Portuguese expedition to Sofala (Anaia, 1505)
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The 1505 expedition of Pêro de Anaia
to Sofala
led to the establishment of Fort São Caetano
, the first permanent Portuguese colony
in East Africa. The Capitaincy of Sofala would eventually evolve into the colonial government of Portuguese Mozambique.
Although they did not ultimately sail together, Pêro de Anaia's expedition is usually regarded as a squadron
of the 7th Portuguese India Armada
of D. Francisco de Almeida
that left Lisbon
a little earlier in 1505 for the Indian Ocean
.
was one of several Muslim Swahili
commercial city-states in East Africa under the sway of the Kilwa Sultanate
. Around 1489, Sofala had been visited by the Portuguese spy Pêro da Covilhã
, who identified it as the principal emporium for the gold trade with the interior kingdom of Monomatapa. The Portuguese crown had been eager to tap into that gold source, and made it a priority for its early Portuguese India Armadas
to find the city.
In 1498, Vasco da Gama
visited several cities along the Swahili Coast
, but did not find Sofala. In 1501, captain Sancho de Tovar
located the city
from the sea, but did not go ashore. Finally, in 1502, Vasco da Gama
returned to the area with a new fleet
, and, while idling on Mozambique Island, dispatched a detachment of boats under Pedro Afonso de Aguiar to visit Sofala.
Arriving at the city, Pedro Afonso de Aguiar sought out an audience with the blind octagenarian sheikh Isuf of Sofala
(Yçuf in Barros
Çufe in Goes), whom he took to be the ruler of Sofala. In fact, Isuf's authority was ambiguous. Formally, Sofala still belonged to the inland Bantu kingdom of the Monomatapa, and sheikh Isuf was merely the leader of the Swahili
community in the city, who paid tribute to Monomatapa for permission to reside and trade there. The community itself was under the legal supervision of the Kilwa Sultanate
, and Isuf was originally an appointee of the Sultan of Kilwa. Sheikh Isuf was more of a Kilwan consul
than a ruler.
Nonetheless, since the usurpation by Emir Muhammad in Kilwa
back in 1495, sheikh Isuf had been charting an independent course for his community in Sofala. The Portuguese, with their powerful ships, seemed to offer the key to shaking off Kilwa's authority. At any rate, the elderly sheikh Isuf realized it would be better to make allies rather than enemies out of the Portuguese, and so agreed to Aguiar's proposals and signed a treaty of commercial and political alliance with the Kingdom of Portugal
.
Nothing much came of this initial contact. Vasco da Gama
's 4th Armada
was eager to move on, and did not even wait for Aguiar to return with the news. Gama established a small Portuguese factory
on Mozambique Island, under Gonçalo Baixo, to deal with whatever came out of the Sofala-related business, and just sailed on. Aguiar, hurrying to catch up with them, had to drop off the Sofalese ambassador he was bringing and tell him to find his own way back home.
returned to Lisbon
, with news of the Sofalese treaty, preparations immediately began to equip an expedition to erect a Portuguese factory
and fortress in Sofala. King Manuel I of Portugal
placed Pêro de Anaia
in charge of this. Anaia was assigned command of a ship, the Sant'Iago (or Nuncia), which was to sail out in 1505 as part of the 7th Armada
led by D. Francisco de Almeida
.
But in March, 1505, as the 7th Armada sailed out of Lisbon
harbor, Anaia's ship sprung a leak and capsized in the Tagus
estuary. Efforts to recover the ship came to naught, and Anaia was forced to return to land, while the 7th Armada sailed on.
But the Sofala mission was too important to postpone, so a new six-ship fleet was quickly assembled, and ready to sail out a little over a month later. Although it never caught up with Almeida's 7th Armada, it can be still be considered part of that year's armada.
s) and three smaller ships, probably caravels. The following list of ships and captains should not be regarded as authoritative. It is a tentative list compiled from various conflicting accounts:
[Because the name of Anaia's flagship is conspicuously missing, some writers sometimes mistakenly call it the Espirito Santo (confusing it with Magalhães's). Because there were so many captain changes along the way, chronicles also frequently fall into confusion themselves. The reconciliation given above is principally due to Castanheda
. Finally, as usual, chronicler Gaspar Correia
tends to deviate from the rest: Correia is the only one to suggest that 'Pedro Cão' was the original designated factor, and only he supplies the surnames 'de Meireles' and 'Çacoto' to those whom everybody else just calls 'Manuel Fernandes' and 'Jorge Mendes' respectively.]
The instructions given by King Manuel I of Portugal
were straighforward. They were to erect a factory and fortress in Sofala. Pêro de Anaia
would go as captain-major of the fleet, and carried a commission to become captain-major of the Sofala fortress, Manuel Fernandes de Meireles was to serve as commercial factor
.
After the fort was built, Anaia was to dispatch four ships - the three large naus and one caravel - under the overall command of Pedro Barreto de Magalhães to Cochin, India, where viceroy Almeida would ensure they would load up with spices and be sent back to Lisbon. The remaining caravels would serve as a coastal patrol around Sofala under the command of Anaia's son, Francisco de Anaia, who carried a royal commission appointing him capitão-mor do mar de Sofala (captain-major of the sea of Sofala).
August, 1505 - Anaia's squadron doubles the Cape of Good Hope
with some difficulty. It is said that Anaia plotted a very wide route around the Cape, far south into freezing temperatures, speculated as far as 45° South
. It is reported that several crew members died from the cold. The fleet splits up during the crossing. Anaia manages to keep two ships with him.
September 4, 1505 - Pêro de Anaia, his son Francisco de Anaia and the factor Manuel Fernandes finally reach Sofala harbor, and await the other three ships. They gradually arrive, each with their own tale of woe:
requests an audience with the sheikh Isuf of Sofala
. As noted earlier, sheikh Isuf had agreed to a commercial treaty back in 1502, but the city itself belongs to the Monomatapa. What Pêro de Anaia was now proposing - the establishment of a permanent Portuguese factory and fort in the city – probably exceeds Isuf's authority to allow. Nonetheless, the recent news of Almeida's attacks on Kilwa and Mombassa
persuade sheikh Isuf that a similar fate might await Sofala if he shows any sign of legal quibbling or recalcitrance. So a new deal is struck and Isuf 'allows' the Portuguese to establish a factory and a fort. As a sign of goodwill, Isuf hands over to Anaia another twenty Portuguese survivors of the Lopo Sanchez caravel that had he had collected.
September 25, 1505 - Construction begins on the Portuguese Fort São Caetano
of Sofala. Anaia begins with the erection of a wooden palisade
on a square plan, with each side measured at 120 paces. A moat
is dug around it, of 12 palms depth and 12 palms width. He then erects the main wall within the moat, and then another perimeter wall outside of it. The surrounding area is cleared of vegetatation to allow a clear line of fire. Much of the labor for the fort construction is procured locally, although every crewman, including the nobles and Anaia himself, were expected to participate in manual labor.
November, 1505 - The fort is essentially finished. At this point, Pêro de Anaia
assumes command as 'captain-major' of the Fort of Sofala and Manuel Fernandes de Meireles as factor
. As Pêro de Anaia is the first 'Captain of Sofala', he is usually considered the first Portuguese colonial governor of Mozambique.
December, 1505 - Factor Manuel Rodrigues's primary concern is trading for gold, ivory
and food. But as earlier armadas had already found out, European trade goods do not have much vent in Indian Ocean markets, and Sofala is no exception. Bantu gold, ivory, grain and beef merchants, used to trading with Swahili merchants for quality cotton cloth and exquisite goods from India, are unwilling to pay much for coarse Portuguese wares. More urgently for the fledgling fort, this brings up the concern that the garrison may not be able to procure enough food for its sustenance.
This constraint is slightly alleviated with the appearance at Sofala, in early January 1506, of the Kilwa
patrol caravel of Gonçalo Vaz de Goes, with a substantial cargo of Indian trade goods (most of it confiscated from captured Kilwan merchant ships who were 'violating' the new Portuguese mercantilist rules).
prepares the fleet of four ships to be dispatched to vice-roy Almeida in India
. These are the three large naus, Epirito Santo (under Pedro Barreto de Magalhães), the Santo António (now under João Vaz de Almada) and Anaia's old flaghip (now captained by his pilot, Gonçalo Álvares
), and the caravel of Manuel Fernandes (now captained by Jorge Mendes Çacoto) As the monsoon
season is not yet open for an Indian Ocean
crossing, the Sofala naus intend to make their way slowly up the East African coast, escorted by Goes's caravel.
In the meantime, Pêro de Anaia's son, Francisco de Anaia invokes his commission as head of the Sofala coastal patrol (capitão-mor do mar de Sofala) and takes command of the two remaining caravels - the São João ( Francisco de Anaia's own) and São Paulo (now under Pêro Teixeira). Young Anaia immediately sets about cruising the coast, and captures two local Muslim fustas - one loaded with Indian calico, another with ivory
- and mercilessly puts their crews to death. But it all ends rather poorly. Navigationally inept, the younger Anaia loses the calico prize and then ends up crashing both his caravels - the first off Mozambique Island, the second at the rocks of São Lazaro banks (Quirimbas Islands
). Anaia ends up having to row his way to Kilwa
on his remaining captured fusta
, arriving there in a sorry shape on March 25, much to the surprise of the Portuguese garrison. He is immediately placed under arrest by the Kilwa governor Pêro Ferreira Fogaça.
In the meantime, the Sofala naus, under the overall command of Pedro Barreto de Magalhães, stop by Mozambique Island, where they find the caravel of Lucas da Fonseca. Fonseca was part of the old Manuel Paçanha squad of the 7th Armada
, but had lost his sense of direction and separated from the others the previous summer. He had since been stuck wintering in Africa, waiting for the winds to change to allow him to cross over to India. Barreto de Magalhães annexes Fonseca's caravel into his fleet.
The quintet proceed to Kilwa
, where they are surprised to find the young Francisco de Anaia and his crew in jail there. Barreto de Magalhães furiously admonishes young Anaia for losing his caravels, and makes up his mind to carry him to India in chains and put him on trial before the viceroy Almeida.
But Barreto de Magalhães's threats dissolve when he meets an embarrassment of his own. Setting out with his fleet from Kilwa
in April, 1505, Barreto runs his own ship aground on the sandbanks
of Kilwa harbor. Barreto's nau, Espirito Santo, capsizes and is lost, but most of the cargo and crew is saved with the timely assistance of the caravels of Lucas da Fonseca and Jorge Mendes Çacoto. The other two naus, under Almada and Alvares, although noticing the crash, were already outside the sandbank and do not return to help, but just sail on to Malindi by themselves. Young Francisco de Anaia is, naturally, bemused at the turn of events.
Climbing aboard Lucas da Fonseca's caravel (and taking the young Anaia with him), the furious Barreto de Magalhães races up to Malindi
and admonishes the two captains, João Vaz de Almada and Gonçalo Alvares, for not helping him back in Kilwa. They protest that their naus were too heavy to risk turning back and running aground into the sandbanks themselves. Their excuses fail to assuage Barreto de Magalhães, who deprives them of their command. He seizes Almada's ship, the Santo António, for himself, and places Alvares's ship (Anaia's old flagship) under the command of his cousin, Paio Rodrigues de Sousa.
In late April/early May, 1506 the monsoon
winds finally reverse and Barreto de Magalhães leads the four ships across the Indian Ocean. They arrive at Anjediva island in late May. But the strong monsoon winds prevent the larger naus from sailing down the India coast easily. Leaving the three heavier ships anchored in Anjediva, all the captains and as much of the crew as possible pile into Lucas da Fonseca's caravel and cruise down the coast to Cochin to present themselves to viceroy Francisco de Almeida
. In light of the events in Kilwa, Barreto de Magalhães refrains from lodging official charges against young Francisco de Anaia.
- Sofala is embedded in a mangrove swamp). Only about thirty or so Portuguese soldiers remain capable of standing.
A group of Sofalese nobles, led by a certain Mengo Musaf (son-in-law of the sheikh Isuf ), sets about trying to persuade the ageing ruler to abandon his treaty and expel the Portuguese. Mengo Musaf's party is opposed by another group of nobles, led by a certain 'Acute', who insist on allowing the Portuguese to stay. The wary old sheikh Isuf is concerned with Portuguese reprisals, anxious to avoid the fate of Kilwa and Mombassa. However, Mengo Musaf points out that they can use the newly-built Portuguese fort to defend themselves against any Portuguese attacks.
It was probably the news of the loss of young Anaia's caravels that finally seals their case. However, sheikh Isuf dares not risk a direct attack, and instead persuades a certain mainland Bantu chieftain named 'Moconde' (a Makonde chieftain, vassal of Monomatapa?) to bring some 5,000-6,000 of his best warriors to Sofala, and seize the fort, promising him the contents of the Portuguese factory as payment.
Moconde's forces arrive in Sofala in late February or March and lay siege to Fort São Caetano
. However, the arrival of the Bantu warriors frighten many of the Swahili inhabitants of Sofala, about one hundred of whom (including Acute) proceed to take refuge in the Portuguese fort, thereby inadvertently bolstering the weakened Portuguese garrison. With the help of Musaf's nobles, Moconde's troops set about systematically filling the moat with branches, and begin their climb up the walls. Pêro de Anaia, with what remains of his diseased garrison and his new Swahili auxiliaries, leads a sally out and disperses the surprised Bantu besiegers in a bloody encounter.
The furious Moconde, accuses the Sofalese nobles of having deliberately misrepresented the strength of the garrison and of leading him into a trap. Despite their protests of innocence, Moconde indignantly withdraws his warriors from the city, and returns to the mainland (burning down some of the Swahili nobles' villages on their way, as a parting gesture).
That same night, in a bold operation, Anaia leads a Portuguese squad stealthily through the abandoned streets of Sofala and makes his way into the city's palace. The blind old sheikh Isuf is said to have thrown his sword towards the sound of the footsteps, managing to wound Anaia, but Isuf is himself immediately decapitated from behind by Manuel Fernandes.
In the morning, seeing the head of the sheikh Isuf mounted on the walls of the Portuguese fort, Sofala falls into chaos. The first instinct of the sons of the sheikh is to attack the fort, but this does not go very far. The Sofalese nobles assembled for the assault immediately fragment into competing factions to compete for the succession. In the strife, Anaia somehow manages to play the arbitrator, and secures the installation of a certain Suleiman, one of the sons of Isuf, as ruler of Sofala.
In March 1506, only a few days after these events, Pêro de Anaia himself is struck down by malaria and dies. The Portuguese garrison elect the factor Manuel Fernandes
, the only European apparently immune to the fevers, as acting captain-major.
In early June, the ships of Cide Barbudo and Pedro Quaresma, who had been on a search-and-rescue mission in South Africa
, arrive in Sofala harbor, intending to deliver the Portuguese king's new instructions to Pêro de Anaia. Instead they find the Sofala fort and garrison in a dilapidated state, 76 Portuguese are by now dead from malarial fever and the remainder weakened and starving for lack of food. Cide Barbudo decides to go on to India by himself, leaving Quaresma behind with his caravel to help replenish the plagued Portuguese garrison.
first, to see if assistance for Sofala could be procured from the Portuguese garrison there, only to find that that city too was in chaos. Following the assassination of the Portuguese-supported sultan a month or so earlier, violent strife had enveloped the city. Streams of refugees had left the once-great city of Kilwa practically deserted, save for roving gangs of partisans fighting each other in the streets. The Portuguese garrison was hunkered down in the fort, and had hardly any supplies of their own.
Cide Barbudo hurried on to India, reaching Cochin in August, 1506, delivering his report on the disastrous conditions of both Sofala and Kilwa to the vice-roy D. Francisco de Almeida
. Almeida dispatched Nuno Vaz Pereira to assume the capitaincy of Sofala and do what he could to restore its conditions. Pereira left India in October, stopping in Kilwa first. Miraculously, he manages to restore some semblance of order in Kilwa (although it quickly fell apart again after he left).
Arriving in Sofala in December 1506, Nuno Vaz Pereira invoked his credentials as the new captain of Sofala and relieved the factor Manuel Fernandes (much to the latter's annoyance - seemingly Fernandes had hoped Barbudo would secure Almeida appointed him.)
, and delivery was being directed to better-situated emerging new coastal towns like Quelimane
and Angoche
. The Portuguese presence in Sofala was not only hazardous, it was unnecessary.
Abreu immediately directed operations to capture nearby Mozambique Island, which had a much more suitable harbor and was disease-free. The Captaincy of Sofala was thus enlarged to include Mozambique Island. Much of the European garrison and administration was subsequently transferred to healthier Mozambique. Abreu erected Fort São Gabriel on Mozambique Island in late 1507, that would henceforth serve as the main garrison and capital of the capitaincy. Fort São Caetano of Sofala was effectively reduced to an outpost. Nonetheless, colonial governors of Portuguese Mozambique would continue to bear 'Captain of Sofala' as their primary formal title.
Secondary:
Pêro de Anaia
Pêro de Anaia or Pedro d'Anaya or Anhaya or da Nhaya or da Naia was a Castilian-Portuguese 16th C...
to Sofala
Sofala
Sofala, at present known as Nova Sofala, used to be the chief seaport of the Monomotapa Kingdom, whose capital was at Mount Fura. It is located on the Sofala Bank in Sofala Province of Mozambique.-History:...
led to the establishment of Fort São Caetano
Fort São Caetano
Fort São Caetano is a fort that was built in the 16th century in the present town of Sofala, Mozambique. The fort precisely dates from 1505. Pêro de Anaia assumed the title of Captain-General of Sofala and made Sofala the first Portuguese colony in the region....
, the first permanent Portuguese colony
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
in East Africa. The Capitaincy of Sofala would eventually evolve into the colonial government of Portuguese Mozambique.
Although they did not ultimately sail together, Pêro de Anaia's expedition is usually regarded as a squadron
Squadron (naval)
A squadron, or naval squadron, is a unit of 3-4 major warships, transport ships, submarines, or sometimes small craft that may be part of a larger task force or a fleet...
of the 7th Portuguese India Armada
7th Portuguese India Armada (Almeida, 1505)
The Seventh India Armada was assembled in 1505 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of D. Francisco de Almeida, the first Portuguese Viceroy of the Indies...
of D. Francisco de Almeida
Francisco de Almeida
Dom Francisco de Almeida , also known as "the Great Dom Francisco" , was a Portuguese nobleman, soldier and explorer. He distinguished himself as a counsellor to King John II of Portugal and later in the wars against the Moors and in the conquest of Granada in 1492...
that left Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
a little earlier in 1505 for the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
.
Prelude
SofalaSofala
Sofala, at present known as Nova Sofala, used to be the chief seaport of the Monomotapa Kingdom, whose capital was at Mount Fura. It is located on the Sofala Bank in Sofala Province of Mozambique.-History:...
was one of several Muslim Swahili
Swahili people
The Swahili people are a Bantu ethnic group and culture found in East Africa, mainly in the coastal regions and the islands of Kenya, Tanzania and north Mozambique. According to JoshuaProject, the Swahili number in at around 1,328,000. The name Swahili is derived from the Arabic word Sawahil,...
commercial city-states in East Africa under the sway of the Kilwa Sultanate
Kilwa Sultanate
The Kilwa Sultanate was a Medieval sultanate, centered at Kilwa , whose authority, at its height, stretched over the entire length of the Swahili Coast. It was founded in the 10th century by Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi...
. Around 1489, Sofala had been visited by the Portuguese spy Pêro da Covilhã
Pêro da Covilhã
Pedro or Pêro da Covilhã was a Portuguese diplomat and explorer.He was a native of Covilhã in Beira. In his early life he had gone to Castile and entered the service of Alphonso, Duke of Seville...
, who identified it as the principal emporium for the gold trade with the interior kingdom of Monomatapa. The Portuguese crown had been eager to tap into that gold source, and made it a priority for its early Portuguese India Armadas
Portuguese India Armadas
The Portuguese India armadas were the fleets of ships, organized by the Portuguese crown and dispatched on an annual basis from Portugal to India, principally Goa...
to find the city.
In 1498, Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India...
visited several cities along the Swahili Coast
Swahili Coast
The Swahili Coast refers to the coast or coastal area of East Africa inhabited by the Swahili people, mainly Kenya, Tanzania, and north Mozambique...
, but did not find Sofala. In 1501, captain Sancho de Tovar
Sancho de Tovar
Sancho de Tovar, 6th Lord of Cevico, Caracena and Boca de Huérgano was a Portuguese nobleman of Castilian birth, best known as a navigator and explorer during the Portuguese age of discoveries. He was the sub-captain of the fleet that discovered Brazil in 1500, and was later appointed Governor of...
located the city
2nd Portuguese India Armada (Cabral, 1500)
The Second Portuguese India Armada was assembled in 1500 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of Pedro Álvares Cabral. Cabral's armada famously discovered Brazil for the Portuguese crown along the way...
from the sea, but did not go ashore. Finally, in 1502, Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India...
returned to the area with a new fleet
4th Portuguese India Armada (Gama, 1502)
The Fourth India Armada was assembled in 1502 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of D. Vasco da Gama. It was Gama's second trip to India...
, and, while idling on Mozambique Island, dispatched a detachment of boats under Pedro Afonso de Aguiar to visit Sofala.
Arriving at the city, Pedro Afonso de Aguiar sought out an audience with the blind octagenarian sheikh Isuf of Sofala
Sofala
Sofala, at present known as Nova Sofala, used to be the chief seaport of the Monomotapa Kingdom, whose capital was at Mount Fura. It is located on the Sofala Bank in Sofala Province of Mozambique.-History:...
(Yçuf in Barros
João de Barros
João de Barros , called the Portuguese Livy, is one of the first great Portuguese historians, most famous for his Décadas da Ásia , a history of the Portuguese in India and Asia.-Early years:...
Çufe in Goes), whom he took to be the ruler of Sofala. In fact, Isuf's authority was ambiguous. Formally, Sofala still belonged to the inland Bantu kingdom of the Monomatapa, and sheikh Isuf was merely the leader of the Swahili
Swahili people
The Swahili people are a Bantu ethnic group and culture found in East Africa, mainly in the coastal regions and the islands of Kenya, Tanzania and north Mozambique. According to JoshuaProject, the Swahili number in at around 1,328,000. The name Swahili is derived from the Arabic word Sawahil,...
community in the city, who paid tribute to Monomatapa for permission to reside and trade there. The community itself was under the legal supervision of the Kilwa Sultanate
Kilwa Sultanate
The Kilwa Sultanate was a Medieval sultanate, centered at Kilwa , whose authority, at its height, stretched over the entire length of the Swahili Coast. It was founded in the 10th century by Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi...
, and Isuf was originally an appointee of the Sultan of Kilwa. Sheikh Isuf was more of a Kilwan consul
Consul (representative)
The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...
than a ruler.
Nonetheless, since the usurpation by Emir Muhammad in Kilwa
Kilwa Kisiwani
Kilwa Kisiwani is a community on an island off the coast of East Africa, in present day Tanzania.- History :A document written around AD 1200 called al-Maqama al Kilwiyya discovered in Oman, gives details of a mission to reconvert Kilwa to Ibadism, as it had recently been effected by the Ghurabiyya...
back in 1495, sheikh Isuf had been charting an independent course for his community in Sofala. The Portuguese, with their powerful ships, seemed to offer the key to shaking off Kilwa's authority. At any rate, the elderly sheikh Isuf realized it would be better to make allies rather than enemies out of the Portuguese, and so agreed to Aguiar's proposals and signed a treaty of commercial and political alliance with the Kingdom of Portugal
Kingdom of Portugal
The Kingdom of Portugal was Portugal's general designation under the monarchy. The kingdom was located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Europe and existed from 1139 to 1910...
.
Nothing much came of this initial contact. Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India...
's 4th Armada
4th Portuguese India Armada (Gama, 1502)
The Fourth India Armada was assembled in 1502 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of D. Vasco da Gama. It was Gama's second trip to India...
was eager to move on, and did not even wait for Aguiar to return with the news. Gama established a small Portuguese factory
Factory (trading post)
Factory was the English term for the trading posts system originally established by Europeans in foreign territories, first within different states of medieval Europe, and later in their colonial possessions...
on Mozambique Island, under Gonçalo Baixo, to deal with whatever came out of the Sofala-related business, and just sailed on. Aguiar, hurrying to catch up with them, had to drop off the Sofalese ambassador he was bringing and tell him to find his own way back home.
Anaia's 1505 expedition
After the 4th Armada4th Portuguese India Armada (Gama, 1502)
The Fourth India Armada was assembled in 1502 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of D. Vasco da Gama. It was Gama's second trip to India...
returned to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, with news of the Sofalese treaty, preparations immediately began to equip an expedition to erect a Portuguese factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
and fortress in Sofala. King Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal...
placed Pêro de Anaia
Pêro de Anaia
Pêro de Anaia or Pedro d'Anaya or Anhaya or da Nhaya or da Naia was a Castilian-Portuguese 16th C...
in charge of this. Anaia was assigned command of a ship, the Sant'Iago (or Nuncia), which was to sail out in 1505 as part of the 7th Armada
7th Portuguese India Armada (Almeida, 1505)
The Seventh India Armada was assembled in 1505 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of D. Francisco de Almeida, the first Portuguese Viceroy of the Indies...
led by D. Francisco de Almeida
Francisco de Almeida
Dom Francisco de Almeida , also known as "the Great Dom Francisco" , was a Portuguese nobleman, soldier and explorer. He distinguished himself as a counsellor to King John II of Portugal and later in the wars against the Moors and in the conquest of Granada in 1492...
.
But in March, 1505, as the 7th Armada sailed out of Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
harbor, Anaia's ship sprung a leak and capsized in the Tagus
Tagus
The Tagus is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. It is long, in Spain, along the border between Portugal and Spain and in Portugal, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Lisbon. It drains an area of . The Tagus is highly utilized for most of its course...
estuary. Efforts to recover the ship came to naught, and Anaia was forced to return to land, while the 7th Armada sailed on.
But the Sofala mission was too important to postpone, so a new six-ship fleet was quickly assembled, and ready to sail out a little over a month later. Although it never caught up with Almeida's 7th Armada, it can be still be considered part of that year's armada.
Fleet
Pêro de Anaia's Sofala-bound fleet was composed of three large naus (carrackCarrack
A carrack or nau was a three- or four-masted sailing ship developed in 15th century Western Europe for use in the Atlantic Ocean. It had a high rounded stern with large aftcastle, forecastle and bowsprit at the stem. It was first used by the Portuguese , and later by the Spanish, to explore and...
s) and three smaller ships, probably caravels. The following list of ships and captains should not be regarded as authoritative. It is a tentative list compiled from various conflicting accounts:
| Ship Name | Captain | Notes |
| Naus | ||
| 1. uncertain | Pêro de Anaia Pêro de Anaia Pêro de Anaia or Pedro d'Anaya or Anhaya or da Nhaya or da Naia was a Castilian-Portuguese 16th C... |
flagship, captain of Sofala Sofala Sofala, at present known as Nova Sofala, used to be the chief seaport of the Monomotapa Kingdom, whose capital was at Mount Fura. It is located on the Sofala Bank in Sofala Province of Mozambique.-History:... ship passed at Sofala to Gonçalo Álvares Gonçalo Álvares Gonçalo Álvares was a Portuguese explorer who actively participated in the age of discovery starting from the second voyage of Diogo Cão.... ; then at Malindi to Paio Rodrigues de Sousa. |
| 2. Espírito Santo | Pedro Barreto de Magalhães | 400t, found remnant of Lopo Sanchez's crew near Quelimane. Later ran aground at Kilwa banks. |
| 3. Santo António | João Leite of Santarem Santarém -In Portugal:* Santarém District, a district in Portugal* Santarém Municipality, a municipality in that district* Santarém, Portugal the seat of the above district* Roman Catholic Diocese of Santarém, Portugal-Other:* Santarém cheese, a Portuguese goat cheese... |
Leite fell overboard near Sierra Leone, passed to Jorge Mendes Çacoto, ship passed at Sofala to João Vaz de Almada; then at Malindi to Pedro Barreto de Magalhães. |
| Caravels | ||
| 4. São João | Francisco de Anaia | son of Pêro de Anaia. Designated captain for local Sofala patrol. Lost caravel off Mozambique. |
| 5. unknown | Manuel Fernandes de Meireles (or Pedro Cão) |
Designated factor of Sofala. Ship passed at Sofala to Jorge Mendes Çacoto. |
| 6. São Paulo | João de Queirós | Queirós killed in South Africa, passed to João Vaz de Almada, ship passed at Sofala to Pêro Teixeira, and then lost near Mozambique. |
[Because the name of Anaia's flagship is conspicuously missing, some writers sometimes mistakenly call it the Espirito Santo (confusing it with Magalhães's). Because there were so many captain changes along the way, chronicles also frequently fall into confusion themselves. The reconciliation given above is principally due to Castanheda
Fernão Lopes de Castanheda
Fernão Lopes de Castanheda was a Portuguese historian in the early Renaissance.His "History of the discovery and conquest of India", full of geographic and ethnographic objective information, was widely translated throughout Europe.- Life :Castanheda was the natural son of a royal officer, who...
. Finally, as usual, chronicler Gaspar Correia
Gaspar Correia
Gaspar Correia or Gaspar Corrêa was a Portuguese historian, author of "Lendas da Índia , one of the earliest and most important works about Portuguese rule in Asia, being referred to as a Portuguese Polybius.- Biography :There is little information about the life of the author...
tends to deviate from the rest: Correia is the only one to suggest that 'Pedro Cão' was the original designated factor, and only he supplies the surnames 'de Meireles' and 'Çacoto' to those whom everybody else just calls 'Manuel Fernandes' and 'Jorge Mendes' respectively.]
The instructions given by King Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal...
were straighforward. They were to erect a factory and fortress in Sofala. Pêro de Anaia
Pêro de Anaia
Pêro de Anaia or Pedro d'Anaya or Anhaya or da Nhaya or da Naia was a Castilian-Portuguese 16th C...
would go as captain-major of the fleet, and carried a commission to become captain-major of the Sofala fortress, Manuel Fernandes de Meireles was to serve as commercial factor
Factor (agent)
A factor, from the Latin "he who does" , is a person who professionally acts as the representative of another individual or other legal entity, historically with his seat at a factory , notably in the following contexts:-Mercantile factor:In a relatively large company, there could be a hierarchy,...
.
After the fort was built, Anaia was to dispatch four ships - the three large naus and one caravel - under the overall command of Pedro Barreto de Magalhães to Cochin, India, where viceroy Almeida would ensure they would load up with spices and be sent back to Lisbon. The remaining caravels would serve as a coastal patrol around Sofala under the command of Anaia's son, Francisco de Anaia, who carried a royal commission appointing him capitão-mor do mar de Sofala (captain-major of the sea of Sofala).
Outward journey
May 18, 1505 – Pêro de Anaia's six-ship fleet sets out of Lisbon harbor, destined for Sofala.August, 1505 - Anaia's squadron doubles the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
with some difficulty. It is said that Anaia plotted a very wide route around the Cape, far south into freezing temperatures, speculated as far as 45° South
45th parallel south
The 45th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 45 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It is the line that marks the theoretical halfway point between the equator and the South Pole...
. It is reported that several crew members died from the cold. The fleet splits up during the crossing. Anaia manages to keep two ships with him.
September 4, 1505 - Pêro de Anaia, his son Francisco de Anaia and the factor Manuel Fernandes finally reach Sofala harbor, and await the other three ships. They gradually arrive, each with their own tale of woe:
- - the nau Santo Antonio arrives in Sofala without its captain, João Leite having fallen overboard while fishing near Sierra LeoneSierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
and drowned; the crew had elected Jorge Mendes Çacoto to replace him.
- - the caravel São Paulo arrives without any officers at all; the caravel had made a watering stop in a South African bay where plenty of cattle was sighted (variously speculated to be Flesh Bay or Algoa BayAlgoa BayAlgoa Bay is a wide inlet along the South African east coast, some 425 miles east of the Cape of Good Hope. It is bounded in the west by Cape Recife and in the east by Cape Padrone. The bay is up to 436 m deep...
), quarrelled with the KhoikhoiKhoikhoiThe Khoikhoi or Khoi, in standardised Khoekhoe/Nama orthography spelled Khoekhoe, are a historical division of the Khoisan ethnic group, the native people of southwestern Africa, closely related to the Bushmen . They had lived in southern Africa since the 5th century AD...
natives, who ended up killing not only the captain, João de Queirós, but also the pilots, master and other officers, leaving no one able to navigate the ship. The only surviving officer was the clerk Antão de Gá, who had absolutely no navigational knowledge. Only by luck did they spot the Santo Antonio of Jorge Mendes, who lent them his masterMaster (naval)The master, or sailing master, was a historic term for a naval officer trained in and responsible for the navigation of a sailing vessel...
João Vaz de Almada to guide them to Sofala.
- - the nau Epirito Santo, under Pedro Barreto de Magalhães, anchors at Cape St. Sebastian, the Portuguese pilot too wary about approaching the Sofala banks. A launchLaunch (boat)A launch in contemporary usage refers to a large motorboat. The name originally referred to the largest boat carried by a warship. The etymology of the word is given as Portuguese lancha "barge", from Malay lancha, lancharan, "boat," from lanchar "velocity without effort," "action of gliding...
is dispatched under Barreto's brother, Antonio de Magalhães, to find a local pilot or fetch one from Anaia. The launch is directed by locals to the environs of QuelimaneQuelimaneQuelimane is a seaport in Mozambique. It is the administrative capital of the Zambezia Province and the province's largest city, and stands 25 km from the mouth of the Rio dos Bons Sinais . The river was named when Vasco da Gama, on his way to India, reached it and saw "good signs" that he was on...
, where, by the shores of the Rio Cuama (Zambezi River) Magalhães finds five famished Portuguese sailors - the half-dead survivors of Lopo Sanchez's caravel (see 7th Armada7th Portuguese India Armada (Almeida, 1505)The Seventh India Armada was assembled in 1505 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of D. Francisco de Almeida, the first Portuguese Viceroy of the Indies...
). Anaia dispatches a pilot (Almada again apparently) to fetch Barreto's ship and guide it through the shoals of Sofala harbor.
Fort São Caetano
Early September, 1505 - After gathering his scattered ships, Pêro de AnaiaPêro de Anaia
Pêro de Anaia or Pedro d'Anaya or Anhaya or da Nhaya or da Naia was a Castilian-Portuguese 16th C...
requests an audience with the sheikh Isuf of Sofala
Sofala
Sofala, at present known as Nova Sofala, used to be the chief seaport of the Monomotapa Kingdom, whose capital was at Mount Fura. It is located on the Sofala Bank in Sofala Province of Mozambique.-History:...
. As noted earlier, sheikh Isuf had agreed to a commercial treaty back in 1502, but the city itself belongs to the Monomatapa. What Pêro de Anaia was now proposing - the establishment of a permanent Portuguese factory and fort in the city – probably exceeds Isuf's authority to allow. Nonetheless, the recent news of Almeida's attacks on Kilwa and Mombassa
7th Portuguese India Armada (Almeida, 1505)
The Seventh India Armada was assembled in 1505 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of D. Francisco de Almeida, the first Portuguese Viceroy of the Indies...
persuade sheikh Isuf that a similar fate might await Sofala if he shows any sign of legal quibbling or recalcitrance. So a new deal is struck and Isuf 'allows' the Portuguese to establish a factory and a fort. As a sign of goodwill, Isuf hands over to Anaia another twenty Portuguese survivors of the Lopo Sanchez caravel that had he had collected.
September 25, 1505 - Construction begins on the Portuguese Fort São Caetano
Fort São Caetano
Fort São Caetano is a fort that was built in the 16th century in the present town of Sofala, Mozambique. The fort precisely dates from 1505. Pêro de Anaia assumed the title of Captain-General of Sofala and made Sofala the first Portuguese colony in the region....
of Sofala. Anaia begins with the erection of a wooden palisade
Palisade
A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...
on a square plan, with each side measured at 120 paces. A moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
is dug around it, of 12 palms depth and 12 palms width. He then erects the main wall within the moat, and then another perimeter wall outside of it. The surrounding area is cleared of vegetatation to allow a clear line of fire. Much of the labor for the fort construction is procured locally, although every crewman, including the nobles and Anaia himself, were expected to participate in manual labor.
November, 1505 - The fort is essentially finished. At this point, Pêro de Anaia
Pêro de Anaia
Pêro de Anaia or Pedro d'Anaya or Anhaya or da Nhaya or da Naia was a Castilian-Portuguese 16th C...
assumes command as 'captain-major' of the Fort of Sofala and Manuel Fernandes de Meireles as factor
Factor (agent)
A factor, from the Latin "he who does" , is a person who professionally acts as the representative of another individual or other legal entity, historically with his seat at a factory , notably in the following contexts:-Mercantile factor:In a relatively large company, there could be a hierarchy,...
. As Pêro de Anaia is the first 'Captain of Sofala', he is usually considered the first Portuguese colonial governor of Mozambique.
December, 1505 - Factor Manuel Rodrigues's primary concern is trading for gold, ivory
Ivory trade
The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, mammoth, and most commonly, Asian and African elephants....
and food. But as earlier armadas had already found out, European trade goods do not have much vent in Indian Ocean markets, and Sofala is no exception. Bantu gold, ivory, grain and beef merchants, used to trading with Swahili merchants for quality cotton cloth and exquisite goods from India, are unwilling to pay much for coarse Portuguese wares. More urgently for the fledgling fort, this brings up the concern that the garrison may not be able to procure enough food for its sustenance.
This constraint is slightly alleviated with the appearance at Sofala, in early January 1506, of the Kilwa
Kilwa Kisiwani
Kilwa Kisiwani is a community on an island off the coast of East Africa, in present day Tanzania.- History :A document written around AD 1200 called al-Maqama al Kilwiyya discovered in Oman, gives details of a mission to reconvert Kilwa to Ibadism, as it had recently been effected by the Ghurabiyya...
patrol caravel of Gonçalo Vaz de Goes, with a substantial cargo of Indian trade goods (most of it confiscated from captured Kilwan merchant ships who were 'violating' the new Portuguese mercantilist rules).
Journey of Sofala naus to India
In January, 1506, as per his instructions, captain Pêro de AnaiaPêro de Anaia
Pêro de Anaia or Pedro d'Anaya or Anhaya or da Nhaya or da Naia was a Castilian-Portuguese 16th C...
prepares the fleet of four ships to be dispatched to vice-roy Almeida in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. These are the three large naus, Epirito Santo (under Pedro Barreto de Magalhães), the Santo António (now under João Vaz de Almada) and Anaia's old flaghip (now captained by his pilot, Gonçalo Álvares
Gonçalo Álvares
Gonçalo Álvares was a Portuguese explorer who actively participated in the age of discovery starting from the second voyage of Diogo Cão....
), and the caravel of Manuel Fernandes (now captained by Jorge Mendes Çacoto) As the monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
season is not yet open for an Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
crossing, the Sofala naus intend to make their way slowly up the East African coast, escorted by Goes's caravel.
In the meantime, Pêro de Anaia's son, Francisco de Anaia invokes his commission as head of the Sofala coastal patrol (capitão-mor do mar de Sofala) and takes command of the two remaining caravels - the São João ( Francisco de Anaia's own) and São Paulo (now under Pêro Teixeira). Young Anaia immediately sets about cruising the coast, and captures two local Muslim fustas - one loaded with Indian calico, another with ivory
Ivory
Ivory is a term for dentine, which constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals, when used as a material for art or manufacturing. Ivory has been important since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, joint tubes, piano keys and...
- and mercilessly puts their crews to death. But it all ends rather poorly. Navigationally inept, the younger Anaia loses the calico prize and then ends up crashing both his caravels - the first off Mozambique Island, the second at the rocks of São Lazaro banks (Quirimbas Islands
Quirimbas Islands
The Quirimbas Islands lie in the Indian Ocean off northeastern Mozambique, close to Pemba, the capital of the province of Cabo Delgado. The archipelago consists of about 27 islands, including Ibo, Matemo, Medjumbe, Quirimba, Quisiva and Rolas Island....
). Anaia ends up having to row his way to Kilwa
Kilwa Kisiwani
Kilwa Kisiwani is a community on an island off the coast of East Africa, in present day Tanzania.- History :A document written around AD 1200 called al-Maqama al Kilwiyya discovered in Oman, gives details of a mission to reconvert Kilwa to Ibadism, as it had recently been effected by the Ghurabiyya...
on his remaining captured fusta
Fusta
The fusta or fuste was a narrow, light and fast ship with shallow draft, powered by both oars and sail -– in essence a small galley. It typically had 12 to 18 two-man rowing benches on each side, a single mast with a lateen sail, and usually carried two or three guns...
, arriving there in a sorry shape on March 25, much to the surprise of the Portuguese garrison. He is immediately placed under arrest by the Kilwa governor Pêro Ferreira Fogaça.
In the meantime, the Sofala naus, under the overall command of Pedro Barreto de Magalhães, stop by Mozambique Island, where they find the caravel of Lucas da Fonseca. Fonseca was part of the old Manuel Paçanha squad of the 7th Armada
7th Portuguese India Armada (Almeida, 1505)
The Seventh India Armada was assembled in 1505 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of D. Francisco de Almeida, the first Portuguese Viceroy of the Indies...
, but had lost his sense of direction and separated from the others the previous summer. He had since been stuck wintering in Africa, waiting for the winds to change to allow him to cross over to India. Barreto de Magalhães annexes Fonseca's caravel into his fleet.
The quintet proceed to Kilwa
Kilwa Kisiwani
Kilwa Kisiwani is a community on an island off the coast of East Africa, in present day Tanzania.- History :A document written around AD 1200 called al-Maqama al Kilwiyya discovered in Oman, gives details of a mission to reconvert Kilwa to Ibadism, as it had recently been effected by the Ghurabiyya...
, where they are surprised to find the young Francisco de Anaia and his crew in jail there. Barreto de Magalhães furiously admonishes young Anaia for losing his caravels, and makes up his mind to carry him to India in chains and put him on trial before the viceroy Almeida.
But Barreto de Magalhães's threats dissolve when he meets an embarrassment of his own. Setting out with his fleet from Kilwa
Kilwa Kisiwani
Kilwa Kisiwani is a community on an island off the coast of East Africa, in present day Tanzania.- History :A document written around AD 1200 called al-Maqama al Kilwiyya discovered in Oman, gives details of a mission to reconvert Kilwa to Ibadism, as it had recently been effected by the Ghurabiyya...
in April, 1505, Barreto runs his own ship aground on the sandbanks
Shoal
Shoal, shoals or shoaling may mean:* Shoal, a sandbank or reef creating shallow water, especially where it forms a hazard to shipping* Shoal draught , of a boat with shallow draught which can pass over some shoals: see Draft...
of Kilwa harbor. Barreto's nau, Espirito Santo, capsizes and is lost, but most of the cargo and crew is saved with the timely assistance of the caravels of Lucas da Fonseca and Jorge Mendes Çacoto. The other two naus, under Almada and Alvares, although noticing the crash, were already outside the sandbank and do not return to help, but just sail on to Malindi by themselves. Young Francisco de Anaia is, naturally, bemused at the turn of events.
Climbing aboard Lucas da Fonseca's caravel (and taking the young Anaia with him), the furious Barreto de Magalhães races up to Malindi
Malindi
Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Galana River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi is 117,735 . It is the capital of the Malindi District.Tourism is the major industry in Malindi. The city is...
and admonishes the two captains, João Vaz de Almada and Gonçalo Alvares, for not helping him back in Kilwa. They protest that their naus were too heavy to risk turning back and running aground into the sandbanks themselves. Their excuses fail to assuage Barreto de Magalhães, who deprives them of their command. He seizes Almada's ship, the Santo António, for himself, and places Alvares's ship (Anaia's old flagship) under the command of his cousin, Paio Rodrigues de Sousa.
In late April/early May, 1506 the monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
winds finally reverse and Barreto de Magalhães leads the four ships across the Indian Ocean. They arrive at Anjediva island in late May. But the strong monsoon winds prevent the larger naus from sailing down the India coast easily. Leaving the three heavier ships anchored in Anjediva, all the captains and as much of the crew as possible pile into Lucas da Fonseca's caravel and cruise down the coast to Cochin to present themselves to viceroy Francisco de Almeida
Francisco de Almeida
Dom Francisco de Almeida , also known as "the Great Dom Francisco" , was a Portuguese nobleman, soldier and explorer. He distinguished himself as a counsellor to King John II of Portugal and later in the wars against the Moors and in the conquest of Granada in 1492...
. In light of the events in Kilwa, Barreto de Magalhães refrains from lodging official charges against young Francisco de Anaia.
Assault on the Fort
Back in Sofala, things are not going well. In February, 1506, soon after the Sofala fleet departed for India, the Portuguese garrison in Sofala is laid low by fevers (probably malariaMalaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
- Sofala is embedded in a mangrove swamp). Only about thirty or so Portuguese soldiers remain capable of standing.
A group of Sofalese nobles, led by a certain Mengo Musaf (son-in-law of the sheikh Isuf ), sets about trying to persuade the ageing ruler to abandon his treaty and expel the Portuguese. Mengo Musaf's party is opposed by another group of nobles, led by a certain 'Acute', who insist on allowing the Portuguese to stay. The wary old sheikh Isuf is concerned with Portuguese reprisals, anxious to avoid the fate of Kilwa and Mombassa. However, Mengo Musaf points out that they can use the newly-built Portuguese fort to defend themselves against any Portuguese attacks.
It was probably the news of the loss of young Anaia's caravels that finally seals their case. However, sheikh Isuf dares not risk a direct attack, and instead persuades a certain mainland Bantu chieftain named 'Moconde' (a Makonde chieftain, vassal of Monomatapa?) to bring some 5,000-6,000 of his best warriors to Sofala, and seize the fort, promising him the contents of the Portuguese factory as payment.
Moconde's forces arrive in Sofala in late February or March and lay siege to Fort São Caetano
Fort São Caetano
Fort São Caetano is a fort that was built in the 16th century in the present town of Sofala, Mozambique. The fort precisely dates from 1505. Pêro de Anaia assumed the title of Captain-General of Sofala and made Sofala the first Portuguese colony in the region....
. However, the arrival of the Bantu warriors frighten many of the Swahili inhabitants of Sofala, about one hundred of whom (including Acute) proceed to take refuge in the Portuguese fort, thereby inadvertently bolstering the weakened Portuguese garrison. With the help of Musaf's nobles, Moconde's troops set about systematically filling the moat with branches, and begin their climb up the walls. Pêro de Anaia, with what remains of his diseased garrison and his new Swahili auxiliaries, leads a sally out and disperses the surprised Bantu besiegers in a bloody encounter.
The furious Moconde, accuses the Sofalese nobles of having deliberately misrepresented the strength of the garrison and of leading him into a trap. Despite their protests of innocence, Moconde indignantly withdraws his warriors from the city, and returns to the mainland (burning down some of the Swahili nobles' villages on their way, as a parting gesture).
That same night, in a bold operation, Anaia leads a Portuguese squad stealthily through the abandoned streets of Sofala and makes his way into the city's palace. The blind old sheikh Isuf is said to have thrown his sword towards the sound of the footsteps, managing to wound Anaia, but Isuf is himself immediately decapitated from behind by Manuel Fernandes.
In the morning, seeing the head of the sheikh Isuf mounted on the walls of the Portuguese fort, Sofala falls into chaos. The first instinct of the sons of the sheikh is to attack the fort, but this does not go very far. The Sofalese nobles assembled for the assault immediately fragment into competing factions to compete for the succession. In the strife, Anaia somehow manages to play the arbitrator, and secures the installation of a certain Suleiman, one of the sons of Isuf, as ruler of Sofala.
In March 1506, only a few days after these events, Pêro de Anaia himself is struck down by malaria and dies. The Portuguese garrison elect the factor Manuel Fernandes
Manuel Fernandes
Manuel Fernandes may refer to:*Manuel Fernandes , rower who represented Portugal at the 1996 Summer Olympics*Manuel Fernandes , former Portuguese football forward during the late 70s and 80s, later a manager...
, the only European apparently immune to the fevers, as acting captain-major.
In early June, the ships of Cide Barbudo and Pedro Quaresma, who had been on a search-and-rescue mission in South Africa
7th Portuguese India Armada (Almeida, 1505)
The Seventh India Armada was assembled in 1505 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of D. Francisco de Almeida, the first Portuguese Viceroy of the Indies...
, arrive in Sofala harbor, intending to deliver the Portuguese king's new instructions to Pêro de Anaia. Instead they find the Sofala fort and garrison in a dilapidated state, 76 Portuguese are by now dead from malarial fever and the remainder weakened and starving for lack of food. Cide Barbudo decides to go on to India by himself, leaving Quaresma behind with his caravel to help replenish the plagued Portuguese garrison.
Aftermath
Cide Barbudo stopped in KilwaKilwa Kisiwani
Kilwa Kisiwani is a community on an island off the coast of East Africa, in present day Tanzania.- History :A document written around AD 1200 called al-Maqama al Kilwiyya discovered in Oman, gives details of a mission to reconvert Kilwa to Ibadism, as it had recently been effected by the Ghurabiyya...
first, to see if assistance for Sofala could be procured from the Portuguese garrison there, only to find that that city too was in chaos. Following the assassination of the Portuguese-supported sultan a month or so earlier, violent strife had enveloped the city. Streams of refugees had left the once-great city of Kilwa practically deserted, save for roving gangs of partisans fighting each other in the streets. The Portuguese garrison was hunkered down in the fort, and had hardly any supplies of their own.
Cide Barbudo hurried on to India, reaching Cochin in August, 1506, delivering his report on the disastrous conditions of both Sofala and Kilwa to the vice-roy D. Francisco de Almeida
Francisco de Almeida
Dom Francisco de Almeida , also known as "the Great Dom Francisco" , was a Portuguese nobleman, soldier and explorer. He distinguished himself as a counsellor to King John II of Portugal and later in the wars against the Moors and in the conquest of Granada in 1492...
. Almeida dispatched Nuno Vaz Pereira to assume the capitaincy of Sofala and do what he could to restore its conditions. Pereira left India in October, stopping in Kilwa first. Miraculously, he manages to restore some semblance of order in Kilwa (although it quickly fell apart again after he left).
Arriving in Sofala in December 1506, Nuno Vaz Pereira invoked his credentials as the new captain of Sofala and relieved the factor Manuel Fernandes (much to the latter's annoyance - seemingly Fernandes had hoped Barbudo would secure Almeida appointed him.)
Move to Mozambique
Nuno Vaz Pereira's tenure did not last long. Vasco Gomes de Abreu, who had been sent directly from Lisbon to relieve Anaia, arrived in Sofala in September 1507. Abreu was quick to realize that Sofala's location would not do - its harbor was clogged with dangerous shoals, it's location in a swamp was too prone to disease. Moreover, the gold bounty that first drove the Portuguese to Sofala had been a mirage. The internal goldfields of the Monomatapa, after centuries of operation, were now exhausted to a trickle. Gold-mining in the interior had gravitated north, near the ZambeziZambezi
The Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa, and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. The area of its basin is , slightly less than half that of the Nile...
, and delivery was being directed to better-situated emerging new coastal towns like Quelimane
Quelimane
Quelimane is a seaport in Mozambique. It is the administrative capital of the Zambezia Province and the province's largest city, and stands 25 km from the mouth of the Rio dos Bons Sinais . The river was named when Vasco da Gama, on his way to India, reached it and saw "good signs" that he was on...
and Angoche
Angoche
Angoche is a city of Nampula Province in Mozambique. The city was named António Enes until 1976, after the 19th century Portuguese journalist and colonial administrator, António José Enes...
. The Portuguese presence in Sofala was not only hazardous, it was unnecessary.
Abreu immediately directed operations to capture nearby Mozambique Island, which had a much more suitable harbor and was disease-free. The Captaincy of Sofala was thus enlarged to include Mozambique Island. Much of the European garrison and administration was subsequently transferred to healthier Mozambique. Abreu erected Fort São Gabriel on Mozambique Island in late 1507, that would henceforth serve as the main garrison and capital of the capitaincy. Fort São Caetano of Sofala was effectively reduced to an outpost. Nonetheless, colonial governors of Portuguese Mozambique would continue to bear 'Captain of Sofala' as their primary formal title.
See also
- 7th Portuguese India Armada (Almeida, 1505)7th Portuguese India Armada (Almeida, 1505)The Seventh India Armada was assembled in 1505 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of D. Francisco de Almeida, the first Portuguese Viceroy of the Indies...
- Portuguese India ArmadasPortuguese India ArmadasThe Portuguese India armadas were the fleets of ships, organized by the Portuguese crown and dispatched on an annual basis from Portugal to India, principally Goa...
- Portuguese East AfricaPortuguese East AfricaMozambique or Portuguese East Africa was the common name by which the Portuguese Empire's territorial expansion in East Africa was known across different periods of time...
Sources
- Duarte BarbosaDuarte BarbosaDuarte Barbosa was a Portuguese writer and Portuguese India officer between 1500 and 1516–17, with the post of scrivener in Cannanore factory and sometimes interpreter of the local language...
(c.1518) O Livro de Duarte Barbosa [Trans. by M.L. Dames, 1918–21, An Account Of The Countries Bordering On The Indian Ocean And Their Inhabitants, 2 vols., 2005 reprint, New Delhi: Asian Education Services.] - João de BarrosJoão de BarrosJoão de Barros , called the Portuguese Livy, is one of the first great Portuguese historians, most famous for his Décadas da Ásia , a history of the Portuguese in India and Asia.-Early years:...
(1552–59) Décadas da Ásia: Dos feitos, que os Portuguezes fizeram no descubrimento, e conquista, dos mares, e terras do Oriente.. [Dec. I, Lib 7.] - Fernão Lopes de CastanhedaFernão Lopes de CastanhedaFernão Lopes de Castanheda was a Portuguese historian in the early Renaissance.His "History of the discovery and conquest of India", full of geographic and ethnographic objective information, was widely translated throughout Europe.- Life :Castanheda was the natural son of a royal officer, who...
(1551–1560) História do descobrimento & conquista da Índia pelos portugueses [1833 edition] - Gaspar CorreiaGaspar CorreiaGaspar Correia or Gaspar Corrêa was a Portuguese historian, author of "Lendas da Índia , one of the earliest and most important works about Portuguese rule in Asia, being referred to as a Portuguese Polybius.- Biography :There is little information about the life of the author...
(c.1550s) Lendas da Índia, first pub. 1858-64, in Lisbon: Academia Real das Sciencias. - Damião de GóisDamião de GóisDamiao de Góis , born in Alenquer, Portugal, was an important Portuguese humanist philosopher. He was a friend and student of Erasmus. He was appointed secretary to the Portuguese factory in Antwerp in 1523 by King John III of Portugal...
(1566–67) Crónica do Felicíssimo Rei D. Manuel - Jerónimo Osório (1586) De rebus Emmanuelis [trans. 1752 by J. Gibbs as The History of the Portuguese during the Reign of Emmanuel London: Millar]
- Ludovico di VarthemaLudovico di VarthemaLudovico di Varthema, also known as Barthema and Vertomannus was an Italian traveller and diarist, known for being the first non-Muslim European to enter Mecca as a pilgrim...
(1510) Itinerario de Ludouico de Varthema Bolognese. 1863 translation by J.W. Jones, The Travels of Ludovico di Varthema, in Egypt, Syria, Arabia Deserta and Arabia Felix, in Persia, India, and Ethiopia, A.D. 1503 to 1508, London: Hakluyt Society.
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- Logan, W. (1887) Malabar Manual, 2004 reprint, New Delhi: Asian Education Services.
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- Quintella, Ignaco da Costa (1839–40) Annaes da Marinha Portugueza, 2 vols, Lisbon: Academia Real das Sciencias.
- Subrahmanyam, S. (1997) The Career and Legend of Vasco da Gama. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Theal, G.M. (1898) Records of South-eastern Africa collected in various libraries & archive departments in Europe - Volume 2, London: Clowes for Gov of Cape Colony. [Engl. transl. of parts of Gaspar Correia]
- Theal, G.. M. (1902) The Beginning of South African History. London: Unwin.
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