The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-05

the tsetse fly. Another obstacle In tho 49,
Portuguese enterprise was the kingdom q, ~.
nomotapa, q powerful empire OF Bantu neVro..
probably related In stock to the Zulu.' IN,
influence OF Monomotapa must have r.n,.s
from the vicinity OF tho south end O, -
Nyasn to the Limpopo River. Simultaneon,s
with the first Portuguese conquistadore, Ana
mining adventurcres camo Jesuit mis,,on.
aries. resolved upon repeating IN the Zamb,,,
country tho successes they had obtained ia
Outstanding the Congo region. Several q,
these men were martyred, but, eventually. thov
established themselves at Jumbo. on tho central
Zambezi, at the confuencoo OF the great Lnanvv,
River. The modern capital OF Tote, now N.
most important Portuguese town on the Zambe,,.
was not founded until the middle OF the sevsp.
teenth century, and, originally, was merely
station of Jesuit missionaries. though 1t wa, AZ.
terward taken over by tho Portuguese Govern.
ment. At FIRST, the principal towns we're Jumbo
and Sena. Tho Portuguese soon penetrated
northward Of tho Zambczi. In the direction Of
the Maravi country and tho watershed Of LAX.
Nyasa. Here they discovered, or rediscoverod.
from hints given by Arabs or natives. tho gold
deposits Of Misalo, and, for a century or so after.
ward, these gold mines were extensively worked.
Curiously enough. however, tho chief mineral
discoveries Of the Portuguese at this time lay In
the direction OF silver, though at the presen,
day the English have no knowledge OF any silver
mines In the Zambezi country. In 1910 q Por.
tuguese named Jasper Bocarro offered to carry
samples of Zambezi silver overland to Malindi,
q Portuguese settlement to the north Of Nom.
basa, without going near Mozambique. The
motive Of this offer lay in the fact that consid-
cradle friction existed between the central Gov
eminent Of Mozambique. which was under the
viceroy Of India, and the Portuguese sdven-
turers on the Zambezi, who objected to the grind.
ing monopolies which the Mozambiqu ne authorI-
ties sought to establish. Bocarro apparently
journeyed from where the town OF Tete now
stands to the upper Shire River. crossing
that stream to its junction with the Ruo; and
then passing through the AnEuru country in
the vicinity of Lake Chilwa he entered the NJ.
jenda Valley. and SO travelled on to the Rubuma
River. and thence to tho coast at MikindAni,
whence he continued his journey to Malindi by
sea- SO far as trustworthy records go. this was
the FIRST European to enter what Is now styled
British Central Africa. The Jesuit priests from
Jumbo. however. had journeyed westward into
the country Of the BatonRa, or Batoka. and
n~orthwsrd up the Luangwa River. Sir John
Kirk, who went travelling with Livingstone in
1889. and discovered groves Of fruit trees In the
Batoka country which may have been In.
troduced by the Jesuits. The latter trans.
mitted rumors Of q great lake (NyasaD,
which they styled Lake Maravi. which really
meant "a lake In the country Of the Maravt;"
Maravi being an old name. now nearly extinct
Of the Syanja tribes in the southwest Of Nyasa-
land. But in the middle of the eighteenth GEN.
fury the Jesuits were expelled from all the
Portuguese dominions. and after their de-
parture from the Central Zambezi there was .
temporary diminution of Portuguese activity.
1t was not until the very end OF the last GEN.
fury that the interest of the Portuguese
~ Les TAaA
sions was revived by the capture Of
the Cape Of Good Hope by the British.
In the year following the seizure Of Cape Town
by an English force. DR.. Francisco de Lacerda,
a distinguished scientific man, who was q pro-
fessor Of mathematics at Coimbra University.
addressed a remarkable letter to the Lisbon
Government, predicting that the result Of tho
English capture Of Cape Town would DO tho
creation Of q great British South African en-
pirc. which would, II not counteracted betimes,
spread northward across the Zambezi and sop
arate the Portuguese dominions OF Angola and
Mozambique. This our author consi iers one Of
the most notable examples of political fore
sight which can be quoted. So struck was the
Portuguese Government with DR.. Lacerda's
argument that 1t appointed him Governor OF the
Zlmbezi. and authorized him to conduct an expe-
dition across Africa from the Zambez country
to Angola, establishing Portuguese suzerainty
along his route. DR.. Lacerda. however. only
succeeded in reaching Kazembe's capital. near
the south end OF Lake Mweru. and eventually
died there in October. 1898. After his death
the expedition became so disorganized that. an
stead Of continuing the journey to Angola. 10
returned to Tete. 1t Is q mistake, however, to
suppose that Africa north OF the Zambezi was
never traversed by the Portuguese. At the be-
ginning OF the present century Two half-caste
Portuguese named Baptista and Amara Jose
crossed from the kwango River in the Interior
OF Angola to the kazembe country near Lake
Mweru. and thence came to 1ete on the Fam
bezi; In 1881 Major Monteiro and Capt; Gamitto
and. some years subsequently. Sylvia Porto. a
Portuguese colonist Of Bihe. in the interior of
Benguela, is also said to have rambled over
much of South Central Africa; further. a cor
tain Candido de Costa Cardoso claimed that he
sighted the southwest corner OF Lake Nyasa In
ls46. None of these explorers, however. with
the exception OF DR.. LacerdR, possesssd any
scientific qualifications. and their journeys led
10 little or no geographical information or po-
litical ascendancy. The real history Of British
Central Africa begins with the advent & OF Lv.
i%ngstone; this Is too well known to need
recapitulation.