EARLY PORTUGUESE DISCOVERIES IN AFRICA. 



7.S 



King John died in 1495, and was succeeded l)y King Manoel 

 ], under whose reign I'ortugal knew her most glorious and 

 prosperous times. This remarkable Monarch soon brought to 

 completion the preparations which had been begun by his pre- 

 decessor for the equipment of a second fleet to continue Bias's 

 unfinished work. In July, 1497, four vessels left the Tagus. the 

 flagship San Gabriel, piloted by Pedro d' Alemquer, who had 

 taken part in Bias's former expedition, the San Rafael, the Berrio 

 and a storeship, all under the supreme command of Vasco da 

 Gama. The number of men on board these four ships was not 

 more than one hundred and seventy, soldiers and sailors together. 



King AIanoel 1. 



The gloomy stories told by Bias and his companions of the 

 inhos"pitable seas of the Cape of Good Hope had filled the 

 people of Portugal with terror. Shipwrecks were the foremost 

 topic of conversation, and it was the firm belief both of those 

 who bade them farewell in the Lisbon harbour and of da Gama's 

 men that they would never return alive. Their terror became 

 more acute when, they approached the Cape of Good Hope 

 waters, about five months later. It was apparently a bad season, 

 and although some writers contend that fine weather prevailed, 

 reliable Portuguese historians assert that heavy storms were met 

 with. This circumstance, coupled with the legendary treachery 

 of the Cape, led the crews to mutiny on several occasions. Had 



