The Great Stain Read online

  From Capo Blanco they sailed nearly four hundred miles to the mouth of the Senegal River “which separates the Black people from the brown Azanaghi. Beyond the river all the men are very black, tall and big, their bodies well-formed, and the whole country green, full of trees and fertile; while on this side the men are brownish, lean, ill-nourished and small in stature, and their country sterile and arid.” However, the kingdom of Senegal, which was populated by Jalofs (also known as Wolofs), was quite poor, “having no cities, only villages of straw huts.”

  “The kingdom is also very small, extending no more than two hundred miles along the coast and about the same inland. The king has no income from taxes but every year the lords who want to win his favor offer him horses, which are highly valued because of their scarcity, food, goats and cows, vegetables, and so on. He also supports himself by raiding his own or the neighboring countries and taking many slaves. These he either employs in cultivating his land or sells to the Azanaghi traders in exchange for horses and other goods. He also sells them to Christians, now that we have begun to engage in this trade.

  “The faith of these Blacks is Muhammadanism, but unlike the white Moors they are not very resolute in this faith, especially the common people. The chiefs are Muhammadans because they have Azanaghi or Arab priests around them, who give them some instruction, but since they have had contact with Christians their faith has lessened, for they like our customs and realize that our wealth and skills exceed theirs. The people are talkative, and never at a loss for something to say. Most of them are great liars and cheats, but on the other hand they are charitable and generous, ready to welcome strangers and provide meals and a night’s lodging without charge.

  “After passing the Senegal River in my caravel I sailed fifty miles to the east along a low flat coast to the country of Budomel. There I anchored my caravel, for I wanted to meet him, some Portuguese having told me that he was a notable and upright ruler who could be trusted and who paid royally for what he bought. Since I had with me some Spanish horses, which were in great demand in the country of the Blacks, as well as some other goods such as woolen cloth and Moorish silk, I decided to try my luck with this lord. Accordingly I cast my anchor at a place on the coast which is a roadstead, and not a port, and sent my Negro interpreter to announce my arrival. On being informed of this the lord mounted his horse and rode down to the sea-shore escorted by fifteen horsemen and a hundred and fifty foot soldiers. He sent a message inviting me ashore and saying that I would be treated with honor and respect, and knowing of his high reputation I complied. He entertained me with a great feast, and then asked me to go inland for some days to his house about two hundred and fifty [actually more like twenty-five] miles from the coast, where he would pay me generously for the goods I had brought, promising me one hundred slaves. So I handed over the horses along with their harnesses and other goods, which together had cost me about three hundred ducats, and agreed to go with him.”

  On his arrival in the interior Cadamosto was lodged with Budomel’s nephew, Bisboror, lord of a village where he stayed a month and “saw much of the manner of life of this land.” For example, “the dwelling of the king is never fixed; instead he has a number of villages which support his wives and families. In the village where I stayed there were from forty to fifty grass huts close together in a circle, surrounded by hedges and groves of large trees, leaving only a couple of gaps as entrances. In this village Budomel had nine wives, as well as other wives in other villages. Each wife had five or six young Negro girls to attend her, and it is lawful for the lord to sleep with these attendants as well as with his wives, who do not take offense as it is the custom of the country. These Negroes, both men and women, are extremely lascivious. Having been given to understand that Christians know how to do many things, Budomel kept asking me if by chance I could provide him with the means of satisfying many women, offering me a large reward if I did. The men are also very jealous and allow no one, not even their own sons, to enter the huts where their wives live.

  “This Budomel is always accompanied by at least two hundred Negroes, and many others come to see him from various places. He often displays great haughtiness, appearing only for an hour in the morning and for a short time in the evening. When an audience is granted, great ceremony is observed: on entering Budomel’s courtyard the suitor, no matter how nobly born, strips himself naked except for a leather girdle, throws himself down on his knees, bows his head to the ground and with both hands scatters sand on his naked shoulders and head. He remains in this posture for a long time and then, without rising but grovelling on his hands and knees, draws nearer. When within two paces he begins to state his business, still scattering sand and keeping his head bowed as a sign of the greatest humility. Meanwhile, the lord scarcely deigns to take notice of him, but continues talking with his attendants. When the suitor has finished, he replies briefly and in an arrogant manner. If God himself were to come to earth I do not think that these people could show Him more honor and reverence than they do to their king. I believe that this is due to the great fear and dread in which they hold him, since for the most trivial misdeed he seizes their wives and children and sells them for slaves.”

  Thanks to Budomel’s friendship, Cadamosto was allowed to attend evening service at the mosque, where they

  “prayed in this fashion: standing upright and often looking up, then taking two paces forward and reciting some words in a low voice, and then bowing down several times and kissing the ground. When he had finished, Budomel asked me what I thought of it, and also asked me to recite some of the articles of our faith. In the end I told him that his faith was false, that those who had instructed him in it were ignorant of the truth, and that only our faith was true and holy. At this he laughed, and said that our faith must be good because God had bestowed so many gifts and such knowledge on the Christians; nevertheless it stood to reason that his people were more likely to win salvation, for God was just, and having given Christians so many benefits in this world, and having given the Negroes almost nothing, it followed that in the hereafter He would reward them with paradise.”

  Cadamosto took note of many other features of Senegalese life—their inability to raise corn, rye or barley, “which they had obtained of us Christians,” because of the great heat and long droughts, and their success with crops of millet and beans, especially kidney beans, “the largest and finest in the world, all spotted with different colors, as though painted, and very beautiful to the eye. They are sown in July and harvested in September, during the rainy season. The people are very bad laborers, unwilling to exert themselves to sow more than will barely support them through the year. Few trouble to raise supplies for the market.” On the other hand, “The women of this country are very pleasant and lighthearted, always ready to sing and dance, especially the young girls. However, they dance only at night, by the light of the moon.”

  Having completed his business with Budomel, Cadamosto decided to continue beyond Cape Verde. “For before leaving Portugal I had understood from the Prince that not far beyond this first kingdom of Senega there was another one called Gambra [Gambia], where the Negroes who had been taken to Portugal said there was gold in large amounts, and that any Christian who went there would become rich.” Just as he was setting sail, two other caravels appeared, one captained by Antoniotto Usodimare, a Genoese, the other by “certain squires of the Prince.” Since their plans were similar to Cadamosto’s, they joined forces and “set a course for Cape Verde, always keeping in sight of land.” Next day they reached the cape, which “was very handsome and lofty, with two small hills on the point. It runs far out into the sea, and on it there are many grass huts belonging to the Negroes.” Beyond Cape Verde the coast was “low and covered with very fine, tall green trees which never shed their leaves. These trees come right down to within a bow-shot of the beach, so that it appears as if they were growing in the sea—a very beautiful sight.”

  With the wind behind them they continue
d along the coast, “anchoring each evening in about six fathoms of water, and four or five miles from the shore. At dawn we made sail, always stationing one man aloft and two men in the bows to watch for breakers, which would disclose the presence of shoals.

  “Sailing thus we reached the mouth of a river as large as the River of Senega. We cast anchor and debated whether we should send one of our interpreters ashore, for each ship had brought from Portugal Negro interpreters who had been sold by the rulers of Senega to the first Portuguese to discover the Land of the Blacks. Lots were drawn to decide which one was to go ashore, and it fell to the one belonging to the Genoese [Antoniotto Usodimare]. A boat was made ready and the interpreter was instructed to find out about the country and its ruler, and whether any gold or other valuables were to be obtained there. When he had landed, and the boat had pulled back a short distance, he was suddenly confronted by a great number of Negroes who had seen the ships approaching and had lain hidden with bows and arrows and other weapons. They talked for a short while, and what he said to them we do not know; but they began to strike at him furiously with their short Moorish swords, and quickly put him to death, those in the boat being unable to help him.”

  Assuming that if this was how they treated one of their own they would be even less friendly to white men, the adventurers hoisted their sails and resumed their journey. When they reached the mouth of the Gambia they sent the smallest of the caravels and a boat of armed men to explore the river.

  “Their instructions were that if the Negroes attacked them they should return at once, without attempting to fight back, because we had come there to trade peacefully and with their consent. So the boats went two miles up the river, taking soundings; but the higher they went, the more it twisted and turned, so they decided to come back.

  “And as they were returning three canoes, made from the hollowed-out trunks of large trees, came out from a stream that flows into the great river. When our men saw them they suspected that they were about to be attacked, and although they were numerous enough to have defended themselves, they were under instructions to avoid a quarrel; and having been warned by other Negroes that in Gambra all the bowmen used poisoned arrows, they bent to their oars and returned with all possible speed. But fast though they were, by the time they reached our ships the canoes were close behind them. After getting on board, our men began to make signs to the canoes to draw near. They slowed down, but came no closer. They remained there for a while staring at things neither they nor their fathers had ever seen before, that is ships and white men, but they showed no desire to parley, despite all our attempts to engage them, and went away about their own affairs. And so that day passed without further incident.”

  Early the next morning the two larger caravels crossed the bar at the mouth of the river and all three ships then sailed upstream “hoping that we might find more civilized people than those in the canoes. The small caravel led the way over the shallows, and we followed one behind the other.

  “Having sailed about four miles upstream we suddenly perceived several canoes, which seemed to have appeared from nowhere, coming up behind us as fast as they could. Seeing this, we turned upon them and stood to our stations, although we were poorly armed, and did what we could to protect ourselves from their poisoned arrows. In a short time they reached us. Being in the leading ship I thrust into the middle of the canoes, scattering them apart. There were seventeen of them, all of them quite large. Checking their course and lifting up their paddles, their crews stared at us as if at a marvel. We estimated that they numbered at most about a hundred and fifty men; they were very well-built, exceedingly black and clothed in white cotton shirts. Some of them wore small white caps on their heads, very like the German style, except that on each side they had a white wing and in the middle a feather, perhaps to show that they were fighting men. A Negro stood in the prow of each canoe with a round shield made of leather on his arm. They made no movement towards us, nor we to them. Then they saw the two other ships coming up behind us, and headed towards them, and on reaching them they at once threw down their paddles and began to shoot their arrows.

  Raising the sail on an Arab dhow, the ship generally used in the East African slave trade. Though not crammed in below deck as on European ships, the slaves huddled in the prow had a hard time when exposed to the tropical sun and monsoon rain storms.

  “On being attacked our ships at once discharged four bombards [cannon that fired stone balls]. Astonished by the roar, the Negroes threw down their bows and stood in amazement while the shots fell into the river; but after thus gaping for a while, and seeing no more shots coming at them, and hearing no more thunder-claps from the bombards, they took up their bows and renewed their shooting, coming to within a stone’s throw of the ships. The sailors then began to fire their cross-bows at them, and one of them hit a Negro in the chest, so that he fell dead in his canoe. His companions pulled out the arrow and examined it closely, astonished at such a weapon; but this did not stop them from shooting vigorously at the ships. Our crews responded no less vigorously, so that in a short time a large number of Negroes were wounded. However, by the Grace of God, not one Christian was hit.

  “When they saw how many had been killed and wounded, all the canoes with one accord made for the stern of the small caravel, where a stiff fight followed, for her crew were few and ill-armed. Seeing this I made sail for the small ship and towed her between our two large ships, which continued to discharge our bombards and cross-bows. At this the Negroes drew off. We lashed our three ships together with chains, dropped anchor and then attempted to parley with the Negroes.

  “After much gesticulating and shouting by our interpreters one of the canoes returned within bow-shot. We asked them why they had attacked us since we were men of peace and traders, who had established friendly relations with the people of Senega and would now like to be on the same terms with them. Furthermore, we had come from a distant land and brought gifts for their ruler from the king of Portugal, who desired to be on terms of peace and friendship with them.

  “They replied that they had had news of our coming, and of our trade with the Negroes of Senega, who must be bad men if they were friendly to us. They were convinced that we Christians ate human flesh and bought Negroes only in order to eat them. Under no circumstances did they wish to be our friends, but would rather kill us all.

  “At this moment the wind freshened; and since they were so hostile we decided to sail straight at them and run them down. But before we could reach them they scattered in all directions, heading for the land. And thus ended our encounter with them.

  “We then discussed whether we should proceed further up the river, in the hope of finding more friendly people. But our sailors were unwilling to face any more dangers and wanted to return home. With one accord they began to complain, declaring that they would not consent to such a plan, and that what had been done was enough for that voyage. When we saw that they were all of one mind we gave way in order to avoid trouble, for they were pig-headed and obstinate men. And so the following day we left that place, shaping our course for Cape Verde and from there, in God’s name, for Spain.”

  Henry the Navigator died in 1460, but his expansionary policies were continued by other Portuguese rulers, notably King Joao II, “a very Christian prince and lord of great prudence.” One of his first acts was to order the building of a fortress-cum-trading post, known as El Mina and located near Axim—“the place where our men usually trafficked for gold.” (These quotations are from the sixteenth-century Portuguese historian, Joao de Barros.) As usual, the king’s stated purpose had little to do with making money; rather it was that “the bait offered by worldly goods might lead those people to receive our Faith.” Indeed, “the possibility of getting even one soul baptized into the Faith through the fortress outweighed all the inconveniences.” Nevertheless, “since the work was to God’s praise, He would see to it that his people made a profit.” As well as saving souls, other reasons for bui
lding the fort were to enforce the trading monopoly recently conferred by various popes, provide safe-keeping for the gold and slaves awaiting shipment, and intimidate the locals.

  The fort was largely prefabricated, the building materials—“hewed stone, tiles and wood”—being prepared beforehand in Portugal and then put on board a fleet of twelve ships that also carried “munitions and provisions for six hundred men, of whom one hundred were craftsmen and five hundred were soldiers. Diogo de Azambuja, a man very experienced in the art of war, was Captain-major.” They arrived on January 19, 1482, and a message was at once sent to the local ruler, Caramanca (perhaps a corruption of Kwamin Ansa, i.e. King Ansa), asking for a meeting. When Caramanca replied “expressing delight at his coming,” Azambuja landed “with all his people, dressed in their best clothes, but with concealed arms in case of need. He then took possession of a big tree on a small hill near the village, a place very suitable for a fortress; on this tree he raised a banner with the king’s arms, and at the foot of the hill an altar was set up at which the first mass in those parts of Ethiopia was said. [The term Ethiopia was often used to describe any region south of the Sahara.] This mass was heard by our men with copious tears of devotion and thanks to God for allowing them to praise and glorify Him in the midst of those idolaters.”

  After mass, Azambuja drew up his men in ranks to await Caramanca, who “arrived seated on a high chair and wearing a jerkin of brocade with a golden collar of precious stones.”