The Portuguese Pioneers

Edgar Prestage

Description

The Pioneer Histories are intended to provide a broad survey of the great migrations of European people for purposes of trade, conquest and settlement into the non-European continents. They aim to describe a racial expansion which has created the complex world of today, so nationalistic in its instincts, so internationalised in its relationships. International affairs now claim the attention of every intelligent citizen, and problems of world-wide extent affect the security and livelihood of us all. He who would grasp their meaning and form sound judgements must look into the past for the foundations of the present, and, abandoning a local for a universal perspective, must take for his study the history of a world invaded by European ideas. It was less so in the days before the Great War. Then the emphasis was upon Europe itself: upon such questions as that of Frances eastern frontier inherited from Richelieu and Louis XIV, the militarism of Germany derived from Frederick the Great, and the Balkan entanglement which originated with the medieval migrations of Slavonic peoples and with the Turkish conquests of the fourteenth century. Now the prospect is wider, for these ancient domestic difficulties in modern form cannot properly be estimated except by correlation with the problems of a Europeanised outer world.

Sujets

• Histoire
• History

Informations

• Publié par: Read Books Ltd.
• Date de parution: 28 juin 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781528760607
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

THE PIONEER HISTORIES

EDITED BY V. T. HARLOW, M.A., AND J. A. WILLIAMSON, D.LIT.

THE PORTUGUESE PIONEERS

THE PIONEER HISTORIES

EDITED BY V. T. HARLOW, M.A., AND J. A. WILLIAMSON, D.LIT.

THE PORTUGUESE PIONEERS

EDITORS’ PREFACE TO THE SERIES

THE Pioneer Histories are intended to provide broad surveys of the great migrations of European peoples—for purposes of trade, conuest an d settlement—into the non- European continents. They aim at describing a racia l expansion which has created the complex world of to-day, so nationalistic in its in stincts, so internationalised in its relationships. International affairs now claim the attention of ev ery intelligent citizen, and problems of world-wide extent affect the security and liveli hood of us all. He who would grasp their meaning and form sound judgements must look i nto the past for the foundations of the present, and, abandoning a local for a universa l perspective, must take for his study the history of a world invaded by European id eas. It was less so in the days before the Great War. Then the emphasis was upon Eu rope itself: upon such uestions as that of France’s eastern frontier inherited from Richelieu and Louis XIV, the militarism of Germany derived from Frederick the Gr eat, and the Balkan entanglement which originated with the medieval migrations of Sl avonic peoples and with the Turkish conuests of the fourteenth century. Now the prospe ct is wider, for these ancient domestic difficulties in modern form cannot properl y be estimated except by correlation with the problems of a Europeanised outer world. The Orient is in ferment and Asiatic difficulties c ompel the attention of Geneva because long ago the Portuguese, followed by the Du tch and the English, rounded the Cape and came to India. For the same reason, Africa is no longer an unknown continent but a vast area in which civilised enterp rise demands direction and control. Knowledge of the process by which North America was discovered and gradually filled with Europeans is the necessary basis for an unders tanding of the modern reactions upon each other of the new continent and the old. I n South America the same process is to be seen at work, though incomplete while Natu re is yet unsubdued. Similarly, it may be appreciated how the search for an unknown bu t credited continent lying about the South Pole has helped to shift the centre of gravity to the Pacific, and has created a white Australasia. The present series will show how the permanent factors in these great regions first presented themselves to Europea n minds and how achievements were then effected which have governed all subseue nt relationships. But if the subject has this interest for students o f affairs, it has also its appeal to those who dwell most on individual character, coura ge and ingenuity. Movements are made by men, and in these stories of European expan sion are to be met men worth knowing, whose deeds carry inspiration for this gen eration as for all others. Each volume takes for its subject the history of an important movement and, while related to others in the series, is thus complete i n itself. The authors whose co- operation we have been fortunate to secure have all had experience of research in the original evidence pertaining to their subjects, and in their contributions to this series they give the results of that research in narrative s which should appeal to the general reader. Each book is designed to embody the most re cent information available, and some will be found to deal with subjects of which n o full treatment has hitherto been accessible in English. V. T. HARLOW J. A. WILLIAMSON

INTRODUCTION

THE geographical position of Portugal invited her to ecome a maritime power, ut with a population of only one and a. quarter million it could hardly have een expected that she would, in the words of R. H. Major, discover ha lf the world in the course of a century. This wonderful achievement of a small and poor nation, though recognised y historians, is less widely known owing to lack of a monograph than it deserves to e, and even the Portuguese themselves have produced no adequate and comprehensive work on the suject since that of João de Barros in the sixteenth century, continued y Diogo do Couto. Most satisfactory instalments are, however, contained in theHistoria de Portugallication, and in the, edited y Professor D. Peres, now in course of pu three folio volumes of the recently issuedHistoria da Colonisação do Brasil. The first modern scholarly account of Portuguese Exploration y sea in any language was that of Major in 1868, which has long een out of print, and since then we have had the pulications of Professor Sir Raymund Beazley on Pr ince Henry and studies of individual voyages y E. G. Ravenstein, Dr. J. Mees , H. Harrisse, Dr. Franz Hümmerich, and Dr. H. P. Biggar. Much new material has also een collected and printed in Portugal in the last sixty-five years, a nd important inedited texts have een pulished, such asEsmeraldo de situ orbis, the earliest sailing-guide to the west and south coasts of Africa; ut comparatively little of this material has een made availale for English readers. The information contained in t hese works often supplements the narratives of the Portuguese official historians an d it has een used in the present ook, the scope of which is suggested y its title. All the recorded voyages of discovery down to the e nd of the fifteenth century are descried, ut from then until the middle of the si xteenth, when the narrative ends, only the more important. Space would not allow minor coa stal ventures to e included, nor indeed is their numer and extent fully known; hund reds of Rutters exist in MS. in pulic and private liraries, in Portugal and elsew here, for the most part unread. This ook, though much shorter than the first editi on of Major, contains matter then and much later unknown, especially inChapter XIV. Thanks especially to the researches of Snr. Joaquim Bensaude and his reprint s of old and rare nautical guides, it is clear that, in addition to the discovery of lands and seas, the Portuguese developed for themselves the science which made it possile, and that they did not derive their knowledge from foreigners, save at the eginning of their maritime activities. The world-map shows the coasts and principal places found or visited y them until the middle of the sixteenth century, and it follows modern Portuguese maps of the same kind, ut with some omissions. For instance, t he discoveries of Magellan in his voyage of circumnavigation are not marked, ecause they were made under the Spanish flag. The second map is derived from Major and the fourth from one in Ravenstein’s work on Vasco da Gama, ut the outward route as there shown has een slightly deflected at Terra Alta to secure exactitu de. It should e oserved that oth the routes traced are conjectural, since the authoritie s give no precise information, and it is possile that da Gama took a course nearer to the c oast of Brazil on his way to the East. The third map marks only the points referred to in the text and not the many others reconnoitred and named y the two navigators . My wife, Dr. J. A. Williamson, and Mr. V. T. Harlow read the proofs, and I have to thank them for useful criticisms and information. P rofessor E. G. R. Taylor and Mr. E. A. Reeves kindly looked through Chapter XIV and used t heir special knowledge of some of the matters there treated to make corrections, w hile Mr. E. Heawood has een good

enough to identify the position of towns in the interior of Africa no longer existing. Since the remarks on page 156 were written, the Por tuguese government has resolved to commemorate the life-work of Prince Hen ry y erecting a more imposing monument at or near Cape St. Vincent. This decision has een taken in response to suggestions which have een frequently made y Port uguese and foreigners, and I am very pleased to e ale to announce that a det lon g due is to e paid. E. P.

CONTENTS

I.THE ROYAL AND MERCHANT NAVY, AND EARLY VOYAGES

II.THE EXPEDITION TO CEUTA. THE AIMS OF HENRY THE NAVIGATOR

III.MADEIRA, THE CANARIES AND THE AZORES

IV.FROM BOJADOR TO CAPE VERDE

V.VOYAGES FROM 1445 TO 1448

VI.FIRST VOYAGE OF ALVISE DA CADAMOSTO

VII.SECOND VOYAGE OF CADAMOSTO. DIOGO GOMES AND ANTONIO DA NOLI. DISCOVERY OF THE CAPE VERDE ISLANDS

VIII.LIFE AT CEUTA. THE CONQUEST OF ALCACER. HENRY’S DEATH AND CHARACTER

IX.THE TWENTY YEARS AFTER PRINCE HENRY’S DEATH

X.PROGRESS UNDER JOHN II. THE VOYAGES OF DIOGO CÃO. THE SEARCH FOR PRESTER JOHN. THE VOYAGE OF BARTHOLOMEW DIAS

XI.WESTWARD EXPLORATION

XII.THE FIRST VOYAGE OF VASCO DA GAMA

XIII.NORTH AMERICA, BRAZIL AND THE ORIENT

XIV.NAVIGATION, CARTOGRAPHY, SHIPS AND SEAMEN

INDEX

MAPS

1.THE WORLD: COASTS AND PLACES DISCOVERED OR VISITED BY THE PORTUGUESE

2.THE WEST COAST OF AFRICA, ILLUSTRATING THE VOYAGES OF HENRY’S SEAMEN

3.THE VOYAGES OF DIOGO CÃO AND BARTHOLOMEW DIAS

4.THE VOYAGES OF VASCO DA GAMA AND PEDRO ALVAREZ CABRAL

THE PORTUGUESE PIONEERS

CHAPTER I

THE ROYAL AND MERCHANT NAVY, AND EARLY VOYAGES

FEW facts are recorded about the early maritime his tory of the kingdom of Portugal, but we know that in addition to coastal navigation trad e was carried on with the North of Europe and with the Mediterranean countries, princi pally from Lisbon and Oporto, which were busy commercial centres. Portuguese merc hants founded a factory at Bruges and frequented Marseilles in the twelfth cen tury, while in the thirteenth they were established in the French Channel ports. In 12 26 more than 100 safe-conducts 1 were granted them in England. To this as to other countries Portugal sent hides, skins, dried fruits, oil, cork and wine. The first king, A fonso Henriques (1128–85), must have had a primitive navy, for tradition says that D. Fu as Roupinho captured a fleet of Moorish galleys off Cape Espichel, seized others at Ceuta, and later on in a fight with fifty-four Moorish vessels in the Strait of Gibralt ar was defeated and killed. In 1189 Sancho I contributed forty galleys, galliots and ot her vessels to a crusading fleet for the capture of Silves, capital of the Algarve. Sancho I I is reputed to have established an arsenal, and under Afonso III a fleet of large ship s of the royal navy, some at least of which had been built in Lisbon, took part in the in vestment of Faro. Documents of his reign describe various kinds of vessels under the n ames of barks, ships and caravels, and the designationnavese first, meaning vessels of a fair tonnage, appears for th time. Under Diniz, the greatest of the medieval kings, th e fighting and mercantile marine developed considerably and vessels were graded down wards in size asnaves, navios a n dbaixeis;barcasioo tons and upwards sailed to Spain, France, N  of ormandy and England; and in 1293 this monarch accepted a genero us suggestion of his merchants that it was for ‘God’s service and the good of the land’ that they should pay a tax on the goods they exported. Diniz had a pine forest plante d near Leiria to protect the fields from the invasion of sand from the shore and supply wood for shipbuilding, and he encouraged the latter by conferring the privilege o f knighthood on officers and even on artisans employed on constructions. It is possible, as some chroniclers say, that he kept a regular fleet at sea to guard the coast agai nst pirates, and we know that he was the first to appoint an admiral in the person of Nu no Fernandes Cogominho, a fact which shews that the navy had already attained a ce rtain importance. When Cogominho died, the King applied for a substitute f rom Genoa, then the leading naval power, whose subjects were employed by the kings of Castile and France to reorganise their navies. His choice fell on Manoel Pessanha, o r Pezagno, a noble and a man of repute in his profession, who in the contract made with him on 1 February 1317 1 undertook to provide twentysabedores do marcommand the galleys, which then, to formed the fighting force. The office was expressed to be a hereditary one, and with it went the grant of a large tract of land in Lisbon w ith the privileges of acouto, that is exemption from the ordinary jurisdiction of the Kin g’s officers of justice, and a salary of 3000libras (480,000reis). The admiral must have soon earned the confidence of the monarch, for in 1319 the town and castle of Odemira was bestowed on him. In 1320 he went as ambassador to the Pope at Avignon to ask fo r a subsidy for the fleet, and in 1322 he received an increase of salary. Four years later Afonso IV sent him on a diplomatic mission to Edward II of England to negot iate a marriage between his