A F R 



A F R 



E'^vpt, and the two Eihiopias. It was not known for 

 many ages, that Afiica was a peninfula, every where funound- 

 ed by the fea, excepting at tlie iflhnnis of ,Suez, which joins 

 it to Afia. The knowledge of the Romans wasrellridled to 

 thofe provinces which ftreteh along the Mediterranean fea, 

 from Egypt weftward to the flraits of Gades. The Phoe- 

 nicians, however, at an earlier period, feeni to have been ac- 

 quainted witli both the fouth-eall and weftern coalls of 

 Africa. A Phccnician fleet, as Herodotus informs us, (1. iv. 

 c. 42. p. 298. Ed. WcfTeling.) fitted out by Necho, king 

 of Egypt, took its departure about 604 years before the 

 Chriftian ira, from a jiort in the Red fea, doubled the 

 fouthern promontory of Africa, and, after a voyage of 

 three years, returned by the ilraits of Gadts, to the mouth 

 of the Nile. Eudoxus of Cyzicus, is faid to have held the 

 fame courfe, and to have accomplilhed the fame arduous 

 undertaking. Plin. H. N. 1. ii. c. 67. tom. i. p. 106. Strabo, 

 (1. ii. tom. i. p. 155.) mentions this voyage of Eu- 

 doxus, and treats it as a fabulous tale. Dr. Vincent, in his 

 Periplus of the Erythrcan fea, publllhed in iSoo, argues 

 with great ingenuity againft the pohlbility of an African 

 circumnavigation previoufly to that of the Portuguefe ; 

 and he afferts, that there is no evidence of a farther progrefs 

 to the fouth, on the wellern eoall of Africa, than that of 

 Hanno ; nor on the eaflern, than that of tlie Periplus. An 

 anonymous writer is difpofed to credit the voyage, related 

 by Herodotus, till it can be proved that tlie circumnaviga- 

 tion, in fuch vefTels as the Phccnicians then pofleiTcd, was 

 phyiically impofhble ; and in fupport of this opinion, he 

 alledges the fimplicity of the narrative, unblended with mi- 

 raculous adventures — the difcovery of two important truths, 

 I'iz. the falling of the fliadow to the fouth, and the penin- 

 fular form of the African continent ; one of which could 

 be afcertained by no other means, and the former of which 

 was difbeheved by the writer who relates it ; and the con- 

 fideration, that the navigators only put to fea when cir- 

 cumftances were favourable ; and though the attempt was 

 hazardous, and fuccefs improbable, ftill no infurmountable 

 impediment to its completion exifts. Month. Rev. New 

 Series, vol. xxxiv. p. 122. The Carthaginians alfo, imbibing 

 the fpirit, and following the example of the Phcenicians, ex- 

 tended their intercourfe with this country-. Whilll they 

 made confiderable progrefs, by land, into the interior pro- 

 vinces of Africa, trading with fome of them, and fubjecl- 

 ing others to their empire ; they failed along the weilern 

 coaft of this great continent, almoft to the tropic of Can- 

 cer, and planted feveral colonies, in order to civilize the na- 

 tives, and accuftom tliem to commerce. In the profperous 

 age of the Carthaginian republic, Hanno, with a fleet 

 equipped by authority of the fenate, and at the public ex- 

 pence, was directed to ileer towards the fouth, and feems to 

 have advanced much nearer the equinoctial line than any 

 former navigator. Major Renaell fuppofcs his navigation 

 to have terminated at Sherbro' river, or found, which was 

 alfo the limit of the knowledge of Ptolemy. Phn. H. N. 

 1. V. c. i.t. i. p. 241. Hannonis Periplus apud Geograph. 

 minores ed. Hudfon, vol. i. p. i. The authenticity of this 

 work has been queilioned by Mr. Dodwell ( uhi fuprn ) , and 

 vindicated by M. de Montefquieu (Sp. of Laws, b. xxi. c. 

 8. v. ii. p. 44.) and M. de Bougainville, in a DifTertation 

 publiftied in tom. xxvi. of the Mem. de I'Acad. des Infcrip- 

 tions. Sec. The voyage, it is faid, was perfoniied in fmall 

 veffels, which kept near the eouft ; and the obfervations 

 made on the appearance and ftate of the countries on the 

 coail of Africa have been confirmed by the relations of 

 modern navigators. Neverthelefs, Polybius, (Hift. 1. iii. 

 p. 192. Ed. Cafaub.) long after the period afiigned to 

 Vot. I. 



thcfe voyages, afHrms, that it was not known in his time, 

 wlicther Africa was a continued continent, ftretching 

 to the foutli, or whether it was cncompafTed by the fea ; 

 and Pliny (II. N. 1. ii. c. 6S. t. i. p. 107.) afTcrts, that thwe 

 can be no communication between tiie loutheni and noi-lhern 

 temperate zones. In order to obviate thefe diflicultics, 

 Dr. Robertfon obferves, (Hill. Amer. vol. i. p. 15. 8vo. ) 

 that the Phoenicians and Carthaginians concealed any know- 

 ledge they acquired concerning the remote regions ot the 

 earth, with a mercantile jealoufy. Many of their difco- 

 veries feem to have been Icarcely known beyond the pre- 

 cinfts of their own ftates. The navigation round Africa 

 is recorded by the Greek and Roman writers, rather as a 

 ilrange amiifmg tale, than as a real tranf;>6Hon. As neither 

 the progrefs oi the Phoenician and Carthaginian difcoveries, 

 nor the extent of their navigation, were communicated to 

 the rell: of mankind, all memorials of their (liill in naval 

 affairs feem, in a great nieafure, to have periflied, when the 

 maritime power of the former was annihilated by Alexan- 

 der's conquell of Tyre, and the empire of the latter was 

 overturned by the Roman arms. It was not till a century 

 after the invention of the mariner's compafs in 1302, that 

 navigation began to advance beyond 'he ilate to which il 

 had attained before the downfal of the Roman empire. 

 The firil regular plan for difcovering unknown countries was 

 formed in Portugal by John I. furnamtd the baftard, after 

 he had obtained fecure poflefTion of the crown, by the peace 

 concluded with Callile, A. D. 14H. Whiltt an armament was 

 equipping, in order to attack the Moors who were fettled 

 on the coaft ot Barbary, a fleet, confiiling of a few veflels, 

 was dcllined in 141 2 to fail along the wellern fliore of 

 Africa, and to difcover the countries that were fituated oa 

 that coaft. This fleet doubled Cape Non, which had been 

 the formidable boundary of the Portuguefe navigation be- 

 fore this period, and proceeded i6o miles beyond it to Cape 

 BojADOR. The rocky cliffs, adjacent to this cape, de- 

 terred any farther progrefs. In 1418, a new attempt was 

 made for doubling this cape, but though the attempt proved 

 unfuccefsful, it terminated in the difcovesy of Porto 

 Ranto ; and another expedition, in 1419, was recompen- 

 ied by the difcovery of Madeira. The Portuguefe, by 

 their voyage to this ifland, were accuftonied to quit the 

 coaft, and venture into the open fea. By purfuing this 

 courfe they fucceeded, A. D. 1433, in doubling cape Bo- 

 jADOR, and in advancing within the tropics ; io that in a 

 few years they diicovered the river Senegal, and the whole 

 coaft extending from Cape Blanco to Cape de Verd. 

 As far as the river Senegal they found the African coaft 

 inhabited by people refembling the Moors of Barbary ; 

 but to the fouth of that river, they beheld men with ikins 

 black as ebony, with fliort curled hair, flat nofes, thick lips, 

 and all thofe peculiar features which are now known to 

 diftinguifh the race of negroes. The iearch for unknown 

 countries became now an objedl of general attention ; and 

 it was encouraged firft by the difcovery of the Cape de 

 Verd iflands ; and foon after, toV. in 1449, by that of tlic 

 Azores. So llow and gradual, however, was the progrefs 

 of difcovery, that the Portuguefe, durir.g the life of prince 

 Henry, who had projedled and patroniled undertakings 

 of this kind, and wiio died in 1463, did not advance nearer 

 to the cquinoftial line than five degrees ; and after their 

 continued exertions for half a centuiy, they had not dii- 

 covered more than i ijoo miles of the African coaft. From 

 Cape NoN to the Senegal, the country along the coaft 

 was found to be a fandy, barren traft, thinly inhabited by 

 a wretched people, profelling the Mahometan religion, and 

 fubjeft to the exteiifive empire of Morocco. But to the 

 3 A fouth 



