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
[Endnote 111: (p. 123). _Cunning ... but small in this part of the
world._--The fair inference is that, on this occasion, Mafaldo, from his
previous experience, correctly estimated the danger (or absence of
danger), and knew when to trust the natives. Similar trustfulness was
not always equally successful, sometimes from absence of that past
experience possessed by Mafaldo. See chs. xxvii, pp. 90, 91; xlviii, pp.
144-5; lxxxvi, pp. 252, etc.; xxxv, pp. 112-3. The Azanegue Moors of the
Sahara on the whole showed less ability to defend themselves than the
Negroes of the Sudan coast; cf. chs. xlv, pp. 137-8; lx, pp. 179-182;
lxxxvi, pp. 252-6; xli, p. 130; xxxi, p. 99; contrast with pp. 126, 122,
114, 105-6, 78, 73, 36.]
[Endnote 112: (p. 126) ... _true effects._--Azurara certainly does not
commit the error of "those historians who avoid prolixity by summarizing
things that would be greatest if related in their true effects," _i.
e._, in detail. This central portion of his narrative (chs. xxxvi-lix,
lxviii-lxxiv) is especially tedious, and we cannot too much regret the
comparative sacrifice of the scientific interest to the anecdotal,
biographical, or slave-raiding details, with which he fills so much of
this Chronicle. Cf. the slender and imperfect narratives of the really
important voyages of Dinis Diaz (ch. xxxi), Alvaro Fernandez (ch. lxxv),
and Nuno Tristam (chs. xxx, lxxxvi), with the lengthy descriptions of
the expeditions personally conducted by Gonçalo de Sintra, Gonçalo
Pacheco, Lançarote, Mafaldo, and other men whose voyages resulted in
scarcely any advance of exploration. In all this Azurara's narrative
contrasts unfortunately with Cadamosto's, which is not only a record of
exploration, but of acute original observation, a quality by no means so
noticeable in the _Chronicle of Guinea_, except at rare intervals. Cf.,
however, chs. xxv, lxxvi-lxxvii, lxxix-lxxxiii, and see Introduction to
vol. ii, pp. xxiv-xxvi, etc.]
Transcribers Notes:
Footnotes are indented and moved to the end of the paragraph in which
the anchor appears.
Volume 1 ends with the illustration of the Coast of N.W. Africa.
Endnotes pertaining to volume 1 have been added for the convenience of
the reader; originally, they were only included in volume 2. An 'N' was
added to endnote anchors (e.g. [N1], [N2]) to distinguish them from
numbered footnote anchors in the first half of the book.
Obsolete and archaic spellings were retained. Punctuation was standarized.
Changed 'Brendam' to 'Brandan' ... the voyages of St. Brendan ..., for
consistency with remaining text.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account