The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea. Vol. I — John Shaqi
The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea. Vol. IZurara, Gomes Eannes de
History
The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea. Vol. I
Zurara, Gomes Eannes de
Guinea (Region) -- Discovery and exploration -- Early works to 1800
The next six Chapters (XIX to XXIV) relate the doings of this
expedition, which ended in the capture of two hundred and thirty-five
natives.
Chapter XXV, which treats of the division of the captives at Lagos, is
the most pathetic in the book, and one of the most powerful by virtue of
the simple realism of the narrative.
Chapter XXVI gives a lucid summary of the after-lives of the captives,
and their gradual but complete absorption into the mass of the people.
Chapter XXVII narrates the ill-fated expedition of Gonçalo de Cintra and
his death near the Rio d'Ouro; while, in the next, Azurara refers the
accident to the heavenly bodies, and draws a profitable lesson from it,
which he divides into seven heads, for the benefit of posterity.
Chapter XXIX contains a short notice of a voyage undertaken by Antam
Gonçalvez, Gomez Pirez, and Diego Affonso to the Rio d'Ouro, which had
no result.
Chapter XXX deals with the voyage of Nuno Tristam, who passed the
furthest point hitherto discovered, and reached a place he named Palmar.
Azurara confesses himself unable to give more details about this
expedition, "because Nuno Tristam was already dead at the time King
Affonso ordered this Chronicle to be written"--a statement which proves
that he did not rely only on documents for the facts he related, but was
careful to glean as much as possible from the actors therein.
Chapter XXXI tells how Dinis Dyaz sailed straight to Guinea without once
shortening sail, and how he was the first to penetrate so far, and take
captives in those parts. He pushed on to Cape Verde, and, though he
brought back but little spoil, he was well received by the Infant, who
preferred discoveries to mere commercial profits.
Chapters XXXII to XXXVI recite the expedition of Antam Gonçalvez, Garcia
Homem and Diego Affonso to Cape Branco, Arguim Island and Cape Resgate,
where, besides trafficking, they took on board a squire, Joham
Fernandez, who had stayed full seven months at the Rio d'Ouro, among the
natives, to acquire for the Infant a knowledge of the country and its
products.
Azurara refers in Chapter XXXII to Affonso Cerveira, whose history of
the Portuguese discoveries on the African coast, now lost, was used by
him in the compilation of this Chronicle; and in the next chapter he
employs one of those rhetorical periphrases of which his other works
afford many an example, though they are rather scarce in this his
masterpiece in point of style.
Chapters XXXVII to XLVIII relate the doings of the first expedition from
Lisbon, which was under the command of Gonçalo Pacheco, and penetrated
to Guinea, or the land of the Negroes, the result being a large number
of captives, seemingly the chief object it had in view.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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