As This Country Has Been Endowed By Nature With Much Gold, An Eager
Desire To Procure That Precious Metal Has Induced, First The Arabs, And
Afterwards The Europeans, To Possess Themselves Of Various Parts Along
The Coast.
The first of the Arabs who came here were called Emozadi,
which signifies subjects of Zayde, who built two inconsiderable towers,
merely sufficient to defend them against the barbarous Kafrs.
Afterwards
still greater numbers came from the ports about the city of Lazah, forty
leagues from the island of Baharem[70] in the Persian gulf, who settled
first Magadoxa and afterwards Brava. The first Arabs separated from
these, new comers, and mixing with the Kafrs became Bedouins, or Badwis,
signifying people of the desert. Those Arabs who first possessed
themselves of the gold trade of Sofala were from Magadoxa, and
discovered the gold mines by accident. From thence they spread
themselves farther towards the south, but durst never venture to
navigate beyond Cape Corrientes, which is opposite to the
south-wester-most part of the Island of St Lawrence or Madagascar. Along
this coast the Arabs had possessed themselves of Quiloa, Mombaza,
Melinda, and the islands, of Pemba, Zanzibar, Monfia, Comoro, and
others; Quiloa being the principal of their settlements, from whence
many others had been formed, particularly on the coast of Madagascar.
Quiloa had been originally a peninsula, but by the encroachments of the
sea it had become an island. The soil produces many palms and thorn
trees, and various herbs and plants; and the wild beasts, cattle, and
birds resemble those of Spain. The buildings in the places possessed by
the Arabs resemble those in Spain, having flat roofs, with gardens and
orchards behind.
[Footnote 70: More properly Bahrayn, which signifies the two seas,
being the Arabic dual of Bahr, the sea. - Astl. I. 59. e.]
SECTION II.
Voyage of Don Francisco de Almeyda from Lisbon to India, in quality of
Viceroy, with an account of some of his transactions on the Eastern
coast of Africa, and Malabar.
On the 25th of March 1505, Don Francisco de Almeyda sailed from Lisbon
with a fleet of twenty-two ships, carrying 1500 soldiers, being bound
for India of which he was appointed viceroy. Eleven of these ships were
to return with merchandize to Portugal, and other eleven were to remain
in India. On the 2d of July the fleet met with a terrible storm, by
which it was separated. In one of the ships commanded by Diego Correa,
the sails were split to pieces and three men washed overboard, two of
whom perished; but the third, named Fernando Lorenzo, called out that he
would keep above water till morning, and begged of them to keep an eye
upon him, and on the storm abating next morning he was taken on board.
Owing to the separation of the fleet by the storm, Almeyda arrived at
Quiloa with only eight vessels; and on saluting the port without
receiving any answer, he called a council of his officers to deliberate
upon his proceedings, as he had orders from the king to erect a fort at
this place, which was accordingly resolved upon.
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