Cavazzi, a Capuchin, visited Kongo and Angola twice (1654-67, 1670-??) and died at Genoa in 1693. This bulky folio only deals with his first visit, and was edited by P. Fortunato Alamandini, of Bologna. Labat (“Relation historique de l’Éthiopie,” Paris, 1732) has given a useful version of it in French, which must, however, be used with some caution. It is by far the most important work we have at the hand of one of the early Catholic missionaries. W. D. Cooley’s observation (“Inner Africa Laid Open,” London, 1852, p. 3), that the works published up to the time of Cavazzi “would hardly furnish twenty pages of sound geographical intelligence,” can apply only to what they say of Inner Africa; whilst Lopez de Lima (“Ensaios,” p. xi) is hardly justified in calling Cavazzi a “fabulista,” unless that opprobrious term be confined to what the friar relates of the miracles wrought by himself and others.
Dapper.—Nauwkeurige beschrijving der Afrikaansche gewesten van Olf. Dapper. Amst., 1668.
I quote the German translation (“Beschreibung von Afrika,” Amst., 1670).
This is a very careful compilation; more especially interesting, as it contains information on the country collected during the Dutch occupation (1642-48), not to be found elsewhere.
Cadornega.—Historia das guerras de Angola (Historia General Angolana), por D. A. de Oliveira Cadornega, in 1680-82.
Cadornega, a native of Villa Viçosa, accompanied D. Pedro Cezar de Menezes to Angola in 1639, and died at Luandu in 1690. His work (in three volumes) only exists in MS. in the library of the Academy of Sciences, Lisbon, and in the Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris. I have not been able to consult it with the minuteness which it deserves. A rough copy of a considerable portion of it is to be found in the British Museum (Add. MS. 15,183, fol. 33). Copious extracts from it are given by Paiva Manso and D. José de Lacerda (“Exame das Viagens do Dr. Livingstone,” Lisbon, 1867).
Catalogo.—Catalogo dos Governadores do Reine de Angola (Collecçao de Noticias para a historia das nações ultramarinas publicada pela Academia real das Sciencias, tome III, pt. 2). Lisboa, 1826.
This is an anonymous compilation, continued to the year 1784. J. C. Feo Cardozo, in his “Memorias contendo a biographia do Vico-Almirante Luiz da Motta Feo e Torres,” Paris, 1825, also printed this chronological history, and continued it to the year 1825. He has added the map drawn in 1790 by Colonel L. C. C. Pinheiro Furtado. The “Catalogue” is useful, but it is not free from very serious errors.
Bentley.—Dictionary and Grammar of the Kongo Language, by the Rev. W. Holman Bentley. 1887.