter of the Duke of Lancaster, and +sister of the King Don Henry of England, by whom he had six lawful +children, to wit, five princes, and one princess, who was afterwards +Duchess of Burgundy.[N18] Some others, who died while still very young, +I omit to mention. And of these children Prince Henry was the third, so +that with the ancestry he had, both on his father's and his mother's +side, the lineage of this royal prince embraced the most noble and lofty +in Christendom. Now this same Prince Henry was also brother of the King +Don Edward and uncle of the King Don Affonso, the kings who, after the +death of the King Don John, reigned in Portugal. But this, as I said, I +touch on briefly, because if I were to declare things more fully I +should meet with many matters of which any single one duly followed up, +as would be necessary, must needs cause so great a delay that I should +be late in returning to my first commencement. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +Which speaketh of the habits of the Infant Don Henry. + + +Meseemeth I should be writing overmuch if I were to recount fully all +the particulars that some histories are accustomed to relate about those +Princes to whom they addressed their writings. For in writing of their +deeds they commenced by telling of the actions of their youth, through +their desire to exalt their virtues. And though it may be presumed that +authors of such sufficiency would not do aught without a clear and +sufficient reason, I shall for the present depart from their course, as +I know that it would be a work but little needed in this place. Nor do I +even purpose to make a long tale about the Infant's bodily presence, for +many in this world have had features right well proportioned, and yet +for their dishonest vices have got great harm to their fair fame. So, +though it be nothing more, let it suffice what the philosopher[N19] +saith concerning this, that personal beauty is not a perfect good. + +Therefore, returning to my subject, let me say that this noble Prince +was of a good height and stout frame, big and strong of limb, the hair +of his head somewhat erect, with a colour naturally fair, but which by +constant toil and exposure had become dark. His expression at first +sight inspired fear in those who did not know him, and when wroth, +though such times were rare, his countenance was harsh. Strength of +heart and keenness of mind were in him to a very excellent degree, and +beyond comparison he was ambitious of achieving great and lofty deeds. +Neither luxury nor avarice ever found a home within his breast, for as +to the former he was so temperate that all his life was passed in purest +chastity, and as a virgin the earth received him at his death again to +herself. And what can I say of his greatness, except that it was +pre-eminent among all the princes of the earth? He was indeed the +uncrowned prince, whose court was full of more numerous and more noble +vassals of his own rearing than any other. His palace was a school of +hospitality for all the good and high-born of the realm, and still more +for strangers; and the fame of it caused there to be a great increase in +his expenses: for commonly there were to be found in his presence men +from various nations so different from our own, that it was a marvel to +well-nigh all our people: and none of that great multitude could go away +without some guerdon from the Prince. All his days were passed in the +greatest toil, for of a surety among all the nations of mankind there +was no one man who was a sterner master to himself. It would be hard to +tell how many nights he passed in the which his eyes knew no sleep; and +his body was so transformed by the use of abstinence that it seemed as +if Don Henry had made its nature to be different from that of other men. +Such was the length of his toil and so rigorous was it, that as the +poets have feigned that Atlas the giant held up the heavens upon his +shoulders, for the great knowledge that was in him concerning the +movements of the heavenly bodies, so the people of our kingdom had a +proverb, that the great labours of this our Prince "conquered the +heights of the mountains," that is to say, the matters that seemed +impossible to other men, by his continual energy, were made to appear +light and easy. + +The Infant was a man of great wisdom and authority, very discreet and of +good memory, but in some matters a little tardy, whether it were from +the influence of phlegm in his nature, or from the choice of his will, +directed to some certain end not known of men. His bearing was calm and +dignified, his speech and address gentle. He was constant in adversity, +humble in prosperity. Of a surety no Sovereign ever had a vassal of such +station, or even of one far lower than his, who held him in greater +obedience and reverence than he showed to the kings who in his days +reigned in Portugal, and especially to the King Don Affonso, in the +commencement of his reign, as in his Chronicle[N20] you may learn more +at length. Never was hatred known in him, nor ill-will towards any, +however great the wrong he might have done him; and so great was his +benignity in this matter that wiseacres reproached him as wanting in +distributive justice, though in all other matters he held the rightful +mean. + +And this they said because he left unpunished some of his servants who +deserted him in the siege of Tangier, which was the most perilous affair +in which he ever stood before or after,[N21] not only becoming +reconciled to them, but even granting them honourable advancement over +and above others who had served him well; the which, in the judgment of +men, was far from their deserts. And this is the only shortcoming of his +that I have to record. And because Tully commandeth[N22] that an author +should reason, in the matter of his writing, as truly appeareth to +him--in the sixth chapter of this work I shall declare myself more fully +on this,[H] that I may approve myself a truthful writer. + + [Footnote H: _I.e._, on this point of distributive justice.] + +The Infant drank wine only for a very small part of his life, and that +in his youth, but afterwards he abstained entirely from it. He always +shewed great devotion to the public affairs of these kingdoms, toiling +greatly for their good advancement, and much he delighted in the trial +of new essays for the profit of all, though with great expense of his +own substance. And so he keenly enjoyed the labour of arms, and +especially against the enemies of the holy faith, while he desired peace +with all Christians. Thus he was loved by all alike, for he made himself +useful to all and hindered no one. His answers were always gentle, and +therewith he shewed great honour to the standing of every one who came +to him, without any lessening of his own estate. A base or unchaste word +was never heard to issue from his mouth. + +He was very obedient to all the commands of Holy Church, and heard all +its offices with great devotion; aye and caused the same to be +celebrated in his chapel, with no less splendour and ceremony than they +could have had in the College of any Cathedral Church. And so he held +all sacred things in great reverence and treated the ministers of the +same with honour, and bestowed on them favours and largess. Well-nigh +one-half of the year he spent in fasting, and the hands of the poor +never went away empty from his presence. Of a surety I know not how to +find any prince so Catholic and religious, that I could say as much of +him. His heart never knew what fear was, save the fear of sin; and since +from chaste habits and virtuous actions spring great and lofty deeds, I +will collect in this next chapter all the notable things which were +performed by him for the service of God and the honour of the Kingdom. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +In which the Chronicler speaketh briefly of the notable matters which +the Infant performed for the service of God and the honour of the +Kingdom. + + +Where could this chapter begin better than in speaking of that most +glorious conquest of the great city of Ceuta, of which famous victory +the heavens felt the glory and the earth the benefit. For it seemeth to +me a great glory, for the sacred college of the Celestial Virtues,[N23] +that all those holy sacrifices and blessed ceremonies should have been +celebrated in praise of Christ our Lord in that city from that day even +until now, and by his grace ever shall be celebrated. And as to the +profit of our world from this achievement, East and West alike are good +witnesses thereof, since their peoples can now exchange their goods, +without any great peril of merchandise--for of a surety no one can deny +that Ceuta is the key of all the Mediterranean sea. In the which +conquest the Prince was captain of a very great and powerful fleet, and +like a brave knight fought and toiled in person on the day when it was +taken from the Moors; and under his command were the Count of Barcellos, +the King's bastard, and Don Fernando, Lord of Braganza, his nephew, and +Gonçalo Vasquez Coutinho, a great and powerful noble, and many other +lords and gentlemen with all their men-at-arms, and others who joined +the said fleet from the three districts of the Beira, and the +Tral-os-Montes and the Entre Douro-e-Minho.[N24] Now the first Royal +Captain who took possession by the walls of Ceuta was this same of whom +I write, and his square banner was the first that entered the gates of +the city, from whose shadow he was never far off himself. On that day +the blows he dealt out were conspicuous beyond those of all other men, +since for the space of five hours he never stopped fighting, and neither +the heat, though it was very great, nor the amount of his toil, were +able to make him retire and take any rest. And in this space of time, +the Prince, with four who accompanied him, made a valiant stand. For as +to the others who should have followed in his company, some were +scattered through that vast city, and others were not able to join him +by reason of a gate through which the Infant with the said four +companions had passed together with the Moors, which gate was guarded by +other Moors on the top of the wall. So for about two hours the Prince +and his friends held another gate, which is beyond that one which stands +between the two cities[N25] in a turn of the wall under the shadow of +the castle, which gate is now called that of Fernandafonso. And to this +had retired the greater part of the Moors who had fled out of the other +town from the side of Almina just where the city was entered, but in the +end, despite the great multitude of the enemy, they shut that gate. And +whether their toil were idle or no could well be seen by those who had +fallen and lay dead there, stretched out along that ground. In that city +of Ceuta was the Infant knighted, together with his brothers, by his +father's hand, with great honour, on the day of the consecration of the +Cathedral Church. And the capture was on a Thursday, the 21st day of the +month of August, in the year of Christ 1415. And immediately on the +return of the King Don John to his kingdom, he made this honoured prince +a duke, with the seignory thereof, in a place of the province of the +Algarve.[N26] And afterwards at the end of three years there came +against Ceuta a great power of Moors, who were reckoned at a later time +by the King's Ransomers of Captives to be 100,000 strong--for there were +present the people of the Kings of Fez and of Granada and of Tunis and +of Marocco and of Bugya,[N27] with many engines of war and much +artillery, with the which they thought to take the aforesaid city, +encircling it by sea and land. Then the Infant was very diligent in +succouring it with two of his brothers, that is to say the Infant Don +John and the Count of Barcellos, who was afterwards Duke of Braganza, +with many lords and gentlemen and with the aid of a great flotilla; and +after killing many of the Moors and delivering the city, he repaired it +and returned again very honourably to Portugal. Yet he was not well +content with his victory, because the chance of taking the town of +Gibraltar, for which he had made preparation, did not offer itself to +him.[N28] The chief reason of his being thus hindered was the roughness +of the winter, which was just then beginning; for although the sea at +that time is dangerous everywhere, it is much more so at that very part +because of the great currents that are there. He also fitted out a very +great armada against the Canary Islands,[N29] to shew the natives there +the way of the holy faith. + +Again, while the King Don Edward was reigning, by his order he passed +over a third time into Africa, when he besieged the city of Tangier, and +went for nineteen leagues with banners flying through the land of his +enemies; and then maintained the leaguer for two and twenty days, in +which time were achieved many feats worthy of glorious remembrance, not +without great slaughter of the enemy, as in the history of the kingdom +you can learn more fully. + +He governed Ceuta, by command of the kings, his father, brother and +nephew,[I] for five and thirty years, with such prevision that the crown +of the kingdom never suffered loss of honour through any default of his; +but at last, because of his great burdens, he left the said government +to the King Don Affonso, at the beginning of his reign.[N30] Moreover, +from the time that Ceuta was taken he always kept armed ships at sea to +guard against the infidels, who then made very great havoc upon the +coasts both on this side the straits and beyond; so that the fear of his +vessels kept in security all the shores of our Spain and the greater +part of the merchants who traded between East and West.[N31] + + [Footnote I: John, Edward and Affonso.] + +Also he caused to be peopled in the great Sea of Ocean five islands, +which embraced a goodly number of people at the time of the writing of +this book, and especially Madeira;[N32] and from this isle, as well as +the others, our country drew large supplies of wheat, sugar, wax, honey +and wood, and many other things, from which not only our own people but +also foreigners have gained and are gaining great profit. Also the +Infant Don Henry was with the king Don Affonso his nephew, in that army +he collected against the Infant Don Pedro, from which followed the +battle of Alfarrobeira, where the aforesaid Don Pedro was killed and the +Count of Avranches who was with him, and all their host defeated.[N33] +And there, if my understanding suffice for the matter, I may truly say +that the loyalty of men of all times was as nothing in comparison of +his. Further, although his services[J] did not occasion him such great +labours as those I have mentioned, yet of a certainty the circumstances +of the matter gave to them a lustre and a grandeur that exceeded all +else: and of these I leave a fuller account to the general history of +the Kingdom. + + [Footnote J: In this battle.] + +Don Henry also made very great benefactions to the Order of Christ, of +which he was ruler and governor by the authority of the Holy Father, for +he bestowed upon it all the spiritualties of the islands[K] and in the +kingdom he made purchases of lands (from which he created new +commanderies), as well as of houses and estates, which he annexed to the +said Order. And in the Mother-Convent of the Order he built two very +fair cloisters and one high choir, with many rich ornaments, which he +presented for sacred uses.[N34] And for that he had a great devotion to +the Virgin Mary, he built in her honour a very devout house of prayer, +one league from Lisbon, near the sea, at Restello, under the title of +St. Mary of Belem. And in Pombal and in Soure, he built two very notable +churches. Also, he bequeathed many noble houses to the City of Lisbon, +being pleased to give his protection for the greater honour of the holy +Scriptures; and he ordained a yearly grant of ten marks of silver to the +Chair of Theology for ever. And in the same way he gave to his chapel of +St. Mary of Victory seven marks of yearly revenue.[N35] But I know not +for the present if there is to be an increase in these grants after his +death, for, at the time that King Affonso ordered this book to be +written he was yet alive, of an age little less than sixty years, so +that I cannot make an end of his benefactions, for, as his mind was +great and ever intent on noble actions, I am sure that his members may +indeed grow weaker with the lapse of time, but his will can never be too +poor both to undertake and to finish a multitude of good deeds, so long +as his soul and body are united together. And this may well be +understood by those that saw him ready to go to Ceuta[N36] and almost +embarked on shipboard with that intent--to end his life there, toiling +in arms for the honour of the Kingdom and the exaltation of the Holy +Faith. For in this cause he ever had a desire to finish his days: yet he +desisted from carrying out his purpose for this time, because the King +agreed with his Council in hindering the voyage, though he had +previously given him leave. And though the chief cause of this be not +known to most men, some wiseacres, who were not members of the Chief +Council, perceived that the reason was as follows: the Lord King, like a +man of great discretion, considering the great things to be performed at +home, ordered him to remain, that he might give him, as his uncle and +especial friend and most notable servant, the principal part in +searching out the remedies for these troubles. But it mattereth not +much, whether this was the cause of his remaining or whether it was some +other reason outside our knowledge: let it suffice that by this action +you may see what was the chief part of his life's purpose, and this is +what I ought in reason to set forth after what I have said. And among +those actions of the Prince's[L] there are many others of no little +grandeur, with which another man, who had not attained to the excellency +of this hero, might well be content, but in this history I omit them, in +order not to depart from what I promised at first to write of. Not that +I would keep silence altogether concerning them, for in the general +chronicle of the Kingdom I intend to touch on each in its own place. And +because I began this chapter with the taking of a city,[M] I would fain +end it with an account of that noble town which our Prince caused them +to build on Cape St. Vincent, at the place where both seas meet, to wit, +the great Ocean sea and the Mediterranean sea. But of the perfections of +that town it is not possible to speak here at large, because when this +book was written there were only the walls standing, though of great +strength, with a few houses--yet work was going on in it continually. +According to the common belief, the Infant purposed to make of it an +especial mart town for merchants. And this was to the end that all ships +that passed from the East to the West, should be able to take their +bearings and to get provisions and pilots there, as at Cadiz--which last +is very far from being as good a port as this, for here ships can get +shelter against every wind (except one that we in this Kingdom call the +cross-wind), and in the same way they can go out with every wind, +whenever the seaman willeth it. Moreover, I have heard say that when +this city was begun, the Genoese offered a great price for it; and they, +as you know, are not men that spend their money without some certain +hope of gain. And though some have called the said town by other names, +I believe its proper one, according to the intention of its founder, was +that of "the Infant's town", for he himself so named it, both by word of +mouth and by writing.[N37] + + [Footnote K: In his jurisdiction.] + + [Footnote L: In home affairs.] + + [Footnote M: Ceuta.] + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +In which the Author, who setteth in order this history, saith something +of what he purposeth concerning the virtues of the Infant Don Henry. + + +Such were the virtues and habits of this great and glorious Prince, even +as you have heard in the past few chapters, in which I have spoken as +well as I was able, but certainly not as the matter deserved of me, for +as St. Jerome layeth it down, small wits cannot handle great subjects. +And if it be true, as Sallust saith, that great praise was given to +those who performed the famous actions in the history of Athens, as far +as the brilliant and glorious talents of her subtle authors were able by +words to praise and exalt them, it was great boldness in me, who am only +worthy to name myself a disciple of each one of these ancients, to +undertake so high a charge.[N38] + +But whereas it is said, that obedience is better than sacrifice, it +seemeth to me that I do not deserve so great a blame, since I have only +fulfilled what was commanded me. But I neither demand nor desire that my +work should be placed before the public, for it is not of so precious a +nature as to merit that it be preserved in a tower or temple, as the +Athenians preserved the Minerva of Phidias, the figure to wit of the +goddess Pallas, which for the excellency of its beauty was placed on +high for the better view of all men, as saith the Philosopher in the +sixth book of his _Ethics_, in the Chapter on Wisdom.[N39] Rather I wish +that this book of mine may be profitable as to its form, in order that +in the future another work more adequate to the subject may be +constructed out of it, and one that may suffice for the merits of so +great a prince; for certainly shame will descend on all the masters, all +the doctors, all the lawyers that have received instruction through his +beneficence, if among so many there should not be found one willing to +perpetuate his admirable deeds in a loftier and nobler style. + +But as it may happen that the recompense of gratitude, as I often +perceive, may not be swift to follow or may very quickly cease +altogether, let it please you to receive what in the past chapters of +this work I have said of the Prince's habits and virtuous acts, and what +more in the future I shall have to say--not according to that which the +excellence of the work requireth, but according to the rudeness and +ignorance of the Author. And these matters you may well believe are more +truthfully written than easily collected together. + +But before entering fully upon the substance of my history, I wish to +say a little of my intention to amend somewhat in the things where +aforetime I was found wanting, to the praise of this great and glorious +duke. And thou, great Valerius,[N40] who with such constant study, didst +occupy thyself in gathering and putting together in a history the powers +and virtues of the noble and excellent lords of thy city, of a surety I +dare say that among so many renowned men, thou couldst not, in the +highest degree, speak of another like him, for although thou wast able +to assign certain grades of virtue to each one of thy heroes, yet thou +wast not able to unite all these merits in one single body, as I am able +to gather and join them together in the life of this Prince. + +Where couldst thou find one so religious, one so catholic, one so +prudent, one of so good counsel, one so temperate in all his actions? +Where couldst thou light on such magnanimity, such frankness, such +humanity, such courage, to support so great and so many toils as +his?--for of a surety there was not a man of his time who would have +dared to continue in the practice of such severity of life. Oh how often +did the sun find him on its rising seated in the same place where it had +left him the day before, watching throughout the circle of the night +season without taking any rest, surrounded by people of various nations, +not without profit to every one of them that stood by. For he took no +small delight in finding the means to profit all. Where could you find +another human body that would endure the toil he underwent in arms, a +toil that was but scantly diminished in the time of peace? Certainly I +believe that if fortitude could be depicted, it would encounter its true +form in his face and members, for he did not prove himself strong in +some matters only, but in all. And what courage, what endurance, could +be greater than that of the man who is victor over himself? Yet he +endured hunger and thirst as well, a matter almost past belief. + +But what Romulus, or Manlius Torquatus, or Horatius Coclês couldst thou +prefer to the might of this Prince? Perchance thou wouldst bring hither +thy Caesar, whom by thy words thou hast set up as a god, and an example +of good morals and honest life: what then wilt thou do with Marcus +Tullius and with Lucan, who in so many places confess that he corrupted +himself by carnal desires and other vices, to the great diminishing of +his praise?[N41] Who would not fear to compare himself with this our +prince, seeing how that the Sovereign Pontiff, vicar-general of the Holy +Church, and the Emperor of Germany, as well as the Kings of Castille and +England, when informed of his great virtues, begged him to be captain of +their armies?[N42] And to what shall we assign more justly the name of +felicity and good fortune than to his virtues and habits, or to what +empires and riches can be given greater honour than to his great and +excellent deeds? + +O fortunate prince, honour of our kingdom, what single thing was there +in thy life which they who praise thee ought to pass by in silence: what +moment of thy time was barren of good deeds or empty of praise? I +consider how thou didst welcome all, how thou didst listen to all; how +thou didst pass the greater part of thy days and nights among such great +cares, that many might be profited. Wherefore I know that lands and seas +are full of those that praise thee, for by thy continual voyagings thou +hast joined the East with the West, in order that the nations might +learn to exchange their riches. And in truth, though I have said many +things about thee, many more remain for me to say. + +But before I end this chapter I believe that it beseemeth me, of +necessity, to show what I think about that matter on which I touched--to +wit, distributive justice--so as not to pass it by without some +declaration of my mind, as I promised before. And certainly that was a +beautiful ordinance that Tully made upon this matter, for it standeth to +reason that the verdict of the historian should have greater authority +upon that matter of which he treateth than any other person, because he +enquireth about the truth of things with greater care: Now this duty[N] +will be either that of martial correction or of humanity and clemency. +If it be an affair of correction or martial justice, it is impossible to +excuse shortcomings, for we read in the histories of the Romans that the +fathers slew their sons for such faults, and made other very bloody +executions: but, contrariwise, on the side of clemency and humanity, +this must needs be praised as a great virtue, since its third part, +according to Seneca, lieth in reconciling familiars to oneself; yet the +extreme of both these two things is of doubtful merit, to wit, whether +one should prefer discipline to clemency or clemency to discipline.[N43] + + [Footnote N: Of shewing distributive justice.] + +But under correction of him who better understandeth it, I say it +appeareth to me that the better part of the matter should take +precedence of the other part of less value, and considering the +particular case and the circumstances of the time and how no correction +could bring about amendment,[O] we ought to give praise rather than +blame to the Infant for his conduct, inasmuch as it sheweth a liberal +heart to offer kindness to those whom one might with good reason have +denied. + + [Footnote O: _I.e._, on that occasion.] + +And be this as it may, let not these matters, most excellent prince, +seem serious unto thee, for it was not so much my intent to praise thy +deeds as to praise thee. For the wicked do many deeds worthy of praise, +but no man should be praised save he who is truly good in himself. Where +is the man whose virtues are not offended by some accretion of vices? +Certainly I am not one to write or say it of thee, O Prince, for one who +hath a place prepared among the celestial thrones cannot receive offence +from the deeds he did on earth, though to some they appear worthy of +blame; for one may quote the saying of Saint Chrysostom, that there is +nothing so holy, but that an evil-minded interpreter thereof can find +something to asperse.[N44] + +O how few there be, as said Seneca in his first tragedy,[N45] who turn +to good account the time of their life or ever think upon its brevity. +But of a surety thou, O prince, wast never of the number of these men, +since by thy glorious and lofty deeds and cruel sufferings, thou didst +add to thyself, among many princes of most excellent dignity, an eternal +and undying memory, and, what is of more value, a heavenly throne, as I +piously believe. O fortunate Kings, who after his death shall possess +the royal seat of his ancestors, I beg you always to keep the sepulchre +of this great and noble duke in your especial remembrance, since the +splendour of his virtues doth form a great part of your honour. For +verily the exclamations and the praises which I tell you of him, were +not invented by my own wit, but are as it were the living voices of his +virtues and his great merits, which would be of great profit to every +one of you, if you could keep them whole and sound in your thought, not +desiring that I had related them more briefly, since it would be a +trouble to find his like among the men of our time. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +In which five reasons appear why the Lord Infant was moved to command +the search for the lands of Guinea. + + +We imagine that we know a matter when we are acquainted with the doer of +it and the end for which he did it. And since in former chapters we have +set forth the Lord Infant as the chief actor in these things, giving as +clear an understanding of him as we could, it is meet that in this +present chapter we should know his purpose in doing them. And you should +note well that the noble spirit of this Prince, by a sort of natural +constraint, was ever urging him both to begin and to carry out very +great deeds. For which reason, after the taking of Ceuta he always kept +ships well armed against the Infidel, both for war, and because he had +also a wish to know the land that lay beyond the isles of Canary and +that Cape called Bojador, for that up to his time, neither by writings, +nor by the memory of man, was known with any certainty the nature of the +land beyond that Cape. Some said indeed that Saint Brandan had passed +that way; and there was another tale of two galleys rounding the Cape, +which never returned.[N46] But this doth not appear at all likely to be +true, for it is not to be presumed that if the said galleys went there, +some other ships would not have endeavoured to learn what voyage they +had made. And because the said Lord Infant wished to know the truth of +this,--since it seemed to him that if he or some other lord did not +endeavour to gain that knowledge, no mariners or merchants would ever +dare to attempt it--(for it is clear that none of them ever trouble +themselves to sail to a place where there is not a sure and certain hope +of profit)--and seeing also that no other prince took any pains in this +matter, he sent out his own ships against those parts, to have manifest +certainty of them all. And to this he was stirred up by his zeal for the +service of God and of the King Edward his Lord and brother, who then +reigned. And this was the first reason of his action. + +The second reason was that if there chanced to be in those lands some +population of Christians, or some havens, into which it would be +possible to sail without peril, many kinds of merchandise might be +brought to this realm, which would find a ready market, and reasonably +so, because no other people of these parts traded with them, nor yet +people of any other that were known; and also the products of this realm +might be taken there, which traffic would bring great profit to our +countrymen. + +The third reason was that, as it was said that the power of the Moors in +that land of Africa was very much greater than was commonly +supposed,[N47] and that there were no Christians among them, nor any +other race of men; and because every wise man is obliged by natural +prudence to wish for a knowledge of the power of his enemy; therefore +the said Lord Infant exerted himself to cause this to be fully +discovered, and to make it known determinately how far the power of +those infidels extended. + +The fourth reason was because during the one and thirty years that he +had warred against the Moors, he had never found a Christian king, nor a +lord outside this land, who for the love of our Lord Jesus Christ would +aid him in the said war. Therefore he sought to know if there were in +those parts any Christian princes, in whom the charity and the love of +Christ was so ingrained that they would aid him against those enemies of +the faith. + +The fifth reason was his great desire to make increase in the faith of +our Lord Jesus Christ and to bring to him all the souls that should be +saved,--understanding that all the mystery of the Incarnation, Death, +and Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ was for this sole end--namely the +salvation of lost souls--whom the said Lord Infant by his travail and +spending would fain bring into the true path. For he perceived that no +better offering could be made unto the Lord than this; for if God +promised to return one hundred goods for one, we may justly believe that +for such great benefits, that is to say for so many souls as were saved +by the efforts of this Lord, he will have so many hundreds of guerdons +in the kingdom of God, by which his spirit may be glorified after this +life in the celestial realm. For I that wrote this history saw so many +men and women of those parts turned to the holy faith, that even if the +Infant had been a heathen, their prayers would have been enough to have +obtained his salvation. And not only did I see the first captives, but +their children and grandchildren as true Christians as if the Divine +grace breathed in them and imparted to them a clear knowledge of itself. + +But over and above these five reasons I have a sixth that would seem to +be the root from which all the others proceeded: and this is the +inclination of the heavenly wheels. For, as I wrote not many days ago in +a letter I sent to the Lord King, that although it be written that the +wise man shall be Lord of the stars, and that the courses of the planets +(according to the true estimate of the holy doctors) cannot cause the +good man to stumble; yet it is manifest that they are bodies ordained in +the secret counsels of our Lord God and run by a fixed measure, +appointed to different ends, which are revealed to men by his grace, +through whose influence bodies of the lower order are inclined to +certain passions. And if it be a fact, speaking as a Catholic, that the +contrary predestinations of the wheels of heaven can be avoided by +natural judgment with the aid of a certain divine grace, much more does +it stand to reason that those who are predestined to good fortune, by +the help of this same grace, will not only follow their course but even +add a far greater increase to themselves. But here I wish to tell you +how by the constraint of the influence of nature this glorious Prince +was inclined to those actions of his. And that was because his ascendent +was Aries, which is the house of Mars and exaltation of the sun, and his +lord in the XIth house, in company of the sun. And because the said Mars +was in Aquarius, which is the house of Saturn, and in the mansion of +hope, it signified that this Lord should toil at high and mighty +conquests, especially in seeking out things that were hidden from other +men and secret, according to the nature of Saturn, in whose house he is. +And the fact of his being accompanied by the sun, as I said, and the sun +being in the house of Jupiter, signified that all his traffick and his +conquests would be loyally carried out, according to the good pleasure +of his king and lord.[N48] + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +Why ships had not hitherto dared to pass beyond Cape Bojador. + + +So the Infant, moved by these reasons, which you have already heard, +began to make ready his ships and his people, as the needs of the case +required; but this much you may learn, that although he sent out many +times, not only ordinary men, but such as by their experience in great +deeds of war were of foremost name in the profession of arms, yet there +was not one who dared to pass that Cape of Bojador and learn about the +land beyond it, as the Infant wished. And to say the truth this was not +from cowardice or want of good will, but from the novelty of the thing +and the wide-spread and ancient rumour about this Cape, that had been +cherished by the mariners of Spain from generation to generation. And +although this proved to be deceitful, yet since the hazarding of this +attempt seemed to threaten the last evil of all, there was great doubt +as to who would be the first to risk his life in such a venture. How are +we, men said, to pass the bounds that our fathers set up, or what profit +can result to the Infant from the perdition of our souls as well as of +our bodies--for of a truth by daring any further we shall become wilful +murderers of ourselves? Have there not been in Spain other princes and +lords as covetous perchance of this honour as the Infant? For certainly +it cannot be presumed that among so many noble men who did such great +and lofty deeds for the glory of their memory, there had not been one to +dare this deed. But being satisfied of the peril, and seeing no hope of +honour or profit, they left off the attempt. For, said the mariners, +this much is clear, that beyond this Cape there is no race of men nor +place of inhabitants: nor is the land less sandy than the deserts of +Libya, where there is no water, no tree, no green herb--and the sea so +shallow that a whole league from land it is only a fathom deep, while +the currents are so terrible that no ship having once passed the Cape, +will ever be able to return.[N49] + +Therefore our forefathers never attempted to pass it: and of a surety +their knowledge of the lands beyond was not a little dark, as they knew +not how to set them down on the charts, by which man controls all the +seas that can be navigated. Now what sort of a ship's captain would he +be who, with such doubts placed before him by those to whom he might +reasonably yield credence and authority, and with such certain prospect +of death before his eyes, could venture the trial of such a bold feat as +that? O thou Virgin Themis, saith our Author, who among the nine Muses +of Mount Parnassus didst possess the especial right of searching out the +secrets of Apollo's cave, I doubt whether thy fears were as great at +putting thy feet on that sacred table where the divine revelations +afflicted thee little less than death, as the terrors of these mariners +of ours, threatened not only by fear but by its shadow, whose great +deceit was the cause of very great expenses. For during twelve years the +Infant continued steadily at this labour of his, ordering out his ships +every year to those parts, not without great loss of revenue, and never +finding any who dared to make that passage. Yet they did not return +wholly without honour, for as an atonement for their failure to carry +out more fully their Lord's wishes, some made descents upon the coasts +of Granada and others voyaged along the Levant Seas, where they took +great booty of the Infidels, with which they returned to the Kingdom +very honourably.[N50] + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +How Gil Eannes, a native of Lagos, was the first who passed the Cape of +Bojador, and how he returned thither again, and with him Affonso +Gonçalvez Baldaya. + + +Now the Infant always received home again with great patience those whom +he had sent out, as Captains of his ships, in search of that land, never +upbraiding them with their failure, but with gracious countenance +listening to the story of the events of their voyage, giving them such +rewards as he was wont to give to those who served him well, and then +either sending them back to search again or despatching other picked men +of his Household, with their ships well furnished, making more urgent +his charge to them, with promise of greater guerdons, if they added +anything to the voyage that those before them had made, all to the +intent that he might arrive at some comprehension of that difficulty. +And at last, after twelve years, the Infant armed a "barcha" and gave it +to Gil Eannes, one of his squires, whom he afterwards knighted and cared +for right nobly. And he followed the course that others had taken; but +touched by the self-same terror,[N51] he only went as far as the Canary +Islands, where he took some captives and returned to the Kingdom. Now +this was in the year of Jesus Christ 1433, and in the next year the +Infant made ready the same vessel, and calling Gil Eannes apart, charged +him earnestly to strain every nerve to pass that Cape, and even if he +could do nothing else on that voyage, yet he should consider that to be +enough. "You cannot find", said the Infant, "a peril so great that the +hope of reward will not be greater, and in truth I wonder much at the +notion you have all taken on so uncertain a matter--for even if these +things that are reported had any authority, however small, I would not +blame you, but you tell me only the opinions of four mariners, who come +but from the Flanders trade or from some other ports that are very +commonly sailed to, and know nothing of the needle or +sailing-chart.[N52] Go forth, then, and heed none of their words, but +make your voyage straightway, inasmuch as with the grace of God you +cannot but gain from this journey honour and profit." The Infant was a +man of very great authority, so that his admonitions, mild though they +were, had much effect on the serious-minded. And so it appeared by the +deed of this man, for he, after these words, resolved not to return to +the presence of his Lord without assured tidings of that for which he +was sent. And as he purposed, so he performed--for in that voyage he +doubled the Cape, despising all danger, and found the lands beyond quite +contrary to what he, like others, had expected. And although the matter +was a small one in itself, yet on account of its daring it was reckoned +great--for if the first man who reached the Cape had passed it, there +would not have been so much praise and thanks bestowed on him; but even +as the danger of the affair put all others into the greater fear, so the +accomplishing of it brought the greater honour to this man. But whether +or no the success of Gil Eannes gained for him any genuine glory may be +perceived by the words that the Infant spoke to him before his starting; +and his experience on his return was very clear on this point, for he +was exceeding well received, not without a profitable increase of honour +and possessions. And then it was he related to the Infant how the whole +matter had gone, telling him how he had ordered the boat to be put out +and had gone in to the shore without finding either people or signs of +habitation. And since, my lord, said Gil Eannes, I thought that I ought +to bring some token of the land since I was on it, I gathered these +herbs which I here present to your grace; the which we in this country +call Roses of Saint Mary. Then, after he had finished giving an account +of his voyage to that part, the Infant caused a "barinel" to be made +ready, in which he sent out Affonso Gonçalvez Baldaya, his cupbearer, +and Gil Eannes as well with his "barcha", ordering him to return there +with his companion. And so in fact they did, passing fifty leagues +beyond the Cape, where they found the land without dwellings, but +shewing footmarks of men and camels. And then, either because they were +so ordered, or from necessity, they returned with this intelligence, +without doing aught else worth recording.[N53] + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +How Affonso Gonçalvez Baldaya reached the Rio d'Ouro. + + +"As you have found traces of men and camels", said the Infant to +Baldaya, "it is evident that the inhabited region cannot be far off; or +perchance they are people who cross with their merchandise to some +seaport with a secure anchorage for ships to load in, for since there +are people, they must of necessity depend upon what the sea brings them, +and especially upon fish, however bestial they may be. Much more so the +inland tribes. Therefore I intend to send you there again, in that same +'barinel', both that you may do me service and increase your honour, and +to this end I order you to go as far as you can and try to gain an +interpreter from among those people, capturing some one from whom you +can obtain some tidings of the land--for according to my purpose, it +will not be a small gain if we can get someone to give us news of this +sort." The ship was soon ready to sail, and Affonso Gonçalvez departed +with great desire to do the Infant's will. And sailing on their way they +passed seventy leagues beyond where they had been before, a space of 120 +leagues beyond the Cape of Bojador, and found an estuary, as of a river +of some size, in the which were many good anchorages.[N54] And the +entering in of this water ran eight leagues within the land, and in this +they anchored. And because among the things he had brought, Affonso +Gonçalvez had two horses, which were given him by the Infant to mount +two youths upon, he now had the horses put on shore, and before any one +else disembarked, he ordered the youths to ride on those horses, and go +up country as far as they could, looking about carefully on every side +for villages, or people travelling by some path. And to cause them and +their horses the less fatigue, he told then to take no arms of defence, +but only their lances and swords, wherewith to attack, if needed. For if +they came on people who tried to capture them, their best remedy would +be in their horses' feet, unless they found one man alone of whom they +might make use without danger. + +Now in the performing of this action the youths shewed clearly what sort +of men they would prove. For although they were so far distant from +their own country and knew not what kind of people, or how many, they +would find, not to speak of the dread of wild beasts, whose fearful +shadow might well have alarmed them, considering their youth (for they +were not either of them more than seventeen years of age), yet putting +all this aside, they set out boldly and followed the course of the river +for the space of seven leagues, where they found nineteen men all banded +together without any other arms of offence or defence, but only +assegais. And as soon as the youths saw them, they attacked them with +great courage. But that unknown company, although so many in number, +dared not meet them on the level, but rather for security retired to +some rocks, whence they fought with the youths for a good space. And +during the fight one of those youths was wounded in the foot, and +although the wound was slight, it did not remain unavenged, for they +wounded one of the enemy likewise. And they kept on fighting until the +sun began to give warning of night, on which account they went back to +their ship. And I am sure that the injuries of that combat would not +have been so small, if the enemy had remained upon the open ground. Two +things I consider in this place, saith he who wrote this history.[N55] +And first, what would be the fancy in the minds of those men at seeing +such a novelty, to wit, two such daring youths, of colour and features +so foreign to them; what could they think had brought them there, aye +and on horseback, with lances and swords, arms that some of them had +never seen. Of a surety I ween that their hearts were not so faint, but +that they would have displayed greater bravery against our men, had it +not been for the wonderment that was caused by the novelty of the thing. +Secondly I consider the daring of these two youths, who were in a +strange land, so far from the succour of their companions, and yet were +bold enough to attack such a number, whose power of fighting was so +uncertain to them. One of the youths, I knew in after time as a noble +gentleman, very valiant in the profession of arms, and he was called +Hector Homem: the same you will find in the Chronicle of the Kingdom +well proved by great deeds. The name of the other was Diego Lopez +d'Almeida, also a gentleman and a man of good presence, as I have learnt +from some that knew him. So they held on their journey to the ship, as +we have related, and reached it about dawn and took a little repose. And +as soon as it was light, Affonso Gonçalvez had the boat made ready, and +putting himself and some of his people into it, followed the course of +that river, sending the youths on horseback along by the land, till he +reached the place where the Moors had been found the other day, +intending to fight with them and capture some; but their toil was in +vain, for so great was the alarm that, although the youths had +retreated, the natives were possessed with a great fear and departed, +leaving behind them the greater part of their poor belongings, with the +which Affonso Gonçalvez loaded his boat as a witness of his toil. And +seeing that it would not profit to pursue any further, he returned to +the ship. And because he saw on a bank at the entrance of the river a +great multitude of sea-wolves, the which by the estimate of some were +about 5,000, he caused his men to kill as many as they could, and with +their skins he loaded his ship--for, either because they were very easy +to kill, or because the bent of our men was towards such an action, they +made among those wolves a very great slaughter. + +But with all this Affonso Gonçalvez was not satisfied, because he had +not taken one of those Moors, so going on beyond this for a space of +fifty leagues to see if he could make captive some man, woman, or child, +by which to satisfy the will of his Lord, he came to a point, where +stood a rock which from a distance was like a galley. And for this +reason they called that port from that day forward the "Port of the +Galley". And there they went on land, where they found some nets, which +they took on board. And here you may note a new matter, new I say to us +who live in this Spain, that the thread of those nets was of the bark of +a tree, so well fitted for such a use that without any other tanning or +admixture of flax, it could be woven right excellently, and nets made of +it, with all other cordage.[N56] + +And so Affonso Gonçalvez turned back to Portugal, without any certain +knowledge as to whether those men were Moors or Gentiles, or as to what +life or manner of living they had. And this was in the year of Jesus +Christ 1436. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +Of the things that were achieved in the years following. + + +In the years that follow[P] we did not find anything noteworthy to +record. True it is that there went to those parts two ships, each in its +turn, but one turned back on account of contrary weather and the other +went only to the Rio d'Ouro for the skins and oil of those sea-wolves, +and loading a cargo of these returned to Portugal. And in that year[Q] +passed over our noble Infant Don Henry into Tangier, for which reason he +sent no more ships to that land. And in the year 1438 departed out of +this world the very virtuous Don Edward on the 9th of September, in +Thomar, on whose death there followed very great discords in the +kingdom.[N57] + + [Footnote P: _I.e._, 1436 to 1441.] + + [Footnote Q: 1437.] + +And in these troubles the presence of the Infant was so necessary, that +of all other matters he clean forgot himself, to bring a remedy to the +perils and travail in which the realm was. And it was so that the King +Don Affonso, who ordered the writing of this history, was at the age of +six, and had to be tutored and protected, he and his realm, by +governors; and about the authority of these there followed great +contentions, in which the Infant Don Henry toiled much for peace and a +good settlement of affairs, as you may find more at length in the +Chronicle of the reign of this King Don Affonso.[N58] And so it was that +in those years there went no ships beyond that Cape, for the reasons +that we have said. True it is that in the year 1440 there armed +themselves two caravels to go to that land, but because they had hap +that was contrary, we do not tell further of their voyage. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +How Antam Gonçalvez brought back the first Captives. + + +I think I can now take some sort of pleasure in the narrating of this +history, because I find something wherewith to satisfy the desire of our +Prince; the which desire was so much the greater as the matters for +which he had toiled so long were now more within his view. And so in +this chapter I wish to present some novelty in his toilsome seed-time of +preparation. + +Now it was so that in this year 1441, when the affairs of this realm +were somewhat more settled though not fully quieted, that the Infant +armed a little ship, of the which he made captain one Antam Gonçalvez, +his chamberlain, and a very young man; and the end of that voyage was +none other, according to my Lord's commandment, but to ship a cargo of +the skins and oil of those sea-wolves of which we have spoken in +previous chapters. But it cannot be doubted that the Infant gave him the +same charge that he gave to others, but as the age of this captain was +weaker, and his authority but slight, so the Prince's orders were less +stringent, and in consequence his hopes of result less confident. + +But when he had accomplished his voyage, as far as concerned the chief +part of his orders, Antam Gonçalvez called to him Affonso Goterres, +another groom of the chamber, who was with him, and all the others that +were in the ship, being one and twenty in all, and spoke to them in this +wise: "Friends and brethren! We have already got our cargo, as you +perceive, by the which the chief part of our ordinance is accomplished, +and we may well turn back, if we wish not to toil beyond that which was +principally commanded of us; but I would know from all whether it +seemeth to you well that we should attempt something further, that he +who sent us here may have some example of our good wills; for I think it +would be shameful if we went back into his presence just as we are, +having done such small service. And in truth I think we ought to labour +the more strenuously to achieve something like this as it was the less +laid upon us as a charge by the Infant our lord. O How fair a thing it +would be if we, who have come to this land for a cargo of such petty +merchandise, were to meet with the good luck to bring the first captives +before the face of our Prince. And now I will tell you of my thoughts +that I may receive your advice thereon. I would fain go myself this next +night with nine men of you (those who are most ready for the business), +and prove a part of this land along the river, to see if I find any +inhabitants; for I think we of right ought to meet with some, since 'tis +certain there are people here, who traffic with camels and other animals +that bear their freights. Now the traffic of these men must chiefly be +to the seaboard; and since they have as yet no knowledge of us, their +gathering cannot be too large for us to try their strength; and, if God +grant us to encounter them, the very least part of our victory will be +the capture of one of them, with the which the Infant will feel no small +content, getting knowledge by that means of what kind are the other +dwellers of this land. And as to our reward, you can estimate what it +will be by the great expenses and toil he has undertaken in years past, +only for this end." "See what you do", replied the others, "for since +you are our captain we needs must obey your orders, not as Antam +Gonçalvez but as our lord; for you must understand that we who are here, +of the Household of the Infant our lord, have both the will and desire +to serve him, even to the laying down of our lives in the event of the +last danger. But we think your purpose to be good, if only you will +introduce no other novelty to increase the peril, which would be little +to the service of our lord." And finally they determined to do his +bidding, and follow him as far as they could make their way. And as soon +as it was night Antam Gonçalvez chose nine men who seemed to him most +fitted for the undertaking, and made his voyage with them as he had +before determined. And when they were about a league distant from the +sea they came on a path which they kept, thinking some man or woman +might come by there whom they could capture; but it happened otherwise; +so Antam Gonçalvez asked the others to consent to go forward and follow +out his purpose; for, as they had already come so far, it would not do +to return to the ship in vain like that. And the others being content +they departed thence, and, journeying through that inner land for the +space of three leagues, they found the footmarks of men and youths, the +number of whom, according to their estimate, would be from forty to +fifty, and these led the opposite way from where our men were going. The +heat was very intense, and so by reason of this and of the toil they had +undergone in watching by night and travelling thus on foot, and also +because of the want of water, of which there was none, Antam Gonçalvez +perceived their weariness that it was already very great, as he could +easily judge from his own sufferings: So he said, "My friends, there is +nothing more to do here; our toil is great, while the profit to arise +from following up this path meseemeth small, for these men are +travelling to the place whence we have come, and our best course would +be to turn back towards them, and perchance, on their return, some will +separate themselves, or may be, we shall come up with them when they are +laid down to rest, and then, if we attack them lustily, peradventure +they will flee, and, if they flee, someone there will be less swift, +whom we can lay hold of according to our intent; or may be our luck will +be even better, and we shall find fourteen or fifteen of them, of whom +we shall make a more profitable booty." Now this advice was not such as +to give rise to any wavering in the will of those men, for each desired +that very thing. And, returning towards the sea, when they had gone a +short part of the way, they saw a naked man following a camel, with two +assegais in his hand, and as our men pursued him there was not one who +felt aught of his great fatigue. But though he was only one, and saw the +others that they were many; yet he had a mind to prove those arms of his +right worthily and began to defend himself as best he could, shewing a +bolder front than his strength warranted. But Affonso Goterres wounded +him with a javelin, and this put the Moor in such fear that he threw +down his arms like a beaten thing. And after they had captured him, to +their no small delight, and had gone on further, they espied, on the top +of a hill, the company whose tracks they were following, and their +captive pertained to the number of these. And they failed not to reach +them through any lack of will, but the sun was now low, and they +wearied, so they determined to return to their ship, considering that +such enterprise might bring greater injury than profit. And, as they +were going on their way, they saw a black Mooress come along (who was +slave of those on the hill), and though some of our men were in favour +of letting her pass to avoid a fresh skirmish, to which the enemy did +not invite them,--for, since they were in sight and their number more +than doubled ours, they could not be of such faint hearts as to allow a +chattel of theirs to be thus carried off:--despite this, Antam Gonçalvez +bade them go at her; for if (he said) they scorned that encounter, it +might make their foes pluck up courage against them. And now you see how +the word of a captain prevaileth among men used to obey; for, following +his will, they seized the Mooress. And those on the hill[N58A] had a +mind to come to the rescue, but when they perceived our people ready to +receive them, they not only retreated to their former position, but +departed elsewhere, turning their backs to their enemies. And so let us +here leave Antam Gonçalvez to rest, considering this Chapter as +finished, and in the following one we will knight him right honourably. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +How Nuno Tristam reached the spot where Antam Gonçalvez was, and how he +dubbed him knight. + + +For that the philosopher saith, that the beginning is two parts of the +whole matter,[N59] we ought to give great praise to this noble youth, +for this deed of his, undertaken with so great boldness; for since he +was the first who made booty in this conquest, he deserveth advantage +over and above all the others who in after time travailed in this +matter. For the custom was among the Romans, as Saint Augustine saith in +the book that he made _De Civitate Dei_, and as Titus Livius also saith +in his _Decades_, that all those who struck the first blow in battles or +were the first to enter into forts or to leap into ships, were granted +in return a higher increase of honour, which they bore on the day of +triumph in testimony of their valour, as Valerius telleth us more in +detail, in the summary that he made of Roman history.[N60] And so let +Antam Gonçalvez receive his knighthood, as we purpose to describe in +this chapter, and after this we will give him commanderies in the Order +of Christ (whose habit he afterwards assumed), making him the private +secretary to this great and noble prince. And for the remembrance of his +honour, let him be satisfied that he is inscribed in this volume, whose +tenor will for ever, so long as writing endureth among men, be a witness +of his excellence. + +Now you must know that Nuno Tristam, a youthful knight, very valiant and +ardent, who had been brought up from early boyhood in the Infant's privy +chamber, arrived at that very place where was Antam Gonçalvez, and +brought with him an armed caravel, with the special command of his Lord, +that he should pass beyond the Port of the Galley, as far as he could, +and that he should bestir himself as well to capture some of the people +of the country, as best he could. And he, pursuing his voyage, now +arrived at the place where Antam Gonçalvez was. And you can well imagine +how great was the joy of these two, being natives of the same Kingdom +and brought up in one and the self-same Court, to meet again at so great +a distance from their own land. But leaving out of this account the +words we may suppose they would use--the one in asking for news of his +lord, and of his friends and acquaintances; the other in his desire to +know of the booty--Nuno Tristam said, that an Arab whom he had brought +with him there, and who was a servant of the Infant his lord, should +speak with one of those captives, to see if he understood their +language, and that, if they could understand one another, it would be of +great profit to know all the state and conditions of the people of that +land. And so all three of them spoke,[R] but their language was very +different from that of the others, so that they were not able to +understand one another. But as soon as Nuno Tristam perceived that he +was not able to learn more of the manner of that land, than what Antam +Gonçalvez had told him, he was eager to depart, but that emulation which +Socrates[N61] praised in gallant youths, tormented his heart in such a +manner that he wished first of all to see whether he could not do +something of more account before the eyes of his fellows. "How is it +right", said he to those of his company, "that we should allow these men +to go on their way back to Portugal, without first shewing them some +part of our labour? Of a surety, I say to you, that as far as it +concerneth me, I trow I should receive disgrace, holding the order of +knighthood as I do, if I gained here no booty richer than this, by which +the Lord Infant may gain some first-fruits of a recompence for the great +expense he has incurred." + + [Footnote R: _I.e._, Nuno Tristam, Antam Gonçalvez, and the Arab + interpreter all questioned the captives, but the latter could not + understand them.] + +Thereupon he caused Antam Gonçalvez to be called, and the principal men +whom he brought with him, that he might show them his mind. "You", said +he, "my friend Antam Gonçalvez, are not ignorant of the will of the +Infant our Lord, and you know that to execute this purpose of his he +hath incurred many and great expenses, and yet up till now, for a space +of fifteen years, he hath toiled in vain in this part of the world, +never being able to arrive at any certainty as to the people of this +land, under what law or lordship they do live. And although you are +carrying off these two captives, and by their means the Infant may come +to know something about this folk, yet that doth not prevent what is +still better, namely, for us to carry off many more; for, besides the +knowledge which the Lord Infant will gain by their means, profit will +also accrue to him by their service or ransom. Wherefore, it seemeth to +me that we should do well to act after this manner. That is to say, in +this night now following, you should choose ten of your men and I +another ten of mine--from the best which each of us may have--and let us +then go together and seek those whom you have found. And since you say +that, judging from the fighting you had with them, they were not more +than twenty men fit for battle, and the rest women and boys, we ought to +capture them all very quickly. And even if we do not meet with the very +same that you encountered, nevertheless we shall surely find others, by +means of whom we can make as good a booty, or perhaps even better." + +"I cannot well believe", replied Antam Gonçalvez, "that our expedition +in search of those we found before, will have any sure result, for the +place is all one great bare hill, in the which there is no house or hut +where one could fancy they would lodge, and the more so since we saw +them turn again like men that had come there from another part. And what +seemeth to me worst of all is that those men[S] will have forewarned all +the others, and, peradventure, when we think to capture them we may +ourselves become their booty. But consider this well, and where we have +been in a manner victorious, let us not return to suffer loss." + + [Footnote S: Whom my people fell in with.] + +Yet, although this counsel of Antam Gonçalvez was good, according to the +circumstances of the affair; and although Nuno Tristam was not unwilling +to fall in with it; there were there two squires, in whom these reasons +did not suffice to oppose their desire of doing brave deeds. Gonçallo de +Sintra was the name of one of these--and of his valour you will know +more fully in the progress of this history; the other was Diego Añes de +Valladares, a squire, valiant in body, well proved in many great perils. +And these two persuaded the Council to depart from the advice which +Antam Gonçalvez had given, in this way, that as soon as it was night, +they set out according to the order that Nuno Tristam gave at first. And +so it chanced that in the night they came to where the natives lay +scattered in two encampments, either the same that Antam Gonçalvez had +found before or other like it. The distance between the encampments was +but small, and our men divided themselves into three parties, in order +that they might the better hit upon them. For they had not yet any +certain knowledge of the place where they lay, but only a perception of +them; as you see the like things are perceived much more readily by +night than by day. And when our men had come nigh to them, they +attacked them very lustily, shouting at the top of their voices, +"Portugal" and "Santiago";[N62] the fright of which so abashed the +enemy, that it threw them all into disorder. And so, all in confusion, +they began to fly without any order or carefulness. Except indeed that +the men made some show of defending themselves with their assegais (for +they knew not the use of any other weapon), especially one of them, who +fought face to face with Nuno Tristam, defending himself till he +received his death. And besides this one, whom Nuno Tristam slew by +himself, the others killed three and took ten prisoners, what of men, +women and boys. And it is not to be doubted that they would have slain +and taken many more, if they had all fallen on together at the first +onslaught. But among those who were taken there was one greater than the +rest, who was called Adahu, and was said to be a noble; and he shewed in +his countenance right well that he held the pre-eminence of nobility +over the others. Now, among those ten who I said were with Nuno Tristam, +was one Gomez Vinagre, a youth of good family, brought up in the +Infant's household, who showed in this battle what his valour was like +to be in after time, for which in the result he was honourably advanced. +When the action was thus accomplished, as we have described, all met +together, even as they were in the fight, and began to request of Antam +Gonçalvez, that he should be made a knight. But he, appraising his toil +at far less than they did, answered that it was not right that he for so +small a service should receive so great an honour, and one too that was +more than his age did warrant. Of his own free will he said he would +never have it, except when he had accomplished greater deeds than these. +Yet at last by the excessive entreaties of the rest, and because Nuno +Tristam perceived it was right, he had to make Antam Gonçalvez a knight, +though it was against his will; and for this reason they called that +place henceforth, "the Port of the Cavalier".[N63] And so he was the +first knight that was made in those parts. Then those captains returned +to the ships and bade that Arab whom Nuno Tristam had brought with him, +to speak with those Moors[T] but they were not able to understand him, +because the language of these people was not Moorish, but Azaneguy of +Sahara, for so they name that land. But the noble,[U] in that he was of +better breeding than the other captives, so had he seen more things and +better than they; and had been to other lands where he had learned the +Moorish tongue;[N64] forasmuch as he understood that Arab and answered +to whatever matter was asked of him by the same. And the further to try +the people of the land and to have of them more certain knowledge, they +put that Arab on shore, and one of the Moorish women whom they had taken +captive; who were to say to the others, that if they wished to come and +speak to them about the ransom of some of those whom they had taken +prisoners, or about traffick in merchandise, they might do so. And at +the end of two days there came to that place about 150 Moors on foot and +thirty-five on horses and camels, bringing the Moorish slave with them. +And although outwardly they seemed to be a race both barbarous and +bestial, yet was there not wanting in them something of astuteness, +wherewith they sought to ensnare their enemies. For only three of them +appeared on the shore, and the rest lay in ambush, to the end that our +men, being unaware of their treachery, might land, when they who lay hid +could seize them, which thing they might have done by sheer force of +numbers, if our men had been a whit less cautious than they. But the +Moors, perceiving that their wiles were discovered by us--because they +saw that the men in the boat turned about on seeing that the slave did +not appear--revealed their dissembling tricks and all came into sight on +the shore, hurling stones and making gestures.[V] And there they also +displayed that Arab who had been sent to them, held as one whom they +wished to keep in the subjection of a captive. And he called out to them +that they should be on their guard against those people; for they would +not have come there, except to take them at a disadvantage if they +could. Thereupon our men turned back to the ships, where they made their +partition of the captives, according to the lot of each, and the other +Moors betook themselves to their encampments, taking the Arab with them. +And Antam Gonçalvez, because he had now loaded his ship with cargo, as +the Infant had commanded, returned to Portugal, and Nuno Tristam went on +his way, to fulfil his orders, as we have said before that he had +received commandment. + + [Footnote T: Their prisoners.] + + [Footnote U: Adahu.] + + [Footnote V: Of defiance.] + +But after the departure of Antam Gonçalvez, seeing that his caravel +needed repair, he caused them to beach her, where he careened and mended +her as far as was needful, keeping his tides as if he had been in front +of Lisbon harbour,[N65] at which boldness of his there was much marvel. +And pursuing his voyage, he passed the Port of the Galley, and went on +till he came to a Cape which he called Cape Branco,[N66] where his men +landed to see if they could make any capture. + +But although they found traces of men and even some nets, they now took +counsel to return, perceiving that for that time they would not be able +to advantage themselves above their first achievement. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +How Antam Gonçalvez, and afterwards Nuno Tristam, came before the Infant +with their booty. + + +I cannot behold the arrival of these ships, with the novelty of the gain +of those slaves before the face of our Prince, without finding some +delight in the same. For meseemeth that I behold before my eyes that +pleasure of his, of what kind it would be. For just in so far as things +are more desired, and more numerous and heavy labours are undergone for +them, so much the greater delight do they bring with them when a man +obtaineth them. O holy prince, peradventure thy pleasure and delight +might have some semblance of covetousness, at receiving the knowledge of +such a sum of riches, even as great as those thou didst expend to arrive +at that result? And now, seeing the beginnings of some recompense, may +we not think thou didst feel joy, not so much for the number of the +captives taken, as for the hope thou didst conceive of the others thou +couldst take? + +But of a surety it was not in thy noble heart to set store by such small +wealth! And justly I may call it small, in comparison of thy greatness; +without which thou wast not able, and knewest not how, to begin or +finish any part of thy deeds. But thy joy was solely from that one holy +purpose of thine to seek salvation for the lost souls of the heathen, as +I have already said in the VIIth Chapter of this work. And in the light +of this it seemed to thee, when thou sawest those captives brought into +thy presence, that the expense and trouble thou hadst undergone was +nothing: such was thy pleasure in beholding them. And yet the greater +benefit was theirs, for though their bodies were now brought into some +subjection, that was a small matter in comparison of their souls, which +would now possess true freedom for evermore. Antam Gonçalvez was the +first to come with his part of the booty, and then arrived Nuno Tristam, +whose present reception and future reward answered to the toil he had +undergone; just as a fruitful soil with but little sowing answereth the +husbandman, when for however small a part it receiveth, it giveth back a +great increase of fruit. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +How the Infant Don Henry sent his embassy to the Holy Father, and of the +answer that he had. + + +Although the language of those captives could not be understood by any +of the other Moors who were in this kingdom, either as freemen or +captives, it sufficed, for a beginning, that the noble whom Antam +Gonçalvez had brought could recount for the understanding of the Infant +a very great part of the matters of that land where the aforesaid noble +dwelt. And considering how it was necessary that he should often send +his ships, manned with his people, where of necessity they would have to +fight with those infidels, he determined at once to send an embassy to +the Holy Father, to ask of him to make a partition with himself of the +treasures of Holy Church, for the salvation of the souls of those who in +the toils of that conquest should meet their end. + +And on this embassy he sent an honourable cavalier of the Order of +Christ, called Fernam Lopez d'Azevedo, a man of great counsel and +authority, on account of which he had been made Chief Commander in the +same Order and was of the Council of the King and the Infant. + +He had it in charge also to ask from the Supreme Pontiff other things of +great importance, as for instance the indulgences of St. Mary of Africa, +in Ceuta town, with many other graces that were to be requested of the +Pope, the true form of which you can find in the general history of the +kingdom. + +And as for that part of the business that needeth to be recorded here, +the Holy Father was very glad to grant him such a grace as he was +requested; as you may see more fully in this transcript of his letter, +which we have set down here for your better understanding. + + "Eugenius the Bishop,[N67] servant of the servants of God, + etc. For an abiding memorial and remembrance. As, without + any merit of ours we have the authority of Jesus Christ our + Lord, who refused not to be sacrificed as the price of human + salvation, by continual care we strive for those things that + may destroy the errors and wickednesses of the infidels and + by which the souls of good and Catholic Christians may the + more speedily come to Salvation; + + "And as it hath now been signified to us by our beloved son + and noble baron Henry, Duke of Viseu, and Governor in + spirituals and temporals of the Knighthood of the Order of + Christ, that confiding firmly in the aid of God, for the + destruction and confusion of the Moors and enemies of + Christ, and for the exaltation of the Catholic faith, he + purposeth to go in person, with his men at arms, to those + lands that are held by them, and to guide his army against + them; And howbeit that, for the time he is not personally in + the field, yet as the knights and brethren of the said + order, with all other faithful Christians, purpose to make + war under the banner of the said order against the said + Moors and other enemies of the faith--to the intent that + these faithful Christians may bestir their minds with the + greater fervour to the aforesaid war-- + + "We now do concede and grant, by apostolic authority and by + the tenor of these present letters, to each and all of those + who shall be engaged in the said war, Complete forgiveness + of all their sins, of which they shall be truly penitent at + heart and have made confession by their mouth. + + "And let no one break or contradict this letter of mandate, + and whoever presumeth to do so let him lie under the curse + of the Almighty God and of the blessed Apostles St. Peter + and St. Paul. Given, etc." + +Also the Infant Don Pedro, who at that time ruled the Kingdom in the +name of the King, gave the Infant his brother a charter by which he +granted him the whole of the Fifth that appertained to the King and this +on account of the great expenses he had incurred in the matter. + +And considering how by him[W] alone the discoveries were enterprised and +made, not without great trouble and expense, he granted him moreover +this right, that no one should be able to go there[X] without his +license and especial mandate.[N68] + + [Footnote W: The Infant Henry.] + + [Footnote X: To the new found parts.] + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +How Antam Gonçalvez went to make the first ransom. + + +As you know that naturally every prisoner desireth to be free, which +desire is all the stronger in a man of higher reason or nobility whom +fortune has condemned to live in subjection to another; so that noble of +whom we have already spoken, seeing himself held in captivity, although +he was very gently treated, greatly desired to be free, and often asked +Antam Gonçalvez to take him back to his country, where he declared he +would give for himself five or six Black Moors; and also he said that +there were among the other captives two youths for whom a like ransom +would be given. + +And here you must note that these blacks were Moors like the others, +though their slaves, in accordance with ancient custom, which I believe +to have been because of the curse which, after the Deluge, Noah laid +upon his son Cain,[N69] cursing him in this way:--that his race should +be subject to all the other races of the world. + +And from his race these blacks are descended, as wrote the Archbishop +Don Roderic of Toledo, and Josephus in his book on the _Antiquities of +the Jews_, and Walter, with other authors who have spoken of the +generations of Noah, from the time of his going out of the Ark.[N70] + +The will of Antam Gonçalvez to return to that land, for desire of the +ransom and profit he would get, was not so great as his desire to serve +the Infant his lord--and therefore he asked leave to go on this journey, +saying, that (forasmuch as he perceived the great desire his Grace had +to know part of that land) if that were not sufficient which he had +ascertained from that Moor,[Y] that he should give him license to go and +ransom him and the other captive youths with him. + + [Footnote Y: Adahu.] + +For as the Moor told him, the least they would give for them would be +ten Moors, and it was better to save ten souls than three--for though +they were black, yet had they souls like the others, and all the more as +these blacks were not of the lineage of the Moors[Z]--but were Gentiles, +and so the better to bring into the path of salvation.[N71] + + [Footnote Z: Mohammedans proper.] + +Also he said that the blacks could give him news of land much further +distant, and he promised that when he spoke about the traffic with the +natives, he would find means to learn as much news as possible. + +The Infant answered all this and said that he was obliged by his offer, +and that he not only desired to have knowledge of that land, but also of +the Indies, and of the land of Prester John, if he could.[N72] + +Antam Gonçalvez made ready to go with his captives, and beginning his +voyage, met with so great a tempest that he had to return again to +Lisbon, whence he set out. And there happened to be there a gentleman of +the Household of the Emperor of Germany, who had attached himself to the +Household of the Infant with the intention of going to Ceuta, where he +desired to be made a knight, but not without first doing so much for his +own honour, as merited such a reward. + +His name was Balthasar, and certainly, as we understand, his heart did +not fail him in following out his good purpose; for with great honour he +received his knighthood, first performing very notable deeds with his +own right hand, as you may read at greater length in the history of the +Kingdom. + +And he said many times that he much desired, before he left that land of +Portugal, to see a great tempest, that he might speak of it to those who +had never seen one. + +And certainly his fortune was no niggard in accomplishing his wish, for +he happened to be with Antam Gonçalvez, as we have said, seeking to go +and see that land before he left this,[AA] and the tempest was so great +that it was a marvel they escaped destruction. However they returned +again to the voyage; and arriving at the boundaries of that land where +the ransom had to be made, they resolved to put on shore that Moorish +noble, that he might go and make ready his ransom at the place where he +had agreed to meet Antam Gonçalvez again. + + [Footnote AA: Of Portugal.] + +The Moor was very well clad in garments given him by the Infant, who +considered that, for the excellence of his nobility that he had above +the others, if he received benefits, he would be able to be of profit to +his benefactors by encouraging his own people and bringing them to +traffic. But as soon as he was free, he forgot very quickly all about +his promises, on the security of which Antam Gonçalvez had trusted him, +thinking that the nobility he displayed would be the chief hindrance of +any breach of faith on his part; but his deceit thenceforth warned all +our men not to trust one of that race except under the most certain +security. + +And now Antam Gonçalvez entering the Rio D'Ouro with his ship for a +space of four leagues, dropped anchor, and waited for seven days without +getting a message from any, or a glimpse of one single inhabitant of +that land; but on the eighth day there arrived a Moor seated on a white +camel, and another with him, who gave a message that they should await +the others who would come and make the ransom, and that on the next day +they would appear, as in fact they did. + +And it was very clear that those youths[AB] were in great honour among +them, for a good hundred Moors, male and female, were joined in their +ransom, and Antam Gonçalvez received for his two captives, ten blacks, +male and female, from various countries--one Martin Fernandez, the +Infant's Alfaqueque[AC] managing the business between the parties.[N73] + + [Footnote AB: Our captives.] + + [Footnote AC: Ransomer of captives.] + +And it was clear that the said Martin had great knowledge of the Moorish +tongue, for he was understood among these people, where the other Arab, +who was Moor by nation, could only find one person to understand him. + +And besides the blacks that Antam Gonçalvez received in that ransom, he +got also a little gold dust and a shield of ox-hide, and a number of +ostrich eggs, so that one day there were served up at the Infant's table +three dishes of the same, as fresh and as good as though they had been +the eggs of any other domestic fowls. And we may well presume that there +was no other Christian prince in this part of Christendom, who had +dishes like these upon his table. + +And according to the account of those Moors there were merchants in that +part, who traded in that gold,[N74] which it seemed was found among +them; but the Moorish noble never returned to fulfil his promise, +neither did he remember the benefits he had received. + +And by thus losing him, Antam Gonçalvez learnt to be cautious where +before he was not. And returning to the Infant, his lord, he received +his reward, and so did the German knight, who afterwards returned to his +own land in great honour, and with no small largess from the Infant. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +How Nuno Tristam went to the island of Gete, and of the Moors that he +took. + + +So these matters went on increasing little by little, and people took +courage to follow that route, some to serve, others to gain honour, +others with the hope of profit: although each of these two things +bringeth the other with it; that is, in serving they profited themselves +and increased their honour as well. And in the year of Christ, 1443, the +Infant caused another caravel to be armed; and bade embark in it that +noble knight, Nuno Tristam, with some other people, and principally +those of his own household. And pursuing their voyage, they arrived at +Cape Branco. + +And trying to go further, they passed the said Cape about twenty-five +leagues, and saw a little island, the name of which they afterwards +found to be[N75] Gete.[AD] And from this island they now saw that +twenty-five canoes, made of wood, had set out and in them a number of +people, but all naked, not so much for the need of swimming in the +water, as for their ancient custom. + + [Footnote AD: Arguim.] + +And they journeyed in such wise that they had their bodies[AE] in the +canoes and their legs in the water, and used these to help them in their +rowing as if they had been oars, and in each boat there were three or +four of the natives. And because this was a matter where our men had had +so little experience, when they saw them from a distance, they thought +they were birds that were moving so; and though they were rather +different in size, yet they thought it might well be that they were +birds, in a part of the world where other marvels greater than this were +said to exist. But as soon as they perceived that they were men, then +were their hearts clothed with a new joy; and most of all because they +saw them so placed that they were well able to take them. But they were +not able to make a large booty because of the smallness of their boat: +for when they had hauled fourteen captives into it, with the seven man +of the caravel who made up the crew, the boat was so loaded that it +could hold no more. + + [Footnote AE: Lit., Over.] + +And it booted not to return, for such terror had come upon our +adversaries, and they were so quick in taking flight, that before they +arrived at the island, some had perished,[AF] and the others escaped. +But in achieving this capture they experienced two contrary feelings: +first of all, the pleasure they had was very great to see themselves +thus masters of their booty, of which they could make profit, and with +so small a risk; but on the other side they had no little grief, in that +their boat was so small that they were not able to take such a cargo as +they desired. But yet they arrived at the island and captured fifteen +other Moors. + + [Footnote AF: By drowning.] + +And very near this island they discovered another, in which there were +an infinity of royal herons;[N75a] which appeared to go there to breed, +as in fact they did, and with these our men found great refreshment. And +so Nuno Tristam returned with his booty, so much more merrily than at +the first, as it had the advantage of being greater than the former, and +had been won further off; and also because he had no companion with whom +he would have to make an equal division of the same. + +The reception and reward which the Infant gave him I omit to write down +here, for I think it superfluous to repeat it every time. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +How Lançarote required license from the Infant to go with his ships to +Guinea. + + +Of a truth the condition of the people, as Livy saith, is such that men +are always found to asperse great actions, especially at the beginning; +and it appeareth to me that this is through not having knowledge of the +results, for the man of faint heart, when he seeth the base and start of +great events, always thinketh them more formidable than they really are; +and because his spirit is not sufficient for the accomplishment of these +deeds, he beareth along with him a very natural doubt whether they are +capable of being performed. And this appeareth to be very well proved by +the deeds of our prince. For at the beginning of the colonisation of the +islands, people murmured as greatly as if he were spending some part of +their property on it; and basing their doubts upon this, they gossipped +about it until they declared his work was absolutely impossible, and +judged that it could never be accomplished at all. But after the Infant +began to people those islands, and to shew these persons how they could +profit by the new discovered land; and after the fruits of those +countries began to appear in Portugal in far greater abundance; then +those who had been foremost in complaint grew quiet, and with soft +voices praised what they had so loudly and publicly decried. + +And just the same they did in the commencement of this conquest; for in +the first years, seeing the great equipment that the Infant made, with +such great expense, these busybodies left off attending to their own +affairs, and occupied themselves in discussing what they understood very +little about; and the more slowly the results came in of the Infant's +undertaking, the more loudly did they blame it. And the worst of it was +that besides what the vulgar said among themselves, people of more +importance talked about it in a mocking manner, declaring that no profit +would result from all this toil and expense. + +But when they saw the first Moorish captives brought home, and the +second cargo that followed these, they became already somewhat doubtful +about the opinion they had at first expressed; and altogether renounced +it when they saw the third consignment that Nuno Tristam brought home, +captured in so short a time, and with so little trouble; and constrained +by necessity, they confessed their mistake, considering themselves +foolish for not having known it before. And so they were forced to turn +their blame into public praise; for they said it was plain the Infant +was another Alexander; and their covetousness now began to wax greater. +And, as they saw the houses of others full to overflowing of male and +female slaves, and their property increasing, they thought about the +whole matter, and began to talk among themselves. + +And because that after coming back from Tangier, the Infant usually +remained always in the kingdom of Algarve, by reason of his town which +he was then having built, and because the booty that his captains +brought back was discharged at Lagos, therefore the people of that place +were the first to move the Infant to give them license to go to that +land whence came those Moorish captives.[N76] + +For no one could go there with an armed ship without the express +permission of the Infant, as the King had granted him in the same +charter in which he presented him with the Royal Fifth, as you have seen +above. + +And the first who interposed to beg for this license, was a squire, who +had been brought up from early youth in the Household of the Infant and +was now married and become Almoxarife[AG] for the King in that town of +Lagos. + + [Footnote AG: A Collector of Taxes.] + +And because he was a man of great good sense, he understood well how the +matter stood, and the profit that he would be able to gain by his +expedition, if God guided him, so that he could arrive at that land. + +And when he had pondered well this plan, he began to speak of it with +some of his friends, stirring them up to join him in that action. + +And this matter was not hard for him to compass; for that he was very +well beloved in the place and the inhabitants were in general men of +honour, always ready to exert themselves for a share in good things and +especially in naval contests; because their town was on the coast and +they were much more on shipboard than on land. So Lançarote prepared six +armed caravels to carry out his purpose and spoke to the Infant about a +license; saying that he begged he would grant it him that he might do +him service, as well as obtain honour and profit for himself. + +And he gave him an account of the people that were going with him, and +of the caravels that they were taking. + +And the Infant was very glad of this and at once commanded his banners +to be made, with the Cross of the Order of Jesus Christ, one of which +each caravel was to hoist. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +Who were the Captains of the other Caravels, and of the first booty that +they made. + + +The chief captain, as we have said, was Lançarote; the second was Gil +Eannes, whom we have noticed as the first to pass the Cape of Bojador; +besides these, there were there--Stevam Affonso, a noble man, who +afterwards died in the Canary islands, Rodrigo Alvarez, John Diaz, a +shipowner, and John Bernaldez, all of whom together were very well +prepared for the expedition.[N77] + +And pursuing their voyage, they arrived at the Isle of Herons, on the +eve of Corpus Christi Day, where they rested a little and refreshed +themselves on the multitude of young birds that they found there, for it +was the breeding season. + +Then they took counsel about their intended actions and Lançarote began +to set forth his reasons in this manner:--"My friends! we have left our +land to do service to God and to the Infant our Lord, who may expect +from us with good reason some performance to his advantage; both from +the bringing up that some of us have had of him; and because we are men +of such a kind that very shame should force us to do more and greater +things than any who came here before. For with such a fleet, it would be +matter for great shame to turn back to Portugal without a worthy booty. +And because the Infant hath learnt, by some of those Moors whom Nuno +Tristam brought home, that in the Island of Naar, which is close by, +there are little less than 200 souls; it seemeth good to me therefore +that Martin Vicente and Gil Vasquez, who have already been by it and +seen where it lieth, should go with these boats, and with those men only +who can row, against one side of the island, and that if they can find +it, they should return quickly along the coast until they reach us, for +we, God willing, will set sail very early in the morning and go towards +the island; so that on their returning we shall be so near as to be able +to hear the news they bring and take counsel as to what it behoves us to +do." + +Lançarote, as I said, was a man of great good sense, as all those with +him knew well: so that they did not care to examine his reasons; but all +exclaimed with one voice, that it was very good what he had said. + +And so these two captains made ready to go forthwith, and they took with +them thirty men, to wit, six in each boat, and set out from the island +where they were, about sunset. And rowing all that night, they arrived +about daybreak at the island that they sought. And as soon as they +recognized it by the signs that the Moors had told them of, they hugged +the shore for some way until they arrived, as it grew light, at a +settlement of Moors, which was close to the beach; where were collected +together all the people of the island. And seeing this, our men stopped +for a while to consult what they ought to do. And they were greatly in a +strait betwixt two courses, for they did not know whether they should +return to the caravels, as their chief captain had ordered them, or +whether they should at once attack the settlement that was so near. And +while they were still undetermined, each one thinking for himself, +Martin Vicente arose and said "Of a surety, our doubts give us food for +thought; for, if we transgress the orders of our captain, we shall fall +into a mistake; and all the more so if any damage or danger were to come +upon us; for then it would be an occasion, not only of loss to +ourselves, but of our being very badly reputed. On the other hand we +have come here chiefly to procure an interpreter through whom the Infant +our Lord may get news of this land, a matter he greatly desires, as all +of you know. But now we are so near this settlement that, as it is +already morning, we shall not be able to get off to the caravels without +being discovered, and if discovered we cannot hope, after that, to +obtain an interpreter here; for these Moors will all have fled on to the +continent, which as you see is close by--aye, and not only the +inhabitants of this island, but also those of the other islands near at +hand, being at once warned and prepared by these from here. And so our +journey will bring in but small profit, and the Infant our Lord, for +this turn, will not have what he desireth from this land. But it +appeareth to me, and this is my counsel, if you agree, that we attack +the Moors whilst they are unprepared; because they will be conquered by +the disunion that will prevail amongst them through our arrival, and, +though we gain nothing there save an interpreter, we should be contented +with that. And as for disobeying our captain's order, provided God +assist us to do something good, as I hope He will, it should not be +reckoned against us, and, even if it be, we shall be lightly pardoned +for two reasons. First, because if we do not fight it is certain that +our coming here will be all in vain; and the design of the Infant our +Lord will fail by reason of our being discovered; and secondly, because, +although we are commanded to return we are not forbidden to fight. And +to fight seemeth to me to be reasonable; for we are here thirty in +number, and the Moors, as you have heard, are only 170 or 180 all told, +of whom fifty or sixty should be fighting men; and so, if it seem good +to you, let us not delay any longer, for the day is coming on quickly +enough, and, if we delay, our expedition and purpose will be of little +avail indeed." + +All replied that his counsel was very good, and that they would go +forward at once. And when all this reasoning was done, they looked +towards the settlement and saw that the Moors, with their women and +children, were already coming as quickly as they could out of their +dwellings, because they had caught sight of their enemies. But they, +shouting out "St. James", "St. George", "Portugal", at once attacked +them, killing and taking all they could. + +Then might you see mothers forsaking their children, and husbands their +wives, each striving to escape as best he could. Some drowned themselves +in the water; others thought to escape by hiding under their huts; +others stowed their children among the sea-weed, where our men found +them afterwards, hoping they would thus escape notice. + +And at last our Lord God, who giveth a reward for every good deed, +willed that for the toil they had undergone in his service, they should +that day obtain victory over their enemies, as well as a guerdon and a +payment for all their labour and expense; for they took captive of those +Moors, what with men, women, and children, 165, besides those that +perished and were killed. And when the battle was over, all praised God +for the great mercy that he had shewn them, in that he had willed to +give them such a victory, and with so little damage to themselves. And +as soon as they had their captives put safely in their boats, and others +securely tied on land (because the boats were small and they were not +able to store so many in them at once), they sent a man to go as far as +possible along the shore, to see if he could get sight of the caravels. +He set out at once; and one full league from the place where the others +were staying, he had sight of the caravels coming; for Lançarote, as he +had promised, had started as soon as it was dawn. Now the scout put a +white ensign on his pike, and began to make signs to the caravels with +it, and they as soon as they espied him, directed their course to that +part where they saw the signal. And on their way they lighted on a +channel through which the boats could easily go to the island, and +forthwith they launched a small boat they had, and pulled to land to +hear the news, which was told them every whit by the fellow who there +awaited them. And he said also that they ought to land and help them to +bring off to the caravels those captives who remained on shore under +guard of seven men, who were staying with them on the island. For the +other boats were already coming along the shore with the other Moors +they were carrying. + +And when Lançarote, with those squires and brave men that were with him, +had received the like news of the good success that God had granted to +those few that went to the island; and saw that they had enterprised so +great a deed; and that God had been pleased that they should bring it to +such a pass; they were all very joyful, praising loudly the Lord God for +that he had deigned to give such help to such a handful of his Christian +people. + +But to the man who asketh me if their pleasure at the affair was +altogether sincere, and without being in some way feigned, even though +slightly, I would say "nay"--for those on whom God hath bestowed stout +and lofty hearts, cannot feel really contented if they are not present +at every brave deed they reasonably can meet with; nor are such +altogether without that envy which, in a like case, is not one of the +chief vices, but may rather be named a virtue, if it rest on a sound +reason, as with good men and true. + +After the Moorish prisoners had all been transferred from the boats to +the caravels, some of our Christian folk were left to watch them and the +rest landed, and went over the island, until they found the others under +guard of the seven men of whom we have spoken before. And when they had +collected all their prisoners together, it was already late, for in that +land there is a difference in the length of days from ours; and the deed +was all the greater, by reason of the distance of the caravels from the +scene of action and of the great number of the Moors. + +Then our men rested and enjoyed themselves as their share of the toil +required. But Lançarote did not forget to learn from the Moorish +prisoners what it was his duty to learn, about the place in which he was +now staying and its opportunities; and he ascertained of them by his +interpreter, that all about there were other inhabited islands, where +they would be able to make large captures with little trouble. + +And so, taking counsel about this, they determined to go and seek the +said islands. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +How they went to the island of Tiger, and of the Moors that they took. + + +On the next day, which was Friday, they made ready their boats, since +the caravels had to stay where they were, and put in them all the +provisions they needed for two days only, as they did not intend making +a more protracted absence from the ships. About thirty men embarked in +the boats, namely, Lançarote and the other captains of the caravels; and +with them squires and good men that were there. And they took with them +two of those Moors whom they had taken captive; for they had told them +that at the Island of Tiger,[N78] which was five leagues off, there was +a settlement of Moors containing about 150 in all. And as soon as it was +morning, they took their departure, commending themselves all to God +very devoutly, and begging for grace that He would so guide them in +their way, that He might be served and His holy Catholic faith exalted. +And they went on until they came to the said island of Tiger; and as +soon as they had leaped on shore, the Moor they brought with them guided +them to a settlement, where had been all the Moors, or at least the +greater part of those that were in the island. + +But when they came to it they found it empty, because for some days, as +they learnt afterwards, that place had been deserted. Then fearing that +their Moor was lying to them (in order to get them into some place far +from there, where they would find such a force of Moors that they would +perchance suffer loss), they took counsel on what they ought to do. And +before they had determined anything, they began to beat the Moor, and to +threaten him, to make him speak the truth. But he said that he would +bring them to a place where the Moors were, and that if they went at +night, they would be able to take or to kill the greater part of them: +but by day, as they were going then, they could not reach there without +being seen; and, as soon as they were perceived, they[AH] could place +themselves in safety, if they did not dare to fight with them.[AH] + + [Footnote AH: "They" of course are "the Moors"; "them" the Christians.] + +On the Moor saying this, it was not believed by all, but some said that +it would be well to return to the ships, and there to agree on what they +ought to do; others said that at all events they ought to go forward and +seek for that settlement to which the Moor affirmed that he knew well +how to guide them; because in reason that island[AI] ought not to have +more fighting men on it than the other isle of Naar, where they had +already made their first booty; for it was not so great nor so +convenient for a large settlement. + + [Footnote AI: Tiger.] + +Thus they were arguing, each for his own view and not agreeing on any +final resolution for their action, when Gil Eannes, a good knight and +valiant, of whom we have spoken in another place, answered and said: "I +see well that the delay in agreeing on what we ought to do in this +matter (of which we should have good hope with the grace and favour of +our Lord Jesus Christ), may cause us some hindrance and small profit, in +that all division, especially among people so few in number as we are, +is very weakening, and may bring about our ruin, with little honour to +ourselves and little service to God and the Infant our Lord. Wherefore I +advise that with this Moor should go fourteen or fifteen men, towards +that part where he saith that the Moors are, till they see the +settlement or certain place of their abode; and as soon as they have +seen it, that they should return to where all the others are waiting, +without stirring until the return of the vanguard. And then with the +grace of God, that we should all set out together and go to seek them. +And in reason there ought not to be so many men of war as there were in +the isle of Naar, that we ought not to conquer them in fight, with the +aid of our Lord God, in whom is all our succour, who by His grace +causeth the few to conquer and the greater number to be overcome by the +less. But now if you are satisfied with what I have said, we ought not +to delay to fall to work." + +All were very content with his speech, saying that it was very good and +that they should at once do as Gil Eannes said. + +"Since you all", said Lançarote, "agree in this counsel of Gil Eannes, I +would wish to go with those who are to search for the settlement; and I +think that it will be well for Gil Eannes to stay with you others and to +guard the boats, that you may succour us if the matter cometh to such a +pass as to require it; and however it be, I ask him[AJ] to remain here." + + [Footnote AJ: G. Eannes] + +And although Gil Eannes refused at first to remain, yet seeing how the +request became a command (since he who made it was his captain), and +especially as all the others agreed in this request, Gil Eannes had in +any case to stay: and Lançarote, with fourteen or fifteen men, went off +towards the spot where the Moor was guiding them. And when they were +already half a league from where the others were staying, they saw nine +natives, male and female, marching along, with ten or twelve asses laden +with turtles, who were about to pass over to the island of Tiger, which +was a league from them, for at low water it is possible to cross from +one to the other on foot. And as soon as they saw them, they ran to +them, and without any defence availing them in aught, they took them +all, except one who turned and fled to give news to the others that were +in the village. And as soon as they had taken these prisoners, they +dispatched them to where Gil Eannes was stationed; Lançarote sending him +word to put a guard over those Moors, and that he should follow after +them and bring all the men he had there, adding that he thought they +would find some people with whom to fight. + +And as soon as the captives reached them,[AK] they bound them tightly +and placing them in the boats, left with them one man only on guard and +at once started after Lançarote, following steadily upon his track, till +they arrived where Lançarote was with his men. + + [Footnote AK: Gil Eannes' men.] + +Now after the taking of the Moors, whom they had sent to the boats, +these men[AL] had gone on where the Moor guided them, and arrived at a +village from which the inhabitants had all departed, being warned by the +Moor who had escaped when the others were taken. + + [Footnote AL: _I.e._, Lançarote's first party.] + +And then they saw all the people that were in the island, standing on an +islet to which they had passed over in their canoes: but the Christians +were not able to get at them, save by swimming; and they did not dare to +retreat, lest it should give courage to the enemy, who were many more in +number than they were. And so they waited till all their other men had +come up;[AM] and seeing that even when united, they would not be able to +do the enemy any harm, by reason of the inlet that was between them, +they determined to return to their boats, which were two full leagues +off. + + [Footnote AM: With Gil Eannes.] + +And, on their return, they entered the village and searched it +thoroughly, to see if they could find anything in the houses. And in +searching they lighted on seven or eight Moorish women, whom they took +with them, giving thanks to God for their good fortune, which they had +obtained through his grace; and so they turned themselves to their +boats, which they reached about sunset time. And they rested and enjoyed +themselves that night, like men that had toiled hard in the day. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +How they, Lançarote and the others, returned in their boats to Tiger, +and of the Moors that they took. + + +Although the necessity of the night obliged them to spend it chiefly in +sleeping, yet their wills were so bent upon this charge that their +thoughts never left what lay before them. And so they took counsel as to +what they should do on the next day, and agreed, after many reasons +given (which I omit in order not to make too long a story), that they +should go in the boats and attack the settlement before morning. For it +is very likely, they said, that the Moors, having seen our retreat, will +think that we went away like men in despair of being able to catch them, +and, thinking so, will return to their encampment; and not only would +their return profit us, but also the security with which they are able +to repose. + +And this counsel being settled, they set off in the night, rowing their +boats along the coast. And at the first dawn they disembarked and +attacked the village, but they found no one there; for the Moors, as +soon as they saw their enemies retreat on the previous day, came to the +village but would not sleep in it, and went and stayed a quarter of a +league distant, near a ford by which they passed to Tiger. And when the +Christians saw that they found nothing in the village, they returned to +their boats and coasted along that island on the other side of Tiger, +and ordered fifteen men to march along the land and look if they could +see any Moors, or find any trace of them. And on their way they saw the +Moors flying as fast as they could; for they had already caught sight of +them, and at once all our men leaped on shore and began to run after +them. But as yet they could not overtake the Moor men, but only the +women and little children, not able to run so fast, of whom they caught +seventeen or eighteen. + +And one of the boats, in which was John Bernaldez, and which was among +the smallest in the fleet, was coasting the island, and they who were in +this boat saw some twenty canoes passing over to Tiger, in which were +Moorish men and women, great and small, in each one four or five. And +with this sight they were exceeding glad, at the first view of it, but +afterwards they were still more grieved thereat. The pleasure they had +was in seeing the profit and honour that now offered, which was the end +for which they had come there: but they had great sorrow when they saw +that their boat was so small that they could only take in a few. But +with their slender oarage they followed after as fast as could, till +they were among the canoes; and, moved with pity, although they were +heathen who were going in the boats, they sought to kill but few of +them. But it is not to be doubted that many, who in their terror forsook +their boats, perished in the sea. + +And some of them our men left on the right, and others on the left, and +going into the middle among them all, they chose the smallest of them, +because they could get more of these into their boat, of whom they took +fourteen; so that those who were captured in those two days, apart from +some who were killed, were in all forty-eight. + +And for this good booty, and all the grace that God had shown them in +those days, they rendered Him much praise for His guidance and the great +victory He had given them over the enemies of the faith. And with the +will and purpose to toil still more in His service, they embarked again +in their boats and returned to their ships, which were lying five +leagues off. And here, on their arrival, they reposed themselves, as men +who needed it much, for they had toiled enough. But their respite was +not long, for that very night they took counsel of what they ought to do +next, as men who strove to make use of time, while they thought that the +opportunity offered for doing their business. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +Of the reasons that Gil Eannes gave, and how they went to Tiger, and of +the Moors that they took. + + +Forasmuch as you see well that in councils (where many take part), there +is always much talking, so in discussing that matter each one declared +his mind; but at last Gil Eannes asked them all to be silent for a +space, and they all obeyed with a good will. + +Then he began to reason with them in this wise: "Friends and brothers, +meseemeth the wills of you all are ready for some brave action; and this +I fancy because there is no talk of repose among you nor of returning to +our country; but rather I see that each and all of you wish and require +to toil and labour for the common honour and profit. But where we do not +agree is in that we do not clearly know to what part we ought to go in +search of the aforesaid toil, to do service to God and the Infant our +Lord. And forasmuch as we are so near the isle of Tiger, as you all +know, and in this there is so great a power of Moors, as these prisoners +we have taken tell us;--and as under the command of the Infant our Lord, +it is ordered us that we shall not meddle with it without great caution, +and that we are only to see if we can in any wise learn about the people +that are in the island, and whether their power is such as is +said;--therefore I say that we should do well to go to it, and it may be +that our Lord Jesus Christ, who always aideth those who do well, will +ordain that we shall light upon some one there who may interpret for us; +and although we accomplish no more than to see how many people there are +in the island, yet it will profit us afterwards; for the Infant our Lord +will be able, knowing the power of the same, to send a fleet fit to cope +with it and crews to match, who will be able to fight with all the Moors +of the island and conquer it; which will be of great service to God and +to himself. And therefore let us go to it and land, but let us not +wander far from the shore; for of a surety, if their numbers are great, +when they see we are but few, and that we will not wander from the +shore, they will discover themselves; and if we see what people they are +it may please our Lord God, when we are not concerned at aught else,[AN] +to shew us some grace we do not think of." + + [Footnote AN: Except his service.] + +All considered as good what Gil Eannes said, and on the next day at dawn +full thirty men started in the boats, and the others remained to clean +their ships, that they might be ready[AO]; and so it was agreed that +they should start on their voyage home to Portugal as soon as those +returned who had just started for the island. + + [Footnote AO: _I.e._, for return.] + +They arrived at Tiger at mid-day, and twenty men landed, while the other +ten stayed in the boats; and the former went about half a league distant +from the shore and constantly explored those places that seemed to them +suitable for any people to lie in; and afterwards they took their +station on a hillock and began to look carefully over the island. And as +they were standing thus, they espied two Moors coming in their +direction, who saw them not, or peradventure thought that they were some +of the Moors of the island. These they made for and captured, and in +taking them they saw, further off, ten Moors coming, with fifteen or +twenty asses laden with fish. Some of our men made for them, and +although they put themselves on their defence, it pleased our Lord God +that this their defence availed little; for they were put to rout and +fled, some to one side and others to another, and so the Christians +captured them all. + +And while they were there, two men went further on in front, to see if +they could descry anybody else; and they saw many Moors, who made for +them as hard as they could. The two men turned and fled, and gave this +news to the others who were with the prisoners; telling them to fly as +fast as they could, for that a great power of Moors was coming upon +them. So they made off all together towards the boats, taking their +captives with them; and the Moors came after them as well as they could. +And then it pleased our Lord God (who succoureth those who go in His +service in their dangers and toils) that the Christians should reach the +shore before the Moors came up with them; but before they had all got +safely into their boats, the Moors were already among them, and fought +with them; and only with sore trouble did the Christians gain their +boats. All of our men in that retreat showed their good qualities and +their brave and ardent hearts; so that it would be difficult to +distinguish who did best. But Lançarote and a squire of the Infant, +named Martin Vaz, were the last who got into the boats. + +Now the Moors were about 300 fighting men, who showed well that they +meant to defend their land. Many of them were wounded during the retreat +of the Christians; but of the Christians, by the mercy of God, not one +was wounded, to speak of. And as soon as they had got into their boats +with their prisoners, they started for the spot where they had left the +caravels, although night had already fallen. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +How they went to Cape Branco, and of what they did there. + + +Then on board it was determined that next day they should start for Cape +Branco. The which matter, as soon it was dawn, they put in execution, +making sail for the said Cape, where they arrived after two days, and +some landed at once--about twenty or twenty-five men--to see what the +land was like; and when they were a little distance from where they +landed, they saw a number of Moors go by, fishing. And though they +appeared to them to be rather great in number, they had a mind to +attempt that matter by themselves, without acquainting those who were in +the ships with their project; and they made after them. And the Moors, +on seeing them, began to fly; but when they saw they were so few in +number, they awaited them as men who desired to fight, in the hope of +victory. The Christians reached them, and the battle began, without +anyone shewing to his enemy any signs of fear; and at last He from whom +(as saith St. James) cometh down every good thing, and who had already +given our men such a good beginning and middle, as hath been said, was +pleased that in the end[N79] they should have a complete victory over +their enemies, and that their lives should be saved and their honours +increased; for after a little skirmish the Moors began to get the worst +of it, each flying as best he could; and the Christians, following them +a long distance, took fourteen of them captive, besides those that died; +and so with this victory, and filled with great joy, they returned to +their ships. And if their fortune was good against their enemies, it was +not less good in the refreshment they had afterwards, for they had there +many eels and crowfish,[AP] which they found in the nets that the Moors +had thrown out. + + [Footnote AP: Named after their black fins.] + +Then Lançarote, as a man who did not forget his first purpose, said he +thought it well, before they departed from that place, that some men +should go along the land and see if they could find any native +settlements; and at once five set out, and lighted on a settlement, and +returned to tell Lançarote and the others. But although they set off +very speedily, their journey was fruitless, for the Moors had caught +sight of the first party, and fled at once from that place; so that they +only found one girl, who had stayed sleeping in the village; whom they +took with them, and returning to the caravels, made sail for Portugal. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +How the caravels arrived at Lagos, and of the account that Lançarote +gave to the Infant. + + +The caravels arrived at Lagos, whence they had set out, having excellent +weather for their voyage, for fortune was not less gracious to them in +the serenity of the weather than it had been to them before in the +capture of their booty. + +And from Lagos the news[AQ] reached the Infant, who happened to have +arrived there a few hours before, from other parts where he had been for +some days. And as you see that people are desirous of knowledge, some +endeavoured to get near the shore; and others put themselves into the +boats they found moored along the beach, and went to welcome their +relations and friends; so that in a short time the news of their good +fortune was well known, and all were much rejoiced at it. And for that +day it sufficed for those who had led the enterprize to kiss the hand of +the Infant their Lord, and to give him a short account of their +exploits: after which they took their rest, as men who had come to their +fatherland and their own homes; and you may guess what would be their +joy among their wives and children. + + [Footnote AQ: Of their arrival.] + +And next day Lançarote, as he who had taken the main charge of the +expedition, said to the Infant: "My Lord, your grace well knoweth that +you have to receive the fifth of these Moors, and of all that we have +gained in that land, whither you sent us for the service of God and of +yourself. + +"And now these Moors, because of the long time we have been at sea; as +well as for the great sorrow that you must consider they have at heart, +at seeing themselves away from the land of their birth, and placed in +captivity, without having any understanding of what their end is to +be;--and moreover because they have not been accustomed to a life on +shipboard--for all these reasons are poorly and out of condition; +wherefore it seemeth to me that it would be well to order them to be +taken out of the caravels at dawn, and to be placed in that field which +lies outside the city gate, and there to be divided into five parts, +according to custom; and that your Grace should come there and choose +one of these parts, whichever you prefer." + +The Infant said that he was well pleased, and on the next day very +early, Lançarote bade the masters of the caravels that they should put +out the captives, and take them to that field, where they were to make +the divisions, as he had said already. But before they did anything else +in that matter, they took as an offering the best of those Moors to the +Church of that place; and another little Moor, who afterwards became a +friar of St. Francis, they sent to St. Vincent do Cabo,[N80] where he +lived ever after as a Catholic Christian, without having understanding +or perception of any other law than that true and holy law in which all +we Christians hope for our salvation. And the Moors of that capture were +in number 235. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +Wherein the Author reasoneth somewhat concerning the pity inspired by +the captives, and of how the division was made. + + +O, Thou heavenly Father--who with Thy powerful hand, without alteration +of Thy divine essence, governest all the infinite company of Thy Holy +City, and controllest all the revolutions[AR] of higher worlds, divided +into nine spheres, making the duration of ages long or short according +as it pleaseth Thee--I pray Thee that my tears may not wrong my +conscience; for it is not their religion but their humanity that maketh +mine to weep in pity for their sufferings. And if the brute animals, +with their bestial feelings, by a natural instinct understand the +sufferings of their own kind, what wouldst Thou have my human nature to +do on seeing before my eyes that miserable company, and remembering that +they too are of the generation of the sons of Adam?[N81] + + [Footnote AR: Lit. axles.] + +On the next day, which was the 8th of the month of August, very early in +the morning, by reason of the heat, the seamen began to make ready their +boats, and to take out those captives, and carry them on shore, as they +were commanded. And these, placed all together in that field, were a +marvellous sight; for amongst them were some white enough, fair to look +upon, and well proportioned; others were less white like mulattoes; +others again were as black as Ethiops, and so ugly, both in features and +in body, as almost to appear (to those who saw them) the images of a +lower hemisphere. But what heart could be so hard as not to be pierced +with piteous feeling to see that company? For some kept their heads low +and their faces bathed in tears, looking one upon another; others stood +groaning very dolorously, looking up to the height of heaven, fixing +their eyes upon it, crying out loudly, as if asking help of the Father +of Nature; others struck their faces with the palms of their hands, +throwing themselves at full length upon the ground; others made their +lamentations in the manner of a dirge, after the custom of their +country. And though we could not understand the words of their language, +the sound of it right well accorded with the measure of their sadness. +But to increase their sufferings still more, there now arrived those who +had charge of the division of the captives, and who began to separate +one from another, in order to make an equal partition of the fifths; and +then was it needful to part fathers from sons, husbands from wives, +brothers from brothers. No respect was shewn either to friends or +relations, but each fell where his lot took him. + +O powerful fortune, that with thy wheels doest and undoest, compassing +the matters of this world as pleaseth thee, do thou at least put before +the eyes of that miserable race some understanding of matters to come; +that they may receive some consolation in the midst of their great +sorrow. And you who are so busy in making that division of the captives, +look with pity upon so much misery; and see how they cling one to the +other, so that you can hardly separate them. + +And who could finish that partition without very great toil? for as +often as they had placed them in one part the sons, seeing their fathers +in another, rose with great energy and rushed over to them; the mothers +clasped their other children in their arms, and threw themselves flat on +the ground with them; receiving blows with little pity for their own +flesh, if only they might not be torn from them. + +And so troublously they finished the partition; for besides the toil +they had with the captives, the field was quite full of people, both +from the town[AS] and from the surrounding villages and districts, who +for that day gave rest to their hands (in which lay their power to get +their living) for the sole purpose of beholding this novelty. And with +what they saw, while some were weeping and others separating the +captives, they caused such a tumult as greatly to confuse those who +directed the partition. + + [Footnote AS: Lagos.] + +The Infant was there, mounted upon a powerful steed, and accompanied by +his retinue, making distribution of his favours, as a man who sought to +gain but small treasure from his share; for of the forty-six souls that +fell to him as his fifth, he made a very speedy partition of these;[AT] +for his chief riches lay in[AU] his purpose; for he reflected with great +pleasure upon the salvation of those souls that before were lost. + + [Footnote AT: Among others.] + + [Footnote AU: The accomplishment of.] + +And certainly his expectation was not in vain; for, as we said before, +as soon as they understood our language they turned Christians with very +little ado; and I who put together this history into this volume, saw in +the town of Lagos boys and girls (the children and grandchildren of +those first captives, born in this land) as good and true Christians as +if they had directly descended, from the beginning of the dispensation +of Christ, from those who were first baptised. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +How the Infant Don Henry made Lançarote a Knight. + + +Although the sorrow of those captives was for the present very great, +especially after the partition was finished and each one took his own +share aside (while some sold their captives, the which they took to +other districts); and although it chanced that among the prisoners the +father often remained in Lagos, while the mother was taken to Lisbon, +and the children to another part (in which partition their sorrow +doubled the first grief)--yet this sorrow was less felt among those who +happened to remain in company. For as saith the text,[N82] the wretched +find a consolation in having comrades in misfortune. But from this time +forth they[AV] began to acquire some knowledge of our country; in which +they found great abundance, and our men began to treat them with great +favour. For as our people did not find them hardened in the belief of +the other Moors; and saw how they came in unto the law of Christ with a +good will; they made no difference between them and their free servants, +born in our own country; but those whom they took while still young, +they caused to be instructed in mechanical arts, and those whom they saw +fitted for managing property; they set free and married to women who +were natives of the land;[AW] making with them a division of their +property, as if they had been bestowed on those who married them by the +will of their own fathers, and for the merits of their service they were +bound to act in a like manner. Yea, and some widows of good family who +bought some of these female slaves, either adopted them or left them a +portion of their estate by will; so that in the future they married +right well; treating them as entirely free. Suffice it that I never saw +one of these slaves put in irons like other captives, and scarcely any +one who did not turn Christian and was not very gently treated. + + [Footnote AV: The black captives.] + + [Footnote AW: Of Portugal.] + +And I have been asked by their lords to the baptisms and marriages of +such; at which they, whose slaves they were before, made no less +solemnity than if they had been their children or relations. + +And so their lot was now quite the contrary of what it had been; since +before they had lived in perdition of soul and body; of their souls, in +that they were yet pagans, without the clearness and the light of the +holy faith; and of their bodies, in that they lived like beasts, without +any custom of reasonable beings--for they had no knowledge of bread or +wine, and they were without the covering of clothes, or the lodgment of +houses; and worse than all, through the great ignorance that was in +them, in that they had no understanding of good, but only knew how to +live in a bestial sloth. + +But as soon as they began to come to this land, and men gave them +prepared food and coverings for their bodies, their bellies began to +swell, and for a time they were ill; until they were accustomed to the +nature of the country; but some of them were so made that they were not +able to endure it and died, but as Christians. + +Now there were four things in these captives that were very different +from the condition of the other Moors who were taken prisoners from this +part. First, that after they had come to this land of Portugal, they +never more tried to fly, but rather in time forgot all about their own +country, as soon as they began to taste the good things of this one; +secondly, that they were very loyal and obedient servants, without +malice; thirdly, that they were not so inclined to lechery as the +others; fourthly, that after they began to use clothing they were for +the most part very fond of display, so that they took great delight in +robes of showy colours, and such was their love of finery, that they +picked up the rags that fell from the coats of the other people of the +country and sewed them on to their garments, taking great pleasure in +these, as though it were matter of some greater perfection. And what was +still better, as I have already said, they turned themselves with a good +will into the path of the true faith; in the which after they had +entered, they received true belief, and in this same they died. And now +reflect what a guerdon should be that of the Infant in the presence of +the Lord God; for thus bringing to true salvation, not only those, but +many others, whom you will find in this history later on. + +Now when the partition was thus accomplished, the captains of the other +caravels came to the Infant, and with them some noblemen of his house, +and said to him: "Sire, in that you know the great toil that Lançarote, +your servant, hath undergone in this action just achieved, and with what +diligence he effected it, by the which God hath given us so good a +victory as you have seen; and also as he is a man of good lineage, who +deserveth every good; we beg your grace that for his reward, you would +be minded to knight him with your own hand. Since you see that for every +reason he deserveth this honour; and even if he had not deserved it so +well (said those captains of the caravels), we think it would be an +injury to us (as he was our captain-general, and laboured so much before +our eyes), if he did not receive for it some honour superior to that +which he had before, being an upright man and your servant, as we have +said." + +The Infant answered that it pleased him greatly; and that besides he was +much obliged for their having asked it of him; for by it they gave +example to the others that might desire to act as captains of brave men, +and toil for their honour. + +And so forthwith he made Lançarote a knight, giving him a rich guerdon, +according as his deserts and his excellence required. And to the other +leaders also he gave increased advancement, so that besides their first +profit they considered their labour right well bestowed. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +How the Infant ordered Gonçallo de Sintra to go to Guinea, and how he +was killed. + + +It would be an ugly thing in prosecuting our history, if we did not +write the misfortunes of our people, as well as their successes; for +Tully[N83] saith in his books, that among the great charges that are +laid upon the historian, he ought chiefly to remember that of writing +the truth, and when he writeth the truth he should not diminish it in +aught. And of a surety[AX] he not only doth his duty, but is a cause of +much profit; for it oft happeneth that men receive great warnings by the +misfortunes of their fellows. And the ancient sages said: "Blessed is +the man who gaineth admonishment by the evils of others."[N84] + + [Footnote AX: If he so act.] + +But you must know that this Gonçallo de Sintra, of whom at present we +intend to speak, was a squire brought up from early youth in the +Infant's household--indeed I believe he had been his equerry. And +because he was a man who had a good stature of body and a high courage, +the Infant greatly increased him; ever laying upon him the charge of +great and honourable matters. + +And some time after Lançarote's return, the Infant caused a caravel to +be armed; and gave it in charge of Gonçallo de Sintra as captain, +admonishing him, before his start, that he should go straight to Guinea, +and for nothing whatever should fail of this. + +And he, pursuing his voyage, arrived at Cape Branco; and like a man +envious of obtaining fame, and desiring to win for himself advantages +above the others,[AY] he began to talk of going to the isle of Arguim, +which was now very near[N84] them; where he thought that with little +trouble he could make some prisoners. The others began to contradict +this; saying, that he ought not to do anything of this sort; for, in +meddling with any such matter, he would work two evils: to wit, first in +going beyond the command of the Infant; secondly, in tarrying there and +wasting the time without any profit--but they should rather (they said) +make their way straight to Guinea, the land of the Negroes. But he, like +a man whom death invited to make his end there, said that the detention +would be only short; and that in these matters the injunctions of lords +were not always to be strictly attended to; and so at once he gave +command to the mariners that they should make their way to the said +isle. And it appeareth that arriving by night, they were perceived; so +that when they landed in the morning they only found one girl, whom they +took to their ship. And thence they went off to another island, that +lieth near there; where they caught one woman, being discovered in just +the same way when they arrived there. + + [Footnote AY: Who had preceded him on this way.] + +Now Gonçallo de Sintra took with him an Azanegue boy as an interpreter, +who already knew a great deal of our language, and whom the Infant had +given into his charge, commanding him to keep a good watch over him. But +it appeareth that there was lack of good advisement among those who had +the charge of him; and principally on the part of the captain, whose +care should have been all the greater. For the boy, seeking for a +suitable time and place, escaped one night from among them; and joined +those dwellers on the island, to whom he gave information of all that he +knew about their enemies. + +And although they knew who he was, yet they were not so ill-advised as +to believe all that he said straightway; but to obtain certainty of the +truth, one of them undertook to go with false dissimulation to the +caravels; calling out from the shore that they should take him on board, +for he sought to go with them to Portugal. And afterwards when he was +among our men he made his signs to them; to shew that on account of the +great longing and regret that he had for his relations and friends, who +were now in this realm of Portugal, he did not know how to live except +among them; and that by God, let his life be what it might, he would be +very content to endure it, if only he could have sight of them and +intercourse with them again. And the others, like men very little on +their guard against his devices, were exceedingly pleased with him; +though some there were who said they were not at all content with his +coming on board, for it looked like treachery to them. And because of +the speech of these they put some guard over the Moor, though it was but +a small one. But on the second night the Moor took greater care to +escape than they to guard him; and made his way out of the caravel so +softly that he was never perceived by our people; and in truth they had +pretty well forgotten all about him. But when his escape was known next +day, everyone saw that they had been much deceived; and said at once to +the Captain that all these signs were against their making any booty in +that land. "For look," said they, "how we have been discovered in both +islands whither we have gone; how the youth has escaped from us; how one +Moor by himself has come to befool us. Of a surety we are not the men to +accomplish any great action." + +"Then," said Gonçallo de Sintra, "may I perish in these islands; for I +will never depart hence till I have performed some exploit so signal +that never shall one like me, nor yet a nobler, come here and accomplish +a greater deed or perform it better than I." + +The others however contended strongly with him, that he should not make +any further delay (since the danger was so well understood), and said +that he should pursue his voyage straight away. For in doing what the +Infant bade him he would be doing his duty; and in any other way he +would fall into error, especially seeing how manifest were the chances +of his ruin. + +But neither did these reasons prevail, nor many others that were spoken +for his advisement; for in spite of them he steered the caravel towards +the isle of Naar; and as the islands are all near one to another, and +the Moors are able to move quickly about in their canoes, all in that +island were at once advised of his approach. Gonçallo de Sintra, in his +desire of honour as well as profit, bade them launch his boat, and +embarked in it with twelve men, the best of his company; and a little +before midnight he left the boat and began to walk along the island; +and, as it appeareth, the tide had already passed the ebb, and was now +beginning to flow somewhat. And there they came upon a creek, which they +passed over easily enough, and likewise another near it. But because +Gonçallo de Sintra and the rest of his company did not all know how to +swim, they determined to wait a little, and see how far the tide would +rise, so that if by chance it rose so much that they would have to +return, yet they would be near at hand to cross. And during the stay +that they made there, morning came on, and either because they slept or +because they did not understand the extent of the water, when dawn came +they perceived that they would not be able with such ease to retrace +their steps; because the tide was now nearly at the full, and the creek +had become large and deep. So it was necessary for them to remain there +till the water should fall somewhat, and give them a better chance for +their passage; and in this they spent two or three hours of the day +without seeking to move from there. + +And the Moors (though they saw them as soon as it was dawn), like men +who were already prepared for it, did not attempt for a long time to +attack them, hoping that they would come up further into the country, so +that they might seize them more readily; but after they fully perceived +their intention they fell upon them all together, as upon a vanquished +party. And as in the fight they were very unequally matched (for the +enemy were 200 in number and our men but twelve, without hope of +succour), they were very easily overcome. + +There was killed Gonçallo de Sintra, not in truth like a man who had +forgotten his courage, but inflicting great injury upon his enemies, +till his strength could aid him no more and he had to make his end. And +of the others there perished seven--to wit, two youths of the Infant's +Household, one whom they called Lopo Caldeira and another Lopo +d'Alvellos, and an equerry who was named George, and one Alvaro +Gonçalvez Pillito and three sailors. And in truth I wish to make no +difference between them, for they all died fighting, without one of them +turning back a foot; and although the youths of the Household and the +equerry knew how to swim and so to escape, yet they would never abandon +their captain, but bravely received burial around him. May God receive +the soul that He created, and the nature that came forth from Him, for +it is His very own! + +The five survivors returned to their caravel, and shortly made sail for +the Kingdom;[AZ] for after such a loss they had no inducement to do +anything else, or to push on further,[BA] as had been commanded them +before.[N84] + + [Footnote AZ: Portugal.] + + [Footnote BA: To the South.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +Of the reasons that the Author giveth for a warning as to the death of +Gonçallo de Sintra. + + +In the event recorded in the last chapter there seemeth to me a great +mystery contained, for I know not whether it came about from the spirit +of covetousness or from the wish to render service, or from the desire +to gain honour. However, since the peril was so manifest, and might have +been avoided on that occasion if that Captain had been willing to +receive advice, I should say that of a certainty the wheels of +destiny[BB] had so ordained it, and that their appointed purpose blinded +his reason so that he knew not the ills that would be his. For although +St. Augustine doth write many and holy words reprobating the +predestination of celestial influences, yet methinks in other places I +find authorities to the contrary; as for example Job, who saith that God +hath placed us bounds which we cannot pass, and many besides in Holy +Scripture which I omit to mention, that I may not be drawn away from my +first purpose.[N85] But whether it were the predestination of fortune, +or a divine judgment for some other sin, or peradventure that God +thought good to take them so for their more certain salvation, it is +well for us to see if we can gather up some measure of profit from this +untoward event. And when I consider it, there appeareth to me seven +things from which we may take warning. + + [Footnote BB: Lit., the heavens.] + +Now the first is that no Captain who hath a superior, from whose hand he +receiveth his charge, ought in any way to transgress the mandate of his +lord or master. And we have an example of this in the deeds of the +Romans in the case of Julius Cæsar; for although he gained very glorious +victories, and made subject to the Roman power France, Brittany, +England, Spain, and Germany, yet, because he overpassed the space of +five years (which was the limit marked out for him in which to conquer +his enemies), the honour he ought to have received was denied and taken +from him, and for no other reason save that he had transgressed his +orders. And Vegetius, in the fourth book, _De re Militari_, relateth how +Aurelius the Consul would have his son serve among the foot soldiers +because he had gone beyond his commands. And again, St. Augustine in the +fifth book of the City of God, telleth of Torquatus that he slew his +son, although victorious, for having fought against his orders.[N86] + +The second thing is that upon captured hostages and interpreters from a +foreign land a special guard should ever be placed to keep watch over +them with great caution. And the ill results that lately followed from a +neglect of this are evident. + +The third thing is that when an enemy throweth in his lot[BC] with the +Captain the latter ought not to trust him, but should rather keep a +diligent look-out, and hold his coming as suspicious until the final +victory be won. For from a like cause was lost the battle of Cannæ (as +Titus Livius writeth in his book on the Second[BD] War), that is because +the Romans refused to be forewarned by those of the enemy who came over +to them.[N87] + + [Footnote BC: Lit., himself.] + + [Footnote BD: Punic.] + +The fourth is that we should hearken to the counsel of those who are in +our own company and give us profitable advice; for, saith the Holy +Spirit, there is safety in a multitude of counsels. And so the sage in +the Book of Wisdom doth admonish all men to take counsel--where he +saith, in the sixth of Ecclesiasticus, "List, my son, and take thou +counsel alway. For every wise man doeth his actions with advice." +Moreover, Seneca layeth it down in his Treatise on the Virtues that +every governor, be he Prince or Prince's Captain, should be careful to +take counsel of the things he hath to do;--"Regard everything that may +chance to happen and revolve it in thy heart, and let nothing come as a +surprise but rather have it well provided against, for the wise man +never saith--I did not think this would come to pass; and this is +because he is not in doubt, but expecteth it, and conjectureth not, but +rather attendeth to the reason of all things; for when the beginning of +an affair is perceived, the end and egress should ever be watched."[N88] + +And fifthly, that when our enemies have certain intelligence of our +power and intentions we should beware much of invading their land, for a +Captain's chief duty as regardeth his enemy is to conceal from them his +force; and the contrary leadeth only to his own destruction and that of +his men. And so Hannibal ever ordained his ambushes with such skill that +his foes might never think his strength to be greater than it appeared +for the moment.[N89] + +Sixthly, that we should take much care not to be discovered on a coast +where we would make an inroad. And experience showeth examples of this +every day to those who keep armed ships on the sea. And greatly do I +marvel that Gonçallo de Sintra, a man who had ofttimes sailed in ships +of the Armada[N90] by his lord's command and had taken a part in very +great actions, both on the coast of Granada and in Ceuta, was not more +on his guard at such a time. + +And the seventh conclusion I draw from the above event is that no man +who cannot swim should cross rising water in a hostile country, except +at the time for him to find that it hath ebbed away on his return. + +Such then are the matters I have had to write for your warning, and +henceforth I will take up again the thread of my narrative. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +How Antam Gonçalvez and Gomez Pirez and Diego Affonso went to the Rio +d'Ouro. + + +In that year the Infant bade Antam Gonçalvez, that noble knight of whom +we have already spoken, to sail in one caravel and Gomez Pirez, master +of the Royal Galley in another: and this man went by command of the +Infant Don Pedro, who at that time governed the kingdom in the name of +the King. And at the same time there was another caravel with them, in +which sailed one Diego Affonso, a servant of the Infant Don Henry: and +all these commanders went jointly to see if they could bring the Moors +of that part to treat of merchandise. + +And they had much talk with them and obtained great sureties by means of +the Moors whom the Infant sent there to see if with the aforesaid +pretence they could guide them into the way of salvation. But they were +not able to accomplish aught or do business with them, except in the +matter of one negro. + +And so they turned back without achieving any more; except that they +brought with them one old Moor, who of his own free will wished to come +and see the Infant, from whom he received great rewards, according to +his quality, and who afterward sent him back to his own country. But I +am not so much surprised at the coming of this man as of a squire who +went with Antam Gonçalvez, called John Fernandez; who of his own free +will decided to stay in that land of Guinea, only to see the country and +bring the news of it to the Infant when he should chance to return. But +of the travels of this squire and of his excellent qualities I leave the +account to another place. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +How Nuno Tristam went to Tira, and of the Moors that he took captive +there. + + +For a better understanding of the matter that now happened, we will here +tell how Nuno Tristam, of whom we have already spoken, first saw the +land of the Negroes. And it was so, that being sent in a caravel, by +order of the Infant, to those parts, he went straight to those islands +where they[BE] had been already. Now these were then left desolate, for +the inhabitants, perceiving the damage they were receiving, had forsaken +their land and betaken themselves for a time to other islands, of which +they presumed that their enemies had no knowledge. "Seeing that this is +so," said Nuno Tristam, "and that we can find no booty in these islands, +my wish is to proceed as far as I can, till I come to the land of the +Negroes--for you know well," said he, "the desire which the Infant our +Lord hath in this matter, and we cannot employ our time better than in +doing what we know will most please him." + + [Footnote BE: His friends.] + +All said this was well, and that it should be his business to direct +them; for they were ready for any emergency, as men who possessed no +other good thing except the favour of that lord who sent them there. And +they proceeded so far that they passed that land and saw a country very +different from that former one--for that was sandy and untilled, and +quite treeless, like a country where there was no water--while this +other land they saw to be covered with palms and other green and +beautiful trees, and it was even so with all the plains thereof.[N91] +Nuno Tristam here caused his ship's boat to be launched, with the +intention of landing where he saw certain men who appeared to be very +willing to speak with them. + +And with this Nuno Tristam had been very content, if the roughness of +the sea had permitted his boat to reach the land; but the waves were +huge and perilous withal, so that he was forced to return to his ship +and to make sail, to escape the distemperature of the wind, which was +very contrary. But Nuno Tristam said, that although he was driven away +from the point where stood those who would fain speak with him, he well +understood that they were of the company of the Negroes. + +And so Nuno Tristam, forced back by contrary weather, arrived with his +caravel nigh to those islands where Lançarote in earlier time had made +his booty; but he went on to the mainland, where he landed to see if he +also could make a capture. + +And he went there several nights before he was able to secure anything; +till he captured one Moor, already old, who by signs told him of the +whereabouts of a settlement, about two leagues from there. But the +distance might just as well have been greater, for Nuno Tristam, with +the delay he had made before accomplishing any capture, would equally +have adventured it. But the Moor was not able to tell him how many were +the dwellers in that settlement towards which he was guiding them; or, +to speak more accurately, they could neither have asked nor yet have +understood him;[BF] and this, it appears to me, should have put our men +in some fear, because they knew not what the enemy's numbers might be; +but, where there is enough of good will, determinations are never +closely examined. + + [Footnote BF: His reply.] + +And in the night following that in which the Moor was discovered, they +attacked the settlement, but they did not capture there more than +twenty-one persons; and we do not find any record whether there were any +boys or women among these twenty-one, nor how many men Nuno Tristam took +with him, nor if he had to do any fighting there before making his +capture. Nor could we find out about these matters, because Nuno Tristam +was already dead at the time when King Don Affonso commanded this +history to be written.[N92] + +And so we leave this matter thus without saying any more. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + +How Dinis Diaz went to the land of the Negroes, and of the Captives that +he took. + + +There was in Lisbon a noble squire, who had been a servant of the King +Don John (the grandfather of the king Don Affonso, and father of this +virtuous prince),[BG] who was called Dinis Diaz. + + [Footnote BG: Henry.] + +And he hearing news of that land,[BH] and how the caravels were already +sailing so far from this coast;[BI] and also because he was a man +desirous of seeing new things and of trying his strength (although he +was now settled in that city,[BJ] which is one of the noblest in Spain, +with profitable offices which had been given him in reward for his +services), now went nevertheless to the Infant Don Henry to beg him to +despatch him to that land. For considering that he was a servant of his +father, and that all his rise was through him, and that he had both the +courage and the youth to serve him withal, he had no mind to let his +life slip away in the pleasures of repose. + + [Footnote BH: Of Guinea.] + + [Footnote BI: Of Portugal.] + + [Footnote BJ: Lisbon.] + +The Infant thanked him for his good will, and had a caravel armed and +got ready for the aforesaid Dinis Diaz to go and accomplish his purpose. +And he, leaving Portugal with his company, never lowered sail till he +had passed the land of the Moors and arrived in the land of the blacks, +that is called Guinea. + +And although we have already several times in the course of this +history, called Guinea that other land to which the first[BK] went, we +give not this common name to both because the country is all one; for +some of the lands are very different from others, and very far apart, as +we shall distinguish further on at a convenient place.[N93] And as the +caravel was voyaging along that sea, those on land saw it and marvelled +much at the sight, for it seemeth they had never seen or heard speak of +the like; and some of them supposed it to be a fish, while others +thought it to be a phantom, and others again said it might be a bird +that ran so on its journey over that sea. And after reasoning thus +concerning the novelty, four of them were bold enough to inform +themselves concerning this doubt; and so got into a small boat made out +of one hollow tree-trunk without anything else being added thereto. + + [Footnote BK: Explorers.] + +Now this I think must have been a kind of "coucho", like to some that +are in use on the rapids of the Mondego and the Zezere, in which the +labourers cross when they are obliged to do so in the depth of winter. +And they came a good way out towards where the caravel was pursuing its +course; and those in her could not restrain themselves from appearing on +deck. But when the negroes saw that those in the ship were men, they +made haste to flee as best they could; and though the caravel followed +after them, the want of a sufficient wind prevented their capture. And +as they[BL] went further on, they met with other boats, whose crews, +seeing ours to be men, were alarmed at the novelty of the sight; and +moved by fear they sought to flee, each and all; but because our men had +a better opportunity than before, they captured four of them, and these +were the first to be taken by Christians in their own land, and there is +no chronicle or history that relateth aught to the contrary.[N94] + + [Footnote BL: Our men.] + +And for certain this was no small honour for our Prince, whose mighty +power was thus sufficient to command peoples so far from our kingdom, +making booty among the neighbours of the land of Egypt; and Dinis Diaz +ought to share in this honour, for he was the first who (by his[BM] +command) captured Moors in that land. And now he pushed on till he +arrived at a great cape, to which they gave the name of Cape Verde.[N95] + + [Footnote BM: The Prince's.] + +And it is said that they met there with many people, but it is not +related in what way they met with them; whether our men saw them from +the sea while on board their ship; or whether[BN] as they were moving +about in their little boats, busy with their fishing. It is enough that +they did not capture any more on this voyage; except that it is said +they landed on an island where they found many goats and birds, with +which they greatly refreshed themselves; it is also said that they found +many things there different from this land of ours, as will be related +further on. And thence they turned back to this Kingdom; and although +their booty was not so great as those that had arrived in the past, the +Infant thought it very great indeed--since it came from that land. And +so he gave to Dinis Diaz and his companions great rewards on account of +it. + + [Footnote BN: They were sighted.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + +How Antam Gonçalvez, Garcia Homem, and Diego Affonso, set out for Cape +Branco. + + +It would be well that we should now return to that squire who in the +past year remained at the Rio d'Ouro, as we have said already. + +And his service was of especial merit, and is worthy of great +remembrance. For, as often as I consider it, I marvel much at the same. +And what shall I say of a single man, who had never been in that land +(and there was not nor had there been any other whom he knew or of whom +he had heard), willing thus to stay among a race little less than +savage, whose nature and wiles he knew not? + +Let me consider with what a countenance he would first appear before +them, and for what end he would say he was remaining, or how he would be +able to arrange with them about food and other things for his use. It is +true that he had already been a captive among the other Moors, and in +this part of the Mediterranean Sea, where he acquired a knowledge of +their language; but I know not if it would serve him among these. Antam +Gonçalvez who had left him there, remembering his story, spoke to the +Infant about him in this wise:-- + +"Your Highness knoweth how John Fernandez, your squire, stayed at the +Rio d'Ouro, to learn all he could about that land, small things as well +as great, to inform you of the same, even as he knew was your desire; +and you know how many months he hath been there, for your service. Now, +if your grace is willing to send me to fetch him away, and some other +ships with me, I will labour for your service so that, besides bringing +back this squire, all the expense of this our voyage may be covered as +well." And you must be well aware in the case of a man filled with such +desire for these matters[BO] how bitter it would be to hear such a +request.[N96] + +[Footnote BO: As was the Infant.] + +The ships were quickly ready, and of these Antam Gonçalvez was chief +captain, taking in his company Garcia Homem and Diego Affonso, servants +of the Infant, as you have heard elsewhere. And these two[BP] received +charge of the other two caravels, but all under the command of the chief +captain. + + [Footnote BP: Homem and Affonso.] + +Now the ships, on setting out, went first to victual at the Madeiras, +because of the great supplies that were there. And thence they agreed to +push on straight for Cape Branco, and in case by any hap they should be +separated, they were nevertheless to steer for the said cape. And the +weather taking its accustomed course, that is changing quickly from fair +to foul, and sometimes too from foul to fair, there arose such a tempest +over them that in a very short time they thought they were lost, and +they separated one from the other; for each of those captains thought, +judging by his own great labour, that his companion's must be much +greater, and so on this account presumed he was lost; and the opinions +were so many in each caravel, that they could hardly decide on any +settled course. + +But at last they decided, each one for his part, to go straight on with +the voyage to the place that they had all previously determined on, each +thinking that to himself alone appertained all that charge; for they +felt very doubtful of their partners reaching there, believing that the +best thing that could have happened to them would be their return to +Portugal, but asserting that their shipwreck was much more likely. So +they went on withstanding their fate, with great bodily toil and no less +terror of mind, till it pleased God that the sea should abate somewhat +of its first fury and return to its former calmness, as was necessary +for their voyage. Diego Affonso, who first reached Cape Branco, caused +to be erected on land a great cross of wood, that his partners, in case +they should come after him, not having passed it already, might know +that he was going on before them. And with such firmness was that cross +set up, that it lasted there many years afterwards, and even now, I am +told, yet standeth there. And right well might any one of another +country marvel, who should chance to pass by that coast, and should see +among the Moors such a symbol, without knowing anything of our ships, +that they were sailing in that part of the world. + +Great was the delight of each one of the other captains, when they came +to that spot and understood that their partners were in front. Diego +Affonso did not wish to make any stop near the Cape, considering that if +the others came there they could soon find him; and that since he was +not certain of their coming, he ought to push on and do what he could to +make some booty; so that the time might not be lost without his winning +some honour and profit while it lasted. I do not care to mention certain +matters of the voyage of these people,[BQ] which I found written by one +Affonso Cerveira, who first sought to set in order this history;[N97] +for since they brought no result it serveth no good purpose to waste +time over them, and so to weary the good will of my readers and make +them tired of my history; all the more as I possess the matter to adorn +my work and render it very pleasing. + + [Footnote BQ: Of Diego Affonso's.] + +The caravels having joined one another again, the captains very gladly +met in their boats, each one proud to speak of what he had just passed +through with so much toil and terror. + +And because Antam Gonçalvez was the last to arrive, and the others had +to govern themselves by his commands, they told him how they had already +landed several times, but had not been able to capture anything to bring +them profit; and what was worse, that the Moors had fled from them, and +that as they had been discovered they felt it would be of little use +returning there again. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + +How they went to Ergim[BR] Island, and of the Moors they took there. + + [Footnote BR: Arguim.] + + +"Just as much", said Antam Gonçalvez, "as the beginning of our voyage +was troubled, so much I hope that our ending will be the better; +trusting in that God who by His mercy hath united us here and saved us +from so great a danger. Wherefore," said he, "as you perceive that by +your landing the Moors here are all forewarned, you know well that +further on from here is an island which is called Ergim; and there, I +trust, if we go by night, we shall light on some Moors that we can make +captives of. I tell you this, for I do not intend to undertake any +matter without your counsel." + +And not only did the captains say that this pleased them, but so did the +others also in whose presence all had been spoken; who made haste that +there might be no great delay in performing this. And as soon as the sun +began to hide the rays of his brightness, and the twilight of night +filled the air with its obscurity, they were all ready in their boats; +taking with them as many people as they saw would be wanted for their +defence; each captain putting another in charge of his caravel in place +of himself, with orders that as soon as morning dawned they should come +and look for them by the said island. And so the men in the boats set +off, as had been ordered, and a little after midnight they arrived at +the said island; on which they landed and made straight for the native +settlement, but they only found there one blackamoor and his daughter, +whom they carried off. + +And the Moor by signs made them understand that, if they went to the +mainland, they would find a settlement of Moors on the sea shore, +showing them himself the way to the spot. And upon this, they decided to +rest there the whole of the following day, for their deed could not be +performed except by their arriving at night; and so they spent the day, +partly in sleep, partly in eating and drinking; and especially did they +delight themselves in the goodness of the water, for of this there was +great abundance to be found there. And when night came, they started +again, rowing briskly to the point which the Moor had indicated to them +by signs before. And this was a marvellous thing; that as soon as one of +the natives was captured, he took a delight in shewing to the enemy, not +only his neighbours and friends, but even his wife and children. And so +pursuing their way, some of them became doubtful of that project; +thinking that they were going with too little advisement; in that they +did not know how great was the number of our enemies, nor how they were +equipped for defence. But the words of these men did not have much +effect; because when the wills of men are eager for such deeds as these, +they do not often wait to take counsel. And arriving at the mainland far +on in the night, they put the Moor in front of them as their guide; but, +through their difficulty in not being able to understand him, they +delayed so much, that when morning dawned, they were still a great way +distant from the village. + +And the Moors rising up about dawn had sight of them where they were +coming, and like men without heart and deprived of hope, they began to +fly, every one where he perceived he could best take refuge, leaving +behind goods, wives and children, as men who perceived that they had +quite enough to do to save their own lives. + +And our people, who were observing them, when they saw them flee thus, +rejoiced somewhat at being safe from the peril which they had looked for +before; yet on account of the loss which they saw they would suffer by +the flight of them, they could not be very glad. But this thought had +not time to be well considered in their minds, for though they were +wearied, it was not perceptible in the course of their race; for just as +briskly and with as much good will did they hasten on, as at other times +they had done; rising from their beds and seeking to prove their cunning +in the fields hard by those towns where they had been brought up. And it +well appeared with what good will they did it in the capture of their +booty; for though they had sighted it so far off, as we have said, and +the enemy were rested and used to that business, yet they took +twenty-five of them. But agile above all on that day was one Lawrence +Diaz, a dweller in Setuval, who was a servant of the Prince, for he by +himself alone took seven of those natives prisoners. And the toil was by +no one much regarded in comparison of the pleasure with which they went +along the shore to seek the caravels, for it was three days since they +had left them. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + +How John Fernandez came to the caravels. + + +John Fernandez had now been seven months dwelling in that country,[N98] +and it seemeth clear, according to reason, that at the time Antam +Gonçalvez left him he must have settled to return for him, or to beg the +Infant to despatch some other, who could take him off in this way. And +after John Fernandez perceived that the caravels had had time enough to +return from Portugal, he came down many times to that shore to see if he +could have sight of any of them. And I can well believe that this was +his principal care. + +And it happened that those who remained in the caravels, seeking to +fulfil the orders of their chief captains, made sail to the Isle of +Ergim (of which it appeared that they had no knowledge), and passed on +and went cruising up and down for two days until they came to another +land beyond. And a little more than an hour after they had cast anchor, +they saw a man who stood on the land over against them. Quickly one +caravel made ready to go and see who it could be; and making sail toward +him it was not able to go as far in as it wished, because the wind was +off the land. And John Fernandez, seeing the hindrance that the caravel +received, resolved to go along the shore, either hoping that the ship's +boats would be there, or for some other reason; and so went a little +way, till he saw the boats that were coming in search of their ships. +And when he shouted towards where they were coming, the others were very +glad, thinking that he was some Moor who came to them of his own will to +treat about the ransom of some one of these captives; but when they +understood his speech, and he named himself for what he was, they were +yet much more glad; so that they hastened towards him the quicker. And I +consider, saith our author, what must have been the appearance of that +noble squire, brought up as he had been upon the food you know, to wit, +bread and wine and flesh and other things skilfully prepared, after +living seven months in this fashion, where he could eat nothing except +fish and the milk of camels--for I believe there are no better cattle in +that part--and drinking brackish water, and not too much of that; and +living in a burning hot and sandy land without any delights. O ye people +who live in all the sweetness of Spanish valleys, who when you chance to +miss any part of your accustomed maintenance in the houses of the lord +with whom ye live, will let nothing else be heard for your +complaints--look, if you will, upon the sufferings of this man, and you +will find him worthy to be a great example for anyone who wisheth to do +the will of his Lord by serving him. And we others, who perchance fast +one day in many months by command of the Church, or for satisfaction of +our penance, or in honour of some festival of the Church, if it be such +that we must eat only bread and water, we give up all that day to +sadness. And how many there are who dispense their own consciences, +breaking their fasts to content their bellies. Let us see if there is +one here who, for a single week, would endure a like toil of his own +free will for Christ's sake. I will not say that the impulse of John +Fernandez was not with some regard for his Lord, for I knew this squire +myself, and he was a man of good conscience and a true Catholic +Christian; and since the object of the principal mover[BS] was so +righteous and so holy, as I have already said in other places, all the +other matters set in motion by him must needs in some way have +corresponded to his first intention. + + [Footnote BS: In this action, _i.e._, Henry.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV. + +How Antam Gonçalvez went to make the ransom. + + +If I marvelled before at the endurance of John Fernandez (to wit, his +living in that land and enduring what I have said), little less do I +marvel at the affection which those who dwelt there came to feel for +him. And albeit that his affability was very great towards all other +people, I was astonished it could exist towards these, or how it could +be so felt and returned by such savages; for I am assured that when he +parted from the men among whom he had lived those seven months, many of +them wept with regretful thought. But why do I say so, when I know that +we are all sons of Adam, composed of the same elements, and that we all +receive a soul as reasonable beings? True it is that, in some bodies, +the instruments are not so good for producing virtues as they are in +others, to whom God by His grace hath granted such power; and when men +lack the first principles on which the higher ones depend, they lead a +life little less than bestial. For into three modes is the life of men +divided, as saith the Philosopher. The first are those who live in +contemplation, leaving on one side all other worldly matters and only +occupying themselves in praying and contemplating, and those he calls +demi-gods. And the second are those who live in cities, improving their +estates and trading one with another. And the third are those who live +in the deserts, removed from all conversation,[BT] who, because they +have not perfectly the use of reason, live as the beasts live; like +those who after the Division of Tongues (which by the will of our Lord +God was made in the Tower of Babylon), spread themselves through the +world and settled there[BU] without increasing any part of their first +stock of knowledge. But yet these last have their passions like other +reasonable creatures; as love, hate, hope, fear, and the other twelve +which all of us naturally have; the which each one of us setteth in use +more or less, according to the grace he hath of God, for as St. Paul +hath said: God is He who worketh in us the fulfilment of His will. And +by these primal passions I hold that these men were moved to the love of +John Fernandez, for which reason they henceforth felt sorrow at his +departure. And it would be very fitting to speak a little upon these +passions, and in what way they are universal in all men; but I fear to +prolong my story, and to weary your goodwill by lengthening out my +words, even though all would be profitable.[N99] So let us leave the +long conferences that there might be among those on board the caravels +at the coming of John Fernandez, and let us only tell how he said to +Antam Gonçalvez that there was hard by there a noble called Ahude +Meymam, and that he wished to traffic with them in the matter of some +blacks whom he had taken; and of this Antam Gonçalvez was very glad, and +put on shore the same John Fernandez, who in a short time brought a +great number of that people there. And, after settling the matter of +hostages, Antam Gonçalvez received two Moors as security; and he on his +side gave two others of those that he had with him. And those two, who +were so given on the part of Antam Gonçalvez while the exchanges were +being made, were taken to the tents of the Moors, where was a very great +number of Moorish women, and those among the best of that land. + + [Footnote BT: Of men.] + + [Footnote BU: In the deserts.] + +Now it happened that the Moors raised an uproar among themselves, for +which reason they went out of their dwellings a good way on to the +plain. And the Moorish women, looking upon those two hostages, thought +to try them, shewing a very great desire of lying with them; and those +who thought themselves best favoured shewed themselves right willingly +as naked as when they first came out of the bellies of their mothers, +and so made them other signs sufficiently unchaste. But seeing that the +others[BV] were more concerned at the terror they felt (thinking that +the tumult of those Moors was warily raised in order chiefly to cause +them injury), the women nevertheless persevered in their unchaste +purpose, making them signs of great security, and asking them, as could +be understood by their gestures, that they should perform what they +sought. But whether this was attempted with deceit, or whether it was +only the wickedness of their nature that urged them to this, let it be +the business of each one to settle as he thinks best. Great confidence +was shown by those Moors in their trafficking, for, in speaking about +their matters, many came boldly on to the ships, bringing their women +with them, who above all desired to see that novelty.[BW] + + [Footnote BV: Our men.] + + [Footnote BW: Of the ships.] + +And when the noble[BX] concluded his bargaining, he received some things +which pleased him most among those tendered to him by our men (though +they were really small and of little value), and he gave us for the same +nine negroes and a little gold dust.[N100] And upon the end of this same +bargaining, one squire who dwelt in the isle of Madeira required of +Antam Gonçalvez that he should knight him; because, as I believe, he was +of great age and had some lineage of nobility; and, having a sufficient +wealth, he wished to acquire an honourable title for his sepulchre. He +was called Fernam Taavares, and that place was known from henceforth by +the name of the Cape of the Ransom.[N101] + + [Footnote BX: Ahude Meymam.] + +Well would it have pleased me to speak somewhat in this chapter of the +things that John Fernandez saw and learnt in that land; but it is +necessary that I should bring the action of those three caravels to an +end; and afterwards when I find time I will tell you of all, that I may +pursue my story in the order that seemeth best to me. + +Now the Moors having left that place, and the caravels sailing on, those +men of ours who were working the sails saw near the shore some 200 +camels, with certain Moors who followed them. And because they seemed to +be very near they went towards them right briskly; but those Moors, +seeing themselves pressed by the others, jumped up lightly upon the +camels and fled upon them. But the camels were more in number than the +men, for which reason some stayed on the spot where they were; and of +these our men killed forty, and the others fled and escaped. + +And so the caravels going on, came nigh to the island of +Tider,[BY][N102] where we have said already there were many Moors; and +seeing near the shore where they were, some houses; and wishing to know +if they could find anything there, they landed. And perceiving that all +was desolate, they had a mind to go further inland; where they saw two +Moors, who were coming in their direction, and our men, anxious to take +them, contended for them. But Antam Gonçalvez, being advised of their +deceit, understood by their countenance that that movement of theirs was +for the purpose of some ambush; for, as to such confidence shewn by two +men against so many, any man of judgment could understand that it was to +essay some stratagem. + + [Footnote BY: _I.e._, Tiger.] + +"Go", said Antam Gonçalvez to two of his men, "a little way inland +(signing to them whither they were to proceed), and you will see the +treachery of these dogs." And so, as the Christians advanced from the +side of the shore, the Moors came out against them; and being near, they +hurled their spears, and the Christians ran after them till they came to +the place that had been marked out for them before, and so turned back. +And as our men began to retire to the ships the ambuscade was +discovered; and those who were of it very soon came down upon the shore, +so that, if our people had not retired thus sharply, they could not have +escaped from these without very great loss. For the Moors, perceiving +their advantage, shewed clearly enough their desire, entering into the +water as far as they could; whence, had they not been kept at a distance +by the cross-bows, they would have followed still, even by swimming, in +order to accomplish their desire of injuring our men. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI. + +How they took the Moors at Cape Branco. + + +"Let us return", said Antam Gonçalvez, "to Cape Branco, for I have heard +say that on the side opposite the sunset there is a village, in which we +could find some people of whom we could make booty, if we took it +suddenly and by surprise." All said that this was good counsel, and that +they should put it in action at once; and, for this thirty-eight men +were set apart, who were most ready for the service, and they landed and +went to the village straightway, at the beginning of the night, but +found nothing in it. Then said some of them, "It would be well for us to +return to our boats and row as far as we may along the land, till we see +morning; and as soon as that shall happen, we will land and go towards +those Moors to hold the passage of the Cape; because they needs must go +along the said Cape before they can retreat into the upland. And as they +have with them women and children, they will be forced to rest part of +the night, and though they travel continually, they cannot go so fast as +to prevent us from passing them." And in this counsel they were all +agreed, and rowing all the night without taking any rest (because in +such places and times slothfulness is the greatest cause of loss), the +night came to its end. And when the clearness of the day was beginning, +twenty-eight of them landed, for the others stayed to guard the boats. +And those that were on land went on, till they arrived at a certain high +place, from which they perceived they could keep a good watch over all +the parts round about; and concealing themselves as well as they could +on account of the rising of the sun, they saw Moors coming towards them, +men and women, with their boys and girls, in all seventy or eighty, as +they reckoned. And without any further speech or counsel they rushed out +among them, shouting out their accustomed cries, "St. George", +"Portugal". And at their attack the Moors were so dismayed that most of +them at once sought relief in flight, and only seven or eight stood on +their defence, of whom there now fell dead at the first charge three or +four. And these being despatched, there was no more toil of fight, and +only he who knew himself light of foot thought he had any remedy for his +life; but our men did not stand idle, for if their enemies took care to +run they did not for their part let themselves rest; for at such a time +toil of the kind that they underwent is true rest for the conquerors. +And so they captured in all fifty-five, whom they took with them to the +boats. Of their joy I will not speak, because reason will tell you what +it must have been, both of those who took the captives and of the others +on board the caravels, when they came with their prize. And after this +capture they agreed to turn back to the kingdom;[BZ] both because they +perceived that they could accomplish no more to their profit in that +part, and especially because of the deficiency of victuals. For there +was not enough to last any long time for them and for the prisoners they +had with them; and all the more as the way[CA] was long, and they knew +not what kind of a voyage they would have. + + [Footnote BZ: Of Portugal.] + + [Footnote CA: Home.] + +Wherefore they guided their caravels towards Portugal, making straight +for Lisbon, where they arrived quite content with their booty. But who +would not take pleasure at seeing the multitude of people that ran out +to see those caravels? for as soon as they had lowered their sails, the +officers who collected the royal dues[N103] took boats from the shore to +find out whence the ships came and what they brought; and as soon as +they returned and the news passed from one to another, in a short time +there was such a multitude in the caravels that they were nearly +swamped. Nor were there less on the next day, when they took the +captives out of the ships and wished to convey them to a palace of the +Infant, a good way distant from the Ribeira.[N104] For from all the +other parts of the city they flocked on to those streets by which they +had to convey them. Of a surety, saith the author of this history, many +of those I spoke of at first, who murmured over the commencement of this +action, might well rebuke themselves now, for there was no one there who +would be then counted as of that number. And the noise of the people was +so great, praising the great virtues of the Infant (when they saw them +take the captives in bonds along those streets), that if anyone had +dared to speak in the contrary sense he would very soon have found it +well to recant. But perchance it would have availed him little, for the +populace (and most of all in a time of excitement) but rarely pardoneth +him who contradicteth what it willeth to hold established. Nor doth it +appear to me that there could be a man of such evil condition that he +could speak against so manifest a good, from which followed such great +profits.[N105] + +The Infant was then in the district of Viseu, from which he sent to +receive his fifth; and, of those who remained, the captains made a sale +in the city, from which all received great advantage. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII. + +How the caravel of Gonçalo Pacheco and two other ships went to the isle +of Ergim. + + +As the town of Lisbon is the most noble in the Kingdom of Portugal, so +likewise its inhabitants (if we reckon the most for all) are the noblest +and have the largest properties. And let no one be so simple as to take +this word in a wrong sense, and think that this nobility is specially to +be found in them[CB] more than in those of other cities and towns--for +the Fidalgos and men of high family are noble wheresoever they be +found--only I speak generally, because as Paulo Vergeryo said, in the +instruction that he gave to the youth of the gentry, the splendour of +the great city is a large part of nobility. And they,[CC] seeing before +their eyes what wealth those ships brought home, acquired in so short a +time, and with such safety, considered, some of them, how they could get +a part of that profit.[N106] + + [Footnote CB: Of Lisbon.] + + [Footnote CC: The people of Lisbon.] + +Now, there was in that city a squire of noble lineage, which he had not +soiled as regardeth goodness and valour, called Gonçalo Pacheco, who was +one of the Infant's Court and was High Treasurer of Ceuta, a man of +great wealth and one who always kept ships at sea against the enemies of +the Kingdom.[N107] And it seemeth that he considered of this matter, and +wrote at once to the Infant to permit him to arm a fine caravel, which +he had lately had built for his service; and the same allowance he asked +for two other caravels which sought to accompany him. He had little +delay or hindrance in getting the licence he desired, and much less in +making ready the matters that were necessary for the armament. Then +Gonçalo Pacheco made captain of his caravel one Dinis Eanes de Graã, +nephew of his wife in the first degree, and a squire of the +Regent's;[CD] and in the other caravels went their owners, to wit, +Alvaro Gil, an Assayer of the Mint, and Mafaldo, a dweller in Setuval; +and they, hoisting on their ships the banners of the Order of Christ, +made their way towards Cape Branco.[N108] And arriving there they agreed +all together not to go to the village, which stood one league from the +Cape, by reason of the writing they found (which Antam Gonçalvez had +placed there), in which he advised those who should pass by that place +not to take the trouble of going against that village with any hope of +profit, because he had been in it and found it empty. And they agreed to +go and look for another, which was two leagues from there; and in the +result they came to it and found it likewise empty. But there chanced to +be in that company among those who went to that village, one John +Gonçalvez a Gallician, who was a pilot, and had already been in that +land with Antam Gonçalvez, when he had returned there this last time to +search for John Fernandez; and it appeareth that as soon as he reached +Lisbon he had joined their company. "And now," said that John Gonçalvez, +"you may make a great profit in this business if you will follow my +counsel; because I have faith in God that He will give us a prize worth +having; for I have already been in this land and seen how the others +acted who had a better knowledge of it." All said with one voice that +they were very content and that they thanked him much, and that he +should say at once[CE] what he thought best. "You know," said he, "that +the caravels in which Diego Affonso and Garcia Homem came, went on along +this coast frightening the Moors before Antam Gonçalvez reached it. And +when Antam Gonçalvez arrived he agreed with them to go to Ergim, and +when they came there, the islanders were already prepared; wherefore +they all fled away, and there only remained one of them, with one +Moorish girl his daughter, whom they brought to Portugal. And we saw the +houses on the island, which were capable of holding a very large number +of people, and it was evident that the Moors had only just set out, and +we went forth and caught twenty-five of them. And I believe that since +we were so recently in this island the Moors will not now be ready and +on the watch for this year, and so will have returned to the island; and +if you follow my guidance, with the grace of God, I shall know how to +take you to a place where I imagine they are; and if we light upon them +the booty cannot but be good." "How can it be," answered some, "that the +Moors should so quickly return to a place where they know they have been +looked for before? For that which you are very sure of must be much more +doubtful to us, and that is the brevity of the time which you make the +principal cause for their return, and which seems to us exactly the +contrary, because their suspicion, since it is so manifest, should not +give them a sense of security so soon." Nevertheless, the captains did +not wish to hear any more reasoning, but as men settled in their first +counsel, commanded to launch the boats from the ships and made +themselves ready with the crews they thought to be necessary; and +because it had already been ordained among them that each captain should +land in turn, the lot fell upon Mafaldo for this expedition, and the +others stayed in their caravels. And, moreover, they were all commanded +that no one should disobey the order of the pilot, from whom I have said +before that they received counsel. And they rowed their boats so that +about midnight they were in the harbour of that island, close to the +settlement; and, leaping on shore, Mafaldo said that they should +consider how it was still deep night, and that they were so near to the +place that, if they attacked it at this time, by reason of the darkness +many would be able to escape; or that perchance they were resting +outside at a distance from there, not having got over their former +fright; and therefore his counsel was to surround the village, and, as +day was breaking, to attack it. Mafaldo was a man who was well +accustomed to this business, for he had been many times in the Moorish +traffic; so that all considered his advice very profitable. + + [Footnote CD: D. Pedro.] + + [Footnote CE: Lit. in good time.] + +And so, in going to place themselves where they had before agreed on, +they lighted on a road which ran from the village to a fountain; and +they stood a little while waiting there; and upon this they saw a girl +coming for water, who was quickly taken, and likewise a Moor (who +shortly after came along the same path), whom they asked by signs if +there were there many people, and he answered in the same way that there +were not more than seven. "Since this is so," said Mafaldo, "there is no +reason for us to wait any longer for the morning, but let us make for +them, for with so few we have no need of so many cautions." And in a +word, the village was quickly encompassed and those seven were all +captured. And Mafaldo at once took aside one of them and began to ask +him (as well as he could, for a man who had no other interpreter) where +were the other Moors of that island? And the Moor made signs that they +were on terra firma, where they had gone in the fear they had of the +Christians; and he offered himself at once to guide them to the spot, +for they lay near to the sea. And Mafaldo, when he learnt this, came and +spoke with his company; asking them if they thought well to go in search +of those Moors? And because where there are many heads there are many +judgments, certain doubts began to appear among them; some saying that +such an expedition was very questionable, because the Moor could not +say, nor they understand, the number of the Moors; and even if he did +tell it, that he would speak it treacherously, with the intention of +taking them among such a number that they could not get the victory over +them. "Then," said Mafaldo, "if in every matter you wish to seek for +difficulties, they will never fail you, and if in such deeds you will go +to the very end of their reason, late or never will you perform anything +notable. Let us go, with God's aid," said he, "and not let our courage +fail, for He will be with us to-day of His mercy." All the rest agreed +that it was better to start at once; and they left there eight Moors, +and with them six men to guard them; and took with them the man who had +first told them where the others lay. And it chanced that one of the +eight that had been left there escaped from our men who were guarding +him, and passed over to the mainland in a canoe to give news to the +others who lay there (in chase of whom the Christians were started), and +related to them how he and the rest of the eight had been made +prisoners. But he knew not to advise them of any matter that pertained +to their hurt, for it appeared that he did not perceive what was coming +upon them; and although the others were grieved at the news, they +supported it with the patience with which men bear the troubles of their +fellows.[N109] And so they let themselves rest and be easy, and that man +with them. And after the Christians entered the boats, they set out at +once in the night for the point which the Moor had shewn them, and +proceeded the space of two leagues; and landing they followed the Moor +to the place where he showed them, by his signs, that they were nigh at +hand. And there they all halted, sending on one of them who was called +Diego Gil, who was to see if he could find any trace of the people; and +he went on until he saw the houses; and approaching nearer, he heard an +infant cry. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII. + +How Mafaldo took forty-six Moors. + + +Diego Gil was not slothful in returning and telling his news to the +others, and they agreed that it was best to wait there for the morning; +for, in the island (as they said), by reason of the darkness of the +night, many of the natives could escape,--for such was their boldness +that they had no doubt of the capture of these people. And so they +stayed on, waiting until near the dawn, which to most of them seemed a +delay more than was reasonable, such was their desire of getting to the +end of that action. And oft-times it happeneth in other parts (where +through necessity men have to watch) that when that hour cometh they +cannot bear up without sleeping, so much are they oppressed by sleep. +But it was not so with these, for there was not one who was not very +sure of himself against such an event. And Mafaldo (on whose care that +action most depended), as soon as he saw the time had come for departure +began to speak to them thus: "Friends, the time is near in which we have +to finish that for which we have toiled so hard in this part of the +night. But we are in an enemy's land, where we know not if we have to +deal with many or with few. Wherefore I call upon you to remember your +honour, and each one of you to act bravely, and not to faint in the +execution of this deed. And now," said he, "let us go on our way, for +God will be with us." + +The space was but short from where the enemy lay, and they, seeing +themselves surrounded, began to run out of their huts; and, like men +more full of terror than of courage, put all their hope in flight. And +at last they took captive of them forty-six, besides some who were +killed at the first shock. And though the action was not one of any +great danger, we will not omit to give the advantage of labour to those +who behaved the best, and who would not have shown less strength in the +fight (had it happened), however great it might have been. Now, besides +Mafaldo (who was Captain), Diego Gil, and Alvaro Vasquez and Gil Eannes, +(but not that knight of whom we spoke before), toiled manfully, as men +who showed well that they were fit for greater deeds than this. And so +the booty of that night was fifty-three Moorish prisoners.[N110] + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX. + +How they landed another time, and of the things that they did. + + +We can well understand, from the hap of these men, that the greater part +of the actions achieved in this world are more subject to fortune than +to reason. And what man in his right judgment could trust in the motions +of the head, or the signs of the hands, which a Moor made him? Might it +not chance, too, that that Moor, for the purpose of getting free, or +perchance to get vengeance over his enemies, should show them one thing +for another, and (under pretence of bringing them to a place where, on +his showing, our people might expect to win a victory) should lead them +into the middle of such a host of foes that they would escape little +less than dead? Certainly no judgment in the world could think the +contrary. Yet I believe that the chief cause of these matters lay in the +understanding that our men already had of these people,[CF] perceiving +their cunning to be but small in this part of the world.[N111] + + [Footnote CF: Moors.] + +So Mafaldo arrived with his booty, where he had such a reception from +the other captains as the presence of the booty, gained by his toil, +required of them. And making an end of recounting his joyful victory, he +said he thought they ought to ask each one of the Moors they brought +with them if, peradventure, beyond that settlement where they were +taken, there was any other in which they could make any booty? And after +getting the consent of all, he took aside one of those Moors in order to +put him the aforesaid question; and he answered that there was.[CG] And +they were already so much emboldened, that they waited not to ask if the +enemy were many or few, or how many fighting men they numbered, or any +of the other matters which it was fitting for them to ask in such a +case. But like men who had fully determined upon their action, they +started off the same afternoon, where by the signs of that Moor they +were guided to a village, at which on their arrival they found nothing +they could make booty of. And when they threatened the Moor for this, he +made them understand that, as the people were not there, they must be in +another settlement not very far from this. But here they only found one +old Moor in the last infirmity; and seeing him thus at the point of +death they left him there to make his end; not wishing to molest that +little part of life that from his appearance was left him. And as it +appeareth, the Moors, having already perceived the Christians to be +among them, had left that village and moved off to another part of the +country. And so our people who were there took counsel not to go further +on, because it seemed to be a toil without hope of profit; but they +agreed to return there in the future, presuming that the Moors, knowing +of their coming and departure, would feel secure and return to their +huts. But that was not so, for the Moors that time went a very long way +off; where they still felt fearful of being sought out, even though they +were so distant. True it is that our men (following their counsel as +already taken) went to their caravels, from which they again returned to +the village; and seeing they could not find anything, but only that Moor +whom they had left before, it now seemed better to them to take him with +them. Well might that poor man curse his fortune; that in so short a +time it revoked his first sentence, conforming so many wills on each +occasion regarding the fate of his happiness. And other times also our +men went on shore, but they found nothing of any profit, and so returned +to their ships. + + [Footnote CG: Such a settlement.] + + + + +CHAPTER XL. + +How Alvaro Vasquez took the seven Moors. + + +Great doubts were spread in the counsel of our men by the caution and +preparedness that they perceived in the Moors of that land; and they now +saw it would be necessary to seek other parts, in which there was no +knowledge of their arrival. And some said that it would be well to go to +Tider,[CH] because they knew there were many Moors there. Others said +that their going to that part would be hurtful; because their enemy was +so numerous that the fighting would be very unequal; and to attempt such +a matter would be nothing but an insane boldness. For, being so few as +they were, such an attempt would appear monstrous to any prudent person; +when the injury would not only be the loss of their bodies, but shame +before the presence of the living as well. Others again said that they +should push on; and if, perchance, they could make no booty in the land +of the Moors, that they should go to the land of the Negroes; for it +would be a great disgrace to them to return with such small results from +places where the others had gained their fill of riches. This saying was +praised by all; and so they set out thence, and, going on their voyage +for a space of thirty-five leagues beyond Tider,[CI] all three caravels +waited for one another, and the captains spoke among themselves. And +they agreed that it would be well to send some people out to see if it +was a land where they could make any gain. And taking out the boats from +the ships, Alvaro Vasquez, that squire of the Infant's, said that it +seemed to him it would be well to order two or three men to go out on +one side, and as many others on another, to see if they could get any +sight or knowledge of the Moors; by whom at least they might understand +who lived in that land, that they might come and warn the others who had +to attack them. All agreed in that counsel, and selected four scouts for +each side, among whom Alvaro Vasquez was one; and each party following +their path to the end, the former came to a place where were some nets, +which the Moors had only just left. And Alvaro Vasquez with the others +went on so far that at night they came upon a track of Moors; and do not +wonder because I say "at night",--for perchance you think it doubtful if +they could tell such a track in the darkness of the night. Wherefore you +must understand that in that country there is no rain as here in +Portugal, nor is the lower sky overclouded as we see it in these Western +parts; and besides the brightness of the moon (when there is one), the +stars of themselves give so much light that it is easy for one man to +recognise another, even though they be a little space apart. So that +track was found; yet, because they saw no reason to put reliance in it, +they would not return to their captains until they had a more certain +understanding of the matter. And so going on, they came where the Moors +lay, and saw them so close that they felt they could not turn back +without being perceived. Therefore they went for the Moors with a rush; +and with their accustomed cries leapt among them, being twelve in +number. And such was their[CJ] dismay that they did not look at the +number of their enemy, but like conquered people began to flee; though +this was of little service to them, for only two escaped, while three +were killed and seven taken. And thus, returning to their ships, our men +were received as those who deserved honour for their toil and bravery; +for although we write some part of their desert, we have not done so as +perfectly as they performed it, for the knowledge of a thing can never +be so proper by its likeness as when it is known by itself; and yet +historians, to avoid prolixity, often summarize things that would be far +greater if these were related in their true effects.[N112] + + [Footnote CH: _I.e._, Tiger.] + + [Footnote CI: _I.e._, Tiger.] + + [Footnote CJ: "Their" refers to the Moors.] + +The captaincy for that turn was in the hands of Dinis Eannes, as we have +said already; and he took aside one of those Moors to know if there were +any other people in that land. And the Moor answered by signs that there +was no other settlement near there, but only a village very far distant +from that part, in which there were many people, but few of them men of +war. "Now we shall make small profit by our coming here," said Dinis +Eannes to his company, "if we are not ready to endure bodily toils; and +though this village be so far distant as this Moor maketh me to +understand, I should think it would be well for us to go to it, for all +the amount of our gain dependeth on our labour." All agreed to go, in +any case, where some profit could be got; and taking that Moor for their +guide, they went on a space of three leagues, till they arrived at that +village which the Moor had named to them before. But they found there +nothing by which they could get any profit, for the Moors had already +removed far off. So they returned again, not without great weariness; +for what they felt most sorely, after going through such great toil, was +the finding of nothing that they had sought. + +[Illustration] + + + LONDON: + PRINTED AT THE BEDFORD PRESS, 20 AND 21, BEDFORDBURY, STRAND, W.C. + + +[Illustration: THE COAST OF N.W. AFRICA, ACCORDING TO THE PIZZIGANI MAP, +1567.] + + + + +NOTES. + +[_N.B.--The page references are to the Hakluyt Society's translation_]. + +[Endnote 1: (p. 2). _St. Thomas, who was the most clear teacher among +the Doctors of Theology_, i.e., St. Thomas Aquinas, greatest of the +Schoolmen ("Doctor Angelicus"); born at Rocca Secca, near Aquino, 1225 +(according to some 1227); Professor of Theology at Cologne 1248, at +Paris 1253 and 1269, at Rome 1261, etc., at Naples 1272 (Doctor of +Theology, 1257). Died at Fossa Nuova, in the diocese of Terracino, 1274; +canonised 1323; declared a Doctor of the Church, 1567; author, among +many other writings, of the _Summa Theologiae_, the greatest monument of +Roman divinity. Aquinas completed the fusion of the re-discovered +Aristotelian philosophy with church doctrine, which in the earlier +Middle Ages had been hampered by the imperfect knowledge of Aristotelian +texts in the Latin world, but which had for some time been preparing, +_e.g._, in the work of Peter Lombard (d. 1164), and even earlier. +Aquinas also marks the temporary intellectual victory of the Church, in +the thirteenth century, over the free-thinking and disruptive tendencies +which had shown themselves so threatening in the twelfth. See K. Werner, +_Thomas von Aquino_, Regensburg, 1858-59; Feugueray, _Essai sur les +doctrines politiques de St. T. d'A._, Paris, 1857; De Liechty, _Albert +le grand et St. T. d'A._, Paris, 1880. Encken, _Die Philosophie des T. +von A._, Halle, 1886.] + +[Endnote 2: (p. 3). _When the King John ... went to take Ceuta_, viz., +in 1415, in company with his sons, Edward (Duarte), Pedro, and Henry, +and a force of 50,000 soldiers. See especially Oliveira Martins, _Os +Filhos de D. João I_ (1891), ch. ii; Azurara's _Chronica de Ceuta_; Mat. +Pisano, _De bello Septensi_; Major's _Henry Navigator_, 1868 ed., pp. +26-43; "Life" of the same, in _Heroes of the Nations Series_, ch. viii.] + +[Endnote 3: (p. 4). _Duke John, Lord of Lançam._--On this Santarem has +the following: [The Duke of whom our author speaks was probably John of +Lançon, one of the Paladins of Charles the Great, concerning whose deeds +there exists a MS. poem of the thirteenth century in the Collection of +MSS. in the Royal Library of Paris (No. 8; 203). This reference cannot +be to John I, Duke of Alençon, seeing that it does not appear that any +history of his deeds was ever written].--S.] + +[Endnote 4: (p. 4). _Deeds of the Cid Ruy Diaz._--[Here our author +probably refers to the poem of the Cid, copies of which were spread +through Spain from the twelfth century (see the _Coleccion de Poesias +castellanas anteriores al siglo_ XV, Madrid, 1779-90). In the time of +Azurara there was no _one_ chronicle of the Cid's deeds; see Herder, +_Der Cid nach Spanischen Romanzen besungen_ 1857(-59), who translates +eighty romances published on this subject; Southey's _Chronicle of the +Cid_, London, 1808].--S. See also _The Cid_ (H. B. Clarke) in _Heroes of +the Nations Series_; R. P. A. Dozy, _Hist. Pol-Litt. d'Espagne, +Moyen-âge_, i, 320-706; _Le Cid ... Nouveaux Documents_, 1860; J. Cornu, +_Etudes_, 1881 (_Romania_, x, 75-99); Canton Zalazar, _Los restos del +Cid_, 1883.] + +[Endnote 5: (p. 4). _The Count Nunalvarez Pereira._--The "Holy +Constable," one of the Portuguese leaders in the Nationalist rising of +1383-5, which set the House of Aviz on the Portuguese throne. Azurara is +credited with the (doubtful) authorship of a work on the miracles of the +Holy Constable. See the Introduction to vol. i of this Edition, pp. +liii-liv, and Oliveira Martins' _Vida de Nun'Alvares_, Lisbon 1893; also +the latter's _Os Filhos de D. João I_, chs. i, ii; Major's _Henry +Navigator_, pp. 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 21, 78.] + +[Endnote 6: (p. 5). _Pillars of Hercules_, or Straits of Gibraltar; +called by some Arabic geographers (_e.g._, Mas'udi) the Strait of the +Idols of Copper. The conquest of Ceuta in 1415 gave Portugal a great +hold over this "narrow passage," and in 1418 Prince Henry aspired to +seize Gibraltar, which would have made his country complete master of +the same, but his project was discountenanced by his father's +government. We may refer to Galvano's story of a Portuguese ship +starting from here, shortly after 1447 (?), being driven out to certain +islands in the Atlantic; to the Infant's settlement at Sagres being in +tolerable proximity; and to Azurara's (and others') reckoning of +distances along new-discovered coasts from the same. See Azurara, +_Guinea_, ch. v.] + +[Endnote 7: (p. 5). _The Church of Santiago_, i.e., St. James of +Compostella, in Galicia.--[In this passage our author refers to the +celebrated diploma of King D. Ramiro about the battle of Clavijo, though +he does not cite that document, and also to the _Chronicle of Sampiro_. +On these two documents the reader can consult Masdeu, _Historia Critica +de España_, tom. xii, p. 214, etc.; tom. xiii, 390; and tom. xvi--Voto +de S. Thiago Suppl. 1.].--S.] + +[Endnote 8: (p. 7). _Sentences of St. Thomas and St. Gregory_, i.e., +of St. Thomas Aquinas and Pope (St.) Gregory the Great (A.D. 590-604).] + +[Endnote 9: (p. 7). _Garamantes_, _etc._--Properly the inhabitants of +Fezzan--"Garama," or "Phazania" in classical language. Γαράμαντεσ ... +ἔθνοσ μέγα ἰσχυρῶσ [Garamantes ... ethnos mega ischyrôs] says Herodotus +(iv, 183). Yet like the Nasamones and other nations of this part, they +are apparently conceived of by H. as a people confined to a single oasis +of the desert. The Garamantes' land, H. adds, is thirty days' journey +from the Lotos Eaters on the North coast of Africa, which is about the +true distance from Mourzuk, in Fezzan, to Tripoli (see the journeys of +Captain Lyon in 1820, and of Colonel Monteil in 1892). The oasis, ten +days' journey beyond the Garamantes, inhabited by the Atarantes or +Atlantes, may be the Herodotean conception of Tibesti. + +Compare the story, in Herodotus, ii, 32, 33, of five Nasamonians, from +the shore of the Great Syrtes, crossing the deserts to the south of +Libya to an inhabited region, far west of their home, with fruit trees, +extensive marshes, a city inhabited by Black People of small stature, a +river flowing from west to east containing crocodiles: probably either +the modern Bornu or one of the Negro states on the Middle Niger. + +Pliny (_Hist Nat._, v, 5, §36) records the conquest of the Garamantes by +Cornelius Balbus in B.C. 20, when the Romans captured Cydamus (Ghadames +in south-west Tripoli) and Garama ("clarissimum oppidum," the Germa of +the present day, whence the name "Garamantes"). + +In the time of Vespasian the more direct route from Œa or Tripoli to +Phazania was discovered (Pliny, _l. c._). In the reign of Tiberius, +during the revolt of Tacfarinas in Numidia, the Garamantes supported the +rebel, and after his defeat sent to Rome to sue for pardon, an unusual +embassy, as Tacitus remarks ("Garamantum legati, raro in urbe visi"). +From Fezzan, in later days (about time of Trajan?) started the +remarkable expeditions of Septimius Flaccus and Julius Maternus to the +"Ethiopian land" (Sudan) and Agisymba (Region of Lake Chad?) in the +south, which reached inhabited country after a march of three and four +months respectively across the desert (see Ptolemy, i, 8, §5, from +Marinus of Tyre, now lost except in Pt.'s citations). The original +conquest by Balbus is probably referred to in Virgil's _Æneid VI_, 795, +in the prophecy of Augustus' triumphs:-- + + "Super et Garamantes et Indos Proferet imperium." + +_The Ethiopians ... under the Shadow of Mount Caucasus_ is an extreme +instance of the mediæval geography met with so frequently in Azurara, as +no African "Mt. Caucasus" has ever been identified, even as a barbarous +misnomer for one of the African ranges; while Ethiopia, however confused +the reference, always starts from the ancient knowledge of the Sudan, +and especially the Eastern or Egyptian Sudan (see below). + +The Caucasus, here used, perhaps, like "Taurus," or "Alps," in the +general sense of "lofty mountains," was a great centre of mediæval myth. +Here was situated, according to most authorities, the wall of Alexander, +when with an iron rampart he shut up Gog and Magog, and "twenty-two +nations of evil men" from invading the fertile countries of the south +(see _Koran_, chs. xv, xviii; the Arabic record of "Sallam the +interpreter," sent to the Caucasus about 840 by the Caliph +Wathek-Billah; Ibn Khordadbeh, c. 880; St. Jerome _On Genesis_, x, 2, +and _On Ezekiel_, xxxviii-ix; St. Augustine, _De Civitate Dei_, xx, 11; +St. Ambrose, _De Fide ad Gratianum_, ii, 4; St. Isidore, _Origines_, ix, +2; xiv, 3; and the _Commentaries_ of Andrew and Aretes of Caesarea _On +the Apocalypse_ of A.D. _c._ 400 and _c._ 540; _Dawn of Modern +Geography_, pp. 335-8, 425-434).] + +[Endnote 10: (p. 7). _Indians of Greater and Lesser India_ is a +regular mediæval term for the inhabitants of India proper and of +south-western Asia, sometimes including Abyssinia. Another frequent +division was threefold: India Prima, Secunda, Tertia, or Greater, +Lesser, and Middle, as in Marco Polo, Bk. III, chs. i, xxxviii-xxxix. +Most commonly, Greater India means India west of Ganges; Lesser India +corresponds to the classical _India extra Gangem_, or Assam, Burma, +Siam, etc.; and Middle India stands for Abyssinia, and perhaps for some +parts of the Arabian coast, as far as the Persian Gulf. On this passage +we must also notice the following MS. notes:-- + +[α. _Garamantes, Ethiopians and Indians._--It must be understood that +these are three peoples, as saith Isidore in his sixth book [_i.e._, _of +the Etymologies_ or _Origins of St. Isidore of Seville_, _written c. +A.D. 600_], to wit, the Asperi, Garamantes and Indians. The Asperi are +in the west, the Garamantes in the middle, the Indians in the east. He +reckoned with the Garamantes, the Tregodites [_Troglodytes or +Trogodites_] because they are their neighbours. Alfargano [_Mohammed +Alfergani, or of Ferghanah on the Upper Oxus, a great Mohammedan +geographer of the ninth century, author of a "Book of Celestial +Movements" translated into Hebrew and from Hebrew into Latin, which also +described the chief towns and countries of the world_] placed Meroe, +which is Queen of the Nations, between the Nubians and the Indians. The +Garamantes are so called from Garama, which is the capital of their +Kingdom, and the castle of which standeth between Inenense and Ethiopia, +where is a fountain which cooleth with the heat of the day, and groweth +hot with the cold of the night. Ethiopia is over against Egypt and +Africa, on the southern part thereof; from the east it stretcheth over +against the west even to the Ethiopian Sea. And because much of the +people of these three nations are Christians, and because they desired +to see the world, they came to these parts of Spain, where they received +great gifts from the Infant, on account of which the author hath given +this description in his chapter thereupon. + +β. _Caucasus._--This mount is so called from Candor, the which +stretcheth from India to Taurus, in its length, through various peoples +and tongues, and therefore is variously named. Some say that Mt. +Caucasus and Mt. Taurus are all one, but Orosius reproveth this +opinion.] On the fountain of Garama, cf. Solinus, xxx, i.] + +[Endnote 11: (p. 7). _To visit the Apostle_, viz., St. James of +Compostella, patron saint of Spain, and traditionally the "Apostle" of +that country. Santiago de Compostella was once the capital of Galicia; +it lies 55 kilometres south of Coruña, on the north bank, and near the +source, of the River Sar, which flows into the Ulla. The town is built +round the Cathedral, which claims to possess the body of St. James. A +star was said to have originally shown the place of this relic, hence +"Compostella" (Campus stellae). The body of the great church was +commenced in 1082 and completed in 1128; the cloisters were finished in +1533. An earlier church of the later ninth century had been destroyed in +997 by the Arabs under the famous "hagib" Almanzor, who also restored +Barcelona to the Western Caliphate, and nearly crushed all the Christian +kingdoms of Spain. For centuries Compostella was the most famous and +fashionable place of pilgrimage, next to Rome, in Europe. It is referred +to in Chaucer, Prologue to _Canterbury Tales_, l. 466, in the +description of the "Wife of Bath:" + + "At Rome she haddé been, and at Boloyne + In Galice at Saint Jame, and at Coloyne."] + +[Endnote 12: (p. 8). _Ancient and venerable city of Thebes._--Here we +have again a MS. note. + +[We must understand that there are two cities of Thebes--the one in +Egypt and the other in Greece. That in Greece was the selfsame which in +the time of Pharaoh Nicrao (_Necho_, _see Herodotus, ii_, _158-9: +Josephus Antiq. Jud._) was called Jersem, as saith Marco Polo, whence +came the Kings of Thebes who reigned in Egypt C I R (_190_) years. And +this was one of the places which were given to Jacob, by the countenance +of his son Joseph, when by the needs of hunger he went with his eleven +sons to Egypt, as it is writ in Genesis. And Saint Isidore saith in his +xvth book (_of Origins_) that Cadmus built Thebes in Egypt, and that he, +passing into Greece, founded the other and Grecian Thebes, in the +province of Acaya (_Achaia_), the which is now called the land of the +Prince of the Amoreans.] + +It is not necessary to dwell on the additional confusion furnished by +this "explanation"--Thebes given to the Israelites (as part of Goshen?), +Cadmus building the Egyptian Thebes, Achaia for Bœotia, and so forth; +but the point really noticeable is that in Azurara's text the "dwellers +on the Nile who possess Thebes" came in here as "wearing the Prince's +livery:" _i.e._, the negroes of the Senegal are supposed to live on the +western branch of the Nile, which mediæval conceptions obstinately +brought from Egypt or Nubia to the Atlantic, and which Prince Henry's +seamen thought they had discovered when they reached the Senegal; just +as later in the Gambia, the Niger, and the Congo, other equivalents were +imagined for the Negro Nile of Edrisi, and the West African +river-courses of Pliny and Ptolemy. Cf. chs. xxx, xxxi, lx-lxii, of this +Chronicle.] + +[Endnote 13: (p. 8). _Wisdom of the Italians ... labyrinth._--Here we +have another original MS. note. [Labyrinth is so much as to say anything +into which a man having entered cannot go out again (_so Prince Henry, +in Azurara, vol. i, p. 8 (ch. ii), has "entered a labyrinth of Glory"_). +And therefore, saith Ovid, in his _Metamorphoses_, that Pasiphaë, wife +of Minos, king of Crete, conceived the Minotaur, who was half man and +half bull. The which was imprisoned by Daedalus in the Labyrinth into +which whatsoever entered knew not how to come out, and whosoever was +without knew not how to enter. And of this Labyrinth speaketh Seneca in +the _Tragedy_, where he treated of the matter of Hippolytus and Phedra]. + +Azurara's reference to the distinctive virtues of the four great peoples +here noticed is interesting, especially from the fact that Prince +Henry's mother was an Englishwoman; that the Emperor (now a purely +German sovereign, though still in name "holy and Roman"), invited him to +enter his service (see ch. vi); that the Pope (like Henry VI (?) King of +England) made him similar offers; that his scientific and practical +connections with Italy were very important; and that his sister Isabel +was married to the Duke of Burgundy. "The wisdom of the Italians" was +nowhere more conspicuous at that time than in geography. Italians +initiated the great mediæval and renaissance movement of discovery both +by land and sea (cf. John de Plano Carpini, Marco, Nicolo, and Matteo +Polo, Malocello, Tedisio Dorio, the Vivaldi, the Genoese captains and +pilots of 1341, precursors of Varthema, the Cabots, Verrazano, and +Columbus). Italians also constructed the first scientific maps or +Portolani (existing specimens from 1300 show out of 498 examples 413 of +Italian origin, including all the more famous and perfect). Lastly, +Italians probably brought the use of the magnet to higher efficiency; +though they did not "invent" the same, it is likely that they were the +first to fit the magnet into a box and connect it with a compass-card. +"Prima dedit nautis _usum_ magnetis Amalphis." + +Also, we may recall that the Infant Don Pedro, Henry's brother, brought +home from Venice in 1428 a map illustrating a copy of Marco Polo (see p. +liv of the Introduction to this volume), and that the most important +map-draughtsmen of the Prince's lifetime were Andrea Bianco, Fra Mauro, +and Gratiosus Benincasa. From 1317, when King Diniz appointed the +Genoese Emmanuele Pesagno Admiral of Portugal, and contracted for a +regular supply of Genoese pilots and captains, down to the Infant's +earlier years, when the Genoese tried to secure a "lease" of Sagres +promontory as a naval station, and even to the time when the Venetian +Cadamosto sailed in his service (1455-6), and Antoniotto Uso di Mare and +Antonio de Noli were to be found in the same employment, the connection +between Portuguese and Italian seamanship was very close--a relationship +almost of daughter and mother.] + +[Endnote 14: (p. 9). _From the islands thou didst people in the +Ocean_, etc. ... _wood from those parts._ + +Here Azurara gives some references to the products raised in the +newly-colonised groups of "African Islands"--corn, honey, wax, and +especially wood, on which Santarem remarks:-- + +[This interesting detail shows that the wood (Madeira) transported to +Portugal from the islands newly discovered by the Infant D. Henrique, +chiefly from the isle of Madeira, was in such quantity as to cause a +change in the system of construction of houses in towns, by increasing +the number of storeys, and raising the height of the houses, thus +bringing in a new style of building instead of the Roman and Arabic +systems then probably followed. This probability acquires more weight in +view of the system of lighting at Lisbon ordered by King Ferdinand, as +appears from a document in the Archives of the Municipality of Lisbon. +So this detail related by Azurara is a very curious one for the history +of our architecture.]--S.] + +[Endnote 15: (p. 9). _Dwellers in the Algarve_ (_Alfagher_), i.e., the +extreme southern portion of Portugal, including Cape St. Vincent, the +cities of Lagos, Faro and Tavira, and Sagres (off C. St. V.), the +special residence of the Prince himself. Later, the plural title +"Algarves" was applied to this Province, in conjunction with the +possessions of Portugal on the North African coast immediately fronting +the Spanish peninsula, viz., Ceuta, "Alcacer Seguer," Anafe, Tangier, +Arzila, etc.] + +[Endnote 16: (p. 10). _Moors ... on this side the Straits and also +beyond._--Moors who on "this side the Straits" had "died" from Prince +Henry's lance might be difficult to find; but of "those beyond" the +reference is more particularly to the conquest of Ceuta, 1415; the +relief of the same, 1418; the abortive attempt on Tangier, 1437; and the +raids upon the Azanegue Moors between Cape Bojador and the Senegal, _c._ +1441-1450. The African campaign of 1458, which resulted in the capture +of Alcacer the Little, cannot, of course, be included here.] + +[Endnote 17: (p. 10). _That false schismatic Mohammed._--In the +ordinary style of mediæval reference, as followed by Father Maracci and +the older European school of Arabic learning. The progress of the Moslem +faith in North Africa was rapid in the Mediterranean coast zone, but +comparatively slow in the Sahara and Sudan. See Introduction to vol. ii, +pp. xliii-lix, and W. T. Arnold, _Missions of Islam_.] + +[Endnote 18: (p. 11). _Duchess of Burgundy._--The Infanta Isabel, +Prince Henry's sister, was niece of a King of England, viz., as Santarem +says, of Henry IV, son of John, Duke of Lancaster. [By this connection +our Infant was a great-grandson of Edward III, and at the same time a +descendant of the last kings of the Capetian house, and likewise allied +to the family of Valois. The Infanta Donna Philippa was married to the +Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, on January 10th, 1429. She was not +only endowed with very eminent qualities, but was also of rare beauty. +She had great influence on public affairs. The Duke, her husband, +instituted the celebrated order of the Golden Fleece to celebrate this +marriage. This princess died at Dijon, December 17th, 1472. From this +alliance came many descendants. She was equally beloved by her brothers, +and especially by King D. Edward (Duarte), who, in his _Leal +Conselheiro_ (ch. xliv, "Da Amizade"), speaks of the great affection and +regret which he felt for her. The festivities which took place at Bruges +on her arrival were among the most sumptuous of the Middle Ages].--S.] + +[Endnote 19: (p. 12). _The Philosopher_, i.e., Aristotle, in Azurara's +day regarded among Christians as the "master of them that knew." The +transformation of Aristotle into a storehouse of Christian theology was +a long process, which was perhaps most completely successful in the +hands of Thomas Aquinas.] + +[Endnote 20: (p. 14). _As in his Chronicle_, i.e., _The Chronicle of +the Reign of Affonso V, the African_, attributed by Barros and Goes to +Azurara himself, and perhaps embodied (partially) in Ruy de Pina's +existing chronicle of the monarch. (See Azurara, Hakluyt Soc. ed., vol. +i, Introduction, pp. lxi-lxiii.) We must notice that a little earlier +(p. 13, top of our version), on Azurara's reference to Prince Henry as +an "uncrowned prince" (cf. Azurara, vol. ii, Introduction, p. xix). +Santarem remarks: + +[This detail, recorded by Azurara, a contemporary writer, shows the +error into which Fr. Luiz de Souza fell in his _Historia de S. +Domingos_, liv. vi, fol. 331, by saying that the Infant was elected King +of Cyprus: an error which José Soares da Silva repeated in his _Memorias +d'El Rei D. João I_; whereas if the words of Azurara were not sufficient +to demonstrate the contrary, the dates and facts of history would prove +the errors of those authors. As a matter of fact, the kingdom of Cyprus, +which Richard, King of England, took from the Greeks in 1191, was +immediately ceded by that Prince to Guy of Lusignan, whose posterity +reigned in that kingdom till 1487; and as our Infant was born in 1394 +and died in 1460, it was not possible for him to be elected sovereign of +a kingdom ruled by a legitimate line of monarchs. Besides this, in the +list of the Latin or Frank Kings of Cyprus, the name of D. Henry is not +found. It is to be presumed that Fr. Luiz de Souza confounded Henry, +Prince of Galilee, son of James I, King of Cyprus, with our Infant D. +Henry.]--S. + +Also, on the words _Atlas the Giant_ (middle of p. 13 in our version), +there is another original MS. note: + +[Atlas was king of the land in the west of Europe and of that in the +west of Africa, brother of Prometheus, that great wise man and +philosopher descended from Japhet, the giant. And this Atlas was +considered the greatest astrologer living in the world at his time. And +his knowledge of the stars made him give such true forecasts of matters +which were fated to happen, that men said in his time that he sustained +the heaven upon his shoulders. And as Lucas saith, he was the first who +invented the art of painting in the city of Corinth, which is in +Greece.] + +On this Santarem remarks:-- + +[Here our author mixes up all the historical and mythological traditions +from Greek and Latin authors relative to Atlas. Diodorus Siculus and +Plato are not cited by Azurara, who, however, relates that Atlas was +king of the West of Europe and of the West of Africa; but he forgets to +say that he reigned over the Atlantes, as Herodotus says, and confounds +Prometheus with "Japhet," whose son he was, viz., according to +Apollodorus, Diodorus Siculus, and all the ancient writers. Diodorus +says in effect that Atlas had taught astronomy to Hercules, but our +author confounds the three princes of this name, and made a mistake in +citing Lucas de Tuy (continuer of the _Chronicle_ of Isidore of Seville) +as saying that Atlas was the first who invented the art of painting in +the city of Corinth. The origin of this art was unknown to the ancients. +It is true that Sicyon and Corinth disputed the glory of the discovery, +but the discoverer according to most of the ancient authors was +Cleanthes of Corinth and not Atlas, as Azurara says. According to +others, the discovery was due to Philocles the Egyptian.]--S. + +The Atlas chain of N. Africa has been the subject of persistent +exaggeration. The Greek pillar of heaven (derived from Carthaginian? +seamen) probably referred to Teneriffe. No summit in the Atlas range +answers to the legend. Though Miltsin rises to 11,400 feet, neither this +nor any other peak can be supposed to represent the idea of towering +height embodied in the story. We may notice the enormous over-proportion +of the Atlas in some of the most important maps which Prince Henry and +his seamen had to consult (_e.g._, Dulcert of 1339, the Catalan of +1375). See Introduction, vol. ii, pp. cxxiii-iv, cxxvi.] + +[Endnote 21: (p. 14). _Tangier ... the most perilous affair in which +he ever stood before or after_, viz., in 1437. The conquest of Ceuta +(aided perhaps by the earlier discoveries of Prince Henry's seamen) had +made some in Portugal eager for more African conquests, and in 1433 King +Duarte (Edward) on his accession was induced by his brothers Henry and +Ferdinand, against the opinion of his next brother Pedro, to take up the +project of an attack on Tangier. The Papal Court gave only a very +doubtful approval to the war, but on August 22, 1437, an expedition +sailed for Ceuta. Tetuan was captured, and on September 23 Prince Henry +began the siege of Tangier, but his attacks on the town were repulsed; +the Portuguese were surrounded by overwhelming forces which had come +down from Marocco, Fez, and Tafilet for the relief of the city; and on +October 25 the assailants surrendered with the honours of war, on +condition that Ceuta should be given up with all the Moorish prisoners +then in Portuguese hands, and that the Portuguese should abstain for 100 +years from any further attack upon the Moors of this part of Barbary. +Prince Ferdinand was left with twelve nobles as hostages for the +performance of the treaty. The convention was repudiated in Portugal, +and Ferdinand, the "constant Prince," died in his captivity June 3, +1443. Like Regulus in Roman tradition, he advised his countrymen against +the enemy's terms of ransom, + + "Lest bought with price of Ceita's potent town + To public welfare be preferred his own." + +Camöens: _Lusiads_, iv, 52 (Burton).] + +[Endnote 22: (p. 14). _Because Tully commandeth._--It is +characteristic of Azurara's school and time that he should declare his +preference for truthful writing because a great classic recommended the +same.] + +[Endnote 23: (p. 15). _College of Celestial virtues._--Contrasted with +the previous reference, this gives a good idea of Azurara's mental +outlook--on one side towards Greek and Latin antiquity, on another to +the Catholic theology. The Christian side of the Mediæval Renaissance +had not, in Portugal, been overpowered by the Pagan. We may remember, as +to the context here, that on the capture of Ceuta the chief mosque was +at once turned into the Cathedral.] + +[Endnote 24: (p. 16). _Districts of the Beira ... and Entre Douro e +Minho._ The three northern provinces of Portugal:--The Beira, comprising +most of the land between the Tagus and the Douro (except the S.W. +portion); the Tral (or Traz) os Montes, the N.E. extremity; and the +Entre Douro e Minho, the N.W. extremity of the Kingdom. Here was the +cradle of the state--for the principality granted in 1095 by Alfonso VI +of Leon to the free-lance, Henry of Burgundy, was entirely within the +limits of these provinces, and was at first almost entirely confined to +lands North of the Mondego, being composed of the counties of Coimbra +and Oporto.] + +[Endnote 25: (p. 16). _The two cities_, viz., The citadel and the +lower town of Ceuta, which together covered the neck of a long peninsula +running out some three miles eastward from the African mainland, and +broadening again beyond the eastern wall of Ceuta into a hilly square of +country. The citadel covered the isthmus which joined the peninsula to +the mainland. East of the citadel was Almina, containing "the outer and +larger division of the city, as well as the seven hills from which Ceuta +derived its name," the highest of which was in the middle of the +peninsula, and was called El Acho, from the fortress on its summit. "On +the north side of the peninsula, from the citadel to the foot of this +last-mentioned hill, the city was protected by another lofty wall." +According to some, the old name of _Septa_ was derived from the town's +seven hills; it was ancient, being repaired, enlarged and re-fortified +by Justinian in the course of his restoration of the Roman Empire in the +Western Mediterranean.] + +[Endnote 26: (p. 17). _A duke ... in the Algarve_, viz., Duke of Viseu +and Lord of Covilham. His investiture took place at Tavira in the +Algarve, immediately on the return of the Ceuta expedition. Together +with his elder brother Pedro, whom King John at the same time made Duke +of Coimbra, Henry was the first of Portuguese dukes. This title was +introduced into England as early as 1337, and the Infant's mother was +the daughter of one of the first English dukes, "old John of Gaunt, +time-honoured Lancaster."] + +[Endnote 27: (p. 17). _The people of Fez ... of Bugya._--This Moslem +league of 1418 against Portuguese Ceuta comprised nearly all the +neighbouring Islamic states (1) Fez--the centre of Moslem culture in +Western "Barbary," a very troublesome state, politically, to the great +ruling dynasties in N.W. Africa--contained two towns at this time, +called respectively the town of the Andalusi, or Spaniards--from the +European (Moslem) emigrants who lived there--and the town of the +Kairwani, from Kairwan ("Cairoan"), the holy city of Tunis. The founder +of the greatness of Fez was Idris, whose dynasty reigned there A.D. +788-985. It was captured by Abd-el-Mumen ben Ali, the Almohade, in 1145. +It was also besieged in 960, 979, 1045, 1048, 1069, 1248, 1250. See Leo +Africanus (Hakluyt Soc. ed.), pp. 143-5, 393, 416-486, 589-606. (2) +_Granada_ was still a Moslem Kingdom, as it remained till its capture by +Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492. It was now (1418) ruled by the +successors of Mohammed-al-Hamar, who in 1236 gathered the relics of the +western Caliphate into the Kingdom of Granada. In 1340 the Granadine +attempt, in alliance with Berber help from Africa, to recover southern +Spain for Islam, had been defeated in the great battle of the Tarifa, or +Salado (one of the first engagements where cannon were used); but +Granada still (in the fifteenth century) retained considerable strength. +(3) _Tunis._--Leo Africanus mentions its capture by Okba (Akbah) in the +seventh century A.D., by the Almoravides in the eleventh century, and by +Abd-el Mumen ben Ali, the Almohade, in the twelfth century. It was +unsuccessfully attacked at times by those states whose trade with it was +most important, _e.g._, by Louis IX of France in his crusade of 1270; by +the Genoese, 1388-90; by the Kings of Sicily, 1289-1335; and by other +foreign states; but remained for the most part independent, from the +breakup of the Almohade empire till its capture by Barbarossa for the +Ottomans in 1531. See Leo Africanus, pp. 699, 716, 753. (4) +_Marocco._--The city of Marocco was founded, A.D. 1070-2 according to +some, 1062-3 according to others (A.H. 454), by Yusuf Ibn Tashfin, the +Almoravide. Under both Almoravides and Almohades its greatness steadily +increased. Abd-el-Mumen ben Ali took it for the latter, and under his +grandson, Yakub Almansor, it became the Almohade capital (A.D. 1189-90). +The Beni-Merini succeeding to power in these parts in the thirteenth +century, removed the seat of government to Fez (1269-1470). See Leo +Africanus, pp. 262-272, 351-359. Early in the sixteenth century the +Portuguese, under Nuno Fernandez d'Ataide, Governor of Safi, attacked +Marocco without success. A district called Marocco was much older than +the city. "Marakiyah," in Masudi (iii, p. 241, Meynard and Courteille), +is used of a district to which the Berbers emigrated. (5) _Bugia_, +_Bougie_, anciently also _Bujaïa_ and _Bejaïa_, a very ancient city. +Carthage had a settlement here; Augustus established a Roman colony with +the title of Colonia Julia Augusta Saldantum ("Saldaa"). It fell into +the power of the Vandals in the fifth, of the Arabs in the sixth, +century; and during the earlier Caliphate it carried on a considerable +trade, especially with the Christian states of the Western +Mediterranean. This trade continued to flourish during the later Middle +Ages; and we may instance, not only the favourable descriptions of +Edrisi (_c._ 1154) and of Leo Africanus (1494-1552), but also the Pisan +commerce (of about 1250-64) both in merchandise and in learning, with +this city, as well as the Aragonese treaties of 1309 and 1314, and the +Pisan embassy of 1378, as a few examples out of many. In 1068, En-Naser +having restored and embellished the town, made it his capital, re-naming +it En-Naseria; Abd-el-Mumen ben Ali subjected it to the Almohade empire +in 1152; in 1509 Count Peter of Navarre seized it, and the Spaniards +held it till 1555. From 1833 it has been a French possession. See Edrisi +(Jaubert), vol. i, pp. 202, 236-8, 241, 245-6, 258, 269; Leo Africanus, +Hakluyt Soc. edn. pp. 126, 143-4, 699, 700, 745, 932.] + +[Endnote 28: (p. 17). _Chance of taking Gibraltar ... did not offer +itself to him._--This project is especially notable in the light of +later history, as of the years 1704, 1729, 1779-82, and of earlier +times, _e.g._, 710. Prince Henry seems to have been one of the few men +who valued aright (before quite modern times) the position from which +the Arabs advanced to the Conquest of Spain, and from which the English +obtained so great a hold over the Mediterranean. It was only in the +later sixteenth century that one can discover anything like a widespread +perception of Gibraltar's importance.] + +[Endnote 29: (p. 18). _Canary Islands._--Here Azurara probably refers +to the projects of 1424-5, though his words may apply to Henry's efforts +in 1418, or in 1445-6, to acquire the Canaries for Portugal (see +Introduction to vol. ii, p. xcvi-xcviii). + +The "great Armada ... to shew the natives the way of the holy faith" is +very characteristic of Azurara.] + +[Endnote 30: (p. 18). _Governed Ceuta ... left the government to King +Affonso at the beginning of his reign._--On this, Santarem has the +following note:-- + +[The 35 years during which the Infant governed Ceuta must be understood +in the sense that during the reigns of his father and brother and nephew +(till Affonso V reached his majority) he directed the affairs of Ceuta, +but not that he governed that place by residing there. The dates and +facts recorded show that we must understand what is here said in this +sense, seeing that the Infant, after the capture of that city (Ceuta) in +August 1415, returned to the Kingdom (of Portugal); and there was left +as Governor of Ceuta D. Pedro de Menezes, who held this command for +twenty-two years (_D. N. do Leão_, cap. 97). The Infant returned to +Africa in 1437 for the unfortunate campaign of Tangier. After this +expedition he fell ill in Ceuta and stayed there only five months, and +thence again returned to Portugal, and spent the greater part of his +time in the Algarve, occupied with his maritime expeditions. He went +back for the third time to Africa with King D. Affonso V for the +campaign of Alcacer in 1456, returning immediately afterwards to Sagres. + +Beyond this, it should be noticed that the sons of King D. John I had +charge of the presidency and direction of various branches of State +administration. D. Duarte (Edward) was, in the life of the King his +father, entrusted with the presidency of the Supreme Court of Judicature +and with the duty of despatching business in Council, as is recorded by +him in detail in ch. xxx of the _Leal Conselheiro_. The Infant D. Henry +had charge of all African business, and so by implication of everything +relating to Ceuta. + +Finally, the sublime words of King D. Duarte to D. Duarte de Menezes, +when he said, "If I am not deceived in you, not even to give it to a son +of mine will I deprive you of the captaincy of Ceuta" (Azurara, +_Chronica de D. Duarte_, ch. xliii), show that the Infant D. Henry was +not then properly Governor of Ceuta; although he was formally appointed +to that post on July 5th, 1450, he never actually occupied it (see +Souza, prov. of Bk. v, No. 51).]--S.] + +[Endnote 31: (p. 18). _The fear of his vessels kept in security ... +the merchants who traded between East and West._--This important detail +has not been noticed sufficiently in lives of D. Henry. If Azurara +really means that the Infant's fleet preserved the coasts of Spain from +all fear of the piracy which then, as later, endangered the commerce of +the Western Mediterranean, we can only regret that no further details +have come down to us about this point. For such a task the Prince must +have maintained a pretty large navy: though it is noticeable that piracy +seems to have been worse on the so-called Christian side in the mediæval +period; and not till after the fifteenth century, and the establishment +of Turkish suzerainty, was it as bad on the Moslem side (see Mas Latrie, +_Relations de l'Afrique Septentrionale avec les Chrétiens au Moyen Age_, +passim, and especially pp. 4, 5, 61-2, 117, 128-30, 161-208, 340-5, 453, +469, 534). The forbearance of the Barbary States with Christian +freebooting from the eleventh century to the sixteenth, their tolerance +of Christian colonies in their midst, and the special favours constantly +shown to individual Christians, would surprise those who think only of +Algerine, Tunisian, or Maroccan piracy and "Salee rovers." Roger II of +Sicily is a striking exception to this disgraceful rule. In the earlier +Middle Ages, some of the Christian Republics of Italy even joined +Moslems in slave-raiding upon other Christians (see _Dawn of Modern +Geography_, pp. 203-4).] + +[Endnote 32: (p. 18). _Peopled five Islands ... especially Madeira_ +(see Introduction to vol. ii, pp. xcviii-cii).] + +[Endnote 33: (p. 19). _Alfarrobeira, where ... Don Pedro was ... +defeated._--D. Pedro, the eldest of the uncrowned sons of King John I, +was famous for his journeys in Europe, ending in 1428, when he returned +from Venice with many treasures, among others a MS. copy of Marco Polo, +and a map of the traveller's route (see Introduction to vol. ii, p. +liv). He was still more famous for his wise government of Portugal as +Regent for his young nephew, Affonso V, 1439-47. He took part in the +campaign of Ceuta, 1415; advised vainly against the Tangier campaign of +1437; married his daughter Isabel to the King in 1447 (May); was worried +into a semblance of rebellion, 1448-9, and was killed in a battle at the +rivulet of Alfarrobeira, between Aljubarrota and Lisbon, in May 1449. + +On his companion, the Count of Avranches ("Dabranxes" in Azurara), +Santarem has a note remarking that he, D. Alvaro Vaz d'Almada, was [made +a Count (of Avranches) in Normandy, by gift of the King of England +(Henry V), after the battle of Azincourt, when he was also created a +knight of the Order of the Garter.] + +He was sometimes called, in the affected Renaissance fashion of the +time, the "Spanish Hercules;" but he also had fallen into disfavour with +Affonso V. He escaped from imprisonment at Cintra, joined D. Pedro in +Coimbra (the latter's dukedom), and marched with him to his death (see +Introduction to vol. ii, pp. xvi-xviii).] + +[Endnote 34: (p. 19). _Order of Christ ... Mother-convent ... Sacred +uses._--Prince Henry was Grand Master of the Order of Christ, founded by +King Diniz in 1319, in place of the Templars, whose property in great +measure it inherited (see Introduction to vol. ii, p. xviii-xix). + +The mother-convent of the Order of Christ was at Thomar, in the +(Portuguese) province of Estremadura, 45 kilometres N.N.E. of Santarem, +or a little N.W. of Abrantes, and is noticeable for its sumptuous +architecture. It was founded originally as a house of the Templars by +Donna Theresa, mother of Affonso Henriques, first King of Portugal; it +was enlarged and rebuilt in 1180 and 1320. At the latter date it passed, +with the reconstitution of Diniz, from the Templars to the Order of +Christ.] + +[Endnote 35: (p. 19). _St. Mary of Belem ... Pombal ... Soure ... +Chair of Theology ... St. Mary of Victory ... yearly revenue_ (and see +next sentence of text).--This is the _locus classicus_ on the +benefactions of the Prince (see Introduction to vol. ii, pp. cvi-cix). + +St. Mary of Belem, "near the sea at Restello," a chapel where the +Infant's mariners could pay their devotions the last thing before +putting out to sea from Lisbon, or return thanks after a voyage, was +superseded by the more sumptuous edifice of Kings Emanuel and John III, +known as the Jeronymos, and named "the Lusiads in stone," which, with +the exception of Batalha, is the noblest of Portuguese buildings. Da +Gama, however, when starting for and returning from India, had only +Prince Henry's little chapel available. + +Pombal, in Estremadura, and Soure, in Beira, are both a little S.W. of +Coimbra: Pombal being further in the direction of Leiria.] + +[Endnote 36: (p. 20). _Ready to go to Ceuta ... desisted._--This +abortive African expedition belongs to the reign of Affonso V, and +apparently to the years immediately subsequent to the Tangier disaster +of 1437 (see Introduction to vol. ii. pp. xvi-xvii).] + +[Endnote 37: (p. 21). _The Infant's town ... So named ... by +writing._--The settlement at Sagres. On this Santarem has the following +notes:-- + +[α. We see by our author's account what was the state in 1453 of the +town of which the Infant had laid the foundations in 1416, and to which +at first was given the name of "Tercena Naval" (Naval Arsenal), from the +Venetian word "Darcena," an arsenal for the construction and docking of +galleys; it afterwards received the name of Villa do Infante (the +Infant's town), and later on that of Sagres--derived from Sagro, Sacrum, +the famous Promontorium Sacrum of the ancients, according to D. +Francisco Manoel, _Epanaphoras_, p. 310. It should be noted that the +celebrated Cadamosto, who had speech with the Infant in 1455, at Cape +St. Vincent, does not give the name of the town, though he speaks of the +interview which he had with him (Henry) at Rapozeira]. + +[β. In writing "Callez" for "Cadiz" in this paragraph, our author +follows the corrupt nomenclature of the authors and MSS. of the Middle +Ages, which altered the name of that city from the Gades of Pliny (v, +19), Macrobius, Silius Italicus (xvi, 468), Columella (viii, ch. xvi), a +form more like the primitive Gadir (a hedge) in the Phœnician or Punic +language. The corrupt terms Calles, Callis, etc., are, however, met with +even in documents of the sixteenth century. See the letters of Vespucci +in the edition of Gruninger (1509)]. + +[γ. As to this reference to the Genoese (desiring to buy Sagres from +Portugal), the meaning must be that they offered great sums of money for +the concession of a place in the new town for the establishment there of +a factory, and perhaps of a colony, similar to those they possessed in +the Black Sea, as especially Caffa (now Theodosia, in the Crimea), or +Smyrna in the Archipelago. It is, however, improbable that they proposed +to the Infant the cession of a town of which he did not hold the +sovereignty. The Republic of Genoa had preserved very close relations +with Portugal from the commencement of the monarchy, and could not be +ignorant that even the Sovereigns of the country were not able to +alienate any portion of the land without the consent of the Cortes (on +this subject see Part III of our _Memorias sobre as Cortes_). Howsoever +the case may have been, the detail referred to by our author illustrates +the prudence of the Portuguese Government of that time in having +resisted such a proposal, in view of the fact that the Republic of Genoa +had by its immense naval power obtained from the Moorish and African +princes the concession of various important points in Asia and Africa; +and had also procured from the Greek Emperors the cession of the suburbs +of Pera and Galata in Constantinople, and the isles of Scios, Mitylene +(Lesbos), and Tenedos in the Archipelago. The reader will find it worth +his attention that Portugal refused to accede to a similar offer when +the Emperors of the East and of Germany, the Kings of Sicily, Castile, +Aragon, and the Sultans of Egypt constantly sought the alliance of that +Republic and the protection of its powerful marine. True it is that the +power of Genoa had already then begun to decline and to become +enfeebled, but none the less important are the details given by Azurara +and the observations which we have offered for the consideration of the +reader]. + +As to the connections of Genoa with Spain, we may add the following:-- + +Genoese relations with Barcelona became active in the twelfth century. +In 1127 the Republic concluded a commercial treaty with Count Raymond +Berenger III, and formed an offensive and defensive alliance with the +same Prince in 1147. As a result, the allies took Almeria and Tortosa. +In this conquest two-thirds went to the Count, one-third to the Genoese. +In 1153 they sold their new possessions to Count Raymond for money and +trading rights; but in 1149 they concluded a treaty of peace and +commerce with the Moorish King of Valencia, and in 1181 a similar treaty +with the King of Majorca. As early as 1315 the Genoese had begun a +direct trade by sea with the Low Countries, passing round the Spanish +coast. After the conquest of Seville by Ferdinand III they also obtained +important trade privileges in that city, especially those enjoyed by a +grant of May 22nd, 1251. By this time they had ousted all their Italian +rivals in the trade of the Western Mediterranean, and there held a +position analogous almost to that of Venice under the Latin empire of +Constantinople. In 1267 all the Genoese consuls in Spain were put under +a Consul-General at Ceuta. In 1278 Genoa concluded a treaty of peace and +commerce with Granada. In 1317 the Genoese, Emmanuel Pessanha (Pezagno), +became Lord High Admiral of Portugal: Genoese captains and pilots were +employed in the Spanish exploring voyage to the Canaries in 1341; and a +regular contingent of Genoese pilots and captains was maintained in the +Spanish service. See Introduction to vol. ii, p. lxxx.] + +[Endnote 38: (p. 22). _Jerome ... Sallust ... so high a charge._--Here +again is the truly characteristic mingling of sacred and profane +learning, both almost equally authoritative to his mind, in Azurara. Cf. +Sallust, _Catiline_, chs. ii, viii, li; especially viii.] + +[Endnote 39: (p. 22). _Phidias ("Fadyas") ... the philosopher ... +chapter on wisdom._--Here Santarem has the following notes:-- + +[α. The "height" of which Azurara speaks is the Parthenon, or Temple of +Minerva, in Athens. The famous statue of that goddess, in gold and +ivory, was made by that famous sculptor (Phidias), and placed by the +Athenians in that magnificent temple]. Cf. Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, Bk. +xxxiv, ch. xix. + +[β. The philosopher is Aristotle. It is not unworthy of note that our +author cites Aristotle in this place, and prefers his authority to that +of Pausanias. This preference, which may also be frequently observed in +the _Leal Conselheiro_ of King D. Duarte, proves the great esteem in +which the works of the Stagyrite philosopher were held among our +ancestors (as well as in other nations) during the Middle Ages. Our +learned men followed him in preference to Pausanias, even when treating +of the antiquities of Greece].] + +[Endnote 40: (p. 23). _Great Valerius._--Here again Santarem:--[This +author, cited by Azurara, is Valerius Maximus, a writer of the time of +Tiberius, who wrote _De dictis factisque memorabilibus_ in nine books. +He was a native of Rome, and therefore Azurara says, "of thy city."] +Azurara is not mistaken, as Santarem suggests, in assuming that the +Roman author did not only deal with the deeds of his compatriots but +also described those of foreigners. Of the main divisions of V.'s work, +the first book is devoted chiefly to religious and ritual matters, the +second to various civil institutions, the third and three following +books to social virtues; the seventh book treats of many different +subjects. This treatise was very popular in the Middle Ages, and several +abridgments were made, one by Julius Paris.] + +[Endnote 41: (p. 24). _What Romulus ... Manlius Torquatus ... Cocles +("Colles") ... diminishing of his praise._--On this Santarem remarks: +[T. Manlius Torquatus, the dictator, is here seemingly referred to; on +whom see _Livy_, vii, 4, and _Plutarch_, i]. + +The contrast of Cæsar's gaiety with the strictness of Henry's life +refers us to ch. iv (beginning), pp. 12, 13, of this version. Azurara +had but a very inadequate conception (supplement from Cadamosto, Pacheco +Pereira, and Barros) of the real scope of Henry's life-work, and his +remarks sometimes sink into mere flattery; but the comparisons he makes +here are not misjudged. The Infant was really one of the men who, like +Cæsar, Alexander, Peter I of Russia, or Mohammed, force us to think how +different the history of the world would have been without them.] + +[Endnote 42: (p. 24). _Captain of their Armies._--Here +Santarem:--[This detail is so interesting for the history of that epoch, +that we judge it opportune to indicate here, for the illustration of our +text, the names of these sovereigns. The invitation given by the Pope +(as recorded here) to the Infant could only have taken place after the +taking of Ceuta, a campaign in which the Prince acquired immortal glory, +having commanded the squadron and been first of the princes to enter the +fortress. In view of this, it appears to us that only after 1415 could +this proposal have been made by the Pontiff; and also it seems as if the +offer must have been made to him before the unfortunate campaign of +Tangier in 1437, during the time in which the Infant was exclusively +occupied with the business of the Kingdom and of Africa, and with his +expeditions and discoveries. From this it appears likely that the Pope +who invited him to become general of his armies was Martin V, and the +year of the invitation 1420 or 1421, after the embassy which, the Greek +Emperor, Manuel Palaeologus, sent to the Pontiff to beg for aid against +the Turks. The Emperor of Germany of whom Azurara speaks was Sigismund +(Siegmund), who, by reason of his close relations with the Court of +Lisbon, and with the ambassadors of Portugal at the Council of +Constance, could appreciate the eminent qualities of the Infant, and +form the high opinion of him which he deserved. Lastly, the Kings of +Castile and England of whom Azurara speaks must be D. John II, and Henry +V.]--S. Santarem is probably wrong here. "Henry VI" should be read for +"Henry V;" see Introduction to vol. ii, p. xv.] + +[Endnote 43: (p. 25). _Discipline ... clemency._--Azurara here +imitates somewhat the formal disputations of Seneca and Cicero. We may +especially compare Seneca's _De Ira_, _De Providentia_, and _De +Clementia ad Neronem Caesarem libri duo_; also, but with rather less +close a parallelism, the same writer's _De Animi tranquillitate_, _De +Constantia Sapientis_. The Elder Seneca's rhetorical exercises, +_Controversiarum libri X_, and _Suasoriarum Liber_, were also, as far as +the form goes, models for such discussions as are here conducted. +Azurara's point, of course, is that, of the two extremes, Prince Henry +leaned rather to "clemency" than to "discipline;" and though he by no +means neglected the latter, he was content rather to err in generosity +than in severity. Precisely the opposite is the view of some modern +students: _e.g._, Oliveira Martins, _Os Filhos de D. João I_, especially +pp. 59-63, 210-1, 267-270, 311-346.] + +[Endnote 44: (p. 26). _St. Chrysostom ... something to asperse._--As +to the Prince's critics, though in a slightly different sense, cp. what +Azurara says in ch. xviii (beginning). The modern criticisms of the +Infant's conduct may be read in O. Martins (_Os Filhos_, as cited in +last note). According to this view, the Infant's genius was pitiless: he +cared little or nothing for the captivity and torture of D. Fernando the +Constant, who died in his Moorish prison after the disaster of Tangier; +for the broken heart and premature end of D. Edward; or for the fate of +D. Pedro. As little did he care for the misery of the Africans killed or +enslaved by his captains, or for the unhappy life of Queen Leonor, +mother of Affonso V. Not only was he indifferent to these sufferings, +but indirectly or directly he was the efficient cause of the same. This +extreme view, as regards the slave-raiding, is much weakened by +Cadamosto's testimony, and Azurara's own admission in ch. xcvi (end) of +this Chronicle (see Introduction to vol. ii, p. xxv). The truth seems to +lie between Azurara and Martins: between the conceptions of Henry as a +St. Louis and as a Bismarck.] + +[Endnote 45: (p. 26). _Seneca ... first tragedy._--This is the +_Hercules Furens_ of the great--or younger--Seneca, the philosopher.] + +[Endnote 46: (p. 27). _St. Brandan ... returned._--On this Santarem +writes:-- + +[The voyage of St. Brandan, to which Azurara refers, is reputed +fabulous, like the island of the same name. According to this tradition, +it was said that St. Brandan arrived in the year 565 at an island near +the Equinoctial(?). This legend was preserved among the inhabitants of +Madeira and of Gomera, who believed that they were able to see Brandan's +isle towards the west at a certain time of the year. This appearance +was, however, the result of certain meteorological circumstances. +Azurara became acquainted with this tradition of the Middle Ages from +some copy of the MS. of the thirteenth century, entitled _Imago Mundi de +dispositione Orbis_, of Honorius of Autun; and this circumstance is so +much the more curious as Azurara could not have been acquainted with the +famous Mappamundi of Fra Mauro, which was only executed between the +years 1457-9; and still less with the Planisphere of Martin of Bohemia +(Behaim), which is preserved at Nuremburg, on which appears depicted at +the Equinoctial a great island, with the following legend: _In the year +565 St. Brandan came with his ship to this island._ The famous Jesuit, +Henschenius, who composed a critical examination of the life of St. +Brandan, says of it:--"Cujus historia, ut fabulis referta, omittitur."] +The Bollandists speak with equal distrust of the Brandan story. + +To this we may add:--It is possible Azurara may have read the original +_Navigatio Sti. Brendani_. The legendary voyage of Brandan is usually +dated in 565, but this is probably a mere figure of speech. He was +supposed to have sailed west from Ireland (his home was at Clonfert on +the Middle Shannon) in search of Paradise, and to have made discoveries +of various islands in the Ocean, all associated with fantastic +incidents: as the Isle of St. Patrick and St. Ailbhé, inhabited by Irish +Cœnobites; the isle of the Hermit Paul, at or near which Brandan met +with Judas Iscariot floating on an iceberg; the Isle of the Whale's +Back, and the Paradise of Birds; to say nothing of the Isle of the +Cyclops, the Mouth of Hell, and the Land of the Saints--the last +encircled in a zone of mist and darkness which veiled it from profane +search. It is more than probable that the Brandan tradition, as we have +it, is mainly compiled from the highly-coloured narratives of some Arab +voyagers, such as Sinbad the Sailor in the Indian Ocean, and the +Wanderers (Maghrurins) of Lisbon in the Atlantic (as recorded in +_Edrisi_, Jaubert, ii, 26-29), with some help from classical +travel-myth; that it is only in very small part referable to any +historical fact; that this fact is to be found in the contemporary +voyages of Irish hermits to the Hebrides, Orkneys, Shetlands, Faroes, +and Iceland; that a certain special appropriateness may be found in the +far western Scottish island of St. Kildas (Holy Culdees) or the islet of +Rockall; and that some of the matter in the Brandan story is derived +from the travels of early Christian pilgrims to Palestine, _e.g._, +Bernard the Wise, _c._ 867. It is important to remember that the +tradition, though professing to record facts of the sixth century, is +not traceable in any MS. record before the eleventh century; but, like +so many other matters of mediæval tradition, its popularity was just in +inverse proportion to its certainty, and "St. Brandan's isle" was a +deeply-rooted prejudice of the twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, and even +fifteenth centuries. Down to the middle of the sixteenth century it +usually found a place on maps of the Western Ocean, usually due west of +Ireland (see _Dawn of Modern Geography_, pp. 230-240, and references in +same to other works, p. 239, _n._ 2, especially to De Goeje's _La +légende de Saint Brandan_, 1890; Avezac's _Iles fantastique de l'Océan +Occidental_, 1845; Schirmer, _Zur Brendanus Legende_, 1888; and the +study of _Schröder_, 1871). We may note that Azurara is (for his time) +somewhat exceptional in his hesitating reference to the Brandan story; +but of course his object led him, however unconsciously, to minimise +foreign claims of precedence against the Portuguese on the Western +Ocean. As far as Brandan goes, no one would now contradict the Prince's +apologist; but more formidable rivals to a literal acceptance of the +absolute Portuguese priority along the north-west coasts of Africa are +to be found in Italian, French, and Catalan voyagers of the thirteenth +and fourteenth centuries, one of which is perhaps alluded to here by +Azurara. For "the two galleys which rounded the Cape (Bojador) but never +returned" were probably the ships of Tedisio Doria and the Vivaldi, who +in 1291 (_aliter_ 1281) left Genoa "to go by sea to the ports of India +to trade there," reached Cape Nun, and, according to a later story, +"sailed the sea of Ghinoia to a city of Ethiopia." In 1312, we are told, +enquiry had failed to learn anything more of them (see Introduction to +vol. ii, pp. lxi-lxiii).] + +[Endnote 47: (p. 28). _Power of ... Moors in ... Africa ... greater +than was commonly supposed_ (see Introduction to vol. ii, pp. xlv-lix).] + +[Endnote 48: (p. 30). _King and Lord._--With this astrological +explanation compare what Azurara says about the death of Gonçalo de +Sintra, ch. xxviii, p. 92.] + +[Endnote 49: (p. 31). _A fathom deep ... ever be able to return ..._ +(see Introduction to vol. ii, pp. v, viii-x, lxiv, lxx). + +Here Santarem has the following notes:-- + +[α. This passage shows that the Portuguese mariners already, before the +expedition of Gil Eannes, knew that beyond Cape Bojador the great desert +of the Sahara was to be met with, and that the land was not less sandy +than that of "Libya." This last term of Plinian geography, and the +circumstances which the author relates in this chapter, show that before +these expeditions our seamen had collected all the notices upon that +part of the African continent found in the ancient geographers, and in +the accounts of the Moors of the caravans which traversed the great +desert. This is confirmed by what Azurara says in ch. lxxvii, as we +shall see in due course]. + +[β. The reader will observe from this passage that in spite of the +hydrographical knowledge which our mariners had already obtained of +those coasts, from their imperfect understanding of what are called the +Pelagic currents, those sailors of the fifteenth century still feared +the great perils which the passage of that Cape offered to their +imagination. Azurara makes clear to us here how powerful, even at this +epoch, was the influence of the traditions of the Arabic geographers +about the Sea of Darkness, which according to them existed beyond the +isles of Kalidad (the Canaries), situated at the extremity of the Mogreb +of Africa. See Edrisi, Backoui, and Ibn-al-Wardi. Lastly, on the +superstitious and other fears of mediæval navigators, the reader can +consult the _Itinera Mundi_ of Abraham Peritsol, translated from Hebrew +into Latin by Hyde]. Cf. Introduction to vol. ii, p. x. Cape Bojador, in +N. lat. 26° 6' 57", W. long. (Paris) 16° 48' 30", is thus described by +the most recent French surveys: "Viewed from the north there is nothing +remarkable, but from the west there appears a cliff of about 20 metres +in height. A little bay opens on the south of the Cape."] + +[Endnote 50: (p. 32). _Virgin Themis ... returned to the Kingdom very +honourably._ + +On the first words there is this original MS. note:--[It is to be +understood that near to Mount Parnassus, which is in the midst between +east and west, are two hill tops, which contend with the snows. And in +one of these was a cave, in which in the time of the Heathen, Apollo +gave responses to certain priestly virgins who served in a temple which +was there dedicated to the said Apollo. And those virgins dwelt by the +fountains of the Castalian mount. And among these virgins was that +virgin Themis, whom some held to be one of the Sibyls. And it is said +that those virgins were so fearful of entering into that cave, that, +save on great constraint they dared not do so--according as Lucan +relateth in his fifth book and sixth chapter, where he speaketh of the +response which the Consul Appius received, on the end of the war between +Cæsar and Pompey.] + +On this Santarem remarks:-- + +[Both in this note and in those on pp. 10, 11, 12, and 21 ( = pp. 7-8, +13, of this version), which are met with in our MS., and are in the same +script, there prevails such a confusion of thought that we hesitate in +supposing them to have been written by Azurara. These notes, so far from +illustrating the text, themselves call for elucidation. Here the writer +follows the opinion of the ancients as to the position of Parnassus, +viz., that it was situated in the middle of the world, though, according +to Strabo, it was placed between Phocis and Locris. As to its +"contending with the snows," the writer of this note, who quotes Lucan, +seems to have taken this passage from Ovid rather than from the +_Pharsalia_. See Ovid, _Metamorphoses_, I, v, 316-7; Lucan, _Pharsalia_, +V, v, 72-3. The cave is the Antrum Corysium of the Poets. See the +_Journey to Greece_ of the famous archæologist Spon. The passages +referred to as from Bk. V of the Pharsalia are those beginning with the +lines--_Hisperio tantum_ ... and v, 114, _Nec voce negata_ ... together +with line 120, _Sic tempore longo_, and the following lines.] + +On the "honourable return" of these caravels, with "booty of the +Infidels," from the Levant Seas, we may compare the text on p. 18, and +note (31) to the same. Here Santarem remarks:-- + +[The attempts made by the Portuguese seamen to pass the Cape began +before the fifteenth century. Already, in the time of King Affonso IV, +the Portuguese passed beyond Cape Non, _i.e._, before 1336 (?). The +documents published by Professor Ciampi in 1827, and discovered by him +in the _MSS. of Boccaccio_ in the Bibliotheca Magliabechiana in +Florence, as well as the letter of King Affonso IV to Pope Clement VI +attest that fact. See the _Memoir_ of Sr. J. J. da Costa de Macedo, in +vol. vi. of the Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Lisbon, and +the additions published in 1835. As for the attempts made in the +Prince's time by ships that he sent into those latitudes to pass beyond +Cape Bojador, if we admit the number of twelve years which Azurara +indicates, and if this is taken together with the date 1433, which he +fixes for the passage effected by Gil Eannes(?), the result is that +these attempts began only in 1421; and so Azurara did not admit that the +expedition of 1418 (or of 1419), which went out under J. G. Zarco, had +for its chief object the passage of the Cape at all. But from Barros it +is seen that Zarco and Vaz went out with the object of doubling the +Cape, but that a storm carried them to the island they discovered, and +named Porto Santo (_Decades I_, ch. 2, and D. Franc. Manoel, +_Epanaphoras_, p. 313]. The statements of part of this note are loosely +worded. See Introduction to vol. ii, on the voyage of 1341, on the +earlier claims of Affonso IV, and on the rounding of Bojador. + +Also, on Azurara's use of _Graada_ for _Granada_, Santarem remarks: [On +the origin and etymology of this word, see Cortes y Lopez, art. _Ebura +quae Cerialis. Dic. Geograf. Hist. de la Esp. Ant._, II., 420, etc.]. + +And on the "Granada" and "Levant" expeditions, the same editor remarks: +[The details of these expeditions prove the activity of our marine at +the beginning of the fifteenth century, and its system of training, +which enabled it to cope better with the perils of Ocean voyages, and in +naval combats with Arabs and Moors to protect the commerce of the +Christian nations in the Mediterranean]. Cf. note 31 to p. 18 of this +version.] + +[Endnote 51: (p. 33). _Gil Eannes ... touched by the self-same +terror._--As to Gil Eannes, Santarem remarks:--[Barros also says he was +a native of Lagos, and was the man who so named "Bojador" from the way +it jutted or bulged out (_Decades I_, 6)]; This last statement is quite +untrue; [cf. an Atlas of which Morelli and Zurla treat in their _Dei +Viaggi et delle Scoperte Africane da Ca-da-Mosto_, p. 37, on which is +the inscription "_Jachobus de Giraldis de Venetiis me fecit anno Dmi_ +MCCCCXVI;" as well as another atlas of the fourteenth century, on which +two the Cape appears as (1) _Cabo de Buider_, and (2) _Cavo de +Imbugder_; cf. Zurla's _Dissertazione_, p. 37.]. Also, see Introduction +to vol. ii, pp. x, lxiv, lxviii-lxx.] + +[Endnote 52: (p. 33). _Needle or sailing chart._--See Introductory § +on History of Maps and Nautical Intruments in Europe up to the time of +Prince Henry, vol. ii, pp. cxvii-cl, and especially pp. cxlvii-cl.] + +[Endnote 53: (p. 34). _Barinel ... Barcha ... anything worth +recording._--[A Varinel or Barinel was an oared vessel then in use, +whose name survives in the modern Varina; so Francisco Manoel, +Epanaphoras, p. 317, etc.].--S. See Introduction to vol. ii, pp. +cxii-cxiii. + +On the _Footmarks of men and camels_ Santarem remarks.--[To this place +our sailors gave the name of Mullet Bay (Angra dos Ruivos), from the +great quantity of these fish that they found there. The bay appears with +this name in the Map of Africa in the splendid Portuguese Atlas +(unpublished), dating from the middle of the sixteenth century, in the +Royal (National) Library at Paris (R. B. No. 1, 764)].--S. See +Introduction to vol. ii, p. x. Ruivos is variously rendered "Mullet," +"Gurnet," "Roach." The original meaning is simply "red[fish]."] + +[Endnote 54: (p. 35). _Went up country 8 leagues, etc. ... +anchorages._--[Our men named this place Angra dos Cavallos (cf. Barros +_Decades I_, i, 5; Martines de la Puente, _Compendio de las Historias de +las Indias_, ii, 1). This place-name is marked in nearly all the +sixteenth and seventeenth century maps of Africa].--S.] + +[Endnote 55: (p. 36). _Two things I consider ... saith he who wrote +this history._--Though these phrases, "our author," "he who wrote this +history," are certainly applied by Azurara to himself in some instances, +there is also sometimes a suggestion of the previous writer on the +Portuguese _Discovery and Conquest of Guinea_, viz., Affonso Cerveira, a +seaman in Prince Henry's service (see Introduction to vol. ii, p. cx). +Here, we fancy, a passage of Cerveira's work is referred to. The loss of +the latter is deplorable. It evidently contained all the facts and +documents given by Azurara, and some omitted by him (see ch. lxxxiv of +this Chronicle, end). Azurara added the reflections and the rhetoric, +but followed Cerveira's order of narrative closely (see especially ch. +lxvi).] + +[Endnote 56: (pp. 37-8). _Sea-wolves ... Port of the Galley ... nets +... with all other cordage._--[These _Sea-wolves_ are the _Phocæ +Vitulinæ_ of Linnæus. Cf. the _Roteiro_ of Vasco da Gama's First Voyage, +under December 27th, 1497, p. 3 of Port. text "Achamos muitas baleas, e +humas que se chamam _quoquas_ e Lobos marinhos."]--S. + +[The _Port of the Galley_ is so named in the Portuguese Atlas above +referred to (Paris: _Bibl. Nat._, i, 764, of the sixteenth century), and +in the Venetian maps of Gastaldi (1564); cf. Barros, _Decades I_, v, 11, +who says, "Ponto a que ora chamâo a pedra da Galé"].--S. + +On the "nets ... with all other cordage," cf. Barros, _Decades I_, ch. +v, fol. 11: "No qual logar achou humas redes de pescar, que parecia ser +feito o fiado dellas, do entrecasco d'algum pao, como ora vemos o fiado +da palma que se faz em Guiné."] + +[Endnote 57: (pp. 38, 39). _Rio d'Ouro ... discords in the +Kingdom._--[On old unpublished Portuguese maps we find marked between +Cape Bojador and the Angra dos Ruivos, the following points: _Penha +Grande_, _Terra Alta_, and _Sete-Montes_, besides the _Angra dos +Ruivos_, being all of them probably points where the Portuguese had +landed].--S. See Introduction to vol. ii, pp. x-xiii, lxi-lxxi. + +[The events which interrupted the Infant's expeditions and discoveries +from 1437 to 1440 may be briefly indicated. The Infant returned to the +Algarve after the expedition to Tangier (1437), and was there in +September of the following year, when King Edward fell ill at Thomar. On +the King's death, the Prince was at once summoned by the Queen, and +charged by her to concert with the Infant D. Pedro, and with the +grandees of the realm, some means of grappling with the difficulties of +the Kingdom. The Infant convoked these persons, who decided that the +Cortes ought to be assembled to pass the resolutions they judged +expedient. + +The Prince thought that D. Pedro ought to sign the summonses; but as he +refused to do this, they were all signed by the Queen, with the proviso +that such signature should hold good only till the Assembly of the +Estates should settle the question. + +At the same time the Infant, on account of his accustomed prudence, was +chosen mediator between the Queen and D. Pedro. At his proposal, +discussed in various conferences, the Queen was charged with the +education of her children and the administration of their property; +while to the Infant D. Pedro was given the administration and government +of the Kingdom, with the title of Defender of the Kingdom for the King +(_Ruy de Pina_, ch. xv). + +But, as a large party did not agree to this, and so public disorder +increased, Henry sought to conciliate the different parties by getting +their consent to an Accord, published November 9th, 1438, providing:-- + +1. That the education of the King while a minor, and of his brothers, +and the power of nominating to Court Offices, should rest with the +Queen; and that a sum should be paid her sufficient to defray the +expenses of the Royal Household. + +2. The Royal Council was to consist of six members, who should be +charged in turn and at definite periods with such business of state as +was within their power to decide, conformably to the regulations of the +Cortes. + +3. Besides this Council there was to be elected a permanent deputation +of the Estates, to reside at the Court, composed of one prelate, one +fidalgo, and one burgess or citizen, to be elected, each by his +respective estate, for a year. + +4. All the business of the Royal Council was to be conducted by the six +councillors and the deputation of the Three Estates under the presidency +of the Queen, with the approval and consent of the Infant D. Pedro. + +If the votes were equal, the business in question was to be submitted to +the Infants, the Counts, and the Archbishop, and to be decided by the +majority. + +If the Queen agreed with the Infant D. Pedro, their vote was to be +decisive, even though the whole Council should be against them. + +5. All the business of the Treasury, except what belonged to the Cortes, +was to be conducted by the Queen and the Infant: decrees and orders on +the subject were to be signed by both, and the Controllers of the +Treasury were to be charged with their execution. + +6. It was settled that the Cortes should be summoned every year to +settle any doubts which the Council could not decide for themselves, +such as "the [condemnation to] death of great personages, the +deprivation of state servants from great offices, the [confiscation or] +loss of lands, the amendment of old or the making of new laws and +ordinances; and it was also agreed that future Cortes should be able to +correct or amend any defect or error in past sessions" (_Ruy de Pina_, +ch. xv). The Queen, however, being induced by a violent party to resist, +refused to agree to these resolutions, in spite of the vigorous efforts +of D. Henry. This produced great excitement, and in the Cortes it was +proposed to confer the sole regency on D. Pedro. It should be noted that +Prince Henry expressed his disapproval of all the resolutions of the +municipality of Lisbon and other assemblies, declaring that they +illegally tried to rob the Cortes of its powers. Equally plain was his +indignation when he learned that the Queen had fortified herself in +Alemquer, and had invoked the aid of the Infants of Aragon. + +He did not hesitate to go to Alemquer in person, and induce the Queen to +return to Lisbon, in order to present the young King to the Cortes +(1439); and such was the respect felt for him (Henry) that the Queen, +who had resisted all other persuasions, yielded to the Infant's. + +In the following year the divisions of the Kingdom compelled the Infant +to occupy himself with public business, the conciliation of parties, and +the prevention of a civil war.]--S.] + +[Endnote 58: (p. 39). _Chronicle of D. Affonso_.--This chronicle, +according to Barros and Goës, was written by Azurara himself as far as +the year 1449, and continued by Ruy de Pina. It is cited by Barbosa +Machado. See Introduction to the first volume of this translation, pp. +lxi-ii.] + +[Endnote [N58A: (p. 43). _Those on the hill._--This hill is also marked +in the unpublished Portuguese maps in the National Library at Paris, and +is situated to the south of the Rio do Ouro.]--S.] + +[Endnote 59: (p. 44). _The philosopher saith, that the beginning is +two parts of the whole matter._--Here, and in the two following notes, +it is very difficult to suggest any classical reference which +corresponds closely enough with Azurara's language; but cf., in this +place, Aristotle, _Ethics_, Bk. I, ch. vii, p. 1098b7; _Topics_, Bk. IX, +ch. xxxiv, p. 183b22 (Berlin edn.).] + +[Endnote 60: (p. 44). _Roman History_.--Cf. Valerius Maximus, Bk. II, +cc. 3, 7; St. Augustine, _De Civitate Dei_, Bk. II, cc. 18, 21; Bk. V, +c. 12.] + +[Endnote 61: (p. 45). _That emulation which Socrates praised in +gallant youths_.--Cf. Xenophon, _Memorabilia_, Bk. I, c. 7; Bk. III, cc. +1, 3, 5, 6, and especially 7; also Plato, _Laches_, 190-9; _Protagoras_, +349-350, 359. On the history that follows, cf. D. Pacheco Pereira, +_Esmeraldo_, cc. 20-33. Pereira must have had a copy of this Chronicle +before him, for in places he transcribes _verbatim_; see _Esmeraldo_, c. +22.] + +[Endnote 62: (p. 47). _"Portugal" and "Santiago."_--The latter war-cry +is of course derived from St. James of Compostella, which being in +Gallicia was not properly a Portuguese shrine at all. All Spanish +crusaders, however, from each of the five Kingdoms, made use of this +famous sanctuary. See note 11, p. 7 of this version.] + +[Endnote 63: (p. 48). _Port of the Cavalier._--[This is marked in two +Portuguese maps of Africa in Paris, both of the sixteenth century, as on +this side of Cape Branco, which is in 20° 46' 55" N. lat.]--S.] + +[Endnote 64: (p. 49). _Azanegues of Sahara ... Moorish tongue._--[Cf. +Ritter, _Géographie Comparée_, III, p. 366, art. _Azenagha_. Ritter says +they speak Berber. On this language see the curious article, _Berber_, +by M. d'Avezac, in his _Encylopédie des gens du Monde_. On the +Azanegues, Barros says (_Decade I_, Bk. I, ch. ii): "The countries which +the Azanegues inhabit border on the negroes of Jaloff, where begins the +region of Guinea." _Sahará_ signifies desert. Geographers spell Zahará, +Zaara, Ssahhará, Sarra, and Sahar. The inhabitants are called +Saharacin--Saracens--"sons of the desert" (cf. Ritter, _Géographie +Comparée_, III, p. 360), a term immensely extended by mediæval +writers--thus Plano Carpini expects to find "black Saracens" in India. +On the etymology, cf. Renaud's _Invasions des Sarrasins en France_, Pt. +IV, pp. 227-242, etc. He confirms Azurara's statement that the Sahara +language differed from the Mooris--_i.e._, it was Berber, not +Arabic--and he refers us to the Arab author Ibn-Alkûtya, in evidence of +this.]--S. + +The "Other lands where he learned the Moorish tongue" were probably +Marocco, or one of the other Barbary States along the Mediterranean +littoral, where Arabic was in regular use. This language stopped, for +the most part, at the Sahara Desert. Santarem's derivation of the word +"Saracen" is much disputed.] + +[Endnote 65: (p. 50). _Lisbon Harbour_ ...--Here, perhaps, Azurara +refers to the broad expanse of the Tagus, opposite the present Custom +House and Marine Arsenal of Lisbon. "The broad estuary of the Tagus +gives Lisbon an extensive and safe harbour." From the suburb of Belem +up to the western end of Lisbon, the Tagus is little more than a mile +in width, but opposite the central quays of the city the river widens +considerably, the left, or southern, bank turning suddenly to the +south near the town of Almada, and forming a wide bay, reach, or road +about 5½ miles in breadth, and extending far to the north-east. "In +this deep lake-like expansion all the fleets of Europe might be +anchored."] + +[Endnote 66: (p. 50). _Cabo Branco._--[In lat. N. 20° 46' 55", +according to Admiral Roussin's observations.]--S. According to the most +recent French surveys, it is thus described:--"Il forme, au S., sur +l'Atlantique, l'extrémité d'une presqu'île aride et sablonneuse de 40 +kil. de longeur environ, large de 4 à 5 kil., qui couvre a l'O. la baie +Lévrier, partie la plus enfoncée au N. de la baie d'Arguin. Cette +presqu'île se termine par un plateau dont le cap forme l'escarpement; le +sommet surplomb la mer de 25 m. environ. Des éboulements de sable, que +le soleil colore d'une nuance éblouissante, lui ont valu son nom. 'Le +Cap Blanc est d'une access facile. Il est entouré de bons mouillages +qui, au point de vue maritime, rendent cette position préférable à celle +d'Arguin' (Fulcrand)."] + +[Endnote 67: (p. 53). _Eugenius the Bishop._--[Barros adds certain +reasons for this request; he says, "the Infant, whose intent in +discovering these lands was chiefly to draw the barbarous nations under +the yoke of Christ, and for his own glory and the praise of these +Kingdoms, with increase of the royal patrimony, having ascertained the +state of those people and their countries from the captives whom Antam +Gonçalvez and Nuno Tristam had brought home--willed to send this news to +Martin V (?), asking him, in return for the many years' labour and the +great expense he and his countrymen had bestowed on this discovery, to +grant in perpetuity to the Crown of these Kingdoms all the land that +should be discovered over this our Ocean Sea from C. Bojador to the +Indies (Barros, _Decade I_, i, 7).]--S. Barros here apparently confuses +Martin V with Eugenius IV. + +[Besides this bull, Pope Nicholas V granted another, dated January 8th, +1450, conceding to King D. Affonso V all the territories which Henry had +discovered (Archives of Torre do Tombo, _Maç. 32 de bullas_ No. 1). On +January 8th, 1454, the same Pope ratified and conceded by another bull +to Affonso V, Henry, and all the Kings of Portugal their successors, all +their conquests in Africa, with the islands adjacent, from Cape Bojador, +and from Cape Non as far as all Guinea, with the whole of the south +coast of the same. Cf. Archivo R. _Maç. 7 de bull_. No. 29, and _Maç. +33_, No. 14; and Dumont, _Corp. Diplomat. Univ._, III, p. 1,200. On +March 13th, 1455, Calixtus III determined by another bull that the +discovery of the lands of W. Africa, so acquired by Portugal, as well as +what should be acquired in future, could only be made by the Kings of +Portugal; and he confirmed the bulls of Martin V and Nicholas V: cf. +another bull of Sixtus IV, June 21st, 1481, and see Barros, _Decade I_, +i, 7; _Arch. R. Liv. dos Mestrados_, fols. 159 and 165; _Arch. R. Maç. 6 +de bull._, No. 7, and _Maç. 12_, No. 23.]--S.] + +[Endnote 68: (p. 54). _Without his license and especial mandate._--See +Introduction to vol. ii, p. xiv.] + +[Endnote 69: (p. 54). _Curse ... of Cain._--For "Curse of Ham." Cf. +Genesis ix, 25. "Cursed be Canaan: a servant of servants shall he be +unto his brethren." For this mediæval theory, used sometimes in +justification of an African slave-trade, we may compare the language of +Barros, quoted in note 81.] + +[Endnote 70: (p. 54). _Going out of the Ark._--The writings of Abp. +Roderic of Toledo, and of the other authors here referred to, are +apparently regarded by Azurara as explanatory of the record in Genesis, +ix and x. Abp. Roderic Ximenes de Rada (fl. 1212) wrote _De Rebus +Hispanicis_ in nine books; also an _Historia Saracenica_, and other +works. Walter is doubtful. He may be Walter of Burley, the Aristotelian +of the thirteenth-fourteenth century, who wrote a _Libellus de vita et +moribus philosophorum_. Excluding this "Walter," our best choice perhaps +lies between "Gualterus Tarvannensis" of the twelfth century; Walter of +Châtillon, otherwise called Walter of Lille, author of an Alexandreis of +the thirteenth century; or the chronicler Walter of Hemingburgh, or +Hemingford, who is probably of the fourteenth century.] + +[Endnote 71: (p. 55). _Better to bring to ... salvation._--Cf. the +Christian hopes of the pagan Tartars in the thirteenth century.] + +[Endnote 72: (p. 55). _Land of Prester John if he could._--See +Introduction to vol. ii, p. liv. As to "Balthasar" [Barros says "he was +of the Household of the Emperor Frederic III," who had married the +Infanta Donna Leonor of Portugal (_Decade I_, ch. vii).]--S.] + +[Endnote 73: (p. 57). _Infant's Alfaqueque ... managing business +between parties...._--The _Alfaqueque_, or _Ransomer of Captives_, +must have been an interpreter as well. Later, we find "Moors" and +negroes employed for this purpose.] + +[Endnote 74: (p. 57). _Who traded in that gold._--[Azurara seems +ignorant that the gold was "brought from the interior by caravans, which +from ancient times had carried on this trade across the great desert, +especially since the Arab invasion. Under the Khalifs, this Sahara +commerce extended itself to the western extremity of the continent, and +even to Spain. The caravans crossed the valleys and plains of Suz, Darah +and Tafilet to the south of Morocco. Cf. the _Geographia Nubiensis_ of +Edrisi (1619 ed.), pp. 7, 11, 12, 14; Hartmann's _Edrisi_, pp. 26, 49, +133-4. This gold came from the negro-land called Wangara, as Edrisi and +Ibn-al-Wardi tell us. See _Notices et extraits des MSS. de la +Bibliothèque du Roi_, fo. 11, pp. 33 and 37: so Leo Africanus and Marmol +y Carvajal speak of the gold of Tiber, brought from Wangara. "Tiber" is +from the Arab word Thibr = gold (cf. Walckenaer, _Recherches +géographiques_, p. 14). So Cadamosto, speaking of the commerce of +Arguim, says, ch. x, that men brought there "gold of Tiber;" and Barros, +_Decade I_, ch. vii, in describing the Rio d' Ouro, refers to the same +thing:--"A quantity of gold-dust, the first obtained in these parts, +whence the place was called the Rio d' Ouro, though it is only an inlet +of salt water running up into the country about six leagues."]--S.] + +[Endnote 75: (p. 58). _Gete_ (or Arguim).--[Barros, _Decade I_, 7, +says: "Nuno Tristam on this voyage went on as far as an island which the +people of the country called Adeget, and which we now call Arguim." The +Arab name was "Ghir," which Azurara turns into "Gete," Barros into +"Arget." The discovery and possession of this point was of great +importance for the Portuguese. It helped them to obtain news of the +interior, and to establish relations with the negro states on the +Senegal and Gambia. The Infant began to build a fort on Arguim in 1448. +Cadamosto gives a long account of the state of commercial relations +which the Portuguese had established there with the dwellers in the +upland; and the Portuguese pilot, author of the _Navigation to the Isle +of St. Thomas_ (1558), published by Ramusio, says of Arguim: "Here there +is a great port and a castle of the King our Lord with a garrison and a +factor. Arguim is inhabited by black-a-moors, and this is the point +which divides Barbary from Negroland." Cf. Bordone's _Isolario_ (1528) +on the Portuguese trade with the interior. In 1638 this factory and +fortress were taken by the Dutch.]--S. + +The subsequent changes of this position may be briefly noticed. After +passing, in 1665, from the Dutch to the English and afterwards back +again, in 1678 from the Dutch to the French, in 1685 from the French to +the Dutch, in 1721 once more falling into French hands, only to be +recovered shortly afterwards by the Netherlanders, it became definitely +and finally a French possession in 1724, and at present forms part of +the great North-West African empire of the Third Republic. At the +northern extremity of the Bight of Arguim, or a little beyond, near Cape +Blanco, is the present boundary between the French and Spanish spheres +of influence in this part of the world. + +The native boats, worked by "bodies in the canoes and legs in the +water," must be, Santarem remarks, what the Portuguese call "jangadas."] + +[Endnote 75A: (p. 59). _An infinity of Royal Herons._--[The Isle of +Herons is one of the Arguim islands; cf. Barros, _Decade I_, ch. vii; it +is marked under this name (_Ilha_, or _Banco, das Garças_) in early +maps, as in Gastaldi's Venetian chart of 1564, which is founded on +ancient Portuguese maps.]--S.] + +[Endnote 76: (p. 61). _Lagos ... Moorish captives._--On the importance +of Lagos in the new Portuguese maritime movement, see Introduction to +vol. ii, pp. xi-xii; and note the reasons given by Azurara in ch. xviii +for the change of feeling among Portuguese traders and others towards +the Infant's plans.] + +[Endnote 77: (p. 63). _Lançarote ... Gil Eannes ... Stevam Affonso ... +etc., ... expedition._--This list of names includes several of the +Infant's most capable and famous captains. On Lançarote see this +Chronicle, chs. xviii-xxiv, xxvi, xlix, liii-v, lviii, lix; on Affonso, +chs. li, lx; on John Diaz, ch. lviii; on John Bernaldez, ch. xxi; and on +Gil Eannes, chs. ix, xx, xxii, li, lv, lviii; also pp. x-xiii of +Introduction to vol. ii, and the notices by Ferdinand Denis and others +in the _Nouvelle Biographie Générale_. On the "Isle of Naar," mentioned +a little later on p. 63, Santarem has the following note:--[This island +is marked near to the coast of Arguim on the map of Africa in the +Portuguese Atlas (noticed before) at the Bibliothèque Royale (Nationale) +de Paris.]] + +[Endnote 78: (p. 68). [In Bordone's _Isolario_ (1533) all three of the +islands noticed by Azurara (Naar, Garças and Tider), are indicated with +the title of Isles of Herons [Ilhas das Garças]. The same is to be found +in the Venetian map of Gastaldi, and in others. In the Portuguese Atlas +just cited, and in another Portuguese chart made in Lisbon by Domingos +Sanchez in 1618, these islands are depicted as close to the coast of +Arguim, but without any name.] As to Cabo Branco [This name was, +apparently, given it by Nuno Tristam.]--S. See ch. xiii (end) of this +Chronicle.] + +[Endnote 79: (p. 78). _In the end._--It is evident, from Azurara's +language, that the Azanegues made a better stand in this fight at Cape +Branco, and came nearer to defeating the Portuguese than on any previous +occasion. It was a sign of what was to follow, for the native resistance +now began to show itself, and the very next European slave-raiders +(Gonçallo de Sintra and his men) were roughly handled, and most of them +killed (see ch. xxvii. of this Chronicle).] + +[Endnote 80: (p. 80). _Friar ... St. Vincent de Cabo._--This +"firstfruit of the Saharan peoples, offered to the religious life," was +appropriately sent to a monastery close to the "Infant's Town" at +Sagres, and adjoining the promontory whereabouts centred the new +European movement of African exploration.] + +[Endnote 81: (p. 81). _Sons of Adam._--Azurara's position here is, of +course, just that of the scholastics: As men, these slaves were to be +pitied and well treated, nay, should be at once made free; as heathen, +they were enslaveable; and being, as Barros says, outside the law of +Christ Jesus, and absolutely lost as regards the more important part of +their nature, the soul, were abandoned to the discretion of any +Christian people who might conquer them, as far as their lower parts, or +bodies, were concerned.] + +[Endnote 82: (p. 84). _As saith the text._--Cf. Virgil, _Æneid_, i, +630 (Dido to Æneas), _Haud ignara mali miseris succurrere disco_. There +is no text in the Jewish or Christian Scriptures which can be said to +answer properly to Azurara's reference in this place. We may, however, +cf. Judges xi, 38; Revelation i, 9.] + +[Endnote 83: (p. 87). _Tully saith._--Cf. Cicero, _De Nat. Deorum_, i, +20, 55; _De Or._, iii, 57, 215, 48, 159.] + +[Endnote 84: (p. 87). _Ancient sages ... others._--Cf. Livy, v, 51, +46, 6. On the disaster of Gonçalo de Sintra, Santarem remarks:--[This +event happened in 1445. The place where De Sintra perished is fourteen +leagues S. of the Rio do Ouro, and in maps, both manuscript and +engraved, from the close of the fifteenth century, it took the name +_Golfo de Gonçallo de Cintra_]. The reference in the concluding words of +this chapter, _as had been commanded, etc._, is to the passage on p. 87 +of this version, towards the foot: "That he should go straight to +Guinea, and for nothing whatever should fail of this:" an order which De +Sintra treated with entire contempt.] + +[Endnote 85: (p. 92). _First purpose_, viz., to write the chronicle of +the "Guinea Voyages," not to discuss philosophic problems. The reference +here to the "wheels [or circles] of heaven or destiny" recalls the +astrological passages on pp. 29, 30, 80, etc. Azurara's reference to Job +is to ch. xiv, verse 5.] + +[Endnote 86: (p. 93). _Julius Cæsar ... Vegetius ... St. Augustine +..._--Azurara here, of course, indulges in some exaggeration. Cæsar's +breach with the Senate did not take place because of his "overpassing +the space of five years" allowed him at first (B.C. 59) for his +command in Gaul. In B.C. 56 the Lex Trebonia formally gave him a +second allowance, of five years more; and he was not required to +disband his army and return from his province till B.C. 49, when the +Civil War broke out. By "Bretanha," or "Brittany," Azurara indicates +the Duchy of Bretagne, which retained a semi-independence till 1532, +when it was absolutely united with the crown of France. Cæsar's +campaigns against "England" are, of course, those of B.C. 55 and 54, +against Germany of 55 and 53, against Spanish insurgents of 61; but he +could not by any stretch be said to have made England or Germany +"subject" to the Roman power in the same sense as Gaul or Spain. Had +his life been prolonged twenty years, he would probably have achieved +both these unfinished conquests, as well as that of Parthia.] + +[Endnote 87: (p. 93). _The enemy ... to them._--Azurara's reference +here is to Livy, Bk. XXII, cc. 42-3.] + +[Endnote 88: (pp. 93-94). _Holy Spirit ... ever be watched._--The +references in this paragraph are to Proverbs xi, 14; xxiv, 6; Tobit iv, +18; Ecclesiasticus vi, 18, 23, 32-3; xxv, 5.] + +[Endnote 89: (p. 94). _Hannibal ... for the moment._--Cf. Livy, _3rd +Decade_, Bk. XXII, cc. 4-5, 42-6. The reading of the Paris MS. +(_sajaria_) is rejected, plausibly enough, by Santarem for _sagaçaria_.] + +[Endnote 90: (p. 94). _Ships of the Armada._--I.e., the Royal Navy of +Portugal; the "very great actions on the coast of Granada and Ceuta" +must refer to events of 1415, 1418, and 1437. (See Introduction to vol. +ii, p. viii, x.) Especially does this expression recall the naval war of +1418, when the King of Granada sent a fleet of seventy-four ships, under +his nephew, Muley Said, to aid the African Moslems in recovering Ceuta +from the Portuguese. Prince Henry proceeded in person to the relief of +the city, and the Granada fleet, we are told, fled at the approach of +the European squadron, without venturing a battle. It is possible, +however, though unrecorded, that the Infant was subsequently able to +engage and destroy part of the Granadine squadron. Gonçalo de Sintra, +from Azurara's words, may have been with D. Henry on this occasion. + +On the reference to John Fernandez staying among the Azanegues "only to +see the country and bring the news of it to the Infant" (close of ch. +xxix, p. 95), Santarem refers to Barros' words: "Para particularmente +ver as cousas daquelle sertão que habitão os Azenegues, e dellas dar +razão ao Infante, _confiado na lingua delles que sabia_" (like Martin +Fernandez, p. 57, c. xvi).] + +[Endnote 91: (p. 96). _The Plains thereof._--[Comparing the account in +the text with the unpublished maps already referred to, it appears that +Nuno Tristam, after revisiting the isles of Arguim, followed the coast +to the south, passing the following places: Ilha Branca, R. de S. João, +G. de Santa Anna, Moutas, Praias, Furna, C. d'Arca, Resgate, and Palmar; +the last being the point Azurara mentions as "studded with many palm +trees."]--S.] + +[Endnote 92: (p. 98). _When King Affonso caused this history to be +written._--On this Santarem remarks: [This is important as showing that +Azurara did not only consult written documents, but personally +interviewed the discoverers, seeing that he confesses his inability to +give details of this occurrence because Nuno Tristam was already dead, +"When Affonso," etc. Cf. _Barros_, I, iii, 17]. Cf. Pina's "Chronicle of +Affonso V," in vol. i of the _Collection of Unpublished Portuguese +Historians_.] + +[Endnote 93: (pp. 98, 99). _Dinis Diaz ... convenient place._--["Dinis +Diaz" is called by Barros, and all other historians and geographers +following his authority, "Dinis Fernandez."]--S. + +On Azurara's statement that "the Infant provided a caravel for Dinis +Diaz," Santarem adds: [Barros does not agree with Azurara in this, but +says on the contrary, "que elle [Diaz] armara hum navio," etc]. The +"other land to which the first (explorers) went" is apparently the +Sahara coast, from Cape Bojador to the Senegal, which Azurara here +admits to be quite a different country from "Guinea" proper (the land of +the Blacks). This last, after the discoveries of 1445, the Portuguese +recognised as beginning only with the cultivated or watered land to the +south of the Sahara. The name, a very early one, whose subtle changes of +meaning are very perplexing, like the "Burgundy" of the Middle Ages, was +probably derived originally from the city of Jenné, in the Upper Niger +Valley (see Introduction to vol. ii, pp. xlv-xlix). [Here Azurara shows +that he is already beginning to recognise the geographical error of +those who gave an undue extension to the term "Guinea."]--S. + +On the reading at the close of this paragraph "concerning this doubt," +Santarem remarks: [So it stands in the MS., as verified; but it seems to +us that there must be some omission of the copyist, and we propose to +restore the text thus: "Filharom quatro daquelles _que tiveram_ o +atrevimento," etc.].] + +[Endnote 94: (p. 100). _Aught to the contrary._--On this passage, cf. +Santarem's _Memoir on the Priority of the Portuguese Discoveries_, § +III, p. 20, etc. Paris, 1840. [_Memoria sobre a prioridade dos +descobrimentos dos Portuguezes_].] + +[Endnote 95: (p. 100). _Egypt ... Cape Verde._--[This proves that our +navigators were the first who gave the Cape this name. See the _Memoria +sobre a prioridade_].--S. On Azurara's idea that the Senegal was near +Egypt, cf. Introduction to vol. ii, pp. xii, xxx, xlii, lviii, cxxii. +This notion is, of course, bound up with the theory of the Western or +Negro Nile, branching off from the Nile of Egypt. No mediæval +geographers, and scarcely any ancient, except Ptolemy, realised the size +of Africa at all adequately. + +On the "rewards" given by the Infant to Diaz, Santarem well remarks: +[From this and other passages it is clear that the Infant's principal +object was discovery, and not the slave-raids on the inhabitants of +Africa in which his navigators so often indulged]. See Introduction to +vol. ii, pp. v, xxiii-vi. + +_Cape Verde._--The turning-point of the great north-west projection of +Africa, now in French possession. It is so called, according to the +general view, from the rich green appearance of the headland--"la +vegetation (as the most recent French surveys describe it) qui le couvre +durant l'hivernage, et que dominent deux mornes arrondis, nommés, par +les marins français, Les Deux Mamelles." The peninsula of Cape Verde is +one of the most remarkable projections of the African coast. Generally +it has the form of a triangle, "terminé par une sorte d'éperon dirigé +vers le S.E., et mesure depuis le cap terminal on point des Almadies +jusqu' à Rufisque une longueur de 34 kilom. avec une largeur de 14 +kilom., sous le méridien de Rufisque, pris comme base du triangle. Sa +côte septentrionale, formant une ligne presque droite du N.N.E. au +S.S.O. est creusée, près de l'extremité, de deux petites baies, dont la +première (en venant de l'E.), la baie d'Yof, est la plus considérable; +puis au delà de la pointe des Almadies, qui est le Cap Vert proprement +dit, la côte court au S.E. jusqu' au Cap Manuel, roche basaltique haute +de 40m., puis remonte aussitôt au N. pour, par une très légère courbe, +partir droit a l'E., dessinant ainsi un éperon bien accusé qui +envelloppe le Golfe de Gorée. Le corps principal de la presqu' île est +bas, sablonneux et parsemé de lagunes qui s'égrènent en chapelets le +long de la côte N.; la petite péninsule terminale est au contraire +rocheuse, accidentée et semble un ilot marin attaché à la côte par les +laisses de mer. Ses hautes falaises, d'une couleur sombre et rougeâtre, +forment une muraille à pic contre laquelle la mer vient se briser, +écumante." See Duarte Pacheco Pereira's _Esmeraldo_, pp. 46-49, ed. of +1892. As to the island on which Dinis Diaz and his men landed near the +Cape, this may have been either (1) Goree, two kilometres from the +mainland, and fronting Dakar on the S.E. of the peninsula; (2) The +Madeleine islands, at the opening of a small inlet to the N.W. of Cape +Manuel; (3) The Almadia islands ("Almadies"), "îlette, qui, située en +avant du cap terminal, est la vrai terre la plus occidentale d'Afrique, +les archipels de l'Atlantique non compris;" or (4) The isle of Yof, in +the bay of Yof, on the north side of the peninsula. The Madeleine +islands were once covered with vegetation, though now desert. Here the +French naturalist Adanson made his famous observations on the Baobab +trees, in the eighteenth century. These trees, though they have +disappeared on the islands, are still numerous on the mainland near the +Cape. Azurara has a good deal more to say about these islets and their +baobabs in chs. lxiii, lxxii, lxxv, pp. 193, 218, 226, etc., of this +version. The rounding of C. Verde opened a fresh chapter in the +Portuguese circumnavigation of Africa--to S.E. and E.; see Introduction +to vol. ii, pp. xii, xxx.] + +[Endnote 96: (pp. 101-2). _John Fernandez ... such a request._--On +this passage, and especially on Azurara's statement (middle of p. 101) +that Fernandez "had already been a captive among the other Moors and in +this part of the Mediterranean Sea, where he acquired a knowledge of +their language," Santarem remarks: [This detail gives us another proof +that Prince Henry's explorations were made systematically, and according +to plans carefully worked out. In his previous captivity in Marocco, +Fernandez had learnt Arabic, and probably Berber as well; he must also +have gained some information about the interior of Africa. To gain more +detailed knowledge, and so be able to inform the Infant better, he had +now undertaken his residence among the Azanegues of the Rio do Ouro.] + +See Introduction to vol. ii, pp. viii, x, xvi, on the dual nature of +Henry's African schemes, land conquest and exploration going along with +the maritime ventures. This was, of course, partly due to an inadequate +conception of the size of the continent, which rendered even the +conquest of Marocco of little use towards the circumnavigation of +Africa. + +"How bitter ... to hear such a request" is, of course, one of Azurara's +rare touches of irony.] + +[Endnote 97: (p. 103). _Affonso Cerveira._--[The author of the earlier +account of the Portuguese conquest of Guinea, _Historia da Conquista dos +Portuguezes pela costa d'Africa_, on which Azurara's present Chronicle +is based. Cf. Barbosa, _Bibliotheca Lusitana_.]--S. See Introduction to +vol. ii, p. cx, and note 202A. + +_Ergim_, in ch. xxxiii, pp. 104, etc., and elsewhere, is, of course, +Arguim. Santarem here refers to Barros' description in _Decade I_, i, +10. "Porque naquelle tempo para fazer algum proveito todos os hião +demandar (os ilheos d'Arguim); e tinha por certo que avião elles de ir +dar com elle, por ser aquella costa e os ilheos a mais povoada parte de +quantas té então tinhão descoberto. E a causa de ser mais povoada, era +por razão da pescaria de que aquella misera gente de Mouros Azenegues se +mantinha, porque em toda aquella costa não avia lugar mais abrigado do +impeto dos grandes mares que quebrão nas suas praias senão na paragem +daquellas ilhas d'Arguim: onde o pescado tinha alguma acolheita, e +lambujem da povoação dos Mouros, posto que as ilhas em si não são mais +que huns ilheos escaldados dos ventos e rocio da agua das ondas do mar. +Os quaes ilheos seis ou sete que elles são, quada hum per si tinha o +nome proprio per que nesta scriptura os nomeamos, posto que ao presente +todos se chamão per nome commum _os ilheos d'Arguim_; por causa de huma +fortaleza que el Rei D. Affonso mandou fundar em hum delles chamado +Arguim." Cf. Duarte Pacheco Pereira's _Esmeraldo_, chs. xxv-vi, pp. +43-4. _Arguim_ is defined in the most recent surveys of its present +French possessors as "Golfe, île, et banc de sable ... l'île est par 20° +27' N. lat., 18° 57' à 60 kilom. vers le S.E. du Cap Blanc ... Ses +dimensions sont de 7 kilom. sur 4. Elle est basse, inculte, et parsemée +de dunes."] + +[Endnote 98: (p. 107). _John Fernandez ... in that country._--Santarem +draws attention to Azurara's statement that the explorer, Fernandez, was +personally known to him. Cf. ch. lxxvii of this Chronicle; also chs. +xxix and xxxii. "That country" is of course the Azanegue or Sahara land, +near the Rio do Ouro. + +_Setuval_ (p. 106) is in Estremadura (of Portugal), twenty miles +south-east of Lisbon.] + +[Endnote 99: (p. 110). _Fear to prolong my story ... though all would +be profitable._--The fondness of Azurara for these scholastic +discussions and useless displays of learning is one of his worst +failings; and a good deal of Cerveira's matter of fact has apparently +been sacrificed to this weakness of his redactor.] + +[Endnote 100: (p. 110). _Nine negroes and a little gold-dust._--This +was the first instalment of the precious metal brought home to Portugal +from the Negro-land of Guinea. The same Antam Gonçalvez had already, in +1441, brought the first gold dust from the Sahara, or Azanegue coast +(see ch. xvi of this Chronicle, p. 57). As to the importance of these +gold-samples in promoting the European exploring movement, see +Introduction to vol. ii, pp. x-xi.] + +[Endnote 101: (p. 111). _Cape of the Ransom._--[This name is marked +upon the manuscript maps already referred to. On one great Portuguese +chart of this class, on parchment, in the Bibliothèque Nationale at +Paris, the reading is not Cape, but _Port_ of the Ransom. The Portuguese +nomenclature for the West African coast, as we see in this instance, was +for a long time accepted by all the nations of Europe.]--S. + +We may notice the allusion in this paragraph to the Portuguese +colonisation of Madeira, in the story of Fernam Taavares (see +Introduction to vol. ii, pp. xcviii-cii).] + +[Endnote 102: (p. 112). _Isle of Tider_ (see note 78 to p. +68).--[Tider, marked "Tiber" in the map of West Africa before referred +to. We do not meet this name in any of the many earlier charts that we +have examined].--S.] + +[Endnote 103: (p. 115). _Officers who collected royal dues._--The +custom-house officers of Lisbon. We may compare with Azurara's graphic +account of the return of Antam Gonçalvez in 1445, the very similar +details of a much greater reception in the same port: that of Columbus +on March 14th, 1493, on his home-coming from his first voyage (see the +postscript of Columbus' Letter to Luis de Santangel, Chancellor of the +Exchequer of Aragon, respecting the Islands found in the Indies).] + +[Endnote 104: (p. 115). _A palace of the Infant, a good way distant +from the Ribeira._--Azurara's only reference, in this Chronicle, to the +Lisbon residence of the Infant Henry. This passage implies that Prince +Henry was often to be found there, and must be taken with others in +modification of extreme statements about his "shutting himself up at +Sagres," etc. Again, at the end of this chapter we are expressly told +that he was now in his dukedom of Viseu, in the province of Beira, some +50 kilometres N.E. of Coimbra, 220 kilometres N.N.E. of Lisbon.] + +[Endnote 105: (p. 115). _Profits._--Azurara's remarks here about the +change of feeling as to the Infant's plans are similar to passages in +ch. xiv, p. 51, ch. xviii, pp. 60-61.] + +[Endnote 106: (p. 116). _Lisbon ... profit._--The city of Lisbon, +whose name was traditionally and absurdly derived from +Ulysses--"Ulyssipo," "Olisipo," and his foundation of the original +settlement in the course of his voyages, was perhaps a greater city +under the Moors, eighth-twelfth century, than at any time before the +reign of Emmanuel the Fortunate. It was a Roman colony, but its +prosperity greatly increased under the Arab rule from A.D. 714; from +this port sailed Edrisi's Maghrarins, or Wanderers, on their voyage of +discovery in the Western Ocean, probably in the earliest eleventh +century. It was three times recovered and lost by the Christians: in +792(-812) by Alfonso the Chaste of Castille; in 851 by Ordonho I of +Leon, who held it only a few months; and in 1093(-1094) by Alfonso VI of +Leon, soon after his great defeat by the Almoravides at Zalacca (1086); +but on each occasion it was quickly retaken--in 1094 by Seyr, General of +Yusuf ibn Tashfin, the Almorvaide. In alarm at the Moslem revival, +Alfonso founded the county of Portugal in 1095, giving it in charge of +Count Henry of Burgundy and his natural daughter Theresa, to hold as a +"march" against the Moors. In 1147 Lisbon was finally recaptured by +Affonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal, in alliance with a fleet +(164 ships) of English, Flemish, German and French Crusaders on their +way to the Holy Land (Second Crusade). At this time it was said, perhaps +with exaggeration, to contain 400,000 inhabitants; its present number is +only about 240,000 (see _Cruce-signati Anglici Epistola de Expugnatione +Olisiponis_, in _Portugalliæ Monumenta Historica_, vol. i, p. 392, etc). +Before 1147 Guimaraens had been the capital of Portugal; and even down +to the time of John I, Henry's father, Lisbon was not formally the seat +of government, this being more often fixed at Coimbra. In the same +reign, Lisbon also, as a commercial port, easily distanced all rivals +within the kingdom, especially Oporto; and King John's erection of +palaces in the city, and his successful application to the Pope for the +creation of an Archiepiscopal See (thus rivalling Braga), further +contributed to give point to Azurara's words in this paragraph about +"the most noble town in Portugal." On the share of the commercial +classes of Lisbon, Lagos, etc., in Henry's schemes, see Introduction to +vol. ii, pp. x, xii. + +_Paulo Vergeryo_ is Pietro Paulo Vergerio, born at Capo d'Istria, July +23, 1370, died at Buda, 1444 (1428 according to others). He enjoyed a +considerable reputation as a scholar at Padua in 1393, etc., and +migrated to Hungary in 1419. See Bayle, _Dict. Crit._ IV, 430 (1741); P. +Louisy, in _Nouvelle Biographie Générale_, art. (Vergerio); J. Bernardi, +in _Riv. Univers._ (Florence, 1875) xxii, 405-430, in _Arch. Stor. +Ital._ (1876) C., xxiii, 176-180; Brunet, _Manuel V_, 1132-3; Muratori, +_Rer. Ital. Scr._ (edition of Vergerio's works) XVI, pp. 111-187, +189-215, 215-242; _Fabricius_, ed. Mansi, VI, p. 289. He has left +various _Orations and Letters_; especially an _Epistola de morte +Francisci Zabarekae_, and a _Historia seu Vitae Carariensium Principum +ab eorum origine usque ad Jacobini mortem_ (1355). See also Joachim +Vadianus, _Biographia P. P. Vergerii, sen._; and C. A. Combi, _Di +Pierpaolo V. ... seniore ... memoria_, Venice, 1880.] + +[Endnote 107: (p. 116). _Gonçalo Pacheco ... Kingdom._--Barros copies +this sentence, with some omissions. The allusion to the _High Treasurer +of Ceuta_ (_Thesoureiro Mor das cousas de Cepta_), and his _Noble +lineage, goodness, and valour_, is interesting in its proof of the +detailed attention given to the new conquest, and to African affairs +generally, by the Portuguese government at this time.] + +[Endnote 108: (p. 117). _Cape Branco._--On the _personnel_ of this +expedition we have accounts elsewhere; for Dinis Eannes de Graã and the +rest, see chs. xxxvii-xlviii, and especially pp. 121, 122, 126, 130, +131, 138; for Mafaldo, especially p. 119 ("a man well acquainted with +this business ... had been many times in the Moorish traffic"); also pp. +120-121, etc. Cape Branco, since its discovery by Nuno Tristam, had +become the favourite rendezvous of the Portuguese expeditions on this +coast. See ch. lii, p. 153 (made agreement to await one another _as +usual at Cape Branco_). + +On the _banners of the Order of Christ_, see Introduction to vol. ii, +pp. xviii-xix; and in this Chronicle, pp. 62 (ch. xviii), 53 (ch. xv), +117 (ch. xxxvii), etc. + +[Cf. a parchment atlas (unpublished), executed in Messina as late as +1567 by João Martinez, in which two Portuguese ships are painted in +various points of the Eastern Ocean _with the Cross of the Order of +Christ on their sails_, apparently to indicate the Portuguese dominion +in those waters. This atlas passed into the Library of Heber, and +afterwards into that of M. Ternaux.]--S.] + +[Endnote 109: (p. 120). _The patience with which men bear the troubles +of their fellows_ is another piece of irony, similar to that on p. 102; +see note 96.] + +[Endnote 110: (p. 122). _Fifty-three Moorish prisoners._--In this, as +in subsequent actions, Mafaldo, rather than Gonçalo Pacheco, showed +himself to be the leader of the expedition.] + +[Endnote 111: (p. 123). _Cunning ... but small in this part of the +world._--The fair inference is that, on this occasion, Mafaldo, from his +previous experience, correctly estimated the danger (or absence of +danger), and knew when to trust the natives. Similar trustfulness was +not always equally successful, sometimes from absence of that past +experience possessed by Mafaldo. See chs. xxvii, pp. 90, 91; xlviii, pp. +144-5; lxxxvi, pp. 252, etc.; xxxv, pp. 112-3. The Azanegue Moors of the +Sahara on the whole showed less ability to defend themselves than the +Negroes of the Sudan coast; cf. chs. xlv, pp. 137-8; lx, pp. 179-182; +lxxxvi, pp. 252-6; xli, p. 130; xxxi, p. 99; contrast with pp. 126, 122, +114, 105-6, 78, 73, 36.] + +[Endnote 112: (p. 126) ... _true effects._--Azurara certainly does not +commit the error of "those historians who avoid prolixity by summarizing +things that would be greatest if related in their true effects," _i. +e._, in detail. This central portion of his narrative (chs. xxxvi-lix, +lxviii-lxxiv) is especially tedious, and we cannot too much regret the +comparative sacrifice of the scientific interest to the anecdotal, +biographical, or slave-raiding details, with which he fills so much of +this Chronicle. Cf. the slender and imperfect narratives of the really +important voyages of Dinis Diaz (ch. xxxi), Alvaro Fernandez (ch. lxxv), +and Nuno Tristam (chs. xxx, lxxxvi), with the lengthy descriptions of +the expeditions personally conducted by Gonçalo de Sintra, Gonçalo +Pacheco, Lançarote, Mafaldo, and other men whose voyages resulted in +scarcely any advance of exploration. In all this Azurara's narrative +contrasts unfortunately with Cadamosto's, which is not only a record of +exploration, but of acute original observation, a quality by no means so +noticeable in the _Chronicle of Guinea_, except at rare intervals. Cf., +however, chs. xxv, lxxvi-lxxvii, lxxix-lxxxiii, and see Introduction to +vol. ii, pp. xxiv-xxvi, etc.] + + + + + Transcribers Notes: + + Footnotes are indented and moved to the end of the paragraph in which + the anchor appears. + + Volume 1 ends with the illustration of the Coast of N.W. Africa. + Endnotes pertaining to volume 1 have been added for the convenience of + the reader; originally, they were only included in volume 2. An 'N' was + added to endnote anchors (e.g. [N1], [N2]) to distinguish them from + numbered footnote anchors in the first half of the book. + + Obsolete and archaic spellings were retained. Punctuation was standarized. + + Changed 'Brendam' to 'Brandan' ... the voyages of St. Brendan ..., for + consistency with remaining text. + + Printing errors corrected: + Changed 'Michäelis' to 'Michaëlis' ... Michaëlis de Vasconcellos ... + Added missing word 'thing' ... for a man to do a good thing ... + Added missing 'l' to 'mediæval' ... Among early Christian and + mediæval authors ... + Added missing word 'of' ... writers worthy of the name ... + Page reference for Endnote 78 was corrected from 61 to 68. + Page reference for Endnote 100 was corrected from 110 to 111. + The first paragraph of Chapter XXXIII had two lines of text reversed + in the original. The text was reordered so that it makes sense. + In Chapter XXXVI, "Then said some of them, it would be well for us ..." + was changed to ...Then said some of them, "It would be well for us... + There are two endnotes numbered 75. The second was renumbered as 75A. + The anchor for 75A was missing in the original. + Chapter XXVII contains three endnote anchors [N84]. They all refer + to the same endnote. The second one (... very near[N84] them;...) + was numbered [N85] in the original text. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Chronicle of the Discovery and +Conquest of Guinea, by Gomes Eannes de Azurara + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DISCOVERY-CONQUEST OF GUINEA, VOL I *** + +***** This file should be named 35738-0.txt or 35738-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/5/7/3/35738/ + +Produced by Chris Curnow, Joseph Cooper, Carol Ann Brown +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea + Vol. I + +Author: Gomes Eannes de Azurara + +Translator: Charles Raymond Beazley + Edgar Prestage + +Other: The Hakluyt Society + +Release Date: April 1, 2011 [EBook #35738] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DISCOVERY-CONQUEST OF GUINEA, VOL I *** + + + + +Produced by Chris Curnow, Joseph Cooper, Carol Ann Brown +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + +<div class="tnote"> +<h4>Transcriber's Note:</h4> +<p>This text includes characters that require UTF-8 (Unicode) file +encoding:</p> +<p>œ (oe ligature)<br /> +āīū (letters with macron or “long” mark)<br /> +Γαράμαντεσ (Greek)<br /> +ãẽñõ (letters with tilde)<br /> +äëïöü (letters with umlaut)<br /> +âîôû (letters with circumflex)<br /> +ç (c with cedilla)<br /> +° (degree sign, with latitude and longitude)</p> + +<p>If any of these characters do not display properly—in +particular, if the diacritic does not appear directly above the +letter—or if the apostrophes and quotation marks in this paragraph +appear as garbage, ensure your text reader’s “character set” or “file +encoding” is set to Unicode (UTF-8). You may also need to change the +default font.</p> + +<p>Additional notes are at the end of the book.</p> +</div> + +<p class="p4 center">WORKS ISSUED BY</p> + +<h2>The Hakluyt Society.</h2> + +<hr class="c10" /> + +<h1>THE CHRONICLE</h1> + +<h3>OF</h3> + +<h1>THE DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST<br /> OF GUINEA.</h1> + +<h3>VOL. I.</h3> + +<p class="p4a center">No. XCV.</p> + +<h1 class="p4">THE CHRONICLE</h1> + +<h3>OF THE</h3> +<h1>DISCOVERY</h1> +<h3>AND</h3> +<h1>CONQUEST OF GUINEA.</h1> + +<p class="center">WRITTEN BY</p> +<h2>GOMES EANNES DE AZURARA;</h2> + +<p class="p2 center">NOW FIRST DONE INTO ENGLISH<br /> BY</p> +<h3>CHARLES RAYMOND BEAZLEY, M.A., F.R.G.S.,</h3> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">fellow of merton college, +oxford; corresponding member<br /> of the lisbon geographical +society;</span></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">and</span></p> + +<h3><span class="smcap">EDGAR PRESTAGE, B.A.Oxon.,</span></h3> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">knight of the most noble +portuguese order of s. thiago; corresponding<br /> member of the lisbon +royal academy of sciences,<br /> the lisbon geographical society, +etc.</span></p> + +<p class="p4 center">VOL. I.<br /> (CHAPTERS I-XL).</p> + +<p class="center">With an Introduction on the Life and Writings of the +Chronicler.</p> + +<p class="center p4">BURT FRANKLIN, PUBLISHER<br /> NEW YORK, NEW +YORK</p> + +<p class="p2 center">Published by<br /> BURT FRANKLIN<br /> 514 West +113th Street<br /> New York 25, N. Y.</p> + +<p class="p4 center">ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY<br /> +REPRINTED BY PERMISSION</p> + +<p class="p4a center">PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.</p> + +<h4>TO<br /> +HIS MOST FAITHFUL MAJESTY</h4> +<h3>DOM CARLOS I<sup>o</sup>,</h3> +<h4>KING OF PORTUGAL AND THE ALGARVES,<br /> +THIS WORK IS BY PERMISSION<br /> +DEDICATED.</h4> + +<p class="p4 center">COUNCIL<br /> OF<br /> THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY.</p> + +<hr class="c10" /> + +<p><span class="smcap">Sir Clements Markham</span>, K.C.B., F.R.S., +<i>Pres. R.G.S.</i>, <span class="smcap">President.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">The Right Hon. The Lord Stanley of Alderley, +Vice-President.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Sir A. Wollaston Franks, K.C.B., F.R.S., +Vice-President.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">C. Raymond Beazley, Esq., M.A.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Miller Christy, Esq.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Colonel G. Earl Church.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">The Right Hon. George N. Curzon, M.P.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Albert Gray, Esq.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">The Right Hon. Lord Hawkesbury.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Edward Heawood, Esq., M.A.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Admiral Sir Anthony H. Hoskins, K.C.B.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Vice-Admiral Albert H. Markham.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">A. P. Maudslay, Esq.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">E. Delmar Morgan, Esq.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Captain Nathan, R.E.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Admiral Sir E. Ommanney, C.B., F.R.S.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Cuthbert E. Peek, Esq.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">E. G. Ravenstein, Esq.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Coutts Trotter, Esq.</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Rear-Admiral W. J. L. Wharton, C.B., R.N.</span></p> +<p><span class="smcap">William Foster, Esq.</span>, <i>Honorary +Secretary</i>.</p> + +<p class="p4b"> </p> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_IXa" id="Page_IXa">[IX]</a></span> +<img src="images/i009head.png" width="500" height="138" alt="Design 1" +title="Design 1" /> +</div> + +<p class="p4b center">EDITORS' PREFACE.</p> + +<div class="figleft"> + <img src="images/i009LtrT.jpg" + width="115" height="117" alt="Letter T" + title="Letter T" /> +</div> + +<p class="p2">he following translation of Azurara's <i>Chronicle of the +Discovery and Conquest of Guinea</i> is the first complete English +version that has appeared of the chief contemporary authority for the +life-work of Prince Henry of Portugal, surnamed the Navigator; and we +may remind members of the Hakluyt Society, and other readers, that we +have but lately passed the fifth centenary of the Prince's birth (March +4th, 1394).</p> + +<p>The first volume includes about half of the text, together with an +Introduction on the Life and Writings of Azurara, which it is hoped will +be found more exhaustive and accurate than any previous notice of the +historian.</p> + +<p>In the second volume (which is due for the year 1897) will be given +the rest of the Chronicle, with <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_Xa" +id="Page_Xa">[pg X]</a></span>an Introduction on the Geographical +Discoveries of the Portuguese, and Prince Henry's share in the same. It +will also contain <ins title="Notes have been added and linked at the +end of this volume.">notes</ins> for the explanation of historical and +other questions arising out of certain passages in the text of both +volumes. To illustrate the condition of geographical knowledge in the +period covered by the present instalment, we have included four +reproductions of contemporary (or almost contemporary) maps: (1) Africa, +according to the Laurentian Portolano of 1351 in the Medicean Library at +Florence. This is the most remarkable of all the Portolani of the +fourteenth century. Its outline of W. and S. Africa, and more +particularly its suggestion of the bend of the Guinea Coast, is +surprisingly near the truth, even as a guess, in a chart made one +hundred and thirty-five years before the Cape of Good Hope was first +rounded. (2) N.W. Africa, the Canary Isles, etc., according to the +design of the Venetian brethren Pizzigani, in 1367. (3) The same +according to the Catalan Map of 1375 in the Bibliothèque Nationale at +Paris. The interior of Africa is filled with fantastic pictures of +native tribes; the boatload of men off Cape Bojador in the extreme S.W. +of the map probably represents the Catalan explorers of the year 1346, +whose voyage in search of the "River of Gold" this map commemorates. (4) +The same, with certain other parts of the world, according to Andrea +Bianco in 1436. In the succeeding volume, we hope to offer some +illustrations <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_XIa" id="Page_XIa">[pg +XI]</a></span>of the cartography of Prince Henry's later years, as well +as a likeness of the Prince himself, either from the Paris portrait +(MSS. Port. 41, fol. 5 <i>bis</i>) or from the statue at Belem. We had +expected to be able to furnish our readers with a copy of the portrait +of the Prince from the important oil-painting on board preserved in a +corridor of the extinct monastery adjoining the Church of S. Vicente de +Fóra in Lisbon, but the photograph, which was taken by Senhor Camacho +with the permission of His Eminence the Cardinal Patriarch, proved +unsatisfactory, owing to the position of the picture and want of +sufficient light.</p> + +<p>We may add that a considerable part of the Paris manuscript of the +<i>Chronicle of Guinea</i> has been collated for the present edition +with the printed text as published by Santarem, and the result proves +the accuracy of the latter.</p> + +<p>We have to thank Senhor Jayme Batalha Reis, who has looked through +the present version as far as the end of vol. i, and has kindly offered +many suggestions. Among other Portuguese scholars who have been of +service to us, we would especially mention Dr. Xavier da Cunha, of the +Bibliotheca National, Lisbon; Senhor José Basto, of the Torre do +Tombo, and General Brito Rebello. In a lesser degree we owe our +acknowledgments to D. Carolina <ins title="'Michäelis' in the +original">Michaëlis</ins> de Vasconcellos and Dr. Theophilo Braga, the +chief authorities on all that pertains to Portuguese literature, as well +as to the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_XIIa" id="Page_XIIa">[pg +XII]</a></span>late Conselheiro J. P. de Oliveira Martins, whose +untimely death robbed his country of her foremost man of letters.</p> + +<p class="quotsig">C. R. B.<br /> +E. P.</p> +<p><i>October, 1896.</i></p> + +<div class="figcenter"><p class="p4b center"> + <img src="images/i012design.jpg" + width="400" height="150" alt="Title Design 2" + title="Design 2" /></p> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter"><p class="p4b center"> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[pg i]</a></span> + <img src="images/i013head.jpg" + width="500" height="145" alt="Title Design 3" + title="Design 3" /></p> +</div> + +<p class="center p4b">THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF AZURARA.</p> +<p class ="center"><span class="smcap">Life.</span></p> +<p class="center ax p0">"Lidar sem descanço parece ter sido o moto +d'Azurara."</p> +<p class="quotsig"><span class="smcap">Vieira de Meyrelles.</span></p> + +<div class="figleft"> + <img src="images/i013LtrT.jpg" + width="107" height="115" alt="Letter T" + title="Letter T" /> +</div> + +<p>he materials at hand for a study of the life and work of the second +great Portuguese Chronicler are, considering the age in which he lived +and the position he held, somewhat disappointing, and no one of his +countrymen has been at the pains to work them up satisfactorily. They +naturally fall into three divisions—his own writings, documents +directly relating to his life or merely signed by him in his official +capacity, and the witness of historians. There exists but one +contemporary description of Azurara, that by Mattheus de Pisano, author +of the Latin history of the Capture of Ceuta, though this is +supplemented by the contents of two letters addressed to the Chronicler +by Affonso V and the Constable D. Pedro respectively, as well as by what +can <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[pg +ii]</a></span>be gleaned from documentary sources and from Azurara +himself. In the next century—the 16th—some assistance may be +derived from the traditions preserved by Barros, the historian of the +Indies, as also from his critical judgments together with those of +Damião de Goes, the famous Humanist and friend of Erasmus. These are all +in a sense primary authorities, while the others who have discoursed of, +or incidentally mentioned him are but secondary, namely, Nicolau +Antonio, Jorge Cardoso, Barbosa Machado, João Pedro Ribeiro, the +Viscount de Santarem, Alexandre Herculano, Vieira de Meyrelles, +Innocencio da Silva, Sotero dos Reis, and Rodriguez d'Azevedo.</p> + +<p>Gomes Eannes de Azurara, to give the modern spelling of his name, +though he always signed himself simply "Gomes Eanes" or "Gomes Annes",<a +name="fnanchor_1" id="fnanchor_1"></a><a href="#footnote_1" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[1]</sup></a> was the son of João Eannes de +Azurara, a Canon of Evora and Coimbra; but, beyond the fact of this +paternity, we know nothing of his father, and only by conjecture is it +possible to arrive at the name of his mother, as will hereafter appear. +He is said to have come of a good family, on the ground of his admission +into the Order of Christ.</p> + +<p>As with several other Portuguese men of letters, the respective years +of Azurara's birth and death are unknown,<a name="fnanchor_2" +id="fnanchor_2"></a><a href="#footnote_2" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[2]</sup></a> and two localities dispute the +honour of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[pg +iii]</a></span>having given him to the world; but there seems little +doubt that this "bonus Grammaticus, nobilis Astrologus, et magnus +Historiographus," as his friend Pisano calls him,<a name="fnanchor_3" +id="fnanchor_3"></a><a href="#footnote_3" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[3]</sup></a> was born in the town of his name, in +the Province of Minho, at the very commencement of the 15th century. In +proof of this it should be stated that Azurara expressly declares in his +<i>Chronica de Ceuta</i>, which was finished in 1450, that he had not +passed "the three first ages of man" when he wrote it.<a +name="fnanchor_4" id="fnanchor_4"></a><a href="#footnote_4" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[4]</sup></a></p> + +<p>The dispute as to his birthplace between the Azurara in Minho and the +Azurara in Beira<a name="fnanchor_5" id="fnanchor_5"></a><a +href="#footnote_5" class="fnanchor"><sup>[5]</sup></a> is not easy to +settle, but tradition favours the former, and until the end of the last +century no writer had ventured to doubt that the ancient town at the +mouth of the River Ave, which received its first charter, or "foral", +from the Count D. Henrique in 1102 or 1107, was the early home of the +Chronicler.<a name="fnanchor_6" id="fnanchor_6"></a><a +href="#footnote_6" class="fnanchor"><sup>[6]</sup></a> Such evidence as +exists in favour of the latter place is <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[pg iv]</a></span>slight, consisting only of +inferences drawn from a document, dated August 23rd, 1454, in which +Affonso V grants certain privileges to two inhabitants of Castello +Branco, who were accustomed to collect the Chronicler's rents and bring +them to Lisbon. From this it has been argued by such able critics as +Vieira de Meyrelles and Rodriguez d'Azevedo that these rents must have +issued out of family property situate at the Azurara in Beira, which +happens to be in the district of Castello Branco, and hence that the +Chronicler was a native of Beira rather than of Minho.<a +name="fnanchor_7" id="fnanchor_7"></a><a href="#footnote_7" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[7]</sup></a> The conclusion seems far-fetched, to +say the least, for it is just as likely that these two men were agents +for a benefice, or "commenda", at Alcains, in the same district, which +Azurara possessed at the time this grant was made.<a name="fnanchor_8" +id="fnanchor_8"></a><a href="#footnote_8" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[8]</sup></a></p> + +<p>The early life of the Chronicler is almost a blank. Until the year +1450, in which he wrote his first serious Chronicle, though not, +perhaps, his first book, we have little beyond the meagre information, +supplied by Mattheus de Pisano,<a name="fnanchor_9" +id="fnanchor_9"></a><a href="#footnote_9" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[9]</sup></a> that he began to study <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[pg +v]</a></span>late—"dum maturæ jam ætatis esset"—and that he +had passed his youth without acquiring the rudiments of +knowledge—"nullam litteram didicisset"<a name="fnanchor_10" +id="fnanchor_10"></a><a href="#footnote_10" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[10]</sup></a>—to which some later +authorities have added—he spent his early years in the pursuit of +arms, a statement likely enough to be true. It seems probable that he +obtained a post in the Royal Library during the brief and luckless reign +of D. Duarte (1433-1438), or shortly afterwards, as assistant to the +Chronicler Fernão Lopes, whom he succeeded, for he was actually in +charge of it early in the reign of Affonso V, in 1452, and finished the +<i>Chronica de Guiné</i> in that place in 1453.</p> + +<p>Tradition has it that he entered the Order of Christ as a young man, +for he came to be Commander therein, a position only obtainable at that +time by regular service in the Order, and by seniority; but the nature +of these services, and the advancement which Azurara gained by them, +cannot precisely be determined, because the early private records of the +Order, together with the roll of its Knights, have been lost, those that +exist only reaching back to the commencement of the 16th century.<a +name="fnanchor_11" id="fnanchor_11"></a><a href="#footnote_11" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[11]</sup></a> This Order was founded by King +Diniz in 1319, on the suppression of the Templars, and it inherited +most, if not all, their houses and goods throughout Portugal. Its +members were bound by the three monastic vows of chastity, poverty, and +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[pg +vi]</a></span>obedience, which prevailed in Azurara's time, although +Commanders and Knights of the Order were at a later period allowed to +marry, by grant of Pope Alexander VI.<a name="fnanchor_12" +id="fnanchor_12"></a><a href="#footnote_12" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[12]</sup></a> The Commanders were bound to +confess and communicate four times in the year, to recite daily the +Hours of Our Lady, to have four Masses said annually for deceased +members, and to fast on Fridays, as well as on the days ordained by the +Church. Membership of the Order was an honour reserved for Nobles, +Knights, and Squires, free from stain in their birth or other +impediment; while the Statutes directed a number of enquiries to be made +before a candidate was admitted, one being, was he born in lawful +wedlock?—a question our Chronicler could possibly not have +answered in the affirmative.<a name="fnanchor_13" +id="fnanchor_13"></a><a href="#footnote_13" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[13]</sup></a> Besides this, aspirants were +required to be knighted before their admission, and then to profess. A +gift of one or more "Commendas", or benefices, followed in due course, +but, to prevent the abuse of pluralities which thus crept in, Pope Pius +V afterwards decreed that no Knight should hold more than one Commenda, +and this he was to visit at least once in every three years. The Knights +possessed many privileges, the most notable being that, in both civil +and criminal cases, they were exempt from the jurisdiction of the Royal +Courts, and subject only to those of their Order, does not necessarily +follow that he was illegitimate, and, in fact, no letters of +legitimation exist in respect of him.] <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[pg vii]</a></span>which had all the old +prerogatives of those of the Temple and Calatrava, together with such as +had been granted it by name.<a name="fnanchor_14" +id="fnanchor_14"></a><a href="#footnote_14" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[14]</sup></a></p> + +<p>According to one authority, Azurara began his career as author in the +reign of D. Duarte by compiling a detailed catalogue of the Miracles of +the Holy Constable, Nun' Alvares Pereira.<a name="fnanchor_15" +id="fnanchor_15"></a><a href="#footnote_15" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[15]</sup></a> The MS., which is said to have +existed in the Carmo Convent in Lisbon as late as 1745, has disappeared, +but the substance of this curious work may still be read in Santa Anna's +<i>Chronica dos Carmaelitas</i>, together with a number of contemporary +popular songs about the Constable, extracted from MSS. left by +Azurara.<a name="fnanchor_16" id="fnanchor_16"></a><a +href="#footnote_16" class="fnanchor"><sup>[16]</sup></a></p> + +<p>More than ten years now elapse without any mention of Azurara's name, +and we hear of him for the first time, definitely, in 1450. On March +25th of that year he finished at Silves, in the Algarve, his +<i>Chronicle of the Siege and Capture of Ceuta</i>, an event that took +place in 1415, and formed the first of a long line of Portuguese +expeditions, and the starting-point in their career of foreign conquest. +Fernão Lopes, the Froissart of his country, and the father of Portuguese +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[pg +viii]</a></span>history, was still alive at the time Azurara wrote this +work, but had become too old and weak to carry on his history of the +reign of João I, to which it is a sequel. After paying a tribute to +Lopes as a man of "rare knowledge and great authority",<a +name="fnanchor_17" id="fnanchor_17"></a><a href="#footnote_17" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[17]</sup></a> Azurara tells us that Affonso V +ordered him to continue the work, that the deeds of João I might not be +forgotten; and this he did, culling his information from eye-witnesses +as well as from documents, with that honesty and zeal which are his two +most prominent features as an historian.<a name="fnanchor_18" +id="fnanchor_18"></a><a href="#footnote_18" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[18]</sup></a> He began the +<i>Chronicle</i>—which was printed once only, and that in the 17th +century—thirty-four years after the capture of Ceuta, <i>i.e.</i>, +in the autumn of 1449, and concluded it, as the last chapter states, on +March 25th, 1450. It was, therefore, written in the short space of about +seven months, which, says Innocencio, seems well-nigh incredible, +considering how deliberately and circumspectly histories were compiled +in those days.<a name="fnanchor_19" id="fnanchor_19"></a><a +href="#footnote_19" class="fnanchor"><sup>[19]</sup></a> The narrative +is, with a few exceptions, full and even minute.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[pg +ix]</a></span>We know not the precise date at which Azurara had begun to +apply himself to the study of letters, and he makes no allusion +whatsoever, in his writings, to his early life; but it is clear, from +the <i>Chronica de Ceuta</i>, that his self-training had been lengthy, +and his range of study wide.<a name="fnanchor_20" +id="fnanchor_20"></a><a href="#footnote_20" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[20]</sup></a> In the Preface to this, his first +literary essay still existing, he quotes from many books of the Old and +New Testament, as well as from Aristotle, St. Gregory, St. Anselm, and +Avicenna; while in the body of the work he compares the siege of Ceuta +to that of Troy, talks of "Giovanni Boccaccio, a poet that was born at +Florence", mentions the <i>Conde Lucanor</i>, and wanders off into +philosophical musings that forcibly recall passages of the <i>Leal +Conselheiro</i> of D. Duarte, and prove him to have been no tyro in the +learning of the age. He was equally well versed in astrology, in which +he believed firmly, as in history, and of the latter he says: "I that +wrote this history have read most of the Chronicles and historical +works."<a name="fnanchor_21" id="fnanchor_21"></a><a href="#footnote_21" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[21]</sup></a> To understand how this was +possible, it must be remembered that the Portuguese Court, in the first +half of the 15th century, was an important literary centre, and that +João I and his sons, besides being themselves authors of books, +possessed libraries among the most complete in Europe.<a +name="fnanchor_22" id="fnanchor_22"></a><a href="#footnote_22" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[22]</sup></a> The <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[pg x]</a></span>atmosphere of learning that +he breathed made Azurara what he was, and it explains the ascendency he +gained, as a pure man of letters, over the mind of Affonso V.</p> + +<p>Three years elapsed between the writing of his second and third +books, and there can be little doubt that Azurara spent this period +partly in the Royal Library and partly among the Archives, which were +then housed in the Castle of S. Jorge in Lisbon, continuing his study of +the history of his own and foreign countries in the chronicles and +documents those places contained.</p> + +<p>Some time in the year 1452 the King, who was then in Lisbon, charged +him with the book which constitutes his chief title to fame, owing to +the importance of its subject, and the historical fidelity and literary +skill that distinguish its presentment, namely, the <i>Chronica de +Guiné</i>, or, as it might be called, the <i>Life and Work of Prince +Henry the Navigator</i>. From the subscript we find it was written in +the Royal Library, and finished there on February 18th, 1453. Azurara +sent it to the King, five days afterwards, with a letter which has +fortunately been preserved, since it shows how friendly and even +familiar were the relations subsisting between them, and how these were +maintained by a regular correspondence. It appears that Affonso had +urged Azurara to obtain all the information possible about the life and +work of D. Henrique, and, this done, to write as best he could, +"alleging a dictum of Tully, that it sufficeth not for a man to do a +good <ins title="word missing in original">thing</ins> <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[pg xi]</a></span>but +rather to do it well". Then the letter proceeds, addressing the King: +"For it seemed to you that it would be wrong if some example of such a +saintly and virtuous life were not to remain, not only for the sake of +the Princes who after your time should possess these realms, but also +for all others of the world who might become acquainted with his +history, by reason of which his countrymen might have cause to know his +sepulchre, and perpetuate Divine Sacrifices for the increase of his +glory, and foreigners might keep his name before their eyes, to the +great praise of his memory."<a name="fnanchor_23" +id="fnanchor_23"></a><a href="#footnote_23" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[23]</sup></a></p> + +<p>The following is a summary of the contents of the +<i>Chronicle</i>:—</p> + +<p>Azurara begins (Chapter <span class="smcap">I</span>) by some +reflections on well-doing and gratitude, the conclusion to which he +illustrates by quotations, and then goes on to tell the origin of his +work, which lay in the King's desire that the great and very notable +deeds of D. Henrique should be remembered, and that there should be an +authorised memorial of him, even as there was in Spain of the Cid, and +in Portugal itself of the Holy Constable, Nun' Alvarez Pereira.<a +name="fnanchor_24" id="fnanchor_24"></a><a href="#footnote_24" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[24]</sup></a> The Chronicler justifies his task +by summing up the profits that had <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[pg xii]</a></span>accrued from the +Prince's efforts—firstly, the salvation of the souls of the +captives taken by the Portuguese in their expeditions; secondly, the +benefit which their services brought to their captors; and thirdly, the +honour acquired by the fatherland in the conquest of such distant +territories and numerous enemies.</p> + +<p>Chapter <span class="smcap">II</span> consists of a long and most +eloquent invocation to D. Henrique, and a recital of his manifold good +deeds to all sorts and conditions of men and his mighty accomplishments. +Azurara presents them to us as in a panorama, and his simple, direct +language reveals a true, though unconscious, artist in words.</p> + +<p>Chapter <span class="smcap">III</span> deals with the ancestry of D. +Henrique, and Chapter IV describes the man himself, "constant in +adversity and humble in prosperity", his appearance, habits, and manner +of life, all with much force of diction.</p> + +<p>In Chapter <span class="smcap">V</span> we have an account of the +early life of D. Henrique, of his prowess at the capture of Ceuta, and +during its siege by the Moors, with his fruitless assault on Tangiers, +which resulted in the captivity of the Holy Infant. His peopling of +Madeira and other islands in "the great Ocean sea", and presence at the +gathering that ended in the battle of Alfarrobeira are referred to, as +also his governorship of the Order of Christ and the services he +rendered to religion by the erection and endowment of churches and +professorial chairs. The chapter ends with a description of the Town of +the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[pg +xiii]</a></span>Infant at Cape St. Vincent, "there where both the seas +meet in combat, that is to say, the great Ocean sea with the +Mediterranean sea", a place designed by the Prince to be a great +mercantile centre, and a safe harbour for ships from East and West.</p> + +<p>In Chapter <span class="smcap">VI</span>, Azurara returns to his +laudations of the Infant, whom he apostrophises thus: "I know that the +seas and lands are full of your praises, for that you, by numberless +voyages, have joined the East to the West, in order that the peoples +might learn to exchange their riches"; and he winds up with some remarks +on "distributive justice", the non-exercise of which had been attributed +to D. Henrique as a fault by some of his contemporaries.</p> + +<p>Chapter <span class="smcap">VII</span> is occupied with a recital of +the reasons that impelled the Infant to send out his expeditions. They +were shortly as follows. First and foremost, pure zeal for knowledge; +secondly, commercial considerations; thirdly, his desire to ascertain +the extent of the Moorish power in Africa; fourthly, his wish to find +some Christian King in those parts who would assist in warring down the +Moors; and last but not least, his purpose to extend the Faith. To these +reasons Azurara, quite characteristically, adds a sixth, which he calls +the root from which they all proceeded—the influence of the +heavenly bodies, and he essays to prove it by the Prince's +horoscope.</p> + +<p>The narrative of the expeditions really begins in Chapter <span +class="smcap">VIII</span>, which opens with an account of the reasons +why no ship had hitherto dared to pass <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[pg xiv]</a></span>Cape Bojador, some of +them being at first sight as sensible as others are absurd. The fears of +the mariners prevented for twelve years the realisation of their +master's wish, and for so long the annual voyages were never carried +beyond the terrible cape.</p> + +<p>Chapter <span class="smcap">IX</span> relates how at length, in 1434, +Cape Bojador was doubled by Gil Eannes, a squire of D. Henrique, and +how, on a second voyage with one Affonso Gonçalvez Baldaya, Eannes +reached the Angra dos Ruivos, fifty leagues beyond it.</p> + +<p>In the next Chapter (<span class="smcap">X</span>) Baldaya passes one +hundred and twenty leagues beyond Cape Bojador to the Rio d'Ouro, and a +short way beyond; but failing to take any captives, as the Prince wished +him to do, he loads his ship with the skins of sea-calves and returns to +Portugal in 1436.</p> + +<p>Chapter <span class="smcap">XI</span> is a short one, and merely +tells that for three years, <i>i.e.</i>, from 1437 to 1440, the voyages +were interrupted by the affairs of the Kingdom, which required all the +attention of D. Henrique. These affairs were the death of D. Duarte, and +the struggle that followed between the Queen, supported by a small +section of the nobles, and the Infant D. Pedro, backed by Lisbon and the +people as a whole, over the question of the Regency and the education of +the young King Affonso.</p> + +<p>Chapters <span class="smcap">XII</span> and <span +class="smcap">XIII</span> relate how Antam Gonçalvez took the first +captives, and how Nuno Tristam went to Cape Branco.</p> + +<p>In Chapter <span class="smcap">XIV</span> Azurara dwells on the +delight <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[pg +xv]</a></span>D. Henrique must have felt at the sight of the captives, +though he opines that they themselves received the greater benefit: +"for, although their bodies might be in some subjection, it were a small +thing in comparison with their souls, that would now possess true +liberty for evermore."</p> + +<p>Chapter <span class="smcap">XV</span> contains an account of the +embassy sent to the Holy Father by D. Henrique to obtain "a share of the +treasures of Holy Church for the salvation of the souls of those who in +the labours of this conquest should meet their end." The Pope, Eugenius +IV, granted a plenary indulgence, on the usual conditions, to all who +took part in the war against the Moors under the banner of the Order of +Christ; and D. Pedro, the Regent, made D. Henrique a present of the +King's fifth to defray the heavy expenses he had incurred by the +expeditions.</p> + +<p>In Chapter <span class="smcap">XVI</span> Antam Gonçalvez obtains the +Infant's leave for another voyage, and is charged to collect information +about the Indies and the land of Prester John. He receives ten negroes, +in exchange for two Moors whom he had previously taken, together with +some gold dust, and then returns home.</p> + +<p>In Chapter <span class="smcap">XVII</span> Nuno Tristam goes as far +as Arguim Island and makes some captures; this in the year 1443.</p> + +<p>Chapter <span class="smcap">XVIII</span> begins the relation of the +first expedition on a large scale, and the first that sprang from +private enterprise—namely, that of Lançarote and his six caravels +from Lagos. Azurara takes the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xvi" +id="Page_xvi">[pg xvi]</a></span>opportunity to insert here a short but +interesting sketch of the change that had taken place in public opinion +with reference to these voyages. In the beginning, they were decried by +the great not a whit less than by the populace, but the assurance of +commercial profit had now converted the dispraisers, and the voyage of +Lançarote gave a tangible proof of it.</p> + +<p>The next six Chapters (<span class="smcap">XIX</span> to <span +class="smcap">XXIV</span>) relate the doings of this expedition, which +ended in the capture of two hundred and thirty-five natives.</p> + +<p>Chapter <span class="smcap">XXV</span>, which treats of the division +of the captives at Lagos, is the most pathetic in the book, and one of +the most powerful by virtue of the simple realism of the narrative.</p> + +<p>Chapter <span class="smcap">XXVI</span> gives a lucid summary of the +after-lives of the captives, and their gradual but complete absorption +into the mass of the people.</p> + +<p>Chapter <span class="smcap">XXVII</span> narrates the ill-fated +expedition of Gonçalo de Cintra and his death near the Rio d'Ouro; +while, in the next, Azurara refers the accident to the heavenly bodies, +and draws a profitable lesson from it, which he divides into seven +heads, for the benefit of posterity.</p> + +<p>Chapter <span class="smcap">XXIX</span> contains a short notice of a +voyage undertaken by Antam Gonçalvez, Gomez Pirez, and Diego Affonso to +the Rio d'Ouro, which had no result.</p> + +<p>Chapter <span class="smcap">XXX</span> deals with the voyage of Nuno +Tristam, who passed the furthest point hitherto discovered, and reached +a place he named Palmar. Azurara confesses himself unable to give more +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xvii" id="Page_xvii">[pg +xvii]</a></span>details about this expedition, "because Nuno Tristam was +already dead at the time King Affonso ordered this Chronicle to be +written"—a statement which proves that he did not rely only on +documents for the facts he related, but was careful to glean as much as +possible from the actors therein.</p> + +<p>Chapter <span class="smcap">XXXI</span> tells how Dinis Dyaz sailed +straight to Guinea without once shortening sail, and how he was the +first to penetrate so far, and take captives in those parts. He pushed +on to Cape Verde, and, though he brought back but little spoil, he was +well received by the Infant, who preferred discoveries to mere +commercial profits.</p> + +<p>Chapters <span class="smcap">XXXII</span> to <span +class="smcap">XXXVI</span> recite the expedition of Antam Gonçalvez, +Garcia Homem and Diego Affonso to Cape Branco, Arguim Island and Cape +Resgate, where, besides trafficking, they took on board a squire, Joham +Fernandez, who had stayed full seven months at the Rio d'Ouro, among the +natives, to acquire for the Infant a knowledge of the country and its +products.</p> + +<p>Azurara refers in Chapter <span class="smcap">XXXII</span> to Affonso +Cerveira, whose history of the Portuguese discoveries on the African +coast, now lost, was used by him in the compilation of this Chronicle; +and in the next chapter he employs one of those rhetorical periphrases +of which his other works afford many an example, though they are rather +scarce in this his masterpiece in point of style.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xviii" id="Page_xviii">[pg +xviii]</a></span>Chapters <span class="smcap">XXXVII</span> to <span +class="smcap">XLVIII</span> relate the doings of the first expedition +from Lisbon, which was under the command of Gonçalo Pacheco, and +penetrated to Guinea, or the land of the Negroes, the result being a +large number of captives, seemingly the chief object it had in view.</p> + +<p>Chapters <span class="smcap">XLIX</span> to <span +class="smcap">LXVII</span> contain the acts of the great expedition of +fourteen sail which set out from Lagos in 1445, under the leadership of +Lançarote, for the purpose of punishing the Moors on the Island of Tider +and avenging Gonçalo de Cintra. In all twenty-six ships left Portugal +that year, being the largest number that had perhaps ever sailed down +the Western side of the Dark Continent at one time.</p> + +<p>After accomplishing their object some returned home, but others, more +bold, determined to explore further South, if perchance they might find +the River of Nile and the Terrestrial Paradise. Arriving at the Senegal +they thought they had found the Nile of the Negroes, and went no +further. A curious description of the Nile, and its power according to +astronomers, forms the subject of Chapters <span +class="smcap">LXI</span> and <span class="smcap">LXII</span>, where +Azurara has collected all the learning and speculation of the Ancients +and Mediævals on the question.</p> + +<p>Chapters <span class="smcap">LXVIII</span> to <span +class="smcap">LXXV</span> describe the doings of the remaining ships +that left Portugal in 1445, and relate descents on the Canaries and the +African coast, and the voyage of Zarco's caravel to Cape Mastos, the +furthest point yet reached.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xix" id="Page_xix">[pg +xix]</a></span>Chapters <span class="smcap">LXXVI</span> and <span +class="smcap">LXXVII</span> contain valuable notes on the life of the +peoples south of Cape Bojador, together with an account of the travels +of Joham Fernandez, the first European to penetrate far into the +interior of Africa.</p> + +<p>In Chapter <span class="smcap">LXXVIII</span> Azurara adds up the sum +of the African voyages, and finds that up to 1446 fifty-one caravels had +sailed to those parts, one of which had passed four hundred and fifty +leagues beyond Cape Bojador.</p> + +<p>Chapters <span class="smcap">LXXIX</span> to <span +class="smcap">LXXXII</span> are taken up by a description of the Canary +Islands, while Chapter <span class="smcap">LXXXIII</span> deals with the +discovery and peopling of the Madeiras and Azores.<a name="fnanchor_25" +id="fnanchor_25"></a><a href="#footnote_25" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[25]</sup></a></p> + +<p>Chapter <span class="smcap">LXXXIV</span> tells how D. Henrique +obtained from the Regent a charter, similar to the one he had previously +secured in the case of Guinea, to the effect (<i>inter alia</i>) that no +one was to go to the Canaries, either for war or merchandise, without +his leave; and the following chapter (<span class="smcap">LXXXV</span>) +relates a descent on the Island of Palma.</p> + +<p>In Chapter <span class="smcap">LXXXVI</span> Azurara narrates in +feeling terms the death of the gallant Nuno Tristam in Guinea-land.</p> + +<p>In Chapter <span class="smcap">LXXXVII</span> we read how Alvaro +Fernandez sailed down the African coast past <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_xx" id="Page_xx">[pg xx]</a></span>Sierra Leone, and more +than one hundred and ten leagues beyond Cape Verde.</p> + +<p>Chapter <span class="smcap">LXXXVIII</span> describes the voyage of +another Lagos fleet of nine caravels to the Rio Grande, while the next +five chapters (<span class="smcap">LXXXIX-XCIII</span>) relate that of +Gomez Pirez to the Rio d'Ouro in 1446.</p> + +<p>Chapters <span class="smcap">XCIV</span> and <span +class="smcap">XCV</span> are devoted to the trafficking venture of the +year 1447, the unhappy fate of the Scandinavian Vallarte, and an +expedition to the fisheries off the Angra dos Ruyvos.</p> + +<p>In Chapters <span class="smcap">XCVI</span> and <span +class="smcap">XCVII</span> Azurara winds up his narrative, ending with +the year 1448. The captives brought to Portugal down to that date by the +various voyagers numbered, according to his estimate, 927, "the greater +part of whom were turned into the true path of salvation"; and this he +counts as the greatest of the Infant's glories, and the most valuable +fruit of his lifelong efforts. He then announces his intention to write +a second part of the Chronicle, dealing with the final portion of D. +Henrique's work—a purpose which to our manifest loss he never +carried out—and concludes by giving thanks to the Blessed Trinity +on the completion of his task.</p> + +<p>The <i>Chronica de Guiné</i> has many features in common with that of +Ceuta, but on the whole it reveals a decided advance in power. The +style, though at times rather rhetorical, is generally plain and facile, +ever and anon rising to a true eloquence. While the narrative portions +are vivid, picturesque, and often majestic in their very simplicity, +other <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxi" id="Page_xxi">[pg +xxi]</a></span>chapters bristle with quotations, and show a more +extensive range of reading and a knowledge truly encyclopædic. All the +philosophy, the geography, the history, and even the astrology of the +age is called into requisition to support an argument or illustrate a +point.</p> + +<p>But to return to our subject—the Life of the Chronicler.</p> + +<p>On June 6th, 1454, Azurara received the reward of his past services, +being appointed Keeper of the Royal Archives (Guarda Mór da Torre do +Tombo), at the instance of, and in succession to, Fernão Lopes. It is +probable that the office of Chief Chronicler (Chronista-Mór) was +conferred on him at the same time and implied in the grant, though it is +not verbally mentioned there, since in the document next referred to be +is actually named Chronicler.<a name="fnanchor_26" +id="fnanchor_26"></a><a href="#footnote_26" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[26]</sup></a> The King, in his letter of +appointment, after reciting that Fernão Lopes is very old and weak, so +that he cannot well serve his office, says he confides in Gomez Eanes de +Zurara, Knight Commander of the Order of Christ, "by the long education +(<i>criaçom</i>) we have given him and the service we are receiving and +expect to receive at his hands", and therefore grants him the post to +hold <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxii" id="Page_xxii">[pg +xxii]</a></span>in the same manner, and with the same rights and profits +as were enjoyed by his predecessor therein.<a name="fnanchor_27" +id="fnanchor_27"></a><a href="#footnote_27" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[27]</sup></a></p> + +<p>It is noticeable that Azurara had already obtained a "Commenda" +belonging to the Order of Christ, and, although its name is not given +here, we know from another source it was that of Alcains, a place +situate in the Province of Beira (Baixa) and District of Castello +Branco, the value of which in 1628 amounted to one hundred and four +milreis.<a name="fnanchor_28" id="fnanchor_28"></a><a +href="#footnote_28" class="fnanchor"><sup>[28]</sup></a> The source +referred to is a document, dated July 14th, 1452, which calls Azurara +"Commander of Alcains" and "Author of the notable deeds of our realm", +and mentions that he had already at that time charge of the Royal +Library.<a name="fnanchor_29" id="fnanchor_29"></a><a +href="#footnote_29" class="fnanchor"><sup>[29]</sup></a> He appears to +have exercised this office with credit, though somewhat less strictly +than would now be considered necessary, for Pisano says of him in this +connection:—"hic bibliothecam Alfonsi quinti, cujus curam gessit, +strenue disposuit atque ornavit, omnesque scripturas Regni prius +confusas mirum in modum digessit, & ita digessit ut ea, quibus Regi +& ceteris Regni proceribus opus est, confestim discernantur; viros +enim eruditos summe coluit, atque nimio charitatis amore complexus est, +quibus ut profecissent ex Regia bibliotheca libros, si parebant, +libenter commodavit".<a name="fnanchor_30" id="fnanchor_30"></a><a +href="#footnote_30" class="fnanchor"><sup>[30]</sup></a> But the +Chronicler received yet <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxiii" +id="Page_xxiii">[pg xxiii]</a></span>another advancement in the year +1454. From a document bearing date the 4th August it appears that he was +then living in a house belonging to the King near the Palace in Lisbon +which needed some repairs. Affonso V therefore granted him leave to lay +out ten milreis upon it, and to make a cistern, with a proviso that he +and his heirs might continue to inhabit the house and use it as their +own, until the sum so expended should be repaid out of the Royal +Treasury. In this licence Azurara is dubbed "Commander of Pinheiro +Grande and Granja d'Ulmeiro, Our Chronicler, and Keeper of the +Archives".<a name="fnanchor_31" id="fnanchor_31"></a><a +href="#footnote_31" class="fnanchor"><sup>[31]</sup></a> These two +Commendas belonged to the Order of Christ, and were probably conferred +upon him in this same year, though the deed of grant has not come down +to us.</p> + +<p>Pinheiro Grande is situate in the province of Estremadura and +Archbishopric of Lisbon, and its ancient Commenda belonged to the +Templars down to the year 1311, and from 1319 to the present century to +the Order of Christ. In the Statutes of the latter Order, published in +1628, it is stated to have been worth 550 milreis for many +years—"ha muitos annos".<a name="fnanchor_32" +id="fnanchor_32"></a><a href="#footnote_32" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[32]</sup></a> Granja d'Ulmeiro is a small place +in the Bishopric of Coimbra, and the same Statutes give the value of its +Commenda. called of St. Gabriel. at 150 milreis, "in the year 1582".<a +name="fnanchor_33" id="fnanchor_33"></a><a href="#footnote_33" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[33]</sup></a></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxiv" id="Page_xxiv">[pg +xxiv]</a></span>Besides these two Commendas, Azurara still continued to +hold that of Alcains, as we learn from the document already referred to, +granting certain privileges to his agents in Castello Branco, and dated +the 23rd of the same month and year. The revenue of these three +Commendas, together with his official salary, must have sufficed to make +of him a wealthy man, for it should be remembered that the purchasing +power of the milreis was then nearly six times greater than at the +present day. He seems, however, to have relinquished the benefice of +Alcains shortly afterwards, for it does not appear again among his +titles, and henceforth he is only credited with the other two.</p> + +<p>In the above-mentioned document of privilege of August 23rd, 1454, +after reciting the services rendered to Azurara by Guarcia Aires and +Afomsso Guarcia—to employ the antique spelling—muleteers of +Castello Branco, in collecting his rents and bringing them to Lisbon, +the King grants them immunity from being forced into the service of +either himself, the Infants, or the local authorities of the district in +which they live. Their houses, cellars, and stables are not to be taken +from them to lodge others against their will, and they are to enjoy this +freedom as long as they continue to be of use to the Chronicler.<a +name="fnanchor_34" id="fnanchor_34"></a><a href="#footnote_34" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[34]</sup></a></p> + +<p>When next we hear of Azurara he is acting in his official capacity as +Keeper of the Royal Archives. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxv" +id="Page_xxv">[pg xxv]</a></span>It seems that the people of Miranda had +lost the "foral" given them by King Diniz in 1324, and required a copy +of it, which Azurara made and handed to them on the 16th February +1456.<a name="fnanchor_35" id="fnanchor_35"></a><a href="#footnote_35" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[35]</sup></a> This is the first of a series of +certificates (certidões) signed by the Chronicler that has come down to +us, and the issuing of these and similar documents appears to have been +one of his chief duties as Royal Archivist.</p> + +<p>But Azurara was too valuable a man to be allowed to spend his whole +time and energy in the routine work of an office; and so we find that +when the King had reigned twenty years or more, which would be in or +about 1458, he commissioned him to relate the history of Ceuta under the +Governorship of D. Pedro de Menezes, to whom the city had been entrusted +on its capture.<a name="fnanchor_36" id="fnanchor_36"></a><a +href="#footnote_36" class="fnanchor"><sup>[36]</sup></a> The story runs, +that for some time João I was unable to meet with anyone who would +undertake the responsibility of guarding the new conquest, and, word of +this having been brought to D. Pedro while he was playing at "Chóca", he +at once hastened into the King's presence, and said he would engage to +hold the city against the whole strength of Africa with the olive-wood +crook he had just been wielding.<a name="fnanchor_37" +id="fnanchor_37"></a><a href="#footnote_37" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[37]</sup></a> Be this <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_xxvi" id="Page_xxvi">[pg xxvi]</a></span>incident true or +not, certain it is that D. Pedro de Menezes succeeded in maintaining +Ceuta, despite all the efforts of the Moors to expel him; and his +achievements, as chronicled by Azurara, form by themselves sufficient +ground for Affonso's commission. But another reason, no doubt, +influenced the King, and that was the supreme importance attached to the +possession of the old city. Its position as the key of the Straits +enabled the Portuguese to hinder the Moorish corsairs from raiding the +Algarve, and, at the same time, to help the Christian cause by attacks +on the last relic of Mohammedan power in the Peninsula, the kingdom of +Grenada. Added to this, its conquest was hailed as the first step in the +realisation of that cherished ideal, an African Empire: for, besides +being a great trading centre and the sea-gate of Mauritania, it formed a +wedge driven into the heart of the Infidel, and a fitting crown to the +struggle of seven centuries, which, commencing on the morrow of the +battle of the Guadalete, had ended by the establishment of the Cross in +the land of the Crescent. The tide had turned at last and for ever, and +the Gothic monarchy was avenged.</p> + +<p>Azurara, who on previous occasions had proved himself a ready writer, +compiled the <i>Chronica do Conde D. Pedro de Menezes</i> more slowly, +owing doubtless to the fact that his new official duties kept him from +devoting his whole time to the work, and the Chronicle was not finished +until 1463.</p> + +<p>In this very year of 1458 occurred the first African Expedition of +Affonso V, with its result, the capture <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_xxvii" id="Page_xxvii">[pg xxvii]</a></span>of Alcacer. This +event was probably the immediate cause of the writing of the Chronicle, +because the record of his reign shows how the King cared more for +African expansion than maritime expeditions, and how, like the old-time +cavalier that he was, he preferred a land-war with the Moors to the +seemingly theoretical, or at least distant, advantages to be gained by +voyages of discovery. In 1460 D. Henrique died, leaving the fruit of his +ceaseless endeavours to be plucked by other hands; since it was not +until 1498, when Vasco da Gama cast anchor off Calicut, that the +Infant's expeditions came to their legitimate conclusion, and a century +of efforts received their reward.</p> + +<p>But if Azurara possessed many of the higher qualities of an +historian, he was by no means devoid of shortcomings; and two incidents, +now to be related, form serious blots on his character as a Chronicler +and a man.</p> + +<p>In 1459 the Cortes met in Lisbon, and the Deputies of the People +requested that a reform should be carried out in the Torre do Tombo, or +Archive Office. They complained that the mass of old Registers which it +was necessary to search in order to obtain copies of the documents +existing there, together with the profitless prolixity of many of them, +had long proved a source of great expense; and they therefore begged +that such as were deemed of importance might be transcribed and the rest +destroyed. This petition met with the King's approval, and Azurara +charged himself with its <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxviii" +id="Page_xxviii">[pg xxviii]</a></span>execution, a task which seemingly +occupied the remainder of his life.<a name="fnanchor_38" +id="fnanchor_38"></a><a href="#footnote_38" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[38]</sup></a> He acted with a zeal worthy of +barbarous times, and the memory of the destruction to which he condemned +documents of the highest historical importance has been preserved by +tradition, and his proscription is still spoken of. He appears to have +been unconscious of the harm he did, for he prefaces each of the new +Registers compiled by him from the old with an account of his handiwork. +True it is that Barros praises Azurara for these Registers, but in +reality they are only "dry, imperfect abstracts", as one writer calls +them, for they throw little light on the periods to which they relate, +and were, besides, the cause of the loss of their originals. +Fortunately, however, some records escaped the general destruction, for +it happened that certain Municipalities had previously obtained +transcripts of the most precious, while others that existed in duplicate +in the Archives, unknown to anyone, came to light during the +administration of another Guarda-Mór.<a name="fnanchor_39" +id="fnanchor_39"></a><a href="#footnote_39" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[39]</sup></a> The authorities of the City of +Oporto obtained leave from Affonso V, <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_xxix" id="Page_xxix">[pg xxix]</a></span>on the 23rd March +1447, to have copies made of all the documents in the Torre do Tombo +which related to them in any way, and these were furnished on December +25th, 1453, when Lopes was still Keeper of the Archives.</p> + +<p>But Azurara was guilty of a yet graver delinquency than his +destruction of the old Registers, and a charge of forgery must be +brought against him. A detailed account of this affair may be read in +the judgment of the Casa de Supplicação, delivered on January 12th, +1479, from which it appears that a dispute had arisen between the Order +of Christ and some inhabitants of Punhete over rights claimed by the +former in the River Zezere, a tributary of the Tagus. The Order based +its claim on certain documents, one being of the reign of D. Fernando, +and said to have been extracted from the Torre do Tombo, in which that +monarch purported to confer on the Order of Christ jurisdiction over the +towns of Pombal, Soure, Castello Branco and others, to the practical +exclusion of his own authority therein.<a name="fnanchor_40" +id="fnanchor_40"></a><a href="#footnote_40" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[40]</sup></a> When a copy of this pretended grant +was produced in support of the contention, Azurara's successor in the +Archives, Affonso d'Obidos, received instructions to produce the +Register of D. Fernando for the purpose of comparison, and to bring the +scribes engaged in the Archive Office <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_xxx" id="Page_xxx">[pg xxx]</a></span>with him; whereupon the +grant was found at the end of the Register in a different writing from +the rest of the book. Neither d'Obidos, nor the scribe who had copied +out the Register, could say how it came there, or who had inserted it, +and the latter declared that no such grant existed in the old books from +which he had transcribed the present one. On further examination the +pretended grant proved to be in the handwriting of "Gomez Eannes, +Cleric",<a name="fnanchor_41" id="fnanchor_41"></a><a +href="#footnote_41" class="fnanchor"><sup>[41]</sup></a> a servant of +Azurara, and it must have been fraudulently inserted in the Register +after the latter had been bound up. On the discovery of this act of +forgery, judgment was, of course, given against the Order, and it was +fortunate for our Chronicler that the offence he had committed in its +interests remained undiscovered until after his death.<a +name="fnanchor_42" id="fnanchor_42"></a><a href="#footnote_42" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[42]</sup></a></p> + +<p>Curiously enough, in the same year Azurara was rewarded by a pension. +The grant dated from Cintra, August 7th, 1459, runs as +follows:—"Dom Affonso, etc., to all to whom this letter of ours +shall come we make known that, considering the many services we have +received and expect hereafter to receive from Gomez Eanes de Zurara, +Commander <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxxi" id="Page_xxxi">[pg +xxxi]</a></span>of the Order of Christ, Our Chronicler and Keeper of our +Archives, and wishing to do him favour, we are pleased to give him a +pension of twelve white milreis from the 1st day of January next, which +amount he has had of us up to the present time."<a name="fnanchor_43" +id="fnanchor_43"></a><a href="#footnote_43" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[43]</sup></a></p> + +<p>It would appear from the last line that this document is rather the +confirmation of an old grant than the gift of something new, but it has +been interpreted to mean that Azurara had been receiving the money from +the King's privy purse, and was henceforth to have it out of the public +treasury. There can be no dispute that the recipient merited the gift +for his past literary services, which were an earnest of the work he was +to accomplish in the future, and the value of the latter will presently +appear.</p> + +<p>We possess the copy of one certificate issued by the Chronicler in +the following year, together with the record of another, their +respective dates being June 27th and October 22nd, 1460. The former, +dated from Lisbon, was granted in answer to the petition of the +inhabitants of Nogueira, who felt uncertain about the dues they were +bound to pay the Bishop of Coimbra;<a name="fnanchor_44" +id="fnanchor_44"></a><a href="#footnote_44" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[44]</sup></a> the latter is mentioned by J. P. +Ribeiro, but seems to have disappeared from the Torre do Tombo.</p> + +<p>In 1461 there occurred an event, simple enough on its face, but one +which Azurara's biographers <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxxii" +id="Page_xxxii">[pg xxxii]</a></span>have regarded as the mystery of his +life, or else employed as a weapon wherewith to smite their +hero—his adoption by Maria Eannes. In the king's confirmation of +this, dated from Evora, February 6th, 1461, we are told that "Maria +Eannes, a Lisbon tanner—considering the love and friendship that +Johane añnes dazurara, erstwhile Canon of Evora and Coimbra, had always +shown to her mother, Maria Vicente, as well as to herself and her +husband, and the many good deeds she herself had received at his hands, +being his godchild and friend, and considering that she had no children +and was no longer of an age to have any, and also the love and +friendship she had felt for Gomez Eannes dazurara, ever since his +father's death, and the services he had rendered her—thereby +adopted him as her son and heir to succeed to her real and personal +property, including her country house at Valbom, in the Ribatejo, and a +house she possessed in the Parish of S. Julião in Lisbon".<a +name="fnanchor_45" id="fnanchor_45"></a><a href="#footnote_45" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[45]</sup></a> Such is the substance of this +document, over the explanation of which some controversy has taken +place, because of the social gulf that separated the parties to it. The +true motive for the adoption, as hints Senhor Rodriguez d'Azevedo, would +seem to have been the existence of some near relationship between Maria +Eannes and the Chronicler which it was not expedient to disclose; but +whether this opinion find acceptance or no, there is nothing to <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxxiii" id="Page_xxxiii">[pg +xxxiii]</a></span>justify the old view which regarded the grant as a +proof of Azurara's avarice and unscrupulousness: since, on the contrary, +the preamble reveals a lively sense of gratitude in the donor for real +benefits conferred by the donee. If, however, the above theory be worked +out, the most plausible conclusion to arrive at is, either that Maria +Eannes and Gomes Eannes de Azurara were brother and sister, both being +children of the Canon and Maria Vicente, or that the Chronicler was +half-brother to Maria Eannes, <i>i.e.</i>, had the same father but not +the same mother. It seems at least a fair inference to draw from the +wording that the Canon and Maria Vicente were of a similar age, and the +same may be said of the other pair, because at this time the Chronicler +would count nearly sixty years, and his benefactress could not be much +less, seeing that all possibility of her bearing children had passed by. +Either of these hypotheses would account for the name Eannes being +common to the lady and Azurara. The Canon would then have left his +property between his two children, and as Maria Eannes was childless, it +would be natural for her to bequeath her share of her fathers property +to her brother. But be this as it may, we know from an independent +source that Azurara had a sister, for she is mentioned in the letter +which Affonso V wrote him whilst he was living in Africa and engaged on +historical investigations. The fact, recorded by Pisano, that the +Chronicler began his studies relatively late in life, unless it be +ascribed to his adoption of a military career at first, seems to <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxxiv" id="Page_xxxiv">[pg +xxxiv]</a></span>show that he had passed his early years under a cloud, +and that his father, from one cause or another, lacked the power to +provide him with an education at the customary age. It is, however, +impossible to proceed beyond conjectures, and since the matter cannot +claim to be one of historical moment, we may leave it unsolved without +much regret.</p> + +<p>On June 14th, 1463, Azurara issued a certificate of documents in the +Torre do Tombo relating to land of one D. Pedro de Castro,<a +name="fnanchor_46" id="fnanchor_46"></a><a href="#footnote_46" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[46]</sup></a> while yet another proof of the +influence he possessed with his royal master is afforded by two grants, +dated respectively June 22nd and 23rd of the same year. By the first of +these the office of Judge of Excise in the town of Almada was conferred +on a certain Pero d'Almada, servant of Gomes Eannes, and the grant is +expressed to be made at the latter's request. The second appoints the +same individual Judge and Steward of the gold-diggers at Adiça, near +that town.<a name="fnanchor_47" id="fnanchor_47"></a><a +href="#footnote_47" class="fnanchor"><sup>[47]</sup></a></p> + +<p>The <i>Chronica de D. Pedro de Menezes</i>, which had been commenced +by Azurara in or about the year 1458, was finished on St. John the +Baptist's Eve, June 23rd, 1463, at his Commenda of Pinheiro <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxxv" id="Page_xxxv">[pg +xxxv]</a></span>Grande. It relates the history of Ceuta, from the +capture of the city in 1415 until the death of D. Pedro de Menezes, the +first governor, in 1437, and gives evidence of the author's progress in +historical methods.<a name="fnanchor_48" id="fnanchor_48"></a><a +href="#footnote_48" class="fnanchor"><sup>[48]</sup></a> While it +contains less moralising and more matter than any of his previous works, +at the same time he appears surer of his own powers, and no longer feels +the same need of supporting every remark by a citation. Of course this +Chronicle has not as deep an interest for us as that of Guinea, but this +is due to the subject, not to any shortcomings in the narrator, whose +contemporaries were probably of a different opinion, for many of them +looked askance at the voyages of discovery, though there were few that +doubted the importance of the possession of Ceuta.</p> + +<p>Azurara confesses that he felt at first somewhat diffident of putting +pen to paper, so marvellous seemed the deeds he was called on to relate; +and he would never have persevered with his task had he learnt them on +hearsay evidence, or from the mouths of one or two witnesses; but he +found their truth confirmed on a perusal of the official reports sent to +the King from Ceuta, and this encouraged him to proceed. He appears to +have been assisted in his task by D. Pedro himself during his +lifetime,<a name="fnanchor_49" id="fnanchor_49"></a><a +href="#footnote_49" class="fnanchor"><sup>[49]</sup></a> and to have +written out the book twice, while his impartiality <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxxvi" id="Page_xxxvi">[pg +xxxvi]</a></span>and the care he took to arrive at the truth are +everywhere visible.<a name="fnanchor_50" id="fnanchor_50"></a><a +href="#footnote_50" class="fnanchor"><sup>[50]</sup></a> Of course he +cannot abstain altogether from citations, and these have an interest as +showing the measure of his literary knowledge: witness his mention of +Dante's <i>Divina Commedia</i>, Cinó da Pistoia and <i>The Book of +Amadis</i>, which he ascribes to "Vasco Lobeira, who lived in the time +of D. Fernando."<a name="fnanchor_51" id="fnanchor_51"></a><a +href="#footnote_51" class="fnanchor"><sup>[51]</sup></a></p> + +<p>For three years contemporary records are silent respecting the +Chronicler, and it is not until 1466 that he comes before us again. On +June 11th of that year, D. Pedro,<a name="fnanchor_52" +id="fnanchor_52"></a><a href="#footnote_52" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[52]</sup></a> King of Aragon, son of him who was +Regent in the minority of Affonso V, and fell at Alfarrobeira, wrote +Azurara a short but familiar autograph letter, which affords another +proof of the intimate relations that existed between the Chronicler and +the great personages of the age. In this letter, which is in response to +one sent by Azurara, D. Pedro addresses him as "friend", refers to his +"old kindness and sweet nature", and goes on to accept his offer to keep +him informed of the progress of events in Portugal. He then takes <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxxvii" id="Page_xxxvii">[pg +xxxvii]</a></span>the Chronicler into his confidence, and complains of +the difficulties of his position as King of Aragon—difficulties +which were aggravated by an illness that ended in his death less than a +month after he had penned this epistle.<a name="fnanchor_53" +id="fnanchor_53"></a><a href="#footnote_53" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[53]</sup></a></p> + +<p>On July 27th, 1467, in answer to a petition of the inhabitants, +Azurara issued a certificate<a name="fnanchor_54" +id="fnanchor_54"></a><a href="#footnote_54" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[54]</sup></a> of the "foral" of Azere (Azár), +<i>virtute officii</i>, and on the very next day he met with another +piece of good fortune. From the deed of grant it appears that, some +ninety years previously, a certain Gonçalo Estevez of Cintra had died, +after having built a chapel in honour of St. Clare in the Church of St. +Mary Magdalen, in Lisbon, where he desired to be buried, and had left +his property with the condition annexed that masses should be regularly +said there. This condition, the document goes on to declare, had been +broken by his heirs for about seventy years, in spite of judgments +obtained against them, and many had died excommunicate because of their +neglect and disobedience. Finally, the goods had been declared forfeit +to the Crown, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxxviii" +id="Page_xxxviii">[pg xxxviii]</a></span>and they were now granted out +to Azurara, on condition that he should provide for the masses and +generally carry out the instructions contained in the will of the +founder.<a name="fnanchor_55" id="fnanchor_55"></a><a +href="#footnote_55" class="fnanchor"><sup>[55]</sup></a> A gift of this +nature was considered an extraordinary grace in those days, and it +affords clear evidence that the Chronicler stood high in the royal +regard.</p> + +<p>In August of this same year Azurara went to Africa, and, to explain +the journey, some introductory remarks are needed. On returning from the +fruitless African expedition of 1464, the King had written to him from +Aveiro, with instructions to leave all his other occupations—which +the Chronicler naïvely assures us were very important and profitable to +his countrymen—and forthwith to collect and put in writing the +deeds of D. Duarte de Menezes, late Captain of Alcacer.<a +name="fnanchor_56" id="fnanchor_56"></a><a href="#footnote_56" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[56]</sup></a> This Duarte was the natural son of +D. Pedro, the hero of Azurara's last book; and he had merited much from +Affonso V for his long and faithful services at Alcacer, ending with the +sacrifice he had made of his own life to save that of the King, during a +reconnaissance against the Moors in the last-named year.</p> + +<p>As before, Azurara hesitated to make a start on account of his +"untutored style and small knowledge", and through fear of hostile +criticism; indeed, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxxix" +id="Page_xxxix">[pg xxxix]</a></span> under the latter head he says, +with a touch of bitterness, "there are so many watching me, that I have +hardly put pen in hand before they begin to damn my work."<a +name="fnanchor_57" id="fnanchor_57"></a><a href="#footnote_57" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[57]</sup></a> But his obligations to, and regard +for, the King caused him to pluck up courage, and proceed with a task +which occupied some three or four years of his time. In order to secure +the best information possible, he considered that he ought to visit +Africa, because some of the dwellers in and about Alcacer were the chief +actors in the drama he was called upon to write, and would be likely to +have a clearer recollection of events than the courtiers in Portugal; +and also because he wished to view the district which had been the scene +of the struggle, and learn the disposition of the land, the Moorish +method of fighting, and the tactics employed against them by the +Portuguese. He confesses that he would have gone to Ceuta before writing +the <i>Chronica de D. Pedro</i>, but the King refused to give +permission, considering that his services were more needed inside than +outside the realm. Even after he had resolved on the present visit, the +King detained him a whole year, until fully convinced how necessary it +was, if his commands were to be satisfactorily carried out.<a +name="fnanchor_58" id="fnanchor_58"></a><a href="#footnote_58" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[58]</sup></a> Finally, in August 1467, Azurara +crossed the Straits to Alcacer, where he stayed for twelve months, +occupied in studying the district and taking part in the various +excursions into Moorish territory that were made by D. <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xl" id="Page_xl">[pg +xl]</a></span>Henrique, son of D. Duarte de Menezes, who, to satisfy him +and aid his work, used even to change the plan of operations and go to +some spot the Chronicler desired to inspect.<a name="fnanchor_59" +id="fnanchor_59"></a><a href="#footnote_59" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[59]</sup></a> With an impartiality rare enough at +that time, Azurara took care to obtain information from the Moors +themselves, both from such as visited Alcacer and from those he met when +accompanying D. Henrique to treat of matters with the inhabitants of the +neighbouring places.<a name="fnanchor_60" id="fnanchor_60"></a><a +href="#footnote_60" class="fnanchor"><sup>[60]</sup></a></p> + +<p>The Chronicle, which is at once a life of D. Duarte de Menezes and a +history of Alcacer, supplements that of his father D. Pedro de Menezes, +and carries the history of the Portuguese in North Africa down to 1464. +We have no record of when it was finished, but the year 1468 seems the +probable date. It is, if not the most important, yet the longest, as it +proved to be the last, of the Author's historical works, and cost him +more labour than any of its predecessors; but, through some mischance, +no complete MS. exists, all having many and great lacunæ, as will +hereafter appear. It presents the peculiarities common to all Azurara's +writings—the same fondness for quotations, and the same reliance +on astrology as explicative of character. Among the more interesting of +the former, besides those from the Classics and the Fathers, are his +references to Johão Flameno's gloss on Dante, Avicenna, Albertus Magnus, +and the Marquis of Santillana. Speaking <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_xli" id="Page_xli">[pg xli]</a></span>of this Chronicle. Goes +notes and condemns the "superfluous abundance and wealth of poetical and +rhetorical words" that are employed here and elsewhere by its +author.</p> + +<p>During Azurara's stay at Alcacer the King addressed him an autograph +letter dated November 22nd, 1467 (?), which affords a striking proof of +Affonso's superior mind, as well as of the esteem in which he held men +of letters. He begins by saying that he has received the Chronicler's +letter,<a name="fnanchor_61" id="fnanchor_61"></a><a href="#footnote_61" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[61]</sup></a> and rejoices he is well, as he had +feared the contrary, owing to his long silence, and proceeds:— +</p> + +<p class="blockquot"> "It is not without reason that men of your +profession should be prized and honoured; for, next after the Princes +and Captains who achieve deeds worth remembering, they that record them, +when those are dead, deserve much praise.... What would have become of +the deeds of Rome if Livy had not written them; what of Alexander's +without a Quintus Curtius; of those of Troy without a Homer; of Cæsar's +without a Lucan?... Many are they that devote themselves to the exercise +of arms, but few to the art of Oratory. Since, then, you are well +instructed in this art, and nature has given you a large share of it, +with much reason ought I and the chiefs of my Realm and the Captains +thereof to consider any benefit bestowed on you as well employed."</p> + +<p>Affonso then goes on to praise Azurara for having voluntarily exiled +himself in his service, and says he would not have him stay in Africa +any longer than he pleases, and winds up as follows:—</p> + +<p class="blockquot"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xlii" +id="Page_xlii">[pg xlii]</a></span> "I count it as a service that you +wish for news of my health, and, thanks be to God, I am well in body as +in other respects, though on the sea of this world one is constantly +buffeted by its waves, especially as we are all on that plank since the +first shipwreck, so that no one is safe until he reaches the true haven +that cannot be seen except after this life, to which may it please God +to conduct us when He thinks it time, for He is sailor and pilot, and +without Him no man may enter there.... I have not a painting of myself +that I can send you now; but, please God, you will see the original, +some time, which will please you more."<a name="fnanchor_62" +id="fnanchor_62"></a><a href="#footnote_62" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[62]</sup></a></p> + +<p>Herculano truly says of this epistle: "Had it been from one brother +to another, the language could not well have been more affable and +affectionate";<a name="fnanchor_63" id="fnanchor_63"></a><a +href="#footnote_63" class="fnanchor"><sup>[63]</sup></a> but, more than +this, it proves that Portugal was ahead of most European nations of that +age in possessing a King who could value the pen as highly as the +sword.</p> + +<p>Henceforth little or nothing is known of the life of Azurara, except +from the certificates he issued in the course of his official +duties.</p> + +<p>On May 25th, 1468, one of these documents was issued from the Torre +do Tombo, and signed by a substitute, with the statement that the +Chronicler was living at Alcacer, on the service and by command of the +King. He probably returned to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xliii" +id="Page_xliii">[pg xliii]</a></span>Lisbon to finish the <i>Chronica de +D. Duarte de Menezes</i> in the autumn of this year.</p> + +<p>On October 22nd, 1470, Azurara gave a certificate of the Charter of +Moreyra. In their petition for the same, the inhabitants allege that +their copy is so written, and in such Latin, that they cannot understand +it; and they further wish to know how much of the present money they +must pay for the three <i>mealhas</i> mentioned in the original as +payable for the carriage of bread and wine—a question which +Azurara seems to have experienced some difficulty in answering.<a +name="fnanchor_64" id="fnanchor_64"></a><a href="#footnote_64" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[64]</sup></a></p> + +<p>On April 20th, 1471, he issued a similar certificate to the dwellers +in S. João de Rey.<a name="fnanchor_65" id="fnanchor_65"></a><a +href="#footnote_65" class="fnanchor"><sup>[65]</sup></a> In this same +year took place Affonso's third African campaign, which resulted in the +capture of Tangier, Arzila and Anafe.</p> + +<p>On September 5th, 1472, in answer to a petition of the inhabitants of +Cascaes, the Chronicler handed them a copy of the Charter of Cintra, in +which district Cascaes is situate,<a name="fnanchor_66" +id="fnanchor_66"></a><a href="#footnote_66" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[66]</sup></a> and on December 5th in the same +year he issued copies of documents affecting the liberties of the Order +of Christ and the <i>couto</i>, or "liberty", of Gordam.<a +name="fnanchor_67" id="fnanchor_67"></a><a href="#footnote_67" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[67]</sup></a></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xliv" id="Page_xliv">[pg +xliv]</a></span>This latter is the last existing document signed by +Azurara, though he appears to have given another certificate on August +17th, 1473, nearly a year after, relating to the forged grant of D. +Fernando to the Order of Christ, as mentioned by João Pedro Ribeiro.<a +name="fnanchor_68" id="fnanchor_68"></a><a href="#footnote_68" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[68]</sup></a></p> + +<p>There is no evidence to show when the Chronicler died, and tradition +on the point varies. The oldest authority who refers to it is Damião de +Goes, and, according to him, Azurara lived some years after 1472.<a +name="fnanchor_69" id="fnanchor_69"></a><a href="#footnote_69" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[69]</sup></a> He never married, and was succeeded +in his post at the Torre do Tombo by Affonso Annes d'Obidos; but the +charter of this man's appointment has been lost, and his first recorded +certificate only bears date March 31st, 1475.<a name="fnanchor_70" +id="fnanchor_70"></a><a href="#footnote_70" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[70]</sup></a></p> + +<p class="center">* * * * *</p> + +<p>We have now followed the life of Azurara step by step, and seen him +honoured for his talents by his contemporaries, and rewarded for his +services to King and country by numerous benefactions.<a +name="fnanchor_71" id="fnanchor_71"></a><a href="#footnote_71" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[71]</sup></a> We <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_xlv" id="Page_xlv">[pg xlv]</a></span>have also seen him on +intimate terms with the Royal Family, and corresponding regularly with +some of its members, as well as acquainted with the leaders of the +explorations and the learned men of the time, and must conclude that +this was chiefly due to his literary attainments and genial character. +It is therefore pleasant to be able to record that, in our day, Portugal +has marked her appreciation of him, as a man and a writer, by a statue, +whilst recognising that his works form his greatest and most durable +monument. In the Praça de Luiz de Camões in Lisbon there rises a noble +statue of the "Prince of Spanish Poets"<a name="fnanchor_72" +id="fnanchor_72"></a><a href="#footnote_72" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[72]</sup></a>, surrounded by eight of the most +distinguished men of letters and action of the fifteenth and sixteenth +centuries, his predecessors and contemporaries, and among them is a +life-size figure of Gomez Eannes de Azurara.<a name="fnanchor_73" +id="fnanchor_73"></a><a href="#footnote_73" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[73]</sup></a></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_1" id="footnote_1"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_1">[1]</a> In the <i>Chronica de Guiné</i>, ch. 97, +he calls himself "Gomez Eanes de Zurara."</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_2" id="footnote_2"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_2">[2]</a> Barros, writing before 1552, says, "I know +not how long he lived."—<i>Asia</i>, Dec. 1, liv. ii, ch. 2.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_3" id="footnote_3"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_3">[3]</a> "De Bello Septensi," p. 27 (in the +<i>Ineditos de Historia Portugueza</i>, vol. i, Lisbon, 1790).</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_4" id="footnote_4"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_4">[4]</a> <i>Chronica de Ceuta</i>, ch. 23.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_5" id="footnote_5"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_5">[5]</a> This place is in Beira Alta, twelve +kilometres east of Vizeu, famous (<i>inter alia</i>) for the great +picture of St. Peter as Pope, lately reproduced by the Arundel +Society.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_6" id="footnote_6"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_6">[6]</a> The first to mention Azurara's birthplace +was Soares de Brito (born 1611, died 1669), who, in his <i>Theatrum +Lusitaniæ Litterarium</i>, p. 547, says: "Gomes Anes de Azurara ex +oppido, sicuti fertur, cognomine in Diocesi Portucalensi," voicing the +tradition of his time (MS. <span class="smcap">U</span>/4/22 of the +Lisbon National Library, dated 1645). The first who suggested Beira in +place of Minho seems to have been Corrêa da Serra, editor of the +<i>Ineditos</i>, <i>ibid.</i>, vol. ii, p. 209.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_7" id="footnote_7"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_7">[7]</a> <i>Vide</i> the articles on Azurara in the +<i>Instituto de Coimbra</i>, vol. ix, p. 72, <i>et seq.</i>, by Vieira +de Meyrelles, and in the <i>Diccionario Universal Portuguez</i>, vol. i, +p. 2151, by R. d'Azevedo.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_8" id="footnote_8"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_8">[8]</a> Azurara is named in this document +"Commander of Alcains and Granja de Ulmeiro".—<i>Chanc. de D. +Affonso V</i>, liv. x, fol. 113, Torre do Tombo.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_9" id="footnote_9"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_9">[9]</a> According to Azurara, Pisano was tutor +(<i>mestre</i>) to Affonso V, and "a laurelled Bard, as well as one of +the most sufficient Philosophers and Orators of his time in +Christendom."—<i>Chronica de D. Pedro de Menezes</i>, ch. 1 +(<i>Ineditos</i>, vol. ii).</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_10" id="footnote_10"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_10">[10]</a> <i>De Bello Septensi</i>, p. 27.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_11" id="footnote_11"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_11">[11]</a> So says Corrêa da +Serra—<i>Ineditos</i>, vol. ii, p. 207.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_12" id="footnote_12"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_12">[12]</a> <i>Vide</i> Ruy de Pina, <i>Chronica de +D. Duarte</i>, ch. 8.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_13" id="footnote_13"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_13">[13]</a> Because Azurara is found to have been +the son of a Canon, it does not necessarily follow that he was +illegitimate, and, in fact, no letters of legitimation exist in respect +of him.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_14" id="footnote_14"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_14">[14]</a> <i>Definiçoẽs e Estatutos dos +Cavalleiros e Freires da Ordem de N. S. Jesu Cristo com a historia da +origem & principio della.</i> Lisbon, 1628.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_15" id="footnote_15"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_15">[15]</a> D. Carolina Michaëlis de Vasconcellos, +however, is of opinion that this, and the popular songs hereafter +referred to, are pious frauds, invented in the first half of the +seventeenth century to form materials for the canonisation of Nun' +Alvares.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_16" id="footnote_16"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_16">[16]</a> <i>Chronica dos Carmaelitas</i>, vol. i, +pp. 469, 486. Lisbon, 1745.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_17" id="footnote_17"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_17">[17]</a> <i>Chronica de Ceuta</i>, ch. 2.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_18" id="footnote_18"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_18">[18]</a> Azurara's chief informants were D. +Pedro, Regent in the minority of Affonso V, and D. Henrique, in whose +house he stayed some days for the purpose by the king's orders; "for he +knew more than anyone in Portugal about the matter" (<i>Chronica de +Ceuta</i>, ch. 12). To this fact must be attributed the prominent place +he gives D. Henrique in his narrative. The same circumstance is +noticeable in the <i>Chronica de D. Duarte</i>, which was begun by +Azurara and finished by Ruy de Pina, of which hereafter.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_19" id="footnote_19"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_19">[19]</a> <i>Diccionario Bibliographico +Portuguez</i>, vol. iii, p. 147.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_20" id="footnote_20"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_20">[20]</a> Pisano testifies of Azurara, "scientiæ +cupiditate flagravit".—<i>De Bello Septensi</i>, p. 27.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_21" id="footnote_21"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_21">[21]</a> <i>Chronica de Ceuta</i>, ch. 38.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_22" id="footnote_22"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_22">[22]</a> <i>Vide</i> Theophilo Braga, <i>Historia +da Universidade de Coimbra</i>, Lisbon, 1892, vol. i, ch. 4, for the +catalogues of these libraries and an account of the books they +contained.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_23" id="footnote_23"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_23">[23]</a> This letter defines the scope of the +book, which was not meant to be a general history of the Portuguese +expeditions and discoveries. It is printed in Santarem's edition of the +<i>Chronica de Guiné</i>, and precedes his Introduction.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_24" id="footnote_24"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_24">[24]</a> This charming old chronicle of the life +of the noblest and most sympathetic figure in Portuguese annals was +written anonymously, and first printed in 1526.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_25" id="footnote_25"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_25">[25]</a> Azurara's laconism with reference to the +history of the discovery of the Madeiras and Azores is really +regrettable. In many respects his narrative needs to be supplemented +from other sources.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_26" id="footnote_26"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_26">[26]</a> The offices of Chief Chronicler, Keeper +of the Royal Archives and Royal Librarian were, as a rule, held by the +same individual and conferred at the same time, as in the case of Ruy de +Pina, but Azurara had the position of Royal Librarian for at least two +years before he obtained the others, namely from 1452, as already +mentioned (p. v).</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_27" id="footnote_27"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_27">[27]</a> <i>Chanc. de D. Affonso V</i>, liv. +<span class="smcap">X</span>, fl. 30. Torre do Tombo.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_28" id="footnote_28"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_28">[28]</a> <i>Definiçoẽs e Estatutos dos +Cavalleiros e Freires da Ordem de N. S. Jesu Christo</i>, etc., p. +242.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_29" id="footnote_29"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_29">[29]</a> Liv. <span class="smcap">XII</span> +<i>de D. Affonso V</i>, fl. 62. Torre do Tombo.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_30" id="footnote_30"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_30">[30]</a> <i>De Bello Septensi</i>, p. 26.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_31" id="footnote_31"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_31">[31]</a> <i>Estremadura</i>, liv. <span +class="smcap">VII</span>, fl. 255. Torre do Tombo.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_32" id="footnote_32"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_32">[32]</a> <i>Definiçoẽs e Estatutos</i>, etc., +p. 236.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_33" id="footnote_33"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_33">[33]</a> <i>Ibid.</i>, p. 263. The situations of +these Commendas are taken from <i>Portugal Antigo e Moderno</i>, Lisbon +1873, and following years.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_34" id="footnote_34"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_34">[34]</a> <i>Chanc. de D. Affonso V.</i> liv. +<span class="smcap">X</span>, fl. 113. Torre do Tombo.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_35" id="footnote_35"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_35">[35]</a> Gav. 15, Maço 13, No. 21. Torre do +Tombo. Azurara is here described as "Commander of Pinheiro Grande and +Granja d'Ulmeiro, our Chronicler and Keeper" (of the Records).</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_36" id="footnote_36"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_36">[36]</a> <i>Chronica do Conde D. Pedro de +Menezes</i>, ch. 1.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_37" id="footnote_37"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_37">[37]</a> "Chóca" is an old-fashioned Portuguese +game played with a stout staff and ball. The incident is referred to by +Camöens in <i>Eclogue I</i>, in the lines beginning, "Emquanto do seguro +azambugeyro", etc.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_38" id="footnote_38"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_38">[38]</a> Particularly he "reformed" the Registers +of the reigns of Pedro I, D. Fernando, João I, and D. Duarte; and J. P. +Ribeiro, who gives a minute account of the state of these Registers and +of Azurara's compilation, winds up thus: "Such is the state of the +Chancellary books of the early reigns down to that of Affonso V; some +are still in their original condition, while others are reformed or +rather destroyed, by Gomez Eannes de Zurara."—<i>Memorias +Authenticas para a Historia do Real Archivo</i>, p. 171. Lisbon, +1819.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_39" id="footnote_39"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_39">[39]</a> <i>Annaes Maritimos e Coloniaes</i>, No. +1, Segunda serie, p. 34; and J. P. Ribeiro, <i>Memorias Authenticas</i>, +etc., p. 21.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_40" id="footnote_40"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_40">[40]</a> There is a reference to this claim of +the Order in the <i>Definiçoẽs e Estatutos</i>, etc., p. 201, and to +its defeat.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_41" id="footnote_41"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_41">[41]</a> This must have been an adopted son of +the Chronicler, to whom he had lent his name.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_42" id="footnote_42"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_42">[42]</a> This forgery must be reckoned a very +passable one, although the handwritings are obviously not the same, and +the parchment differs in texture and colour from that of the rest of the +book. The judgment of the Casa de Supplicação is printed <i>in +extenso</i> by J. P. Ribeiro from liv. 1, "dos Direitos Reaes," fol. +216, in the Torre do Tombo.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_43" id="footnote_43"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_43">[43]</a> <i>Chanc. de D. Affonso V</i>, liv. +xxxi, fl. 76v<sup>o</sup>. Torre do Tombo. For the signification and +value of these "white milreis", see Damião de Goes, <i>Chronica de D. +Manoel</i>, ch. 1.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_44" id="footnote_44"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_44">[44]</a> <i>Estremadura</i>, liv. <span +class="smcap">II</span>, fl. 279. Torre do Tombo.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_45" id="footnote_45"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_45">[45]</a> <i>Terçeyro dodianna del Rey Dom Alfonso +Quinto</i>, fol. 57. Torre do Tombo.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_46" id="footnote_46"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_46">[46]</a> The original of this certificate belongs +to the famous novelist, Senhor Eça de Queiroz, whose wife claims descent +from this de Castro. Doubtless others of the Chronicler's certificates, +the contents—or at least the dates—of which would fill up +some of the gaps in his biography, are in private hands, without any +record of their issue remaining, either in the Torre do Tombo or +elsewhere, as in the present case. Brandão mentions one such in his +<i>Monarchia Lusitana</i>, Quinta parte, p. 177. Lisbon, 1650.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_47" id="footnote_47"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_47">[47]</a> Liv. <span class="smcap">IX</span> de +<i>D. Affonso V</i>, fol. 94. Torre do Tombo.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_48" id="footnote_48"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_48">[48]</a> Affonso V ordered Pisano to write the +<i>Chronicle</i> in Latin, as he had previously done with the Capture of +Ceuta.—<i>Chronica do Conde D. Pedro de Menezes</i>, ch. 1. The +MS. is now lost.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_49" id="footnote_49"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_49">[49]</a> <i>Ibid.</i>, ch. 64.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_50" id="footnote_50"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_50">[50]</a> <i>Chronica do Conde D. Pedro de +Menezes</i>, chs. 2 and 3. The end of ch. 3 deserves perusal, for it +shows how fully Azurara realized the difficulties of an historian's +task.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_51" id="footnote_51"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_51">[51]</a> <i>Ibid.</i>, ch. 63. This is the first +reference in all literature to the authorship of the famous romance.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_52" id="footnote_52"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_52">[52]</a> D. Pedro, <i>fils</i>, was a +distinguished poet, and to him the Marquis of Santillana addressed that +famous letter which may be described as a history of poetry in the +Peninsula. It is transcribed <i>in extenso</i> by Dr. Theophilo Braga, +in his <i>Poetas Palacianos</i>, pp. 161-169. Porto, 1871.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_53" id="footnote_53"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_53">[53]</a> The letter was first published in the +<i>Panorama</i> for 1841, at p. 336. General Brito Rebello argues that +the date 1406 is impossible, and should read 1466, or possibly 1460. The +former has here been adopted. Other mistakes occur in the letter, as +printed in the <i>Panorama</i>, besides that of date. Some of its +expressions are ambiguous, and the subscript "From Aviz", an evident +addition to the original, may be put down to the copyist, who, knowing +D. Pedro to be Master of Aviz, concluded that the letter was written +from there, though the contents disprove it.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_54" id="footnote_54"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_54">[54]</a> Gav. 8, Maço 1, No. 17. Torre do Tombo.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_55" id="footnote_55"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_55">[55]</a> <i>Decimo de Estremadura</i>, fol. 270. +Torre do Tombo.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_56" id="footnote_56"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_56">[56]</a> <i>Chronica do Conde D. Duarte de +Menezes</i> (<i>Ineditos</i>, vol. iii), ch. 1. It would almost seem as +though Azurara accompanied the King in his first expedition in 1458, +when Alcacer was taken.—<i>Ibid.</i>, ch. 34.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_57" id="footnote_57"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_57">[57]</a> <i>Ibid.</i>, ch. 1.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_58" id="footnote_58"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_58">[58]</a> <i>Ibid.</i>, ch. 2.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_59" id="footnote_59"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_59">[59]</a> <i>Ibid.</i>, ch, 2.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_60" id="footnote_60"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_60">[60]</a> <i>Ibid.</i>, ch. 60.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_61" id="footnote_61"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_61">[61]</a> Azurara seems to have corresponded +frequently with Affonso V; cf. <i>Chronica de Guiné</i>, ch. 7.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_62" id="footnote_62"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_62">[62]</a> The letter is printed in the +<i>Ineditos</i>, vol. iii, p. 3. According to Meyrelles, there are two +copies of it in MS. No. 495 of the Coimbra University +Library.—Vide <i>Instituto</i>, vol. ix.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_63" id="footnote_63"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_63">[63]</a> <i>Opusculos</i>, vol. v, p. 14. Lisbon, +1886.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_64" id="footnote_64"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_64">[64]</a> Maço 7 de Foraes Antigos, No. 3. Torre +do Tombo.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_65" id="footnote_65"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_65">[65]</a> Maço 3 de Foraes Antigos, No. 5. Torre +do Tombo.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_66" id="footnote_66"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_66">[66]</a> Maço 1 de Foraes Antigos, No. 11. Torre +do Tombo.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_67" id="footnote_67"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_67">[67]</a> Armario 17, Maço 6, No. 5. Torre do +Tombo. It is worthy of note that the Eytor de Sousa, here referred to, +is the same person that appears in the judgment of the Casa de +Supplicacão of January 19th, 1479, as representing the Order of +Christ.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_68" id="footnote_68"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_68">[68]</a> <i>Memorias Authenticas</i>, p. 21.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_69" id="footnote_69"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_69">[69]</a> <i>Chronica de D. Manoel</i>, quarta +parte, ch. 38.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_70" id="footnote_70"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_70">[70]</a> <i>Memorias Authenticas</i>, p. 21.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_71" id="footnote_71"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_71">[71]</a> Padre José Bayam, in p. 5 of his +Prologue to the <i>Chronica del Rey D. Pedro I</i> of Fernão Lopes +(Lisbon, 1761), states that Azurara obtained the position of +Disembargador da Casa do Civel, or Judge of Appeal of the Civil Court, +on the authority of ch. 54 of Pina's <i>Chronica de D. Affonso V</i>, +which mentions a certain Gomez Eanes as holding the office in question +and being sent on an embassy to Africa; but João Pedro Ribeiro, in vol. +iv, part 2, of his <i>Dissertações Chronologicas e Criticas</i>, +Dissertação XVI, proves conclusively that Bayam is in error, and that +the Judge had no connection with his namesake the Chronicler.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_72" id="footnote_72"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_72">[72]</a> The word "Spanish" is here used, in its +correct sense, to include all the peoples of the Peninsula. So the +Archbishop of Braga bears the title "Primaz das Hespanhas", denoting his +primacy over both Spain and Portugal.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_73" id="footnote_73"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_73">[73]</a> No portrait of Azurara exists, and his +signatures form the only relic of him that we possess.</p> + +<p class="p4 center"><span class="smcap">Critical Remarks.</span></p> + +<p class="p2">Azurara belongs to the line of Portuguese Chroniclers who +rendered illustrious the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, a line that +began with Fernão Lopes and culminated in Damião de Goes <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xlvi" id="Page_xlvi">[pg +xlvi]</a></span>and João de Barros, both of whom were almost historians +in the modern sense of the term, and at the same time masters of prose +style. He is indeed the connecting link between the chronicler and the +historian, between the Mediæval writers and those of the Renaissance; +for, while he possesses much of the sympathetic ingenuousness of Lopes, +yet he cannot resist displaying his erudition and talents by quotations +and philosophical reflections, as quaint as they are often unnecessary, +proving that he wrote under the influence of that wave of foreign +literature which had swept in with the new monarchy.</p> + +<p>Three literary tendencies may be said to have prevailed in Portugal +during the fifteenth century—firstly, a monomania for classical +learning; secondly, an increased taste for the mediæval Epics and prose +Romances, due to the English influence that had entered with Queen +Philippa, daughter of timeserving Lancaster, though it must be +remembered that <i>Amadis de Gaula</i>, the most famous romance of the +Middle Ages, was compiled in the preceding century and by a Portuguese +hand; and lastly, an admiration for Spanish poetry, which had made +wonderful strides since the great Italians, Dante and Petrarch, had +become known in the Peninsula. In philosophy, Aristotle, as expounded by +Averroes, was the chief authority—Azurara calls him "the +Philosopher"—and following him Egidius and Pedro Hispano, the +Portuguese Pope and scholar, enjoyed the widest influence. Platonic +philosophy was introduced at a much later period, <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xlvii" id="Page_xlvii">[pg +xlvii]</a></span>chiefly through the medium of Italian poetry, and it +never took root.</p> + +<p>To the reader of Azurara's writings, it often seems as though the +author were overburdened by his knowledge, which was in truth very +extensive, if at times somewhat superficial; and the Chronicles bear +witness to the fact that Portugal had not remained foreign to the +literary impulse of the Renaissance. Besides citations from many books +of the Bible, the following classical writers appear in his +pages:—Herodotus, Homer, Hesiod, Aristotle, Cæsar, Livy, Cicero, +Sallust, Valerius Maximus, Pliny, Lucan, the two Senecas, Vegetius, +Ovid, Josephus and Ptolemy. Among early Christian and <ins +title="'mediæva' in the original">mediæval</ins> authors he mentions +Orosius, St. Gregory, Isidore of Seville, Lucas of Tuy, the Arabic +astronomer Alfragan, Gualter, Marco Polo, Roderick of Toledo, Egidius, +St. Jerome, Albertus Magnus, St. Bernard, St. Chrysostom, St. Thomas +Aquinas, St. Augustine, and Peter Lombard; while he has heard the legend +of the voyages of St. <ins title="'Brendam' in the +original">Brandan</ins> and knows the author of the <i>Amadis de +Gaula</i>. He was acquainted with the Chronicles and Romances of the +chief European nations,<a name="fnanchor_74" id="fnanchor_74"></a><a +href="#footnote_74" class="fnanchor"><sup>[74]</sup></a> and had studied +the best Italian and Spanish authors. Added to this, he had mastered the +geographical system of the Ancients,<a name="fnanchor_75" +id="fnanchor_75"></a><a href="#footnote_75" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[75]</sup></a> together with their astrology, and +his knowledge of the latter probably came from the <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xlviii" id="Page_xlviii">[pg +xlviii]</a></span>famous <i>Opus Quadripartitum</i> of Ptolemy. Although +he obtained his education in the time of D. Duarte, or early in the +reign of Affonso V, an age which had ceased to believe in sidereal +influences, as appears from the <i>Leal Conselheiro</i>, his writings +show that he possessed a fervent faith in astrology as explaining the +character and acts, as well as governing the destinies, of man.<a +name="fnanchor_76" id="fnanchor_76"></a><a href="#footnote_76" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[76]</sup></a> Various opinions have been emitted +about his style; for, while such a good judge as Goes condemns his +"antiquated words and prolix reasoning, full of metaphors or figures +that are out of place in the historical style", Barros speaks of his +"clear style" that, together with his diligence, rendered him worthy of +the office he held.<a name="fnanchor_77" id="fnanchor_77"></a><a +href="#footnote_77" class="fnanchor"><sup>[77]</sup></a> But perhaps the +most perspicuous criticism thereon is that of Corrêa da Serra, who +declares, with reference to the opinions just cited:—"Both may +well be right, for the style of Gomes Eannes is not uniform, and seems +the work of two different men. As a rule his narrative is simple, full +of sound sense, and not without elegance; but, from time to time, he +remembers the rude rhetoric he had learnt so late in life, and writes +(if I may say so) in a falsetto style. The first was what nature had +bestowed upon him, the last came from his immature studies. But these +very defects are of interest now, <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_xlix" id="Page_xlix">[pg xlix]</a></span>for they give an +idea of the learning and taste of that age."<a name="fnanchor_78" +id="fnanchor_78"></a><a href="#footnote_78" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[78]</sup></a> And, in spite of all his pedantry, +Azurara rises at times to a true eloquence, some of his pages being +equal to the best in Portuguese prose. The grandeur of chapter ii of the +<i>Chronica de Guiné</i>, and the heartfelt pity of Chapter <span +class="smcap">XXV</span>, which relates the division of the captives, +prove conclusively that he could accommodate the style to the subject +like all writers worthy <ins title="missing in the original">of</ins>the +name. Had he lived a century later, he would have certainly been placed +in the first rank of Portuguese prosists; while, as it is, his +antiquated and at times inflated language has gone far to prevent him +from being appreciated, or even read, by any save the studious.<a +name="fnanchor_79" id="fnanchor_79"></a><a href="#footnote_79" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[79]</sup></a></p> + +<p>As an historian he had an unbounded respect for authority, on his own +confession, and the speeches he puts in the mouths of his heroes remind +the reader at times of Livy, and make it clear that he was writing under +the immediate influence of classical models.<a name="fnanchor_80" +id="fnanchor_80"></a><a href="#footnote_80" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[80]</sup></a> The historical importance of his +Chronicles is of the first order. They are contemporary with the events +they relate, and contain the history of the Portuguese expeditions to +and rule in Mauritania from the reign of João I down to that of Affonso +V, and furnish a complete account of all the voyages of discovery along +the African Coast, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_l" +id="Page_l">[pg l]</a></span>due to the initiative of D. Henrique, until +1448. True, the <i>Chronica de Guiné</i> omits to mention some other +voyages that were the result of private enterprise, for Azurara wrote it +in the capacity of Chronicler to the King and as a panegyric of the +Prince, and never intended to relate discoveries unconnected with his +hero and with the land that gives his book its title. The <i>Chronica de +Guiné</i> must, of course, always take rank as Azurara's masterpiece. It +was the first book written by a European on the lands south of Cape +Bojador, and it restores to us, in great part, the lost work of Cerveira +entitled a <i>History of the Portuguese Conquests on the Coast of +Africa</i>, on which it is founded, besides making up for the +regrettable disappearance of the naval archives of the early period of +modern discovery.</p> + +<p>Azurara's credibility as a narrator is both unquestioned and +unquestionable, for his position enabled him to get at the truth, and he +took pains to record nothing but the truth, thereby proving himself a +genuine disciple of his master, Fernão Lopes. He was moved, as a rule, +neither by human respect nor by petty jealousies, and accuracy seems +with him to have amounted to a passion.<a name="fnanchor_81" +id="fnanchor_81"></a><a href="#footnote_81" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[81]</sup></a> So truthful was he that he +preferred to leave the relation of facts incomplete rather than tell of +them without having <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_li" +id="Page_li">[pg li]</a></span>received exact information from +eye-witnesses. He was quite conscious of what he calls his "want of +polish and small knowledge", and his humility is shown by the +declaration that he only regarded the <i>Chronica de Guiné</i> as +material for some future historian who would perpetuate the great deeds +of D. Henrique in "a loftier and clearer style".<a name="fnanchor_82" +id="fnanchor_82"></a><a href="#footnote_82" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[82]</sup></a></p> + +<p>His attitude towards the Moors, those hereditary enemies of Portugal, +was only what we should expect, for, while he is strictly impartial in +distributing praise and blame to them equally with Christians, he leaves +us in no doubt on which side his sympathies lay. In the <i>Chronica de +Guiné</i>, for example, after descanting on the universal praise of the +Infant's life and work, he admits that a discordant note in the general +chorus was struck by the Moors whom the Prince had warred with and +slain, or, to quote his own words, "Some other voices, very contrary to +those I have until now described, sounded in my ears, for which I should +have felt a great pity, had I not seen them to come from men outside our +Law".<a name="fnanchor_83" id="fnanchor_83"></a><a href="#footnote_83" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[83]</sup></a></p> + +<p>It has been already noted that Azurara, though he wrote under the +very shadow of the Palace, was anything but a flatterer of the great; +indeed, he has been accused by some of insisting too much on the defects +in his heroes.<a name="fnanchor_84" id="fnanchor_84"></a><a +href="#footnote_84" class="fnanchor"><sup>[84]</sup></a> On the other +hand, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lii" id="Page_lii">[pg +lii]</a></span>it must be confessed that he shows a marked partiality, +if not a blind admiration, for D. Henrique in the <i>Chronica de +Ceuta</i> as well as in the <i>Chronica de Guiné</i>. In the former he +attributes to the Prince the chief part in the capture of the city, +while in the latter he shows himself ever ready to defend him from his +dispraisers, and to convict of foolishness out of their own mouths the +opponents of the voyages of discovery. Nay, more, he even finds an +explanation for D. Henrique's neglect to defend his brother Pedro from +being done to death at Alfarrobeira, a neglect which is hard to explain +satisfactorily and must remain a blot on the Prince's fair fame. But +this bias may readily be accounted for by the fact that Azurara passed +much of his time in close intimacy with D. Henrique, and drew a great +part of the information for his Chronicles of Ceuta and Guinea from that +source, besides which he can hardly be blamed for the love he felt and +displayed for a great and good man, the initiator and hero of modern +discovery.</p> + +<p>Finally, while no serious critic would admit Azurara within the +circle of great historians, few would dispute his title to be named a +great Chronicler. That he was a laborious and truthful writer his pages +make clear; that he could tell a simple story vividly—nay, +dramatically—and that he <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_liii" +id="Page_liii">[pg liii]</a></span>had at times flashes of inspiration, +the <i>Chronica de Guiné</i> attests, though, even bearing this work in +mind, it is easy to perceive his inferiority in the matter of style to +Fernào Lopes, a point constantly insisted on by Portuguese critics. In a +word, if, as Southey said, Lopes is "beyond all comparison the best +Chronicler of any age or nation", it may well be that Azurara, +"notwithstanding an occasional display of pedantry, is equal in merit to +any Chronicler, except his unequalled predecessor".<a name="fnanchor_85" +id="fnanchor_85"></a><a href="#footnote_85" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[85]</sup></a></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_74" id="footnote_74"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_74">[74]</a> <i>Chronica de D. Pedro de Menezes</i>, +ch. 63, and <i>Chronica de Ceuta</i>, ch. 38.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_75" id="footnote_75"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_75">[75]</a> <i>Chronica de Guiné</i>, chs. 61 and +62.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_76" id="footnote_76"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_76">[76]</a> <i>Chronica de Guiné</i>, chs. 7 and 28; +<i>Chronica de Ceuta</i> chs. 34, 52, and 57; <i>Chronica de D. Duarte +de Menezes</i>, ch. 34.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_77" id="footnote_77"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_77">[77]</a> <i>Chronica do Principe D. João</i>, ch. +6, and <i>Asia</i>, Dec. 1, liv. ch. 2.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_78" id="footnote_78"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_78">[78]</a> <i>Ineditos</i>, vol. ii, p. 210.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_79" id="footnote_79"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_79">[79]</a> Compare the remarks on Azurara's style +by Sotero dos Reis in his <i>Curso da litteratura Portugueza e +Brazileira</i>. Maranhão, 1866, vol. I, lição xiv.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_80" id="footnote_80"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_80">[80]</a> Cf. <i>Chronica de Ceuta</i>, ch. 1.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_81" id="footnote_81"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_81">[81]</a> Many passages from his Chronicles might +be cited to prove this, but the following will suffice: <i>Chronica de +Ceuta</i>, chs. 1, 2, 12, 51, 83, 91, and 95; <i>Chronica de Guiné</i>, +ch. 30; <i>Chronica de D. Pedro de Menezes</i>, ch. 1, and Bk. <span +class="smcap">II</span>, ch. 18; <i>Chronica de D. Duarte de +Menezes</i>, chs. 2 and 60.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_82" id="footnote_82"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_82">[82]</a> <i>Chronica de Guiné</i>, ch. 6.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_83" id="footnote_83"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_83">[83]</a> <i>Ibid.</i>, ch. 2.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_84" id="footnote_84"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_84">[84]</a> The Azorean scholar, Dr. J. T. Soares de +Sousa, calls Azurara "a clever courtier rather than a severe and +impartial historian" (quoted by Dr. Theophilo Braga, in his <i>Historia +da Universidade</i> <i>de Coimbra</i>, vol. i, p. 138); but this is +certainly unjust and even untrue. K. Manoel de Mello gives a fairer +estimate in the witty phrase, "Chronista antigo, tão candido de penna, +como de barba."—<i>Apologos Dialogaes</i>, p. 455, ed. Lisbon, +1721.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_85" id="footnote_85"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_85">[85]</a> <i>Quarterly Review</i>, May 1809, p. +288.</p> + +<p class="center p4"><span class="smcap">Bibliography.</span></p> + +<p class="p2">The following is a list of Azurara's works in the +order in which they were written:—</p> + +<p>(<i>a</i>) "<span class="smcap">Milagres do Santo Condestabre D. Nuno +Alvres Pereira.</span>"</p> + +<p>This volume, of doubtful authenticity, which was never printed, has +now been lost. Senhor Oliveira Martins was unable to find a trace of it +when engaged on his recently-published life of the Holy Constable,<a +name="fnanchor_86" id="fnanchor_86"></a><a href="#footnote_86" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[86]</sup></a> and suggests that it may have +perished, along with so many other literary treasures, in 1755, during +the Great Earthquake. Jorge Cardoso, in his <i>Agiologico +Lusitano</i>,<a name="fnanchor_87" id="fnanchor_87"></a><a +href="#footnote_87" class="fnanchor"><sup>[87]</sup></a> quotes a +passage from <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_liv" id="Page_liv">[pg +liv]</a></span>Azurara's work, and Santa Anna gives the substance of it +in his <i>Chronica dos Carmaelitas</i>, expressly declaring that he had +seen the original MS., which was then preserved among the Archives of +the Carmo Convent.<a name="fnanchor_88" id="fnanchor_88"></a><a +href="#footnote_88" class="fnanchor"><sup>[88]</sup></a></p> + +<p>(<i>b</i>) "<span class="smcap">Chronica del rei D. Joam I de boa +memória e dos reys de Portugal o decimo.</span> Terceira parte em que se +contém a tomada de Ceuta." Composta por Gomez Eannes D'Azurara Chronista +Mór destes Reynos & impressa na linguagem antiga. Em Lisboa. Com +todas as licenças necessarias. Á custa de Antonio Alvarez, Impressor +del-rei N.S. 1644, pp. <span class="smcap">X</span>-283 fol. Such is the +full title of the <i>Chronica de Ceuta</i> as given in the one and only +published edition.</p> + +<p>Following the Chronicle come accounts of the death of King João and +the translation of his body to Batalha, extracted from the <i>Chronica +de D. Duarte</i>, as well as a copy, with translation, of the epitaph on +his tomb, and then his will and a general Index. MSS. of this Chronicle +exist in the Bibliotheca National in Lisbon, and in the Torre do Tombo. +The former place contains a defective one, dating from the middle of the +16th century, as well as one of the second part of the same period +apparently complete. The latter boasts a MS. (No. 366) of the 15th +century, in large folio, written on paper in red and black, which +derives importance from its <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lv" +id="Page_lv">[pg lv]</a></span>early date, and exhibits a text +practically identical with that of the book described above; while of +the others, one may be attributed to the 16th century and two to the +17th. The Oporto Municipal Library has an 18th-century MS. of this +Chronicle.<a name="fnanchor_89" id="fnanchor_89"></a><a +href="#footnote_89" class="fnanchor"><sup>[89]</sup></a></p> + +<p>(<i>c</i>) "<span class="smcap">Chronica do Descobrimento e Conquista +de Guiné</span>, escrita por mandado de El-Rei D. Affonso V sob a +direcção scientifica, e segundo as instrucçoës do illustre Infante D. +Henrique pelo Chronista Gomez Eannes de Azurara; fielmente trasladada do +Manuscripto original contemporaneo, que se conserva na Bibliotheca Real +de Pariz, e dada pela primeira vez á luz per diligencia do Visconde de +Carreira, Enviado Extraordinario e Ministro Plenipotentiario de S. +Majestade Fidelíssima na corte da França; precedida de uma Introducção e +illustrada com algumas notas pelo Visconde de Santarem ..... e seguida +d'um Glossario das palavras e phrases antiquadas e obsoletas." Paris, +1841. Fol. pp. <span class="smcap">XXV</span>-474, with frontispiece +portrait of D. Henrique from this same MS.</p> + +<p>The letter which Azurara addressed to King <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_lvi" id="Page_lvi">[pg lvi]</a></span>Affonso V, when he +forwarded the Chronicle, is printed in facsimile and precedes the +Introduction.</p> + +<p>There are three separate impressions of this Chronicle—one on +parchment, of which the Bibliotheca National in Lisbon possesses a copy, +another on large paper, both of these being folio size, and a third on +small paper octavo size.</p> + +<p>Two early MSS. of the Chronicle exist: one, very handsome and +perfect, in the Paris National Library, from which the printed edition +was made; and the other, bearing date 1506, in the Royal and National +Library at Munich. The latter belonged to Valentim Fernandes, a German +printer, established in Lisbon from the end of the 15th century to past +the middle of the 16th, who owned many MSS. of great value, which have +been studied by Schmeller in his <i>Ueber Valentī Fernandez Alemā und +seine Sammlung von Nachrichten über die Entdeckungen und Besitzungen der +Portugiesen in Afrika und Asien bis zum Jahre 1508</i>. The imprint of +this essay is 1845.</p> + +<p>The Munich MS. is an abridgment; many of the rhetorical passages, ch. +i, and nearly the whole of chs. iii-vii, being omitted. Valentim +Fernandes, who transcribed, if he did not compile, this summary, which +he finished on November 14th, 1506, commences his chapters at the eighth +of the Paris MS., and reduces the original number of chapters from +ninety-seven to sixty-two.</p> + +<p>The text of the Paris MS. seems to have been added to at some later +time, and, at any rate, is not in the state in which Azurara left it in +1453, the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lvii" id="Page_lvii">[pg +lvii]</a></span>year the Chronicle was finished, because certain +passages speak of D. Henrique as though already deceased, while he only +died in 1460.<a name="fnanchor_90" id="fnanchor_90"></a><a +href="#footnote_90" class="fnanchor"><sup>[90]</sup></a> Innocencio +thinks Azurara emended his work after the Prince's death, and inserted +some reflections on his life and moral qualities, without continuing the +narrative, or passing the limit he had at first marked out, namely +1448.</p> + +<p>The history of the MS., and the discovery in 1837 by the Lusophile, +Ferdinand Denis, of the Paris copy, together with a description thereof, +is related by the Viscount de Santarem in his Introduction, and deserves +perusal.<a name="fnanchor_91" id="fnanchor_91"></a><a +href="#footnote_91" class="fnanchor"><sup>[91]</sup></a> Fragments of +the Chronicle were known to Barros, who incorporated them in his +<i>Asia</i>, but Goes never saw it at all, and it would seem to have +disappeared from Portugal in the 16th century.<a name="fnanchor_92" +id="fnanchor_92"></a><a href="#footnote_92" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[92]</sup></a> Frei Luiz de Sousa, the great +Dominican prose writer, met with a MS. copy at Valencia, in the +possession of the Duke of Calabria, one of whose ancestors, a King of +Naples, had received it, he was informed, from D. Henrique himself.<a +name="fnanchor_93" id="fnanchor_93"></a><a href="#footnote_93" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[93]</sup></a> We know from another <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lviii" id="Page_lviii">[pg +lviii]</a></span>source that this MS. was still in Spain at the +beginning of the last century, but how it reached its present +resting-place, the National Library in Paris, remains a mystery.</p> + +<p>(<i>d</i>) "<span class="smcap">Chronica do Conde D. Pedro (de +Menezes)</span> Continuada aa tomada de Cepta, a qual mandou El-Rey D. +Affonso V deste nome, e dos Reys de Portugal XII, escrepver." Such is +the title of this Chronicle, which was published in Vol. II of the +<i>Ineditos</i>, and runs from page 213 to the end. It is there preceded +by an Introduction of six pages, dealing with the life and works of +Azurara, from the pen of the erudite Abbade Corrêa da Serra.</p> + +<p>There exists a valueless MS. of this Chronicle in the Bibliotheca +National in Lisbon of the end of the 17th century, and another equally +devoid of interest in the Academia das Sciencias. Mr. Quaritch recently +offered one for sale,<a name="fnanchor_94" id="fnanchor_94"></a><a +href="#footnote_94" class="fnanchor"><sup>[94]</sup></a> which derives +importance from having been copied from another of early date, and was +kind enough to send it for our inspection. It is a small folio, +beautifully written on paper, containing 164 leaves with thirty-one +lines to the page, and was transcribed from a MS. on parchment of 233 +folios in a single column, which had been itself finished in Lisbon on +July 24th, 1470, by João Gonçalvez, the scribe who copied the Paris MS. +of the <i>Chronica de</i> <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lix" +id="Page_lix">[pg lix]</a></span><i>Guiné</i>. The copy belonging to Mr. +Quaritch has some marginal notes without value, and must, to judge from +the writing, have been made in Portugal at the very beginning of the +17th century, or, as he says, about 1620. The text is the same as that +printed in the <i>Ineditos</i>.</p> + +<p>(<i>e</i>) "<span class="smcap">Chronica do Conde D. Duarte de +Menezes.</span>"</p> + +<p>This was published for the first time in Vol. III of the +<i>Ineditos</i>, and has there no separate title page, but the heading +of the first chapter reads as follows:—"Comecasse a Historia, que +fala dos feitos que fez o Illustre e muy nobre Cavaleiro Dom Duarte de +Menezes, Conde que foi de Viana, Alferes Del-Rey e Capitão por elle na +Villa Dalcacer em Affrica. A qual foi primeiramente ajuntada e escripta +per Gomez Eanes de Zurara, professo Cavalleiro, e Comendador na Ordem de +Christus, Chronista do mesmo Senhor Rey, e Guardador mór do Tombo de +seus Regnos."</p> + +<p>All the MSS. of this Chronicle are defective, and we know from the +Royal Censor that they were in the same state as early as the reign of +Dom Sebastião. In fact, more than a third of the work has disappeared, +and is represented by lacunæ. The Bibliotheca National in Lisbon has +three, the Torre do Tombo two, and the Bibliotheca da Academia Real das +Sciencias one MS. of this Chronicle; all show the same gaps. The only +MS. of value is one (No. 520) in the Torre do Tombo, dating from the end +of the 15th century, written on parchment, with the <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lx" id="Page_lx">[pg +lx]</a></span>headings to the Chapters in red and black, and an +illuminated title-page. It must be pronounced a fine specimen of +caligraphy, and, though incomplete like the rest, is otherwise in good +condition.</p> + +<p class="center">* * * * *</p> + +<p>The Writings attributed to Azurara consist of the +following:—</p> + +<p>(<i>f</i>) <span class="smcap">A Chronicle of D. Duarte.</span></p> + +<p>There seems to be little doubt that Azurara wrote some sort of a +Chronicle of this King which has not been preserved. The Chronicle we +possess goes under the name of Ruy de Pina, but, according to Goes, it +was begun by Fernão Lopes, continued by Azurara, and only finished by +Pina.<a name="fnanchor_95" id="fnanchor_95"></a><a href="#footnote_95" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[95]</sup></a> Barros is more explicit, for he not +only states that Azurara compiled the Chronicle in question, but adds +that it was appropriated by Ruy de Pina, who succeeded him in the post +of Chronista Mór.<a name="fnanchor_96" id="fnanchor_96"></a><a +href="#footnote_96" class="fnanchor"><sup>[96]</sup></a> Azurara himself +does not help us much to a solution of the problem. In the <i>Chronica +de Guiné</i> he refers twice to it somewhat vaguely, but in another +place mentions it quite clearly as his own work, though in the future +tense.<a name="fnanchor_97" id="fnanchor_97"></a><a href="#footnote_97" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[97]</sup></a> Again, in the <i>Chronica de +Ceuta</i> there is a similar reference to it, also in the future +tense.<a name="fnanchor_98" id="fnanchor_98"></a><a href="#footnote_98" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[98]</sup></a> Unsatisfactory as this is, we must +perforce be content with <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxi" +id="Page_lxi">[pg lxi]</a></span>it in default of any better +information. It seems most unlikely that Affonso V would have employed +the Chronicler on the lives of great nobles like Pedro and Duarte de +Menezes, who, after all, were but private persons, without providing, in +some way, for a history of his father to be written. All we can say is, +that Azurara probably collected the material and possibly made a first +draft—although it is noticeable that he nowhere speaks of the +Chronicle as finished, but always as something that is to be +done—then came Ruy de Pina and put it into shape, for the style is +certainly his, and, while more smooth, is far less characteristic than +the quaint rhetorical sentences of Azurara.</p> + +<p>(<i>g</i>) <span class="smcap">A Chronicle of King Affonso V.</span> +Both Barros and Goes agree that Azurara wrote a Chronicle of this +monarch, and carried it down to the death of D. Pedro in the year 1449, +and that it was finished by Ruy de Pina, under whose name it appears.<a +name="fnanchor_99" id="fnanchor_99"></a><a href="#footnote_99" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[99]</sup></a> More than this, Barbosa Machado +actually cites it, as though it existed in his day, +thus—<i>Chronica del Rey D. Affonso V, até a morte do Infante D. +Pedro; fol. MS.</i><a name="fnanchor_100" id="fnanchor_100"></a><a +href="#footnote_100" class="fnanchor"><sup>[100]</sup></a> It is true +that, in the <i>Chronica de D. Pedro de Menezes</i>, Azurara declares +that, in spite of entreaties, the King would never allow him to write a +history of his reign; but this <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxii" +id="Page_lxii">[pg lxii]</a></span>was in 1463, and Affonso may well +have entrusted him with the work in later years, and another passage of +the same Chronicle seems to imply it,<a name="fnanchor_101" +id="fnanchor_101"></a><a href="#footnote_101" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[101]</sup></a> though Pina, while confessing that +he was not the first to receive a commission for the Chronicle of King +Affonso, declares that he found it uncommenced.<a name="fnanchor_102" +id="fnanchor_102"></a><a href="#footnote_102" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[102]</sup></a> If we examine carefully the first +124 Chapters of Pina's Chronicle, we shall at first sight conclude the +ideas to belong to Azurara and the phraseology to savour of Pina. Such +prominence is given to the acts and character of the Regent that the +work might well have borne his name, and he is treated with a fervent +veneration and a love which might naturally be expected from Azurara, +who must have known him intimately, as he certainly knew his son, but +which could hardly be looked for in a later writer. Again, D. Henrique's +neglect of his brother, a neglect which made Alfarrobeira possible, is +reprehended in terms that bring to mind the stern and impartial Azurara +rather than his more smooth-tongued successor, while, curiously enough, +the incident is not touched on in Chapter cxliv, undoubtedly the work of +Pina, where the character of the Prince is summed up after his death and +receives unmixed praise. On the other hand, it <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_lxiii" id="Page_lxiii">[pg lxiii]</a></span>must be +remembered that D. Henrique's behaviour to his brother Pedro at the last +is referred to in the <i>Chronica de Guiné</i> as a proof of his loyalty +under difficult circumstances, and this fact certainly tells against +Azurara's authorship of the Chronicle under consideration, though hardly +enough of itself to discredit the express statements of Barros and Goes. +To sum up. While it is certain that Azurara never wrote a complete +Chronicle of Affonso V, for the good reason that he predeceased the +King, it is impossible in the present state of our knowledge to measure +his share in the first part, with which alone he has been credited, +although one cannot help inclining to the opinion that the Chronicle as +it stands is substantially the work of Ruy de Pina.</p> + +<p>(<i>h</i>) <span class="smcap">A Romance of Chivalry</span>, in three +MS. volumes, existing in the Lisbon National Library. The title of the +First Volume runs:—"Chronica do Invicto D. Duardos de Bertania, +Princepe de Ingalaterra, filho de Palmeiry, e da Princeza Polinarda, do +qual se conta seus estremados feitos em armas, e purissimos amores, com +outros de outros cavalleiros que em seu tempo concorrerão. Composta por +Henrrique Frusto, Chronista ingres, e tresladada em Portugues por Gomes +Ennes de Zurara que fes a Chronica del Rey Dom AFonço Henrriques de +Portugal, achada de novo entre seus papeis."</p> + +<p>There are three MS. copies of this volume which differ somewhat +<i>inter se</i>, the earliest dating from the <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_lxiv" id="Page_lxiv">[pg lxiv]</a></span>second half of the +17th century. Two of these copies contain eighty chapters, the other but +seventy-six. They are marked respectively <span +class="smcap">U</span>/2/100 <span class="smcap">B</span>/10/6 <span +class="smcap">B</span>/10/7 in the Lisbon National Library.</p> + +<p>The last, an 18th-century MS., though substantially the same work as +the two former ones, bears a different title: "Chronica de Primaleão, +Emperador de Grecia. Primeira Parte. Em que se conta das façanhas que +obrou o Princepe D. Duardos, e os mais Princepes que com elle se criarão +na Ilha Perigoza do Sabio Daliarte." Its composition is attributed to +"Guilherme Frusto, Autor Hybernio", and the name of Azurara does not +appear as translator, one "Simisberto Pachorro" being named as the +copyist.</p> + +<p>The Second Volume bears the title:—"Segūda parte da cronica do +Princepe Dom Duardos. Composta por Henrique Frusto e tresladada por +Gomez Enes Dazurara, autores da primeira parte." It contains eighty-six +chapters and is marked <span class="smcap">U</span>/2/101. Underneath +the title is written in a flowing hand—"Podesse encadernar esta +segunda parte da Chronica do Princepe Dom Duardos. Lx<sup>a</sup> em +Mesa. 21 de Outubro de 659", and signed with three names.</p> + +<p>The Third Volume is headed:—"Terseira parte da Chronica do +Princepe Dom Duardos, composta por Henrrique Frusto e tresladada por +Gomez Ennes dazurara, Auctores da 1<sup>a</sup>, e 2<sup>a</sup> parte." +It has thirty-five Chapters, and ends abruptly. Its mark is <span +class="smcap">U</span>/2/102.</p> + +<p>All the MSS. described above are of relatively <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxv" id="Page_lxv">[pg +lxv]</a></span>recent date, written on paper and of folio size.<a +name="fnanchor_103" id="fnanchor_103"></a><a href="#footnote_103" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[103]</sup></a> A certain want of connection +appears between Parts <span class="smcap">I</span> and <span +class="smcap">II</span>, but this is not so as regards Parts <span +class="smcap">II</span> and <span class="smcap">III</span>. A very +unpoetical Sonnet closes Chapter <span class="smcap">XI</span>. of the +last Part, and, since it is not referred to in the text and its language +is modern, may possibly have been interpolated. From the form it cannot +be earlier than 1526 or 1530, while a competent judge holds it to have +been probably composed after 1550.</p> + +<p>From a cursory examination of the Chronicle under consideration, it +would seem to be neither (1) a translation from the English, nor yet (2) +by the hand of Azurara, as alleged, but an original composition by some +anonymous writer. The value of the first statement may be estimated by +remembering how Cervantes declared he had copied <i>D. Quixote</i> from +the Cide Hamete Benengeli; and, again, how João de Barros introduced his +<i>Clarimundo</i> as a version from the Hungarian; in any case, no such +early English or Irish Chronicler as Frusto or Frost (?) can be shown to +have existed. The Cycle of the Round Table, and other British Romances +of Chivalry, which were known in Portugal early in the 14th century, +became more popular after the marriage of D. João I with D. Philippa of +Lancaster, and this accounts for the ascription to an English origin; +while Azurara's <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxvi" +id="Page_lxvi">[pg lxvi]</a></span>knowledge of such books, as displayed +in his various Chronicles, explains how this story of a mythical D. +Duarte came to be fathered on him. The considerations that weigh most +against Azurara's authorship of the MS. are those of date and style. It +has been already proved that he died in or about the year 1473, so that, +assuming the work to be his, it must have been written at least before +that date, or even much earlier, say before 1454; since it cannot be +presumed that he would have time for such an essay after his appointment +as Chief Chronicler of Portugal and Royal Archivist. Perhaps he would +have lacked the inclination as well, at least judging from the +disdainful tone of his reference to the <i>Amadis de Gaula</i> in the +<i>Chronica de D. Pedro de Menezes</i>. Now, the first of the Palmerin +series—to which our MS. certainly belongs—the <i>Palmerin de +Oliva</i>, was only printed in 1511; and though both it and its sequel, +<i>Primaleon</i>, may have existed in MS. in the 15th century, +contemporary literature has no record of the fact as in the case of +<i>Amadis</i>, and there is nothing to favour the supposition. But, +apart from this, a perusal of the first few chapters of Part <span +class="smcap">I</span> of the present MS., and especially the opening +lines of Chapter 1, will convince most readers, without further proof, +that it is nothing else than a continuation of the <i>Palmeirim de +Inglaterra</i> of Francisco de Moraes,<a name="fnanchor_104" +id="fnanchor_104"></a><a href="#footnote_104" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[104]</sup></a> for it not only takes up <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxvii" id="Page_lxvii">[pg +lxvii]</a></span>the story where Moraes had left off, but expressly +refers to the <i>Palmeirim</i> on more than one occasion.<a +name="fnanchor_105" id="fnanchor_105"></a><a href="#footnote_105" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[105]</sup></a> Now, the book of Moraes was only +written about the year 1543, so that, as far as the dates go, they are +enough of themselves to decide the question of Azurara's authorship in +the negative. To come to the question of style—that of the MS. has +nothing to correspond with the rhetorical expressions and the +quotations, and none of the idioms, peculiar to Azurara; nor does it +belong to the 15th century, but rather to the middle or latter part of +the 16th, despite the slight archaic atmosphere, shown more especially +in the orthography, that hangs about Part <span class="smcap">I</span>, +and ever and anon calls to mind the <i>Saudades</i> of Bernardim +Ribeiro. The phrase "achada de novo entre seus papeis", on the +title-page of the Romance, evidences nothing, although it is alleged, as +already mentioned, that Azurara left MSS. behind him which were explored +in the last century by Padre José Pereira de Sant' Anna.<a +name="fnanchor_106" id="fnanchor_106"></a><a href="#footnote_106" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[106]</sup></a></p> + +<p class="quotsig"><span class="smcap">Edgar Prestage.</span></p> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">Chiltern</span>", <span +class="smcap">Bowdon</span>,</p> + +<p class="poem"> + <span class="i0"><i>Day of Camöens' Death, 1895</i>.</span> +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_86" id="footnote_86"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_86">[86]</a> <i>A Vida de Nun' Alvares.</i> Lisbon, +1893.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_87" id="footnote_87"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_87">[87]</a> Tom. iii, p. 217, ed. Lisbon, 1666. +Barbosa Machado mentions the MS. on the authority of Cardoso.—Vide +<i>Bibliotheca Lusitana</i>, tom. ii, art. on Azurara.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_88" id="footnote_88"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_88">[88]</a> <i>Chronica dos Carmaelitas</i>, vol. i, +pp. 469 and 486. Lisbon, 1745.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_89" id="footnote_89"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_89">[89]</a> There doubtless exist many other MSS. of +Azurara's Chronicles, besides those mentioned in this notice, both in +public libraries and private collections. Most of those described here +are in Lisbon, and neither the Royal Library at the Ajuda nor the rich +collection at Evora appear to contain a single specimen. Gallardo states +that D. Pedro Portocarrero y Guzman, Patriarch of the Indies, the +catalogue of whose library was printed at Madrid in 1703, possessed a +signed MS. of the <i>Chronica de Ceuta</i>.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_90" id="footnote_90"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_90">[90]</a> Cf. <i>Chronica de Guiné</i>, ch. 5.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_91" id="footnote_91"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_91">[91]</a> <i>Chronica de Guiné</i>, p. xii, and +compare the art. on Azurara in the <i>Diccionario Universal +Portuguez</i>, and Innocencio da Silva, <i>Diccionario Bibliographico +Portuguez</i>, vol. ix, p. 245.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_92" id="footnote_92"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_92">[92]</a> Barros, <i>Asia</i>, Dec. 1, liv. ii, +ch. 1, and Goes, <i>Chronica do Principe D. Joào</i>, ch. 6.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_93" id="footnote_93"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_93">[93]</a> <i>Historia de S. Domingos</i>, p. 1, +liv. vi, ch. 15. Santarem suggests that Affonso V sent it to his uncle, +Affonso the Magnificent of Naples, by his ambassador, Martin Mendes de +Berredo, between 1453 and 1457; but this cannot be reconciled with the +fact that certain passages in the Chronicle appear to have been written +after the death of D. Henrique.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_94" id="footnote_94"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_94">[94]</a> Catalogue No. 148, <i>Bibliotheca +Hispana</i>, February 1895.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_95" id="footnote_95"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_95">[95]</a> <i>Chronica de D. Manoel</i>, quarta +parte, ch. 38.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_96" id="footnote_96"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_96">[96]</a> <i>Asia</i>, Dec. 1, liv. ii, ch. 2.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_97" id="footnote_97"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_97">[97]</a> <i>Chronica de Guiné</i>, chs. 1, 5, and +68.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_98" id="footnote_98"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_98">[98]</a> <i>Chronica de Ceuta</i>, ch. 21, and +cf. <i>Chronica de D. Duarte de Menezes</i>, ch. 24.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_99" id="footnote_99"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_99">[99]</a> <i>Asia</i>, Dec. 1, liv. ii, ch. 2, and +<i>Chronica de D. Manoel</i>, quarta parte, ch. 38. Goes says, too, that +Azurara related the taking of Arzilla, which happened in 1470.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_100" id="footnote_100"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_100">[100]</a> <i>Bibliotheca Lusitana</i>, vol. ii, +art. on Azurara.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_101" id="footnote_101"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_101">[101]</a> <i>Chronica de D. Pedro de +Menezes</i>, chs. 1, 2, and parte <span class="smcap">II</span>, ch. 26; +and compare his references to the <i>Chronica Geral</i> in the +<i>Chronica de D. Duarte de Menezes</i>, chs. 108, 111, 135, 142, and +145, as well as in the <i>Chronica de Guiné</i>, ch. 5.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_102" id="footnote_102"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_102">[102]</a> Prologue to the <i>Chronica de D. +Affonso V</i> (<i>Ineditos</i>, vol. i, p. 202).</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_103" id="footnote_103"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_103">[103]</a> Dr. Theophilo Braga mentions another +MS. of the whole Chronicle, in a single volume of 644 folios, as being +in private hands. The name of the English (?) Chronicler is there spelt +"Henrique Fauste".—<i>Amadis de Gaula</i>, p. 196 <i>n.</i> Porto, +1873.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_104" id="footnote_104"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_104">[104]</a> But it is quite a distinct work from +that of Diogo Fernandes, though the same period seems to have given them +birth.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_105" id="footnote_105"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_105">[105]</a> <i>Vide</i> Part <span +class="smcap">I</span>, chs. 1, 4, 6, 17, and 37.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_106" id="footnote_106"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_106">[106]</a> Compare, on this question, the +following studies:—<i>Opusculo acerca do Palmeirim de Inglaterra e +do seu auctor</i>, by M. O. Mendes. Lisbon, 1860. <i>Discurso sobre el +Palmeirim de Inglaterra y su verdadero autor</i>, by N. D. de Benjumea. +Lisbon, 1875. <i>Versuch über den Ritterroman Palmeirim de +Inglaterra</i>, by D. Carolina Michaëlis de Vasconcellos. Halle, +1883.</p> + +<p class="p4b blockquot"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_lxviii" +id="Page_lxviii">[pg lxviii]</a></span> <span +class="smcap">Note.</span>—The elegant signature of Azurara, with +its flourishes and general ornateness, a woodcut of which appears below, +was copied by my friend the Viscount de Castilho, son of the poet, from +an original document in the Torre do Tombo. The writing, it will be +observed, is clear and firm, a characteristic of all the Chronicler's +signatures, which exist to the number of some half-dozen in the +Torre.—E. P.</p> + +<div class="figcenter"> + <img src="images/i080signature.jpg" + width="450" height="209" alt="Illustration: Signature" + title="Signature" /> +</div> + +<p class="p4b"> </p> + +<div class="figcenter"> + <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[pg 1]</a></span> + <img src="images/i081head.jpg" + width="500" height="127" alt="Design 4" + title="Design 4" /> +</div> + +<h3> +AZURARA'S CHRONICLE</h3> +<h5>OF THE</h5> +<h3>DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST OF<br /> +GUINEA.</h3> + +<p class="p4b center">THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE.</p> + +<div class="figleft"> + <img src="images/i081LtrH.jpg" + width="115" height="117" alt="Letter H" + title="Letter H" /> +</div> + +<p class="p2">ere beginneth the Chronicle in which are set down all the +notable deeds that were achieved in the Conquest of Guinea, written by +command of the most high and revered Prince and most virtuous Lord the +Infant Don Henry, Duke of Viseu and Lord of Covilham, Ruler and Governor +of the Chivalry of the Order of Jesus Christ. The which Chronicle was +collected into this volume by command of the most high and excellent +Prince, and most powerful Lord the King Don Affonso the Fifth of +Portugal.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER I.<br /> <span class="ax"> Which is the +Prologue, wherein the Author sheweth what will be his purpose in this +Work. </span></p> + +<p>We are commonly taught by experience, that all well-doing requireth +gratitude. And even though the benefactor doth not covet it for himself, +yet he should desire it, that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" +id="Page_2">[pg 2]</a></span>the recipient may not suffer dishonour +where the giver hath acquired virtuous merit. And such a special +communion is there between these two acts, to wit, giving and thanking, +that the first requireth the second by way of obligation. And did not +the former<a name="fnanchor_A" id="fnanchor_A"></a><a href="#footnote_A" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[A]</sup></a> exist, it would not be possible for +there to be gratitude in the world. Wherefore, Saint Thomas,<a +name="fnanchor_B" id="fnanchor_B"></a><a href="#footnote_B" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[B]</sup></a> who was the most clear teacher<a +name="fnanchor_N1" id="fnanchor_N1"></a><a href="#footnote_N1" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[1]</sup></a> among the Doctors of Theology, +saith in the second book of the second part of his work, in the 108th +section, that every action returneth by nature to the cause from which +it first proceeded. Therefore, since the giver is the chief cause of the +benefit received by the other, it is requisite, by the ordinance of +Nature, that the good he doth should come back to him in the shape of a +fitting gratitude. And by this return we are enabled to understand the +natural likeness between the works of Nature and those that give moral +aid, for all things bring about a proper return, starting from a +commencement and progressing till in the end they accomplish the +recompence we speak of. And, in proof of this, Solomon saith in the book +of Ecclesiastes, that the sun riseth over the earth, and, having +encircled all things, returneth to where it first appeared. The rivers +also proceed from the sea, and ceasing not their course, are continually +returning to it. A like thing happeneth in the moral order, for all good +that cometh from a generous will, doth run a straight course until it +arrive at the fitting recipient, and then afterwards it returneth +naturally to the place where the generosity allowed it to begin; and +such a return bringeth about that sweet union between those that do good +and those that receive it, of which Tully speaketh when he saith that no +service is more necessary than <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" +id="Page_3">[pg 3]</a></span>gratitude, in order that the good may +return to him who gave it.</p> + +<p>And in that the most high and excellent Prince and most mighty Lord, +the King Don Affonso the Vth (who at the time of the writing of this +book reigned in Portugal, by the grace of God, whose reign may God in +his mercy increase in length and in virtues), in that he, I say, saw and +knew the great and very notable deeds of the Lord Infant Don Henry, Duke +of Viseu and Lord of Covilham, who was his highly-valued and beloved +uncle, and in that the said deeds appeared to him so noteworthy among +the many actions of Christian princes in this world—it seemed to +him a wrong thing not to have some authentic memorial of the same before +the minds of men. And this most of all because of the great services +which the said Lord had ever rendered to past kings, and the great +benefits which by his efforts the Prince's countrymen had received.</p> + +<p>For these reasons the King bade me engage in this work with all +diligence, for although great part of his other actions are scattered +through the Chronicles of the Kings of his day, as, for instance, what +he did when the King Don John, his father, went to take Ceuta,<a +name="fnanchor_N2" id="fnanchor_N2"></a><a href="#footnote_N2" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[2]</sup></a> and when on his own account he went +with his brothers and many other great lords to raise the siege of the +aforesaid town, and afterwards when in the reign and by the command of +the King Don Edward of glorious memory, he attacked Tangier, where were +done many very notable deeds, which are mentioned in his history, yet +all that followeth was done by his ordinance<a name="fnanchor_C" +id="fnanchor_C"></a><a href="#footnote_C" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[C]</sup></a> and mandate, not without great +expense and trouble, all which is truly to be set down to his account. +For though in all kingdoms men compile general Chronicles of their +Kings, they do not fail <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" +id="Page_4">[pg 4]</a></span>also to write separately of the deeds of +some of those Kings' vassals, wherever the greatness of the same is +notable enough to warrant such especial mention—as was done in +France in the case of Duke John, Lord of Lançam,<a name="fnanchor_N3" +id="fnanchor_N3"></a><a href="#footnote_N3" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[3]</sup></a> and in Castille in the matter of +the deeds of the Cid Ruy Diaz,<a name="fnanchor_N4" +id="fnanchor_N4"></a><a href="#footnote_N4" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[4]</sup></a> and in our own kingdom in the story +of the Count Nunalvarez Pereira.<a name="fnanchor_N5" +id="fnanchor_N5"></a><a href="#footnote_N5" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[5]</sup></a> And with this Royal Princes ought +to be not a little contented, for so much the more is their honour +exalted as they have seigniory over greater and more excellent persons; +for no Prince can be great, unless he rule over great men; nor rich, +unless he rule over the wealthy. For this cause said the virtuous Roman +Fabricius, that he would rather be lord over those who had gold, than +have gold himself.</p> + +<p>But because the said deeds were written by many and various persons, +so the record of them is variously written, in many parts. And our Lord +the King, considering that it was not convenient for the process of one +only Conquest<a name="fnanchor_D" id="fnanchor_D"></a><a +href="#footnote_D" class="fnanchor"><sup>[D]</sup></a> that it should be +recounted in many ways, although they all contribute to one result, +ordered me to work at the writing and ordering of the history in this +volume so that those who read might have the more perfect knowledge. And +that we may return the benefit he conferred on us by gratitude to him +from whom we received it, as I began to set forth at the commencement of +this chapter, we will follow the example of that holy Prophet Moses, +who, desiring not to let the people of Israel forget the good that God +had shewn them, often commanded the receivers to write them upon their +hearts, as in a book that should display to those who considered it what +was written therein. Further, seeing that the remembrance of injuries is +tender, and that the good deed is soon forgotten, those that came +after<a name="fnanchor_E" id="fnanchor_E"></a><a href="#footnote_E" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[E]</sup></a> set up signs that should be lasting, +on which <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[pg +5]</a></span>people might look and remember the benefits they had +received in time past. And so likewise it is written of Joshua, that God +bade him take twelve great stones from the midst of the river Jordan, +and carry them to where the camp was pitched, after all had crossed. For +this was done in order that they should be in remembrance of the +wonderful miracle which God had wrought in presence of the people, when +he parted the waters, so that those which came from above stood up in a +heap and did not flow out towards the sides, while those which were +below flowed on until the river was dry. But some, considering that even +by such signs it was not always perfectly well known what had been done +(just as we see that the Pillars of Hercules<a name="fnanchor_N6" +id="fnanchor_N6"></a><a href="#footnote_N6" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[6]</sup></a> do not signify clearly to all who +see them that they were placed there as a memorial of his Conquest of +Spain), began the custom of writing what could not otherwise be long +remembered. And in proof of this it is related in the book of Queen +Esther, that King Ahasuerus kept a record of all the notable services +that had been rendered to him, and that at certain times he caused this +record to be read, that he might reward the authors of those services. +So, too, the King Don Ramiro, desiring that the men of Spain should not +allow themselves to forget the great aid that the blessed apostle Saint +James had given them, when he delivered them from the power of the +Moors, and promised to be our helper in all our battles with the +Infidel, caused to be written the story of that event in the privileges +that he granted the Church of Santiago,<a name="fnanchor_N7" +id="fnanchor_N7"></a><a href="#footnote_N7" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[7]</sup></a> that is to say, in providing for +the entertainment of the poor,—privileges which that Church now +receives from every part of Spain where Christians then lived.</p> + +<p>Now this care that the ancients showed ought to be a custom of +to-day, and inasmuch as our memory is weaker than theirs was, and less +mindful of the good that it receiveth, so much the more careful should +we be to keep <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[pg +6]</a></span>ever before us the benefits bestowed on us by others, since +we cannot afford to forget them without manifest injury to ourselves. +And because we received of God great benefit in the deeds hereinafter +recorded, in three ways—firstly, by the many souls that have been +already saved, and yet will be saved, of the lineage of our captives; +secondly, by the great benefits we all of us receive from the said +actions; thirdly, by the great honour that our realm is now gaining in +many parts by subjecting to itself so great a power of enemies, and so +far from our own land—for all these reasons we will put this +history in remembrance to the praise of God, and to the glorious memory +of our aforesaid Lord, and to the honour of many good servants of his, +and other worthy persons of our country who toiled manfully in the doing +of the aforesaid actions. Finally, because our said Chronicle is +especially dedicated to this Lord,<a name="fnanchor_F" +id="fnanchor_F"></a><a href="#footnote_F" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[F]</sup></a> let us begin at once to speak of his +habits and of his virtues, and of his appearance also, in accordance +with the custom of various authors of credit whose chronicles we have +seen.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_A" id="footnote_A"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_A">[A]</a> <i>I.e.</i>, conferring of favours.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_B" id="footnote_B"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_B">[B]</a> <i>I.e.</i>, Aquinas. See note 1, in vol. +ii. Throughout the present volume the numbers inserted in the text refer +to historical and other notes which will be appended to vol. ii.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_C" id="footnote_C"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_C">[C]</a> <i>I.e.</i>, all that follows in this book +was done by Henry's ordinance, etc.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_D" id="footnote_D"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_D">[D]</a> Such as that of Guinea.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_E" id="footnote_E"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_E">[E]</a> <i>I.e.</i>, after Moses.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_F" id="footnote_F"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_F">[F]</a> "This Lord," the "aforesaid Lord," and so +on, is of course Henry.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER II.<br /> <span class="ax"> The Author's +invocation.</span></p> + +<p>O thou Prince little less than divine! I beseech thy sacred virtues +to bear with all patience the shortcomings of my too daring pen, that +would attempt so lofty a subject as is the recounting of thy virtuous +deeds, worthy of so much glory. For the eternal duration of these thy +actions, if the end of my attempt be profitable, will exalt thy fame and +bring great honour to thy memory, giving a <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[pg 7]</a></span>useful lesson to all those +princes that shall follow thine example. For of a certainty it is not +without cause that I ask pardon of thy virtues, knowing my insufficiency +to compass such a task, and that I have more just reason to expect blame +for doing less than I ought, than for saying over much. Thy glory, thy +praises, thy fame, so fill my ears and employ my eyes that I know not +well where to begin. I hear the prayers of the innocent souls of those +barbarous peoples, almost infinite in number, whose ancient race since +the beginning of the world hath never seen the divine light, but who are +now by thy genius, by thy infinite expense, and by thy great labours, +brought into the true path of salvation, washed in the waters of +baptism, anointed with the holy oil, and freed from that wretched abode +of theirs, knowing at this present what darkness lay concealed under the +semblance of light in the days of their ancestors. I will not say with +what filial piety, as they contemplate the divine power, they are ever +praying for a reward to thy great merits—for that is a matter +which cannot be denied by him who hath well considered the sentences of +St. Thomas and St. Gregory<a name="fnanchor_N8" id="fnanchor_N8"></a><a +href="#footnote_N8" class="fnanchor"><sup>[8]</sup></a> on the +knowledge possessed by spirits concerning those who have been, or are, +profitable to them in this world. I see those Garamantes,<a +name="fnanchor_N9" id="fnanchor_N9"></a><a href="#footnote_N9" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[9]</sup></a> those Ethiopians, who live under +the shadow of Mount Caucasus, black in colour, because of living just +opposite to the full height of the sun's rays—for he, being in the +head of Capricorn, shineth on them with wondrous heat, as is shown by +his movements from the centre of his eccentric, or, in another way, by +the nearness of these people to the torrid zone,—I see the Indians +of the greater and the lesser India,<a name="fnanchor_N10" +id="fnanchor_N10"></a><a href="#footnote_N10" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[10]</sup></a> all alike in colour, who call upon +me to write of thy gifts of money and of raiment, of the passing of thy +ships, and of thy hospitality—which those received who, either to +visit the Apostle,<a name="fnanchor_N11" id="fnanchor_N11"></a><a +href="#footnote_N11" class="fnanchor"><sup>[11]</sup></a> or to see the +beauty of the world, came to the ends of our Spain. And those dwellers on +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[pg 8]</a></span>the +Nile, whose multitudes possess the lands of that ancient and venerable +city of Thebes,<a name="fnanchor_N12" id="fnanchor_N12"></a><a +href="#footnote_N12" class="fnanchor"><sup>[12]</sup></a> they, too, +astonish me, for I see them clothed in thy livery, and their bodies, +that had never known a covering, now carrying robes of varied colours, +while the necks of their women are adorned with jewels of gold and +silver in rich workmanship. But what has caused this save the +munificence of thine expenses and the labours of thy servitors, set in +motion by thy beneficent will, by the which thou hast transported to the +ends of the East things created in the West? Yet not even the prayers +and the cries of these peoples, though they were many, were of such +price as the acclamations I heard from the greatness of the Germans, +from the courtesy of the French, from the valour of the English, and +from the wisdom of the Italians,<a name="fnanchor_N13" +id="fnanchor_N13"></a><a href="#footnote_N13" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[13]</sup></a> cries that were accompanied by +others of divers nations and languages, all renowned by lineage and +virtues. Oh thou, say these, who enterest the labyrinth of such great +glory, why dost thou busy thyself only with the nations of the East? +Speak to us, for we traverse the lands and encircle the circumference of +the Earth, and know the Courts of Princes and the houses of great lords. +Know that thou wilt not find another that can equal the excellency of +the fame of this man, if thou judgest by a just weight of all that +pertains to a great prince. With reason mayst thou call him a temple of +all the virtues. But how plaintive do I find the people of our nation +because I place the testimonies of some other race before theirs. For +here in Portugal I meet with great lords, prelates, nobles, widowed +ladies, Knights of the Orders of Chivalry, Masters and Doctors of the +holy faith, with many graduates of every science, young scholars, +companies of esquires, and men of noble breeding, with mechanics and an +untold multitude of the people. And some of these shew me towns and +castles; others villages and fields; others rich benefices; others great +and wealthy farms; others <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" +id="Page_9">[pg 9]</a></span>country houses and estates and liberties; +others charters for pensions and for marriages; others gold and silver, +money and cloth; others health in their bodies and deliverance from +perils which they have gained by means of thee; others countless +servants both male and female; while others there are that tell me of +monasteries and churches that thou didst repair and rebuild, and of the +great and rich ornaments that thou didst offer in many holy places. +Others, again, pointed out to me the marks of the chains they bore in +the captivity from which thou didst rescue them. What shall I say of the +needy beggars that I see before me laden with alms? And of the great +multitude of friars of every order that shew me the garments with which +thou didst clothe their bodies, and the abundance of food with which +thou didst satisfy their necessities? I had already made an end of this +chapter, had I not descried the approach of a multitude of ships with +tall sails laden from the islands thou didst people in the great Ocean +Sea,<a name="fnanchor_N14" id="fnanchor_N14"></a><a href="#footnote_N14" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[14]</sup></a> which called on me to wait for +them, as they longed to prove that they ought not to be omitted from +this register. And they displayed before me their great cattle-stalls, +the valleys full of sugar cane from which they carried store to +distribute throughout the world: they brought also as witnesses to their +great prosperity all the dwellers in the kingdom of the Algarve.<a +name="fnanchor_N15" id="fnanchor_N15"></a><a href="#footnote_N15" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[15]</sup></a> Ask, said they, whether these +people ever knew what it was to have abundance of bread until our Prince +peopled the uninhabited isles, where no dwelling existed save that of +wild beasts. Next they shewed me great rows of beehives full of swarms +of bees, from which great cargoes of wax and honey are carried to our +realm; and besides these, lofty houses towering to the sky, which have +been and are being built with wood from those parts. But why should I +mention the multitude of things that were told me in thy praise, though +all of them were things that I could write <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[pg 10]</a></span>without injuring the +truth? Let me tell how there now sounded in my ears some other voices +very contrary to these I have recounted hitherto: voices for which I +should have felt great compassion had I not discovered them to be the +cries of those outside our law. For there addressed me countless souls +of Moors, both on this side the Straits, and also beyond,<a +name="fnanchor_N16" id="fnanchor_N16"></a><a href="#footnote_N16" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[16]</sup></a> of whom many had died by thy lance +in the cruel war thou hast ever waged against them. And others presented +themselves before me loaded with chains, their countenances pitiable to +behold, men who were captured by thy ships through the strength of the +bodies of thy vassals; but in these I noticed that they complained not +so much of the ill fortune that overtook them at the end as of their +fate in earlier life, that is, of the seductive error in which that +false schismatic Mohammed<a name="fnanchor_N17" id="fnanchor_N17"></a><a +href="#footnote_N17" class="fnanchor"><sup>[17]</sup></a> left them. +And so I conclude my preface, begging that if thy great virtues, if the +excellence of thy great and noble deeds, suffer any loss by my ignorance +and rudeness, thy magnanimous greatness may vouchsafe to look on my +fault with a propitious countenance.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER III.<br /> <span class="ax"> In which we +recount the descent of the Infant Don Henry.</span></p> + +<p>Two reasons move me to speak in this chapter of the descent of this +noble prince. First of all, because the long course of ages driveth out +of the memory the very knowledge of past things, which would be +altogether dimmed and hidden from our eyes were they not to be +represented before us in writing. And since I have determined to write +for the representing of this present time to those that come after, I +ought not to pass by in silence the glory of so noble a descent as our +Prince's, since this book must indeed be a work placed <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[pg 11]</a></span>by +itself. For it may happen that those who read through this may not know +anything of other writings.</p> + +<p>But this digression must needs be brief, that I may not be drawn +away far from my projected task.</p> + +<p>And the second reason<a name="fnanchor_G" id="fnanchor_G"></a><a +href="#footnote_G" class="fnanchor"><sup>[G]</sup></a> is that we may +not attribute the whole of such great virtues to one man only, but may +rather give some part to his ancestors, for it is certain that nobility +of lineage, being well observed by one that hath sprung from such a +stock—for the sake, as often happeneth, of avoiding shame, or in +some way of acquiring virtue—constraineth a man to shew courage, +and strengtheneth his heart to endure greater toils.</p> + +<p>Therefore you must know that the King Don John, who was the tenth +King of Portugal, the same that was victor in the great battle of +Aljubarrota and took the very noble city of Ceuta, in the land of +Africa, was espoused to Donna Philippa, daughter of the Duke of +Lancaster, and sister of the King Don Henry of England, by whom he had +six lawful children, to wit, five princes, and one princess, who was +afterwards Duchess of Burgundy.<a name="fnanchor_N18" +id="fnanchor_N18"></a><a href="#footnote_N18" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[18]</sup></a> Some others, who died while still +very young, I omit to mention. And of these children Prince Henry was +the third, so that with the ancestry he had, both on his father's and +his mother's side, the lineage of this royal prince embraced the most +noble and lofty in Christendom. Now this same Prince Henry was also +brother of the King Don Edward and uncle of the King Don Affonso, the +kings who, after the death of the King Don John, reigned in Portugal. +But this, as I said, I touch on briefly, because if I were to declare +things more fully I should meet with many matters of which any single +one duly followed up, as would be necessary, must needs cause so great a +delay that I should be late in returning to my first commencement.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_G" id="footnote_G"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_G">[G]</a> <i>I.e.</i> for undertaking Prince Henry's +genealogy.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER IV.<br /><span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[pg 12]</a></span> <span class="ax"> Which +speaketh of the habits of the Infant Don Henry.</span></p> + +<p>Meseemeth I should be writing overmuch if I were to recount fully all +the particulars that some histories are accustomed to relate about those +Princes to whom they addressed their writings. For in writing of their +deeds they commenced by telling of the actions of their youth, through +their desire to exalt their virtues. And though it may be presumed that +authors of such sufficiency would not do aught without a clear and +sufficient reason, I shall for the present depart from their course, as +I know that it would be a work but little needed in this place. Nor do I +even purpose to make a long tale about the Infant's bodily presence, for +many in this world have had features right well proportioned, and yet +for their dishonest vices have got great harm to their fair fame. So, +though it be nothing more, let it suffice what the philosopher<a +name="fnanchor_N19" id="fnanchor_N19"></a><a href="#footnote_N19" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[19]</sup></a> saith concerning this, that +personal beauty is not a perfect good. Therefore, returning to my +subject, let me say that this noble Prince was of a good height and +stout frame, big and strong of limb, the hair of his head somewhat +erect, with a colour naturally fair, but which by constant toil and +exposure had become dark. His expression at first sight inspired fear in +those who did not know him, and when wroth, though such times were rare, +his countenance was harsh. Strength of heart and keenness of mind were +in him to a very excellent degree, and beyond comparison he was +ambitious of achieving great and lofty deeds. Neither luxury nor avarice +ever found a home within his breast, for as to the former he was so +temperate that all his life was passed in purest chastity, and as a +virgin the earth received him at his death again to herself. And what +can I say of his <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" +id="Page_13">[pg 13]</a></span>greatness, except that it was pre-eminent +among all the princes of the earth? He was indeed the uncrowned prince, +whose court was full of more numerous and more noble vassals of his own +rearing than any other. His palace was a school of hospitality for all +the good and high-born of the realm, and still more for strangers; and +the fame of it caused there to be a great increase in his expenses: for +commonly there were to be found in his presence men from various nations +so different from our own, that it was a marvel to well-nigh all our +people: and none of that great multitude could go away without some +guerdon from the Prince. All his days were passed in the greatest toil, +for of a surety among all the nations of mankind there was no one man +who was a sterner master to himself. It would be hard to tell how many +nights he passed in the which his eyes knew no sleep; and his body was +so transformed by the use of abstinence that it seemed as if Don Henry +had made its nature to be different from that of other men. Such was the +length of his toil and so rigorous was it, that as the poets have +feigned that Atlas the giant held up the heavens upon his shoulders, for +the great knowledge that was in him concerning the movements of the +heavenly bodies, so the people of our kingdom had a proverb, that the +great labours of this our Prince "conquered the heights of the +mountains," that is to say, the matters that seemed impossible to other +men, by his continual energy, were made to appear light and easy. The +Infant was a man of great wisdom and authority, very discreet and of +good memory, but in some matters a little tardy, whether it were from +the influence of phlegm in his nature, or from the choice of his will, +directed to some certain end not known of men. His bearing was calm and +dignified, his speech and address gentle. He was constant in adversity, +humble in prosperity. Of a surety no Sovereign ever had a vassal of such +station, or <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[pg +14]</a></span>even of one far lower than his, who held him in greater +obedience and reverence than he showed to the kings who in his days +reigned in Portugal, and especially to the King Don Affonso, in the +commencement of his reign, as in his Chronicle<a name="fnanchor_N20" +id="fnanchor_N20"></a><a href="#footnote_N20" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[20]</sup></a> you may learn more at length. +Never was hatred known in him, nor ill-will towards any, however great +the wrong he might have done him; and so great was his benignity in this +matter that wiseacres reproached him as wanting in distributive justice, +though in all other matters he held the rightful mean. And this they +said because he left unpunished some of his servants who deserted him in +the siege of Tangier, which was the most perilous affair in which he +ever stood before or after,<a name="fnanchor_N21" +id="fnanchor_N21"></a><a href="#footnote_N21" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[21]</sup></a> not only becoming reconciled to +them, but even granting them honourable advancement over and above +others who had served him well; the which, in the judgment of men, was +far from their deserts. And this is the only shortcoming of his that I +have to record. And because Tully commandeth<a name="fnanchor_N22" +id="fnanchor_N22"></a><a href="#footnote_N22" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[22]</sup></a> that an author should reason, in +the matter of his writing, as truly appeareth to him—in the sixth +chapter of this work I shall declare myself more fully on this,<a +name="fnanchor_H" id="fnanchor_H"></a><a href="#footnote_H" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[H]</sup></a> that I may approve myself a truthful +writer. The Infant drank wine only for a very small part of his life, +and that in his youth, but afterwards he abstained entirely from it. He +always shewed great devotion to the public affairs of these kingdoms, +toiling greatly for their good advancement, and much he delighted in the +trial of new essays for the profit of all, though with great expense of +his own substance. And so he keenly enjoyed the labour of arms, and +especially against the enemies of the holy faith, while he desired peace +with all Christians. Thus he was loved by all alike, for he made himself +useful to all and hindered no one. His answers were always <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[pg 15]</a></span>gentle, +and therewith he shewed great honour to the standing of every one who +came to him, without any lessening of his own estate. A base or unchaste +word was never heard to issue from his mouth. He was very obedient to +all the commands of Holy Church, and heard all its offices with great +devotion; aye and caused the same to be celebrated in his chapel, with +no less splendour and ceremony than they could have had in the College +of any Cathedral Church. And so he held all sacred things in great +reverence and treated the ministers of the same with honour, and +bestowed on them favours and largess. Well-nigh one-half of the year he +spent in fasting, and the hands of the poor never went away empty from +his presence. Of a surety I know not how to find any prince so Catholic +and religious, that I could say as much of him. His heart never knew +what fear was, save the fear of sin; and since from chaste habits and +virtuous actions spring great and lofty deeds, I will collect in this +next chapter all the notable things which were performed by him for the +service of God and the honour of the Kingdom.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_H" id="footnote_H"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_H">[H]</a> <i>I.e.</i>, on this point of distributive +justice.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER V.<br /> <span class="ax"> In which the +Chronicler speaketh briefly of the notable matters which the Infant +performed for the service of God and the honour of the +Kingdom.</span></p> + +<p>Where could this chapter begin better than in speaking of that most +glorious conquest of the great city of Ceuta, of which famous victory +the heavens felt the glory and the earth the benefit. For it seemeth to +me a great glory, for the sacred college of the Celestial Virtues,<a +name="fnanchor_N23" id="fnanchor_N23"></a><a href="#footnote_N23" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[23]</sup></a> that all those holy sacrifices and +blessed ceremonies should have been celebrated in praise of Christ our +Lord in that city from <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" +id="Page_16">[pg 16]</a></span>that day even until now, and by his grace +ever shall be celebrated. And as to the profit of our world from this +achievement, East and West alike are good witnesses thereof, since their +peoples can now exchange their goods, without any great peril of +merchandise—for of a surety no one can deny that Ceuta is the key +of all the Mediterranean sea. In the which conquest the Prince was +captain of a very great and powerful fleet, and like a brave knight +fought and toiled in person on the day when it was taken from the Moors; +and under his command were the Count of Barcellos, the King's bastard, +and Don Fernando, Lord of Braganza, his nephew, and Gonçalo Vasquez +Coutinho, a great and powerful noble, and many other lords and gentlemen +with all their men-at-arms, and others who joined the said fleet from +the three districts of the Beira, and the Tral-os-Montes and the Entre +Douro-e-Minho.<a name="fnanchor_N24" id="fnanchor_N24"></a><a +href="#footnote_N24" class="fnanchor"><sup>[24]</sup></a> Now the first +Royal Captain who took possession by the walls of Ceuta was this same of +whom I write, and his square banner was the first that entered the gates +of the city, from whose shadow he was never far off himself. On that day +the blows he dealt out were conspicuous beyond those of all other men, +since for the space of five hours he never stopped fighting, and neither +the heat, though it was very great, nor the amount of his toil, were +able to make him retire and take any rest. And in this space of time, +the Prince, with four who accompanied him, made a valiant stand. For as +to the others who should have followed in his company, some were +scattered through that vast city, and others were not able to join him +by reason of a gate through which the Infant with the said four +companions had passed together with the Moors, which gate was guarded by +other Moors on the top of the wall. So for about two hours the Prince +and his friends held another gate, which is beyond that one which stands +between the two cities<a name="fnanchor_N25" id="fnanchor_N25"></a><a +href="#footnote_N25" class="fnanchor"><sup>[25]</sup></a> in a turn of +the wall under the shadow of the castle, <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[pg 17]</a></span>which gate is now called +that of Fernandafonso. And to this had retired the greater part of the +Moors who had fled out of the other town from the side of Almina just +where the city was entered, but in the end, despite the great multitude +of the enemy, they shut that gate. And whether their toil were idle or +no could well be seen by those who had fallen and lay dead there, +stretched out along that ground. In that city of Ceuta was the Infant +knighted, together with his brothers, by his father's hand, with great +honour, on the day of the consecration of the Cathedral Church. And the +capture was on a Thursday, the 21st day of the month of August, in the +year of Christ 1415. And immediately on the return of the King Don John +to his kingdom, he made this honoured prince a duke, with the seignory +thereof, in a place of the province of the Algarve.<a +name="fnanchor_N26" id="fnanchor_N26"></a><a href="#footnote_N26" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[26]</sup></a> And afterwards at the end of three +years there came against Ceuta a great power of Moors, who were reckoned +at a later time by the King's Ransomers of Captives to be 100,000 +strong—for there were present the people of the Kings of Fez and +of Granada and of Tunis and of Marocco and of Bugya,<a +name="fnanchor_N27" id="fnanchor_N27"></a><a href="#footnote_N27" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[27]</sup></a> with many engines of war and much +artillery, with the which they thought to take the aforesaid city, +encircling it by sea and land. Then the Infant was very diligent in +succouring it with two of his brothers, that is to say the Infant Don +John and the Count of Barcellos, who was afterwards Duke of Braganza, +with many lords and gentlemen and with the aid of a great flotilla; and +after killing many of the Moors and delivering the city, he repaired it +and returned again very honourably to Portugal. Yet he was not well +content with his victory, because the chance of taking the town of +Gibraltar, for which he had made preparation, did not offer itself to +him.<a name="fnanchor_N28" id="fnanchor_N28"></a><a href="#footnote_N28" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[28]</sup></a> The chief reason of his being thus +hindered was the roughness of the winter, which was just then beginning; +for although the sea at that time is dangerous everywhere, <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[pg 18]</a></span>it is +much more so at that very part because of the great currents that are +there. He also fitted out a very great armada against the Canary +Islands,<a name="fnanchor_N29" id="fnanchor_N29"></a><a +href="#footnote_N29" class="fnanchor"><sup>[29]</sup></a> to shew the +natives there the way of the holy faith.</p> + +<p>Again, while the King Don Edward was reigning, by his order he passed +over a third time into Africa, when he besieged the city of Tangier, and +went for nineteen leagues with banners flying through the land of his +enemies; and then maintained the leaguer for two and twenty days, in +which time were achieved many feats worthy of glorious remembrance, not +without great slaughter of the enemy, as in the history of the kingdom +you can learn more fully.</p> + +<p>He governed Ceuta, by command of the kings, his father, brother and +nephew,<a name="fnanchor_I" id="fnanchor_I"></a><a href="#footnote_I" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[I]</sup></a> for five and thirty years, with such +prevision that the crown of the kingdom never suffered loss of honour +through any default of his; but at last, because of his great burdens, +he left the said government to the King Don Affonso, at the beginning of +his reign.<a name="fnanchor_N30" id="fnanchor_N30"></a><a +href="#footnote_N30" class="fnanchor"><sup>[30]</sup></a> Moreover, +from the time that Ceuta was taken he always kept armed ships at sea to +guard against the infidels, who then made very great havoc upon the +coasts both on this side the straits and beyond; so that the fear of his +vessels kept in security all the shores of our Spain and the greater +part of the merchants who traded between East and West.<a +name="fnanchor_N31" id="fnanchor_N31"></a><a href="#footnote_N31" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[31]</sup></a></p> + +<p>Also he caused to be peopled in the great Sea of Ocean five islands, +which embraced a goodly number of people at the time of the writing of +this book, and especially Madeira;<a name="fnanchor_N32" +id="fnanchor_N32"></a><a href="#footnote_N32" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[32]</sup></a> and from this isle, as well as the +others, our country drew large supplies of wheat, sugar, wax, honey and +wood, and many other things, from which not only our own people but also +foreigners have gained and are gaining great profit. Also the Infant +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[pg +19]</a></span>Don Henry was with the king Don Affonso his nephew, in +that army he collected against the Infant Don Pedro, from which followed +the battle of Alfarrobeira, where the aforesaid Don Pedro was killed and +the Count of Avranches who was with him, and all their host defeated.<a +name="fnanchor_N33" id="fnanchor_N33"></a><a href="#footnote_N33" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[33]</sup></a> And there, if my understanding +suffice for the matter, I may truly say that the loyalty of men of all +times was as nothing in comparison of his. Further, although his +services<a name="fnanchor_J" id="fnanchor_J"></a><a href="#footnote_J" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[J]</sup></a> did not occasion him such great +labours as those I have mentioned, yet of a certainty the circumstances +of the matter gave to them a lustre and a grandeur that exceeded all +else: and of these I leave a fuller account to the general history of +the Kingdom.</p> + +<p>Don Henry also made very great benefactions to the Order of Christ, +of which he was ruler and governor by the authority of the Holy Father, +for he bestowed upon it all the spiritualties of the islands<a +name="fnanchor_K" id="fnanchor_K"></a><a href="#footnote_K" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[K]</sup></a> and in the kingdom he made purchases +of lands (from which he created new commanderies), as well as of houses +and estates, which he annexed to the said Order. And in the +Mother-Convent of the Order he built two very fair cloisters and one +high choir, with many rich ornaments, which he presented for sacred +uses.<a name="fnanchor_N34" id="fnanchor_N34"></a><a +href="#footnote_N34" class="fnanchor"><sup>[34]</sup></a> And for that +he had a great devotion to the Virgin Mary, he built in her honour a +very devout house of prayer, one league from Lisbon, near the sea, at +Restello, under the title of St. Mary of Belem. And in Pombal and in +Soure, he built two very notable churches. Also, he bequeathed many +noble houses to the City of Lisbon, being pleased to give his protection +for the greater honour of the holy Scriptures; and he ordained a yearly +grant of ten marks of silver to the Chair of Theology for ever. And in +the same way he gave to his chapel of St. Mary of Victory seven marks of +yearly revenue.<a name="fnanchor_N35" id="fnanchor_N35"></a><a +href="#footnote_N35" class="fnanchor"><sup>[35]</sup></a> But I know +not for the present if there is <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" +id="Page_20">[pg 20]</a></span>to be an increase in these grants after +his death, for, at the time that King Affonso ordered this book to be +written he was yet alive, of an age little less than sixty years, so +that I cannot make an end of his benefactions, for, as his mind was +great and ever intent on noble actions, I am sure that his members may +indeed grow weaker with the lapse of time, but his will can never be too +poor both to undertake and to finish a multitude of good deeds, so long +as his soul and body are united together. And this may well be +understood by those that saw him ready to go to Ceuta<a +name="fnanchor_N36" id="fnanchor_N36"></a><a href="#footnote_N36" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[36]</sup></a> and almost embarked on shipboard +with that intent—to end his life there, toiling in arms for the +honour of the Kingdom and the exaltation of the Holy Faith. For in this +cause he ever had a desire to finish his days: yet he desisted from +carrying out his purpose for this time, because the King agreed with his +Council in hindering the voyage, though he had previously given him +leave. And though the chief cause of this be not known to most men, some +wiseacres, who were not members of the Chief Council, perceived that the +reason was as follows: the Lord King, like a man of great discretion, +considering the great things to be performed at home, ordered him to +remain, that he might give him, as his uncle and especial friend and +most notable servant, the principal part in searching out the remedies +for these troubles. But it mattereth not much, whether this was the +cause of his remaining or whether it was some other reason outside our +knowledge: let it suffice that by this action you may see what was the +chief part of his life's purpose, and this is what I ought in reason to +set forth after what I have said. And among those actions of the +Prince's<a name="fnanchor_L" id="fnanchor_L"></a><a href="#footnote_L" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[L]</sup></a> there are many others of no little +grandeur, with which another man, who had not attained to the excellency +of this hero, might well be <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" +id="Page_21">[pg 21]</a></span>content, but in this history I omit them, +in order not to depart from what I promised at first to write of. Not +that I would keep silence altogether concerning them, for in the general +chronicle of the Kingdom I intend to touch on each in its own place. And +because I began this chapter with the taking of a city,<a +name="fnanchor_M" id="fnanchor_M"></a><a href="#footnote_M" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[M]</sup></a> I would fain end it with an account +of that noble town which our Prince caused them to build on Cape St. +Vincent, at the place where both seas meet, to wit, the great Ocean sea +and the Mediterranean sea. But of the perfections of that town it is not +possible to speak here at large, because when this book was written +there were only the walls standing, though of great strength, with a few +houses—yet work was going on in it continually. According to the +common belief, the Infant purposed to make of it an especial mart town +for merchants. And this was to the end that all ships that passed from +the East to the West, should be able to take their bearings and to get +provisions and pilots there, as at Cadiz—which last is very far +from being as good a port as this, for here ships can get shelter +against every wind (except one that we in this Kingdom call the +cross-wind), and in the same way they can go out with every wind, +whenever the seaman willeth it. Moreover, I have heard say that when +this city was begun, the Genoese offered a great price for it; and they, +as you know, are not men that spend their money without some certain +hope of gain. And though some have called the said town by other names, +I believe its proper one, according to the intention of its founder, was +that of "the Infant's town", for he himself so named it, both by word of +mouth and by writing.<a name="fnanchor_N37" id="fnanchor_N37"></a><a +href="#footnote_N37" class="fnanchor"><sup>[37]</sup></a></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_I" id="footnote_I"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_I">[I]</a> John, Edward and Affonso.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_J" id="footnote_J"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_J">[J]</a> In this battle.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_K" id="footnote_K"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_K">[K]</a> In his jurisdiction.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_L" id="footnote_L"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_L">[L]</a> In home affairs.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_M" id="footnote_M"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_M">[M]</a> Ceuta.</p> + +<p class="center p4b"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" +id="Page_22">[pg 22]</a></span>CHAPTER VI.<br /> <span class="ax"> In +which the Author, who setteth in order this history, saith something of +what he purposeth concerning the virtues of the Infant Don +Henry.</span></p> + +<p>Such were the virtues and habits of this great and glorious Prince, +even as you have heard in the past few chapters, in which I have spoken +as well as I was able, but certainly not as the matter deserved of me, +for as St. Jerome layeth it down, small wits cannot handle great +subjects. And if it be true, as Sallust saith, that great praise was +given to those who performed the famous actions in the history of +Athens, as far as the brilliant and glorious talents of her subtle +authors were able by words to praise and exalt them, it was great +boldness in me, who am only worthy to name myself a disciple of each one +of these ancients, to undertake so high a charge.<a name="fnanchor_N38" +id="fnanchor_N38"></a><a href="#footnote_N38" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[38]</sup></a></p> + +<p>But whereas it is said, that obedience is better than sacrifice, it +seemeth to me that I do not deserve so great a blame, since I have only +fulfilled what was commanded me. But I neither demand nor desire that my +work should be placed before the public, for it is not of so precious a +nature as to merit that it be preserved in a tower or temple, as the +Athenians preserved the Minerva of Phidias, the figure to wit of the +goddess Pallas, which for the excellency of its beauty was placed on +high for the better view of all men, as saith the Philosopher in the +sixth book of his <i>Ethics</i>, in the Chapter on Wisdom.<a +name="fnanchor_N39" id="fnanchor_N39"></a><a href="#footnote_N39" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[39]</sup></a> Rather I wish that this book of +mine may be profitable as to its form, in order that in the future +another work more adequate to the subject may be constructed out of it, +and one that may suffice for the merits of so great a prince; for +certainly shame will descend on all the masters, all the doctors, all +the lawyers that have received instruction <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[pg 23]</a></span>through his beneficence, +if among so many there should not be found one willing to perpetuate his +admirable deeds in a loftier and nobler style.</p> + +<p>But as it may happen that the recompense of gratitude, as I often +perceive, may not be swift to follow or may very quickly cease +altogether, let it please you to receive what in the past chapters of +this work I have said of the Prince's habits and virtuous acts, and what +more in the future I shall have to say—not according to that which +the excellence of the work requireth, but according to the rudeness and +ignorance of the Author. And these matters you may well believe are more +truthfully written than easily collected together.</p> + +<p>But before entering fully upon the substance of my history, I wish to +say a little of my intention to amend somewhat in the things where +aforetime I was found wanting, to the praise of this great and glorious +duke. And thou, great Valerius,<a name="fnanchor_N40" +id="fnanchor_N40"></a><a href="#footnote_N40" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[40]</sup></a> who with such constant study, +didst occupy thyself in gathering and putting together in a history the +powers and virtues of the noble and excellent lords of thy city, of a +surety I dare say that among so many renowned men, thou couldst not, in +the highest degree, speak of another like him, for although thou wast +able to assign certain grades of virtue to each one of thy heroes, yet +thou wast not able to unite all these merits in one single body, as I am +able to gather and join them together in the life of this Prince.</p> + +<p>Where couldst thou find one so religious, one so catholic, one so +prudent, one of so good counsel, one so temperate in all his actions? +Where couldst thou light on such magnanimity, such frankness, such +humanity, such courage, to support so great and so many toils as +his?—for of a surety there was not a man of his time who would +have dared to continue in the practice of such severity of life. Oh how +often did the sun find him on its rising seated in <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[pg 24]</a></span>the +same place where it had left him the day before, watching throughout the +circle of the night season without taking any rest, surrounded by people +of various nations, not without profit to every one of them that stood +by. For he took no small delight in finding the means to profit all. +Where could you find another human body that would endure the toil he +underwent in arms, a toil that was but scantly diminished in the time of +peace? Certainly I believe that if fortitude could be depicted, it would +encounter its true form in his face and members, for he did not prove +himself strong in some matters only, but in all. And what courage, what +endurance, could be greater than that of the man who is victor over +himself? Yet he endured hunger and thirst as well, a matter almost past +belief.</p> + +<p>But what Romulus, or Manlius Torquatus, or Horatius Coclês couldst +thou prefer to the might of this Prince? Perchance thou wouldst bring +hither thy Cæsar, whom by thy words thou hast set up as a god, and an +example of good morals and honest life: what then wilt thou do with +Marcus Tullius and with Lucan, who in so many places confess that he +corrupted himself by carnal desires and other vices, to the great +diminishing of his praise?<a name="fnanchor_N41" +id="fnanchor_N41"></a><a href="#footnote_N41" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[41]</sup></a> Who would not fear to compare +himself with this our prince, seeing how that the Sovereign Pontiff, +vicar-general of the Holy Church, and the Emperor of Germany, as well as +the Kings of Castille and England, when informed of his great virtues, +begged him to be captain of their armies?<a name="fnanchor_N42" +id="fnanchor_N42"></a><a href="#footnote_N42" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[42]</sup></a> And to what shall we assign more +justly the name of felicity and good fortune than to his virtues and +habits, or to what empires and riches can be given greater honour than +to his great and excellent deeds?</p> + +<p>O fortunate prince, honour of our kingdom, what single thing was +there in thy life which they who praise thee ought to pass by in +silence: what moment of thy time was barren of good deeds or empty of +praise? I consider how <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" +id="Page_25">[pg 25]</a></span>thou didst welcome all, how thou didst +listen to all; how thou didst pass the greater part of thy days and +nights among such great cares, that many might be profited. Wherefore I +know that lands and seas are full of those that praise thee, for by thy +continual voyagings thou hast joined the East with the West, in order +that the nations might learn to exchange their riches. And in truth, +though I have said many things about thee, many more remain for me to +say.</p> + +<p>But before I end this chapter I believe that it beseemeth me, of +necessity, to show what I think about that matter on which I +touched—to wit, distributive justice—so as not to pass it by +without some declaration of my mind, as I promised before. And certainly +that was a beautiful ordinance that Tully made upon this matter, for it +standeth to reason that the verdict of the historian should have greater +authority upon that matter of which he treateth than any other person, +because he enquireth about the truth of things with greater care: Now +this duty<a name="fnanchor_N" id="fnanchor_N"></a><a href="#footnote_N" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[N]</sup></a> will be either that of martial +correction or of humanity and clemency. If it be an affair of correction +or martial justice, it is impossible to excuse shortcomings, for we read +in the histories of the Romans that the fathers slew their sons for such +faults, and made other very bloody executions: but, contrariwise, on the +side of clemency and humanity, this must needs be praised as a great +virtue, since its third part, according to Seneca, lieth in reconciling +familiars to oneself; yet the extreme of both these two things is of +doubtful merit, to wit, whether one should prefer discipline to clemency +or clemency to discipline.<a name="fnanchor_N43" +id="fnanchor_N43"></a><a href="#footnote_N43" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[43]</sup></a></p> + +<p>But under correction of him who better understandeth it, I say it +appeareth to me that the better part of the matter should take +precedence of the other part of less value, and <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[pg 26]</a></span>considering the particular +case and the circumstances of the time and how no correction could bring +about amendment,<a name="fnanchor_O" id="fnanchor_O"></a><a +href="#footnote_O" class="fnanchor"><sup>[O]</sup></a> we ought to give +praise rather than blame to the Infant for his conduct, inasmuch as it +sheweth a liberal heart to offer kindness to those whom one might with +good reason have denied.</p> + +<p>And be this as it may, let not these matters, most excellent prince, +seem serious unto thee, for it was not so much my intent to praise thy +deeds as to praise thee. For the wicked do many deeds worthy of praise, +but no man should be praised save he who is truly good in himself. Where +is the man whose virtues are not offended by some accretion of vices? +Certainly I am not one to write or say it of thee, O Prince, for one who +hath a place prepared among the celestial thrones cannot receive offence +from the deeds he did on earth, though to some they appear worthy of +blame; for one may quote the saying of Saint Chrysostom, that there is +nothing so holy, but that an evil-minded interpreter thereof can find +something to asperse.<a name="fnanchor_N44" id="fnanchor_N44"></a><a +href="#footnote_N44" class="fnanchor"><sup>[44]</sup></a></p> + +<p>O how few there be, as said Seneca in his first tragedy,<a +name="fnanchor_N45" id="fnanchor_N45"></a><a href="#footnote_N45" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[45]</sup></a> who turn to good account the time +of their life or ever think upon its brevity. But of a surety thou, O +prince, wast never of the number of these men, since by thy glorious and +lofty deeds and cruel sufferings, thou didst add to thyself, among many +princes of most excellent dignity, an eternal and undying memory, and, +what is of more value, a heavenly throne, as I piously believe. O +fortunate Kings, who after his death shall possess the royal seat of his +ancestors, I beg you always to keep the sepulchre of this great and +noble duke in your especial remembrance, since the splendour of his +virtues doth form a great part of your honour. For verily the +exclamations and the praises which I tell you of him, were not invented +by my own wit, but <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" +id="Page_27">[pg 27]</a></span>are as it were the living voices of his +virtues and his great merits, which would be of great profit to every +one of you, if you could keep them whole and sound in your thought, not +desiring that I had related them more briefly, since it would be a +trouble to find his like among the men of our time.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N" id="footnote_N"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N">[N]</a> Of shewing distributive justice.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_O" id="footnote_O"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_O">[O]</a> <i>I.e.</i>, on that occasion.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER VII.<br /> <span class="ax"> In which five +reasons appear why the Lord Infant was moved to command the search for +the lands of Guinea.</span></p> + +<p>We imagine that we know a matter when we are acquainted with the doer +of it and the end for which he did it. And since in former chapters we +have set forth the Lord Infant as the chief actor in these things, +giving as clear an understanding of him as we could, it is meet that in +this present chapter we should know his purpose in doing them. And you +should note well that the noble spirit of this Prince, by a sort of +natural constraint, was ever urging him both to begin and to carry out +very great deeds. For which reason, after the taking of Ceuta he always +kept ships well armed against the Infidel, both for war, and because he +had also a wish to know the land that lay beyond the isles of Canary and +that Cape called Bojador, for that up to his time, neither by writings, +nor by the memory of man, was known with any certainty the nature of the +land beyond that Cape. Some said indeed that Saint Brandan had passed +that way; and there was another tale of two galleys rounding the Cape, +which never returned.<a name="fnanchor_N46" id="fnanchor_N46"></a><a +href="#footnote_N46" class="fnanchor"><sup>[46]</sup></a> But this doth +not appear at all likely to be true, for it is not to be presumed that +if the said galleys went there, some other ships would not have +endeavoured to learn what voyage they had made. And because the said +Lord Infant wished to know the truth of this,—since it seemed to +him that if he or some other lord did not endeavour to gain that +knowledge, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[pg +28]</a></span>no mariners or merchants would ever dare to attempt +it—(for it is clear that none of them ever trouble themselves to +sail to a place where there is not a sure and certain hope of +profit)—and seeing also that no other prince took any pains in +this matter, he sent out his own ships against those parts, to have +manifest certainty of them all. And to this he was stirred up by his +zeal for the service of God and of the King Edward his Lord and brother, +who then reigned. And this was the first reason of his action.</p> + +<p>The second reason was that if there chanced to be in those lands some +population of Christians, or some havens, into which it would be +possible to sail without peril, many kinds of merchandise might be +brought to this realm, which would find a ready market, and reasonably +so, because no other people of these parts traded with them, nor yet +people of any other that were known; and also the products of this realm +might be taken there, which traffic would bring great profit to our +countrymen.</p> + +<p>The third reason was that, as it was said that the power of the Moors +in that land of Africa was very much greater than was commonly +supposed,<a name="fnanchor_N47" id="fnanchor_N47"></a><a +href="#footnote_N47" class="fnanchor"><sup>[47]</sup></a> and that +there were no Christians among them, nor any other race of men; and +because every wise man is obliged by natural prudence to wish for a +knowledge of the power of his enemy; therefore the said Lord Infant +exerted himself to cause this to be fully discovered, and to make it +known determinately how far the power of those infidels extended.</p> + +<p>The fourth reason was because during the one and thirty years that he +had warred against the Moors, he had never found a Christian king, nor a +lord outside this land, who for the love of our Lord Jesus Christ would +aid him in the said war. Therefore he sought to know if there were in +those parts any Christian princes, in whom the charity and the love of +Christ was so ingrained that they would aid him against those enemies of +the faith.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[pg +29]</a></span>The fifth reason was his great desire to make increase in +the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ and to bring to him all the souls +that should be saved,—understanding that all the mystery of the +Incarnation, Death, and Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ was for this +sole end—namely the salvation of lost souls—whom the said +Lord Infant by his travail and spending would fain bring into the true +path. For he perceived that no better offering could be made unto the +Lord than this; for if God promised to return one hundred goods for one, +we may justly believe that for such great benefits, that is to say for +so many souls as were saved by the efforts of this Lord, he will have so +many hundreds of guerdons in the kingdom of God, by which his spirit may +be glorified after this life in the celestial realm. For I that wrote +this history saw so many men and women of those parts turned to the holy +faith, that even if the Infant had been a heathen, their prayers would +have been enough to have obtained his salvation. And not only did I see +the first captives, but their children and grandchildren as true +Christians as if the Divine grace breathed in them and imparted to them +a clear knowledge of itself.</p> + +<p>But over and above these five reasons I have a sixth that would seem +to be the root from which all the others proceeded: and this is the +inclination of the heavenly wheels. For, as I wrote not many days ago in +a letter I sent to the Lord King, that although it be written that the +wise man shall be Lord of the stars, and that the courses of the planets +(according to the true estimate of the holy doctors) cannot cause the +good man to stumble; yet it is manifest that they are bodies ordained in +the secret counsels of our Lord God and run by a fixed measure, +appointed to different ends, which are revealed to men by his grace, +through whose influence bodies of the lower order are inclined to +certain passions. And if it be a fact, speaking as a Catholic, that the +contrary predestinations of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" +id="Page_30">[pg 30]</a></span>wheels of heaven can be avoided by +natural judgment with the aid of a certain divine grace, much more does +it stand to reason that those who are predestined to good fortune, by +the help of this same grace, will not only follow their course but even +add a far greater increase to themselves. But here I wish to tell you +how by the constraint of the influence of nature this glorious Prince +was inclined to those actions of his. And that was because his ascendent +was Aries, which is the house of Mars and exaltation of the sun, and his +lord in the <span class="smcap">XI</span>th house, in company of the +sun. And because the said Mars was in Aquarius, which is the house of +Saturn, and in the mansion of hope, it signified that this Lord should +toil at high and mighty conquests, especially in seeking out things that +were hidden from other men and secret, according to the nature of +Saturn, in whose house he is. And the fact of his being accompanied by +the sun, as I said, and the sun being in the house of Jupiter, signified +that all his traffick and his conquests would be loyally carried out, +according to the good pleasure of his king and lord.<a +name="fnanchor_N48" id="fnanchor_N48"></a><a href="#footnote_N48" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[48]</sup></a></p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER VIII.<br /> <span class="ax"> Why ships +had not hitherto dared to pass beyond Cape Bojador.</span></p> + +<p>So the Infant, moved by these reasons, which you have already heard, +began to make ready his ships and his people, as the needs of the case +required; but this much you may learn, that although he sent out many +times, not only ordinary men, but such as by their experience in great +deeds of war were of foremost name in the profession of arms, yet there +was not one who dared to pass that Cape of Bojador and learn about the +land beyond it, as the Infant wished. And to say the truth this was not +from <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[pg +31]</a></span>cowardice or want of good will, but from the novelty of +the thing and the wide-spread and ancient rumour about this Cape, that +had been cherished by the mariners of Spain from generation to +generation. And although this proved to be deceitful, yet since the +hazarding of this attempt seemed to threaten the last evil of all, there +was great doubt as to who would be the first to risk his life in such a +venture. How are we, men said, to pass the bounds that our fathers set +up, or what profit can result to the Infant from the perdition of our +souls as well as of our bodies—for of a truth by daring any +further we shall become wilful murderers of ourselves? Have there not +been in Spain other princes and lords as covetous perchance of this +honour as the Infant? For certainly it cannot be presumed that among so +many noble men who did such great and lofty deeds for the glory of their +memory, there had not been one to dare this deed. But being satisfied of +the peril, and seeing no hope of honour or profit, they left off the +attempt. For, said the mariners, this much is clear, that beyond this +Cape there is no race of men nor place of inhabitants: nor is the land +less sandy than the deserts of Libya, where there is no water, no tree, +no green herb—and the sea so shallow that a whole league from land +it is only a fathom deep, while the currents are so terrible that no +ship having once passed the Cape, will ever be able to return.<a +name="fnanchor_N49" id="fnanchor_N49"></a><a href="#footnote_N49" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[49]</sup></a></p> + +<p>Therefore our forefathers never attempted to pass it: and of a surety +their knowledge of the lands beyond was not a little dark, as they knew +not how to set them down on the charts, by which man controls all the +seas that can be navigated. Now what sort of a ship's captain would he +be who, with such doubts placed before him by those to whom he might +reasonably yield credence and authority, and with such certain prospect +of death before his eyes, could venture the trial of such a bold feat as +that? O thou <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[pg +32]</a></span>Virgin Themis, saith our Author, who among the nine Muses +of Mount Parnassus didst possess the especial right of searching out the +secrets of Apollo's cave, I doubt whether thy fears were as great at +putting thy feet on that sacred table where the divine revelations +afflicted thee little less than death, as the terrors of these mariners +of ours, threatened not only by fear but by its shadow, whose great +deceit was the cause of very great expenses. For during twelve years the +Infant continued steadily at this labour of his, ordering out his ships +every year to those parts, not without great loss of revenue, and never +finding any who dared to make that passage. Yet they did not return +wholly without honour, for as an atonement for their failure to carry +out more fully their Lord's wishes, some made descents upon the coasts +of Granada and others voyaged along the Levant Seas, where they took +great booty of the Infidels, with which they returned to the Kingdom +very honourably.<a name="fnanchor_N50" id="fnanchor_N50"></a><a +href="#footnote_N50" class="fnanchor"><sup>[50]</sup></a></p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER IX.<br /> <span class="ax"> How Gil +Eannes, a native of Lagos, was the first who passed the Cape of Bojador, +and how he returned thither again, and with him Affonso Gonçalvez +Baldaya.</span></p> + +<p>Now the Infant always received home again with great patience those +whom he had sent out, as Captains of his ships, in search of that land, +never upbraiding them with their failure, but with gracious countenance +listening to the story of the events of their voyage, giving them such +rewards as he was wont to give to those who served him well, and then +either sending them back to search again or despatching other picked men +of his Household, with their ships well furnished, making more urgent +his charge to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[pg +33]</a></span>them, with promise of greater guerdons, if they added +anything to the voyage that those before them had made, all to the +intent that he might arrive at some comprehension of that difficulty. +And at last, after twelve years, the Infant armed a "barcha" and gave it +to Gil Eannes, one of his squires, whom he afterwards knighted and cared +for right nobly. And he followed the course that others had taken; but +touched by the self-same terror,<a name="fnanchor_N51" +id="fnanchor_N51"></a><a href="#footnote_N51" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[51]</sup></a> he only went as far as the Canary +Islands, where he took some captives and returned to the Kingdom. Now +this was in the year of Jesus Christ 1433, and in the next year the +Infant made ready the same vessel, and calling Gil Eannes apart, charged +him earnestly to strain every nerve to pass that Cape, and even if he +could do nothing else on that voyage, yet he should consider that to be +enough. "You cannot find", said the Infant, "a peril so great that the +hope of reward will not be greater, and in truth I wonder much at the +notion you have all taken on so uncertain a matter—for even if +these things that are reported had any authority, however small, I would +not blame you, but you tell me only the opinions of four mariners, who +come but from the Flanders trade or from some other ports that are very +commonly sailed to, and know nothing of the needle or sailing-chart.<a +name="fnanchor_N52" id="fnanchor_N52"></a><a href="#footnote_N52" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[52]</sup></a> Go forth, then, and heed none of +their words, but make your voyage straightway, inasmuch as with the +grace of God you cannot but gain from this journey honour and profit." +The Infant was a man of very great authority, so that his admonitions, +mild though they were, had much effect on the serious-minded. And so it +appeared by the deed of this man, for he, after these words, resolved +not to return to the presence of his Lord without assured tidings of +that for which he was sent. And as he purposed, so he +performed—for in that voyage he doubled the Cape, despising all +danger, and found the lands beyond quite contrary to what he, like +others, had expected. And although the matter was a <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[pg 34]</a></span>small +one in itself, yet on account of its daring it was reckoned +great—for if the first man who reached the Cape had passed it, +there would not have been so much praise and thanks bestowed on him; but +even as the danger of the affair put all others into the greater fear, +so the accomplishing of it brought the greater honour to this man. But +whether or no the success of Gil Eannes gained for him any genuine glory +may be perceived by the words that the Infant spoke to him before his +starting; and his experience on his return was very clear on this point, +for he was exceeding well received, not without a profitable increase of +honour and possessions. And then it was he related to the Infant how the +whole matter had gone, telling him how he had ordered the boat to be put +out and had gone in to the shore without finding either people or signs +of habitation. And since, my lord, said Gil Eannes, I thought that I +ought to bring some token of the land since I was on it, I gathered +these herbs which I here present to your grace; the which we in this +country call Roses of Saint Mary. Then, after he had finished giving an +account of his voyage to that part, the Infant caused a "barinel" to be +made ready, in which he sent out Affonso Gonçalvez Baldaya, his +cupbearer, and Gil Eannes as well with his "barcha", ordering him to +return there with his companion. And so in fact they did, passing fifty +leagues beyond the Cape, where they found the land without dwellings, +but shewing footmarks of men and camels. And then, either because they +were so ordered, or from necessity, they returned with this +intelligence, without doing aught else worth recording.<a +name="fnanchor_N53" id="fnanchor_N53"></a><a href="#footnote_N53" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[53]</sup></a></p> + +<p class="center p4b"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" +id="Page_35">[pg 35]</a></span>CHAPTER X.<br /> <span class="ax"> How +Affonso Gonçalvez Baldaya reached the Rio d'Ouro.</span></p> + +<p>"As you have found traces of men and camels", said the Infant to +Baldaya, "it is evident that the inhabited region cannot be far off; or +perchance they are people who cross with their merchandise to some +seaport with a secure anchorage for ships to load in, for since there +are people, they must of necessity depend upon what the sea brings them, +and especially upon fish, however bestial they may be. Much more so the +inland tribes. Therefore I intend to send you there again, in that same +'barinel', both that you may do me service and increase your honour, and +to this end I order you to go as far as you can and try to gain an +interpreter from among those people, capturing some one from whom you +can obtain some tidings of the land—for according to my purpose, +it will not be a small gain if we can get someone to give us news of +this sort." The ship was soon ready to sail, and Affonso Gonçalvez +departed with great desire to do the Infant's will. And sailing on their +way they passed seventy leagues beyond where they had been before, a +space of 120 leagues beyond the Cape of Bojador, and found an estuary, +as of a river of some size, in the which were many good anchorages.<a +name="fnanchor_N54" id="fnanchor_N54"></a><a href="#footnote_N54" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[54]</sup></a> And the entering in of this water +ran eight leagues within the land, and in this they anchored. And +because among the things he had brought, Affonso Gonçalvez had two +horses, which were given him by the Infant to mount two youths upon, he +now had the horses put on shore, and before any one else disembarked, he +ordered the youths to ride on those horses, and go up country as far as +they could, looking about carefully on every side for villages, or +people travelling by some path. And to cause them and their horses the +less fatigue, he told then to take no arms of defence, <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[pg 36]</a></span>but +only their lances and swords, wherewith to attack, if needed. For if +they came on people who tried to capture them, their best remedy would +be in their horses' feet, unless they found one man alone of whom they +might make use without danger.</p> + +<p>Now in the performing of this action the youths shewed clearly what +sort of men they would prove. For although they were so far distant from +their own country and knew not what kind of people, or how many, they +would find, not to speak of the dread of wild beasts, whose fearful +shadow might well have alarmed them, considering their youth (for they +were not either of them more than seventeen years of age), yet putting +all this aside, they set out boldly and followed the course of the river +for the space of seven leagues, where they found nineteen men all banded +together without any other arms of offence or defence, but only +assegais. And as soon as the youths saw them, they attacked them with +great courage. But that unknown company, although so many in number, +dared not meet them on the level, but rather for security retired to +some rocks, whence they fought with the youths for a good space. And +during the fight one of those youths was wounded in the foot, and +although the wound was slight, it did not remain unavenged, for they +wounded one of the enemy likewise. And they kept on fighting until the +sun began to give warning of night, on which account they went back to +their ship. And I am sure that the injuries of that combat would not +have been so small, if the enemy had remained upon the open ground. Two +things I consider in this place, saith he who wrote this history.<a +name="fnanchor_N55" id="fnanchor_N55"></a><a href="#footnote_N55" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[55]</sup></a> And first, what would be the fancy +in the minds of those men at seeing such a novelty, to wit, two such +daring youths, of colour and features so foreign to them; what could +they think had brought them there, aye and on horseback, with lances and +swords, arms that some of them had never seen. Of a surety I ween that +their <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[pg +37]</a></span>hearts were not so faint, but that they would have +displayed greater bravery against our men, had it not been for the +wonderment that was caused by the novelty of the thing. Secondly I +consider the daring of these two youths, who were in a strange land, so +far from the succour of their companions, and yet were bold enough to +attack such a number, whose power of fighting was so uncertain to them. +One of the youths, I knew in after time as a noble gentleman, very +valiant in the profession of arms, and he was called Hector Homem: the +same you will find in the Chronicle of the Kingdom well proved by great +deeds. The name of the other was Diego Lopez d'Almeida, also a gentleman +and a man of good presence, as I have learnt from some that knew him. So +they held on their journey to the ship, as we have related, and reached +it about dawn and took a little repose. And as soon as it was light, +Affonso Gonçalvez had the boat made ready, and putting himself and some +of his people into it, followed the course of that river, sending the +youths on horseback along by the land, till he reached the place where +the Moors had been found the other day, intending to fight with them and +capture some; but their toil was in vain, for so great was the alarm +that, although the youths had retreated, the natives were possessed with +a great fear and departed, leaving behind them the greater part of their +poor belongings, with the which Affonso Gonçalvez loaded his boat as a +witness of his toil. And seeing that it would not profit to pursue any +further, he returned to the ship. And because he saw on a bank at the +entrance of the river a great multitude of sea-wolves, the which by the +estimate of some were about 5,000, he caused his men to kill as many as +they could, and with their skins he loaded his ship—for, either +because they were very easy to kill, or because the bent of our men was +towards such an action, they made among those wolves a very great +slaughter.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[pg +38]</a></span>But with all this Affonso Gonçalvez was not satisfied, +because he had not taken one of those Moors, so going on beyond this for +a space of fifty leagues to see if he could make captive some man, +woman, or child, by which to satisfy the will of his Lord, he came to a +point, where stood a rock which from a distance was like a galley. And +for this reason they called that port from that day forward the "Port of +the Galley". And there they went on land, where they found some nets, +which they took on board. And here you may note a new matter, new I say +to us who live in this Spain, that the thread of those nets was of the +bark of a tree, so well fitted for such a use that without any other +tanning or admixture of flax, it could be woven right excellently, and +nets made of it, with all other cordage.<a name="fnanchor_N56" +id="fnanchor_N56"></a><a href="#footnote_N56" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[56]</sup></a></p> + +<p>And so Affonso Gonçalvez turned back to Portugal, without any certain +knowledge as to whether those men were Moors or Gentiles, or as to what +life or manner of living they had. And this was in the year of Jesus +Christ 1436.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER XI.<br /> <span class="ax"> Of the things +that were achieved in the years following.</span></p> + +<p>In the years that follow<a name="fnanchor_P" id="fnanchor_P"></a><a +href="#footnote_P" class="fnanchor"><sup>[P]</sup></a> we did not find +anything noteworthy to record. True it is that there went to those parts +two ships, each in its turn, but one turned back on account of contrary +weather and the other went only to the Rio d'Ouro for the skins and oil +of those sea-wolves, and loading a cargo of these returned to Portugal. +And in that year<a name="fnanchor_Q" id="fnanchor_Q"></a><a +href="#footnote_Q" class="fnanchor"><sup>[Q]</sup></a> passed over our +noble Infant Don Henry into Tangier, for which reason he sent no more +ships <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[pg +39]</a></span>to that land. And in the year 1438 departed out of this +world the very virtuous Don Edward on the 9th of September, in Thomar, +on whose death there followed very great discords in the kingdom.<a +name="fnanchor_N57" id="fnanchor_N57"></a><a href="#footnote_N57" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[57]</sup></a></p> + +<p>And in these troubles the presence of the Infant was so necessary, +that of all other matters he clean forgot himself, to bring a remedy to +the perils and travail in which the realm was. And it was so that the +King Don Affonso, who ordered the writing of this history, was at the +age of six, and had to be tutored and protected, he and his realm, by +governors; and about the authority of these there followed great +contentions, in which the Infant Don Henry toiled much for peace and a +good settlement of affairs, as you may find more at length in the +Chronicle of the reign of this King Don Affonso.<a name="fnanchor_N58" +id="fnanchor_N58"></a><a href="#footnote_N58" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[58]</sup></a> And so it was that in those years +there went no ships beyond that Cape, for the reasons that we have said. +True it is that in the year 1440 there armed themselves two caravels to +go to that land, but because they had hap that was contrary, we do not +tell further of their voyage.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_P" id="footnote_P"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_P">[P]</a> <i>I.e.</i>, 1436 to 1441.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_Q" id="footnote_Q"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_Q">[Q]</a> 1437.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER XII.<br /> <span class="ax"> How Antam +Gonçalvez brought back the first Captives.</span></p> + +<p>I think I can now take some sort of pleasure in the narrating of this +history, because I find something wherewith to satisfy the desire of our +Prince; the which desire was so much the greater as the matters for +which he had toiled so long were now more within his view. And so in +this chapter I wish to present some novelty in his toilsome seed-time of +preparation.</p> + +<p>Now it was so that in this year 1441, when the affairs of this realm +were somewhat more settled though not <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[pg 40]</a></span>fully quieted, that the +Infant armed a little ship, of the which he made captain one Antam +Gonçalvez, his chamberlain, and a very young man; and the end of that +voyage was none other, according to my Lord's commandment, but to ship a +cargo of the skins and oil of those sea-wolves of which we have spoken +in previous chapters. But it cannot be doubted that the Infant gave him +the same charge that he gave to others, but as the age of this captain +was weaker, and his authority but slight, so the Prince's orders were +less stringent, and in consequence his hopes of result less +confident.</p> + +<p>But when he had accomplished his voyage, as far as concerned the +chief part of his orders, Antam Gonçalvez called to him Affonso +Goterres, another groom of the chamber, who was with him, and all the +others that were in the ship, being one and twenty in all, and spoke to +them in this wise: "Friends and brethren! We have already got our cargo, +as you perceive, by the which the chief part of our ordinance is +accomplished, and we may well turn back, if we wish not to toil beyond +that which was principally commanded of us; but I would know from all +whether it seemeth to you well that we should attempt something further, +that he who sent us here may have some example of our good wills; for I +think it would be shameful if we went back into his presence just as we +are, having done such small service. And in truth I think we ought to +labour the more strenuously to achieve something like this as it was the +less laid upon us as a charge by the Infant our lord. O How fair a thing +it would be if we, who have come to this land for a cargo of such petty +merchandise, were to meet with the good luck to bring the first captives +before the face of our Prince. And now I will tell you of my thoughts +that I may receive your advice thereon. I would fain go myself this next +night with nine men of you (those who are most ready for the <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[pg +41]</a></span>business), and prove a part of this land along the river, +to see if I find any inhabitants; for I think we of right ought to meet +with some, since 'tis certain there are people here, who traffic with +camels and other animals that bear their freights. Now the traffic of +these men must chiefly be to the seaboard; and since they have as yet no +knowledge of us, their gathering cannot be too large for us to try their +strength; and, if God grant us to encounter them, the very least part of +our victory will be the capture of one of them, with the which the +Infant will feel no small content, getting knowledge by that means of +what kind are the other dwellers of this land. And as to our reward, you +can estimate what it will be by the great expenses and toil he has +undertaken in years past, only for this end." "See what you do", replied +the others, "for since you are our captain we needs must obey your +orders, not as Antam Gonçalvez but as our lord; for you must understand +that we who are here, of the Household of the Infant our lord, have both +the will and desire to serve him, even to the laying down of our lives +in the event of the last danger. But we think your purpose to be good, +if only you will introduce no other novelty to increase the peril, which +would be little to the service of our lord." And finally they determined +to do his bidding, and follow him as far as they could make their way. +And as soon as it was night Antam Gonçalvez chose nine men who seemed to +him most fitted for the undertaking, and made his voyage with them as he +had before determined. And when they were about a league distant from +the sea they came on a path which they kept, thinking some man or woman +might come by there whom they could capture; but it happened otherwise; +so Antam Gonçalvez asked the others to consent to go forward and follow +out his purpose; for, as they had already come so far, it would not do +to return to the ship in vain like that. And the others being content +they departed thence, and, journeying through <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[pg 42]</a></span>that inner land for the +space of three leagues, they found the footmarks of men and youths, the +number of whom, according to their estimate, would be from forty to +fifty, and these led the opposite way from where our men were going. The +heat was very intense, and so by reason of this and of the toil they had +undergone in watching by night and travelling thus on foot, and also +because of the want of water, of which there was none, Antam Gonçalvez +perceived their weariness that it was already very great, as he could +easily judge from his own sufferings: So he said, "My friends, there is +nothing more to do here; our toil is great, while the profit to arise +from following up this path meseemeth small, for these men are +travelling to the place whence we have come, and our best course would +be to turn back towards them, and perchance, on their return, some will +separate themselves, or may be, we shall come up with them when they are +laid down to rest, and then, if we attack them lustily, peradventure +they will flee, and, if they flee, someone there will be less swift, +whom we can lay hold of according to our intent; or may be our luck will +be even better, and we shall find fourteen or fifteen of them, of whom +we shall make a more profitable booty." Now this advice was not such as +to give rise to any wavering in the will of those men, for each desired +that very thing. And, returning towards the sea, when they had gone a +short part of the way, they saw a naked man following a camel, with two +assegais in his hand, and as our men pursued him there was not one who +felt aught of his great fatigue. But though he was only one, and saw the +others that they were many; yet he had a mind to prove those arms of his +right worthily and began to defend himself as best he could, shewing a +bolder front than his strength warranted. But Affonso Goterres wounded +him with a javelin, and this put the Moor in such fear that he threw +down his arms like a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" +id="Page_43">[pg 43]</a></span>beaten thing. And after they had captured +him, to their no small delight, and had gone on further, they espied, on +the top of a hill, the company whose tracks they were following, and +their captive pertained to the number of these. And they failed not to +reach them through any lack of will, but the sun was now low, and they +wearied, so they determined to return to their ship, considering that +such enterprise might bring greater injury than profit. And, as they +were going on their way, they saw a black Mooress come along (who was +slave of those on the hill<a name="fnanchor_N58a" +id="fnanchor_N58a"></a><a href="#footnote_N58a" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[58a]</sup></a>), and though some of our men were +in favour of letting her pass to avoid a fresh skirmish, to which the +enemy did not invite them,—for, since they were in sight and their +number more than doubled ours, they could not be of such faint hearts as +to allow a chattel of theirs to be thus carried off:—despite this, +Antam Gonçalvez bade them go at her; for if (he said) they scorned that +encounter, it might make their foes pluck up courage against them. And +now you see how the word of a captain prevaileth among men used to obey; +for, following his will, they seized the Mooress. And those on the hill[58A] +had a mind to come to the rescue, but when they perceived our people +ready to receive them, they not only retreated to their former position, +but departed elsewhere, turning their backs to their enemies. And so let +us here leave Antam Gonçalvez to rest, considering this Chapter as +finished, and in the following one we will knight him right +honourably.</p> + +<p class="center p4b"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" +id="Page_44">[pg 44]</a></span>CHAPTER XIII.<br /> <span class="ax"> How +Nuno Tristam reached the spot where Antam Gonçalvez was, and how he +dubbed him knight.</span></p> + +<p>For that the philosopher saith, that the beginning is two parts of +the whole matter,<a name="fnanchor_N59" id="fnanchor_N59"></a><a +href="#footnote_N59" class="fnanchor"><sup>[59]</sup></a> we ought to +give great praise to this noble youth, for this deed of his, undertaken +with so great boldness; for since he was the first who made booty in +this conquest, he deserveth advantage over and above all the others who +in after time travailed in this matter. For the custom was among the +Romans, as Saint Augustine saith in the book that he made <i>De Civitate +Dei</i>, and as Titus Livius also saith in his <i>Decades</i>, that all +those who struck the first blow in battles or were the first to enter +into forts or to leap into ships, were granted in return a higher +increase of honour, which they bore on the day of triumph in testimony +of their valour, as Valerius telleth us more in detail, in the summary +that he made of Roman history.<a name="fnanchor_N60" +id="fnanchor_N60"></a><a href="#footnote_N60" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[60]</sup></a> And so let Antam Gonçalvez receive +his knighthood, as we purpose to describe in this chapter, and after +this we will give him commanderies in the Order of Christ (whose habit +he afterwards assumed), making him the private secretary to this great +and noble prince. And for the remembrance of his honour, let him be +satisfied that he is inscribed in this volume, whose tenor will for +ever, so long as writing endureth among men, be a witness of his +excellence.</p> + +<p>Now you must know that Nuno Tristam, a youthful knight, very valiant +and ardent, who had been brought up from early boyhood in the Infant's +privy chamber, arrived at that very place where was Antam Gonçalvez, and +brought with him an armed caravel, with the special command of his Lord, +that he should pass beyond the Port of the Galley, as far as he could, +and that he should bestir himself <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[pg 45]</a></span>as well to capture some of +the people of the country, as best he could. And he, pursuing his +voyage, now arrived at the place where Antam Gonçalvez was. And you can +well imagine how great was the joy of these two, being natives of the +same Kingdom and brought up in one and the self-same Court, to meet +again at so great a distance from their own land. But leaving out of +this account the words we may suppose they would use—the one in +asking for news of his lord, and of his friends and acquaintances; the +other in his desire to know of the booty—Nuno Tristam said, that +an Arab whom he had brought with him there, and who was a servant of the +Infant his lord, should speak with one of those captives, to see if he +understood their language, and that, if they could understand one +another, it would be of great profit to know all the state and +conditions of the people of that land. And so all three of them spoke,<a +name="fnanchor_R" id="fnanchor_R"></a><a href="#footnote_R" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[R]</sup></a> but their language was very +different from that of the others, so that they were not able to +understand one another. But as soon as Nuno Tristam perceived that he +was not able to learn more of the manner of that land, than what Antam +Gonçalvez had told him, he was eager to depart, but that emulation which +Socrates<a name="fnanchor_N61" id="fnanchor_N61"></a><a +href="#footnote_N61" class="fnanchor"><sup>[61]</sup></a> praised in +gallant youths, tormented his heart in such a manner that he wished +first of all to see whether he could not do something of more account +before the eyes of his fellows. "How is it right", said he to those of +his company, "that we should allow these men to go on their way back to +Portugal, without first shewing them some part of our labour? Of a +surety, I say to you, that as far as it concerneth me, I trow I should +receive disgrace, holding the order of knighthood as I do, if I gained +here no booty richer than this, by which the Lord Infant may <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[pg 46]</a></span>gain +some first-fruits of a recompence for the great expense he has +incurred."</p> + +<p>Thereupon he caused Antam Gonçalvez to be called, and the principal +men whom he brought with him, that he might show them his mind. "You", +said he, "my friend Antam Gonçalvez, are not ignorant of the will of the +Infant our Lord, and you know that to execute this purpose of his he +hath incurred many and great expenses, and yet up till now, for a space +of fifteen years, he hath toiled in vain in this part of the world, +never being able to arrive at any certainty as to the people of this +land, under what law or lordship they do live. And although you are +carrying off these two captives, and by their means the Infant may come +to know something about this folk, yet that doth not prevent what is +still better, namely, for us to carry off many more; for, besides the +knowledge which the Lord Infant will gain by their means, profit will +also accrue to him by their service or ransom. Wherefore, it seemeth to +me that we should do well to act after this manner. That is to say, in +this night now following, you should choose ten of your men and I +another ten of mine—from the best which each of us may +have—and let us then go together and seek those whom you have +found. And since you say that, judging from the fighting you had with +them, they were not more than twenty men fit for battle, and the rest +women and boys, we ought to capture them all very quickly. And even if +we do not meet with the very same that you encountered, nevertheless we +shall surely find others, by means of whom we can make as good a booty, +or perhaps even better."</p> + +<p>"I cannot well believe", replied Antam Gonçalvez, "that our +expedition in search of those we found before, will have any sure +result, for the place is all one great bare hill, in the which there is +no house or hut where one could fancy they would lodge, and the more so +since we saw them <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" +id="Page_47">[pg 47]</a></span>turn again like men that had come there +from another part. And what seemeth to me worst of all is that those +men<a name="fnanchor_S" id="fnanchor_S"></a><a href="#footnote_S" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[S]</sup></a> will have forewarned all the others, +and, peradventure, when we think to capture them we may ourselves become +their booty. But consider this well, and where we have been in a manner +victorious, let us not return to suffer loss."</p> + +<p>Yet, although this counsel of Antam Gonçalvez was good, according to +the circumstances of the affair; and although Nuno Tristam was not +unwilling to fall in with it; there were there two squires, in whom +these reasons did not suffice to oppose their desire of doing brave +deeds. Gonçallo de Sintra was the name of one of these—and of his +valour you will know more fully in the progress of this history; the +other was Diego Añes de Valladares, a squire, valiant in body, well +proved in many great perils. And these two persuaded the Council to +depart from the advice which Antam Gonçalvez had given, in this way, +that as soon as it was night, they set out according to the order that +Nuno Tristam gave at first. And so it chanced that in the night they +came to where the natives lay scattered in two encampments, either the +same that Antam Gonçalvez had found before or other like it. The +distance between the encampments was but small, and our men divided +themselves into three parties, in order that they might the better hit +upon them. For they had not yet any certain knowledge of the place where +they lay, but only a perception of them; as you see the like things are +perceived much more readily by night than by day. And when our men had +come nigh to them, they attacked them very lustily, shouting at the top +of their voices, "Portugal" and "Santiago";<a name="fnanchor_N62" +id="fnanchor_N62"></a><a href="#footnote_N62" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[62]</sup></a> the fright of which so abashed the +enemy, that it threw them all into disorder. <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[pg 48]</a></span>And so, all in confusion, +they began to fly without any order or carefulness. Except indeed that +the men made some show of defending themselves with their assegais (for +they knew not the use of any other weapon), especially one of them, who +fought face to face with Nuno Tristam, defending himself till he +received his death. And besides this one, whom Nuno Tristam slew by +himself, the others killed three and took ten prisoners, what of men, +women and boys. And it is not to be doubted that they would have slain +and taken many more, if they had all fallen on together at the first +onslaught. But among those who were taken there was one greater than the +rest, who was called Adahu, and was said to be a noble; and he shewed in +his countenance right well that he held the pre-eminence of nobility +over the others. Now, among those ten who I said were with Nuno Tristam, +was one Gomez Vinagre, a youth of good family, brought up in the +Infant's household, who showed in this battle what his valour was like +to be in after time, for which in the result he was honourably advanced. +When the action was thus accomplished, as we have described, all met +together, even as they were in the fight, and began to request of Antam +Gonçalvez, that he should be made a knight. But he, appraising his toil +at far less than they did, answered that it was not right that he for so +small a service should receive so great an honour, and one too that was +more than his age did warrant. Of his own free will he said he would +never have it, except when he had accomplished greater deeds than these. +Yet at last by the excessive entreaties of the rest, and because Nuno +Tristam perceived it was right, he had to make Antam Gonçalvez a knight, +though it was against his will; and for this reason they called that +place henceforth, "the Port of the Cavalier".<a name="fnanchor_N63" +id="fnanchor_N63"></a><a href="#footnote_N63" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[63]</sup></a> And so he was the first knight +that was made in those parts. Then those captains returned to the ships +and bade that Arab <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" +id="Page_49">[pg 49]</a></span>whom Nuno Tristam had brought with him, +to speak with those Moors<a name="fnanchor_T" id="fnanchor_T"></a><a +href="#footnote_T" class="fnanchor"><sup>[T]</sup></a> but they were not +able to understand him, because the language of these people was not +Moorish, but Azaneguy of Sahara, for so they name that land. But the +noble,<a name="fnanchor_U" id="fnanchor_U"></a><a href="#footnote_U" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[U]</sup></a> in that he was of better breeding +than the other captives, so had he seen more things and better than +they; and had been to other lands where he had learned the Moorish +tongue;<a name="fnanchor_N64" id="fnanchor_N64"></a><a +href="#footnote_N64" class="fnanchor"><sup>[64]</sup></a> forasmuch as +he understood that Arab and answered to whatever matter was asked of him +by the same. And the further to try the people of the land and to have +of them more certain knowledge, they put that Arab on shore, and one of +the Moorish women whom they had taken captive; who were to say to the +others, that if they wished to come and speak to them about the ransom +of some of those whom they had taken prisoners, or about traffick in +merchandise, they might do so. And at the end of two days there came to +that place about 150 Moors on foot and thirty-five on horses and camels, +bringing the Moorish slave with them. And although outwardly they seemed +to be a race both barbarous and bestial, yet was there not wanting in +them something of astuteness, wherewith they sought to ensnare their +enemies. For only three of them appeared on the shore, and the rest lay +in ambush, to the end that our men, being unaware of their treachery, +might land, when they who lay hid could seize them, which thing they +might have done by sheer force of numbers, if our men had been a whit +less cautious than they. But the Moors, perceiving that their wiles were +discovered by us—because they saw that the men in the boat turned +about on seeing that the slave did not appear—revealed their +dissembling tricks and all came into sight on the shore, hurling stones +and making gestures.<a name="fnanchor_V" id="fnanchor_V"></a><a +href="#footnote_V" class="fnanchor"><sup>[V]</sup></a> And there they +also displayed that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" +id="Page_50">[pg 50]</a></span>Arab who had been sent to them, held as +one whom they wished to keep in the subjection of a captive. And he +called out to them that they should be on their guard against those +people; for they would not have come there, except to take them at a +disadvantage if they could. Thereupon our men turned back to the ships, +where they made their partition of the captives, according to the lot of +each, and the other Moors betook themselves to their encampments, taking +the Arab with them. And Antam Gonçalvez, because he had now loaded his +ship with cargo, as the Infant had commanded, returned to Portugal, and +Nuno Tristam went on his way, to fulfil his orders, as we have said +before that he had received commandment. But after the departure of +Antam Gonçalvez, seeing that his caravel needed repair, he caused them +to beach her, where he careened and mended her as far as was needful, +keeping his tides as if he had been in front of Lisbon harbour,<a +name="fnanchor_N65" id="fnanchor_N65"></a><a href="#footnote_N65" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[65]</sup></a> at which boldness of his there was +much marvel. And pursuing his voyage, he passed the Port of the Galley, +and went on till he came to a Cape which he called Cape Branco,<a +name="fnanchor_N66" id="fnanchor_N66"></a><a href="#footnote_N66" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[66]</sup></a> where his men landed to see if +they could make any capture. But although they found traces of men and +even some nets, they now took counsel to return, perceiving that for +that time they would not be able to advantage themselves above their +first achievement.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_R" id="footnote_R"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_R">[R]</a> <i>I.e.</i>, Nuno Tristam, Antam +Gonçalvez, and the Arab interpreter all questioned the captives, but the +latter could not understand them.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_S" id="footnote_S"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_S">[S]</a> Whom my people fell in with.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_T" id="footnote_T"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_T">[T]</a> Their prisoners.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_U" id="footnote_U"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_U">[U]</a> Adahu.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_V" id="footnote_V"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_V">[V]</a> Of defiance.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER XIV.<br /> <span class="ax"> How Antam +Gonçalvez, and afterwards Nuno Tristam, came before the Infant with +their booty.</span></p> + +<p>I cannot behold the arrival of these ships, with the novelty of the +gain of those slaves before the face of our Prince, without finding some +delight in the same. For meseemeth <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[pg 51]</a></span>that I behold before my +eyes that pleasure of his, of what kind it would be. For just in so far +as things are more desired, and more numerous and heavy labours are +undergone for them, so much the greater delight do they bring with them +when a man obtaineth them. O holy prince, peradventure thy pleasure and +delight might have some semblance of covetousness, at receiving the +knowledge of such a sum of riches, even as great as those thou didst +expend to arrive at that result? And now, seeing the beginnings of some +recompense, may we not think thou didst feel joy, not so much for the +number of the captives taken, as for the hope thou didst conceive of the +others thou couldst take?</p> + +<p>But of a surety it was not in thy noble heart to set store by such +small wealth! And justly I may call it small, in comparison of thy +greatness; without which thou wast not able, and knewest not how, to +begin or finish any part of thy deeds. But thy joy was solely from that +one holy purpose of thine to seek salvation for the lost souls of the +heathen, as I have already said in the <span class="smcap">VII</span>th +Chapter of this work. And in the light of this it seemed to thee, when +thou sawest those captives brought into thy presence, that the expense +and trouble thou hadst undergone was nothing: such was thy pleasure in +beholding them. And yet the greater benefit was theirs, for though their +bodies were now brought into some subjection, that was a small matter in +comparison of their souls, which would now possess true freedom for +evermore. Antam Gonçalvez was the first to come with his part of the +booty, and then arrived Nuno Tristam, whose present reception and future +reward answered to the toil he had undergone; just as a fruitful soil +with but little sowing answereth the husbandman, when for however small +a part it receiveth, it giveth back a great increase of fruit.</p> + +<p class="center p4b"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" +id="Page_52">[pg 52]</a></span>CHAPTER XV.<br /> <span class="ax"> How +the Infant Don Henry sent his embassy to the Holy Father, and of the +answer that he had.</span></p> + +<p>Although the language of those captives could not be understood by +any of the other Moors who were in this kingdom, either as freemen or +captives, it sufficed, for a beginning, that the noble whom Antam +Gonçalvez had brought could recount for the understanding of the Infant +a very great part of the matters of that land where the aforesaid noble +dwelt. And considering how it was necessary that he should often send +his ships, manned with his people, where of necessity they would have to +fight with those infidels, he determined at once to send an embassy to +the Holy Father, to ask of him to make a partition with himself of the +treasures of Holy Church, for the salvation of the souls of those who in +the toils of that conquest should meet their end.</p> + +<p>And on this embassy he sent an honourable cavalier of the Order of +Christ, called Fernam Lopez d'Azevedo, a man of great counsel and +authority, on account of which he had been made Chief Commander in the +same Order and was of the Council of the King and the Infant.</p> + +<p>He had it in charge also to ask from the Supreme Pontiff other things +of great importance, as for instance the indulgences of St. Mary of +Africa, in Ceuta town, with many other graces that were to be requested +of the Pope, the true form of which you can find in the general history +of the kingdom.</p> + +<p>And as for that part of the business that needeth to be recorded +here, the Holy Father was very glad to grant him such a grace as he was +requested; as you may see more fully in this transcript of his letter, +which we have set down here for your better understanding.</p> + +<p class="blockquot"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" +id="Page_53">[pg 53]</a></span>"Eugenius the Bishop,<a +name="fnanchor_N67" id="fnanchor_N67"></a><a href="#footnote_N67" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[67]</sup></a> servant of the servants of God, +etc. For an abiding memorial and remembrance. As, without any merit of +ours we have the authority of Jesus Christ our Lord, who refused not to +be sacrificed as the price of human salvation, by continual care we +strive for those things that may destroy the errors and wickednesses of +the infidels and by which the souls of good and Catholic Christians may +the more speedily come to Salvation;<br /> + +"And as it hath now been signified to us by our beloved son and noble +baron Henry, Duke of Viseu, and Governor in spirituals and temporals of +the Knighthood of the Order of Christ, that confiding firmly in the aid +of God, for the destruction and confusion of the Moors and enemies of +Christ, and for the exaltation of the Catholic faith, he purposeth to go +in person, with his men at arms, to those lands that are held by them, +and to guide his army against them; And howbeit that, for the time he is +not personally in the field, yet as the knights and brethren of the said +order, with all other faithful Christians, purpose to make war under the +banner of the said order against the said Moors and other enemies of the +faith—to the intent that these faithful Christians may bestir +their minds with the greater fervour to the aforesaid war—<br /> + +"We now do concede and grant, by apostolic authority and by the tenor of +these present letters, to each and all of those who shall be engaged in +the said war, Complete forgiveness of all their sins, of which they +shall be truly penitent at heart and have made confession by their +mouth. "And let no one break or contradict this letter of mandate, and +whoever presumeth to do so let him lie under the curse of the Almighty +God and of the blessed Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul. Given, etc."</p> + +<p>Also the Infant Don Pedro, who at that time ruled the Kingdom in the +name of the King, gave the Infant his brother a charter by which he +granted him the whole of the Fifth that appertained to the King and this +on account of the great expenses he had incurred in the matter.</p> + +<p>And considering how by him<a name="fnanchor_W" id="fnanchor_W"></a><a +href="#footnote_W" class="fnanchor"><sup>[W]</sup></a> alone the +discoveries <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[pg +54]</a></span>were enterprised and made, not without great trouble and +expense, he granted him moreover this right, that no one should be able +to go there<a name="fnanchor_X" id="fnanchor_X"></a><a +href="#footnote_X" class="fnanchor"><sup>[X]</sup></a> without his +license and especial mandate.<a name="fnanchor_N68" +id="fnanchor_N68"></a><a href="#footnote_N68" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[68]</sup></a></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_W" id="footnote_W"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_W">[W]</a> The Infant Henry.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_X" id="footnote_X"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_X">[X]</a> To the new found parts.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER XVI.<br /> <span class="ax"> How Antam +Gonçalvez went to make the first ransom.</span></p> + +<p>As you know that naturally every prisoner desireth to be free, which +desire is all the stronger in a man of higher reason or nobility whom +fortune has condemned to live in subjection to another; so that noble of +whom we have already spoken, seeing himself held in captivity, although +he was very gently treated, greatly desired to be free, and often asked +Antam Gonçalvez to take him back to his country, where he declared he +would give for himself five or six Black Moors; and also he said that +there were among the other captives two youths for whom a like ransom +would be given.</p> + +<p>And here you must note that these blacks were Moors like the others, +though their slaves, in accordance with ancient custom, which I believe +to have been because of the curse which, after the Deluge, Noah laid +upon his son Cain,<a name="fnanchor_N69" id="fnanchor_N69"></a><a +href="#footnote_N69" class="fnanchor"><sup>[69]</sup></a> cursing him +in this way:—that his race should be subject to all the other +races of the world.</p> + +<p>And from his race these blacks are descended, as wrote the Archbishop +Don Roderic of Toledo, and Josephus in his book on the <i>Antiquities of +the Jews</i>, and Walter, with other authors who have spoken of the +generations of Noah, from the time of his going out of the Ark.<a +name="fnanchor_N70" id="fnanchor_N70"></a><a href="#footnote_N70" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[70]</sup></a></p> + +<p>The will of Antam Gonçalvez to return to that land, for <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[pg 55]</a></span>desire +of the ransom and profit he would get, was not so great as his desire to +serve the Infant his lord—and therefore he asked leave to go on +this journey, saying, that (forasmuch as he perceived the great desire +his Grace had to know part of that land) if that were not sufficient +which he had ascertained from that Moor,<a name="fnanchor_Y" +id="fnanchor_Y"></a><a href="#footnote_Y" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[Y]</sup></a> that he should give him license to +go and ransom him and the other captive youths with him.</p> + +<p>For as the Moor told him, the least they would give for them would be +ten Moors, and it was better to save ten souls than three—for +though they were black, yet had they souls like the others, and all the +more as these blacks were not of the lineage of the Moors<a +name="fnanchor_Z" id="fnanchor_Z"></a><a href="#footnote_Z" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[Z]</sup></a>—but were Gentiles, and so the +better to bring into the path of salvation.<a name="fnanchor_N71" +id="fnanchor_N71"></a><a href="#footnote_N71" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[71]</sup></a></p> + +<p>Also he said that the blacks could give him news of land much further +distant, and he promised that when he spoke about the traffic with the +natives, he would find means to learn as much news as possible. The +Infant answered all this and said that he was obliged by his offer, and +that he not only desired to have knowledge of that land, but also of the +Indies, and of the land of Prester John, if he could.<a +name="fnanchor_N72" id="fnanchor_N72"></a><a href="#footnote_N72" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[72]</sup></a> Antam Gonçalvez made ready to go +with his captives, and beginning his voyage, met with so great a tempest +that he had to return again to Lisbon, whence he set out. And there +happened to be there a gentleman of the Household of the Emperor of +Germany, who had attached himself to the Household of the Infant with +the intention of going to Ceuta, where he desired to be made a knight, +but not without first doing so much for his own honour, as merited such +a reward.</p> + +<p>His name was Balthasar, and certainly, as we understand, his heart +did not fail him in following out his good purpose; <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[pg 56]</a></span>for +with great honour he received his knighthood, first performing very +notable deeds with his own right hand, as you may read at greater length +in the history of the Kingdom.</p> + +<p>And he said many times that he much desired, before he left that land +of Portugal, to see a great tempest, that he might speak of it to those +who had never seen one.</p> + +<p>And certainly his fortune was no niggard in accomplishing his wish, +for he happened to be with Antam Gonçalvez, as we have said, seeking to +go and see that land before he left this,<a name="fnanchor_AA" +id="fnanchor_AA"></a><a href="#footnote_AA" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AA]</sup></a> and the tempest was so great that +it was a marvel they escaped destruction. However they returned again to +the voyage; and arriving at the boundaries of that land where the ransom +had to be made, they resolved to put on shore that Moorish noble, that +he might go and make ready his ransom at the place where he had agreed +to meet Antam Gonçalvez again.</p> + +<p>The Moor was very well clad in garments given him by the Infant, who +considered that, for the excellence of his nobility that he had above +the others, if he received benefits, he would be able to be of profit to +his benefactors by encouraging his own people and bringing them to +traffic. But as soon as he was free, he forgot very quickly all about +his promises, on the security of which Antam Gonçalvez had trusted him, +thinking that the nobility he displayed would be the chief hindrance of +any breach of faith on his part; but his deceit thenceforth warned all +our men not to trust one of that race except under the most certain +security.</p> + +<p>And now Antam Gonçalvez entering the Rio D'Ouro with his ship for a +space of four leagues, dropped anchor, and waited for seven days without +getting a message from <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" +id="Page_57">[pg 57]</a></span>any, or a glimpse of one single +inhabitant of that land; but on the eighth day there arrived a Moor +seated on a white camel, and another with him, who gave a message that +they should await the others who would come and make the ransom, and +that on the next day they would appear, as in fact they did.</p> + +<p>And it was very clear that those youths<a name="fnanchor_AB" +id="fnanchor_AB"></a><a href="#footnote_AB" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AB]</sup></a> were in great honour among them, +for a good hundred Moors, male and female, were joined in their ransom, +and Antam Gonçalvez received for his two captives, ten blacks, male and +female, from various countries—one Martin Fernandez, the Infant's +Alfaqueque<a name="fnanchor_AC" id="fnanchor_AC"></a><a +href="#footnote_AC" class="fnanchor"><sup>[AC]</sup></a> managing the +business between the parties.<a name="fnanchor_N73" +id="fnanchor_N73"></a><a href="#footnote_N73" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[73]</sup></a></p> + +<p>And it was clear that the said Martin had great knowledge of the +Moorish tongue, for he was understood among these people, where the +other Arab, who was Moor by nation, could only find one person to +understand him. And besides the blacks that Antam Gonçalvez received in +that ransom, he got also a little gold dust and a shield of ox-hide, and +a number of ostrich eggs, so that one day there were served up at the +Infant's table three dishes of the same, as fresh and as good as though +they had been the eggs of any other domestic fowls. And we may well +presume that there was no other Christian prince in this part of +Christendom, who had dishes like these upon his table.</p> + +<p>And according to the account of those Moors there were merchants in +that part, who traded in that gold,<a name="fnanchor_N74" +id="fnanchor_N74"></a><a href="#footnote_N74" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[74]</sup></a> which it seemed was found among +them; but the Moorish noble never returned to fulfil his promise, +neither did he remember the benefits he had received.</p> + +<p>And by thus losing him, Antam Gonçalvez learnt to be cautious where +before he was not. And returning to the <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[pg 58]</a></span>Infant, his lord, he +received his reward, and so did the German knight, who afterwards +returned to his own land in great honour, and with no small largess from +the Infant.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_Y" id="footnote_Y"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_Y">[Y]</a> Adahu.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_Z" id="footnote_Z"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_Z">[Z]</a> Mohammedans proper.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AA" id="footnote_AA"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AA">[AA]</a> Of Portugal.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AB" id="footnote_AB"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AB">[AB]</a> Our captives.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AC" id="footnote_AC"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AC">[AC]</a> Ransomer of captives.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER XVII.<br /> <span class="ax"> How Nuno +Tristam went to the island of Gete, and of the Moors that he +took.</span></p> + +<p>So these matters went on increasing little by little, and people took +courage to follow that route, some to serve, others to gain honour, +others with the hope of profit: although each of these two things +bringeth the other with it; that is, in serving they profited themselves +and increased their honour as well. And in the year of Christ, 1443, the +Infant caused another caravel to be armed; and bade embark in it that +noble knight, Nuno Tristam, with some other people, and principally +those of his own household. And pursuing their voyage, they arrived at +Cape Branco. And trying to go further, they passed the said Cape about +twenty-five leagues, and saw a little island, the name of which they +afterwards found to be<a name="fnanchor_N75" id="fnanchor_N75"></a><a +href="#footnote_N75" class="fnanchor"><sup>[75]</sup></a> Gete.<a +name="fnanchor_AD" id="fnanchor_AD"></a><a href="#footnote_AD" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AD]</sup></a> And from this island they now saw +that twenty-five canoes, made of wood, had set out and in them a number +of people, but all naked, not so much for the need of swimming in the +water, as for their ancient custom.</p> + +<p>And they journeyed in such wise that they had their bodies<a +name="fnanchor_AE" id="fnanchor_AE"></a><a href="#footnote_AE" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AE]</sup></a> in the canoes and their legs in the +water, and used these to help them in their rowing as if they had been +oars, and in each boat there were three or four of the natives. And +because this was a matter where our men had had so little experience, +when they saw them from a distance, <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[pg 59]</a></span>they thought they were +birds that were moving so; and though they were rather different in +size, yet they thought it might well be that they were birds, in a part +of the world where other marvels greater than this were said to exist. +But as soon as they perceived that they were men, then were their hearts +clothed with a new joy; and most of all because they saw them so placed +that they were well able to take them. But they were not able to make a +large booty because of the smallness of their boat: for when they had +hauled fourteen captives into it, with the seven man of the caravel who +made up the crew, the boat was so loaded that it could hold no more.</p> + +<p>And it booted not to return, for such terror had come upon our +adversaries, and they were so quick in taking flight, that before they +arrived at the island, some had perished,<a name="fnanchor_AF" +id="fnanchor_AF"></a><a href="#footnote_AF" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AF]</sup></a> and the others escaped. But in +achieving this capture they experienced two contrary feelings: first of +all, the pleasure they had was very great to see themselves thus masters +of their booty, of which they could make profit, and with so small a +risk; but on the other side they had no little grief, in that their boat +was so small that they were not able to take such a cargo as they +desired. But yet they arrived at the island and captured fifteen other +Moors.</p> + +<p>And very near this island they discovered another, in which there +were an infinity of royal herons;<a name="fnanchor_N75a" +id="fnanchor_N75a"></a><a href="#footnote_N75a" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[<ins title="anchor missing in the +original">75a</ins>]</sup></a> which appeared to go there to breed, as +in fact they did, and with these our men found great refreshment. And so +Nuno Tristam returned with his booty, so much more merrily than at the +first, as it had the advantage of being greater than the former, and had +been won further off; and also because he had no companion with whom he +would have to make an equal division of the same. <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[pg 60]</a></span>The +reception and reward which the Infant gave him I omit to write down +here, for I think it superfluous to repeat it every time.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AD" id="footnote_AD"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AD">[AD]</a> Arguim.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AE" id="footnote_AE"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AE">[AE]</a> Lit., Over.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AF" id="footnote_AF"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AF">[AF]</a> By drowning.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER XVIII.<br /> <span class="ax"> How +Lançarote required license from the Infant to go with his ships to +Guinea.</span></p> + +<p>Of a truth the condition of the people, as Livy saith, is such that +men are always found to asperse great actions, especially at the +beginning; and it appeareth to me that this is through not having +knowledge of the results, for the man of faint heart, when he seeth the +base and start of great events, always thinketh them more formidable +than they really are; and because his spirit is not sufficient for the +accomplishment of these deeds, he beareth along with him a very natural +doubt whether they are capable of being performed. And this appeareth to +be very well proved by the deeds of our prince. For at the beginning of +the colonisation of the islands, people murmured as greatly as if he +were spending some part of their property on it; and basing their doubts +upon this, they gossipped about it until they declared his work was +absolutely impossible, and judged that it could never be accomplished at +all. But after the Infant began to people those islands, and to shew +these persons how they could profit by the new discovered land; and +after the fruits of those countries began to appear in Portugal in far +greater abundance; then those who had been foremost in complaint grew +quiet, and with soft voices praised what they had so loudly and publicly +decried.</p> + +<p>And just the same they did in the commencement of this conquest; for +in the first years, seeing the great equipment that the Infant made, +with such great expense, these <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" +id="Page_61">[pg 61]</a></span>busybodies left off attending to their +own affairs, and occupied themselves in discussing what they understood +very little about; and the more slowly the results came in of the +Infant's undertaking, the more loudly did they blame it. And the worst +of it was that besides what the vulgar said among themselves, people of +more importance talked about it in a mocking manner, declaring that no +profit would result from all this toil and expense.</p> + +<p>But when they saw the first Moorish captives brought home, and the +second cargo that followed these, they became already somewhat doubtful +about the opinion they had at first expressed; and altogether renounced +it when they saw the third consignment that Nuno Tristam brought home, +captured in so short a time, and with so little trouble; and constrained +by necessity, they confessed their mistake, considering themselves +foolish for not having known it before. And so they were forced to turn +their blame into public praise; for they said it was plain the Infant +was another Alexander; and their covetousness now began to wax greater. +And, as they saw the houses of others full to overflowing of male and +female slaves, and their property increasing, they thought about the +whole matter, and began to talk among themselves.</p> + +<p>And because that after coming back from Tangier, the Infant usually +remained always in the kingdom of Algarve, by reason of his town which +he was then having built, and because the booty that his captains +brought back was discharged at Lagos, therefore the people of that place +were the first to move the Infant to give them license to go to that +land whence came those Moorish captives.<a name="fnanchor_N76" +id="fnanchor_N76"></a><a href="#footnote_N76" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[76]</sup></a></p> + +<p>For no one could go there with an armed ship without the express +permission of the Infant, as the King had granted him in the same +charter in which he presented him with the Royal Fifth, as you have seen +above.</p> + +<p>And the first who interposed to beg for this license, was <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[pg 62]</a></span>a +squire, who had been brought up from early youth in the Household of the +Infant and was now married and become Almoxarife<a name="fnanchor_AG" +id="fnanchor_AG"></a><a href="#footnote_AG" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AG]</sup></a> for the King in that town of +Lagos.</p> + +<p>And because he was a man of great good sense, he understood well how +the matter stood, and the profit that he would be able to gain by his +expedition, if God guided him, so that he could arrive at that land.</p> + +<p>And when he had pondered well this plan, he began to speak of it with +some of his friends, stirring them up to join him in that action.</p> + +<p>And this matter was not hard for him to compass; for that he was very +well beloved in the place and the inhabitants were in general men of +honour, always ready to exert themselves for a share in good things and +especially in naval contests; because their town was on the coast and +they were much more on shipboard than on land. So Lançarote prepared six +armed caravels to carry out his purpose and spoke to the Infant about a +license; saying that he begged he would grant it him that he might do +him service, as well as obtain honour and profit for himself.</p> + +<p>And he gave him an account of the people that were going with him, +and of the caravels that they were taking.</p> + +<p>And the Infant was very glad of this and at once commanded his +banners to be made, with the Cross of the Order of Jesus Christ, one of +which each caravel was to hoist.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AG" id="footnote_AG"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AG">[AG]</a> A Collector of Taxes.</p> + +<p class="center p4b"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" +id="Page_63">[pg 63]</a></span>CHAPTER XIX.<br /> <span class="ax"> Who +were the Captains of the other Caravels, and of the first booty that +they made.</span></p> + +<p>The chief captain, as we have said, was Lançarote; the second was Gil +Eannes, whom we have noticed as the first to pass the Cape of Bojador; +besides these, there were there—Stevam Affonso, a noble man, who +afterwards died in the Canary islands, Rodrigo Alvarez, John Diaz, a +shipowner, and John Bernaldez, all of whom together were very well +prepared for the expedition.<a name="fnanchor_N77" +id="fnanchor_N77"></a><a href="#footnote_N77" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[77]</sup></a></p> + +<p>And pursuing their voyage, they arrived at the Isle of Herons, on the +eve of Corpus Christi Day, where they rested a little and refreshed +themselves on the multitude of young birds that they found there, for it +was the breeding season.</p> + +<p>Then they took counsel about their intended actions and Lançarote +began to set forth his reasons in this manner:—"My friends! we +have left our land to do service to God and to the Infant our Lord, who +may expect from us with good reason some performance to his advantage; +both from the bringing up that some of us have had of him; and because +we are men of such a kind that very shame should force us to do more and +greater things than any who came here before. For with such a fleet, it +would be matter for great shame to turn back to Portugal without a +worthy booty. And because the Infant hath learnt, by some of those Moors +whom Nuno Tristam brought home, that in the Island of Naar, which is +close by, there are little less than 200 souls; it seemeth good to me +therefore that Martin Vicente and Gil Vasquez, who have already been by +it and seen where it lieth, should go with these boats, and with those +men only who can row, against one side of the island, and that if they +can find it, they should return quickly <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[pg 64]</a></span>along the coast until they +reach us, for we, God willing, will set sail very early in the morning +and go towards the island; so that on their returning we shall be so +near as to be able to hear the news they bring and take counsel as to +what it behoves us to do."</p> + +<p>Lançarote, as I said, was a man of great good sense, as all those +with him knew well: so that they did not care to examine his reasons; +but all exclaimed with one voice, that it was very good what he had +said.</p> + +<p>And so these two captains made ready to go forthwith, and they took +with them thirty men, to wit, six in each boat, and set out from the +island where they were, about sunset. And rowing all that night, they +arrived about daybreak at the island that they sought. And as soon as +they recognized it by the signs that the Moors had told them of, they +hugged the shore for some way until they arrived, as it grew light, at a +settlement of Moors, which was close to the beach; where were collected +together all the people of the island. And seeing this, our men stopped +for a while to consult what they ought to do. And they were greatly in a +strait betwixt two courses, for they did not know whether they should +return to the caravels, as their chief captain had ordered them, or +whether they should at once attack the settlement that was so near. And +while they were still undetermined, each one thinking for himself, +Martin Vicente arose and said "Of a surety, our doubts give us food for +thought; for, if we transgress the orders of our captain, we shall fall +into a mistake; and all the more so if any damage or danger were to come +upon us; for then it would be an occasion, not only of loss to +ourselves, but of our being very badly reputed. On the other hand we +have come here chiefly to procure an interpreter through whom the Infant +our Lord may get news of this land, a matter he greatly desires, as all +of you know. But now we are so near this settlement that, as it is <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[pg 65]</a></span>already +morning, we shall not be able to get off to the caravels without being +discovered, and if discovered we cannot hope, after that, to obtain an +interpreter here; for these Moors will all have fled on to the +continent, which as you see is close by—aye, and not only the +inhabitants of this island, but also those of the other islands near at +hand, being at once warned and prepared by these from here. And so our +journey will bring in but small profit, and the Infant our Lord, for +this turn, will not have what he desireth from this land. But it +appeareth to me, and this is my counsel, if you agree, that we attack +the Moors whilst they are unprepared; because they will be conquered by +the disunion that will prevail amongst them through our arrival, and, +though we gain nothing there save an interpreter, we should be contented +with that. And as for disobeying our captain's order, provided God +assist us to do something good, as I hope He will, it should not be +reckoned against us, and, even if it be, we shall be lightly pardoned +for two reasons. First, because if we do not fight it is certain that +our coming here will be all in vain; and the design of the Infant our +Lord will fail by reason of our being discovered; and secondly, because, +although we are commanded to return we are not forbidden to fight. And +to fight seemeth to me to be reasonable; for we are here thirty in +number, and the Moors, as you have heard, are only 170 or 180 all told, +of whom fifty or sixty should be fighting men; and so, if it seem good +to you, let us not delay any longer, for the day is coming on quickly +enough, and, if we delay, our expedition and purpose will be of little +avail indeed."</p> + +<p>All replied that his counsel was very good, and that they would go +forward at once. And when all this reasoning was done, they looked +towards the settlement and saw that the Moors, with their women and +children, were already coming as quickly as they could out of their +dwellings, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[pg +66]</a></span>because they had caught sight of their enemies. But they, +shouting out "St. James", "St. George", "Portugal", at once attacked +them, killing and taking all they could.</p> + +<p>Then might you see mothers forsaking their children, and husbands +their wives, each striving to escape as best he could. Some drowned +themselves in the water; others thought to escape by hiding under their +huts; others stowed their children among the sea-weed, where our men +found them afterwards, hoping they would thus escape notice.</p> + +<p>And at last our Lord God, who giveth a reward for every good deed, +willed that for the toil they had undergone in his service, they should +that day obtain victory over their enemies, as well as a guerdon and a +payment for all their labour and expense; for they took captive of those +Moors, what with men, women, and children, 165, besides those that +perished and were killed. And when the battle was over, all praised God +for the great mercy that he had shewn them, in that he had willed to +give them such a victory, and with so little damage to themselves. And +as soon as they had their captives put safely in their boats, and others +securely tied on land (because the boats were small and they were not +able to store so many in them at once), they sent a man to go as far as +possible along the shore, to see if he could get sight of the caravels. +He set out at once; and one full league from the place where the others +were staying, he had sight of the caravels coming; for Lançarote, as he +had promised, had started as soon as it was dawn. Now the scout put a +white ensign on his pike, and began to make signs to the caravels with +it, and they as soon as they espied him, directed their course to that +part where they saw the signal. And on their way they lighted on a +channel through which the boats could easily go to the island, and +forthwith they launched a small boat they had, and pulled to land to +hear the news, which was told them every whit by the fellow who there +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[pg +67]</a></span>awaited them. And he said also that they ought to land and +help them to bring off to the caravels those captives who remained on +shore under guard of seven men, who were staying with them on the +island. For the other boats were already coming along the shore with the +other Moors they were carrying.</p> + +<p>And when Lançarote, with those squires and brave men that were with +him, had received the like news of the good success that God had granted +to those few that went to the island; and saw that they had enterprised +so great a deed; and that God had been pleased that they should bring it +to such a pass; they were all very joyful, praising loudly the Lord God +for that he had deigned to give such help to such a handful of his +Christian people.</p> + +<p>But to the man who asketh me if their pleasure at the affair was +altogether sincere, and without being in some way feigned, even though +slightly, I would say "nay"—for those on whom God hath bestowed +stout and lofty hearts, cannot feel really contented if they are not +present at every brave deed they reasonably can meet with; nor are such +altogether without that envy which, in a like case, is not one of the +chief vices, but may rather be named a virtue, if it rest on a sound +reason, as with good men and true.</p> + +<p>After the Moorish prisoners had all been transferred from the boats +to the caravels, some of our Christian folk were left to watch them and +the rest landed, and went over the island, until they found the others +under guard of the seven men of whom we have spoken before. And when +they had collected all their prisoners together, it was already late, +for in that land there is a difference in the length of days from ours; +and the deed was all the greater, by reason of the distance of the +caravels from the scene of action and of the great number of the +Moors.</p> + +<p>Then our men rested and enjoyed themselves as their share of the toil +required. But Lançarote did not forget to <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[pg 68]</a></span>learn from the Moorish +prisoners what it was his duty to learn, about the place in which he was +now staying and its opportunities; and he ascertained of them by his +interpreter, that all about there were other inhabited islands, where +they would be able to make large captures with little trouble.</p> + +<p>And so, taking counsel about this, they determined to go and seek the +said islands.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER XX.<br /> <span class="ax"> How they went +to the island of Tiger, and of the Moors that they took.</span></p> + +<p>On the next day, which was Friday, they made ready their boats, since +the caravels had to stay where they were, and put in them all the +provisions they needed for two days only, as they did not intend making +a more protracted absence from the ships. About thirty men embarked in +the boats, namely, Lançarote and the other captains of the caravels; and +with them squires and good men that were there. And they took with them +two of those Moors whom they had taken captive; for they had told them +that at the Island of Tiger,<a name="fnanchor_N78" +id="fnanchor_N78"></a><a href="#footnote_N78" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[78]</sup></a> which was five leagues off, there +was a settlement of Moors containing about 150 in all. And as soon as it +was morning, they took their departure, commending themselves all to God +very devoutly, and begging for grace that He would so guide them in +their way, that He might be served and His holy Catholic faith exalted. +And they went on until they came to the said island of Tiger; and as +soon as they had leaped on shore, the Moor they brought with them guided +them to a settlement, where had been all the Moors, or at least the +greater part of those that were in the island.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[pg +69]</a></span>But when they came to it they found it empty, because for +some days, as they learnt afterwards, that place had been deserted. Then +fearing that their Moor was lying to them (in order to get them into +some place far from there, where they would find such a force of Moors +that they would perchance suffer loss), they took counsel on what they +ought to do. And before they had determined anything, they began to beat +the Moor, and to threaten him, to make him speak the truth. But he said +that he would bring them to a place where the Moors were, and that if +they went at night, they would be able to take or to kill the greater +part of them: but by day, as they were going then, they could not reach +there without being seen; and, as soon as they were perceived, they<a +name="fnanchor_AH" id="fnanchor_AH"></a><a href="#footnote_AH" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AH]</sup></a> could place themselves in safety, +if they did not dare to fight with them.<a name="fnanchor_AHa" +id="fnanchor_AHa"></a><a href="#footnote_AHa" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AHa]</sup></a></p> + +<p>On the Moor saying this, it was not believed by all, but some said +that it would be well to return to the ships, and there to agree on what +they ought to do; others said that at all events they ought to go +forward and seek for that settlement to which the Moor affirmed that he +knew well how to guide them; because in reason that island<a +name="fnanchor_AI" id="fnanchor_AI"></a><a href="#footnote_AI" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AI]</sup></a> ought not to have more fighting men +on it than the other isle of Naar, where they had already made their +first booty; for it was not so great nor so convenient for a large +settlement.</p> + +<p>Thus they were arguing, each for his own view and not agreeing on any +final resolution for their action, when Gil Eannes, a good knight and +valiant, of whom we have spoken in another place, answered and said: "I +see well that the delay in agreeing on what we ought to do in this +matter (of which we should have good hope with the grace and favour of +our Lord Jesus Christ), may cause us some <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[pg 70]</a></span>hindrance and small +profit, in that all division, especially among people so few in number +as we are, is very weakening, and may bring about our ruin, with little +honour to ourselves and little service to God and the Infant our Lord. +Wherefore I advise that with this Moor should go fourteen or fifteen +men, towards that part where he saith that the Moors are, till they see +the settlement or certain place of their abode; and as soon as they have +seen it, that they should return to where all the others are waiting, +without stirring until the return of the vanguard. And then with the +grace of God, that we should all set out together and go to seek them. +And in reason there ought not to be so many men of war as there were in +the isle of Naar, that we ought not to conquer them in fight, with the +aid of our Lord God, in whom is all our succour, who by His grace +causeth the few to conquer and the greater number to be overcome by the +less. But now if you are satisfied with what I have said, we ought not +to delay to fall to work."</p> + +<p>All were very content with his speech, saying that it was very good +and that they should at once do as Gil Eannes said.</p> + +<p>"Since you all", said Lançarote, "agree in this counsel of Gil +Eannes, I would wish to go with those who are to search for the +settlement; and I think that it will be well for Gil Eannes to stay with +you others and to guard the boats, that you may succour us if the matter +cometh to such a pass as to require it; and however it be, I ask him<a +name="fnanchor_AJ" id="fnanchor_AJ"></a><a href="#footnote_AJ" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AJ]</sup></a> to remain here."</p> + +<p>And although Gil Eannes refused at first to remain, yet seeing how +the request became a command (since he who made it was his captain), and +especially as all the others agreed in this request, Gil Eannes had in +any case to stay: <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" +id="Page_71">[pg 71]</a></span>and Lançarote, with fourteen or fifteen +men, went off towards the spot where the Moor was guiding them. And when +they were already half a league from where the others were staying, they +saw nine natives, male and female, marching along, with ten or twelve +asses laden with turtles, who were about to pass over to the island of +Tiger, which was a league from them, for at low water it is possible to +cross from one to the other on foot. And as soon as they saw them, they +ran to them, and without any defence availing them in aught, they took +them all, except one who turned and fled to give news to the others that +were in the village. And as soon as they had taken these prisoners, they +dispatched them to where Gil Eannes was stationed; Lançarote sending him +word to put a guard over those Moors, and that he should follow after +them and bring all the men he had there, adding that he thought they +would find some people with whom to fight.</p> + +<p>And as soon as the captives reached them,<a name="fnanchor_AK" +id="fnanchor_AK"></a><a href="#footnote_AK" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AK]</sup></a> they bound them tightly and placing +them in the boats, left with them one man only on guard and at once +started after Lançarote, following steadily upon his track, till they +arrived where Lançarote was with his men.</p> + +<p>Now after the taking of the Moors, whom they had sent to the boats, +these men<a name="fnanchor_AL" id="fnanchor_AL"></a><a +href="#footnote_AL" class="fnanchor"><sup>[AL]</sup></a> had gone on +where the Moor guided them, and arrived at a village from which the +inhabitants had all departed, being warned by the Moor who had escaped +when the others were taken.</p> + +<p>And then they saw all the people that were in the island, standing on +an islet to which they had passed over in their canoes: but the +Christians were not able to get at them, save by swimming; and they did +not dare to retreat, lest it should give courage to the enemy, who were +many more in number than they were. And so they waited till <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[pg 72]</a></span>all +their other men had come up;<a name="fnanchor_AM" +id="fnanchor_AM"></a><a href="#footnote_AM" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AM]</sup></a> and seeing that even when united, +they would not be able to do the enemy any harm, by reason of the inlet +that was between them, they determined to return to their boats, which +were two full leagues off.</p> + +<p>And, on their return, they entered the village and searched it +thoroughly, to see if they could find anything in the houses. And in +searching they lighted on seven or eight Moorish women, whom they took +with them, giving thanks to God for their good fortune, which they had +obtained through his grace; and so they turned themselves to their +boats, which they reached about sunset time. And they rested and enjoyed +themselves that night, like men that had toiled hard in the day.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AH" id="footnote_AH"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AH">[AH]</a> +<a name="footnote_AHa" id="footnote_AHa"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AHa">[AHa]</a>"They" of course are "the Moors"; +"them" the Christians.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AI" id="footnote_AI"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AI">[AI]</a> Tiger.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AJ" id="footnote_AJ"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AJ">[AJ]</a> G. Eannes</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AK" id="footnote_AK"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AK">[AK]</a> Gil Eannes' men.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AL" id="footnote_AL"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AL">[AL]</a> <i>I.e.</i>, Lançarote's first party.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AM" id="footnote_AM"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AM">[AM]</a> With Gil Eannes.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER XXI.<br /> <span class="ax"> How they, +Lançarote and the others, returned in their boats to Tiger, and of the +Moors that they took.</span></p> + +<p>Although the necessity of the night obliged them to spend it chiefly +in sleeping, yet their wills were so bent upon this charge that their +thoughts never left what lay before them. And so they took counsel as to +what they should do on the next day, and agreed, after many reasons +given (which I omit in order not to make too long a story), that they +should go in the boats and attack the settlement before morning. For it +is very likely, they said, that the Moors, having seen our retreat, will +think that we went away like men in despair of being able to catch them, +and, thinking so, will return to their encampment; <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[pg 73]</a></span>and not +only would their return profit us, but also the security with which they +are able to repose.</p> + +<p>And this counsel being settled, they set off in the night, rowing +their boats along the coast. And at the first dawn they disembarked and +attacked the village, but they found no one there; for the Moors, as +soon as they saw their enemies retreat on the previous day, came to the +village but would not sleep in it, and went and stayed a quarter of a +league distant, near a ford by which they passed to Tiger. And when the +Christians saw that they found nothing in the village, they returned to +their boats and coasted along that island on the other side of Tiger, +and ordered fifteen men to march along the land and look if they could +see any Moors, or find any trace of them. And on their way they saw the +Moors flying as fast as they could; for they had already caught sight of +them, and at once all our men leaped on shore and began to run after +them. But as yet they could not overtake the Moor men, but only the +women and little children, not able to run so fast, of whom they caught +seventeen or eighteen.</p> + +<p>And one of the boats, in which was John Bernaldez, and which was +among the smallest in the fleet, was coasting the island, and they who +were in this boat saw some twenty canoes passing over to Tiger, in which +were Moorish men and women, great and small, in each one four or five. +And with this sight they were exceeding glad, at the first view of it, +but afterwards they were still more grieved thereat. The pleasure they +had was in seeing the profit and honour that now offered, which was the +end for which they had come there: but they had great sorrow when they +saw that their boat was so small that they could only take in a few. But +with their slender oarage they followed after as fast as could, till +they were among the canoes; and, moved with pity, although they were +heathen who were going in the boats, they sought to kill but few of +them. But it <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[pg +74]</a></span>is not to be doubted that many, who in their terror +forsook their boats, perished in the sea.</p> + +<p>And some of them our men left on the right, and others on the left, +and going into the middle among them all, they chose the smallest of +them, because they could get more of these into their boat, of whom they +took fourteen; so that those who were captured in those two days, apart +from some who were killed, were in all forty-eight.</p> + +<p>And for this good booty, and all the grace that God had shown them in +those days, they rendered Him much praise for His guidance and the great +victory He had given them over the enemies of the faith. And with the +will and purpose to toil still more in His service, they embarked again +in their boats and returned to their ships, which were lying five +leagues off. And here, on their arrival, they reposed themselves, as men +who needed it much, for they had toiled enough. But their respite was +not long, for that very night they took counsel of what they ought to do +next, as men who strove to make use of time, while they thought that the +opportunity offered for doing their business.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER XXII.<br /> <span class="ax"> Of the +reasons that Gil Eannes gave, and how they went to Tiger, and of the +Moors that they took.</span></p> + +<p>Forasmuch as you see well that in councils (where many take part), +there is always much talking, so in discussing that matter each one +declared his mind; but at last Gil Eannes asked them all to be silent +for a space, and they all obeyed with a good will.</p> + +<p>Then he began to reason with them in this wise: "Friends and +brothers, meseemeth the wills of you all are ready for some brave +action; and this I fancy because there is no <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[pg 75]</a></span>talk of repose among you +nor of returning to our country; but rather I see that each and all of +you wish and require to toil and labour for the common honour and +profit. But where we do not agree is in that we do not clearly know to +what part we ought to go in search of the aforesaid toil, to do service +to God and the Infant our Lord. And forasmuch as we are so near the isle +of Tiger, as you all know, and in this there is so great a power of +Moors, as these prisoners we have taken tell us;—and as under the +command of the Infant our Lord, it is ordered us that we shall not +meddle with it without great caution, and that we are only to see if we +can in any wise learn about the people that are in the island, and +whether their power is such as is said;—therefore I say that we +should do well to go to it, and it may be that our Lord Jesus Christ, +who always aideth those who do well, will ordain that we shall light +upon some one there who may interpret for us; and although we accomplish +no more than to see how many people there are in the island, yet it will +profit us afterwards; for the Infant our Lord will be able, knowing the +power of the same, to send a fleet fit to cope with it and crews to +match, who will be able to fight with all the Moors of the island and +conquer it; which will be of great service to God and to himself. And +therefore let us go to it and land, but let us not wander far from the +shore; for of a surety, if their numbers are great, when they see we are +but few, and that we will not wander from the shore, they will discover +themselves; and if we see what people they are it may please our Lord +God, when we are not concerned at aught else,<a name="fnanchor_AN" +id="fnanchor_AN"></a><a href="#footnote_AN" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AN]</sup></a> to shew us some grace we do not +think of."</p> + +<p>All considered as good what Gil Eannes said, and on the next day at +dawn full thirty men started in the boats, <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[pg 76]</a></span>and the others remained to +clean their ships, that they might be ready<a name="fnanchor_AO" +id="fnanchor_AO"></a><a href="#footnote_AO" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AO]</sup></a>; and so it was agreed that they +should start on their voyage home to Portugal as soon as those returned +who had just started for the island.</p> + +<p>They arrived at Tiger at mid-day, and twenty men landed, while the +other ten stayed in the boats; and the former went about half a league +distant from the shore and constantly explored those places that seemed +to them suitable for any people to lie in; and afterwards they took +their station on a hillock and began to look carefully over the island. +And as they were standing thus, they espied two Moors coming in their +direction, who saw them not, or peradventure thought that they were some +of the Moors of the island. These they made for and captured, and in +taking them they saw, further off, ten Moors coming, with fifteen or +twenty asses laden with fish. Some of our men made for them, and +although they put themselves on their defence, it pleased our Lord God +that this their defence availed little; for they were put to rout and +fled, some to one side and others to another, and so the Christians +captured them all.</p> + +<p>And while they were there, two men went further on in front, to see +if they could descry anybody else; and they saw many Moors, who made for +them as hard as they could. The two men turned and fled, and gave this +news to the others who were with the prisoners; telling them to fly as +fast as they could, for that a great power of Moors was coming upon +them. So they made off all together towards the boats, taking their +captives with them; and the Moors came after them as well as they could. +And then it pleased our Lord God (who succoureth those who go in His +service in their dangers and toils) that the Christians should reach the +shore before the Moors came up with <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[pg 77]</a></span>them; but before they had +all got safely into their boats, the Moors were already among them, and +fought with them; and only with sore trouble did the Christians gain +their boats. All of our men in that retreat showed their good qualities +and their brave and ardent hearts; so that it would be difficult to +distinguish who did best. But Lançarote and a squire of the Infant, +named Martin Vaz, were the last who got into the boats.</p> + +<p>Now the Moors were about 300 fighting men, who showed well that they +meant to defend their land. Many of them were wounded during the retreat +of the Christians; but of the Christians, by the mercy of God, not one +was wounded, to speak of. And as soon as they had got into their boats +with their prisoners, they started for the spot where they had left the +caravels, although night had already fallen.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AN" id="footnote_AN"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AN">[AN]</a> Except his service.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AO" id="footnote_AO"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AO">[AO]</a> <i>I.e.</i>, for return.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER XXIII.<br /> <span class="ax"> How they +went to Cape Branco, and of what they did there.</span></p> + +<p>Then on board it was determined that next day they should start for +Cape Branco. The which matter, as soon it was dawn, they put in +execution, making sail for the said Cape, where they arrived after two +days, and some landed at once—about twenty or twenty-five +men—to see what the land was like; and when they were a little +distance from where they landed, they saw a number of Moors go by, +fishing. And though they appeared to them to be rather great in number, +they had a mind to attempt that matter by themselves, without +acquainting those who were in the ships with their project; and they +made after them. And the Moors, on seeing them, began to fly; but when +they saw they were so few in number, they awaited them <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[pg 78]</a></span>as men +who desired to fight, in the hope of victory. The Christians reached +them, and the battle began, without anyone shewing to his enemy any +signs of fear; and at last He from whom (as saith St. James) cometh down +every good thing, and who had already given our men such a good +beginning and middle, as hath been said, was pleased that in the end<a +name="fnanchor_N79" id="fnanchor_N79"></a><a href="#footnote_N79" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[79]</sup></a> they should have a complete +victory over their enemies, and that their lives should be saved and +their honours increased; for after a little skirmish the Moors began to +get the worst of it, each flying as best he could; and the Christians, +following them a long distance, took fourteen of them captive, besides +those that died; and so with this victory, and filled with great joy, +they returned to their ships. And if their fortune was good against +their enemies, it was not less good in the refreshment they had +afterwards, for they had there many eels and crowfish,<a +name="fnanchor_AP" id="fnanchor_AP"></a><a href="#footnote_AP" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AP]</sup></a> which they found in the nets that +the Moors had thrown out.</p> + +<p>Then Lançarote, as a man who did not forget his first purpose, said +he thought it well, before they departed from that place, that some men +should go along the land and see if they could find any native +settlements; and at once five set out, and lighted on a settlement, and +returned to tell Lançarote and the others. But although they set off +very speedily, their journey was fruitless, for the Moors had caught +sight of the first party, and fled at once from that place; so that they +only found one girl, who had stayed sleeping in the village; whom they +took with them, and returning to the caravels, made sail for +Portugal.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AP" id="footnote_AP"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AP">[AP]</a> Named after their black fins.</p> + +<p class="center p4b"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" +id="Page_79">[pg 79]</a></span>CHAPTER XXIV.<br /> <span class="ax"> How +the caravels arrived at Lagos, and of the account that Lançarote gave to +the Infant.</span></p> + +<p>The caravels arrived at Lagos, whence they had set out, having +excellent weather for their voyage, for fortune was not less gracious to +them in the serenity of the weather than it had been to them before in +the capture of their booty.</p> + +<p>And from Lagos the news<a name="fnanchor_AQ" id="fnanchor_AQ"></a><a +href="#footnote_AQ" class="fnanchor"><sup>[AQ]</sup></a> reached the +Infant, who happened to have arrived there a few hours before, from +other parts where he had been for some days. And as you see that people +are desirous of knowledge, some endeavoured to get near the shore; and +others put themselves into the boats they found moored along the beach, +and went to welcome their relations and friends; so that in a short time +the news of their good fortune was well known, and all were much +rejoiced at it. And for that day it sufficed for those who had led the +enterprize to kiss the hand of the Infant their Lord, and to give him a +short account of their exploits: after which they took their rest, as +men who had come to their fatherland and their own homes; and you may +guess what would be their joy among their wives and children.</p> + +<p>And next day Lançarote, as he who had taken the main charge of the +expedition, said to the Infant: "My Lord, your grace well knoweth that +you have to receive the fifth of these Moors, and of all that we have +gained in that land, whither you sent us for the service of God and of +yourself.</p> + +<p>"And now these Moors, because of the long time we have been at sea; +as well as for the great sorrow that you must consider they have at +heart, at seeing themselves away <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" +id="Page_80">[pg 80]</a></span>from the land of their birth, and placed +in captivity, without having any understanding of what their end is to +be;—and moreover because they have not been accustomed to a life +on shipboard—for all these reasons are poorly and out of +condition; wherefore it seemeth to me that it would be well to order +them to be taken out of the caravels at dawn, and to be placed in that +field which lies outside the city gate, and there to be divided into +five parts, according to custom; and that your Grace should come there +and choose one of these parts, whichever you prefer."</p> + +<p>The Infant said that he was well pleased, and on the next day very +early, Lançarote bade the masters of the caravels that they should put +out the captives, and take them to that field, where they were to make +the divisions, as he had said already. But before they did anything else +in that matter, they took as an offering the best of those Moors to the +Church of that place; and another little Moor, who afterwards became a +friar of St. Francis, they sent to St. Vincent do Cabo,<a +name="fnanchor_N80" id="fnanchor_N80"></a><a href="#footnote_N80" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[80]</sup></a> where he lived ever after as a +Catholic Christian, without having understanding or perception of any +other law than that true and holy law in which all we Christians hope +for our salvation. And the Moors of that capture were in number 235.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AQ" id="footnote_AQ"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AQ">[AQ]</a> Of their arrival.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER XXV.<br /> <span class="ax"> Wherein the +Author reasoneth somewhat concerning the pity inspired by the captives, +and of how the division was made.</span></p> + +<p>O, Thou heavenly Father—who with Thy powerful hand, without +alteration of Thy divine essence, governest all the infinite company of +Thy Holy City, and controllest all the revolutions<a name="fnanchor_AR" +id="fnanchor_AR"></a><a href="#footnote_AR" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AR]</sup></a> of higher worlds, divided into nine +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[pg +81]</a></span>spheres, making the duration of ages long or short +according as it pleaseth Thee—I pray Thee that my tears may not +wrong my conscience; for it is not their religion but their humanity +that maketh mine to weep in pity for their sufferings. And if the brute +animals, with their bestial feelings, by a natural instinct understand +the sufferings of their own kind, what wouldst Thou have my human nature +to do on seeing before my eyes that miserable company, and remembering +that they too are of the generation of the sons of Adam?<a +name="fnanchor_N81" id="fnanchor_N81"></a><a href="#footnote_N81" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[81]</sup></a></p> + +<p>On the next day, which was the 8th of the month of August, very early +in the morning, by reason of the heat, the seamen began to make ready +their boats, and to take out those captives, and carry them on shore, as +they were commanded. And these, placed all together in that field, were +a marvellous sight; for amongst them were some white enough, fair to +look upon, and well proportioned; others were less white like mulattoes; +others again were as black as Ethiops, and so ugly, both in features and +in body, as almost to appear (to those who saw them) the images of a +lower hemisphere. But what heart could be so hard as not to be pierced +with piteous feeling to see that company? For some kept their heads low +and their faces bathed in tears, looking one upon another; others stood +groaning very dolorously, looking up to the height of heaven, fixing +their eyes upon it, crying out loudly, as if asking help of the Father +of Nature; others struck their faces with the palms of their hands, +throwing themselves at full length upon the ground; others made their +lamentations in the manner of a dirge, after the custom of their +country. And though we could not understand the words of their language, +the sound of it right well accorded with the measure of their sadness. +But to increase their sufferings still more, there now arrived those who +had charge of the division of the captives, and who began to separate +one <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[pg +82]</a></span>from another, in order to make an equal partition of the +fifths; and then was it needful to part fathers from sons, husbands from +wives, brothers from brothers. No respect was shewn either to friends or +relations, but each fell where his lot took him.</p> + +<p>O powerful fortune, that with thy wheels doest and undoest, +compassing the matters of this world as pleaseth thee, do thou at least +put before the eyes of that miserable race some understanding of matters +to come; that they may receive some consolation in the midst of their +great sorrow. And you who are so busy in making that division of the +captives, look with pity upon so much misery; and see how they cling one +to the other, so that you can hardly separate them.</p> + +<p>And who could finish that partition without very great toil? for as +often as they had placed them in one part the sons, seeing their fathers +in another, rose with great energy and rushed over to them; the mothers +clasped their other children in their arms, and threw themselves flat on +the ground with them; receiving blows with little pity for their own +flesh, if only they might not be torn from them. And so troublously they +finished the partition; for besides the toil they had with the captives, +the field was quite full of people, both from the town<a +name="fnanchor_AS" id="fnanchor_AS"></a><a href="#footnote_AS" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AS]</sup></a> and from the surrounding villages +and districts, who for that day gave rest to their hands (in which lay +their power to get their living) for the sole purpose of beholding this +novelty. And with what they saw, while some were weeping and others +separating the captives, they caused such a tumult as greatly to confuse +those who directed the partition.</p> + +<p>The Infant was there, mounted upon a powerful steed, and accompanied +by his retinue, making distribution of his <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[pg 83]</a></span>favours, as a man who +sought to gain but small treasure from his share; for of the forty-six +souls that fell to him as his fifth, he made a very speedy partition of +these;<a name="fnanchor_AT" id="fnanchor_AT"></a><a href="#footnote_AT" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AT]</sup></a> for his chief riches lay in<a +name="fnanchor_AU" id="fnanchor_AU"></a><a href="#footnote_AU" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AU]</sup></a> his purpose; for he reflected with +great pleasure upon the salvation of those souls that before were +lost.</p> + +<p>And certainly his expectation was not in vain; for, as we said +before, as soon as they understood our language they turned Christians +with very little ado; and I who put together this history into this +volume, saw in the town of Lagos boys and girls (the children and +grandchildren of those first captives, born in this land) as good and +true Christians as if they had directly descended, from the beginning of +the dispensation of Christ, from those who were first baptised.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AR" id="footnote_AR"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AR">[AR]</a> Lit. axles.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AS" id="footnote_AS"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AS">[AS]</a> Lagos.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AT" id="footnote_AT"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AT">[AT]</a> Among others.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AU" id="footnote_AU"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AU">[AU]</a> The accomplishment of.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER XXVI.<br /> <span class="ax"> How the +Infant Don Henry made Lançarote a Knight.</span></p> + +<p>Although the sorrow of those captives was for the present very great, +especially after the partition was finished and each one took his own +share aside (while some sold their captives, the which they took to +other districts); and although it chanced that among the prisoners the +father often remained in Lagos, while the mother was taken to Lisbon, +and the children to another part (in which partition their sorrow +doubled the first grief)—yet this sorrow was less felt among those +who happened to remain in company. For as saith the <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[pg 84]</a></span>text,<a +name="fnanchor_N82" id="fnanchor_N82"></a><a href="#footnote_N82" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[82]</sup></a> the wretched find a consolation in +having comrades in misfortune. But from this time forth they<a +name="fnanchor_AV" id="fnanchor_AV"></a><a href="#footnote_AV" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AV]</sup></a> began to acquire some knowledge of +our country; in which they found great abundance, and our men began to +treat them with great favour. For as our people did not find them +hardened in the belief of the other Moors; and saw how they came in unto +the law of Christ with a good will; they made no difference between them +and their free servants, born in our own country; but those whom they +took while still young, they caused to be instructed in mechanical arts, +and those whom they saw fitted for managing property; they set free and +married to women who were natives of the land;<a name="fnanchor_AW" +id="fnanchor_AW"></a><a href="#footnote_AW" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AW]</sup></a> making with them a division of +their property, as if they had been bestowed on those who married them +by the will of their own fathers, and for the merits of their service +they were bound to act in a like manner. Yea, and some widows of good +family who bought some of these female slaves, either adopted them or +left them a portion of their estate by will; so that in the future they +married right well; treating them as entirely free. Suffice it that I +never saw one of these slaves put in irons like other captives, and +scarcely any one who did not turn Christian and was not very gently +treated.</p> + +<p>And I have been asked by their lords to the baptisms and marriages of +such; at which they, whose slaves they were before, made no less +solemnity than if they had been their children or relations.</p> + +<p>And so their lot was now quite the contrary of what it had been; +since before they had lived in perdition of soul and body; of their +souls, in that they were yet pagans, without the clearness and the light +of the holy faith; and of their bodies, in that they lived like beasts, +without any <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[pg +85]</a></span>custom of reasonable beings—for they had no +knowledge of bread or wine, and they were without the covering of +clothes, or the lodgment of houses; and worse than all, through the +great ignorance that was in them, in that they had no understanding of +good, but only knew how to live in a bestial sloth.</p> + +<p>But as soon as they began to come to this land, and men gave them +prepared food and coverings for their bodies, their bellies began to +swell, and for a time they were ill; until they were accustomed to the +nature of the country; but some of them were so made that they were not +able to endure it and died, but as Christians.</p> + +<p>Now there were four things in these captives that were very different +from the condition of the other Moors who were taken prisoners from this +part. First, that after they had come to this land of Portugal, they +never more tried to fly, but rather in time forgot all about their own +country, as soon as they began to taste the good things of this one; +secondly, that they were very loyal and obedient servants, without +malice; thirdly, that they were not so inclined to lechery as the +others; fourthly, that after they began to use clothing they were for +the most part very fond of display, so that they took great delight in +robes of showy colours, and such was their love of finery, that they +picked up the rags that fell from the coats of the other people of the +country and sewed them on to their garments, taking great pleasure in +these, as though it were matter of some greater perfection. And what was +still better, as I have already said, they turned themselves with a good +will into the path of the true faith; in the which after they had +entered, they received true belief, and in this same they died. And now +reflect what a guerdon should be that of the Infant in the presence of +the Lord God; for thus bringing to true salvation, not only those, but +many others, whom you will find in this history later on.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[pg +86]</a></span>Now when the partition was thus accomplished, the captains +of the other caravels came to the Infant, and with them some noblemen of +his house, and said to him: "Sire, in that you know the great toil that +Lançarote, your servant, hath undergone in this action just achieved, +and with what diligence he effected it, by the which God hath given us +so good a victory as you have seen; and also as he is a man of good +lineage, who deserveth every good; we beg your grace that for his +reward, you would be minded to knight him with your own hand. Since you +see that for every reason he deserveth this honour; and even if he had +not deserved it so well (said those captains of the caravels), we think +it would be an injury to us (as he was our captain-general, and laboured +so much before our eyes), if he did not receive for it some honour +superior to that which he had before, being an upright man and your +servant, as we have said."</p> + +<p>The Infant answered that it pleased him greatly; and that besides he +was much obliged for their having asked it of him; for by it they gave +example to the others that might desire to act as captains of brave men, +and toil for their honour.</p> + +<p>And so forthwith he made Lançarote a knight, giving him a rich +guerdon, according as his deserts and his excellence required. And to +the other leaders also he gave increased advancement, so that besides +their first profit they considered their labour right well bestowed.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AV" id="footnote_AV"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AV">[AV]</a> The black captives.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AW" id="footnote_AW"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AW">[AW]</a> Of Portugal.</p> + +<p class="center p4b"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" +id="Page_87">[pg 87]</a></span>CHAPTER XXVII.<br /> <span class="ax"> +How the Infant ordered Gonçallo de Sintra to go to Guinea, and how he +was killed.</span></p> + +<p>It would be an ugly thing in prosecuting our history, if we did not +write the misfortunes of our people, as well as their successes; for +Tully<a name="fnanchor_N83" id="fnanchor_N83"></a><a +href="#footnote_N83" class="fnanchor"><sup>[83]</sup></a> saith in his +books, that among the great charges that are laid upon the historian, he +ought chiefly to remember that of writing the truth, and when he writeth +the truth he should not diminish it in aught. And of a surety<a +name="fnanchor_AX" id="fnanchor_AX"></a><a href="#footnote_AX" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[AX]</sup></a> he not only doth his duty, but is a +cause of much profit; for it oft happeneth that men receive great +warnings by the misfortunes of their fellows. And the ancient sages +said: "Blessed is the man who gaineth admonishment by the evils of +others."<a name="fnanchor_N84" id="fnanchor_N84"></a><a +href="#footnote_N84" class="fnanchor"><sup>[84]</sup></a></p> + +<p>But you must know that this Gonçallo de Sintra, of whom at present we +intend to speak, was a squire brought up from early youth in the +Infant's household—indeed I believe he had been his equerry. And +because he was a man who had a good stature of body and a high courage, +the Infant greatly increased him; ever laying upon him the charge of +great and honourable matters.</p> + +<p>And some time after Lançarote's return, the Infant caused a caravel +to be armed; and gave it in charge of Gonçallo de Sintra as captain, +admonishing him, before his start, that he should go straight to Guinea, +and for nothing whatever should fail of this.</p> + +<p>And he, pursuing his voyage, arrived at Cape Branco; and like a man +envious of obtaining fame, and desiring to win for himself advantages +above the others,<a name="fnanchor_AY" id="fnanchor_AY"></a><a +href="#footnote_AY" class="fnanchor"><sup>[AY]</sup></a> he began to +talk of going to the isle of Arguim, which was now very near<a +name="fnanchor_N84a" id="fnanchor_N84a"></a><a href="#footnote_N84a" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[84a]</sup></a> them; where he thought that with +little trouble <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[pg +88]</a></span>he could make some prisoners. The others began to +contradict this; saying, that he ought not to do anything of this sort; +for, in meddling with any such matter, he would work two evils: to wit, +first in going beyond the command of the Infant; secondly, in tarrying +there and wasting the time without any profit—but they should +rather (they said) make their way straight to Guinea, the land of the +Negroes. But he, like a man whom death invited to make his end there, +said that the detention would be only short; and that in these matters +the injunctions of lords were not always to be strictly attended to; and +so at once he gave command to the mariners that they should make their +way to the said isle. And it appeareth that arriving by night, they were +perceived; so that when they landed in the morning they only found one +girl, whom they took to their ship. And thence they went off to another +island, that lieth near there; where they caught one woman, being +discovered in just the same way when they arrived there.</p> + +<p>Now Gonçallo de Sintra took with him an Azanegue boy as an +interpreter, who already knew a great deal of our language, and whom the +Infant had given into his charge, commanding him to keep a good watch +over him. But it appeareth that there was lack of good advisement among +those who had the charge of him; and principally on the part of the +captain, whose care should have been all the greater. For the boy, +seeking for a suitable time and place, escaped one night from among +them; and joined those dwellers on the island, to whom he gave +information of all that he knew about their enemies.</p> + +<p>And although they knew who he was, yet they were not so ill-advised +as to believe all that he said straightway; but to obtain certainty of +the truth, one of them undertook to go with false dissimulation to the +caravels; calling out from the shore that they should take him on board, +for he sought <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[pg +89]</a></span>to go with them to Portugal. And afterwards when he was +among our men he made his signs to them; to shew that on account of the +great longing and regret that he had for his relations and friends, who +were now in this realm of Portugal, he did not know how to live except +among them; and that by God, let his life be what it might, he would be +very content to endure it, if only he could have sight of them and +intercourse with them again. And the others, like men very little on +their guard against his devices, were exceedingly pleased with him; +though some there were who said they were not at all content with his +coming on board, for it looked like treachery to them. And because of +the speech of these they put some guard over the Moor, though it was but +a small one. But on the second night the Moor took greater care to +escape than they to guard him; and made his way out of the caravel so +softly that he was never perceived by our people; and in truth they had +pretty well forgotten all about him. But when his escape was known next +day, everyone saw that they had been much deceived; and said at once to +the Captain that all these signs were against their making any booty in +that land. "For look," said they, "how we have been discovered in both +islands whither we have gone; how the youth has escaped from us; how one +Moor by himself has come to befool us. Of a surety we are not the men to +accomplish any great action."</p> + +<p>"Then," said Gonçallo de Sintra, "may I perish in these islands; for +I will never depart hence till I have performed some exploit so signal +that never shall one like me, nor yet a nobler, come here and accomplish +a greater deed or perform it better than I."</p> + +<p>The others however contended strongly with him, that he should not +make any further delay (since the danger was so well understood), and +said that he should pursue his voyage straight away. For in doing what +the Infant bade <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[pg +90]</a></span>him he would be doing his duty; and in any other way he +would fall into error, especially seeing how manifest were the chances +of his ruin.</p> + +<p>But neither did these reasons prevail, nor many others that were +spoken for his advisement; for in spite of them he steered the caravel +towards the isle of Naar; and as the islands are all near one to +another, and the Moors are able to move quickly about in their canoes, +all in that island were at once advised of his approach. Gonçallo de +Sintra, in his desire of honour as well as profit, bade them launch his +boat, and embarked in it with twelve men, the best of his company; and a +little before midnight he left the boat and began to walk along the +island; and, as it appeareth, the tide had already passed the ebb, and +was now beginning to flow somewhat. And there they came upon a creek, +which they passed over easily enough, and likewise another near it. But +because Gonçallo de Sintra and the rest of his company did not all know +how to swim, they determined to wait a little, and see how far the tide +would rise, so that if by chance it rose so much that they would have to +return, yet they would be near at hand to cross. And during the stay +that they made there, morning came on, and either because they slept or +because they did not understand the extent of the water, when dawn came +they perceived that they would not be able with such ease to retrace +their steps; because the tide was now nearly at the full, and the creek +had become large and deep. So it was necessary for them to remain there +till the water should fall somewhat, and give them a better chance for +their passage; and in this they spent two or three hours of the day +without seeking to move from there.</p> + +<p>And the Moors (though they saw them as soon as it was dawn), like men +who were already prepared for it, did not attempt for a long time to +attack them, hoping that they would come up further into the country, so +that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[pg +91]</a></span>they might seize them more readily; but after they fully +perceived their intention they fell upon them all together, as upon a +vanquished party. And as in the fight they were very unequally matched +(for the enemy were 200 in number and our men but twelve, without hope +of succour), they were very easily overcome.</p> + +<p>There was killed Gonçallo de Sintra, not in truth like a man who had +forgotten his courage, but inflicting great injury upon his enemies, +till his strength could aid him no more and he had to make his end. And +of the others there perished seven—to wit, two youths of the +Infant's Household, one whom they called Lopo Caldeira and another Lopo +d'Alvellos, and an equerry who was named George, and one Alvaro +Gonçalvez Pillito and three sailors. And in truth I wish to make no +difference between them, for they all died fighting, without one of them +turning back a foot; and although the youths of the Household and the +equerry knew how to swim and so to escape, yet they would never abandon +their captain, but bravely received burial around him. May God receive +the soul that He created, and the nature that came forth from Him, for +it is His very own!</p> + +<p>The five survivors returned to their caravel, and shortly made sail +for the Kingdom;<a name="fnanchor_AZ" id="fnanchor_AZ"></a><a +href="#footnote_AZ" class="fnanchor"><sup>[AZ]</sup></a> for after such +a loss they had no inducement to do anything else, or to push on +further,<a name="fnanchor_BA" id="fnanchor_BA"></a><a +href="#footnote_BA" class="fnanchor"><sup>[BA]</sup></a> as had been +commanded them before.<a name="fnanchor_N84b" id="fnanchor_N84b"></a><a +href="#footnote_N84b" class="fnanchor"><sup>[84b]</sup></a></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AX" id="footnote_AX"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AX">[AX]</a> If he so act.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AY" id="footnote_AY"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AY">[AY]</a> Who had preceded him on this way.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_AZ" id="footnote_AZ"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_AZ">[AZ]</a> Portugal.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BA" id="footnote_BA"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BA">[BA]</a> To the South.</p> + +<p class="center p4b"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" +id="Page_92">[pg 92]</a></span>CHAPTER XXVIII.<br /> <span class="ax"> +Of the reasons that the Author giveth for a warning as to the death of +Gonçallo de Sintra.</span></p> + +<p>In the event recorded in the last chapter there seemeth to me a great +mystery contained, for I know not whether it came about from the spirit +of covetousness or from the wish to render service, or from the desire +to gain honour. However, since the peril was so manifest, and might have +been avoided on that occasion if that Captain had been willing to +receive advice, I should say that of a certainty the wheels of destiny<a +name="fnanchor_BB" id="fnanchor_BB"></a><a href="#footnote_BB" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[BB]</sup></a> had so ordained it, and that their +appointed purpose blinded his reason so that he knew not the ills that +would be his. For although St. Augustine doth write many and holy words +reprobating the predestination of celestial influences, yet methinks in +other places I find authorities to the contrary; as for example Job, who +saith that God hath placed us bounds which we cannot pass, and many +besides in Holy Scripture which I omit to mention, that I may not be +drawn away from my first purpose.<a name="fnanchor_N85" +id="fnanchor_N85"></a><a href="#footnote_N85" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[85]</sup></a> But whether it were the +predestination of fortune, or a divine judgment for some other sin, or +peradventure that God thought good to take them so for their more +certain salvation, it is well for us to see if we can gather up some +measure of profit from this untoward event. And when I consider it, +there appeareth to me seven things from which we may take warning.</p> + +<p>Now the first is that no Captain who hath a superior, from whose hand +he receiveth his charge, ought in any way to transgress the mandate of +his lord or master. And we have an example of this in the deeds of the +Romans in the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[pg +93]</a></span>case of Julius Cæsar; for although he gained very glorious +victories, and made subject to the Roman power France, Brittany, +England, Spain, and Germany, yet, because he overpassed the space of +five years (which was the limit marked out for him in which to conquer +his enemies), the honour he ought to have received was denied and taken +from him, and for no other reason save that he had transgressed his +orders. And Vegetius, in the fourth book, <i>De re Militari</i>, +relateth how Aurelius the Consul would have his son serve among the foot +soldiers because he had gone beyond his commands. And again, St. +Augustine in the fifth book of the City of God, telleth of Torquatus +that he slew his son, although victorious, for having fought against his +orders.<a name="fnanchor_N86" id="fnanchor_N86"></a><a +href="#footnote_N86" class="fnanchor"><sup>[86]</sup></a></p> + +<p>The second thing is that upon captured hostages and interpreters from +a foreign land a special guard should ever be placed to keep watch over +them with great caution. And the ill results that lately followed from a +neglect of this are evident.</p> + +<p>The third thing is that when an enemy throweth in his lot<a +name="fnanchor_BC" id="fnanchor_BC"></a><a href="#footnote_BC" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[BC]</sup></a> with the Captain the latter ought +not to trust him, but should rather keep a diligent look-out, and hold +his coming as suspicious until the final victory be won. For from a like +cause was lost the battle of Cannæ (as Titus Livius writeth in his book +on the Second<a name="fnanchor_BD" id="fnanchor_BD"></a><a +href="#footnote_BD" class="fnanchor"><sup>[BD]</sup></a> War), that is +because the Romans refused to be forewarned by those of the enemy who +came over to them.<a name="fnanchor_N87" id="fnanchor_N87"></a><a +href="#footnote_N87" class="fnanchor"><sup>[87]</sup></a></p> + +<p>The fourth is that we should hearken to the counsel of those who are +in our own company and give us profitable advice; for, saith the Holy +Spirit, there is safety in a multitude of counsels. And so the sage in +the Book of Wisdom doth admonish all men to take counsel—where he +saith, in the sixth of Ecclesiasticus, "List, my son, and take <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[pg 94]</a></span>thou +counsel alway. For every wise man doeth his actions with advice." +Moreover, Seneca layeth it down in his Treatise on the Virtues that +every governor, be he Prince or Prince's Captain, should be careful to +take counsel of the things he hath to do;—"Regard everything that +may chance to happen and revolve it in thy heart, and let nothing come +as a surprise but rather have it well provided against, for the wise man +never saith—I did not think this would come to pass; and this is +because he is not in doubt, but expecteth it, and conjectureth not, but +rather attendeth to the reason of all things; for when the beginning of +an affair is perceived, the end and egress should ever be watched."<a +name="fnanchor_N88" id="fnanchor_N88"></a><a href="#footnote_N88" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[88]</sup></a></p> + +<p>And fifthly, that when our enemies have certain intelligence of our +power and intentions we should beware much of invading their land, for a +Captain's chief duty as regardeth his enemy is to conceal from them his +force; and the contrary leadeth only to his own destruction and that of +his men. And so Hannibal ever ordained his ambushes with such skill that +his foes might never think his strength to be greater than it appeared +for the moment.<a name="fnanchor_N89" id="fnanchor_N89"></a><a +href="#footnote_N89" class="fnanchor"><sup>[89]</sup></a></p> + +<p>Sixthly, that we should take much care not to be discovered on a +coast where we would make an inroad. And experience showeth examples of +this every day to those who keep armed ships on the sea. And greatly do +I marvel that Gonçallo de Sintra, a man who had ofttimes sailed in ships +of the Armada<a name="fnanchor_N90" id="fnanchor_N90"></a><a +href="#footnote_N90" class="fnanchor"><sup>[90]</sup></a> by his lord's +command and had taken a part in very great actions, both on the coast of +Granada and in Ceuta, was not more on his guard at such a time.</p> + +<p>And the seventh conclusion I draw from the above event is that no man +who cannot swim should cross rising water in a hostile country, except +at the time for him to find that it hath ebbed away on his return.</p> + +<p>Such then are the matters I have had to write for your warning, and +henceforth I will take up again the thread of my narrative.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BB" id="footnote_BB"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BB">[BB]</a> Lit., the heavens.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BC" id="footnote_BC"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BC">[BC]</a> Lit., himself.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BD" id="footnote_BD"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BD">[BD]</a> Punic.</p> + +<p class="center p4b"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" +id="Page_95">[pg 95]</a></span>CHAPTER XXIX.<br /> <span class="ax"> How +Antam Gonçalvez and Gomez Pirez and Diego Affonso went to the Rio +d'Ouro.</span></p> + +<p>In that year the Infant bade Antam Gonçalvez, that noble knight of +whom we have already spoken, to sail in one caravel and Gomez Pirez, +master of the Royal Galley in another: and this man went by command of +the Infant Don Pedro, who at that time governed the kingdom in the name +of the King. And at the same time there was another caravel with them, +in which sailed one Diego Affonso, a servant of the Infant Don Henry: +and all these commanders went jointly to see if they could bring the +Moors of that part to treat of merchandise.</p> + +<p>And they had much talk with them and obtained great sureties by means +of the Moors whom the Infant sent there to see if with the aforesaid +pretence they could guide them into the way of salvation. But they were +not able to accomplish aught or do business with them, except in the +matter of one negro.</p> + +<p>And so they turned back without achieving any more; except that they +brought with them one old Moor, who of his own free will wished to come +and see the Infant, from whom he received great rewards, according to +his quality, and who afterward sent him back to his own country. But I +am not so much surprised at the coming of this man as of a squire who +went with Antam Gonçalvez, called John Fernandez; who of his own free +will decided to stay in that land of Guinea, only to see the country and +bring the news of it to the Infant when he should chance to return. But +of the travels of this squire and of his excellent qualities I leave the +account to another place.</p> + +<p class="center p4b"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" +id="Page_96">[pg 96]</a></span>CHAPTER XXX.<br /> <span class="ax"> How +Nuno Tristam went to Tira, and of the Moors that he took captive +there.</span></p> + +<p>For a better understanding of the matter that now happened, we will +here tell how Nuno Tristam, of whom we have already spoken, first saw +the land of the Negroes. And it was so, that being sent in a caravel, by +order of the Infant, to those parts, he went straight to those islands +where they<a name="fnanchor_BE" id="fnanchor_BE"></a><a +href="#footnote_BE" class="fnanchor"><sup>[BE]</sup></a> had been +already. Now these were then left desolate, for the inhabitants, +perceiving the damage they were receiving, had forsaken their land and +betaken themselves for a time to other islands, of which they presumed +that their enemies had no knowledge. "Seeing that this is so," said Nuno +Tristam, "and that we can find no booty in these islands, my wish is to +proceed as far as I can, till I come to the land of the +Negroes—for you know well," said he, "the desire which the Infant +our Lord hath in this matter, and we cannot employ our time better than +in doing what we know will most please him."</p> + +<p>All said this was well, and that it should be his business to direct +them; for they were ready for any emergency, as men who possessed no +other good thing except the favour of that lord who sent them there. And +they proceeded so far that they passed that land and saw a country very +different from that former one—for that was sandy and untilled, +and quite treeless, like a country where there was no water—while +this other land they saw to be covered with palms and other green and +beautiful trees, and it was even so with all the plains thereof.<a +name="fnanchor_N91" id="fnanchor_N91"></a><a href="#footnote_N91" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[91]</sup></a> Nuno Tristam here caused his +ship's boat to be launched, with the intention of landing <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[pg 97]</a></span>where +he saw certain men who appeared to be very willing to speak with +them.</p> + +<p>And with this Nuno Tristam had been very content, if the roughness of +the sea had permitted his boat to reach the land; but the waves were +huge and perilous withal, so that he was forced to return to his ship +and to make sail, to escape the distemperature of the wind, which was +very contrary. But Nuno Tristam said, that although he was driven away +from the point where stood those who would fain speak with him, he well +understood that they were of the company of the Negroes.</p> + +<p>And so Nuno Tristam, forced back by contrary weather, arrived with +his caravel nigh to those islands where Lançarote in earlier time had +made his booty; but he went on to the mainland, where he landed to see +if he also could make a capture.</p> + +<p>And he went there several nights before he was able to secure +anything; till he captured one Moor, already old, who by signs told him +of the whereabouts of a settlement, about two leagues from there. But +the distance might just as well have been greater, for Nuno Tristam, +with the delay he had made before accomplishing any capture, would +equally have adventured it. But the Moor was not able to tell him how +many were the dwellers in that settlement towards which he was guiding +them; or, to speak more accurately, they could neither have asked nor +yet have understood him;<a name="fnanchor_BF" id="fnanchor_BF"></a><a +href="#footnote_BF" class="fnanchor"><sup>[BF]</sup></a> and this, it +appears to me, should have put our men in some fear, because they knew +not what the enemy's numbers might be; but, where there is enough of +good will, determinations are never closely examined.</p> + +<p>And in the night following that in which the Moor was discovered, +they attacked the settlement, but they did not capture there more than +twenty-one persons; and we do <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" +id="Page_98">[pg 98]</a></span>not find any record whether there were +any boys or women among these twenty-one, nor how many men Nuno Tristam +took with him, nor if he had to do any fighting there before making his +capture. Nor could we find out about these matters, because Nuno Tristam +was already dead at the time when King Don Affonso commanded this +history to be written.<a name="fnanchor_N92" id="fnanchor_N92"></a><a +href="#footnote_N92" class="fnanchor"><sup>[92]</sup></a></p> + +<p>And so we leave this matter thus without saying any more.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BE" id="footnote_BE"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BE">[BE]</a> His friends.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BF" id="footnote_BF"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BF">[BF]</a> His reply.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER XXXI.<br /> <span class="ax"> How Dinis +Diaz went to the land of the Negroes, and of the Captives that he +took.</span></p> + +<p>There was in Lisbon a noble squire, who had been a servant of the +King Don John (the grandfather of the king Don Affonso, and father of +this virtuous prince),<a name="fnanchor_BG" id="fnanchor_BG"></a><a +href="#footnote_BG" class="fnanchor"><sup>[BG]</sup></a> who was called +Dinis Diaz.</p> + +<p>And he hearing news of that land,<a name="fnanchor_BH" +id="fnanchor_BH"></a><a href="#footnote_BH" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[BH]</sup></a> and how the caravels were already +sailing so far from this coast;<a name="fnanchor_BI" +id="fnanchor_BI"></a><a href="#footnote_BI" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[BI]</sup></a> and also because he was a man +desirous of seeing new things and of trying his strength (although he +was now settled in that city,<a name="fnanchor_BJ" +id="fnanchor_BJ"></a><a href="#footnote_BJ" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[BJ]</sup></a> which is one of the noblest in +Spain, with profitable offices which had been given him in reward for +his services), now went nevertheless to the Infant Don Henry to beg him +to despatch him to that land. For considering that he was a servant of +his father, and that all his rise was through him, and that he had both +the courage and the youth to serve him withal, he had no mind to let his +life slip away in the pleasures of repose.</p> + +<p>The Infant thanked him for his good will, and had a caravel armed and +got ready for the aforesaid Dinis Diaz <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[pg 99]</a></span>to go and accomplish his +purpose. And he, leaving Portugal with his company, never lowered sail +till he had passed the land of the Moors and arrived in the land of the +blacks, that is called Guinea.</p> + +<p>And although we have already several times in the course of this +history, called Guinea that other land to which the first<a +name="fnanchor_BK" id="fnanchor_BK"></a><a href="#footnote_BK" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[BK]</sup></a> went, we give not this common name +to both because the country is all one; for some of the lands are very +different from others, and very far apart, as we shall distinguish +further on at a convenient place.<a name="fnanchor_N93" +id="fnanchor_N93"></a><a href="#footnote_N93" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[93]</sup></a> And as the caravel was voyaging +along that sea, those on land saw it and marvelled much at the sight, +for it seemeth they had never seen or heard speak of the like; and some +of them supposed it to be a fish, while others thought it to be a +phantom, and others again said it might be a bird that ran so on its +journey over that sea. And after reasoning thus concerning the novelty, +four of them were bold enough to inform themselves concerning this +doubt; and so got into a small boat made out of one hollow tree-trunk +without anything else being added thereto.</p> + +<p>Now this I think must have been a kind of "coucho", like to some that +are in use on the rapids of the Mondego and the Zezere, in which the +labourers cross when they are obliged to do so in the depth of winter. +And they came a good way out towards where the caravel was pursuing its +course; and those in her could not restrain themselves from appearing on +deck. But when the negroes saw that those in the ship were men, they +made haste to flee as best they could; and though the caravel followed +after them, the want of a sufficient wind prevented their capture. And +as they<a name="fnanchor_BL" id="fnanchor_BL"></a><a href="#footnote_BL" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[BL]</sup></a> went further on, they met with +other boats, whose crews, seeing ours to be men, were alarmed at the +novelty of the sight; and moved by fear they sought to <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[pg +100]</a></span>flee, each and all; but because our men had a better +opportunity than before, they captured four of them, and these were the +first to be taken by Christians in their own land, and there is no +chronicle or history that relateth aught to the contrary.<a +name="fnanchor_N94" id="fnanchor_N94"></a><a href="#footnote_N94" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[94]</sup></a></p> + +<p>And for certain this was no small honour for our Prince, whose mighty +power was thus sufficient to command peoples so far from our kingdom, +making booty among the neighbours of the land of Egypt; and Dinis Diaz +ought to share in this honour, for he was the first who (by his<a +name="fnanchor_BM" id="fnanchor_BM"></a><a href="#footnote_BM" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[BM]</sup></a> command) captured Moors in that +land. And now he pushed on till he arrived at a great cape, to which +they gave the name of Cape Verde.<a name="fnanchor_N95" +id="fnanchor_N95"></a><a href="#footnote_N95" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[95]</sup></a></p> + +<p>And it is said that they met there with many people, but it is not +related in what way they met with them; whether our men saw them from +the sea while on board their ship; or whether<a name="fnanchor_BN" +id="fnanchor_BN"></a><a href="#footnote_BN" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[BN]</sup></a> as they were moving about in their +little boats, busy with their fishing. It is enough that they did not +capture any more on this voyage; except that it is said they landed on +an island where they found many goats and birds, with which they greatly +refreshed themselves; it is also said that they found many things there +different from this land of ours, as will be related further on. And +thence they turned back to this Kingdom; and although their booty was +not so great as those that had arrived in the past, the Infant thought +it very great indeed—since it came from that land. And so he gave +to Dinis Diaz and his companions great rewards on account of it.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BG" id="footnote_BG"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BG">[BG]</a> Henry.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BH" id="footnote_BH"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BH">[BH]</a> Of Guinea.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BI" id="footnote_BI"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BI">[BI]</a> Of Portugal.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BJ" id="footnote_BJ"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BJ">[BJ]</a> Lisbon.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BK" id="footnote_BK"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BK">[BK]</a> Explorers.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BL" id="footnote_BL"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BL">[BL]</a> Our men.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BM" id="footnote_BM"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BM">[BM]</a> The Prince's.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BN" id="footnote_BN"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BN">[BN]</a> They were sighted.</p> + +<p class="center p4b"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" +id="Page_101">[pg 101]</a></span>CHAPTER XXXII.<br /> <span class="ax"> +How Antam Gonçalvez, Garcia Homem, and Diego Affonso, set out for Cape +Branco.</span></p> + +<p>It would be well that we should now return to that squire who in the +past year remained at the Rio d'Ouro, as we have said already.</p> + +<p>And his service was of especial merit, and is worthy of great +remembrance. For, as often as I consider it, I marvel much at the same. +And what shall I say of a single man, who had never been in that land +(and there was not nor had there been any other whom he knew or of whom +he had heard), willing thus to stay among a race little less than +savage, whose nature and wiles he knew not?</p> + +<p>Let me consider with what a countenance he would first appear before +them, and for what end he would say he was remaining, or how he would be +able to arrange with them about food and other things for his use. It is +true that he had already been a captive among the other Moors, and in +this part of the Mediterranean Sea, where he acquired a knowledge of +their language; but I know not if it would serve him among these. Antam +Gonçalvez who had left him there, remembering his story, spoke to the +Infant about him in this wise:—</p> + +<p>"Your Highness knoweth how John Fernandez, your squire, stayed at the +Rio d'Ouro, to learn all he could about that land, small things as well +as great, to inform you of the same, even as he knew was your desire; +and you know how many months he hath been there, for your service. Now, +if your grace is willing to send me to fetch him away, and some other +ships with me, I will labour for your service so that, besides bringing +back this squire, all the expense of this our voyage may be covered +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[pg +102]</a></span>as well." And you must be well aware in the case of a man +filled with such desire for these matters<a name="fnanchor_BO" +id="fnanchor_BO"></a><a href="#footnote_BO" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[BO]</sup></a> how bitter it would be to hear such +a request.<a name="fnanchor_N96" id="fnanchor_N96"></a><a +href="#footnote_N96" class="fnanchor"><sup>[96]</sup></a></p> + +<p>The ships were quickly ready, and of these Antam Gonçalvez was chief +captain, taking in his company Garcia Homem and Diego Affonso, servants +of the Infant, as you have heard elsewhere. And these two<a +name="fnanchor_BP" id="fnanchor_BP"></a><a href="#footnote_BP" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[BP]</sup></a> received charge of the other two +caravels, but all under the command of the chief captain.</p> + +<p>Now the ships, on setting out, went first to victual at the Madeiras, +because of the great supplies that were there. And thence they agreed to +push on straight for Cape Branco, and in case by any hap they should be +separated, they were nevertheless to steer for the said cape. And the +weather taking its accustomed course, that is changing quickly from fair +to foul, and sometimes too from foul to fair, there arose such a tempest +over them that in a very short time they thought they were lost, and +they separated one from the other; for each of those captains thought, +judging by his own great labour, that his companion's must be much +greater, and so on this account presumed he was lost; and the opinions +were so many in each caravel, that they could hardly decide on any +settled course.</p> + +<p>But at last they decided, each one for his part, to go straight on +with the voyage to the place that they had all previously determined on, +each thinking that to himself alone appertained all that charge; for +they felt very doubtful of their partners reaching there, believing that +the best thing that could have happened to them would be their return to +Portugal, but asserting that their shipwreck was much more likely. So +they went on withstanding their fate, with great bodily toil and no less +terror of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[pg +103]</a></span>mind, till it pleased God that the sea should abate +somewhat of its first fury and return to its former calmness, as was +necessary for their voyage. Diego Affonso, who first reached Cape +Branco, caused to be erected on land a great cross of wood, that his +partners, in case they should come after him, not having passed it +already, might know that he was going on before them. And with such +firmness was that cross set up, that it lasted there many years +afterwards, and even now, I am told, yet standeth there. And right well +might any one of another country marvel, who should chance to pass by +that coast, and should see among the Moors such a symbol, without +knowing anything of our ships, that they were sailing in that part of +the world.</p> + +<p>Great was the delight of each one of the other captains, when they +came to that spot and understood that their partners were in front. +Diego Affonso did not wish to make any stop near the Cape, considering +that if the others came there they could soon find him; and that since +he was not certain of their coming, he ought to push on and do what he +could to make some booty; so that the time might not be lost without his +winning some honour and profit while it lasted. I do not care to mention +certain matters of the voyage of these people,<a name="fnanchor_BQ" +id="fnanchor_BQ"></a><a href="#footnote_BQ" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[BQ]</sup></a> which I found written by one +Affonso Cerveira, who first sought to set in order this history;<a +name="fnanchor_N97" id="fnanchor_N97"></a><a href="#footnote_N97" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[97]</sup></a> for since they brought no result +it serveth no good purpose to waste time over them, and so to weary the +good will of my readers and make them tired of my history; all the more +as I possess the matter to adorn my work and render it very +pleasing.</p> + +<p>The caravels having joined one another again, the captains very +gladly met in their boats, each one proud to <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[pg 104]</a></span>speak of what he had +just passed through with so much toil and terror.</p> + +<p>And because Antam Gonçalvez was the last to arrive, and the others +had to govern themselves by his commands, they told him how they had +already landed several times, but had not been able to capture anything +to bring them profit; and what was worse, that the Moors had fled from +them, and that as they had been discovered they felt it would be of +little use returning there again.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BO" id="footnote_BO"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BO">[BO]</a> As was the Infant.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BP" id="footnote_BP"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BP">[BP]</a> Homem and Affonso.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BQ" id="footnote_BQ"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BQ">[BQ]</a> Of Diego Affonso's.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER XXXIII.<br /> <span class="ax"> How they +went to Ergim<a name="fnanchor_BR" id="fnanchor_BR"></a><a +href="#footnote_BR" class="fnanchor"><sup>[BR]</sup></a> Island, and of +the Moors they took there.</span></p> + +<p>"Just as much", said Antam Gonçalvez, "as the beginning of our voyage +was troubled, so much I hope that our ending will be the better; +trusting in that God who by His mercy hath united us here and saved us +from so great a danger. Wherefore," said he, "as you perceive that by +your landing the Moors here are all forewarned, you know well that +further on from here is an island which is called Ergim; <ins title="Two +lines of text were reversed in the original at this point, and have been +reordered here to make sense.">and there, I trust, if we go by night, we +shall light on some</ins> Moors that we can make captives of. I tell you +this, for I do not intend to undertake any matter without your +counsel."</p> + +<p>And not only did the captains say that this pleased them, but so did +the others also in whose presence all had been spoken; who made haste +that there might be no great delay in performing this. And as soon as +the sun began to hide the rays of his brightness, and the twilight of +night filled the air with its obscurity, they were all ready <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[pg 105]</a></span>in +their boats; taking with them as many people as they saw would be wanted +for their defence; each captain putting another in charge of his caravel +in place of himself, with orders that as soon as morning dawned they +should come and look for them by the said island. And so the men in the +boats set off, as had been ordered, and a little after midnight they +arrived at the said island; on which they landed and made straight for +the native settlement, but they only found there one blackamoor and his +daughter, whom they carried off.</p> + +<p>And the Moor by signs made them understand that, if they went to the +mainland, they would find a settlement of Moors on the sea shore, +showing them himself the way to the spot. And upon this, they decided to +rest there the whole of the following day, for their deed could not be +performed except by their arriving at night; and so they spent the day, +partly in sleep, partly in eating and drinking; and especially did they +delight themselves in the goodness of the water, for of this there was +great abundance to be found there. And when night came, they started +again, rowing briskly to the point which the Moor had indicated to them +by signs before. And this was a marvellous thing; that as soon as one of +the natives was captured, he took a delight in shewing to the enemy, not +only his neighbours and friends, but even his wife and children. And so +pursuing their way, some of them became doubtful of that project; +thinking that they were going with too little advisement; in that they +did not know how great was the number of our enemies, nor how they were +equipped for defence. But the words of these men did not have much +effect; because when the wills of men are eager for such deeds as these, +they do not often wait to take counsel. And arriving at the mainland far +on in the night, they put the Moor in front of them as their guide; but, +through <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[pg +106]</a></span>their difficulty in not being able to understand him, +they delayed so much, that when morning dawned, they were still a great +way distant from the village.</p> + +<p>And the Moors rising up about dawn had sight of them where they were +coming, and like men without heart and deprived of hope, they began to +fly, every one where he perceived he could best take refuge, leaving +behind goods, wives and children, as men who perceived that they had +quite enough to do to save their own lives.</p> + +<p>And our people, who were observing them, when they saw them flee +thus, rejoiced somewhat at being safe from the peril which they had +looked for before; yet on account of the loss which they saw they would +suffer by the flight of them, they could not be very glad. But this +thought had not time to be well considered in their minds, for though +they were wearied, it was not perceptible in the course of their race; +for just as briskly and with as much good will did they hasten on, as at +other times they had done; rising from their beds and seeking to prove +their cunning in the fields hard by those towns where they had been +brought up. And it well appeared with what good will they did it in the +capture of their booty; for though they had sighted it so far off, as we +have said, and the enemy were rested and used to that business, yet they +took twenty-five of them. But agile above all on that day was one +Lawrence Diaz, a dweller in Setuval, who was a servant of the Prince, +for he by himself alone took seven of those natives prisoners. And the +toil was by no one much regarded in comparison of the pleasure with +which they went along the shore to seek the caravels, for it was three +days since they had left them.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BR" id="footnote_BR"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BR">[BR]</a> Arguim.]</p> + +<p class="center p4b"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" +id="Page_107">[pg 107]</a></span>CHAPTER XXXIV.<br /> <span class="ax"> +How John Fernandez came to the caravels.</span></p> + +<p>John Fernandez had now been seven months dwelling in that country,<a +name="fnanchor_N98" id="fnanchor_N98"></a><a href="#footnote_N98" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[98]</sup></a> and it seemeth clear, according to +reason, that at the time Antam Gonçalvez left him he must have settled +to return for him, or to beg the Infant to despatch some other, who +could take him off in this way. And after John Fernandez perceived that +the caravels had had time enough to return from Portugal, he came down +many times to that shore to see if he could have sight of any of them. +And I can well believe that this was his principal care.</p> + +<p>And it happened that those who remained in the caravels, seeking to +fulfil the orders of their chief captains, made sail to the Isle of +Ergim (of which it appeared that they had no knowledge), and passed on +and went cruising up and down for two days until they came to another +land beyond. And a little more than an hour after they had cast anchor, +they saw a man who stood on the land over against them. Quickly one +caravel made ready to go and see who it could be; and making sail toward +him it was not able to go as far in as it wished, because the wind was +off the land. And John Fernandez, seeing the hindrance that the caravel +received, resolved to go along the shore, either hoping that the ship's +boats would be there, or for some other reason; and so went a little +way, till he saw the boats that were coming in search of their ships. +And when he shouted towards where they were coming, the others were very +glad, thinking that he was some Moor who came to them of his own will to +treat about the ransom of some one of these captives; but when they +understood his speech, and he named himself for what he was, they were +yet much more glad; so that they hastened towards him <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[pg 108]</a></span>the +quicker. And I consider, saith our author, what must have been the +appearance of that noble squire, brought up as he had been upon the food +you know, to wit, bread and wine and flesh and other things skilfully +prepared, after living seven months in this fashion, where he could eat +nothing except fish and the milk of camels—for I believe there are +no better cattle in that part—and drinking brackish water, and not +too much of that; and living in a burning hot and sandy land without any +delights. O ye people who live in all the sweetness of Spanish valleys, +who when you chance to miss any part of your accustomed maintenance in +the houses of the lord with whom ye live, will let nothing else be heard +for your complaints—look, if you will, upon the sufferings of this +man, and you will find him worthy to be a great example for anyone who +wisheth to do the will of his Lord by serving him. And we others, who +perchance fast one day in many months by command of the Church, or for +satisfaction of our penance, or in honour of some festival of the +Church, if it be such that we must eat only bread and water, we give up +all that day to sadness. And how many there are who dispense their own +consciences, breaking their fasts to content their bellies. Let us see +if there is one here who, for a single week, would endure a like toil of +his own free will for Christ's sake. I will not say that the impulse of +John Fernandez was not with some regard for his Lord, for I knew this +squire myself, and he was a man of good conscience and a true Catholic +Christian; and since the object of the principal mover<a +name="fnanchor_BS" id="fnanchor_BS"></a><a href="#footnote_BS" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[BS]</sup></a> was so righteous and so holy, as I +have already said in other places, all the other matters set in motion +by him must needs in some way have corresponded to his first +intention.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BS" id="footnote_BS"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BS">[BS]</a> In this action, <i>i.e.</i>, Henry.</p> + +<p class="center p4b"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" +id="Page_109">[pg 109]</a></span>CHAPTER XXXV.<br /> <span class="ax"> +How Antam Gonçalvez went to make the ransom.</span></p> + +<p>If I marvelled before at the endurance of John Fernandez (to wit, his +living in that land and enduring what I have said), little less do I +marvel at the affection which those who dwelt there came to feel for +him. And albeit that his affability was very great towards all other +people, I was astonished it could exist towards these, or how it could +be so felt and returned by such savages; for I am assured that when he +parted from the men among whom he had lived those seven months, many of +them wept with regretful thought. But why do I say so, when I know that +we are all sons of Adam, composed of the same elements, and that we all +receive a soul as reasonable beings? True it is that, in some bodies, +the instruments are not so good for producing virtues as they are in +others, to whom God by His grace hath granted such power; and when men +lack the first principles on which the higher ones depend, they lead a +life little less than bestial. For into three modes is the life of men +divided, as saith the Philosopher. The first are those who live in +contemplation, leaving on one side all other worldly matters and only +occupying themselves in praying and contemplating, and those he calls +demi-gods. And the second are those who live in cities, improving their +estates and trading one with another. And the third are those who live +in the deserts, removed from all conversation,<a name="fnanchor_BT" +id="fnanchor_BT"></a><a href="#footnote_BT" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[BT]</sup></a> who, because they have not +perfectly the use of reason, live as the beasts live; like those who +after the Division of Tongues (which by the will of our Lord God was +made in the Tower of Babylon), spread themselves through the world and +settled there<a name="fnanchor_BU" id="fnanchor_BU"></a><a +href="#footnote_BU" class="fnanchor"><sup>[BU]</sup></a> without +increasing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[pg +110]</a></span>any part of their first stock of knowledge. But yet these +last have their passions like other reasonable creatures; as love, hate, +hope, fear, and the other twelve which all of us naturally have; the +which each one of us setteth in use more or less, according to the grace +he hath of God, for as St. Paul hath said: God is He who worketh in us +the fulfilment of His will. And by these primal passions I hold that +these men were moved to the love of John Fernandez, for which reason +they henceforth felt sorrow at his departure. And it would be very +fitting to speak a little upon these passions, and in what way they are +universal in all men; but I fear to prolong my story, and to weary your +goodwill by lengthening out my words, even though all would be +profitable.<a name="fnanchor_N99" id="fnanchor_N99"></a><a +href="#footnote_N99" class="fnanchor"><sup>[99]</sup></a> So let us +leave the long conferences that there might be among those on board the +caravels at the coming of John Fernandez, and let us only tell how he +said to Antam Gonçalvez that there was hard by there a noble called +Ahude Meymam, and that he wished to traffic with them in the matter of +some blacks whom he had taken; and of this Antam Gonçalvez was very +glad, and put on shore the same John Fernandez, who in a short time +brought a great number of that people there. And, after settling the +matter of hostages, Antam Gonçalvez received two Moors as security; and +he on his side gave two others of those that he had with him. And those +two, who were so given on the part of Antam Gonçalvez while the +exchanges were being made, were taken to the tents of the Moors, where +was a very great number of Moorish women, and those among the best of +that land.</p> + +<p>Now it happened that the Moors raised an uproar among themselves, for +which reason they went out of their dwellings a good way on to the +plain. And the Moorish women, looking upon those two hostages, thought +to try them, shewing a very great desire of lying with them; and those +who thought themselves best favoured shewed themselves <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[pg +111]</a></span>right willingly as naked as when they first came out of +the bellies of their mothers, and so made them other signs sufficiently +unchaste. But seeing that the others<a name="fnanchor_BV" +id="fnanchor_BV"></a><a href="#footnote_BV" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[BV]</sup></a> were more concerned at the terror +they felt (thinking that the tumult of those Moors was warily raised in +order chiefly to cause them injury), the women nevertheless persevered +in their unchaste purpose, making them signs of great security, and +asking them, as could be understood by their gestures, that they should +perform what they sought. But whether this was attempted with deceit, or +whether it was only the wickedness of their nature that urged them to +this, let it be the business of each one to settle as he thinks best. +Great confidence was shown by those Moors in their trafficking, for, in +speaking about their matters, many came boldly on to the ships, bringing +their women with them, who above all desired to see that novelty.<a +name="fnanchor_BW" id="fnanchor_BW"></a><a href="#footnote_BW" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[BW]</sup></a></p> + +<p>And when the noble<a name="fnanchor_BX" id="fnanchor_BX"></a><a +href="#footnote_BX" class="fnanchor"><sup>[BX]</sup></a> concluded his +bargaining, he received some things which pleased him most among those +tendered to him by our men (though they were really small and of little +value), and he gave us for the same nine negroes and a little gold +dust.<a name="fnanchor_N100" id="fnanchor_N100"></a><a +href="#footnote_N100" class="fnanchor"><sup>[100]</sup></a> And upon +the end of this same bargaining, one squire who dwelt in the isle of +Madeira required of Antam Gonçalvez that he should knight him; because, +as I believe, he was of great age and had some lineage of nobility; and, +having a sufficient wealth, he wished to acquire an honourable title for +his sepulchre. He was called Fernam Taavares, and that place was known +from henceforth by the name of the Cape of the Ransom.<a +name="fnanchor_N101" id="fnanchor_N101"></a><a href="#footnote_N101" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[101]</sup></a></p> + +<p>Well would it have pleased me to speak somewhat in this chapter of +the things that John Fernandez saw and learnt in that land; but it is +necessary that I should bring the action of those three caravels to an +end; and afterwards <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" +id="Page_112">[pg 112]</a></span>when I find time I will tell you of +all, that I may pursue my story in the order that seemeth best to +me.</p> + +<p>Now the Moors having left that place, and the caravels sailing on, +those men of ours who were working the sails saw near the shore some 200 +camels, with certain Moors who followed them. And because they seemed to +be very near they went towards them right briskly; but those Moors, +seeing themselves pressed by the others, jumped up lightly upon the +camels and fled upon them. But the camels were more in number than the +men, for which reason some stayed on the spot where they were; and of +these our men killed forty, and the others fled and escaped.</p> + +<p>And so the caravels going on, came nigh to the island of Tider,<a +name="fnanchor_BY" id="fnanchor_BY"></a><a href="#footnote_BY" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[BY]</sup></a><a name="fnanchor_N102" +id="fnanchor_N102"></a><a href="#footnote_N102" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[102]</sup></a> where we have said already there +were many Moors; and seeing near the shore where they were, some houses; +and wishing to know if they could find anything there, they landed. And +perceiving that all was desolate, they had a mind to go further inland; +where they saw two Moors, who were coming in their direction, and our +men, anxious to take them, contended for them. But Antam Gonçalvez, +being advised of their deceit, understood by their countenance that that +movement of theirs was for the purpose of some ambush; for, as to such +confidence shewn by two men against so many, any man of judgment could +understand that it was to essay some stratagem.</p> + +<p>"Go", said Antam Gonçalvez to two of his men, "a little way inland +(signing to them whither they were to proceed), and you will see the +treachery of these dogs." And so, as the Christians advanced from the +side of the shore, the Moors came out against them; and being near, they +hurled their spears, and the Christians ran after them till they came to +the place that had been marked out for them before, and so turned back. +And <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[pg +113]</a></span>as our men began to retire to the ships the ambuscade was +discovered; and those who were of it very soon came down upon the shore, +so that, if our people had not retired thus sharply, they could not have +escaped from these without very great loss. For the Moors, perceiving +their advantage, shewed clearly enough their desire, entering into the +water as far as they could; whence, had they not been kept at a distance +by the cross-bows, they would have followed still, even by swimming, in +order to accomplish their desire of injuring our men.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BT" id="footnote_BT"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BT">[BT]</a> Of men.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BU" id="footnote_BU"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BU">[BU]</a> In the deserts.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BV" id="footnote_BV"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BV">[BV]</a> Our men.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BW" id="footnote_BW"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BW">[BW]</a> Of the ships.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BX" id="footnote_BX"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BX">[BX]</a> Ahude Meymam.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BY" id="footnote_BY"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BY">[BY]</a> <i>I.e.</i>, Tiger.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER XXXVI.<br /> <span class="ax"> How they +took the Moors at Cape Branco.</span></p> + +<p>"Let us return", said Antam Gonçalvez, "to Cape Branco, for I have +heard say that on the side opposite the sunset there is a village, in +which we could find some people of whom we could make booty, if we took +it suddenly and by surprise." All said that this was good counsel, and +that they should put it in action at once; and, for this thirty-eight +men were set apart, who were most ready for the service, and they landed +and went to the village straightway, at the beginning of the night, but +found nothing in it. Then said some of them, <ins title="Open quote +moved here, instead of before the prior word, 'Then'">"It</ins> would be +well for us to return to our boats and row as far as we may along the +land, till we see morning; and as soon as that shall happen, we will +land and go towards those Moors to hold the passage of the Cape; because +they needs must go along the said Cape before they can retreat into the +upland. And as they have with them women and children, they will be +forced to rest part of the night, and though they travel continually, +they cannot go so fast as to prevent us from passing them." And in this +counsel they were all <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" +id="Page_114">[pg 114]</a></span>agreed, and rowing all the night +without taking any rest (because in such places and times slothfulness +is the greatest cause of loss), the night came to its end. And when the +clearness of the day was beginning, twenty-eight of them landed, for the +others stayed to guard the boats. And those that were on land went on, +till they arrived at a certain high place, from which they perceived +they could keep a good watch over all the parts round about; and +concealing themselves as well as they could on account of the rising of +the sun, they saw Moors coming towards them, men and women, with their +boys and girls, in all seventy or eighty, as they reckoned. And without +any further speech or counsel they rushed out among them, shouting out +their accustomed cries, "St. George", "Portugal". And at their attack +the Moors were so dismayed that most of them at once sought relief in +flight, and only seven or eight stood on their defence, of whom there +now fell dead at the first charge three or four. And these being +despatched, there was no more toil of fight, and only he who knew +himself light of foot thought he had any remedy for his life; but our +men did not stand idle, for if their enemies took care to run they did +not for their part let themselves rest; for at such a time toil of the +kind that they underwent is true rest for the conquerors. And so they +captured in all fifty-five, whom they took with them to the boats. Of +their joy I will not speak, because reason will tell you what it must +have been, both of those who took the captives and of the others on +board the caravels, when they came with their prize. And after this +capture they agreed to turn back to the kingdom;<a name="fnanchor_BZ" +id="fnanchor_BZ"></a><a href="#footnote_BZ" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[BZ]</sup></a> both because they perceived that +they could accomplish no more to their profit in that part, and +especially because of the deficiency of victuals. For there was not +enough <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[pg +115]</a></span>to last any long time for them and for the prisoners they +had with them; and all the more as the way<a name="fnanchor_CA" +id="fnanchor_CA"></a><a href="#footnote_CA" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[CA]</sup></a> was long, and they knew not what +kind of a voyage they would have.</p> + +<p>Wherefore they guided their caravels towards Portugal, making +straight for Lisbon, where they arrived quite content with their booty. +But who would not take pleasure at seeing the multitude of people that +ran out to see those caravels? for as soon as they had lowered their +sails, the officers who collected the royal dues<a name="fnanchor_N103" +id="fnanchor_N103"></a><a href="#footnote_N103" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[103]</sup></a> took boats from the shore to find +out whence the ships came and what they brought; and as soon as they +returned and the news passed from one to another, in a short time there +was such a multitude in the caravels that they were nearly swamped. Nor +were there less on the next day, when they took the captives out of the +ships and wished to convey them to a palace of the Infant, a good way +distant from the Ribeira.<a name="fnanchor_N104" +id="fnanchor_N104"></a><a href="#footnote_N104" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[104]</sup></a> For from all the other parts of +the city they flocked on to those streets by which they had to convey +them. Of a surety, saith the author of this history, many of those I +spoke of at first, who murmured over the commencement of this action, +might well rebuke themselves now, for there was no one there who would +be then counted as of that number. And the noise of the people was so +great, praising the great virtues of the Infant (when they saw them take +the captives in bonds along those streets), that if anyone had dared to +speak in the contrary sense he would very soon have found it well to +recant. But perchance it would have availed him little, for the populace +(and most of all in a time of excitement) but rarely pardoneth him who +contradicteth what it willeth to hold established. Nor doth it appear to +me that there could be a man of such evil condition that he could speak +against so manifest a good, from which followed such great profits.<a +name="fnanchor_N105" id="fnanchor_N105"></a><a href="#footnote_N105" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[105]</sup></a> <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[pg 116]</a></span>The Infant was then in +the district of Viseu, from which he sent to receive his fifth; and, of +those who remained, the captains made a sale in the city, from which all +received great advantage.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_BZ" id="footnote_BZ"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_BZ">[BZ]</a> Of Portugal.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_CA" id="footnote_CA"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_CA">[CA]</a> Home.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER XXXVII.<br /> <span class="ax"> How the +caravel of Gonçalo Pacheco and two other ships went to the isle of +Ergim.</span></p> + +<p>As the town of Lisbon is the most noble in the Kingdom of Portugal, +so likewise its inhabitants (if we reckon the most for all) are the +noblest and have the largest properties. And let no one be so simple as +to take this word in a wrong sense, and think that this nobility is +specially to be found in them<a name="fnanchor_CB" +id="fnanchor_CB"></a><a href="#footnote_CB" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[CB]</sup></a> more than in those of other cities +and towns—for the Fidalgos and men of high family are noble +wheresoever they be found—only I speak generally, because as Paulo +Vergeryo said, in the instruction that he gave to the youth of the +gentry, the splendour of the great city is a large part of nobility. And +they,<a name="fnanchor_CC" id="fnanchor_CC"></a><a href="#footnote_CC" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[CC]</sup></a> seeing before their eyes what +wealth those ships brought home, acquired in so short a time, and with +such safety, considered, some of them, how they could get a part of that +profit.<a name="fnanchor_N106" id="fnanchor_N106"></a><a +href="#footnote_N106" class="fnanchor"><sup>[106]</sup></a></p> + +<p>Now, there was in that city a squire of noble lineage, which he had +not soiled as regardeth goodness and valour, called Gonçalo Pacheco, who +was one of the Infant's Court and was High Treasurer of Ceuta, a man of +great wealth and one who always kept ships at sea against the enemies of +the Kingdom.<a name="fnanchor_N107" id="fnanchor_N107"></a><a +href="#footnote_N107" class="fnanchor"><sup>[107]</sup></a> And it +seemeth that he considered of this matter, and wrote at once to the +Infant to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[pg +117]</a></span>permit him to arm a fine caravel, which he had lately had +built for his service; and the same allowance he asked for two other +caravels which sought to accompany him. He had little delay or hindrance +in getting the licence he desired, and much less in making ready the +matters that were necessary for the armament. Then Gonçalo Pacheco made +captain of his caravel one Dinis Eanes de Graã, nephew of his wife in +the first degree, and a squire of the Regent's;<a name="fnanchor_CD" +id="fnanchor_CD"></a><a href="#footnote_CD" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[CD]</sup></a> and in the other caravels went +their owners, to wit, Alvaro Gil, an Assayer of the Mint, and Mafaldo, a +dweller in Setuval; and they, hoisting on their ships the banners of the +Order of Christ, made their way towards Cape Branco.<a +name="fnanchor_N108" id="fnanchor_N108"></a><a href="#footnote_N108" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[108]</sup></a> And arriving there they agreed +all together not to go to the village, which stood one league from the +Cape, by reason of the writing they found (which Antam Gonçalvez had +placed there), in which he advised those who should pass by that place +not to take the trouble of going against that village with any hope of +profit, because he had been in it and found it empty. And they agreed to +go and look for another, which was two leagues from there; and in the +result they came to it and found it likewise empty. But there chanced to +be in that company among those who went to that village, one John +Gonçalvez a Gallician, who was a pilot, and had already been in that +land with Antam Gonçalvez, when he had returned there this last time to +search for John Fernandez; and it appeareth that as soon as he reached +Lisbon he had joined their company. "And now," said that John Gonçalvez, +"you may make a great profit in this business if you will follow my +counsel; because I have faith in God that He will give us a prize worth +having; for I have already been in this land and seen how the others +acted who had a better knowledge of it." All said with one voice that +they were very content and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" +id="Page_118">[pg 118]</a></span>that they thanked him much, and that he +should say at once<a name="fnanchor_CE" id="fnanchor_CE"></a><a +href="#footnote_CE" class="fnanchor"><sup>[CE]</sup></a> what he thought +best. "You know," said he, "that the caravels in which Diego Affonso and +Garcia Homem came, went on along this coast frightening the Moors before +Antam Gonçalvez reached it. And when Antam Gonçalvez arrived he agreed +with them to go to Ergim, and when they came there, the islanders were +already prepared; wherefore they all fled away, and there only remained +one of them, with one Moorish girl his daughter, whom they brought to +Portugal. And we saw the houses on the island, which were capable of +holding a very large number of people, and it was evident that the Moors +had only just set out, and we went forth and caught twenty-five of them. +And I believe that since we were so recently in this island the Moors +will not now be ready and on the watch for this year, and so will have +returned to the island; and if you follow my guidance, with the grace of +God, I shall know how to take you to a place where I imagine they are; +and if we light upon them the booty cannot but be good." "How can it +be," answered some, "that the Moors should so quickly return to a place +where they know they have been looked for before? For that which you are +very sure of must be much more doubtful to us, and that is the brevity +of the time which you make the principal cause for their return, and +which seems to us exactly the contrary, because their suspicion, since +it is so manifest, should not give them a sense of security so soon." +Nevertheless, the captains did not wish to hear any more reasoning, but +as men settled in their first counsel, commanded to launch the boats +from the ships and made themselves ready with the crews they thought to +be necessary; and because it had already been ordained among them that +each captain should land in turn, the lot fell upon Mafaldo for this +expedition, and the others <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" +id="Page_119">[pg 119]</a></span>stayed in their caravels. And, +moreover, they were all commanded that no one should disobey the order +of the pilot, from whom I have said before that they received counsel. +And they rowed their boats so that about midnight they were in the +harbour of that island, close to the settlement; and, leaping on shore, +Mafaldo said that they should consider how it was still deep night, and +that they were so near to the place that, if they attacked it at this +time, by reason of the darkness many would be able to escape; or that +perchance they were resting outside at a distance from there, not having +got over their former fright; and therefore his counsel was to surround +the village, and, as day was breaking, to attack it. Mafaldo was a man +who was well accustomed to this business, for he had been many times in +the Moorish traffic; so that all considered his advice very +profitable.</p> + +<p>And so, in going to place themselves where they had before agreed on, +they lighted on a road which ran from the village to a fountain; and +they stood a little while waiting there; and upon this they saw a girl +coming for water, who was quickly taken, and likewise a Moor (who +shortly after came along the same path), whom they asked by signs if +there were there many people, and he answered in the same way that there +were not more than seven. "Since this is so," said Mafaldo, "there is no +reason for us to wait any longer for the morning, but let us make for +them, for with so few we have no need of so many cautions." And in a +word, the village was quickly encompassed and those seven were all +captured. And Mafaldo at once took aside one of them and began to ask +him (as well as he could, for a man who had no other interpreter) where +were the other Moors of that island? And the Moor made signs that they +were on terra firma, where they had gone in the fear they had of the +Christians; and he offered himself at once to guide them to the spot, +for they lay near to the sea. And <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[pg 120]</a></span>Mafaldo, when he learnt +this, came and spoke with his company; asking them if they thought well +to go in search of those Moors? And because where there are many heads +there are many judgments, certain doubts began to appear among them; +some saying that such an expedition was very questionable, because the +Moor could not say, nor they understand, the number of the Moors; and +even if he did tell it, that he would speak it treacherously, with the +intention of taking them among such a number that they could not get the +victory over them. "Then," said Mafaldo, "if in every matter you wish to +seek for difficulties, they will never fail you, and if in such deeds +you will go to the very end of their reason, late or never will you +perform anything notable. Let us go, with God's aid," said he, "and not +let our courage fail, for He will be with us to-day of His mercy." All +the rest agreed that it was better to start at once; and they left there +eight Moors, and with them six men to guard them; and took with them the +man who had first told them where the others lay. And it chanced that +one of the eight that had been left there escaped from our men who were +guarding him, and passed over to the mainland in a canoe to give news to +the others who lay there (in chase of whom the Christians were started), +and related to them how he and the rest of the eight had been made +prisoners. But he knew not to advise them of any matter that pertained +to their hurt, for it appeared that he did not perceive what was coming +upon them; and although the others were grieved at the news, they +supported it with the patience with which men bear the troubles of their +fellows.<a name="fnanchor_N109" id="fnanchor_N109"></a><a +href="#footnote_N109" class="fnanchor"><sup>[109]</sup></a> And so they +let themselves rest and be easy, and that man with them. And after the +Christians entered the boats, they set out at once in the night for the +point which the Moor had shewn them, and proceeded the space of two +leagues; and landing they followed the Moor to the place where he showed +them, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[pg +121]</a></span>by his signs, that they were nigh at hand. And there they +all halted, sending on one of them who was called Diego Gil, who was to +see if he could find any trace of the people; and he went on until he +saw the houses; and approaching nearer, he heard an infant cry.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_CB" id="footnote_CB"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_CB">[CB]</a> Of Lisbon.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_CC" id="footnote_CC"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_CC">[CC]</a> The people of Lisbon.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_CD" id="footnote_CD"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_CD">[CD]</a> D. Pedro.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_CE" id="footnote_CE"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_CE">[CE]</a> Lit. in good time.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER XXXVIII.<br /> <span class="ax"> How +Mafaldo took forty-six Moors.</span></p> + +<p>Diego Gil was not slothful in returning and telling his news to the +others, and they agreed that it was best to wait there for the morning; +for, in the island (as they said), by reason of the darkness of the +night, many of the natives could escape,—for such was their +boldness that they had no doubt of the capture of these people. And so +they stayed on, waiting until near the dawn, which to most of them +seemed a delay more than was reasonable, such was their desire of +getting to the end of that action. And oft-times it happeneth in other +parts (where through necessity men have to watch) that when that hour +cometh they cannot bear up without sleeping, so much are they oppressed +by sleep. But it was not so with these, for there was not one who was +not very sure of himself against such an event. And Mafaldo (on whose +care that action most depended), as soon as he saw the time had come for +departure began to speak to them thus: "Friends, the time is near in +which we have to finish that for which we have toiled so hard in this +part of the night. But we are in an enemy's land, where we know not if +we have to deal with many or with few. Wherefore I call upon you to +remember your honour, and each one of you to act bravely, and not to +faint in the execution of this deed. And now," said he, "let us go on +our way, for God will be with us."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[pg +122]</a></span>The space was but short from where the enemy lay, and +they, seeing themselves surrounded, began to run out of their huts; and, +like men more full of terror than of courage, put all their hope in +flight. And at last they took captive of them forty-six, besides some +who were killed at the first shock. And though the action was not one of +any great danger, we will not omit to give the advantage of labour to +those who behaved the best, and who would not have shown less strength +in the fight (had it happened), however great it might have been. Now, +besides Mafaldo (who was Captain), Diego Gil, and Alvaro Vasquez and Gil +Eannes, (but not that knight of whom we spoke before), toiled manfully, +as men who showed well that they were fit for greater deeds than this. +And so the booty of that night was fifty-three Moorish prisoners.<a +name="fnanchor_N110" id="fnanchor_N110"></a><a href="#footnote_N110" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[110]</sup></a></p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER XXXIX.<br /> <span class="ax"> How they +landed another time, and of the things that they did.</span></p> + +<p>We can well understand, from the hap of these men, that the greater +part of the actions achieved in this world are more subject to fortune +than to reason. And what man in his right judgment could trust in the +motions of the head, or the signs of the hands, which a Moor made him? +Might it not chance, too, that that Moor, for the purpose of getting +free, or perchance to get vengeance over his enemies, should show them +one thing for another, and (under pretence of bringing them to a place +where, on his showing, our people might expect to win a victory) should +lead them into the middle of such a host of foes that they would escape +little less than dead? Certainly no judgment in the world could think +the contrary. Yet I believe that the chief cause of these matters lay in +the understanding <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" +id="Page_123">[pg 123]</a></span>that our men already had of these +people,<a name="fnanchor_CF" id="fnanchor_CF"></a><a href="#footnote_CF" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[CF]</sup></a> perceiving their cunning to be but +small in this part of the world.<a name="fnanchor_N111" +id="fnanchor_N111"></a><a href="#footnote_N111" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[111]</sup></a></p> + +<p>So Mafaldo arrived with his booty, where he had such a reception from +the other captains as the presence of the booty, gained by his toil, +required of them. And making an end of recounting his joyful victory, he +said he thought they ought to ask each one of the Moors they brought +with them if, peradventure, beyond that settlement where they were +taken, there was any other in which they could make any booty? And after +getting the consent of all, he took aside one of those Moors in order to +put him the aforesaid question; and he answered that there was.<a +name="fnanchor_CG" id="fnanchor_CG"></a><a href="#footnote_CG" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[CG]</sup></a> And they were already so much +emboldened, that they waited not to ask if the enemy were many or few, +or how many fighting men they numbered, or any of the other matters +which it was fitting for them to ask in such a case. But like men who +had fully determined upon their action, they started off the same +afternoon, where by the signs of that Moor they were guided to a +village, at which on their arrival they found nothing they could make +booty of. And when they threatened the Moor for this, he made them +understand that, as the people were not there, they must be in another +settlement not very far from this. But here they only found one old Moor +in the last infirmity; and seeing him thus at the point of death they +left him there to make his end; not wishing to molest that little part +of life that from his appearance was left him. And as it appeareth, the +Moors, having already perceived the Christians to be among them, had +left that village and moved off to another part of the country. And so +our people who were there took counsel not to go further on, because it +seemed to be a toil without hope of profit; but they agreed to return +there in the future, presuming that <span class='pagenum'><a +name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[pg 124]</a></span>the Moors, knowing of +their coming and departure, would feel secure and return to their huts. +But that was not so, for the Moors that time went a very long way off; +where they still felt fearful of being sought out, even though they were +so distant. True it is that our men (following their counsel as already +taken) went to their caravels, from which they again returned to the +village; and seeing they could not find anything, but only that Moor +whom they had left before, it now seemed better to them to take him with +them. Well might that poor man curse his fortune; that in so short a +time it revoked his first sentence, conforming so many wills on each +occasion regarding the fate of his happiness. And other times also our +men went on shore, but they found nothing of any profit, and so returned +to their ships.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_CF" id="footnote_CF"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_CF">[CF]</a> Moors.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_CG" id="footnote_CG"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_CG">[CG]</a> Such a settlement.</p> + +<p class="center p4b">CHAPTER XL.<br /> <span class="ax"> How Alvaro +Vasquez took the seven Moors.</span></p> + +<p>Great doubts were spread in the counsel of our men by the caution and +preparedness that they perceived in the Moors of that land; and they now +saw it would be necessary to seek other parts, in which there was no +knowledge of their arrival. And some said that it would be well to go to +Tider,<a name="fnanchor_CH" id="fnanchor_CH"></a><a href="#footnote_CH" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[CH]</sup></a> because they knew there were many +Moors there. Others said that their going to that part would be hurtful; +because their enemy was so numerous that the fighting would be very +unequal; and to attempt such a matter would be nothing but an insane +boldness. For, being so few as they were, such an attempt would appear +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[pg +125]</a></span>monstrous to any prudent person; when the injury would +not only be the loss of their bodies, but shame before the presence of +the living as well. Others again said that they should push on; and if, +perchance, they could make no booty in the land of the Moors, that they +should go to the land of the Negroes; for it would be a great disgrace +to them to return with such small results from places where the others +had gained their fill of riches. This saying was praised by all; and so +they set out thence, and, going on their voyage for a space of +thirty-five leagues beyond Tider,<a name="fnanchor_CI" +id="fnanchor_CI"></a><a href="#footnote_CI" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[CI]</sup></a> all three caravels waited for one +another, and the captains spoke among themselves. And they agreed that +it would be well to send some people out to see if it was a land where +they could make any gain. And taking out the boats from the ships, +Alvaro Vasquez, that squire of the Infant's, said that it seemed to him +it would be well to order two or three men to go out on one side, and as +many others on another, to see if they could get any sight or knowledge +of the Moors; by whom at least they might understand who lived in that +land, that they might come and warn the others who had to attack them. +All agreed in that counsel, and selected four scouts for each side, +among whom Alvaro Vasquez was one; and each party following their path +to the end, the former came to a place where were some nets, which the +Moors had only just left. And Alvaro Vasquez with the others went on so +far that at night they came upon a track of Moors; and do not wonder +because I say "at night",—for perchance you think it doubtful if +they could tell such a track in the darkness of the night. Wherefore you +must understand that in that country there is no rain as here in +Portugal, nor is the lower sky overclouded as we see it in these Western +parts; and besides the brightness of the moon (when there is one), the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[pg +126]</a></span>stars of themselves give so much light that it is easy +for one man to recognise another, even though they be a little space +apart. So that track was found; yet, because they saw no reason to put +reliance in it, they would not return to their captains until they had a +more certain understanding of the matter. And so going on, they came +where the Moors lay, and saw them so close that they felt they could not +turn back without being perceived. Therefore they went for the Moors +with a rush; and with their accustomed cries leapt among them, being +twelve in number. And such was their<a name="fnanchor_CJ" +id="fnanchor_CJ"></a><a href="#footnote_CJ" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[CJ]</sup></a> dismay that they did not look at +the number of their enemy, but like conquered people began to flee; +though this was of little service to them, for only two escaped, while +three were killed and seven taken. And thus, returning to their ships, +our men were received as those who deserved honour for their toil and +bravery; for although we write some part of their desert, we have not +done so as perfectly as they performed it, for the knowledge of a thing +can never be so proper by its likeness as when it is known by itself; +and yet historians, to avoid prolixity, often summarize things that +would be far greater if these were related in their true effects.<a +name="fnanchor_N112" id="fnanchor_N112"></a><a href="#footnote_N112" +class="fnanchor"><sup>[112]</sup></a></p> + +<p>The captaincy for that turn was in the hands of Dinis Eannes, as we +have said already; and he took aside one of those Moors to know if there +were any other people in that land. And the Moor answered by signs that +there was no other settlement near there, but only a village very far +distant from that part, in which there were many people, but few of them +men of war. "Now we shall make small profit by our coming here," said +Dinis Eannes to his company, "if we are not ready to endure bodily +toils; and though this village be so far distant as this Moor maketh me +to understand, I should think it would be well for us to go to <span +class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[pg 127]</a></span>it, +for all the amount of our gain dependeth on our labour." All agreed to +go, in any case, where some profit could be got; and taking that Moor +for their guide, they went on a space of three leagues, till they +arrived at that village which the Moor had named to them before. But +they found there nothing by which they could get any profit, for the +Moors had already removed far off. So they returned again, not without +great weariness; for what they felt most sorely, after going through +such great toil, was the finding of nothing that they had sought.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_CH" id="footnote_CH"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_CH">[CH]</a> <i>I.e.</i>, Tiger.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_CI" id="footnote_CI"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_CI">[CI]</a> <i>I.e.</i>, Tiger.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_CJ" id="footnote_CJ"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_CJ">[CJ]</a> "Their" refers to the Moors.</p> + +<div class="figcenter"><p class="p4b center"> + <img src="images/i207design.jpg" + width="250" height="133" alt="Illustration: Design 4" + title="Design 4" /></p> +</div> + +<h5>LONDON:<br /> +PRINTED AT THE BEDFORD PRESS, 20 AND 21, BEDFORDBURY, STRAND, W.C.</h5> + +<p class="p4"> </p> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/i209map.jpg" width="412" height="500" alt="THE COAST OF +N.W. AFRICA, ACCORDING TO THE PIZZIGANI MAP, 1567." title="THE COAST OF +N.W. AFRICA, ACCORDING TO THE PIZZIGANI MAP, 1567." /><p +class="caption sm">THE COAST OF N.W. AFRICA, ACCORDING TO THE PIZZIGANI +MAP, 1567.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="p4b" /> + +<div class='tnote'> <h4>Transcriber's Notes:</h4> +<p> Volume 1 ends with the illustration of the Coast of N.W. Africa. +Endnotes and index pertaining to Volume 1 have been added, below, for +the convenience of the reader; originally, they were included only in +Volume 2.</p> + +<p>Obsolete and archaic spellings were retained. Punctuation was +standardized. Footnotes were moved to the end of the chapter to which +they pertain.</p> + +<p>There were two endnotes numbered 75. The second was renumbered as +75A. The anchor for 75A was missing in the original. Chapter XXVII +contained three anchors to endnote 84. They all refer to the same +endnote, and are renumbered here as [84], [84a] and [84b]. The second +one was numbered [85] in the original text.</p> + +<p>The remaining changes are indicated by dotted lines under the text. +Scroll the mouse over the word and the original text will <ins +title="Original reads 'apprear'"> appear</ins>.</p> +</div> + +<p class="center p4">NOTES.</p> + +<hr class="c10" /> + +<p class="center"><span class="ax">[<i>N.B.—The page references +are to the Hakluyt Society's translation</i>].</span></p> + +<hr class="c10" /> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N1" id="footnote_N1"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N1">1</a> (p. 2). <i>St. Thomas, who was the most +clear teacher among the Doctors of Theology</i>, i.e., St. Thomas +Aquinas, greatest of the Schoolmen ("Doctor Angelicus"); born at Rocca +Secca, near Aquino, 1225 (according to some 1227); Professor of Theology +at Cologne 1248, at Paris 1253 and 1269, at Rome 1261, etc., at Naples +1272 (Doctor of Theology, 1257). Died at Fossa Nuova, in the diocese of +Terracino, 1274; canonised 1323; declared a Doctor of the Church, 1567; +author, among many other writings, of the <i>Summa Theologiae</i>, the +greatest monument of Roman divinity. Aquinas completed the fusion of the +re-discovered Aristotelian philosophy with church doctrine, which in the +earlier Middle Ages had been hampered by the imperfect knowledge of +Aristotelian texts in the Latin world, but which had for some time been +preparing, <i>e.g.</i>, in the work of Peter Lombard (d. 1164), and even +earlier. Aquinas also marks the temporary intellectual victory of the +Church, in the thirteenth century, over the free-thinking and disruptive +tendencies which had shown themselves so threatening in the twelfth. See +K. Werner, <i>Thomas von Aquino</i>, Regensburg, 1858-59; Feugueray, +<i>Essai sur les doctrines politiques de St. T. d'A.</i>, Paris, 1857; +De Liechty, <i>Albert le grand et St. T. d'A.</i>, Paris, 1880. Encken, +<i>Die Philosophie des T. von A.</i>, Halle, 1886.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N2" id="footnote_N2"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N2">2</a> (p. 3). <i>When the King John ... went +to take Ceuta</i>, viz., in 1415, in company with his sons, Edward +(Duarte), Pedro, and Henry, and a force of 50,000 soldiers. See +especially Oliveira Martins, <i>Os Filhos de D. João I</i> (1891), ch. +ii; Azurara's <i>Chronica de Ceuta</i>; Mat. Pisano, <i>De bello +Septensi</i>; Major's <i>Henry Navigator</i>, 1868 ed., pp. 26-43; +"Life" of the same, in <i>Heroes of the Nations Series</i>, ch. +viii.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N3" id="footnote_N3"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N3">3</a> (p. 4). <i>Duke John, Lord of +Lançam.</i>—On this Santarem has the following: [The Duke of whom +our author speaks was probably John of Lançon, one of the Paladins of +Charles the Great, concerning whose deeds there exists a MS. poem of the +thirteenth century in the Collection of MSS. in the Royal Library of +Paris (No. 8; 203). This reference cannot be to John I, Duke of Alençon, +seeing that it does not appear that any history of his deeds was ever +written].—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N4" id="footnote_N4"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N4">4</a> (p. 4). <i>Deeds of the Cid Ruy +Diaz.</i>—[Here our author probably refers to the poem of the Cid, +copies of which were spread through Spain from the twelfth century (see +the <i>Coleccion de Poesias castellanas anteriores al siglo</i> XV, +Madrid, 1779-90). In the time of Azurara there was no <i>one</i> +chronicle of the Cid's deeds; see Herder, <i>Der Cid nach Spanischen +Romanzen besungen</i> 1857(-59), who translates eighty romances +published on this subject; Southey's <i>Chronicle of the Cid</i>, +London, 1808].—S. See also <i>The Cid</i> (H. B. Clarke) in +<i>Heroes of the Nations Series</i>; R. P. A. Dozy, <i>Hist. Pol-Litt. +d'Espagne, Moyen-âge</i>, i, 320-706; <i>Le Cid ... Nouveaux +Documents</i>, 1860; J. Cornu, <i>Etudes</i>, 1881 (<i>Romania</i>, x, +75-99); Canton Zalazar, <i>Los restos del Cid</i>, 1883.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N5" id="footnote_N5"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N5">5</a> (p. 4). <i>The Count Nunalvarez +Pereira.</i>—The "Holy Constable," one of the Portuguese leaders +in the Nationalist rising of 1383-5, which set the House of Aviz on the +Portuguese throne. Azurara is credited with the (doubtful) authorship of +a work on the miracles of the Holy Constable. See the Introduction to +vol. i of this Edition, pp. liii-liv, and Oliveira Martins' <i>Vida de +Nun'Alvares</i>, Lisbon 1893; also the latter's <i>Os Filhos de D. João +I</i>, chs. i, ii; Major's <i>Henry Navigator</i>, pp. 11, 13, 14, 16, +17, 21, 78.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N6" id="footnote_N6"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N6">6</a> (p. 5). <i>Pillars of Hercules</i>, or +Straits of Gibraltar; called by some Arabic geographers (<i>e.g.</i>, +Mas'udi) the Strait of the Idols of Copper. The conquest of Ceuta in +1415 gave Portugal a great hold over this "narrow passage," and in 1418 +Prince Henry aspired to seize Gibraltar, which would have made his +country complete master of the same, but his project was discountenanced +by his father's government. We may refer to Galvano's story of a +Portuguese ship starting from here, shortly after 1447 (?), being driven +out to certain islands in the Atlantic; to the Infant's settlement at +Sagres being in tolerable proximity; and to Azurara's (and others') +reckoning of distances along new-discovered coasts from the same. See +Azurara, <i>Guinea</i>, ch. v.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N7" id="footnote_N7"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N7">7</a> (p. 5). <i>The Church of Santiago</i>, +i.e., St. James of Compostella, in Galicia.—[In this passage our +author refers to the celebrated diploma of King D. Ramiro about the +battle of Clavijo, though he does not cite that document, and also to +the <i>Chronicle of Sampiro</i>. On these two documents the reader can +consult Masdeu, <i>Historia Critica de España</i>, tom. xii, p. 214, +etc.; tom. xiii, 390; and tom. xvi—Voto de S. Thiago Suppl. +1.].—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N8" id="footnote_N8"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N8">8</a> (p. 7). <i>Sentences of St. Thomas and +St. Gregory</i>, i.e., of St. Thomas Aquinas and Pope (St.) Gregory the +Great (<span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 590-604).</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N9" id="footnote_N9"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N9">9</a> (p. 7). <i>Garamantes</i>, +<i>etc.</i>—Properly the inhabitants of Fezzan—"Garama," or +"Phazania" in classical language. <ins title = "Garamantes ... ethnos +mega ischyrôs">Γαράμαντεσ ... ἔθνοσ μέγα ἰσχυρῶσ</ins> says Herodotus +(iv, 183). Yet like the Nasamones and other nations of this part, they +are apparently conceived of by H. as a people confined to a single oasis +of the desert. The Garamantes' land, H. adds, is thirty days' journey +from the Lotos Eaters on the North coast of Africa, which is about the +true distance from Mourzuk, in Fezzan, to Tripoli (see the journeys of +Captain Lyon in 1820, and of Colonel Monteil in 1892). The oasis, ten +days' journey beyond the Garamantes, inhabited by the Atarantes or +Atlantes, may be the Herodotean conception of Tibesti.</p> + +<p class="footnote">Compare the story, in Herodotus, ii, 32, 33, of five +Nasamonians, from the shore of the Great Syrtes, crossing the deserts to +the south of Libya to an inhabited region, far west of their home, with +fruit trees, extensive marshes, a city inhabited by Black People of +small stature, a river flowing from west to east containing crocodiles: +probably either the modern Bornu or one of the Negro states on the +Middle Niger.</p> + +<p class="footnote">Pliny (<i>Hist Nat.</i>, v, 5, §36) records the +conquest of the Garamantes by Cornelius Balbus in <span +class="smcap">b.c.</span> 20, when the Romans captured Cydamus (Ghadames +in south-west Tripoli) and Garama ("clarissimum oppidum," the Germa of +the present day, whence the name "Garamantes").</p> + +<p class="footnote">In the time of Vespasian the more direct route from +Œa or Tripoli to Phazania was discovered (Pliny, <i>l. c.</i>). In the +reign of Tiberius, during the revolt of Tacfarinas in Numidia, the +Garamantes supported the rebel, and after his defeat sent to Rome to sue +for pardon, an unusual embassy, as Tacitus remarks ("Garamantum legati, +raro in urbe visi"). From Fezzan, in later days (about time of Trajan?) +started the remarkable expeditions of Septimius Flaccus and Julius +Maternus to the "Ethiopian land" (Sudan) and Agisymba (Region of Lake +Chad?) in the south, which reached inhabited country after a march of +three and four months respectively across the desert (see Ptolemy, i, 8, +§5, from Marinus of Tyre, now lost except in Pt.'s citations). The +original conquest by Balbus is probably referred to in Virgil's <i>Æneid +VI</i>, 795, in the prophecy of Augustus' triumphs:—</p> + +<p class="footnote poem"> <span class="i2">"Super et Garamantes et Indos +Proferet imperium."</span> </p> + +<p class="footnote"><i>The Ethiopians ... under the Shadow of Mount +Caucasus</i> is an extreme instance of the mediæval geography met with +so frequently in Azurara, as no African "Mt. Caucasus" has ever been +identified, even as a barbarous misnomer for one of the African ranges; +while Ethiopia, however confused the reference, always starts from the +ancient knowledge of the Sudan, and especially the Eastern or Egyptian +Sudan (see below).</p> + +<p class="footnote">The Caucasus, here used, perhaps, like "Taurus," or +"Alps," in the general sense of "lofty mountains," was a great centre of +mediæval myth. Here was situated, according to most authorities, the +wall of Alexander, when with an iron rampart he shut up Gog and Magog, +and "twenty-two nations of evil men" from invading the fertile countries +of the south (see <i>Koran</i>, chs. xv, xviii; the Arabic record of +"Sallam the interpreter," sent to the Caucasus about 840 by the Caliph +Wathek-Billah; Ibn Khordadbeh, c. 880; St. Jerome <i>On Genesis</i>, x, +2, and <i>On Ezekiel</i>, xxxviii-ix; St. Augustine, <i>De Civitate +Dei</i>, xx, 11; St. Ambrose, <i>De Fide ad Gratianum</i>, ii, 4; St. +Isidore, <i>Origines</i>, ix, 2; xiv, 3; and the <i>Commentaries</i> of +Andrew and Aretes of Caesarea <i>On the Apocalypse</i> of <span +class="smcap">a.d.</span> <i>c.</i> 400 and <i>c.</i> 540; <i>Dawn of +Modern Geography</i>, pp. 335-8, 425-434).</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N10" id="footnote_N10"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N10">10</a> (p. 7). <i>Indians of Greater and +Lesser India</i> is a regular mediæval term for the inhabitants of India +proper and of south-western Asia, sometimes including Abyssinia. Another +frequent division was threefold: India Prima, Secunda, Tertia, or +Greater, Lesser, and Middle, as in Marco Polo, Bk. <span +class="smcap">III</span>, chs. i, xxxviii-xxxix. Most commonly, Greater +India means India west of Ganges; Lesser India corresponds to the +classical <i>India extra Gangem</i>, or Assam, Burma, Siam, etc.; and +Middle India stands for Abyssinia, and perhaps for some parts of the +Arabian coast, as far as the Persian Gulf. </p> + +<p class="footnote">On this passage we must also notice the following +MS. notes:—</p> + +<p class="footnote">[α. <i>Garamantes, Ethiopians and +Indians.</i>—It must be understood that these are three peoples, +as saith Isidore in his <ins title="'ixth' in the original">sixth</ins> +book [<i>i.e.</i>, <i>of the Etymologies</i> or <i>Origins of St. +Isidore of Seville</i>, <i>written c. A.D. 600</i>], to wit, the Asperi, +Garamantes and Indians. The Asperi are in the west, the Garamantes in +the middle, the Indians in the east. He reckoned with the Garamantes, +the Tregodites [<i>Troglodytes or Trogodites</i>] because they are their +neighbours. Alfargano [<i>Mohammed Alfergani, or of Ferghanah on the +Upper Oxus, a great Mohammedan geographer of the ninth century, author +of a "Book of Celestial Movements" translated into Hebrew and from +Hebrew into Latin, which also described the chief towns and countries of +the world</i>] placed Meroe, which is Queen of the Nations, between the +Nubians and the Indians. The Garamantes are so called from Garama, which +is the capital of their Kingdom, and the castle of which standeth +between Inenense and Ethiopia, where is a fountain which cooleth with +the heat of the day, and groweth hot with the cold of the night. +Ethiopia is over against Egypt and Africa, on the southern part thereof; +from the east it stretcheth over against the west even to the Ethiopian +Sea. And because much of the people of these three nations are +Christians, and because they desired to see the world, they came to +these parts of Spain, where they received great gifts from the Infant, +on account of which the author hath given this description in his +chapter thereupon.</p> + +<p class="footnote">β. <i>Caucasus.</i>—This mount is so called +from Candor, the which stretcheth from India to Taurus, in its length, +through various peoples and tongues, and therefore is variously named. +Some say that Mt. Caucasus and Mt. Taurus are all one, but Orosius +reproveth this opinion.] On the fountain of Garama, cf. Solinus, xxx, +i.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N11" id="footnote_N11"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N11">11</a> (p. 7). <i>To visit the Apostle</i>, +viz., St. James of Compostella, patron saint of Spain, and traditionally +the "Apostle" of that country. Santiago de Compostella was once the +capital of Galicia; it lies 55 kilometres south of Coruña, on the north +bank, and near the source, of the River Sar, which flows into the Ulla. +The town is built round the Cathedral, which claims to possess the body +of St. James. A star was said to have originally shown the place of this +relic, hence "Compostella" (Campus stellae). The body of the great +church was commenced in 1082 and completed in 1128; the cloisters were +finished in 1533. An earlier church of the later ninth century had been +destroyed in 997 by the Arabs under the famous "hagib" Almanzor, who +also restored Barcelona to the Western Caliphate, and nearly crushed all +the Christian kingdoms of Spain. For centuries Compostella was the most +famous and fashionable place of pilgrimage, next to Rome, in Europe. It +is referred to in Chaucer, Prologue to <i>Canterbury Tales</i>, l. 466, +in the description of the "Wife of Bath:"</p> + +<p class="footnote">"At Rome she haddé been, and at Boloyne In Galice at +Saint Jame, and at Coloyne." </p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N12" id="footnote_N12"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N12">12</a> (p. 8). <i>Ancient and venerable city +of Thebes.</i>—Here we have again a MS. note.</p> + +<p class="footnote">[We must understand that there are two cities of +Thebes—the one in Egypt and the other in Greece. That in Greece +was the selfsame which in the time of Pharaoh Nicrao (<i>Necho</i>, +<i>see Herodotus, ii</i>, <i>158-9: Josephus Antiq. Jud.</i>) was called +Jersem, as saith Marco Polo, whence came the Kings of Thebes who reigned +in Egypt <span class="smcap">C I R</span> (<i>190</i>) years. And this +was one of the places which were given to Jacob, by the countenance of +his son Joseph, when by the needs of hunger he went with his eleven sons +to Egypt, as it is writ in Genesis. And Saint Isidore saith in his xvth +book (<i>of Origins</i>) that Cadmus built Thebes in Egypt, and that he, +passing into Greece, founded the other and Grecian Thebes, in the +province of Acaya (<i>Achaia</i>), the which is now called the land of +the Prince of the Amoreans.]</p> + +<p class="footnote">It is not necessary to dwell on the additional +confusion furnished by this "explanation"—Thebes given to the +Israelites (as part of Goshen?), Cadmus building the Egyptian Thebes, +Achaia for Bœotia, and so forth; but the point really noticeable is that +in Azurara's text the "dwellers on the Nile who possess Thebes" came in +here as "wearing the Prince's livery:" <i>i.e.</i>, the negroes of the +Senegal are supposed to live on the western branch of the Nile, which +mediæval conceptions obstinately brought from Egypt or Nubia to the +Atlantic, and which Prince Henry's seamen thought they had discovered +when they reached the Senegal; just as later in the Gambia, the Niger, +and the Congo, other equivalents were imagined for the Negro Nile of +Edrisi, and the West African river-courses of Pliny and Ptolemy. Cf. +chs. xxx, xxxi, lx-lxii, of this Chronicle.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N13" id="footnote_N13"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N13">13</a> (p. 8). <i>Wisdom of the Italians ... +labyrinth.</i>—Here we have another original MS. note. [Labyrinth +is so much as to say anything into which a man having entered cannot go +out again (<i>so Prince Henry, in Azurara, vol. i, p. 8 (ch. ii), has +"entered a labyrinth of Glory"</i>). And therefore, saith Ovid, in his +<i>Metamorphoses</i>, that Pasiphaë, wife of Minos, king of Crete, +conceived the <ins title="'Minotour' in original">Minotaur</ins>, who +was half man and half bull. The which was imprisoned by Daedalus in the +Labyrinth into which whatsoever entered knew not how to come out, and +whosoever was without knew not how to enter. And of this Labyrinth +speaketh Seneca in the <i>Tragedy</i>, where he treated of the matter of +Hippolytus and Phedra].</p> + +<p class="footnote">Azurara's reference to the distinctive virtues of +the four great peoples here noticed is interesting, especially from the +fact that Prince Henry's mother was an Englishwoman; that the Emperor +(now a purely German sovereign, though still in name "holy and Roman"), +invited him to enter his service (see ch. vi); that the Pope (like Henry +VI (?) King of England) made him similar offers; that his scientific and +practical connections with Italy were very important; and that his +sister Isabel was married to the Duke of Burgundy. "The wisdom of the +Italians" was nowhere more conspicuous at that time than in geography. +Italians initiated the great mediæval and renaissance movement of +discovery both by land and sea (cf. John de Plano Carpini, Marco, +Nicolo, and Matteo Polo, Malocello, Tedisio Dorio, the Vivaldi, the +Genoese captains and pilots of 1341, precursors of Varthema, the Cabots, +Verrazano, and Columbus). Italians also constructed the first scientific +maps or Portolani (existing specimens from 1300 show out of 498 examples +413 of Italian origin, including all the more famous and perfect). +Lastly, Italians probably brought the use of the magnet to higher +efficiency; though they did not "invent" the same, it is likely that +they were the first to fit the magnet into a box and connect it with a +compass-card. "Prima dedit nautis <i>usum</i> magnetis Amalphis."</p> + +<p class="footnote">Also, we may recall that the Infant Don Pedro, +Henry's brother, brought home from Venice in 1428 a map illustrating a +copy of Marco Polo (see p. liv of the Introduction to this volume), and +that the most important map-draughtsmen of the Prince's lifetime were +Andrea Bianco, Fra Mauro, and Gratiosus Benincasa. From 1317, when King +Diniz appointed the Genoese Emmanuele Pesagno Admiral of Portugal, and +contracted for a regular supply of Genoese pilots and captains, down to +the Infant's earlier years, when the Genoese tried to secure a "lease" +of Sagres promontory as a naval station, and even to the time when the +Venetian Cadamosto sailed in his service (1455-6), and Antoniotto Uso di +Mare and Antonio de Noli were to be found in the same employment, the +connection between Portuguese and Italian seamanship was very +close—a relationship almost of daughter and mother.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N14" id="footnote_N14"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N14">14</a> (p. 9). <i>From the islands thou didst +people in the Ocean</i>, etc. ... <i>wood from those parts.</i></p> + +<p class="footnote">Here Azurara gives some references to the products +raised in the newly-colonised groups of "African Islands"—corn, +honey, wax, and especially wood, on which Santarem remarks:—</p> + +<p class="footnote">[This interesting detail shows that the wood +(Madeira) transported to Portugal from the islands newly discovered by +the Infant D. Henrique, chiefly from the isle of Madeira, was in such +quantity as to cause a change in the system of construction of houses in +towns, by increasing the number of storeys, and raising the height of +the houses, thus bringing in a new style of building instead of the +Roman and Arabic systems then probably followed. This probability +acquires more weight in view of the system of lighting at Lisbon ordered +by King Ferdinand, as appears from a document in the Archives of the +Municipality of Lisbon. So this detail related by Azurara is a very +curious one for the history of our architecture.]—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N15" id="footnote_N15"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N15">15</a> (p. 9). <i>Dwellers in the Algarve</i> +(<i>Alfagher</i>), i.e., the extreme southern portion of Portugal, +including Cape St. Vincent, the cities of Lagos, Faro and Tavira, and +Sagres (off C. St. V.), the special residence of the Prince himself. +Later, the plural title "Algarves" was applied to this Province, in +conjunction with the possessions of Portugal on the North African coast +immediately fronting the Spanish peninsula, viz., Ceuta, "Alcacer +Seguer," Anafe, Tangier, Arzila, etc.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N16" id="footnote_N16"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N16">16</a> (p. 10). <i>Moors ... on this side the +Straits and also beyond.</i>—Moors who on "this side the Straits" +had "died" from Prince Henry's lance might be difficult to find; but of +"those beyond" the reference is more particularly to the conquest of +Ceuta, 1415; the relief of the same, 1418; the abortive attempt on +Tangier, 1437; and the raids upon the Azanegue Moors between Cape +Bojador and the Senegal, <i>c.</i> 1441-1450. The African campaign of +1458, which resulted in the capture of Alcacer the Little, cannot, of +course, be included here.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N17" id="footnote_N17"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N17">17</a> (p. 10). <i>That false schismatic +Mohammed.</i>—In the ordinary style of mediæval reference, as +followed by Father Maracci and the older European school of Arabic +learning. The progress of the Moslem faith in North Africa was rapid in +the Mediterranean coast zone, but comparatively slow in the Sahara and +Sudan. See Introduction to vol. ii, pp. xliii-lix, and W. T. Arnold, +<i>Missions of Islam</i>.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N18" id="footnote_N18"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N18">18</a> (p. 11). <i>Duchess of +Burgundy.</i>—The Infanta Isabel, Prince Henry's sister, was niece +of a King of England, viz., as Santarem says, of Henry IV, son of John, +Duke of Lancaster. [By this connection our Infant was a great-grandson +of Edward III, and at the same time a descendant of the last kings of +the Capetian house, and likewise allied to the family of Valois. The +Infanta Donna Philippa was married to the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the +Good, on January 10th, 1429. She was not only endowed with very eminent +qualities, but was also of rare beauty. She had great influence on +public affairs. The Duke, her husband, instituted the celebrated order +of the Golden Fleece to celebrate this marriage. This princess died at +Dijon, December 17th, 1472. From this alliance came many descendants. +She was equally beloved by her brothers, and especially by King D. +Edward (Duarte), who, in his <i>Leal Conselheiro</i> (ch. xliv, "Da +Amizade"), speaks of the great affection and regret which he felt for +her. The festivities which took place at Bruges on her arrival were +among the most sumptuous of the Middle Ages].—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N19" id="footnote_N19"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N19">19</a> (p. 12). <i>The Philosopher</i>, i.e., +Aristotle, in Azurara's day regarded among Christians as the "master of +them that knew." The transformation of Aristotle into a storehouse of +Christian theology was a long process, which was perhaps most completely +successful in the hands of Thomas Aquinas.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N20" id="footnote_N20"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N20">20</a> (p. 14). <i>As in his Chronicle</i>, +i.e., <i>The Chronicle of the Reign of Affonso V, the African</i>, +attributed by Barros and Goes to Azurara himself, and perhaps embodied +(partially) in Ruy de Pina's existing chronicle of the monarch. (See +Azurara, Hakluyt Soc. ed., vol. i, Introduction, pp. lxi-lxiii.) We must +notice that a little earlier (p. 13, top of our version), on Azurara's +reference to Prince Henry as an "uncrowned prince" (cf. Azurara, vol. +ii, Introduction, p. xix). Santarem remarks:</p> + +<p class="footnote">[This detail, recorded by Azurara, a contemporary +writer, shows the error into which Fr. Luiz de Souza fell in his +<i>Historia de S. Domingos</i>, liv. vi, fol. 331, by saying that the +Infant was elected King of Cyprus: an error which José Soares da Silva +repeated in his <i>Memorias d'El Rei D. João I</i>; whereas if the words +of Azurara were not sufficient to demonstrate the contrary, the dates +and facts of history would prove the errors of those authors. As a +matter of fact, the kingdom of Cyprus, which Richard, King of England, +took from the Greeks in 1191, was immediately ceded by that Prince to +Guy of Lusignan, whose posterity reigned in that kingdom till 1487; and +as our Infant was born in 1394 and died in 1460, it was not possible for +him to be elected sovereign of a kingdom ruled by a legitimate line of +monarchs. Besides this, in the list of the Latin or Frank Kings of +Cyprus, the name of D. Henry is not found. It is to be presumed that Fr. +Luiz de Souza confounded Henry, Prince of Galilee, son of James I, King +of Cyprus, with our Infant D. Henry.]—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote">Also, on the words <i>Atlas the Giant</i> (middle of +p. 13 in our version), there is another original MS. note:</p> + +<p class="footnote">[Atlas was king of the land in the west of Europe +and of that in the west of Africa, brother of Prometheus, that great +wise man and philosopher descended from Japhet, the giant. And this +Atlas was considered the greatest astrologer living in the world at his +time. And his knowledge of the stars made him give such true forecasts +of matters which were fated to happen, that men said in his time that he +sustained the heaven upon his shoulders. And as Lucas saith, he was the +first who invented the art of painting in the city of Corinth, which is +in Greece.]</p> + +<p class="footnote">On this Santarem remarks:—</p> + +<p class="footnote">[Here our author mixes up all the historical and +mythological traditions from Greek and Latin authors relative to Atlas. +Diodorus Siculus and Plato are not cited by Azurara, who, however, +relates that Atlas was king of the West of Europe and of the West of +Africa; but he forgets to say that he reigned over the Atlantes, as +Herodotus says, and confounds Prometheus with "Japhet," whose son he +was, viz., according to Apollodorus, Diodorus Siculus, and all the +ancient writers. Diodorus says in effect that Atlas had taught astronomy +to Hercules, but our author confounds the three princes of this name, +and made a mistake in citing Lucas de Tuy (continuer of the +<i>Chronicle</i> of Isidore of Seville) as saying that Atlas was the +first who invented the art of painting in the city of Corinth. The +origin of this art was unknown to the ancients. It is true that Sicyon +and Corinth disputed the glory of the discovery, but the discoverer +according to most of the ancient authors was Cleanthes of Corinth and +not Atlas, as Azurara says. According to others, the discovery was due +to Philocles the Egyptian.]—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote">The Atlas chain of N. Africa has been the subject of +persistent exaggeration. The Greek pillar of heaven (derived from +Carthaginian? seamen) probably referred to Teneriffe. No summit in the +Atlas range answers to the legend. Though Miltsin rises to 11,400 feet, +neither this nor any other peak can be supposed to represent the idea of +towering height embodied in the story. We may notice the enormous +over-proportion of the Atlas in some of the most important maps which +Prince Henry and his seamen had to consult (<i>e.g.</i>, Dulcert of +1339, the Catalan of 1375). See Introduction, vol. ii, pp. cxxiii-iv, +cxxvi.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N21" id="footnote_N21"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N21">21</a> (p. 14). <i>Tangier ... the most +perilous affair in which he ever stood before or after</i>, viz., in +1437. The conquest of Ceuta (aided perhaps by the earlier discoveries of +Prince Henry's seamen) had made some in Portugal eager for more African +conquests, and in 1433 King Duarte (Edward) on his accession was induced +by his brothers Henry and Ferdinand, against the opinion of his next +brother Pedro, to take up the project of an attack on Tangier. The Papal +Court gave only a very doubtful approval to the war, but on August 22, +1437, an expedition sailed for Ceuta. Tetuan was captured, and on +September 23 Prince Henry began the siege of Tangier, but his attacks on +the town were repulsed; the Portuguese were surrounded by overwhelming +forces which had come down from Marocco, Fez, and Tafilet for the relief +of the city; and on October 25 the assailants surrendered with the +honours of war, on condition that Ceuta should be given up with all the +Moorish prisoners then in Portuguese hands, and that the Portuguese +should abstain for 100 years from any further attack upon the Moors of +this part of Barbary. Prince Ferdinand was left with twelve nobles as +hostages for the performance of the treaty. The convention was +repudiated in Portugal, and Ferdinand, the "constant Prince," died in +his captivity June 3, 1443. Like Regulus in Roman tradition, he advised +his countrymen against the enemy's terms of ransom,</p> + +<p class="footnote"> "Lest bought with price of Ceita's potent town To +public welfare be preferred his own."</p> + +<p class="footnote"> Camöens: <i>Lusiads</i>, iv, 52 (Burton).</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N22" id="footnote_N22"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N22">22</a> (p. 14). <i>Because Tully +commandeth.</i>—It is characteristic of Azurara's school and time +that he should declare his preference for truthful writing because a +great classic recommended the same.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N23" id="footnote_N23"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N23">23</a> (p. 15). <i>College of Celestial +virtues.</i>—Contrasted with the previous reference, this gives a +good idea of Azurara's mental outlook—on one side towards Greek +and Latin antiquity, on another to the Catholic theology. The Christian +side of the Mediæval Renaissance had not, in Portugal, been overpowered +by the Pagan. We may remember, as to the context here, that on the +capture of Ceuta the chief mosque was at once turned into the +Cathedral.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N24" id="footnote_N24"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N24">24</a> (p. 16). <i>Districts of the Beira ... +and Entre Douro e Minho.</i> The three northern provinces of +Portugal:—The Beira, comprising most of the land between the Tagus +and the Douro (except the S.W. portion); the Tral (or Traz) os Montes, +the N.E. extremity; and the Entre Douro e Minho, the N.W. extremity of +the Kingdom. Here was the cradle of the state—for the principality +granted in 1095 by Alfonso VI of Leon to the free-lance, Henry of +Burgundy, was entirely within the limits of these provinces, and was at +first almost entirely confined to lands North of the Mondego, being +composed of the counties of Coimbra and Oporto.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N25" id="footnote_N25"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N25">25</a> (p. 16). <i>The two cities</i>, viz., +The citadel and the lower town of Ceuta, which together covered the neck +of a long peninsula running out some three miles eastward from the +African mainland, and broadening again beyond the eastern wall of Ceuta +into a hilly square of country. The citadel covered the isthmus which +joined the peninsula to the mainland. East of the citadel was Almina, +containing "the outer and larger division of the city, as well as the +seven hills from which Ceuta derived its name," the highest of which was +in the middle of the peninsula, and was called El Acho, from the +fortress on its summit. "On the north side of the peninsula, from the +citadel to the foot of this last-mentioned hill, the city was protected +by another lofty wall." According to some, the old name of <i>Septa</i> +was derived from the town's seven hills; it was ancient, being repaired, +enlarged and re-fortified by Justinian in the course of his restoration +of the Roman Empire in the Western Mediterranean.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N26" id="footnote_N26"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N26">26</a> (p. 17). <i>A duke ... in the +Algarve</i>, viz., Duke of Viseu and Lord of Covilham. His investiture +took place at Tavira in the Algarve, immediately on the return of the +Ceuta expedition. Together with his elder brother Pedro, whom King John +at the same time made Duke of Coimbra, Henry was the first of Portuguese +dukes. This title was introduced into England as early as 1337, and the +Infant's mother was the daughter of one of the first English dukes, "old +John of Gaunt, time-honoured Lancaster."] </p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N27" id="footnote_N27"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N27">27</a> (p. 17). <i>The people of Fez ... of +Bugya.</i>—This Moslem league of 1418 against Portuguese Ceuta +comprised nearly all the neighbouring Islamic states (1) Fez—the +centre of Moslem culture in Western "Barbary," a very troublesome state, +politically, to the great ruling dynasties in N.W. +Africa—contained two towns at this time, called respectively the +town of the Andalusi, or Spaniards—from the European (Moslem) +emigrants who lived there—and the town of the Kairwani, from +Kairwan ("Cairoan"), the holy city of Tunis. The founder of the +greatness of Fez was Idris, whose dynasty reigned there <span +class="smcap">a.d.</span> 788-985. It was captured by Abd-el-Mumen ben +Ali, the Almohade, in 1145. It was also <ins title="'beseiged' in the +original">besieged</ins> in 960, 979, 1045, 1048, 1069, 1248, 1250. See +Leo Africanus (Hakluyt Soc. ed.), pp. 143-5, 393, 416-486, 589-606. (2) +<i>Granada</i> was still a Moslem Kingdom, as it remained till its +capture by Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492. It was now (1418) ruled by +the successors of Mohammed-al-Hamar, who in 1236 gathered the relics of +the western Caliphate into the Kingdom of Granada. In 1340 the Granadine +attempt, in alliance with Berber help from Africa, to recover southern +Spain for Islam, had been defeated in the great battle of the Tarifa, or +Salado (one of the first engagements where cannon were used); but +Granada still (in the fifteenth century) retained considerable strength. +(3) <i>Tunis.</i>—Leo Africanus mentions its capture by Okba +(Akbah) in the seventh century <span class="smcap">a.d.</span>, by the +Almoravides in the eleventh century, and by Abd-el Mumen ben Ali, the +Almohade, in the twelfth century. It was unsuccessfully attacked at +times by those states whose trade with it was most important, +<i>e.g.</i>, by Louis IX of France in his crusade of 1270; by the +Genoese, 1388-90; by the Kings of Sicily, 1289-1335; and by other +foreign states; but remained for the most part independent, from the +breakup of the Almohade empire till its capture by Barbarossa for the +Ottomans in 1531. See Leo Africanus, pp. 699, 716, 753. (4) +<i>Marocco.</i>—The city of Marocco was founded, <span +class="smcap">a.d.</span> 1070-2 according to some, 1062-3 according to +others (<span class="smcap">a.h.</span> 454), by Yusuf Ibn Tashfin, the +Almoravide. Under both Almoravides and Almohades its greatness steadily +increased. Abd-el-Mumen ben Ali took it for the latter, and under his +grandson, Yakub Almansor, it became the Almohade capital (<span +class="smcap">a.d.</span> 1189-90). The Beni-Merini succeeding to power +in these parts in the thirteenth century, removed the seat of government +to Fez (1269-1470). See Leo Africanus, pp. 262-272, 351-359. Early in +the sixteenth century the Portuguese, under Nuno Fernandez d'Ataide, +Governor of Safi, attacked Marocco without success. A district called +Marocco was much older than the city. "Marakiyah," in Masudi (iii, p. +241, Meynard and Courteille), is used of a district to which the Berbers +emigrated. (5) <i>Bugia</i>, <i>Bougie</i>, anciently also <i>Bujaïa</i> +and <i>Bejaïa</i>, a very ancient city. Carthage had a settlement here; +Augustus established a Roman colony with the title of Colonia Julia +Augusta Saldantum ("Saldaa"). It fell into the power of the Vandals in +the fifth, of the Arabs in the sixth, century; and during the earlier +Caliphate it carried on a considerable trade, especially with the +Christian states of the Western Mediterranean. This trade continued to +flourish during the later Middle Ages; and we may instance, not only the +favourable descriptions of Edrisi (<i>c.</i> 1154) and of Leo Africanus +(1494-1552), but also the Pisan commerce (of about 1250-64) both in +merchandise and in learning, with this city, as well as the Aragonese +treaties of 1309 and 1314, and the Pisan embassy of 1378, as a few +examples out of many. In 1068, En-Naser having restored and embellished +the town, made it his capital, re-naming it En-Naseria; Abd-el-Mumen ben +Ali subjected it to the Almohade empire in 1152; in 1509 Count Peter of +Navarre seized it, and the Spaniards held it till 1555. From 1833 it has +been a French possession. See Edrisi (Jaubert), vol. i, pp. 202, 236-8, +241, 245-6, 258, 269; Leo Africanus, Hakluyt Soc. edn. pp. 126, 143-4, +699, 700, 745, 932.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N28" id="footnote_N28"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N28">28</a> (p. 17). <i>Chance of taking Gibraltar +... did not offer itself to him.</i>—This project is especially +notable in the light of later history, as of the years 1704, 1729, +1779-82, and of earlier times, <i>e.g.</i>, 710. Prince Henry seems to +have been one of the few men who valued aright (before quite modern +times) the position from which the Arabs advanced to the Conquest of +Spain, and from which the English obtained so great a hold over the +Mediterranean. It was only in the later sixteenth century that one can +discover anything like a widespread perception of Gibraltar's +importance.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N29" id="footnote_N29"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N29">29</a> (p. 18). <i>Canary +Islands.</i>—Here Azurara probably refers to the projects of +1424-5, though his words may apply to Henry's efforts in 1418, or in +1445-6, to acquire the Canaries for Portugal (see Introduction to vol. +ii, p. xcvi-xcviii).</p> + +<p class="footnote">The "great Armada ... to shew the natives the way of +the holy faith" is very characteristic of Azurara.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N30" id="footnote_N30"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N30">30</a> (p. 18). <i>Governed Ceuta ... left the +government to King Affonso at the beginning of his reign.</i>—On +this, Santarem has the following note:—</p> + +<p class="footnote">[The 35 years during which the Infant governed Ceuta +must be understood in the sense that during the reigns of his father and +brother and nephew (till Affonso V reached his majority) he directed the +affairs of Ceuta, but not that he governed that place by residing there. +The dates and facts recorded show that we must understand what is here +said in this sense, seeing that the Infant, after the capture of that +city (Ceuta) in August 1415, returned to the Kingdom (of Portugal); and +there was left as Governor of Ceuta D. Pedro de Menezes, who held this +command for twenty-two years (<i>D. N. do Leão</i>, cap. 97). The Infant +returned to Africa in 1437 for the unfortunate campaign of Tangier. +After this expedition he fell ill in Ceuta and stayed there only five +months, and thence again returned to Portugal, and spent the greater +part of his time in the Algarve, occupied with his maritime expeditions. +He went back for the third time to Africa with King D. Affonso V for the +campaign of Alcacer in 1456, returning immediately afterwards to +Sagres.</p> + +<p class="footnote">Beyond this, it should be noticed that the sons of +King D. John I had charge of the presidency and direction of various +branches of State administration. D. Duarte (Edward) was, in the life of +the King his father, entrusted with the presidency of the Supreme Court +of Judicature and with the duty of despatching business in Council, as +is recorded by him in detail in ch. xxx of the <i>Leal Conselheiro</i>. +The Infant D. Henry had charge of all African business, and so by +implication of everything relating to Ceuta.</p> + +<p class="footnote">Finally, the sublime words of King D. Duarte to D. +Duarte de Menezes, when he said, "If I am not deceived in you, not even +to give it to a son of mine will I deprive you of the captaincy of +Ceuta" (Azurara, <i>Chronica de D. Duarte</i>, ch. xliii), show that the +Infant D. Henry was not then properly Governor of Ceuta; although he was +formally appointed to that post on July 5th, 1450, he never actually +occupied it (see Souza, prov. of Bk. v, No. 51).]—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N31" id="footnote_N31"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N31">31</a> (p. 18). <i>The fear of his vessels kept +in security ... the merchants who traded between East and +West.</i>—This important detail has not been noticed sufficiently +in lives of D. Henry. If Azurara really means that the Infant's fleet +preserved the coasts of Spain from all fear of the piracy which then, as +later, endangered the commerce of the Western Mediterranean, we can only +regret that no further details have come down to us about this point. +For such a task the Prince must have maintained a pretty large navy: +though it is noticeable that piracy seems to have been worse on the +so-called Christian side in the mediæval period; and not till after the +fifteenth century, and the establishment of Turkish suzerainty, was it +as bad on the Moslem side (see Mas Latrie, <i>Relations de l'Afrique +Septentrionale avec les Chrétiens au Moyen Age</i>, passim, and +especially pp. 4, 5, 61-2, 117, 128-30, 161-208, 340-5, 453, 469, 534). +The forbearance of the Barbary States with Christian freebooting from +the eleventh century to the sixteenth, their tolerance of Christian +colonies in their midst, and the special favours constantly shown to +individual Christians, would surprise those who think only of Algerine, +Tunisian, or Maroccan piracy and "Salee rovers." Roger II of Sicily is a +striking exception to this disgraceful rule. In the earlier Middle Ages, +some of the Christian Republics of Italy even joined Moslems in +slave-raiding upon other Christians (see <i>Dawn of Modern +Geography</i>, pp. 203-4).</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N32" id="footnote_N32"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N32">32</a> (p. 18). <i>Peopled five Islands ... +especially Madeira</i> (see Introduction to vol. ii, pp. +xcviii-cii).</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N33" id="footnote_N33"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N33">33</a> (p. 19). <i>Alfarrobeira, where ... Don +Pedro was ... defeated.</i>—D. Pedro, the eldest of the uncrowned +sons of King John I, was famous for his journeys in Europe, ending in +1428, when he returned from Venice with many treasures, among others a +MS. copy of Marco Polo, and a map of the traveller's route (see +Introduction to vol. ii, p. liv). He was still more famous for his wise +government of Portugal as Regent for his young nephew, Affonso V, +1439-47. He took part in the campaign of Ceuta, 1415; advised vainly +against the Tangier campaign of 1437; married his daughter Isabel to the +King in 1447 (May); was worried into a semblance of rebellion, 1448-9, +and was killed in a battle at the rivulet of Alfarrobeira, between +Aljubarrota and Lisbon, in May 1449.</p> + +<p class="footnote">On his companion, the Count of Avranches +("Dabranxes" in Azurara), Santarem has a note remarking that he, D. +Alvaro Vaz d'Almada, was [made a Count (of Avranches) in Normandy, by +gift of the King of England (Henry V), after the battle of Azincourt, +when he was also created a knight of the Order of the Garter.</p> + +<p class="footnote">He was sometimes called, in the affected Renaissance +fashion of the time, the "Spanish Hercules;" but he also had fallen into +disfavour with Affonso V. He escaped from imprisonment at Cintra, joined +D. Pedro in Coimbra (the latter's dukedom), and marched with him to his +death (see Introduction to vol. ii, pp. xvi-xviii).] </p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N34" id="footnote_N34"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N34">34</a> (p. 19). <i>Order of Christ ... +Mother-convent ... Sacred uses.</i>—Prince Henry was Grand Master +of the Order of Christ, founded by King Diniz in 1319, in place of the +Templars, whose property in great measure it inherited (see Introduction +to vol. ii, p. xviii-xix).</p> + +<p class="footnote">The mother-convent of the Order of Christ was at +Thomar, in the (Portuguese) province of Estremadura, 45 kilometres +N.N.E. of Santarem, or a little N.W. of Abrantes, and is noticeable for +its sumptuous architecture. It was founded originally as a house of the +Templars by Donna Theresa, mother of Affonso Henriques, first King of +Portugal; it was enlarged and rebuilt in 1180 and 1320. At the latter +date it passed, with the reconstitution of Diniz, from the Templars to +the Order of Christ.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N35" id="footnote_N35"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N35">35</a> (p. 19). <i>St. Mary of Belem ... Pombal +... Soure ... Chair of Theology ... St. Mary of Victory ... yearly +revenue</i> (and see next sentence of text).—This is the <i>locus +classicus</i> on the benefactions of the Prince (see Introduction to +vol. ii, pp. cvi-cix).</p> + +<p class="footnote">St. Mary of Belem, "near the sea at Restello," a +chapel where the Infant's mariners could pay their devotions the last +thing before putting out to sea from Lisbon, or return thanks after a +voyage, was superseded by the more sumptuous edifice of Kings Emanuel +and John III, known as the Jeronymos, and named "the Lusiads in stone," +which, with the exception of Batalha, is the noblest of Portuguese +buildings. Da Gama, however, when starting for and returning from India, +had only Prince Henry's little chapel available.</p> + +<p class="footnote">Pombal, in Estremadura, and Soure, in Beira, are +both a little S.W. of Coimbra: Pombal being further in the direction of +Leiria.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N36" id="footnote_N36"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N36">36</a> (p. 20). <i>Ready to go to Ceuta ... +desisted.</i>—This abortive African expedition belongs to the +reign of Affonso V, and apparently to the years immediately subsequent +to the Tangier disaster of 1437 (see Introduction to vol. ii. pp. +xvi-xvii).</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N37" id="footnote_N37"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N37">37</a> (p. 21). <i>The Infant's town ... So +named ... by writing.</i>—The settlement at Sagres. On this +Santarem has the following notes:—</p> + +<p class="footnote">[α. We see by our author's account what was the +state in 1453 of the town of which the Infant had laid the foundations +in 1416, and to which at first was given the name of "Tercena Naval" +(Naval Arsenal), from the Venetian word "Darcena," an arsenal for the +construction and docking of galleys; it afterwards received the name of +Villa do Infante (the Infant's town), and later on that of +Sagres—derived from Sagro, Sacrum, the famous Promontorium Sacrum +of the ancients, according to D. Francisco Manoel, <i>Epanaphoras</i>, +p. 310. It should be noted that the celebrated Cadamosto, who had speech +with the Infant in 1455, at Cape St. Vincent, does not give the name of +the town, though he speaks of the interview which he had with him +(Henry) at Rapozeira].</p> + +<p class="footnote">[β. In writing "Callez" for "Cadiz" in this +paragraph, our author follows the corrupt nomenclature of the authors +and MSS. of the Middle Ages, which altered the name of that city from +the Gades of Pliny (v, 19), Macrobius, Silius Italicus (xvi, 468), +Columella (viii, ch. xvi), a form more like the primitive Gadir (a +hedge) in the Phœnician or Punic language. The corrupt terms Calles, +Callis, etc., are, however, met with even in documents of the sixteenth +century. See the letters of Vespucci in the edition of Gruninger +(1509)].</p> + +<p class="footnote">[γ. As to this reference to the Genoese (desiring to +buy Sagres from Portugal), the meaning must be that they offered great +sums of money for the concession of a place in the new town for the +establishment there of a factory, and perhaps of a colony, similar to +those they possessed in the Black Sea, as especially Caffa (now +Theodosia, in the Crimea), or Smyrna in the Archipelago. It is, however, +improbable that they proposed to the Infant the cession of a town of +which he did not hold the sovereignty. The Republic of Genoa had +preserved very close relations with Portugal from the commencement of +the monarchy, and could not be ignorant that even the Sovereigns of the +country were not able to alienate any portion of the land without the +consent of the Cortes (on this subject see Part <span +class="smcap">III</span> of our <i>Memorias sobre as Cortes</i>). +Howsoever the case may have been, the detail referred to by our author +illustrates the prudence of the Portuguese Government of that time in +having resisted such a proposal, in view of the fact that the Republic +of Genoa had by its immense naval power obtained from the Moorish and +African princes the concession of various important points in Asia and +Africa; and had also procured from the Greek Emperors the cession of the +suburbs of Pera and Galata in Constantinople, and the isles of Scios, +Mitylene (Lesbos), and Tenedos in the Archipelago. The reader will find +it worth his attention that Portugal refused to accede to a similar +offer when the Emperors of the East and of Germany, the Kings of Sicily, +Castile, Aragon, and the Sultans of Egypt constantly sought the alliance +of that Republic and the protection of its powerful marine. True it is +that the power of Genoa had already then begun to decline and to become +enfeebled, but none the less important are the details given by Azurara +and the observations which we have offered for the consideration of the +reader].</p> + +<p class="footnote">As to the connections of Genoa with Spain, we may +add the following:—</p> + +<p class="footnote">Genoese relations with Barcelona became active in +the twelfth century. In 1127 the Republic concluded a commercial treaty +with Count Raymond Berenger III, and formed an offensive and defensive +alliance with the same Prince in 1147. As a result, the allies took +Almeria and Tortosa. In this conquest two-thirds went to the Count, +one-third to the Genoese. In 1153 they sold their new possessions to +Count Raymond for money and trading rights; but in 1149 they concluded a +treaty of peace and commerce with the Moorish King of Valencia, and in +1181 a similar treaty with the King of Majorca. As early as 1315 the +Genoese had <ins title="'began' in the original">begun</ins> a direct +trade by sea with the Low Countries, passing round the Spanish coast. +After the conquest of Seville by Ferdinand III they also obtained +important trade privileges in that city, especially those enjoyed by a +grant of May 22nd, 1251. By this time they had ousted all their Italian +rivals in the trade of the Western Mediterranean, and there held a +position analogous almost to that of Venice under the Latin empire of +Constantinople. In 1267 all the Genoese consuls in Spain were put under +a Consul-General at Ceuta. In 1278 Genoa concluded a treaty of peace and +commerce with Granada. In 1317 the Genoese, Emmanuel Pessanha (Pezagno), +became Lord High Admiral of Portugal: Genoese captains and pilots were +employed in the Spanish exploring voyage to the Canaries in 1341; and a +regular contingent of Genoese pilots and captains was maintained in the +Spanish service. See Introduction to vol. ii, p. lxxx.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N38" id="footnote_N38"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N38">38</a> (p. 22). <i>Jerome ... Sallust ... so +high a charge.</i>—Here again is the truly characteristic mingling +of sacred and profane learning, both almost equally authoritative to his +mind, in Azurara. Cf. Sallust, <i>Catiline</i>, chs. ii, viii, li; +especially viii.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N39" id="footnote_N39"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N39">39</a> (p. 22). <i>Phidias ("Fadyas") ... the +philosopher ... chapter on wisdom.</i>—Here Santarem has the +following notes:—</p> + +<p class="footnote">[α. The "height" of which Azurara speaks is the +Parthenon, or Temple of Minerva, in Athens. The famous statue of that +goddess, in gold and ivory, was made by that famous sculptor (Phidias), +and placed by the Athenians in that magnificent temple]. Cf. Pliny, +<i>Nat. Hist.</i>, Bk. xxxiv, ch. xix.</p> + +<p class="footnote">[β. The philosopher is Aristotle. It is not unworthy +of note that our author cites Aristotle in this place, and prefers his +authority to that of Pausanias. This preference, which may also be +frequently observed in the <i>Leal Conselheiro</i> of King D. Duarte, +proves the great esteem in which the works of the Stagyrite philosopher +were held among our ancestors (as well as in other nations) during the +Middle Ages. Our learned men followed him in preference to Pausanias, +even when treating of the antiquities of Greece].</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N40" id="footnote_N40"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N40">40</a> (p. 23). <i>Great +Valerius.</i>—Here again Santarem:—[This author, cited by +Azurara, is Valerius Maximus, a writer of the time of Tiberius, who +wrote <i>De dictis factisque memorabilibus</i> in nine books. He was a +native of Rome, and therefore Azurara says, "of thy city."] Azurara is +not mistaken, as Santarem suggests, in assuming that the Roman author +did not only deal with the deeds of his compatriots but also described +those of foreigners. Of the main divisions of V.'s work, the first book +is devoted chiefly to religious and ritual matters, the second to +various civil institutions, the third and three following books to +social virtues; the seventh book treats of many different subjects. This +treatise was very popular in the Middle Ages, and several abridgments +were made, one by Julius Paris.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N41" id="footnote_N41"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N41">41</a> (p. 24). <i>What Romulus ... Manlius +Torquatus ... Cocles ("Colles") ... diminishing of his +praise.</i>—On this Santarem remarks: [T. Manlius Torquatus, the +dictator, is here seemingly referred to; on whom see <i>Livy</i>, vii, +4, and <i>Plutarch</i>, i].</p> + +<p class="footnote">The contrast of Cæsar's gaiety with the strictness +of Henry's life refers us to ch. iv (beginning), pp. 12, 13, of this +version. Azurara had but a very inadequate conception (supplement from +Cadamosto, Pacheco Pereira, and Barros) of the real scope of Henry's +life-work, and his remarks sometimes sink into mere flattery; but the +comparisons he makes here are not misjudged. The Infant was really one +of the men who, like Cæsar, Alexander, Peter I of Russia, or Mohammed, +force us to think how different the history of the world would have been +without them.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N42" id="footnote_N42"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N42">42</a> (p. 24). <i>Captain of their +Armies.</i>—Here Santarem:—[This detail is so interesting +for the history of that epoch, that we judge it opportune to indicate +here, for the illustration of our text, the names <ins title="'o' in the +original">of</ins> these sovereigns. The invitation given by the Pope +(as recorded here) to the Infant could only have taken place after the +taking of Ceuta, a campaign in which the Prince acquired immortal glory, +having commanded the squadron and been first of the princes to enter the +fortress. In view of this, it appears to us that only after 1415 could +this proposal have been made by the Pontiff; and also it seems as if the +offer must have been made to him before the unfortunate campaign of +Tangier in 1437, during the time in which the Infant was exclusively +occupied with the business of the Kingdom and of Africa, and with his +expeditions and discoveries. From this it appears likely that the Pope +who invited him to become general of his armies was Martin V, and the +year of the invitation 1420 or 1421, after the embassy which, the Greek +Emperor, Manuel Palaeologus, sent to the Pontiff to beg for aid against +the Turks. The Emperor of Germany of whom Azurara speaks was Sigismund +(Siegmund), who, by reason of his close relations with the Court of +Lisbon, and with the ambassadors of Portugal at the Council of +Constance, could appreciate the eminent qualities of the Infant, and +form the high opinion of him which he deserved. Lastly, the Kings of +Castile and England of whom Azurara speaks must be D. John II, and Henry +V.]—S. Santarem is probably wrong here. "Henry VI" should be read +for "Henry V;" see Introduction to vol. ii, p. xv.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N43" id="footnote_N43"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N43">43</a> (p. 25). <i>Discipline ... +clemency.</i>—Azurara here imitates somewhat the formal +disputations of Seneca and Cicero. We may especially compare Seneca's +<i>De Ira</i>, <i>De Providentia</i>, and <i>De Clementia ad Neronem +Caesarem libri duo</i>; also, but with rather less close a parallelism, +the same writer's <i>De Animi tranquillitate</i>, <i>De Constantia +Sapientis</i>. The Elder Seneca's rhetorical exercises, +<i>Controversiarum libri X</i>, and <i>Suasoriarum Liber</i>, were also, +as far as the form goes, models for such discussions as are here +conducted. Azurara's point, of course, is that, of the two extremes, +Prince Henry leaned rather to "clemency" than to "discipline;" and +though he by no means neglected the latter, he was content rather to err +in generosity than in severity. Precisely the opposite is the view of +some modern students: <i>e.g.</i>, Oliveira Martins, <i>Os Filhos de D. +João I</i>, especially pp. 59-63, 210-1, 267-270, 311-346.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N44" id="footnote_N44"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N44">44</a> (p. 26). <i>St. Chrysostom ... something +to asperse.</i>—As to the Prince's critics, though in a slightly +different sense, cp. what Azurara says in ch. xviii (beginning). The +modern criticisms of the Infant's conduct may be read in O. Martins +(<i>Os Filhos</i>, as cited in last note). According to this view, the +Infant's genius was pitiless: he cared little or nothing for the +captivity and torture of D. Fernando the Constant, who died in his +Moorish prison after the disaster of Tangier; for the broken heart and +premature end of D. Edward; or for the fate of D. Pedro. As little did +he care for the misery of the Africans killed or enslaved by his +captains, or for the unhappy life of Queen Leonor, mother of Affonso V. +Not only was he indifferent to these sufferings, but indirectly or +directly he was the efficient cause of the same. This extreme view, as +regards the slave-raiding, is much weakened by Cadamosto's testimony, +and Azurara's own admission in ch. xcvi (end) of this Chronicle (see +Introduction to vol. ii, p. xxv). The truth seems to lie between Azurara +and Martins: between the conceptions of Henry as a St. Louis and as a +Bismarck.] </p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N45" id="footnote_N45"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N45">45</a> (p. 26). <i>Seneca ... first +tragedy.</i>—This is the <i>Hercules Furens</i> of the +great—or younger—Seneca, the philosopher.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N46" id="footnote_N46"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N46">46</a> (p. 27). <i>St. Brandan ... +returned.</i>—On this Santarem writes:—</p> + +<p class="footnote">[The voyage of St. Brandan, to which Azurara refers, +is reputed fabulous, like the island of the same name. According to this +tradition, it was said that St. Brandan arrived in the year 565 at an +island near the Equinoctial(?). This legend was preserved among the +inhabitants of Madeira and of Gomera, who believed that they were able +to see Brandan's isle towards the west at a certain time of the year. +This appearance was, however, the result of certain meteorological +circumstances. Azurara became acquainted with this tradition of the +Middle Ages from some copy of the MS. of the thirteenth century, +entitled <i>Imago Mundi de dispositione Orbis</i>, of Honorius of Autun; +and this circumstance is so much the more curious as Azurara could not +have been acquainted with the famous Mappamundi of Fra Mauro, which was +only executed between the years 1457-9; and still less with the +Planisphere of Martin of Bohemia (Behaim), which is preserved at +Nuremburg, on which appears depicted at the Equinoctial a great island, +with the following legend: <i>In the year 565 St. Brandan came with his +ship to this island.</i> The famous Jesuit, Henschenius, who composed a +critical examination of the life of St. Brandan, says of +it:—"Cujus historia, ut fabulis referta, omittitur."] The +Bollandists speak with equal distrust of the Brandan story.</p> + +<p class="footnote">To this we may add:—It is possible Azurara may +have read the original <i>Navigatio Sti. Brendani</i>. The legendary +voyage of Brandan is usually dated in 565, but this is probably a mere +figure of speech. He was supposed to have sailed west from Ireland (his +home was at Clonfert on the Middle Shannon) in search of Paradise, and +to have made discoveries of various islands in the Ocean, all associated +with fantastic incidents: as the Isle of St. Patrick and St. Ailbhé, +inhabited by Irish Cœnobites; the isle of the Hermit Paul, at or near +which Brandan met with Judas Iscariot floating on an iceberg; the Isle +of the Whale's Back, and the Paradise of Birds; to say nothing of the +Isle of the Cyclops, the Mouth of Hell, and the Land of the +Saints—the last encircled in a zone of mist and darkness which +veiled it from profane search. It is more than probable that the Brandan +tradition, as we have it, is mainly compiled from the highly-coloured +narratives of some Arab voyagers, such as Sinbad the Sailor in the +Indian Ocean, and the Wanderers (Maghrurins) of Lisbon in the Atlantic +(as recorded in <i>Edrisi</i>, Jaubert, ii, 26-29), with some help from +classical travel-myth; that it is only in very small part referable to +any historical fact; that this fact is to be found in the contemporary +voyages of Irish hermits to the Hebrides, Orkneys, Shetlands, Faroes, +and Iceland; that a certain special appropriateness may be found in the +far western Scottish island of St. Kildas (Holy Culdees) or the islet of +Rockall; and that some of the matter in the Brandan story is derived +from the travels of early Christian pilgrims to Palestine, <i>e.g.</i>, +Bernard the Wise, <i>c.</i> 867. It is important to remember that the +tradition, though professing to record facts of the sixth century, is +not traceable in any MS. record before the eleventh century; but, like +so many other matters of mediæval tradition, its popularity was just in +inverse proportion to its certainty, and "St. Brandan's isle" was a +deeply-rooted prejudice of the twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, and even +fifteenth centuries. Down to the middle of the sixteenth century it +usually found a place on maps of the Western Ocean, usually due west of +Ireland (see <i>Dawn of Modern Geography</i>, pp. 230-240, and +references in same to other works, p. 239, <i>n.</i> 2, especially to De +Goeje's <i>La légende de Saint Brandan</i>, 1890; Avezac's <i>Iles +fantastique de l'Océan Occidental</i>, 1845; Schirmer, <i>Zur Brendanus +Legende</i>, 1888; and the study of <i>Schröder</i>, 1871). We may note +that Azurara is (for his time) somewhat exceptional in his hesitating +reference to the Brandan story; but of course his object led him, +however unconsciously, to minimise foreign claims of precedence against +the Portuguese on the Western Ocean. As far as Brandan goes, no one +would now contradict the Prince's apologist; but more formidable rivals +to a literal acceptance of the absolute Portuguese priority along the +north-west coasts of Africa are to be found in Italian, French, and +Catalan voyagers of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, one of +which is perhaps alluded to here by Azurara. For "the two galleys which +rounded the Cape (Bojador) but never returned" were probably the ships +of Tedisio Doria and the Vivaldi, who in 1291 (<i>aliter</i> 1281) left +Genoa "to go by sea to the ports of India to trade there," reached Cape +Nun, and, according to a later story, "sailed the sea of Ghinoia to a +city of Ethiopia." In 1312, we are told, enquiry had failed to learn +anything more of them (see Introduction to vol. ii, pp. lxi-lxiii).</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N47" id="footnote_N47"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N47">47</a> (p. 28). <i>Power of ... Moors in ... +Africa ... greater than was commonly supposed</i> (see Introduction to +vol. ii, pp. xlv-lix).</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N48" id="footnote_N48"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N48">48</a> (p. 30). <i>King and Lord.</i>—With +this astrological explanation compare what Azurara says about the death +of Gonçalo de Sintra, ch. xxviii, p. 92.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N49" id="footnote_N49"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N49">49</a> (p. 31). <i>A fathom deep ... ever be +able to return ...</i> (see Introduction to vol. ii, pp. v, viii-x, +lxiv, lxx).</p> + +<p class="footnote">Here Santarem has the following notes:—</p> + +<p class="footnote">[α. This passage shows that the Portuguese mariners +already, before the expedition of Gil Eannes, knew that beyond Cape +Bojador the great desert of the Sahara was to be met with, and that the +land was not less sandy than that of "Libya." This last term of Plinian +geography, and the circumstances which the author relates in this +chapter, show that before these expeditions our seamen had collected all +the notices upon that part of the African continent found in the ancient +geographers, and in the accounts of the Moors of the caravans which +traversed the great desert. This is confirmed by what Azurara says in +ch. lxxvii, as we shall see in due course].</p> + +<p class="footnote"> [β. The reader will observe from this passage that +in spite of the hydrographical knowledge which our mariners had already +obtained of those coasts, from their imperfect understanding of what are +called the Pelagic currents, those sailors of the fifteenth century +still feared the great perils which the passage of that Cape offered to +their imagination. Azurara makes clear to us here how powerful, even at +this epoch, was the influence of the traditions of the Arabic +geographers about the Sea of Darkness, which according to them existed +beyond the isles of Kalidad (the Canaries), situated at the extremity of +the Mogreb of Africa. See Edrisi, Backoui, and Ibn-al-Wardi. Lastly, on +the superstitious and other fears of mediæval navigators, the reader can +consult the <i>Itinera Mundi</i> of Abraham Peritsol, translated from +Hebrew into Latin by Hyde]. Cf. Introduction to vol. ii, p. x. Cape +Bojador, in N. lat. 26° 6' 57", W. long. (Paris) 16° 48' 30", is thus +described by the most recent French surveys: "Viewed from the north +there is nothing remarkable, but from the west there appears a cliff of +about 20 metres in height. A little bay opens on the south of the +Cape."</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N50" id="footnote_N50"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N50">50</a> (p. 32). <i>Virgin Themis ... returned to +the Kingdom very honourably.</i></p> + +<p class="footnote">On the first words there is this original MS. +note:—[It is to be understood that near to Mount Parnassus, which +is in the midst between east and west, are two hill tops, which contend +with the snows. And in one of these was a cave, in which in the time of +the Heathen, Apollo gave responses to certain priestly virgins who +served in a temple which was there dedicated to the said Apollo. And +those virgins dwelt by the fountains of the Castalian mount. And among +these virgins was that virgin Themis, whom some held to be one of the +Sibyls. And it is said that those virgins were so fearful of entering +into that cave, that, save on great constraint they dared not do +so—according as Lucan relateth in his fifth book and sixth +chapter, where he speaketh of the response which the Consul Appius +received, on the end of the war between Cæsar and Pompey.</p> + +<p class="footnote">On this Santarem remarks:—</p> + +<p class="footnote">[Both in this note and in those on pp. 10, 11, 12, +and 21 ( = pp. 7-8, 13, of this version), which are met with in our MS., +and are in the same script, there prevails such a confusion of thought +that we hesitate in supposing them to have been written by Azurara. +These notes, so far from illustrating the text, themselves call for +elucidation. Here the writer follows the opinion of the ancients as to +the position of Parnassus, viz., that it was situated in the middle of +the world, though, according to Strabo, it was placed between Phocis and +Locris. As to its "contending with the snows," the writer of this note, +who quotes Lucan, seems to have taken this passage from Ovid rather than +from the <i>Pharsalia</i>. See Ovid, <i>Metamorphoses</i>, I, v, 316-7; +Lucan, <i>Pharsalia</i>, V, v, 72-3. The cave is the Antrum Corysium of +the Poets. See the <i>Journey to Greece</i> of the famous archæologist +Spon. The passages referred to as from Bk. V of the Pharsalia are those +beginning with the lines—<i>Hisperio tantum</i> ... and v, 114, +<i>Nec voce negata</i> ... together with line 120, <i>Sic tempore +longo</i>, and the following lines.]</p> + +<p class="footnote">On the "honourable return" of these caravels, with +"booty of the Infidels," from the Levant Seas, we may compare the text +on p. 18, and note (31) to the same. Here Santarem remarks:—</p> + +<p class="footnote">[The attempts made by the Portuguese seamen to pass +the Cape began before the fifteenth century. Already, in the time of +King Affonso IV, the Portuguese passed beyond Cape Non, <i>i.e.</i>, +before 1336 (?). The documents published by Professor Ciampi in 1827, +and discovered by him in the <i>MSS. of Boccaccio</i> in the Bibliotheca +Magliabechiana in Florence, as well as the letter of King Affonso IV to +Pope Clement VI attest that fact. See the <i>Memoir</i> of Sr. J. J. da +Costa de Macedo, in vol. vi. of the Memoirs of the Royal Academy of +Sciences of Lisbon, and the additions published in 1835. As for the +attempts made in the Prince's time by ships that he sent into those +latitudes to pass beyond Cape Bojador, if we admit the number of twelve +years which Azurara indicates, and if this is taken together with the +date 1433, which he fixes for the passage effected by Gil Eannes(?), the +result is that these attempts began only in 1421; and so Azurara did not +admit that the expedition of 1418 (or of 1419), which went out under J. +G. Zarco, had for its chief object the passage of the Cape at all. But +from Barros it is seen that Zarco and Vaz went out with the object of +doubling the Cape, but that a storm carried them to the island they +discovered, and named Porto Santo (<i>Decades I</i>, ch. 2, and D. +Franc. Manoel, <i>Epanaphoras</i>, p. 313]. The statements of part of +this note are loosely worded. See Introduction to vol. ii, on the voyage +of 1341, on the earlier claims of Affonso IV, and on the rounding of +Bojador.</p> + +<p class="footnote">Also, on Azurara's use of <i>Graada</i> for +<i>Granada</i>, Santarem remarks: [On the origin and etymology of this +word, see Cortes y Lopez, art. <i>Ebura quae Cerialis. Dic. +Geograf. Hist. de la Esp. Ant.</i>, II., 420, etc.].</p> + +<p class="footnote">And on the "Granada" and "Levant" expeditions, the +same editor remarks: [The details of these expeditions prove the +activity of our marine at the beginning of the fifteenth century, and +its system of training, which enabled it to cope better with the perils +of Ocean voyages, and in naval combats with Arabs and Moors to protect +the commerce of the Christian nations in the Mediterranean]. Cf. note 31 +to p. 18 of this version.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N51" id="footnote_N51"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N51">51</a> (p. 33). <i>Gil Eannes ... touched by the +self-same terror.</i>—As to Gil Eannes, Santarem +remarks:—[Barros also says he was a native of Lagos, and was the +man who so named "Bojador" from the way it jutted or bulged out +(<i>Decades I</i>, 6)]; This last statement is quite untrue; [cf. an +Atlas of which Morelli and Zurla treat in their <i>Dei Viaggi et delle +Scoperte Africane da Ca-da-Mosto</i>, p. 37, on which is the inscription +"<i>Jachobus de Giraldis de Venetiis me fecit anno Dmi</i> <span +class="smcap">MCCCCXVI</span>;" as well as another atlas of the +fourteenth century, on which two the Cape appears as (1) <i>Cabo de +Buider</i>, and (2) <i>Cavo de Imbugder</i>; cf. Zurla's +<i>Dissertazione</i>, p. 37.]. Also, see Introduction to vol. ii, pp. x, +lxiv, lxviii-lxx.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N52" id="footnote_N52"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N52">52</a> (p. 33). <i>Needle or sailing +chart.</i>—See Introductory § on History of Maps and Nautical +Intruments in Europe up to the time of Prince Henry, vol. ii, pp. +cxvii-cl, and especially pp. cxlvii-cl.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N53" id="footnote_N53"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N53">53</a> (p. 34). <i>Barinel ... Barcha ... +anything worth recording.</i>—[A Varinel or Barinel was an oared +vessel then in use, whose name survives in the modern Varina; so +Francisco Manoel, Epanaphoras, p. 317, etc.].—S. See Introduction +to vol. ii, pp. cxii-cxiii.</p> + +<p class="footnote">On the <i>Footmarks of men and camels</i> Santarem +remarks.—[To this place our sailors gave the name of Mullet Bay +(Angra dos Ruivos), from the great quantity of these fish that they +found there. The bay appears with this name in the Map of Africa in the +splendid Portuguese Atlas (unpublished), dating from the middle of the +sixteenth century, in the Royal (National) Library at Paris (R. B. No. +1, 764)].—S. See Introduction to vol. ii, p. x. Ruivos is variously +rendered "Mullet," "Gurnet," "Roach." The original meaning is simply +"red[fish]."</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N54" id="footnote_N54"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N54">54</a> (p. 35). <i>Went up country 8 leagues, +etc. ... anchorages.</i>—[Our men named this place Angra dos +Cavallos (cf. Barros <i>Decades I</i>, i, 5; Martines de la Puente, +<i>Compendio de las Historias de las Indias</i>, ii, 1). This place-name +is marked in nearly all the sixteenth and seventeenth century maps of +Africa].—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N55" id="footnote_N55"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N55">55</a> (p. 36). <i>Two things I consider ... +saith he who wrote this history.</i>—Though these phrases, "our +author," "he who wrote this history," are certainly applied by Azurara +to himself in some instances, there is also sometimes a suggestion of +the previous writer on the Portuguese <i>Discovery and Conquest of +Guinea</i>, viz., Affonso Cerveira, a seaman in Prince Henry's service +(see Introduction to vol. ii, p. cx). Here, we fancy, a passage of +Cerveira's work is referred to. The loss of the latter is deplorable. It +evidently contained all the facts and documents given by Azurara, and +some omitted by him (see ch. lxxxiv of this Chronicle, end). Azurara +added the reflections and the rhetoric, but followed Cerveira's order of +narrative closely (see especially ch. lxvi).</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N56" id="footnote_N56"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N56">56</a> (pp. 37-8). <i>Sea-wolves ... Port of the +Galley ... nets ... with all other cordage.</i>—[These +<i>Sea-wolves</i> are the <i>Phocæ Vitulinæ</i> of Linnæus. Cf. the +<i>Roteiro</i> of Vasco da Gama's First Voyage, under December 27th, +1497, p. 3 of Port. text "Achamos muitas baleas, e humas que se chamam +<i>quoquas</i> e Lobos marinhos."]—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote">[The <i>Port of the Galley</i> is so named in the +Portuguese Atlas above referred to (Paris: <i>Bibl. Nat.</i>, i, 764, of +the sixteenth century), and in the Venetian maps of Gastaldi (1564); cf. +Barros, <i>Decades I</i>, v, 11, who says, "Ponto a que ora chamâo a +pedra da Galé"].—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote">On the "nets ... with all other cordage," cf. +Barros, <i>Decades I</i>, ch. v, fol. 11: "No qual logar achou humas +redes de pescar, que parecia ser feito o fiado dellas, do entrecasco +d'algum pao, como ora vemos o fiado da palma que se faz em Guiné."</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N57" id="footnote_N57"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N57">57</a> (pp. 38, 39). <i>Rio d'Ouro ... discords +in the Kingdom.</i>—[On old unpublished Portuguese maps we find +marked between Cape Bojador and the Angra dos Ruivos, the following +points: <i>Penha Grande</i>, <i>Terra Alta</i>, and <i>Sete-Montes</i>, +besides the <i>Angra dos Ruivos</i>, being all of them probably points +where the Portuguese had landed].—S. See Introduction to vol. ii, +pp. x-xiii, lxi-lxxi.</p> + +<p class="footnote">[The events which interrupted the Infant's +expeditions and discoveries from 1437 to 1440 may be briefly indicated. +The Infant returned to the Algarve after the expedition to Tangier +(1437), and was there in September of the following year, when King +Edward fell ill at Thomar. On the King's death, the Prince was at once +summoned by the Queen, and charged by her to concert with the Infant D. +Pedro, and with the grandees of the realm, some means of grappling with +the difficulties of the Kingdom. The Infant convoked these persons, who +decided that the Cortes ought to be assembled to pass the resolutions +they judged expedient.</p> + +<p class="footnote">The Prince thought that D. Pedro ought to sign the +summonses; but as he refused to do this, they were all signed by the +Queen, with the proviso that such signature should hold good only till +the Assembly of the Estates should settle the question.</p> + +<p class="footnote">At the same time the Infant, on account of his +accustomed prudence, was chosen mediator between the Queen and D. Pedro. +At his proposal, discussed in various conferences, the Queen was charged +with the education of her children and the administration of their +property; while to the Infant D. Pedro was given the administration and +government of the Kingdom, with the title of Defender of the Kingdom for +the King (<i>Ruy de Pina</i>, ch. xv).</p> + +<p class="footnote">But, as a large party did not agree to this, and so +public disorder increased, Henry sought to conciliate the different +parties by getting their consent to an Accord, published November 9th, +1438, providing:—</p> + +<p class="footnote">1. That the education of the King while a minor, and +of his brothers, and the power of nominating to Court Offices, should +rest with the Queen; and that a sum should be paid her sufficient to +defray the expenses of the Royal Household.</p> + +<p class="footnote">2. The Royal Council was to consist of six members, +who should be charged in turn and at definite periods with such business +of state as was within their power to decide, conformably to the +regulations of the Cortes.</p> + +<p class="footnote">3. Besides this Council there was to be elected a +permanent deputation of the Estates, to reside at the Court, composed of +one prelate, one fidalgo, and one burgess or citizen, to be elected, +each by his respective estate, for a year.</p> + +<p class="footnote">4. All the business of the Royal Council was to be +conducted by the six councillors and the deputation of the Three Estates +under the presidency of the Queen, with the approval and consent of the +Infant D. Pedro.</p> + +<p class="footnote">If the votes were equal, the business in question +was to be submitted to the Infants, the Counts, and the Archbishop, and +to be decided by the majority.</p> + +<p class="footnote">If the Queen agreed with the Infant D. Pedro, their +vote was to be decisive, even though the whole Council should be against +them.</p> + +<p class="footnote">5. All the business of the Treasury, except what +belonged to the Cortes, was to be conducted by the Queen and the Infant: +decrees and orders on the subject were to be signed by both, and the +Controllers of the Treasury were to be charged with their execution.</p> + +<p class="footnote">6. It was settled that the Cortes should be summoned +every year to settle any doubts which the Council could not decide for +themselves, such as "the [condemnation to] death of great personages, +the deprivation of state servants from great offices, the [confiscation +or] loss of lands, the amendment of old or the making of new laws and +ordinances; and it was also agreed that future Cortes should be able to +correct or amend any defect or error in past sessions" (<i>Ruy de +Pina</i>, ch. xv). The Queen, however, being induced by a violent party +to resist, refused to agree to these resolutions, in spite of the +vigorous efforts of D. Henry. This produced great excitement, and in the +Cortes it was proposed to confer the sole regency on D. Pedro. It should +be noted that Prince Henry expressed his disapproval of all the +resolutions of the municipality of Lisbon and other assemblies, +declaring that they illegally tried to rob the Cortes of its powers. +Equally plain was his indignation when he learned that the Queen had +fortified herself in Alemquer, and had invoked the aid of the Infants of +Aragon.</p> + +<p class="footnote">He did not hesitate to go to Alemquer in person, and +induce the Queen to return to Lisbon, in order to present the young King +to the Cortes (1439); and such was the respect felt for him (Henry) that +the Queen, who had resisted all other persuasions, yielded to the +Infant's. </p> + +<p class="footnote"> In the following year the divisions of the Kingdom +compelled the Infant to occupy himself with public business, the +conciliation of parties, and the prevention of a civil +war.]—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N58" id="footnote_N58"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N58">58</a> (p. 39). <i>Chronicle of D. +Affonso</i>.—This chronicle, according to Barros and Goës, was +written by Azurara himself as far as the year 1449, and continued by Ruy +de Pina. It is cited by Barbosa Machado. See Introduction to the first +volume of this translation, pp. lxi-ii.</p> + +<p class="footnote"><a name="footnote_N58a" id="footnote_N58a"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N58a">58a</a> [(p. 43). <i>Those on the +hill.</i>—This hill is also marked in the unpublished Portuguese +maps in the National Library at Paris, and is situated to the south of +the Rio do Ouro.]—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N59" id="footnote_N59"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N59">59</a> (p. 44). <i>The philosopher saith, that +the beginning is two parts of the whole matter.</i>—Here, and in +the two following notes, it is very difficult to suggest any classical +reference which corresponds closely enough with Azurara's language; but +cf., in this place, Aristotle, <i>Ethics</i>, Bk. <span +class="smcap">I</span>, ch. vii, p. 1098<sup>b</sup>7; <i>Topics</i>, +Bk. <span class="smcap">IX</span>, ch. xxxiv, p. 183<sup>b</sup>22 +(Berlin edn.).</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N60" id="footnote_N60"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N60">60</a> (p. 44). <i>Roman History</i>.—Cf. +Valerius Maximus, Bk. <span class="smcap">II</span>, cc. 3, 7; St. +Augustine, <i>De Civitate Dei</i>, Bk. <span class="smcap">II</span>, +cc. 18, 21; Bk. V, c. 12.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N61" id="footnote_N61"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N61">61</a> (p. 45). <i>That emulation which Socrates +praised in gallant youths</i>.—Cf. Xenophon, <i>Memorabilia</i>, +Bk. <span class="smcap">I</span>, c. 7; Bk. <span +class="smcap">III</span>, cc. 1, 3, 5, 6, and especially 7; also Plato, +<i>Laches</i>, 190-9; <i>Protagoras</i>, 349-350, 359. On the history +that follows, cf. D. Pacheco Pereira, <i>Esmeraldo</i>, cc. 20-33. +Pereira must have had a copy of this Chronicle before him, for in places +he transcribes <i>verbatim</i>; see <i>Esmeraldo</i>, c. 22.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N62" id="footnote_N62"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N62">62</a> (p. 47). <i>"Portugal" and +"Santiago."</i>—The latter war-cry is of course derived from St. +James of Compostella, which being in Gallicia was not properly a +Portuguese shrine at all. All Spanish crusaders, however, from each of +the five Kingdoms, made use of this famous sanctuary. See note 11, p. 7 +of this version.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N63" id="footnote_N63"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N63">63</a> (p. 48). <i>Port of the +Cavalier.</i>—[This is marked in two Portuguese maps of Africa in +Paris, both of the sixteenth century, as on this side of Cape Branco, +which is in 20° 46' 55" N. lat.]—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N64" id="footnote_N64"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N64">64</a> (p. 49). <i>Azanegues of Sahara ... +Moorish tongue.</i>—[Cf. Ritter, <i>Géographie Comparée</i>, III, +p. 366, art. <i>Azenagha</i>. Ritter says they speak Berber. On this +language see the curious article, <i>Berber</i>, by M. d'Avezac, in his +<i>Encylopédie des gens du Monde</i>. On the Azanegues, Barros says +(<i>Decade I</i>, Bk. <span class="smcap">I</span>, ch. ii): "The +countries which the Azanegues inhabit border on the negroes of Jaloff, +where begins the region of Guinea." <i>Sahará</i> signifies desert. +Geographers spell Zahará, Zaara, Ssahhará, Sarra, and Sahar. The +inhabitants are called Saharacin—Saracens—"sons of the +desert" (cf. Ritter, <i>Géographie Comparée</i>, III, p. 360), a term +immensely extended by mediæval writers—thus Plano Carpini expects +to find "black Saracens" in India. On the etymology, cf. Renaud's +<i>Invasions des Sarrasins en France</i>, Pt. <span +class="smcap">IV</span>, pp. 227-242, etc. He confirms Azurara's +statement that the Sahara language differed from the +Mooris—<i>i.e.</i>, it was Berber, not Arabic—and he refers +us to the Arab author Ibn-Alkûtya, in evidence of this.]—S. </p> + +<p class="footnote"> The "Other lands where he learned the Moorish +tongue" were probably Marocco, or one of the other Barbary States along +the Mediterranean littoral, where Arabic was in regular use. This +language stopped, for the most part, at the Sahara Desert. Santarem's +derivation of the word "Saracen" is much disputed.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N65" id="footnote_N65"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N65">65</a> (p. 50). <i>Lisbon Harbour</i> +... —Here, perhaps, Azurara refers to the broad expanse of +the Tagus, opposite the present Custom House and Marine Arsenal of +Lisbon. "The broad estuary of the Tagus gives Lisbon an extensive and +safe harbour." From the suburb of Belem up to the western end of Lisbon, +the Tagus is little more than a mile in width, but opposite the central +quays of the city the river widens considerably, the left, or southern, +bank turning suddenly to the south near the town of Almada, and forming +a wide bay, reach, or road about 5½ miles in breadth, and extending far +to the north-east. "In this deep lake-like expansion all the fleets of +Europe might be <ins title="'anchore d' in the +original">anchored</ins>."</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N66" id="footnote_N66"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N66">66</a> (p. 50). <i>Cabo Branco.</i>—[In +lat. N. 20° 46' 55", according to Admiral Roussin's +observations.]—S. According to the most recent French surveys, it +is thus described:—"Il forme, au S., sur l'Atlantique, l'extrémité +d'une <ins title="'presqu' ile' in the original">presqu'île</ins> aride +et sablonneuse de 40 kil. de longeur environ, large de 4 à 5 kil., qui +couvre a l'O. la baie Lévrier, partie la plus enfoncée au N. de la baie +d'Arguin. Cette <ins title="'presqu' ile' in the +original">presqu'île</ins> se termine par un plateau dont le cap forme +l'escarpement; le sommet surplomb la mer de 25 m. environ. Des +éboulements de sable, que le soleil colore d'une nuance éblouissante, +lui ont valu son nom. 'Le Cap Blanc est d'une access facile. Il est +entouré de bons mouillages qui, au point de vue maritime, rendent cette +position préférable à celle d'Arguin' (Fulcrand)."</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N67" id="footnote_N67"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N67">67</a> (p. 53). <i>Eugenius the +Bishop.</i>—[Barros adds certain reasons for this request; he +says, "the Infant, whose intent in discovering these lands was chiefly +to draw the barbarous nations under the yoke of Christ, and for his own +glory and the praise of these Kingdoms, with increase of the royal +patrimony, having ascertained the state of those people and their +countries from the captives whom Antam Gonçalvez and Nuno Tristam had +brought home—willed to send this news to Martin V (?), asking him, +in return for the many years' labour and the great expense he and his +countrymen had bestowed on this discovery, to grant in perpetuity to the +Crown of these Kingdoms all the land that should be discovered over this +our Ocean Sea from C. Bojador to the Indies (Barros, <i>Decade I</i>, i, +7).]—S. Barros here apparently confuses Martin V with Eugenius +IV.</p> + +<p class="footnote">[Besides this bull, Pope Nicholas V granted another, +dated January 8th, 1450, conceding to King D. Affonso V all the +territories which Henry had discovered (Archives of Torre do Tombo, +<i>Maç. 32 de bullas</i> No. 1). On January 8th, 1454, the same Pope +ratified and conceded by another bull to Affonso V, Henry, and all the +Kings of Portugal their successors, all their conquests in Africa, with +the islands adjacent, from Cape Bojador, and from Cape Non as far as all +Guinea, with the whole of the south coast of the same. Cf. Archivo R. +<i>Maç. 7 de bull</i>. No. 29, and <i>Maç. 33</i>, No. 14; and Dumont, +<i>Corp. Diplomat. Univ.</i>, III, p. 1,200. On March 13th, 1455, +Calixtus III determined by another bull that the discovery of the lands +of W. Africa, so acquired by Portugal, as well as what should be +acquired in future, could only be made by the Kings of Portugal; and he +confirmed the bulls of Martin V and Nicholas V: cf. another bull of +Sixtus IV, June 21st, 1481, and see Barros, <i>Decade I</i>, i, 7; +<i>Arch. R. Liv. dos Mestrados</i>, fols. 159 and 165; <i>Arch. R. Maç. +6 de bull.</i>, No. 7, and <i>Maç. 12</i>, No. 23.]—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N68" id="footnote_N68"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N68">68</a> (p. 54). <i>Without his license and +especial mandate.</i>—See Introduction to vol. ii, p. xiv.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N69" id="footnote_N69"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N69">69</a> (p. 54). <i>Curse ... of +Cain.</i>—For "Curse of Ham." Cf. Genesis ix, 25. "Cursed be +Canaan: a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren." For this +mediæval theory, used sometimes in justification of an African +slave-trade, we may compare the language of Barros, quoted in note +81.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N70" id="footnote_N70"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N70">70</a> (p. 54). <i>Going out of the +Ark.</i>—The writings of Abp. Roderic of Toledo, and of the other +authors here referred to, are apparently regarded by Azurara as +explanatory of the record in Genesis, ix and x. Abp. Roderic Ximenes de +Rada (fl. 1212) wrote <i>De Rebus Hispanicis</i> in nine books; also an +<i>Historia Saracenica</i>, and other works. Walter is doubtful. He may +be Walter of Burley, the Aristotelian of the thirteenth-fourteenth +century, who wrote a <i>Libellus de vita et moribus philosophorum</i>. +Excluding this "Walter," our best choice perhaps lies between "Gualterus +Tarvannensis" of the twelfth century; Walter of Châtillon, otherwise +called Walter of Lille, author of an Alexandreis of the thirteenth +century; or the <ins title="'chonicler' in the +original">chronicler</ins> Walter of Hemingburgh, or Hemingford, who is +probably of the fourteenth century.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N71" id="footnote_N71"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N71">71</a> (p. 55). <i>Better to bring to ... +salvation.</i>—Cf. the Christian hopes of the pagan Tartars in the +thirteenth century.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N72" id="footnote_N72"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N72">72</a> (p. 55). <i>Land of Prester John if he +could.</i>—See Introduction to vol. ii, p. liv. As to "Balthasar" +[Barros says "he was of the Household of the Emperor Frederic III," who +had married the Infanta Donna Leonor of Portugal (<i>Decade I</i>, ch. +vii).]—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N73" id="footnote_N73"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N73">73</a> (p. 57). <i>Infant's Alfaqueque ... +managing business between parties....</i> —The +<i>Alfaqueque</i>, or <i>Ransomer of Captives</i>, must have been an +interpreter as well. Later, we find "Moors" and negroes employed for +this purpose.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N74" id="footnote_N74"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N74">74</a> (p. 57). <i>Who traded in that +gold.</i>—[Azurara seems ignorant that the gold was "brought from +the interior by caravans, which from ancient times had carried on this +trade across the great desert, especially since the Arab invasion. Under +the Khalifs, this Sahara commerce extended itself to the western +extremity of the continent, and even to Spain. The caravans crossed the +valleys and plains of Suz, Darah and Tafilet to the south of Morocco. +Cf. the <i>Geographia Nubiensis</i> of Edrisi (1619 ed.), pp. 7, 11, 12, +14; Hartmann's <i>Edrisi</i>, pp. 26, 49, 133-4. This gold came from the +negro-land called Wangara, as Edrisi and Ibn-al-Wardi tell us. See +<i>Notices et extraits des MSS. de la Bibliothèque du Roi</i>, fo. 11, +pp. 33 and 37: so Leo Africanus and Marmol y Carvajal speak of the gold +of Tiber, brought from Wangara. "Tiber" is from the Arab word Thibr = +gold (cf. Walckenaer, <i>Recherches géographiques</i>, p. 14). So +Cadamosto, speaking of the commerce of Arguim, says, ch. x, that men +brought there "gold of Tiber;" and Barros, <i>Decade I</i>, ch. vii, in +describing the Rio d' Ouro, refers to the same thing:—"A quantity +of gold-dust, the first obtained in these parts, whence the place was +called the Rio d' Ouro, though it is only an inlet of salt water running +up into the country about six leagues."]—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N75" id="footnote_N75"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N75">75</a> (p. 58). <i>Gete</i> (or +Arguim).—[Barros, <i>Decade I</i>, 7, says: "Nuno Tristam on this +voyage went on as far as an island which the people of the country +called Adeget, and which we now call Arguim." The Arab name was "Ghir," +which Azurara turns into "Gete," Barros into "Arget." The discovery and +possession of this point was of great importance for the Portuguese. It +helped them to obtain news of the interior, and to establish relations +with the negro states on the Senegal and Gambia. The Infant began to +build a fort on Arguim in 1448. Cadamosto gives a long account of the +state of commercial relations which the Portuguese had established there +with the dwellers in the upland; and the Portuguese pilot, author of the +<i>Navigation to the Isle of St. Thomas</i> (1558), published by +Ramusio, says of Arguim: "Here there is a great port and a castle of the +King our Lord with a garrison and a factor. Arguim is inhabited by +black-a-moors, and this is the point which divides Barbary from +Negroland." Cf. Bordone's <i>Isolario</i> (1528) on the Portuguese trade +with the interior. In 1638 this factory and fortress were taken by the +Dutch.]—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote">The subsequent changes of this position may be +briefly noticed. After passing, in 1665, from the Dutch to the English +and afterwards back again, in 1678 from the Dutch to the French, in 1685 +from the French to the Dutch, in 1721 once more falling into French +hands, only to be recovered shortly afterwards by the Netherlanders, it +became definitely and finally a French possession in 1724, and at +present forms part of the great North-West African empire of the Third +Republic. At the northern extremity of the Bight of Arguim, or a little +beyond, near Cape Blanco, is the present boundary between the French and +Spanish spheres of influence in this part of the world.</p> + +<p class="footnote">The native boats, worked by "bodies in the canoes +and legs in the water," must be, Santarem remarks, what the Portuguese +call "jangadas."</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N75a" id="footnote_N75a"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N75a">75a</a> (p. 59). <i>An infinity of Royal +Herons.</i>—[The Isle of Herons is one of the Arguim islands; cf. +Barros, <i>Decade I</i>, ch. vii; it is marked under this name +(<i>Ilha</i>, or <i>Banco, das Garças</i>) in early maps, as in +Gastaldi's Venetian chart of 1564, which is founded on ancient +Portuguese maps.]—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N76" id="footnote_N76"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N76">76</a> (p. 61). <i>Lagos ... Moorish +captives.</i>—On the importance of Lagos in the new Portuguese +maritime movement, see Introduction to vol. ii, pp. xi-xii; and note the +reasons given by Azurara in ch. xviii for the change of feeling among +Portuguese traders and others towards the Infant's plans.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N77" id="footnote_N77"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N77">77</a> (p. 63). <i>Lançarote ... Gil Eannes ... +Stevam Affonso ... etc., ... expedition.</i>—This list of names +includes several of the Infant's most capable and famous captains. On +Lançarote see this Chronicle, chs. xviii-xxiv, xxvi, xlix, liii-v, +lviii, lix; on Affonso, chs. li, lx; on John Diaz, ch. lviii; on John +Bernaldez, ch. xxi; and on Gil Eannes, chs. ix, xx, xxii, li, lv, lviii; +also pp. x-xiii of Introduction to vol. ii, and the notices by Ferdinand +Denis and others in the <i>Nouvelle Biographie Générale</i>. On the +"Isle of Naar," mentioned a little later on p. 63, Santarem has the +following note:—[This island is marked near to the coast of Arguim +on the map of Africa in the Portuguese Atlas (noticed before) at the +Bibliothèque Royale (Nationale) de Paris.]</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N78" id="footnote_N78"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N78">78</a> (p. <ins title="61 in the +original">68</ins>). [In Bordone's <i>Isolario</i> (1533) all three of +the islands noticed by Azurara (Naar, Garças and Tider), are indicated +with the title of Isles of Herons [Ilhas das Garças]. The same is to be +found in the Venetian map of Gastaldi, and in others. In the Portuguese +Atlas just cited, and in another Portuguese chart made in Lisbon by +Domingos Sanchez in 1618, these islands are depicted as close to the +coast of Arguim, but without any name.] As to Cabo Branco [This name +was, apparently, given it by Nuno Tristam.]—S. See ch. xiii (end) +of this Chronicle.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N79" id="footnote_N79"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N79">79</a> (p. 78). <i>In the end.</i>—It is +evident, from Azurara's language, that the Azanegues made a better stand +in this fight at Cape Branco, and came nearer to defeating the +Portuguese than on any previous occasion. It was a sign of what was to +follow, for the native resistance now began to show itself, and the very +next European slave-raiders (Gonçallo de Sintra and his men) were +roughly handled, and most of them killed (see ch. xxvii. of this +Chronicle).</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N80" id="footnote_N80"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N80">80</a> (p. 80). <i>Friar ... St. Vincent de +Cabo.</i>—This "firstfruit of the Saharan peoples, offered to the +religious life," was appropriately sent to a monastery close to the +"Infant's Town" at Sagres, and adjoining the promontory whereabouts +centred the new European movement of African exploration.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N81" id="footnote_N81"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N81">81</a> (p. 81). <i>Sons of +Adam.</i>—Azurara's position here is, of course, just that of the +scholastics: As men, these slaves were to be pitied and well treated, +nay, should be at once made free; as heathen, they were enslaveable; and +being, as Barros says, outside the law of Christ Jesus, and absolutely +lost as regards the more important part of their nature, the soul, were +abandoned to the discretion of any Christian people who might conquer +them, as far as their lower parts, or bodies, were concerned.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N82" id="footnote_N82"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N82">82</a> (p. 84). <i>As saith the +text.</i>—Cf. Virgil, <i>Æneid</i>, i, 630 (Dido to Æneas), +<i>Haud ignara mali miseris succurrere disco</i>. There is no text in +the Jewish or Christian Scriptures which can be said to answer properly +to Azurara's reference in this place. We may, however, cf. Judges xi, +38; Revelation i, 9.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N83" id="footnote_N83"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N83">83</a> (p. 87). <i>Tully saith.</i>—Cf. +Cicero, <i>De Nat. Deorum</i>, i, 20, 55; <i>De Or.</i>, iii, 57, 215, +48, 159.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N84" id="footnote_N84"></a> <a href="#fnanchor_N84">84</a> +<a name="footnote_N84a" id="footnote_N84a"></a> <a href="#fnanchor_N84a">84a</a> +<a name="footnote_N84b" id="footnote_N84b"></a> <a href="#fnanchor_N84b">84b</a> +(p. 87). <i>Ancient sages ... +others.</i>—Cf. Livy, v, 51, 46, 6. On the disaster of Gonçalo de +Sintra, Santarem remarks:—[This event happened in 1445. The place +where De Sintra perished is fourteen leagues S. of the Rio do Ouro, and +in maps, both manuscript and engraved, from the close of the fifteenth +century, it took the name <i>Golfo de Gonçallo de Cintra</i>]. The +reference in the concluding words of this chapter, <i>as had been +commanded, etc.</i>, is to the passage on p. 87 of this version, towards +the foot: "That he should go straight to Guinea, and for nothing +whatever should fail of this:" an order which De Sintra treated with +entire contempt.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N85" id="footnote_N85"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N85">85</a> (p. 92). <i>First purpose</i>, viz., to +write the chronicle of the "Guinea Voyages," not to discuss philosophic +problems. The reference here to the "wheels [or circles] of heaven or +destiny" recalls the astrological passages on pp. 29, 30, 80, etc. +Azurara's reference to Job is to ch. xiv, verse 5.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N86" id="footnote_N86"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N86">86</a> (p. 93). <i>Julius Cæsar ... Vegetius ... +St. Augustine ...</i> —Azurara here, of course, indulges in +some exaggeration. Cæsar's breach with the Senate did not take place +because of his "overpassing the space of five years" allowed him at +first (<span class="smcap">b.c.</span> 59) for his command in Gaul. In +<span class="smcap">b.c.</span> 56 the Lex Trebonia formally gave him a +second allowance, of five years more; and he was not required to disband +his army and return from his province till <span +class="smcap">b.c.</span> 49, when the Civil War broke out. By +"Bretanha," or "Brittany," Azurara indicates the Duchy of Bretagne, +which retained a semi-independence till 1532, when it was absolutely +united with the crown of France. Cæsar's campaigns against "England" +are, of course, those of <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> 55 and 54, +against Germany of 55 and 53, against Spanish insurgents of 61; but he +could not by any stretch be said to have made England or Germany +"subject" to the Roman power in the same sense as Gaul or Spain. Had his +life been prolonged twenty years, he would probably have achieved both +these unfinished conquests, as well as that of Parthia.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N87" id="footnote_N87"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N87">87</a> (p. 93). <i>The enemy ... to +them.</i>—Azurara's reference here is to Livy, Bk. <span +class="smcap">XXII</span>, cc. 42-3.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N88" id="footnote_N88"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N88">88</a> (pp. 93-94). <i>Holy Spirit ... ever be +watched.</i>—The references in this paragraph are to Proverbs xi, +14; xxiv, 6; Tobit iv, 18; Ecclesiasticus vi, 18, 23, 32-3; xxv, 5.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N89" id="footnote_N89"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N89">89</a> (p. 94). <i>Hannibal ... for the +moment.</i>—Cf. Livy, <i>3rd Decade</i>, Bk. <span +class="smcap">XXII</span>, cc. 4-5, 42-6. The reading of the Paris MS. +(<i>sajaria</i>) is rejected, plausibly enough, by Santarem for +<i>sagaçaria</i>.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N90" id="footnote_N90"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N90">90</a> (p. 94). <i>Ships of the +Armada.</i>—I.e., the Royal Navy of Portugal; the "very great +actions on the coast of Granada and Ceuta" must refer to events of 1415, +1418, and 1437. (See Introduction to vol. ii, p. viii, x.) Especially +does this expression recall the naval war of 1418, when the King of +Granada sent a fleet of seventy-four ships, under his nephew, Muley +Said, to aid the African Moslems in recovering Ceuta from the +Portuguese. Prince Henry proceeded in person to the relief of the city, +and the Granada fleet, we are told, fled at the approach of the European +squadron, without venturing a battle. It is possible, however, though +unrecorded, that the Infant was subsequently able to engage and destroy +part of the Granadine squadron. Gonçalo de Sintra, from Azurara's words, +may have been with D. Henry on this occasion.</p> + +<p class="footnote">On the reference to John Fernandez staying among the +Azanegues "only to see the country and bring the news of it to the +Infant" (close of ch. xxix, p. 95), Santarem refers to Barros' words: +"Para particularmente ver as cousas daquelle sertão que habitão os +Azenegues, e dellas dar razão ao Infante, <i>confiado na lingua delles +que sabia</i>" (like Martin Fernandez, p. 57, c. xvi).</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N91" id="footnote_N91"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N91">91</a> (p. 96). <i>The Plains +thereof.</i>—[Comparing the account in the text with the +unpublished maps already referred to, it appears that Nuno Tristam, +after revisiting the isles of Arguim, followed the coast to the south, +passing the following places: Ilha Branca, R. de S. João, G. de Santa +Anna, Moutas, Praias, Furna, C. d'Arca, Resgate, and Palmar; the last +being the point Azurara mentions as "studded with many palm +trees."]—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N92" id="footnote_N92"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N92">92</a> (p. 98). <i>When King Affonso caused this +history to be written.</i>—On this Santarem remarks: [This is +important as showing that Azurara did not only consult written +documents, but personally interviewed the discoverers, seeing that he +confesses his inability to give details of this occurrence because Nuno +Tristam was already dead, "When Affonso," etc. Cf. <i>Barros</i>, I, +iii, 17]. Cf. Pina's "Chronicle of Affonso V," in vol. i of the +<i>Collection of Unpublished Portuguese Historians</i>.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N93" id="footnote_N93"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N93">93</a> (pp. 98, 99). <i>Dinis Diaz ... +convenient place.</i>—["Dinis Diaz" is called by Barros, and all +other historians and geographers following his authority, "Dinis +Fernandez."]—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote">On Azurara's statement that "the Infant provided a +caravel for Dinis Diaz," Santarem adds: [Barros does not agree with +Azurara in this, but says on the contrary, "que elle [Diaz] armara hum +navio," etc]. The "other land to which the first (explorers) went" is +apparently the Sahara coast, from Cape Bojador to the Senegal, which +Azurara here admits to be quite a different country from "Guinea" proper +(the land of the Blacks). This last, after the discoveries of 1445, the +Portuguese recognised as beginning only with the cultivated or watered +land to the south of the Sahara. The name, a very early one, whose +subtle changes of meaning are very perplexing, like the "Burgundy" of +the Middle Ages, was probably derived originally from the city of Jenné, +in the Upper Niger Valley (see Introduction to vol. ii, pp. xlv-xlix). +[Here Azurara shows that he is already beginning to recognise the +geographical error of those who gave an undue extension to the term +"Guinea."]—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote">On the reading at the close of this paragraph +"concerning this doubt," Santarem remarks: [So it stands in the MS., as +verified; but it seems to us that there must be some omission of the +copyist, and we propose to restore the text thus: "Filharom quatro +daquelles <i>que tiveram</i> o atrevimento," etc.].</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N94" id="footnote_N94"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N94">94</a> (p. 100). <i>Aught to the +contrary.</i>—On this passage, cf. Santarem's <i>Memoir on the +Priority of the Portuguese Discoveries</i>, § <span +class="smcap">III</span>, p. 20, etc. Paris, 1840. [<i>Memoria sobre a +prioridade dos descobrimentos dos Portuguezes</i>].</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N95" id="footnote_N95"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N95">95</a> (p. 100). <i>Egypt ... Cape +Verde.</i>—[This proves that our navigators were the first who +gave the Cape this name. See the <i>Memoria sobre a +prioridade</i>].—S. On Azurara's idea that the Senegal was near +Egypt, cf. Introduction to vol. ii, pp. xii, xxx, xlii, lviii, cxxii. +This notion is, of course, bound up with the theory of the Western or +Negro Nile, branching off from the Nile of Egypt. No mediæval +geographers, and scarcely any ancient, except Ptolemy, realised the size +of Africa at all adequately.</p> + +<p class="footnote">On the "rewards" given by the Infant to Diaz, +Santarem well remarks: [From this and other passages it is clear that +the Infant's principal object was discovery, and not the slave-raids on +the inhabitants of Africa in which his navigators so often indulged]. +See Introduction to vol. ii, pp. v, xxiii-vi.</p> + +<p class="footnote"><i>Cape Verde.</i>—The turning-point of the +great north-west projection of Africa, now in French possession. It is +so called, according to the general view, from the rich green appearance +of the headland—"la vegetation (as the most recent French surveys +describe it) qui le couvre durant l'hivernage, et que dominent deux +mornes arrondis, nommés, par les marins français, Les Deux Mamelles." +The peninsula of Cape Verde is one of the most remarkable projections of +the African coast. Generally it has the form of a triangle, "terminé par +une sorte d'éperon dirigé vers le S.E., et mesure depuis le cap terminal +on point des Almadies jusqu' à Rufisque une longueur de 34 kilom. avec +une largeur de 14 kilom., sous le méridien de Rufisque, pris comme base +du triangle. Sa côte septentrionale, formant une ligne presque droite du +N.N.E. au S.S.O. est creusée, près de l'extremité, de deux petites +baies, dont la première (en venant de l'E.), la baie d'Yof, est la plus +considérable; puis au delà de la pointe des Almadies, qui est le Cap +Vert proprement dit, la côte court au S.E. jusqu' au Cap Manuel, roche +basaltique haute de 40m., puis remonte aussitôt au N. pour, par une très +légère courbe, partir droit a l'E., dessinant ainsi un éperon bien +accusé qui envelloppe le Golfe de Gorée. Le corps principal de la +presqu' île est bas, sablonneux et parsemé de lagunes qui s'égrènent en +chapelets le long de la côte N.; la petite péninsule terminale est au +contraire rocheuse, accidentée et semble un ilot marin attaché à la côte +par les laisses de mer. Ses hautes falaises, d'une couleur sombre et +rougeâtre, forment une muraille à pic contre laquelle la mer vient se +briser, écumante." See Duarte Pacheco Pereira's <i>Esmeraldo</i>, pp. +46-49, ed. of 1892. As to the island on which Dinis Diaz and his men +landed near the Cape, this may have been either (1) Goree, two +kilometres from the mainland, and fronting Dakar on the S.E. of the +peninsula; (2) The Madeleine islands, at the opening of a small inlet to +the N.W. of Cape Manuel; (3) The Almadia islands ("Almadies"), "îlette, +qui, située en avant du cap terminal, est la vrai terre la plus +occidentale d'Afrique, les archipels de l'Atlantique non compris;" or +(4) The isle of Yof, in the bay of Yof, on the north side of the +peninsula. The Madeleine islands were once covered with vegetation, +though now desert. Here the French naturalist Adanson made his famous +observations on the Baobab trees, in the eighteenth century. These +trees, though they have disappeared on the islands, are still numerous +on the mainland near the Cape. Azurara has a good deal more to say about +these islets and their baobabs in chs. lxiii, lxxii, lxxv, pp. 193, 218, +226, etc., of this version. The rounding of C. Verde opened a fresh +chapter in the Portuguese circumnavigation of Africa—to S.E. and +E.; see Introduction to vol. ii, pp. xii, xxx.] </p> + +<p class="footnote"><a name="footnote_N96" +id="footnote_N96"></a> <a href="#fnanchor_N96">96</a> (pp. 101-2). +<i>John Fernandez ... such a request.</i>—On this passage, and +especially on Azurara's statement (middle of p. 101) that Fernandez "had +already been a captive among the other Moors and in this part of the +Mediterranean Sea, where he acquired a knowledge of their language," +Santarem remarks: [This detail gives us another proof that Prince +Henry's explorations were made systematically, and according to plans +carefully worked out. In his previous captivity in Marocco, Fernandez +had learnt Arabic, and probably Berber as well; he must also have gained +some information about the interior of Africa. To gain more detailed +knowledge, and so be able to inform the Infant better, he had now +undertaken his residence among the Azanegues of the Rio do Ouro.</p> + +<p class="footnote">See Introduction to vol. ii, pp. viii, x, xvi, on +the dual nature of Henry's African schemes, land conquest and +exploration going along with the maritime ventures. This was, of course, +partly due to an inadequate conception of the size of the continent, +which rendered even the conquest of Marocco of little use towards the +circumnavigation of Africa.</p> + +<p class="footnote">"How bitter ... to hear such a request" is, of +course, one of Azurara's rare touches of irony.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N97" id="footnote_N97"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N97">97</a> (p. 103). <i>Affonso +Cerveira.</i>—[The author of the earlier account of the Portuguese +conquest of Guinea, <i>Historia da Conquista dos Portuguezes pela costa +d'Africa</i>, on which Azurara's present Chronicle is based. Cf. +Barbosa, <i>Bibliotheca Lusitana</i>.]—S. See Introduction to vol. +ii, p. cx, and note 202A.</p> + +<p class="footnote"><i>Ergim</i>, in ch. xxxiii, pp. 104, etc., and +elsewhere, is, of course, Arguim. Santarem here refers to Barros' +description in <i>Decade I</i>, i, 10. "Porque naquelle tempo para fazer +algum proveito todos os hião demandar (os ilheos d'Arguim); e tinha por +certo que avião elles de ir dar com elle, por ser aquella costa e os +ilheos a mais povoada parte de quantas té então tinhão descoberto. E a +causa de ser mais povoada, era por razão da pescaria de que aquella +misera gente de Mouros Azenegues se mantinha, porque em toda aquella +costa não avia lugar mais abrigado do impeto dos grandes mares que +quebrão nas suas praias senão na paragem daquellas ilhas d'Arguim: onde +o pescado tinha alguma acolheita, e lambujem da povoação dos Mouros, +posto que as ilhas em si não são mais que huns ilheos escaldados dos +ventos e rocio da agua das ondas do mar. Os quaes ilheos seis ou sete +que elles são, quada hum per si tinha o nome proprio per que nesta +scriptura os nomeamos, posto que ao presente todos se chamão per nome +commum <i>os ilheos d'Arguim</i>; por causa de huma fortaleza que el Rei +D. Affonso mandou fundar em hum delles chamado Arguim." Cf. Duarte +Pacheco Pereira's <i>Esmeraldo</i>, chs. xxv-vi, pp. 43-4. <i>Arguim</i> +is defined in the most recent surveys of its present French possessors +as "Golfe, île, et banc de sable ... l'île est par 20° 27' N. lat., 18° +57' à 60 kilom. vers le S.E. du Cap Blanc ... Ses dimensions sont de 7 +kilom. sur 4. Elle est basse, inculte, et parsemée de dunes."</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N98" id="footnote_N98"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N98">98</a> (p. 107). <i>John Fernandez ... in that +country.</i>—Santarem draws attention to Azurara's statement that +the explorer, Fernandez, was personally known to him. Cf. ch. lxxvii of +this Chronicle; also chs. xxix and xxxii. "That country" is of course +the Azanegue or Sahara land, near the Rio do Ouro. </p> + +<p class="footnote"><i>Setuval</i> (p. 106) is in +Estremadura (of Portugal), twenty miles south-east of Lisbon.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N99" id="footnote_N99"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N99">99</a> (p. 110). <i>Fear to prolong my story ... +though all would be profitable.</i>—The fondness of Azurara for +these scholastic discussions and useless displays of learning is one of +his worst failings; and a good deal of Cerveira's matter of fact has +apparently been sacrificed to this weakness of his redactor.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N100" id="footnote_N100"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N100">100</a> (p. <ins title="100 in the +original">111</ins>). <i>Nine negroes and a little +gold-dust.</i>—This was the first instalment of the precious metal +brought home to Portugal from the Negro-land of Guinea. The same Antam +Gonçalvez had already, in 1441, brought the first gold dust from the +Sahara, or Azanegue coast (see ch. xvi of this Chronicle, p. 57). As to +the importance of these gold-samples in promoting the European exploring +movement, see Introduction to vol. ii, pp. x-xi.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N101" id="footnote_N101"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N101">101</a> (p. 111). <i>Cape of the +Ransom.</i>—[This name is marked upon the manuscript maps already +referred to. On one great Portuguese chart of this class, on parchment, +in the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris, the reading is not Cape, but +<i>Port</i> of the Ransom. The Portuguese nomenclature for the West +African coast, as we see in this instance, was for a long time accepted +by all the nations of Europe.]—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote">We may notice the allusion in this paragraph to the +Portuguese colonisation of Madeira, in the story of Fernam Taavares (see +Introduction to vol. ii, pp. xcviii-cii).</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N102" id="footnote_N102"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N102">102</a> (p. 112). <i>Isle of Tider</i> (see +note 78 to p. 68).—[Tider, marked "Tiber" in the map of West +Africa before referred to. We do not meet this name in any of the many +earlier charts that we have examined].—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N103" id="footnote_N103"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N103">103</a> (p. 115). <i>Officers who collected +royal dues.</i>—The custom-house officers of Lisbon. We may +compare with Azurara's graphic account of the return of Antam Gonçalvez +in 1445, the very similar details of a much greater reception in the +same port: that of Columbus on March 14th, 1493, on his home-coming from +his first voyage (see the postscript of Columbus' Letter to Luis de +Santangel, Chancellor of the Exchequer of Aragon, respecting the Islands +found in the Indies).</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N104" id="footnote_N104"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N104">104</a> (p. 115). <i>A palace of the Infant, a +good way distant from the Ribeira.</i>—Azurara's only reference, +in this Chronicle, to the Lisbon residence of the Infant Henry. This +passage implies that Prince Henry was often to be found there, and must +be taken with others in modification of extreme statements about his +"shutting himself up at Sagres," etc. Again, at the end of this chapter +we are expressly told that he was now in his dukedom of Viseu, in the +province of Beira, some 50 kilometres N.E. of Coimbra, 220 kilometres +N.N.E. of Lisbon.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N105" id="footnote_N105"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N105">105</a> (p. 115). +<i>Profits.</i>—Azurara's remarks here about the change of feeling +as to the Infant's plans are similar to passages in ch. xiv, p. 51, ch. +xviii, pp. 60-61.] </p> + +<p class="footnote"><a name="footnote_N106" +id="footnote_N106"></a> <a href="#fnanchor_N106">106</a> (p. 116). +<i>Lisbon ... profit.</i>—The city of Lisbon, whose name was +traditionally and absurdly derived from Ulysses—"Ulyssipo," +"Olisipo," and his foundation of the original settlement in the course +of his voyages, was perhaps a greater city under the Moors, +eighth-twelfth century, than at any time before the reign of Emmanuel +the Fortunate. It was a Roman colony, but its prosperity greatly +increased under the Arab rule from <span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 714; +from this port sailed Edrisi's Maghrarins, or Wanderers, on their voyage +of discovery in the Western Ocean, probably in the earliest eleventh +century. It was three times recovered and lost by the Christians: in +792(-812) by Alfonso the Chaste of Castille; in 851 by Ordonho I of +Leon, who held it only a few months; and in 1093(-1094) by Alfonso VI of +Leon, soon after his great defeat by the Almoravides at Zalacca (1086); +but on each occasion it was quickly retaken—in 1094 by Seyr, +General of Yusuf ibn Tashfin, the Almorvaide. In alarm at the Moslem +revival, Alfonso founded the county of Portugal in 1095, giving it in +charge of Count Henry of Burgundy and his natural daughter Theresa, to +hold as a "march" against the Moors. In 1147 Lisbon was finally +recaptured by Affonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal, in alliance +with a fleet (164 ships) of English, Flemish, German and French +Crusaders on their way to the Holy Land (Second Crusade). At this time +it was said, perhaps with exaggeration, to contain 400,000 inhabitants; +its present number is only about 240,000 (see <i>Cruce-signati Anglici +Epistola de Expugnatione Olisiponis</i>, in <i>Portugalliæ Monumenta +Historica</i>, vol. i, p. 392, etc). Before 1147 Guimaraens had been the +capital of Portugal; and even down to the time of John I, Henry's +father, Lisbon was not formally the seat of government, this being more +often fixed at Coimbra. In the same reign, Lisbon also, as a commercial +port, easily distanced all rivals within the kingdom, especially Oporto; +and King John's erection of palaces in the city, and his successful +application to the Pope for the creation of an Archiepiscopal See (thus +rivalling Braga), further contributed to give point to Azurara's words +in this paragraph about "the most noble town in Portugal." On the share +of the commercial classes of Lisbon, Lagos, etc., in Henry's schemes, +see Introduction to vol. ii, pp. x, xii.</p> + +<p class="footnote"><i>Paulo Vergeryo</i> is Pietro Paulo Vergerio, born +at Capo d'Istria, July 23, 1370, died at Buda, 1444 (1428 according to +others). He enjoyed a considerable reputation as a scholar at Padua in +1393, etc., and migrated to Hungary in 1419. See Bayle, <i>Dict. +Crit.</i> IV, 430 (1741); P. Louisy, in <i>Nouvelle Biographie +Générale</i>, art. (Vergerio); J. Bernardi, in <i>Riv. Univers.</i> +(Florence, 1875) xxii, 405-430, in <i>Arch. Stor. Ital.</i> (1876) C., +xxiii, 176-180; Brunet, <i>Manuel V</i>, 1132-3; Muratori, <i>Rer. Ital. +Scr.</i> (edition of Vergerio's works) XVI, pp. 111-187, 189-215, +215-242; <i>Fabricius</i>, ed. Mansi, VI, p. 289. He has left various +<i>Orations and Letters</i>; especially an <i>Epistola de morte +Francisci Zabarekae</i>, and a <i>Historia seu Vitae Carariensium +Principum ab eorum origine usque ad Jacobini mortem</i> (1355). See also +Joachim Vadianus, <i>Biographia P. P. Vergerii, sen.</i>; and C. A. +Combi, <i>Di Pierpaolo V. ... seniore ... memoria</i>, Venice, 1880.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N107" id="footnote_N107"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N107">107</a> (p. 116). <i>Gonçalo Pacheco ... +Kingdom.</i>—Barros copies this sentence, with some omissions. The +allusion to the <i>High Treasurer of Ceuta</i> (<i>Thesoureiro Mor das +cousas de Cepta</i>), and his <i>Noble lineage, goodness, and +valour</i>, is interesting in its proof of the detailed attention given +to the new conquest, and to African affairs generally, by the Portuguese +government at this time.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N108" id="footnote_N108"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N108">108</a> (p. 117). <i>Cape Branco.</i>—On +the <i>personnel</i> of this expedition we have accounts elsewhere; for +Dinis Eannes de Graã and the rest, see chs. xxxvii-xlviii, and +especially pp. 121, 122, 126, 130, 131, 138; for Mafaldo, especially p. +119 ("a man well acquainted with this business ... had been many times +in the Moorish traffic"); also pp. 120-121, etc. Cape Branco, since its +discovery by Nuno Tristam, had become the favourite rendezvous of the +Portuguese expeditions on this coast. See ch. lii, p. 153 (made +agreement to await one another <i>as usual at Cape Branco</i>).</p> + +<p class="footnote">On the <i>banners of the Order of Christ</i>, see +Introduction to vol. ii, pp. xviii-xix; and in this Chronicle, pp. 62 +(ch. xviii), 53 (ch. xv), 117 (ch. xxxvii), etc.</p> + +<p class="footnote">[Cf. a parchment atlas (unpublished), executed in +Messina as late as 1567 by João Martinez, in which two Portuguese ships +are painted in various points of the Eastern Ocean <i>with the Cross of +the Order of Christ on their sails</i>, apparently to indicate the +Portuguese dominion in those waters. This atlas passed into the Library +of Heber, and afterwards into that of M. Ternaux.]—S.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N109" id="footnote_N109"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N109">109</a> (p. 120). <i>The patience with which +men bear the troubles of their fellows</i> is another piece of irony, +similar to that on p. 102; see note 96.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N110" id="footnote_N110"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N110">110</a> (p. 122). <i>Fifty-three Moorish +prisoners.</i>—In this, as in subsequent actions, Mafaldo, rather +than Gonçalo Pacheco, showed himself to be the leader of the +expedition.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N111" id="footnote_N111"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N111">111</a> (p. 123). <i>Cunning ... but small in +this part of the world.</i>—The fair inference is that, on this +occasion, Mafaldo, from his previous experience, correctly estimated the +danger (or absence of danger), and knew when to trust the natives. +Similar trustfulness was not always equally successful, sometimes from +absence of that past experience possessed by Mafaldo. See chs. xxvii, +pp. 90, 91; xlviii, pp. 144-5; lxxxvi, pp. 252, etc.; xxxv, pp. 112-3. +The Azanegue Moors of the Sahara on the whole showed less ability to +defend themselves than the Negroes of the Sudan coast; cf. chs. xlv, pp. +137-8; lx, pp. 179-182; lxxxvi, pp. 252-6; xli, p. 130; xxxi, p. 99; +contrast with pp. 126, 122, 114, 105-6, 78, 73, 36.</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_N112" id="footnote_N112"></a> +<a href="#fnanchor_N112">112</a> (p. 126) ... <i>true +effects.</i>—Azurara certainly does not commit the error of "those +historians who avoid prolixity by summarizing things that would be +greatest if related in their true effects," <i>i. e.</i>, in detail. +This central portion of his narrative (chs. xxxvi-lix, lxviii-lxxiv) is +especially tedious, and we cannot too much regret the comparative +sacrifice of the scientific interest to the anecdotal, biographical, or +slave-raiding details, with which he fills so much of this Chronicle. +Cf. the slender and imperfect narratives of the really important voyages +of Dinis Diaz (ch. xxxi), Alvaro Fernandez (ch. lxxv), and Nuno Tristam +(chs. xxx, lxxxvi), with the lengthy descriptions of the expeditions +personally conducted by Gonçalo de Sintra, Gonçalo Pacheco, Lançarote, +Mafaldo, and other men whose voyages resulted in scarcely any advance of +exploration. In all this Azurara's narrative contrasts unfortunately +with Cadamosto's, which is not only a record of exploration, but of +acute original observation, a quality by no means so noticeable in the +<i>Chronicle of Guinea</i>, except at rare intervals. Cf., however, chs. +xxv, lxxvi-lxxvii, lxxix-lxxxiii, and see Introduction to vol. ii, pp. +xxiv-xxvi, etc.</p> + +<p class="center p4">INDEX.</p> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><b>Adahu</b>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> + +<li><b>Affonso V</b> of Portugal, <a href="#Page_i">i</a>, <a +href="#Page_v">v</a>, <a href="#Page_x">x</a>, <a href="#Page_xi"> +xi</a>, <a href="#Page_xiv">xiv</a>, <a href="#Page_xxii">xxii</a>, <a +href="#Page_xxiii">xxiii</a>, <a href="#Page_xxvi">xxvi</a>, <a +href="#Page_xxviii">xxviii</a>, <a href="#Page_xxx">xxx</a>, <a +href="#Page_xxxviii">xxxviii</a>, <a href="#Page_xli">xli</a>, <a +href="#Page_xliii">xliii</a>; <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a +href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_11"> 11</a>, <a href="#Page_14"> +14</a>, <a href="#Page_19"> 19</a>, <a href="#Page_20"> 20</a>, <a +href="#Page_39"> 39</a>, <a href="#Page_98"> 98</a> </li> + +<li><b>Affonso, Diego</b>, <a href="#Page_xvi">xvi</a>, <a +href="#Page_xvii">xvii</a>; <a href="#Page_95"> 95</a>, <a +href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a +href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> + +<li><b>Affonso, Stevam</b>, <a href="#Page_63"> 63</a></li> + +<li><b>Ahude Meymam</b> (Meimom), <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li> + +<li><b>Aires, G.</b>, <a href="#Page_xxiv">xxiv</a></li> + +<li><b>Algarve</b>, Prov. of, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li> + +<li><b>Alvarez, R.</b>, <a href="#Page_63"> 63</a></li> + +<li><b>Alvellos, L. d'</b>, <a href="#Page_91"> 91</a></li> + +<li><b>Arguim</b>, Bight and Islands of, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a +href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a +href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a +href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a></li> + +<li><b>Aristotle</b>, "The Philosopher," <a href="#Page_22"> 22</a>, <a +href="#Page_44"> 44</a></li> + +<li><b>Atlas</b>, <a href="#Page_13"> 13</a></li> + +<li><b>Augustine, St.</b>, <a href="#Page_44"> 44</a>, <a +href="#Page_92"> 92</a>, <a href="#Page_93"> 93</a></li> + +<li><b>Avranches</b>, Count of, <a href="#Page_19"> 19</a></li> + +<li><b>Azanegues</b>, <a href="#Page_49"> 49</a></li> + +<li><b>Azevedo, F. L. d'</b>, <a href="#Page_52"> 52</a></li> + +<li><b>Azevedo, R. d'</b>, <a href="#Page_ii"> ii</a>, <a +href="#Page_iv">iv</a>, <a href="#Page_xxxii">xxxii</a></li> + +<li><b>Azurara, G. E. d'</b>, <a href="#Page_l">l-lxvii</a>, passim; <a +href="#Page_1">1-10</a>, <a href="#Page_98"> 98</a>, <a +href="#Page_103">103</a></li> + +<li><b>Azurara, J. E. d'</b>, <a href="#Page_ii"> ii</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><b>Baldaya, A. G.</b>, <a href="#Page_xi"> xi</a>; <a +href="#Page_34"> 34</a>, <a href="#Page_35"> 35-8</a></li> + +<li><b>Balthasar</b>, <a href="#Page_55"> 55</a></li> + +<li><b>Barcellos</b>, Count, Duke of Braganza, <a href="#Page_16"> +16</a></li> + +<li><b>Barros</b>, <b>J</b>., <a href="#Page_ii">ii</a>, <a +href="#Page_xxviii">xxviii</a>, <a href="#Page_xlvi">xlvi</a></li> + +<li><b>Belem</b>, <a href="#Page_19"> 19</a></li> + +<li><b>Bernaldez, J.</b>, <a href="#Page_63"> 63</a>, <a +href="#Page_73"> 73</a></li> + +<li><b>Boccaccio, G.</b>, <a href="#Page_ix"> ix</a></li> + +<li><b>Braga, T.</b>, <a href="#Page_ix"> ix</a></li> + +<li><b>Braganza</b>, Lord of = D. Fernando, nephew of John I of +Portugal, <a href="#Page_16"> 16</a></li> + +<li><b>Brandan, St.</b>, <a href="#Page_27"> 27</a></li> + +<li><b>Brito, S. de</b>, <a href="#Page_iii">iii</a></li> + +<li><b>Bugia</b>, <a href="#Page_17"> 17</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><b>Cadiz</b>, <a href="#Page_21"> 21</a></li> + +<li><b>Cæsar, C. J.</b>, <a href="#Page_24"> 24</a>, <a href="#Page_93"> +93</a></li> + +<li><b>Caldeira, L.</b>, <a href="#Page_91"> 91</a></li> + +<li><b>Cerveira, A.</b>, <a href="#Page_xvii">xvii</a>; <a +href="#Page_103">103</a></li> + +<li><b>Ceuta</b>, <a href="#Page_15">15-18</a></li> + +<li><b>Chrysostom, St.</b>, <a href="#Page_26"> 26</a></li> + +<li><b>Cicero</b>, <a href="#Page_14"> 14</a>, <a href="#Page_24"> +24</a>, <a href="#Page_25"> 25</a></li> + +<li><b>Cid</b>, The = Ruy Diaz de Bivar, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li> + +<li><b>Cocles, Horatius</b>, <a href="#Page_24"> 24</a></li> + +<li><b>Coutinho, G. V.</b>, <a href="#Page_16"> 16</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><b>Diaz, D.</b>, <a href="#Page_xvii">xvii</a>; <a +href="#Page_98">98-100</a></li> + +<li><b>Diaz, J.</b>, <a href="#Page_63"> 63</a></li> + +<li><b>Diaz, L.</b>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> + +<li><b>Diniz</b> (Denis, Dionysius), of Portugal, Intr. <span +class="smcap">i</span>, <a href="#Page_v">v</a>, <a href="#Page_xxv" +>xxv</a></li> <li><b>Duarte</b> (Edward), of Portugal, Intr. <span +class="smcap">i</span>, <a href="#Page_v">v</a>, <a href="#Page_vii" +>vii</a>, <a href="#Page_ix"> ix</a>, <a href="#Page_xiv">xiv</a>; <a +href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_11"> 11</a>, <a href="#Page_18"> +18</a>, <a href="#Page_28"> 28</a>, <a href="#Page_39"> 39</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><b>Eannes, Gil</b>, <a href="#Page_xiv">xiv</a>; <a +href="#Page_32">32-4</a>, <a href="#Page_63"> 63</a>, <a +href="#Page_69">69-71</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74-5</a></li> + +<li><b>Eannes, Gil</b>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> + +<li><b>Eannes, M.</b>, <a href="#Page_xxxii">xxxii-iii</a></li> + +<li><b>Eugenius IV</b>, Pope, <a href="#Page_53"> 53</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><b>Fernandez, A.</b>, <a href="#Page_xix">xix</a></li> + +<li><b>Fernandez, J.</b>, <a href="#Page_xix">xix</a>; <a +href="#Page_95"> 95</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a +href="#Page_107">107-11</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></li> + +<li><b>Fernandez, M.</b>, <a href="#Page_57"> 57</a></li> + +<li><b>Fernando</b>, "O Formoso," King of Portugal, <a +href="#Page_xxix">xxix</a></li> + +<li><b>Fez</b>, <a href="#Page_17"> 17</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><b>Gama, V. da</b>, <a href="#Page_xxvii">xxvii</a></li> + +<li><b>Garamantes</b>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a></li> + +<li><b>Genoese</b>, in connection with Spain and Portugal, <a +href="#Page_21"> 21</a></li> + +<li><b>George</b>, <a href="#Page_91"> 91</a></li> + +<li><b>Gibraltar</b>, <a href="#Page_17"> 17</a></li> + +<li><b>Gil, A.</b>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></li> + +<li><b>Gil, D.</b>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> + +<li><b>Goes, D. de</b>, <a href="#Page_ii"> ii</a>, <a +href="#Page_xxxi">xxxi</a>, <a href="#Page_xliv">xliv</a>, <a +href="#Page_xlv" >xlv</a></li> + +<li><b>Gonçalvez, A.</b>, <a href="#Page_xiv">xiv</a>, <a +href="#Page_xv"> xv</a>, <a href="#Page_xvi">xvi</a>; <a +href="#Page_39">39-51</a>, <a href="#Page_52"> 52</a>, <a +href="#Page_54">54-7</a>, <a href="#Page_95"> 95</a>, <a +href="#Page_101">101-7</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109-13</a>, <a +href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> + +<li><b>Gonçalvez, J.</b>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></li> + +<li><b>Goterres, A.</b>, <a href="#Page_40"> 40</a>, <a href="#Page_42"> +42</a></li> + +<li><b>Graa, D. E. de</b>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a +href="#Page_126">126</a></li> + +<li><b>Granada</b>, <a href="#Page_17"> 17</a></li> + +<li><b>Gregory I</b>, Pope, St., <a href="#Page_7">7</a></li> + +<li><b>Guarcia, A.</b>, <a href="#Page_xxiv">xxiv</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><b>Hannibal</b>, <a href="#Page_94"> 94</a></li> + +<li><b>Henry</b>, "The Navigator," Prince of Portugal, <a +href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_x">x -xx</a>, <a +href="#Page_xxvii">xxvii</a>, <a href="#Page_l">l</a>, <a +href="#Page_lii">lii</a>, <a href="#Page_lvii">lvii</a>, <a +href="#Page_lxiii">lxiii</a>; <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a +href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6-35</a>, <a +href="#Page_38">38-9</a>, <a href="#Page_40"> 40</a>, <a +href="#Page_51">51-4</a>, <a href="#Page_55"> 55</a>, <a +href="#Page_60">60-62</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79-87</a>, <a +href="#Page_95"> 95</a>, <a href="#Page_98"> 98</a>, <a +href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a +href="#Page_106">106-7</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li> + +<li><b>Herculano</b>, <a href="#Page_ii"> ii</a>, <a +href="#Page_xlii">xlii</a></li> + +<li><b>Homem, G.</b>, <a href="#Page_xvii">xvii</a>; <a +href="#Page_101">101-2</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> + +<li><b>Homem, H.</b>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><b>Isabel</b>, Duchess of Burgundy, sister of Henry the Navigator, +<a href="#Page_11"> 11</a></li> + +<li>"<b>Islands of the Ocean</b>," <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li> + +<li>"<b>Italian Wisdom</b>," <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><b>James, St.</b>, of Compostella (Santiago), <a href="#Page_5">5 +</a></li> + +<li><b>Jerome, St.</b>, <a href="#Page_22"> 22</a></li> + +<li><b>John I</b>, of Portugal, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a +href="#Page_ix"> ix</a>, <a href="#Page_xxv">xxv</a>; <a +href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_11"> 11</a>, <a href="#Page_17"> +17</a>, <a href="#Page_98"> 98</a></li> + +<li><b>John</b>, Prince of Portugal, <a href="#Page_17"> 17</a></li> + +<li><b>John</b>, of Lançon, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li> + +<li><b>Josephus</b>, <a href="#Page_54"> 54</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>"<b>Labyrinth</b>," <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> + +<li><b>Lagos</b>, <a href="#Page_61"> 61</a>, <a href="#Page_70"> +70</a></li> + +<li><b>Lançarote</b>, <a href="#Page_xv"> xv-xviii</a>; <a +href="#Page_60">60-80</a>, <a href="#Page_83"> 83</a>, <a +href="#Page_86"> 86</a></li> + +<li><b>Lisbon</b>, <a href="#Page_50"> 50</a>, <a href="#Page_115" +>115</a></li> + +<li><b>Livy</b>, <a href="#Page_44"> 44</a>, <a href="#Page_93"> +93</a></li> + +<li><b>Lopes, Fernam</b>, <a href="#Page_v">v</a>, <a href="#Page_vii" +>vii</a>, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_xxi">xxi</a>, +<a href="#Page_xxix">xxix</a>, <a href="#Page_xlv">xlv</a></li> + +<li><b>Lucan</b>, <a href="#Page_24"> 24</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><b>Mafaldo</b>, <a href="#Page_117">117-123</a></li> + +<li><b>Marocco</b>, <a href="#Page_17"> 17</a></li> + +<li><b>Menezes, P. de</b>, <a href="#Page_xxv">xxv</a>, <a +href="#Page_xxvi">xxvi</a>, <a href="#Page_xxxv">xxxv</a>, <a +href="#Page_xl"> xl</a></li> + +<li><b>Menezes, D. de</b>, <a href="#Page_xxxviii">xxxviii</a></li> + +<li><b>Menezes, H. de</b>, <a href="#Page_xxxix">xxxix-xl</a></li> + +<li><b>Meyrelles, V. de</b>, <a href="#Page_iv"> iv</a></li> + +<li><b>Mohammed</b>, <a href="#Page_10"> 10</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><b>Order of Christ</b>, <a href="#Page_19"> 19</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><b>Pacheco, G.</b>, <a href="#Page_xviii">xviii</a>; <a +href="#Page_116">116</a></li> + +<li><b>Pedro, D.</b>, Regent of Portugal, brother of Henry Navigator, <a +href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_xiv">xiv</a>, <a +href="#Page_xv"> xv</a>; <a href="#Page_19"> 19</a>, <a href="#Page_53"> +53</a>, <a href="#Page_95"> 95</a></li> + +<li><b>Pedro, D.</b>, nephew of Henry Navigator, <a +href="#Page_i">i</a></li> + +<li><b>Pedro, D.</b>, of Aragon, <a href="#Page_xxxvi">xxxvi</a></li> + +<li><b>Pereira, Nun'Alvares</b>, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a +href="#Page_xi"> xi</a>, <a href="#Page_liii">liii-iv</a>; <a +href="#Page_4">4</a></li> + +<li><b>Phidias</b>, <a href="#Page_22"> 22</a></li> + +<li><b>Philippa</b>, mother of Henry Navigator, <a +href="#Page_xlvi">xlvi</a>; <a href="#Page_11"> 11</a></li> + +<li><b>Pillito, A. G.</b>, <a href="#Page_91"> 91</a></li> + +<li><b>Pina, R. de</b>, <a href="#Page_vi"> vi</a>, <a +href="#Page_viii">viii</a></li> + +<li><b>Pirez, G.</b>, <a href="#Page_xvi">xvi</a>, <a href="#Page_xx"> +xx</a></li> + +<li><b>Pisano, M. de</b>, <a href="#Page_i">i</a>, <a href="#Page_iv"> +iv</a>, <a href="#Page_xxxv">xxxv</a></li> + +<li><b>Prester John</b>, <a href="#Page_55"> 55</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><b>Ramiro, D.</b>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> + +<li><b>Roderic</b> of Toledo, <a href="#Page_54"> 54</a></li> + +<li><b>Romulus</b>, <a href="#Page_24"> 24</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><b>Sagres</b>, <a href="#Page_21"> 21</a></li> + +<li><b>Sallust</b>, <a href="#Page_22"> 22</a></li> + +<li><b>Santarem</b>, Viscount, <a href="#Page_xi"> xi</a></li> + +<li><b>Seneca</b>, <a href="#Page_25"> 25</a>, <a href="#Page_26"> +26</a>, <a href="#Page_94"> 94</a></li> + +<li><b>Serra, C. de</b>, <a href="#Page_iii">iii</a></li> + +<li><b>Sigismund</b> (Siegmund), <a href="#Page_24"> 24</a></li> + +<li><b>Sintra, G. de</b>, <a href="#Page_xvi">xvi</a>, <a +href="#Page_xviii">xviii</a>; <a href="#Page_87">87-91</a>, <a +href="#Page_94"> 94</a></li> + +<li><b>Socrates</b>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li > +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><b>Tangier</b>, <a href="#Page_14"> 14</a></li> + +<li><b>Thomas Aquinas, St.</b>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a +href="#Page_7">7</a></li> + +<li><b>Torquatus, M.</b>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a +href="#Page_93">93</a></li> + +<li><b>Tristam, N.</b>, <a href="#Page_xiv">xiv-xvii</a>, <a +href="#Page_xix">xix</a>; <a href="#Page_44">44-51</a>, <a +href="#Page_58">58-9</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a +href="#Page_96">96-8</a></li> + +<li><b>Tunis</b>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><b>Valerius Maximus</b>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a +href="#Page_44">44</a></li> + +<li><b>Valladores, D. A. de</b>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> + +<li><b>Vallarte</b>, <a href="#Page_xx">xx</a></li> + +<li><b>Vasconcellos, C. M. de</b>, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a></li> + +<li><b>Vasquez, A.</b>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a +href="#Page_124">124-5</a></li> + +<li><b>Vasquez, G.</b>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a></li> + +<li><b>Vegetius</b>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li> + +<li><b>Vergerio, P.</b>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li> + +<li><b>Vicente, M.</b>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_64"> +64</a></li> + +<li><b>Vinagre, G.</b>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><b>Walter</b>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><b>Zarco, J. G.</b>, <a href="#Page_xviii">xviii</a></li> +</ul> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Chronicle of the Discovery and +Conquest of Guinea, by Gomes Eannes de Azurara + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DISCOVERY-CONQUEST OF GUINEA, VOL I *** + +***** This file should be named 35738-h.htm or 35738-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/5/7/3/35738/ + +Produced by Chris Curnow, Joseph Cooper, Carol Ann Brown +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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