The Military Character Of Alphonso May, However, Explain This
In A Great Degree, As All His Energies Were Directed Towards
The
extension of dominion in the Moorish kingdom of Fez; and the business of
discovery was devolved as a burdensome
And unprofitable task on the
farmers of the trade to the coast of Africa, which appears to have become
extensive and lucrative, after the discovery of Guinea and its islands,
and the establishment of the sugar colonies in these islands. We learn,
likewise, from the preceding voyage of the Portuguese pilot to the island
of St Thomas, that the mariners still confined themselves almost entirely
to creeping along the coast, from cape to cape, and from island to island,
not daring to trust themselves to the trackless ocean, under the now sure
guidance of the heavenly luminaries; but which they then did not
sufficiently understand, nor did they possess sufficient instruments for
directing their course in the ocean. It would appear that they had then
no other method of computing the longitude but by means of the log, or
dead reckoning, which is liable to perpetual uncertainty from currents
and lee-way, and which a storm, even of short continuance, must have
thrown into total confusion. Their instruments and methods for
determining even the latitudes, appear to have then been imperfect and
little understood. In the sequel of this deduction, we shall find the
first Portuguese squadron which sailed for India, conducted across the
Indian ocean by a Moorish pilot.
On the accession of John II. to the throne of Portugal in 1481, the
discoveries along the coast of Africa were resumed with a new spirit.
While infante or hereditary prince, his principal revenue was derived
from the profits of the Guinea trade, and of the importation of gold from
the haven of Mina; and among the first measures of his reign, he turned
his attention to the improvement and extension of that valuable branch of
commerce. For this purpose, he gave orders to make all necessary
preparations for building a fortress and church at the port of Mina. All
the requisite materials, even to stones and tiles, were accordingly
shipped from Lisbon in a squadron of ten caravels and two transports,
with 500 soldiers and 200 labourers or workmen of various kinds. This
expedition was placed under the command of Don Diego d'Azumbuja, an
experienced officer, under whom were the following naval captains,
Goncalez da Fonseca, Ruy d'Oliveira, Juan Rodrigues Gante, Juan Alfonso,
Diego Rodrigues Inglez, Bartholomew Diaz, Pedro d'Evora, and Gomez Aires.
This last was a gentleman belonging to the household of Pedro king of
Arragon, all the others being noblemen of the household of King John.
Pedro de Cintra and Fernam d'Alfonso commanded the transports, and a
small vessel attended the squadron as an advice-boat. This squadron
sailed on the 11th December 1481, and reached their destination on the
19th January 1482, at an African village named _Aldea_, where they found
Juan Bernardo, who had previously sailed for the coast in quest of gold.
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