Chapter V: Part 5

All kinds of spices are to be found in this city of Chalichut, such
as cinnamon, pepper, ginger, frankincense, lac; and brazil-wood
abounds in the forests. These spices do not grow here, but[316] in
a certain island at a distance of 160 leagues from this city, near
the mainland. It can be reached overland in xx days and is inhabited
by Moors.[317] All the above spices are brought to this city as to a
staple.[318]

[_Coins._]

The coins most in circulation in this city are serafins of fine gold,
coined by the Sultan of Babylonia,[319] which weigh 2 or 3 grains
less than a ducat, and are called serafins.[320] There also circulate
some Venetian and Genoese ducats, as also small silver coins, which
must likewise be of the coinage of said sultan.

[_Merchandise._]

There is abundance of silken stuffs, namely, velvets of various
colours,[321] satins, damask, taffetas, brocades worked in gold,
scarlet cloth, brass and tin ware.[322] In fine, all these things are
to be found in abundance, and it is my opinion that the cloths worked
in gold and the silks are brought thither from Cairo.

[_Shipping._]

The Portuguese remained three months at that town, namely, from May
21[323] to August 25, and during that time there arrived about 1,500
Moorish vessels in search of spices. The largest of these vessels did
not exceed 800 tons.[324] They are of all sorts, large and small.
Having only one mast they can make headway only with the wind astern,
and sometimes are obliged to wait from four to six months for fair
weather [the monsoon or season].

Many of these vessels are lost.[325] They are badly built,[326] and
very frail. They carry neither arms nor artillery.

The vessels which visit the islands to carry spices to this city of
Chalichut are flat-bottomed, so as to draw little water, for there
are many dry places (shoals). Some of these vessels are built without
any nails or iron,[327] for they have to pass over the loadstone.

All the vessels, as long as they remain at this city, are drawn
up on the beach, for there is no port where they would be safe
otherwise.[328]

[_Prices._]

A load of cinnamon equal to 5 Lisbon cantars[329] is worth in
that city between x and xii ducats, or serafins, at most; but in
the islands where it is collected it is worth only half that sum.
Pepper and cloves are rated similarly. Ginger[330] and cinnamon are
worth more than any other spices, but lac is worth next to nothing,
and they ballast their vessels with it, that is calk them.[331]
Brazil-wood abounds in the forests.

In payment they only take gold and silver; coral and other
merchandise of our parts they esteem but little,[332] linen-cloth
excepted, which I believe would find a ready market, as the sailors
bartered some of their shirts very profitably for spices, although
very fine white linen cloth, probably imported from Cairo, is found
there.

There is a custom-house in this city as elsewhere, and merchandise
pays a duty of 5 p. c.

The Portuguese who returned home brought a few precious stones of
little value, for, in truth, they had neither gold nor silver to buy
any. They say that these jewels are very dear there, as also are
pearls, but I believe they are to be had cheap. This is my opinion,
but those they bought were in the hands of Moorish brokers, who sell
at a fourfold profit. They have brought some balasci,[333] sapphires
and very small rubies, as also many garnets. They say that the
captain brings some valuable jewels, which he bought with the silver
which he had at his disposal, but as he has not yet come back it is
not known what he brings.[334]

[_Trade with Egypt and East Africa._]

Most of the vessels which lade spices at Chalichut cross the large
gulf, mentioned above, over which the pilot took them; they then pass
through the strait.[335] The Red Sea is crossed in smaller vessels,
after which they proceed by land to the House of Mecca, which is a
journey of 3 days. They then take the route for Cairo, past the foot
of Mount Sinai, and through a desert of sand where, they say, high
winds sometimes raise the sand in such a manner that it covers them.
Some of the spice-vessels visit all the cities of the gulf, others
go to the mouth of the great river,[336] where gold is found and a
Moorish population, and there discharge their cargoes.

They found in this city of Chalichut barrels of Malvasia[337] from
Candia, and I believe that they were brought from Cairo, as is other
merchandise.

[_Chinese Visitors._]

It is now about 80 years since there arrived in this city of Chalicut
certain vessels of white Christians, who wore their hair long like
Germans, and had no beards except around the mouth, such as are worn
at Constantinople by cavaliers and courtiers.[338] They landed,
wearing a cuirass, helmet, and vizor, and carrying a certain weapon
[sword] attached to a spear. Their vessels are armed with bombards,
shorter than those in use with us. Once every two years they return
with 20 or 25 vessels. They are unable to tell what people they are,
nor what merchandise they bring to this city, save that it includes
very fine linen-cloth and brass-ware. They load spices. Their vessels
have four masts like those of Spain. If they were Germans it seems
to me that we should have had some notice about them; possibly they
may be Russians if they have a port there. On the arrival of the
captain we may learn who these people are, for the Italian-speaking
pilot, who was given him by the Moorish king,[339] and whom he took
away contrary to his inclinations, is with him, and may be able to
tell.[340]

[_Food._]

Corn in abundance is found in this city of Chalichut, it being
brought thither by the Moors. For 3 reals,[341] which are smaller
than ours, bread sufficient for the daily sustenance of a man can be
purchased. Their bread is unleavened, resembling small cakes, which
are baked daily in the ashes. Rice, likewise, is found in abundance.
There are cows and oxen. They are small, but yield much milk and
butter. Oranges of indifferent flavour[342] are plentiful, as also
lemons, citrons and limes, very good melons,[343] dates, fresh and
dried, and great variety of other kinds of fruit.

The king of this city of Chalichut eats neither of meat nor fish
nor anything that has been killed, nor do his barons, courtiers,
or other persons of quality, for they say that Jesus Christ[344]
said in his law that he who kills shall die. For this reason they
refuse to eat anything that has been killed, and it is a great
thing that they should be able to support themselves without eating
meat or fish.[345] The common people eat meat and fish, but they
do not eat oxen or cows, for they hold these animals to be blessed
(benedetto), and when they meet an ox on the highway they touch him,
and afterwards kiss their hand, as a sign of great humility.

The king lives on rice, milk and butter,[346] and so do his barons
and some of the other men of quality. And the king is waited upon
right royally at table. He drinks palm-wine out of a silver cup. This
cup he does not put to his mouth, but holds at some distance and
pours the wine down his throat.

[_Fish._]

The fish are of the same kinds as are those of Portugal, namely,
perch,[347] soles,[348] bream,[349] salmon, mullets, and so of all
other kinds. And there are fishermen who go a-fishing[350] [soles and
salmon].

[_Elephants._]

The Christians ride on elephants, of whom there are many: they are
domesticated. When the king goes to war most of his people go on
foot, but some are mounted on elephants; but when he goes from place
to place he causes himself to be carried by some among the principal
men of his court.[351]

[_Dress._]

All or most of these people are clothed in cotton-cloths from the
waist down to the knee, but from the waist upwards they go naked.
Courtiers and men of condition dress in the same manner, but make
use of silk-stuffs, reddish or scarlet or of other colours, as seems
good to them.[352] The wives (ladies) of men of condition are clothed
above the girdle in very white and delicate linen; but the wives
of lower degree are naked above the waist.[353] The Moors dress
according to their custom in _jubbi_ and _balandrau_.[354]

[_Distance to Lisbon._]

From this city of Chalichut to Lisbon is a distance of 3800
leagues,[355] and at the rate of 4½ miles to the league this makes
17,100 miles, and as much again for the return voyage. From this the
time in which such a voyage can be made may be judged, it requiring
from 15 to 16 months.

[_Native Navigation._]

The mariners of that part, namely the Moors, do not guide themselves
by the Pole in navigating this gulf, but trust to quadrants of
wood.[356] When they cross the gulf to that side, so they were told
by the pilot, they leave a thousand or more islands[357] to the
right; and whoever gets among these will be lost as there are many
rocks (shoals), and I am inclined to think that they be those which
were discovered by the King of Castile.[358]

[_Prester John._]

At the city of Chalichut they have some knowledge of Prester
John,[359] but not much, as he is far away. These Christians believe
that Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, without sin, was
crucified and killed by the Jews, and buried at Jerusalem. They also
have some knowledge of the Pope of Rome, but know nothing of our
faith beyond this. They [the people of Prester John] have letters and
a written language.

[_Articles of Commerce._]

In this city are found many tusks of elephants, also much cotton,
sugar and sweetmeats, and all the wealth of the world seems now to
have been discovered.

I presume that wine would prove a good article in these parts, and
very acceptable to these Christians. Oil, too, is in demand.

Justice is strictly administered in this city. Robbers, murderers,
and other malefactors are incontinently impaled in the Turkish
fashion; and whoever defrauds the king’s excise (customs) is punished
by having his merchandise confiscated.

Civet, musk, ambergris and storax are met with.[360]

[_Spice Islands._]

The island where the spices grow is called Zilon, and is 60[361]
leagues from said city. In that island grow the trees which yield
very good cinnamon; as also pepper.[362] However, there is still
another island [in which spices grow]. Cinnamon and pepper also grow
on the mainland, around this city, but the quality is inferior to the
products of the islands. Ginger grows on the mainland, and is of very
good quality. Cloves grow at a great distance. Of rhubarb there is
much, and many other kinds of spices are found there, as also many
almonds.[363]

[_The Arabian Sea._]

I stated above that the gulf was wholly peopled by Moors, but I have
since[364] learnt that this is not the case. Only the shore on this
side [the west], where is the city of Melinde, is wholly inhabited
by white Moors, whilst the further [eastern] shore is peopled by
Christian Indians, who are white as we are. Along the coast and
throughout the mainland much corn, meat and fruit are produced.

The country around the city of Melinde is very fertile, and many of
these provisions are shipped from it to Chalichut, for most of the
land around the latter is sandy and yields no fruit.[365]

[_The Monsoons._]

There are only two dominant winds in those parts, namely westerly and
easterly winds, and it is winter during the former and summer during
the latter.

[_Artists._]

There are many excellent painters in this city of Ghalinde,[366] of
figures as well as of other subjects.

[_Architecture._]

Neither Ghalinde nor any of the other cities is enclosed within
walls or otherwise, but there are many good houses, built in the
Moorish style, of stone and mortar, and streets regularly laid out
(ordinate).[367]

[_Ceylon._]

In the island of Zilon, where the cinnamon grows, are found many
precious stones and the biggest sapphires.

GIROLAMO SERNIGI.

Lisbon.

GIROLAMO SERNIGI’S SECOND LETTER TO A GENTLEMAN OF FLORENCE.[368]

Since I sent you full particulars about India and its discovery there
has arrived here the pilot whom they took by force. He appeared to
be a Sclavonian and turns out to be a Jew, born at Alexandria, or in
those parts, and thence went to India when very young. At Calichut he
has a wife and children. He owned a ship and went several times to
sea.

[_Spices._]

This man told wonderful things about those countries, and their
wealth in spices. The best and finest cinnamon is procured from
another island [Ceylon], about 150 leagues beyond Calichut and very
near the mainland. This island is inhabited by Moors. Pepper and
cloves come from more distant parts.

[_Jews._]

He says that there are not many Jews there; and that there is a King
of the Jews of the ten tribes of the Jewish people which went out of
Egypt.[369]

[_Christians._]

He says that in those countries there are many gentiles, that is
idolaters, and only a few Christians;[370] that the supposed churches
and belfries are in reality temples of idolaters, and that the
pictures within them are those of idols and not of Saints. To me
this seems more probable than saying that there are Christians but
no divine administrations, no priests and no sacrificial mass. I do
not understand that there are any Christians there to be taken into
account,[371] excepting those of Prester John, whose country is far
from Calichut, on this [_i.e._, the western] side of the Gulf of
Arabia, and borders upon the country of the King of Melinde, and,
far in the interior, upon the Ethiopians, that is the black people
of Guinea, as also upon Egypt, that is the country of the Sultan of
Babylon [Cairo]. This Prester John has priests, who offer sacrifices,
respect the Gospels and the Laws of the Church, much as is done by
other Christians.

[_Trade with Egypt._]

The Sultan has a port on the Red Sea, and the route from Alexandria
to that port passes throughout through his territories, it being a
journey of quite lxxx days.[372] At that port all spices coming from
Calichut are discharged.

[_A Pearl Fishery._]

There is an island about a league from the mainland,[373] inhabited
by fishermen, who do nothing but fish for pearls. There is no water
in the island, and many barges go daily to a large river on the
mainland where they are filled with water—no tubs or barrels being
used. When the animals of the island see these barges return, they
immediately hasten to the shore to drink out of these barges. Pearls
are not fished at any island except this one which lies quite 60
leagues[374] this side of Calichut. It is inhabited by gentiles, who
set great store by cows and oxen, whom they almost worship, so that
anyone discovered to have eaten beef is adjudged guilty of death.[375]

[_Taprobana._]

Taprobana, concerning which Pliny wrote so fully, was not known
to the pilot, for it must be quite out at sea, far away from the
mainland.[376]

[_A Pagoda._]

At Calichut there is a temple and whoever enters it before noon on a
seventh Wednesday dies[377] because of diabolical apparitions. The
Jewish pilot affirms that this is most certainly true, and that on a
certain day of the year some lamps in this same temple begin to burn
spontaneously and cause many deformities of nature to appear.

[_Moorish Navigation._]

He, moreover, stated that in those seas they navigate without
compasses, but with the aid of quadrants of wood. This seems to be a
difficult thing to do, especially during a fog, when it is impossible
to see the stars. They also have a kind of very small anchor, but I
do not know how it is used.[378] The planks of their vessels are held
together by cords, and they are three palms longer than the beam. All
the vessels of that country are built at Calichut, for no wood is
found elsewhere.

[_Suitable Exports._]

The articles of merchandise most suitable for that country seem to
be coral, copper kettles and thin plates of the same metal; tartar,
spectacles (for there are countries where a pair of them fetches
a high price), coarse linens, wine, oil, thin brocades, and also
boccasins, that is cloths. The said Jew has thrown much light on all
these matters.

[_Plans of King Manuel._]

Our King of Portugal is very keen in this matter and has already
ordered four vessels to be got ready, besides two caravels, well
armed, to sail in January with plenty of merchandise.[379] Should the
King of Calicut not allow the Portuguese to trade in those countries,
the captain of these vessels is instructed to capture as many native
craft as he can. In my opinion he will be able to capture as many as
he chooses, for they are frail, and so badly constructed that they
can only sail before the wind. Of these native vessels, engaged in
the spice trade, there are very many.

[_Elephants._]

The principal animals of this country are elephants, which they
employ in war. On the back of the animal they place a kind of castle
sheltering three or four fighting men, in addition to whom there
is one man, and he the most important, who guides the animal, as
described by Pliny.[380] Some kings there are who have 1500 elephants
each, others a thousand and others eight hundred, according to the
extent of their dominions. When they wish to beach their ships they
do so by the strength of these animals, and they make them run, which
seems fabulous, but is nevertheless true.

[_Precious Stones._]

Those who have returned say that precious stones (jewels) are
plentiful, but dear in comparison with other merchandise. Neither
the captain nor the others have brought back jewels worth taking
into account, and this makes me think that they are not found there,
but come from afar. The princes and kings of those countries value
precious stones very much.

Storax, benzoin, civet and similar things are not as plentiful there
as I was led to believe.

[_The Royal Title._]

Our king has taken a title from those countries, viz. King of
Portugal and Algarve on this and on the other side of the sea, in
Africa, Lord of Guinea, and of the conquest, the navigation and
commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia and India.

This is what I was able to learn from some persons of intelligence
who returned with this fleet. And if I have written it down somewhat
at random you, Sir,[381] will pardon and excuse me.

EXTRACTS FROM GIROLAMO SERNIGI’S LETTER TO HIS BROTHER, 1499.

_From an Abstract made by Conrad Peutinger at Rome._

The four vessels left Lisbon on July 10, 1499 ... The captain
remained behind with three vessels, because his brother Paulo da
Gama, was sick unto death. He landed him at an island called Capo
Verde, far from Lisbon, and burnt two vessels, the one of 110 tons
and one of 90 tons, so that they might not fall into the hands of
the heathen [Mohammedans], for 55 of his people had died, and he
was unable to bring these ships home with the remaining 63 men.
Afterwards the captain came _a Sambameno_ (_a salvamento_, safely)
back to Lisbon with the one ship.[382]

... On the voyage out from Lisbon the vessels came to some distant
islands where they [the Portuguese] had been before.[383] Beyond
these islands they came to a gulf, or arm of the sea, which they
crossed, having the land always to the left and the broad sea to the
right....

Various kinds of spices are brought from distant islands to Colokutt.
Pepper, brazil-wood, _grao_,[384] cinnamon, frankincense, lac, are to
be found there. These things abound and are worth next to nothing.
Of brazil-wood there is plenty. There are likewise many ivory tusks
and various other kinds of merchandise, such as variously-coloured
silk-stuffs, costly cloth worked in gold, fine white linen, and
woollen-stuffs, such as bocassins of various colours, and also much
cotton. It is thought that the silver stuffs and cloths, as also the
linens, come from Alkeiro (Cairo).

... Most of the spices brought to Kalikut are said to come from the
island of Zelong (Ceylon). Only heathen live in that island, and the
king is a heathen [Moor]. It is at a distance of 160 leagues from
Kalekutt, and only one league from the mainland. By land it is a
journey of twenty days. In the island are forests of brazil-wood and
roseberries,[385] and other spices, including cloves and rhubarb, are
found. Some minor spices come from more distant islands. Cinnamon is
imported from Ceylon ...

APPENDIX C.

(_From a Paris MS. of Barretto de Rezende._)]

THREE PORTUGUESE ACCOUNTS OF VASCO DA GAMA’S FIRST VOYAGE (1608-1646).

I.—JORNAL DAS VIAGENS DOS PORTUGUEZES AS INDIAS, 1608.

The late Visconde de Santarem, in his _Noticia dos Manuscriptos_, 2nd edition, Lisbon, 1863, p. 93, draws attention to the existence of a MS. in the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris, which in his opinion furnishes most valuable chronological information on the Portuguese voyages to India, from 1497 to 1632. We have translated from this codex all that refers to the first voyage of Vasco da Gama; and a perusal of the translation will, we think, convince the reader that he has before him, not a document based upon authentic sources, but a compilation of very doubtful value.

We have examined three copies, or rather editions, of this _Jornal das Viagens dos Portuguezes ás Indias_, viz.:—

1. _Bibl. Nat. Port. 8, No. 85._ This is the earliest of the three MSS., for it only extends to the year 1608. On folio 206b is a statement to the effect that it was copied in 1618 from a MS. in the possession of the Conde de Vidigueira.

2. _Bibl. Nat. Port. 46._ This, formerly, bore the number 10023, and is the MS. described by Santarem. It is identical with Port. 8, except that its information is extended to the year 1632.

3 _British Museum Add. MSS. 20902._ This is the MS. quoted by Dr. Walter de Gray Birch (_The Commentaries of the Great Afonso Dalboquerque_, ii, p. xvi). It is still more recent than the preceding, having been extended by an unknown author to the year 1653. A list of the Viceroys up to 1610 is appended. The marginal notes are derived from Pedro Barretto de Rezende’s _Livro das Armadas_.

THE YEAR 1497.

On the second of June, 1497, there set sail from Lisbon for the discovery of Oriental India, Vasco da Gama, the second son of Estevão da Gama, comptroller (veador) of the household of the King Don Affonso V, and of Doña Isabel Sodré, his wife, as captain-major of four vessels: himself in the _São Raphael_; Paulo da Gama, his elder brother, in the São Gabriel; Nicolao Coelho in the _São Miguel_.

Gonçalo Nunes was captain of a vessel carrying provisions, which this side (_antes_) the Cape of Good Hope were transferred to the other vessels, when he returned to this kingdom [of Portugal]. And the vessel _S. Gabriel_, in which went Paulo da Gama, being much dilapidated, so as to be unable to continue the voyage, was broken up for the purpose of repairing the other vessels, in a river of Cafraria, beyond the Cape of Good Hope, which was named the river of Mercy. And Paulo da Gama went over to the vessel of his brother, while his people were distributed among the two vessels. Thence they continued their voyage.

Having come to an anchor at Moçambique, where the Sheikh attempted to take the vessels by treachery, they disembarked at the island of São Jorge, where was celebrated the first mass beyond the Cape of Good Hope. Thence they went to Quiloa and Mombaça, and the kings of all these islands attempted to act treacherously, but God would not permit their success.

At Melinde the King made them honestly welcome, and gave them trustworthy pilots, who guided them to Angediva, where they fought the fustas of the Sabayo, the governor of Goa, over whom they gained the victory. And thence they went to Calicut, where the Samori planned many treacherous acts which took no effect. Thence they went to Cochim, where the King received them well, and to Cananor, in the same manner. There they completed the loading of the two vessels, and returned to this kingdom, arriving safely at Lisbon on September 18th, 1499.[386]

Paulo da Gama died of an illness in the island of Terçeira, at the city of Angra, and lies buried in the monastery of São Francisco of that city.[387]

II.—LUIZ DE FIGUEIREDO FALCÃO, 1612.

Luiz de Figueiredo Falcão was secretary of King Philip II of Portugal (Philip III of Spain), and is the compiler of a _Livro em que se contem toda a Fazenda, & Real Patrimonio dos Reynos de Portugal, India, ilhas adjacentes de sua coroa_, which was printed by order of the Portuguese Government in 1859.

The Preface is dated “Madrid, October 20, MDC.VII”, but this is evidently a misprint, for reference is made in it to a list of captains who went to India since 1497 as containing information up to the year 1612; and instead of VII, we ought therefore to read XII, the date of the book being thus 1612.

The author had access to the original records in the India House, and claims to have expended three years upon the compilation of his work, which certainly contains a mass of information of the highest interest. Nevertheless, his book is not free from errors, many of which have already been pointed out by Cunha Rivara in an Appendix to a translation of the _Viagem de Francisco Pyrard_, published at Nova Goa in 1858. Texeira de Aragão (_Boletim_, Lisbon Geographical Society, vi, p. 578) also warns against accepting without question all the statements made by this author.

We quote the following information on Vasco da Gama’s first voyage from a “List of Captain-majors and Captains who went to India since 1497”, p. 137:—

1497.

In the year 1497 there departed for India Vasco da Gama, the
first discoverer, as captain-major of four vessels. He left
Lisbon on July 8th, 1497.

_São Miguel_, flagship Pilot: Pero d’Alenquer.
_São Raphael_ Captain: Paulo da Gama,
brother of Vasco da Gama.
Pilot: João de Coimbra.
_Berrio_ Captain: Nicolao Coelho.
Pilot: Pero Escolar.
A ship (_nao_) Captain: Gonçalo Nunez, a
retainer of Vasco da Gama.
She carried provisions.[388]

The _Berrio_, with her captain, returned and reached the bar of
Lisbon on July 10th, 1499.

Vasco da Gama went from India to Cape Verde, where he remained
with his brother, Paulo da Gama, who died there, and whose body
he conveyed to the island of Terçeira, and he sent one of his
servants with the _São Raphael_ to Lisbon.

Vasco da Gama himself reached Lisbon in a caravel on August
29th, two years and nearly two months after he had left that
port.

It is scarcely necessary to point out that the flagship was the _São Gabriel_, and that Paulo da Gama came back in that vessel and not in the store-ship. It was, indeed, Paulo’s own ship, the _São Raphael_, which was burnt off Tangáta.

As an instance of the author’s inconsistencies, we need only quote the following passage from a “Summary Statement of Vessels which left Portugal for India”, p. 194:—

Between July 10th, 1499, on which day there arrived in the port
of Lisbon the ship _São Raphael_, in which Vasco da Gama had
gone to India in 1497, and 1612, there came back from India 425
vessels.

It was the _Berrio_ which came back on July 10th, the _São Raphael_ having been burnt off Mtangata; and Vasco da Gama did not go in the _S. Raphael_, by the author’s own (erroneous) statement.

III.—PEDRO BARRETTO DE REZENDE, 1646.

Captain Pedro Barretto de Rezende, a professed Knight of the Order of St. Benedict of Aviz, and a native of Pavia,[389] is the author of a _Livro do Estado da India_, consisting of three Parts and an Appendix, of which MS. copies exist in the British Museum (Sloane Collection, No. 197) and the Bibliothèque Nationale (Port. 1, and Port. 36). Part I of this work contains a succinct account of the doings of the Viceroys of India up to 1634, and gives portraits of all of them; Parts II and III contain plans of the Portuguese forts between the Cape of Good Hope and China, with descriptions; whilst the Appendix furnishes an account of the “armadas” or fleets which were sent to India up to 1605.

Dr. Walter de Gray Birch (_Commentaries of the Great Afonso Dalboquerque_, i, pp. vii-xiii) has given an account of the MS. of this work existing in the British Museum.

(_After Correa’s portrait in the Palacio do Governo, at Goa._)]

If this valuable document should ever be printed, it will be necessary to collate the copies existing in London, Paris, and probably also elsewhere, for they are not in all respects identical. Port. 36 seems to me to deserve the preference as far as respects Part I, but Part II (the description of the forts) has been abridged, as compared with Port. 1. The portraits in this latter are more neatly done than in Port. 36. No reference to the source of these full-length portraits is made by the author. They certainly differ from the portraits designed in 1547 by a native artist under the supervision of Gaspar Correa, and published in the Lisbon edition of his _Lendas_ (see t. iv, p. 596). Lord Stanley (_Vasco da Gama_, p. ix) says that Correa’s portraits are “better” than those in Rezende’s work. All that we can say is that they are not worse. Our full-length portrait is from a MS. of Barretto de Rezende in the Bibliothéque Nationale, as reproduced in Charton’s _Voyageurs anciens et modernes_. The small oval portrait is from a copy of Correa’s painting which was made by order of D. Francisco, da Assumpção de Brito, who was installed Archbishop of Goa in 1774. It was first published in 1817 in a work entitled _Retratos e Elogios de Varões e Donas_.

FIRST VOYAGE, 1497; FOUR SAILS.

King John II of Portugal having died without a legitimate son, Dom Manuel was proclaimed King on October 27th, 1495; and as this fresh dignity entailed that he should prosecute the undertakings initiated by his predecessors, he proposed to himself to go on with the discovery of Oriental India by sea, which, seventy-five years before, had been set going.

In 1496 he had many councils on this affair, and in consequence of the resolutions arrived at he agreed (_assentou_) to despatch on this enterprise one Vasco da Gama, and forthwith arranged for the fleet to be sent, the work upon which was carried on with such expedition that rigging and all was ready by Saturday, July 8th, 1496.

The fleet (_armada_) only included three ships of from 100 to 320 tons, and there went in them, between sailors and soldiers, 260 persons. In addition there was a ship carrying provisions.

The flag-ship, in which Vasco da Gama, the captain-major, embarked, was called the _São Gabriel_, and Pero de Alemquer was the pilot. The second ship was called the _São Raphael_; Paulo da Gama, the brother of said Vasco, was captain, and João de Coimbra, pilot.

The third vessel was called the _Berrio_; Nicolao Coelho was her captain and P^o. Escolar her pilot.

Gonsalo Nunes, a retainer (_criado_) of Vasco da Gama, was captain of the cargo-ship (_nao_); only provisions went in her. These, as also the crew, having been transferred to the other ships at the Cape of Good Hope, they set fire to her.

They set sail from the bar of Lisbon on July 8th, 1497, arrived at Moçambique on March 1st, 1498, made Mombasa on Palm Sunday, the 7th of April,[390] and Melinde on the 15th of the same month.

There he took pilots to guide him to India, and on May 16th of the same year, ’498,[391] he made the land at a port on the coast of Mallavar (Malabar), in the kingdom of the Samorim, two leagues below Callecut, which is the principal city and capital of that kingdom. There he remained seventy-four days, in the course of which, induced thereto by the Moors who live in that country, he practised upon us a thousand deceits. But having discovered that for the sake of which he had been sent, namely, India, of which he was able to take home such good intelligence, he determined to return to Portugal, and set sail on August 29th of this same year, namely, ’498. At the Anjediva islands he careened the ships and took in water, and there he took a Jew who, by order of Sabayo, the King of Goa, had visited him, it being the intention, immediately after the return of this Jew, to send a fleet against him (Vasco da Gama).

Vasco da Gama departed thence and made the coast of Melinde. Wishing to depart thence for this kingdom, the ship _São Raphael_, in which was his brother, was lost on the same shoals on which she had already once grounded on the way out to India. The loss of this ship did not give much concern to Vasco da Gama, for he was short of men, and those in her were distributed among the two other vessels. He passed Moçambique, doubled the Cape of Good Hope on March 20th, 1499; when near the Cape Verde Islands a severe storm separated the two vessels, namely, that in which he (Vasco) was from her consort in which was Nicolau Coelho, who, leading, lost sight of Vasco da Gama, and reached the bar of Lisbon[392] on July 10th of said year.

Vasco da Gama only arrived on August 29th in a caravel, for his brother, Paulo da Gama, being very ill, he went from the island of São Thiago to that of Terçeira, allowing his ship to be taken to Lisbon by João de Sá.

And Vasco da Gama buried his brother, whose death much afflicted him, in the island of Terçeira, and after that landed at Lisbon on August 29th, as stated above, or two years after he had started on his discovery.

From the _Livro das armadas e capitaes que forão a India_, which, as already stated, forms an Appendix to Rezende’s _Livro do estado da India_, we take the following:—

_Vasco da Gama, captain-major, 1497._

He departed on July 8th, by order of King Dom Manuel, with four
ships to discover India, viz.:

Vasco da Gama in the _S. Gabriel_.
Paulo da Gama, his brother, in the _S. Raphael_.
Nicolao Coelho in the ship _Berrio_.
Gonçalo Nunes in a store-ship.

The people and provisions in the ship of Gonçalo Nunes were distributed among the other ships after the Cape of Good Hope had been passed, and beyond the Aguada (watering-place) of S. Braz, and this ship, having been stripped, was set on fire.

The ship of Paulo da Gama stranded on the voyage home to Portugal on the shoals between Guilva [Kilwa] and Mombaça, and these shoals were named after the _S. Raphael_ which had now run aground upon them. Her people were distributed among the two companion-ships.

APPENDIX D.

(_From a Model designed by Captain A. A. Baldaque da Silva, drawn by Herbert Johnson._)]

VASCO DA GAMA’S SHIPS AND THEIR EQUIPMENT.

All authorities agree that the fleet, or armada, fitted out for Vasco da Gama’s voyage numbered four vessels, but they are not agreed as to the names which these vessels bore. We are not, however, likely to be misled if we accept the unanimous testimony of the author of our _Roteiro_, of João de Barros, Lopez de Castanheda, Pedro Barretto de Rezende, and Manuel Faria y Sousa: according to whom the names of the ships and of their principal officers were as follows:—

_S. Gabriel_ (flag-ship).—Vasco da Gama, captain-major; Pero
d’Alenquer, pilot; Gonçalo Alvarez, master; Diogo Dias, clerk.

_S. Raphael._—Paulo da Gama, captain; João de Coimbra pilot;
João de Sá, clerk.

_Berrio._—Nicolau Coelho, captain; Pero Escolar, pilot; Alvaro
de Braga, clerk.

_Store-ship._—Gonçalo Nunes, captain.

Correa and the unknown author of the _Jornal das Viagens_ (p. 145) call the “Berrio” _S. Miguel_, and make the _S. Raphael_ the flag-ship; whilst L. de Figueiredo de Falcão (p. 147) substitutes a _S. Miguel_ for the _S. Raphael_. It is just possible that the vessel popularly called _Berrio_, after its former owner, had been re-christened _S. Miguel_.

The _Berrio_ was one of those swift lateen-rigged vessels for which Portugal was famous from the thirteenth to the beginning of the sixteenth century, and which, after the _barinel_[393] had been discarded, were exclusively employed in the exploration of the African coast. Their burthen did not exceed 200 tons, and they had two or three masts, and occasionally even four.[394] The _Berrio_ is stated to have been a vessel of only 50 tons. She was named after her former owner and pilot,[395] of whom she was purchased expressly for this voyage.

(_After a Painting of the sixteenth century, in the Monastery of the Mother of God at Lisbon._)]

The store-ship was of more considerable size. Sernigi (p. 123) says she measured 110 tons; Castanheda credits her with 200. She may have been a so-called _caravela redonda_, that is a caravel which carried square sails on the main and fore-masts and triangular ones on the mizzen-mast and the bowsprit. This vessel was purchased of Ayres Correa, a shipowner of Lisbon.

The _S. Gabriel_ and _S. Raphael_ were specially built for this voyage. Bartholomeu Dias, who superintended their construction, discarded the caravel in which he himself had achieved his great success, in favour of square-rigged vessels of greater burthen, which, although slower sailers and less able to ply to windward, offered greater safety and more comfort to their crews. He took care, at the same time, that the draught of these vessels should enable them to navigate shallow waters, such as it was expected would be met with in the course of the voyage. The timber for these two vessels had been cut during the last year of the reign of King John, in the Crown woods of Leiria and Alcacer. The vessels having been completed, the King ordered them to be equipped by Fernão Lourenço, the factor of the house of Mines, and one of the most “magnificent” men of his time.[396]

No contemporary description or picture of these vessels has reached us, but there can hardly be a doubt that their type[397] is fairly represented on a painting made by order of D. Jorge Cabral, who was Governor of India from 1549 to 1550. This painting subsequently became the property of D. João de Castro. A copy of it was first published by the Visconde de Juromenha, who took it from a MS. dated 1558.[398] The fine woodcut in W. S. Lindsay’s _History of Merchant Shipping_ (II, p. 5), from an ancient picture which also belonged to D. João de Castro, seems to be derived from the same source, but as the vessel carries the flag of the Order of Christ at the main, and not the Royal Standard, it cannot represent the flag-ship. At all events, it is not more authentic than either of the ships delineated in the drawing first published by Juromenha.

(_From a Painting made by order of Jorge Cabral (1549-50.))_]

Authorities differ very widely as to the tonnage of these two vessels. Sernigi (see p. 123) says they were of 90 tons each, thus partly bearing out Correa, who states that the _three_ ships (including the _Berrio_) were built of the same size and pattern.[399] D. Pacheco Pereira[400] states that the largest of them did not exceed 100 tons; J. de Barros gives them a burthen of between 100 and 120 tons; whilst Castanheda allocates 120 tons to the flag-ship and 100 to the _S. Raphael_.

But whilst the authorities quoted dwell upon the small size of the vessels which for the first time reached India from a European port, and even give reasons for this limitation of burthen,[401] there is some ground for believing that the tonnage of Vasco da Gama’s ships, expressed according to modern terminology, was in reality much greater than is usually supposed. Pedro Barretto de Rezende (p. 151) may therefore have some justification when he states that these vessels ranged from 100 to 320 tons. Mr. Lindsay (_loc. cit._) would go even further. The _S. Gabriel_, according to him, was constructed to carry 400 pipes, equivalent to 400 tons measurement, or about 250 to 300 tons register. He adds that Sr. E. Pinto Bastos agrees with him.[402]

In considering this question of tonnage, it must be borne in mind that “ton”, at the close of the fifteenth century, was a different measure from what it is at present. We learn from E. A. D’Albertis[403] that the _tonelada_ of Seville was supposed to afford accommodation for two pipes of 27½ arrobas (98 gallons) each, and measured 1.405 cubic metres, or about 50 cubic feet. The _tonel_ of Biscay was 20 per cent. larger. According to Capt. H. Lopez de Mendonça, the _tonel_ at Lisbon measured 6 palmos de goa in length (talha), and 4 such palmos in breadth and height (parea), that is, about 85 cubic feet.[404] This, however, seems excessive, for my wine merchant tells me that two butts of sherry of 108 gallons each would occupy only 75 cubic feet. At any rate, these data show that the ton of the fifteenth century was considerably larger than the ton measurement of the nineteenth.

Two attempts have been made recently by distinguished officers of the Portuguese Navy, Captains Joào Braz d’Oliveira[405] and A. A. Baldaque da Silva,[406] to reconstruct Vasco da Gama’s flagship, or rather to design a ship of a type existing at the close of the fifteenth century, and answering as nearly as possible to the scanty indications to be found within the pages of the historians of this memorable voyage. In this reconstruction good use has been made of an early manuscript on shipbuilding by Fernando Oliveira (_O livro da fabrica das Nãos_), which Captain Lopez de Mendonça proposes to publish.

The designs produced by the two naval officers differ widely in several respects, and more especially as regards the relation between the total length of the ship and the breadth of beam. In Captain B. da Silva’s ship the beam is equal to one-third of the length, whilst the proportion in Captain J. Braz d’Oliveira’s ship is as one to five. The former of these ships is broad-beamed, as befits the period, whilst the latter is almost as slim as a modern clipper. It must be remembered that, until comparatively recent times, it was held that the length of a sailing ship should not exceed four times the breadth of beam; and this maxim was undoubtedly acted upon by the shipbuilders of the fifteenth century.

Captain Baldaque da Silva’s design of the _S. Gabriel_ has been embodied in a model, and from a photograph of this model Mr. Herbert Johnson has produced the illustration placed in front of this Appendix.

The dimensions of the ship designed by Captain Baldaque da Silvia are as follows:—[407]

Length over all 84.1 feet.
Water-line (when laden) 64.0 ”
Keel 56.7 ”
Breadth of beam 27.9 ”
Depth 17.1 ”
Draught, abaft 7.5 ”
” forward 5.6 ”
Metocentric height above the water-line
(laden) 7.4 ”
Displacement 178 tons.
Tonnage 4,130 cubic feet, or 103 ”

This, as I learn from a private letter of Captain B. da Silva, is supposed to be the gross under-deck tonnage, but on calculating the tonnage according to the Builders’ Old Measurement Rule, I find it to amount to 230 tons of 40 cubic feet each, whilst the “expeditive” method practised at Venice[408] during the fifteenth century yields 896 botte of 28 gallons, or about 250 toneladas.

The ship was flat-bottomed, with a square stern and bluff bow, the latter ornamented with a figure of her patron saint. Wales were placed along the sides to reduce her rolling when going before the wind. Formidable “castles” rose fore and aft, having a deep waist between them. These “castles,” however, had not then grown to the portentous height attained at a subsequent period, when they rendered it difficult to govern the ship in a gale, and it often became necessary to cut down the foremast and dismantle the forecastle to enable them to keep her head to the wind.

These “castles” were in reality citadels, and enabled the crew to make a last stand after the vessel had been boarded. A notable instance of this occurred in the course of the fight with the _Meri_ in 1502.[409]

The captain was lodged in the castle rising upon the quarter-deck, the officers were accommodated in the room below his and in the forecastle, whilst the men had their quarters beneath the gang boards which ran along the top-sides from castle to castle. The men were each allowed a locker, to contain such goods as they might obtain by barter with the natives. Ladders led from the main deck up to the fighting decks (_chapitéo de ré_ and _de vante_) of the two castles, and these were defended against boarders by nettings. The tiller of the rudder entered the battery abaft the captain’s apartments, where also stood the binnacle. The armament consisted of twenty guns. The lower battery of the “castle” rising on the quarter-deck was armed with eight breech-loaders made of wrought-iron staves, held together by hoops and mounted on forked props. The upper battery held six bombards, and the forecastle the same number.[410] We may at once state that the men carried no firearms. Their arms included cross-bows, spears, axes, swords, javelins, and boarding-pikes. Some of the officers were clad in steel armour, whilst the men had to be content with leather jerkins and breast-plates.

Amidships stood the _batel_, or long boat, in addition to which there was available a yawl rowed with four or six oars.

There were three masts and a bowsprit. The main-mast rose to a height of 110 ft. above the keel and flew the Royal Standard at its head, whilst the captain’s scarlet flag floated from the crow’s-nest, nearly 70 ft. above deck. A similar crow’s-nest was attached to the foremast. In the case of an engagement these points of vantage were occupied by fighting men, who hurled thence javelins, grenades, and powder-pots upon the enemy. The sails were square, with the exception of that of the mizzen, which was triangular. When spread they presented 4,000 square feet of canvas to the wind; this was exclusive of the “bonnets” which were occasionally laced to the leeches of the mainsail, and served to some extent the same purpose as a modern studding-sail.[411] The Cross of the Order of Christ was painted on each sail.

The anchors, two in number, were of iron, with a wooden stock and a ring for bending the cable.

The hold was divided into three compartments. Amidships were the water barrels, with coils of cable on the top of them—a very inconvenient arrangement; abaft was the powder-magazine, and most arms and munitions, including iron and stone balls, were kept there; the forward compartment was used for the storage of requisites, including spare sails and a spare anchor.

The lower deck was divided by bulkheads into three compartments, two of which were set apart for provisions, presents, and articles of barter. The “provisions”, according to Castanheda, were calculated to suffice for three years, and the daily rations were on a liberal scale, consisting of 1½ pounds of biscuit, 1 pound of beef or half a pound of pork, 2½ pints of water, 1¼ pints of wine, one-third of a gill of vinegar, and half that quantity of oil. On fast days, half a pound of rice, of codfish, or cheese was substituted for the meat. There were, in addition, flour, lentils, sardines, plums, almonds, onions, garlic, mustard, salt, sugar and honey. These ships’ stores were supplemented by fish, caught whenever an opportunity offered, and by fresh provisions obtained when in port, among which were oranges, which proved most acceptable to the many men suffering from scurvy.

The merchandise was not only insufficient in quantity, but proved altogether unsuited to the Indian market. It seems to have included _lambel_ (striped cotton stuff), sugar, olive-oil, honey, and coral beads. Among the objects intended for presents, there were wash-hand basins, scarlet hoods, silk jackets, pantaloons, hats, Moorish caps; besides such trifles as glass beads, little round bells, tin rings and bracelets, which were well enough suited for barter on the Guinea coast, but were not appreciated by the wealthy merchants of Calecut. Of ready money there seems to have been little to spare. All this is made evident by the letters of D. Manuel and Signor Sernigi.

The scientific outfit of the expedition, it may safely be presumed, was the best to be procured at the time. The learned D. Diogo Ortiz de Vilhegas[412] furnished Da Gama with maps and books, including, almost as a matter of course, a copy of Ptolemy, and copies of the information on the East collected at Lisbon for years past. Among these reports, that sent home by Pero de Covilhão found, no doubt, a place,[413] as also the information furnished by Lucas Marcos,[414] an Abyssinian priest who visited Lisbon about 1490.

The astronomical instruments were provided by Zacut, the astronomer, and it is even stated that Vasco enjoyed the advantage of being trained as a practical observer by that learned Hebrew. These instruments included a large wooden astrolabe, smaller astrolabes of metal, and, in all probability, also quadrants; and they were accompanied by a copy of Zacut’s _Almanach perpetuum Celestium motuum cujus radix est 1473_, a translation of which, by José Vizinho, had been printed at Leiria in 1496.[415] These tables enabled the navigator to calculate his latitudes by observing the altitude of the sun.

There was, of course, a sufficient supply of compasses, of sounding leads and hour-glasses, and possibly also a _catena a poppa_, that is, a rope towed at the stern to determine the ship’s leeway, and a _toleta de marteloia_, a graphical substitute for our modern traverse tables, both of them contrivances long since in use among the Italians. It is also possible that Vasco was already provided with an equinoctial compass for determining the time of high water at the ports he visited, and with a variation compass. This instrument consisted of a combination of a sun-dial with a magnetic needle. It had been invented by Peurbach, _c._ 1460, was improved by Felipe Guillen, 1528, and by Pedro Nunes, 1537, and used for the first time on an extensive scale by João de Castro, during a voyage to India and the Red Sea, in 1538-41.[416] We are inclined to think that Vasco had such a variation compass, for the Cabo das Agulhas, or “Needle Cape”, thus named because the needle there pointed, or was supposed to point, due north, has already found a place on Cantino’s Chart, and can have been named only as the result of an actual observation, however inaccurate.

Lastly, there remain to be noticed the Padrãos, or pillars of stone which were on board the vessels, and three of which, by the king’s express desire, were dedicated to S. Raphael, S. Gabriel, and S. Maria (see p. 80). Barros and Castanheda tell us that these pillars resembled those set up by Cão and Dias in the time of D. João II; and in a series of pictures which D. Manuel desired to have painted in celebration of the discovery of India, the Padrão to be shown at the Cape of Good Hope, or “Prasum promontorium”, was to have been surmounted by a cross, and to bear the Royal Arms and a Pelican, with an inscription giving the date.[417]

Correa, on the other hand, affirms in his _Lendas_ that the pillar set up at the Rio da Misericordia (the Rio dos Bons Signaes of the _Roteiro_) was of marble, with two escutcheons, one of the arms of Portugal, and the other (at the back) of a sphere, and that the inscription was “Do senhorio de Portugal reino de Christãos”. The pillar at Melinde had the same escutcheons, but the inscription was limited to the words “Rey Manoel”.[418] As Correa had an opportunity of seeing these pillars, his description of them may be correct, though he is an arrant fabulator.

APPENDIX E.

(_From A. Morelet’s French version of the “Roteiro”, 1864._)

After a Portrait formerly the property of Conde de Farrobo, now in the _Museu das Bellas Artes_, Lisbon.]

MUSTER-ROLL OF VASCO DA GAMA’S FLEET.

The officers and men in Vasco da Gama’s _armada_ were carefully selected. Several of them had been with Bartholomeu Dias round the Cape; all of them, as appears from this “Journal”, justified by their conduct under sometimes trying circumstances the selection which had been made.