Alvise Cadamosto
Encyclopedia
Alvise Cadamosto or Alvide da Ca' da Mosto (aɫˈviz(ɨ) kɐðaˈmoʃtu, also known in Portuguese
as Luís Cadamosto; c. 1432 – July 16, 1483) was a Venetian
slave trader and explorer
, who was hired by the Portuguese
prince Henry the Navigator and undertook two known journeys to West Africa
in 1455 and 1456, accompanied by the Genoese
captain Antoniotto Usodimare
. Cadamosto and his companions are credited with the discovery of the Cape Verde Islands and the points along the Guinea
coast, from the Gambia River
to the Geba River
(in Guinea-Bissau
), the greatest leap in the Henrican discoveries since 1446. Cadamosto's accounts of his journeys, including his detailed observations of west African societies, have proven invaluable to historians.
, a palace on the Grand Canal of Venice
from which his name derives. His father was Giovanni da Mosto, a Venetian civil servant and merchant, and his mother Elizabeth Querini, from a leading patrician family of Venice
. Alvise was the eldest of three sons, having younger brothers Petro and Antonio.
At a remarkably young age, Cadamosto cast out as a merchant adventurer, sailing with Venetian galleys in the Mediterranean. From 1442 to 1448, Alvise undertook various trips on Venetian galleys to the Barbary Coast
and Crete
, as a commercial agent of his cousin, Andrea Barbarigo. In 1451, he was appointed noble officer of the marine corps of crossbowmen on a galley to Alexandria
. The next year, he served the same position on a Venetian galley to Flanders
. Upon his return, he found his family disgraced and dispossessed. His father, caught in a bribery scandal, had been be banished from Venice
, and taken refuge in the Duchy of Modena. His Querini relatives took the opporunity to seize possession of his family's property. This setback marred the future prospects of Cadamosto's career in Venice, and probably encouraged his spirit of adventure, hoping restore his family name and fortune by great feats of his own.
. On the outward journey, the galley was detained by bad weather near Cape St. Vincent
, Portugal
. While waiting for the weather to improve, the Portuguese Prince Henry the Navigator, who had his seat nearby at Sagres
, dispatched a couple of his commercial agents, led by his secretary Antão Gonçalves
and the local Venetian consul Patrizio di Conti, to interest the stranded Venetian merchants into opening trade contracts for sugar and other goods from the prince's Madeira
island. Informed by the visitors of Henry's recent discoveries in Africa, Cadamosto "inflamed with the desire of visiting these newly discovered regions" immediately applied to Prince Henry at his residence at Raposeira
to undertake an expedition on his behalf. Henry hired him on the spot.
(Note: the 16th C. Portuguese chronicler Damião de Góis
, uniquely among historians, mistakenly asserted that Cadamosto's encounter took place in 1444 rather that 1454. Given the eminence of Góis, this erroneous dating has been cited by others, and has been a cause of much confusion for later histories and chronologies.)
supplied by Prince Henry, with Vicente Dias as ship master
He proceeded to Porto Santo and Madeira
, and thereafter weaved his way through the Canary islands, making stops in La Gomera
, El Hierro
and La Palma
before reaching the African coast around Cape Blanc. Cadamosto made note of the existence of the Portuguese factory-fort at Arguin
, but does not seem to have stopped there himself.
Cadamosto cruised down the west African coast to the mouth of the Senegal River
(which he calls the Rio do Senega, the first recorded use of that name.) He does not seem to have stopped here, his destination being further south, at an anchorage point along the Grande Côte he called the Palma di Budomel (location uncertain, probably around Mboro, 15°09′42"N 16°55′45"W). Cadamosto notes that this spot (or resgate) was already used by Portuguese traders. He dates that trade between the Portuguese and the Wolof people
of the Senegal region was opened around 1450 ("five years before I went on this voyage"). Cadamosto had sought to trade Iberian horses for black slaves, the principal line of business at this resgate. Horses were highly valued on the Senegalese coast, and traded at a rate of between 9 and 14 slaves per horse. Cadamosto is said to have sold seven horses and some woolen goods (a total value of around 300 ducats) for about 100 slaves.
While at the anchorage, Cadamosto was surprised to be met by the ruler himself, the Damel
of Cayor
(whom he calls Budomel), accompanied by his retinue. The Damel invited him inland while the details of the trade were finalized. Cadamosto spent nearly an entire month in an inland village, hosted by the prince Bisboror (Budomel's nephew), during which time he delighted in observing much about the local country and customs.
His trade in Cayor completed, rather than return home with his human cargo, Cadamosto decided to cruise further down the coast, towards the Cape Vert peninsula. This was intended as a pure exploratory jaunt, "to discover new countries" beyond the Cape, more specifically the mysterious "kingdom called Gambra", where Prince Henry had heard (from earlier slave captives) that gold was found in abundance. Around Cape Vert, in June 1455, Cadamosto came across two Portuguese caravels, one of which was commanded by Antoniotto Usodimare
, a Genoese
captain in Prince Henry's service, the other by an unnamed squire of Henry's household. They agreed to join forces and proceeded south together.
After a brief fishing stop on some unnamed islands (probably Îles des Madeleines
), Cadamosto, Usodimare and the Portuguese squire sailed south, down the Petite Côte
until they reached the Sine-Saloum
delta, a stretch inhabited by the Sereri (Serer people
). Cadamosto has nothing good to say about the Serer, characterizing them as savage idolaters "of great cruelty" (although we should note at this point his information is being drawn principally from Wolof interpreters). Cadamosto claims he was the one who named the Saloum River
as the Rio di Barbacini, the name by which it would remain known on European maps thereafter. Cadamosto and Usodimare tried to put in there, but quickly decided against it when an interpreter they landed to make contact with the local Serer
natives gathered on the beaches was killed on the spot.
Pressing south, Cadamosto and Usodimare finally discovered the mouth of the Gambia River
in late June or early July, 1455. They set about sailing upriver, but their advance faced unremitting hostility from the Mandinka
inhabitants upriver. Subjected to intense missile fire, they barely fended off a massed canoe attack that sought to trap and board them. According to Cadamosto's interpreters, the Mandinka believed the Portuguese were cannibals, that they had come to the region to buy black men to eat. Urged by their frightened crews (and probably desirous to keep his human cargo intact - he had been carrying a shipload of slaves since Cayor), Cadamosto decided to call off venturing further and backed out of the river. Cadamosto does not supply details of the return trip to Portugal.
At the mouth of the Gambia, Cadamosto made a note of the near-disappearance of the northern Pole Star
on the horizon, and roughly sketched a bright constellation to the south, believed to be the first known depiction of the Southern Cross constellation (albeit wrongly positioned and with too many stars - a more accurate rendition would have to wait until Mestre João Faras
in 1500.) Cadamosto called it the carro dell' ostro (southern chariot).
It is known that the fleet was back in Portugal before the end of the year, as Antoniotto Usodimare
would write a letter dated December 12, 1455, to his creditors back in Genoa
, reporting the results of his voyage (albeit with much exaggeration, and without mentioning Cadamosto).
in May 1456, this time not alone, but together with Antoniotto Usodimare
and another caravel with an unnamed Portuguese captain, another servant of Prince Henry. The three vessels made no known trading stops, intending to sail straight to the Gambia River
(probably per Prince Henry's instructions).
Catching a storm around Cape Vert peninsula, the little fleet was forced to sail west, away from the coast for two days and three nights (about 300 miles) and stumbled on the as-yet-undiscovered archipelago of the Cape Verde islands. Cadamosto, Usodimare and the unnamed captain scouted several of the uninhabited islands, believing them to be four in number (although Cadamosto notes in his account that later explorers would find them to be ten). They anchored first on an island which they named Buona Vista (Boa Vista
), before proceeding on to a larger island, which they named San Jacobo (Santiago
) (according to Cadamosto, on account of it being the feast of SS. Philip
and James
- probably an error) Finding the islands uninteresting, they headed on.
(Note: although Cadamosto's claims credit for the discovery of the Cape Verde islands, this is disputed by Diogo Gomes
, who claims he discovered the islands, together with Antonio da Noli, in 1462 (sometimes dated 1460))
Cadamosto, Usodimare and the unnamed Portuguese captain proceeded to enter the Gambia River
again, albeit this time without opposition. They sailed about 10 Italian miles (15 km) upriver and anchored briefly on a river island
they named Santo Andrea (to bury a deceased crew member, named Andrea; the island is believed to be modern Dog Island
).
The trio proceeded upriver carefully, warily watched by native Mandinka
canoes, but this time no hostilities or ambushes emerged. Eventually, one the interpreters managed to entice some of the canoe-borne natives aboard the Portuguese ships and opened peaceful contact. The natives identified themselves as subjects of king Forosangoli (of the southern bank of the Gambia) and that he, and most other Mandinka kings along the Gambia river were all vassal subjects of the Emperor of Mali
(Impatore di Melli), and that some of the local kings were willing to meet the Portuguese. Following the instructions of his interlocutors, Cadamosto sailed some 60 Italian miles up the Gambia river, reaching the residence of the Mandinka
king he called Battimansa, Mandinka
for "king of the Batti' (probably Badibu, on the north side of the river). They were well received, but disappointed at the little evidence of the large amounts of gold they had expected to find. They engaged in some petty trade with the locals, in particular musk
(invaluable to European perfumers), and imply they even acquired live specimens of African civet
cat.
Cadamosto mentions interacting with another lord, Guumimensa, whose dominion was closer to the mouth of the river. This is probably none other than the formidable 'Niumimansa', king of the Niumi-Banta of Barra region, whose rule extended over Niumi-Bato (Niominka) of the Diombos River shore, an old antagonist of Portuguese explorers. However, Cadamosto reports their relations went quite smoothly.
Cadamosto and his companions stayed in Badibu for 11 days, before departing. They did not discover the commercial center of Cantor
, which was still several miles upriver (it was only discovered a couple of years later, by Diogo Gomes
). But he did discover malaria
, and his crew quickly fell ill with fevers. It was probably this epidemic that prompted Cadamosto to cut short his stay and leave the Gambia river, back to the ocean, where the fevers seemed to have subsided.
Resolved to continue exploring the West African coast, Cadamosto's trio set sail south, doubling Cape St. Mary (13°29′10"N 16°40′6"W) and carefully navigating the dangerous breakers
around Bald Cape (13°22′47"N 16°47′43"W), reporting a couple of rivers along the way (none of which he names). A few days later, Cadamosto and his companions discovered the mouth of the Casamance River
(12°33′22"N 16°45′44"W). They named the river after the local lord Casamansa, king ('mansa') of Kasa
(called Casangas by later Portuguese, a now near-extinct people, related to the Bainuk people). They sent a couple of launches to land to open contact, but being told the king was absent on campaign, Cadamosto did not linger but decided to continue on.
Sailing south, the fleet reached a red-colored headland they named Capo Rosso (Cape Roxo
, 12°20′8"N 16°42′47"W, today marking the border between the republic of Senegal
and Guinea-Bissau
). In his account, Cadamosto names two large rivers beyond the Cape Roxo promontory - Santa Anna and San Dominico - which are a little confusing. It is believed one is likely to be the Cacheu River (12°10′32"N 16°20′47"W, often indicated in later Portuguese maps as Rio de São Domingos) while the other river is probably one of the branches (Rio de Jatta or Rio das Ancoras) of the Mansôa River (11°51′34"N 15°58′24"W)
A day later, Cadamosto discovered a great river (grandissimo fiume), which they named Rio Grande (the Geba River
- more precisely, the wide estuary it forms together with the Corubal River
, it doesn't seem they actually entered the river itself) (11°45′N 15°38′W). After anchoring near the southern bank of the estuary, they were approached by a couple of long native canoes from the mainland (no identification given, probably Balantas or Biafares) A few trinkets were traded with the canoes, but they were unable to open communication, as their on-ship interpreters (Wolof and/or Mandinka) did not understand their native language. After a couple of days, they lifted anchor and made their way to some "of the many islands in the sea" (the Bissagos Islands
), but were found it just as impossible to communicate with the inhabitants there.
Given the language barrier, they saw no point in proceeding further. Cadamosto, Usodimare and the unnamed Portuguese captain set sail back to Portugal (details of their return journey are not given).
delta. The furthest pre-Cadamosto seems to have been the singular expedition of Álvaro Fernandes
in 1446, which may have reached as far as Cape Roxo
, but this was not followed up. The 1447 expedition led by Estêvão Afonso did not go beyond the beginning of the estuary of the Gambia River
, and thereafter expeditions below Cape Vert were largely suspended by Prince Henry. The principal barrier to the Portuguese seems to have been belligerence of the Niumi-Bato (Niominka) and the Niumi-Banta (Mandinka
of Niumi (Barra)), both led by the same king, Niumimansa. Cadamosto encountered that hostility on his first expedition of 1455. But on his second trip, in 1456, opposition fell away for some reason, and he managed to become the first European (along with Antoniotto Usodimare
and their anonymous companions) to sail up the Gambia River
. It is uncertain what caused this change of attitude from one year to the next - a new Niumimansa? A shift in senegambian politics? The unreliable Diogo Gomes
later boasted that he sailed to the Gambia sometime between 1456 and 1458 and single-handedly negotiated a peace with the Niumimansa, although this is likely exaggerated.)
Once they opened the Gambia River, Cadamosto and Usodimare led the next great leap of Henrican discoveries in Africa - Cape Verde islands, the Casamance River
, Cape Roxo
, Cacheu River and finally the Geba River
and Bissagos Islands
. The length of coast they discovered in 1456 was the greatest leap in the Portuguese era of discoveries since 1446. Much the same coast would be covered again by Diogo Gomes
around 1458 (possibly as early as 1456, probably sent by Henry as a follow up to Cadamosto's report) and 1462. Cadamosto's furthest marker would only really be surpassed by Pedro de Sintra
in 1461-62.
for many years, suggesting he must have continued to engage, directly or indirectly, in West African commerce. It is not known whether Cadamosto himself made any further trips down the African coast. Cadamosto bluntly states that there were no other voyages of exploratory significance by anyone after 1456, until the expedition of Pedro de Sintra
in 1462. Cadamosto acquired the details of that expedition from Sintra's clerk upon its return.
Cadamosto's patron, Prince Henry the Navigator, died in November 1460, and the monopoly on African trade reverted to the Portuguese crown and its operations were gradually transferred from Lagos to Lisbon
. Probably seeing no future for himself in the new order, Cadamosto left Portugal and returned to Venice
in February 1463. Cadamosto is believed to have brought notes, logs and several nautical maps with him. Cadamosto used these to compose his famous Navigationi sometime in the mid-1460s. The Navigazioni, besides generally hailing the Portuguese discoveries and lionizing Prince Henry, provided detailed accounts of three expeditions - his own voyages of 1455 and 1456, and the voyage of Pedro de Sintra
in 1462. He is believed to have delivered much of his primary material to the Venetian cartographer Grazioso Benincasa, as Benincasa went on to produce an atlas in 1468, depicting the West African coast with remarkable accuracy.
The Navigationi were probably written in an effort to advertise his accomplishments, and rescue his family name. Upon his return, Cadamosto managed to recover some of his family's property from his Querini relatives and, a couple of years later, married Elisabetta di Giorgio Venier, a rich noblewoman but of frail health - she died without bearing him a child. He returned to commerce, with trading interests as far afield as Spain, Alexandria, Syria and England, and with fortune and connections restored, carved out a diplomatic and administrative career for the Republic of Venice
alongside it. Cadamosto served as Venetian proveditor
in Cattaro, then in Corone, and was sent on diplomatic missions to Dalmatia
and Herzegovina. After the fall of Negroponte
in 1470, Cadamosto was placed in charge of devising a plan for the defense of Albania
against the Ottomans.
In 1481, Alvise Cadamosto was elected captain of the Venetian Alexandria
galley fleet, ending his naval career on the same ships where he started. He died in 1483, in the Polesine
, while on diplomatic mission to Rovigo
to assess the spoils acquired by the Venetian Republic after their victory over Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara in the War of Ferrara. (although in some accounts, the date of his death is sometimes given as early as 1477 and as late as 1488).
under Henry the Navigator, Alvise Cadamosto's accounts, the Navigazioni, have proven to be an invaluable document. Cadamosto's accounts, Gomes Eanes de Zurara's chronicle and the memoirs of Diogo Gomes
, are practically all that remain of the contemporary written record of the Henrican discoveries. Indeed, until the publication of João de Barros
's Decadas da Asia in 1552 (which drew on a manuscript draft of Zurara's chronicle), Cadamosto's Navigazioni was the only published work circulating in Europe about the Portuguese discoveries. Cadamosto emphasized the central role of Prince Henry, and was instrumental in building up the image of the Navigator Prince for posterity. Compared to the hagiographic Zurara and the fallible Gomes, historians have relished and lauded the reliability and detail provided by Cadamosto, giving a richer and clearer view of how the Henrican enterprise operated.
Cadamosto's accounts are also invaluable for historians of Africa, providing the first written detailed accounts of the Senegambia region, beyond the fringes touched one century earlier by Arab historian Ibn Battuta
. Cadamosto gives a summary of contemporary European knowledge about West Africa. He describes the Mali Empire
(Melli) and the Trans-Saharan trade
, e.g. how Berber caravans carry the Saharan salt
from desert pans like Teghaza (Tegazza) to frontier cities like Timbuctu (Tombutto).
He goes to explain how gold coming out of the heart of Mali goes out in three parts, one to Cochia (Kukiya) and then eastwards onto Egypt, the second via Timbuctu to Toet (Tuat
) and then north towards Tunisia, and a third part, also via Timbuctu, goes west to Hoden (Ouadane
), destined for Morocco, part of which is deviated to the Portuguese factory
at Arguin
.
Cadamosto is the first known person to refer to the Senegal River
by its recognizably modern name (Rio di Senega) rather than the "western Nile". Curiously, Cadamosto notes that the Senegal was probably the Niger of ancient
geographers (e.g. Ptolomey). He repeats the old error of assuming that the Senegal river and the (actual) Niger
river are connected to each other, forming one great east-west river, and relates the legend that it was believed to be a tributary of the great Biblical river of Gihon
(Gion) that flowed from the Garden of Eden
across the lands of Aethiopia.
Cadamosto describes the Wolof (Gilofi) empire, which he notes was bound on the east by the Fula
Tekrur/Toucouleur (Tuchusor) and to the south by the Mandinka
states of the Gambia River
(Gambra) Cadamosto goes into quite some detail on the politics, society and culture of the Wolof states. He supplies a meticulously detailed eyewitness description of the Cayor
village he stayed in 1455, the Damel
's court, the people, customs, economy, local fauna and flora, etc. The details demonstrate Cadamosto's sheer curiosity - he describes the courtly customs, the houses, the use of cowrie shells as currency, the food and drink, the operation of local markets, livestock and cultivation, the production of palm wine, weapons, the dances and music, the reaction to European novelties (clothes, ships, cannon, bag-pipes). In all this, Cadamosto's narrative evinces a degree of honest curiosity and absence of prejudice perhaps surprising for a European of that era. Cadamosto attempts a similarly detailed account of the Mandinka
people of the Gambia River
, making particular note of their abundant cotton
(rare in Wolof areas), although not nearly as complete, as he did not seem to venture much away from his boats there. He does not cease to marvel at the extraordinary wildlife which is far more plentiful around the Gambia, notably the hippopotamus
(which he calls the "horse fish") and the largely unfamiliar African elephant (whose meat he was tempted to taste - a piece of which he salted and brought back to Portugal for Prince Henry himself; a preserved elephant's foot would be forwarded to Henry's sister, Isabella, Duchess of Burgundy.).
Cadamosto's accounts were first published in Italian at the head of the famous 1507 Montalbado collection Paesi novamente retrovati. It was quickly followed by translations into Latin (1508), German (1508) and French (1515). The Italian version was reprinted in the famous Ramusio
collection of 1550. Although reprinted and widely disseminated in other countries, a Portuguese translation did not appear until 1812.
Cadamosto was also long alleged to be the author of the Portolano del mare, a rutter
with sailing directions for the Mediterannean coasts, found in the library of St. Mark in Venice, with the publication stamp of Bernardo Rizzo in 1490. Cadamosto's authorship of the portolano has been generally discarded in modern times.
Editions of Cadamosto's Navigazioni:
Apocryphal (not Cadamosto, but attributed to him in the past):
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
as Luís Cadamosto; c. 1432 – July 16, 1483) was a Venetian
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
slave trader and explorer
Exploration
Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
, who was hired by the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
prince Henry the Navigator and undertook two known journeys to West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
in 1455 and 1456, accompanied by the Genoese
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
captain Antoniotto Usodimare
Antoniotto Usodimare
Antoniotto Usodimare or Usus di Mare was a Genoese trader and explorer in the service of the Portuguese Prince Henry the Navigator. Jointly with Alvise Cadamosto, Usodimare discovered a great stretch of the West African coast in two known voyages in 1455 and 1456...
. Cadamosto and his companions are credited with the discovery of the Cape Verde Islands and the points along the Guinea
Guinea (region)
Guinea is a traditional name for the region of Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea. It stretches north through the forested tropical regions and ends at the Sahel.-History:...
coast, from the Gambia River
Gambia River
The Gambia River is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul...
to the Geba River
Geba River
The Geba is a river of West Africa that rises in Guinea, passes through Senegal, and reaches the Atlantic Ocean in Guinea-Bissau. It is about in total length.Its tributary the Colufe River joins the Geba at Bafatá...
(in Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
), the greatest leap in the Henrican discoveries since 1446. Cadamosto's accounts of his journeys, including his detailed observations of west African societies, have proven invaluable to historians.
Background
Alvise was born at the Ca' da MostoCa' da Mosto
The Ca' da Mosto is a thirteenth-century palace in Venice, northern Italy, the oldest building on the Grand Canal. It is in the Veneto-Byzantine style, with high narrow arches and distinctive capitals.-History:...
, a palace on the Grand Canal of Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
from which his name derives. His father was Giovanni da Mosto, a Venetian civil servant and merchant, and his mother Elizabeth Querini, from a leading patrician family of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
. Alvise was the eldest of three sons, having younger brothers Petro and Antonio.
At a remarkably young age, Cadamosto cast out as a merchant adventurer, sailing with Venetian galleys in the Mediterranean. From 1442 to 1448, Alvise undertook various trips on Venetian galleys to the Barbary Coast
Barbary Coast
The Barbary Coast, or Barbary, was the term used by Europeans from the 16th until the 19th century to refer to much of the collective land of the Berber people. Today, the terms Maghreb and "Tamazgha" correspond roughly to "Barbary"...
and Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
, as a commercial agent of his cousin, Andrea Barbarigo. In 1451, he was appointed noble officer of the marine corps of crossbowmen on a galley to Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
. The next year, he served the same position on a Venetian galley to Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
. Upon his return, he found his family disgraced and dispossessed. His father, caught in a bribery scandal, had been be banished from Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
, and taken refuge in the Duchy of Modena. His Querini relatives took the opporunity to seize possession of his family's property. This setback marred the future prospects of Cadamosto's career in Venice, and probably encouraged his spirit of adventure, hoping restore his family name and fortune by great feats of his own.
Expeditions to Africa
In August, 1454 at the age of 22, Alvise and his brother Antonio embarked on a Venetian merchant galley, captained by Marco Zen, destined for FlandersFlanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
. On the outward journey, the galley was detained by bad weather near Cape St. Vincent
Cape St. Vincent
Cape St. Vincent , next to the Sagres Point, on the so-called Costa Vicentina , is a headland in the municipality of Sagres, in the Algarve, southern Portugal.- Description :This cape is the southwesternmost point in Portugal...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. While waiting for the weather to improve, the Portuguese Prince Henry the Navigator, who had his seat nearby at Sagres
Sagres, Portugal
Sagres is a town located in the municipality of Vila do Bispo, Algarve, Portugal. It has a surface of 34,28 km² and a population of 1 939 . Sagres Point, historically connected to the Portuguese Age of Discovery, is located there....
, dispatched a couple of his commercial agents, led by his secretary Antão Gonçalves
Antão Gonçalves
Antão Gonçalves was a 15th century Portuguese explorer and slave trader who was the first European to buy Africans as slaves from black slave traders....
and the local Venetian consul Patrizio di Conti, to interest the stranded Venetian merchants into opening trade contracts for sugar and other goods from the prince's Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
island. Informed by the visitors of Henry's recent discoveries in Africa, Cadamosto "inflamed with the desire of visiting these newly discovered regions" immediately applied to Prince Henry at his residence at Raposeira
Raposeira
Raposeira is a civil parish in the municipality of Vila do Bispo in the Algarve region of Portugal, with 25.71 km² and 441 inhabitants .It is one of the parishes covered by the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park....
to undertake an expedition on his behalf. Henry hired him on the spot.
(Note: the 16th C. Portuguese chronicler Damião de Góis
Damião de Góis
Damiao de Góis , born in Alenquer, Portugal, was an important Portuguese humanist philosopher. He was a friend and student of Erasmus. He was appointed secretary to the Portuguese factory in Antwerp in 1523 by King John III of Portugal...
, uniquely among historians, mistakenly asserted that Cadamosto's encounter took place in 1444 rather that 1454. Given the eminence of Góis, this erroneous dating has been cited by others, and has been a cause of much confusion for later histories and chronologies.)
First Journey (1455)
Alvise Cadamosto set out on March 22, 1455 on a 43-tonne caravelCaravel
A caravel is a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave her speed and the capacity for sailing to windward...
supplied by Prince Henry, with Vicente Dias as ship master
Master (naval)
The master, or sailing master, was a historic term for a naval officer trained in and responsible for the navigation of a sailing vessel...
He proceeded to Porto Santo and Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
, and thereafter weaved his way through the Canary islands, making stops in La Gomera
La Gomera
La Gomera is one of Spain's Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. In area, it is the second-smallest of the seven main islands of this group.- Political organization :...
, El Hierro
El Hierro
El Hierro, nicknamed Isla del Meridiano , is the smallest and farthest south and west of the Canary Islands , in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa, with a population of 10,162 .- Name :The name El Hierro, although phonetically identical to the Spanish word for 'iron', is generally thought...
and La Palma
La Palma
La Palma is the most north-westerly of the Canary Islands. La Palma has an area of 706 km2 making it the fifth largest of the seven main Canary Islands...
before reaching the African coast around Cape Blanc. Cadamosto made note of the existence of the Portuguese factory-fort at Arguin
Arguin
Arguin is an island off the western coast of Mauritania in the Bay of Arguin, at 20° 36' N., 16° 27' W. It is six km long by two broad. Off the island are extensive and dangerous reefs...
, but does not seem to have stopped there himself.
Cadamosto cruised down the west African coast to the mouth of the Senegal River
Sénégal River
The Sénégal River is a long river in West Africa that forms the border between Senegal and Mauritania.The Sénégal's headwaters are the Semefé and Bafing rivers which both originate in Guinea; they form a small part of the Guinean-Malian border before coming together at Bafoulabé in Mali...
(which he calls the Rio do Senega, the first recorded use of that name.) He does not seem to have stopped here, his destination being further south, at an anchorage point along the Grande Côte he called the Palma di Budomel (location uncertain, probably around Mboro, 15°09′42"N 16°55′45"W). Cadamosto notes that this spot (or resgate) was already used by Portuguese traders. He dates that trade between the Portuguese and the Wolof people
Wolof people
The Wolof are an ethnic group found in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania.In Senegal, the Wolof form an ethnic plurality with about 43.3% of the population are Wolofs...
of the Senegal region was opened around 1450 ("five years before I went on this voyage"). Cadamosto had sought to trade Iberian horses for black slaves, the principal line of business at this resgate. Horses were highly valued on the Senegalese coast, and traded at a rate of between 9 and 14 slaves per horse. Cadamosto is said to have sold seven horses and some woolen goods (a total value of around 300 ducats) for about 100 slaves.
While at the anchorage, Cadamosto was surprised to be met by the ruler himself, the Damel
Damel
Damel was the title of the ruler of the Wolof kingdom of Cayor in what is now northwest Senegal, West Africa.The most well-known damel is probably Lat Dior Diop who died in battle during the final French drive to capture his territory, which was one of the strongest areas of resistance...
of Cayor
Cayor
The Kingdom of Cayor was the largest and most powerful kingdom that split off from the Empire of Jolof , in what is now Senegal. Cayor was located in north and central Senegal, southeast of Waalo, west of the kingdom of Jolof and north of Baol and the Kingdom of Sine.In 1549, the king, or...
(whom he calls Budomel), accompanied by his retinue. The Damel invited him inland while the details of the trade were finalized. Cadamosto spent nearly an entire month in an inland village, hosted by the prince Bisboror (Budomel's nephew), during which time he delighted in observing much about the local country and customs.
His trade in Cayor completed, rather than return home with his human cargo, Cadamosto decided to cruise further down the coast, towards the Cape Vert peninsula. This was intended as a pure exploratory jaunt, "to discover new countries" beyond the Cape, more specifically the mysterious "kingdom called Gambra", where Prince Henry had heard (from earlier slave captives) that gold was found in abundance. Around Cape Vert, in June 1455, Cadamosto came across two Portuguese caravels, one of which was commanded by Antoniotto Usodimare
Antoniotto Usodimare
Antoniotto Usodimare or Usus di Mare was a Genoese trader and explorer in the service of the Portuguese Prince Henry the Navigator. Jointly with Alvise Cadamosto, Usodimare discovered a great stretch of the West African coast in two known voyages in 1455 and 1456...
, a Genoese
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
captain in Prince Henry's service, the other by an unnamed squire of Henry's household. They agreed to join forces and proceeded south together.
After a brief fishing stop on some unnamed islands (probably Îles des Madeleines
Iles des Madeleines
The Iles des Madeleines lie west of Dakar in Senegal. The islands are uninhabited. The main island is Sarpan, known for its Stone Age tool finds...
), Cadamosto, Usodimare and the Portuguese squire sailed south, down the Petite Côte
Petite Côte
The Petite Côte is a stretch of coast in Senegal, running south from the Cap Vert peninsula to the Sine-Saloum delta.The northern section near Dakar contains popular seaside resorts such as Saly-Portudal, Rufisque, Nianing and Popenguire, while the entire coast is home to the city of M'Bour and...
until they reached the Sine-Saloum
Sine-Saloum
Sine-Saloum is a region in Senegal located north of The Gambia and south of the Petite Côte. It encompasses an area of 24,000 square kilometers, about 12% of Senegal, with a population in the 1990s of 1,060,000....
delta, a stretch inhabited by the Sereri (Serer people
Serer people
The Serer people along with the Jola people are acknowledged to be the oldest inhabitants of The Senegambia....
). Cadamosto has nothing good to say about the Serer, characterizing them as savage idolaters "of great cruelty" (although we should note at this point his information is being drawn principally from Wolof interpreters). Cadamosto claims he was the one who named the Saloum River
Saloum River
The Saloum River rises about 105 kilometers east of Kaolack, Senegal, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The significant Saloum Delta is located at its mouth, which is protected as Saloum Delta National Park. The river basin lies within the Kingdom of Saloum....
as the Rio di Barbacini, the name by which it would remain known on European maps thereafter. Cadamosto and Usodimare tried to put in there, but quickly decided against it when an interpreter they landed to make contact with the local Serer
Serer people
The Serer people along with the Jola people are acknowledged to be the oldest inhabitants of The Senegambia....
natives gathered on the beaches was killed on the spot.
Pressing south, Cadamosto and Usodimare finally discovered the mouth of the Gambia River
Gambia River
The Gambia River is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul...
in late June or early July, 1455. They set about sailing upriver, but their advance faced unremitting hostility from the Mandinka
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
inhabitants upriver. Subjected to intense missile fire, they barely fended off a massed canoe attack that sought to trap and board them. According to Cadamosto's interpreters, the Mandinka believed the Portuguese were cannibals, that they had come to the region to buy black men to eat. Urged by their frightened crews (and probably desirous to keep his human cargo intact - he had been carrying a shipload of slaves since Cayor), Cadamosto decided to call off venturing further and backed out of the river. Cadamosto does not supply details of the return trip to Portugal.
At the mouth of the Gambia, Cadamosto made a note of the near-disappearance of the northern Pole Star
Pole star
The term "Pole Star" usually refers to Polaris, which is the current northern pole star, also known as the North Star.In general, however, a pole star is a visible star, especially a prominent one, that is approximately aligned with the Earth's axis of rotation; that is, a star whose apparent...
on the horizon, and roughly sketched a bright constellation to the south, believed to be the first known depiction of the Southern Cross constellation (albeit wrongly positioned and with too many stars - a more accurate rendition would have to wait until Mestre João Faras
João Faras
Mestre João Faras, better known simply as Mestre João , was an astrologer, astronomer, physician and surgeon of King Manuel I of Portugal who accompanied Pedro Álvares Cabral in the discovery of Brazil in 1500, and wrote a famous letter identifying the Southern Cross constellation.- Background :The...
in 1500.) Cadamosto called it the carro dell' ostro (southern chariot).
It is known that the fleet was back in Portugal before the end of the year, as Antoniotto Usodimare
Antoniotto Usodimare
Antoniotto Usodimare or Usus di Mare was a Genoese trader and explorer in the service of the Portuguese Prince Henry the Navigator. Jointly with Alvise Cadamosto, Usodimare discovered a great stretch of the West African coast in two known voyages in 1455 and 1456...
would write a letter dated December 12, 1455, to his creditors back in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, reporting the results of his voyage (albeit with much exaggeration, and without mentioning Cadamosto).
Second Journey (1456)
Cadamosto set out again from LagosLagos, Portugal
Lagos is a municipality at the mouth of Bensafrim River and along the Atlantic Ocean, in the Barlavento region of the Algarve, in southern Portugal....
in May 1456, this time not alone, but together with Antoniotto Usodimare
Antoniotto Usodimare
Antoniotto Usodimare or Usus di Mare was a Genoese trader and explorer in the service of the Portuguese Prince Henry the Navigator. Jointly with Alvise Cadamosto, Usodimare discovered a great stretch of the West African coast in two known voyages in 1455 and 1456...
and another caravel with an unnamed Portuguese captain, another servant of Prince Henry. The three vessels made no known trading stops, intending to sail straight to the Gambia River
Gambia River
The Gambia River is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul...
(probably per Prince Henry's instructions).
Catching a storm around Cape Vert peninsula, the little fleet was forced to sail west, away from the coast for two days and three nights (about 300 miles) and stumbled on the as-yet-undiscovered archipelago of the Cape Verde islands. Cadamosto, Usodimare and the unnamed captain scouted several of the uninhabited islands, believing them to be four in number (although Cadamosto notes in his account that later explorers would find them to be ten). They anchored first on an island which they named Buona Vista (Boa Vista
Boa Vista, Cape Verde
Boa Vista is the easternmost island of Cape Verde. It is located in the Barlavento group of the archipelago. The island is known for marine turtles and traditional music, as well as its ultramarathon and its sand dunes and beaches...
), before proceeding on to a larger island, which they named San Jacobo (Santiago
Santiago, Cape Verde
Santiago , or Santiagu in Cape Verdean Creole, is the largest island of Cape Verde, its most important agricultural centre and home to half the nation’s population. At the time of Darwin's voyage it was called St. Jago....
) (according to Cadamosto, on account of it being the feast of SS. Philip
Philip the Apostle
Philip the Apostle was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. Later Christian traditions describe Philip as the apostle who preached in Greece, Syria, and Phrygia....
and James
James the Just
James , first Bishop of Jerusalem, who died in 62 AD, was an important figure in Early Christianity...
- probably an error) Finding the islands uninteresting, they headed on.
(Note: although Cadamosto's claims credit for the discovery of the Cape Verde islands, this is disputed by Diogo Gomes
Diogo Gomes
Diogo Gomes , was a Portuguese navigator, explorer and writer.Diogo Gomes was a servant and explorer of Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator. His memoirs were dictated late in his life to Martin Behaim...
, who claims he discovered the islands, together with Antonio da Noli, in 1462 (sometimes dated 1460))
Cadamosto, Usodimare and the unnamed Portuguese captain proceeded to enter the Gambia River
Gambia River
The Gambia River is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul...
again, albeit this time without opposition. They sailed about 10 Italian miles (15 km) upriver and anchored briefly on a river island
River Island
River Island is one of Britain's best known high street fashion brands and can be found in most cities across the UK. The brand also has stores in Singapore, Turkey, Poland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the Middle East.-History:...
they named Santo Andrea (to bury a deceased crew member, named Andrea; the island is believed to be modern Dog Island
Dog Island, Gambia
Dog Island is a small island, situated on the Gambia River in the Republic of The Gambia about 13 kilometers from the mouth of the river to the Atlantic Ocean. The area of the island is less than 3.5 hectares...
).
The trio proceeded upriver carefully, warily watched by native Mandinka
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
canoes, but this time no hostilities or ambushes emerged. Eventually, one the interpreters managed to entice some of the canoe-borne natives aboard the Portuguese ships and opened peaceful contact. The natives identified themselves as subjects of king Forosangoli (of the southern bank of the Gambia) and that he, and most other Mandinka kings along the Gambia river were all vassal subjects of the Emperor of Mali
Mali Empire
The Mali Empire or Mandingo Empire or Manden Kurufa was a West African empire of the Mandinka from c. 1230 to c. 1600. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa I...
(Impatore di Melli), and that some of the local kings were willing to meet the Portuguese. Following the instructions of his interlocutors, Cadamosto sailed some 60 Italian miles up the Gambia river, reaching the residence of the Mandinka
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
king he called Battimansa, Mandinka
Mandinka language
The Mandinka language is a Mandé language spoken by millions of Mandinka people in Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea-Bissau and Chad; it is the main language of The Gambia. It belongs to the Manding branch of Mandé, and is thus fairly...
for "king of the Batti' (probably Badibu, on the north side of the river). They were well received, but disappointed at the little evidence of the large amounts of gold they had expected to find. They engaged in some petty trade with the locals, in particular musk
Musk
Musk is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial substances with similar odors. Musk was a name originally given to a substance with a...
(invaluable to European perfumers), and imply they even acquired live specimens of African civet
Civet
The family Viverridae is made up of around 30 species of medium-sized mammal, including all of the genets, the binturong, most of the civets, and the two African linsangs....
cat.
Cadamosto mentions interacting with another lord, Guumimensa, whose dominion was closer to the mouth of the river. This is probably none other than the formidable 'Niumimansa', king of the Niumi-Banta of Barra region, whose rule extended over Niumi-Bato (Niominka) of the Diombos River shore, an old antagonist of Portuguese explorers. However, Cadamosto reports their relations went quite smoothly.
Cadamosto and his companions stayed in Badibu for 11 days, before departing. They did not discover the commercial center of Cantor
Kantora
' is one of the four districts of the Upper River Division of The Gambia.At one point Kantora was a province of the Kabu Empire but it probably had different boundaries then.-References:...
, which was still several miles upriver (it was only discovered a couple of years later, by Diogo Gomes
Diogo Gomes
Diogo Gomes , was a Portuguese navigator, explorer and writer.Diogo Gomes was a servant and explorer of Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator. His memoirs were dictated late in his life to Martin Behaim...
). But he did discover malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, and his crew quickly fell ill with fevers. It was probably this epidemic that prompted Cadamosto to cut short his stay and leave the Gambia river, back to the ocean, where the fevers seemed to have subsided.
Resolved to continue exploring the West African coast, Cadamosto's trio set sail south, doubling Cape St. Mary (13°29′10"N 16°40′6"W) and carefully navigating the dangerous breakers
Breaker (reef)
A breaker is a piece of reef against which waves break.This sense of the term is closely related to another sense, that of the breaking wave itself. In times past, when ocean navigation was relatively rudimentary, a line of breaking waves was a crucial indicator that a boat was bearing down upon an...
around Bald Cape (13°22′47"N 16°47′43"W), reporting a couple of rivers along the way (none of which he names). A few days later, Cadamosto and his companions discovered the mouth of the Casamance River
Casamance River
The Casamance River flows westward for the most part into the Atlantic Ocean along a path about 200 miles in length. However, only 80 miles of it are navigable. The Casamance is the principal river of the Kolda, Sédhiou, and Ziguinchor Regions in the southern portion of Senegal between The...
(12°33′22"N 16°45′44"W). They named the river after the local lord Casamansa, king ('mansa') of Kasa
Kasa (kingdom)
The kingdom of Kasa, also known as Kasanga, was the dominant kingdom in the lower Casamance in the late 15th century. Most of the inhabitants of the realm were Banun or Kasanke. In the late 16th and early 17th century the area fell under the domination of Kaabu.-Sources:*Berry, Boubakar....
(called Casangas by later Portuguese, a now near-extinct people, related to the Bainuk people). They sent a couple of launches to land to open contact, but being told the king was absent on campaign, Cadamosto did not linger but decided to continue on.
Sailing south, the fleet reached a red-colored headland they named Capo Rosso (Cape Roxo
Cape Roxo
Cape Roxo , is a headland in West Africa, marking the westernmost frontier of Guinea-Bissau with Senegal. On the lower side is the São Domingos district of the Cacheu Region of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, above it is the Oussouye Department of the Ziguinchor Region of the Republic of...
, 12°20′8"N 16°42′47"W, today marking the border between the republic of Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
and Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
). In his account, Cadamosto names two large rivers beyond the Cape Roxo promontory - Santa Anna and San Dominico - which are a little confusing. It is believed one is likely to be the Cacheu River (12°10′32"N 16°20′47"W, often indicated in later Portuguese maps as Rio de São Domingos) while the other river is probably one of the branches (Rio de Jatta or Rio das Ancoras) of the Mansôa River (11°51′34"N 15°58′24"W)
A day later, Cadamosto discovered a great river (grandissimo fiume), which they named Rio Grande (the Geba River
Geba River
The Geba is a river of West Africa that rises in Guinea, passes through Senegal, and reaches the Atlantic Ocean in Guinea-Bissau. It is about in total length.Its tributary the Colufe River joins the Geba at Bafatá...
- more precisely, the wide estuary it forms together with the Corubal River
Corubal River
The Corubal is a river of West Africa, a major tributary of the Geba River. It rises near Labe on the Fouta Djallon plateau of Guinea, enters Guinea-Bissau on its eastern border, then meanders generally southwest, nearing the Guinea-Bissauan border, then turns northwest, passes by Xitole, then...
, it doesn't seem they actually entered the river itself) (11°45′N 15°38′W). After anchoring near the southern bank of the estuary, they were approached by a couple of long native canoes from the mainland (no identification given, probably Balantas or Biafares) A few trinkets were traded with the canoes, but they were unable to open communication, as their on-ship interpreters (Wolof and/or Mandinka) did not understand their native language. After a couple of days, they lifted anchor and made their way to some "of the many islands in the sea" (the Bissagos Islands
Bissagos Islands
The Bissagos Islands or Bijagós Archipelago are a group of 18 major islands and dozens more smaller ones in the Atlantic Ocean with an area of 2,624 km2 and a population of 30,000...
), but were found it just as impossible to communicate with the inhabitants there.
Given the language barrier, they saw no point in proceeding further. Cadamosto, Usodimare and the unnamed Portuguese captain set sail back to Portugal (details of their return journey are not given).
Achievement
The record of Portuguese discoveries prior to Alvise Cadamosto did not seem to have gone beyond the Sine-SaloumSine-Saloum
Sine-Saloum is a region in Senegal located north of The Gambia and south of the Petite Côte. It encompasses an area of 24,000 square kilometers, about 12% of Senegal, with a population in the 1990s of 1,060,000....
delta. The furthest pre-Cadamosto seems to have been the singular expedition of Álvaro Fernandes
Álvaro Fernandes
Álvaro Fernandes , was a 15th Century Portuguese slave-trader and explorer from Madeira, in the service of Henry the Navigator. He captained two important expeditions , which expanded the limit of the Portuguese discovery of the West African coast, probably as far as the northern borderlands of...
in 1446, which may have reached as far as Cape Roxo
Cape Roxo
Cape Roxo , is a headland in West Africa, marking the westernmost frontier of Guinea-Bissau with Senegal. On the lower side is the São Domingos district of the Cacheu Region of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, above it is the Oussouye Department of the Ziguinchor Region of the Republic of...
, but this was not followed up. The 1447 expedition led by Estêvão Afonso did not go beyond the beginning of the estuary of the Gambia River
Gambia River
The Gambia River is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul...
, and thereafter expeditions below Cape Vert were largely suspended by Prince Henry. The principal barrier to the Portuguese seems to have been belligerence of the Niumi-Bato (Niominka) and the Niumi-Banta (Mandinka
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
of Niumi (Barra)), both led by the same king, Niumimansa. Cadamosto encountered that hostility on his first expedition of 1455. But on his second trip, in 1456, opposition fell away for some reason, and he managed to become the first European (along with Antoniotto Usodimare
Antoniotto Usodimare
Antoniotto Usodimare or Usus di Mare was a Genoese trader and explorer in the service of the Portuguese Prince Henry the Navigator. Jointly with Alvise Cadamosto, Usodimare discovered a great stretch of the West African coast in two known voyages in 1455 and 1456...
and their anonymous companions) to sail up the Gambia River
Gambia River
The Gambia River is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul...
. It is uncertain what caused this change of attitude from one year to the next - a new Niumimansa? A shift in senegambian politics? The unreliable Diogo Gomes
Diogo Gomes
Diogo Gomes , was a Portuguese navigator, explorer and writer.Diogo Gomes was a servant and explorer of Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator. His memoirs were dictated late in his life to Martin Behaim...
later boasted that he sailed to the Gambia sometime between 1456 and 1458 and single-handedly negotiated a peace with the Niumimansa, although this is likely exaggerated.)
Once they opened the Gambia River, Cadamosto and Usodimare led the next great leap of Henrican discoveries in Africa - Cape Verde islands, the Casamance River
Casamance River
The Casamance River flows westward for the most part into the Atlantic Ocean along a path about 200 miles in length. However, only 80 miles of it are navigable. The Casamance is the principal river of the Kolda, Sédhiou, and Ziguinchor Regions in the southern portion of Senegal between The...
, Cape Roxo
Cape Roxo
Cape Roxo , is a headland in West Africa, marking the westernmost frontier of Guinea-Bissau with Senegal. On the lower side is the São Domingos district of the Cacheu Region of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, above it is the Oussouye Department of the Ziguinchor Region of the Republic of...
, Cacheu River and finally the Geba River
Geba River
The Geba is a river of West Africa that rises in Guinea, passes through Senegal, and reaches the Atlantic Ocean in Guinea-Bissau. It is about in total length.Its tributary the Colufe River joins the Geba at Bafatá...
and Bissagos Islands
Bissagos Islands
The Bissagos Islands or Bijagós Archipelago are a group of 18 major islands and dozens more smaller ones in the Atlantic Ocean with an area of 2,624 km2 and a population of 30,000...
. The length of coast they discovered in 1456 was the greatest leap in the Portuguese era of discoveries since 1446. Much the same coast would be covered again by Diogo Gomes
Diogo Gomes
Diogo Gomes , was a Portuguese navigator, explorer and writer.Diogo Gomes was a servant and explorer of Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator. His memoirs were dictated late in his life to Martin Behaim...
around 1458 (possibly as early as 1456, probably sent by Henry as a follow up to Cadamosto's report) and 1462. Cadamosto's furthest marker would only really be surpassed by Pedro de Sintra
Pedro de Sintra
Pedro de Sintra also known as Pêro de Sintra was a Portuguese explorer. He was among the first Europeans to explore the West African coast. Around 1462 his expedition reached contemporary Sierra Leone and named it. Continuing their journey, they visited the Benin Empire.-References and notes:...
in 1461-62.
Return to Venice
After his return in 1456, Cadamosto continued to live in LagosLagos, Portugal
Lagos is a municipality at the mouth of Bensafrim River and along the Atlantic Ocean, in the Barlavento region of the Algarve, in southern Portugal....
for many years, suggesting he must have continued to engage, directly or indirectly, in West African commerce. It is not known whether Cadamosto himself made any further trips down the African coast. Cadamosto bluntly states that there were no other voyages of exploratory significance by anyone after 1456, until the expedition of Pedro de Sintra
Pedro de Sintra
Pedro de Sintra also known as Pêro de Sintra was a Portuguese explorer. He was among the first Europeans to explore the West African coast. Around 1462 his expedition reached contemporary Sierra Leone and named it. Continuing their journey, they visited the Benin Empire.-References and notes:...
in 1462. Cadamosto acquired the details of that expedition from Sintra's clerk upon its return.
Cadamosto's patron, Prince Henry the Navigator, died in November 1460, and the monopoly on African trade reverted to the Portuguese crown and its operations were gradually transferred from Lagos to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. Probably seeing no future for himself in the new order, Cadamosto left Portugal and returned to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
in February 1463. Cadamosto is believed to have brought notes, logs and several nautical maps with him. Cadamosto used these to compose his famous Navigationi sometime in the mid-1460s. The Navigazioni, besides generally hailing the Portuguese discoveries and lionizing Prince Henry, provided detailed accounts of three expeditions - his own voyages of 1455 and 1456, and the voyage of Pedro de Sintra
Pedro de Sintra
Pedro de Sintra also known as Pêro de Sintra was a Portuguese explorer. He was among the first Europeans to explore the West African coast. Around 1462 his expedition reached contemporary Sierra Leone and named it. Continuing their journey, they visited the Benin Empire.-References and notes:...
in 1462. He is believed to have delivered much of his primary material to the Venetian cartographer Grazioso Benincasa, as Benincasa went on to produce an atlas in 1468, depicting the West African coast with remarkable accuracy.
The Navigationi were probably written in an effort to advertise his accomplishments, and rescue his family name. Upon his return, Cadamosto managed to recover some of his family's property from his Querini relatives and, a couple of years later, married Elisabetta di Giorgio Venier, a rich noblewoman but of frail health - she died without bearing him a child. He returned to commerce, with trading interests as far afield as Spain, Alexandria, Syria and England, and with fortune and connections restored, carved out a diplomatic and administrative career for the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
alongside it. Cadamosto served as Venetian proveditor
Proveditor
In the Republic of Venice, a proveditor was a civilian official charged with overseeing the actions of the condottiere captains hired by the Republic. Although the office was largely a clerical one, some proveditors, such as Andrea Gritti, were compelled by circumstances to take direct command of...
in Cattaro, then in Corone, and was sent on diplomatic missions to Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
and Herzegovina. After the fall of Negroponte
Lordship of Negroponte
The Lordship of Negroponte was a crusader state established on the island of Euboea after the partition of the Byzantine Empire following the Fourth Crusade. Partitioned into three baronies run by a few interrelated Lombard families, the island soon fell under the influence of the Republic of...
in 1470, Cadamosto was placed in charge of devising a plan for the defense of Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
against the Ottomans.
In 1481, Alvise Cadamosto was elected captain of the Venetian Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
galley fleet, ending his naval career on the same ships where he started. He died in 1483, in the Polesine
Polesine
Polesine is a geographic and historic area in the north-east of Italy corresponding nowadays with the province of Rovigo; it is a strip of land about 100-km long and 18-km wide located between the lower courses of the Adige and the Po rivers.- Geography :...
, while on diplomatic mission to Rovigo
Rovigo
Rovigo is a town and comune in the Veneto region of North-Eastern Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. -Geography:...
to assess the spoils acquired by the Venetian Republic after their victory over Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara in the War of Ferrara. (although in some accounts, the date of his death is sometimes given as early as 1477 and as late as 1488).
The Navigazioni
For historians of the Portuguese discoveriesPortuguese discoveries
Portuguese discoveries is the name given to the intensive maritime exploration by the Portuguese during the 15th and 16th centuries. Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of European overseas exploration, discovering and mapping the coasts of Africa, Asia and Brazil, in what become known as the...
under Henry the Navigator, Alvise Cadamosto's accounts, the Navigazioni, have proven to be an invaluable document. Cadamosto's accounts, Gomes Eanes de Zurara's chronicle and the memoirs of Diogo Gomes
Diogo Gomes
Diogo Gomes , was a Portuguese navigator, explorer and writer.Diogo Gomes was a servant and explorer of Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator. His memoirs were dictated late in his life to Martin Behaim...
, are practically all that remain of the contemporary written record of the Henrican discoveries. Indeed, until the publication of João de Barros
João de Barros
João de Barros , called the Portuguese Livy, is one of the first great Portuguese historians, most famous for his Décadas da Ásia , a history of the Portuguese in India and Asia.-Early years:...
's Decadas da Asia in 1552 (which drew on a manuscript draft of Zurara's chronicle), Cadamosto's Navigazioni was the only published work circulating in Europe about the Portuguese discoveries. Cadamosto emphasized the central role of Prince Henry, and was instrumental in building up the image of the Navigator Prince for posterity. Compared to the hagiographic Zurara and the fallible Gomes, historians have relished and lauded the reliability and detail provided by Cadamosto, giving a richer and clearer view of how the Henrican enterprise operated.
Cadamosto's accounts are also invaluable for historians of Africa, providing the first written detailed accounts of the Senegambia region, beyond the fringes touched one century earlier by Arab historian Ibn Battuta
Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta , or simply Ibn Battuta, also known as Shams ad–Din , was a Muslim Moroccan Berber explorer, known for his extensive travels published in the Rihla...
. Cadamosto gives a summary of contemporary European knowledge about West Africa. He describes the Mali Empire
Mali Empire
The Mali Empire or Mandingo Empire or Manden Kurufa was a West African empire of the Mandinka from c. 1230 to c. 1600. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa I...
(Melli) and the Trans-Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade requires travel across the Sahara to reach sub-Saharan Africa. While existing from prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the late 16th century.- Increasing desertification and economic incentive :...
, e.g. how Berber caravans carry the Saharan salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
from desert pans like Teghaza (Tegazza) to frontier cities like Timbuctu (Tombutto).
He goes to explain how gold coming out of the heart of Mali goes out in three parts, one to Cochia (Kukiya) and then eastwards onto Egypt, the second via Timbuctu to Toet (Tuat
Tuat
Tuat is a desert region in central Algeria that contains a string of small oases. In the past, the oases were important for caravans crossing the Sahara desert.-Geography:...
) and then north towards Tunisia, and a third part, also via Timbuctu, goes west to Hoden (Ouadane
Ouadane
Ouadane or Wadan is a small town in the desert region of central Mauritania, situated on the southern edge of the Adrar Plateau, 93 km northeast of Chinguetti. The town was a staging post in the trans-Saharan trade and for caravans transporting slabs of salt from the mines at Idjil. A...
), destined for Morocco, part of which is deviated to the Portuguese factory
Factory (trading post)
Factory was the English term for the trading posts system originally established by Europeans in foreign territories, first within different states of medieval Europe, and later in their colonial possessions...
at Arguin
Arguin
Arguin is an island off the western coast of Mauritania in the Bay of Arguin, at 20° 36' N., 16° 27' W. It is six km long by two broad. Off the island are extensive and dangerous reefs...
.
Cadamosto is the first known person to refer to the Senegal River
Sénégal River
The Sénégal River is a long river in West Africa that forms the border between Senegal and Mauritania.The Sénégal's headwaters are the Semefé and Bafing rivers which both originate in Guinea; they form a small part of the Guinean-Malian border before coming together at Bafoulabé in Mali...
by its recognizably modern name (Rio di Senega) rather than the "western Nile". Curiously, Cadamosto notes that the Senegal was probably the Niger of ancient
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
geographers (e.g. Ptolomey). He repeats the old error of assuming that the Senegal river and the (actual) Niger
Niger River
The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea...
river are connected to each other, forming one great east-west river, and relates the legend that it was believed to be a tributary of the great Biblical river of Gihon
Gihon
Gihon is the name of the second river mentioned in the second chapter of the biblical Book of Genesis. The Gihon is mentioned as one of four rivers issuing out of the Garden of Eden that branched from a single river within the garden. The name may be interpreted as "Bursting Forth, Gushing"...
(Gion) that flowed from the Garden of Eden
Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
across the lands of Aethiopia.
Cadamosto describes the Wolof (Gilofi) empire, which he notes was bound on the east by the Fula
Fula people
Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...
Tekrur/Toucouleur (Tuchusor) and to the south by the Mandinka
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
states of the Gambia River
Gambia River
The Gambia River is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul...
(Gambra) Cadamosto goes into quite some detail on the politics, society and culture of the Wolof states. He supplies a meticulously detailed eyewitness description of the Cayor
Cayor
The Kingdom of Cayor was the largest and most powerful kingdom that split off from the Empire of Jolof , in what is now Senegal. Cayor was located in north and central Senegal, southeast of Waalo, west of the kingdom of Jolof and north of Baol and the Kingdom of Sine.In 1549, the king, or...
village he stayed in 1455, the Damel
Damel
Damel was the title of the ruler of the Wolof kingdom of Cayor in what is now northwest Senegal, West Africa.The most well-known damel is probably Lat Dior Diop who died in battle during the final French drive to capture his territory, which was one of the strongest areas of resistance...
's court, the people, customs, economy, local fauna and flora, etc. The details demonstrate Cadamosto's sheer curiosity - he describes the courtly customs, the houses, the use of cowrie shells as currency, the food and drink, the operation of local markets, livestock and cultivation, the production of palm wine, weapons, the dances and music, the reaction to European novelties (clothes, ships, cannon, bag-pipes). In all this, Cadamosto's narrative evinces a degree of honest curiosity and absence of prejudice perhaps surprising for a European of that era. Cadamosto attempts a similarly detailed account of the Mandinka
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
people of the Gambia River
Gambia River
The Gambia River is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul...
, making particular note of their abundant cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
(rare in Wolof areas), although not nearly as complete, as he did not seem to venture much away from his boats there. He does not cease to marvel at the extraordinary wildlife which is far more plentiful around the Gambia, notably the hippopotamus
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
(which he calls the "horse fish") and the largely unfamiliar African elephant (whose meat he was tempted to taste - a piece of which he salted and brought back to Portugal for Prince Henry himself; a preserved elephant's foot would be forwarded to Henry's sister, Isabella, Duchess of Burgundy.).
Cadamosto's accounts were first published in Italian at the head of the famous 1507 Montalbado collection Paesi novamente retrovati. It was quickly followed by translations into Latin (1508), German (1508) and French (1515). The Italian version was reprinted in the famous Ramusio
Giovanni Battista Ramusio
Giovanni Battista Ramusio was an Italian geographer and travel writer.Born in Treviso, Italy, Ramusio was the son of Paolo Ramusio, a magistrate in the city-state of Venice...
collection of 1550. Although reprinted and widely disseminated in other countries, a Portuguese translation did not appear until 1812.
Cadamosto was also long alleged to be the author of the Portolano del mare, a rutter
Rutter (nautical)
A rutter is a mariner's handbook of written sailing directions. Before the advent of nautical charts, rutters were the primary store of geographic information for maritime navigation....
with sailing directions for the Mediterannean coasts, found in the library of St. Mark in Venice, with the publication stamp of Bernardo Rizzo in 1490. Cadamosto's authorship of the portolano has been generally discarded in modern times.
Editions of Cadamosto's Navigazioni:
- Original (1507): "Mondo Nuovo, Libro de la prima navigazione di Luigi di Cadamosto de la bassa Ethiopia ed altre cosa", in Francanzano Montalbado, editor, Paesi novamente retrovati et Novo Mondo da Alberico Vesputio Florentino intitulato, published in Vicenza, 1507. (reprinted 1508, 1512, 1519, 1521)
- Latin (1508) trans. by Archangelo Madrigini, Abbot of Casalo, in Itinerarium Portugallensium e Lusitania in Indiam et Inde in Occidentem et Demum ad Aquilonem published in Milan, 1508. [Latin trans. reprinted in Simon Grynaeus, Novus orbis regnorum et insularum veteribus incognitorum, 1532]
- German (1508) trans. by Jobstein Ruchamer, in Newe unbekante landte und ein newe weldte in kurt verganger zeythe erfunden, published in Nuremberg, 1508
- French (1515): trans. by Mathurin du Redouer, Sensuyt le Nouveau monde & navigations faictes par Emeric Vespuce Florentin: Dez pays & isles nouvellement trouvez auparavant a nous inconneuz tant en l'Ethiope que Arrabie, Calichut et aultres plusiers regions estranges, published in Paris, 1515. (1916 reprint online) (Reprint 1895, C. Schefer ed., Relation des voyages à la côte occidentale d'Afrique d'Alvise de Ca' da Mosto, 1455-1457, Paris: Leroux online; New translation by Frédérique Verrier (1994) Voyages en Afrique Noire d'Alvise Ca'da Mosto (1455 & 1456). Paris: Chandeigne.)
- Italian (Ramusio ed.): "Il Libro di Messer Alvise Ca da Mosto Gentilhuomo Venetiano" & "Navigatione del Capitano Pietro di Sintra Portoghese scritta per il medesimo M. Alvise da Ca da Mosto", as printed in Venice (1550), by Giovanni Battista RamusioGiovanni Battista RamusioGiovanni Battista Ramusio was an Italian geographer and travel writer.Born in Treviso, Italy, Ramusio was the son of Paolo Ramusio, a magistrate in the city-state of Venice...
, ed., Primo volume delle navigationi et viaggi nel qua si contine la descrittione dell'Africa, et del paese del Prete Ianni, on varii viaggi, dal mar Rosso a Calicut,& infin all'isole Molucche, dove nascono le Spetierie et la navigatione attorno il mondo. online
- English: "Original Journals of the Voyages of Cada Mosto and Piedro de Cintra to the Coast of Africa, the former in the years 1455 and 1456, and the latter soon afterwards", reprinted in R. Kerr, 1811, A General History of Voyages and Travels to the end of the 18th century, vol. 2, Edinburgh: Blackwood. Ch.4 [Another English edition is found G.R. Crone, ed, 1937, The Voyages of Cadamosto, London: Haklyut]
- Portuguese: "Navegações de Luiz de Cadamosto, a que se ajuntou a viagem de Pedro de Cintra, capitão Portuguez, traduzidas to Italiano.", in Academia Real das Sciencias, 1812, Collecção de noticias para a historia e geografia das nações ultramarinas: que vivem nos dominios portuguezes, ou lhes são visinhas, vol. 2, Pt.1 offprint
Apocryphal (not Cadamosto, but attributed to him in the past):
- Unknown (1490) Il Portolano del mare di Alvise da Mosto, nobile Veneto, nel qual si dichiara minutamente del sito di tutti i Porti, quali sono da Venezia in Levante et in Ponente et d'altre cose utilissime & necessarie ai naviganti. 1806 ed., Venice: Silvestro Gnoato. online
Sources
- J. Brotton (1998) Trading territories: mapping the early modern world, Cornell University Press
- Bühnen, S. (1992) "Place Names as an Historical Source: An Introduction with Examples from Southern Senegambia and Germany", History in Africa, Vol. 19, pp. 45–101
- Castilho, A.M. de (1866) Descripção e roteiro da costa occidental de Africa, desde o cabo de Espartel até o das Agulhas. 2 vols, Lisbon: Impresa Nacional. vol. 1
- Cortesão, Armando (1931) "Subsídios para a história do Descobrimento de Cabo Verde e Guiné", Boletim da Agencia Geral das Colonias, No. 75. As reprinted in 1975, Esparsos, vol. 1, Coimbra. online
- G.R. Crone, ed. (1937) The Voyages of Cadamosto and other documents on Western Africa in the second half of the fifteenth century, London: Hakluyt.
- da Mosto, Andrea (1883) "Il portulano attribuito ad Alvise da Cà da Mosto", Bollettino della Società geografica italiana, vol. 30, p. 540 offprint
- Diffie, Bailey W., and George D. Winius (1977) Foundations of the Portuguese empire, 1415-1580. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press
- Damião de GóisDamião de GóisDamiao de Góis , born in Alenquer, Portugal, was an important Portuguese humanist philosopher. He was a friend and student of Erasmus. He was appointed secretary to the Portuguese factory in Antwerp in 1523 by King John III of Portugal...
(1567) Chronica do prinçipe Dom Ioam: rei que foi destes regnos segundo do nome, em que summariamente se trattam has cousas sustançiaes que nelles aconteçerão do dia de seu nasçimento atte ho em que el Rei Dom Afonso seu pai faleçeo, 1905 edition, A.J. Gonçálvez Guimarãis ed. Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade. online
- Diogo GomesDiogo GomesDiogo Gomes , was a Portuguese navigator, explorer and writer.Diogo Gomes was a servant and explorer of Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator. His memoirs were dictated late in his life to Martin Behaim...
De prima inventione Guineae (Portuguese translation by Gabriel Pereira (1898–99) as "As Relações do Descobrimento da Guiné e das ilhas dos Açores, Madeira e Cabo Verde" in Boletim da Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa, no. 5 online)
- Hughes, A. and D. Perfect (2008) Historical Dictionary of the Gambia, 4th ed., Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow.
- LeGrand, G. (1928) "La Gambie: notes historiques et géographiques" Bulletin du Comité d'études historiques et scientifiques de l'Afrique Occidentale Française, Jul-sep, p. 432-84
- Major, R.H. (1868) The Life of Prince Henry, surnamed the Navigator. London: Asher & Co. 1868 ed.
- Quintella, Ignacio da Costa (1839) Annaes da Marinha Portugueza, Lisbon: Academia Real das Sciencias, vol. 1.
- Russell, Peter E. (2000) Prince Henry 'the Navigator': a life. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press.
- C. Schefer (1895) "Introduction" in Relation des voyages à la côte occidentale d'Afrique d'Alvise de Ca' da Mosto, 1455-1457, Paris: Leroux
- Teixera da Mota, Avelino (1946) "A descoberta da Guiné", Boletim cultural da Guiné Portuguesa, Vol. 1. Part 1 in No. 1 (Jan), p. 11-68, Pt. 2 in No. 2 (Apr), p. 273-326; Pt. 3 in No. 3 (Jul), p. 457-509.
- Teixira da Mota,A. (1972) Mar, além Mar: Estudos e ensaios de história e geographia. Lisbon: Junta de Investigações do Ultramar
- Verrier, F. (1994) "Introduction", in Voyages en Afrique Noire d'Alvise Ca'da Mosto (1455 & 1456). Paris: Chandeigne.
- Zurla, P. (1815) Dei viaggi e delle scoperte africane di Alvise da Cà da Mosto, Patrizio Veneto, Venice. online
- Wright, D. (1976), Niumi: the history of a western Mandinka state through the eighteenth century. Bloomington: Indiana University.
External links
- Alvise Cadamosto - article at CitizendiumCitizendiumCitizendium is an English-language wiki-based free encyclopedia project launched by Larry Sanger, who co-founded Wikipedia in 2001....
- NNDB on Alvise Cadamoto
See also
- List of explorers
- Explorations (disambiguation)