68 



NATURE 



[Mav 19, 



reached the Gambia in 1454. All this was done in the lifetime 

 of the Prince Navigator. At his death the work was continued, 

 with almost equal zeal, by the kings — his nephews — Alfonso the 

 African, Joao the Perfect Prince, Manoel the Fortunate. 

 Portugal was indeed fortunate in her sovereigns of the house of 

 Avis, fit guides and leaders of the little hero nation, as Schlegel 

 calls her. The ships of Alfonso reached Sierra Leone in 1462, 

 made a colony at Lamina, on the coast of Guinea, crossed the 

 equator, and sailed as far south as Cape St. Catherine. His 

 son, " O Principe perfeito," sent Diogo de Azambuja to found 

 the castle at Lamina, and Diogo Cam to push southward, until 

 at length the Congo was reached. 



The padraos were intended to be eternal monuments of 

 Portuguese achievement. They were stone pillars with an 

 inscription, and the arms of Portugal carved upon them— the 

 well-known " cinco chagas," with the orle of the seven castles 

 of Algarve. Each explorer was to plant one on a conspicuous 

 point'at his furthest point. The "padiaos" were named after 

 saints. That of Santo Agostinho (once planted in 13" 27' 15" S., 

 south of Benguela) is now in the museum of the Geographical 

 Society at Lisbon, as well as that once on Cabo Negro, in 

 15° 40' 30" S. Two of these "padraos" were on the arms 

 granted to Diogo Cam, the discoverer of the Congo. 



It was the ambition of each successive Portuguese voyager to 

 plant a national monument beyond the furthest point reached 

 by his predecessor. None had been so zealous in this glorious 

 work as the family of Diaz, whose first sailor scions were trained 

 in the school of Prince Henry. Joao Diaz rounded Cape 

 Bojador, Dinis Diaz first reached Cape Verde, and Bartholo- 

 mew Diaz was destined to complete the maritime fame of his 

 iamily by being the first to round the southernmost point of 

 Africa, planting "padraos" as he proceeded. In 1487, 

 Bartholomew Diaz passed the Table mountain undiscerned 

 amidst the stormy waves, rounded Cape Agulhas, the southern- 

 most point of Africa, and reached the Great Fish river, which 

 he named after his companion, Joao Infanta. It was with great 

 reluctance that the gallant Diaz, complying with the urgent 

 entreaties of his crew, shaped a course homewards ; and then it 

 was that he first sighted the cape, which received from him the 

 name of Cabo Tormentoso, and which ihe King changed to the 

 Cape of Good Hope. Covilham, exploring southwards from 

 Egypt, had discovered the whole east coast of Africa as far as 

 Sofala, and had sent a full report from Cairo to King Joao. So 

 that there was nothing left to discover, except the bit of African 

 coast from the Great Fish river to Sofala. 



The goal was well in sight. The eastern side of Africa had 

 been reached by Diaz, and was known tlirough the report of 

 Covilham. Thence the next explorer would stretch across to 

 the shores of India. King Joao prepared for the final and 

 crowning expedition by the building of two suitable ships, whiih 

 were commenced under the superintendence of Bartholomew 

 Diaz, the ablest and most successful Portuguese explorer of that 

 age. But in 1495 the king died, and the great work remained 

 to be achieved in the reign of his successor. King Manoel (" O 

 Fortunado"), who was at the head of Portuguese affairs for 

 the next fifty-six years. He continued the equipment of the 

 expedition, which had been commenced by his predecessor. 



Then it was that Da Gama appeared on the scene. Camoens 

 introduces him — 



" Vasco da Gama, valiant capitayne, 



For del ring do the noblest volunteer ; 

 Of notable courage and of ncble strain, 

 Whom smiles of constant fortune love to cheer." 



The Da Gamas came of an ancient, valiant, and loyal house, 

 their ancestors having (ought by the side of Alfonso III. in the 

 conquest of Algarve from the Moors, and by the side of 

 Alfonso v., "the Brave," at the battle of Salado. Estevan 

 da Gama, their father, was chief magistrate of Sines ; and here 

 Vasco and his brothers were born. The little town of Sines is 

 siiuated in a bay, about half-way between Lisbon ai d Cape St. 

 Vincent. To the west are the blue waves of the Atlantic, but 

 to landward an undulating sandy plain extends for several 

 leagues. On the north side of the bay there is a granite ridge 

 running out into the sea, and on the top of the cliff there is 

 a small church built by Vasco da Gama towards the end of his 

 life. 



The four sons of Estevan da Gama appear to have been born 

 and brought up at Sines ; but I believe that little or nothing is 

 known of them before the date of the great expedition. The 

 two ships had been built, the Sam Gah7-iel of 120 and the Sam 



NO. 1490, VOL. 58] 



Rafael of 100 tons ; another vessel was purchased from a Lagos 

 pilot named Berrio, and named after him ; and a provision-ship 

 of 200 tons was also got ready. Then it was that Vasco da 

 Gama was selected by King Manoel to command the expedition. 

 He was not more than twenty-eight years of age. His eldest 

 brother, Paulo, was equally fitted for the post, and he insisted 

 upon accompanying and serving under Vasco, in command of 

 the second ship. They both looked upon Nicholas Coelho, 

 who was captain of the Berrio, as their brother. 



Paulo da Gama was one of the kindest and most lovable of 

 men, and his presence in the fleet was an influence for good. 

 The best trait in the character of Vasco was his love for and 

 devotion to his elder brother. 



All things were prepared for the great enterprise, and the 

 ships were ready in the Tagus. The beautiful church of Beleni 

 was not then built on the beach of Restrello, but Vasco da 

 Gama passed the night before his departure in prayer in a little 

 chapel which had been erected there by Prince Henry. He 

 embarked next morning, and the expedition sailed on Saturday, 

 July 8, 1497 ; there were about 160 souls all told. Six padraos 

 were taken out, to be set up on prominent headlands, but not 

 one of them is now known to exist. The fleet was accompanied 

 by the great navigator, Bartholomew Diaz, as far as the Cape 

 Verde Islands. He was going out in a fast caravel, to take up 

 his command of the new Portuguese settlement of Lamina, on 

 the coast of Guinea. 



In December the expedition reached the " Rio do Infante," 

 the furthest point of Bartholomew Diaz on the eastern side of 

 Africa, and entered upon new ground. There was a mutiny at 

 this critical time. The men feared to proceed further, and 

 wanted to return, according to Correa, who adds that Vasco da 

 Gama put the master and pilot in irons for .^^iving the same 

 advice, and threw all their instruments overboard. His brother 

 Paulo induced his crew to obey orders by argument and per- 

 suasion, and interceded for Vasco's prisoners. This mutiny is 

 not mentioned in the " Roteiro." 



The fir.st experience of the explorers on entering the previously 

 unknown ocean was the force of the current, so strong that 

 they feared it might frustrate their plans, until a fresh stern 

 wind sprang up, which enabled them to overcome it. This 

 Agulhas current was first scientifically investigated by Major 

 Rennell in 1777. 



Vasco da Gama passed the coast, which was named by him 

 "Natal," on Christmas Day, and was well received by the 

 natives of Delagoa Bay. He was at (^uillimane in January 

 1498 ; at Mozambique in March ; and he reached Melinde on 

 April 15. There was a terrible outbreak of scurvy off Mozam- 

 bique, and again on the way home ; and then it was that Paulo 

 da Gama proved the guardian spirit of the expedition, giving up 

 all his own private stores for the use of the sick, ministering to 

 them, and warding off despondency by his words of encourage- 

 ment and by his example. 



The King of Melinde supplied the Portuguese with an Indian 

 pilot, a native of Gujarat, and on April 24 the voyage was 

 commenced acros-s the Indian Ocean, from the east coast of 

 Africa to Malabar. Before starting, ^'asco da Gama, with the 

 hearty concurrence of the King of Melinde, set up one of the 

 padraos, with the escutcheon of the Quinns carved on one side, 

 and a shield bearing a sphere on the other. Beneath was 

 King Manoel's name. It was placed on a hill above the town. 

 A voyage of twenty-three days brought the adventurous dis- 

 coverers in sight of the mountains above Malabar — an event 

 which Camoens thus relates : 



" Pale shone the wave beneath the golden beam, 



Blue o'er the silver flood Malabria's mountains gleam ; 



The sailors on the maintop's airy round 



' Land ! Land ! ' aloud with waving hands resound. 



Aloud the pilot of Melinda cries, 



' Behold, O Chief, the shores of India ri.se 1 ' 



Elate the joyful crew on tiptoe trod. 



And every breast with swelling raptures glowed. 



Prone on his manly knees the hero fell ; 



' Oh, bounteous Heaven I ' he cries, and spreads his hands 



To bounteous Heaven, while boundless joy commands 



No further word to flow." 



Then the immortal poet, in words of fire, declares how this 

 mighty deed was done, and by what kind of men : 



" Xot those who ever lean on ancient strain. 

 Imping on noble trunk a barren chain ; 

 Not those reclining on the golden beds, 

 Where Moscow's zebelin downy softness spreads ; 



