At The Beginning Of These Broils, Amar Malek Had Sent His Chief
Secretary With Three Horses For Me, Richard Rainolds;
But I refused
going, on account of the disturbances, though I might have had negroes
of condition left as hostages
For my safety; yet I transmitted the
customary presents for the king. When he understood the reason of my not
coming to his residence, he was very sorry and much offended at the
cause, and immediately issued a proclamation, commanding that no injury
should be done to us in his dominions by his own people, neither
suffered to be done by the Spaniards or Portuguese; and declaring, if
any of the neighbouring negro tribes should confederate with the
Spaniards and Portuguese to molest us, that he and his subjects should
be ready to aid and defend us. Thus there appeared more kindness and
good will towards us in these ignorant negroes, than in the Spaniards
and Portuguese.
None of the Spaniards or Portuguese are in use to trade up the river
Senegal, except one Portuguese named _Ganigogo_ who dwells far up that
river, where he has married the daughter of one of the kings. In the
towns of Porto d'Ally and Joala, which are the places of chief trade on
this coast, and at Cauton and Cassan in the river Gambia, there are many
Spaniards and Portuguese who have become resident by permission of the
negroes, and carry on a valuable trade all along the coast, especially
to the Rio San Dominica and Rio Grande, which are not far distant from
the Gambia, to which places they transport the iron which they purchase
from us and the French, exchanging it for _negro slaves_, which are
transported to the West Indies in ships that come hither from Spain. By
order of the governor and renters of the castle of Mina, and of all
those places on the coast of Guinea where gold is to be had, these
residents have a place limited for them in the river Gambia, beyond
which they must not go under pain of death and confiscation of their
goods; as the renters themselves send their own barks at certain times
up the river, to those places where gold is to be had. In all those
places hereabout, where we are in use to trade, the Spaniards and
Portuguese have no castle or other place of strength, merely trading
under the licence and safe conduct of the negroes. Most of the Spaniards
and Portuguese who reside in those parts are banished men or fugitives,
who have committed heinous crimes; and their life and conversation is
conformable to their conditions, as they are the basest and most
villainously behaved persons of their nation that are to be met with in
any part of the world.
CHAPTER VIII.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS EARLY VOYAGES OF THE ENGLISH.
INTRODUCTION.
The present chapter is rather of an anomalous nature, and chiefly
consists of naval expeditions against the Spaniards and Portuguese,
scarcely belonging in any respect to our plan of arrangement:
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