THE PORTUGUESE IN WEST AFRICA, 1415–1670

Cambridge University Press978-0-521-76894-8 - The Portuguese in West Africa, 1415-1670: A Documentary HistoryEdited by Malyn NewittFrontmatterMore informationTHE PORTUGUESE IN WEST AFRICA, 1415–1670The Portuguese in West Africa, 1415–1670, brings together a collection ofdocuments – the majority in new English translation – that illustrate aspectsof the encounters between the Portuguese and the peoples of north and westAfrica. This period witnessed the diaspora of the Sephardic Jews, the emigration of Portuguese to west Africa and the islands, and the beginnings ofthe black diaspora associated with the slave trade. The documents show howthe Portuguese tried to understand the societies with which they came intocontact, and to reconcile their experience with the myths and legends inherited from classical and medieval learning. They also show how Africansreacted to the coming of Europeans, adapting Christian ideas to local beliefsand making use of exotic imports and European technologies. The documents also describe the evolution of the black Portuguese communities inGuinea and the islands, as well as the slave trade and the way that it wasorganized, understood and justified.Malyn Newitt is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Portuguese andBrazilian Studies at King’s College London. He is the author or editor oftwelve books on Portuguese colonial history, including History of PortugueseOverseas Expansion, as well as multiple journal articles. in this web service Cambridge University Presswww.cambridge.org

Cambridge University Press978-0-521-76894-8 - The Portuguese in West Africa, 1415-1670: A Documentary HistoryEdited by Malyn NewittFrontmatterMore informationTHE PORTUGUESE INWEST AFRICA, 1415–1670A Documentary HistoryEdited byMALYN NEWITTKing’s College London in this web service Cambridge University Presswww.cambridge.org

Cambridge University Press978-0-521-76894-8 - The Portuguese in West Africa, 1415-1670: A Documentary HistoryEdited by Malyn NewittFrontmatterMore informationcambridge university pressCambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore,São Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo, Mexico CityCambridge University Press32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013-2473, USAwww.cambridge.orgInformation on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521159142 Malyn Newitt 2010This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exceptionand to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,no reproduction of any part may take place without the writtenpermission of Cambridge University Press.First published 2010Printed in the United States of AmericaA catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library.Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication dataThe Portuguese in West Africa, 1415–1670 : a documentary history / [edited by]Malyn Newitt.p. cm.Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 978-0-521-76894-8 (hardback)1. Africa, West–Discovery and exploration–Portuguese–Sources. 2. Portuguese–Africa,West–History–Sources. 3. Africa, West–History–To 1884–Sources. 4. Slavetrade–Africa, West–History–Sources. I. Newitt, M. D. D. II. Title.DT472.P67 2010303.48’2469060903–dc222010018052ISBN 978-0-521-76894-8 HardbackISBN 978-0-521-15914-2 PaperbackCambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence oraccuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Web sites referred to inthis publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Web sites is,or will remain, accurate or appropriate. in this web service Cambridge University Presswww.cambridge.org

Cambridge University Press978-0-521-76894-8 - The Portuguese in West Africa, 1415-1670: A Documentary HistoryEdited by Malyn NewittFrontmatterMore informationCONTENTSList of Mapspage ixPrefacexiIntroduction1.The Portuguese in MoroccoDoc. 1Doc. 2Doc. 3Doc. 4Doc. 5Doc. 62.3.125The Portuguese celebrate Mass in the mosquein Ceuta, 1415Christians and Moors – single combat in thestruggle to control Ceuta during the Moroccan warsThe Moors of Massa recognize PortugueseoverlordshipLetter Patent of Dom Manuel to the Jews ofSafi, 1509Letter of João de Meneses to Dom Manuel on thestate of Azamour, 1514The Portuguese of Azamour raid the Bedouins, 1519252831353740The early voyages to west Africa43Doc. 7Doc. 8Doc. 9Doc. 10434447Prince Henry ‘the Navigator’ is rememberedSlave raiding on the Sahara coast, 1445The Portuguese run into opposition, 1446Duarte Pacheco Pereira tries to come to terms with‘difference’51The Atlantic Islands55Doc. 11 Madeira and the Canary Islands in the fifteenthcenturyDoc. 12 How to survive tropical heat and diseaseDoc. 13 Sugar and slaves556061v in this web service Cambridge University Presswww.cambridge.org

Cambridge University Press978-0-521-76894-8 - The Portuguese in West Africa, 1415-1670: A Documentary HistoryEdited by Malyn NewittFrontmatterMore informationvi4.5.vCONTENTSDoc. 14 Hunting escaped slaves in São ToméDoc. 15 New Christians have poisoned the bishop of São Tomé6365The Upper Guinea Coast and Sierra Leone67Doc. 16Doc. 17Doc. 18Doc. 19677174Cadamosto meets BudomelMarkets and dances: Africa responds to EuropeThe Wolof kingdom at the end of the fifteenth centuryRelations between the coastal peoples of UpperGuinea and the Cape Verde IslandsDoc. 20 Trade and piracy on the Senegal coastDoc. 21 The slave trade and royal luxury in the landof the Bussis85Elmina and Benin90Doc. 22 The foundation of the castle and city of São Jorgeda Mina, 1482Doc. 23 The importance of reaching an accommodationwith the private tradersDoc. 24 Christianity and the Obas of Benin6.7.8.7882909697Discovery of the Kingdom of Kongo100Doc. 25 The Manisonyo embraces Christianity, 1491Doc. 26 The arrival of the Portuguese embassy at theKongo Court, 1491Doc. 27 The king of Kongo is baptized and goes to war, 1491Doc. 28 The province of Mbata and its relations with thePortuguese and the Kongo kingDoc. 29 The accession of Dom Afonso I of KongoDoc. 30 Relations between Kongo and the Portugueseof São Tomé100Angola, Paulo Dias and the founding of Luanda121Doc. 31Doc. 32Doc. 33Doc. 34121123136Early relations with AngolaDonation charter to Paulo Dias de Novais, 1571Warfare in the Kongo and AngolaThe escape of Paulo Dias from Angola and thefounding of Luanda103106108111116142The slave trade148Doc. 35 The arrival of slaves from west Africa in Lagos, 1444Doc. 36 The slave trade is good for the Kongo148151 in this web service Cambridge University Presswww.cambridge.org

Cambridge University Press978-0-521-76894-8 - The Portuguese in West Africa, 1415-1670: A Documentary HistoryEdited by Malyn NewittFrontmatterMore informationCONTENTS9.vviiDoc. 37 The slave trade from west Africa to the Cape VerdeIslands in the sixteenth centuryDoc. 38 The slave trade in the Cape Verde Islands, 1594153155Conflict in the kingdom of Kongo in the 1560s159Doc. 39 Christianity and a disputed succession in thekingdom of KongoDoc. 40 The Jaga invasions15916210. Christianity in the Kongo167Doc. 41 Support sought from Portugal to maintain thetrue faithDoc. 42 Noble Kongolese youths are sent to Portugal andRome to be educated, 1539Doc. 43 Report of the visit ad limina of Francisco deVillanova, bishop of São Tomé, 1597Doc. 44 Maleficium and its forms16716917117411. The Angolan wars178Doc. 45 Conflict between the Portuguese and Kongo inthe early seventeenth centuryDoc. 46 The life of Dom Pedro II AfonsoDoc. 47 An Essex man in the Angolan warsDoc. 48 War in the reed beds – Angola after the expulsionof the DutchDoc. 49 Account of the battle of Mbwila, 1665Doc. 50 Portuguese defeat in Sonyo in 167017818118318619220012. People and placesDoc. 51Doc. 52Doc. 53Doc. 54Doc. 55Doc. 56Doc. 57205The town of Cacheu in the early seventeenth centurySão Salvador, capital of the kingdom of KongoThe Court of the kings of KongoLosses suffered by white tradersThe kingdom of Kongo in 1595The laws and customs of the WolofsBlack ants, Tangomaos and the 35Index239 in this web service Cambridge University Presswww.cambridge.org

Cambridge University Press978-0-521-76894-8 - The Portuguese in West Africa, 1415-1670: A Documentary HistoryEdited by Malyn NewittFrontmatterMore informationMAPSPortuguese possessions in Moroccopage xiiThe north-east AtlanticxiiiSenegambia regionxivUpper GuineaxvSierra Leone regionxviGulf of GuineaxviiKongo and Angolaxviiiix in this web service Cambridge University Presswww.cambridge.org

Cambridge University Press978-0-521-76894-8 - The Portuguese in West Africa, 1415-1670: A Documentary HistoryEdited by Malyn NewittFrontmatterMore informationPREFACEThis book was originally designed to be part of a series of publications(since discontinued) entitled Portuguese Encounters with the World inthe Age of the Discoveries, and was to be the companion volume to theone on east Africa that was published by Ashgate in 2002. The generaleditor of the series laid down the format to which all the volumes wereto conform. The object of the series was to provide a selection of originalsources in English translation that would illustrate the interaction of thePortuguese with the peoples of Africa, Asia and America in the periodfrom 1400 to 1700. The emphasis would be on the way Europeans andnon-Europeans reacted to these first contacts, and how their mentalities and cultures were changed by the experience. This volume followsclosely the original conception of the Portuguese Encounters series.Anyone approaching the history of the Portuguese in northern andwestern Africa soon becomes dependent on the great collections of documents edited by Pierre de Cenival, António Brásio and Louis Jadin,which have never been translated into English. English readers havehad to rely on the publications of the Hakluyt Society and the scholarly volumes edited by Paul Hair and Avelino Teixeira da Mota. Theseare the main sources from which the documents in this collection havebeen drawn, supplemented with extracts from von Ehingen, Pigafetta,Cadornega, Carletti, the Anonymous Pilot who wrote about São Toméand the manuscript of Valentim Fernandes.I am immensely grateful for the scholarly insights and editorial skillsof John Villiers, the General Editor of the original Portuguese Encountersseries. His vision and persistence are responsible for the appearanceof the volumes, which have contributed substantially to widening theunderstanding of Portuguese expansion in the English-speaking world.I would especially like to acknowledge help with translation receivedfrom Alexander Keese and Maria Eduarda Pinheiro.xi in this web service Cambridge University Presswww.cambridge.org

Cambridge University Press978-0-521-76894-8 - The Portuguese in West Africa, 1415-1670: A Documentary HistoryEdited by Malyn NewittFrontmatterMore informationNAlcazar uguese fortresstownsMassaTown not underPortuguese controlStateFEZMOROCCO Geographical nameSanta CruzMassa500050100 miles100150200 kmPortuguese possessions in Morocco.xii in this web service Cambridge University Presswww.cambridge.org

Cambridge University Press978-0-521-76894-8 - The Portuguese in West Africa, 1415-1670: A Documentary HistoryEdited by Malyn NewittFrontmatterMore rto SantoMADEIRACANARY ISLANDSCape BlancoArguimCAPE VERDEISLANDSrveRiSenelRiver GambiagaCape ofSantiago MastsSIERRA LEONEAZORESLisbonR. Gambia00Geographical regionsPortuguese towns and settlementsGeographical features250250750 miles500500750N10001250 kmThe north-east Atlantic. in this web service Cambridge University Presswww.cambridge.org