Some Of The
Natives That Came Off In These Boats Were Clothed In Cotton, Silk, And
Sattin, - Evident Proofs That Intercourse, Either Direct Or Indirect, Was
Practicable, And Had In Fact Been Held Between This Country And India.
The
language of these people was not understood; but from their signs it was
inferred that they had seen ships as large as the Portuguese, and that they
had come from the north.
This part of Africa lies between latitudes 19 deg. and 18 deg. south; and as Gama
had the corrected chart of Covilham on board, in which Sofala was marked as
the limit of his progress, and Sofala was two degrees to the south of where
he then was, he must have known that he had now passed the barrier, and
that the discovery was ascertained, his circumnavigation being now
connected with the route of Covilham. This point of Gama's progress is also
interesting and important in another respect, for we are here approaching a
junction with the discoveries of the Arabians, the Egyptians, the Greeks,
and the Romans.
At this place Gama remained till the 24th of February, repairing his ships
and recruiting his men. On the 1st of March, he arrived off Mozambique;
here evidences of a circumnavigation with India were strong and numerous.
The sovereign of Mozambique ruled over all the country from Sofala to
Melinda. The vessels, which were fitted out entirely for coasting voyages,
were large, undecked, the seams fastened with cords made of the cocoa
fibres, and the timbers in the same manner.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 532 of 1007
Words from 145389 to 145647
of 273188
