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
Paulo Dias died in the midst of preparations for a fresh expedition
against Ngola, in October, 1589, and was buried in the church of N. S.
da Victoria, which he himself had built at Masanganu.[412]
His soldiers elected Luiz Serrão, the captain-major, to succeed him.
LUIZ SERRÃO AND THE BATTLE OF 1590.
Luiz Serrão, having completed his preparations, started with an army
numbering one hundred and twenty eight Portuguese musketeers (with three
horses), and fifteen thousand native allies armed with bows. With this
utterly insufficient force he crossed the Lukala, and then advanced to
the east. On Friday, December 25th, 1590, when at Ngwalema a kitambu
(Anguolome aquitambo) in Ari,[413] he found himself face to face with
the King of Matamba, whose army had been reinforced by Ngola, the King
of Kongo, the Jaga Kinda,[414] and others. Serrão desired to retire
before this overwhelming host, but his subordinate officers, André
Ferreira Pereira and Francisco de Sequeira, persuaded him to attack the
enemy. He did so, on Monday, December 28th, 1590, and was defeated. The
retreat was effected in good order. The vanguard of forty musketeers
was led by João de Velloria, then came the “guerra preta,” whilst Serrão
himself commanded the rear, and fought almost daily with his pursuers.
The camp at Lukanza, with its valuable contents, had to be abandoned. At
length, on reaching Akimbolo,[415] many leagues to the rear, the
fugitives met Luiz Mendez Rapozo, who had come up from Luandu with
seventy-eight men. At last they reached the old presidio of Mbamba Tungu
and Masanganu; Manuel Jorge d’Oliveira was at once sent down to Luandu
for reinforcements, and on their arrival the siege was raised. L. Serrão
survived this disaster only for a month; and when he died, his officers
elected Luiz Ferreira Pereira, the captain-major, to take his place. The
sobas all around, and in Lamba and Ngulungu, headed by one Muzi Zemba
(Muge Asemba), were in the field, but they were held in check by
Pereira, and the Portuguese name continued to be respected.
THE JAGA.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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