Chapter IX: Part 9

[209] These branches and leaves were carried to Portugal, as we learn from the king’s letter (see Appendix A), but they had most certainly not been taken from true cinnamon trees, for only an inferior cassia is found in that part of India.

[210] Barros and Goes say that the leader of these vessels was a pirate named Timoja, whose head-quarters were at Onor. He subsequently rendered valuable services to the Portuguese. (See Stanley’s _Vasco da Gama_, p. 244.)

[211] This island was the largest of the Anjediva.

[212] Three lingams, emblems of the generative power?

[213] The _fusta_ is a galley or undecked rowing boat, with one mast. For an illustration see Linschoten’s _Itinerarium ofte Schip-vaert_, etc.

[214] Tambaram, in Malayalam, has merely the meaning of lord or master.

[215] This man subsequently became known as Gaspar da Gama. See Appendix E.

[216] The Sabayo or Governor of Goa.

[217] The original MS. uses the verb “perguntar”, that is, to question; but Barros says that he was tortured, and this would account for his attempting to make himself understood by “gestures”, when previously he had spoken very fluently, and had been understood.

[218] September 24 to October 5 is twelve days, both days inclusive.

[219] From October 5 to January 2.

[220] At Mombaça.

[221] The MS. says “February” but this is an obvious mistake.

[222] From Moçambique to Madagascar is only 60 leagues; 300 leagues would carry a ship as far as the Seychelles.

[223] Mukhdisho of the Arabs, Madisha of the Somal, in lat. 5° N. The town was founded by Arabs, perhaps on the site of a more ancient city, in 907, and attained the height of its prosperity under the dynasty of the El Mdofer, which was expelled by the Abgal Somal, probably in the sixteenth century.

[224] Whether merely as a sign of rejoicing or in wanton enmity is not clear.

[225] Pate is an island in 26° 5´ S., with a town of the same name.

[226] The author says the 9th, but Monday was the 7th. The stay of five days extended from the 7th to the 11th.

[227] “Vasco da Gama’s Pillar”, now to be seen at Malindi, close to the town (to the left of it as seen from the sea) and at the extremity of a narrow rocky promontory of only a few feet in height, is certainly not the padrão erected by the great navigator, though it probably occupies its site. When Cabral arrived at Malindi in 1501 the pillar had been removed, it having proved a “stone of offence” to the people of Mombaça. The king, however, had stowed it away carefully, and had even caused the royal arms to be repainted. João de Sá, who had been with Gama, identified it.

The existing pillar, of which we give an illustration, is built up of concrete made of coral rock and lime. It rises to a height of 16 feet, and is surmounted by a cross, bearing on the sea side the arms of Portugal, but no inscription. It is not the pillar put up at the request of Vasco da Gama, but Sir John Kirk feels sure that the cross is very ancient. The latter is of sandstone, and evidently of local make, whilst the other crosses discovered hitherto are of limestone or marble. See Introduction.

[228] This ambassador returned with Cabral in 1501.

[229] The figure-head of the _S. Raphael_ was taken away by Vasco da Gama and treated as an heirloom by the family, several members of which carried it with them on their travels. It ultimately found a resting-place in the church of Vidigueira, founded by D. Francisco da Gama. When the church was desecrated in 1840, the figure was removed to another church, where Texeira de Aragão discovered it in 1853. It is now in the church at Belem. The figure is carved in oak, and about 24 inches in height (see _Texeira de Aragão_, in the Boletim of the Lisbon Geographical Society, VI, 1886, p. 621.)

[230] The author says five, but from January 13 to January 27, both included, is fifteen days.

[231] Barros says _Tangata_. It is Mtangata (see note, p. 33).

[232] Zanzibar is only twenty miles (six leagues) from the mainland.

[233] Twenty-seven days carry us from March 20 to April 16.

[234] The author here evidently refers to tornadoes or violent gusts of wind peculiar to the west coast of Africa, and more frequent at the beginning and termination of the rainy season. They generally blow off shore, their approach being indicated by an arch of clouds, from which lightning and thunder constantly proceed. At Sierra Leone the rainy season begins at the end of April (see _Africa Pilot_, 1893, Part II, p. 10).

[235] The Rio Grande of the Portuguese is an arm of the sea from five to thirteen miles in breadth, called Orango Channel on the Admiralty Chart. It lies between the mainland and the Bissagos islands.

[236] This church was demolished in 1646; the place of burial can no longer be identified.

[237] See _Jose da Silva Mendes Leal_ (Transactions of Lisbon Academy, 1871), and _Texeira de Aragão_ (Boletim Lisbon Geogr. Soc., VI, 1886, p. 583).

[238] This trustworthy man can have been no other than the “Moor” who was carried off from Anjediva (see Appendix E), and who, having been baptised, became known as Gaspar da Gama.

[239] The frazila of Calecut is equal to 10.4 kilogr.; the fanão is worth 25-5/7 reis of 1555 (about 7.45_d._) and the cruzado is worth 9_s._ 8_d._ But if 3 cruzados are accepted as the equivalent of 50 fanãos, the value of a fanão would be 6.96_d._

[240] I have little doubt that instead of Baqua we ought to read Bezoar. In D. Manuel’s letter to the King of Castile, the royal writer states that among the presents which the King of Cochin gave to Vasco da Gama (in 1502) there was a stone as large as a filbert, which was taken out of the head of a very rare animal, called Burgoldof, and which proved a specific against all poisons.

The Rev. J. J. Jaus, of the Basel Mission, informs me that the bezoar, in Malayalam, is called _Gōrōchanam_, which means “out of the cow’s brain”, _go_ signifying cow. It still sells for its weight in silver, and is highly prized as a medicine and antidote. My esteemed correspondent is unable to enlighten me as to the meaning of _burgoldof_.

Bishop J. M. Speechly, in a letter addressed to me, suggests that “Baqua” (Bakwa) may be a corruption of “Bagawat”, a common name for Shiva, and the “Stone of Baqua” a dedication to him.

The Arabic name of the bezoar (badesar) has the meaning of antidote. This “stone” is a calcareous concretion found in the intestines of some animals, more especially goats and antelopes, but also in those of monkeys. It varies in size from a pea to a fist. All through the Middle Ages, this oriental bezoar was looked upon as a most potent medicine against poisons, and it is still highly valued in the East. The Bezoar of Goa (Gowa) is an artificial product made up of musk, ambergris, and gum of tragacanth.

[241] The pequy (pik) is about 27 inches.

[242] This, according to Prof. Kopke, is meant for Crangalor, the modern Kodungalar in Cochin. The frazila there is equal to 8.314 kilo., and the fanão, when buying pepper, is valued at 22-8/19 reis (6.5_d._).

[243] It is the Coilum of Marco Polo, the Columbum of Friar Jordanus (1330), the modern Quilon. It is one of the principal seats of the Syrian Christians. The Portuguese built a fort there in 1503.

[244] Marco Polo’s Cael has been satisfactorily identified by Dr. Caldwell with the decayed village of Kayal (Palaya Kayal), near the mouth of the Tamrapanni river; whilst our author’s Caell is the Callegrande of Barros, now represented by Kayal Patnam, some distance to the south of that river. (Comp. Yule’s _Marco Polo_, ii, p. 307.) The pearl fisheries are near it, on the coast of Ceylon.

[245] According to Prof. Kopke, it extended from Point Calymere to the Godavari.

[246] Barbosa (p. 214) says that “the best sapphires are found in Ceylon,” as also “many rubies,” but inferior to those of Pegu.

[247] The silk referred to by the author, as also by Barbosa and Barros, is the produce of the silk cotton tree (_Bombax malabaricum_) and is much inferior in quality to true silk.—KOPKE.

[248] This, according to Prof. Kopke and Yule (_Marco Polo_, ii, p. 222), is Siam, the old capital of which (Ayuthia) is called Sornau or Xarnau by Varthema, Giovanni d’Empoli, and Mendez Pinto.

[249] Benzoin (Gum-Benjamin) is the produce of Styrax Benzoin, found in Siam, Cochin-China, Java and Sumatra, that of Siam being accounted the best.

[250] The odoriferous aloe-wood of the author is the wood of _Aquilaria Agallocha (Roxb.)_, found in Further India, and more especially in Chamba. Its Sanscrit name, Aguru, was corrupted into Agila and Aquila; and hence its Latin and Portuguese name of “Eaglewood.” (Yule’s _Marco Polo_, ii, p. 215.)

[251] Prof. Kopke identifies Tenacar with Tenasserim, a great emporium at one time, through which the products of Siam reached the outer world.

[252] Brazil-wood first became known in Europe at the beginning of the fourteenth century under the designation of _Lignum presillum_. The most esteemed kind of this dye-wood is known as Sapan wood (_Caesalpinia sappan_), found more especially in Siam.

[253] This is no doubt Bengal, the capital of which was Chatigam (Chittagong).

[254] Cloves were originally found only in the Moluccas; the true nutmeg (_Myristica moschata_) comes from the same islands and those further to the east. Tin was—and still is—a native product. The silk and porcelain came from China.

[255] The frazila was equal to 10.51 kilo., the bahar was 210.22 kilo. The cruzado was a silver coin and was valued at 360 reis (8_s._ 8_d._).

[256] Barbosa (p. 186) gives a better account of musk, which really only reaches Pegu from the interior. It is the secretion of _Moschus moschiferus_, an animal resembling a deer, which lives in the mountains lying between the Amur river, China and India. The male has a pouch between the navel and the genitals which holds about 50 grammes of this secretion.

[257] Burma, above Pegu, is still famous for its rubies.

[258] This is evidently a duplicate account of what has been said above about Bemgala.

[259] Prof. Kopke would identify this with Timor, where there is a fort called Camanaça. This, however, is quite inadmissible, for there are no elephants in Timor. I am more inclined to think that “Conimata” stands for Sumatra, a small state in North Sumatra, adjoining Pedir. The voyage to Pater and Conimata is stated to occupy the same time, viz., fifty days. If this be so, there is a duplication of Sumatra as well as of Bengal.

[260] This seems to be Pedir, a small kingdom in Northern Sumatra, which had a pagan king when Varthema was there, although many of the inhabitants were Mohammedans. Rhubarb (_Rheum officinale_) is, however, only to be found in W. and N.W. China and in Tibet. The lacca tree is a native of Sumatra.

[261] Say £966.

[262] In calculating these values we have assumed the quintal to be equivalent to 100 pounds, the bahar = 460 pounds, the ratel = 1 pound. The cruzado is taken at 9_s._ 8_d._

It is interesting to compare these prices with those given by Duarte Barbosa for Calecut. Assuming the fanão to be worth 6.5_d._ they were as follows per pound:—Cinnamon, 4.3_d._; cloves, 7.2_d._ to 8.3_d._; pepper, 2.9_d._ to 3.3_d._; ginger, 0.5_d._ to 0.9_d._; nutmeg, 3.0_d._ to 3.36_d._; lac, 3.6_d._ to 5.2_d._; rhubarb, 9_s._ 9_d._ to 11_s._; musk, £15 11_s._; aloe-wood, 24_s._ 7_d._; frankincense, 0.9_d._ to 1.5_d._ A purchaser of one pound of each of these commodities would have paid at Calecut £17 13_s._ 6_d._, and would have received at Alexandria £57 12_s._ 8_d._, an increase of 210 per cent. (See Lord Stanley of Alderley’s version of _Duarte Barbosa_, Hakluyt Society, 1866, p. 219.)

Present Retail Prices in London are as follows (per pound): cinnamon, 1_s._ 8_d._; cloves, 1_s._ 6_d._; pepper, 7½_d._ to 10½_d._; ginger, 10_d._ to 1_s._ 4_d._; nutmeg, 2_s._ 6_d._ to 3_s._; lac, 8_d._; rhubarb, 8_s._ to 12_s._; musk, £117.

[263] The words placed within brackets have been kindly furnished me by the Rt. Rev. J. M. Speechly, D.D., who was Bishop of Travancore, 1879-89. In a letter to me he remarks that, “at the sea-port towns generally the worst Malayālam is spoken. Many Malayālam words are the same in Tamil, and in this list there are some which a Tamil scholar would be able to point out. Also, it is not unlikely that there are some Arabic words Malayālamised in the list. The anonymous author’s list is a very interesting one, and his journal, I have no doubt, will be so also. The ‘ne’ which ends so many words may stand for ‘nī’, ‘thou’. Sometimes it is only an expressive ending”.

[264] She died in childbed on August 24, 1498; and Dom Manuel, having been granted a dispensation from the Pope, married her sister, Doña Maria, on August 24, 1500, the second anniversary of his first wife’s death.

[265] _Collecção de S. Vicente_, t. III, fol. 513; XIV, fol. 1.

[266] _Collecção de S. Vicente_, t. XIV, fol. 1.

[267] Gaspar da Gama certainly came in the _S. Gabriel_ (see Sernigi’s letter, Appendix B).

[268] The immediate business of Pedro Correa was to get Pope Alexander VI to grant permission to the Commanders and Knights of the Orders of Christ and Aviz to marry. In this he succeeded (Goes, _Chronica do D. Manuel_, I, c. 15).

[269] “e proveito nosso.” This, in _Alguns Documentos_, is rendered “e principalemente nosso”. It is just possible that the King meant to say that the “service of God” was his principal object, as it had been that of his predecessors.

[270] “By these same discoverers” (_Alguns Documentos_).

[271] This reference to “boughs and leaves” reminds us of what the author of the _Journal_ says about gathering the branches and leaves of supposed cinnamon trees, p. 81.

[272] _Alguns Documentos_ adds: “nor such as suited”, that is, suited the requirements of the Indian market.

[273] This paragraph only appears in _Alguns Documentos_.

[274] The King, or his advisers, thus at once identified Ptolemy’s Taprobane with Ceylon, whilst Ortelius, the professional geographer, seventy-six years later, still assigns that name to Sumatra (see his map _Indiae Orientalis_, in _Theatrum Orbis Terrarum_).

[275] Monçaide and Gaspar da Gama, see Appendix E.

[276] A Bull of Alexander VI, dated Rome 1497, kalendas of June, allows King Manuel and his successors to keep possession of the countries conquered from the infidels, without prejudice to any prior claims of other Christian powers, and prohibits all kings, not possessing such claims, from disturbing King Manuel in the enjoyment of these rights. Finally, the Pope requires the King to establish the Christian religion in all the countries he may conquer (quoted from _Alguns Documentos_, p. 90).

[277] Canestrini, _Delle relazioni tra Firenze e il Portugallo_ (Archivo Storico Italiano, Florence, 1846, App. III).

[278] Falcão, _Livro de toda a fazenda_, 1612, p. 144.

[279] See Parte III, _Fonti italiane_, vol. i, p. 215; vol. ii, p. 113.

[280] _Delle Navigationi e Viaggi_, i, Venice, 1550.

[281] _Vita e lettere d’ Amerigo Vespucci_, Firenze, 1745, p. L.

[282] Roteiro, 2º ed., pp. 124-7.

[283] Markham, _The Letters of Amerigo Vespucci_. London (Hakluyt Society), 1894, p. x.

[284] _Il Milione di Marco Polo_, Firenze, 1828, i, p. liii.

[285] _Sechs-und-zwanzigster Jahresbericht des historichen Kreisvereins von Schwaben_, Augsburg, 1861, pp. 113-170.

[286] Peutinger studied at Padua and other cities of Italy, 1483-6. He is supposed to have paid a flying visit to Rome early in the sixteenth century. His brother-in-law, Christopher Welser, was at that time resident there, and perhaps the abstract was made by him.

[287] Sailing vessels going from the Cape Verde Islands to Lisbon frequently shape their course by the Azores. See p. 94.

[288] Translated from Codex 1910 in the Riccardian Library at Florence.

[289] Literally, “whalers”, or “vessels having the shape of a whale”, called “barinels” by the Portuguese, and not caravels.

[290] According to the _Paesi novamente retrovati_ and Ramusio, there were 180, but Peutinger says there were 118, of whom 55 died and 60 came back.

[291] According to the _Paesi_, etc., July 11th.

[292] This was the vessel commanded by Nicolau Coelho.

[293] “_Molto amalado_”. The _Paesi_ says “amallato a morte”, sick unto death, the very expression used by Peutinger.

[294] Ramusio says 1,300 leagues, but even this is a gross exaggeration. If we allow 17½ leagues to a degree, the new land actually discovered beyond the Rio de Infante amounted to 860 leagues, viz., 800 leagues along the African coast and 60 leagues in India.

[295] From the Cape to the Rio dos Bons Signaes is only 460 leagues.

[296] The Rio dos Bons Signaes, or Kiliman River.

[297] Peutinger says: “if they would stay till new moon, when the waters would grow small, they would give them gold in plenty in exchange for their money or merchandise.”

The Zambezi begins to subside in the beginning of April. Vasco da Gama left on February 25th. This is a very satisfactory confirmation of the writer’s information.

[298] From the Kiliman River (Zambezi) to Melinde is 330 leagues.

[299] The writer must have misunderstood his informants. Gaspar da Gama is evidently referred to. See Appendix E.

[300] From Melinde to Calecut is about 2,340 miles, or 682 leagues.

[301] This sentence is omitted by Ramusio.

[302] The “Bab el mandeb”.

[303] The Strait of Romania is the Bosporus, ancient cartographers (Ortelius and others) very properly writing “Romania” for the Turkish “Rum-ili”, instead of the corrupt “Roumelia” of most modern authors.

[304] The “Sinus Arabicus” of Pliny (vi, 28) is a gulf of the Erythrean, identical with our Red Sea.

[305] Peutinger adds that the people of Calecut were neither black nor white; and that they were Christians, although bad ones.

[306] Peutinger says: “churches and convents.”

[307] Peutinger’s version of this sentence is as follows: “Large and small are baptized in a state of nudity, once every three years, in a river near the town.”

[308] The writer evidently refers to the roads in Portugal, but Ramusio says “as in Italy”.

[309] Ramusio: “Esquires, doorkeepers and chamberlains.”

[310] Ramusio and Peutinger say: “by about fifty persons.”

[311] Peutinger says the couch “was hung round (umhangen) with blackish-green velvet, and had a white coverlet, all worked with gold, and above it a sumptuous curtain. The walls were hung with fine velvet of various colours.”

[312] Peutinger: “the king had the captain asked what he wanted or sought.”

[313] Ramusio: “carried on in their vessels.”

[314] Peutinger translates: “Irrkirche,” _i.e._, heterodox church.

[315] Industria: The word in Peutinger’s letter, “gescheidigkeit”, or intelligence, seems more appropriate.

[316] Ramusio adds here “partly”. The island is Ceylon.

[317] Ramusio adds: “and not by Christians, and the Moors are the masters (signori).”

[318] The Italian original has “stapola”.

[319] Babylonia of Egypt. Ramusio omits “Babylonia”. Peutinger has Alkeiro (Cairo).

[320] The xerafins of Portuguese authors, worth about 7_s._ 10_d._ (at Calecut).

[321] The _Paesi_ and Ramusio add “zetanini velutati”; and Ramusio introduces also “damasked Lucca cloth”, in place of “scarlet cloth”. Prof. Dalla Vedova suggests that “cetanini” may stand for “setini”, a silken stuff of narrow width used in decorating the columns of churches. Bandini says it means “zendado, a kind of cloth”. Lucca was famous in the sixteenth century for its silks and woollen cloths.

[322] Tin, from Malacca.

[323] The _Paesi_, Ramusio, and Peutinger say May 19. According to the “Roteiro”, Vasco da Gama anchored off Capua on May 20.

[324] Ramusio says 200 tons; Peutinger 1,200.

[325] This sentence is omitted by Ramusio; but Peutinger says “many of these vessels are drowned in the sea”.

[326] Ramusio says: “are of curious build”.

[327] Ramusio adds: “but with wooden bolts”, but omits the allusion to the loadstone.

Peutinger locates the “calamito or loadstone” near Ceylon. The myth of magnetic mountains and islands originated in India or China, and was widely credited during the Middle Ages. It was believed that the magnet pulled out the iron bolts and nails of passing ships, which then fell to pieces and were lost.]

[328] Ramusio adds: “The sea rises and falls alternately every six hours, as elsewhere, and sometimes between 500 and 700 vessels may be seen there—a great sight”.

[329] Peutinger adds that the cantar is equal to 250 pounds, when in fact it is only a hundredweight. Five cantars were equal to 1 bahar = 208 kilo = 460 pounds.

[330] Ramusio and Peutinger say that ginger is worth only one half. They say nothing about cinnamon.

[331] Ramusio says nothing about “calking”. The writer seems to look upon “ballasting” and “calking” as identical operations. Or has he made use of a Portuguese term (alastrar), the meaning of which he did not know? Or are we to understand that lac was employed as a substitute for pitch?

[332] Ramusio and Peutinger say that they also take corals in payment, and this seems more probable.

[333] “Balasci” are the pink rubies named after the country of their origin, Badakhshi, which was usually known, according to Ibn Batuta, as Al-balaksh (Yule’s _Marco Polo_, I, p. 169; Heyd, _Geschichte des Levante-Handels_, 1879, I, p. 582). Badakhshi is Badakhshan, and not a kingdom near Pegu and Bengal, as supposed by Duarte Barbosa (Hakluyt Society’s edition, 1866, p. 212).

[334] The latter part of this sentence is omitted by Ramusio.

[335] Bab el Mandeb.

[336] The Rio dos Bons Signaes, or Zambezi.

[337] Malvasia (Malmsey) is a luscious Greek wine, named after the town of Napoli di Malvasia, in Laconia. The vines were transplanted to Crete, Madeira, and other places.

[338] Ramusio says: “they had a beard between the nose and the mouth, such as is worn by the courtiers at Constantinople, who call it a moustache.”

[339] Ramusio adds: “of Melinde”. The “pilot” here referred to was Gaspar da Gama. See Appendix E.

[340] This information was apparently never asked for. The “strangers” were undoubtedly Chinese. Marco Polo (_Yule_, I, p. lxvi, and II, pp. 197, 327) already mentions their four-masted vessels. In his time, Chinese vessels regularly visited the west coast of India. The vizor in the guise of a mask, distinctly points to the Chinese, and the sword attached to a spear is a Chinese weapon. Up to the introduction of pig-tails by the Manju, in 1644, the Chinese wore their hair long. A punitive fleet of sixty-two Chinese vessels was sent to Ceylon in 1401. In 1417 an embassy was sent from Mu-ku-tu-su (Magadoxo) to China (Bretschneider, _On the Knowledge possessed by the Ancient Chinese of the Arabs_, London, 1871), and in 1431 Chinese junks might be seen at Jedda (Hirth, _Verhandlungen_, Berlin Geographical Society, 1889, p. 46).

During the second half of the fifteenth century the intercourse between China and Malabar seems to have become rare, until at last it ceased altogether (Richthofen, _China_, I, p. 10, 5).

Ramusio contemptuously suppresses the writer’s speculations about these curious strangers being Germans or Russians.

[341] Less than a penny.

[342] “di mezo sapore”. Ramusio has “tutte dolci”.

[343] “Poponi”: Ramusio says “pomi”, apples.

[344] Or rather Buddha.

[345] Ramusio has suppressed this passage.

[346] Ramusio adds: “And bread made of corn and other things of the kind”.

[347] Professor Dalla Vedova suggests that the “pescotto” of the original may be the “Pesce persico” (_Perca fluviatilis_), or perch. Ramusio, in his edition of 1563, however, has “pescietti”, which means “small fishes” (sardines).

[348] Lenguazzi: perhaps the modern “linguattole”, or sole.

[349] Bisuccho, in Portuguese Besugo, the sea-bream (_Sparus cantabricus_).

[350] The words within brackets are only to be found in the _Paesi_.

[351] Ramusio adds: “There are also horses as with us, and they are highly valued by Christians and Moors alike”. Peutinger and the _Paesi_ say the same.

[352] Ramusio says: “silk-stuffs and bocassins”. He does not mention the colours.

[353] Peutinger adds: “They are decent, quiet (fromm) people at his court, and dress according to their condition and rank (adel)”.

[354] _Jubbi_ (Arabic) is a long coat or caftan; the _balandrau_ (Portuguese) is a surtout worn by the Brothers of Mercy in Portugal. Ramusio calls the latter garments _palascani_.

[355] The actual distance is about 10,500 nautical miles, or 3,060 Portuguese leagues.

[356] In his second letter the writer recurs to this subject.

[357] These are the Laccadive islands, fourteen in number: but, as their name implies (Laksha Dwipa = the Hundred Thousand Islands), supposed to be much more numerous. Mr. Sneyd’s _Codex_ says there were 11,000 of these islands. The Maldives were known as Narikela Dwipa.

[358] That is the West Indies!

[359] Ramusio adds: “through vessels which go to Mecca”.

[360] Ramusio adds: “benzoin”.

[361] It should be 160.

[362] Ramusio adds: “many sapphires and other jewels”. He then says: “Pepper and ginger grow around the said city of Calicut”. The paragraph is worded obscurely, but my version seems to be preferable. Sapphires are mentioned at the end of the letter.

[363] Ramusio does not mention almonds, nor does Peutinger.

[364] This expression proves that the letter was not written at one sitting, but by degrees.

[365] Ramusio has much condensed the whole of this paragraph, and seems to have misunderstood the writer. The statement that provisions were sent from Melinde to Calecut can hardly be accepted, and it was perhaps for this reason that Ramusio suppressed the name of that town. The country around Calecut is certainly sandy, but it is not as sterile as the bald statement of the writer would lead one to believe, for the city lies in the midst of extensive groves of palm, mango, and jack trees.

Peutinger thus summarises this passage: “The country around Kalekut is mostly sand, and neither corn nor any other fruit grows there. These are imported by sea.”

[366] Should be Chalechut, as Bandini prints it.

[367] The last two paragraphs have been omitted by Ramusio.

[368] Translated from the _Paesi novamente retrovati_, Vicenza, 1507.

[369] The true history of the Jewish colony in Malabar has been written by Claudius Buchanan (_Christian Researches in Asia_, Edinburgh, 1812). Ritter (_Erdkunde_, v, pp. 595-601) gives an excellent summary.

[370] Gaspar da Gama was quite right. There were no Christians at Calecut when Vasco da Gama first visited that town, nor are there many now. Cochin, and not Calecut, was the chief seat of the Syrian Christians of Malabar. They were an offshoot of the church of Persia, which recognised the Nestorian patriarch of Babylon (Mosul). After the condemnation of their dogmas by the Council of Ephesus (431) they sought a refuge in distant countries. After 1599 many of them recognised the Pope, but after the ascendency of the Dutch (since 1653) some turned Protestants, whilst others recognised the Jacobite bishop of Antioch as their head. Popularly they are known as S. Thomas Christians, although there exists not the slightest evidence of that Apostle ever having visited India. Their worship is of a simple nature: they admit no images to their churches, reject the doctrine of transubstantiation, and allow their priests to marry (G. Milne Rae, _The Syrian Church in India_, 1892; Percy Badger, _The Nestorians and their Ritual_, 1852; German, _Die Kirche der Thomaschristen_, 1877).

[371] Ramusio says: “excepting those called Jacobites and those of Prester John.”

[372] Ramusio says forty days.

[373] Ramusio adds: “towards the Gulf of Persia”.

[374] Ramusio says 300 leagues. The real distance of Bahrein is about 550 leagues. There may be some confusion with the Manar pearl fishery.

[375] Varthema (p. 95) and Duarte Barbosa (p. 37) refer to the pearl fishery of the Bahrein islands. They both describe the islanders as Mohammedans. Mr. Bent (_Journal Royal Geographical Society_, xii, 1890) visited the islands in 1889, and states that there is a good supply of water. Indeed, a river such as is described in the letter only exists some 250 miles away.

[376] King Manuel was better advised (see p. 115, note).

[377] Ramusio says: “is frightened”.

[378] These “anchors”, according to Varthema (p. 153), consist of a block of marble, which has two ropes attached to it. On the African coast a box fitted with stones is used for the same purpose.

[379] The next expedition was that sent out under Pedralvarez Cabral, who left Lisbon in March, 1500, with thirteen vessels.

[380] In Book VIII of his _Natural History_.

[381] This last paragraph is not found in the _Paesi novamente retrovati_, and is taken from Ramusio.

[382] This paragraph is rather puzzling. July 10th, 1499, was the date of Coelho’s arrival. Of the four vessels, two are correctly stated to have been burnt, though not near Cape Verde, namely, the store ship of 110 tons, and one of the vessels of 90 tons (the _S. Raphael_). Coelho brought home the small vessel of 50 tons, and the “captain” himself is stated to have returned in the remaining vessel of 90 tons.

[383] The Cape Verde islands.

[384] Grão or gran (Portuguese), kermes-grain, anciently scarlet, is not mentioned by Ramusio.

[385] Rosebeeren (Roseberries) seems to stand for Rose mallus, or Rossamalha, an aromatic resin containing benzoic acid, yielded by the majestic Rasamala tree (_Altingia excelsa_) of Java, where it is used as a substitute for benzoin.

[386] I need hardly direct the reader’s attention to the fact that the fustas of the Sabayo were fought _after_ Vasco’s return from Calecut, and that he visited neither Cochin nor Cananor in the course of this first voyage.

[387] A MS. in the Torre do Tombo quoted by Texeira de Aragão (_Boletim_, VI, 1886, p. 580), ornamented with the coloured coats of arms of the _Counts_ of Vidigueira, and extending to 1641, seems to be identical in several respects with the MS. from which the above is quoted. The concluding portion, beginning with “returned to this kingdom”, is taken word for word from the earlier _Jornal_. Vasco da Gama is stated to have gone in the _S. Raphael_, whilst Paulo’s vessel, the _S. Gabriel_, is said to have been destroyed on the homeward voyage near Cabo de S. Vicente.

[388] Paulo da Gama came back in this vessel, his own having been burnt by order of Vasco da Gama, off Tangáta. [_Note by the author._]

[389] Pavia, a small town twenty miles to the north of Evora.

[390] The 7th of April was a Saturday (see p. 34).

[391] The preceding dates agree with those in the _Journal_, but the anchorage, two leagues from Calecut (see p. 48) was only reached on May 20th, and the stay at or off Calecut was certainly much longer than the seventy-four days allowed by Rezende. In fact, seventy-four days would only carry us from May 20th to August 1st.

[392] That is, the mouth of the Tagus.

[393] A sailing vessel occasionally propelled by oars.

[394] Henrique Lopes de Mendonça, _Estudos sobre navios Portuguezes_, Lisbon (Ac. Real), 1892, p. 58.

[395] A pilot, Fernando Rodriques Berrio, resided at Lagos in 1502, and there were other members of the same family (Varnhagen).

[396] Goes, _Chronica do Rei D. Emanuel_, 1790, I, p. 10.

[397] Only their type, for the legend below N. Coelho’s ship (“which they broke up”) shows that these are not portraits of the actual vessels, but fancy sketches. Coelho’s vessel was the first to return to Lisbon; it was the store-ship which was broken up.

[398] _Obras de Luiz de Camões_, VI.

[399] Stanley’s _Vasco da Gama_, p. 26.

[400] _Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis_, Lisbon, 1892, p. 99.

[401] _Esmeraldo_, p. 99.

[402] A ton register is of a capacity of 100 cubic feet; a ton measurement is usually assumed to have a capacity of 40 cubic feet. Hence 400 tons measurement would be equivalent to 160 tons register, instead of 250 to 300.

[403] _Le construzione navali (Raccolta Colombiana)_, Rome, 1893, p. 76.

[404] The palmo de goa was equal to 293 m.m., and the _tonel_ consequently measured 2.42 cubic metres or 85 cubic feet. “Goa” has nothing to do either with _agoa_, or with the town of that name in India, but is a corruption of “gouê”, a measure anciently used by shipbuilders in the Mediterranean (see Lopez de Mendonça, _loc. cit._, p. 118).

[405] _Os Navios de Vasco da Gama_, Lisbon, June, 1892.

[406] _Noticia sobre e Não S. Gabriel_, Lisbon, August, 1892.

[407] Captain Braz d’Oliveira gives the following dimensions: length, 106 ft.; keel, 54.5 ft.; beam, 20 ft.; draught, aft, 10.5 ft.; depth, 18 ft.

[408] This consists in multiplying length of keel, breadth and depth, and dividing by thirty. The result is expressed in _botte_.

[409] See J. de Barros, _Dec. I_, l. vi, c. 3.

[410] Barros and Castanheda, in addition to bombards, mention spin-gards (wall-pieces) and one-pounder matchlocks. Correa (Stanley’s _Vasco da Gama_) says that the ships, or some of them, in Vasco da Gama’s second voyage were armed with six heavy guns below, four smaller guns and four falconets on deck, and several swivel guns. The caravels, though only manned by thirty men, carried four heavy guns below, six falconets and twelve swivel guns.

[411] Note by Sir Clements R. Markham.

[412] D. Diogo Ortiz de Vilhegas was a native of Calçadinha, in Leon, and came to Portugal as father-confessor and spiritual director of that “excellent lady”, D. Joanna. King Manuel held him in high respect, and appointed him Bishop of Tangier in 1491. Jointly with Masters Rodriguez, the physician, and Jose Vizinho, he is responsible for reporting adversely on the bold projects of Columbus. In 1500, he was transferred to the See of Ceuta, and, in 1505, to that of Vizeu. He never resided in his African dioceses. When Gama took leave of the King at Montemór ó novo, Vilhegas is said to have celebrated Mass. He died in 1519 at Almeirim.—(Paiva Manso, _Historia Ecclesiastica_, Lisbon, 1872, I, pp. 40, 47, 62.)

[413] Pero de Covilhão and Affonso de Paiva were despatched from Santarem in 1487 to spy out the countries of the east. Covilhão, in the course of his extensive travels, visited Hormuz, Calecut, and the east coast of Africa as far as Sofala. He ultimately reached the court of Prester John, and was never again allowed to leave it. These travellers, too, received a map and instructions from D. Diogo de Vilhegas. The best account of Covilhão’s adventures is that furnished by Alvarez, c. 103 (see Lord Stanley’s translation, published by the Hakluyt Society).

[414] Lucas Marcos visited Rome and Lisbon. The information furnished by him included a vocabulary.—(Barros, _Da Asia_, _Dec. I_, l. iii, c. 5.)

[415] Abraham ben Samuel Zacuto was professor of astronomy and mathematics in the University of Salamanca when King John II called him to Portugal in 1492, and appointed him Astronomer Royal. He is the author of _Ephemerides_, originally written in Hebrew, a Latin translation of which, by José Vizinho, one of his pupils, was first printed in 1496—on the eve of Vasco da Gama’s departure—although there can be no doubt that these useful tables previously circulated in MS. José Vizinho is perhaps identical with the physician José whom King John had charged, jointly with Master Rodrigo, to prepare tables of the declination of the sun, which would enable navigators to determine their latitude after they had lost sight of the Pole star. Rudolf Wolf (_Geschichte der Astronomie_, p. 97) credits Regiomontanus with having produced the first set of “practical” tables for the use of mariners. He does not even once mention Zacuto in his history, and states that the tables of the great German astronomer were those made use of by Dias and Vasco da Gama. As the _Ephemerides_ of Regiomontanus were printed in 1474, they naturally became more widely known than those of Zacuto, which only circulated in MS., and they were, perhaps, brought to Portugal by Martin Behaim. It cannot, however, be doubted that the tables which Vasco da Gama took with him were those of Zacuto.

For the contents of the first printed edition of Zacuto’s _Almanach Perpetuum_, see Antonio Ribeiro dos Santos in _Memorias de Litteratura Portugueza_, 2 edição, VIII, p. 46; for later reprints of the Tables of the Declination of the Sun, see Luciano Cordeira in the _Boletim_ of the Lisbon Geographical Society, 1883, p. 163.

[416] See Hellmann, in _Zeitschrift für Erdkunde_, 1897. The _Roteiros_ of João de Castro, containing these observations, were published at Lisbon, 1833 and 1882.

[417] The description of this proposed series is of historical interest (see _Alguns documentos_, 1892, p. 516).

[418] See Stanley’s _Vasco da Gama_, pp. 73 and 144. The “Sphere” was a device bestowed upon D. Manuel by King João II. A coin called an “Esphera de Ouro” was coined in Portuguese India. M.B. Lopez Fernandes (_Memoria das moedas_, Lisbon, 1856, p. 121) had such a coin in his possession. It had the device on the face, and a royal crown with the word MEA on the obverse. Manuel de Faria (_Noticias de Portugal_, Disc. IV, § 31) thinks that MEA stands for “Mine”, meaning that the whole sphere was Manuel’s; but Fernandes is inclined to think that it stands for MEIA, that is, “Half”. The coin in his collection had an intrinsic value of about six shillings.

The Pelican was the device of King João II. It may have been on the padrãos erected by Dias, but has not been discovered on those of Cão.

[419] See Texeira de Aragão (_Boletim_, VI, 1886, p. 562).

[420] See Stanley’s _Vasco da Gama_, pp. 38, 73, 94, 96.

[421] According to J. de Escalante de Mendoso (1575), quoted by D’Albertis, _loc. cit._, p. 84.

[422] In quoting authorities I refer to the following editions:—João de Barros, _Da Asia_, Lisbon, 1788; Castanheda, _Historia da India_, Lisbon, 1833; Manuel de Faria y Sousa, _Asia Portuguesa_, Lisbon, 1666; Gaspar Correa, _Lendas da India_, Lisbon, 1858-64; Damião de Goes, _Chronica do Rei D. Manuel_, 1790.

[423] If Correa (I, p. 656) can be trusted, he still had a wife at Cochin in 1506. Sernigi (see p. 136) credits him with a wife and children at Calecut.

[424] Barros, _Dec. I_, iv, c. 1; Goes, I, c. 23; Castanheda, I, c. 2.

[425] Correa gives a circumstantial account of the embarkation in the King’s presence, but the description of the paintings which were to have been executed by the King’s order in illustration of the discovery and “conquest” of India, shows very conclusively that the King was _not_ there (_Alguns documentos_, p. 516).

[426] This, without a doubt, is the correct date. The author of our “Journal”, Barros, Goes, Castanheda, and Faria y Sousa, they all agree in this. Sernigi gives July 9th; Correa fixes upon March 25th as the day of departure.

We may say, once for all, that the dates given in the “Journal” may confidently be accepted as correct, allowing for a few _lapsi calami_ (or errors of the copyist), which can fortunately be rectified in nearly every instance, as the Author names the day of the week, and often even the name of the Saint to whom the day is dedicated.

[427] This date is doubtful. See p. 3, note 3. The wrong date is not August 18th, but August 22nd.

[428] The variation being about 19° E., according to João de Castro, the true course would have been nearly S. by E.

[429] See p. 4, note 1.

[430] See Admiralty “Chart showing the tracks of sailing vessels with auxiliary steam power”; the valuable track-charts by Capt. A. Schück in the _Jahresbericht_ of the Hamburg Geographical Society, for 1874; Dr. G. Schott, “Die Verkehrswege” in _Zeitschrift für Erdkunde_, 1895, with maps; the sailing directories of all ages since Duarte Pacheco wrote his _Esmeraldo_ in 1505.

[431] According to Barros, Bartholemeu Dias kept in his company until he took the direction of Mina.

[432] See, for instance, _The Voyage of François Leguat_, by Capt. Pasfield Oliver (Hakluyt Society, 1891), i, p. 25.

[433] Modern sailing vessels do much better. The passage from São Thiago to the Cape by way of Trinidad (5,140 miles) is made on an average in forty-six days, being a daily run of 125 miles, as compared with 54 miles daily, with which we have credited Vasco da Gama (see the Table at the end of this Appendix).

[434] One league of Columbus = 4 Italian miles = 3.38 nautical miles.

[435] In note 3, p. 3, we have assumed a somewhat shorter course, but after due consideration we now give the preference to the track laid down upon our chart. On an old map of Africa, by H. Moll, a “tract” passing to the east of Ascension and St. Helena is recommended as “a good course of sailing from Great Britain to the East Indies in the Spring and Fall”. What would Admiral Wharton say to this?

[436] These islands are distinctly shown on the Cantino Chart, but unfortunately not named. They are not, however, the _Ys. Tebas_ of Juan de la Cosa, as is supposed by the Editor of Spruner’s _Historical Atlas_, for the chart of the Spanish pilot which contains this name was completed before Cabral’s return. If we can credit a statement of Correa (Stanley’s _Vasco da Gama_, p. 825), who quotes Gaspar da Gama as his authority, Cabral also discovered Tristão da Cunha. He certainly must have been very near these islands when several of his vessels foundered.

[437] King Manuel, in his letter of 1505, to King Ferdinand of Castile (“Centenario do descobrimento da America”, Lisbon, 1892), says that João da Nova sailed to the Terra de Santa Cruz (Brazil), and thence to the Cape. He does not mention Ascension (Conceiçao). This, however, is not conclusive, for Kings, unlike Popes, are not infallible. Barros, Goes, and Galvão are our authorities for the discovery of the island of Concepçao in 8° S.

[438] There is no doubt that the island referred to by Thome Lopes (see Ramusio) as being 330 leagues from the Ilha dos Papagaios (Brazil), 775 leagues from the Ilha da Boa Vista (Cape Verdes), and 850 leagues from the Cape, is the island now known as Trinidad. This island, on early Portuguese charts, is called Ascenção menor.

[439] If the distance given by Giovanni da Empoli, who writes as an eye-witness, can be trusted, this must be the Ascenção menor (Trinidad), and not the island discovered by João da Nova, which is only 400 leagues from Cape Verde.

[440] On Canerio’s chart St. Helena’s Bay is placed 32° 30´ S., the true latitude being 32° 40´ S. Cantino, whose _outline_ is far more correct places the Bay in 31° S.

[441] See Stanley’s _Vasco da Gama_, p. 48. Compare Introduction, p. xviii.

[442] See Stanley’s _Vasco da Gama_, pp. 62, 67, 270.

[443] _The History of the Portuguese during the Reign of Emmanuel_ London, 1752, 1, p. 48.

[444] _Roteiro_, first edition, p. 143.

[445] For a discussion of these sites, see p. 18, _note_.

[446] _Africa Pilot_, iii, p. 241.

[447] Vasco da Gama thus took 24 days to cross from Melinde to India. Cabral, João da Nova, Estevão da Gama and Affonso de Albuquerque effected this passage in from 15 to 18 days. They crossed in August, when the S.-W. monsoon blows freshly.

[448] _The Discoveries of the World_ (Hakluyt Society), p. 93.

[449] These “Flats” are a submerged coral reef lying between 12° 30´ and 13° 40´ N. The native name is Maniyal Par.

[450] According to the author of Add. MS. 20901 (British Museum), Vasco da Gama “cast anchor in front of the most noble and rich city of Calecut on May 22”. The date of this MS. is about 1516.

[451] On page 80, note 2, we have identified the island upon which this padrão was placed with Pigeon Island, 14° 1´, on the ground of its answering better to the description given by the author of the _Roteiro_; but we see reasons for accepting the general opinion that one of the islands off Mulpy (perhaps Coco Nut Island) must be meant, although none of these islets is more than a mile from the coast, instead of two leagues. Barros (Dec. 1, l. iv, c. ii.) locates the Ilhéos de Santa Maria between Bacanor and Baticala.

[452] Cabral, on his homeward voyage in 1501, reached Lisbon from Cape Verde in twenty days, but Juan Sebastian del Cano, in the _Victoria_, took fifty-seven days to reach San Lucar from the Cape Verde Islands.

[453] In converting legoas into nautical miles we have assumed 100 legoas to be the equivalent of 338 miles. See _League_ in Index and Glossary.

[454] Or thirty miles, if we exclude the five days wasted in a vain effort to stem the Agulhas current (see p. 15).

[455] No account is taken of the four days lost in an attempt to sail north (see p. 28).

[456] This includes a delay of fifteen (?five) days when burning the _S. Raphael_.

[457] Charts on a larger scale, but of a later date, are available, and enable us to trace the physical features of the coast, but their nomenclature is not always that of the original discoverers. Nor are we so fortunate as to possess such full descriptions of the coast as are to be found in the “Africa Pilot”, for the _Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis_ (1505) of the famous Duarte Pacheco Pereira stops short at the Rio de Infante; whilst works such as Linschoten’s _Itinerarium ofte Schipvaert_, belong either to a much later epoch, or are of too general a nature to prove of use when attempting to identify the more obscure place-names. I think it was Admiral Ignacio da Costa Quintella, the author of the _Annaes da marinha Portugueza_, who regretted that the task of writing the history of Portuguese exploration should have devolved almost exclusively upon landsmen, who neglected to give satisfactory accounts of the routes followed by the early navigators. This regret we fully share.

[458] See, for instance, A. Mori, in _Atti IIº Congresso Geogr. Italiana_, Rome, 1895, who describes maps by him in a “Ptolemy” in the Biblioteca Nazionale at Florence.

[459] The late Dr. Kohl published a facsimile of this map in the _Zeitschrift für Erdkunde_, I, 1856, but it is not very accurate. That portion of the map which lies between the Guinea islands and Dias’s furthest accompanies my Paper on “Cão, Dias and Behaim”, in the _Geographical Journal_.

[460] A legend (near the southern tropic and on the meridian of Lisbon) refers to Santa Cruz as “ysla descubierta por portugal”.

[461] There are flags at Abaran, c. etiopico and quinonico.

[462] A fine facsimile of this map was published at Madrid, in 1892, by Antonio Cánovas Vallego and Prof. Traynor, together with a biographical sketch of Juan de la Cosa by Antonio Vasáno.

[463] A. Galvano, _The Discoveries of the World_, London (Hakluyt Society), 1862, p. 98; and _The Letters of Vespucci_, translated by Sir C. R. Markham, _ib._ 1894.

[464] This carries us almost to Hawaii.

[465] The words “questo avemo visto”, to the south of Moçambique, point to the use of an original sailing chart.

[466] Reproduced in Sir Clements R. Markham’s _Journal of Christopher Columbus_, London, 1893, where also see Cantino’s letters.

[467] _Die topographischen Capitel des Indischen Seespiegels Mohit_, von Dr. M. Bittner, Vienna, 1897, with thirty maps by Dr. Tomaschek.

[468] Even Ptolemy seems to have been in possession of some of these Indian sailing charts, and Dr. Tomaschek suggests that the monstrous size of his Taprobana, or Ceylon, is due to his having mistaken the horizontal lines crossing these charts for parallels drawn at intervals of a degree.

[469] Africa to the north of Mozambique measures 28° across on Canerio’s chart, and 25° on Cantino’s, the actual breadth being 26°.

[470] _Le Portulan de Nicolas de Canerio_ (Bulletin de la Soc. de Géogr. de Lyon, 1890).

[471] _Geographie du Moyen Age_, ii, p. 143.

[472] In Nordenskiöld’s _Atlas_ will be found facsimiles of these maps.

[473] Instead of a full translation of the two documents on this subject, which are printed as an appendix to the original edition of the _Roteiro_, we have given abstracts of all the available documents bearing upon it. Most of these will be found _in extenso_ in Teixeira de Aragão’s _Vasco da Gama e a Vidigueira_ (Boletim, Lisbon Geogr. Soc., 1886, pp. 541-702); Luciano Cordeiro’s _De come e quando foi feito Conde Vasco da Gama_ (Boletim, 1892, pp. 257-303); and Cordeiro’s _O Premio da Descoberta_, Lisbon, 1897.

[474] The original document bestowing this title is not available, but the King makes use of it in his Order of Nov. 19th, 1501.

[475] Compare Document 18 at end of this Appendix.

[476] See also Documents 10 and 11.

[477] Peragallo, _Carta de El-Rei D. Manuel ao Rei Catholico_, Lisbon, 1892, p. 89. Leonardo Masser describes the Admiral as being ill-tempered and unreasonable, and as exhibiting but little gratitude in return for the favours conferred upon him by the King.

[478] Peragallo, _loc. cit._, p. 92. The highest incomes were enjoyed by the Duke of Coimbra (16,000 cruz.), the Duke of Bragança (16,000 cruz.), the Bishop of Evora (12,000 cruz.), the Marquis of Villa Real and the Archbishop of Lisbon (10,000 cruz. each).

[479] Cordeiro, _Boletim_, 1892, p. 285.

[480] Quoted by teixeira de Aragão, p. 572, from a document in the Torre do Tombo.

[481] teixeira de Aragão, p. 573.

[482] This document was first printed as an Appendix to the second edition of the _Roteiro_, and has since been published as an Appendix to Lord Stanley of Alderley’s _Vasco da Gama_, and in _Alguns Documentos_, p. 127. Its provisions were confirmed in favour of D. Francisco da Gama by King John III, May 4th, 1526 (Cordeiro, _O Premio da Descoberta_, pp. 48-55.)

[483] In 1434 (not 1433) Gil Eanes doubled Cape Bojador.

[484] In 1482 Diogo Cão discovered the Congo. We ought evidently to read 1488, for the Congo is only 1,240 leagues from Lisbon, whilst the 1,885 leagues actually carry us to the Rio do Infante. The name is thus spelt in this document as if the river had been named in honour of Prince Henry, and not after João Infante, the companion of Dias.

[485] Published _in extenso_ in the 2nd edition of the _Roteiro_, p. 175.

[486] Departure from Lisbon, February 10, 1502; return, September 1, 1503.

[487] About _£_900. The King had this gold converted into a “custodia”, which he presented to the church of Belem.

[488] Cordeiro, Boletim, 1892, p. 287.

[489] Teixeira de Aragão, p. 675.

[490] Leonardo da Chá Maser calls him “discreet and experienced, although quite illiterate” (see Peragallo, _Carta de El-Rei D. Manuel_, Lisbon, 1892, p. 89).

[491] This Gama was the third son of the first Vasco, and consequently an uncle of the Admiral. He was Comptroller of the Revenues (“casa da fazenda”) of the Order.

[492] Cordeiro, _Boletim_, 1892, p. 287.

[493] A town on the Tejo, 20 miles above Lisbon.

[494] Cordeiro, _Boletim_, 1892, p. 288. This _Alvaró_ was confirmed by King John, June 17, 1522 (Cordeiro, _O Premio da Descoberta_, p. 45).

[495] Cordeiro, _O Premio da Descoberta_, p. 46.

[496] _Roteiro_, Appendice, p. 175.

[497] Niza, a town in the district of Portalegre, about 100 miles to the N.E. of Lisbon. When the 5th Count da Gama was raised to the dignity of a “Marquis” in 1648, he took his title from this town.

[498] Cordeiro, _Boletim_, 1892, p. 289.

[499] Cordeiro, _Boletim_, 1892, p. 292.

[500] Cordeiro, _Boletim_, 1892, pp. 278, 291.

[501] Cordeiro, pp. 274, 295.

[502] Cordeiro, _Boletim_, p. 295.

[503] Cordeiro, p. 280.

[504] Cordeiro, _O Premio da Descoberta_, p. 46.

[505] _Cordeiro_, p. 302. I.

INDEX AND GLOSSARY.

+Açoutado+, ilha do (Kiziwa, 12° 35´ S., 400° 40´ E., Map III), 32, 218

+Adarga+ (Arabic _el darakah_);
according to Jubinal (_Armeria Real_, Madrid, Plate 3), a short
spear with a target-like handguard, and a dagger projecting at
right angles; compare Burton’s _Camoens_, xiv, p. 571.

+Affonso, Martin+, interpreter, 12, 17, 176;
Boa Gente, 17

+“Africa Pilot,”+ quoted, 32, 93, 197

+Agonia+ (Arabic _El Jumbiyeh_) a crooked dagger worn in the waist
waist-belt, 30

+Agostinho+, Cabe de, Brazil (8° S., 35° W.), 205

+Agulhas+, Cabo das (34° 50´ S., 20° E., Map II), 168, 169, 215

+Agulhas+ current, xviii, 15, 195

+Ailly, Pierre d’+ (b. 1350, d. 1419), xvii

+Albertis, E. A. D’+, quoted 161, 174

+Albuquerque, Affonso de+ (Governor of India, 1509-15), 179, 191

+Alcacer do Sal+, Portugal (38° 20´ N., 8° 30´ W.), 159

+Alcaide+ (Arabic _Al Kadi_), a judge, 35
In Portuguese it means the governor of a province, town, or castle.
_Alcaide-mór_ governor in chief; _Alcaideria_, the district or
office of an alcaide.

+Alcochete+ (38° 46´ N., 80° 57´ W.), town, Portugal, 46

+Alenquer, Pero d’+, 175;
at S. Helena Bay, 5;
at the Cape, 9;
Cross Island, 14

+Alexander VI+, Pope (1492-1503), 115

+Alexandria+, Egypt, 78

+Algoa Bay+ (33° 50´ S., 26° E., Map II), 15, 221

+Aljofar+ (from Arabic _Jauhar_ or _Gohar_ i.e., “Jewel”). In
Portuguese it means seed-pearls.

+Alliacus+, _see_ +Ailly, Pierre d’+.

+Almadia+ (Arabic _El Maziyah_), a ferry-boat, dug-out, 20

+Almanach perpetuum+, 167

+Almeida, D. Francisco de+ (Viceroy of India, 1505-9);
at Mombaça, 38, 39;
at Malindi, 44;
at Anjediva, 80

+Almoxarife+ (Arabic), a receiver of customs or taxes.

+Almude+, a measure of capacity, holding 29½ pints.

+Aloes+, 99, 104, 213

+Alvares, Gonçalo+, master of the _S. Gabriel_, 176