Thus, during a long period of fifty-two years, this patriotic prince devoted almost his whole attention, and the ample revenues which he enjoyed as Duke of Viseo end grand master of the military order of Christ, in extending the maritime knowledge, and consequently the commercial prosperity of his country. The incidents of the last seven years of the life of this distinguished prince, are involved in uncertainty, and we know very little with regard to the progress of his maritime discoveries from 1456, the date of the second of the voyages of Cada Mosto, of which we propose to give a separate account, till the year of his death, 1463. From the year 1412, when he began his operations, at which time he could scarcely exceed fifteen years of age, the navigators who had been formed under his auspices and direction, and often instructed by himself in the theory of navigation and cosmography, gradually explored the western coast of Africa, from Cape Nam or Non, in lat. 28° 15', certainly to Rio Grande, in lat. 11° N. or rather to Rio de Nuno, not quite a degree farther south; but it is highly probable that the southern limit of discovery in his time extended to Cabo Verga, in lat. 10° N. the northern boundary of the country usually called the Sierra Liona, or the Ridge of Lions, perhaps to the gulf of Mitomba, or bay of Sierra Liona, in lat. 8° 30' N. an extent of 29° 15' of latitude, or 1185 nautical miles; a mere nothing certainly when compared with modern navigation, but a wonderful effort in the infancy of the science, when even coasting voyages of any extent along well known shores, and in frequented seas, were looked upon as considerable efforts. No brilliant discovery, indeed, rewarded the perseverance of Don Henry, and the courage of his servants; but an indestructible foundation of useful knowledge was laid, for overthrowing the ignorant prejudices of the age, and by which, not long afterwards, his plans were perfected by completing the circumnavigation of Africa, and by the discovery of the New World. Dr. Vincent, the learned editor and commentator of the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, is disposed to limit the discoveries of Don Henry to Cape Verd[2], but Ramusio believed that the Island of St. Thomas was settled in his time; and the ingenious translator of the Lusiad of Camoens is of opinion that some of his commanders passed beyond the equator[3]. According to Mickle, it was the custom of his navigators to leave his motto, Talent de bien faire , wherever they came; and in 1525 Loaya, a Spanish captain, found that device carved on the bark of a tree in the island of St. Matthew, or Anabon, in the second degree of southern latitude. But this proof is quite inconclusive, as the navigators long reared in the school of this great prince might naturally enough continue his impress upon the countries they visited, even after his lamented death.
[2] Peripl. of the Erythr. Sea, 193.
[3] Hist. of the Disc. of India, prefixed to the translation of the Lusiad, I. 158.
About seven years before the decease of Don Henry, two voyages were made to the African coast by Alvise da Cada Mosto, a Venetian navigator, under the auspices of the Duke of Viseo; but which we have chosen to separate from the historical deduction of the Portuguese discoveries, principally because they contain the oldest nautical journal extant, except those already given in our First Part from the pen of the great Alfred, and are therefore peculiarly valuable in a work of this nature. Their considerable length, likewise, and because they were not particularly conducive to the grand object of extending the maritime discoveries, have induced us to detach them from the foregoing narrative, that we might carry it down unbroken to the death of the great Don Henry. These voyages, likewise, give us an early picture of the state of population, civilization, and manners of the Africans, not to be met with elsewhere.
To this we subjoin an abstract of the narrative of a voyage made by Pedro de Cintra, a Portuguese captain, to the coast of Africa, drawn up for Cada Mosto, at Lagos, by a young Portuguese who had been his secretary, and who had accompanied Cintra in his voyage. The exact date of this voyage is nowhere given; but as the death of Don Henry is mentioned in the narrative, it probably took place in that year, 1463.
CHAPTER IV.
Original journals of the voyages of Cada Mosto, and Piedro de Cintra to the coast of Africa; the former in the years 1455 and 1456, and the latter soon afterwards [1].
[1] Astley, Col. of Voy. and Trav. I. 573. Clarke, Prog. of Marit. Disc. I. 235.
INTRODUCTION.
Alvise Da Cada Mosto, a Venetian, in the service of Don Henry of Portugal, informs us in his preface, that he was the first navigator from the noble city of Venice , who had sailed on the ocean beyond the Straits of Gibraltar, to the southern parts of Negroland, and Lower Ethiopia. These voyages at Cada Mosto are the oldest extant in the form of a regular journal, and were originally composed in Italian, and first printed at Venice in 1507. This first edition is now exceedingly scarce, but there is a copy in the kings library, and another in the valuable collection made by Mr. Dalrymple. These voyages were afterward published by Ramusio in 1613, and by Grynæus in Latin. The latter was misled in regard to the date; which he has inadvertently placed in 1504, after the death of Prince Henry, and even subsequent to the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope by Bernal Diaz. Even Ramusio, in his introduction to the voyages of Cada Mosto, has made a mistake in saying that they were undertaken by the orders of John king of Portugal, who died in 1433.
Ramusio imagined that the discoveries of Cada Mosto might tend to great importance, as he considered the rivers Senegal and Rio Grande to be branches of the Niger, by which means the Europeans might open a trade with the rich kingdoms of Tombuto and Melli on that river, and thus bring gold from the countries of the Negroes, by an easier, safer, and more expeditious manner, than as conveyed by the Moors of Barbary by land, over the vast and dangerous deserts that intervene between the country on the Niger and Senegal rivers, and Barbary. As, by the account of Leo, salt is the most valuable commodity throughout the countries of the Negroes, Ramusio proposed that the ships should take in cargoes of salt at the island of Sal , one of the Cape de Verds, and thence supply the countries on the Niger, which was reported to be navigable for 500 miles into the interior; and that they should bring back gold and slaves in return; the latter to be brought to market at St. Jago, another of the Cape de Verd islands, where they would be immediately bought up for the West Indies. All this fine speculation, however, rested on mistaken foundations; as the Niger is altogether an inland river, running to the east, and has no communication with the Senegal and Gambia, which run west into the Atlantic. Yet time, and the civilization of the natives on the Senegal and Gambia, may hereafter realize this scheme of a valuable traffic into the interior of Africa; but it is fervently to be hoped, that the trade in slaves may never be revived.
In his preface, after an apology for his performance, and making a declaration of his strict adherence to truth in all the particulars he relates, Cada Mosto gives some account of the infant Don Henriquez, or Henry, of Portugal, the great author and promoter of maritime discoveries. He praises him, as a prince of a great soul and sublime genius, and of great skill in astronomy; and adds, that he applied himself entirely to the service of Christ, by making war against the Moors. While on death- bed, in 1432, Don John, king of Portugal, exhorted his son Don Henry to pursue his laudable and holy purpose, of persecuting the enemies of the Christian faith, which he promised to perform; and, accordingly, with the assistance of his brother Don Duarte, or Edward, who succeeded to the throne of Portugal, he made war in Fez with success for many years. Afterwards, the more effectually to harass the Moors, he used to send his caravels, or ships of war, annually, to scour the coasts of Azafi, or Al Saffi, and Messa, on the coast of Africa, without the Mediteranean, by which he did them much damage. But, having in view to make discoveries along that western coast, he ordered them every year to advance farther towards the south. They accordingly proceeded till they came to a great cape, which put a stop to their progress southwards for several years, being afraid to go beyond it; whence it took the name it still retains of Cape Non[2]; meaning, that such as went beyond should never return. Don Henry, however, was of a different opinion, and adding three other caravels to those which had been at the cape, sent them again next year to make the attempt. They accordingly penetrated about 100 miles beyond that cape, where they found only a sandy coast with no habitations,