On the banners of the Order of Christ, see Introduction to vol. ii, pp. xviii-xix; and in this Chronicle, pp. 62 (ch. xviii), 53 (ch. xv), 117 (ch. xxxvii), etc.
[Cf. a parchment atlas (unpublished), executed in Messina as late as 1567 by João Martinez, in which two Portuguese ships are painted in various points of the Eastern Ocean with the Cross of the Order of Christ on their sails, apparently to indicate the Portuguese dominion in those waters. This atlas passed into the Library of Heber, and afterwards into that of M. Ternaux.]—S.
109 (p. 120). The patience with which men bear the troubles of their fellows is another piece of irony, similar to that on p. 102; see note 96.
110 (p. 122). Fifty-three Moorish prisoners.—In this, as in subsequent actions, Mafaldo, rather than Gonçalo Pacheco, showed himself to be the leader of the expedition.
111 (p. 123). Cunning ... but small in this part of the world.—The fair inference is that, on this occasion, Mafaldo, from his previous experience, correctly estimated the danger (or absence of danger), and knew when to trust the natives. Similar trustfulness was not always equally successful, sometimes from absence of that past experience possessed by Mafaldo. See chs. xxvii, pp. 90, 91; xlviii, pp. 144-5; lxxxvi, pp. 252, etc.; xxxv, pp. 112-3. The Azanegue Moors of the Sahara on the whole showed less ability to defend themselves than the Negroes of the Sudan coast; cf. chs. xlv, pp. 137-8; lx, pp. 179-182; lxxxvi, pp. 252-6; xli, p. 130; xxxi, p. 99; contrast with pp. 126, 122, 114, 105-6, 78, 73, 36.
112 (p. 126) ... true effects.—Azurara certainly does not commit the error of "those historians who avoid prolixity by summarizing things that would be greatest if related in their true effects," i. e., in detail. This central portion of his narrative (chs. xxxvi-lix, lxviii-lxxiv) is especially tedious, and we cannot too much regret the comparative sacrifice of the scientific interest to the anecdotal, biographical, or slave-raiding details, with which he fills so much of this Chronicle. Cf. the slender and imperfect narratives of the really important voyages of Dinis Diaz (ch. xxxi), Alvaro Fernandez (ch. lxxv), and Nuno Tristam (chs. xxx, lxxxvi), with the lengthy descriptions of the expeditions personally conducted by Gonçalo de Sintra, Gonçalo Pacheco, Lançarote, Mafaldo, and other men whose voyages resulted in scarcely any advance of exploration. In all this Azurara's narrative contrasts unfortunately with Cadamosto's, which is not only a record of exploration, but of acute original observation, a quality by no means so noticeable in the Chronicle of Guinea, except at rare intervals. Cf., however, chs. xxv, lxxvi-lxxvii, lxxix-lxxxiii, and see Introduction to vol. ii, pp. xxiv-xxvi, etc.
[113] (p. 132). Cape of St. Anne.—[This passage shows the date when the name of Cape (or rather "Gulf") of St. Anne was given to that point by Alvaro Vasquez, who was on this expedition. This name was employed, like the others which we have already indicated, in the nomenclature of the hydro-geographical charts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Barros, in his corresponding chapter, not only omits this detail, but further reduces the material of chs. xxxvii, xxxviii, xxxix, xl, xli, xlii, to a few lines.]—S.
[114] (p. 133). And the Moors, like, etc.—[From Cape Branco to the Senegal, the part of the coast of which the author treats is inhabited by various tribes composed of Moors of mixed race, who speak Arabic, are Mohammedans, and are known by the names of Trazas or Terarzah, Brakanas and others. They are in their nature very ferocious, and are the terror of the traveller. The most cruel of all are those who inhabit and extend as far as Cape Branco, called Ladessebas; and these, according to some authors, are of pure Arab race.]—S. See Introduction to vol. ii, pp. xlii-lix. Mungo Park gives a similar character of the "Moors" north of Senegal. Travels, chs. iii-xii.
[115] (p. 136). Came near to the coast of Guinea.—[According to the text it appears that Alvaro Vasquez, after quitting the place to which he had given the name of Cape of St. Anne, followed his course 80 leagues towards the south, running along the coast in this direction until he arrived at the Guinea coast—that is, a little beyond Cape Verde—but Barros, who omits some of the details of this voyage, says: ... "Forão-se pela costa adiante obra de oitenta legoas, e na ida, e vinda té tornar a ilha das Garças fazer carnagem," etc.]—S.