Unknown Seas: The Portuguese Captains and the Passage to India

by Ronald Watkins

  Paulo closed on some dugouts and seized three of them, along with four black oarsmen. One of the boats was found to bear luxurious goods as well as ‘books of the Law’. Disappointingly, the Christians were not found. Vasco ordered the fine cloth, perfume and baskets that had been seized to be distributed among his officers, although he retained a Koran to present to Manuel on his return.201

  The next day casks were filled with water without difficulty as those remaining in the village hid in their houses. Vasco ordered bombards to be fired at random into the town as his boats headed back to their ships. On Tuesday, with the wind moderately favourable, the ships once again weighed anchor and made their way north.

  A conversation Vasco had with a Muslim pilot was to prove prophetic. Vasco repeatedly assured the man that he had come in peace. The pilot slowly shook his head. ‘You will have to conquer’, he said.

  14

  ‘Here is the land’

  The wind was uncertain and by 31 March the ships had moved up the coast only some 28 leagues. Relations with the one Muslim pilot were not good, and both sides had come to consider him to be a captive. In the Portuguese view he had made it clear enough that he intended to jump ship at the first opportunity. Accounts are not clear, but somehow in all the commotion Vasco had managed to get the other pilot back aboard.

  It is unlikely the sultan at Mozambique Island would have allowed Christians to acquire local pilots who would actually perform their duties. It is all but certain these men intended to escape at the earliest opportunity or, failing that, to thwart the Christian interlopers whenever possible. The pilots had been given as a means to acquire payment and to get the Portuguese out of their harbour. Vasco understood what was afoot.

  Soon the ships came upon islands which one pilot incorrectly identified as being the mainland. There were many such islands in the area and the waters about them were clearly treacherous. When Vasco discovered the island was not the mainland, he ordered the pilot to be flogged for placing them in such peril, and even named the largest nearby isle the Island of the Flogged One.

  It was probably at this point that the pilot was persuaded to reveal the Arabs’true intentions when the ships had been anchored near the village. He told them that once ‘they learned that we were Christians they arranged to seize and kill us by treachery. The pilot . . . revealed to us all they intended to do, if they were able.’202 The Portuguese had escaped a trap, but their education was proceeding at a rapid pace.

  The powerful contrary current of the Mozambique Channel was proving very difficult for the ships to overcome. It required a strong, favourable wind, which came only infrequently and so far had not been of sufficient duration to allow them to escape the current. Every time the ships weighed anchor they were as likely to be pushed south as to make any headway north. Finally the wind changed.

  On 4 April, Vasco spotted a large land mass with two islands close by, surrounded by shoals. Claiming to recognize this place, the two pilots assured the Portuguese that a short distance back the way they had just come was an island inhabited by Christians. Following their experience at Mozambique Island this was welcome news, if true. It is quite likely, of course, that the pilots simply wished not to be carried any farther away from their native port.

  Throughout the day the three ships attempted to reach this island without success ‘for the wind was too strong for us’. Vasco finally ordered the ships to resume their voyage north to the port of Mombasa, which had also been reported as being occupied by Christians. By the time the ships gave way and set their new course it was already late in the day and the wind was high. Just as the sun set the large island of Zanzibar was spotted to their immediate north. The pilots told Vasco that there were two towns on it, one Muslim, the other Christian.

  Conditions forced the ships to remain out to sea for the night and they were carried past Zanzibar as well as the port of Kilwa on the mainland. Then, two hours before daylight, the São Rafael ran aground on a shoal. The crew shouted a warning to the other vessels, which immediately dropped anchor. Daylight and low tide revealed the São Rafael to be stranded ‘high and dry’. Boats were lowered, anchors laid out, and the men made preparations for the rising tide and the opportunity to float the ship free.

  While they were busy with this, two small coastal ships came into sight and the Portugese were able to trade for oranges ‘better than those of Portugal’. Two of the Muslims aboard these ships agreed to remain with them for the voyage to Mombasa, almost certainly to serve as local pilots, given that Vasco had every reason not to trust either of the pair he had. With high tide the São Rafael floated clear amid triumphant shouts from the crews.203

  The ships sailed along the coastline, spotting more islands, and on Saturday 7 April arrived with high expectations at Mombasa, the finest port on the east Africa coast. They had been told more on their way here by the pilots and been led to believe that Mombasa possessed a large Christian community that lived independently amid the Muslims in peace and prosperity. The pilots assured the Portuguese that they would be greeted with great honour upon their arrival and taken to reside within the homes of the Christians. Initially Vasco and his men were delighted to receive the news, especially as so many of his crew remained stricken with scurvy.

  They were nearly at the equator and the air was thick with humidity. The view of the well-established, bustling port and in particular of the city must have proved nostalgic for the Portuguese, weary and so far from home.

  Its whitewashed stone houses had windows and terraces like those of the [Iberian] Peninsula –and it was so beautiful that our men felt as though they were entering some part of this kingdom [Portugal]. And although everyone was enamoured of the vista, Vasco da Gama would not permit the pilot to take the vessels inside as he desired, for he was already suspicious of him and anchored outside.204

  Word of events on Mozambique Island had arrived ahead of the newcomers, for no sooner did they appear outside the port than a dhow with several Arabs sailed to them. The ships within the port itself were quickly decked out with flags and the Arabs bearing down on them could be seen to be well dressed.

  Not to be outdone, and to make a point, Vasco ordered all of the sick to be taken below and the healthy to don their armour and be fully armed and visible. The officers dressed in their very best while colourful flags were unfurled from the ships, snapping in the breeze. The smiling Arabs climbed up the ladder to the deck of the São Gabriel, where they were greeted by the Captain-Major and his well-dressed but heavily armed men. Using one of Vasco’s Arab speakers as interpreter, the Arabs asked from where these ships had come, who Vasco was and what he wanted. Vasco replied that he desired to obtain fresh provisions.

  The Portuguese had a long history of regular dealings with the Moors, both within their own country and in north Africa, and this situation was one very familiar to them. Their Arab visitors took in the scene, then allowed that obtaining supplies would not be a problem and made their departure amid extravagant assurances of friendship and the promise to fulfil their every need. Vasco, however, ordered a well-armed, night-long guard on each ship and remained on alert himself.

  Towards midnight a vessel carrying 100 men armed with cutlasses and bucklers drifted silently up to the São Gabriel. Without warning the men attempted to swarm over the side of the ship, but only a handful were able to get past the guard. These were the leaders, whom Vasco ordered to be allowed through and on to the deck as the attack broke off. They remained on board a time as temporary hostages before being permitted to leave in peace.205 The Portuguese concluded the Arabs had been attempting a quick capture of one of the ships as well as a test of their defences. Although there had been much manhandling and shouting, Vasco had managed the affair without the shedding of blood. The last thing he wanted was a pitched battle.

  The next day was Palm Sunday and the local sultan sent out eight men, two of whom were ‘almost white’ and said they were Christians, though the Portuguese doubted their c
laim. They brought with them a sheep and a large supply of oranges, lemons and sugarcane, along with a ring that they presented as the sultan’s pledge of safety. Vasco was assured that if he would only enter the port with his ships everything he required would be supplied. Vasco gave the emissaries a string of coral as a gift for the sultan and asked them to inform him that his ships would enter the harbour the next day.

  Vasco sent two of the delgradados ashore with these ‘Christians’ to assure the sultan of his desire for peace and friendship. The pair were followed by a great curious crowd as they were led to the palace. There they passed through four doors, each of which was guarded by an imposing doorman with a drawn cutlass.

  Inside, the men were well received by the sultan personally, who gave orders for them to be shown around the city. During the tour the Portuguese stopped at the house of two Christian merchants who showed them a sketch of the Holy Ghost, which they claimed to worship. As they left to return to their ships the Portuguese were presented with samples of cloves, pepper and corn, with the message that they could trade for these.206

  The account of the delgradados was negative in many regards. They reported seeing ‘many prisoners walking about . . . in irons, and these, it seemed to us, must have been Christians, because the Christians in this land are at war with the Moors’. Even the Christian merchants they had seen were oppressed by the local king.207 The Roteiro reports that they were only in residence temporarily and were not ‘allowed to do anything except by the order of the Moorish King’.

  This report and events cast serious doubts on any claim of friendship. Although it was customary to enter a port formally, strictly speaking there was no reason the Portuguese ships could not be resupplied where they now lay at anchor. Vasco himself had not gone ashore as he had done previously, and he had not risked his regular crew in making this first contact. He was doing nothing to aggravate the situation but was prepared for violence. Tension aboard the Portuguese ships was high and they stood at a high state of readiness.

  The next morning Arab boats swarmed about the Portuguese ships as they prepared to enter the harbour. Certain Arabs were allowed to come aboard, probably to assist in piloting the crowded port waters. Vasco moved off but before long his ship collided with the vessel following it astern, so he quickly dropped anchor, as did the other ship. When the Muslims on board saw that the Portuguese were not sailing into the harbour they hurriedly scrambled aboard one of their boats which was tethered to the rear of the São Gabriel. The two pilots from Mozambique Island exchanged glances and in the confusion leaped into the water, where they were quickly picked up and taken away.

  It is not clear whether Vasco was serious about entering the harbour or simply testing the Arabs’reactions, but the day’s events had further roused his suspicions. That night he ordered two of the four blacks they had taken at Mozambique Island to be brought before him. The men spoke Arabic and had been in communication with the Arabs who had been allowed aboard the São Gabriel. As the men were bound, Vasco gave instructions for oil and resin to be slowly brought to the boil and through an interpreter explained that he wanted to know what the Muslims had in store for his ships. The men protested they knew nothing.

  When the oil was ready it was slowly dripped on to the men’s exposed skin. Before long they were eager to speak. They said that orders had been given to lure the Portuguese into the port, where they would be captured. This was in revenge for what had taken place at Mozambique Island.208

  Not yet satisfied he knew the full story, Vasco ordered more boiling oil to be dripped on to the men, but they had nothing more to give. One of the pair was able to tear himself free and leaped into the water, his hands still bound. The other also jumped into the sea the next morning. What became of them is not known; it is just possible that they were recovered by Arabs in the small boats that shadowed the Portuguese ships.

  Vasco was in a difficult situation. The only positive development was that, because of the fresh fruit his crew had received, most of the sick were on their way to recovery. Otherwise there was little from which to derive satisfaction. He was at anchor outside a major Muslim port and under threat of attack. He had not yet been able to take on an adequate supply of water, and in the heat the need was becoming acute.

  Although the Portuguese had entered the area of Arab influence where trade with India was routine, Vasco’s small fleet was still a long way from their objective. It had been some weeks since his ships had last been serviced. He knew that in the warm equatorial waters of the Indian Ocean his hulls were slowly disintegrating beneath his feet. He required a safe harbour and he needed friends. Finally, he had lost his local pilots and, if he was to succeed, he had to replace them with trustworthy ones.

  That night, at about midnight, two small boats crept up on the Portuguese ships. Arabs slipped into the dark water and swam silently to Paulo’s ship, the São Rafael. Others made their way stealthily to Coelho’s smaller São Miguel. The watch heard splashing but thought at first it was a school of tuna. At the São Miguel the swimmers were quietly hacking away on the ship’s anchor cables. Others crept up the sides of the ship and began cutting away the rigging of the mizen-mast.

  At last the watch realized they were under attack and sounded the alarm. The Arabs on board dived into the water and swam to their boats, where they were joined by those working on the cables. Once aboard, they quickly made their way back to shore. The Roteiro records that ‘these and other wicked tricks were practised upon us by these dogs, but our Lord did not allow them to succeed, because they were unbelievers.’209

  Vasco remained just outside the port for another two days as his crew continued to recover its strength but it was clear there would be no satisfactory resolution of differences at Mombasa. The Portuguese were simply in hostile waters and were in no position to prevail by force of arms. There was nothing to do but set sail, so on the morning of 13 April they left on a light breeze which carried them north.

  With an eye to the future Vasco had insinuated on to Mozambique Island one of the delgradados to serve as a sort of propagandist. His name was John Machado and he had been imprisoned in Lisbon for killing ‘another gentleman’on the promenade in Lisbon in a fight over a woman. He spoke Arabic and was a man ‘of good presence and well instructed’. In time he was to persuade the sultan there that it was in his best interest to be friends with the Portuguese, since it was a powerful nation with many great ships. Later Machado was sent north by the sultan to Mombasa, where he successfully conveyed the same message. Eventually Machado established himself in Gôa, where he became an honoured member of the Portuguese community.210

  After sailing a short distance from Mombasa, presumably out of sight of the city and its boats, Vasco ordered the three ships to lay anchor. Without a pilot they could only proceed at their peril. If they could not hire the services of a reliable pilot, there were others ways. At dawn the following day two boats were spotted not far away, making their way south in the open sea. Vasco gave orders for the vessels to be captured. The ships weighed anchor and filled their masts with canvas. The chase lasted for most of the day until finally they succeeded in capturing one of the ships. The crew initially leaped overboard, but were all retrieved from the water.

  The boat proved to be an impressive catch. It carried seventeen men, a quantity of gold and silver and ‘an abundance of maize and other provisions’. There was a young woman who told them she was the wife of one of the aged Moors on board.211

  This was nothing less than an act of piracy, one identical to that practised off the coast of north Africa by Christian against Moor, and Moor against Christian. It was also very common in these waters. Muslim preyed on Hindu as well as on other Muslims, and vice versa. From his captives Vasco learned that the next significant port was only a short distance away. Even better, it was in regular direct trade with ports in India, and it was probable that ships from India would be at anchor in its harbour.

  Vasco set sail immediately and at
sunset that same day, Saturday 14 April, his ships dropped anchor at the port of Malindi. Word of the Portuguese had again preceded their arrival, not just of what had transpired at Mombasa and Mozambique Island, but also that they had seized a Muslim ship with its crew and goods. This time no boats came out to greet them. The three ships sat at anchor facing the port.

  The following description of the city was made just a few years later by a Portuguese observer:

  Malindi . . . is a fair town on the mainland . . . [It] has many fair stone and mortar houses of many storeys, with great plenty of windows and flat roofs after our fashion. The place is well laid out in streets. The folk are both black and white; they go naked, covering only their private parts with cotton and silk cloths. Others of them wear cloths folded like cloaks and waistbands, and turbans of many rich stuffs on their heads.

  They are great barterers, and deal in cloth, gold, ivory and divers other wares . . . and to their haven come every year many ships and cargoes . . . of gold, ivory and wax . . . There is great plenty of food in this city and . . . abundance of fruit, gardens and orchards. Here are plenty of fat-tailed [Ethiopian] sheep, cows and other cattle, and great store of oranges, also of hens.212

  The following day was Easter Sunday. Vasco took the elderly Muslim he had seized to one side and asked him to convey a message to the local ruler on his behalf. On Monday the man was placed on a sandbar and a short time later a boat was seen coming from the city to recover him. The king met with the man and received the message that the Portuguese had come in peace and that they desired to be friends. Later that day the messenger returned to Vasco’s ship accompanied by a king’s officer and a sharif, along with three sheep as a gift and word that he wished to receive him. Further, the ruler said he would provide the Portuguese with the provisions they wanted and, most importantly, the pilots they needed.213