The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea. Vol. I

Henrique, and a recital of his manifold good deeds to all sorts and conditions of men and his mighty accomplishments. Azurara presents them to us as in a panorama, and his simpl...

In Chapter V we have an account of the early life of D. Henrique, of his prowess at the capture of Ceuta, and during its siege by the Moors, with his fruitless assault on Tangie...

Infant to send out his expeditions. They were shortly as follows. First and foremost, pure zeal for knowledge; secondly, commercial considerations; thirdly, his desire to ascert...

In the next Chapter (X) Baldaya passes one hundred and twenty leagues beyond Cape Bojador to the Rio d'Ouro, and a short way beyond; but failing to take any captives, as the Pri...

_i.e._, from 1437 to 1440, the voyages were interrupted by the affairs of the Kingdom, which required all the attention of D. Henrique. These affairs were the death of D. Duarte...

D. Henrique to obtain "a share of the treasures of Holy Church for the salvation of the souls of those who in the labours of this conquest should meet their end." The Pope, Euge...

scale, and the first that sprang from private enterprise--namely, that of Lançarote and his six caravels from Lagos. Azurara takes the opportunity to insert here a short but int...

his death near the Rio d'Ouro; while, in the next, Azurara refers the accident to the heavenly bodies, and draws a profitable lesson from it, which he divides into seven heads,...

furthest point hitherto discovered, and reached a place he named Palmar. Azurara confesses himself unable to give more details about this expedition, "because Nuno Tristam was a...

shortening sail, and how he was the first to penetrate so far, and take captives in those parts. He pushed on to Cape Verde, and, though he brought back but little spoil, he was...

similar to the one he had previously secured in the case of Guinea, to the effect (_inter alia_) that no one was to go to the Canaries, either for war or merchandise, without hi...

Chapters XCIV and XCV are devoted to the trafficking venture of the year 1447, the unhappy fate of the Scandinavian Vallarte, and an expedition to the fisheries off the Angra do...

nothing else than a continuation of the _Palmeirim de Inglaterra_ of Francisco de Moraes,[104] for it not only takes up the story where Moraes had left off, but expressly refers...

We are commonly taught by experience, that all well-doing requireth gratitude. And even though the benefactor doth not covet it for himself, yet he should desire it, that the re...

O thou Prince little less than divine! I beseech thy sacred virtues to bear with all patience the shortcomings of my too daring pen, that would attempt so lofty a subject as is...

Two reasons move me to speak in this chapter of the descent of this noble prince. First of all, because the long course of ages driveth out of the memory the very knowledge of p...

Meseemeth I should be writing overmuch if I were to recount fully all the particulars that some histories are accustomed to relate about those Princes to whom they addressed the...

Where could this chapter begin better than in speaking of that most glorious conquest of the great city of Ceuta, of which famous victory the heavens felt the glory and the eart...

Such were the virtues and habits of this great and glorious Prince, even as you have heard in the past few chapters, in which I have spoken as well as I was able, but certainly...

We imagine that we know a matter when we are acquainted with the doer of it and the end for which he did it. And since in former chapters we have set forth the Lord Infant as th...

So the Infant, moved by these reasons, which you have already heard, began to make ready his ships and his people, as the needs of the case required; but this much you may learn...

Now the Infant always received home again with great patience those whom he had sent out, as Captains of his ships, in search of that land, never upbraiding them with their fail...

"As you have found traces of men and camels", said the Infant to Baldaya, "it is evident that the inhabited region cannot be far off; or perchance they are people who cross with...

In the years that follow[P] we did not find anything noteworthy to record. True it is that there went to those parts two ships, each in its turn, but one turned back on account...

I think I can now take some sort of pleasure in the narrating of this history, because I find something wherewith to satisfy the desire of our Prince; the which desire was so mu...

For that the philosopher saith, that the beginning is two parts of the whole matter,[N59] we ought to give great praise to this noble youth, for this deed of his, undertaken wit...

I cannot behold the arrival of these ships, with the novelty of the gain of those slaves before the face of our Prince, without finding some delight in the same. For meseemeth t...

Although the language of those captives could not be understood by any of the other Moors who were in this kingdom, either as freemen or captives, it sufficed, for a beginning,...

As you know that naturally every prisoner desireth to be free, which desire is all the stronger in a man of higher reason or nobility whom fortune has condemned to live in subje...

So these matters went on increasing little by little, and people took courage to follow that route, some to serve, others to gain honour, others with the hope of profit: althoug...

Of a truth the condition of the people, as Livy saith, is such that men are always found to asperse great actions, especially at the beginning; and it appeareth to me that this...

The chief captain, as we have said, was Lançarote; the second was Gil Eannes, whom we have noticed as the first to pass the Cape of Bojador; besides these, there were there--Ste...

On the next day, which was Friday, they made ready their boats, since the caravels had to stay where they were, and put in them all the provisions they needed for two days only,...

Although the necessity of the night obliged them to spend it chiefly in sleeping, yet their wills were so bent upon this charge that their thoughts never left what lay before th...

Forasmuch as you see well that in councils (where many take part), there is always much talking, so in discussing that matter each one declared his mind; but at last Gil Eannes...

Then on board it was determined that next day they should start for Cape Branco. The which matter, as soon it was dawn, they put in execution, making sail for the said Cape, whe...

The caravels arrived at Lagos, whence they had set out, having excellent weather for their voyage, for fortune was not less gracious to them in the serenity of the weather than...

O, Thou heavenly Father--who with Thy powerful hand, without alteration of Thy divine essence, governest all the infinite company of Thy Holy City, and controllest all the revol...

Although the sorrow of those captives was for the present very great, especially after the partition was finished and each one took his own share aside (while some sold their ca...

It would be an ugly thing in prosecuting our history, if we did not write the misfortunes of our people, as well as their successes; for Tully[N83] saith in his books, that amon...

In the event recorded in the last chapter there seemeth to me a great mystery contained, for I know not whether it came about from the spirit of covetousness or from the wish to...

In that year the Infant bade Antam Gonçalvez, that noble knight of whom we have already spoken, to sail in one caravel and Gomez Pirez, master of the Royal Galley in another: an...

For a better understanding of the matter that now happened, we will here tell how Nuno Tristam, of whom we have already spoken, first saw the land of the Negroes. And it was so,...

There was in Lisbon a noble squire, who had been a servant of the King Don John (the grandfather of the king Don Affonso, and father of this virtuous prince),[BG] who was called...

And his service was of especial merit, and is worthy of great remembrance. For, as often as I consider it, I marvel much at the same. And what shall I say of a single man, who h...

"Just as much", said Antam Gonçalvez, "as the beginning of our voyage was troubled, so much I hope that our ending will be the better; trusting in that God who by His mercy hath...

John Fernandez had now been seven months dwelling in that country,[N98] and it seemeth clear, according to reason, that at the time Antam Gonçalvez left him he must have settled...

If I marvelled before at the endurance of John Fernandez (to wit, his living in that land and enduring what I have said), little less do I marvel at the affection which those wh...

"Let us return", said Antam Gonçalvez, "to Cape Branco, for I have heard say that on the side opposite the sunset there is a village, in which we could find some people of whom...

As the town of Lisbon is the most noble in the Kingdom of Portugal, so likewise its inhabitants (if we reckon the most for all) are the noblest and have the largest properties....

Diego Gil was not slothful in returning and telling his news to the others, and they agreed that it was best to wait there for the morning; for, in the island (as they said), by...

We can well understand, from the hap of these men, that the greater part of the actions achieved in this world are more subject to fortune than to reason. And what man in his ri...

Great doubts were spread in the counsel of our men by the caution and preparedness that they perceived in the Moors of that land; and they now saw it would be necessary to seek...

Endnotes pertaining to volume 1 have been added for the convenience of the reader; originally, they were only included in volume 2. An 'N' was added to endnote anchors (e.g. [N1...