Page:A voyage to Abyssinia (Salt).djvu/15



CHAPTER I.

Departure from England—Arrival at Madeira—Passage thence to the Cape of Good Hope—Brief Account of the Society in that Settlement—Improvements introduced into the Colony by the English—Mr. Cowan's Mission into the Interior—Accident which occurred to detain the ship—Convoy granted—Departure—Remarks in the Mosambique Channel—Excursion in search of Sofala—Arrlval at the Island of Mosambique—Receptlon there by the Portuguese Governor—Its Harbour, Forts, means of defence, &c.—Enquiries after Mr. Cowan's party—Visit to Mesuril on the Continent—Excursions from that Place—Description of the Monjou—Remarks relative to the Exportation of Slaves—Fidelity of the native Troops—Ferocity of the Makooa; their Incursions into the Peninsula of Cabaceiro—Dress—Manners—Habits, &c.—Some Account of the Tribes adjacent to Mosambique in Friendship with the Portuguese—Description of Mesuril and its Environs—Manners of the Planters—Peninsula of Cabaceiro—Variety of Sea Productions on the Coast—Return to Mosambique,

CHAPTER II.

Historical Account of the Mosambique Setttements—Ignorance of ancient Geographers respecting the Coast—Early Account of it by an Arabian author—Subjection and expulsion of the original Settlers, and establishment of the power of the Portuguese—Their attempts to subdue the Interior baffled by the prudence and vigilance of the natives—Attack upon these settlements in 1589 by the Muzimbo, (supposed to be Galla)—Failure of every effort to convert the Natives to the Catholic Faith. Description of the present state of the Settlements on the River Zambezi—Quilimanci—Tète—Sena—Manica, and the Gold Mines—Mode of carrying on Trade with the Natives in the Interior—Jurisdiction of the Portuguese along the Coast—The former-supposed importance of these Settlements—Their gradually decreasing consequence—Their present degraded State. The discouraging prospect from their external connections—An Account of the Marati or Pirates of Madagascar—The uncommon ferocity of this People