At this time news was brought of some transactions at Mozambique which rendered his presence there necessary, on which he assigned the command of the army to Vasco Fermandez Homem, and departed for Mozambique. Antonio Pereyra Brandam had committed certain crimes at the Moluccas, for which on his return to Portugal he was banished into Africa, on which he requested Barreto to take him to Mozambique, which he did accordingly, and even gave him the command of the fort at that place. Though eighty years of age, Brandam wished to secure himself in the command of the fort by sending false informations to the king against Barreto his benefactor. By some means these papers were intercepted and sent to Barreto, who on his arrival at Mozambique immediately shewed them to Brandam, who fell on his knees and asked pardon in the most humble manner. Barreto forgave him, but deprived him of the command over the fort at Mozambique, which he committed to the charge of Lorenzo Godino, and returned to prosecute the expedition in Monomotapa.
On his arrival at Sena, where Homem had halted with the army, Monclaros accosted him in a violent manner commanding him to desist from that wild enterprise of conquering the mines, in which he had imposed on the king, declaring that he should be held responsible for all who had died or might die in future in this wild and impracticable design. It is certain that Barreto was not the promoter of this intended conquest, and that Manclaros was actually to blame for the miscarriage; yet Barreto took the insolence of this proud priest so much to heart that he died in two days without any other sickness. Assuredly the Jesuit had more to answer for on account of the death of the governor, than he for the unfortunate result of the expedition, which was all owing to the arrogant ignorance of the Jesuit in forcing it into a wrong direction. Thus fell, by the angry words of a priest, a great man who had escaped from many bullets among the Indians, from numerous darts and arrows of the Mongas, and from the malice of a villain. King Sebastian greatly lamented his untimely end, which he expressed by giving an honourable reception to his body when brought to Lisbon.
After the death of Barreto, a royal order was found among his papers by which Vasco Fernandez Homem was appointed his successor. By the persuasions of Monclaros, who was now disgusted with the expedition of Monomotapa, Homem returned with the troops to Mozambique, abandoning the projected conquest of the mines. At that place some judicious persons, and particularly Francisco Pinto Pimentel, urged him to resume the execution of the orders which had been given by the king to Barreto, and he determined upon resuming the enterprise for the conquest of Monomotapa; but as Monclaros was now gone back to Portugal, he found himself at liberty to take the route for the mines through Sofala, as Barreto wished to have done originally. Landing therefore at Sofala, he marched directly inland towards the mines of Manica in the kingdom of Chicanga, bordering by the inland with the kingdom of Quiteve which is next in power to Monomotapa396. To conciliate the king of Quiteve, Homem sent messengers with presents to request the liberty of passing through his dominions, but being jealous of his intentions, that king received his propositions very coldly. Homem advanced however, having nearly a similar force with that which accompanied Barreto on the former expedition into the kingdom of Monomotapa, and several bodies of Kafrs that attempted to stop his progress were easily routed with great slaughter. Finding himself unable to defend himself against the invaders by force of arms, the king of Quiteve had recourse to policy, and caused all the people and provisions to be removed from the towns, so that the Portuguese suffered extreme distress till they arrived at Zimbao397, the residence of the king, whence he had fled and taken refuge in inaccessible mountains. Homem burnt the city, and marched on to the kingdom of Chicanga, where he was received by the king rather through fear than love, was supplied with provisions, and allowed a free passage to the mines. At these the Portuguese vainly expected that they would be able to gather gold in great abundance; but seeing that the natives procured only very small quantities in a long time and with much difficulty, and being themselves very inexpert in that labour, they soon abandoned the place which they had so long and anxiously sought for, and returned towards the coast, parting from the king of Chicanga in much friendship. Thus, though disappointed in their main design of acquiring rich gold mines, the ease with which they had penetrated to the place evinced how great an error had been formerly committed by subjecting Barreto to the direction of Monclaros, who had led him by a tedious and dangerous way merely to gratify his own extravagant humour.
Homem returned to the kingdom of Quiteve, and the king of that country now permitted him to march for the mines of Maninnas398, on condition that the Portuguese should pay him twenty crowns yearly. Homem accordingly marched for the kingdom of Chicova399, which borders upon the inland frontier of Monomotapa towards the north, having heard that there were rich mines of silver in that country. Having penetrated to Chicova, he inquired among the natives for the way to the mines; and as they saw that it was in vain for them to resist, while they feared the discovery of the mines would prove their ruin, they scattered some ore at a place far distant from the mines, and shewing this to the Portuguese told them that this was the place of which they were in search. By this contrivance the Kafrs gained time to escape, as the Portuguese permitted them to go away, perhaps because they were unwilling the natives should see what treasure they procured. Homem accordingly caused all the environs to be carefully dug up, and after a vast deal of fruitless labour was obliged to desist, as provisions grew scarce. Thus finding no advantage after all his fatigues and dangers, Homem marched away towards the coast with part of his troops, intending to return to his government at Mozambique, and left Antonio Cardoso de Almeyda with 200 men to continue the researches for some time for the treasures that were said to abound in that country. Cardoso suffered himself to be again deceived by the Kafrs who had before imposed upon Homem, as they now offered to conduct him to where he might find a vein of silver. But they led him the way of death rather than of the mines, and killed him and all his men after defending themselves with incredible bravery.
Thus ended the government and conquest of Monomotapa shortly after its commencement, under two successive governors, who lost their object almost as soon as it was seen. The first killed by a few rash words, and the second expelled by a prudent stratagem. Yet peace and trade continued between the Portuguese and the empire of Monomotapa. These actions of Barreto and Homem took place during the time when Luis de Ataide, Antonio de Noronha, and Antonio Moniz Barreto400, were governors of India; but we have never been able to ascertain when the former died and the latter abandoned the projected conquest of the mines.
In 1576 Ruy Lorenzo de Tavora went out as viceroy of Portuguese India; but dying on the voyage, at Mozambique, Don Diego de Menezes assumed the government in virtue of a royal patent of succession. Nothing extraordinary happened during his government of nearly two years, when he was superseded by the arrival of Don Luis de Ataide count of Atougaia as viceroy of India for the second time. Ataide had been appointed general in chief of the Portuguese forces by king Sebastian, who had resolved to bury the glory of his kingdom in the burning sands of Africa; and finding his own youthful impetuosity unable to conform with the prudent councils of the count, he constituted him viceroy of India as a plausible means of removing him. The count arrived at Goa about the end of August 1577, where he immediately fitted out a mighty fleet which struck terror into all the neighbouring princes. After continuing the war for some time against Adel Khan, a peace was concluded with that prince.
396
In modern geography, which indeed is mainly ignorant of the foreign possessions of the Portuguese, the dominion of Sofala on both sides of the river of that name, extend about 520 miles from east to west, in lat. 20° S. from the Mozambique channel, by about 100 miles in breadth. The commercial station of Sofala belonging to the Portuguese is at the mouth of the river; and about 220 miles from the sea is a town called Zimbao of Quiteve. Manica the kingdom of Chicanga is an inland district to the west of the kingdoms of Sofala and Sabia; all three dependent upon Monomotapa. –E.
397
This Zimbao of Quiteve is to be carefully distinguished from a town of the same name in Monomotapa. The former is nearly in lat. 20° S. on the river of Sofala, the latter is about 16° 20' S. near the river Zambezi or Cuama. –E.
398
No such place is laid down in modern maps, but rich gold mines are mentioned in Mocaranga near mount
399
Chicova is a territory and town of Mocaranga or Monomotapa, in lat. 19° N. at the north-west boundary of that empire on the Zambeze; and is said to abound in mines of silver. –E.
400
The commencement of the government of Barreto has been already stated as having taken place in 1569. Antonio Moniz Barreto governed India from 1573 to 1576: Hence the consecutive governments of Francisco Barreto and Vasco Fernandez Homem in Monomotapa could not be less than