Monomotapa (Rhodesia) (Volume 15); Its Monuments, and Its History from the Most Ancient Times to the Present Century (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1896. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... BOOK III. POETUGAL. The nephew of King Henry IV. of England and the great-grandson of Edward III., the famous Prince Henry of Portugal, surnamed the Navigator, was the principal agent in pushing forward those enterprising voyagers who at last succeeded in doubling the Cape of Good Hope and thus finding a new way to the Indies. In small vessels intrepid Portuguese mariners dared to venture upon unknown seas, * and at last the Cape of * The most absurd narratives of dangers in the Southern Ocean existed. For instance, Ibn Khaldun, at the end of the fourteenth century, informs the world that the "Atlantic was a vast and boundless ocean, on which ships dare not venture out of sight of land, for even if the sailors knew the direction of the winds, they would not know whither those winds would carry them, and as there is no inhabited country beyond, they would run great risk in being lost in mist and vapour." The Storms was reached by Bartholomew Diaz in the year 1498. An ardent desire of discovery, the propagation of Christianity, but, above all, the wish to obtain a large share of the great Eastern trade and extend the power of Portugal, animated the breasts of the rulers of that country and of the daring and enterprising sailors whom they sent. The extraordinary stories about Prester John, monarch of Ethiopia, induced the King of Portugal to endeavour both by land and sea to discover his great empire. Pedro de Covilham and Affonso de Payva were sent to Aden via Naples, Ehodes, Alexandria, and Cairo. Payva subsequently went to Suakim, while his companion proceeded to India, but it was agreed that both should meet at Cairo. Subsequently Covilham passed over to Sofala on the South-eastern Coast of Africa, where he learned some particulars of the great gold mines of the...