The Padrao and Pinda . 
77 
north by the Congo River and south by the Ambriz, 
westward by the Atlantic, and eastward by the 
“ Duchy of Bamba.” It was one of the great 
divisions of the Congo kingdom, and “ absolute, 
except only its being tributary to the Lord Para¬ 
mount.” The titles of Portugal were adopted by 
the Congoese, according to Father Cavazzi, after 
a.d. 1571, when the king constituted himself a 
vassal of the Portuguese crown. Here was the 
Pinda whose port and fort played an important 
part in local history. “ Built by the Sonhese 
army at the mouth of the River Zaire,” it com¬ 
manded both the stream and sea : it was plundered 
in 1600 by four French pirates. According to Carli 
(1666-67) “ ^e Count of Sonho, the fifth dignitary 
of the empire, resided in the town of Sonho, a 
league from the River Zaire.” Pinda was for a 
time the head-quarters of the Portuguese Mission, 
subject only to that of Sao Salvador; it consisted 
of an apartment two stories high, which caused 
trouble, being contrary to country custom. 
At the French factory I found the employes 
well “up” in the travels of the unfortunate adven¬ 
turer Douville (“Voyage au Congo et dans Flnte- 
rieur de 1 ’Afrique Equinoxiale fait dans les 
annees 1828, 1829, et 1830. Par J. B. Douville, 
Secretaire de la Societe de Geographie de Paris 
pour l’annee 1832, et membre de plusieurs Societes 
savantes fran^ises et etrangeres. Ouvrage auquel 
