The Strange Adventures of Andrew Battell, of Leigh, in Angola and the Adjoining RegionsBattell, Andrew
History
The Strange Adventures of Andrew Battell, of Leigh, in Angola and the Adjoining Regions
Battell, Andrew
Angola -- Discovery and exploration; Congo (Democratic Republic) -- Discovery and exploration
tolls; a site to be granted at the mouth of the Kongo for a fortress;
all gold and silver mines to be ceded to the crown of Portugal, and the
country to the south of the river Dande to be ceded absolutely; and
finally the King of Kongo to acknowledge himself a “tributario” of
Portugal.
The King seems to have long hesitated before he ratified this treaty,
for in 1656, Diogo Gomes de Morales was ordered to invade Kongo to
enforce it, and was on the point of crossing the river Loje into Mbamba,
when he was recalled, as envoys from the King had arrived at Luandu,
definitely to arrange the terms of peace.
During the later years of his life, D. Garcia once more fell away from
his Christian teachers, whom he accused of being influenced by political
motives. Suspecting the Duke of Mpemba of a desire to deprive his son of
the succession, he had him executed; and when the native diviners
accused his eldest son, Affonso, of aiming at his life, he had his
second son elected as his successor. He died in 1663.
D. ANTONIO I, 1663-66.
D. Antonio had been enjoined by his dying father to avenge the
humiliation forced upon him by the Portuguese. He inaugurated his reign
by killing his own brother and other relatives, whom he suspected of
disloyalty. The warnings of heaven—fiery balls, an earthquake, which
destroyed part of his capital, a plague, which decimated the
population—were disregarded by him.
He very soon found himself involved in a war with the Portuguese, who
claimed possession of the mines which had been promised by treaty, and
complained of raids made upon friendly chiefs. On July 13th, 1665, the
King called upon his people to rise in defence of their country and
liberty.[371] His diviners had promised him an easy victory. The
Portuguese had recently been reinforced from Brazil, yet the army which
they were able to put into the field only numbered four hundred
Europeans, with two field guns and six thousand negroes. It was
commanded by Luiz Lopez de Sequeira, the captain-major, with whom were
Manuel Rebello de Brito, Diogo Rodriguez de Sá, Simão de Matos and
Antonio Araujo Cabreira, the serjeant-major. The hostile forces met on
January 1st, 1666, at Ulanga, near the Pedras de Ambuilla.[372] Antonio,
seeing the small force opposed to him, hoped to gain an easy victory;
but the Portuguese, formed in square, resisted the onslaught of his
hosts for six hours. At last the King left the ranks, desirous of a
personal encounter with Lopez de Sequeira; but he was shot down, his
head was cut off, and stuck upon a pike. His followers fled in dismay.
The missionaries assert that the Virgin Mary, with her Child, was seen
to stand by the side of the Portuguese leader, directing the battle, and
that a fiery rain fell upon the idolaters.[373]
The Governor of Angola, in commemoration of this victory, built the
chapel of N.S. da Nazareth at Luandu, whilst the King of Portugal amply
rewarded the victors.
A TIME OF ANARCHY, AFTER 1666.
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