Description

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to encounter Mozambique, when its coastal areas were visited in the early months of 1498 by the legendary navigator-explorer Vasco Da Gama, while he was en route to India.  Portugal maintained a fixed presence in Mozambique from 1505 onwards, although for centuries its activities were largely confined to the littoral regions.  The interior of Mozambique was, for the most part, rugged, prone to tropical diseases and inhabited by powerful and culturally sophisticated indigenous nations that often did not take kindly to outsiders.  Moreover, Arab traders possessed a monopoly on many sectors of the interior trade and discouraged the Portuguese from meddling in what they saw as their business.

 

There was one notable exception to the prevailing littoral pattern of Portuguese settlement.  The Zambézia region comprised the lower course of the Zambezi, Southern Africa’s greatest river (which is 2,574 km long), as well as the coasts adjacent to its mouth.  The main regional centre was the city of Quelimane, which was established by the Portuguese in 1544 as a trading centre, on the estuary of Rio dos Bons Sinais (River of Good Omens), then a deltaic channel of the Zambezi.  The Zambezi River was navigable for shallow draft vessels for 480 km up for the sea, to Tete, which was home to a Portuguese trading base since 1531.

 

During the 16^th century, Portugal inaugurated the prazos (prazo da coroa) land settlement system, by which the Portuguese crown granted large estates along the course the lover Zambezi River to Portuguese settlers (often retired military men who served in Africa or India).  The settlers were expected to cultivate the land, create infrastructure and to form local militias, which along with the Portuguese trading bases, would anchor Zambézia as Portuguese sovereign territory.  On paper, this design seemed sensible, as the lower Zambezi valley was quite fertile and, if farmed skilfully, could yield good crops, while the local trading systems and infrastructure were well developed by African standards.

 

Dozens of prazos were duly established and the pale of Portuguese settlement soon extended about 900 km up the Zambezi as far as Zumbo (the westmost extremity of today’s Mozambique) {the second map in the present work brilliantly showcase the prazos zone}.  A curious feature of the prazos system was the “three lives” code that specifically allowed women to inherit and operate the estates.

 

However, the Portuguese presence in Zambézia was 900 km wide and a centimetre deep, as the prazos system suffered from all kinds of problems.  Many of the prazeros proved inept farmers and estate managers, while they often quarrelled amongst themselves, Portuguese traders, as well as indigenous chiefs, so undermining the stability and the crown’s sovereignty over the region.  While the prazos system was not a complete failure (there were some successful estates run by responsible prazeros), it always fell well short of what officials and Lisbon and Goa envisioned and it defied all attempt to be reformed.

 

Of great importance, the mighty Maravi Kingdom (c. 1480-1891), which controlled much of the interior of northern Mozambique, as well as almost all modern Malawi and parts of western Zambia, was weary of the Portuguese, and so prevented the prazeros and European traders from developing the north bank of the Zambezi above its delta.

 

Beyond Zumbo, were vast, storied lands, home to famed and wealthy tribes who could potentially provide vast wealth to Portugal, although this bonanza always remained elusive.  First, what is today Zimbabwe represented the former domains of the Kingdom of Great Zimbabwe (c. 1220–1450), southern Africa’s greatest-ever indigenous empire, and its successor state, the Kingdom of Mutapa (Portuguese: Monomotapa) (1430-1760).  In the late 18^th and 19^th centuries, while no longer the centre of great empires, the local chiefs were still powerful and controlled access to slaves, gold, ivory and copper, upon which both the Portuguese and Arabs traders sought to capitalize.  Even in modern times, Monomotapa held a certain mystique that captivated the Portuguese mind.

 

Second, in the hinterland to the northwest of Zumbo, in what is today Zambia, was the Kazembe Kingdom, which had risen in the mid-18^th century, and during the first half of the 1800s was a major focus of Portuguese exploration and diplomatic endeavours.

 

Traditionally, Portugal pursued what could be called a “lazy” trade in Mozambique, in that its entities tended to wait for indigenous or Arab traders to bring goods to their outposts along the coasts and in the lower Zambezi, such that they seldom venturing into the hinterland to acquire materials themselves.  As such, the Portuguese tended to pay higher prices that they might otherwise, leaving much profit for African and Arabs traders, although this arrangement still proved adequate, as the Portuguese still made good profits.  Historically, the mainstay of Portuguese commerce in Mozambique was the slave trade, followed by ivory, gold, copper, copal gum, saltpetre, etc.  In return for these goods, the Portuguese would often trade Indian textiles (brought from Goa), which were massively valued, especially in the deep interior of Africa.

 

The era during and after the Napoleonic Wars was turbulent and traumatic for Portugal, as the country lost is prime colony, Brazil, in 1822, while its metropolitan was variously invaded, liberated and then gripped by civil unrest and warfare until 1834.  In the wake of this chaos, Portuguese administrators and commercial interests decided that their “lazy” trade in Mozambique had to give way to bold action.  It was universally recognized that Mozambique possessed vast economic potential, but that this had scarcely been realized, as this bounty could only be unlocked by hard work and heavy investment.  As such, the Portuguese began to mount frequent expeditions into the near interior and to gradually improve infrastructure, so increasing its footprint.

 

A prime focus of the Portuguese designs in Mozambique was in Zambézia.  While attempt to meaningfully reform the prazos system failed, Portuguese soldiers and officials attempted (with some success) to strengthen Portugal’s control over the Zumbo-Quelimane corridor.  Meanwhile, numerous diplomatic and commercial expeditions were sent into what is today Zimbabwe and Zambia to gain access to resources there.  While these efforts met with mixed success, as the local chefs were weary of the Portuguese overtures, small-scale mining and trading activities there greatly increased.

 

Another key factor that must always be remembered was that since the Napoleonic Wars, Britain had been placing ever greater pressure on Portugal to wind down its historically massive involvement in the international slave trade.  By the early 1840s, exporting slaves from Mozambique was illegal, and while a black market persisted, Portuguese slave traders were under great pressure.  While the domestic slave trade continued (slavery would not be abolished in Mozambique until it was phased out between 1869 and 1879), and Tete remained for many years a thriving slave mart, the Portuguese knew that the future of the colony’s economy lay in natural resources and agriculture, and not in the ignoble industry.  This reality fueled the need to explore and develop the interior regions.

 

Portugal continued to intensify its activities in the in the Zambezi basin upon the onset of the great period of the European exploration of the interior of Africa, when the corridor was a major focus for exploring expeditions.  Notably, from 1854 to 1856, Livingstone was the first European to cross southern Africa, from Luanda to Quelimane (whereupon the ardent Abolitionist was horrified by the continued vibrance of the slave market at Tete).  The Portuguese operations in Zambézia would prove just enough to save most of region from being annexed by Britain in 1891, as Mozambique was able to retain the stretch of the Zambezi form Zumbo downwards (while Britain gained all ‘Rhodesia’, being Zimbabwe and Zambia, plus Malawi).

 

The Present Manuscript in Focus

 

This exquisite original manuscript is a firsthand Portuguese account of a voyage undertaken during the early 1840s up the Zambezi River from Quelimane to Zumbo and the borderlands of what is today Zimbabwe and Zambia.  While the author is anonymous, he was clearly somebody with a keen interest and specialized knowledge of commercial affairs, perhaps a merchant, or a colonial official, who was tasked with assessing the prospects of reinvigorating trade in Zambézia during a critical transitional period in Portuguese and Mozambican history.

 

The text of the work is divided into four parts, with the first three being narratives of a journey up the Zambezi River from Qulimane to Zumbo, being divided into three distinct geographic segments, plus, coverage of the some of the areas beyond (in modern Zimbabwe, Zambia, and down in Manica).  These sections are: “Jornada da Villa de Quilimane para Sena”; “Jornada de Sena para Tette”; and “Jornada de Tette para Zumbo, e Sertões”.  The fourth section, while untitled, is a [General Commentary on Commercial Affairs] in the region.

 

The text is followed by two unusually beautiful original manuscript maps, the first showcasing the town of Quelimane, while the second depicts all Zambézia, from Zumbo down to the sea, highlighting the zone of the prazos, while embellished with wonderful images of local animals.

 

The text is not dated, nor is the place of its production indicated.  However, due to its content and style it was more than likely made in 1842 (the last date mentioned in the text) or shortly thereafter.  It was likely drafted in Mozambique or may have been composed by the author from his from rough notes while aboard a ship, or in places such as Goa or Lisbon.

 

All such original manuscript accounts of endeavours in the interior of Africa, especially pre-dating the great period of the inland exploration of the continent (1850s to 1880s), are exceptionally unusual and historically important, as relatively few survive, and hardly ever appear on the market.

 

The present work is of extraordinary quality, with the text featuring intriguing intelligence about a key area at a pivotal time, while the maps are of great artistic virtue and documentary merit.  The manuscript’s refined form suggests that it was made for presentation purposes, perhaps given by the author to some Portuguese luminary who may have sponsored his trip.

The manuscript is anonymous, although the author was clearly someone who possessed an insider’s knowledge of the contemporary trade in the region and the history of
Portuguese involvement in Zambézia, as well as being a skilled draftsman (as evidenced by the maps).  He was likely a merchant or crown official, perhaps with a background in military engineering (not an uncommon resume for the time).

A later annotation on the on the front endpaper of the manuscript suggests that it was authored by the senior Portuguese colonial official and history and travel writer, Cláudio Lagrange Monteiro de Barbuda (1803-1845).  However, we doubt this to be the case.  Monteiro de Barbuda was a military engineer who rose up to serve as the General Secretary of Goa (essentially the COO of Portuguese India) from 1839 to 1843,  He was the author of important works, such as account, Huma Viagem de Duas Mil Legoas… (Nova-Goa: Na Imprensa Nacional, 1848) and the history work, Instruccoes com que El-Rei D. Jose I. mandou passar ao estado da India o governador, e capitao general, e o arcebispo primaz do Oriente, no anno de 1774 (Pangim: Typographia nacional, 1841).  While Monteiro de Barbuda would have had a great interest in trade in Mozambique, in his capacity as one of Goa’s leaders, there is no evidence that he ever spent a meaningful amount of time in Mozambique.  It is, however, possible that Monteiro de Barbuda was the person to whom the manuscript was presented to or was otherwise an early owner of the book.

Importantly, the manuscript has a stellar provenance, coming from the library of Camilo Castelo Branco (1825 – 1890), the legendary Portuguese writer and bibliophile, who wrote over 260 books (mainly novels, plays and essays).  Castelo Branco was Portugal’s greatest Romanticist writer, and the leading literary figure in his country along with his rival, the realist Eça de Queiroz.  Castelo Branco was avid and very skilled collector of fine books and manuscripts on variety of subjects.  Much of his library, including the present manuscript, was sold at a public auction in Lisbon in 1883-4, overseen by the Casa Editora de Mattos Moreira & Cardosos (See ‘Catálogo Da Preciosa Livraria Do eminente escriptor Camillo Castello Branco… todos estes livros foram vendidos desde 1883 and 1884’, Lot 1879 [Whereupon the work was described as the manuscript: “Jornada da Villa de Quilimane para Sena, Com un Plano do Porto. – Inedita.”).

 

Turning to the text of the manuscript:

 

[Part 1] “Jornada da Villa de Quilimane para Sena” (pp. 1-2):

 

The distance from Quelimane to Sena is “60 leagues” [a league is roughly three miles, or 4.83 km, so 60 leagues is around 290 km], and transport is made by travelling “up the Zambezi River in boats, which go light and unloaded” with the trip taking “seven to nine days”, although the ease of the trip depended greatly upon the seasonal water level.

 

“The [Zambezi] river is three-quarters of a league wide at its greatest, and at its smallest, it makes several turns and detours, which greatly lengthens the transit”.  It is noted that “the entire left [southern] bank belongs to the Portuguese Crown and is divided into vast prazos, which some of the residents have [their land] by virtue of three lives [the female inheritance system]”.  There are stops for the boats along the way, “among them, the so-called Chupanga stands out due to its situation and comforts, which it offers, and is therefore a resort sought after by all vessels, which go up and down the river.”  The territory north of the Zambezi “is the land of the Maravi peoples”.

 

The “Villa de Sena, despite being poor and unpopulated, offers the traveller the means to unwind and take a breather, to continue the journey”.  Sena is a jump-off point for travelling into the interior regions as “many from there head towards Manica [today the Mozambique-Zimbabwe borderlands between the Zambezi and Save Rivers] … a hundred leagues through the hinterland, and, abandoning the Zambezi, to rescue [i.e., pan] the gold that runs there from Quiteve [Chiveve], and Barué [rivers]”.  Alternatively, from Sena, “others go up [the Zambezi] further, and follow the river to Tete”.

 

[2] “Jornada de Sena para Tette” (pp. 2-3):

 

The distance upriver from Sena to Tete is “60 leagues”, with the Zambezi “which, leaving its bed during floods and winters, forms different navigable arms for small boats: in these floods it tends to widen to half a league, but when reduced to its natural bed will be just a quarter of a league”.  As for the political situation, “the southern margin continues to be the land of the Crown of Portugal, being the districts of Sena and Tete, while the northern regions remain always occupied by the Maravis”.

 

The author remarks that “it is advisable… when jumping on land” to avoid “the large amphibians… which populate the banks of the Zambezi, where they hide and have the opportunity to prey on the Africans that come there to supply themselves”, seemingly referring to crocodiles, etc.  “There are also innumerable cavalos-marinhos [hippopotamuses], which in herds of thirty or more… follow the boats that pass by.  At Villa de Tete, the traveller finds security and comfort: this is the main stopover for all trade…” in the region.

 

It continues that “It is also observed that, as you ascend the Zambezi, the climate progressively becomes healthy.  Quelimane [is a] … marshy and unhealthy district [while] …better [is] Sena [although nearby] … the river waters soak, rot, and exhale harmful vapours, but Tete… [is] healthy, and Zumbo even more so: the same thing happens in Manica, which is deep in the hinterland, far from the swamps that the Zambezi forms…”

 

[3] “Jornada de Tette para Zumbo, e Sertões” (pp. 3-6)

 

The story continues, as “From Tete, merchants leave … for the different… mines to exchange their goods for gold, ivory, and copper” with main route being “the one heading towards Zumbo.  From Tete to Chicova [Fort São Miguel de Chicova] … the merchants are transported by land on the backs of the blacks” on a voyage of “five to six days, and there they embark and come up the river to Zumbo” a trip that takes … “eight to ten [days], and in all this transit” the distance is “130 leagues”.

 

It is noted that “Zumbo began as an insignificant colony, which in some writings is called Méroe Island… [it is located] by the confluence of the Armangua with the Zambezi [river]”.  It eventually “became a rich place … a town with good buildings … with a parish [church], but recently, due to lack of residents, it was completely abandoned in 1832”, with most of the people there having “moved to Tete”.

 

Some of the merchants “anticipating greater profit, they take guides and porters, and march to Abutea [a region in north-western Zimbabwe]”, where they mine gold in “the domains of Xingamira [Changamira]” in “Monomotapa [Zimbabwe]”.  “The Abutea trade, although not very pleasant”, can produce significant yields of gold.

 

It continues that “from Chicova, other merchants walked to the Serra da Mixonga [north of Zumbo], which is eight days’ journey away, and is Moravi land: there are the Bares Bive, Cabrabaca, Cassunca, and Mano [mines], of which today” the last of these is the best, as from there “the highest carat gold is extracted”.

 

It is opined that “The work of these mines is done very imperfectly by the blacks, the tasks of the blacks include cutting firewood, carrying water and maintaining it for the station, while others are ready to defend the camp”.  There are many “robberies in these mining camps” as the miners have “few slaves” to protect them, yet many still manage to “secure their homes and carry out their business and work without being disturbed”.

 

Continuing, “the Africans who dominate the land do not miss the opportunity to take advantage, not of the production of those mines, since either out of laziness or superstitious fear they do not want to take care of mining” but seem to be content to profit merely from the fees that “the merchants give them” to mine their lands.

 

A big problem in the area is that the local Africans sometimes “light fires for sinister purposes” or allow campfires to spread out of control “due to carelessness”, as it is their habit to sleep surrounded by fires without preventing the consequences”.

 

Merchants travelling in this country “must therefore take care” that they secure their goods and “in addition to keeping a good guard” of “trustworthy people … taking turns keeping watch during the night”, to “prevent … misfortune, and some attempted robbery, to which the locals always tend”.

 

[4 – General Commentary on Commercial Affairs, pp. 6-9]

 

As for “Return transport” back down the Zambezi, it is carried out “using the same route and means” as employed to ascend the river.  Transporting gold “is very easy due to its small volume compared to the value”, while transporting ivory is much more arduous, while carrying copper is “the most difficult and the least profitable”.

 

As a reminder, “the merchant should not forget to provide himself with some small scales to weigh gold, and other Roman scales for ivory, copper, &.”

 

The text refers to two statistical charts, one concerning travel distances between main points in the region, while conceding that these factors “are counted by estimation”; and the second being “Tables with the costs of the items of livestock trade and food, which will be of great help to the merchant or travellers to calculate the permutations”.  However, these charts are not present here.  There is also a discussion of the local prices and measurements for ivory and gold.

 

Importantly, there is detailed coverage of the nature and costs of the Indian textile imports that the Portuguese made to Zambézia, which served as the main currency for buying ivory, gold, etc. from the indigenous peoples.  A chart lists the specific types and amounts of Indian textiles as carried in a recent shipment to region from Goa, recording a total of 400 Panos (a weight measurement) of Capotins, Ardeans, Zuartes, Doutins, Carlanganins, Samateres and Chailes (all names so specific types of cloth).

 

Next, there is a report of the annual textile imports that arrived in the port Quelimane as recoded by the customs office, in the years 1824 and 1825.  The cloths are specified as Zuartes, Capotins, Ardeans, Doutins, Chelas, Carlanganins, Chales and show that, on average, over the two years year, the amounts of these imports doubled.

 

There is then the chart “May 13, 1842 / Freight from Mozambique to Lisbon on a Portuguese War Vessel”, that notes the value in Reis of the shipment’s inventory of rice, coffee, tamarind, gum copal, saltpetre, cotton wool, wax in cubes, wax in candles, ivory, turtle, and hippopotamus teeth.  In return, “From Lisbon to Mocam[bique]”, the products included such items as butter.

 

The manuscript then features two lovely original manuscript maps, which many would consider the highlights of the work:

 

[Map 1]

“Plano do porto de Quellimane levantado em 1827 / Fundeadr.o fora. Lat. 18°6‘0“. Long de Gren.ch / Mastro dos signaes ″ 18°1.5. – 36°52.30. / Villa de Quillimi. ″ 17.43.5 – 36.53.30 / Variação d’agulha N.O. 19°0‘0“ / Horra de estabelecimento na Barra 4h. na V 4h. 45‘ / Os rumos são os d’agulha.”

 

This exquisite manuscript map showcases the city of Quelimane as it was in 1827, located on the left bank of the estuary of the Rio dos Bons Sinais, just a short distance from the sea.  The structure of the town is carefully articulated, with the main anchorage located just offshore.  In the river, bathymetric soundings mark the principal shipping channel down to the sea, while the features of the “Monte verhelho”, “Ponte do Cavallo marinho ou do sal” and “Macangué”, frame the entrance to the river.  The colonial arms of Mozambique grace the map below the title, upper right.

 

To the best of our knowledge, the map has never been printed and does not accord to any other known map of which we are aware.

 

[Map 2]

[Untitled Map of Zambézia from Quelimane up to Zumbo].

 

This beautiful and unusual map embraces the entire lower Zambezi River valley from just above Zumbo down to the sea, labelling “Quilimane”, Sena, “Tette”, “Chicova” and Zumbo along the river corridor, while Manica is noted deep in the interior to the south.  Importantly, the territory under effective Portuguese control, being the prazos zone, is shaded in a purple wash.  This domain extends from along the coast at Qulimane, and then up the southern bank of the Zambezi River in an interrupted band to Tete.  Additionally, isolated pockets of Portuguese control are shown at Zumbo and Manica.

 

Splendidly, the map is adorned with well rendered drawings of a lion, crocodile, zebra and a cheetah, all creatures that frequented Zambézia.

 

References: [Present Mss. sold in 1883-4 auction catalogue:] CASA EDITORA DE MATTOS MOREIRA & CARDOSOS (Lisboa), ‘Catálogo Da Preciosa Livraria Do eminente escriptor Camillo Castello Branco… todos estes livros foram vendidos desde 1883 and 1884’, Lot 1879, sales catalogue reprinted in: José Azevedo e Menezes et al. (eds.) Camillo homenageado: O escriptor da graça e da belleza (Lisbon, 1920), p. 353.