The Strange Adventures of Andrew Battell Part 15

Joo de Araujo e Azevedo was placed at the head of the Portuguese invading force.[475] He raided the country along the Lukala, and then turned back upon the Kwanza, occupied the islands of Ukole and Kitaka, and came up with the Queen's camp at Ndangi Island. The Queen, having consulted the spirit of her brother Ngola mbandi,[476] declined to risk a battle, and fled into Hako (Oacco). The Portuguese followed in pursuit, pa.s.sing through Bemba, Malemba and Kipupa, and Little Ngangela (Ganguella); came up with the Queen's forces in the territory of soba Matima (Mathemo), and inflicted a serious defeat upon them. Among the prisoners taken were the Queen's sisters, Kambe and Funji, and many Makotas. The pursuit was continued as far as Kina grande in Ngangela, a deep and difficult gorge, into which some of the soldiers and the _guerra preta_ descended by means of ropes. When the Queen fled to the kingdom of Songo, the Portuguese forces retired to the west (1627).[477]

The two princesses were taken to Luandu, where the Governor, Ferno de Souza, lodged them in his own house. In baptism (1628), they received the names of D. Barbara and D. Engracia.

The Portuguese had no sooner retired than Queen Nzinga returned to Ndangi Island, and having been reinforced by several Jaga, she undertook the conquest of Matamba. At Makaria ka matamba she took prisoner the dowager-queen[478] Muongo Matamba, and her daughter. The mother was branded as a slave, and died of grief; but the daughter was taken into favour, and was baptised in 1667.

Having thus destroyed the ancient kingdom of Matamba, the Queen once more invaded Portuguese territory, but she turned back when she heard that the Jaga Kasanji was raiding her recent conquest, upon which he claimed to have prior rights.

At the same time she interfered continually with the commerce of the Portuguese with the interior; and it was only in 1636, when the Governor, Francisco de Vasconcellos da Cunha, sent D. Gaspar Borgia and Father Antonio Coelho on a mission to the Jaga in Little Ngangela, and to the Queen at her Kabasa, in Umba, that peaceable relations were established. The Queen, however, persistently refused to surrender her claims to the provinces of Ndongo which had been occupied by the Portuguese.

MINOR EVENTS, 1624-1641.

Punitive expeditions were frequent. In 1624 the Jaga Kasanji, who had taken advantage of the conflicts between the Portuguese and Queen Nzinga to rob Pumbeiros, was severely punished, and Captain Roque de Miguel returned from this expedition with a large number of captives, who as a matter of course, were sold into slavery. During the provisional governors.h.i.+p of the bishop D. Simo de Mascarenhas[479] (1623-4), Lopo Soares Laco meted out punishment to the Jagas Nzenza a ngombe and Bangu-Bangu, and to the irrepressible Kafuche.[480] A few years later, in 1631, the captain-major Antonio Bruto waged a successful war against rebellious sobas, and more especially impressed the natives by his victory over the dreaded Mbuila anduwa (Ambuila Dua), who held out for six months in a rocky stronghold deemed impregnable. The invasion of Kongo, in 1622, by order of Governor Joo Correa de Souza, who claimed the surrender of Luandu Island and of all the copper mines, has already been referred to (see p. 123).

Among the very few measures calculated to promote the material or moral interests of the colony may be mentioned the establishment of the three _feiras_, of Ndondo, Beja, and Lukamba, in 1625; the foundation of a _Santa casa da misericordia_ (Poor-house and hospital) at S. Paulo de Luandu, by the bishop D. Simo de Mascarenhas; the compulsory cultivation of the banks of Mbengu (Bengo), when Luandu was threatened with famine owing to the non-arrival of provision s.h.i.+ps from Brazil, in 1629;[481] the reform of the administration of the Royal revenue, by Ferno de Souza, in the same year; and the creation of a board of revenue (_Junta da fazenda_), charged with the collection of the t.i.thes and of the tribute payable by the native chiefs, by Francisco de Vasconcellos da Cunha, in 1638.

The affairs of the missions will be dealt with subsequently, in a comprehensive manner, but a difficulty which arose in 1623 between the Governor, Joo Correa de Souza, and the Jesuits, may be dealt mentioned at once. In 1619, Gaspar Alvares,[482] a wealthy merchant of Luandu, placed 20,000 cruzados at the service of the Fathers, in order that they might found a seminary[483] for the education of twelve natives.

Subsequently he himself became a member of the Society of Loyola, and devoted the whole of his fortune, amounting to 400,000 cruzados, to its purposes. The Governor not unnaturally objected to this sudden enrichment of a Society which had always been a thorn in the side of the government. Alvares himself escaped to S. Salvador, but the Prefect of the Jesuits and three Fathers were sent as prisoners to Lisbon, where they were at once liberated; whilst the Governor himself, who arrived soon afterwards, perhaps with the intention of justifying his hasty proceedings, was thrown into prison, and died in the _limoeiro_ in 1626.

THE DUTCH IN ANGOLA.

When Philip of Spain seized upon the crown of Portugal in 1580, that unfortunate country became at once involved in the troubles between Spain and the United Netherlands. No sooner had the destruction of the _Armada_, in 1588, enabled the Dutch to take the offensive on sea, than they began to compete for a share in the trade of the Portuguese possessions. The Dutch at first kept on the defensive, but in 1598 they and the Portuguese came into hostile collision near the Ilha do Principe; and all efforts to exclude these noxious heretics from sharing in the trade of the Kongo proved futile, more especially as the natives themselves preferred their Dutch visitors to the masterful Portuguese.[484]

An armistice concluded in 1609 expired in 1621. The Dutch West-India Company was founded in that very year, and thenceforth the Dutch proceeded aggressively. In 1623 they burnt several _patachos_ off the mouth of the Kwanza; in 1629 a Dutch squadron cruised during three months off the coast of Benguella and captured four Portuguese merchantmen, but failed to force their way into the harbour of Luandu.

In 1633 two Dutch vessels menaced S. Felippe de Benguella, but were driven off by Lopo Soares Laco, after a stout fight, on November 15th.

In 1637, Bartholomeu de Vasconcellos da Cunha, the Governor's brother, captured a Dutch man-of-war of 24 guns. At that time the coast was being regularly patrolled by Portuguese men-of-war,[485] and in 1638 the foundations of the Fort S. Miguel were laid on the Morro de S. Paulo, the original site of the city of S. Paulo.

When Portugal recovered her independence, in December, 1640, D. Joo IV of Braganca at once sent Tristo de Mendoza Furtado to the Hague, with instructions to demand a suspension of hostilities. The West-India Company, which profited largely from a state of war, declared in favour of a definite treaty of peace, but objected to the conclusion of an armistice. The Portuguese envoy had no authority to sign such a treaty; but after protracted negotiations an armistice for ten years was signed on June 23rd, 1641, which was to take force outside Europe as soon as it became known there.

Meantime, the directors of the West-Indian Company had instructed Count John Moritz of Na.s.sau to take advantage of the momentary weakness of Portugal, after her war of liberation, to seize all he could before the terms of the treaty became known.[486] Count Moritz, being desirous to increase the supply of slaves for the plantations in Brazil, determined to seize upon Luandu. A fleet of twenty-one vessels was at once fitted out at Pernambuco, and placed under the command of Cornelis Cornelissen Jol, surnamed Houtebeen, or "Wooden leg." It was manned by nine hundred sailors, and had on board two thousand troops, commanded by Jeems Hindersen. This formidable armament left Pernambuco in June 30th, 1641, sighted Cabo Negro on August 5th, and having captured the _Jesus Maria_, on a voyage from Madeira, was by her piloted into the harbour of Luandu.

On August 24th the Dutch fleet unexpectedly appeared off S. Paulo, surprising its inhabitants in the midst of their rejoicings at the accession of the "liberator king." S. Paulo, at that time, was a city of twenty thousand inhabitants, including three thousand Portuguese; but the Governor, Pedro Cezar de Menezes, though he was at the head of nine hundred white troops, offered only a feeble resistance; and, accompanied by many of the citizens, he withdrew to the river Mbengu, and subsequently to Masanganu. The booty which fell into the hands of the Dutch included thirty s.h.i.+ps and ninety-eight cannon.

They lost no time in gaining the goodwill of the neighbouring sobas, sent an emba.s.sy to the King of Kongo (see p. 125), and entertained offers of alliance from Queen Nzinga. Aki musanu (Aca mochana) and Nambu a ngongo (Nabo a ngongo), who had risen upon the Portuguese, were joined by one hundred and fifty Dutchmen, and thus enabled to overcome their enemies, whose leaders, Andre da Costa and Joo Vieira, they killed (1642).

In the following year (1643) information was received that the truce had been signed, but the Dutch director very naturally declined to surrender the town. He agreed, however, to suspend hostilities. Pedro Cezar had been instructed by his government to avail himself of the first opportunity to recover the city,[487] and it was evidently with a view to this eventuality that he established a camp on the river Mbengu. The Dutch suspected his treacherous design, and at dawn on May 26th, 1643, they surprised his force. Many Portuguese were killed (including Antonio Bruto), while Pedro Cezar himself, Bartholomeu de Vasconcellos da Cunha, and one hundred and eighty seven soldiers were taken prisoner. The remainder escaped to Masanganu. The forces a.s.sembled there under the captain-major, Antonio de Miranda, were unable to retrieve this disaster, but the Governor, aided by friends, managed soon afterwards to escape.

But though unequal to meeting the Dutch in the field, the Portuguese were still able to enforce their authority upon the natives; and in 1645 Diogo Gomes de Morales led an expedition into Lubolo and Mbalundu (Bailundo), and reduced the _kolombos_ of thirty "Jagas" to obedience.

In 1645, the Portuguese of Brazil, under the leaders.h.i.+p of Joo Fernandez Vieira, rose upon their Dutch oppressors, and in the same year the Dutch occupied S. Felippe de Benguella. The garrison under Antonio Teixeira de Mendonca, the captain-major, and Antonio Gomez de Gouvea, an experienced _sertanejo_, or backwoodsman, retired northward along the coast. On reaching Kikombo Bay, on July 27th, 1645, they met there Francisco de Sotto-maior, just arrived from Rio de Janeiro with reinforcements. By advice of Gomez, the troops and stores were landed in Suto Bay, near Cabo ledo, and conducted by him in three detachments to Masanganu, without the Dutch becoming aware of their arrival. The Governor, Pedro Cezar de Menezes, returned by the same route to Rio, taking with him a cargo of slaves.

These reinforcements arrived just in time to be employed against Queen Nzinga. That lady had set a black and a white c.o.c.k to fight each other, and the defeat of the white c.o.c.k was looked upon by her as a favourable augury for venturing an attack upon Masanganu. But Gaspar Borges de Madureira fell upon her before her forces had been concentrated (January, 1646). She suffered a severe defeat, notwithstanding the presence of Dutch auxiliaries. Her sisters once more fell into the hands of the Portuguese. D. Engracia was strangled soon afterwards for an act of treachery, whilst D. Barbara was kept in honourable captivity until 1657.[488]

Meanwhile the Dutch had made preparations for an advance up the Kwanza.

They had built Fort Mols at the mouth of the river, and another fort higher up. The Governor, Francisco de Sotto-maior, having died of fever in May, 1646, measures for a spirited defence were taken by the three captains-major, Bartholomeu de Vasconcellos da Cunha, Antonio Teixeira de Mendonca, and Joo Juzarte de Andrada. Muchima, which had been furiously a.s.saulted by the Dutch, was relieved by Diogo Gomes de Morales. But in the following year the Portuguese suffered a reverse at Kawala (Caoalla), and Masanganu itself was threatened by the combined forces of Queen Nzinga, Kongo, and the Dutch.

However a saviour was at hand in this extremity. On August 12th, 1648, Salvador Correa de Sa Benevides,[489] with nineteen vessels, having on board nine hundred soldiers, cast anchor in the harbour of Luandu, and summoned the Dutch to surrender within forty-eight hours. On their refusal he landed his troops, and after a short bombardment of Fort S.

Miguel, to which the Dutch had withdrawn, early on August 15th he delivered an a.s.sault, which cost him one hundred and sixty three men, but led to the surrender of a garrison numbering one thousand one hundred men, including French and German mercenaries. When these prisoners had been joined by the three hundred Dutchmen who were with Queen Nzinga, and the garrison of Benguella, which surrendered without a blow, they were s.h.i.+pped off to Europe. The city, in memory of the event, a.s.sumed the name of "S. Paulo da a.s.sumpco de Loanda," for it was on the Day of Ascension of the Virgin Mary that a seven years' captivity ended.

The anniversary of that event is celebrated to the present day by a religious procession.

RESTORATION OF PORTUGUESE AUTHORITY.

No time was lost in restoring the authority of Portugal throughout the colony. The King of Kongo was compelled to accept a treaty by which Luandu Island and the whole of the country to the south of the Dande river were unconditionally surrendered, and other advantages held out (p. 128). Queen Nzinga, although she declined the overtures of Captain Ruy Pegado[490] for a formal treaty, retired inland, and gave no trouble for a number of years. As to the sobas of Lamba, Kisama, Lubolo, and the Modiku islands, they were visited by punitive expeditions commanded by Antonio Teixeira de Moraes, Diogo Mendes de Morales, Vicente Pegado de Pontes, and Francisco de Aguiar.

Order having been restored, the Governor, Salvador Correa de Sa, caused the ruined buildings to be repaired, and granted crownland to the inhabitants for houses and gardens. In a very short time prosperity returned, and the trade of Luandu was as flouris.h.i.+ng as ever it had been.[491]

But although the Portuguese were masters on sh.o.r.e, the Dutch, and occasionally also French or English "pirates" frequented the coast. In 1650 Alvaro d'Aguiar defeated five of these interlopers, who had made prizes of two s.h.i.+ps on a voyage from Brazil; in 1651 Joo Duque was killed in an action with Dutch men-of-war; in 1652 Joo de Araujo drove away the Dutch from Mpinda and Luangu; in 1658 the same officer made a prize of a English slaver off Benguella. A second English slaver was captured in 1659 by Joo Cardoso, who also captured a Dutch vessel off the Kongo in 1661. In 1662 the definite treaty of peace between Portugal and Holland was signed, and "pirates" are no longer heard of; although Dutch vessels provided with pa.s.ses, or favoured by the Governors, seem to have been admitted to Portuguese ports.

QUEEN NZINGA AND HER SUCCESSORS.

Queen Nzinga, after the return of her General from a raid on the territory of Mbuila (Imbuille), in 1655, whence he brought a miraculous crucifix, felt troubled in her conscience; and on consulting the spirits of five of her ancestors (see p. 166), she learned, to her no small terror, that they were suffering eternal torments, which she could only escape by once more embracing the Christian faith, and seeking the friends.h.i.+p of the Portuguese.[492] Upon this advice she acted. The negotiations for a treaty were conducted by Captain Manuel Freis Peixoto and the Capuchin friar Antonio of Gaeta, who came to her Court for that purpose in 1657. Her sister, D. Barbara, was restored to her on payment of a ransom of two hundred slaves,[493] and the river Lukala was thenceforth to form the boundary between the Queen's dominions and those of the Portuguese. No tribute was to be paid by her. Friar Antonio had the honour of once more baptising this ancient lady, then seventy-five years of age, and also of marrying her, legitimately, to a slave-youth, Don Salvatore; while her sister, D. Barbara, allied herself unto D.

Antonio Carrasco Nzinga a mona, a foster-brother of the Queen, and the General-in-Chief of her armies. A church, S. Maria de Matamba, was specially built for these interesting ceremonies. This remarkable woman died on December 17th, 1663, after Father Cavazzi had administered to her the last consolations of religion, and was buried in the church of St. Anna, which had been built within the precincts of the Royal palace.

When D. Barbara died, on March 24th, 1666, her husband, D. Antonio Carrasco Nzinga a mona, killed the legitimate heir, D. Joo Guterres Ngola kanini, and usurped the throne, but was himself slain in a battle against D. Francisco Guterres Ngola kanini, in 1680. The conqueror then attacked the allies of the Portuguese, robbed the pumbeiros, and beheaded the Jaga Kasanji (1682).[494] Luiz Lopez de Sequeira at once took the field against him with five hundred and thirty infantry, thirty-seven horse, and ten thousand _empacaceiros_, and defeated him at Katole, a place within three days of the Royal _kabasa_. The King himself lost his life, but so did the leader of the Portuguese[495] and Vasco de Mello da Cunha. Joo Antonio de Brito, who took the command after his leader's death, remained encamped for thirty days on the site of the battle; and finding that the enemies did not return, retired to Mbaka; from which we may judge that the Portuguese, too, suffered heavy losses. D. Veronica (or Victoria) Guterres, the sister of the late King, sued for peace, which was readily granted. Fresh complications threatened in 1689, when the Queen was charged-falsely, it appears-with having stirred up the soba Kahenda to rebel against his Portuguese masters; but matters were arranged through the intervention of bishop D.

Joo Franco de Oliveira. No further trouble seems to have occurred with the successors of Queen Nzinga until 1744, when the Queen[496] provoked a war by killing a white trader and robbing pumbeiros: the result of which was the capture of her capital by Bartholomeu Duarte de Sequeira, and the cession of the Kinalunga Islands to Portugal.[497]

THE LAST OF THE KINGS OF NDONGO, 1671.

We have seen that D. Joo de Souza Ngola ari had been installed as the first King of Ndongo, recognised by the Portuguese (see p. 164), about 1627, and had been succeeded by D. Filippe de Souza, who died in 1660, and by Joo II. The hope that this tributary would prove a staunch ally of the Portuguese was not to be realised, for immediately after the disastrous campaign against Sonyo (see p. 131), in 1670, D. Joo Ngola ari raised the standard of rebellion, and invaded the district of Mbaka.

The Governor, Francisco de Tavora,[498] a future Viceroy of India, who on account of his youth (he was only 23 years of age) and supposed prudence had been nick-named _o menino prudente_, despatched his captain-major, Luiz Lopes de Sequeira, to reduce the rebel to obedience.

Ngola ari met with a defeat on the river Luchilu, close to the Pedras of Pungu a ndongo, which were considered impregnable. Yet, on a dark night, on November 18th, 1671, Manuel Cortes, the leader of the _guerra preta_, surprised this rocky stronghold. The King himself was taken, and beheaded as a traitor. Thenceforth there was no further need for punitive expeditions on a large scale.[499]

RELATIONS WITH KONGO.

No sooner had the Portuguese regained possession of S. Paulo than the King of Kongo was called to account for having sided with the Dutch and favoured the operations of "foreign" Capuchins. A threatened invasion of his kingdom (1649) speedily led to the conclusion of a treaty of peace (see p. 126). But as the supposed gold and silver mines were not ceded, as promised, the Portuguese once more invaded the country, and in the b.l.o.o.d.y battle of Ulanga, in 1666, the King lost his life and crown (p.

129). From that time to the close of the century anarchy reigned in Kongo. The disastrous expedition against Sonyo in 1670 (see p. 131) was partly undertaken in order to support one of the many rival kings of that period.

MINOR PUNITIVE EXPEDITIONS, 1658-95.

Joo Fernandes Vieira, who had gained fame as the leader of the Portuguese patriots in Brazil, where the capture of Pernambuco had won him the surname of _o hero de nossa edade_, arrived as Governor on April 18th, 1658, and before the close of the year, a serious rebellion broke out in Upper Ngulungu. The captain-major, Bartholomeu de Vasconcellos, took the field, and compelled Ngolome a kayitu (Golome Acaita), to surrender his rocky stronghold after a siege of four months; Tanga a ngongo submitted quietly, but Kiluanji kia kanga (Quiloange Acango), faced the Portuguese four times, and then retired inland without yielding submission.

A second expedition, in the same year, traversed the districts to the south of the Kwanza.[500] It started from Masanganu, and having crossed the Kwanza into Hako was joined by Ngunza mbambe;[501] it entered the district of Kabeza, where the Jaga of Rimba brought further reinforcements. Jaga Ngonga ka anga, the chief of Nsela (Sh.e.l.la), on the river Kuvu, surrendered his capital, Kangunza, by the advice of his diviners, without striking a blow, and submitted to be baptised. The expedition then returned to Mbaka by way of the river Gango and Tamba; whilst Cavazzi, who accompanied it as chaplain, took a more direct road through Kabeza.

After the great victory over the King of Kongo in 1666 (see p. 130), a detachment under Antonio da Silva was sent into the territory of the Ndembu Mutemu Kingengo, whilst another, under Diogo Gomes Morales, raided the villages of Nambua nongo, these chiefs having aided the defeated King.

Kisama, at all times an unruly district, and even now virtually independent, though situated on the sea and within easy reach of Luandu, has repeatedly given trouble to the Portuguese. In 1672, the sobas of the district unsuccessfully a.s.saulted the fort at Muchima. In 1686 they blockaded that fort, until relieved by Joo de Figueiredo e Souza. In 1689, the sobas Kimone kia sanga and Muchima interfered with the free navigation of the Kwanza, and were punished by the Portuguese leader just named; and in 1695, the rebellion of the soba Katala brought into the field the captain-major, Manuel de Magalhes Leito.

A rebellion in Lubolo, in 1677, was suppressed by Luiz Lopez de Sequeira. The soba Ngunga mbambe was killed, and his allies, Sakeda, Ngola kitumba, and Ngola Kabuku, were severely punished.

Far more serious was an expedition which the Governor, Goncalo da Costa de Alcacova Carneiro de Menezes, despatched against the ndembu Mbuilu (Ambuilla), who had expelled the Portuguese residents, robbed the Pumbeiros, and burnt the church. Joo de Figueireda e Souza, a trusted officer, was given the command; and notwithstanding that the garrison of Masanganu mutinied and refused to join him, he mustered, on May 25th, 1682, a formidable force of six hundred musketeers, forty-two horse, and a _guerra preta_ of forty thousand men, with two field guns.

Unfortunately, he lost precious time by lingering two months at Kamolembe, where many of his people died; and when at last ready to start, he heard that Mbuila had been reinforced by two "armies" sent to his aid by King Manuel of Kongo[502] and Queen Nzinga, and lost his head. Fortunately for the Portuguese a stroke of paralysis carried off this pusillanimous leader, and his place was taken by Pascoal Rodrigues, a man of much energy, who marched straight upon the mbanza of Mbuilu, and there achieved a great victory. Mbuilu fled to his neighbour and ally Ndamba (Dambe). The number of prisoners taken was so great that it was feared they might endanger the safety of their captors, and they were mercilessly beheaded, a nephew of Mbuilu alone being sent a prisoner to Luandu.[503]

When Pascaol Rodrigues fell ill, the Governor appointed Joo Baptista de Maia to succeed him. The troops pa.s.sed the rainy season in barracks. On the return of fine weather, Mbuilu was pursued into the territory of Ndamba and killed. The mbanzas and over one hundred and fifty libatas were burnt. The Ndembu Kabanda, a partisan of Mbuilu, was pursued by the sergeant-major, Lourenco de Barros Morim, and the leader of the _guerra preta_, Goncalo Borges de Barros, and killed with many of his people. Another ndembu having been installed, and sworn allegiance to the King of Portugal, the army returned to Mbaka, and thence to Lembo near Masanganu. The victorious troops were refused admission into the latter, the garrison of which had mutinied. It was only after the Governor had promised a pardon to the offenders, with the exception of the leaders, that order was restored (1693).