This Island Is Very Mountainous, And Is Very
Barren In Many Parts, Which Are Entirely Destitute Of Wood; But Its
Vallies Are Fertile And Well Cultivated.
In June, when the sun enters
Cancer, the rains are so incessant that the Portuguese call that month
_La Luna de las Aquas_, or the Water Month.
Their seed-time begins in
August, when they sow maize, called _miglio zaburo_. This is a white bean,
which is ready to be gathered in forty days, and is the chief food of
these islanders, and of all the inhabitants of the coast of Africa[4].
They also sow much rice and cotton; the latter of which comes to great
perfection, and is manufactured into striped cloths, which are exported
to the country of the Negroes, and bartered for black slaves.
To give a distinct view of the commercial transactions with the Negroes,
it is proper to inform you, that the western coast of Africa is divided
into several countries and provinces, as Guinea, _Melegote_[5], the
kingdom of Benin, and the kingdom of Manicongo. Over all this extent of
coast, there are many Negro kings or chiefs, whose subjects are
Mahometans and idolaters, and who are continually at war with each other.
These kings are much respected by their subjects, almost to adoration, as
they are believed to have originally descended from heaven. When the king
of Benin dies, his subjects assemble in an extensive plain, in the centre
of which a vast pit or sepulchre is dug, into which the body is lowered,
and all the friends and servants of the deceased are sacrificed and
thrown into the same grave, thus voluntarily throwing away their own
lives in honour of the dead.
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