When the Portuguese first appeared on this coast, Sofala was one of those places of which they obtained possession; and Don Pedro da Nhaya built a remarkably fine fort at this place, which remains to this day, a monument of the bygone glory of the nation, and a reproach to the degeneracy of the present race.
At a short distance to the northward of this fort, is a church dedicated to “Our Lady of the Rozario,” the walls of which are built of rough stones, while it is roofed in with palm leaves. A covered porch leads to the entrance, on each side of which there is a chamber, one serving as a sacristy, while the other answers as a lodging for the priests. The holy Fathers have no means of support, and are entirely dependent on the alms of the faithful.
Formerly the church was rich in gold and jewels of great value, which adorned the statue of the blessed Virgin; but the priests who sold their fellow-beings into slavery did not hesitate to rob the temple of their God.
There is a great want of water in the town, which might be easily supplied by a pure stream not more than a mile distant; but as there is a large cistern in the fort, built by Da Nhaya upwards of three hundred and fifty years since, they have recourse to this; and neither dig wells nor build an aqueduct.
Of labouring Moors, groaning slaves, and degenerate everybodies, there are said to be 1225 persons.
The military establishment of Sofala is from thirty to thirty-five soldiers, sent from Mozambique for some misdemeanour while serving in that garrison; to these are added a few Moors and Kaffirs, who are shut out of the fort at night, and do double duty by day.
Sofala is admirably situated for commerce; and nothing but the baneful influence of the slave-trade could have reduced it to its present state: a melancholy contrast to the flourishing Arab settlement which the Portuguese found there in 1505.