being at latitude 34º 22'S. A study of maps of this period
also reveals
that certain places were often referred to by more than one name. Was it a strategy of the early Portuguese cartographers to publish an amount of
disinformation that would help blanket their true findings, and spread confusion
and mystery to those who would spy on them?
Present day Luderitz
has been referred to as: Golfo de Santo Antonio, Angra da Voltas, Angra dos
Ilheus, Angra da Sao Christavão, Angra Pequena. Some of these names are also
duplicates of names given to other locations, a good example of which is
Angra das Voltas (bay of Tacks), a bay in which Bartholomew Diaz sheltered
after meeting strong head winds. He stayed at anchor in this bay for 5 days,
and that it was here that the two negresses were put ashore. But, this could be
challenged. The reasoning
being that Luderitz and its relative
distant surroundings are totally barren and waterless. In those times it would have been quite an uninviting place.
The bays would have been useful to pull into for very temporary shelter, but
there would be no other reason for a ship on a voyage of exploration the
stay there a day longer than needs demanded. Further south the banks of the Orange
River and its outlet to the sea are verdant and
would have been abundant with a great variety of game and other animals. It
would have been the first suitable location, south of Angola for the fleet to anchor
and re-supply with fresh water and meat. Plus Luderitz lays at latitude
26º 38'S. The João de Barros chronicle of the
expedition tells us that the bay at Angra das Voltas was recorded as being 29ºS.
The mouth of the present day Orange River lays at approximate
latitude 28º 55'S. The section of map shown above left is taken from the
João Teixeira Albernas II Atlas
published in 1680 clearly shows
Angra Pequena as being north of Angra Das Voltas which is
indicated as being the mouth of a river.
04 Dec 1487:
Terra da Santa Barbera: Bartholomew Diaz arrived at the mouth of a
dry river where a thick forest of reeds indicated that there must be water in
the vicinity. Going ashore they discovered a lagoon which though
the water was brackish could be drunk. He noted that the place was abundant with
wild life, and is possible this was the mouth of the Swakop River
Praia das Sardinhas: The sea was
abundant with fish and the next bay to be named was most probably
Walvis
Bay
08 Dec 1487: Golfo
da Santa Maria das Concepcoes: Conception Bay
23 Dec 1487: Golfo
da Santa Vitoria: This bay was later renamed Hottentots Bay
26 Dec 1487: Golfo da Santa Estavao: This bay was later renamed Elizabeth Bay
After a stay of five day at
Angra das Voltas, Bartholomew Diaz
with his two caravels set a course that took them further out into the South
Atlantic. They would have seen the Olifants River in Present Day Namaqualand
and it is likely that they named this River Infanta where strong head winds caused them to reef the mainsails at half
mast. For thirteen days they beat against the wind, and when it abated they
took a course east where they believed they would find land. But, after some days
of seeing just open sea they turned north to search for land and on 3
February 1488 saw for the first time the east coast of Africa at Cape Vacca.
They briefly rested in a bay they
named Bahia dos Vaqueiros, near to Mossel Bay.
Dias
followed the coastline until reaching a small island at 33º 45'S where the
mariners went ashore and on the instruction Bartomoleu Dias
erected a Padrao. They named the island Ilheo da Cruz, now known as Kwaaihoek.
The crew were suffering both mentally and
physically from the ordeal
of the voyage and the rounding of the Cape. Their provisions were getting
low and they were a long way from the supply ship. A shore-side meeting was held
at which Dias listened to their anxieties. Opinions were that they had achieved the expedition's object, that
of rounding Southern Africa, and that they should turn back and head for
home. Batholomew Diaz requested a further few short days of
exploration of the coastline before turning back to which the men agreed and
and signed a resolution to that
effect. They then sailed along the coastline reaching the mouth of a river
which they named Infanta (north-east of the Great Fish River) in respect of the João Infante,
who commended the second vessel the Sao Pantaleão.
It was here that the fleet about turned and began the long journey home.
The Cape of Storms?
The ships now sailed along a coastline that they
hadn't seen before, having rounded the Cape without having had sight of it. When
they did arrive at the Cape of Good Hope they logged the latitude as being
latitude 34º 22'S on 6 June 1488. They found a sheltered bay and anchored and the crew went ashore where they erected a Padrao at a place they named São
Filipe, of where the present day location is unknown and to date no trace of
a Padrao has been found. Barros informs us that Dias named it the Cape of
Storms and that after the return of the expedition to Portugal that King
Jaoa II renamed it the Cape of Good Hope. However, Duarte Pachero Pereira
wrote that he was present at the meeting in Lisbon in December 1488
which was presided over by King Jaoa during which Bartholomew Diaz submitted
his detailed report of the voyage and that it was Diaz who first referred to
the Cabo de Boa Esperanca (Cape of Good Hope). The latter information now
being the accepted.
24 July 1488 the ships anchored in a bay he named
Angra da Sao Cristavao (Luderitz). It was here, near to a rocky
outcrop, now known as Diaz Point that he erected the last of the
three Padroes. The sheltered bay was later renamed Angra-Pequena and
finally Luderitz.
July 1488 Some nine months after
leaving the supply vessel Bartholomeu Dias arrived back at the
location,
to find only three survivors. Their crew mates having been murdered by
the local natives who had raided the supply ship camp. One of the men Fernão Coloça,
a secretary, was in such poor condition that he died on seeing his comrades arrival.
The small supply vessel was also in poor condition. It's hull suffering from
shipworm and encrusted with barnacles. Bartolomeu Dias ordered it to be
burned. However, the two remaining ships were able to take on good stocks of
provisions needed.
Barros account informs us that Diaz stopped on
Principe Island, off the coast of now Equatorial Guinea, where they found
the survivors of another Portuguese voyage of exploration commanded by
Duarte Pacheco Pereira, also a gentleman of the King's household. Their
objective had been to explore some of the rivers and establish trade. The
commander was found to be very sick and their ship had been lost. Pacheco
and the surviving crew returned to Portugal with Diaz.
December 1488 after 16 months and 17 days from the initial
departure Bartholomew Diaz
arrived back in Lisbon.
coastlines, of the trading ports, of the safe areas and those of danger. He
learned of the Arab slave trade and of the kingdom of the African Emperor Monomotapa and the trade with gold. It was while on his homeward bound
journey and having arrived in Cairo that he was met by Portuguese agents who
told him that King John wished him to guide two further agents to Hormuz.
Pedro de Covilhã dispatched his findings in writings to the King and
then took the two agents to Hormuz. From there he sailed west to Ethiopia
where he carried on his explorations, but became so popular that the local
Monarch would not allow him to leave. He settled there and later in 1520
when a Portuguese mission arrived they found Pedro Covilhã , an eldlery man satisfied
to stay and enjoy life where he was.
The Missing 14º of Latitude: It is
thought that it the report of Pedro Covhilã was delivered to King João II
sometime in 1491, and by piecing together the discoveries of both Batholomew
Diaz who had achieved latitude 32º S by sailing northwards along the east
coast of Africa, and Pedro Covilhã who reached latitude 18ºS by sailing in a
southerly direction along the east coast of Africa, there only remained a
difference of 14º degrees of latitude to be explored and charted. Sailing on a south to north course, this
represents a distance of about 287 leagues (1700km). The Portuguese had
proven the route to India and the east via the Cape was viable and began
planning their next great voyage that would only be ready by 1497 and would
be commanded by Vasco da Gama.
Notes:
Barros wrote that the two negroes were
to be returned to the place they were taken from being the Bay of Tigres,
Angola. Of the four negresses. one was left at a place they named Angra do Ilheos,
a bay possibly in the Luderitz district as there are several islands along
this stretch of coastline. A second negress was put ashore at Angra das Voltas. The
third one died, and the fourth was left in a bay at the Islets of Santa Cruz
(St Croix).
The location at which the supply vessel was
left is unknown and still debatable. But, it is probable that it was at Baia
dos Tigres in southern Angola. The distance of this bay from Lisbon, and
then to Ilheo da Cruz and back are about the same. Therefore this bay is the
half way point of the total voyage travelled. The crew who asked Diaz at Ilheo da
Cruz to turn back would have known this at the time. The total voyage time
was some 18 months, of which the fleet was nine months away from the supply
vessel.
Bartholomew Diaz and other
voyages along the coast of Namibia
