and afterward re-built anew and inhabited-by the Mahumetans though infinitely short of its pristine lustre however some great and high Columns with stately Church-Portals whereon are Verses written in the Egyptian Tongue are yet extant Here also are the Ruines of a great Building seeming formerly to have been a Temple from whose Foundations Gold Silver and other Coin hath been taken up upon one side of which was stamped the Effigies of the antient Egyptian Kings and on the reverse divers Hieroglyphicks Azuth formerly Bubastes about two hundred and fifty miles from Cairo Azuth was heretofore esteemed a very beautiful City but at this day for the most part lyeth waste and buried under Heaps of Ruine Here inhabit a hundred Christian Families and three or four Churches remain undefac'd Without the City stands a Monastery wherein reside above a hundred Monks that live onely upon Herbs Bread and Olives not touching either Flesh or Fish The Cloyster hath great Revenues giving entertainment to all strangers who are there supplied with all Necessaries for three days Three hundred miles from Cairo on the shore of Nilus stands Ichium Ichium erected by Mizraim the son of Chus and consequently one of the oldest Cities in Egypt Which the Mahumetans when they first began to rule there so wasted and destroy'd that there is not one stone left upon another for they carryed the Pillars and Stones to the west-side of Nilus and us'd them to the building of the ill-contriv'd Town Munsta or Munsia whose narrow un-pav'd Streets by the vicinity of a sandy Soyl in Summer are very offensive though the Countrey adjacent hath fruitful Valleys for bearing Corn and pasturing Cattel Anthius by Marmol call'd Anthinoe or Anthedon was a fair City Anthinoe built by the Romans on the Western Banks of Nilus wherein yet may be read several Inscriptions upon Marble Pillars Joyning as it were to this lyeth also the City Barnabal Thebes formerly a glorious City but now almost lost in its own Ruines lyeth West of Nilus about five days journey from Cairo Strabo calls it Diospolis that is Kircher Choregraph Aegypt Jupiters City because Jupiter was worship'd there By Homer and Stephanus in his Book of Cities Hecatompylos Hundred Gates for Thebes in former times is said to have had so many Gates By Diodorus Busiris by the Moors Sirim by the Arabians one while Asna another Asiuth and Asuan Strabo gives the best and most accurate description of all other We will give you his own words Some Strabo saith he reputed this City as the Metropolis of Egypt 't is true there still appear remaining Marks of its Greatness being in length about eighty Furlongs Cambyses the Persian much defac'd it and spoil'd the Temples Now it is rather a heap of conjoyn'd Villages than a City one part of it lying in Arabia one of its two Colossus's cut out of an entire Stone remaining still whole and sound but the uppermost part of the other is said to be broken off by an Earth-quake They also report that sometimes a sound issues from the Pedestal When I was there with Elius Gallus and divers Friends and some Soldiers I heard about the tenth hour the like sound but whether it was made by one of the Company I cannot say because all for the uncertainty of the Matter had more occasion to believe so than that such a hollow murmur should come out of such a firm body A little further beyond * Memnonium from the sounding like Memnous Tomb. Memnonium are about forty Sepulchres of Kings in Caves under ground after the manner of such as we formerly described which are worthy the seeing Near this Colossus are some Pyramids with Inscriptions which set forth the Riches and Potency of those Kings These words of Strabo not onely speak the Greatness but also the Sumptuousness of Thebes and agree with the present Asuan which is a Name given by the Arabians by adding A to Suan or Soan for the Copticks call'd that Soan which the Greeks entituled Thebes In this City have been also many Pyramids or Obelisks according to the same Strabo as also Diodorus and Herodotus say here were many Pyramids some few of which still remain the rest by the fury of the Persians miserably defac'd and destroy'd The deep Mysteries which the Egyptians couched under their Pyramids and Hieroglyphicks sculped thereon being a matter worth the knowledge induce us in this place to give a more exact account of them than heretofore ¶ OBelisks therefore are four square Stone-Columns Several Names of Obelisks running up in height taporing to a point and on every side inscribed Characters The Greeks stile such 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Kircher Obilise Pamphil. that is Acute Points The Italians from the form broad beneath and running up in shape of a Needle or Spire Aguglia the Arabians Messalets Pharaonis that is Pharaohs Needles because they say they were the invention of Pharaoh the first King of Egypt When Spires were erected in Egypt Manuphtar but the Egyptian Priests name them The Fingers of the Sun to signifie the Mysteries hidden under it But the first that introduced the practice of erecting Spires or Obelisks in Egypt was Manuphtar Lord of Memphis in the Year of the World 2604. So this Then his son Sothis succeeding finish'd the Work begun by his Father and erected at Heliopolis twelve Obelisks 1175 yeares before the Incarnation in the Year of the Creation 2893. Momphencure son of Sesostris erected a plain Obelisk in the Year 2947. Momphencure signifies the Governor of Memphis The like did Simarres or Simannes in the time of King David Anno Mundi 2986. or thereabout King Marres or Afhres Marres by others call'd Vaphres built a plain Obelisk in the Year of the Creation 3022. which the Emperor Claudius carryed out of Egypt and set up at Rome for the Mausoleum King Psammitichus Psammitichus by Pliny call'd Sennesertus erected a great Obelisk inscribed with Sacred and Sublime Figures at Heliopolis Eight hundred and seven years before the Incarnation King Nectabanus by others call'd Necho Nectabanus seven hundred and forty years before Christ erected a great Obelisk at Memphis which afterwards Ptolomeus Philadelphus removed to Alexandria and placed in the Temple of Arsinoe Most of all these Obelisks at several times by the Roman Emperors were brought out of Egypt to Rome Lastly the Persian King Cambyses after the Conquest of Egypt which happened in the Year of the World 3528. destroy'd all that remain'd 522 before Christ as well those that stood upright as those that were fallen down and either slew or banisht all the Egyptian Priests as we mention'd before These were not the Works of Kings onely but of Priests and Ministers of State and Custom at length prevail'd so far that scarce a place could be seen without them At which none ought to wonder if he consider the Egyptians worshipt the Sun to whose
Cloth about their Loins to keep off the violent beatings of the Snow All the aforemention'd Cities and Towns Strength and Riches of Morocco are by natural Scituation exceeding strong and the inhabitants Powerful and Rich so that if they were reduced under one Head by such a Union his Discretion and good Conduct might effect great matters HEA THe Jurisdiction of Hea Borders of the Territory of Hea. the most Westerly Part of the Moroccian Kingdom joyns to the Great Atlas which the Inhabitants call Aivakall conterminated on the West and North with the great Ocean on the South with Atlas and part of Sus and on the East with the River Eciffelmel which divideth it from Morocco The famousest Places lying in this Territory are Tedoest Tedoest heretofore the chief City of Hea was in the Year Fifteen hundred and fourteen totally ruin'd but is now rebuilt in part by the Jews who have erected there five hundred Houses Agobel Agobel a strong City on a Hill and surrounded with a Wall contains about three hundred and thirty Houses Alguel Alguel scituate also on a Hill hath tolerable Walls and the advantage of two small Rivers running through it Tekuleth Tekuleth a fair City on the side of a Hill eighteen Miles Westward of Tedoest close by the Fort Aguz at the mouth of the River Tekulet which Ptolomy call'd Diure Hadequis Hadequis lying on a Plain three Spanish Miles from Tekuleth before its Destruction by the Portugueze in the Year Fifteen hundred and eleven had Walls of Stone strengthened with Towers The Houses were of the like Materials amounting to twenty thousand but now is thinly inhabited by a few Jewish Merchants So also the next City Texevit Texevit though wall'd and water'd by a pretty large River falling from the neighbouring Hills between which it stands Lusugaguen Leusugaguen or Ilusugaguen a strong City built on a high Hill in manner of a Fort three Mile from Hadis Southward But amongst these Mountain-Cities Tesegdelt is imputed the chiefest four Miles from Texevit having a Wall of sharp Rocks it containeth about a thousand Houses and is moistned with a handsom River Tegteze Tegteze or Tagtesse stands on a high Hill five Miles from Tesegdelt the ascent to it going round the Hill as it were by winding stairs Eitdevet Eitdevet five Miles from Tegteze towards the South an antient City containing about Seven hundred Houses Kuleyhat Elmuhaidin Kuleyhat Elmuhaidin that is a Foundation for Scholars seven Miles from Eitdevet was first built in the Year Fifteen hundred and twenty by an Apostate Mahumetan named Homar Seyef who broached divers new Opinions as to matters of Religion drawing after him many Followers who did much mischief but at length after this Province of Hea had been miserably harrased and wasted he was slain by his Wife for his Incestuous living with his Daughter-in-law and all his Followers when his notorious Dissimulation and odious Debaucheries were discover'd driven out of the Countrey only his Nephew betook himself to a Fort which he defended a whole Year though strictly besieged but in the end surrendred on Articles but carried with him his malice which he wreaked on them in a perpetual enmity Tefethne or Teftane by Gramay call'd Bente but Tamusige by Ortelius Tefethue a strong City on the Coast of the Atlantick at the foot of Mount Atlas hath a Haven four Spanish Miles in length A little toward the West lyes another Gazole Tafalle Zebedech which Marmol supposes to be the same that Ptolomy calls Hercules-Road Then to the Southward Gazole Tafalle and Zebedech all places of small Importance which at last bring us to the Cape of Ozem Northward The Cape of Ozem Magador not far from which appears the Island Magador or Mongador about five Miles from the main Land Here is a strong Castle wherein the Kings of Morocco always keep a good Garrison for defence of his Gold and Silver Mines in the neighboring Mountains Goz or Gozen a safe Haven by some taken to be the Surige of Ptolomy Goz. Kurio descript Regus Morocco Engueleguingil Engueleguingil or according to Sanutus Ichillinghighil is a small City lying two Miles Southward of Eitdevet Those are all the remarkable Towns We will take a short view of the Mountains and so proceed ¶ THe first that lyes in our way is Aidvacal or rather Atlas Mountains of Hea. Aidvacal beginning at the Ocean and reaching along the Shore making a Boundary between Hea and Sus being about three days Journey in breadth Here are many populous Villages Demensere or Tensare begins where Aidvacal ends Demensere and reaches into the East about seven Miles to Nefise in the Province of Morocco it is very populous but hath no City nor inclosed Town but divers small ones and many Villages Mount Giubel el Hand or Gebel el Hadith that is Iron-Hill Giubel el Hand which Ortelius guesses to be the Fokre of Ptolomy begins toward the North near the Ocean and reaches Southward Tenzift running between Hea Morocco and Ducala but cometh not near Atlas This Countrey hath in it many small Rivers great Woods The Nature of the Territory of Hea. and pleasant Valleys yet the Inhabitants have little Corn which proceeds either from their sloth or unskilfulness in Husbandry as appears for that in several places are abundance of Fig-trees Peaches and Nuts Here is also great quantity of Honey which in part they sell but such is their stupidity that they throw away the Wax ¶ ASses Goats Oxen Sheep Deer Hares and Apes run here in great abundance so are the Horses but of a strange shape different from ours and so swift that they will run over the Mountains without Shooes catching hold like a Cat. ¶ THe usual Food of this Province is Barley-Meal unsifted Nature and Customs of the Inhabitants which they Bake with the Bran in an Earthen Pan and eat for Bread together with Elhasid that is Barley-Flower in Winter boyl'd in Water and Oyl put into it but in Summer boyl'd in Milk and sauced with Butter Other-while they eat boyl'd Flesh sometimes divers sorts of Meat together which they call Couscous ¶ THe most People wear only a piece of Woollen Apparel of the People of Hea. by them call'd Elchise made like a Sheet and ty'd about the Body so round about the Head with a piece of the same dy'd Black with the Bark of a Nut-tree But the Elder and such as are in any esteem for Learning wear round double Bonnets Their Matts which they sit on Furniture for their Houses are made of Hair platted thorow with Reeds so also are their Beds and cover'd with Hair-cloths from five to ten Yards long serving both for Blankets Sheets and Coverlid In Winter they put up their Hair under a Cap but let it hang down about their ears in the Summer They Plow their ground
in the Company and Converse of Strangers adorning themselves with Neck-laces and curious Armelets of Pearls and precious Stones Most of the Men in this Territory are Tanners with great Art and Curiosity dressing Kid-Skins which the French Merchants call Maroquins and are transported in great abundance to most Countreys of Europe TEDLE THe Territory of Tedle hath on the East the Kingdom of Morocco Limits of the Territory of Tedle on the West the River Quadelhabid and on the North the Conflux of the same River with that of Ommirabih and on the South Mount Atlas So that it is in effect Triangular For those Rivers springing from Atlas make one Angle Atlas a second and Morocco the third Tefze the Chief City erected by the Arabians on the edge of Atlas stands encircled in a Wall of Marble curiously cut which Work in Arabick they call Tefza the Wall so giving name to the City being large and well peopl'd having many Temples and adjoyning to it the pleasant Plains of Fixtele wherein is a Village of the same name a mile from Tefze on a Hillock containing about seven hundred Houses Cithiteb on a very high Mountain three Miles Easterly from Tefza Ehithiat or Aitiat four Miles from Cithiteb having about four hundred Houses but no Walls other than the Mountain and steep Cliffs ¶ THe Mountains are Segeme or Seggheme lieth in the South Mountains of Tedle joyning to Teseven Magran a little more to the West reaching from the last mention'd Segeme to Dedes one Point of whose Basis Westward rises at Magran and so running to Adesan on the South makes a Bulwark or Wall to the Plains of Tolge ¶ THis Countrey is full of Mountains The Condition of this Territory whose tops are cover'd with Snow the greatest part of the year yet the Plains yield all sorts of Corn in great abundance Vines Pistachio's or Nut-Trees Figs and other Fruit-Trees in vaste numbers Neither are Cattel wanting here though much infested and often devour'd by the wilde Beasts harbouring in the adjacent Mountains such as Lions Tygers and Wolves And the pleasure of the Valleys is also much abated by the almost infinite numbers of Mesketo's a kinde of Wasp that by their too frequent stinging make their lives a trouble to them ¶ THe People of Tebre go well habited but those of Dedes almost naked Custom of the Inhabitants they pilfer and steal naturally and are as deceitful and delight in broaching of quarrels so that who ever comes among them had need have more Eyes and Hands than single Pairs therefore not onely Strangers but their Neighbours refuse to trade or deal with them in any kinde so that they spend their whole time in laziness and thievish inventions without any desire to improve themselves by learning Arts or using Commerce As an evidence of which Whosoever by chance travels through their Countrey without Convoy they make no scruple to rob of all and though they have the safe Conduct and Protection of their Governors they extort from them above one fourth of whatever they carry with them besides what is otherwise useful to them Mahumetanism overspreads the whole The Religion of Tedle yet admits a few Jews to reside in several places among them for the benefit of Trade and fewer Christians But all the Mountaineers know nothing of Religion nor trouble themselves with Churches or Priests but make their Gods the wilde Dictates of their bruitish Inclinations Yet this nothing is also so catching that some neighbouring Christians wheedled by those specious form of Libertinism renouncing their Saviour embrace their Atheistical Tenets GUZULA or GEZULE THis Province seems to Marmol to have been a part of the Antient Getulia Guzula is a part of Getulia whereof the Name retains yet some small remembrance and that which makes this Conjecture yet more probable is that the Antient Getulians were placed near Libia beneath Mount Atlas towards the South where at this day Guzula lies It hath in the West the Mountain Ilde Its Borders on the South Atlas by which also parted from Morocco and on the East the Dominion of Hea. Here are no wall'd Cities and but few good Towns but many Villages among which some contain a thousand Houses ¶ THe Inhabitants are bruitish and sordid The Condition and Custom of the Inhabitants commonly wearing Woollen Jackets without Sleeves hanging down to their Knees and Hats made of Date-leaves They have Mines of Copper and Iron that bring in great profit but no Silver and are exceedingly stockt with Cattel Iron and Copper they exchange with Foreign Merchants and barter it for Cloth Spices Horses and other things which they have occasion for But that which above all brings greatest advantage to this place is a Fair or Market kept there once a year for two moneths time during which they entertain and feast all Strangers repairing thither And that they may the more peaceably reside among them they make a general Cessation of Arms among themselves each party unanimously chusing a Captain with a hundred men for the Guard and good ordering of the Fair which Captains continually go the Rounds into every Quarter and if they finde any offending according to their Crimes so do they immediately inflict a suitable Punishment As for example Thieves they execute immediately by running through every Limb with their Launces leaving their dead Bodies to be devour'd by Dogs This Fair is kept on a Plain where for the Merchants are erected in Rows like Streets Tents and Booths plaister'd with Reeds and limber Twigs wherein every Trade is plac'd in distinct order so that each hath his particular Station Onely the Grasiers that sell Cattel stand in the open Fields This Fair begins on Mahomets Birth-day being the Twelfth of the Moneth of Rabih or Rabik ¶ THeir wearing Arms are Simiters Their Arms. and short and broad Daggers with very sharp points which they hang on both sides They say this Countrey can bring sixty two thousand men into the Field so that they need not stand in fear of the Arabs They live in Freedom and are their own Masters without acknowledging any King or Lord though they do properly belong to the King of Morocco They formerly paid to the Portuguese twelve thousand Ducats yearly as a Tribute but it continued not long Some think that they wave Law and Religion as well as Kings but keeping their Fair on Mahomets Birth-day leaves it questionable that they may be of some Belief FEZ THe Kingdom of Fez The Territory of Fez the most Easterly Part of the Antient Mauritania Tingitana now by the Moors call'd El-garbe bounded on the West with the Kingdom of Morocco and the River Meline on the North by the Midland-Sea on the South with part of the Great Mount Atlas In this Kingdom as before in Morocco are seven Territories viz. Fez it self giving the Denomination to the whole but the most Westerly Part is Temesen or Temesne the others are
Court up and down which certain Chiaus's pass to and again with Pots full of Water to offer those to drink that desire it All the Affairs of this Divan are propounded and resolv'd in the Turkish Tongue so that there is a necessity that all the Officers do understand and speak it otherwise they cannot be admitted into the same And this is practised amongst them thereby to testifie how much they value and esteem the Turkish Empire And for this cause it is that they have always in the Divan an Interpreter of Languages of which they ordinarily make use to understand the Christians and Moors when they have any Complaint or Petition to present there being no Nation in that place which hath not his Truchment to explain his thoughts These Officers and Councellors of State being in this manner assembled the Aga propoundeth with an audible voice that which is then to be debated addressing himself first to the Bashaw if he be present and to the twenty four Ajabachy's Which being done he puts the thing to the Vote of the whole Divan and requires their opinion and resolution in the Case which is taken in this manner After that the four Officers which are call'd Bachouldala'es have heard the Proposal of the Aga they make it to be understood to the whole Divan in a loud voice without stirring from their places The word thus past unto the last of the Officers remounts from one to another with a strange voice and murmuration when it happens that the thing doth not please the assembly And that being done the Aga giveth his Determinations according as the Vote was for or against the Proposal that he made In the mean time amongst this confus'd variety of Opinions they observe not for the greater part of the time either Order or Law but are constrain'd to conclude the Affair indifferently either with Justice or Injustice as it best pleaseth these goodly Councellors who being for the most part Mechanicks know not how either to write or read so that consequently in their ridiculous Advice they are guided onely by the motion of their Passion and of their bruitish Ignorance wherein sometimes they fall to hot Contests As particularly upon the Twenty sixth of August in the Year One thousand six hundred thirty four there happened to arise a great Difference betwixt the Bashaw and the Assembly The noise thereof was such or to say better the howlings were so great that no man ever heard any thing so frightful In this Commotion they pusht one the other with design to rush upon the Bashaw and seem'd to argue with each other who should be the first that should lift up his arm to strike For it is a Custom that he that beginneth the Tumult in lifting up his hands which he holdeth across in the Assembly is sure that whether he have right on his side or no he shall be seiz'd on and put into a Sack and thrown into the Sea Which yet did not happen at that time for that in the end the Bashaw and the Aga found out a way to appease the Tumult Where it is farther to be noted that the Women who have Complaints to offer assemble sometimes to the number of an hundred of their Kinswomen and Friends who all veil'd repair to the Gate of the Divan and there cry Charala that is to say Justice of God and are very readily heard ¶ IN the last place we will briefly give an Account of the Emperour Charles the Fifth when he besieg'd this City and of the great Loss he suffer'd therein This Prince in the Year One thousand five hundred forty one Charles the Fifth besieges Algier having Embarqued upon the Sea an Army of Twenty two thousand Men aboard Eighteen Gallies and an hundred tall Ships not counting the Barques and Shallops and other small Boats in which he had engaged the principal of the Spanish and Italian Nobility with a good number of the Knights of Maltha he was to Land on the Coast of Barbary at a Cape call'd Matifou From this Place unto the City of Algier a flat Shore or Strand extends it self for about four Leagues the which is exceeding favourable to Gallies There he put ashore with his Army and in a few days caused a Fortress to be built which unto this day is call'd The Castle of the Emperor In the mean time the City of Algier took the Alarm having in it at that time but Eight hundred Turks and Six thousand Moors poor-spirited men and unexercised in Martial affairs besides it was at that time Fortifi'd onely with Walls and had no Out-works Insomuch that by reason of its weakness and the great Forces of the Emperour it could not in appearance escape taking In fine it was Attaqued with such Order that the Army came up to the very Gates where the Chevalier de Sauignac a Frenchman by Nation made himself remarkable above all the rest by the miracles of his Valour For having repulsed the Turks who having made a Sally at the Gate call'd Babason and there desiring to enter along with them when he saw that they shut the Gate upon him he ran his Ponyard into the same and left it sticking deep therein They next fell to Battering the City by the Force of Cannon which the Assailants so weakened that in that great extremity the Defendants lost their Courage and resolved to surrender But as they were thus intending there was a Witch of the Town His Fleet and Army overthrown and wrack'd by Witchcraft whom the History doth not name which went to seek out Assam Aga that Commanded within and pray'd him to make it good yet nine Days longer with assurance that within that time he should infallibly see Algier delivered from that Siege and the whole Army of the Enemy dispersed so that Christians should be as cheap as Birds In a word the thing did happen in the manner as foretold for upon the Twenty first day of October in the same Year there fell a continual Rain upon the Land and so furious a Storm at Sea that one might have seen Ships hoisted into the Clouds and in one instant again precipitated into the bottom of the Water insomuch that that same dreadful Tempest was followed with the loss of fifteen Gallies and above an hundred other Vessels which was the cause why the Emperour seeing his Army wasted by the bad Weather pursued by a Famine occasioned by wrack of his Ships in which was the greatest part of his Victuals and Ammunition he was constrain'd to raise the Siege and set Sail for Sicily whither he Retreated with the miserable Reliques of his Fleet. In the mean time that Witch being acknowledged the Deliverer of Algier was richly remunerated and the Credit of her Charms authorized So that ever since Witchcraft hath been very freely tolerated of which the Chief of the Town and even those who are esteem'd to be of greatest Sanctity among them such as are the Marabou's
Egyptian Monarchs Pharaoh at first and afterwards Ptolomy The proper Name of the present King is Daur but by the addition of that Royal Title which signifies King call'd Burdomel Daur This Name of Burdomel The King is taken by some for a Place about Cape Verde and accordingly so set down in the Maps of Africa ¶ HEre are no peculiar or Municipal Laws The Law of the Countrey for indeed the Law or light of Nature is the onely Rule they steer by for when a Man dies and leaves behind him Wives Children Cattel Slaves and Iron wherein their chiefest Riches consists the Brothers and Sisters of the Deceased take all without any consideration of the Children whom they leave to the wide World to help themselves as well as they can As to matters of distributive Justice or punishments of Crimes they are in a manner strangers to both the greatest extravagancies being bought off and pardoned by paying of Slaves or some other Mulct to the King ¶ THeir Religion Their Religion if so we may call it is generally Paganism for they greet the New-Moon with horrible roarings and strange gestures of adoration they offer their Sacrifices in the Woods before great hollow Trees wherein they have placed Idols and this they do rather out of custom then zeal using neither form nor method in their Devotions nor any particular Assemblies but every one following the dictates of his own humor makes a God in his own Fancy which is as often varied as their Lusts or Passions raises in them other motions Some of them seem to incline to Mahumetanism and admit among them some Marabouts but so little have they prevailed upon them that they know not what the Sala means nor do the Priests any other Service than write Arabick Characters on small Papers which sew'd in little Leather Purses are worn by the Blacks on their Necks Arms Legs Heads and every part of their Bodies in great numbers firmly believing that thereby in time to come they shall be freed of all troubles and dangers to the great gain of the Marabouts who sell them at no small Prices And although they know there is a God yet have they no understanding to worship him and use Circumcision the fifth or sixth Year and then if they be asked the reason thereof they can give no other account but that it is an antient Custom received among them but farther know not None of the Priests are permitted to Marry but in their own Families nor may teach any to Read or Write without the chief Marabout's Licence They hold the Christian Religion in great abomination affirming that God who giveth all things and can do what he pleaseth and causes Thunder Lightning Rain and Wind is Omnipotent and needs neither praying to nor to be set forth in so mysterious a way as that of the Trinity and thus Heathenism and Idolatry generally possesses the whole Countrey THE KINGDOM OF GAMBEA CASSAN CANTOR AND BORSALO ADjoyning to Zenega on the North is Gambea The Kingdom of Gambea a small Kingdom by the River of the same name On the other side of the River Gambea lies the Jurisdiction of Cassan Great Cantor and Borsalo all heretofore subject to the King of Mandimanza but now have Princes as absolute as himself and acknowledging no Superior The King of Great Cantor keeps his Residence continually on the Southerly Shore of the River Gambea The King of Canter having many inferior Dominions under his Obedience The King of Borsalo commands on the North-side of the same River to Tantakonde The King of Borsalo Both these Princes have several populous Towns belonging to them but Several Towns lying on Gambea as we said all without Walls and scituate on both the Shores of Gambea which like the Nyle overflowing it Banks much enriches and fertilitates the neighbouring Soyl. The Sea-Coast hereabouts shooting from the South is very low and in that regard unless in very clear weather hard to be known but more forward the Land rises high is full of Trees and spreads North-East and South-West At the Mouth of this River stands the Town Barra Barra so named because every Ship that comes thither must give a Bar of Iron which they call Barra to the King of Borsalo Above the South-Point stands a Town call'd Nabare Nabare within a Wood. Three miles higher on the same Point lieth a Town call'd Bintam inhabited by the Portugals Bintam On the South-side of the River twenty miles from the Mouth Tankerval Tendeba appears Tankerval and not far thence a Town call'd Tendeba twelve miles from which last may be seen Jayre Jayre in a narrow Creek Half a mile beyond the Creek on the South-side lieth the River and Town call'd Jambay Jambay Mansibaer Barraconda with another named Mansibaer on the North. In the last place you come to Barraconda above which the Sea floweth not so that whoever will go higher must Row against the Stream After a tedious and toilsom Journey of ten days you arrive at Tinda Tinda above which stands Joliet Joliet Munkbaer and six days Journey from that a City call'd Munkbaer to which without great hazards there is no coming from whence in nine days you come to the City Jayr and so to Silico an In-land Town yet a place of great Trade Five and fifty miles within the Land stands Borsalo and eighty five miles Little Cassan Small Cassan Groat Cassan three miles above which the vast and great City Cassan shews it self whose side is washed by the Ebbing and Flowing of the Sea and where the King keeps his Court. ¶ AMong other Rivers that water these Countreys The River Gambea one of the principal is Gambea or Gambia so call'd by the Portuguese after the example of the Blacks who call all the Tracts of Land reaching from the Mouth of it to the Gold-Coast Gambu It s Mouth is about three miles broad hath five fathom Water and lies in thirteen Degrees and nineteen Minutes North Latitude between the Zenega and Rio Grande It draws the original from the great River Niger It s Original at the place where it makes a great Lake and divides in four branches which are afterwards named Zenega Gambea Sante Domingo and the Great River all which after several long courses having visited and refreshed these hot Countreys with their pleasant Streams at last near Cape Verde pour forth their Waters into the Great Ocean but especially Gambea with so strong a Current and such abundance of Water that sixteen miles in the Sea as they say that Water may be taken up They may row up in this River against the Stream near a hundred miles but then are stopped with a strong Water-fall which with an impetuous noise pours down over the Rocks and by that means becomes unpassable The Channel is for the most part very broad especially from the Gold-Coast of Cantor or Reskate to its Mouth
beating of the Sea against the Shore the Landing proves very dangerous When the Merchants have done and are ready to depart they must pay to the King two Musquets and five and twenty Pound of Gun-Powder or for want of that in Silk-Worms the worth of nine Slaves to the Carte to the Foello or Captain of the Whites and to Honga the Captain of the Boat to each of them a like Present Provisions for the Whites may be had here for a reasonable Price that is a Cask of fresh Water and a Sag of Wood for two yellow Armlets a Kof or Chest of Salt for three five Hens for four a Pot of Beer for one In time of Wars none are exempted from Service The Wars but very old Men and Children their disorderly manner of Fight you have before describ'd as also their Barbarism to the Slain and Prisoners and Method of Triumphing with their Heads and therefore we will not here repeat and cloy you with the same things again The King of Arder hath absolute and Soveraign Power over his Subjects Dominion and according as they reckon State carries a Majestick Splendor both in Clothes and Servants his Subjects tendring him great respect He Creates Noblemen and Courtiers at his pleasure and punishes Offenders not any daring to contradict Every Town as Jakkijn and Ba hath their Fidalgos or Noblemen to preside it in the King's Name who exacts a great Revenue from the Inhabitants by Order from the King When the King dies Funeral for two or three moneths after two sit waiting by him and some Servants are Strangled as an ostentation of Power not in expectation of Service in the other world The Crown descends to the Eldest or Youngest Son after their Fathers Decease and takes all his Father left but his Wives whom all but his own Mother to whom extraordinary respect is shown he imploys in his works of several kinds The Goods of the meanest sort after their decease falls to the Noblemen whose Vassals they were Their Religion consists in no appointed Meetings or setled Form Their Religion though they have Fetiseros or Priests for every Person of Quality hath his own Chaplain and if any be sick in their Family the Fetisero comes and taking Oxen Fetisero's or Priests Sheep and Hens for a Sacrifice cuts their Throats and with the Bloud besprinkles their Fetisi or Sant that is sometimes no more than an old Earthen Pot or Basket Every Family hath a Meeting once in six moneths at which their Priest offers Sacrifice to their Fetisi or Sant put under a Pot with Holes and then they enquire of what they desire to know If the Fetisi be unsatisfied the Priest can get no words from him if otherwise he hath an answer by a gracile or small-piped voice as if it came from the Fetisi whereas indeed it is a counterfeited sound by their Priests Then the Inquirer takes a Bason fill'd with Beer and Meal and gives to the Priest then suddenly somewhat in the Pot under which the Fetisi sits leaps whereupon all promising obedience to the answer and drinking a draught out of the Bason depart They believe another life after this but not for all for they say that a man after death perisheth and his bloud congeals so that none must expect any Resurrection saving those that are slain in the Wars which they averre to have found by experience and that the Bodies slain in the Wars lie not two days in the Graves But more probably this seems a cheat of their Fetisero's who in the night steal the bodies from their resting-places to make the people believe they were risen and gone to another life and to this end to make them the more stout and valiant in the Wars Sixteen miles Eastward of Little Arder Rio Laga Rio de Lagas empties his Waters into the Sea before which a Shelf lyeth that choaks the whole River except at the East-side where they may Row in with a Boat but not without danger to overset in a rowling Sea This Flood goeth in at North or North-west and so passes to a Town call'd Curamo lying on the South Curamo from which Cotton-Cloathes are brought to the Gold-Coast and with good Profit Traded for by the Europeans there The Kingdom of ULKAMI or ULKUMA ULkami or Ulkuma a mighty Countrey The Kingdom of Vlkami spreads Eastward of Arder between that and Benyn to the North-East From hence they send many Slaves partly taken in the Wars Their Trade and partly made such as a punishment for their offences to Little Arder and there sold to the Portuguese to be transported to the West-Indies The Boys in this Region are Religion or Worship according to the Mahumetan manner Circumcis'd but the Girls when they attain the Age of ten or twelve years they put a Stick up their Privacies whereon Pismires taken out of the Fields are set to eat out the Flesh The Monarchy of BENYN THe Kingdom of Benyn Borders of the Kingdom of Benyn or Benin so call'd from its chief City Great Benyn borders in the Northwest on the Kingdom of Ulkami Jaboc Jejago and Oedobo in the North on that of Jaboc eight days journey above the City Benyn in the East on the Kingdom of Istanna and Forkado and in the South on the Sea How far this Principality of Benyn spreads Bigness from South to North is as yet unknown by reason several places continue so full of great Woods that they cannot be Travell'd but it hath from East to West about a hundred Spanish Miles This Kingdom boast many good Towns Latbâ— though little at present known as lying eight or nine days journey beyond the City of Benyn besides an innumerable number of Villages and Hamlets sprinkled as Beauty-Spots on the Verge of the River but the rest of the Countrey not Inhabited so overgrown with Brambles and Bushes as makes it unpassable save onely where some narrow Paths lead from Town to Town Twenty miles or thereabouts up the same River near its Head-Spring stands a Town call'd Gotton Gotton considerable for its length and extent Nine or ten miles from which The City of Benyn but more into the Countrey Northward Benyn shews its self a City of that largeness as cannot be equall'd in those Parts and of greater civility than to be expected among such Barbarous People to whom better known by the name of Ordor It confines within the proper Limits of its own Walls three miles Bigness but taking in the Court makes as much more The Wall upon one side rises to the height of ten Feet double Pallasado'd with great and thick Trees with Spars of five or six Foot laid Crossways fasten'd together and Plaister'd over with Red Clay so that the whole is cemented into one intirely but this surrounds hardly one side the other side having onely a great Trench or Ditch and Hedge of Brambles unpassable with little
Jurisdiction extends over many Cities Towns and Villages wherein none of his Neighbors can equal him Besides he holds as Tributaries the Kingdom of Istama Forkado Jaboe Isago and Oedobo For the more orderly Government of the Kingdom he makes three chief Counsellors in Great Benyn call'd by the Portuguese Figdares who manage the Affairs of the whole Countrey under the King besides whom none superior to them but the Field-Martial and the King's Mother These have Command over every Corner and Quarter of the City and draw great Profit from thence their Names of Office being Ongogue Ossade and Arribo These send into every City or Town a certain number of Noble-men call'd also Fiadoors who decide all Causes except such as relate to Life and Limb and may condemn the guilty Person according to the greatness of his Offence in a Mulct or Penalty but those greater Trials are sent to Benyn to be decided where the Courts of Justice sit But the Judges oftentimes though unknown to the King yet not without the connivance of some of the greatest Fiadoors are Brib'd to partiality The present King keeps a thousand Wives The King of Benyn keeps many Wives for by the Death of his Father Kambadie such Women as had been taken up for his use but never known by him became his Sons by Inheritance the rest with whom the Father had familiarly conversed may never Marry again but are shut up together in a Cloyster and kept by Eunuchs This Prince makes great Wars against his Neighbors towards the East and North winning from them many Cities and Towns He makes great Wars and thereby enriching his Treasury with great Booty of Jasper-Stones and other things He keeps such a reserv'd State Comes but once a year out of his Court. that he appears but once a year at the chief Festival out of his Court before the Commons and then on Horseback adorn'd with all sorts of Royal Ornaments and attended with three or four hundred Noble-men both on Horseback and on Foot and many Musitians before and after in that manner as is mention'd in the foregoing Description of the City of Benyn But he rides not far onely fetching a little compass soon returns As an Ornament to this short Cavalcade he exposes to sight some tame Leopards Chain'd which he keeps for his Recreation many Dwarfs and Fools to shew mimick Tricks and antick Postures and make Pastime for the People At this Festival ten twelve thirteen or more Slaves for the honour of the King are put to death which they believe after they have been a while dead are going to another Countrey and there reviving enjoy the greatest felicity imaginable Upon another Day the King sheweth his Riches consisting in Jasper-Stone Coral and other Commodities before all Men hanging out to publick view and then he bestows many Presents of Slaves Women and other things on the well-deserving And also confers on his Favorites many Offices which concern the Government of Cities and Towns The King's Mother The King's Mother is in great Honour for her greater honour hath a particular Palace without the City rich and stately built where she keeps Court with many Women and Maids Attendants and so highly esteem'd that her Counsel is us'd in all Causes of the Land yet nevertheless by a particular Custom which they term Law the King and his Mother may not see one another as long as they live When a King dies The Funeral of the King a great Cave is digg'd in his Court broad below and narrow above and so deep that the Diggers must be drown'd in the Water In this Cave they put the Corps and then all his Favorites and Servants appear to accompany and serve him in the other Life and when they are gone down to the Corps in the Cave they set a great Stone over the Mouth the People that day and night standing round about it The next day some go to the Cave and removing the Stone ask them within What they do and If none be gone to serve the King To which then perhaps nothing else is answer'd but No. The third day they ask the same Question and then sometimes receive answer That such are the first and those and those are the second whom they highly praise and esteem happy At length after four or five or more days the Men dead and none left to give answer they give account thereof to the new establish'd King who presently makes a great Fire over the Cave whereat spending a great quantity of Flesh to give away to the Common-People so solemnizeth his Inauguration After the Cave stopp'd many Men as they pass along the Streets and some in their own Houses are struck down dead whose Heads cover'd with a Cloth none dare remove but so let it lie to be devour'd by Carnifferous Fowl which are of these two sorts one call'd Goere and the other Akalles Some hold opinion that into the foremention'd Cave no living but onely the Trunks of beheaded Men are put as also that they throw in great part of his Royal Vesture Houshold-stuff and other Wealth By the King's Order yearly Festivals are kept The Festival time of the deceased King in Commemoration of the deceased Kings wherein they make horrible Sacrifices of Men and Beasts to the number of four or five hundred but never more than three and twenty in a day most of them Malefactors who have deserv'd Death and reserv'd in the Trunk of a Tree for this Time But if it happen that there be not Malefactors enough then the King to compleat the number sends for some of his Servants in the Evening into the Streets to take all those that go without Lights and bring them into the Prison If the surprised be a poor or idle person he must expect no favor but hurri'd to Prison soon receives his doom but a rich Man may redeem himself The greatest Fiadoors cannot excuse their Slaves from this duty but by another And in this manner the Fetisero's intending to make a humane Sacrifice to the Devil gets a Man by order from the Court which they may dispose of as they please The Crown descends to the Sons and for want of Sons to the Brothers When the King lieth upon his Death-bed he sends for one of his Nobility The Inheritance whom they call Onegwa to whom he declares the right of Succession and who shall be his Heir which this Noble-man does reveal to none till a competent time after the King's Death but then takes upon him the oversight of the deceased King 's Goods and Children who come with great humility and Salute him not as yet knowing who shall Inherit the Crown Every one makes address to this Onegwa with great respect in hopes of future advantage but he continues silent till the appointed time when sending for the Owe-Asserry that is the General tells him which Son the deceased King appointed to Inherit the Crown whereupon the
Company of fifty Soldiers that helpt him to harrase and spoil the Countrey Beyond the River Loze you pass to Lovato and Quintingo Lovato and Quintingo extending along the Sea-Coast and about thirty or forty miles into the Countrey as far as Sonho or Binda All these Dominions have in certain places their Boundaries and distinct Divisions strictly observed by the Sovasen or Lords The dividing of the Dominions which Limits for the most part are divers Mountains in the Kongoasch Tongue call'd Quibambis near which stand several Frontier Towns the usual Residences of the Sovasen by which means there seldom arise any differences among them concerning Bounds At the River Onza near the Sea-Coast stand three Villages Triangular-wise the first the South-side call'd Mongonendoin the second two miles more Inland Jagado and the third Lengo Not far distant from these appears Mussula or Mossola a Place of Trade frequented by the Hollanders The chief City bears the Name of Panga seated about five and twenty The Head City Panga or as some say six and thirty miles up into the Countrey six days Journey from Lovando St. Paulo in Angola and about the mid-way between the Dukedoms of Sonho and Pembo in the Mountains This Town takes up a great compass of Ground lying very straglingly built after the manner of Lovango and Cakongo and divided in the middle by two small Rivulets or Brooks This Dukedom hath the Command over many Villages Government and some pretence to the two Ondans lying to the Southward of Danda but it proves a bare Claim without any Possession This Lord of Bamba is very Puissant bearing the highest Command at the Congian Court being Captain General of all the Forces there yet holds the Place ad placitum Regis and is disposable by the Successor to whom he thinks fit The Inhabitants are Christians for the generality and keep among them for their Instruction and to perform sacred Offices divers Jesuits Mulatto's and Black Priests Songo The Teritory of Congo or Sonho the second Principality of Congo butts upon the River Zair and Lebunde on the South-side surrounded almost with a Wood call'd Findenguolla Some enlarge it from the River Ambois in seven Degrees and a half South Latitude to the red Mountains which border upon Lovango so that according to this last Description it conterminates in the North upon Ansiko in the South on the River Ambris and in the West upon the Sea This Territory comprehends many petty Lordships heretofore absolute but now made Tributaries to Congo The chief City Songo stands near a pretty large River A quarter of a mile distant forward comes the Village Pinde which the Duke hath lent the Portuguese for a Place to Trade in Sundo Sundo beginning about eight miles from St. Salvador the Metropolis of the whole Kingdom spreads it self beyond the Cataracts of Zair by both its Shores to Ansiko towards the North. On the East-side it runs to the place where Zair unites it self with Baranka and from thence to the Foot of the Crystal Mountains and in the South touches upon Pango The chief City also call'd Sundo the Residence of the Governor hath its Situation on the Borders of Pongo by the Water-falls of Zair The fourth Province stil'd Pango The Territory of Pango hath Sundo in the North Batta in the South Pombo the Dwelling-place of the King in the West and the Mountains of the Sun in the East The Head City seated on the Westerly Shore of the River Barbele was formerly call'd Panguelongos but at present Pango heretofore free but now acknowledging the King of Congo whose Protection they crav'd against the Incursions and Inroads of their Neighbors Batta The Territory of Batta formerly call'd Aghirimba to the North-East or rather full North of Pango about a hundred a Spanish Miles miles into the Countrey reaches Eastward above the River Barbele to the Mountains of the Sun and the Salt-Petre Hill and on the South dilates to the Burning Mountains by the Portuguese call'd Montes Quemados it 's eminentest City also Batta This Tract between Pango and Batta are fruitful and yield all sorts of Provision for the support of life All along the Way from St. Salvadore to Batta stand Huts the Dwelling-places of the Inhabitants About a hundred and fifty miles from Batta Easterly The Territory of Conde lieth the Territory of Conde or Pembo de Okango through which the strong-running and deep River Coango makes its way till meeting and intermingling with the larger Waters of Zair it loses both Name and Current This Countrey from the prevalency of an antient Custom always hath a Woman to Rule it who pays Tribute to Mani-Batta or The Prince of Batta who receives it in the Name of the King of Congo although he reap no benefit thereof To the East beyond the River Congo according to the relation of the Condians are found white People with long Hair but not altogether so white as the Europeans BANSA oste de Stadt SALVADOR Hoost-stadt van het Rijk CONGO BANSA or SASâ—â—DOR the Chief City of ye. Kingdom of CONGO The Lordship of Pembo stands as it were in the middle of the whole The Territory of Pembo encompassed by all the rest and contains the head City of the Kingdom formerly by the Blacks call'd Banza that is Head but at present by the Portuguese St. Salvadore and by Marmol Ambos Congo It stands about the middle of Congo on a very high Quarr-Mountain eight and thirty Dutch miles or as others Write fifty Italian miles from the Sea South-East from the Mouth of the River Zair and delightfully shaded with Palm Tamarinde Bakovens Kolas Lemons and Orange-Trees The top of the Mountain Otreiro yields a curious prospect of all the adjacent Places at great distance both to West and North without any interposing stop to the Eye This Town hath neither Inclosure nor Wall except a little on the South-side which the first King built and afterwards gave that part to the Portuguese to inhabit for their conveniency Here also his Royal Palace shews it self which he surrounded with Walls in such manner that between it and the Town remain'd a great Plain in the middle whereof they have erected a beautiful Church besides these Noble-mens Houses and others fill up the top of the Mountain for every Grandee settles his Dwelling as near the Court as he may be permitted and with his Retinue takes up as much Ground as an ordinary Town may be builded on The common Houses stand in good order and appear very uniform The King 's Court. most of them large well contriv'd and fenced about but generally Thatcht except a few belonging to the Portuguese The King's Palace is exceeding large surrounded with four Walls Houses whereof that towards the Portuguese part consists of Chalk and Stone but all the rest of Straw very neatly wrought the Lodgings Dining-Rooms Galleries and other
product of one Harvest to thirty thousand Venetian Measures call'd Stares every one reckon'd at three and thirty Pound The Grass and Trees shoot up so high that the Inhabitants are necessitated to cut up and burn part of it in the Ashes whereof they plant Sugar-Canes which in six Moneths bring forth Sugar for those planted in January are cut up in June and so the rest each according to the Moneth wherein they were planted MELITE INSULA vulge MASTA Here is much tame Cattel as upon the Mountains many wild Swine Partridges Doves and Quails The Inhabitants are much civiler than those of the Canary-Islands and Trade with all sorts of Countreys giving in Exchange for their Commodities Sugar Honey Wax Oranges Citrons Lemons Pomgranates Wines and Leather THe Island of Malta THe Name of Malta seems to be derived from Melite so call'd of old which not onely the antient Geographers Strabo Mela and Ptolomy but the holy Scripture it self mentions though there be another Melite near the City Ragousa and the Coast of Damiata at this day call'd Meleda Cluverius in his Description of Sicily supposes that the Iste Hiperia spoken of by Homer as the Habitation of the People call'd Phaeacians who being hunted thence by the Phenycians took their flight to Corfu or Scherie antiently Phaeacia is no other than this And assuredly the Phaeacians were the Inhabitants of Corfu which came first from Malta as Homer by placing the Mountain Melite in Corfu plainly makes manifest Cluverius endeavors to maintain by demonstrative reasons that it was the most antient Ogygia the Habitation of the Nymph Calipso Daughter of Oceanus and Thetis who receiv'd and entertain'd Ulysses suffering Shipwrack where he stay'd seven years but at last by the order of Juno was commanded to quit his Mistress and leave the Countrey This Island hath been commonly accounted in Europe but Ptolomy placeth it in Africa and the very Tongue there spoken being broken Arabick proves it African no less than its being in the Atlantick Sea though it seem nearer to Europe It lieth in six and forty Degrees of Longitude and in five and thirty and ten Minutes North-Latitude or according to Ptolomy in four and thirty Degrees forty Minutes and hath in length from East to West six Leagues in breadth three and in compass fifteen It hath on the East the Mediterranean Sea on that side next Candia in the North the Island of Sicily not above fifteen Leagues distant in the South Tripolis in Barbary and the lesser Africa in the West the Islands of Pantalaree Linose and Lampadouse The Sea which divides it from Sicily bears the Name of The Channel of Malta Ptolomy places there a City of the same Name and two Temples one of Juno and the other of Hercules At this day it contains four Wall'd Cities besides a great number of Towns the Cities are Valette Citta Vecchia that is The Old City otherwise Old Malta Biurgo Sante Angelo or The City of Angels otherwise Citta Victoriosa and the City or Town of St. Michael or Sangde Valette by the Italians call'd Terra Nuova and by the French Ville Neuve gain'd that Name from the Grand Master Jan de Valette otherwise Parisot who presently built it after the Siege of the Turks in the Year Fifteen hundred sixty five who had then straitned this Island and taken the Castle St. Elmo lying before the City The City stands founded upon a Rock and an elevated piece of Ground call'd Scebarras which severs the Haven Marza Mazetta and the Great Haven being indeed an Isthmus the Sea beating on three sides of it and a great Trench hewn out of the Rock cuts it off from the rest of the Island On the outmost Point of that Rock before it stands the Castle St. Elmo It appears very strong surrounded on the out side with Ditches cut in the Rocks fortified with Bulwarks and very delightful Out-works within beautified with straight and broad Streets of which the chiefest are Strata Reale or The High Street and Strata Merchanti The Merchants Street The Houses lofty built of hewn Stone with flat Roofs according to the manner of the Eastern Countreys to the number of about two thousand Every House had formerly a Cistern to catch Rain-water but Strangers at this day fetch it from some fair Springs neighboring the Port del Monto on the Sea-coast whither the Water hath been brought some Miles out of the Countrey by Conduits an Invention of the Grand Master Alofi Vignacourt to the great Relief and Comfort as well of the Inhabitants as Foreigners which lie with their Ships before the City for the Water spouts by the opening of an Engine in the City and by Pipes runs into the Cask in the Boats Three Gates give entrance into it one at the Haven call'd Porta del Monte and two at the Land-side viz. Porta Reale and Porta Boucheria or The Slaughter-house Gate There are seven Churches the chiefest is that of St. John the Patron or Guardian-Protector of the Order of the Knights of Malta on the right side whereof stands the Figure of that Saint in a lively Representation The other are St. Augustine St. Dominico St. Maria Jesus St. Paulo Madona de Carmine Collegio de Jesu La Madama de la Victoria There are also seven Palaces or Courts call'd Auberge or Bergia for the seven Languages for into so many Nations of several Tongues are the Knights divided in every one of which the Superiors have their Residence and live upon the Expence of the Order As Bergia or Auberge di Provence Bergia de Auvergne or Alvenia Bergia de France Bergia di Italia Bergia di Arragon Bergia de Alemagna Bergia di Castilia that is to say The Palace or Court of Provence The Palace of Auvergne The Palace of France The Palace of Italy The Palace of Arragon Germany and Spain Formerly there was a Bergia di Angliterre but at this day annihilated There are several Cloysters as of St. Ursula St. Catherine and di Repenti The Palace of the Grand-Master for here he holds his Court stands between St. Elmo and St. Johns wherein is a great Hall the usual Place for the meeting of the Grand-Master with the Counsellors or Knights of the Great Cross In the Court behind the Palace stand fix'd in the Wall the Portraictures of two very ancient Marble Heads rais'd upon an Arch bigger than the Life one with this Inscription Zenobia Orientalis Domina and the other Petesilia They were found in Malta in the Year Two hundred seventy six They have a Market-place to which the Countrey People bring all sorts of Fruit Fowl Sheep Goats Hogs and other provision to sell VALETTA CIVITAS NOVA MALTAE Olim Millitae There is an Arsenal or Magazine of Arms Magazine of Armâ—â— under the Inspection of a Cavalier or Knight wherein they have a very large and stately Hall compleatly furnish'd with all sorts of Warlike Weapons In the middle stand five square Wooden Buildings whose
as at this day many Stone Columns found therein and Insculp'd with Punick Letters Afterwards the Romans became Masters of it at the same time when they Conquer'd Cicily by whom deserted the Mahumetans took into possession about the Year of our Lord Eight hundred twenty eight but they were driven thence in the Year One thousand and ninety by Roger the Norman Duke of Cicily who reduced it under his own Power from whom it remain'd under the King of Cicily till overcome by the Emperor Charles the First after his Conquest of Cicily and Naples who gave it away to the Knights of St. Johns Order then call'd Knights of Rhodes and at this day Malta Knights as appeareth by Monimus of Utina exhorting Philip the Second to recieve them But for the better information of the beginning and continuance of this Order of Knights the Possessors and Lords of this Island it will be necessary to deduce the matter somewhat higher When the City Jerusalem was exceedingly harrased by the Saracens The original of St. Johns Order or Knights of Malta who possess'd the same Califf Aron used the Christians more gently because of a good understanding between Charles the Great first Emperor of Germany and him but after his death this City fell into greater miseries by quarrels between the Mahumetans of Persia and Egypt for now it was under the Persians and then under the Egyptians who at last growing Masters of the Holy-Land treated the Christians very severely and caused the Church of the Holy-Sepulchre to be Ruin'd which remain'd seven and thirty years desolate till the Raign of Constantine Monamaque Emperor of Constantinople who Rebuilt it at his own Charge with the consent of Bomensor Califf of Bomansar by others call'd Maabad Abutamin Mustansir Billa Son of Ali Taher in the Year One thousand forty eight At the same time some Nobles and Italian Merchants of the City Amalfi in the Kingdom of Naples visited much the Havens and sea-Sea-Towns of Syria and Egypt carrying thither by Shipping rare and precious Commodities which were so acceptable to the Natives of that Countrey that the bringers were respected by all persons even the Governors and Califfs themselves by which means they had liberty to Trade every where and visit the City of Jerusalem and the Holy-Land But they having no Dwelling-place for their abode nor any Church to exercise their Religion concluded to intreat the Califf of Egypt to grant them a place in Jerusalem whereon they might build a Church with a house for their abode who immediately granted them a place near The Church of the Resurrection where they afterwards built a Church to the honor of the Virgin Mary with a Cloyster and House Afterwards they sent for from the Mountain Cassin an Abbot with Monks of the Order of St. Benedict to whom they gave the same Church and Cloyster with a proviso to receive and entertain all Christian Pilgrims or Travellers and this Church was call'd St. Mary the Latin because built by the Latin Christians On the report of this Work begun many Men and Women betook themselves thither And therefore that the Women might have a more honorable abode another Cloyster was built by the name of St. Mary Magdalene into which a certain number of Religious Women betook themselves to receive and entertain all Pilgrimesses which came thither But when at last these Cloysters began to grow too small for such great numbers as thither resorted the Sisterhood concluded to build a great Hospital or Alms-house for entertainment both of Sick and Well and put at the same time an Overseer therein chosen by the Abbot They built also next it a Church by the name of St. John Baptist because they had understood That Zacharias the Father of St. John Baptist had often travell'd to this Place These Cloysters and this Hospital for want of Revenues were only maintain'd by Alms sent to them by those of Amalfi and other parts of Italy which Traded in Syria which continu'd as long as Jerusalem remain'd in the Hands of the Infidels In which time a certain Holy Person by name Gerard was Overseer of this Hospital and over the Cloyster of Women a Roman Virgin call'd Agnes When this Gerard had serv'd this Hospital a long time he concluded with the Advice of his Benefactors to take upon him the Apparel or Habit which the Knights at this day wear that is a black Cloke or Coat with a white eight-pointed Cross upon it The like the Abbess Agnes and their Institution was allow'd by Pope Honorius the Second and the Patriarch of Jerusalem Gramay affirms That at the intreaty of this Gerard this Order was allow'd in the year Eleven hundred and thirteen by Pope Paschal the Second under the Discipline of St. Augustine which hath been ever since follow'd by them And likewise the same Pope Paschal took the same Gerard and these Hospitallers for so they were at first call'd from this Hospital under his Protection and granted them great Priviledges commanding That after the death of this Gerard they should chuse another Governor to whom was given the Title of Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem Megisser affirms That when the Christian Princes had Besieg'd Jerusalem under the Conduct of Godfrey of Bouillon Duke of Lorain as Chief Commander these Hospitallers joyn'd privately with him and by means of their Assistance beat the Turks and won the City in the year Eleven hundred and nineteen This Godfrey of Bouillon being afterward chosen King of Jerusalem by the Christians gave to this Order great Gifts and put into their Hands the Government of many Towns to defend the same In the year Eleven hundred seventy eight these Hospitallers fought with Saladine Caliph of Egypt and won a great Victory but with the loss of the Grand Master De Mozins there remaining on the Mahumetan side above five thousand slain In like manner the Knights in the same year in July under the Command of the Grand Master Garnier gave a bloody Battel to that Enemy wherein Guy the Christian King of Jerusalem and the chiefest of the Realm remain'd Prisoners Downfal of the Knights with a downfall of all the Knights The Grand Master himself mortally wounded died of his Wounds ten days afterwards The twelfth of October They are drove out of Jerusalem in the same Year Jerusalem was Conquer'd by Saladine by which means all the Christians of the Latin Church and these Hospitallers were driven out of the City which with their own Money redeem'd above thirty thousand Prisoners These did aid the Christian Princes very much in the regaining of the Holy Land and the City Akre which hapned in the year Eleven hundred ninety one the twelfth of July at which place they have since had their usual abode And notwithstanding the loss of Jerusalem the Hospitallers and Templars remain'd Masters over one part of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and made Ameury van Ansignan King of Cyprus King of
the City from the Serpent Python This proof of Delta's lying under water heretofore makes us rightly to interpret Herodotus Strabo and others who maintained all Egypt to have been in the same condition whereas they must be understood by a Synechdoche to have taken a part for the whole for that Egypt in general was not drown'd with the Sea will appear from hence that it was very Mountainous and upon a continual ascent upwards to the Nile even as far as the Cataracts thereof and Ethiopia And now the Series of our Discourse having brought us to the Nile we will with as much brevity and exactness as possible describe the same by discovering his first rise and heads with his several branches and sources and setting down the Genuine causes of his annual Fluxes from the crediblest of our Modern Authors This River famous for his greatness and faecundity According to some the name of Nilus is derived from Nâ—â—â— Owâ— id est drawing new slime which may make the Earth fertile See Virg. Georg. 2. hath by antiquity many several names attributed to him The Hebrews call him Nahar-Mitzraim that is the River of Egypt the Inhabitants Nuchal which agrees with Pomponius Mela who give the same to the Head-spring of Nile and is but little different from the Hebrew Nahal or Nachal 'T is also by the Jews named Shickor or Sihor signifying black from the colour of the sediment for the same reason call'd by the Greeks Melas black And the Antients represented his Figure in black stone though all other Rivers were denoted by white Statues Some would fancy this to be Gihon mentioned in Holy Writ but with how little probability may easily be conjectured if we consider that Gihon was one of the four great Rivers that watered the Terrestrial Paradise and consequently in Asia whereas this is in Africk Homer Diodorus Xenophon and others give him the common appellation of the Countrey that is Egyptus and Plutarch names him Osyris and Syris Apollonius Triton Pliny Astraton Diodorus Aquila because of his swiftness it seems Cedrenus Chrysorrhoe Golden stream and Dyonisius Syene In the Reign of King Orus there eight hundred years before the building of Rome the same was by his Subjects known by the title of Noym or Num. Upon the Coasts of Lybia towards Syene from the name of a Princes Child there drown'd it was first call'd Nilus which also the Africans do The Abyssines stile it Abanha Father of Rivers The Negroes or Moors Takkui and from them the Abyssines Nil Takui and the two branches thereof Tagazi and Abanhi Lastly by the report of Sanutius the people of the Kingdom of Goyame call it Gihon This famous River thus severally known by variety of Names by yearly inundations doth so fertllize and fatten the earth that it provides for and furnishes the Inhabitants even with an exuberance of Plenty which proceeds from three remarkable Prerogatives wherewith Nature hath endowed him beyond all other Rivers The first is that he sends forth no foggy vapors which makes the Air very healthful and serene being continually free either from Rain Clouds Mists or Fogs Secondly he runs with so even and undisturbed a stream that there never accrews any danger from his Waves or Billows to any Boats Barks or Passengers sailing thereon but a satisfactory pleasure from his continual calm Lastly his faecundating vertue which is so great that it causeth not onely an infinite encrease in all sorts of Cattel that water there and breeds a prolifick faculty in Men and Women but produces of all things growing from the earth a Harvest plentiful even to admiration And this fertility without dispute was the cause why Egypt of old exceeded all other Nations almost for multitude of people and yet to this day after so many direful depopulations may compare with those that boast the greatest number of Inhabitants As a testimony whereof Diodorus records that there were once in it eighteen thousand strong Cities many of which as it seems were either by Time or War lay'd waste and desolate because we find in the Reign of Ptolomy Lagus onely three thousand Registred no more then remaining which by Suidas his account was in the Empire of Caesar Augustus when Diodorus lived The same Author reports that in Elder times the number of its Inhabitants were seventeen hundred thousand and that in his own time they were no less in general esteem than thirteen hundred thousand which wonderful encrease might be effected by the constant drinking the water of this River whose vertue had the power as some believed to make the Egyptian Women bring forth so often not onely two or three but sometimes six or seven nay eight Children at a Birth And this may a little abate the wonder how the Children of Israel in so short a time as two hundred years * Broughton which was all the space they sojourned in Egypt multiplyed from but seventy souls to above six hundred thousand men on foot besides Women and Children nor may those stupendious Monuments of Grandeur which even to this day bear the name of Wonders seem so strange to have been erected by the Antient Kings of this Countrey as a Remonstrance of their glorious Greatness and Magnificence if we lay into the other Scale the infinite number of people that were under their Commands all whose hands at the Princes Fiat being employed made things otherwise seeming impossible to become facile according to that of the Poet Multorum manibus grande levatur opus From these unusual Excellencies and rare Qualifications of this River the Gymnosophists of Egypt made it one of their chief Numens which they worshipped with particular Solemnities under the name of the Goddess Isis to whose care and kindness they ascrib'd their continual freedom from the terror and danger of Earthquakes and that they were never infested with any Pestilential Contagion but alwayes enjoyed a Serene wholesomeness of Air not subject to any impetuous storms or alterations of weather either from the Clouds or Windes This was the cause of those many honorable Epithetes bestowed on it by Antiquity among which one was the flowing of Osiris or rather as Abenefius an Arabick Writer hath it Osiris Arm because it did as it were reach forth to Mankind so great a Plenty of Provisions For observing that Egypt enclosed with Mountains did resemble an Arm and that the several partitions at the end seemed Fingers he appointed to the Nile the place of the Mediana or Liver-vein This like that in the body sending forth its quickning moisture by whose motion and circulation it fertilitates the whole even to such an height of abundance as makes Wonder stand amaz'd to see Nature turn Prodigal This agrees well with the Antient Poets who gave to this River many notable attributes Homer the Prince of them says it fell from Heaven out of Jupiter's Bosome from whence happily sprung the belief not onely of the old Egyptians but the later Greeks that
his naked Feet black Sandals laced on On the Girdle was a Fillet whereupon was written 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Happy or Happiness perhaps the proper name of the young Man or else set there as a Prayer for his eternal joy The Woman that lay in the same Cave The Pourtraiture of a Woman was without doubt the Wife or Sister of the young Man and more sumptuously drawn upon her Herse-cloth Besides several other Hieroglyphicks there stood upon gilded Plates two Fowls and two Lions back to back and upon another Garment lay an Ox or Cow perhaps the Image of Apis or Isis that Idol by the Egyptians being represented in that shape Upon another Plate hanging to the last link on the Brest the Sun was pencil'd In the Ears were Gems with Garters on her Arms and Legs and many Rings on her Fingers In her right Hand she held a Golden Water-pot and on the fore-finger of the left Hand a Ring with other Trimmings and Ornaments She had as the young Man black curl'd Hair which cover'd her Face dark and thick Eye-brows with black Eyes wide open These Effigies or Resemblances were drawn with a rough hand like Pictures in unsetled and barbarous times In the Cave wherein the two fore-mention'd Mummies were found there were other Corps which lay all without order buried in the Sands and preserv'd onely by its driness Besides the former two there was another which lay in a Woodden Coffin with a Virgin carv'd upon it and laid forth almost like the former with a gilt Herse-cloth and other Ornaments In the broken Body of this Virgin was found nothing else but a great many Rollers and Bitumen wound up therein for the Bones and Flesh were in a manner dried and consumed so that it seemed to be onely a shell of Wood. The Materials of the Mummy were so hard that a Hammer could scarce make any impression upon it A little forwarder other Corps were to be seen in great number wound up in single Clothes and preserv'd in common Bitumen without gilt Coverings Pourtraitures or any other Ornaments whence may be concluded that the adorn'd Bodies were Persons of rank and quality either of Priests or Great Ministers of State which onely had hope to come to the future Dominion as Herodotus Diodorus and other antient Historiographers mention ¶ MUmmy is a Persian word Mummy a Persian name and signifieth a dry and unperishable dead Body being Embalmed after a peculiar manner Many are of opinion though not so that the Bodies which are so call'd were not prepared by Art but by meer chance brought to the estate of being unperishable by this following means In Africa on the east-side of Nile lyeth a great and sandy Desart call'd from its extent The Sandy-Sea which by impetuous Windes is so often agitated that Travellers and Beasts with their Burthens are overwhelmed alive and there utterly lost which after by the power of the hot Sun and parching Sand are so dried that they become fixed and for ever undissolvable True it is some such Bodies are found there Mummies are not Bodies dried by the Sun in the Sea of Sand. and sometimes sold for Mummies but they deserve not that Name because a Mummy is onely such a Body as by a peculiar Art is incorporated and embalmed with Bitumen and other odoriferous Spices such as at this day in great numbers are found under the City Memphis and the Caves about it Herodotus saith in his * second Book Herodot Euterpe that Bodies of Rich or Great Meh were wash'd over with Phenician Wine and the Belly stuft with Myrrh Cassia and other Aromaticks and then laid in Salt but those of the common sort was done with Juice or Gum of Cedar-wood I shall briefly set down the words of this antient Writer wherein he sheweth the whole Egyptian way of Embalming for the better explaining of what is already said and shall be said hereafter After mourning for the Dead they bring the Body to be embalmed Herodotus for which several persons are appointed excellently skilled in that Art who when it is brought into the house shew wooden Images of other dead persons painted in natural colours First the neatest afterwards courser and then a third the coursest of all asking according to which they will have the Corps done After a bargain struck having the Corps there the Pollinctors embalm the Body with great diligence in this manner First with a crooked Iron they drill the Brains out of the Head through the Nostrils upon which they strew Medicinal Ingredients After that with a sharp Stone had out of the Moors Countrey they open the Belly and take out all the Bowels which being cleansed and washed with Phenician Wine are mixed with pounded Spices Then they fill the Cavity of the Belly with beaten Myrrh Cynamon Incense and other the like Aromaticks and so stitch it up again this done they lay it seventy days in Salt and no longer After which the Corps are wash'd and wound up in silk Blankets cut in slits and spread over like our Sear-clothes with a Gum which the Egyptians use in stead of Lime When the Friends have received the Corps thus Embalmed they frame a Wooden case just fitted wherein they lay the Corps and put it into the Burial-Cave next the Wall Thus sumptuously they prepare and order their Dead There is another kind of Embalming us'd by those of the middle sort The second sort of Embalming being of no great cost viz. They fill a Syringe with Gum of Cedar-wood and inject it through the Fundament into the Belly without removing the Bowels then let the Corps lye so many days as aforesaid in Salt On the last day they squeeze out the injection by the same way which hath such an Operation that it brings with it what is not fit for Preservation and the Salt consumeth the flesh so that nothing but the Skin and Bones of the Dead remain which finish'd the the Corps is delivered up to the Friends without any more cost or trouble The third way used to the poorer sort is onely this The third sort of Embalming they cleanse and wash the Belly first and then lay the Corps seventy days in Salt and so finish the Obits Ladies of Quality are not so soon exposed to the Operation of Embalming nor such as were famous for Beauty because the Embalmers should not abuse their yet untainted Bodies for they say one of these * Embalmers Pollinctors used that unnatural Villany and upon complaint of his fellow-Artists was surprized in the very Act and suffer'd condign punishment Haly an Arabian Physitian is of opinion Haly. that Bodies by means of Bitumen and * The Gum of the Balsam-Tree before mentioned Joh. Nardius Opobalsamum Myrrhe and such like Drugs is brought to the state of perdurableness Johannes Nardius who caused many of the Mummies to be broken in pieces to try them maintains strongly that
first with the Island Michias ¶ IN the midst of Nile not far from Cairo Island Michias over against the Old City Miffrulhetich lyes the Island Michias or El-Michias that is Measure-Isle or Mark-Island because within it was set the Mark whereby they took the measure of the Rivers overflowing and the height and lowness of his waters and thereby made a judgement of the consequent fruitfulness indifference or infertility of the following Year This Island contains about fifteen hundred Families having at one end a fair Palace erected by a Soldan and a large Mosque or Temple at the other end standeth a round Building alone with a four-square Well or Cistern eighteen Cubits deep into which the Nile-water at the time of the overflowing is conveyed in the middle of the Well stands an upright Pillar divided by marks into so many Cubits as the Well is deep where attend certain Officers by command of the Councel who give notice of the increase which some Children with yellow Bands about their Heads to that purpose appointed make known by an Out-cry through all the streets of the City and Suburbs admonishing the people to fear God and are by them in return presented with Gifts During the rising of Nilus in Cairo and most other Cities there is so great a Noise and Joy made with Drums and Trumpets all along the City that it seems to be in a Tumult and Uproar Opposite to Miffrulhetich lyeth Geza Geza joyning to Michias that severs it from Cairo it shews many stately Palaces erected by the Mamaluckes and other curious and pleasant Buildings together with a sumptuous Temple by the Nile Many Handy-crafts men and other Traders come daily from Cairo hither to work and trade returning at night to their own homes Those that would visit the Pyramids can go no nearer way than through this City which on one side is surrounded with a sandy Desart reaching quite to them Not far from Grand Caire stands Muhallaca a little old Town near which the great Lake Maeris The Lake Meris which Diodorus placed ten Stadia or Furlongs from Cairo Antiquity gave it in compass two hundred and fifty or four hundred and fifty miles whereas at this day it is but eight leagues At the increase of Nile Sanatus this Lake is in some places fifty fathom deep receiving great store of water which the Inhabitants make good use of It hath two Rivulets one by which it receives water from Nile and the other where it runs out of the Lake and moistens the thirsty grounds in Summer time They say King Maeris from whom this Lake took his Name caused it to be digg'd with Spades and in the midst of it erected a Sepulchre for himself and his Queen wherein two fair Pyramids each forty paces high were set with the tops out of the water upon either of which he placed a Marble Statue The Revenue of the Fish of this Lake which amounted daily to a Talent of Silver the King allowed to his Royal Consort to buy her Pins This agrees with what Herodotus writes in his second Book in these words The Lake Maeris is in compass a thousand six hundred Stadia or Furlongs Herodot Euterpe and sixty paces which compass is as much as all Egypt is in length on the Sea-coast It reaches far to the North and South and is in depth fifty paces That it was digg'd and made by mens hands appeareth in that about the middle there stand two Pyramids that rise fifty paces above the water and as much under it so that each Pyramid is an hundred paces high Upon either of them is a Stone-Image sitting upon a Throne The water of this Lake comes not from a Spring being sometimes very dry but is supplied by Trenches out of the Nile six moneths it is furnish'd from them A Talent is 250 l. sterling and other six moneths makes returns into it which later six moneths the Revenue of Fish amounts every day to a * Talent of Silver but in the former onely to twelve Minae or Pounds Adding that the Inhabitants asserted this Lake went under the Earth Westward as far as the Sandy Syrtes in Lybia where it anew breaks forth near the Mountain which hangs over Memphis About six leagues from Cairo Changa at the Entrance of the Wilderness which runs towards Mount Sinai lyeth the City Changa heretofore very great and beautified with stately Houses and Temples but so much spoiled and wasted by Wars that it hath lost its antient splendor Here is a double Thorow-fare the one towards Syria the other to Arabia but no water other than what from the overflowing of the Nile is preserv'd in Sluices and Ditches Hence towards the East standeth Suez Suez by Ptolomy call'd The City of Brightness upon the utmost Border of the Arabian Gulf about three days Journey from Cairo Livy Sanutus Bellonius as Livy Sanutus and others affirm though Bellonius placeth it much nearer This is one of the most commodious Havens on the North-side of the Red-Sea and the Moors bring hither out of India all manner of Spices Gems Pearls Amber Musk and other costly Merchandize which are carryed by Land to Cairo and so to Alexandria whither the Venetians English Dutch and other Nations come to traffique Divers place this City with Ptolomy in Egypt Ptolomy Maginus Geograph but others as Maginus in his Geography in Trogloditis a part of Arabia but it seems rather to belong to Egypt because it is now under the Command of the Turkish Bassa of Cairo It is environed with a sandy and barren Desart which reaches some miles distance utterly desolate and void of all things It is supported by the Revenues arising from Commodities of other Countreys brought thither all the water they use is conveyed thither two miles off upon Camels and is nevertheless so brackish that it breeds many Diseases On an adjacent Hill stands an inconsiderable Castle with old ruinous Walls More to the In-land South from Nile lyeth Bethsames Bethsames by some held to be the old Heliopolis More Southward Muhaisira close to the Nile stands the decayed City Muhaisira and on the other side Southwards also lyes Benesuait or Benesuahid Benesuahid A hundred and eighty miles from Grand Caire upon a rising ground is the City Munia built in the time of the Mahumetans by one Chalib Munia belonging to the Califfe of Bagdet This City had formerly many neat Churches and other handsom Structures insomuch that there yet appear divers Ruines of the antient Egyptian Building Not far from Munia lyeth Fyum formerly call'd Abydus Fyum and by some Abutick Here it is said that Joseph the son of Jacob was first buried whose Bones Moses afterwards when the Children of Israel departed out of Egypt carryed with then into Canaan Close by Fyâ—m yet stands the great and old City Manfloth or Menf-loth erected by the Egyptians destroyed by the Romans
Length we must yet adde from Tripolis to the Borders of Barca a Countrey no less than two hundred Miles long In the Division of Barbary The Division of it among the most noted Geographers there is some difference Philippus Cluverius who seems to follow Golnitz divides it into Six Parts that is into Barca Tunis Tremisen Fez Morocco and Dara which first sets down for a Republick and the five other for Kingdoms In this lieth the Barbary is divided iâ—â—o 5 parts 141. 1. Morocco containing Morocco proper therein Rivers Tenzift Ecifelmel Niftis Agmet Afisnuall Teccubin Hued la Abid Habid Umarabea or Ommirabih Darna Sie-siva Tesethne Rio dos Savens Teculeth and Imiffen Fifteen in all Cities or Towns Morocco Agmet Elgiunâ—uhe Emigiagen Tazarat or Tezrat Tenez Gamaagidid Tenulet Imizimiz Tamdegost and Animney Mountains Nefuse Derenders Aden Atron Semmede Xauxave Sicsive Gedmeve and the Hantete Hea Towns Tedoest Agobel Alguel Teknleth Halequis Texeuit Lusngaguen Tesegdelt Tegetze Eitdevet Kyleyhat Elmuhaidin Tefethne Gazale Tafalle Zebedech Magodor Goz and Engueleguingil Mountains Ayduacal or Atlas Demensere Mount Giubel el Hand and Tenzift Sus Towns Messe Tecent Gared Tarudant Faraixa Tedsi Tagoast Aguar Gantguessen Aguilou Algazib and Samotinate Mountains Henquise Laalem Guzala and Ilde Rivers Onely one nam'd as the Province Sus. Guzula Towns Hath no wall'd Cities few good Towns but many Villages Mountains None rising there and scarce any en passant Rivers None rising there and scarce any en passant Ducala Towns The principal City Azamor Elmedine the next Magazan a place of great Strength Tit or Tut now waste Saffi a wall'd City Conte Maramor Cernu Aguz Telmez Umez Miatbir Sudeyt Tamarrox Terga Benekafiz Guilez Terrer Cea and Bulaaguan Mountains Benimequez and Jakel Hadra or Mount Verd. Rivers Ommirabih Haskora Towns Elmadine â—lendin Tagodast or Isadagas Elgiumuha Mountains Teuendez Tenhite wherein 50 fortified Castles and Guigim Rivers Tenzift and Elgua del Habid Tedle Towns Tefze the chief Fixtele Cithiteb Aitiat Mountains Segeme Magran and Dedes 2. Fex Fez a Province Towns Salee Rabat Fez the Metropolis Tefensare Maamore Mequinez Tefelfelt Gemaa el Hamem Hamis Metagan Beniz Bail Makarmede Habad Zavy and Haluan Mountains Zalagh Zathon Tagat and Gereygure Rivers Burrâ—greg Subu Fez Bath Likus Homar Guir Gomer Cherzer Melulo Melnean and Mutuye Temesne Towns Coxor Escossor Anfa a Roman Building Almansora Sala or Sella Rotima Rabat Newhayle Adendum Tegeget Hain el Chetu Maderauvan Thagia and Zarfa Mountains None remarkable Asgar Towns Larach Elgâ—umha and Casar el Cabir Ehabat Towns Tangier â—aximus Arzille Cosar Ezzachir or Alcazer Ceuta the Vionones Ezagen Beni-tuid Mergo Tansor Agle Narangia Homam and Tituan Mountains Ralione Benefenficare Beni-Aroz Chebib Angera Quadres and Beniguedarfeth Erif Towns Comere-Terga Yelles Bedis Penon de la Velez Gebba Mezemme Tegasse Seusaon and Guazaval Mountains Beni-Garir Beni-Mansor Beni-Chelid Beni-Zarval Seusacen Beni-Gebara Beni-Yerson Beni-Gualed Beni-Guazual Guarga Beni-Achmed and Beni-Guarrued Garet Towns Tarforagello Fetis â—arfoquirato Melille Casasa Tezzote and Meggio Mountainâ— Alkude Eguebdenon Beni-Sahia Azgungan Beneteusin and Guardan Cus or Chaus Towns Teurert Hadagia Garsis Dubdu Meza Sophroy Mezdega Benihublud Ham-Lisnam Mehedia Tezerghe Umengiueaybe and Gerceluin Mountains Matgara Cauata Megeze Baronis Beniguertenage Beniriftere and Siligo 3 Tunis Tunis properly Rivers Guadelbarbar Magrida Megerada and Caps or Capes Mountains Zogoan Gueslet Benitefren Nefuse Towns Tunis the Metropolis of the whole Goletta Towns Goletta the chief Marsa or Marca Nebel of old Napolis of Barbary Cammort Arriane and Arradez once a Roman Colony Carthage Towns Carthage Byserta Towns The City Biserta Choros or Clypea or Kalybby Porto Farine Mountains None but one fertile Plain callâ—d Mater Urbs and Beggy Towns Urbs Beggie Nayne Sammin and Kasba Rivers One but without Name Susa Towns Susa the chief City Hammameth or rather Mahometa Heraclia Monaster Islands Cumiliers Querguene and Gamelere Mahady Towns Mahadia or Africa Kayravan Towns Kayravan Tobute and Astachus or Arfachus Tabarca and Galita Two small Islands Tripoli Towns Old and New Tripoli Capez Machres Elhamma and Zoara Rivers and Lakes Kasarnaker Rasalmabes and Mabro The Lake Tritonis famous in Antiquity Zerbi Towns Meninx Thoar or Guerra and Sibele but scarce worth naming Ezzab Towns Ras Axara Tessuta Rasamisar Lepida of old Eoa and Ruscelli Mountains Garian Beniguarid Mecellata Towns Lard Chedicke and Eufrata Sibaca and the Philenian Altar Cyrenaika Towns Cyrene Berenice Apollonia Ptolemais and Arsinoe Alcude Sabbia Drepanum Camara Carkora Teionis Ardbry Taurka No Towns but the People live scatter'd in Huts 4. Tremesen or Algier Algier proper and Tremesen Towns Algier Tremezen Hubet Tefezara and Tezeta Rivers Zis Hued-Habra Tesne Mina Xiles Celefe Ceffay Hued el Harran Hued el Hamis Hued-Icer Hued el Quibar Sufgemar Marsock and Yadoch Mountains Beninezeten Matagara Beniguernid Tarara Agbal and Magarava Angad Towns Guagida Tenzegzet and Isli Desart Mountains Benizeneten Beniaraxad Towns Beni-Arax Calaa Elmohaskar and Batha Miliane Towns Miliana or Manliana Mezune and Tequident Kouko Towns Kouko Tamagus a good Haven Labez a gr mount Towns Tesli and Boni Tenez Towns Tenez and Medua Mountains Beni-Abukaid Abusaid and Guenezeris Tubeca Towns Thabuna Humanbar Towns Humanbar Haren Tebekrit and Ned-Roma Haresgol a particular City of it self Horan Towns Oran Sargel Towns Sargel and Brexer and the Mountain Darapula and Bresch Bugy Towns Bugy Micile or Mesele Stefe and Nekans one of the pleasantest Cities in Barbary The Village Gigery Constantine Towns Constantine Chollo Sukaycada and Estote with many Mountains Bona Towns Bona Mele and Tabarca The Isle of France 5. Barca or Marmarica Towns Raxattincase Trabucho Augele Laco Mosolomar Soudon Haven Raxa and Barca the Metropolis BARBARIA BILEDULGERID o Libye et PARS NICRITARUM TEREA ¶ THe Customs of these People are according to their Names Every man marries many Wives Barbarous For every man takes as many Wives as he pleases keeping besides Concubines and Slaves in great number They esteem the Children of one Woman no more than the other all after the Fathers Decease joyntly participating of the Inheritance In their Marrying they use no other Solemnity than a bare Testimony and Assurance which the Bridegroom makes before the Cadi or Judge whereby he acknowledges to take such a * As we had in the late Troubles Marriages before a Justice Woman or Maid for his Bride but this is of so little validity that he may put her away when he will Neither hath the Woman a less Priviledge having liberty at her pleasure to renegue her Husband onely with this difference If the Wife go from her Husband yet the Father is bound to pay him the Marrige-Portion promised But if the Man puts away his Wife he can demand nothing except he have testimony against her for Adultery The Women and Maids keep themselves so vail'd that they are not nor must be seen by such as would make Love to Marry them In like manner the Men are so
Bashaw Another sort though Tributaries yet Rule with absolute Soveraignty as the Kings of Konkue and Labez as also the Xeques of the Arabians in the whole Countrey there is but one Common-wealth and that too may rather be termed an Anarchy than a Republick In every City where the Grand Signieur hath a Bashaw Resident In every City is a Cady a Cady is sent to administer Justice who with unlimited power Judges and Determines all Civil and Criminal Causes Every one there pleads his own Case without Proctor Advocate or Councel which course is observed through all Barbary except at Salle where the Moors who are Masters there plead with Proctors and Advocates after the Spanish way The People here are Many sorts of People in Barbary of several Religions as elsewhere of different Religions as Mahumetans Christians Jews and the Countrey People who are never congregated or make any shews of Devotion In their Mosques they have no Images The Mosques or Temples of the Mahumetans but in stead of them Six hundred Lamps sometimes in a Row about it stands a great Cloister or Hermitage wherein the Iman or Marabou that is the Priest dwells Their Prayers are call'd Sala How they pray in them and the People repeat the same words the Priest says before them and in all Gestures imitate him in several lifting up of their Hands and Heads to Heaven At their entrance into the Mosques they put off their Shooes kiss the Earth and wash their Mouths Noses Ears the soals of their Feet and Secret Parts whereby they believe that the Pollutions of the Soul are purifi'd and clens'd And during their abode there they neither dare to Spit or Cough nor so much as speak one to another but upon great Necessity They sit down there upon the Floor one by another upon Matts of Date or Palm-Trees The Women are not permitted to come thither lest by their sight the Men should fall into unclean Thoughts but they commonly perform their Devotions at Home They go to their Sala five Times a Day They perform their Prayers five times a Day that is at Day-break which they call Caban at Noon call'd Dohor in the Afternoon at four call'd Lazar at six or seven which they call Magarepe and at two in the Night Latumar but few resort at all these Times but the most Zealous none being compell'd to it They have neither Bells Clocks or Dials And when they call the People to their Devotions How People are called to Prayers certain Officers to that purpose only appointed go up to the Battlements of an high Steeple and upon a Wooden Pole set up a small Flag but this is used no where but in Barbary When this is done then the Marabou turns himself to the South because Mecha lyeth that way then stopping his Fingers in his Ears he cryes out these words with a loud Voice Lahilla Lah Mahometh ressoul Allah that is God is God and Mahomet is his Prophet Then he turns him to other Parts saying the same words By this setting up of the Flag and Out-cryes the People know what hour of the Night it is When the Marabou of the greatest Mosque hath call'd then all the other follow which they act with Ridiculous and wilde Gestures The Friday is their Sabbath call'd by them Dimanche Friday is their Sabbath-day in which most of them go to the Mosque especially in the Afternoon during their Service none Work and all the Shop-Windows are shut but after the Sala is ended they are open'd again and every one applies himself to his Business They use Coral-Beads of an equal size and in number a Hundred Their Praying upon which many times they say Sta-fer Lah which is God Bless me The Feast Ramadan Every Year they keep a Feast which they call Ramadan which continues a whole Moneth during which they abstain from Morning to the close of the Evening from Eating and Drinking but then the Marabou going to the Steeple gives them by his accustom'd Cryings leave to Eat This their Fasting is so highly esteemed that they dare not so much as drink Tobacco supposing that to be a Breach Nay the very Corsaires or Pyrates observe the Ramadan at Sea and though the Renagadoes do not so strictly bind themselves to it yet they for neglect of it are if known punished with an hundred or two stroaks on the bottoms of their Feet After this Fast and long Lent so well kept they celebrate their Passeover Their Passeover Easter or Bayran call'd by them Bayran which continues three Days wherein they distribute Alms plentifully and frequent their Mosques with great Fervency and Zeal The Priests in Barbary are of two Sorts Santons and Marabouts The Clergy or Sacred in Barbary are of two sorts whereof the chiefest is call'd Moufti who hath his Residence in Cities and hears and determines all Ecclesiastical Causes The Marabouts are in great number about the Mosques as well in Cities and Suburbs as in the open Fields where they live as Recluses or Hermits in Cells to which these Barbarians bear so great an Esteem and Reverence that they flye to them as to Sanctuaries how great a Crime soever they have committed Among these Devotees there are some who lead a strange and unusual Life Their Gestures for sometime Melancholy so working on their Imagination that no less than if Distracted they rove through the Cities bare-foot and bare-leg'd in a ragged Coat and a Staff with which they tap or gently strike here one there another which favour whoever receives accounts himself happy perswaded thereby their Sins are remitted Besides also these Recluses study Magick and such forbidden Arts undertaking to cure all Diseases and to work Love by several Incantations and the power of Numbers Of the great opinion the Antients had of Charms and Numbers hear Virgil. Carmina vel coelo possunt deducere Lunam Carminibus Circe socios mutavit Ulyssis Frigidus in pratis cantando rumpitur anguis Terna tibi haec primum triplici diversa colore Licia circumdo terque haec altaria circum Effigiem duco numero Deus impare gaudet Necte tribus nodis ternos Amarylli colores Necte Amarylli modo Veneris dic vincula necto Vanquish'd with Charms from Heaven the Moon descends Circe with Charms transform'd Ulysses Friends Charms in the Field will burst a poys'nous Snake Three Lists and each of Colours three I bound And with thy Picture thrice the Altars round Three several Colours Amarillis fetch And quickly tye in treble Knots dispatch Then say these Knots I knit for Venus sake In the City of Algier and in other Cities in Barbary are several small Mosques where many of these Marabouts lye buried whom they honor as Saints or Sacred or set before their Sepulchers burning Lamps going thither on Pilgrimage or when they are sick send Presents to obtain Remedy Those that are afflicted with the Falling-sickness are held in great
other parts of the Body sometimes only by the Skin and hanging many days they so languishing in great torture die or else ty'd with a Rope about the Middle and with four Nails fasten'd to a Cross against the City Wall they are flead alive or bray'd to pieces in a Mortar Those that have committed any crime at Sea Sea-Justice are ty'd to the Mast or Steerage and shot to death with Arrows or else his hands and Feet cut off and set before the Mouth of a Cannon Usual Punishments and so shot all to pieces To drag them in pieces with four Ships to which they are ty'd and then cast the Quarters into the Sea is a usual Punishment so it is to cut off limb by limb or joint by joint but to tye them up in a Sack Light Punishments and draw them is held a gentle and milde Sentence 'T is capital to lift up the Hand against a Janizary or to commit Adultery with a Mahumetan Woman But this later is connived at because they believe that all sins by washing in the Bath or by once plunging into the Sea are washed away Their Lodging is very mean Their Houshold-stuff being only a Mattress in stead of a Bed which they lay upon a floor of Boards They sleep in their Drawers or Calsoons they have neither Chairs Stools or Tables but hang their Cloaths upon Pins in the Wall Those of Quality sit at Meals and all other times upon pieces of Tapistry cross-legg'd on the Ground but poor People have a great Matt made of the leaves of a Date or Palm-tree The Men wear next their Skin a large Linnen Frock and Drawers The Habit of the Men. and over that a loose Coat of Cloth or Silk buttoned before with great Gold or Silver Buttons and hangs down almost to the knee Their Sleeves reach but to their Elbows so that turning up their Shirt upon them their Arms are for the most part half way bare or naked and instead of Stockins the great men of the Court and other People of quality sometime wear small Turky-Leather Buskins They wear Turbants made of red Wooll wound up in a piece of Cotton five or six Ells long Their Slippers are piked at the Toe of yellow or red Leather shod under the Heel with Iron having no Lappets which they slip off at the door of any house whereto they enter as a great point of Civility They wear at their Girdles three very fine Knives that is two great and one small in a silver Scabbard a foot long adorned with Turkoyses and Smarag'd or Emeral'd Stones so rich sometime that they stand them in above a hundred Escues When they make water they stoop down to the ground How they make water for it is held a shameless thing to urine standing as the Christians do And the reason may be because if the least drop of their water fall upon them they are polluted and must forthwith wash themselves The Women are Habited almost like the Men The Habit of the Women onely having a fine Linnen Cloth on their Heads in stead of a Turbant Their Semaires come but to half their Thighs the rest naked Rich Women wear commonly five or six Pendants in each Ear with Bracelets of Jewels on their Arms and Silk Garments They paint the ends of their Fingers blue with an Herb call'd by them Gueva perhaps our common Woad When they go along the City in the Streets they cast over all a Cotton Cloak which hangs down to their Feet and tie a string of Pearls upon their Foreheads and a fine Kerchiff before their Eyes so that they cannot be known as they go up and down the Streets All their occasions lie within the house where they have a several apartment by themselves wherein none but Women may visit each other the Master of the House himself being at such times excluded to prevent all occasions of jealousie They are curious in the beautifying themselves according to the Fashion of their Countrey painting their Eye-brows and Eye-lids and colouring their Hair black with burned Antimony The usual Food of the Countrey is commonly Rice Their Food Cuscous Mutton Veal some Beef and Fowl When ever they slaughter any Beast they say over each I kill thee in the Name of God then turning themselves to the South they cut the Throat quite through like the Jews that it may bleed the more else they count it unclean and dare not eat of it Their Drink at Meals is either clear Water or Sorbet for Wine is forbidden them by the Alcoran And in the mornings when Tradesmen and Merchants meet about business they go to the Publick Coffee-Houses which Liquor they drink having a great opinion of it smoaking abundance of Tobacco spending much of their time there In stead of Table-Cloths they use red Turky-Leather Carpets and wipe their fingers on their Handkerchiffs in stead of Napkins Onely at Solemn Festivals the great ones wipe upon a blue Cloth fixed to the Carpet Their Cups and Dishes are of Tin or Earth Their Cups or Vessels for none may use Silver onely the Sultans they are all of Massy-Gold Liquid things they eat with wooden Spoons a Foot long Gaming is unlawful among them so that they neither play at Dice Cards Balls Bowls nor any other Sport usual with us Sometime they will play a Game at Chess but not for money Bathes are much used Great use of Baths besides their frequent Washings enjoyned before Devotion so that every place almost is filled with Bannia's Every City hath also many Free-Schools or Mesquites for the instructing of Youth to Read Write and cast Accompts but no further The principal Book they learn is the Alcoran which when a Scholar can read well his School-fellows lead him in his best Habit along the Streets and set forth his Commendation through the City for beyond this none learn Thus having shewed you the Manners and Customs of the People we shall now in short give an account of the nature of the Soyl and what Beasts and Plants it produces ¶ THere are in Barbary very many Springs and Rivers The Rivers the chiefest of which take their Rise in and Fall down from the greater Atlas though some others claim distinct Originals all which disembogue either into the Great Atlantick or Midland-Sea The Waters springing from Atlas relish of that Earth whence they arise and are for the most part thick and sedimenty especially on the Borders of Mauritania The whole Coast of Barbary lying on the Ocean The Scituation of it Atlas and the utmost Southerly Parts of the Territory of Sus as far as the Streights of Gibraltar is very fruitful in the Production of Wheat and Barley full of Meadow-Ground and luxurious in Herbage to feed up Cattel The other on the Midland-Sea How the Soil of Barbary is at the Mediterranean Sea from the Streights to the Eastern Borders of Tripolis is
his Preaching For this difference in Religion the Turks and Moroccoians bear a peculiar hatred one against another the Moroccoians treating the Turkish Slaves as cruelly as the Christian They observe all Solemn Feasts with the Turks and other Mahumetans Festivals especially the Feast of the Passeover The Passeover of the Moroccoians for the King rides sumptuously the Day of the Passeover attended with the Bashaw and other great Lords both Horse and Foot and men sounding Trumpets playing upon Flutes and beating Drums and Kettle-Drums When he is come to an appointed place without the City two Rams are brought to him Homer Il. 3. lib. which after several Ceremonies he sticks in the Throat and if they die quickly that is held by them for a good Presage but if they linger any while they believe the following Year many Sicknesses and Troubles will ensue ¶ The King of Morocco bears the Title of Emperor of Africa The King of Morroco's Title and also Emperor of Morocco King of Fez Sus and Gago Lord of Dara and Guinee great Xerif of Mahomet He hath as we said so absolute a Dominion that all the People are his Slaves not daring without leave go out of the Kingdom upon pain of Corporal Punishment In this Kingdom many wilde Arabs frequent Arabians in Morocco by some call'd Larbussen which live by the Wars and Plunder being general Enemies to all and all Foes to them yet when the time of their Harvest is come they make a Cessation of Arms for it is not a Peace because as soon as the Corn is threshed and laid up in their Pits made in the middle of the Fields for that purpose and cover'd over with Planks and Earth they-fall to their old Trade of robbing and spoyling again whatever Corn is hoarded in those Pits none see or meddle with unless when they fetch some for private use to Sow or to Sell. They dig also deep Pits to find Water to which they come with their Camels from Places far distant leading them home laden therewith in Leathern Borachio's These Arabians in regard of their so much using the Wars are Commanders over the Almahallen that is little Armies to conduct the Caphiles or Caravans by order of the King MOROCCO THE Province of Morocco The Territory of Morocco and Borders of it Grammay Afric 9. Marmol p. 1. lib. 3. taking Name from the Metropolis is almost all Champaign beginning on the West at the Mountain Nefise and stretching Eastward to the Mount Hannimey and so running Northward to the Tenzift where it meets with that of Eciffelmel so that on the North Ducala conterminates it on the West Hea and a part of Sus on the South another part of Sus Darha and Gezula and the East the Territory of Eskure or Haskora Morocco Morocco the Head City the Principal City of the whole Kingdom call'd by the Inhabitants Marroc and by the Spaniards Marruecos is by the unanimous consent of most Geographers held to be the Boccanum Hemerum of Ptolomy Be it one or other such as make narrow inquiry into Antiquity say That it was first built by Joseph Aben Texijien and his Son Ali out of the Ruines of Boccanum or rather in the same place where Ptolomy had set that It is situate between the Rivers Neftis and Agmet in thirty Degrees and thirty Minutes Northern Latitude incompassed with a Plain sprinkled with little Hills among which on the North-side Atlas thrusts his Basis within six Miles of the City Het KONINKLYK HOE meteen geâ—elte der Stadt MAROKKO The Citizens number saith Gramay five and thirty Streets besides a multitude of Lanes and other narrow Passages but addes withall that one third part is destitute of Inhabitants by reason of many Ruines between which it is planted with Groves of Dates Vineyards and other Trees Here were in former times many Stately Temples Guilds Baths It was formerly very rich in Buildings and Inns but the Civil War in the Countrey hath laid waste and levell'd most of them with the Earth Memorable Monuments remaining are two Temples of a wonderful Greatness One built by Ali the other by Abdul Mumen neighbour to which King Almansor erected a third encompassed with a Wall of fifty Cubits high and beautifi'd with Columns or Pillars which he brought out of Spain Under it he made a Cistern of like bigness with the Temple to receive all water from the Roofs The Royal Palace call'd by the Inhabitants Alkakave or Michouart may compare with an ordinary City surrounded with strong and high Walls In the middle of a Basse Court stands a stately Mesquiet with a Tower on whose Top in stead of a Fane stand four golden Apples together as they say Four Golden Apples of the top of the Tower weighing seven hundred Pound and given to the King of Morocco by the King of Gago with his Daughter in Marriage And to confirm this Opinion they alleadge that the King of Morocco in right of that Marriage still remains Inheritor of that Kingdom and fetches from thence much Gold But Marmol tells us That when King Mansor had builded this stately Temple out of a desire to leave behind him some Memorial of his Wealth bestowed a great part of the Jewels he had in Marriage with the Queen for the making those Apples The Inhabitants firmly believe they were so signatur'd by such Configurations of the Heavens that they were as Telesman's never to be remov'd which Magick seems to be as antient as the Building of Troy and whose Palladium we may suppose to be such whereof hear Virgil. Aen. l. 2. Omnis spes Danaum coepti fiducia belli Palladis auxiliis semper stetit impius ex quo Tydides sed enim scelerumque inventor Ulysses Fatale aggressi sacrato avellere templo Palladium caesis summae custodibus arcis Corripuêre sacram effigiem manibusque cruentis Virgineas ausi divae contingere vittas Ex illo fluere ac retro sublapsa referri Spes Danaum fractae vires aversa deae mens Our chiefest hopes and confidence were laid Since first the War began in Pallas Aid Till impious Diomed with Ulysses went The best that ever mischief did invent And boldly from her sacred Fane convey'd Fatal * That was the Effigies of the Goddess and Telesmon made of Pelopts bones by Arius the Philosopher and presented to Trous to preserve his City where founded and therefore Diomede and Vlysses stole it from thence that they might conquer the City though Synon feigns thus Palladium and dire Slaughter made These the blest Image pulling down distain'd With bloudy hands and Virgin Wreaths prophan'd The Grecian hopes from that time backward went Our Strength decay'd the Goddess discontent Cidrenus saith this Image of Pallas was consecrated by Diabolical Rites out of a vain presumption that the Town was impregnable while that remained in it This is confirm'd by Joannes Antiochenus who saith such Images were Telesmatically
they invited to them other exiled Andaluzians by whose help they took up Arms and declar'd themselves no more to be Governed by Kings As soon as the King heard of this Insurrection The Agreement of the King of Fez. he immediately sent an Army thither to block up the City which by the Charm or Magick of a Rebel Santon or Marabou call'd Layassen an inveterate Enemy to the King so routed and afflicted the Royal Army that the King was necessitated to break up the Siege yet before he marched off he made with the Rebels these Articles following That they did acknowledge Him for their Chief and as a Token of their Submission should every Year as a Tribute present some Slaves That the King should appoint them Officers to do Justice and hear and decide Causes among them That the City and the Castle should remain in their Custody Thus rested Affairs for a while but the King at last got possession of the Fort and settled a Garrison in it which the Andaluzian Moors for some time murmur'd at but at length in the Year Sixteen hundred and sixty they began again to take up Arms against those of the Castle New Insurrections of the Andaluzians beleagured before by about two thousand Souldiers of Santa Crux and other Places under the Command of one Hamed Aginnivi which at last so far prevail'd that on the tenth of February the Citizens of both the Cities joined Forces with him to beleaguer and straighten the Castle though with little hope of suddenly obtaining it whereupon in the City they cast up several Works and Fortifications of Loam from whence with Muskets for want of great Guns they daily alarm'd those of the Castle the like did they of Old Salee with their great Guns On the other side the Besieged were not wanting to defend themselves both with great and small Shot which they plyed with such effect that they kill'd many as well in the Works as the Streets whereupon considering with themselves and finding their own strength too weak for their Designs They send a Chief Officer to Gailand they sent to Abdulkada Gailand Lord of Arzile Tituan and Alkazer a chief Officer to crave his Assistance whereto he presently consented dispatching thither Abdelkador Ceron to look to New Salce and Hadzi Fenis with Hadzi Ibrahim Manino to take charge of the Old City Ceron had not long continued in his new Government before he was treacherously surprized in his House his Neck broke and his Body cut to pieces whose Death as it begot no small terror in the hearts of the Citizens so it heighten'd the hopes of those in the Castle Nor did this rebellious Faction contain it self within the Walls but as other infections spread into the Country adjoyning where not onely Towns but every Family were divided into Parties by which Contrast and Separation among themselves minding solely their mad Disputes the Ground lay neglected Tillage and Husbandry thrown by whereby so great a Famine followed that in the Year Sixteen hundred and sixty many thousands perisht for want of sustenance In like manner The secret Conveyance of Provision by the Citizens to them in the Castle those in the Castle were distressed for want of Provisions notwithstanding some Citizens sent them under-hand Supplies almost daily partly out of a sense of their Duty to the King and partly out of a desire of their own gain though upon Discovery many of them were severely punished for it Besides the English were great Supporters of the loyalty of those in the Castle by sending in to them Provision of all kinds from their Ships which then lay in the River as on the contrary the French and Hollanders animated the Rebels In the end The Agreement after the Wars had thus continued a while Sid Tagar Gailand's Brother came with about Three hundred Horse from Arzile to Salee to make a Peace with those of the Castle which upon the fifteenth and sixteenth day of April in the Year Sixteen hundred sixty four was concluded to the great rejoycing of the Inhabitants upon Condition that of all the Contributions or Tenth-Moneys which the Goods imported produced one third Part should go to the Castle another to New Salee and the last third Part to Old Salee On the third of May Gailand was owned by those of the Castle for their Lord and as a token of their Joy these Volleys of Cannon-shot made Proclamation thereof and the next day his Brother Sid Tagar drew away with his Soldiers to Arzile But the fifth of October came Gailand himself in Person accompanied with three or four hundred Horse from Arzile and pitched by the River about eight in the Morning he was invited by the Governor Sid Hamed Aginnivy into the Castle which the next day was deliver'd up The Castle delivered up to Gayland beyond expectation of all that were concern'd which done the sixteenth Gayland withdrew again to Arzile having the before-mention'd Aginnivy and Sid Hamed el Xhymir Governors of it for him The tenth of December Sid Hamed Aginnivy took his Collegue Governor and put him in Hold charging him to have conceal'd a hundred weight of Silver from Sid Abdala the former Lord of the Castle and fined him a thousand Pesoes or Pieces of Eight The twenty ninth of March in the Year Sixteen hundred sixty five another of Gayland's Brothers Sid Sybi came thither and took away with him all the principal Persons of Salee whom on the second of the same month he carried to Arzile thrusting into the City a Garrison of Two thousand Horse and Foot During the time of his stay he was very friendly received by Sid Hamed however he cashiered the old Soldiers of Santa Crux and other Places who had so long guarded the Castle and not only so but took from some of them what they had and Imprison'd others These tyrannies produc'd new Commotions for on the one and thirtieth in the Morning the Andaluzians and their Complices chose Sid Abdulkadar Merino Commander in Chief sending the former Prisoner to the Castle In like manner Xache Brahim Manino Lieutenant of Old Salee they displaced and put into his stead Xache Fenis The first of April Sid Tybi with his own Hand led Sid Hamed Aginnivy out at the Gate of the Castle under the Custody of Abulkadar but after a little stay he was discharged and set at liberty with a Reward of Two hundred Ducats The same Day most of the Women also were sent out of the Castle to Old Salee but Aginnivy not contented with this as he thought too slight a reward the third day after took his Journey towards Arzile to make his Complaint to Gayland But the two and twentieth tidings came to Salee that upon Friday before their Passeover he died suddenly not without great suspicion of Poyson The two and twentieth of August the Governours of the City took Merino and Xache Fenis with one Abulkadar Roxo to Arzile and returned
other Mountains viz. Equebdenon or rather Mequeb Huan a large one boasting seventy two small Villages before the Spaniards had Casafa but since that much thinner of Inhabitants Benisahia reaching Eastward from Casafa to the River Nokor in Length eight miles and containing about an hundred and eighteen Villages Besides Azgangan Beneteuzin and Guardan remarked onely for their Monuntainous Qualities ¶ THis Dominion The Constitution of the Territories though it hath many yet wants some Necessaries for humane Sustenance particularly Water many Places having no other than the Rain-water they can catch The whole Countrey except the Hill Benesahid being dry and barren like the Desarts of Numidia ¶ THe Desarts feed abundance of all sorts of Cattel the chiefest Riches of the Inhabitants So also the Mountains Echebdeaon Benesahid and Azgangan But those Mountains about Meggeo inclose in their Bowels much Iron which they barter or exchange with the Merchants of Fez for Oyl ¶ MOst of the Inhabitants are very generous The Manners or Customs of the Inhabitants milde and affable especially the Citizens of Meggeo and the People of Benesahid And such is their Temperance that they drink no Wine although their Neighbors of Erriff make great quantities CHAUS CHaus The Borders of the Territory of Chaus by Marmol call'd Cuz the seventh and last Province but not the least of this Kingdom being in effect a third part of the whole having on the East the River Zha or Ezaha to the West that of Guraigura in Length from East to West near forty six miles and in Breadth about forty It s Bigness For it contains all the Parts of Atlas over against the Moors Countrey a great part of the Plains of Numidia and the Mountains bordering upon Lybia Teurert is placed among the chiefest Cities of this Jurisdiction Teurert scituate on a Hill near the River Zab fronting on the North the Desart of Garet to the South looking on the Wastes of Adduhra on the East those of Angah bordering on Telensin and in the West on the Wildes of Tafrata adjoyning to Tezza Hadagia Hadagia a little Town erected at the Conflux of the Rivers Melule and Muluye first spoil'd by the Arabians of the Desart Darda and afterwards during the Wars of Teurert utterly demolish'd But the Turks have re-peopled and beautifi'd it so that now it flourishes no less than at any time heretofore Garsis formerly Galafa erected upon a Rock near the River Muluie Garsis five miles from Teurert fortifi'd with a Castle and made a Store-house for Corn by the Marin Kings The Wall and all the Houses built of Black Touch. Dubdu a very Antient City Dubdu in the heighth of twenty five Degrees North Latitude upon a high Mountain principally inhabited by the People of Zenete Meza or Tezar a strong Town two miles from Mount Atlas twelve from Fez. Meza forty from the Great Ocean and seven from the Midland-Sea in former times was accounted the Third of the whole Kingdom having a far greater Mosque than any in Fez and five thousand Houses all meanly built except the Palaces of the Nobility and Colledges which carry more state The Jurisdiction of this City is very great and comprises several Mountains upon which several People dwell Sophroy a little City at the foot of Mount Atlas Sophroy four miles Southward of Fez close by the Road leading to Numidia Mezdaga another small place three miles West from Sophroy Mezdaga and four to the South from Fez environ'd with a good Wall but the Buildings very slight yet each house necessarily accommodated with a Fountain of Water Benihublud of old call'd Beuta distant from Fez three miles Benihublud and water'd with several Streams flowing from the adjacent Hills Hamlisnan otherwise nam'd Ain el Ginum that is The Fountain of Idols Hamlisnan because in old time the people meeting in the Temple scituate near a standing-Pool did commit all sorts of uncleanness Menhdia or Mehedia seated upon Mount Arden Menhdia about three miles from Hamlisnan formerly in the Civil Wars of the Countrey laid waste but since Peopled anew and repair'd by the Arabians Tezerghe a small City built in form of a Castle by a Rivers side Tezerghe at the foot of Mount Cunâ—igelgherben Umengiveaibe and Gerceluin two old decay'd Towns Vmengiveaibe Gercelum the first not far from Atlas the later near the Mountain Zis now of little note but heretofore strongly wall'd by the Kings of the Marin Family ruling in these Parts ¶ WIthin this Tract of Land are two great Plains the one call'd Sabblelmarga that is The Field of Contention being forty miles long and ten broad having neither Houses or Towns but a few small Huts lying here and there dispersedly the other vulgarly nam'd Azagari Commaren ¶ Mountains here be Matgara or Matagara two miles from Teza Mountains difficult to be climb'd up by reason of the narrowness of the way Cavata no better condition'd than the former yet contains fifty Villages with two fair Springs that feed and supply two Rivers Megeze shewing forty Villages Baronis noted onely for the Name Beniguertenage reasonably Peopled Guceblen otherwise call'd Guibeleyn thirteen miles in Length and two in Breadth neighboring upon Dubdu and Banyasga Benirifften and Selelgo or Ciligo out of which runs a River with so strong a Fall downwards that will drive before it a stone of an hundred weight The River Subu also takes his Rise from hence being the greatest in all Mauritania There also appear the Mountains Benyazga and Azgan which last in the East Butteth upon Selelgo West on the City Sophroy South on the Mountains above the River Muluye and to the North on the Plains of Fez Mount Miabir that is Hundred-pit Hill upon whose top stand some old Buildings near which there lieth a deep Hole or Pit that they can find no bottom of it by Fathoming Cunaigelgherben or Condigetherben not far from Miabir but altogether without Inhabitants partly by reason of the vehement and sharp Cold and partly for the multitudes of Lions and Leopards there breeding upon whose top riseth a high Rock frequented with infinite Flights of Crows and Ravens whence some imagine the Mountain took Name Kunai-gel-gherben properly signifying a multitude of Ravens The passage by it is dangerous in regard oftentimes out of the North so strong Drifts of Snow rowl from thence that Travellers have been buried under them without hopes or possibility of recovery Yet the Neighbouring Arabs called Beni Essen usually frequent them for the coolness of the Water and refreshment of the Shades The Mountains Benimerasen and Mazetraze Mezitalze the last from West to East about ten miles in length and four miles in breadth borders upon Temesne Mount Zis thirty four miles long and fourteen broad Butting East on Mazetraze West on Tedle and Mount Edis South on part of Numidia called Segelmesse and North on the Plain of Edeksen and Guregra
thing that is offensive Indeed it is true that there be several Slaves of the Divan appointed to take care to keep them cleanly besides the Turks have this peculiar to them of being very neat in their Houses Besides those above-nam'd there be six others of considerable bigness which they call Bagna's which are the Prisons in which they keep up the Christian Slaves He that would make a near compute of all the Houses of Algier shall finde at least Fifteen thousand which are as I said before all very close and sometimes contain in one of them five or six Families Many have affirmed Number of Houses and Inhabitants that this City containeth an hundred thousand Inhabitants accounting Natural Turks Moors Janizaries Slaves and Jews Of these last there may be about nine or ten thousand to whom it is permitted to have their Synagogues and a free Exercise of their Religion And yet for all that they are no better used there than in all the Parts of Christendom For besides the Imposts charged upon them it 's permitted to every one yea and to the Christians themselves to offer them a thousand Affronts They are distinguish'd from other men by a Bonnet which they are oblig'd to wear and which ought to be black as also all the rest of their Clothes The Circuit of the City is about by the Walls The Compast three thousand four hundred Paces in which Inclosure there are sundry Mosques in which they make their Sala the principal of which is that which stands along by Yessall near to the Sea which they call The Great Mosque although it have not in it any thing remarkable more than the rest As to Inns they have none amongst them No Inns. so that the Turks and the Moors which come thither must of necessity lodge with some one of their Acquaintance But if there come thither any Free Christians or Merchants they cannot take Lodgings in the Houses of Turks but in those of the Jews they may who have their Quarters assign'd them apart in the City and amongst whom there be always some which keep Chambers to that purpose unless that such Merchants to be the more private do chuse rather to take an House in the City which is permitted them to do in what Quarter they like best But in stead of these Inns But Taverns and by whom they are kept there are a great number of Taverns and Tippling Houses which are not lawful to be kept by any save Christian Captives In these are ordinarily sold Bread Wine and Victuals of all kinds Thither flock the Turks and Renegates of all sorts there to make their Debauches And although the use of Wine be very strictly forbidden them by their Law yet they do not in the least scruple to violate it and there do very few Evenings pass in which you shall not see some one or more of them drunk who carry themselves to such Christians as they meet in that humor with insolence and often strike and most commonly wound them There are usually six Gates open and others shut The first is that of Babason which is towards the East In its Suburbs which is very small are wont to lodge the Merchant Moors and Arabs which bring Provisions to the City It was on this side that Charles the Fifth batter'd and besieg'd it There they put the Turks to death and you at all times see one or other that is there empal'd or gauched as they call it and set upon the Walls as we shall shew more at large by and by The second which they call Porto-novo is of the same side by which one passeth to Castello del Imperador The third is the Gate of the Alcassaw so call'd for that it is near unto that Palace which is as it were the Arcenal and Magazine wherein they keep all their Ammunition of War The fourth is that call'd Babalowetta which looks towards the West Before this Gate there is a place which these Barbarians have appointed for the putting of Christians to death many of which have and still do there receive the Crown of Martyrdom chusing rather to suffer all imaginable Torments than to renounce the Profession of the true God to embrace the Impieties of Mahomet And this is the onely place of the City where they are put to death Without this Gate is the Turks Cemetery or Burying-place which is about a League in Compass at the end of which inclining towards the Sea is that of the Jews and fast by that of the Christians which the Sea doth often wash with its Waves The fifth is the Porta della Mole so call'd for that it looks directly upon it This Mole is a great Mass of Stones in the Form of an Half-Moon the Breadth is about six or seven Paces and its Length above three hundred This egregious Structure giveth shape to the Port where there are usually above an hundred Vessels for Piracy and others It is so unsecure in Autumn and Winter by reason of an East and by North Winde that in the Year One thousand six hundred and nineteen there were twenty five Vessels rackt in one day This is also call'd the Porta della Dogana because that there the Customs are wont to be paid The sixth and last Gate is towards the Sea-side directly opposite to the Arsenal of the Shipping and is call'd in la Lingua Franca La Porta della Piscaderia Where it is to be noted that in some of these Gates there be always three or four Turks for a Guard with great staffs in their hands which they do not seldom lay upon the shoulders of the poor Slaves when they pass that way which they most commonly do in sport but out of a malicious fancy There are reckon'd at this day above an hundred Fountains in the City of Algier that have been erected within this twenty five years onely whereas before they had none but Cisterns A Morisco nam'd Padron Moussa of the Race of those who were expell'd Spain in the Year One thousand six hundred and ten and One thousand six hundred and eleven did make them by means of an Aquaeduct which was brought two Leagues from without the City 'T is easie to believe that this Work cost much Sweat and Toil to the poor Christian Slaves that wrought in the same without intermission during the most violent Heats as they daily do now in making the Mole of the Port. The Walls of the City are reasonable good part of Brick The Walls and part of Stone with square Towers and certain Bastions of which the best are towards the Babason Gate where there be deep Trenches and towards the Sea-side the Wall stands upon a Rock against which the Waves beat I come next to the Fortresses of the City which are a considerable number all built regularly according to the Art of Modern Fortifications ¶ THe first is on the East-side flanked at the top of a Mountain The Fortresses from
whence one may greatly incommode the Town and batter it to pieces It 's call'd Castello del ' Imperador for that Charles the Fifth having laid Siege to Algier in the Year One thousand five hundred forty and one of which we shall speak hereafter did there begin that Fort which the Inhabitants afterwards finished In the state wherein it is at this day it serves the Town for a Cittadel in which there is commonly a Garrison of an Hundred Men with sundry Pieces of Cannon The second is call'd Castel-novo or The Seven-corner'd Castle for that it consists of six Angles This Fortress is betwixt the Town and Castel del ' Imperador towards the South about five hundred Paces distant from the City The third is the Alcassaw which is of a very great Extent within the City and makes a part of the Wall betwixt the East and South The fourth is on the West three hundred Paces without Porta Babalowetta flanked upon the point of a little Rock towards the Sea The fifth is a good Bulwark but small close by the Porta della Mole towards the Great Cassaria In it are observable five great Field-Pieces which on the side towards the Sea defend the Port but above all there is in this Fort a very fine Canon of seven Cylinders or Bores which serveth to command the Entry of the Gate The sixth is a little Island upon Piles in the midst of the Mole The Haven and Mold It is a Pentagon or a Figure of Five Angles in form of a Tower in the top of which are five great Guns for the Defence of the said Mole The seventh is a little Tower at the entrance of the said Port towards the Mouth of the Mole wherein a Guard is kept and in which for the use of the Navigators a great Lanthorn is sometimes plac'd a nights It is kept by eight Moors who stand Centinel along the Mole and by a dozen more that lye at the Entry thereof in a Boat There are planted upon this Mole Sixty six Pieces of Cannon small and great and are kept there onely for a remembrance of the Victory which they of Algier obtain'd over those of Tunis when in the Year One thousand six hundred twenty seven they defeated their Armado at which they became Masters of these Guns Amongst them all there be four small ones very excellent two of which belong'd to Simon Dancer a notorious Flemish Pyrate ¶ NOw although that this City have all the Fortresses which we have named The Guards yet it is for all that to be commanded on all sides except on that towards the Sea for that there be sundry Hills and Mountains from whence it may be beaten to dust The Garrisons which are put into them are onely design'd for the Guard of the City Besides this the Meswar or Executioner follow'd by sundry Assistants doth constantly each night walk the Round and the Patroul thorow all the many Streets And as for the lesser they are for the most part shut up so soon as night begins to approach And if the Meswar meeteth any one whose excuse seemeth not to him satisfactory he presently seizeth on him and carrieth him to Prison The next day he giveth an account thereof to the Divan or to the Cadie And if the Prisoner be so unfortunate that he cannot appease the Judge with reasons or take off the Meswar with Money this accident will cost him sometimes two hundred Blows of a Cudgel which there is no way to avoid but by emptying of his Purse for the truth is that there as well as in other places Gold and Silver are powerful Charms ¶ IN Algier Tunis and Sally and the other Pyratick Towns of Barbary The Language three different kinds of Languages are spoken The first is the Arabick or Morisk which is that of the Countrey The second is the Turkish which hath nothing of resemblance with those of the Arabs or Moors And the third is that they call La Franca which is commonly used to make ones self understood which is a kind of easie and pleasant Jargon compounded of French Italian and Spanish Each Nation that keepeth an Ambassadour at the Port of the Grand Seignior hath a Consul at this City by whom the Differences are determined that may arise betwixt the People of his Nation He likewise keeps his Chancellor with the Kings Seal and in this Chancery are those Acts and Businesses ratifi'd which those of that Nation do Transact among themselves Which is done for Paying Three per Cent. which the Consul hath power to take upon all the Merchandises of the People of his Nation that come thither to Trade But then he is to secure them at his own Charges from all the Frauds and Exactions that the Turks and Arabs may chance to offer them And the same is practised in all the other Pyratick Towns ¶ WE shall now in order proceed to their Militia The Militia And though at this day the Janizaries have the whole Command in Algier yet that manner of Government hath not been always such for at the time of Ariadin Barbarossa made himself Master of the City and that his Brother Cheridine succeeded him they both Commanded absolutely but that form of Rule did change amongst the People of Algier after that the Grand Seignior began to send them Bashaws or Governours whence it happens sometimes that this Militia flying into Revolts have set up some and driven out others to which the Grand Seignior hath not thought fit to give a check for fear of exasperating them and wholly diverting them from his Obedience And this is the reason why he being well acquainted with the Disposition of that People and the troubles that they may procure unto himself if he should use any Violence against them contents himself to send thither in his Name a Bashaw that represents his Person and who onely takes care that nothing be transacted to the disservice of his Highness Whereby you may see that this Bashaw or Vice-Roy hath all the Honours of State reserving the Government And thus the Militia hath insensibly usurped the Soveraign Authority in Algier for how considerable soever the Bashaw is he can conclude upon nothing without the advice of the Commanders of that Militia nor so much as go to the Divan unless he be sent for Upon the whole one may affirm This is that goodly Model of Government which our English Janizaries or Mussulmans introduced amongst us in the Winter of Anno 1659. that this is at this day a State that Apes a Soveraign whereas the other Bashaws and Beglerbegs which Command in the Provinces of the Ottoman Empire excepting besides this those also of Tunis and Tripoly of Barbary Pyratical Cities are absolute over the Janizaries But ever since that the Militia of Algier is put in possession of the Soveraign Authority nothing doth pass without the express Order of it which in the Declarations and Edicts it sends forth doth
Restauration being compell'd within eight years once more to fly to Spain for Assistance In which time of his absence his Son Amudas usurped the Kingdom putting to death his Father's Favourites and Friends but Muley Assez returning with some few Troops of Italians and the Garrison-Souldiers of Goletta soon routed the unnatural Rebel taking him with two other of his younger Sons Prisoners whose Eyes he immediately put out After a few years Abdimelech or Abdulmalech another of Muley Assez Sons fell foul with his Father forcing him once more to fly to his old Benefactor Charles the Emperor who maintained him the remainder of his life which was not long But Abdimelech enjoy'd his Usurpation onely one Moneth before he died and his Son Mahomet his Successor after four Moneths Reign was expell'd by his Uncle Amidas who held the Dominion till Uluzaly or Aluck Haly by some call'd Ochiali by order from the Grand Seignior in the Year Fifteen hundred sixty eight drove him from Tunis whereupon he fled to Goletta to the Spaniards At whose Suit in the Year Fifteen hundred and seventy Tunis was again overcome by Charles the Emperour Don Johan of Austria made himself Master of Tunis and of the whole Kingdom giving Mahomet the Brother of Amidas a Princely Allowance but set over Tunis as Lieutenant in behalf of the Emperor Gabriel Willon a Milanois and over Goletta Pedro Carrero a Spaniard In these continual Conflicts both the City and Castle were much weakened but Willon fortifi'd them anew with strong Ramparts and Palizadoes But the Turkish Emperor The Turks come against Tunis Morat or Amurath fearing this new Growth of the Spanish Kingdom in the Year Fifteen seventy four sent a Fleet of a hundred and sixty Gallies besides many other Ships Mann'd with forty thousand Turks and Moors the Conduct of the Admiral Occhially for Sea but the Land Army was committed to Sinan Bassa wherewith they besieg'd both Tunis and Goletta whereupon Don John who had the Supream Command of the Spanish Fleet endeavour'd to relieve the Besieged but to very little purpose for he had barely thirty Galleys whereof five and twenty were furnished in Spain with Warlike Provision and Souldiers and the Princes of Italy undertook for the Raising of the rest With these as we said he made an attempt but the Turk soon diverted both their Fury and Design and there shut them both up with a more close Siege than before Then raising Batteries by Land from thence without intermission they tore the Castle with their great Guns so that the Walls fell neither was the City or Goletta better able to resist such impetuous Thunder Tunis overcome by the Turks for all were taken and razed and the whole Kingdom wrested out of the Spaniards hands In the Overthrow of the City all the Christians were hewen to pieces except fourteen which were carri'd Captives to Constantinople Moreover the Conqueror demolished the Walls of Tunis and the Castle built by the Emperor Charles levell'd with the Ground erecting another of exceeding Strength to command the Haven From this time the Turks have always possessed Tunis in Peace and the Government thereof by Kings ended who had sway'd the Scepter there about three hundred and seventy years THE DOMINION and FORT OF GOLETTA THe Dominion of Goletta The Dominion of Goletta so call'd from the Fort lying on the Mouth of the Lake Goletta by Tunis containeth these Cities Marsa Napolis in Barbary Kammart Arriane and Carthago It is look'd upon as a Place of weighty Concernment being the Key of Tunis and Neighbour to Carthage Some hold it to be the Island Galatha or Galitha of Ptolomy and the Gorilon of Pliny but Sanutus and others make Goletta and Galatha to be two distinct Places The Name of Goletta cometh originally from the Italian word Gola signifying a Throat or according to Olivarius upon Mela from the Diminutive Goletta that is a Little Throat or as we term it a Gullet because this Fort is built upon the Neck or Throat of a Lake of that Name over which they pass in small Barques to Tunis so that in truth it is an Island The Mahumetans first built upon this Spot thereby giving a beginning to this Fort which the Turks afterwards having strengthened the Emperor Charles the Fifth after Overcome by Charles the Emperor together with Tunis took from them but at length regain'd by the Turks in the Year Fifteen hundred seventy four as before hath been more particularly related Since which time the Turks have besides the old one cast up two other Forts with two or three Redoubts between them and are as the Keys of their State in that Countrey Gramay says it contains a fair Haven fit for many Ships to harbour in with Store-houses for Merchandise a Custom-house two Mesquites and Prisons for Christian Slaves so that it seems much rather a City than a Fort. The first Fort appears surrounded with a double Wall flanked with Sconces and three great Works one within another encircling all to Command the Haven and City In the midst is a Well of fresh Water feeding a Stream which runs through the Fort. Little remains of the old Fort saving a Corner of a Bulwark Planted with ten Pieces of Ordnance where those of Tunis maintain forty Janizaries Marsa or Marca signifying in Arabick A small City Marmol says Marsa stands in the place where the Haven of the old City of Carthage was or according to Gramay opposite to it built after the destruction of Carthage by one Mehedi Kaliff of Cairavan It is adorned with a Royal Palace and some pleasant Places whether the Bashaws of Tunis in the Summer go to take their pleasure and keep their Court They say at present it boasts eight hundred Houses with a Mesquite and a Colledge built by Muley Mahomet Father of Muley Assez King of Tunis Nebel by the Moors call'd Nabis by the Africans antiently Napolis of Barbary Nebel is supposed to be that Colony which Ptolomy call'd Neapilis and by Strabo Leptis was built by the Romans at the Edge of the Midland-Sea three miles from Tunis on the East formerly well Inhabited but at this day Peopled onely with a few Families of Gardners and such like inferiour Persons Kammart another small City close by the Ruines of Carthage Kammart two miles Eastward of Tunis was formerly call'd Walachie as Aben Razid an African Writer affirms who also reports the Romans to have Founded it being encompassed with high Walls and very populous yet most of the Inhabitants Gardners who bring their Fruit and Herbs to sell at Tunis Arriane by Marmol call'd Abditane a small City a mile North of Tunis Arriane built by the Arian Gothes from whom and their Heresie it took the Name Leo. 5. D. which it hath hitherto kept without any alteration Lastly Arradez Arradez a very small Town in the way between Goletta and Tunis on the East This was formerly a
great Katabathmus by Ruscelius named Carto a great Valley reaching to Egypt Opposite to this but more deep into the Countrey was the Oracle and Temple of Jupiter Hammon four hundred thousand Paces from Cyrene say both Pliny and Solinus in the midst of a Sandy Desart three miles in length Gramay by mistake sets it in the Desart of Lybia and Leo Africanus in Numidia between Jasliten and Teorreque but where-ever it stood they call it now in Arabick Hesachbir that is A Heap of Stone Afterwards followeth the Haven formerly call'd Selin now Soudan having but a narrow Entrance but spacious and convenient within Next appears Laguixi formerly Trifachi of late time Raxa taken for the Paresonium of Ptolomy and Strabo although Mercator rejects that opinion and maintains Paresonium to have been Alberton Farther to the In-land stands the chief City Barka from whence the Countrey taketh its Name All the whole Countrey is almost nothing but a barren Wilderness Their Soyl. that hath neither Water for refreshment or use or Soyl fit for Tillage which makes them live very poorly A few Dates they have indeed but of little consequence to supply so great a Tract of Land Some Sheep and Camels they are Masters of but make little Profit of them the scarcity of Pasturage and Fodder making them so Lean that they are unfit for use or service Nay such is the unhappy necessity of the People that Parents often send their Children over to Sicily to become Servants and undertake all sorts of Drudgery onely for their sustenance The Arabians that possess Barka are ill-favour'd and crooked of Body and Conditions driven by want continually to Rob so that no Carravan dare pass along the Sea-Coast opposite to the Desart but take their way sixty miles about to the In-land When these Arabians go to steal in Biledulgerid The Arabian's Robbery and ransack Pilgrims and Travellers they give them hot Milk to drink then lift them up by their Legs with their Heads down so that of necessity all must break forth that is in their Body which Excrements these Villainous Thieves search in hope therein to find some Ducats supposing Travellers coming that way out of fear have swallowed their Money But the places on the Sea-Coast are better ordered Their Government being subject to the Turks and under the immediate Command of the Bashaw of Tripoli who usually sends to Barka the principal City a Kadiz to administer Justice All the People are Mahumetans excepting the wild Arabs in the Desarts Their Religion who live by Rapine and Villany without any sence of Religion Honesty or Goodness Biledulgerid or Numidia 283. comprehends Sus and Ydausquerit Sus proper Cities or Towns Idrunadayf Iduguneus Argon the three chief besides Idjauson Merit Deusdisdud Deusenez Indeuzell Arrahala Ayhakeli and Tizitit Rivers Darha Ziz and Ghir Extuka Towns Targuez the Metropolis with 40 Townships and Castles subject to it Nun Towns Nun the chief City Idaguazinguel Idanbaquil Deurseumugt and Hilela Tesset Towns Tesset the head-head-City Ufran or Ufaran Towns It hath four Fortifi'd but not nam'd Rivers One and that but small Aka Towns None onely three Villages Dara Dara containing Towns Banesbick Quiteva Sizeri Tagumadert Tenzeda Tragadell Tenzulin Tameguerut Temerguit Tabernast and Assa Rivers Dara Mountains Atlas in part Tafilet Itata Towns Itata Tafilet prop. Towns Tafilet Sugulmesse Sugelmesse Towns Segelmesse Teneghet Tebubassan Manuun Mazalig Abuhinam and Kasayr besides 350 Cities more great and small not nam'd Rivers Ziz. Monutains Mezetazu Telde Queneg Matgara Retil Tebelhelt Togda Forkala Tezerin Berrigumi Benibesseri Guachde Fighie Terebit Tegorarin Messab Tekort Guargula Zeb Towns Zebbell Gastir and Tamarakrost besides 12 small Forts and 26 Villages Helet and some Forts on the River Fez. None nam'd but Forts Essuoihila Humeledegi and Ummelhesen Three very populous and 12 Villages Four Villages 10. Three small ones and 4 Villages Six small ones and 15 Villages Eight of considerable strength besides 15 Hamlets Three Fortifi'd places Three fair ones The River Ghir Three strong ones Four Villages eight Three and fifty Fortresses and 100 Villages Six Strong-Holds besides Villages Tekurt the Turaffilum of Ptolomy Guargala Zeb Peskare Nefta Teolocha and Deusca Biledulgerid proper Biledulgerid Cities Teusar Kafza Nefzara Teoreque Three good Forts 26 Villages Jasliten Towns Jasliten Gademez Towns Sixteen Wall'd and ninety two Villages Fassen Towns Augele besides 58 Wall'd Cities and a hundred open Villages NUMIDIA OR BILEDULGERID ANtient Numidia by Ptolomy call'd New Numidia Antient Numidia and by the Grecians according to Pliny Metagonites takes its beginning as the same Pliny at the River Ampiaga now named Sufegnia and endeth at the River Tuska now call'd Guadel Barbar which Region some now comprise under the Kingdom of Telensin or Tremecen But some observe that Ptolomy hath not set forth in particular the proper Bounds of Numidia though they may well say that he hath conterminated this Countrey with the Rivers Sufegmar and Jadogh by the Moderns call'd Ampsiaga and Rubrikat near Bona which Territory containeth part of Constantine and a part of Bugie But Maginus settles Numidia otherwise that is between the River Magior formerly known by Audus where Ptolomy fixeth his Numidian-Bay and the River Megerada or Magrada call'd Bagrada near Carthage under which also a part of the Kingdom of Tunis may be comprised The Numidia which now we know is that part of Africa Modern Numidia which by some is placed between Lybia and the Mountain Atlas Leo Africanus and likely takes in no little share of Ptolomy's antient Description for some endeavour to make out that its Borders extend farther taking in most part of Bugie and the Kingdom of Tunis and a good share of the Caesarian Mauritania in the Territory of Dara ¶ THe spacious Dominions of this vast Countrey Numidia Name the Arabians call Biledulgerid from the chief Province thereof or according to Anani Guaten-Tamar both signifying Date-land so named from the abundance of that Fruit which that Countrey produceth more than any other part of Africa ¶ NUmidia takes its beginning Eastwards at the City of Elokar Borders five and twenty Spanish miles from Egypt stretching Westward to Nun whose utmost Confines Border the Atlantick Ocean its Northern Boundaries are the Skirts of Mount Atlas the South the Desarts of Lybia ¶ THe most eminent Regions which this World of Ground contains Territories are Tesset Dara Tafilet Segelmesse Zeb and Biledulgerid This last as we said gives the Denomination to all Numidia But there are other Countreys within this its spreading Circuit especially Westward as shall appear hereafter ¶ BIledulgerid Bigness or Numidia reckons in length six hundred miles in breadth where at widest three and fifty The chief People which now Plant this large Countrey on the West are according to Marmol the Musamades Hilels Zaragans and Quicimas and the meaner sort are call'd Gemis signifying a Masseline of several Nations ¶
Matgara beyond the foremention'd High-way There are many handsome Forts on the River Fez the chiefest they call Helet the Residence of the Governor who hath inhaunced the Customs of the Merchandise yearly to thirty thousand Ducats Retell or Arratama THe Dominion of Retell borders on Matgara and reaches Southward along the River Fez thirty miles distance from the River-Countrey of Sugulmesse on the East confin'd with an inhabited Mountain and in the West on a Sandy Plain which the Arabians make their Rendezvouz when they come out of the Desart There are many fortifi'd Places or Sconces Retell hath abundance of Dates yet covetous and narrow-hearted Inhabitants who by the Arabians under whom they submit are handled like Slaves Essuoihila Humeledegi and Ummel-hesen NOt far from the Territory of Sugulmesse are three small Forts or Holds Essuoihila the one is call'd Essuoihila or Zuaihilla a small place about three miles from the Jurisdiction of Sugulmesse to the South in a Desart close by which glides the River Ziz from thence going on to the Lybian Wildernesses The second Fort Humeledegi lieth about five miles from Sugulmesse Humeledegi also in the Desart The third Ummel-hesen is a place of small convenience Vmmel-hesen built by the Arabians upon a very barren Spot just in the way which leads from Dara to Sugulmesse The Walls seem to be all of Touch the Stones are so black But round about the first Castle are found neither Gardens nor Orchards nor any Ground that bears Fruit and nothing in prospect but Sand and black Stones The Fields about Humeledegi produce in great abundance a Fruit which at first sight seem to be Peaches Tebelbelt THe Countrey of Tebelbelt or Tabelbelt Tebelbelt lieth in the midst of a Desart about the Mountain Atlas and five and twenty from Sugulmesse to the South This Countrey hath also three populous Towns and twelve Villages The chief City lieth in three and twenty Degrees and ten Minutes Longitude and twenty Degrees and thirty Minutes Northern Latitude There are many Dates Their Food but they want Water and have few Cattel for the Inhabitants supply their Tables with Ostriches and store of Red-Deer They drive a poor Trade of Merchandise in Negro-Land and pay Contribution to the Arabians Todga THe small Territory of Todga takes its Denomination from the River Todga Todga which confines it about ten Miles Westward of Sugulmesse It hath four Towns and ten Villages This Countrey abounds in Dates Peaches Figs and Grapes likewise all sorts of Grain Most of the Inhabitants are Husbandmen and Tanners Farkala THe Countrey Farkala or Ferkala Farkala a small River also conterminates about five and twenty miles from the Mountain Atlas to the South and five and twenty Miles from Sugulmesse Here are three small Towns and four Villages This Countrey affords Dates and other Fruits but little Grain and that bad The Inhabitants are poor and under subjection of the Arabians Tezerin TEzerin Tezerin which signifies in the African Tongue Cities yet shews no more than six small Towns and fifteen Villages and scarce seen two others long since demolish'd This borders on a River fifteen Miles from Atlas and eight from Farkala There is great plenty of Dates Beni-gumi THe Countrey of Beni-gumi 〈◊〉 skirted with the River Ghir about thirty miles to the South from Sugulmesse contains eight strong Towns and fifteen Villages This Countrey also yields many Dates but hath poor Inhabitants who for Wages undertake mean Service at Fez With the Money they so earn they buy Horses and put them off to the Merchants which travel to Negro-Land The Cities Mazalig and Abuhinam ON the Banks of the River Ghir thirteen Miles from Sugulmesse stand in a wilderness two small Cities call'd Mazaligh and Abuhinam Mazaligh in the Longitude of three and twenty Degrees and ten Minutes and in the Latitude of thirty Degrees and twenty Minutes The Tract of Land thereabouts produces no sort of Grain and nothing but a few Dates The Inhabitants are under the Jurisdiction of the Arabians Kasayr THere is also a small City found call'd Kasayr Kasayr which Sanutus bringeth with the foregoing under Sugulmesse and stands in a Wilde five miles from Atlas It s Tract of Land hath store of Mines of Lead and Tinn by which Mettal the Inhabitants carrying great store of it to sell at Fez maintain themselves Beni-Besseri THe Countrey of Beni-Besseri lieth at the Foot of Mount Atlas Beni-Besseri and hath three fortifi'd Places and some Villages They have store of all sorts of Fruits except Dates they have an Iron-Mine wherein the Inhabitants old and young do labour The Inhabitants are under the Lord of Dubu and the Arabians Guachde THe Countrey of Guachde lieth one and twenty Miles Guachde or thereabouts from Sugulmesse in the West and containeth three fair Cities near the River Ghir and many Villages It abounds in Dates but there is little Corn. The Inhabitants traffick in the Negroes Countrey and are Tributary to the Arabians Fighie THe Countrey of Fighie hath three strong Villages or Towns Fighie standing in the midst of a Desart thirty miles Eastwards from Sugulmesse Dates grow here in exceeding plenty The People are Ingenious The Disposition of the Inhabitants some Trading to Negro-Land others Commencing at the Schools in Fez. The Women make Woollen and Linnen-Cloth as Gramay affirms as fine as Silk or Lawn which they sell at Fez and Telensin and other places of Barbary at great Rates Tesebit or Tesevin TEbesit lieth in a Desart Tesebit sixty three Miles on the East from Sugulmesse and twenty five from Atlas comprising four Towns and eight Villages which lie upon the Borders of Lybia on the way which leadeth from Fez and Telensin to the Kingdom of Agadez Here groweth nothing but Dates and some Barley The Men are most of them Blacks and the Women are well featur'd and comely but brown They are a poor People Tegorarin TEgorarin Tegorarin or Taguriri a great and spacious Countrey lieth amidst the Numidian Desarts about thirty Miles from Tesebit to the East containing three and fifty Fortresses and above an hundred Villages The chiefest Seat lieth in eight and twenty Degrees Longitude and in thirty Degrees Northern Latitude This Countrey also abounds exceedingly in the Production of Dates The Soyl is barren and store of Corn-Ground which they water as we do our Gardens by reason of the Drought and though a barren Soyl yet are much improv'd by Husbandry and Manuring by which account Strangers which come with store of Horses and Camels pay nothing for their Lodging but onely their Dung which they leave there laying of it up with as great care as if a treasure Nay they take it very ill if any of their Guests happen to ease themselves without doors By the scarcity of Cattel Flesh is very dear there for the Ground is so dry that scarce any Grass will grow
unsafe Road not onely lying open to the Sea-winds but full of blind Rocks and shifting Sands and a sprinkling of small Isles like Warts upon the Sea Beyond this Southward The Islands of Arguin opens another Bay in which are the Isles of Arguin and the Seven Cliffs which had once peculiar Names but now call'd onely Arguins from a Fort built on the chiefest of them by Alphonso first King of Portugal Its Names Anno 1441. But these were their former Names The White Island that the Portugals call Blanca because of the white Sands The Island of Skins by the In habitants call'd Adeger lying about two miles from the main Land Ilheo or Little Island otherwise call'd The Island de Las Garcas or Crane Isle not far from the main Land Nar and Tider two more near the Coast and lastly Arguin which now gives the denomination to all the rest long since possessed and fortifi'd by the Portugals Castle of Arguin whose Fort lies on a commanding Point strong built all of Stone four hundred and five and twenty Foot in circuit defended on the Land-side with a Wall or Out-work of eleven Foot thick and four and twenty high It hath also three Batetries two towards the Land and one to the Sea This Fort hath more than ordinary accommodation sixteen handsom Rooms of State and Address with their Apartments a large Kitchin good Cellars and other Offices and close by accommodated with a Fountain of fresh Water But in Sixteen hundred thirty and three on the nine and twentieth of January onely with three Ships of the Netherland West-India Company though so defensive the Portugals surprized with a pannick fear delivered it up to the Hollanders The Main Land Coasting this Bay is dry and barren but about five miles there are some Shrub and Heathy Grounds from whence those of Arguin fetch their Fewel Formerly there dwelt upon this Isle some Moors call'd Sebek-Moors who liv'd by Fishing and some Trade giving the fifth part of their Gain to the Castle Also the French Fisher-men yearly in December January and February using large Nets above fourscore Fathom long Fish up and down this Bay for Grampos's which they cut up at Land and dry in the Sun making Train-Oyl of them And also hereabouts the Portugals drive a notable Trade with the wild Arabs and the Whites bartering their Woollen and Linnen Cloth Silver course Tapestry but most of all Corn for Blacks Gold and Ostrich-Plumes They bring thither also Horses which yielded them a dozen or fifteen Slaves Under the Desart of Zannaga is also contained The Wild of Azoat The Desart of Azoat so call'd because of the general dryness and infertility reaching from the Pool of Azoat to that of Azoan near thirty miles distance from Tombut Here are to be seen two Stone Monuments with Inscriptions upon them signifying who were there Interr'd and the cause of their lying there which was thus One of them a wealthy Merchant travelling through those Defarts over-power'd by invincible Necessity suffering strangely by Thirst met by chance with a poor Carrier who had not yet spent all his Water though under the same calamity with whom he contracted at no less Rate than ten thousand Ducats which he laid down upon the Spot for the Moiety thereof but so it happened that neither of them had any great purchase for the Water being divided was soon exhausted and proved not sufficient to save either so that languishing with extream drought they both lost their lives and were there Interr'd The Desart of Zenega inhabited by the People Zanaga's is wondrous hot and hath little or no Water but what is bitter and brackish and those Pits or Wells are at least twenty miles one from another But the Wild of Zenega is destitute of all Water seldom or never raining there having but one Pit in all the way of thirty miles This Soyl is all Sandy and utterly unfruitful being a vast Plain so flat and level that the Traveller hath no mark to find his way or know where he is but is forced to steer his Coast by the Sun and Trade-Winds which blow always Easterly and other little knowledges they gather by former Prints from the Claws of Fowl as Crows Ravens and such like which always wait upon the Caravans as on great Armies expecting Prey for none ever travel through this Desart but with great Company This Countrey produces a kind of Grain like Wheat Plants or Vegetables which grows of its own accord without Sowing But those near the Banks of the River Zenega reap Barley not wanting Dates having also good store of Camels Goats and other Cattel The Inhabitants of these Desarts are Breberians Ludays Duleyns and Zenega's or Zanaga's by Sanutus call'd Azaneghes and some Arabs Sanutus who live upon others sweat and labour stealing their Cattel which they convey to Dara and elsewhere there bartering them for Dates Sometimes the Arabians of Beni-Anir pillage this Countrey between Nun and the City Tagaost Tegaza THe Desart of Tegaza so call'd from the chief Town Tegaza The Desart of Tegaza which hath also this denomination from the great quantity of Salt which is brought thither and from thence convey'd through this Wild to other Countreys This populous Dominion Borders Eastward on Zanaga's This Countrey though well inhabited is vexed in Summer with a dangerous South-Wind whose scorching blast strikes many blind and it hath also great scarcity of fresh Water Here are many Pits of pure white Salt round about which the Salt-boylers The Salt Pits being Strangers pitch their Huts and Tents and their business being done return with the Caravan to Tombut and there sell that Commodity being there very dear Those of Dara also send their Tivar Gold to Tombut The Gold of Tioar dispersing it from thence to Taragbel and Morocco Zuenziga THe Desart of Zuenziga Zuenziga beginning Westward on the Borders of Tegaza reaches Eastward to the Wilds of Haya Northerly confin'd with the Desart of Sugulmesse Tebelbelt and Beni-horai on the South with the Wilderness of Ghor lying near the Kingdom of Huber belonging to Negro-Land The Desart of Gogden is compris'd under that of Zuenziga The Inhabitants of the Desart of Zuenziga are call'd Guaneziries and Zuenziga's The Merchants which travel out of these Parts and from Tremecen to the City Tombut and the Kingdom of Isa must cross this Desart and that of Gogden This Zuenzigan Wild is much dryer and worse to be travell'd through than Zanaga very many being often choak'd for want of Water And that of Gogden hath in nine days Journey no Water except what falls from Heaven in sudden showers and onely in one place where Lading their Camels every one supplies his own private store There grow also many Dates in the Desart of Zuenziga on these Borders of Numidia ¶ AMongst the Inhabitants of this Countrey there are also Arabs call'd Hemrum The Inhabitants who take Tribute of Sugulmesse for
their Plough'd-Lands These as other Arabs rove up and down changing Pasture as far as Yguid they have store of Cattel and Dates and are so numerous that they have brought under their Contribution a great part of Biledulgerid They have other great Arabs Assisters as the Garfa and Esbeh which are looked upon as Nobles descended from famous Ancestors whom the Kings of Barbary have often courted desiring to make Alliance with them The Desart of Hayr or Terga THe Desart of Hayr The Desart of Hayr so call'd from a populous Town there yet by some call'd Terga from the Tergans of Little Africa hath for its Western Borders the Wilds of Zuenziga in the East that of Yguid in the North Its Borders the Wilderness of Tuat Teguirin and Mezzeb in Biledulgerid on the South conterminates with the Desarts near the Kingdom of Agade in Negro-Land spreading it self in some places the breadth of sixty mile that is from Biledulgerid to the Negroes Countrey The Air of this Desart is so temperate that in many places there is abundance of Grass and though other parts be very sandy yet nothing so bad to travel in as that of Zanaga or Zuinziga because it hath store of Springs and deep Wells with sweet and fresh Water but more especially on the Verges of Zuenziga On its Southern Limits near Agadez they find great store of Manna which early in the Morning the Inhabitants gather and carry to the Markets of that City which the Negroes mix with Water making it their Food being as they suppose very much refreshing and wholesome So that Strangers are not so often sick in Agadez though the Air be not so healthy as at Tombut this Cordial not being there so frequent ¶ THis Desart hath also wilde Arabs call'd Uled Huscein Arabians of Hayr which though they belong to the Numidian Countrey fetch in Winter larger Rovings with their Cattel as far as the Desart and sometimes to the Skirts of Atlas though they have few Laws yet they are all under one Government and these great Arabians have a meaner sort of little Arabs under them which live in the condition of Subjects or Servants some of which settle in Fenny Places and follow Tillage But the general business of the foremention'd is to steal and spirit away poor Negroes from thence carrying them to Barbary and Biledulgerid there selling them for great Rates as Slaves The Desart of Iguidi or Lemta THe Desart Iguidi or Lemta The Desart of Lemta taking its Name Iguidi from its chiefest Seat and Lemta from the Name of the Inhabitants The Borders borders in the West on the Wild of Hayr Eastward on that of Berdoa Northward on the Desart of Tekort Guerguela and Gademez in Biledulgerid and to the South Verges with a Desart near Kano in Negro-Land Between this and that of Sugulmesse lieth the Countrey of the Morabitins or Morabites which others call Almoravides Here is dangerous travelling for Merchants which pass from Constantine to the Negroes Countrey the Inhabitants being rude savage and beastial robbing all theymeet and taking all they lay their hands on They have also an antient feud and hatred against those of Guergula a Territory in Biledulgerid which they cruelly massacre putting to death when and where they come within their power In this Desart dwell also certain Arabians call'd Hemrum Kayd and Yahya mingled among the Lempta's The Desart of Berdoa THis Wild hath on the West for Borders the Wilderness Lempta The Desart of Berdoa The Borders on the East that of Augele on the North Fessa in Numidia and Barka and on the South it conterminates with a Desart bordering on the Kingdom of Borno a hundred ninety eight miles from Nylus it contains three fortifi'd Towns and six Villages It is very dry Plates and dangerous for travelling yet convenient for those of Gadamez or Numidia Allies to the Berdoaners The inhabited places have good Water and plenty of Dates The VVilderness of Augele BY some taken for the Countrey Augiles The Desart of Augele described by Mela hath for its Western Borders the Wild of Berdoa on the North the Desart of Barka and Marmarica and spreads in the form of a Towel to the Mediterranean-Sea opposite against Syrtes on the East the Wilds of the Levetans which reach to the Nyle It compriseth three inclosed Towns and many Villages a hundred and twenty miles distant from Nylus Their abundance of Dates answers all which supplies them with Corn and other Necessaries This Countrey is molested also with deadly biting Serpents The Desart of Serte and Alguechet THe Sertan Wild The Desart of Serte and Alguechet divided from the five other more eminent hath for its Western Borders the Desart of Augele on the South the Kingdom of Gaogo on the East Egypt There are yet to be seen the Ruines of the City Serte Also on the South of Serte four and twenty miles from Egypt the Countrey of Alguechet with three inclosed Towns and many Villages and whole Groves of Dates The Inhabitants are black and though stored with Dates yet are poor and Covetous and Tributary to a Xeque or King In this Dominion live eminent Arabians call'd Uled Yahaia Uled Said and Uled Sumeir being able to raise an Army of thirty thousand Horse and an innumerable number of Foot Yet they possess no fortifi'd Towns but live in Tents and are Masters of the Campaigne NIGRITARUM REGIO Negro-Land 3.5 contains In the Inland Gualata Towns Three very large and populous besides the Metropolis Gualata Rivers Zenega or Niger Mountains None of any remark Guinee or Genoua Neither Cities Towns nor Fortresses but one single village the Seat of the King and a University Melli The Village Melli with some Desarts and barren Mountains Tombut Towns Tombut Cabra or Kambre Rivers Niger Guber Towns Guber besides a great Number of Villages and Hamlets Agadez Towns Agadez Kano Towns Cano the head City and some Mountains Kassene Nothing but slight Huts in the manner of Villages Zegzed Towns Zegzed a City with some excessive cold Mountains Zanfara Some Villages consisting of mean Huts Gangara Some Villages consisting of mean Huts Borno Towns Borno the principal about which many smaller Cities Hamlets and Villages Gago Towns Gago the Metropolis standing by the River Zenega the rest of the inhabited Places are Villages and Hamlets Nubia Towns Tenepsus Kondari Dangala Nubia the Metropolis Kusa Ghatua Dankala Jalake and Sala besides Villages Bito Towns Onely Bito Temiam Towns Temikan alone Dauma Each one poor Town Madra Each one poor Town Gorhan Each one poor Town Semen A Countrey little known and less convers'd with Upon the Sea-coast about Cape-Verde Towns and Villages Refrisko Camino Punto Porto Novo Ivala Rivers De la Grace Barsala Garnba Rha St. Domingo Katcheo Rio de les Iletas Rio Grande Danalves Nunno Tristan Tabito Rio das Piedras Pechel Palmas Pagone Kagranka Kasses Karokane Kaper Tambefine Tabarim Rio de
Kingdom abounds in Rice Barley Cotton Cattel and Fish but their scarcity of Dates are supply'd them from Gualata and Numidia ¶ THe Inhabitants according to their manner go handsomely clad in black and blue Cotton of which they also wear Head-Shashes Their Clothing but their Priests and Doctors are habited onely in white Cotton ¶ THese People make great advantage of their Cotton-Clothes Their Trade which they barter with the Merchants of Barbary for Linnen Copper Arms Dates and other Commodities This Kingdom was formerly under the Luntiins a people of Lybia whose King was afterwards made Tributary to Soni-Ali King of Tombut his Successor Ischia obtaining a Signal Victory on a great Battel against the King of Guinee took him Prisoner and sent him to Gago where in miserable Captivity he died close Prisoner Thus the King of Tombut now grown Master of all Guinee reduc'd it into a Province setting his Lieutenant over them and then caus'd a great Market to be proclaim'd in the Metropolis of the whole Countrey THE KINGDOM OF MELLI THe Kingdom of Melli The Kingdom of Melli. likewise so nam'd from their prime Village the Residence of their King hath for its Northern Confines Gheneoa or Guinee Southward Desarts and barren Mountains in the East the Jurisdiction of Gago Westerly bounded with a mighty Forrest which runs sixty miles along the Banks of Niger to the Verges of the Ocean The Village Melli is very large The Village Melli. and contains above six thousand Families standing thirty days journey from Tombut The Countrey abounds in Corn Flesh and Cotton and hath a King but Tributary to those of Tombut ¶ HEre they are all Mahumetans Their Religion and have Mosques in which wanting Colledges they not onely perform their daily Devotions but in the Temples instruct their people and Disciples in their Laws and Doctrine These were the first Apostates from Christianity to Mahumetanism These People formerly were govern'd by a great Prince of Royal Extract descended from a Prince of Lybia Uncle to the King of Morocco the Renowned Josephus The Sovereignty continued in his Progeny until Uzchea King of Tombut Anno 1520. made the then King of Melli Tributary and so reduc'd all these Countreys under his Subjection THE MONARCHY OF TOMBUT OR TONGUBUT THe Kingdom of Tombat hath its Denomination from a City founded The Kingdom of Tombat as they say by King Mense Suleyman Anno 1221. about three miles from an Arm of Niger lying a hundred and eighty miles from the Countrey of Dara or Sugulmesse ¶ THis City gloried formerly in great Fabricks The City Tombat and sumptuous Buildings but now condemn'd to simple Huts and Hovels and onely boasting one stately Mosque and a magnificent Palace for the King built by a famous Architect of Granada Three miles from Tombut Kabra on the Banks of Niger stands another great Town call'd Kabra or Kambre being a convenient Port for the Merchants to travel from thence to the Kingdom of Melli in Guinea ¶ THis Countrey abounds with fresh-Water-Springs Corn Cattel The Disposition of the Countrey Milk and Butter but what savors all Salt is very scarce for a Camels Load goes often there at fourscore Ducats being brought over Land from Tegaza about a hundred miles distant from Tombut They use small Horses with which they ride up and down the City and the Merchants travel with them but their best Horses they have from Barbary whose numbers when they arrive are Registred which at any time is above twelve the King makes choice of the primest of them paying the Price they would go at ¶ THe Inhabitants especially those of the City Tombut The Manners of the Inhabitants are a People usually merry and of a chearful Disposition and spending most part of the Night in Singing Dancing and Revelling up and down through all the Streets They keep a great many Slaves both Men and Women Students which are highly esteem'd amongst them are there frequent and bred up at the Kings proper Charge Here are store of Arabick Books and Manuscripts brought from Barbary and not to be purchas'd but at a great Value Here are also many Tradesmen and Artificers especially Cotton-Weavers Their common Diet is a Dish made of Flesh Fish Butter and Milk hasht and stew'd together ¶ ALl the Women Their Clothing except the Slavesses go with their Heads and Faces cover'd They have no stamp'd Coyn but plain Pieces yet bigger and lesser all of pure Gold This King or Emperor of Tombut ruling vaste Dominions that yield him inexhaustible Treasure which he piles up in Bars or Billets of pure Gold some of them weighing if the report be true Thirteen hundred pound Weight ¶ MAny Merchants of Fez Their Trade Morocco and Gran-Cayre resort to Tombut for the Trade of Gold which was brought thither by the People of Mandinga in so great abundance that oftentimes the Merchants having disposed of all their Commodities which they barter with them for that Mettal it becomes a Drug and either left there till the next Return or else they carry it home again ¶ THis Countrey Their Government according to Marmol a Prince governs stil'd Emperor of Melli who dwelling in a magnificent Palace takes such state upon him that no Ambassadors or Envoys from Forreign Countreys making their Addresses are admitted to Audience but in posture of humble Suppliants kneeling with dejected Countenances throwing dust upon their heads In the City Kabra the King hath a Commissary who Hears Judges and Determines all Causes and Differences either concerning the Crown or other private Arbitrations betwixt the Subjects THE KINGDOM OF GAOGA THe Kingdom of Gaoga The Kingdom of Gagao or Goagao as Marmol calleth it lying by the unanimous consent of the chiefest Geographers in the same Elevation where Ptolomy placeth the Lake or Pool Chelidones bordering Westward on the Kingdom of Borno East on Nubia and South near the Nylean Desart which conterminates the North with the Wild of Seth. It passeth by the South of Egypt spreading from the West to the East a hundred and twenty five miles in length reckoning as much in breadth This Countrey abounds with Cattel and Goats but the People are in a manner savage and ignorant of all Civility and Literature nor under any form of Government especially the Mountaineers or Highlanders which go stark naked in the Summer onely retaining so much modesty that they wear a Lappet before them concealing their Privities They dwell in Huts or rather Arbors their whole defence against Sun Wind and Rain are Boughs of Trees set up and plac'd together Their chief Employment is onely in Cattel the whole Nation being onely Herdsmen yet they are a kinde of Christians after the Egyptian manner THE KINGDOM OF GUBER THe Kingdom of Guber inclos'd between very high Mountains The Kingdom of Guber is about seventy five miles Eastward from Gago with a barren Desart between them
many Cities Hamlets and Villages Leo p. 7. on that Plain where the King hath his Residence with his Army the chief City is Borno lying in eight and forty and a half Longitude and in seventeen Degrees and ten Minutes North Latittude ¶ THe Countrey is partly plain and partly rough and Hilly but fruitful The Condition of the Countrey the Highlands also producing Mille Corn Wheat and Tares and feed also many Beeves and Goats ¶ THose of the Plains are civilized understanding Order and Honesty The Constitution of the Inhabitants amongst whom reside Forreign Merchants both Blacks and Whites and there also the King keeps his Court and Camp but the Mountains are possessed with rough Herdsmen which go almost stark naked they are hard to be distinguished from their own Cattel going in Beasts skins with Hair in which they also sleep Their course of life seems void of all humanity for their Women and Children are not appropriated but in common none acknowledging either as his peculiar but pick where they please out of the Herd according to the manner of the antient Garamantes and like those of Mount Atlas have no proper Names to be distinguished by one from the other but every one hath his Nick-name or Denomination derived from the shape of his person whether deformed or comely for Tall they sur-name Long the Short Kort the Bunch-shoulder'd Crook-backs c. This King of Borno is said to be very rich for his Utensils both for Quirry Vessels of massie Gold Kitchen and Table are all of massie Gold These Natives are not superstitious neither Quarrel nor Dispute about Religion for having none at all Jews Christians and Mahumetans seeming to them all one stand alike in their esteem THE KINGDOM OF GAGO THe Kingdom of Gago The Kingdom of Gago thus call'd from its Metropolitan Gago hath in the East the Kingdom of Guber but is divided by a Desart The chief City Gago The chief City Gago standing by the River Zenega about a hundred miles from Tombut South-East in thirty five Longitude and eight and a half Latitude hath for the most part mean and ordinary Houses yet some of them shew well as among others the Kings Palace and Seraglio The rest of the inhabited places consist in Villages and Hamlets in which the Countreymen and People of meaner state have their abode The Countrey abounds in Corn Rice and Cattel but they have no Grapes nor other Fruits except Mellons Cucumbers and Citrons which are much used having more than an ordinary relish This City like others is not without an inconvenience being destitute of fresh Water which they are forced to fetch out of Pits forty or fifty miles from the Town yet this want is plentifully suppli'd by the abundance of Gold that is in this Kingdom which according to Meguet is fetch'd from thence by the Moroccoans The Countrey people are not Bookish taking no delight in Literature for not one in three days Journey is to be found that scarce knows one Letter of the Book yet the Citizens are much civiller and better taught than these Rusticks ¶ THe Barbary Merchants drive a successful Trade here in this City Their Trade vending all sorts of European Wares as Cloth and the like but that which goes off best and yields most profit is Salt These Morocco Merchants travelling thither go never less than two or three hundred in company and are six Moneths in their Journey of which they spend two in desolate and sandy Desarts directed in their course onely by the Sun Moon and Stars which if not well observed they are utterly lost perishing with Hunger especially Thirst Those that suffer there casually their Bodies decay not being dri'd by the parching heat of the Sand but become a kind of Mummy and sold in many places of Europe for the right ¶ THis Countrey is Governed by a King Their Government who pays Tribute to the King of Morocco since Muley Hanef in his Wars against the Negro's over-powering him with a great Army under the Command of Juder Bassa took by force the chief City Gago THE KINGDOM OF NUBIA THis Countrey Ptolomy calls Nubes or Nubiers and Strabo Nubea The Kingdom of Nubea which Stephanus places as a Neighbor to the Nyle which perhaps might cause Ptolomy to denominate the people Arabick Egyptians and Mela hath plac'd other Nubiers by the Bay of Aralites At this day all Geographers call it Nubie after the Moors who as Marmol says gave it the Name Neuba and some stile it Little Egypt It borders on the West on the Desart of Gaoga extending to the Nile The Borders which takes a long Course through this Kingdom dividing it in the middle On the East bounded partly by some people of Bagamedri call'd Belloes and partly by the Countreys of Dafila and Kanfila being Members of Barnagas a Territory in Abyssine in the South by the Desart of Gorhan and on the North by Egypt The Length is by the Inhabitants accounted two * That is 1800 English miles Moneths Journey The Length and somewhat more Pliny says the Chief City of Nubia was Tenupsus Antient chief City but the latter and more modern Writers give the Priority to Kondari Leo Africanus makes Dangala the Metropolis which he says containeth near ten thousand Houses but very meanly built and that all the rest are poor Villages and Hamlets scattered about the Nyle The Natives of this Countrey Nubian Geographers who have left us some Descriptions thereof affirm Nubia the Principal and the others pretending to any Eminency Nubie Kusa Ghalva Dankala Jalak and Sala Kusa lies under the Equinoctial six days Journey from the City Nubia Kusa Ghalva seated on the Nile below Dankala five days journey Jalak is ten days journey from Ghalva hither Shipping comes up the Nile Ghalva but they that will go from hence into Egypt must hard by unlade their Goods and carry them on Camels over Land by reason of the Cataracts of Nile ¶ THis Countrey like Egypt in many places once a year participates of the Benefits accrewing by the Overflux of that River The Nature of the Soyl. whereby it becomes exceeding fertile producing besides great store of Cattel and Sugar-Canes which the unskilfulness of the Inhabitants make little advantage of because in the boiling it becomes black and unpleasant in taste Here is found a very strong and deadly Poyson Mortal Poyson of which one Grain is enough to kill ten persons in a Quarter of an hour which they sell for fifty Ducats an Ounce and to Strangers onely whom upon delivery they oblige by Oath not to use in their Countrey Marmol says here is much fine Gold Speckled-Wood Civet and Ivory especially the last by reason of the great number of Elephants which breed in all parts of it ¶ THe Townsmen for the most part deal as Merchants Their Maintenance but the Countrey People live by Tillage
the Rivers Maguibba or Rio Nova Mava Plizoge and Monoch in Portuguese call'd Rio Aguado In five Degrees and three and forty Minutes of Northern Latitude lies Kaboc Monte twelve miles Eastward whereof rises a high Mountain call'd Cape Mesurado adjoyning to which is the River Saint Paulo and ten miles from it Rio Junk or Siunk and Saint Johns River empty their Waters into the Sea six miles East from this River stands the Village call'd Tabe-Kanee Petit-Dispo and Diepe by the Blacks nam'd Tabo Dagroh Six miles from Little Diepe the River Sestus falls into the Sea And here begins the Grain-Coast being a Tract of forty miles in Length on the Easterly Part of which lieth Little Sestus and five miles farther Cabo Baixos and then Zanwiin a small Village distant thence three miles passing on toward the East you come to Bofou or Bofoe and so to Setter and Bottowa Cape Swine appears next in order with a Village of the same name and then at little distances you come to Crow Wappen or Wabbo Drowyn Great Setter Gojaurn Garway Greyway or Grouway and lastly Cabo de Palmas or Palm Cape Here at the Village of Grouway begins Tooth-Coast so call'd from the abundance of Elephants Teeth there to be had beginning two miles Eastward of Cape Palm and ending at Cape de la Hou making a Tract of fifty miles within which are not many inhabited Towns for the first is four and twenty miles from Cape Palm and call'd Tabo the next Petiero a mile farther and close by the Sea then Taho five miles from thence and at the like distance from that Berly in four Degrees and a half of Latitude close by which St. Andrews River enters the Sea where it makes a great imbowed Reach to the South-East towards Red-Land so call'd from its red Cliffs Beyond the Red Cliffs appears Cape'de la Hou the utmost limit of Tooth-Coast from whence Quaqua-Coast commences and extends to the Village Assine the first place of Gold-Coast a mile and a half upward in a barren place void of all shelter or Trees stands a little Township call'd Koutrou or Katrou and not far from thence Jakke La-Hou within five miles of which Jak in Jakko from whence you go directly to a place adjoyning to the Sea and commonly intituled The Pit or Bottomless Lake About sixteen miles Eastward of La-Hou lieth a place call'd Kerbe La-Hou in the Bants-Coast before which place the Sea is very deep for a Stones-throw from the Shore they have forty or fifty Fathom Water Eight and twenty or thirty miles from Cape La-Hou lieth Assine where the Guinee Gold-Coast begins being twelve miles Eastward of Kerbe La-Hou and ends at the plentiful Golden Village Akera making in all a Tract of fifty miles The Kingdoms upon the Sea-Coast are Atzin Little Inkassan Anten Guaffo Fetu Sabou Fantin Aghwana Akara Labbede and Ningo In Atzin are three Villages one of which is call'd Akombene but the chiefest is Atzin Little Inkassan contains no place worthy remark save Cabo-Das-Tres-Puntas Anten reckons within it self these following Villages Bothrom Poyera Pando Takorary or Anten Maque Jaque Sakonde and Sama. Three miles from Takorary Guaffo shews it self first then Aitako or Little Commendo two miles Eastward of Sama afterwards Ampea Kotabry Aborby and Terra Pekine In Fetu on the Shore there lieth a little Hamlet which the Natives call Igwa but the Merchant corruptly Cabo Cors from its near neighborhood to Cabo Curso On the Borders of this Kingdom of Fetu stands the famous Castle of Saint George or Del Myne built by the Portuguese on whose West-side lieth Dana or Dang where the Salt River Bensa entreth the Sea as the Sweet River Utri doth half a mile more to the East In Sabou you first discover the Township of Moure and by it the Castle of Nassau built by the Hollanders Fantin shews it self Cormantine Ville two miles Eastward of Moure then Anemalo and a Cannon-shot Westwards thereof Adja In Agwana are these places of name viz. Craggy Point Soldiers Bay The Devils Mountain New Biamba Old Biamba Great Berku Jaka the principal Sea-Town Corks-brood and Little Berku all which Places have strong Rocks before their Havens In Akara on the Sea-Coast stand Soko Orsaky and Little Akara being fifteen miles Eastward of Cormantine and the last place of the Gold-Coast Two miles Eastward of Akara in the Kingdom of Lebbade stands a Town of the same Name Lastly in Ningo are four chief Ports viz. Ningo four miles from Akara and two miles from Lebbede Temina a mile from Ningo Sinko the like from Temina and Pissy all naturally fortifi'd with high Cliffs Seven miles East of Akara on the Shore Sinko comes in view from whence Journeying on still to the East you arrive at a Village where the River Rio Volta runs into the Sea between these lieth Fishers Town and not far distant Cabo Montego in a Low-land with several small Woods about it From thence Eastward to the Village Popou the Countrey is very plain and even four miles below Popou begins the Kingdom of Ardez and ends at the Town Aqua within which Tract are contained the Hamlets of Foulaen and Ardre Southward of which lies Oost a Tract of Land eight miles long boasting a handsom City call'd Jackeyne three days Journey from thence stands Jojo another good Town and a quarter of a mile farther a City named Ba. Sixteen miles Eastward of Little Arder Rio Lagas runs into the Ocean and eighteen miles farther the River Benin with a broad and wide Mouth loses it self in the Sea Four and twenty miles beyond Rio Forcado having visited the Eastern Borders of the Kingdom of Ouwerre falls into the Sea by Cape Formoso in four Degrees and eight Minutes North Latitude Fifteen miles from Cape Formoso runs the River Reael or Calberine between which Cape and River seven others have their course into the Sea the first is call'd Riotton half a mile Eastward of Formoso the second Rio Odi in the Latitude of four Degrees and ten Minutes the third fourth and fifth are call'd Rio Saint Nicholas the sixth Rio de tres Irmaus the seventh Rio Sambreiro a mile beyond which is the little Territory of Bani Two miles from the Easterly Point of Calbarine the River Loitamba so call'd by the Inhabitants but by Seamen Rio Sant Domingo has its course all about which the Countrey is very plain even and full of Trees This Coast extends it self East South-East sixteen miles Rio del Rey a very wide and great River comes next in view then Camerones Pickereen very narrow both which have on each side plain Ground but full of Bushes Between these two last named Rivers lies the High-land of Amboises by the Spaniards call'd Alta Terra de Ambosi on whose West-side lies several Villages and among others Bodi or Bodiway otherwise Tesge and three small Islands call'd The Islands of Amboises In the next place come these following Rivers viz. Monoka Borba
Countrey of Tuchusor whose Inhabitants Jarrik makes the Negro-Jalofs to the West side on the Ocean the North bounded by the River Zenega and the South by the Kingdom of Gambea Ala The Bigness Jarric l. c. 44. and Brokallo The Length is from East to West Seventy six miles and upon the Sea-Coast forty Under the Name of Gelofs Marmol compriseth many People What People by Marmol are comprised under the Name of Gelofs the chiefest whereof which dwell on the Shore of the River Zenega are the Barbasins by Jarrik call'd Berbesins Tukurons Karagols Baganosen the People of Mani-inga Mossen and others beside ¶ THe Kingdom of Zenega The Subordinate Kingdoms under Zenega or Great Joalof holds several other inferior States subjected as Baool Cayor Ivala and Ale although others repute them for several and free Kingdoms because most of the Kings rule with absolute Power and no less than the Great Jalof himself without acknowledging any above them though in antient times they pay'd Tribute And not onely these but also all the Places from Cape de Verde to Kassan the Great Jalof writing himself King over thirteen or fourteen Kingdoms among which also the Barbasins are numbred ¶ THe Countrey of the King of Baool The Kingdom of Baool call'd Louchi Four by the Inhabitants begins on the East-side of the Village Kamino lying from Porto d' Ale about sixteen miles The King keeps his Court two days Journey from the Sea-Coast in Lambaya the chiefest City of the Kingdom taking to himself the Title of Tain ¶ THe King of Cayor The Residence and Court of the King of Kayor who also commands Cape de Verde and the Places round about hath his Residence in like manner two days Journey within the Countrey ¶ THe Dominion of Ivala The Kingdom of Ivala severed by the River De la Grace from that of Ala contains not above twenty miles whose chief Governor call'd Walla Silla dwelleth also two days Journey up into the Countrey but is indeed of little Power ¶ THe Countrey of Cayor The Extents of the Countreys of Cayor and Barsalo together with the Region of Barsalo border upon the North with the Kingdom of Ale and Ivala ¶ THe utmost Borders of these two Jurisdictions The Borders of Cayer and Borsalo are two Villages the one call'd Yarap belonging to Cayor and the other Banguisca to Borsalo divided one from the other by a woody and desolate Wilderness of eight or ten miles ¶ THe Principalities of Ale and Brokallo The Kingdom of Ale and Brokallo which last is much the bigger and bordereth on the River Gambea are inhabited by the Barbasins In Zenega In Zenega there are no strong Cities and the other inferior Dominions belonging to it there are neither fortifi'd Towns or wall'd Cities but onely sleight Villages and Hamlets The Countrey that runs out between the Rivers Zenega and Gambea Cape de Verde maketh that eminent Point call'd for its delightful Verdure seen afar off at Sea Cape Verde but the Inhabitants name it Besecher and Ptolomy Arsinarium which they place in the height of ten Degrees and forty Minutes North Latitude This Cape is very Hilly on the North-side dry and sandy shooting far into the Sea and containing many populous Villages and Hamlets upon the Sea-Coast ¶ ABout a Bow-shot from the Main Land The Island Goree in fourteen Degrees and thirty five Minutes North Latitude appears an Island to which the Hollanders have given the Name Goree Refrisco a Hamlet about three miles from Cape Verde Refrisco within half a mile of which lieth a high Rocky Cliff encompassed with dangerous Shoals and undiscernable Sands which the famous Pyrate Claes Campaen first adventuring to approach gave it the Name of Campaens Cliff Kampaens-Cliff A mile Eastward from Refrisco stands Camino between Cayor and Baool Kamino Two miles to the South-East lieth Endukura Endukura Gunihemeri-Punto and at like distance Gunihemeri beyond that close by Rio Picena the Village Punto that is a Corner Point which leads directly to Porto d' Ale eight miles from Goree and six or seven from Refrisco close adjoyning to which in the way to Ivala lieth the Wood Tapa The Wood Tapa On the Haven of Ale standeth a high Rock call'd The Whale The Whale which Sea-men Sailing out and in seek to avoid by all means by reason of the danger in coming too near it On the same Shore not far distant Cape Mast shews it self Kaho Maste so call'd from the breaking of Masts of Ships that Sail by which is done by the Wind furiously breaking forth from the two adjacent Mountains to prevent that mischief the Mariners always strike Sail beforehand The Sea-Coast from Frisko to Cabo Maste is clear and deep The Sea-Coast from Refricco to Cabo Maste and further so that the Ships may go close by the Shore but about Porto d' Ale the Coast is very foul scarcely having six or seven fathoms Water so that no Vessels of Burden can come within a League of the Haven Three miles from Porto d'Ale Porto Novo that is New Haven Porto Novo and a mile and a half farther up Punto Sereno and Punto Lugar Punto Sereno seven miles forward stands Ivala an open Town inhabited by Portuguese and Mulata's a Tawny People Ivala generated out of a white Father and a Negro-Woman which both Trade here for all Commodities of the neighbor Regions Four miles Eastward of Ivala lieth Candima Kandima and six miles farther within the Land Geroep where an Alkayor entituled Embap resideth with some Portugueses ¶ THis as to the Maritime Parts The In-land Places We will now proceed to set down the In-land Places To travel from the Shore to the In-land there are but two convenient and passable ways the one extends it self towards the North-West of Refrisco and the other full North. Upon the Edge of the first way a mile from Refrisco lieth Beer Beer a Town so call'd and on the second at like distance a mile also from Refrisco Emdoen Emdoen a Lordship and the Dwelling-place of a Great Man entituled Amarbulebu but a Vassal to the King of Ivala Two miles from thence towards the North stands Jandos Jandos under the Subjection of the beforemention'd Amarbulebu where grow many Palmito or Date-Trees A little more to the North may be seen the Lake Eutan The Lake Eutan nearly neighbor'd by Emduto where always one of the Antientest is elected as a Magistrate over the rest being a place of good Accommodation and Rest for all persons travelling those Parts Six miles further East lieth a Hamlet where the Licherins their Priests reside whose Superior is call'd Alletrop Thence you pass to Endir Endir where together with the Blacks four or five Portugal Families dwell and some Mulata's who maintain themselves by Merchandise Half a mile onwards lies Sangueng Sangueng where
Cross Haven which the Portuguese possess The Countrey by means of the clear and serene Air is very healthful and pleasant to live in The King always appears in great State and when he goeth abroad The King's State is attended with a strong and numerous Guard of Bowe-men He keeps also fifty great and fierce Dogs which he arms as it were in tann'd Skins of Sea-Cows that are so hard and strong they can scarcely be cut each Dog in the day time hath a Keeper but in the night they are let loose for there is no other Watch in this City but these Dogs and such is their fierceness no body dares stir in the Streets without the hazard of his life for they will fall upon every one without regard This Dog-Watch was at first set up against the Thieves who in the nights used to break open the Houses and steal the Blacks to sell for Slaves This King gives a Hat to his Governors which is an Ensign of Honour of whom he has under him seven which are not onely his Homagers but his Slaves When the King dies there comes into the Street twelve Men call'd Schiten When the King's Death is proclaimed and by whom cloathed in parti-coloured long Coats made of Feathers with as many Claromen or Pipers before them which sound mournfully yet shrill there they proclaim his Decease whereupon every one with a white Cloth thrown over them comes out of their Houses and do nothing all that day but walk about the Streets in a mournful posture his Friends Relations and Servants in the mean time assemble to chuse a Successor The Funeral Afterwards the Corps is washed and the Intrals burnt before their Idol but the Ashes preserved to be Interr'd with the Body which lies as it were in State for a Moneth at the expiration whereof prepared for Burial the Subjects bring out of all parts of the Kingdom Balsom Myrrhe Ambergreece Musk and other Perfumes to burn and smoke about the Corps which lastly is carried to the Burying-place by six of the most eminent persons cloathed in white Silk Coats followed in the first place with Musick playing mournful Tunes and after them with a great many people on foot some of which cry aloud other sing Funeral Elegies last of all the Princes of the Blood ride on Horseback in white Habit. By the Grave are his Women and Servants which in his Lifetime he most affected together with his Favourites and Horses which are all put to death and buried with the Royal Corps which is done to this end that he may be served by them in the other World as they believe and are taught This slaughter is performed in a terrible manner viz. after the cutting off their Fingers and Toes they break their Bones by stamping all to pieces and when it is beat enough they throw it out in the presence of all the others that are to undergo the same fortune for the avoiding which cruelty many Servants after they have sufficiently provided for themselves either leave the King's Service in his Life and fly away or else they retire and hide themselves in time when they see he is without hope of recovery ¶ THe King's Jurisdiction extends over six Kingdoms Their Power and Dominion besides those wrested from him as we said before and for the better and more orderly management of State-Affairs has a Privy-Council consisting of many Lords of which one who is the second person in the Kingdom is President ¶ THey worship Their Religion as the Cassanga's abundnace of Idols the chief of which they name China which is to say God although a long time since by the Preaching of some Portugal Jesuits they are said to have embraced the Roman Religion The King himself with a great number of Nobles in the Year Sixteen hundred and seven desired of Emanuel Alvarez a Jesuit to be Baptized which he upon farther examination finding their unstedfastness deni'd THE KINGDOM OF BIGUBA AT the Nether-Arm of Rio Grande The Kingdom of Biguba above the River Guinala lieth the Kingdom of Biguba The chiefest place thereof is the Haven of Biguba and a little higher the Haven of Balola inhabited by the Tangos-Maas but the Village of the Haven Biguba the Portugals possess The Beafers lead the same manner of life as the People of Guinala The Tangos-Maas are extracted out of the Portugal Blood but have united themselves with the Blacks and live now no less barbarously than they as if they had never heard of Christianity in some places going all naked and Carving their Skins after the manner of the Countrey ¶ THey live under a Monarch as those of Guinala after whose death the most powerful of the Family obtain the Crown but not without great contest so that in the interim they are all in Arms committing all kinds of extravagant outrages till by Conquest reduced under the obedience of him that lays the strongest claim They are like the Beafers Idolaters although some are already by the Jesuits brought to the Christian Faith THE KINGDOM OF MANDINGA ON both sides of the River Gambea live a sort of Blacks The Kingdom of Mandinga which have enlarged their Seat above a hundred and twenty miles up into the Countrey so that they command a Tract of Land that spreads it self in breadth from nine to eleven Degrees North Latitude which the Spaniards call Mandimenca after the Name of one of their Kings by others Mandinga by Marmol Mani-Inga and by the French and Dutch The Kingdom of Mandinga The chief City is Sango some miles more Easterly than the Cape de Palmas The Countrey is watered with many Rivers all which after long courses through several places at last contribute their streams to replenish and augment those of the more famous River Gambea ¶ THe Inhabitants of Mandinga are reputed the best of all Guinee The Valour of the Inhabitants yet are barbarous of nature deceitful and treacherous to Merchants and Strangers but among themselves and Neighbors thought expert Horsemen so that they go into divers Kingdoms to serve as Troopers not onely being readily entertain'd into Pay but for their Skill in Martial Affairs and tried Valour have the Van of their Armies admitted into the best Commands and allowed large Priviledges to oblige them to stay in their Service ¶ THe Arabian and other Merchants drive a great Trade here for Gold Gold-Trade which they say this Countrey abounds with besides other Commodities which at Tombut the chief City they are admitted freely to barter for ¶ THe King of Mandinga some years since was so puissant The Power of the King that almost all the Kings and People of Upper-Guinee obey'd and paid him Tribute especially the Cassanga's and the other Kingdoms lying at the River Gambea Heretofore he held the Seat of his Empire in the In-land and gave the lower Countreys lying on the West Sea to one Chabos and Faim Braso placing moreover
have great skill in Swimming but the Men within Land use it so little that they seem afraid at the sight of any great River They can keep long under Water and Dive exceeding deep wherefore the Portugals bring of the expertest from hence to the West-Indies to use them in the Pearl-fishing in the Island Margaretta Children not exceeding two years of Age betake themselves instantly to the Water and learn to Swim because unskilfulness therein is counted a great shame The Women are slender-Body'd and cheerful of disposition but have such great Breasts that they can fling them over their Shoulders and give their Children Suck that hang at their backs They have great inclinations to Dancing The Women are inclin'd to Dancing so that when they hear a Drum or other Instrument they cannot stand quiet but must shew their Skill They meet usually in the Evenings to Revel while some Dance others Play upon Instruments as Copper Panns struck with Buttons or Drums made of a hollow Tree and cover'd over with a Goats Skin or such like barbarous Musick They Dance commonly two and two together The use of Castinetto's came from Africa Leaping and Stamping with their Feet Snapping with their Fingers and Bowing their Heads one to another some have Horses Tails in their Hands which they cast one while upon one Shoulder and one while upon the other others with Wisps of Straw in their hands which they let fall then again suddenly reaching it they cast it up aloft and catch it in their hands This Dancing having continu'd an hour or an hour and a half every one returns home Besides these Evening-Pastimes they have a sort of Dancing-Schools wherein the younger Breed are taught These People are seldom free from Lice The Blacks are Lowsie though Clean. and Fleas although they keep themselves clean in their Bodies for they Wash every Morning and Evening from Head to Foot and anoint themselves with Oyl of Palm or Suet to make them look Smooth and that the Flies may not bite their Naked Body The Women moreover anoint themselves with Civet and fine smelling Herbs to be the more acceptable to their Husbands They count it a great shame to Break Wind in the presence of any they never do their Easement upon the ground but make a Hut whereinto they retire and when full burn them to Ashes They cannot Evacuate their Water in a continu'd Current as usual in humane Creatures but rather like Hoggs by intermissive girdings When they meet any of their Friends or Acquaintance in the Morning Their Salutation they Salute them with great Courtesie Imbracing one the other in their Arms and closing the two first Fingers of the Right Hand snap two or three times together each time bowing their Heads and saying Auzy Auzy that is Good Morrow Good Morrow Another as it were innate quality they have to Steal any thing they lay hands of Exquisite in Stealing especially from Foreigners and among themselves make boast thereof as an ingenious piece of Subtilty and so generally runs this vicious humor through the whole Race of Blacks that great and rich Merchants do sometimes practise small Filching for being come to the Trading Ships they are not at rest till they have taken away something though but Nails or Lead that is Nail'd to the outside of the Ships to prevent Worm-eating which no sooner done then with a singular sleight of hand they convey from one to another but if they chance to be trapp'd they all leap instantly over-Board for fear of Beating but if caught and soundly Bastinado'd then as past doubt of other punishment they never avoid the Ship but come again the next day to Trade They little esteem any Promises made to Foreigners They keep little of their Promises but break them if they can see any advantage in it in brief they are a treacherous perjur'd subtle and false People onely shewing Friendship to those they have most need of When they make a Promise or Oath to the Whites they cast their Face to the Ground then bowing speak these words thrice Jau Jau Jau every time striking their hands together and stamping upon the ground with their feet and lastly kiss their Fetisy or Sants which they wear upon their Legs and Arms. Most of their Food is Bread Most of their Food is Bread by them call'd Kankaiens Bak'd or Boil'd of Mille How it is made ready mix'd with Oyl of Palm and sometimes with green Herbs the Mille they prepare by Pounding in a Stone-Mortar afterwards cleanse it in a Woodden Shovel then the Women Grinde it every day twice upon a flat Stone which stands a mans height from the Earth with another Stone a Foot long just as the Painters usually Grind their Colours which is no small labour though little regarded by the men Thus made into Meal they mingle it with water and make Cakes or Balls as big as both ones Fists which they Boyl or Bake upon a hot Hearth bound up in Cloth Others add thereto Maizr They seldom eat Flesh Other Food but all sorts of Fish Potatoes also and Injames which they Boyl as also Bananasses Bakovens Rice and several other sorts of Fruit which the Countrey affords Their daily Drink is Water and Palm-Wine Drink yet they make another Liquor of Mace which they call Poitou The Men Drink stoutly especially hot Liquors such as Palm-Wine The Men are inclin'd to Drinking Brandy and other Wine so that the Evening seldom sees them Sober In Drinking they use strange Customs for the first Drinker must lay his Hands upon his Head and with a loud voyce cry out Tautosi Tautosi After Drinking they poure a little as an Oblation to their Fetisi upon the Earth crying aloud I. O. U. which if they omit they are perswaded it will do them no good but vomit it up presently Nor have they a less Voracity in Eating being scarcely satisfi'd with Food Gluttony in Eating their Caninus Appetitus being so insatiate that when they have as it were but newly swallow'd the last they will fall to afresh as if pin'd for hunger nor do they chew it like us but take it in broken Gobbets with the three middle-Fingers Unmannerly and throw them into their Mouthes down their Throat without ever casting it beside ¶ WAlled Cities they have none nor good Towns near the Sea Towns or Villages what they are onely upon the Shore some Villages appear of no great consequence being ill-favoredly built and worse order'd for they so stink of Dirt and Filthiness that sometimes when the Land-Wind blows the Stench may be smell'd a mile and a half in the Sea The Towns more within the Land are much bigger and fuller of Trade and People who live more at ease for such as live at the Sea are Interpreters Brokers Rowers Skippers or Seamen Servants Fishers and Slaves of the other But although as we said the Towns lie open
General without speaking a word withdraws to his House and the Onegwa sets up that Son to be King whereof the retir'd General receiving notice after five or six days he comes again to the Court and calling for the Onegwa demands if that were the old King's will wherein receiving an affirmative satisfaction immediately they present the deposited Inheritance of the Crown and he receives the Dominion whereupon after thanks return'd he puts on Royal Robes and sits down Then come all the Vassals from the highest to the lowest and do homage upon their Knees This Solemnity ended the King retires to another Town call'd Goseboe The new King may not at first dwell in Benyn to keep his Court for till a set time-he may not come to Benyn unless to make a wicked Sacrifice of Men and Beasts But when the Siasseere thinks time enough to have been spent and that the Lessons and Life of his Ancestors be enough inculcated the same Siasseere or General invites him to and entertains him in Benyn where thence-forward he keeps his Court and Rules according to his own pleasure The King once setled upon the Throne The new King kills all his Brethren endeavours to cut off all his Brothers to secure himself against Competitors of late some of them have been spared but they made such ill use of that favor by confederating with the Friends of some condemn'd and banish'd Fiadoors that this present King smother'd and other ways put to death all his Brethren not clandestinely but upon publick notice though some stick not to report that he forc'd them to hang themselves because none may lay hands on the Royal Bloud to kill them yet after their Death he order'd them to be hang'd with great Magnificence and State Their Religion if any consisteth in honouring the Devil to whom Religion as we said before they sacrifice Men and Beasts for though they well know and believe that there is a God who hath created Heaven and Earth and still Rules yet they esteem it unnecessary to Pray to or Serve him because he is not evil but good but they seek to appease the Devilwith Sacrifices for that he always prosecutes them with evil They call God Orisa and the Whites Owiorisa that is God's Child They have wooden Fetisies or Idols which they Worship and Fetisero's or Priests who enquire of and receive answers from the Devil The Fetisi also foretels what shall befall them either in the Wars or otherwise by a contriv'd sound proceeding out of a Pot with three holes as is related before They offer yearly great Sacrifices to the Sea that it may be favorable and swear no greater Oath than by the Sea and their King They observe many high and solemn Times with Dancing Leaping Playing offering both Men and Cattel In the Village Lebo lying before the River Arbon or Bonya liveth a Conjurer all whose Ancestors practis'd the same Art for they could by report of the Inhabitants Charm the Sea in divers manners now raising Tempests anon causing a Calm sometimes foretel Wracks and Losses otherwhiles the safe arrival of Ships from strange Countreys for which or rather for fear the King gave him this Hamlet with all the Slaves which he yet possesses He hath such strange fancies and behaviour as if possess'd that none dare take him by the Hand The Bonyan Agents when they come thither stand in great awe of him and he himself dare not come to Bonya nor near it by command of the former Kings yet the Prince hath many of those Necromancers about him and holds them in great esteem The Kingdom of ISAGO JABOE and ODOBO THe Tributary Dominion of Isago borders in the West The Kingdom of Isago on the Dominion of Benya being a Countrey full of Horses which the Inhabitants use onely for Wars whereof having gotten together a very considerable Body some years ago The fruitless Invention of the Isagos's on those of Benyn they intended to set upon the Bonyans who being pre-acquainted with their Design underhand digg'd many Pits in the Fields and covering the same with Earth went to meet the advancing Enemy but soon retreated as if surprised with fear till they had drawn the Foe within their danger The Isago's supposing they had fled indeed betook them to a speedy pursuit but in stead of their hop'd Victory they fell into the prepared Pits out of which the Benyans fetch'd and kill'd most of them making the Countrey Tributary Since which they never have dar'd to act against the King of Benya At the same West-side lie the Kingdoms of Jaboe and Odobo Jaboe Odobo but of smaller Power and less considerable then the Isagon whose King though subjected as before related yet in Power and Ability falls little short of the Benyan himself The Jurisdiction of Istanna IStanna lying to the East of Benyn hath been formerly very powerful The Kingdom of Istanna but divers years since reduced and brought under the subjection of that King to whom they pay an annual Tribute The Territory of Gaboe GAboe lieth at the River Benyn The Kingdom of Gaboe eight days Journey above the great City of the same Name The Europeans get in this Countrey much Akori which they carry to the Gold-Coast and many Jasper-Stones but most of the Trade is for Slaves The People seem to be good natur'd and their Custom little differing from those of Benyn Biafar or Biafra MOre on to the East lieth the Kingdom of Biafar or Biafra The Borders of the Kingdom of Biafar according to Anamin and Linschot having on the West certain Mountains which divide it from that of Medra and spreads Southward to the fourth Degree of North Latitude The chief City also call'd Biafra and according to Hues scituate in six Degrees and ten Minutes The Inhabitants are generally inclin'd to Conjuration and Witchcraft The Inhabitants inclin'd to Witchcraft so that they believe by that Art they can do all things viz. procure or cause Rain Lightning and Thunder or any other Weather foretell Events to succeed and what not for which knowledge they honour the Devil so much that they sacrifice not onely Beasts and Herbs to him but also their own Children The Principality of Owerre or Forkado ABout four and twenty miles Eastward of Benya The Kingdom of Owerre Rio Forkado intermingles with the Sea near or by whose Banks the Territory of Owerre otherwise call'd the Kingdom of Forkado claims a scituation The Edges of this River are pleasantly shaded on both sides by neighboring Trees and the Stream very commodious for Ketches of a reasonable Burden being in breadth half a Mile and in depth twelve Foot or more A Mile inwardly upon a small Outlet stands a Fishers Village call'd Bolma About seven and twenty Miles upward appears the chief Town Owerre The City Owerre where the King keeps his Court containing half a Mile in circumference and surrounded on the Land-side with
and a strong Fort Tintonas a port-Port-Town Rivers Mekingate Quiloa Towns Rapta a stately City old Quiloa Rivers Cuavo Mombaza Towns Mombaza and a Fort besides abundance of Villages Rivers Onchit Mountains Amara Melinde Towns Melinde a neat City with a good Haven Lambo Pate where a Castle possess'd by the Portuâ— guese and Ampaxa Rivers Quilmami Ajan Towns Ajan a Sea-Port Zoila Barbore Brava Madagaxo Barraboa Barramaâ— Ogabra Rivers Quilmanzi yielding Gold Oby Adel or Zeila Towns Ara Adel the Royal City Orgabra Migiate Sequeta Bali Mautra Doara Comezara Novecaru and Soceli Asuin Guardafuy Salir Barbara Methi Zeila Dalacha and Malacha Rivers Hoax Macli Socotora Island Towns Sicuthora Trogloditica Ercocco The Point of Phares Sette Pozzi Alkosser Haven Batrazan The Haven of the same name the Islands Mazula Dalaca and Bebâ—lmanâ—â—l Suachem and Fartaqâ—e NETHER ETHIOPIA HAving perform'd a serious Journey through Negroland Nether Ethopia we come of course in the next place to a large spreading Countrey by Geographers call'd Nether Ethiopia containing divers Kingdoms Countreys and People as amongst others those of Lovango Cakongo Goykongo Congo Angola the Region of the Caffers the Regal Commandries of Monomotaya and Monemugi and the Territory of Zanguebar with many other It begins Northward of the River Faire close by the Line and spreads it self broad to the East and South where it shoots into the Sea with the most famous Promontory in Portuguese call'd Cabo de bona Esperanca that is The Cape of good Hope This as to the extent wherein we shall more narrowly particularize as we come into the several Parts The first therefore presented to our view is The Kingdom of LOVANGO OR THE Countrey of the BRAMAS LOvango or as Pigafet and other Geographers call it Lovanga Borders of the Kingdom of Lovango and the Inhabitants at present Lovangas though formerly Bramas takes beginning below the Cape of St. Catherine and spreads South wardly to the small River Lovango Lonise in six degrees South Latitude by which divided from that of Cakongo upon the West wash'd by the Ethiopick Sea Or Spanish miles Others and touch'd in the East by the Countrey of Pombo about a hundred leagues from Lovango but Pigafet borders it on the South with the Cape of St. Catherine and spreads that Northerly to Cape Lope-Gonzalvez and near one hundred leagues up into the Countrey Samuel Bruno sets for Boundaries in the South the River Zair or Kongo and in the East the People Ambois and Anzikos This Kingdom contains many Provinces among which the four chiefest are Lovangiri Lovangiri Lovangomongo Chilongo and Piri Lovangiri hath the advantage of many small Rivers to water and refresh the Soyl and by that means very fruitful and exceeding full of People The Inhabitants use three manner of ways for their support viz. Fishing Weaving and the Wars That of Lovangomongo is a large and Hilly Countrey Lovangomongo but hath much Cattel and Palmito-Trees so that Palm-Oyl may be had cheap The Inhabitants are either Weavers or Merchants From this Province the Kings of Lovango drew their original but Time and the vicissitudes of Affairs hath almost deleated it but at last having fresh information and finding themselves more Potent in Arms they invaded them and reduced the Countrey to their subjection Chilongo exceeds all the other in bigness Chilongo being also very populous in some places Mountainous and in others Carpetted with verdant and delightful Plains and Valleys The People though naturally rude and clownish yet utter great store of Elephants-Teeth Trade The Countrey of Piri lies plain and even The Countrey of Piri full of Inhabitants well stor'd with Fruits and Woods and stock'd with great abundance of Cattel besides innumerable Poultry The Inhabitants are a quiet People averse from Wars and for their Carriage well belov'd by their King and surpassing all their Neighbors in richness of Commodities yet their chief Maintenance drawn from Pasturage and Hunting Lovango The antient division of the Countrey of Lovango according to the best intelligence that the Europeans can draw from the antientest and most experienc'd Blacks hath been divided into divers Territories as Majumba Chilongo Piri Wansi and Lovango each inhabited by several People and Rul'd by a particular Governor who with or without any respect The Manners of the old Inhabitants Warr'd upon his Neighbors In elder time the Natives were all wild and Man-eaters as yet the Jages are They us'd for Bread Bananos and for other Food that which they take in the Woods by Hunting as Elephants Buffles wild Boars Bucks and such like and likewise Fish which the In-landers catch in the Rivers and the Seacoasters out of the Sea When the aforemention'd Governors had these Mani signifies Prince as it were private Feuds Mani Lovango who boasted his Extract from Lerri in Kakongo politickly made Leagues with some who by their joynt force being subjected an occasion of Quarrel was soon pickt with the rest who all but Mani Wansa though with great hazard admitted the Yoke But much trouble he had with Mani Wansa and afterwards anew with Mani Piri Mani Chilongo by whom twice beaten but by his great Power at last made his Vassals Hereupon Mani Majumba who most depended on Mani Chilongo now seeing him enslaved would not expect the Conquerer in Arms but yielded himself to his Command after whose example all the Places lying Northerly as Docke Seere and others rather stooped under the Power of so successful and victorious a Lord than suffer by the force of his Arms followed the same course and timely submitted The City of Lovango DE STADT VAN LOUANGO Of which Piri the Inhabitants were call'd Mouvirisser or Mouviri Original of the Name of Lovangiri a compound Word of Moutsie and Piri Moutsie being a common Word signifying People so Moutsie Pir signifies People of Piri and for brevity pronounced Mouviri So likewise Lovangiri shews the contraction of Lovango and Piri which join'd together makes Lovangopiri and for quickness of speech Lovangiri Moreover the better to secure his new gotten State Mani Lovango setled his Brothers or Sisters in the greatest Cities or Towns about him viz. in Cape to have a vigilant eye over whatever might threaten danger from above and in Bocke Chilongo and Salaly to supervise and prevent any sudden Onslaught from below The chiefest Towns and Villages of Lovango are Cape Bocke Solansa Mokonda where the King's Mother lives Soku Catta the Residence of the King's Sisters Lovanga his own peculiar Cango Piri two Chilongo's Jamba Cotie Seny Gonmo Lanzy the chiefest Villages lie a days or a day and a halfs Journey from Lovango besides many small ones farther into the Countrey as Jamba Cango Cayt Bocke Piri Cotie and the Chilongo's The Metropolis and Imperial Chamber of this Kingdom The chief City of Lovango lying in four Degrees and a half South Latitude about a mile from the Sea hath
Apartments are Hang'd after the European manner with Hangings of Mats made with exquisite curiosity within the innermost Fence are some Gardens plenteously stor'd with variety of Herbs and Planted with several sorts of Trees within these are some Banquetting-houses whose Building though mean and sleight yet they esteem rich and costly The City boasts ten or eleven Churches that is one great one Churcher being the chief of all then the Seven Lamps Church the Church of the Conception the Church of the Victory or Triumph a fifth dedicated to St. James a sixth to St. Anthony and a seventh to St. John the other three stand within the Court-Walls viz. the Church of the Holy Ghost of St. Michael and St. Joseph The Jesuits have here a Cloyster Cloyster where they Teach and Instruct every day the Blacks in the Christian Faith in an easie and winning method Here are also Schools Schools where Youths are brought up and taught the Latine and Portuguese Tongues All these Churches and other publick Erections except the Jesuits Cloyster have the Foundations of Stone but cover'd with Straw and very meanly provided with Utensils for celebrating Divine Offices There are also two Fountains one in St. James Street Fountains and the other within the Walls of the Court both yielding good and sweet Fountains of Water A small River or rather a Branch of Lelunde call'd Vese The River Vese affording very good and well tasted Water flows in the East at the Foot of the Mountain close by the City to the great benefit of the Inhabitants for from thence the Slaves both Men and Women fetch Water daily to serve the Town The adjacent Fields by this River are made very pleasant and fruitful and therefore the Citizens have all their Gardens upon its Banks What Cattel they have are Pastur'd and kept for the most part in the City as Hogs and Goats a few Sheep but no Cows which lie in the Nights closed in with Fences joyning to their Houses Rivers which water this Kingdom Rivers descending from North to South are first Rio de las Borrenas Roxas that is The River of red Sand another at whose Mouth lieth a Street call'd in Portuguese Bacas de las Almadias that is The Gulf of Canoos Here lie three Islands the greatest and middlemost of them inhabited and provided with a convenient Haven for small Barques but the other without People harbouring onely Beasts After these The River Zair Southwards you may see the great River of Zair which according to Pigafet derives its Head out of three Lakes the first by the same Pigafet and others entituled Zambre the second Zair and the third a great Lake from whence the Nyle is supposed to draw his Original as out of the second Rise out of which the Lelunde and Coanze run but Zambre is the principal Head that feeds the River Zair being set as it were in the middle Point of Africa and spreading it self with broad Streams into the North whither according to common Opinion it sends forth Nylus to the East the great River Cuama and Coavo to the South those of Zeila Manice or Manhessen and lastly to the West this of Zair which dividing it self into several Branches moisten and pinguifies the Western part of South Africa Congo Angola Monopotapo Matamam Bagamadiri Agasymba and so to the Cape of Good Hope whereas the Nyle Cuama Coavo Zeila Manice spread over the whole Abyssine Countreys and all others on the Sea-Coast from the Mouth of the Red-Sea to the River Cuama and therein the Kingdoms of Melinda Barnacassus Quilor Mombaza Mozimba Mombara Membaca Mozambico and other strange Lands The River of Zair breaks forth with an opening above three Leagues in breadth in the Elevation of five Degrees and forty Minutes and with so great force and abundance of Water runs into the Sea that the fresh Stream coming out West-North-west and North-east and by North makes an impression therein above twelve Leagues and when you are out of sight of Land yet the Water appears black and full of heaps of Reeds and other things like little floating Islands which the force of the Stream pouring from high Cliffs tears out of the Countrey and throws into the Ocean so that the Sea-men without a stiff Gale of Wind can hardly Sail through it to get into the Road within Padron on the South-side of the River This violent and precipitate descent carries the Stream against you fourteen or fifteen miles It sends forth on both sides many Branches or Rivers to the great convenience both of the Inhabitants and foreign Tradesmen who thereby in Boats and Canoos pass from one Town to another In the Towns seated on these out-stretched Arms dwell People small of Stature probably Pigmies The Islands Bomma and Quintalla lie in the Mouth of this River In Zair Le several Islands and others higher upwards exceeding full of People who rebelling against the King of Congo set up peculiar Lords of their own That of Bomma has Mynes of Iron The Island of Bommo and though boasting many Inhabitants yet shews few or no Houses because of the Morassness of the Countrey which for the most part lieth under Water so that the Blacks with Canos go from Tree to Tree among which they have raised some places made of Leaves and Boughs on which they reside and rest themselves without any Coverture These Islanders appear strong yet well set live very beastially The Manners of the Islanders are great Sorcerers speak ore tenus with the Devil in doing of which at first they come together all on a heap and afterwards one of them runs about with a Vizard on this continues three days which expir'd they use another Ceremony and then the Fiend speaks through the vizarded Man They live in peaceable Times by bartering in time of Wars they deal in nothing but Weapons Arrows Bowes and Assagays or Lances They have no Marriages or Betrothing Marriage but from their Youth up go one to another as their Affections or Lusts lead them commixing meerly like Beasts without any Solemnity for they know Laws of no Chastity but take as many Concubines as they please nevertheless the first being the eldest hath the command and supervising over all the rest In the Island Quuntalla is an Idol made of Money which none dare approach An Idol of Money in Quuntalla but the Servants or Minister appointed to attend and take care to secure the Way to it from being discover'd themselves being obliged as often as they go thither to take a peculiar Path that no other may find Many Kings and People sacrifice to this Idol especially in Sickness several of their most costly and highest priz'd Goods which none are permitted to make use of but by length of time decay and rot for as soon as they are dedicated the Attendant carries them into a great Plain where the Idol stands surrounded with a
Tree always cover'd with thick Mists or Clouds except in the hottest time of the day this Mist casts so great a dew upon the Tree that from the Leaves drop constantly pure clear Water twenty Tuns in a day falling into two Stone Cisterns each of twenty Foot square and sixteen Hands deep made for that purpose on the North-side of the Tree When the Spaniards at the Conquest hereof found no Springs Wells nor Rivers of fresh Water they stood amazed and asked the Inhabitants whence they gat their Water they answer'd That they preserv'd the Rain-water in Vessels for the Tree they had cover'd with Canes Earth and other things in hope by this means to cause the Spaniards to leave the Island But this subtilty did them little good for a Woman had discover'd the Secret to a Spaniard that was her Gallant who disclos'd it again to the Spanish Commanders In brief this Tree affords so much Water that it not onely furnisheth the Inhabitants and their Cattel but also Ships which by accident come thither This Tree which the Inhabitants call Garoe and the Spaniards Santo that is Holy attains a competent bigness having always green Leaves like the Lawrel but not much bigger than those of a Nut-Tree and a Fruit like an Acorn in the Shell with a very sweet and Spicy Kernel and for defence and presenvation they have enclos'd it with a Stone-Wall Here grows some Corn Sugar-Canes much Fruit and Planâ—â— in great abundance besides many Cattel affording the Inhabitants much Milk and Cheese The small Islands lying near and about the Canaries as Vecchio Marino Rocha Graciosa Santa Clare Alegranca Inferno and Salvaies little can be said of them but onely that Salvaies is the most Northerly Vecchio Marino or Vecchi Marini lying between Lancerote and Forteventure Santa Clare a little Northward of Lancerote and smaller than Graciosa Alegranca more Northward than the three former But all these deserve rather the name of Rocks or Cliffs than Islands The Description of these Islands Linschot and others add as a Wonder a certain Island call'd St. Borondon or Porondon a hundred Leagues or thereabouts from Ferro which such as have by accident seen greatly praise as being full of Trees very delectable fruitful and inhabited by Christians whose Language and Descent is not known but never any have been able to find upon Design Many Spaniards have attempted to discover it but in vain whereupon some have believ'd that it never appears to those that seek after it Others are confident that it appears onely upon some certain Days or is constantly cover'd with Clouds or that by a special power of the Sea Ships are driven from it Santo Port or Holy-Haven THe Island of Santo Port or Holy-Haven being situate in the Atlantick Ocean opposite to the Cape of Cantyn in the Kingdom of Morocco in two or three and thirty Degrees and thirty Minutes North-Latitude Ortelius held to be the Cerne of Ptolomy others the Ombrio or Pluvialia of Pliny but more probably it seems to be the Pena of Ptolomy from the Latitude It containeth five Miles in compass and was first discover'd in the Year Fourteen hundred twenty eight by two Portuguese Noble-men Jan Zarco and Tristan Vaz being then uninhabited and desolate but soon after Peopled and provided of all Necessaries They have no Haven there but one very convenient Bay This Island bears Corn and other Grain and breeds also Oxen wild Hogs and an infinite number of Coneys besides as good Honey and Wax as can be had in the most fam'd Places There grows also a Tree from which issues a Gum by the Apothecaries and Druggists call'd Dragons-Blood The Island of Madera LOwer to the South appears an Island by the Spaniards call'd Madera Ortelius Syntagm and by the Portuguese Madeira Gramay Afr lib. 9. because at the first Discovery they found it overgrown with Wood distant about thirty Miles from Santo Port and sixty from the Canaries in thirty Degrees and one and thirty Minutes North-Latitude between the Straights of Gibraltar and the Canaries The Form resembles a Triangle Cadam Sanuâ— holding in compass according to Sanutus an hundred and forty Italian Miles and five and thirty Dutch Miles long from East to West and six broad In the Year Fourteen hundred and twenty John Gonzalves and Tristan Vaz both Portuguese sent forth by Henry the young King of Portugal to discover new Countreys first took notice of it whither being come and seeing it as we said overgrown with Wood thought it little worth but an accident happening amongst the Wood uncover'd this fruitful piece of Ground that Nature had so long kept hidden and by burning clear'd it of that which had hinder'd the inhabiting it By this means the Portuguese gain'd it but underwent many hazards therein before they could make any advantage from it in regard the Fire raged so furiously as that it forced them for a time to forsake the Place The burning continu'd seven years among the thick Trees but at length the Fuel failing the Fire extinguish'd of it self whereon immediately planting and manuring it 't is become at this day one of the best and delightfullest Places that can be found The Discoverers at the beginning divided it into four parts that is into Monchrico or Manchico Santo Cruize Fonzal and Camerade Lobes that is The Chamber Wolves so call'd because at their first coming on Shore they found a great Cave resembling an Arch'd or Vaulted Room under a Point of Land reaching into the Sea where were the prints of the footings of Sea-Wolves The chiefest Places of this Island are the head-Head-City Funzal or Funhial the Seat of the Bishop comprehending a Collegiate-Church three other great Churches two Cloisters of the Order of St. Francis one for the Men built by the King of Portugal and the other for Virgins built by Gonzalves Governor of the Island and a Colledge for the Jesuits Manchico or Manchrico shewing a fair Church nam'd Santa Cruize and a Cloister of St. Bernard Moquet affirms that the whole contains many Castles six and thirty eminent Parish-Churches five Cloisters four Hospitals and two and twenty Hermitages In the Year Sixteen hundred twenty five there were computed in this Island six thousand ninety six Houses which at this day are increased to a greater number The Air keeps so even a temperature that neither Heat or Cold invade it with excess the Ground enriched by many excellent Springs of fresh Water and besides fertilitated with the advantage of seven or eight small Rivers so that every part lies carpetted with a pleasant Verdure or beautifi'd with the delightful prospect of various Fruits always flourishing on their natural Stems and gather'd as well please the Palate as the Trees refresh the Body by their cooling shade But especially it affords an excellent Wine better in the second and third year than in the first The Earth though Mountainous affords plenty of Corn that multiplies sixty fold Cadamast computed the
ENGLISH ATLAS Tome the First AFRICA BEING AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF THE REGIONS OF Aegypt Barbary Lybia and Billedulgerid The LAND of Negroes Guinee Aethiopia and the Abyssines With all the Adjacent Islands either in the Mediterranean Atlantick Southern or Oriental Sea belonging thereunto With the several Denominations of their Coasts Harbors Creeks Rivers Lakes Cities Towns Castles and Villages THEIR Customs Modes and Manners Languages Religions and Inexhaustible Treasure With their Governments and Policy variety of Trade and Barter And also of their Wonderful Plants Beasts Birds and Serpents Collected and Translated from most Authentick Authors And Augmented with later Observations Illustrated with Notes and Adorn'd with peculiar Maps and proper Sculptures By JOHN OGILBY Esq Master of His Majesties REVELS in the Kingdom of IRELAND LONDON Printed by Tho. Johnson for the Author and are to be had at his House in White Fryers M.DC.LXX CHARLES R. CHARLES by the Grace of God King of England Scotland France and Ireland Defender of the Faith c. To all Our loving Subjects of what Degree Condition or Quality soever within Our Kingdoms and Dominions Greeting Whereas upon the Humble Request of Our Trusty and Well-beloved Servant John Ogilby Esq We were graciously pleased by Our Warrant of the 25th of May in the Seventeenth Year of Our Reign to grant him the Sole Priviledge and Immunity of Printing in Fair Volumns adorn'd with Sculptures Virgil Translated Homers Iliads Aesop Paraphras'd and Our Entertainment in Passing through Our City of London and Coronation together with Homers Odysses and his fore-mention'd Aesop with his Additions and Annotations in Folio with a Prohibition That none should Print or Re-print the same in any Volumns without the Consent and Approbation of him the said John Ogilby his Heirs Executors Administrators or Assigns within the Term of Fifteen Years next ensuing the Date of Our said Warrant And whereas by one other Warrant of the 20th of March in the Nineteenth Year of Our Reign We were in like manner graciously pleas'd to grant him the said John Ogilby the sole Priviledge of Printing Homers Works in the Original adorn'd with Sculptures a Second Collection of Aesops Fables Paraphras'd and adorn'd with Sculptures The Embassy of the Netherland East-India-Company to the Emperor of China with Sculptures and an Octavo Virgil in English without Sculptures heretofore by him Printed with like Prohibition That none should Print or Re-print the same in any Volumns without the Consent and Approbation of him the said John Ogilby his Heirs Executors and Assigns within the Term of Fifteen Years next ensuing the Date of Our said Warrant And whereas the said John Ogilby hath humbly besought Vs to grant him further License and Authority to have the sole Priviledge of Printing a Description of the whole VVorld viz. Africa America Asia and Europe in several Volumns adorn'd with Sculptures VVe taking it into Our Princely Consideration and for his farther Encouragement have thought fit to grant and we do hereby give and grant him the sole Priviledge of Printing the said Books last-mentioned And VVe do by these Presents straitly charge prohibit and forbid all our Loving Subjects to Print or Re-print the said Books in any Volumns or any of them or to Copy or Counterfeit any the Sculptures or Ingravements therein within the Term of Fifteen Years next ensuing the Date of these Presents without the Consent and Approbation of the said John Ogilby his Heirs Executors Administrators or Assigns as they and every of them so offending will answer the contrary at their utmost Peril VVhereof the VVardens and Company of Stationers of Our City of London are to take particular notice that due Obedience be given to this Our Royal Command Given under Our Signet and Sign-Manual at Our Court at VVhitehall the first day of November 1669. in the One and twentieth Year of Our Reign By His Majesties Command J. TREVOR To the High and Mighty MONARCH CHARLES II. Of England Scotland France and Ireland KING Defender of the Faith c. SIR SInce it pleased Divine Providence by Your Majesties sole Conduct and Direction to Compose all Foreign Differences setling at last Your weary People Harrased with Fire and Pestilence under a Necessary and Honourable Peace The Effects of which soon Chearing up Your Loyal Subjects they laying Arms aside straight betook themselves to the several Improvements of Arts and Sciences each striving to outvie the other in what seemed most Conducible to the Restauration of the former Wealth Splendor and Reputation of these Your Majesties Kingdoms Renown'd and Famous through the World But amongst these Busie Preparations no Work appears more Perspicuous than that Stupendious Miracle the Raising from a Confused Heap of Ruines sooner than some believ'd they could remove the Rubbish Your Imperial City already looking down though Private Houses upon former Publick Structures hereafter to be the Business of Foreign Nations to See and Wonder at I also Dread Soveraign feeling a Spring of Youthful Vigour warming my Veins with fresh Hopes of better Times have undertaken according to my Mean Abilities no small Business a Work of Time requiring some Years to Publish being May it please Your Majesty a New Model of the Vniverse an English Atlas or the setting forth in our Native Dress and Modern Language an Accurate Description of all the Kingdoms and Dominions in the Four Regions thereof Since such and so great an Off-spring cannot be Born in a day nor see the light of Publication at once being several and distinct Volumns this my first Issue Most Gracious Sir being Africa Compleat in the Name of the Rest yet Vnfinish'd I humbly Dedicate and Tender to Your most Serene Majesty as an Earnest and Representative of the whole Work In which Dread Sir You may behold amidst a Gallaxy of Southern Constellations or the numerous Flourishing Cities and Seats of that famous Region Your own Bright Star none of the smallest Magnitude Your Metropolis Your Royal City Tangier which Seated on the Skirts of the Atlantick keeps the Keys both of the Ocean and In-Land Sea whose unparallell'd Scituation Temperature of Air and Fertility of Soil may well make the Story True if Romance that an antient Emperor resolv'd to fix there his Imperial Seat to be his Terrestrial Paradice Invironing with Walls of Brass a Gold and Silver City Thus Prostrating at Your Sacred Feet that which if Your Majesty be pleased to receive with a Smile Your Subjects through Your Brittish Monarchy not onely Ambitious in obeying Your Commands but ready to follow in what they may Your Royal Example will give the Work also a Civil Reception Whilest I Dread Soveraign to clear all difficulties am busie exploding Old Tales Fictions and Hear-says of the Antients Collecting and Translating better and more Modern Authority especially Eye-witnesses our late Sea Voyagers that I might not weary Your Sacred Ears with any thing if possible but undoubted Truth May Your Majesty though Your Claim be Just and Your Sword
reach'd to such a height For Angels onely with Sun-beams to write No mortal Hand less my unworthy Pen Fit to Display the best of Kings and Men. This Work thus settled and so well resolv'd upon to be the Pride Divertisement Business and sole Comfort of my Age that day annually so fatal to the Royal Party swallow'd in that devouring Deluge of Fire with most part of the City that and my whole Estate Thus fall'n into a low condition groaning under a double burthen of Sickness and Poverty and almost quite despairing the Work that might have Boy'd me up once more thus irrecoverably lost and reminding that many of my Friends and Worthy Patrons were more favorable to my Endeavors when under a Cloud than after Shining in full Lustre and that since his Majesties Restauration the minds of those restor'd to former Fortunes or rais'd to several Advancements were more abroad and not at leisure to look on such private Divertisements at home so that those later Volumns which in course were Printed to perfect the former remain'd a Drug until the insatiate Flames at once and in one bad Market clear'd me of my Store and House also Besides grave Poesie in which Homer and Virgil's Heros spake Honor and the greatness of their Souls comprizing in few Lines by Example more Rules of good Life than Phylosophers in many Volumns loosing place and former Lustre Rough Satyr Rude Travestee and Rhime Doggerel gotten above assisted with such that confidently avouch that we in this more Refin'd Age speak better things ex tempore than what hath been Recorded by the whole Rabble of Antiquity looking down upon Moral Vertues as stale Saws and stiff Formalities onely fit for School-Boys Theams and that our Brisker Youth and more Sublime Wits should be asham'd to peruse much more to follow Thus a new Gaggle drowning the old Quire of Melodious Swans I resolv'd to desist and shutting up the Fountain of the Muses left Clambering steep Pernassus and fell into the beaten way and more frequented Paths of Prose My first undertaking being An Embassy from New Batavia to the Emperor of China which Publish'd in my last Lottery prov'd so acceptable that I resolv'd to carry on in the same way hereafter the whole Business of my Pen. When as in my former Acquisitions I flew first at the highest and best Poetick Authors so now as much ambitious I pitch'd upon the like Accomplishment in Prose and no less serves my turn than the Reducement of the whole World viz. A New and Accurate Description of the Four Regions thereof the first of which being AFRICA wherein having made some Progress still Collecting more Materials towards the Compleating of so great a VVork a Volumn lately Publish'd beyond Sea in Low-Dutch came to my hands full of new Discoveries being my chief and onely Business to enquire after set forth by Dr O. Dapper a Discreet and Painful Author whose large Addition added to my own Endeavors hath much Accelerated the VVork which thus being finish'd adorn'd with more variety of Sculpture Maps of Cities and Countreys and a much larger Declaration than any yet extant Presents it self to your favourable View and Acceptation and will I hope such is the Intrinsical Worth and Beauty thereof invite a general Encouragement from all parts that I may more chearfully and speedily go on with the Remainder which if the Effects follow I doubt not but a short time will produce the Happy Conclusion by From my House in White Fryers April 28. 1670. Your most humble Servant John Ogilby A CATALOGUE OF THE NAMES OF THE General Authors both Ancient and Modern besides Later Voyagers Consulted to the carrying on of this First Volumn who led us by the Hand through those Vast and till of late Untracted REGIONS of AFRICA OLiver van Noord Jacob van Neck Stephen Vanderhagen Cornelius Matelieff Peter Williams George Spilbergen Peter Both The Governours Peter Vander Brock and many more as Samuel Blomert one long Resident there his Observations being faithfully Collected by the Learned Isaac Vossius THe Particular Authors for the several Provinces beginning with Egypt are Johannes de Leo or Africanus Louis Marmol Sanutus Francois Alvarez Peter Belonius Vilamont Radziviel Johannes Alpinus Santen Seguesse Caesar Lambert Matthias Vossius Peter de la Valle Balthazar Tellez these being Portuguese Italian Latin and French Writers besides the Descriptions of other both Ancient and Modern Geographers as Strabo Dionysius Perigetes Pomponius Mela Ptolomy Cluverius c. THose that give us an Account of Barbary are the afore-mention'd Leo and Marmol Diego de Haedo Johannes Gramaye Braeves Cel. Curio Diego de Torres and others In like manner there is taken out of the first Part of Leo Marmol and Sanutus all that lies in Numidia Biledulgerid and Libia or Zaahra and the inmost part of Negro-land AS concerning the several Places lying along the Sea-Coast of the Negroes Countrey viz. between Cape de Verd and the Kingdom of Lovango being a Coast of about 900 Leagues we find all the foremention'd Geographers to be defective in it But most of what hath been found hitherto we have from the Hollanders in their several Voyages to Guinee Collected by Peter de Marcez who even to these Times gives us so large a Description that it descends to the meanest Village and withal a large Account of their Religion Modes Manners and Merchandize Samuel Blomert also remaining long in those Parts being very inquisitive hath rendred a more large and exact Accompt concerning Guinâ—â— than the former NExt in reference to those Coasts near the Cape of Good Hope there hath been almost nothing said by former Writers but onely what hath been Collected out of the several Journals of the Hollanders in their Voyages to the East-Indies which are very large and Authentick THe Territories and Coasts of the Nether-Ethiopia are lately as well Survey'd and Delineated first by that Eminent Author Johan de Barros next Pigafet Sanutus Jarrick Moquet Od. Barbosa Urreta Maffeus Peter Davty and some others FOr the Description of the Abyssines or Upper-Ethiopia of which we were till of late in a manner altogether ignorant let us thank Nicholas Godignus Francois Alvarez Jarrick Dam. Goez and especially Father Balthazar Tellez who hath far exceeded all the former having in an excellent Composure in the Portuguese Language given us a large and accurate Description thereof ANd as concerning the Islands belonging to Africa most of the fore-mention'd Authors with some few others have set their Hands to except the Salt-Isles or those of Cape de Verd and that of St. Thomas which boast their Description chiefly from Blomert ALso Madagascar or St. Laureuce Stephen de Flaccourt hath for the most part ingrossed and appropriated to himself he being long resident there imploy'd by the French East-India Company Besides a Frenchman that suffer'd Shipwrack on that Coast hath done well but not so hit the Truth as the former FOr the Island of Malta we are
Shores just the contrary yet both scituated alike under the Torrid Zone in which Season happen great Floods both from the Ocean and sudden Falls from the Mount Gatis not far distant The like is found also at Cape Rosalgate and Guardafuy the utmost Eastern Point of Africa ¶ BUt to make a deeper and more exact Disquisition is that all Arabia towards the East of Africa lies enclosed with Mountains whose Rocky Battlements appear above the Clouds their swoln Ridges extending themselves in a long continued Wall reach from the bottom of the Arabian Gulf to the Islands of Curiamurie these towery Hills of so prodigious height not onely put to a stand all Windes and Rain but turn them in their hurrying Eddyes so dispersing every way as well as in the two out-stretching Capes of Mosamde and Rosalgate though they lye much lower than the rest of the Sea Coast On these Rocky Ascents appearing to Sea-ward rough and rugged the poor Arabians in a very sad condition make their residence These people have Winter with those of Coromandell for their remoter Suns brings them Cold and Wet but those who dwell on the other side of the Mountains towards the Coast of Frankincense have the same seasons with those of Malabar so these Mountains work the like effect on the Arabians as Gatis on the Indians their Winter falling in June July and September both in the Land of Frankincense Arabia Felix and the whole Coasts of the Curiamurian Isles unto the Lake Babalmandab Near the Arabian Gulf in Ethiopia you will meet there also the like alterations and the same seasons of the year as at Guardafuy and the Kingdom of Adell and all along the Ethiopick Coasts to the Mouth of Babalmandab as we have or those of Coromandell finding in December and January their hardest weather Then they which live betwixt twenty and thirty miles off the Coast have their Colds more milde and their Rains so temperate and harmless they seem rather a comfort than a disturbance Nature conferring on them such refreshing Coolness but if you venture farther up into the Countrey then the Scene changing you are tormented with excessive Heat for at the same instant while Winter smiles on the Shore it rages farther up and their gentle Rains below so unequal to their deluging Showres above that then there is no travelling any way all Passages being obstructed with Floods so sudden and violent that many perish there with extream Cold meerly from the raw Defluxes of chilling waters such alterations the Mountain Dabyri Bizan causes The Portugees and Hollander have also discovered many more such places in Congo and Angola where their Winter and violent Rains commence in the Vernal Equinox and continue March April and May their milder showres in the Autumnal September and October so that in some places they have two Seasons their former and later Rain for those steep Mountains whence Zaire Coansa Bengo and other great Rivers descend obstruct the course of the Air and the Land-windes being hot and dry but the South-west winde coming from Sea brings Rain hence it is manifest that Africa under the Torrid Zone is for the most part Habitable ¶ AMongst the Ancients Ancient Discoveries of it Hanno a Carthaginian set forth by that State discovered long since much of the Coasts of Africa but pierced not far the Inland Countrey nor did his Voyage give any great light that they might after steer by though translated from the Punick Language into Greek and published by Sigismund Gelenius at Bazill in 1533. and in the Reign of Necho King of Egypt some Phenicians from the Red-sea sayl'd by the Coast of Africa to Gibraltar from thence returning the same way they came Of which * Herodotus wrote nine Books of History according to the number of the Muses entituling them in order by one of their Names Herodotus in his †Fourth Book Melpomene says The Phenicians sayling from the Red-sea came into the Southern Ocean and after three years reaching Hercules Pillars return'd through the Mediterranean reporting wonders how that they had the Sun at Noon on their Starboard or North-side to which I give little Credit and others may believe as they please Nor did Sataspes Voyage in the Reign of Xerxes King of Persia in the year of the world 3435. give us any better Hints of which thus Herodotus in the same Book Sataspes Teaspes son ravishing a Virgin and Condemned to be Crucified by the Mediation of his Mother Darius Sister was to suffer no more than to undertake a Voyage round Africa which he but sleightly perform'd for passing Gibraltar he sayl'd to the utmost Point called Siloe * Perhaps Bon Speranza or Cape de Verd. from thence sayling on Southward but being weary returning the same way he came made a strange Relation to Xerxes how he had seen remote Countreys where he found few People in Tyrian Purple but such as when they drew near Land forsook their Abodes and fled up into the Mountains and that they onely drove some of their Cattel thence doing them no further Damage Adding also that he had sayl'd round Africa had it not been impossible To which the King giving small credit and for that Sataspes had not perform'd his Undertakings remitted him to his former Sentence of Crucifying ¶ AS little avail'd that Expedition of the * A People inhabiting Tunis Nasamones to this Discovery who as Herodotus relates in his †Second Book Euterpe chose by lot five young men of good Fortunes and Qualifications to explore the African Desarts never yet penetrated to inform themselves of their Vastness and what might be beyond These setting forth with fit Provision came first where onely wilde Beasts inhabited thence travelling west-ward through barren Lands after many days they saw a Plain planted with Trees to which drawing near they tasted their Fruit whilest a Dwarf-like People came to them about half their stature neither by speech understanding the other they led them by the hand over a vast Common to their City where all the Inhabitants were Blacks and of the same size by this City ran towards the East a great River abounding with Crocodiles which Etearchus King of the Ammonians to whom the Nasamones related this supposed to be the Nile This is all we have of Antiquity and from one single Author who writ 420 years before the Incarnation which sufficiently sets forth the Ignorance of the Ancients concerning Africa ¶ BUt what they knew not and thought almost impossible to be known is common for the secrets of the Deep and remotest Shores are now beaten and tracted with continual Voyages as well known Roads are since Vasques de Gamma a Portugees Anno 1497. first opened the Discovery and finish'd to the no small Honor of the Nation his intended Design for that People having got ground upon the Spaniard widening the bredth of their commodious Sea-coasts first fell on the Moors in Africa taking several of their best
ground which when the Elephant is in they sculking in a Tree draw up and shut with Ropes when they have him sure in the Trap they descend and shoot him to Death with Arrows but if he chance to escape rending their Gins he spares none killing all he meets Others Saw a great Tree half in sunder making a pit on the side then covering it which the Elephant suspecting nothing being weary retires to his old resting place to which he leaning his weight oversets the half-cut Trunk which failing he falls into the covered Hole and finds himself their Prisoner In Zenega near Cape de Verd the Inhabitants sixty in a Company draw forth each Arm'd with six small and one great Arrow so finding his haunt they stay till he resorts thither which by the loud rusling noise he makes bursting through opposing Branches and overthrowing whole Trees keeping his march they know then they follow him shooting continually till their so many infixed Shafts may bring him to his end which the Blacks observe by the loss of Blood and the stronger resistance of his confining Palisado against his feebler charge The African Lyon called by the Arabians Aced Lyon is the most couragious and cruel of all other devouring not only Beasts but Men yea a Mauritanian Lyon sometimes dares attaque a * The Empire of these Desarts I obtain'd And under me Kings Petty Lyons reign'd On Expeditions Armies I could raise Nor plotted we for spoil clandestine ways Lying whole Nights in silent Ambuscades But took the Field by day in bold Brigades And like a falling Deluge swept up all Emptying at once both Pasture Coat and Stall Nay more on Skirts of Cities we durst prey Ships Boarding at Low water in the Bay Aesopic Audroclem Sect. 11. Gesner Paraph. Troop of 200. Horsemen and though mortally wounded will fight it out to the last gasp defending his young ones Those which are bred upon cold Mountains are less stout and dangerous for the hotter their habitation the more fierce and cruel they are such are those to be seen between Tremesen and the Kingdom of Fez or in the Wilderness of Anguep or Angad and about Tremesen Also between Bone and Tunis are found the cruellest and strongest Lyons of all Africk The Lyons forehead according to Aristotle is of a middle size and four-square his Eyes not strutting out nor yet hollow his Nose rather thick than thin his upper and under Jaws meet yet open very wide when gaping his Lips or closing of his Mouth thin his Neck great and rough moderately thick his Breast strenuous Belly slender Legs strong and sinewy Hair of a dark yellow not falling in hard but looser curles his Feet before have five claws his hinder but four the Majesty and Grandeur of his shaggy Mayn differences him very much from the Lionnesse who more signally may be known by the exuberances of her two Teats according to the number of her young ones Galen says that the Lyons temples are very strong that he may bite the harder his Tongue rough strangely red as if fire and speckled having but one bone in his Neck as Aristotle holds but Scaliger maintains that it consists of many Joynts his Complexion extremely hot and dry caused by the sharp boyling of his heart Gesner writes that his foreparts are hot but his hinder cold and defective he feeds sometimes on * As Mountain Lyons whom their Mother bred In shady Coverts by their fury led Kill folded Sheep and Cattel in the Stall Till by revengeful Shepherds Steel they fall c. Hom. Iliad 5. Cattel especially on Camels and where straitned for Victuals foraging he adventures to fall upon men Polybius saith he saw many of them standing there that had suffered Crucifixion to terrifie others from the like cruelty and humane slaughter Writers differ concerning their preying on the dead Vide Gesner which Elian affirms saying that they feed on them and bury the overplus lest other Beasts should prey after them They drink little if Aristotle and Elian say true enduring thirst three days especially in Summer but in Winter they drink often The Lyon loves the Dolphin but is an enemy to Swine Wolves Wild Asses and Bulls Eccles 13. from a Woman that dares shew her Nakedness and boldly discover her intimacies strangely abashed at her immodesty and quite out of countenance he flyes sayes Leo Africanus The Greeks of old make him afraid at the Crowing of a Cock but Camerarius affirms that a Lyon in the Duke of Bavaria's Court leap'd up to the adjoyning houses a wonderful height seizing the Pullen roosted in the roofs Some Writers say the Lyon Lowes like an Oxe which perhaps the Whelps may when they get a prey a few imagine that they grunt and whine like a Boar others and they the most that they roar which is most likely if we will take fancy for truth Hear the Lyon himself Describing his own Language Thus formidable grown being wondrous strong I roar'd Leontick lost th' Egyptian Tongue Though Beasts and Birds use several Dialects Apollonius they report to have understood the Languages of Beasts and Birds That less than humane voyces have defects Uttering soul-dictates both more clear and brief Hatred and Love Fear Hope their Joy and Grief Yet Leo Lingua who not understands Words Edicts are each Syllable commands The Lyons Fiat 's quicker than his nods Like Angels Tongues or Language of the Gods Aesopic Androcleus Sect. 11. His true valor appears when in most danger for then though he neither fears Weapons nor Enemies contending long in his own defence yet finding himself overpowred he makes an honourable retreat loosing his posts with like courage they were maintained oft boldly charging on the least seeming advantage so recovering the Champaigne observ'd well by Virgil in the Ninth Book of his Aeneis on his retreat of Turnus ceu saevum turba Leonem Cum telis premit infensis ac territus ille Asper acerba tuens retro dedit neque terga Ira dare aut virtus patitur nec tendere contra Ille quidem hoc cupiens potis est per tela virosque Haud aliter retro dubius vestigia Turnus Improperata refert mens exaestuat ira As when a Troop a Lyon hath beset With cruel Spears he makes a brave retreat Although forbid by Valour and by Rage Nor can though willing ' gainst such Power engage So unresolv'd bold Turnus did retire Step after step his Bosom swoln with ire When he pursues his prey he leaps but in retiring he walks only he knows whom he receives a wound from and will single him out from all his Enemies that spent their shafts in vain and take his life only in satisfaction if possible That these fierce Beasts may be tame appears by Onomarchus King of Castane who entertained and treated them as his Guests In the Temple of Adonis in Elemea they drest and comb'd such as tamely resorted thither in civil manner
they cast here and there forwards backwards and on every side at their Enemies that like the antient Parthians they do greater execution in flight than charging in Battel yea some of them are so hardy that one of them so mounted will engage their single person sometimes against a dozen of their opposers They use no Shields nor other defensive Arms some few have Bowes fewer Gunnes which they onely carry to terrifie the Wilde Arabs who fly from the report as Wilde-fowl not onely fearing but abominating so base and treacherous an Engine that surprizes at such distance and kills before warning the sound not being heard till execution All their Wars hitherto have been managed on Horse-back yet lately those of Tremesen have some Musketiers but they use neither Ranks nor Files but fall on in disordered Plumps so many crowded together and throng'd up in a narrow circle And if assaulted dissipate immediately endeavoring to break through the Ranks or else making huge gaps force their passage to escape by flight or in so doing break through the imbodied Enemy ¶ SOme parts of Africa are govern'd by Emperors and Kings The Government of Africa others by Vice-Roys and elsewhere by Xeques that is Commanders onely those of Bravas have moulded themselves into the form of a Republick while another sort live without Governors and Laws like Vagrant Rogues roving about and robbing their Neighbours Barbary which was chiefly known to the Antients was at first subject to several Princes and after the destruction of Carthage and other African Kings fell under the command of the Romans who planted these fruitful parts with their Colonies and govern'd them a long time by Sub-Consuls till the Vandals under the conduct of their King Genseric with an Army of twenty four thousand men in Anno 427. became Masters thereof In possession of which they continued one hundred and eight years But Carthage in the year 553. was re-conquered by Bellizarius the Emperor Justinian's General and their King Gelemer taken Prisoner by which Victorious proceedings Africa was a Province of the Greek Empire who sent thither Annual Governors The Greeks maintained their Conquests till the year 663. when the Arabians invaded the Countrey and subdued part thereof in the Reign of Ottoman the first King of the Turks under the command of their Generall Occuba Ben Nasick with an Army of twenty four thousand men with which having worsted the Greeks in divers Battels he built the City Cairaven since corrupted to Carvan or Cairvan thirty Miles Eastward of Tunis Most of the Arabians say the African Historians returned home laden with rich Booties but they which remain'd in Barbary built more Towns mixing themselves with the Africans of Zinhagia Barvata and Zenega commonly call'd Berberes and by continual conversation speaking * Lingua Franca Italian or corrupt Latine forgot the Arabick their Native Tongue ¶ ANd here we may observe Chronology of Barbary that when Barbary was under the Arabians and the family of Iris who built the City of Fez ruled over both the Mauritania's and the Abdarhamans at Cordova one family of the Zenetans call'd Mequinecers obtain'd the Government After that the Magaroanians of Biledulgerid drove out the Abdarhamans and won many places from them and also the Maquenetians out of Barbary but themselves were soon expelled by other Africans of Zinhagia by some call'd Lumptunas by others Almoravidians and Morabitines who were the first that embraced the Mahumetan Sect in the Reign of Hexin son of Abdulmalik yet did it not prevaile to quiet their possession long for a Mahumetun nam'd Mehedi made War upon them under the favour of the African Hargia's a branch of the people of Mukamuda and his Successors became in time Lords of all Africa by the name of Movaledines from the Doctrine of Mohavedin that is The Law of the Writers Against these the Benenerins arose and expelled them but were shortly themselves subdued by another people call'd Beni-Oataz who last of all were bereft of the Government by the Xeriffes or Cheriffs All these together with the Kings of Tunis and Tremisen and all the Kings of Africa who have reigned since the fall of the Arabians are issued out from these five people ¶ THe Africans were in former times great Idolaters Religion of the old Africans worshipping the Sun and Fire as the Persians erecting stately Temples to the honour of both and therein preserving a never-dying flame as the Vestals did at Rome by constant Vigils In this blind Superstition they remained to the year 349. when they embraced Christianity though some soon after fell into the Manichaean Heresie The Numidians Getulians and Lybians worship'd the Planets Their old Religion The lower Ethiopians some ador'd the Sun others the Moon others the Stars Water Fire and many things besides Nay so did superstitious folly lead some that they worship'd whatever living Creature met them at their first going abroad They of Upper Ethiopia by a natural instinct honor'd Guigim that is the * Or God Almighty Lord of Heaven Afterwards as themselves report they became Jewish Proselites by means of the Queen * The same with Sheba in our Vulgar Translation Saba or Maqueda who having heard of Solomon's great Wisdom travel'd thither and received from him Moses Law with the Books of the Prophets But in the year 1067 Yahaia the Son of Abubequer coming into Negroland and Lower Ethiopia some of the Mahumetan Priests insinuated into the minds of the simple people notions of their false Doctrine which suddenly rooted and spread like an infectious Disease not onely into Egypt but over the Mid-land Sea into Spain thence coming off Victorious ¶ BUt the Africans having embraced Christianity Africans when first Christians as we said before in the year 349. continued therein by reason that in those parts which now make the kingdoms of Tunis and Tripoli at that time divers Christian Princes most of them Arrians flying from the rage of the Gothes who harras'd Italy took up their residence about Carthage with whom the Arabians invading Barbary waged War a long time until after various Successes and tyred out some went for Spain and others for Italy As an apparent Testimony how well Christian Religion had thriven and improved here it is * Gramay lib. 2. c. 2. recorded that in Carthage seven Ecclesiastical Councels have been held in one of which viz. that Anno 1411. there assembled two hundred eighty six Orthodox Prelates besides a hundred and twenty more summon'd that were absent Nor was this all it having produced many excellent and famous Fathers such were Tertullian Cyprian Fulgentius Pope Gelasius the first Arnogeus with divers others but above all the incomparable St. Augustine They of Upper Ethiopia yet remain Christians though tainted with many Jewish Superstitions by the residence of some few Jews among them but the Nether Ethiopians continue all in their Idolatry onely here and there some few since the Voyages of
unplanted grows the fertile ground With beds of Aromatike Roses crown'd There Youth and Virgins drawn Love-battels fight And never fainting keep up full delight These amorous encounters being the top of his Paradise Mahomet by the help of Sergius an Apostate Monk imping the Poets fancies introduced as the greatest of all allurements setting forth Beauties most admir'd by the Asiaticks with full and black Eyes who shall alone regard their particular Lovers not such as have lived in this world but created of purpose which daily shall have their lost Virginities restored ever young and Feasting with all variety of Delicacies They have three sorts of Marabouts or Saints The first affirming that a man by good works and fasting and abstinence from Meat may attain the nature of an Angel the heart by these Duties say they being so cleansed from all infection of evil that although it would it can sin no more and that to attain happiness they must ascend by the steps of fifty Sciences They live very strictly at first and torment themselves with fasting keeping a long Lent after which the Scene changing their abstinence and mourning turns to all Feast and Merriment and their whole life is a continual * Parallel to those Bacchanalian Revels mentioned by Virgil. Carneval which they spend in Maskings and Serenaids and all manner of dissolute and intoxicated pleasures whereof four Books are written by Eseb-ravardi Schravarden Sein a Learned man born in the City of Corasan Ibnul Farid another Author hath described their whole Religion in a Poetick stile upon which one Elfargari made an Exposition collecting the Rules of the Sect and discovering the steps to attain happiness These Verses are made in so sweet and elegant a stile that they will sing no other at their publick Feasts and Merry-meetings Some of their Tenets are as follow viz. That the Heavens Planets and fixt Stars are holy that no Law or Religion is erroneous every one being at liberty to pray to what his mind is most enclined to That all knowledge of God was infused into the first man whom they name Elchot and that man elected by God is made like him in knowledge After this Elchot's death forty men called Elanted that is the Heads or Chief choose another out of their own number and when any of these forty happen'd to dye then they choose another out of the number of seven hundred sixty five These Vagabond Sectaries are by certain rules of their order to go alwayes unknown in poor and despicable rayment so that whoever sees them would judge them to be Mad-men and void of all honesty and humanity rather than Marabouts or Saints for they run naked and wilde all over Africa and force Women publickly as beasts without modesty or shame Leo saith that many of them are in Tunis but more in Egypt at Alcair where I saith he upon the Market-place Bain Elkasraim saw a Matron-like Woman coming out of a Bath Ravish'd by one of these Fanaticks in the presence of many people who thereupon ran in great numbers to touch her Garment as a Holy thing and the Womans Husband with silence manifested his thankfulness towards the Ravisher by a great Feast and liberal Gifts The second sort called Cabalists fast very severely eat not the flesh of any living creature but have a peculiar Dyet and Clothing They have Set-Prayers for every hour of the day and night according to the diversity of the Days and Moneths and wear small square Tablets Engraven with Characters and Figures They feign daily to converse and discourse with Angels who as they say teach them the knowledge of all things Their chiefest Teacher was one Boni who set them Rules and invented those Prayers and Tablets Their Rule is divided into eight parts the first whereof is call'd Elumha Ennonaritae that is the Demonstration of Light containing their Prayers and Fast-dayes The second Semsul Meharif the Sun of Sciences wherein are the aforesaid square Tablets with their use and advantages The third Lesme Elchufne and in it a Table of the Ninety nine Vertues which as they conceive are comprehended in the name of God each other part of the eight having a particular name and matter whereof it treateth The third sort termed Sunachites reside in the Wildernesses like Hermits living onely upon Herbage and Leaves They have a little smatch of Idolatry and Gentilism using no Circumcision till the thirtieth year yet they Baptize in the Name of the living God so that they have a smack both of Christianity Judaism and Gentilism Thus far of Africa in general we will now descend to particulars beginning first with Egypt having obtain'd the pre-eminence and place both from Antient and Modern Writers and also being so often mentioned in Sacred Scripture Egypt is divided into Erriff containing the Cities and Towns of Plintina or the Arabian Tower Monestor Busiris now Bosiri Heliopolis or Rameses Alexandria the Island Pharos Bocchir or Canopus Casar and Athacon Rosetta now Rassit Natumbes Fuoa or Foa Gezerat Eldekab or the Golden Island Mechella Derota Michellat Cays besides many Villages Elheatrye or Beheyra comprehends The Cape Brule Damiata Tenez or Tenex and the Lake Stagnone Arris or Ostracine Pharamide Seru and Rascaellis Masura or Masur Demanora Fustatio or Fustat Meny Cambri Caracania Bulbaite Abessus and Souta besides many other Villages and inconsiderables Places not worth the naming Sahyd Grand-Cair or Memphis and therein Bulach Charaffa Old Cair and Grand-Cair Mattaria or El-Mattharia The Ruines of Heliopolis The famous Pyramids The Island Michias Niffralhetick Geza Nukullaca The Lake Mani The City Changa Suez Bethsames Mukaisira Benesuait Munia Fyum Manfloth or Menf-loth Azuth formerly Bubastis Ichrim Anthinoe Barnaball Thebes Munsia or Munza with a Cloyster of St. George El-chiam now waste Barbana Cana Cessir a port-Port-Town by the Red-Sea Conza and Asna Assuan Suaquen Thura Sachila Phogono Narmita Nitriota Elmena Libetezait Saguan Dakat Pharaoh's-Angle The Seven-Wells Menviae and Cosera Veneria and Ansena Cynopolis or Monphalus Heracleopolis besides 24000 Villages The Nyle-River EGYPT EGYPT as we said before Antient Geographers who parted Asia and Africk with the Nile established amongst the Asiatick Territories but the Modern who since disterminated these two Quarters of the World with the Arabian Gulph have totally reduc'd and carried over into Africa as no small Region thereof ¶ EGypt according to Diodorus Strabo and others had that Appellation from their first King Egyptus the Son of Belus the Assyrian Monarch who secluding his Brother Danaus setled the Government of that Realm upon himself and then Reigned sixty eight years the Countrey before call'd Nilea Aeria and Osserina though others assert this Denomination sprung from Nilus whose antient name was Egyptus And as this Countrey hath confounded Chronologers with the strange Vicissitudes and main Alterations of its Government The Antient names so hath it puzel'd them with the numerous variety of its Denominations Berosus calls it Oceania from * A
having under subjection two hundred and seventeen Villages The Kessiffe of Benesuef is adjacent to Manfelout in the way to Cairo exacting obedience from three hundred and sixty Villages The Kassiffe of Fium lyes next to Benesuef Westwards of Cairo and commands three hundred or according to Zanton Zeguessi three hundred sixty Villages all whose Territories yield abundance of Line or Flax with great variety of pleasant Fruits especially Grapes The Kassiffe of Gize Neighbouring to that of Fium lyes close by Cairo towards the West divided onely by the River which in regard of its low scituation is generally at the overflowing of the Nile covered twenty foot deep but this is recompenc'd with exceeding fertility both of Flax and Grain and a convenient stock of very good Cattel The Kassiffe of Bouhera or Baera next stretching from the Nile to the Cape Bon Andrea a large Dominion ruling three hundred and sixty Villages whose greater part lying high looses the advantages of the inundating River so becoming less fruitful wherefore those High-landers are watchful of all opportunities of Plowing and Sowing when any rain happens however they have store of excellent Sheep-walks abounding with numerous flocks Among the inferior governments subservient to this Kassiffe Tarrana wherein lyes the Wilderness of Makairo boasts of about sixty three Hermits Cells To the East of the Nile on the Island of Damiata the Kassiffe of Garbia appears all Champaigne Mantled and Checquer'd with variety of Herbage The greater part of the Land is well manured and planted with Sugar-Canes Rice Corn and Flax having three great Cities viz. Maala call'd from its extention Medina Demanoour and Sabin The Kassiffe of Menoufia lyes on the same Island divided between this and that of Garbia and although this Jurisdiction hath not so many Towns and Villages yet the extent of its Territories stands in equal competition The Kassiffe of Mansoura on the Eastern bank of Nile as Cairo containeth a hundred and ninety Villages produceth great store of Sugar and is very fertile in the growth of Flax and all kind of Grain The Kassiffe of Kallioubieh on the same bank of the River bordering upon Mansoura gives Law to a hundred ninety six Villages The Kassiffe of Minio on the same side of the Nile opposite to Girgio and Manfelout hath a vast extent but scatteringly inhabited shewing onely a hundred and four Villages occasioned from the rising of the Land being incapable to receive the Niles Annual Tribute unless it rise above two and twenty foot which happens so rarely that the greater part lyes uncultur'd and indeed the fertilest yields no greater reward to the Husbandman than the pitiful returns of Fennel and Cummin The Kassiffe of Cherkeffi lyes on the same shore but over against Benesuef having onely forty two Villages scarcity of Corn some small quantities of Fennel and Cummin Sugar and Rice denyed them from the infertility of the soil The Kassiffe of Kattia last and indeed controverted whether a Kassiffe or not for the Divan or Councel of Grand Cair will not allow it to be numbred with the rest because it contains but three Forts or Castles of Defence and is so unfruitful and sandy that excepting a few Dates nothing is found But Zanto Zeguessi Here but ten allowed allows onely ten of these Kassiffes viz. Saet Baera Garbia Menufia Mansura Giza Fium Ebenesuef Manfelat and Minio to each of which excepting Saet he allots three hundred and sixty Villages To these principal ten he subjoyns divers lesser ones viz. Galiup Mesela Fazackur Eloua Kattia Terrana Ensy Aceut and Brin ¶ BEsides the former Egypt divided in two parts some onely will divide as the Nile cuts it into two almost even parts of East and West Egypt to which others have added the Nether-Egypt call'd also Delta Δ from the form of the Greek letter which the Nile by branching into a right and left arm makes and the upper Egypt which is that tract of Land from the South-angle of Delta to the Cataracts But another sort of Writers make an Upper Middle and Lower whose first part takes in Thebes the second Heptapolis the seven Towns and the third Delta This Justinian sub-divided into the first and second and Ptolomy into the greater the lesser and the third Triangle Haythen makes it have five Provinces Five Provinces named 1. Sahyf 2. Demesor 3. Alexandria 4. Resint and 5. Damiette or Damiata Strabo says that of old it was divided into thirty seven parts by the Greeks termed Monoi Ptolomy enlarges to forty and Herodotus reduces it to twenty eight Thirty seven parts but thirty seven seems the most convenient as agreeing with that * On the Senthside of the City of Alexandria near the Lake Mareotis wherein the Sepulchres of King Maeris and his Wife were Pyramidally built with a Colossus of Stone on each side and adjoyning thereto was the Labyrinth so sam'd in the midst whereof were thirty seven Palaces belonging to the thirty seven Jurisdictions of Egypt whereof ten in Thebais ten in Delta and seventeen in the middle Region unto which resorted the several Presidents to celebrate the Festivals of their Gods who had therein their particular Temples Moreover fifteen Chappels containing each a Nemesis and also to advise of matters of importance concerning the general welfare The passages thereunto were through Caves of a miraculous length full of dark and winding pathes and Roomes within one another having many doors to confound the memory and distract the intention leading into inexplicable error now mounting aloft and again reâ—descending not seldom turning about Walls insolded within one another in the form of intricate Mazes not possible to thred or ever to get out without a Conductor The building more under the earth than above being all of Massy Stone and layâ—d with that Art that neither Cement nor Wood was imployed through the Universal Fabrick The end at length attained to a pair of Stairs of ninety sleps conducted into a stately Portico supported with Pillars of Theban Stone the entrance into a spacious Hall a place for their general Conventions all of Pollish'd Marble adorn'd with the Statues of their Gods and Heroes with others of monstrous resemblances The Chambers were so disposed that upon their opening the Doors did give reports no less terrible than thunder The first entrance was of white Marble within throughout adorn'd with Marble Columns and diversity of Figures Dedalus was said to have imitated this in that which he built at Crete yet expressing hereof scarce the hundredth part Who so mounted the top should see as it were a large plain of Stone and withall those thirty seven Palaces environed with solid Pillars and Walls consisting of Stone of a mighty proportion At the end of this Labyrinth there stood a square Pyramis of a marvellous bredth and answerable altitude the Sepulchre of King Ismandes that built it See Herodotus There were four very eminent Labyrinths one in Egypt another in Lemnos a
great that people should loose their hearing by it Though 't is true the Waters rush downwards two hundred foot roaring like the Breaches of the Sea in a Tempest from hence then sliding in a gentle Current over the Plains of Egypt to Cairo where the Haven of Bulach towards Villamont carryes in bredth two mile then leaving Cairo behinde him he parts into two and after into more Branches The Inhabitants for distinction sake have call'd the Tract of Land Eastward Garbiah and the places Southward near the Angle or Point of Damiata Chargnia These Branches or Arms make the several Mouthes of Nile which the Antients have especially noted to be seven But Ptolomy sets down nine which two are missing and Pliny encreases them to eleven whereof four are wanting The names of the supposed seven remaining are these The Heraclean call'd also Canopean and Naucratian The Bolbitian Sebennitian Pathmetian by Strabo nam'd Fatnian and by * In his Euterpe Herodotus Bucolian The Mendesian Tanitian and Pelusian The two wanted are Dialcos and Pineptimi But if we take the †What ever was or is their number antient or modern Maps vary among themselves for whereas Ptolomy hath set forth nine Hondius in his Map of Africa makes but eight and in that of Europe ten Ortelius in the Map of the Turkish Empire setteth down eight in that of Egypt eleven And Maginus in his Map of that Countrey hath observ'd the same number And if we enquire farther we shal find the same diversity and discord in divers others Thus we may perceive that this Account hath been always different concerning these Ostiaries of Nile Nilus as he is at present we shall finde nine Mouthes great and small the chiefest and most remarkable being the Canopean now stiled Rosetta from its neighborhood The Pelusian by some taken for the Ostiary were Damiata but seemeth rather the Tanitian from its near adjacency to Tenez The Bolbitian known by very few The Sebennitian now beareth the Name of Sturioni The Pathmetian retains the old Name The Mendetian and Damiatian by some are supposed the same though others call it Migri The Tanitian at this day known to some by the name of Kalixen and to others of Tenez or Tanez Pineptimi is taken for that which in the Maps in nam'd Brule Lastly Diolcos that is wanting Sanutius stiles Damanora Modern Geographers much abate this number Peter de la Valle his Journal Maginus Guil. Tyrius Bellonius attesting there are but three or four to wit The Rosettian and Damiatian and two other little Rivulets running between these but poor in waters We come now to the Description of the Countrey wherein for Methods sake we will begin with the Cities ¶ EGypt as we declared before is at present by the Turks divided into three Parts Description of the Westerly parts of Egypt We will take our view from the Westerly call'd Erriff extending to the Point of the Sea by Barca a Countrey belonging to Barbary and reaching from thence to Rosetta containing all the places between the two Arms of Nilus from Alexandria and Rosetta to Cairo First To the West of Barca lyes a City by the Antients call'd * A â—ort or Castle of the Arabians Plinthina and now by the Italians The Arabian Tower near adjoyning to which is the Sea Monester Busiris or Bosiri Next to the old City Busiris now term'd Bosiri on the Coast of the Mid-land Sea about twenty miles westward of Alexandria heretofore by the Christians subdu'd and totally destroy'd This Busiris whence the Busirian Precinct formerly takes its name is call'd in the Bible by Ezekiel * Cap. 30. In our English Translation it is rendred Pathros Phatures Some will have this City so call'd from the feigned †Syntagm Chorograph Aegypti Busiris who sacrificed all his Guests to Jupiter and was the most cruel Tyrant of all Egypt Others draw its Denomination from * There is in this Countrey a Pillar with this Inscription Mihi Pater est Saturnus Deorum junior sum vero Osyris Rex qui totum peragravi orbem usque ad Indiorum fines ad cos quoque sum profectus qui septentrioni subjacent usque ad Istri fontes alias partes usque ad Oceanum Dr. Brown c. Nowaccording to the best Determinations Osyris was Mizraim and Saturnus Egyptus the same with Cham after whose name Egypt is not only called in Scripture the Land of Ham but testified by Plutarch who in his Treatise De Osyride says Egypt was called Chamia a Chamo Noe filio Osyris the Egyptian Jupiter or Hercules and the Arabians from Busir the son of Cham. Kircher says it is so nam'd from the Egyptian Idol Apis signifying in their Tongue An Ox into which shape as Diodorus reports he was transformed and then the Name in the Old Egyptian Language must be Busosirin that is The Kings Ox. The Grecians confound this City with Thebes although they be distant the whole length of Egypt From the Name Busiris it may be supposed the Inhabitants worshipp'd an Ox Osiris as they hold first shewing himself in such a similitude But the truth is he was a man as they say though much controverted and a great Enricher of that Nation upon this their idolizing of an Ox and scituation of the City so near to Memphis or Cairo as also to †Called also Ez. 30.17 Aven Heliopolis which was Rameses the constant place of residence to the Israelites whence might perhaps the worship of the Golden Calf in the Wilderness take its original Not far from Bosiri lyeth Alexandria Alexandria so call'd from Alexander the Great who built it about three hundred years before the Birth of Christ chiefly employing therein the famous Architect Dinocrates Some say it was antiently call'd Noy It s several Names The Hebrews knew it by the Name of No-Ammon The Romans of Pharos Sebastia Augusta Julia Claudia Domitiana and Alexandria The Egyptians formerly styled it Racotis and say it was built by one Dalucka an Egyptian Queen after the drowning of Pharaoh in the Red-Sea The European Christians call it to this day Alexandria but the Turks Scanderoon which is the same with Alexandria De Stadt ALEXANDRIE of SCANDERIK The City AS EXANDRIA or SCANDERIX The City lyeth on the edge of the Mid-land Sea on a Sandy ground It s Scituation near the Canobian Mountains of the Nile Lee Africanus mistaken though Leo Africanus placeth it forty Miles to the Westward of Nile in regard near Cairo it begins to divide it self in two Arms and so in strictness looseth its name as he supposeth and about seven or eight hundred paces from the Haven which is very spacious for Ships but dangerous because of the two great Promontories of Rocks standing on either side in the entrance call'd by the French Diamant and Girofele but generally known by the names of the Tower Port and the Chain'd Port The former very
dangerous the later more secure than convenient The City appears in the form of an * The form of the City like a Market-Cross oblong Cross and divided into the old and new Town which being three Miles in length incloseth two or three sandy Hills but Villamont makes the City four-square and saith that it is encompass'd with two old Walls of a large circuit The Walls after so many terrible shocks What manner of Walls it hath in part remain standing which Alexander himself rais'd strengthened with very many Turrets and beautified with ranks of stately Pillars The inserted Draught representing the antient state of the City to the life onely mentions one hundred and eighteen each of which is four Stories high and built more for ornament than strength yet some of them still spacious enough to receive some hundreds of Souldiers to quarter in In the Walls of the old City were four principal Gates The Gates of the City all fortified with strong Iron Bars One on the East side call'd Cairo-gate The second to the West leading towards the Wilderness of Barca The third named the Popes Gate on the South-side leads out to the great Sea of Elbucharia or Bouchaira The Sea Elbucharia formerly Mareotis and about half a Mile from the City shadowed round with Palm Trees in this Sea which is of a large extent lye several small Islands to which the Inhabitants for fear of the Enemy sometimes fly for shelter some name this Sea abounding with various kinds of Fish yielding a great yearly Revenue Antaca from another City near it The fourth is the Sea-gate opening to the Sea-side The new City appears somewhat pleasanter The New City having on its left side the Old Haven now Porto Vecchio and for its defence hath one Castle belonging to the old Town which though not of so good use because of the cumbersome passage into it yet affords a convenient Rode and Haven for the Turks Galleys and other small Vessels And if it were not for the Neighboring Sea it would without doubt be quite void of Inhabitants because of the bad Air And as it is the Buildings are mean and few inhabited by Jews Turks Moors Copties and Greeks who reside there onely for Merchandize little else inviting them thither This City hath been several times besieg'd and as often ruin'd The City often Ruin'd and Rebuilt but never so fatally as in the year 1624. when the Pyrats of Barbary who in great Multitudes ranged over the Mid-land Sea seizing and enslaving all persons without difference of Nations Sex or Religions lay'd it almost utterly waste falling on like Wolves whose implacable rage was never satisfy'd till 't was lay'd in ashes so that nothing could be seen but Walls decay'd and Streets buried under the rubbish of their demolish'd Buildings since which time 't was begun to be Re-built but so tediously that in the year after its Destruction there were onely four small Huts erected however not long after they proceeded with such vigor and diligence Turks encourage its Building that many new Fabricks were rais'd and by the Turks encouragement at length became a stately City And indeed the Turks endeavor to raise this place to the former lustre by continual additions of new Edifices but they take so little notice of the old that they let them fall down for want of repair which makes several Houses Churches and other Buildings there seem half destroy'd by their heaps of rubbish testifying their antient greatness and glory Agathias opinion refuted contrary to the opinion of Agathias who says that in his time the Buildings of Alexandria were neither firm nor large The Houses are not ridged with Gable ends Houses but flat like those of the East-Countrey for several conveniencies especially the pleasure of walking for the Inhabitants after Meals take great delight to expatiate there or take repose both Winter and Summer They all seem to be founded on great Arches and Marble Pillars with Vaults and Sluices underneath to receive the Nile water when it overflows which Flood-gates are so many and great that the whole City seems to stand on Arches and Pillars for a branch of the River from between Cairo and Rosetta runs thither through certain Drains or Common-Sewers under the City Walls to fill the Brooks This water when the muddy slime is sunk to the bottom becomes clear and is used by many Eminent Citizens and Gentlemen upon all occasions But that which is muddy and dirty the common people use and are content with because in all the City there is no publick Spring or Well to repair to There are three small Hills Three Hills resembling that named Testacio at Rome and where many Earthen Vessels Urnes Pots and old Medals are found Heretofore near the old Palace of Alexander were two * Two Obelisks Both these were erected by the Egyptian King Sothis about 1058. years after the Flood Dr. Brown Obelisks each an hundred foot high and eight broad of one entire Stone of Thebane Marble intermix'd and speckled with Veins of two other Colours One of these remains yet entire but sunk deep into the earth yet seems to exceed that of St. Peters at Rome but the other is quite ruin'd Upon a small Hillock about two hundred paces from the City surrounded with Palm Trees and from whence is a prospect both of the Buchairan Lake and Mid-land Sea * Perhaps from its being hem'd in with Palms stands Pompey's Pillar by the Arabians call'd Hemadussenar that is The Trees-Pillar though hewen out of one entire rough Stone the same with that of the Pyramids and of so exceeding height and thickness that to this day no Artificer could ever be found that would undertake to remove it thence to any other place The height and bigness of Pompey's Pillar It is a hundred and five and twenty foot high the Pedestal fifteen foot in compass remaining yet firm and whole why it is so call'd we can with no certainty affirm unless it were erected for a Remembrance of the Magnificence of * It is said to have been reared by Caesar as a Memorial of his Pompeyan victory Mr. Sandy's in his Travels Caesar or Pompey It is Fabled that a certain Egyptian King set it there to defend the City against Naval incursions having placed a Magical Burning-glass on the top that being uncover'd had power to set fire on all Ships sailing by In the Suburbs is a place where 't is reported St. Athanasius hid himself to escape the Arrian persecution Here also between three Columns of Porphiry is shewn the place where 't is said St. Catharine was Beheaded to whose Memory the Christians formerly erected a Church now by the Turks converted to a Mosque In the adjoyning Street is a Cross on the spot where they say the Evangelist St. Mark suffer'd Martyrdom to whose honour St. Mark 's Church the Patriarchal See a Church was built formerly
Ammianus like Livy who said that it was a work becoming the most Excellent Wise and Provident Kings And Ammianus pathetically Among all the Buildings the Serapeum bad the pre-eminence wherein was that invaluable Library containing all antient Records of Memorable Transactions in seven hundred thousand Books by the diligence of the Ptolomies Kings of Egypt gathered together but in the Wars of Alexandria and Destruction of the City burnt by that most Pernicious destroyer * Caesar being the most eminent for Arms and Acts accounted this his greatest misfortune that he so great a Lover of Books should be the cause of such an irrepairable destruction Agellius Julius Caesar All the Books says Agellius were burnt in the fore-mentioned Wars of Alexandria when the City was destroyed not wilfully nor of set purpose but perhaps by the multitude of helpers to save it He excuses not onely Julius Caesar but also the Romane Souldiers and lays the fault upon the unruly crew of assistants But Dio and Plutarch speak clean otherwise Dio and Plutarch as may be read more at large in their Writings Thus had this never to be parallel'd Library its end in the hundred eighty and third * Not much above forty years before the Incarnation Olympiade after it had continued an hundred and twenty four years Another Library was after re-erected by Cleopatra in the Serapeum It is again rebuilt by Cleopatra which by the help of Mark Anthony who obtained the Attalian and Pergamenian Libraries was greatly adorned and enriched and in being to the time of Primitive Christianity and was there preserved so long as the Serapeum which was a Building of great Entertainment and wonderful Art continued And at last with the Serapeum utterly subverted which at length the Christians in the Reign of the Emperor Theodosius the Great as a Harbor of Infidelity threw to the ground Over against Alexandria stands the renowned Island Pharos The Island Pharos by the Inhabitants call'd Magraf or Magragh and by the Arabians Magar Alexandri that is Pharos of Alexandria and by Ortelius Pharion from the Lanthorn Tower which stands upon the Island and now call'd Garophalo In the time of Homer Alexandria and this Island were severed by a Part of the Sea about a days sayling from the Land whereof himself thus speaks Od. lib. 4. Pharos an Isle amidst the swelling Deep ' Gainst Egypt lyes from whence a nimble Ship May sayl 'twixt Sun and Sun with Sayls a trip 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hom. Od. 1ib 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. But now it is part of the Main Land the reason whereof is because the river Nile by his evomition of Soyl and Mud has constantly gained upon the Sea To this place of Homer Lucan alludes in his tenth Book thus Tunc claustrum Pelagi cepit Pharon Insula quondam In medio stetit illa mari sub tempore vatis Proteos at nunc est Pelleis proxima muris Then he took Pharos circled with the Main Where Fate fore-telling Proteus once did reign But now to Alexandria joyn'd Pinetus and others will have nothing lye between this City and Island but a Bridge but Villamont who hath searcht more narrowly saith Piuetus it is now united to the Continent and the Walls of the City in such manner Villamont that the Island makes two Points one Eastward another West 'T is united to the Main Land which almost meet in two other Points running from the Main Land into the Open Sea But makes two Haven leaving two Passages into the Havens one of which is call'd Porto Vecchio that is The Old Haven and hath no Defence as it is said but the Castle of the old City by the Italians nam'd Castel Vecchio But the other Haven hath two opposite Forts yet not so far distant but that they can answer and defend each other Two Castles nor can any Ship go in and out between them without leave The greater Fort is much the stronger having high Walls fenced with Towers besides a quadrangular Work of Defence And in it beneath is a Watch or Cour du Guâ—â—d for Security and above are Lights that give direction for Ships coming in to finde the Channel This great Castle on the right hand the Italians call Pharzion and that on the left Castelletto or The Little Castle Both of them are subject to great inconveniences by the want of fresh water which they are compell'd to fetch from the City every day on Camels backs The Soyl hereabout The nature of the Soyl in and about Alexandria as we said already is sandy bearing neither Bush nor Vine and so barren that it is unfit to be sown all the Corn that serves the City comes about forty miles off down the Artificial Channels of Nile There are some small Orchards but they onely produce Fruits so unwholesom that they commonly bring such as eat them into dangerous Feavers and other malignant Distempers They have abundance of Capers and Tamarisk-Plants and Hamala which is a Root they make Wine of like the Herb Anthillis by the Arabians named Killu or Kalli Kalli a Plant. and is of three sorts the two first are found in Europe but the third is peculiar to Egypt having few Leaves and very like Field-cypress but longer The Stalk is single and somewhat crooked out of which two or three small Branches shoot forth and grow upright each of which hath a Blade furnisht with five bending Leaves or more as appears ABOVE ENGRAVEN Venice Glasses made with the ashes thereof and other ingredients Out of these three sorts first dried in the Sun and then burnt Ashes are made from thence transported to Venice wherewith and a mixture of Soap and other Ingredients they make those most clear and chrystaline Glasses The Physical use of the Leaves and Juice so well known through Europe for their rarity It is also said that the Leaves beaten and taken in a convenient Vehicle cleanse Flegm and a dust Choller The same vertue is attributed to the strained Juice of them Thus much we have thought fit to say of Alexandria the Seat of the Antient Egyptian Kings and Birth-place of Ptolomy the Prince of Geographers and Astronomers from whence it must be concluded that all the state and ostentation of this City by Historians mentioned is to be understood of the time before its first destruction A great Staple of rich Merchandize still and therefore there are Consuls at Alexandria or Scanderoon at this day however notwithstanding the several desolations thereof yet always hath it driven on Trade and Merchandize by the continual coming in of Ships from several Countreys insomuch that divers European Princes have their Consuls there for the Management of Affairs and Deciding Controversies that may arise between their inhabitants and their Subjects to this day ¶ NExt Alexandria in the East lyeth the wasted City
Bocchir by others Bicchieri Bocchir or Canopus and formerly call'd * This City was so call'd from Canobus Menelaus his Pilot there buried by his Master who on these Coasts had suffered Shipwrack Zacit Annal. 2. Canopus perhaps from the Egyptian Idol Canopus which in this Precinct of Land was call'd Phtenuti and there antiently worship'd Of this place thus speaketh that Prince of Latine Poets Virgil Georg. Lib. 4. Nam quia Pellaei gens fortunata Canopi Accolit effuso stagnantem flumine Nilum Et circum pictis vehitur sua rura Phaselis Where happy people plant Canopus Soyl And dwell near spreading Streams of flowing Nile And through their Countrey painted Vessels glide c. Through the World noted for luxurious Practices and varied forms of Effeminacy whereof the Satyrist thus Luxuria quantum ipse notavi Barbara famoso non cedit turba Canopo Canopean Banquets now seem poor and small Juven Sat. 25. Rome beggars boasts at Feasts more prodigal For within Canopus stood the Temple of Serapis to whose Festivals resorted all sorts of people from Alexandria men and women mixt in painted Barges chanting down the Nile Love-Songs behaving themselves with all sorts of looseness beyond the bounds of Modesty concerning which Statius brings in Pampinius thus excusing himself Non ego mercatus Pharia de puppe loquaces Delicias doctumve sui convitia Nili Infantem linguaque simul salibusque protervum Dilexi I bought no Songs nor pleas'd with boys so vile Lib 5. That imitate all Vices of the Nile Chanting with shameless gestures on the Decks Amongst whom saith Seneca who so avoided vice yet could not escape infamy the very place administring suspicion and therefore worthily buried in its own Desolations After that is to be seen the Tower and Cape of Bocchir lying in a dangerous place where many Ships sayling from Syria are bilg'd in the night falling short of the Haven of Alexandria adjoyning as it were hereto two Castles appear call'd The Castles of Bocchir here also is the Sea Bocchir and below it the Towns Casar and Athacon About this City but chiefly towards Cario there groweth in the Ditches a Plant call'd The Egyptian Plomp or Lotus Lotus a Plant. in such an abundance that the Leaves resembling those of the Water-lillies cover the whole Channel The Egyptians call the Flower with its Stalk Arais el Nil the Leaf with the Stalk Bush-nyl and the Root Biarum This Plant hath the property of growing exactly as high as the Water in the Ditches and opens his Flowers not underneath the Water but above it 't is certainly true that it turns about with the Sun though the Antients disputed it This Plant for its near resemblance to a Water-lilly Prosper Alpinus was deceiv'd in taking it for the very same though afterwards in his Book of Forrain Plants he retracted his opinion Every Leaf hath a single Stalk growing out of the Root which is thick long and round in shape resembling a small Pear the biggest sometimes as large as a Hens Egg On the outside black and full of Fibres within yellowish and very pelpy and hard and sharp in taste on the tongue The Flowers are large like white Water-lillies as we said whereof every one grows on the top of a green and round Stalk smelling like a Pink After the Flowers follow round green Cods containing in distinct bags a sort of Seed not unlike that of a Cabbage After the Earth hath drunk up the Water of Nile and is dried up immediately the Leaves Flowers and Fruit wither and dye The Flowers of this Lotus were in former times The use of the Lotus as well heretofore as now as Heliodorus writes wreathed in the Triumphant Garlands of Conquerors Now adays the Juice of the Flowers and knobby Cods mixed with Sugar by the Arabians call'd Sharbet Nufar is used against all inward heats Thus made they mingle Sugar and Water which hang'd over the fire they suffer to boyl till it come to the consistence of a Syrup then taken off and cooled the pure Juyce of the Lotus is put into it The Egyptians in the Summer eat the raw Stalks with the Heads being very sweet moistening and cooling very much A little further up in the Countrey there is the small City Natumbes Natumbes half a days journey from Rosetta and lying on the opposite shore Next is the old City Fuoa or Foa formerly call'd Nicy seated on the Banks of Nile Fuoa five and forty Miles Westward of Rosetta very populous but the Streets within are narrow having great Suburbs famous for Beautiful Women Ladies of Pleasure residing there assuming to themselves so much more than the usual freedom allow'd to modest Women they Entertain and are Entertain'd publickly by their Gal-lants at Night returning home to their always indulgent and kind Husbands without the least rebuke or once questioning Where hast thou been About a Mile from Fuoa lyes the Island now nam'd Gezirat Eddeheb The Golden Island but formerly Nathos or The Golden Island Here are many Villages Mechella and stately Palaces but not to be seen at a distance by reason of the shadow of surrounding Trees Here also is the rich but ill fenced City Mechella or Maquella A little forward on the River stands the un-walled City Derota Derota and Michellat Cays as also Michellat Cays on a high Hill In Derota was heretofore a stately Church and the Citizens flourish'd in wealth and abundance The Countrey so abounding with Sugar that they pay yearly to the Sultan for the freedom of making and refining it a hundred thousand Gold Saraffies or Turkish Crowns But within the last Century of years this place is much decayed and the Citizens impoverish'd ¶ ELbeahrye or Beheyra the second part of Egypt The second part of Egypt and its extent extends from the Mid-land Sea to the Easterly Arm of Nilus running to Damiata and beginning from the Borders of Rosetta and ending at Faramide wherefore the Egyptians call it Sealand and the Italians Maremma In this Quarter of Egypt is first on the East of Beheyra the Cape or Point of Brule in former times known by the name of Pineptimi and by Ptolomy taken for one of the Nilian Mouths it is enclosed in the form of a Haven and receives the water shooting out of the Eastern Arm of the Nile Not far from thence lyeth Damiata or Damiette by Nicetas in his Journals of Emanuel taken for Tamiathim but by the Antients for Pelusium and by Stephanus for Tamiates Guilandinus will have it be Tanis spoken of in the Holy Scripture but Auchard distinguishes Tanis and Damiata making Tanis the same with Tenex or Tenez which hath given the name to the Tanitian Mouth Others will not onely have Pelusium as we said but also the antient Heliopolis to be the now Damiata which error and mistake is very great since Pelusium according to general consent is seated near the Mid-land
others extend the Limits further Bulach by some supposed Babylon a Port belonging to Cairo on the East Bulach having formerly four thousand houses There dwell now Artificers and Tradesmen especially such as deal in Corn Oyl and Sugar The stately Churches and Palaces fronting the Nile yield a pleasant and delightful prospect although its beauty is much diminish'd and impair'd by the several Wars in which it had no mean share of Suffering Between Bulach and Grand Caire Lesbrechi lyeth a great place by the Inhabitants nam'd Lesbrechi frequently drown'd with the Nile which a little below Bulach divides into many branches whereof one runneth to Alexandria another to Damiata and others to several other places From Bulach to Grand Caire the Land is all flat and the way very pleasant being much frequented with Travellers but the most beautiful part is a place call'd Usbechia in the Suburbs near the City gate this Usbechia is a round piece of Land encompass'd about with Houses which yield a prospect infinitely pleasant not onely when the Fields are deck'd with Flowers but also when by the recess of Nile it seems like a drayn'd Pond full of various sorts of living Fishes Charaffa Charaffa otherwise Caraffar or Massar another part of the Suburbs lyes two Miles from Cairo it contained formerly two thousand Houses which extended seven Miles in circuit but long since this place where formerly the Sultans kept their Court hath lyen waste Here were many Monuments built with high and stately Arches and within adorn'd with several carv'd Images which the superstitious people worshipped as Consecrated Reliques of Saints covering the Floors with Tapestry Here also is a Custom-house whence the Wares which come from Sahid pay their Duties and there at this day Joseph's seven Granaries for Corn so suppos'd are shewed to Strangers Old Cairo stands conveniently towards the East Old Cairo but un-walled although Drusius bestows upon it a Wall of four and twenty Miles At this day as Belloon says there are scarce Houses enough to make a small Village which is inhabited by Greek Christians and Armenians Pet. de la Vall. This Old Cairo Peter de la Valla supposes to be the antient Egyptian Babylon now lying full of ruinous heaps the Houses few and standing every where at distance one from another wherein now some few Christians inhabit here were according to the same de la Valla several Churches whereof one dedicated to St. Barbara with some Reliques of her and other Saints St. Barbara's and St. Georges Churches another of St. George built upon a Hill so as it may be viewed both from the Old and New Cairo and the Countrey round about with great delight Another was heretofore probably the Church of the Coptists built upon the ruines of a small House wherein they say the Virgin Mary dwelt a long time while she was in Egypt The Reliques of this Holy House are yet to be seen under the great Altar of this Church in a deep dark place with some small Pillars whereupon the Altar rests and some remainders of pieces of Timber Besides these Suburbs lying without Grand Caire there are three other Suburbs as Beb-zuaila or Beb-zuila Gemethailon and Beb-elloch The Suburb Beb-zuaila The Suburb Beb-zuaila otherwise Missuletiffe or Miffruletich lyeth at the going out of the Gate bearing the same name containing about two thousand Houses and from West to South about a mile and a half and towards the North about a mile to the Suburb Beb-elloch Here are many Mosques and fair Halls for Guilds especially one built by Soldan Hesen as also a Castle of the Soldans at this day the Court of the Turkish Bassa's lying at the foot of the Fountain Mochattan surrounded with strong and great Walls The Palaces being many and large are pav'd with various-colour'd Marble and the Rooms rarely Painted and richly Gilt. The Windows curiously made with Painted glass of several colours and the Doors of excellent Wood carved and wrought with all sorts of Artificial work and gilded Here formerly resided the Soldans Wives Children Attendants Waiters and Life-guard And in times of Feasting they shew'd here their Magnificence at the State-Receipts and Entertainments given to Ambassadors when brought to Audience or otherwise admitted to more private Courtly invitations The great Suburb Gemethailon The Suburb Gemethailon reaching Westward to some decay'd places of Old Caire was founded before the erecting of Cairo it self by one Tailon a Subject to the Califfe or Governor of Bagdet a Commander in Egypt who left the old City and came to dwell in this Suburb where he built a Stately Palace and a Magnificent Mosque Here also dwell Tradesmen and Artificers who for the most part are Moors of Barbary The Suburb Beb-ellock which is none of the least Beb-ellock Suburb stands about a mile from Grand Caire having in it near three thousand Houses inhabited severally by Artificers of all sorts In a void and spacious part whereof is a great Palace with a Court of Justice founded by a Mammalucke nam'd Jasbach then one of the Sultans Councellors from whom it took the name Jasbachia The common people hereof after the Mahumetan Publick * The Turks Divine Service Sahala is ended give themselves up to all lasciviousness and Debaucheries and seeing of vain Sights and idle Shews for out of the City Stage-players Juglers and Morrice-Dancers present themselves shewing many Camels Asses and Dogs in a ridiculous manner Dancing to make sport Fencing Masters also and Singers who by their Gestures and Songs seem to act to the life Egypt Conquer'd by the Arabians Grand Caire lyeth very near the middle of Egypt The scituation of Grand Caire about two thousand paces to the Eastward of Nile between the ruines of Old Caire and the Circassiers-street upon a plain below the foot of the Hill Elmucattant or Moncatun where is a strong Castle giving to the City the repute of a most remarkable Fortification In this City are and reside persons of almost all Nations How inhabited coming thither to Trade and Merchandise But the principal inhabitants are Moors Turks Jews Coptists Grecians and Armenians At this day it is the prime of all the Egyptian Cities exceeding in bigness Rome Constantinople Villamont It s compass and most others by us accounted the greatest being in circuit according to Villamont two and twenty Leagues so that a Horseman in full speed can scarce ride about it in ten hours but Grand Caire Old Caire and the Suburbs are three Dutch Miles long but Villamont says Old and New Caire together with Bulach and Chatafat are thirty Leagues long and twenty broad The City is Walled round except on the side next Nile The form of it Villamont Belloon Villamont says the form of it is Oval but Belloon Triangular of which the Castle lying upon a Hill makes one Angle whence the Walls are the second and thence going to to the North shapes
taking up in Circumference a hundred and two foot the length of the Body an hundred and three and forty and in depth from the Neck to the Crown sixty and two Writers concerning this Structure feign wonderful things as first that it gave Responses to Inquirers like an Oracle though many say the Priests feigned and delivered them in manner following They made a way under the Earth to the Belly and Head of it by which going into the Image they spake at set-times out of the Head whatsoever they would giving answer to such as came to ask Councel in difficult matters The inward hollowness or cavities were made with such subtilty that the Voice therein finding no other passage than the large gaping of the Mouth first rumbling at last with great force burst forth whereby the credulous Heathens who stood before it silent and amazed took it for no less than the voice of a Deity and by that extraordinarily led on to the adoration of it Sphynx was represented in a two-fold manner by the Egyptians Sphyux tepresented in a two-fold manner to wit either in the shape of a Couchant Lyon upon a Throne or in the form above-mentioned By the first was signifyed Momphta an Egyptian Deity ruling over the Waters and the Tutelar Guardian for the over-flowing of Nile And by the second the increasing of Nile it self they made these shapes not that they did believe such manner of living Creatures were ever in being but to signifie how much harder than we can express are the several Dictates of the minde Sphynx then so formed What it sâ—gnifyeth signifies Nilus watering and fertilizing Egypt while the Sun passed through Leo and Virgo which the Egyptians being very Learned and naturally addicted to Hieroglyphicks observing were easily induced under that biformed shape which they call'd Sphynx to represent their meaning and in course of time they became adored Idols signifying Nilus There were according to Pliny Many in Egypt many of these Sphynxes in Egypt standing in the most famous places those especially which were watered by the River as in Heliopolis and Sais and the Wilderness of Memphis or Cairo where that by us described the greatest of all remains yet to be seen Aben Vaschia an Arabian speaking of these Sphynxes says thus For the signification of the fruitful nature of Nilus they set that Structure representing a Lyon because that overflowing that fructifies their whole Countrey they receive from the bounty of the Constellation the Lyon every year And from them it is also by a pretty mistake looking at them onely as Ornaments introduced here in Europe to make or adorn the Pipes Spouts Conduits and Pumps with Lyons heads The Sphynxes were set by the Antients before their Temple Gates to signifie their teaching Divine matters consisted in Wisdom which lay hid under Aenigmaes or Mysterious Parables Distant from these Pyramids about a thousand paces Pyramids call'd Mummies lye others call'd Mummies because scituate in a Sandy Countrey where the Mummies are found the greatest of all lying in this place Spires high into the Air and much more beautiful than any of the rest there though almost of the same form the outer part by length of time is much defaced so that the steps thereof being broken it is almost impossible to climb up to the top The Entrance of this Pyramid lyes open from the upper part downward but the way within is so ruinous and choak'd up with Stones that it is scarce passable without creeping which to the Visitors because of the falling down of other loose Stones often proves dangerous Below there appears a very spacious and high Chamber appointed as they say for a Burying-place in which is a little Door opening into another as large Chamber built after the same manner Neither of these have any Inter'd Corps either perhaps because none were there Buried or else the Burying-places are totally defaced Out of these two Chambers wherein a decayed Gate lyeth goes a rising way not to be ascended without a Ladder and herein the people say is a Burying-place Of several that travelled into Egypt to see the Pyramids and have described them Prince Radzovil merits the chief place having written thereof in his Book of Travels exactly to this effect An hour before break of day we went out of our Lodgings Prince Radzovil and walking continually along by Gardens we came into the Old * Cairo City distant from the New half a mile two hours after Sun-rising we cross'd the Nile where having gone about two Furlongs we came to the Pyramids whereof because much hath been written by others I will in brief set down what I my self have seen Most Writers affirm that the City Memphis mentioned in Holy Scripture Memphis here thought to be scituate was formerly seated in this place whereof all the remaining Tokens are but some ruinous Heaps to the south cover'd over with dry barren Sand there may be seen still undefaced Pyramids whereof two greater and a third less erected as they say by that famous Lady of Pleasure Rhodope which is singularly fair but not above sixty or seventy cubits high these three are very handsom and undecayed accounted among the Worlds Wonders even by the Romans as Martial the Epigrammatist observes Barbara Pyramidum sileant miracula Memphis Thy wondrous Pyramids Memphis boast no more The two least are of an incredible bigness yet exceeded by the third which is said to have in height breadth and length three hundred Cubits It hath within artificial and broad Steps by which you may as also by Steps without climb to the top There are likewise places fit for Visitants to retire and ease themselves in two whereof more large were the Burying-places of the Kings in the lower of which there stands yet extant a very great Sepulchre Also by what Kings how great Cost in what way or by what strange Art and whether by the Israelites during their bondage in Egypt which is the opinion of * With how little reason it may be imagined that the Israelites should build these Pyramids may appear in that they are built of stone whereas their employment was all in Brick-work some Writers these Structures were erected or by others who dig'd the Trenches Passages wherein Nilus runs for it appears that all these works were not by Nature but made by Art I leave to Historiographers to determine We may rather wonder why they were erected upon a rising Rock consisting of one sort of Natural Stones whereas they for as much as is discernable are inade up of many kindes Neither is it easie to apprehend or conceive from whence or by what means so great a quantity of immense Stones each more than a Cubit and a half and two Cubits broad could be convey'd thither Nilus lying distant little less than four miles The first and greatest Pyramid The greatest of them is built of quadrangular stones rising Instar
honor they erected such Spires The bigness of the Obelisks were several some no higher than ten or twelve foot while others did climb to the height of twenty thirty seventy an hundred or a hundred and forty foot Upon every side the antient Egyptian Priests carv'd Figures and Images almost in the same manner Hieroglyphick Figures carved upon the Needles or Spires as those delineated upon the Covering-Clothes and Winding-sheets of the Mummies and sometimes the very same There were also plain ones erected by the Kings that conquer'd Egypt Neeldes or Spires without Figures for the Egyptian Priests would not reveal the Mystery of their Charactering to any strangers As this Hieroglyphical manner of writing was very mysterious Of what stone the Needles or Spires are made so the Stone they chose for that purpose was most excellent which the Greeks call'd * A Fire-stone Pyroboilon the Latines Theban Stone and by the Italians Granito Rosso It is a kinde of Marble sprinkled and speckled as it were with Drops of several colours and as durable and hard as Porphiry The Quarry out of which these were cut lyeth close by the antient City Thebes among the Hills extending to Negro-land and the Cataracts of Nilus to the South And though Egypt abound in Quarries of other sorts of Marble yet the Egyptian Priests chose this for the erecting of Obelisks no other Stone being us'd to that purpose for although they had the like Veins of Marble in the Island Ilia and other places in Italy and Sweden yet it could no way compare in hardness and variety of Grains and Specks with that of Egypt Now why the Egyptians made the Obelisks of those streak'd Marbles this may be the reason They that erected Obelisks in honor of the Sun Why they do so whose beams their spiring tops seemed to represent would not take every kinde of stone but such onely as did most analogize with that glorious Body which in their opinion this Marble doth By nature it consisted of a four-fold Existence viz. First a glistering Red among which here and there are found some mixed other clear Christal-colour'd Spots then Violet-colour after that Blew and Ash-colour with some streaks or dashes of Black between which the Egyptians seeing they chose it as most fit to represent their hidden Mysteries so that by the aforesaid Mixture of the Colours without doubt they intend to signifie the four Elements and particularly by the Red Fire by the Christaline Air by the Blew Water and lastly by the Black the Earth Hereby appears with how great judgement the Egyptians chose fit Materials for their Mysteries and that for the better representing their deep Notions they have us'd nothing but what might make them more conspicuous And if any find older Obelisks of another sort certainly they were not true Egyptick but either erected by Strangers in imitation of the true or in the late times when by the Destruction and Banishment of the Priests by Cambyses the Sacred Egyptian Letters were utterly lost Such was the Obelisk rais'd by the Phenicians to the Honor of the Sun which being depressed low flat and leaning very much differ'd from the right Such a one also Herodian says the Emperor Heliogabalus brought from Syria to Rome ¶ ALL the great Obelisks In what manner the Obelisks were brought out of the Stone Quarties to the place appointed Plin. lib. 36. c. 9. were brought from their Quarries to their appointed place in this manner First there was a great Trench Digged beginning under the already hewen Obelisk and running into the Nile where two great Ships deep laden with Stones exceeding the weight of the intended Freight were Sunk and then towed quite underneath it the two ends of the Obelisks hanging on the opposite Banks of the Ditch The Ships there setled and the Stone Ballast being cast out the Vessels finding themselves eas'd Buoying up receiv'd their Lading the hanging Obelisk which they brought through the same cut into the Nilus and so to the appointed place where it was to be erected ¶ THere are yet to be seen at Thebes Egyptian Greek and Latine Inscriptions and without the Gates old Ruines and Columns all the remaining tokens of its antient Glory The City according to Diodorus in circuit had an hundred and forty Stadia or Furlongs That is five miles eight and twenty Stadia accompted for a Mile As to the number of an hundred Gates that accompt seems to some as Diodorus reports to intend onely the gross number of the Avenues and Passages though others as Mela confirm it adding that Thebes was so exceeding populous that it could draw out of * That is a Million of men every Gate ten thousand Armed men And that the Greek word Hecatompilos which signifyeth an hundred Gates according to which Thebes was call'd by Homer is not to be understood literally but is rather to be explained to relate to an hundred Palaces in which so many Princes had their residence Plin. lib. 36. c. 14. Pliny will have the whole City stand upon Arches so made on purpose that the Egyptian Kings might draw their Armies this way under the Houses of the City without being discovered Round about this decayed and desolate City are Desarts wherein formerly very many Hermits dwelt Two days Journey from Cairo lyeth a Wilderness wherein it is said is the Cave wherein St. Paul remaining was visited by St. Anthony Six miles from the City Munsia or Munza lyeth a Cloister of Georgian Christians heretofore very famous and inhabited by above two hundred Monks who having much Goods and a great yearly Revenue imparted the same to all needy Strangers sending the overplus to the Patriarch to Cairo who distributed it among poor Pilgrims in his Diocess But two hundred and sixty years since all these Monasticks dying by a Pestilence the Bashaw of Munsia wall'd in the Cloister and made it into Houses for Artificers and Tradesmen to dwell in Chiam or El Chiam Chiam now a heap of Rubbish but heretofore the Seat of the Jacobite Christians Livy and Sanutus seem to be of Opinion that this is Ptolomy's old Diospolis because both of them lay in the same Latitude More toward the South from Cairo Barbanda lyeth another City upon the Banks of Nile call'd Barbanda destroyed by the Romans whose ruinous heaps were for the most part brought to Asna among which sometime they finde Gold and Silver Coin and pieces of Smaragdus or Emeralds Against Barbanda lyeth Cana erected by the Egyptians near the Nile Cana. and Walled The Inhabitants use no Trades but rely all upon Husbandry and Tillage by which means this place which is divided from the Red-Sea by a vast sandy and dry Desart is very rich in Corn which the Inhabitants of Medina where the Tomb of Mahomet is and also of Mecha Transport in great abundance for Asia Opposite to Cana on the Red Sea lyeth Cossir a Haven whither they usually
Travel from Cana over the fore-mention'd Sandy Desart There are many Granaries for the reception of Corn brought thither from Cana. It is probable that Livius Sanutus says that this Haven is that of the Old City Berenice because they lye in the very same elevation yet some will have it to be Miosormus There is also Conza formerly Metacompsus not far from the City Asna Conza on the Southermost borders of Egypt some of the Antients placed Elephantis or Elephantina of which at this day the name onely remains The last City to the South of Egypt lying on the Nilus is Asna formerly call'd Siena but got the name Asna from the Arabians for the word Siena being the same with the Arabian Zeyâ—â—a which signifies Foul Sanutus lib. 9. they thought the City too fair to bear that Name and therefore chang'd Siena into Asna that is Fair the City indeed being very beautiful the Romans wasted most part of it but it hath since been much more stately rebuilt by the Mahumetans The Inhabitants drive a subtle Trade in the Kingdom of Nubia partly in Vessels sailing up the Nile and partly by Land through the Desart by which way of Transportation they are become considerable in Cattle Corn and Money In the City which is of a large extent and by the Moors according to Marmol call'd Gavera there yet appear many fair Edifices and particularly a very curious Sepulchre with Egyptian and Latin Inscriptions There is also a deep Well into whose bottom the Sun shines at Noon A deep Well while he passes too and again through the Northern signs To this place or a little further the Nile is Navigable but beyond no Vessel can pass oppos'd and stop'd by the Cataracts and therefore they Land their Goods below and carry them over Land then again shipping when they are past the precipice and come into smooth water Eastward from Asna is the antient and great City Asuan or Assuan The City Assuan by some taken to be Conza or Metacompsus and borders upon the Desart Buche through which they Travel by the City Suaquen to the Red Sea Neighboring with the Moors and by Marmol placed in Egypt Beyond this they pass not up the Nile Sanutus because of the fore-mention'd precipices It is very hot there in Summer and the Inhabitants are Tawny of colour not caused so much by the great heat as by their commixture with the People of Nubia and the Moors In several places about this City are many antient Buildings and Towers there call'd Barba which makes some imagine that heer stood Thebes In circuit five mile in length three miles out of whose Ruines Asuan was built Strabo gives it eighty Stadia or Furlongs in length of which City of Asuan Albufeda the Arabian thus writes Asuan is a City of the upper Theban Countrey lying by the side of the Eastern Desart wherein stands the famous Needle or Spire the greatest Monument of Antiquity partly for its huge Carv'd Stones and partly for the variety of curious Imagery upon it And that many Obelisks and Pyramids have been there Herodotus Diodorus and others testifie Herodotus Diodorus Beyond this the utmost border of the Turkish Dominions in Egypt there are no Seats or Habitations worth the mentioning onely some few Huts or Cottages where Tawny people of Buchia dwell that speak a Tongue scraped together out of the Egyptian Arabian and Moorish Languages Several other small Cities Sanutus and inconsiderable places by length of time decay'd are by Sanutus and other Geographers with few words touched upon such are these Thura in the East lying close by Cairo Sachila and Pharsono lying beneath the Lake Maeris Narnita and Nitriota above it Elmena Libelezait Saguan Dakat all poor and thin peopled places of which the first is to the inland in the mid-way between the Red-Sea and Nile but the other lye close by the Sea side King Pharaoh's Angle Pharaoh's Angle or Point from whence Moses with his people in a wonderful manner passed through the Red Sea Corondal Aziruth and Aphaca places on the Red-Sea lying not far one from another with few or no Inhabitants The seven Wells Seven Wells call'd by the Italians Zette Pozzi is a place in a dry Tract of Land where at this day appear some tokens of the Old Wells or Fountains of Water that gave name to the place Menuia and Cosera lye in the Island Heracleopolites Sanutus but thinly inhabited The like also are Veneria and Ansena two Neighboring places Besides the Island Michias The two Islands of Heracleopolites and Cynopolites lying by Cairo and the Island Elephantina there are Heracleopolites and Cynopolites or the Isle of Dogs both lying in the Nile placed by Sanutus in Egypt The Metropolis of the later is Cynopolis Cynopolis or Dog-town because the Inhabitants for the most part worshipped a Dog but at this day 't is call'd Monphalus The Island Heracleopolites Heracleopolis so call'd from Heracleopolis that is Hercules City because Hercules was worshipped in it is fifty miles in circuit and fruitful in Olives and other Fruit-Trees Here was the Icneumon the mortal Enemy of Crocodiles and Serpents worshipped Besides all these Cities The Number of Villages in Egypt there are many Villages in Egypt for above Delta both Southward and Northward of Cairo Sanut there are four thousand and in Delta twenty thousand whose Grounds and Meadows are once a year water'd by the Nile As to the Soil The Soil of Egypt is dry and thirsty in it self it is Sandy very Barren and so dry and seared that unless it lye under water many dayes as at the overflux of Nile it will never become fertile Therefore the Egyptians often drown their Gardens and Orchards so by long soaking to make them fruitful whereby their Pot-herbs and Salletting are very waterish and more insipid or flashy than in Europe But although the Soil be of it self thus steril It is made fat by Nilus yet the fruitful Nilus with his fat Mud makes it fertile and fit for Tillage and in some places so luxuriant that they often mix the fatness of the Soil with Sand to temper and allay it This onely over-flowing of the Nile made Egypt to be esteemed not onely the Granary of Rome but of the whole then known world for it fed all the Roman Provinces with Corn a third part of the year exposing besides abundance into remoter Countreys Pliny reports that the ground there was so exceedingly fruitful that one onely Seed planted in the Earth would bring forth a hundred fold But this wonderful fertility was attended with this inconvenience that the rich Product was not lasting and from this very same cause they dispatch'd them away to their Neighbor Nations of the Arabian Desart Palestine Syria Constantinople and Europe especially Sugar Cassia Sena-leaves several Gums and other Inland Commodities Kassia Colekasia Datura The Delta's boast theirs
Their Houses because of the overflowing of Nilus are built upon rising Places with thick clay Walls and flat Roofs as is usual in most Eastern Countreys And in regard Wood and Stone are very scarce they are little and low without advantages of many Rooms because most People Eat Drink and Sleep under the Date-Tree for coolness not fearing either Winter or Summer-Rains because the Countrey is free from them The whole Countrey is subject to one Inconvenience which is want of Fuel for in the great scarcity thereof they are forced upon all necessary occasions to burn the dung of Cattel ¶ POlygamy is common among the Nobler Sort Their Marriage who shut up their many Wives together in a Seraglio but separate from one another in distinct Apartments The Moors and meaner Sort to shew their Affection when they go a Wooing sear their Flesh with red hot Irons and flash their Arms without any sense of Smart or Danger And if by that means they can obtain the bare reward of a single Kiss from their Mistris Hand they take it as if they had gain'd the top of Felicity or whatsoever Love-sick Amours desire ¶ THe Parents dispose their Daughters in Marriage at ten or at most at twelve year old When they conduct the Bride to the Bridegrooms House she hath carried before her whatever her Friends or Parents gave her for the Bridegroom bestows on her Money Garments and other Necessaries Jewels Housholdstuff and Slaves of both Sexes ¶ THe Turks in Egypt are either of the Civil or Martial List Their Employment living voluptuously having little or no business but at starts but the Native Egyptians follow Pasturage and Husbandry The Arabians live by downright Robbery the Moors Negroes and Jews mannage Trading and Merchandise so do most of the Inhabitants of Cairo There are another sort of People here call'd Beduines The manner of the Beduines wandring about in great Companies of two or three hundred with their Luggage upon Carts and driving their Cattel like the Tartars from place to place for fresh Pasturage and where they finde good Grass they spread their Tents of course Goats-hair Cloth and thence migrate up and down still for fresh Pasture The Men are most of them Smiths and Weavers they go meanly apparell'd without any Clothes but a blue or gray Shirt with broad Sleaves hanging down to the ground and a piece of Cloth call'd by them Baracan which sometimes they cast over their shoulders as a Mantle when they pitch they sometimes make that their Tent to sleep under in the night and in the day to skreen off the heat of the Sun The Women go for the most part clothed like the Egyptian having maskt their Faces with holes They stick in their Hair many Silver and Copper Plates and black Ear-rings and Jewels of an unusual bigness and the like on their Arms. The Daughters as they become marriagable manifest it by scratching themselves upon the Chin and Lip which they dawb over with Ink and Ox-gall mingled that give such a fixt tincture as will never wear out ¶ THe Potency and Wealth of Egypt ha's ever been famous The abundant Riches of Egypt insomuch that in Antient Times Authors have said there were above twenty thousand Walled Cities and is at present China excepted held one of the richest Spots of earth in the World Cairo onely for its share contains fix hundred thousand Jews from whence the number of the rest of the Inhabitants may be guessed as also from the great destruction in the Year Fifteen hundred and eighty one when died of the Pestilence in seven Moneths above five hundred thousand In the time of Asan Bassa there were numbred seven millions or seventy hundred thousand persons ¶ TWo Languages and two sorts of Writing were used here Two sorts of Tongues among the Egyptians one Common understood by all in ordinary Conversation the other Peculiar onely used by the Priests Prophets and Religious Votaries whose ambition led them to hopes of the Crown and Government of the Kingdom This they nam'd The Sacred but the Coptick or Vulgar The Profane Tongue Which last was also call'd Pharaohs Speech because it was usual in the time of the Antient Egyptian Kings which were call'd by that one General Name of Pharaoh I shall in brief set down the difference and propriety of them both Whence the Name Coptos or Copta took its Original Writers disagree The Tongue Copta why so named Athanasius Kircher seems among all to have come nearest deriving it from Coptos formerly the most famous City in Egypt and the Chief of the Countrey of Thebes though at this day the Ruines thereof are but mean or else from the Coptists the Inhabitants of that City by whom alone this Tongue was kept in being Here we may take notice of a great mistake among most eminent Writers The difference between Coptos and Cophtos who without distinction confound Coptos and Cophtos whereas they differ much in their signification Coptos is an antique word and found in old Authors but Cophtos is a Name invented by the Mahumetans who call the Egyptian Christians by way of derision Cophtites as if they would say Circumcised Some suppose they are call'd Cophtites Della Valla. because they followed heretofore the Erroneous and Heretical Opinions of Eutiches and Dioscorus condemned in the Council of Ephesus which did before Baptism use to receive Circumcision for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is onely a Greek Name and signifies Circumcised whence they were nick-nam'd Christians of the Girdle meaning upwards because from the Girdlested downwards being Circumcised they were rather Jews The present Cophtick Tongue The Coptick is the old Egyptian Tongue is not onely like the Antient Egyptian in the time of the Pharao's but altogether one and the same as appears by some words still in use and among the rest the Names of the Moneths whereby the Old Egyptians and the Modern Coptists name them without any remarkable difference The like you may observe in the Planets Mars was with the Antient Egyptians Moloch which the Holy Scripture so often mentions Remphan in our English Translations Saturn Refan the very word used in the Acts of the Apostles Venus is called Zahara and many Plants and Herbs mentioned by Apuleius in his Book of the Vertues of Herbs may be found very little different from the present Egyptian Names Now since no Tongue comes nearer to the old Egyptian than the Coptick we may rationally conclude that the Coptick is the true and antient Egyptian not so pure and undefiled indeed as it was in the time of the Patriarchs but by process of time the manifest mixture of People and Languages and other alterations of the State disguised and corrupted The Coptick in it self is an Original It s distinction from the Greek Tongue not a Derivative Language though some strongly argue that it is but a Greek Dialect differing as the Caldee from
of Red or other Colour with Caps of Linnen or Silk and on their Feet a kind of Slippers or single-soal'd Shooes which they call Reyas The Women pride themselves in much Linnen The Habit of the Women their wide Smocks being several Ells in the hem with large Linnen Drawers or Calsoons which come down to the Calf of the Leg. In Summer they have Bonnets of Silk in Winter of Linnen in stead of a Mantle they cast over them long pieces of Cloth call'd by the Inhabitants Likares trim'd with Embroidery or Fringes which they clasp together with a Buckle either of Gold or Silver Brass or Iron according as the Wearers ability will extend which it seems was antient there by Virgils Description of Dido Virgil. In their Ears they wear Jewels rich Neck-laces and Bracelets of Pearl which they call Gagales ¶ SEveral Languages are here spoken viz. the Morisk Arabick and Gemmick Tongues The Morisk is the antient African or rather a mixture of several Tongues with a dash of Arabick for they speak it not pure because of their converse with Forreign People whereby are introduced many strange words the Gemmick is half Spanish and half Portugues There is another Speech call'd Tamacete used by the People which dwell between Morocco and Tarudant Northerly of Mount Atlas and boast themselves to come of a Christian Parentage ¶ Every Mahumentan may by the Alcoran lawfully have four Wives The Marriage-condition from any of which he may divorce at his pleasure and take other When any man intends to Wed they have a Caziz Notary and Witnesses the Notary makes a seal'd Agreement of all that the Man promises to give his intended Bride for a Marriage-Portion which they call Codaka which he must give if at any time he part from her If a Woman will part from her Husband she loseth her Marriage-Goods Besides their Wives they may keep as many Concubines as they are able to maintain out of which the King may choose one to bestow upon his Favorites They count it no Crime to obstuprate their Slaves White or Black The King hath commonly four Wives besides a multitude of Concubines with whom he companies according to the dictates of his wandring Fancy On the day of Marriage The Solemnity of Marriage they set the Bride on a Mule sumptuously adorn'd and set forth begirt with a round Canopy in form of a Tower cover'd with Tapistry after the Turkish Manner so carrying her in State through the whole City follow'd by many Muletts laden with the Goods given her by her intended Husband and attended with Men and Women in great Multitudes After this Calvalcade they go to Feasting which done they remove to a spacious and open Place where all the Kindred and Friends assemble and such as are skil'd in Horsmanship for the space of two hours exercise themselves with Lances before the Bride But Diego de Torres says Cap. 76. the Woman is carried upon a well-furnish'd Camel in a small Castle or Tower call'd by them Gayola and curiously adorn'd and cover'd with thin and single Taffaty that she may easily see through it with a great Train of Followers so is she first brought to her Fathers House and from thence to her Husband where is great Feasting and Mirth If the Husband find she was devirginated before Maquet lib. 3. he immediately sends her away with all he gave her but if he be satisfied of her Chastity her praises are sung through the City and the tokens of his satisfaction publickly shewn which also be carried through the City in token of her being a Maid this was customary among the Jews Into their Church-yards the Women go every Friday and Holy-days to bewail their dead with Blew Mourning Garments on in stead of Black Mourning for the Dead as is the fashion in this Countrey The Revenue of this Kingdom yearly brought into the Kings Chamber or Exchequer is very great and rais'd thus Diego de Torret Botero Relat. univers p. 2. lib. 2. Every Male or Female of twelve Years or according to Botero of five Years old pays four fifths of a Ducat Hearth-Money and the like of every Hearth which by them is call'd Garama For every Bushel of Beans the King receives the second for every Beast the tenth but for every sack of Wheat half a Real Besides these there are other Customs paid upon exported Goods which sometimes they raise high pretending thereby to ease their Subjects However the Christian Merchants for all Commodities either imported or exported pay great Tolls besides a large Sum of Money for License to Trade freely there Lastly The King hath full power over all the Goods of his Subjects What makes the Kings mighty and rich of whom none can claim what he possesses for his own for when the Alkayde that is the Governour of the Countrey and other Officers that take Salary die the King seizes all they left giving to his Son if fit for the Wars his Fathers Imployments but if they be little he maintains them till they can handle a Weapon and the Daughters till they are married Another Device the King uses to possess himself of the Peoples Wealth When he hath intelligence of any rich Person he sends for him and under colour of Favour confers on him some Office that receives a Salary from the Crown in which continuing to his Death makes the King a Title to his Estate which is the cause that every one as well at Morocco as Fez to prevent this inconvenience endeavour to conceal their Wealth and keep as far from Court and the Kings knowledge as possible The King also takes one Beast in twenty and two when the Number riseth to a hundred His Collectors also gather the tenth of all Fruits growing in the Mountains which the People pay as a Rent for their Land ¶ THe English Hollanders and French drive here a notable Trade The Merchandise of several People in this Kingdom carrying thither several Commodities as Cloth c. bringing thence again Turky-Leather Wood Sugar Oyl Gold Wax and other Merchandise having their Consuls resident in the Cities of Sale Zaffi and other Places ¶ THe Inhabitants of Morocco in some things differ among themselves as to Religion most of them follow the Doctrine of the Xerif Hamet The strictness of the Moroccoians in observing Mahomets Doctrine who at first was a Monk but left his Cloister in the Year Fifteen hundred and fourteen and began to set abroach the Enthusiasm of one Elfurkan declaring that the Doctrine of Ali Omar and other Expounders of the Alcoran were only humane Traditions and that men were to observe the pure and single writings of Elfurkan who was a faithful Expositor of the same And as the Turks prohibit any to come into their Mosques that is not of their Religion upon pain of Death So this new Prophet admitted all Nations as well Christians as Jews to hear
with Horses and Asses intermixt and contrary to most in these parts their Women go with their Faces bare SUS THE Territory of Sus or Sous Its Borders formerly a Kingdom took name from the River Sus which bounds on the West as far as the Great Bay of * That is of great Cattel Juments or de la Yeguas Northward it reaches to Mount Atlas where touching on the Side of Hea on the South lyes the sandy Desart of Biledulgerid on the East bordering upon Guzula In this Territory on the Sea-shore lye three small Cities all known by one common name Messe being indeed rather one City divided into three parts each separated and surrounded with a Wall This was heretofore call'd Temest being seated on the shore of the great Ocean at the foot of Atlas or Aidvacal as they call it The River Sus running through the Messe A strange Temple at a place call'd Guertesen falleth into the Sea on whose shore a Temple appears whose sparrs rafters and beams are said to be the bones of the Whale which swallowed the Prophet Jonas who was thrown up again in this place The learned among them stick not to affirm That this our Minor Prophet shall appear in this Temple being so declared by their great Prophet Mahomet for which Reason they all highly reverence and preserve it with extraordinary care Hereabout are many large Whales often begrounded which the common People fancy happeneth by an occult quality of that Temple which kills all those Monsters coming that way and endeavouring to swim by it Teceut Teceut an antient City a Mile from Messe Triangular and contains four thousand Families In the middle of it stands a fair Temple through which runs an Arm of the River Sus. The Countrey hereabout is full of Hamlets and Villages but more Southerly is not inhabited but over-run by the wilde and wandring Arabs One Mile from Teceut lyeth Gared Gared founded by the Cerif Abdala about the Year Fifteen hundred on a Plain by a great Spring call'd Ayn Cequie Here is a sort of excellent * Moroquines Kids-Leather which in such great quantities is transported into Europe that the Custom of it yearly to this City produceth Thirty thousand Ducats The Principal City of all is Tarudant by the Moors call'd Tourant Tarudant twelve Miles East from Teceut and two Miles South from Atlas in a pleasant Valley eighteen or twenty Miles long This City water'd by the River Agur was formerly the Metropolis of the whole Kingdom and the Royal Seat and Chamber of the Kings of Sus. Half a Mile from Tarudant stands Faraixa built by Mahomet Cherif Taraixa before he was King of Morocco Tedsi twelve Miles Eastward of Tarudant twenty from the Ocean Tedsi and seven to the South of great Atlas was in former times very rich containing above four thousand Families but is now by their Civil Wars almost ruined Togoast the greatest City of this Territory twenty Miles from the Atlantick Togoast eighteen from Atlas and three from the Sus contain'd in former times six thousand Houses which at present are reduced to a far smaller Number Volateranus says this was the Birth-place of the antient and famous Doctor St. Augustine On the Westerly shore of the River Sus lyeth Cape Aguar Cape of Aguar taken by Ptolomy for the Cape Usagium This place in former times belong'd to the Portugues who erected there a very strong Castle by them call'd Santa Cruce and by the Moors Darumnie that is Christian-House Afterward the Portugals founded a strong City in the same Place which they possess'd a long time but at last were driven out of it by the Cherif in the Year Fifteen hundred thirty and six On a cutting Skirt of Atlas by the great Ocean Gantguessen at the Mouth of the River Sus stands Gantguessen a very strong place and more Southerly on the Sea-Coast these places Aguilon Alganzib Samotinat with the Capes of Guilon and Non or Nun in twenty seven Degrees Northern Latitude ¶ THe Mountains of Sus are Henquise The Mountains reaching from West to East twelve Miles in length Ilalem or Laalem Guzula beginning at the end of Henquise and stretching Eastward to Guzula South to the Plains of Sus Ilde the Western boundary between Guzula and Sus. All the Inhabitants of Messe maintain themselves by Husbandry The Nature of the ground of the Territory Sus. encouraged thereto for that in April and September the River Sus rises and overflows its Banks which causes a plentiful Harvest whereas if it fail in one of the aforemention'd Moneths then generally follows a Scarcity or dear Year On the shore by Messe is found very good Amber in great plenty All about the City of Teceut the Grounds abound with Wheat Barley and many other sorts of Grain as also Sugar-canes besides Dates Figs and Peaches Mount Henquise is cold and continually cover'd with Snow Mount Laalem abounds with Horses and holds in her bosom a rich Vein of Silver From Tarudant is brought Ostridge Feathers and Amber and so transported into Europe The People of Tedsi live orderly and behave themselves with great Trust and Civility The like do the Inhabitants of Tagoast whose Women for the most part are white and Handsom nevertheless there are Blacks and Tauny-Moors among them They of Messe are Husbandmen but those of Teceut ill natured proud and pervicacious Those of Henquise and Ilalem are Valiant and Generous but maintain old Feuds about their Silver Mines Lastly The Mahumetans themselves living in this Territory shew great Honor to the Body of St. Augustine which they report lyeth Buried near the City of Tagoast DUCALA THE Territory of Ducala hath for Borders Limits of the Territory of Ducala on the East the River Umarabea or Omniâ—abih and the Country of Temesne on the East the Tenzift and Cape of Cantin with part of Hea on the North the great Ocean and on the South the Province of Morocco and the River Habid The greatest length from West to East is Thirty It s Bigness and the breadth according to Marmol Twenty four Miles The Cities and Places of Note in it are First Azamor Azamor a City lying at the Mouth of the River Umarabea three Miles from Mazagan In the Year Fifteen hundred and thirteen Emmanuel King of Portugal to revenge himself of the Injury which Zeyam the Governor of this City had done him Was won by the Pertuguese in disappointing of his Marriage sent a Fleet of two hundred Ships with great Forces who coming to this City begirt it with a strong Siege and compell'd the Inhabitants to surrender The Portuguese who entred Ruin'd and Plunder'd it and not so contented proceeded further and took and wasted divers other Places The Town before this War contain'd above Five thousand Houses and is still large and populous being subject to the Moors who keep a strong Garrison in
to Salee the fourth of September The sixteenth of June in the Year Sixteen hundred sixty and six Gailand Lord of Alkazir drew into the Field against Muly Resis King of Tafilet Brother to the King of Fez but three Days after came back again to Alkazir About two Days after he drew into the Field again was met by the King of Tafilet routed and put to Flight with the loss of many and revolt of more Soldiers to the Kings side Gailand himself wounded with a Semiter escaping to Alkazir but not daring to trust himself there within an hour fled to Arzile The King without any opposition took in Alkazir whereupon Tituan and Old and New Salee fell to him so that now the City and Castle was once more reduced under the Power of the King of Fez. Once before the Portugues took it but were not able to hold it long ere it returned to the right Owner When Sydan the third Son of Hamet after the Death of his Father and Brothers had possest himself of the Kingdom of Fez though afterwards stripped both of that and Morocco for a time by the several opposite Factions in those Kingdoms commanded by Hamet Ben Abdela a Religious but hypocritical Heremite who hoping to get all for himself was opposed by Sid Hean that took part with Sydan by which assistance the Tumults at last were pacified in some measure yet nevertheless a rabble of Pyrates invested themselves in this chief Port of Fez inabling themselves thereby to do him infinite mischief both by Sea and Land and not to him only but all others whose business of Trade drew them into those infested Seas Many fruitless Attempts he made upon them so that considering his own weakness at Sea for want of Shipping he sent an Embassador unto King Charles the First of England to desire his Assistance Nor did that Pious Prince need much Importuning to put his hand to so good a Work for he soon dispatched thither the requested Aids by whose Assistance Sydan became Master of the Town unroosted and punished the Pyrates and sent Three hundred Christian-Slaves freed for a Present to his Majesty Nor staid he there but raising his thoughts to a higher Pitch of General Good he sent another Embassador with a Letter to His Majesty to give him the like Assistance against Algiers who Roved with as much Cruelty through the Mediterrane as the Salee-Men before had done over the Atlantick The which Letter savouring of more than Mahumetan Piety and much conducing to the King of Great Britains Honour we will Insert for Satisfaction THE King of Moroccos Letter TO KING CHARLES The FIRST of ENGLAND WHEN these our Letters shall be so happy as to come to Your Majesties Sight I wish the Spirit of the Righteous God may so direct your Mind that you may joyfully embrace the Message I send The Regal Power allotted to Us makes Us common Servants to our Creator then of those People whom we Govern So that observing the Duties We owe to God We deliver Blessings to the World in providing for the publick good of Our Estates We magnifie the Honour of God like the Celestial Bodies which though they have much Veneration yet serve only to the Benefit of the World It is the excellency of Our Office to be Instruments whereby Happiness is delivered unto the Nations Pardon me Sir This is not to Instruct for I know I speak to one of a more clear and quick sight than my self but I speak this because God hath pleased to grant Me a happy Victory over some part of those Rebellious Pyrates that so long have molested the peaceable Trade of Europe and hath presented further occasion to root out the Generation of those who have been so pernitious to the good of Our Nations I mean since it hath pleased God to be so cuspicious to Our beginnings in the Conquest of Sale that We might joyn and proceed in hope of like Success in the War of Tunis Algiers and other Places Dens and Receptacles for the inhumane Villanies of those who abhor Rule and Government Herein whilst We interrupt the corruption of Malignant spirits of the World We shall glorifie the great God and perform a Duty that will shine as glorious as the Sun and Moon which all the Earth may see and reverence a Work that shall ascend as sweet as the Perfume of the most precious Odours in the Nostrils of the Lord a Work grateful and happy to Men a Work whose Memory shall be reverenced so long as there shall be any remaining amongst Men that love and honour the Piety and Vertue of Noble Minds This Action I here willingly present to You whose Piety and Vertues equal the Greatness of Your Power that We who are Vicegerents to the Great and Mighty God may hand in hand triumph in the Glory which the Action presents unto us Now because the Islands which You Govern have been ever Famous for the unconquered Strength of their Shipping I have sent this my trusty Servant and Ambassador to know whether in Your Princely Wisdom You shall think fit to assist Me with such Forces by Sea as shall be answerable to those I provide by Land which if You please to grant I doubt not but The Lord of Hosts will protect and assist those that Fight in so glorious a Cause Nor ought You to think this strange that I who so much reverence the Peace and Accord of Nations should exhort to a War Your Great Prophet CHRIST JESUS was the Lion of the Tribe of JUDAH as well as the Lord and Giver of Peace which may signifie unto You That he which is a Lover and Maintainer of Peace must always appear with the Terror of his Sword and wading through Seas of Blood must arrive to Tranquility This made JAMES Your Father of glorious Memory so happily Renowned among all Nations It was the Noble Fame of Your Princely Vertues which resounds to the utmost corners of the Earth that perswaded me to invite You to partake of that Blessing wherein I boast my self most Happy I wish God may heap the Riches of his Blessings on You increase Your Happiness with Your Days and hereafter perpetuate the Greatness of Your Name in all Ages But now to return to the Course of our History Two large Miles from Salee Tefensare there lyeth another antient City call'd Tefensare or according to Sanutus Fansare and by Marmol suppos'd to be Ptolomy's Banasse In the same Place Mahmore at the Mouth of the River Subu stood formerly the City Maamore or Mahmore destroyed in the Moorish Civil Wars Emmanuel King of Portugal sailing into that Countrey pleased with the situation erected a Fort there Anno Fifteen hundred and fifteen which e're made well defensive the King of Fez his Brother came with an Army of Fifteen thousand strong with which defeating the Portugues he utterly raised King Emmanuels new erected Work But the King of Spain in the Year Sixteen
little less in Winter The Soyl is so rich that they plough it not but only sprinkle it in May with Watering-pots with which small cost and pains it produces infinite variety of Fruits very delightful in taste onely the Peaches are waterish and not very well relishing Besides this Fertility of the Land the Rivers are wonderously stor'd with Fish of divers kinds especially that by the Spaniards call'd Sabalos The Land about Salee produceth multitudes of Box-Trees and other Wood whereof the Inhabitants make Combs Much Cotton also but little Grain by reason of the Sandiness of the Soyl. The Countrey about Mahmore is on one side shadow'd with stately Oaks but the other affords excellent Pasture for Cattel abundance of Oranges but Dates beyond imagination There are also very large Oxen and besides Goats Hens Partridges Pigeons and other tame and useful Creatures The Woods breed the strongest and fiercest Lions in all Africa to the great annoyance of the People Nor do they want good Honey and Sugar-Canes in the use whereof they were ignorant till the Moors banisht out of Spain taught them how to extract it The Moors Countrey produceth many excellent Fruits especially great Quinces Granates White and Damask Plumbs large Figs Grapes which they eat fresh gather'd Peaches and abundance of Olives and Flax. Upon Mount Zalagh grow Vines yielding singular sweet and delicious Raisins Mount Zarhonne is cover'd with Olive-Trees that afar off it seems to be a Wood. Tefelfelt stands among Woods wherein many fierce Lions frequent In the Plains of Aseis or Adhasen the Lions are so timerous that a man nay a very woman will either by chiding or blows make them flie The Diet of the Inhabitants of Fez Their Food agrees with that of all other Mahumetan People of Barbary making three Meals a day For Breakfast they eat a little Fruit and Bread with thin Pap made of Meal but in Winter Sops made in the Broth of Salt Flesh such as we in England usually call Brewis At Dinner they have in Summer Flesh with Sallets of Lettice or Cabbadge Cheese Olives and Melon-Broth At Supper nothing but Bread with Melons or Raisins or Milk but in the Winter boyl'd Flesh with Couscous but seldom Roast-meat This is the ordinary Fare of common Citizens but Persons of State or Quality have many additional Delicacies The Tables are low without Table-Clothes or Knives pulling their Meat in pieces with their Fingers They put Flesh and Pottage in the same Dish out of which every one may take what he pleases They never drink till they have done eating and then conclude their Meal with it The Men of Fez that have any Estate wear a Habit in the Winter The Habit of the Men of Fez. made of Foreign Cloth over that a Cassock or Tunick with short Sleeves and over all another large Cloak clasped before upon the Breast and on their Heads they put Caps like Night-coifs The poorer sort wear a loose Jacket with a Mantle over it and slight Quoives on their Heads The Women also go fashionably clad The Habit of the Women wearing in Summer a Shift onely but in Winter a Coat with wide Sleeves When they go abroad they put on long Drawers that reach to their Knees then throw over their Heads a Cloth that covers them all over and a Mask The better sort wear Gold Ear-Rings with precious Stones and Jewels but the meaner content themselves with Silver ones without Jewels On their Arms and Legs they wear Chains also and a peculiar sort of Slippers fasten'd on with Silk Bands The Arabs living thereabouts The Habit of the Arabians commonly wear a Garment which they call Baraguan wrapt about their body and a red Bonnet All the rest go naked onely one Clout girt about their Waste and hanging down almost to the Knees ¶ THe Government of Fez is Monarchical Their Government heretofore call'd Cheriffs but now Kings who are very potent But neither they nor any other Mahumetan Kings use either Scepter Crown or Throne but onely a low Seat cover'd over with Cloth of Gold and a Cushion set with Pearls and precious Stones When the King perceiveth The chusing of their Kings or feeleth that his Death approaches he calleth all his Lords and Noblemen about him and ties them by Oath to chuse his Son or Brother or some one he hath a favour to for his Successor which they all take but little regard it after the Kings Decease chusing another not to fulfill his will but their own pleasure In Fez People of several Countreys in Fez. People of all Countreys reside as English French Hollanders Tartars Persians and Eastern Greeks each of them having a Consul there to mannage the business of Merchandise But the common Inhabitants are Moors the Offspring of those formerly banisht out of Spain as we declar'd before ¶ THe Nobility here are threefold The Nobility of Fez threefold each distinguisht from other by peculiar Marks The first are noble in Bloud as descended from Honorable Ancestors others become Noble by Offices and Employment the third are so esteem'd for their great Wealth and Riches but all enjoy the same and equal Priviledges They are very proud and disdainful both in their Speech and Behaviour towards Strangers but according to their Obligations without any reluctancy attend the King in his Wars In this one City they say there are above three thousand Noble Families ¶ THe Jews are numerous not onely in Fez Their Religion but spread through the whole Kingdom where it is suppos'd they amount to eight hundred thousand Among them are many Goldsmiths for the Moors must not meddle in that Trade being prohibited by the Alcoran These have also a Consul by whom the Stamps for Money are kept which they onely Licence to be Coyn'd in the New City The Inhabitants are either Mahumetans The Inhabitants of Fez are of three sorts Jews or Christians But the Mahumetans being far the greater number have the chief Command in all things though there be as many Sects of them in Fez alone as in all the Turkish Empire there being some principal Teachers or Heads of every Faction seated here which as Marabouts or Saints give Rules to their Followers TEMESNE or TEMECENE THis Jurisdiction the most Westerly part of the Kingdom of Fez The Borders of the Territory of Temesus hath for bound on the East the River Buragrag on the West the River Ommirabih on the North the Great Ocean and on the South Atlas The length from East to West is accounted Seventeen Miles and the breadth Thirty This was formerly so flourishing a Countrey that it contained Forty or Joan Leo. as Gramay says a Hundred and twenty great Cities Three hundred good Towns and exceeding many Villages some whereof as good as Walled Cities most of which are so totally ruined in their Civil Wars that scarce any remainders of them can be found The most eminent Places now in being
of the Spaniards that one Muey Xek Governour of it surrendred it into the hands of the Marquess of St. Germain Generall of the King's Army ¶ A Great Morass spreads it self about it The Quality of the Place abounding both with Fish and Fowl and in the adjacent Woods are some Lyons The Countrey about Larache being Barren and Waste yields nothing but Cotton-Trees and Coal-Mines both affording sufficient Profit especially the last carrying them to Tangier and Arzille The Haven much frequented by Spanish and Italian Merchants is but a wild Road granting but small security to such as know not the safest Ridings The City prides it self in divers stately Erections of Stone encompassed with a strong Wall and defended by three large Castles It hath three Castles One of which since the Conquest of the City by the Spaniards is called by the name of S. Mary the second lying at the Mouth of the River St. Anthony and the third also dedicated to another Saint The Moors before the Spaniards possessed it maintained there a Garrison and the Spaniards at this time doe the same The Fort St. Mary hath a broad Graff and Bulwark to be entred at three Iron-Gates being maintained with sixty Brass and Iron Pieces of Ordnance In St. Anthony's Fort are planted thirty Pieces of Brass Cannon well supplied with all sorts of Ammunition The Spaniards have made up the Works about both the City and Castles esteeming it a place of very great Consequence for shelter and preservation of his Fleet having much improved the Haven Near to this lies the Mountainous People and Arabians In this very Territory appears also on the Sea-Coast the City Moximar Elgiumha according to Marmol Gemaa el Carvax a small City in a Plain thirty Miles from Fez at this day wholly Waste Kasar el Kabir or Alkazar el Quibir which signifies a large Border stands on the River Lakkus ten Miles from Arzylle containing near fifteen hundred Houses with many Mosques There were here several Cities of note all which lie buried in their own Ruines by the cruelty of the Wars ¶ THe Air of this Province is so pleasant and healthy The Condition and Constution of Azgar that the Kings of Fez in the Spring take their Progress thither not onely for their Refreshment but for their Game the Place yielding Field-Sports Hunting and Hawking From hence also Fez is furnished with Cattel and Horses The Soyl about the City Elgiumha and Kasar Elkabir yields great store of Grain Larache altogether barren abounds onely with Cotton and Fish two Miles in Circuit The City Kasar Elkabir boasts onely of curious Gardens and Orchards Planted with all variety of delicate Fruits but wants Springs so that the Citizens have no Water but what Dreyns from the Roofs of the Houses which in Barbary seems strange ¶ THe Inhabitants of this Territory commonly go neatly Clad The Customs of the Inhabitants but those of Kasar Elkabir wear onely Cotton-Garments in general they are a Mild and Quiet People rather Simple than Ingenious HABAT or EL HABAT HAbat The Borders of Habat or El Habat begins Southward at the River Guarga or Erguila and runs Northward to the Midland Sea bounded on the East with the Mountains of Gomere called Errif on the West with the Marishes of Agar being Twenty Miles long and Seventeen broad Towns on the Shore of the Atlantick Ocean are Taximus Arzylle Taximus then Arzille formerly called Zilia and by the Inhabitants Azella built by the Romans towards the West about Fourten Miles from the Mouth of the Straits and Forty Miles from Fez. This City was for some time subject to the Prince of Septa It s several Overthrows or Ceuta a Tributary to the Romans but afterwards subdued by the Goths which were driven out by the Mahometans who possessed it Two hundred and twenty years when the English took it by Storm and utterly wasted it by Fire and Sword so that Thirty years after it lay desolate but at length Repaired and Peopled by the Mahumetan Patriarch of Cordua It was vanquished by the Portugals But Alphonsus King of Portugal who for his eminent Atchievements in these Parts as a second Scipio gat the Surname of Africanus on a sudden surprised it and took Prisoners not onely all the Souldiery but also the King himself with his Sister about Seven years of Age whom he brought Captive to Portugal where they remained Seven years and then redeemed for a great sum of Money ARZYLLA of ARGILLE The CITTY of TANGER The Cape of Spartelli by the Spaniards called Cabo Esparta The Cape of Spartelli and by some taken for the Cottes of Pliny lieth between Arzille and Tangier shooting far into the Sea and the very Point guarded with a Rock On the Shore of the Great Ocean near the Straits of Gibraltar Tangier in the heighth of three and twenty Degrees and forty Minutes North Latitude stands the ancient City Tangier formerly Tingis by the Portugals Tanjar and by the Barbarians according to Strabo Tinga in the time of the Romans the Metropolis of Mauritania Tingitana It s Building and by them builded after the Conquest of Spain although the African Historiographers falsly attribute it to one Sedded Son of Had who they say was Emperour of the whole World Their Story is this That the Emperour having resolved to build a City of no less beauty then an Earthly Paradise he first encompassed it with Brazen-Walls and then covered the Roofs of the Houses with Gold and Silver which say they was not impossible for him to do in regard all the Cities in the World contributed to its building But to leave their fancies and return to the truth the History It stood while the Romans Lorded over Spain subjected to the Prince of Ceuta as we said before and continued very populous till the time of Alphonsus the Fifth King of Portugal who in the year Fourteen hundred sixty three making his third Expedition into Africa with thirty thousand Men easily became Master of the Place the Inhabitants terrified at his Power leaving it and with their chief Moveables flying to Fez. His Father King Edward in the year Fourteen hundred thirty and three had worn out his time fruitlesly in the African Wars and beleaguering of this City for he was compelled to break up the Siege and leave his Brother Ferdinand as a Pledge in the hands of Aben Sala the Emperour of Barbary till Septa should be re-delivered But the State of Portugal esteeming it dishonourable easily to surrender a place of such consequence took no notice of Ferdinand who continued there seven years in a miserable Captivity During this time they got also Tangier which with great expence and trouble having kept divers years at length finding the charge of defence to exceed the profit they absolutely assigned over their interest to our gracious Soveraign CHARLES the Second King of England Scotland France and Ireland in part
The chief Places thereof lying on the Coast of the Mediterranean-Sea Comere are Comere lying close by three little Islands the first of which some hold to be Penon and the two other the Cliffs Tarfonelle and Nettegalle The City Terga by Marmol call'd Targa and built as Sanutus says by the Goths about twenty miles from the Straits of Gibraltar contains near five hundred Buildings Yelles Yelles a little sea-Sea-Town two miles from Bedis hath a safe though small Haven Bedis Bedis by many call'd Bellis as cohering with the Spanish Name Velez is by the Inhabitants nam'd Deirath Bedis and by the Learned thought to be the Akrath of Ptolomy It stands between two high Mountains containing six hundred Houses an ill fortifi'd Castle and a small Dock on the Shore where commonly Galleys and other small Vessels or Boats are built About a thousand Paces from thence Penon de Velez upon a Rock in the heighth of twenty four Degrees and twenty Minutes Northern Latitude stands Penon de la Velez that is The Rock of Velez sever'd from the firm Land by a small Channel that affords a safe Harbour for ten or twelve Gallies It is a very strong place guarded with several Forts the chiefest of which is built upon the heighth of the Rock accessible by one onely cut way some stand in the middle and others at the foot so that it seems almost impregnable Gebba Gebba a small decay'd Town eight French Miles from Velez Near Point Oleaster Mezemme mention'd by Ptolomy Marmol places Mezemme or Megeime by some held to be the Teniolonga of Ptolomy seated on the side of a Hill on a great Plain nine French Miles long and three broad through which the River Nakor passing divides Errif and Garet But now so waste that the wilde Arabs desert it Towns more to the Inland are Tegasse a little Place two miles from the Mediterranean-Sea call'd by Marmol Tagaza and thought to be the Thalude of Ptolomy Seusaon Guazaval Then Seusaon and Guazaval remarkable for nothing but their inconsiderable meanness ¶ THe Mountains here have few Habitations The Mountains of Errif but poor Huts cover'd with Straw or Barks of Trees Such as they be take as followeth First Bentgarir or Beni Oriegan close by Targa three miles long and two broad Beni Mansor three miles long Bucchuia or Botoia in Length four and in Breadth three miles Benichelid or Beni Quilib in the Road between Bedis and Fez. Beni Jus four miles long and three broad Benizarval and Benirazin fronting the Mediterrane Seusacen or Xexuen reported to be the fairest Mountain of Africa The Beni Gebara high and craggy Beni Yerso and Hagustan well inhabited Benigualed and Beni Iedes high and almost unpassable Alkas twelve miles from Fez. Beniguazeual ten miles long and five broad shewing one City and an hundred and twenty Villages Guarga Beni Achmed or Beni Hamet four miles long and the like in Breadth Beni Egenefen or Beni Zanten Beni Mesgilda Beni Guamud all bordering on Fez from which divided by a River ¶ THis Province bears good The Condition and Quality of the Territory tall and streight Timber but little Grain of any sort Of Grapes Figs Olives Quinces and Almonds there is pretty plenty but no Cattel besides Goats Asses and Apes with a sort of Beeves no bigger than yearling Calves The Water abounds every where but in many places so muddy that it is scarce potable by reason whereof the People fetch their water to drink from Pits and Ponds without the City ¶ MOst of the Inhabitants of these Places have great Swellings under their Chins like the People in the Mountains of Savoy and Dauphine The Customs of the Inhabitants but the reason unknown except it proceed from the drinking that Water however it much deforms them They are blockish stupid and given to Jealousie and all other kinds of Beastiality These are not so curious of their Wives but in other parts of the same Jurisdiction they are as careless it being customary That when a Woman dislikes her Husband she will go presently to a Neighboring Mountain leave her Children and take another And this is the cause of continual Wars between them And if by chance at any time they make peace the Man who hath the others Wife is bound to give all the Expences to the first Husband during the time of their Cohabitation They fare very hardly living of Barley or Oat-Bread salt Sprats and Eggs accounting Goats Milk Bean-Broth and boil'd Mosch a great Dainty GARET GAret the sixth Province of Fez butting East on the River Mulaye West The Borders of Garet on the River Nakor on the North on the Midland-Sea and South on the River Mullulo and the Mountains close by Numidia is divided into three Parts The first compriseth the Cities and Plains the second It s Partition the Mountains and the third the Wildernesses The first containing the Cities is accompted sixteen miles in Length and forty in Breadth On the Mediterrane stand the Cities Tarforagello Fetis and Tarfoquirato with the Mountain Alkudie so call'd by the Arabians but Marmol takes it to be Abyle Alkudie one of Hercules Pillars at whose foot lies Cape Trident or The Point of three Forkes by Castaldus call'd Cabo de tres Forcas and by Oliverius Cabo de tres Orcas supposed to be the Metagonitis of Ptolomy the Metagonium of Strabo and Sestiana of the Antients It shoots far into the Sea with a Point from which Eastward lie three small Islands in form of a Triangle besides one great one nam'd Abusam in the heighth of thirty Degrees and twenty Minutes Melille formerly Ryssadirum or Ruisar Melille by the Inhabitants call'd Deirath Milila having a convenient Haven in the Midland-Sea was heretofore the Head-City of this Territory In the time of the Goths strongly wall'd and so flourishing under the Mahumetans that it contained above two thousand Houses But in the Year Fourteen hundred and ninety seven the Duke of Medina Sidonia won it and at this day it is one of the Spaniards Principal Strengths in Africa excellently Fortifi'd and commanded by a Castle well provided of all Habiliments necessary either for Offence or Defence About six miles from Melilla near Cape Trident or Metagonites lieth Casasa Casasa by the Portuguese call'd Cabo de Casasa where formerly because of the Conveniency and Safety of the Haven the Venetians drove a great Trade of Merchandise with the Inhabitants of Fez But by the Diligence of Ferdinand King of Aragon and Castile the Moors driven out he annexed it to the Kingdom of Spain Places further from the Sea Tezzote are Tezzote mounted on a Rock ascendible onely by Winding-Stairs Meggeo And Meggeo a small Town two miles Southward of the Midland-Sea and about four to the West from Tezzote ¶ BEsides Alkudie The Mountains of Garet and the Point of three Forks here are several
Cherries delicious Figs by the Inhabitants dried in the Sun to preserve as a Winter-Dainty Peaches Melons Nutts Almonds and many other kinds of Fruit. The Plain of Tezele alone produces Wheat enough to feed all Tolensin Beniguernid abounds with Wood and Tefzare rich in Mines of Iron The Inhabitants divide themselves into four Ranks The Employments of the Inhabitants viz. 1. Handicrafts-men or Artificers 2. Merchants 3. Literati or the Learned and 4. Souldiers The Merchants with great industry export and import Commodities from divers Countreys far remote from them The Artificers are very ready and skilful in their several Trades The Souldiers venturous and daring made up partly of Turks and partly of Moors The Learned are sub-divided into Scholars Lawyers Notaries and Doctors some of whom read Lectures in Physick others in Philosophy and a third sort make it their business to expound the Alcoran They of Telesin and Hubet are affable and civil Their Dispositions many of them being Diers and Cloth-workers Those of Tefezare of a dull apprehension and rugged nature but in Tefezne Smiths and such as work in Iron making a profitable Living The Antient Kings of Telesin lived in great Majesty never shewing themselves in Publick nor giving Audience but by his Counsellor who also managed afterwards all Business These People were a long while Tributary to the King of Spain but from him wrested by the Turks who sent thither an Alcaid to rule but the Turks now have little to do there being subjected to Algier and govern'd by an Alcaid sent from thence ANGAD AGad or Angad Heben call'd by some Angued The Borders signifying A Waterless and Woodless Desart extending in Length from West to East seven miles and in Breadth about twelve The River Muluye cuts through this Wilderness in the midst on whose Shores reside three sorts of People distinguish't into Tribes by the Names of Uled Talha Uled Arrax and Uled Mangor ¶ THe Cities in it are Guagida Tenzegzet and Izli Guagida an old Town in the Hill-Countrey Guagida thought to be the Lanigare of Ptolomy stands upon a pleasant Plain nine miles from the Mediterrane towards the South and almost so sar West of Telensin abutting on both sides on the Desart of Angad replenish'd at the present with three thousand Families Tenzegzet a strong City Tenzegzet seated upon a Rock in the way from Fez to Telesin at whose foot flows the River Tesma repair'd new fortifi'd and garrison'd by the Turks being their principal Magazine for these Parts Izli Zezil Gutlui or Giglua taken for Ptolomy's Giva together with its Castle Izli or Zezil stands upon a Plain by Angad Wastes not far from Telesin Here are but few Mountains the Chief of which is Benizeneten The Mountain Benizeneten inhabited by the Breberian Zenetes about thirty miles Westward of Telensin extending in Length towards the East seven miles and in Breadth towards the South five The Air is unwholesome the Ground rough and woody onely here and there a sprinkling of Barley and indeed the Soyl in this small Tract differs very much for Guagida and Tenzegzet abound in Corn Figs and Raisins mightily whereas Isli is so dry and barren that it affords little advantage notwithstanding all the care the Inhabitants use which frequently overflow it for improvements sake The Desarts of Angad are furnish'd with Deer Harts Porcupines Ostriches and Lions whose rapacious fury is exceeded by Thieves there lurking up and down and taking all opportunities to rob and spoil Merchants travelling from Fez to Telensin ¶ THe Inhabitants of Izli shew great Courtesie towards Strangers Travelling that way but those of Guagida are of a contrary temper The Benizenetens live hardly upon Carraben or Saint Johns Bread Their Food those of Angad eat Dates Milk and the flesh of Goats and Cammels their Habits mean their Language the old African Tongue and their Religion Mahumetane They have a peculiar Governor resident at Guagida Their Government yet must address to Telesin either to exhibite their Complaints or for redress of their Grievances BENI-ARAXID or BENI-ARAZID BEni-araxid or rather Beni-arazid or Beni-razid an Inland Territory is about eleven mile long and five miles broad all the Southern part even and plain but towards the North riseth up every where in Hills The chiefest of the Cities and Villages Beni-arax is Beni-arax enriched with more than two thousand Houses yet unwall'd The second is Calaa Calaa formerly call'd Atoa wall'd and built Castle-wise The third Elmohaskar Elmohaskar having a Fort near it begun by Almansor Lieutenant of Mahometh Benzeyen and finished by the Turks who have appointed it the Residence for the King of Algiers Lieutenant Lastly Batha Batha by Ptolomy nam'd Bunobora erected upon a pleasant place two small miles from Horan by the River Huet Mina formerly very populous but in their Civil Wars wholly destroyed But a Marabout or Priest nam'd Cena in the Year Fifteen hundred and twenty pitching his Residence near it and by the Alms bestow'd on him gaining great Wealth for he had five hundred Horses ten thousand Goats two thousand Oxen and Cows and five thousand Ducats he bestow'd the same in rebuilding this place which he made a Seat for five hundred Scholars which were every day at certain hours bound to repeat aloud some Names of God this Foundation competently endow'd continues to this time and his Scholars do spread themselves and their Tenets all over Africa The Arabians call it from this second Founder Cena ¶ THis Countrey is very fertile yielding abundance of Grain Prunes Figs and Honey besides vaste Herds both of small and great Cattel ¶ THe Inhabitants are of two sorts one resident in the Hills that Till the Ground Plant Vineyards and labour about other necessary things others live idly in Tents ranging the Fields and tending Cattel From Elmohaskar the Governor frequently marches out with some selected Troops of Horse and Pieces of Cannon to keep these People in awe and fetch in the Tribute MILIANE MIliane or Meliane abuts on Beni-razid in the West and Algier in the East Miliana formerly call'd Magnana or Manliana The Head City Miliana for both these Names are found in Ptolomy is a great City built by the Romans upon an high Mountain about three small miles from Sargel to the Inland and nine miles Westward of Algier environ'd on one side with tow'ring Rocks on the rest with high Walls the Houses built very curiously each almost accommodated with a fresh Spring Other Cities belonging to this Province are Mezune and Teguident Mezune The former built by the Romans between Mestagan and Tenez about twelve miles from the Mediterrane The Walls high and strong but the Housing mean and slight The chief Ornament of the Place is the Fort near the Palace and the Great Church both which seem to be Roman Structures The later is the Antient Cesaria of Ptolomy and lieth so far to the Inland Tessare
Fort with a good number of Souldiers and the sum of fifty thousand Escues Abdala also accompanied with a great many Moors did not fail to come to the Place whereupon the Jesuit Matthias instantly with four and twenty of the chiefest of the Galleys stepping out to Land asked for the Kings Son which was promised him for a Hostage Abdala answered He was in the Fort this gave Matthias cause to suspect Treachery whereupon he would have retreated but Abdala and his Souldiers opposing fell in upon them and knockt him and all that came on Land with him to the ground Whereupon the Vice-Roy of Majorca took up his Anchors and withdrew leaving all behind him that were Landed LABES. THe Kingdom of Labes Gramay Affr. 7. l. 25. c. Marmol p. 1.5 l. 28. c. which signifies a kind of Rush in Spanish call'd Esparto of which the Frails or Baskets for Raisins are wrought is by the Turks made a Province of because Tributary to Algier The whole County is Mountainous or rather it is one of the Mountains of the Great Atlas three Miles from Kouko and ten or eleven from Bugie unto which it properly belongs on the East part of which stands a strong Fort call'd Kalaa the Residence of the Xeque or King as at Kuoko of Teleta their Sepulchres At the foot of the Hill lieth two Places Tezli and Boni where by command a Fort was cast up to withstand the Turks The Inhabitants are Brebers and Azuagaes both Warlike People observing the same Customs and Ceremonies with those of Kouko The King can bring into the Field an Army of Thirty thousand Foot and Horse yet at present pays a yearly Tribute to the Bashaw or King of Algier which commonly consists of Four hundred Horses and a thousand Goats for which there is returned to him as a Gratuity in point of Honour a Simiter set with Precious Stones TENEZ IF we would take a Journey out of these Countreys Gramay 7. l. Marm. p. 1.5.6 lying high up into the South back Northward we come to the Territory and City of Tenez one of the Midland Divisions of the Kingdom of Algier It had formerly for Borders on the West The Borders Telensin or Tremizen in the East Algier in the South the Mountains of Atlas and in the North the Midland-Sea but now with the renting off many Pieces is become much less Marmol comprehends under it Brexar Sargel Caesarea or Tiguident Mesane and Meliane but at this day Sargel and Meliane are two distinct Jurisdictions Tiguident and Mesane belong to Meliane and Brexar or Bresch subjected to Sargel The Head City is Tenez The Head City built upon the Plain half a Mile from the Mediterrane by Marmol supposed to be the ancient Laguntum of Ptolomy and by Sanutus taken for Tipasa It stands in the Mid-way between Oran and Algier Seventeen Miles Eastward of the first and as much Westward of the second distant Three Miles from Mostagan and Thirty from Telensin There is in the City a Fort with a Palace formerly the Kings Court and still the Residence of the Provincial Governour sent thither by the King or Bashaw of Algier who also in this Jurisdiction possesses many other Places as Medua formerly call'd Mara lying on the Borders of Getulia and Biledulgerid about Thirty Miles from Algier to the Inland and Forty Eastward of Telensin ¶ MOuntains here shewing themselves are Beni Abukaid Abuzaid The Mountains and Guenezeris by some call'd Guanseris Abuzaid or Zatima lieth close by Tenez to which it belongs Guenezeris very high and craggy from whose Entrails rises the River Selef ¶ THe Land hereabouts brings forth abundance of Wheat The Condition of the Land breeds very good Cattel and yields plenty of Honey Medue abounds with encircling Springs and luxuriant Valleys producing all sort of Fruits Abizaid feeds many Deer or Staggs some Honey but yields great quantities of Barley Guenezeris bears little besides Spart or Rushes and here and there sprinkling a little Tutia or Tutty ¶ THe Natives of Tenez are so homely brutish and ill-natur'd The Customs of the Inhabitants that the Neighbouring Arabs seem to have some Nobleness and Generosity in them Those of Medue are so ignorant that if a Stranger that hath any knowledge come among them they not onely freely entertain and by all good offices endeavour to keep him but also will make him an Arbitrator and Umpire for setling and reconciling all their Differences using in general a civil and decent Habit. From Tenez they Export and Barter Wheat Barley and the like Their Trade for the Imported Commodities of other Countreys and after a good Market send them out again to Algier and other Places The Abuzaidans come usually with Wax and Hides to Tenez Markets to Trade with Europaean Merchants TEBECA TEbeca or Tebesia took the Name of the Head City Gramâ—y 7.6 â— 2. â— Marâ—â— p. 1.5.6 anciently called Thabuna and belonging to the Kingdom of Tunis but now separated and divided from them together with Constantine and connected to this The Head City lieth on the Borders of Biledulgerid The Borders two and twenty miles Southward from the Mediterrane begirt with a high and strong Wall of great Hewen Stones supposed to be built by the Romans In and about these places great Antiquities Pillars and Marble Remains of Monuments with Latine Inscriptions upon them are found In a Mountain close by the City may be seen many great Gaves which the People believe to have been the Recesses of Giants Many Authors of Eminency have written that there is scarcely in Europe a goodlier Place either for magnificence or curiosity of Buildings though it have undergone many sore Storms from the Arabs At present it is of that excellency that they say Proverbially it excells all the Cities of Barbary in three things viz. the fairness of the Walls the Springs or Fountains and the Nutt-trees wherewith surrounded on all sides it seems to stand in a Wood yet the Air about it is very unhealthful and the Ground Lean and Barren HUMANBAR THe first Maritime Province of Algier is Humanbar Borders lying on the Shore of the Midland-Sea opposite to the City Almeria in Granada having for Neighbour on one side The City Humanbar Fez on the other Haresgol and Horan The principal City Humanbar by some called Hunaim by Marmol Ona and by the Moors Deiratuneyn which Ruscelig in his Addition to Ptolomy will have to be Urbara and Gramay the old Siga mentioned by Ptolomy It was by the Spaniards in the Year Fifteen hundred thirty and three Sacked and Destroyed so that it never since had any Inhabitants says Marmol but Gramay tells us it is now re-peopled and the chief place in this Dominion Haren hath a small Haven Haren strengthened with two Block-houses and a strong Wall to the Sea-side The Houses are built with various coloured Brick and plentifully served with good Water Here are two other Cities
Tebekrit viz. Tebekrit and Ned-Roma Tebekrit formerly called Thudaka now fam'd for little but its vicinity to the Mediterranean Sea Ned-Roma Ned-Roma that is New-Rome scituate upon a Plain three miles from the same Sea and one and a half from Atlas and the same which Ptolomy called Celama The Walls Houses Ruines and huge Alabaster Columns with Latin Insciptions testifie it to have been a Roman Structure not far from whence are the two great Hills Tarasa and Galhasu out of whose sides is digged Iron All the Land as well Mountains as Plains abound with Figs Apples Karrabes or St. Johns-Bread Citrons Granates Peaches Olives Melons Cotton and Flax. And some few places yield Wheat Barley and other Grain HARESGOL HAresgol another Maritime Territory so called from the City of the same Name where the Governour keeps his Residence by Marmols computation standing Eastward of Humanbar Westward of Horan about four miles from Tremezen at the influx of the River Teffene anciently called Siga into the Mediterrane on the East side towards the Sea guarded by a Castle This City in the Year Fifteen hundred and seventy by Don Pedro of Navarre was Sacked and Plundered but left by him the Arabians re-entred and possess it to this day under the Protection of the Turks who maintain a Garrison in the Fort. THE MARQUISATE OF HORAN HOran lying also by the Sea Butts on the West upon Haresgol Its Borders and to the East on Tenez and Sargel The City of Oran call'd by the Inhabitants Guharan and by some held to be the Quiza of Pliny or Buisa or Visa of Ptolomy which others contradicting say it was that which he nam'd Icosium It hath been known to former Ages by many several Names as Madura Ara and Auran whence some derive the present Oran It is the Head City of this small Tract seated at the edge of the Midland-Sea oppofite to Cartagena in Spain thirty five miles from Telensin It stands partly on the hanging of a Hill partly in a Plain having the Sea on one side and on the other Trees Brooks and Fountains The Streets are narrow crooked and without order the Houses also mean and scattering yet surrounded with indifferent handsom and high Walls but the Haven very incommodious especially as to some Winds In the most flourishing time the Inhabitants reckoned six thousand Houses besides Temples Hospitals Baths and Inns. Most of the Citizens were Weavers others lived of their yearly Revenues which they raised from their Sale of Barley the adjacent Countrey yielding little Rye or Wheat Many Merchants arrived hither from Catalonia Genoa Venice and other Places who drove a great Trade with the Citizens whose deportment towards them was very courteous and friendly They held Wars a long time with the King of Telensin who would have imposed on them a Governour which they would never admit but among themselves chose a Magistrate whom they impowered to decide all differences arising and was the Judge in all criminal Causes either as to Life or Death By this means and their unity among themselves they became at length so powerful that at their own Cost they maintained a Fleet with which they Pillaged upon all the Coasts of Spain and became as it were a Prison of Captive Christians This so provoked the Spaniard that he sent an Army thither under the Command and Conduct of the Cardinal of Spain Francis Ximenes which with the help of the Biscayners in the Year Five hundred and nine the Eighth day of May with the Loss onely of thirty men and the Redemption of twenty thousand Christian Slaves took it and much defaced its former Lustre yet still there is a stately Palace the Residence of the Kings Lieutenant a Council-House Exchange great Church and several rich Hospitals Here are two other little Cities call'd by Gramay Aghard and Agbal besides Mazagran and Mastagan both possessed by the Turks together with the Mountain Magarava Mazagran hath a Haven the same as Marmol thinks which Ptolomy named the Haven of the Gothes and is environed with high Walls and both strengthened and beautified with a great Castle Mostagan by Sanutus and others call'd Mestugam by some taken for Cartena but by others for the Trada of Ptolomy by the Sea side nine miles Eastward of Horan and one small mile from Mazagran It contains fifteen hundred Houses a fair Church a convenient Haven and on the South side a strong Castle Mount Magarava extending Nine Miles in length upon the Sea-Coast parteth Tremecen and Tenez one from another takes its Name from the Magaravaes a People so called that Inhabit there at whose feet stand both the former Towns About Mostagan the Land is very Rich and Fruitful but lieth waste and uninhabited by the continual Thieveries of the Arabs and Magarava breeds many Cattel and yields good store of Wheat The Mazagrans are untoward Their Employment and ill-conditioned being for the most part Shepherds but the Magaravaes are Warlike and of a haughty Courage not living in Houses but like the wild Arabians removing from place to place with their Cattel Their Language broken Arabick and their Lives spent without any certain order onely for convenience sake they pay to Algier an Annual Tribute of Twelve thousand Escues or French Crowns A Mile Westward of Horan by the side of a little Bay stands Marzalquibir thought to be the place which Ptolomy calleth The Great Haven and placed in Mauritania Caesariensis nor is the Opinion without great shew of Reason for that Marzalquibir Marzalquibir as Marmol says signifies in the Moorish Tongue A Great Haven and indeed it is of so vast an Extent that many think the whole World cannot shew a greater nor is the Magnitude all for it is a secure and safe Port for Shipping against all Winds and Storms This with all its advantages in the Year Fifteen hundred and five was by the Marquess de Comarez taken from the Moors and annexed to Spain under which it long hath and still doth continue SARGEL SArgel another Tributary Jurisdiction of Algier formerly a Member of Tenez so named from its chief City Sargel which some suppose to be the ancient Canuccis and others Cartena but generally in many Mapps Entituled Sargel The Romans erected it by the Mediterranean Sea Nine Miles to the East of Tenez and surrounded it with an high Wall of Hewen Stone The chiefest Monuments are the remaining Ruines of a Magnificent Temple built all of Marble or Alabaster a stupendious Work and worthy the Roman Grandeur brought to that Ruine by Cayne the Califf of Cairavan when he took the City from the Arabians and destroyed it from which time it lay desolate untill the Year Fourteen hundred and ninety two when the Moors banished out of Granada pitching there began to People and Re-build it De STADT ALGIER ¶ TWo miles Eastward of Sargel appears a Mountain The Mountain of Karapula which the Turks call Carapula the Moors Giraflumar and the Christians
always speak in these Terms of high Preheminence WE the Great and Small the Puissant and Invincible Militia of Algier and of its whole Realm have Determined and Resolved But the better to understand what concerns this Militia I do think fit to speak of it first in particular untill we come to speak of its Divan and Government When I consider this Militia I fancy it to be like unto a Basilisk which Nature hath crowned for the King of Serpents but whose Looks are contagious and mortal Even so doth this Monster carry Death in its Eyes so dangerous is it to all those whom it intends to hurt and it is onely its violence that hath put the Crown upon its Head It consists of Twenty two thousand Men of which some are Natural Turks of the Levant and Sons of Turks which they call Couloys and the rest Renegadoes or Strangers or Natives of the Place There is a necessity of having always some Natural Turks to the end the Advantage may be equal betwixt them and the Renegadoes without either getting the Mastery of the other Nevertheless the Renegadoes cannot be Souldiers or receive Pay in the Militia unless they be free and franck that is unless they have found out some means to Redeem themselves or their Masters have conferred on them the Priviledge of Freedom which they sometimes do when they have been well Served or when they become Renegadoes at their solicitation for although a Christian Captive do take the Turban and turn Turk yet do they not cease to be Slaves unless he be freed by one of those ways But if it chance that there remain but few Natural Turks in this Militia either for that they are dead or for that they are return'd into their Native Countrey in such Case the new Bashaws which come from Constantinople bring others along with them or send for them into the Levant insomuch that in such Case they take the first that come and very often the poor Shepherds or such like which they train up to handle Arms. The Moors and Arabs can have no Office in this Militia thereby to prevent the suspicion that might arise lest that being Natives of the Place they should conspire under-hand together to expell thence the Turks and Renegadoes and assume the Soveraign Authority into their own hands Nor are the Morisks who were driven out of Spain admitted to that Priviledge And if there be occasion to Enroll a Man which is most commonly done onely in Algier it is the Custom to go and find out the Aga who is the Chief of the Militia or the Colonel or the General as also the Clerk to the Divan who do take the Names of those that are listed and instantly put them into Pay which is Four Doubles a Moneth Their Pay each Double being worth Ten Sols of French Money They have moreover each day Four Ammunition-Loaves but if they be Married as they may be they have no Bread but may dwell in the City with their Family This Pay is encreased a Double by the Moneth as often as those who receive it are found to be in the Field gathering the Lismes or Tributes of the Moors or that a new Bashaw doth come and as often likewise as any Male-Child is born unto the Grand Seignior And thus the said Pay mounteth until it come to Forty Doubles the Moneth but can never rise higher according to the present Establishment for any Officer whatever And this was Enacted some years since by reason there was not found Money enough to pay the whole Militia From this Militia are drawn forth all the Souldiers of the Garrisons which are dispersed in the Frontier Towns of the Kingdom which are changed every Six Moneths and are called the Pubes of which the Brigades are composed as hath been said above Now when the question is made about Arming a Pyrate-Ship amongst the other Souldiers there are constantly some of this Militia of which Three or four thousand remain in Algier for a Guard to the City and to serve upon the occasions that may arise As for their Quarter it is ordinarily in Nine great Houses which they call Casseria's where or elsewhere they may follow any Trade that they are skill'd in In which doubtless that which doth much encourage them is that the least among them may attain when time shall serve according to his order of reception to be the chief Commander of this Militia for they successively rise from Degree to Degree and from Office to Office until they come to the Quality of Aga nor can any Favour or other Consideration change this method And because it is impossible to understand this but by knowing the Degrees and Names of those Officers it is requisite that I here insert them beginning at the lowest and ascending to the highest From simple Souldiers and Janizaries who are called Oldachy's after a certain time as their turn comes they are made Biquelars otherwise Cooks to the Divan which is the first step to rise unto the great Offices following These Biquelars are those that in the Casseria's Garrisons Camps or Armies are to take care about providing Meat and Drink for the Officers and principal Commanders of this Militia From Biquelars and Caterers they come to be Odabachy's that is Corporals of Companies or Commanders of Squadrons of which the number of Souldiers is not limited for they consist sometimes of Ten and sometimes of Twenty These have Six Doubles a Moneth for Pay and expectation of having it augmented to them as we have said already and they wear for a mark of Honour a great Trayle of half a Foot broad which hangeth down their Backs above a Foot in length with two long Ostrich Feathers From the Charge of Odabachy's they rise to that of Boulouchbachy's or Captains which one may know by a piece of Copper Gilt which they wear upon their Turban in fashion of a Pyramid and a very high Plume From Boulouchbachy's or Captains they come to be Ajabachy's which are but Twenty four and are the chief of the Divan From the quality of Ajabachy's they ascend to that of Aga Commander or Colonel-General of all the Militia They can continue but two Moneths at the most in this Charge and sometimes they change five or six of them in a day when they are not judged capable thereof by the Divan insomuch that sometimes there have been Three in a quarter of an hour But let them be never so unfit for it yet nevertheless the have all the honour to have presided in the Divan although that sometimes they have not been Seated in the Chair of the Aga nor declared such and in that case the Bashaw is obliged to give each of them a Scarlet Vest After they have past the Dignity of Aga they hold the Quality of Mansulaga's that is to say they are such as our Veterans called by the Romans Emeriti Milites for they are after that no longer obliged to the Function of
Souldiers and yet never cease as long as they live to receive Pay which is about Forty Doubles which amounts to Twenty Livres of French Money But if the Divan are to chuse a Generall for the Fields or for the Fleets they commonly take him from amongst these Mansulaga's for that they are Men of Experience and well skilled in matters of War Now all that are of the Militia are so much esteemed amongst them that they do not make any account of a Man unless he be a Souldier although that very often the principal of those Officers be Tradesmen as Shoemakers Black-Smiths and the like And there is not any one that dares to strike one of those Souldiers unless he be one himself and unless he will have his Hand cut off nay it s remarkable that they are not Censurable by the Cady's or ordinary Judges but onely by the Aga or his Chaia that is his Lieutenant The Musquet and Simiter are the Arms which they use to carry when they go unto the Wars or to fetch in Contributions or to play the Pyrates and not otherwise We are to adde here that of the number of these Oldachy's or simple Janizaries the Aga selects Four which they call Sotachy's who serve for a Guard to the Bashaw and these have their Lodgings and their Table in his Palace and withall these onely are allowed to wear Simiters and that they may be distinguished from the rest they have upon their Turbans a kind of little Tower of Gilded Copper and a very high Plume made of Herons Feathers That which is very observable in this Militia is that it being compounded of a great many Men of different Nations as namely Turks Greeks French Spaniards Italians Flemings English Germans and others yet their Policy is for all that so good that they all live in great Concord and very rarely Quarrel each other But if amongst them any one chance to lay hand on his Simiter be it by Rencounter or otherwise with a design to strike then all that be present are obliged to make in unto him to hinder his doing any more and to carry him to the Divan to be punished I will adde here one notable passage An Instance of Barbarians that reproacheth the uncharitableness of Christians to make it appear how much esteem these Barbarians have for all those in general who receive Pay and are Enrolled in this Militia Some years since it happened that amongst sundry Lions which were Tamed and went up and down the Streets of Algier there was one which entred into the Court where the Divan was sitting and there before the whole Assembly he threw himself at the Feet of the Bashaw and began to fawn upon him moaning in a sorrowful Tone as if he did complain The Bashaw instantly guessed that this Lion suffered hunger and that having no particular Master for he was in common and lay in the Streets no one had took care to give him Food whereupon by consent of the Divan he ordered that for the time to come that Lyon should have the Pay of a Janizary to be employed for his sustenance but the Lion chancing to die a Moneth after it was Decreed in full Divan that he should be solemnly Interred and carried by four Janizaries in memory of that that he had been of their Militia and received Pay as themselves ¶ THe next thing is their Civil Government their method of managing affairs of State which is by the Bashaw and Divan yet herein differ they from all other for the Divine Plato speaking of the felicity of States hath said with as much reason as truth that they would then be happy when the Philosophers should be Kings or Kings would Philosophate But the State of Algier seemeth directly to oppose that Doctrine for that those who have the Government thereof have very few of those Qualities which are required to Wisdom And yet nevertheless as if Fortune had taken up her dwelling in that City she makes it to grow and prosper from day to day both in Wealth and Power if so be one may call that Prosperity which subsists onely by Vice and which hath no other Foundation than Tyranny The Divan Their Government to speak properly is the Council of State as well of the City as of the whole Kingdom It is composed of all the Officers of the Militia and sits four times a Week namely on Saturday which is the day of the Great Divan Sunday Munday and Tuesday The first day in the Alcassaw and the three others in the great Court of the Bashaw's House He himself as great as he is cannot be present there unless he be sent for in the Name of the Divan by is Chiaus or Huishers who go on purpose to his Lodgings to advertise him thereof and at the foot of the Stairs where they stay they salute him three times as if they spoke to one that was deaf I shall next let you see the Order and Placing of the Officers The Aga who is Chief of the Council and of all the Militia he is seated in the most honorable Place as President and proposeth all that is to be put to the Debate and to be resolv'd on in full Assembly And if the Bashaw be call'd in he singly reports his opinion as one of the rest but can determine of nothing by his Authority The Clerk or Secretary of the Divan who writeth all that is there concluded and keepeth a Register thereof The twenty four Ajabachy's who are Officers of the Militia nearest approaching to the Dignity of Aga. They are seated in the same Court along a Gallery in which each takes his place according to the Seniority of his Reception The Boulouchbachy's who may dispute and give their Votes as the rest The Odabachy's and sometimes also the Mansulaga's who are Summon'd when great Affairs of State are under deliberation The Chiaus of the Divan and these by the duty of their Charge are present to execute the Orders and Commands of Council which for the most part consists of about seven or eight hundred Persons For the principal Officers of the Militia have their places in it and all of them that are in Town use to be present so that sometimes there will be in this Divan above fifteen hundred Persons especially when all the Officers are there the Mansulaga's and the Odabachy's are taken in These later and the Boulouchbachy's who make the greatest number of Councellors of State and Officers do stand in the midst of the Court-yard each according to his Rank They continue there sometimes six or seven hours in the Sun in the Rain and in the Wind each with his Hands across upon one another without being permitted to alter that posture of them save upon some necessity nor to bring thither any Arms not so much as a Dagger for fear of any tumult Those who have any business there be they Christians Turks or Moors may stand at the entrance of the
Alarbs who pay nothing but by Compulsion For this Oppression and Tyranny they are generally hated and the people certainly knowing the time of their coming oftentimes break up their Tents and drive all their Cattel before them into the Mountains where the Convenience or Strength of the Place gives them hope to have an opportunity of avoiding their Cruelty These Marches are contrived always to begin in Harvest but if it happen they can get neither Money nor Coyn they secure themselves by taking their Cattel and Corn and sometimes their Children All the gather'd Tributes are brought to Algier and a particular Accompt thereof given in the Divan Some perhaps at first hearing may wonder how one of these Troops at most not above three hundred strong can so easily run down the whole Countrey but his own recollected thoughts will easily rectifie him when he shall consider the one are ignorant of Martial Discipline and that breeds in them a want of courage neither know how to manage those few Arms they have whereas the other are compleatly arm'd well disciplin'd and daily exercis'd in the Wars The Register or Secretary of the Divan hath the Command or Check of those Troops of whom he always hath a List or Muster-Roll by which knowing every mans Quality and Service he accordingly puts him upon Duty And when they go out to fetch Contribution though they be all Foot-Souldiers yet are they allow'd Horses as well as their Officers onely with this difference the Commanders have Slaves to look to their Horses which the others may not When they draw out of Algier they Rendezvouz about the City lying in Tents till they meet together But when they march they commonly have their Allowance of Bread with a little Oyl Vinegar Rice and Couscous What other Provisions they will have they must buy with their own Money but that they take no great care for as well enough knowing how to fetch Victuals abundantly from the Arabs and Moors The greatest gain those Companiess make ariseth from the Ostridge Feathers they bring from the Wildernesses in the South which upon their return they sell very dear As to the Corsairs or Pyrates the best account that can be given of them is from the great number of their Ships wherewith they put to Sea which amount to thirty five in all A List of which with the Names of the present Commanders as they were in the Year 1668. and what each Ship carries in her Stern with the number of Guns we have here inserted as followeth  Guns CAptain Tegue Admiral The Tyger 44 Usten Usiph The Palm-Tree with two Bucks 32 Caramis A White Horse with a Moon in his Back 30 Tabuc Rais A White Horse 32 Maned Segma A Gilt-Lime-Tree 36 Ben Alle Rais A Lime-Tree 32 Birham Cololy A Gilt Sun 40 Bischew a Dutch Renedago A Moor Gilt 38 Dochier Hoggi A Gilt Star 30 Alli Rais Trego The Shepherds 36 Alli Rais Vento The Oak 32 Alli Rais a Spanish Reneg A Gilt Rose 34 Buffone Ray a Dutch Reneg The Seven Stars 36 Rais Elleway A Gilt Flower-pot 30 Mustapha Rais an English Reneg A Green Serpent 28 Regient Rais A Half-Moon Gilt 32 Mustapha Rais a Dutch Reneg An Antelope 30 Mustapha Baris The Palm with two Lions 28 Regient Rais a Savoyard A Half-Moon 14 Montequera A Moon with two Cypress-Trees 20 Mustapha Rais a Genouese Reneg with two Lions 26 Cornetto a French Reneg A Dolphin Gilded 16 Le Madam Wynkes Reneg A Lion with a Hand 32 Two Satees two Gallies 14 Six Ships on the Stocks from 26 to 40 Guns 236 Two Tartans ready to be Launch'd  This is the Number and Quality of their Strength at Sea with which they do infinite Robberies besides the vaste numbers of Christians which they reduce into a miserable Slavery Gramay in his time reckon'd their number to above thirty thousand but that we may well suppose to exceed Nor is it an easie matter to make a certain Calculation But if they were much fewer than they are yet were it a Meritorious Work for any or all Christian Princes and States to unite to unroost that Den of Thieves whose inhumane Cruelties merit nothing but utter destruction And although since the before-mention'd Defeat of Charles the Fifth Emperor no great Attempt hath been made upon them yet lately in 1669. Charles the Second of Great Britain c. a Squadron of His Majesties Ships under the Command of Sir Thomas Allen lay before the Place declaring War against them and seiz'd two Barques and a Galliot with about seventy Turks burning another in the Haven ¶ THese Advantages and in truth all other their Wealth coming in by the Souldiers make them to be so highly esteem'd that it is Death to strike one of them nor are they liable to the Censures or Punishment of any Officer but their own Aga. And notwithstanding they consist of all Nations as English French Spanish Italian Germans Dutch and others yet are they so well govern'd and live in such unanimity that very seldom a quarrel is heard of among them As to other particular Singularities in this Kingdom we will give a particular Account thereof in its proper place ¶ THis Countrey in the time of Juba that Sided with Pompey against Caesar was very potent and a terror to its Neighbors But this flourishing Greatness at length decay'd the Dominion sometimes resting in Constantine other whiles in Bona and lastly in Tremecen from whence wrested by the Mahumetan Moors and Arabians and Barbary divided into several Kingdoms as at this day In the Year One thousand five hundred and ten Ferdinaud King of Spain besieges Algier Don Pedro of Navarre having subjected the Cities of Oran and Bugy to his Master Ferdinand King of Spain reduced Algier to such extremity that finding themselves not able to withstand him they submitted to Selim Eutimi the Great Prince of the Alarbes who had always liv'd in the Campaignes about Algier under whose Protection they made it their whole work by perpetual Incursions to infest the Coasts of Spain Majorca Minorca and the other Islands whereupon Ferdinand sent a powerful Fleet to destroy Algier The Citizens seeing such a Naval Force ready to fall upon them submitted to the King of Spain obliging themselves to pay an Annual Tribute However the Spaniard built a Castle in the City wherein was always two hundred Souldiers and great store of Ammunitions and Provisions whereby he kept both Pyrates and Citizens in awe which continued as long as Ferdinand liv'd But Divine Justice at length gave a check to these Successes by his Death for in the Year 1517. by the Marquess of Comares who was march'd out of Oran against him in the behalf of the dispossessed King of Telensin with ten thousand Christian Souldiers at a Passage of the River Huexda he together with Fifteen hundred Turks were kill'd After his Death his Brother Cheredin Barbarossa was chosen King by a general Consent who
though a man of great Valour and Conduct yet sent a Galley with Letters to the Grand Seignior desiring his Assistance and Protection against the Christians very readily did the Turk consent to his Request sending thither two thousand Native Turks Thus fell this City and Kingdom to the Grand Seignior to whom it is yet subject Govern'd by a Vice-Roy who is entituled a Bassa to whom the Christians give the Stile of Highness ¶ THeir Marabouts carry so high a reputation among them that whatever they say is look'd upon as an Oracle and their Commands obey'd even to the hazzard of life They cut not the Hair of their Heads or Beards their Habit a long Coat to their Heels over which a short Cloak reaching but to the middle of their Back as in the foregoing PRINT doth more plainly appear Their Religion and Worship is the same with other Mahumetans or at least very little differing each having an equal Reverence for the Alcorna and using both the same Times and Method of Devotion BUGIE BUgie formerly a Kingdom by the Moors call'd Bigeya or Bugeya The Borders from the chief City belonging to the Dominion lying towards the Sea borders on the West with Algier on the East with Gigel or Gigery before the Bounds were alter'd by the Turks this Countrey was the most Easterly Part according to Davity of the Caesarian Mauritania bordering then on the West as we said with Algier on the East with the City of Tenez and Africa the Less having the Midland-Sea and the City Collo on the North and on the South Biledulgerid and Numidia This Countrey stretching almost Fifty Dutch Miles towards the South over the Mountains to the Wilderness of Numidia contained formerly according to Marmol Bugie their chief City from whence the whole Territory is so nam'd with the Garrison and Village of Gogere Micila Migana Tezteza Lamora Nekauz the Mountains of Benijubar Auraz and Abez but Gramay reckons thus Gigeri Mesile or Misile Stefe or Distefe Nekaus Kollo and Sukayda But now Gigeri is a peculiar of it self and Sukayda and Rollo are incorporated to Constantine So that at this day Bugie contains onely Micili Distefe and Nekaus with the Mountains of Bugie The City Bugie by the Arabians and Moors says Marmol call'd Bigeya The City Bugie or Bugeya and held by some to be the antient Metropolis Thabraka by others taken for Igilgilis or Vrikerh and by Ptolomy for Salde lieth near the Mediterrane on the side of a great Mountain about seventeen miles East from Algier and the like Westward from Gigery The Romans they say first Founded this City being invested with high strong and antient Walls in Fifteen hundred and twenty well Peopled boasting of Eight thousand fair Houses It hath also a commodious large Bay or Road antiently call'd The Numidian Sea The Streets are handsome and well-order'd but being upon a continual ascent or descent they are wearisom to those whose occasions call them to walk much therein Here are several Mosques many Colledges and also Cloysters publick Inns and Houses of common Reception for Strangers built after their own manner They have a fair and spacious Market-place near which on a rising Hill stands a strong Fortress invironed with thick and high Walls curiously adorned within with several seeming Characteral Mouldings upon Plaisters and Carved in Wood besides exquisite Paintings according to their manner which as they say cost more than the whole Fabrick Eastward of this the River Hued-el-Quibir that is the great River falleth into the Sea Micile or Mesile lies within thirty miles of the Border of Numidia surrounded with the Mountain La Abez Stefe or according to Gramay Distefe or rather Distese or more rightly as Marmol calls it Tezteze supposed to be that which Ptolomy call'd Apfar being fifteen miles to the In-land Southerly of Bugie scituated upon a delightful Plain near Mount La Abez formerly destroy'd by the Arabians but soon after re-inhabited by Three hundred Families Nekaus Nekaus formerly call'd Vaga one of the delightfullest Cities of Barbary stands on a River side seventeen miles from the Sea and twelve from Testese on the Borders of Numidia It hath strong Walls and boasted formerly of stately Baths Houses of Entertainment wherein Strangers and Foreigners were Lodged and well accommodated besides many Palaces and Churches Every House though but a Story high had a Garden Planted with Vines Damask Roses Myrrhe and Jasmine Bugie lieth almost quite hemm'd in with the Mountains of Zarara but the most remarkable they call Bene-quibar being five miles from the City Bugie six miles long and three miles broad This Ridge of Mountains taken together reach along the Sea-Coast thirty miles and are in some places six or seven miles broad ¶ THe Land about Bugie is barren and unfit for Tillage yet it brings forth excellent Garden-Fruit Near the City Nekaus are large Plains abounding with Corn and on the River stand an incredible number of Hazel and Fig-Trees accounted the best of that Countrey ¶ THe Mountains afford little Wheat but abundance of Barley besides Nuts and Figs Flax and Hemp whereof much but course Linnen is made Iron-Mines also and good Wood The Inhabitants also keep a great number of Horses Oxen and Goats ¶ THe Women of Nekaus are handsome body'd The Constitutions and Customs of the Inhabitants and fair with black and shining Hair which makes them take a pride to frequent the Baths The Inhabitants of Micile are Clownish and exceeding Rustical sturdy and revengeful so also the Mountaineers Some of them are kind in their Conversation and very much inclin'd to Pastime and more than any use Musical Instruments Those of Nekaus have a good Mien and comely Deportment milde sure Friends and always neat in their Apparel And though every Mountain is possest with a several Family yet their Customs and manner of life are all one Those of Bugie and Nekaus have their Colledges where their Youth are instructed in the Mahumetan Laws and Philosophical Studies the Students Cloathes and Diet born at the Cities Charge The Inhabitants of Micile are all Artificers and Husbandmen The Inhabitants of the Mountains mark themselves according to an Antient Custom with a black Cross on their Cheeks and on the Palms of their Hands which first they us'd when they were subdu'd by the Turks who then requir'd no Tribute of the Christians Whereupon many of them took up the Badge of Christians so escaping the Tax that was laid on other Perswasions which though now useless they continue as a fashion neither knowing the Cause nor Original The Riches of the Inhabitants consisteth in their Cattel Their Riches Corn Plants Linnen and Hempen Cloth The Mountaineers use for their Coyn small Gads of Iron of half a pound weight yet they Coyn also small Pieces of Silver ¶ IN the Declension of the Roman Empire the Goths expell'd their Legions Their Government and made themselves Masters of Bugie and there settled the
Royal Seat of their new Government under their Prince King Abni These in the Year Seven hundred sixty and two were driven out by the Saracens and about a hundred years after that Joseph the first King of Morocco gave the Kingdom and Castle of Bugie then subdu'd by him to one Hucha-Urmeni though a Saracen without paying or doing Homage And though his Successor was disturb'd by the Arabians yet afterwards they held a fair Correspondence with Tunis But two hundred and sixty years since the Sovereign Power falling it became Tributary to the King of Telensin under which it continu'd till the Reign of Abuferiz King of Tunis who subdu'd Bugie giving it to one of his Sons call'd Habdidi Haziz with the Title of King whose Race Govern'd by Succession till Don Pedro de Navarre by Command of King Ferdinand in the Year Fifteen hundred and ten with a strong Army Conquer'd it for the Spaniard who slighted the old Castle and cast up two other new Forts on the Shore by the Haven This City and Forts Barbarossa supposing to stand in his way as opposing the Designs he had upon several parts of Barbary and at the invitation of the expell'd King came in the Year Fifteen hundred and twelve with twelve Galleys well man'd and an Assistance of three thousand Moors drawn by their King from the Mountains and pitched before the City yet after so fair a shew of his great Power eight days continually battering the Castle being discourag'd by a small Shot receiv'd in his left Arm he faintly withdrew and broke up the Siege returning to Tunis and the King to the Mountain This much troubling Barbarossa that he had so dishonourably forsaken such an Enterprise having recover'd his Wound in the Year Fifteen hundred and fourteen he renew'd the former Siege in which plying the Castle so hot and shaking it with his great Cannon it fell but the Garrison'd Souldiers retir'd into the City Then instantly he apply'd himself to the Storming of the other Castle and without doubt would have carried it though in the first Assault there remain'd an hundred Turks and as many Moors dead upon the Spot had not Martin de Reuteria with five Ships and a competent number of Souldiers came opportunely to their Assistance into the Haven whereupon Barbarossa was once more compell'd to depart to Gigeri Charles the Fifth Emperour seeing of what great consequence it was to keep this place for the more easie Conquest of Algier for the better Security thereof built a Fort upon the Hill which commanded the Castle At length those of Algier after many fruitless Attempts became Masters thereof in the Year Fifteen hundred fifty and five by the Conduct of the Bassa Sala who with three thousand Turks and thirty thousand Moors beleaguer'd in two places both the Castles as well by Land as Water First he gain'd the Castle lying on the Sea cutting off most of the Defendants then slighting it and pursuing his Success fell upon the other Fort with such fury that the Lieutenant Alonso de Peralta was forc'd to desert it and seek Refuge in the City but considering the weakness of the Town as not able to endure an Attaque surrendred the City Shipping thence according to Articles for Spain four hundred old Souldiers for which Service he was rewarded by cutting off his Head and ever since Bugie hath been under the Government of Algier GIGERI Or GIGEL THis Countrey bordering with the Sea Marmol so calls from a Village of that Name In the way between Algier and Bugie being fifteen miles from the later consisting of about five hundred mean Houses near which stands an old Castle upon a Hill almost inaccessible This Territory reacheth Southward to the Borders of the Numidian Desart containing Mount Haran being about twenty miles from Bugie and fifteen from Constantine and running Northward to the pleasant Valleys of Mesile Stefe Nekaus and Constantine ¶ THe Soil is generally barren and fit onely for Lime and Hemp which there groweth in great abundance Mount Auraz hath many Springs which so water the Plains that they are Plains that they are all Morass but dried up in the Season of the Year by the Heat of the Sun All this high Land is inhabited by Arabs a fierce and jealous people not permitting any Intercourse or the least Commerce with the Low-Landers lest they should dispossess them of their Habitations The Village Gigeri is very rich especially by the Trade they had in former times with the French who us'd to put in there for Hides and Wax The Inhabitants Traffick in small Vessels laden with Nuts and Figs to Tunis giving to the Bashaw of Algier the Tenth of all their Cargo's ¶ IN the Year Fifteen hundred and fourteen Barbarossa subdu'd this Territory The French are driven out of Gigeri and gave himself the Title of King of Gigeri And by that means when Cheridin Barbarossa his Brother and Successor in his Conquest submitted to the Grand Seignior this with the rest became subject to the Turks who disturb'd by the French that had won something upon it there were still Endeavors by the one to keep what they had got and by the others to regain what they had lost So the French in November 1664. designing to Fortifie themselves had an Assistance sent to them under the French Admiral Duke de Beaufort who arriving with a Naval Army sent a Spy to finde out the Strength of the Moors and to prevent his Discovery attir'd him in Turkish Habit promising him for a Reward of his Fidelity and care fifteen Pistols determining upon his return to fall upon the Moors with eight hundred men fifty of which he intended for an Ambuscade The Citÿ GEGERY DE STADT GIGERI◠CONSTANTINE COnstantine a Maritime Province so call'd from its Metropolis includes Its Borders according to Marmol that space of Land which the Antients named Nero Numidia containing formerly Constantine Mele Tefas Urbs Ham Samit and Beldelhuneb the Rivers Magier and Guadilbarbar dividing it from Tunis The Head City Constantine formerly according to Strabo and Mela The Head City call'd Constantine did bear the Name of Cirta Numidia and Cirta Julia having for the Founder Micipsa King of Numidia but Gramay thinks it a Roman Work by the stateliness and form of the Buildings Marmol averrs that this City was of old call'd Kulkua a Plantation of Numidia and that the Moors still entitle it Kucuntina It lieth on the South side of a very high Mountain surrounded with steep Cliffs from among which the River Sugefmart floweth so that the Cliffs on both sides serve in stead of a Rampart on the other side strengthened with high Walls of black Stone exquisitely hewen through which are but two ways into the City the one on the East the other on the West It containeth about ten thousand Houses many well Paved Streets furnished with all kind of Tradesmens Shops On the North side stands a Castle and without the
till Abu Bark Son of Hutmen the Second which was brought to an untimely end by his Nephew Yahaia as before is declared who was succeeded by Abdul Mumen as he by Zacharias who dyed in a short time Issueless so that the Tunissians chose for King Abukamen Nephew of Zacharias Abukamen King whose Tyranny caused many Rents and Divisions in his State and hazarded almost the whole yet partly by Policy partly by Force he so brought it to pass that Muly Mahomet his Son enjoy'd the Kingdom of Tunis after his death Muley Mahomet And his Son Muley Assez or Assan the last of this Stock after him till thereof by Barberossa bereav'd yet was he not so absolutely lost but that afterwards by the assistance of the Emperor Charles the Fifth again restored The manner this Muley Mahomet Father of Muley Assez had by several Wives many Sons among which this Muley Assez though the youngest was the most intirely beloved as being a most prudent and generous spirited person the eldest call'd Manon he absolutely disinherited and kept in Prison under strong Guard because of his unnatural disobedience Muley Assez declared King as having by Treachery endeavour'd to depose his Father and declared his Brother Muley Assez to be his Heir and Successor to the great satisfaction of most of his Subjects who greatly affected Muley Assez for his Endowments and shortly after Muley Mahomet died much lamented By this means Muley Assez became sole Master of this State to secure himself wherein and taking into consideration the former pretences of his imprison'd Brother Manon he caused him privately to be put to death Araxar his other Brother being inform'd thereof Araxar flyeth out of Tunis for fear of the like mischief fled to Numidia to Abdalor a mighty Xeque or Prince of Bixkara whose Daughter he there married and got a promise of Assistance for regaining the Crown to which he thought he had the best pretensions as being elder than his Brother Muley The News of Araxars withdrawing so inrag'd Muley Assez that he apprehended all that were of the Royal Blood The Rage of Muley Assez putting out all the Mens Eyes and keeping the Women in a strict and close Imprisonment This Savage Cruelty added wings to Araxar Araxar intends to besiege Tunis who by this time had taken the Field with an Army rais'd and furnisht by his Father-in-law and now marched forward with intent to besiege Tunis Muley Assez came out with a mighty Army against him but was soon defeated and necessitated in all haste to retreat to Tunis for Recruits so that Araxar fearing his own Strength not sufficient to subject the Countrey A subtle Invention of Barbaroussa to play the Knave with Araxar requested Assistance from the famous Pyrate Cheredin Barbarossa who at that time govern'd Algier in the Name of the Grand Seignior which was promis'd but yet with this Caution that it would be necessary the more happily to bring his Enterprize to pass to make a Journey to Constantinople wherein he the said Barbarossa would accompany him with assurance to procure from Sultan Soliman great Favour and Assistance Araxar deluded by these Flatteries went to Constantinople and was there very friendly receiv'd in outward appearance but Barbarossa now minding nothing less than what he had said and written underhand told Soliman that in regard Prince Araxar was young he had now a fit opportunity to annex the Crown of Tunis to his Empire Marvellous pleasing was this Advice to Soliman's ears who instantly prepar'd a Fleet which being ready to set Sail he puts Araxar under Guard telling him when Barbarossa had subdu'd Tunis and forc'd them to receive and acknowledge him for their lawful Prince he should be sent thither with an honorable Retinue and put in Possession In the interim he sent Barbaroussa without him upon his intended Design Upon the Approach of Barbarossa Muley Assez who knew himself too weak to stand a Siege against such a Force and believing Araxar to be in the Fleet added more Cruelty to his former so that hated by his Subjects he left the City and betook himself to his Uncle Dorat a man of great Power among the Arabians of Uled Aixa The Citizens thus forsaken by their Prince The Turk becometh Master of Tunis submitted to Barbarossa who forthwith proclaim'd Sultan Soliman their Prince Muley Assez on the other side to turn the Scales sent to the Emperor Charles the Fifth then in Spain and requir'd his Aid which the Emperor willingly hearkned to and the rather because it was confidently rumor'd that Barbarossa intended to harrase with a strong Fleet not onely the Coast of Italy as he had done the foregoing year but also against the next Summer would Ship over to Sicily an Army of Turks and Moors to invade the Kingdom of Naples Fired with this News and also instigated by Muley Assez he put to Sea with a strong Fleet Mann'd with Spaniards and Germans in the Year Fifteen hundred thirty seven on the Five and twentieth of June being St. James's Day with which coming under Tunis he took at the first Assault the Castle and strong Fort Goletta and not long after the City it self and with it the whole Kingdom Barbarossa foreseeing this Storm had withdrawn himself and committed the Defence of the City to Mustapha a courageous Souldier who yielded himself up into the hands of the Emperor Thus the Emperor Re-instated Muley Assez in his Kingdom Muley Asseâ— is Restored telling him that for all his Cost he would onely keep the Castle and Goletta in his own possession with a Garrison and that he Muley Assez should send yearly to him the Emperor and his Successors two Faulcons and two Numidian Race-Horses Other Articles were made between the said Princes to this effect That if Muley Assez did make a failer of this Agreement he should pay for a Forfeiture for the first Default five thousand Crowns for the second twice as much and for the third fall into Contempt and height of Displeasure That he should always hold a strict Alliance with the Emperor and be an Enemy to the Turks and a Friend to the Christians to whom he was to afford liberty of Religion That he should pay every year a thousand or twelve hundred Spanish Souldiers which the Emperor would keep in the Fort of Goletta And lastly That neither the Emperor nor his Successors should send any more Forces nor take into his hands any Places of the Kingdom of Tunis belonging to the aforementioned Muley Assez Goletta onely accepted And this Agreement was sworn to by both Princes with great Solemnity This Expedition thus happily performed the Emperor upon his return to keep up in memory so great an Action and to encourage the Valour of such as followed him therein instituted the Order of Knights of the Cross of Burgundie But Muley Assez did not long possess his Kingdom in Peace after his
must be collected was this Phoenix who gave name to Phoenicia was the Brother of Cadmus and the fifth from Jupiter His Great Grandfather was Epaphus his Grandfather Belus Priscus reputed a God and honoured with Temples call'd Bel by the Assyrians and Baal by the Hebrews his Father Agenor Belus the Less call'd also Methres was Son to Phoenix and King of Phoenicia by Descent and of Cyprus by Conquest he had Issue besides other Pygmalion and Dido who well revenged of her Brother for her Husbands death fled unto the Confines of Lybia with all Treasures which were very great accompanied with her Brother Barca and her Sister Anna and Landing in the Bay where after stood Carthage obtain'd leave to build a Fort no bigger than she could compass about with an Ox Hide This was the beginning of Carthage and hence it took the first Name Byrsa The first Foundation was about the Year of the World Three thousand and seventy about 144 years after the building of Solomons Temple Josephus lib. 1. cont App◠143 years before the building of Rome and 290 before the destruction of Troy By which account it seems impossible that Dido or Eliza ever saw Aeneas clearly contradicting Virgil in that his excellent Poem From this concurrence of time and upon sight of her Picture Ausonius hath given us this Epigram Illa ego sum Dido vultu quam conspicis hospes Assimilata modis pulchraque mirificis Talis eram sed non Maro quam mihi finxit erat mens Vita nec incestis laeta cupidinibus Namque nec Aeneas vidit me Troius unquam Nec Lybiam advenit classibus Iliacis Sed furias fugiens atque arma procacis Iarbae Servavi fateor morte pudicitiam Pectore transfixo castos quod protulit enses Non furor aut laeso crudus amore dolor Sic cecidisse juvat vixi sine vulnere famae Ulta virum positismaenibus operii I am that Dido Passenger behold For my surpassing Beauty once extoll'd Such was I living not as Maro feign'd My Chaster Bosom with foul Lust distain'd I ne're Aeneas saw nor ever heard A Trojan Fleet to Lybick Confines steer'd But to escape Iarba's wanton Flame By Self-destruction I preserv'd my Fame Therefore with steel I pierc'd my tender Breast And not with grief of Love despis'd opprest Thus pleas'd I fell like Gold my Honor tri'd Reveng'd my Lord a City built and dy'd Hereunto consented Ausonius who honouring the Statue of this abused Princess among other Verses written thereon gives us these four Invida cur in me stimulasti Musa Maronem Fingeret ut nostrae damna pudicitiae Vos magis Historicis Lectores credite de me Quam qui furta Deum concubitusque canunt Why stirr'dst thou envious Muse up Virgil 's vein That ' gainst my Honor be a Lye should fain Historians rather than this Poet trust Who prais'd the Gods for Robberies and Lust But to return to Carthage Ibnuraquique an African Historiographer will have an Egyptian King to have laid the first Foundations 226 years before Rome but others later Where-ever it was first erected sure we are the Romans destroy'd it in the six hundredth year after the building of Rome after it had stood above seven hundred years This so famous City stood in the bottom of a safe and capacious Bay strongly fortifi'd on all sides both by Art and Nature surrounded by the Sea except where joyned to the Land by a narrow Isthmus forty five miles in compass by the outward Wall within which were three Walls more and between each of them were several streets with Arched Vaults underneath thirty Foot deep wherein they could keep three hundred Elephants with convenient Fodder for them besides Stabling for four thousand Horse with Conveniencies of Stowage for their Provender and sufficient Quarters in those Out-Streets for their Riders and twenty thousand Foot besides which never came into the City to trouble it On the South-side stood the Castle of Byrsa two miles and a half in Circuit first built by Dido as we said and in that the sumptuous Temples of Juno Apollo Esculapius and Belus On the West a Mole whose entrance was but seventy Foot but within a stately Arsenall and Room for their Ships and Galleys to ride in safety Thus commodiously seated it conquer'd all the Sea-Coasts from the greater Sirtes to the Streights of Gibraltar and so to the River Iberus wherein was contained three hundred Cities Not contented here they cast an eye upon Sicily whose defence the Romans emulous of the Punick Greatness undertook which was the first Carthaginian War and ended to their disadvantage being forc'd to pay three thousand two hundred Talents amounting to two Millions of Crowns The second begun by Hannibal the son of Amilcar descended from Barka the Brother of Dido who after many Victories in Spain and much experience gained conducted his Victorious Army through Gaul and over the Alps into Italy defeated their Armies and slew their Consuls but not pursuing his Victory after the Battel of Cannae and eighteen years Warring in the bowels of Italy was at last call'd home to defend Africa from Scipio who had transferred the War thither The event was that the Carthaginians worsted in the Battel at Nadagara were compell'd to submit to the will of the Conqueror The second Punick War thus ended it might have been supposed the Romans needed not to have been any farther jealous of Carthage which though subject to them because in few years very thriving they had a spight to as thinking themselves unsafe while that City stood Resolved therefore on the destruction of it they sent against it L. Martius and M. Manlius their two Consuls with a powerful Army to whom the Carthaginians willingly delivered up their Arms and Shipping contracting onely for the preservation of it self which was promised But when upon the delivery of their Pledges they were told A City consisted not in the Walls and Houses but in the Laws and Government and that these with the Corporation should remain but the Town be removed ten miles farther from the Sea Enraged hereat they resolved to abide the uttermost but their former condescensions had made them uncapable of resistance Therefore in stead of Iron which they wanted they made Arms of Gold and Silver pull'd down the Houses to furnish Timber for a Navy and the Ladies cut off their Hair to provide Ropes and Cordage twenty five thousand Listed themselves to defend the Walls which with great courage and constancy was a long time performed But at length another Scipio sent thither at last took the Town and for seventeen days together consumed it with Fire but it was again re-edifi'd and peopled by Julius Caesar as a Colony and so much augmented by Augustus that it was accounted a place of no small reputation ¶ IN the time of the Emperor Vespasian it was grown in great esteem It s Fame and very populous but in the Reign of Constantine the Great it was
onely they never wash their Feet but look upon it as an abomination to have clean Hands or any part of their Bodies ¶ THey Arabs that dwell in Biledulgerid The Numidian Arabs are for the most part deform'd and lean their Complexion a deep Sallow and not much troubled with Hair on their Chins they are subtle and cruel They are also long-liv'd and healthy Frication and not Sweating all the Physick these Arabs use which some ascribe to their Frications and avoiding what ever causes Sweat which is the onely Physical Application they use All their Recreations are pursuing the Ostrich and several sorts of Hawking which they much delight in The Grandees pride themselves in their attendance of Negroes but the Common People having no Servants domineer over their Wives exercising Supream Authority putting them not onely to Womens but Mens Drudgeries as dressing and sadling their Horses and whatsoever business else either in House or Field There are some of these Arabs that are Students at Fez and such Proficients that they Commence Doctors and Professors of the Mahumetan Laws and Religion others follow Traffick But in most parts of Numidia many of them are addicted to Poetry attaining to such a heighth that they set forth in Heroick Verse long Epick Poems like Homer or Virgil at large with high Fancy celebrating the valiant Acts of their former Princes and Conquerors and also they are good at Pastorals and such business of the Field But in Songs Sonnets Madrigals and the like which express the various Passions of sad Amours and always dying Lovers they are most exquisite in beyond belief ¶ THese Arabs are of a mild and sweet disposition Their Disposition generous and bountiful Apparel if their Fortunes answer They are Habited like the Numidians onely their Women differ in their Dress These though Poets live sparingly and think themselves highly Caress'd with a few Dates and dry'd Figs. ¶ THeir Habitations are Hutts and Tents Their Houses sometimes two hundred together which being like a Village pitched in a round order defends their Cattel like a Wall which are always placed in the middle They have onely two passages which they stop up with Thorns so to keep out Lyons and other Beasts of Prey They live together in Tribes and remove to better Pasturage like the Tartars and they reckon their Riches in their Stock of Dates and Store of Camels Yet these Countreys are Inhabited partly by other Africans and their own Numidians and by Arabians which drove out the antient Inhabitants and settled themselves in the Desarts bordering Date-land and on the other part the Numidians made themselves Masters of the Wilds that belonged to the Blacks or Negro's These People are distinguished into three sorts the first live without either Law Religion or Order the second are Non-conformists to all Orders but keeping of their Herds and Cattel which they drive from place to place every one having their own Beasts distinguished as their proper Goods Having no more Law then onely Meum and Tuum so they mark their Cattel that they never wrangle the third observe both Law and Religion and are Tributary to the Kings of Fez and Morocco whose Dominion extends to the Countrey of Dara Tafaletta and Ytata There are Turks also residing amongst them of which more hereafter ¶ IN the declination and fall of the Roman Empire Their Government this Region was Governed by Kings but when over-run by the Invading Arabians Their Religion and falling asunder it was snatcht up and shar'd by many petty Princes Their Religion Most of these People are Mahumetans SUS And the Countrey of YDAUSQUERIT THe chief Tracts of Lands in Numidia Westward are those that Border on the Ocean extending from Barbary and the Cape of Aguer to the Cape of Nun. ¶ THis Countrey they call'd The wide-spreading Sus bordering in the West Sus. with the Atlantick-Sea in the South with the Lybick Islands taking in a part of Nun in the East confined with the Territory of Dara and in the North with the other Sus belonging to Barbary ¶ THe chiefest Inhabitants are all Extracted originally from the African Breberians and are divided into Tribes or Families which they call Gemies as we said before signifying a Maslin People The first of these were the Offspring of the Ydausquerits call'd by a special Name Hilela who possess many Cities and Forts as Ydiauzon Merit Deudysdud Deuseniz Yndeuzel Arrahala Ydeunadayf Argan Deuquinsus Aytiakoli and Tizitit Among which the chiefest places are Ydeunadayf lying about fifty miles from Taradan to Zahara on the South Ydeuquinsus and Argon which all make but one onely Gemie or Family named Quincina and are Consociates with the Souldiery of the House of Hilela ¶ THis Countrey affords great store of Grain Wheat and Barley and in some places store of Oranges Lemmons and several sorts of such brisk or sharp-relishing Fruits as are frequent in Spain and Portugal It breeds also plenty of Cattel and such store of Horses that they are reckon'd up by thousands Extuka EXtuka Extuka a Territory of the wide-spreading Sus in which are reckon'd to be above forty Cities and Castles is inhabited by the African Breberians of Miceamunda The chiefest Place of which is Targuez strengthened with a Fort lying on a rising Hill the Residence for the Xeque or Lord. Their Neighbors are the other Breberians that are also Possessors of several wall'd Cities and Castles the chiefest of which are Ydaguazinguel Ydanbaquil Deursumugt and Hilela This Countrey is Mountainous and onely fit to produce Barley and feed Goats of which there are plenty Nun. NEar the Western Ocean are several Forts and Cities inhabited by the meaner Breberians Nun. and call'd Ydeuzel but their chief Countrey lying in the wide-spreading is Nun according to the Name of its Head-City This spacious Tract of Land lying between Numidia or Biledulgerid and Lybia or Zahara of which the greatest part belongeth to Zahara both which suffer extreamly in being harrassed by the many Incursions of the spoiling and pillaging Arabs which skulk in the Desarts wandring up and down with their Tent-Villages Near the City Nun Cape of Nun. lieth Cape Nun or Non so call'd by the Portuguese because they say whensoever any were returning home they were ask'd if they would come thither again who answer'd still in the Negative Voice Non. This Countrey affords no Grain except a little Barley and a few bad Dates therefore the Inhabitants are constrain'd to fetch their Provisions from the Kingdom of Gualata Tesset TEsset a part of Numidia a Countrey in the Wide-spreading Sus Tesset is so call'd from a City near the Borders of Nun towards the Lybian Desart twenty nine Degrees and ten Minutes Northern Latitude This Countrey on one side for threescore miles lieth desolate without any Inhabitants The Town is well fortifi'd with Brick-Walls which become hard onely by baking in the Sun and containeth about four
Ytata part of Tafilet on the Borders of Lybia is almost as big as the Daran Countrey The Inhabitants are a mixt People call'd Garib and their Neighbors are Breberians Sikutaners and Etuaguits ¶ THis Countrey is Mountainous The Nature of the Soyl. and yields not much Grain but superabounds in Dates the best of all Numidia and hath some good Pasturage for Cattel There grows also a Plant of which Anil or Indigo is made They have store of Cattel Camels and Horses for the Race which they highly esteem who wanting Oats and Barley are contented with Dates As for Ytata the whole Countrey seems a Grove of Dates of which onely they have great store and scarcity of all other Fruits ¶ THe Tafiletters are not so well accommodated as their Neighbors The Inâ—abâ—tants their Countrey being rough and barren yet they are subtle and ingenious Their Language Those of Ytata are a mixt people and speak neither good Arabick nor Zenetish but a broken Dialect betwixt both Those of Tafilet drive a great Trade in Indigo Their Trade and Hides which in Arabick they call Xerques that is the Lant-Skin which Beast we have at large describ'd in the General Africa and in Linnen woven after the Morisk manner embroider'd with Silk Here you must observe that most of the Dates which are brought into Europe are transported from Tafilet because the Kings of Morocco and Fez prohibit the Exportation of them from any other part in their Dominions ¶ BOth these places are under the Xeriffs the Kings of Morocco and Fez Their Government who commonly write themselves Lords of Dara and Tafilet and cause those Countreys to be Governed by some of the Stock of Xeriffs which they permit to be call'd Kings of Tafilet This Countrey was formerly pillaged by the Arabians call'd Uled Eelem Uled Abdulquerims and Zorgan and was under a Xeriff or Supream Head of the same People But afterward Hanen Xeriff or King of Morocco made himself Master of the chief City of Tafilet by the help of his great Guns which was such that the Xeque or Supream Head call'd Amar of the Family of Uled Abdulqueris Governour of the Countrey found himself necessitated to surrender so likewise those of Ytata are under the King of Fez and Morocco Sugulmesse THe Territory of Sugulmesse or Segelmesse so call'd from the chief City The Borders of the Territory of Sugulmesse which stands upon the River Ziz and spreads it self from the narrowest part of it lying near to Gerseluin extends Southwards to the Borders of the Lybian Desart about twenty eight miles running in length from the Darran Countrey to the Borders of Tesset Segelmesse the chief City of the Countrey scituated on a Plain by the River Sis formerly strong and well built but the Air proving unhealthy the Inhabitants quitting it dispersed themselves into small Towns and Hamlets so that it became desolate But as Gramay affirms it recovered its former lustre in the Year Fifteen hundred forty eight In this Countrey on the Banks of Ziz Grammay lib. 10. c. 11. are three hundred and fifty Wall'd Towns and Cities great and small and Hamlets innumerable Amongst these are three more eminent than the rest the first Tenegheut near Segelmesse containing a thousand Houses next Tebuhasan the third and last is Mamun or Mamua which is both large and populous This Countrey being Mountainous reacheth from Mezetazu on the West to Telde It affords little Grain but many Dates and most places suffer extreamly with venomous and various Serpents and the worst sort thereof Scorpions ¶ HEre the Summer Heatsare so excessive that the Sun-beams draw up the Sand in minute Atoms like moist and watry Exhalations which agitated by the Winds beats so much in their Faces that they are always troubled with inflamed and ulcerated Eyes This Droughty Season also exhausting the Rivers necessitates them to dig for Water which they are forced to drink though the most of what they find proves brackish The Air of Sugulmesse is pure and healthy unless in Winter then growing danky and gross being moister it affects them with cold Rheums Catarrhs and sharp Defluxions causing sore Eyes which are easier to be Cured than those which they get in Summer These People have amongst them as they distinguish five sorts of Wizards or rather Witches such as are skilful in Black or Magick Arts the first they call Malurman these Exorcising Charm the Reptilia or creeping Animals the second call'd Mahazin take upon them to Cure all humane Distempers restoring health to the sick Bodies the third Makabelt Cure onely Cattel the fourth Zira these boast of raising Storms and Tempests mustering showers of Rain and Hail Clouding and Serening the Skie at pleasure the fifth are the Sadulacha's these go highest professing to drive out the evil Spirits from those that are possessed making no doubt to confine the Devil after excluded if you will believe them In Tebuhasan are many Foreigners Their Trade and amongst them Jews that Trade Their Food is Corn and Dates Their Food ¶ THis Countrey had formerly Kings of their own Their Government but afterwards by King Joseph of Morocco of the Race or Stock of Luntune they were subdu'd and made Tributary to that King next to the Almohadie and after that to the Merins but at length they Rebelling slew their chief Governour in which Commotion the whole City was destroy'd and lay desolate till Anno 1548. Then they gathering together re-built the City and Planted many other Towns and Villages some of which are yet free others under the Arabs THE TERRITORY OF QUENEG or QUENEN THe Territory of Queneg Lâ—â— p. 6. near the River Fez bordering on Mount Atlas hath a High-way reaching to Fez and Sugulmesse Mâ—rmol l. 7. in which Road are three Towns of Receipt and Entertainment The first which is call'd Zehbel stands in the entrance of the Road on such a high Rock that its Spire seems to salute the Clouds The other is call'd Gastrir or Gastir Gastrir three miles from Zehbel stands under the brow of a jutting Mountain near a Plain The third call'd Tammarakrost Tammarakrost lieth about five miles Southward from the second in the same way The rest are twelve small Forts and six and twenty inconsiderable Villages ¶ THis Countrey hath also store of Dates The Condition of the Soyl. but none of the best the Soyl is poor except in some few Spots which are the Margents of the River and the Skirts of the Mountain They sowe onely Barley and a few Tares but so abounding in Goats that they are their chief Sustenance They have for their Houses or Habitations onely a greater sort of Huts rais'd very high with a small entrance and narrow steps to ascend on some of these People are under the Arabians or the City Gherseluin the rest Free-States Matgara or Margara THe Territory of Matgara borders on the South on Queneg or Quenen
upon it yet they keep some Goats onely for the Milk But all these Wants are amply supply'd with that which answers all things Gold found by the Inhabitants of Tivar though others say that they are thus richly supply'd from Negro-Land ¶ THeir usual Food is Milk and Camels Flesh Their Food brought by the Arabians to their Markets with Salt-Suit with which they dress and relish their Dishes It is brought thither out of Fez and Telensin ¶ THere dwelt amongst them formerly very rich Jews Riches but the people being stirr'd up by the instigations of the Mahumetan Priests they were banish'd from thence and most of them in their departure slain by the Vulgar in a tumultuous Riot which happen'd about the same time when they were driven out of Spain and Sicily by King Ferdinand Meszab MEszab a Countrey in the Numidian Desart Messab about sixty miles Eastward from Tegorarin and a like distance from the Midland-Sea in two and thirty Degrees Longitude and eight and twenty Northern Elevation containing six strong Holds and many Villages The Inhabitants are Rich they drive a great and subtle Trade with the Blacks and are Tributaries to the Arabs THE KINGDOM OF TEKORT OR TEKURT THe Kingdom of Tekort or Tekurt according to Gramay The Kingdom of Tekort is that which they call Tikarte accounted by the Turks for an In-land Territory of the Kingdom of Algier as also that of Guerguela for another because they both pay Tribute This Province derives its Name also as others from its Head City which they say lieth fifty or sixty miles from Tegorarin and ninety from Algier in two and thirty Degrees and fifty Minutes Longitude and in seven and twenty and ten Minutes Latitude This City held by some to be Ptolomy's antient Turafylum The City Tekort was built by the Numidians near a Hill at whose Foot runs a River with a Draw-bridge over The Town is well Fortifi'd with Lome-Walls mixt with Stone except on that side where the Cliffy Rocks and steep Declivings of the Hill make it inaccessible Their Houses which are above two thousand are all of Sun-baked Brick except the Mosque which is built more stately About this City are reckon'd up forty Strong-holds and an hundred and fifty Villages some of them at least four days Journey off so that this Site seems to be the Centre to the Circumference of what is under its Jurisdiction ¶ THis populous Territory wanting Corn is suppli'd sufficiently by the Arabians from Constantine The Condition of the Countrey which they Barter for Dates that grow here in abundance ¶ THe People are very Civil The Condition of the Inhabitants Affable and exceeding Hospitable to all rather bestowing their Daughters on them than the Natives Nay they are so good-natured and generous that they many times present their new Acquaintance with costly Gifts at their departing though they never expect to see them any more or receive a Return from them They are a mixt People of which the chief live like Gentlemen on their Estates the others follow Trades and are Artificers THE DOMINION OF GUARGALA OR GUERGULA THe Countrey of Guargala The Kingdom of Guargala by Gramay call'd Huergula by Marmol Guerquelen and Guergula and by the Africans Verquelen lies in the Desart of Numidia on the Borders of the Kingdom of Agadez This also hath denomination from its chief City The chief City by some taken for the antient Tamarka of Ptolomy The Centre of this Province lieth in thirty seven Degrees and a half Longitude and in twenty five and fifty Minutes Latitude This City hath no other near but surrounded with store of Villages as Gramay reckons a hundred and twenty ¶ THis Countrey The Constitution of the Countrey like the others abounds with Dates but hath scarcity of Flesh and Grain Most of the Inhabitants are black not from the temper of the Climate but their intermixing with the Negro's that are their Slaves They are also mild and of affable Conversation always kind to Strangers because most of their Necessaries and Sustenance they are supplied with from them as Corn Salted-Flesh Fat or Suet Cloth Linnen Arms and Knives In the City Guargala are both Merchants and Artificers Their Food They have their Bread Camels Flesh and Ostriches from other parts The Revenue of the Lord of this Countrey is accounted to amount to a hundred and fifty thousand Ducats yearly Revenue To this their Governour they give Supream Honor like a King Government yet he pays some Tribute to the Arabians and also acknowledges the Bashaw of Algier yearly with a Present of thirty Negro's THE TERRITORY OF ZEB THe Territory of Zeb formerly call'd The Countrey of Zebe The Territory of Zeb lying by the Mountain Auran according to Procopius runs through the midst of Numidian Wilds It s Eastern Borders are Biledulgerid Borders opposite against the Kingdom of Tunis and Tripoli on the West Messile on the North the Foot of the Mountain Bugie on the South a Desart where a Way runs along from Tekort to Guargala Here are five eminent Towns viz. Zeb Peskare Nefta Teolacha and Deusca Lee Afrie 6. Decl. besides many Villages The City Zeb from whom the Countrey hath its Name is in four and thirty Degrees Longitude and in thirty Degrees and ten Minutes Latitude it is accounted very antient being according to Africanus erected by the Romans and also destroy'd by them but after in process of time it rose to its former splendour and now also well Peopled Nefta or Neota is a City or rather a Countrey Nefta containing three great Cities especially where a Fort was built by the Romans Leo p. 6. All these three as Gramay affirms was destroy'd in the Year Fifteen hundred and fifteen but since they have returned leisurely to their former Lustre Teolacha is the antientest surrounded with sleight Walls Teolacha by which glides a River of warm Water Deusen another old City built by the Romans on the Borders of Bugie Deusen and the Desart of Numidia Not far from this last City many Antique Tombs and Monuments present themselves in which several Antique Coyns and Medals Engraven with Emblems and on the Reverse Characterized with various Hieroglyphicks are found ¶ THis Soyl is dry and sandy the Air fiery hot The Constitution of the Countrey wanting the two special Ingredients Water and Corn most of their Ground being unfit for Tillage but their store of Dates supplies all Peskare is much pestered with Scorpions in the Summer whose least bite is immediate death therefore in Summer the Citizens desert their Houses and dwell in the Countrey not returning till October ¶ THe Inhabitants of this place The Condition of the Inhabitants though poor are Civil but those of Nefta are Rough and Surly but those of Teolacha are a proud and high-minded People looking down on all Strangers as too mean for their Conversations but
acknowledge as their Supream Ruler over these fifteen Kingdoms in the In-land as Gualata Guinee Melli Tombut Gago Guber Agadez Kano Kasena Zegzeg Zanfara Guangura Burno Gaogo and Nubia besides the King of Burno reigns over another Moiety acknowledging no Superior the rest of the In-lands are subject to the Gaogo's but in times past they were all absolute Kings doing Homage nor Fealty to no other Also the whole Sea-Coast of Negro-Land from Cape de Verde to Lovango stands divided into several Monarchies The Religion of the In-land Negro's Their Religion most of them antiently worshipped one God call'd Guighime that is Lord of Heaven this Perswasion of theirs not being inculcated by any Priests who study Rites and Ceremonies imposing a reverential awe on their Disciples and Proselytes but Instinct and the meer dictates of Nature which brings as soon to the acknowledgment of a Deity something not subordinate but infinitely supream governing all After this they were instructed in the Mosaick Laws which they long and zealously observed till some of them being converted to the Christian Faith wholly ecclipsed the Jewish then Christianity flourishing many years till Mahumetanism at last over-spreading all Asia and these parts of Africa they being still greedy of Novelty fell into Apostacy drinking in the poyson of this new and dire Infection so that Christianity is in a manner extirpated some few Professors of the Gospel after the Coptick or Egyptian manner yet remaining in Gaoga But those Southern People that inhabit the Coast from Cape de Verde to the Kingdom of Lovango sticking to their first Tenets are still all Idolaters as hereafter in particulars shall be declared THE KINGDOM OF GUALATA THe Kingdom of Gualata whose Inhabitants are call'd Benay's hath received its Denomination also from its Metropolitan possessing three great and populous Villages and some delightful Gardens and Date-Fields lying twenty and five miles from the Atlantick Observe these and the forementioned are for the most part Spanish Miles sixty Southward of Nun and about thirty to the Northward of Tombut Fenced in on every side with the rising Banks of the River Zenega or Niger Sanutus sets down in this Dominion a place call'd Hoden lying in the In-land six days Journey from Cabo Blanko in nineteen Degrees and a half Northern Latitude where the Arabians and Karavans that come from Tombut and other places of Negro Land travelling through the same to Barbary stay and refresh themselves ¶ THis Countrey which produceth nothing but Barley and Mille The Plants or Vegetables hath also great scarcity of Flesh yet the Tract of Land about Hoden abounds with Dates and Barley and hath plenty of Camels Beeves and Goats but their Beeves are a smaller Breed than ours of Europe This Countrey abounds in Lyons and Leopards terrible to the Inhabitants and also Ostriches whose Eggs they account a Dainty ¶ BOth Sexes are very Black they are Civil and Courteous to Strangers The Constitution and Manners of the Inhabitants like their Neighbors in the Lybick Desarts the Inhabitants of the City Gualata live very poorly whereas those of Hoden live plentifully having Barley-bread Dates and Flesh and supply their want of Wine by drinking Camels Milk and other Beasts ¶ BOth Men and Women in Gualata have their Heads and Faces commonly cover'd with a Cloth Their Cloathing and the Men of Hoden also wear short white Jackets but the Women think it no shame to go stark naked covering their Heads onely with a Caul of Hair dy'd red Their Language Their Language is call'd Sungai These Arabs of Hoden also like others never continue long in a place but rove up and down with their Cattel through the adjacent Wildes ¶ THose of Lybia Their Trade so long as the Countrey of Negro's stood under their Jurisdiction had formerly planted the Royal Residence of their Kings in Gualata which brought great Concourse of Barbary Merchants thither but since the Countrey fell into the hands of a powerful Prince call'd Heli the Merchants forsook this place and settled their Staples at Tombut and Gago But the people of Hoden still drive a Trade in Gualata and resort also thither in great numbers with their Camels laden with Copper Silver and other Commodities from Barbary and other Countreys to Tombut and many places in Negro-Land bringing no worse Returns from thence than Gold The King of Gualata Anno 1526. being in Battel overcome by the King of Tombut upon Articles paying him a yearly Tribute was restored to his Throne ¶ THese People Their Government though govern'd by Kings are not under the Prescript of any Laws nor have Courts of Judicature in their chief Towns there to summon and punish Malefactors but live in a rambling manner promiscuously every one endeavoring to be his own Judge and Arbitrator their Will being their Law ¶ THe Gualatans onely worship Fire Their Religion but those of Hoden extracted from the Arabs are a sort of Mahumetans professed Enemies to Christianity THE KINGDOM OF GUINEE OR GENOVA THis Kingdom The Kingdom of Genova which many call Guinea though not the same differing from our present Guinee lies by the Sea which reacheth along the Coast from Cape Serre Lions to Cape Lopez Gonzalves by the African Merchants call'd Gheneva Leo 7. Decl. by the Arabians according to Marmol Geneua and by the Natives Geuni or Genii ¶ IT hath for its Northern Borders The Borders the Kingdom of Gualata where the Wilderness runs ninety Miles long on the East that of Tombut and on the South Melle and runs in a Point to the Atlantick at the place where Niger falls in the same Ocean along whose Banks another Angle runs above eighty French Leagues This whole Countrey notwithstanding the vasteness of its Extent boasts neither Cities Towns nor Fortresses but one single Village yet that so large that not onely the Kings keep their Courts and Royal Residence there but also there is a University where Scholars Commence and the Priests receive their Orders and several Dignities besides a settled Staple for the Merchants of this Kingdom ¶ YEt this Place of so great Concourse hath but mean Buildings Their Houses onely small Huts and Hovels of Loam and thatched rang'd in a round order the Doors or Entries so low and narrow that they are forc'd to creep in and out which we may suppose are no statelier built because they expect annually in July August and September to be under water with the overflowing of the Niger then in prepared Vessels and Boats made for that purpose in which the King first loads the Furniture and Houshold-stuff of his low-rooff'd Palace then the Scholars and Priests their University-Goods and next the Merchants and Inhabitants their Moveables and last of all the Water increasing themselves as if they entred the Ark and at the same time the Merchants of Tombut come thither and joyning Fleets traffick with them on the Water This
who is buried with the greatest quantity so that notwithstanding all their pretensions to zeal both living and dying Gold is their onely Deity THE KINGDOM Of the BARBESINS NExt to Zenega on the Sea-Coasts lies the Barbesins Barbesins or according to Sanutus Berbesins to whom Jarrik gives the two Kingdoms of Ale and Brokallo The Head City and Court of the King is call'd Jongo Jongo whose Inhabitants have many Horses and the neighboring Woods breed many Elephants but their Teeth want much of the bigness and beauty of those in other places Upon the utmost Border of the Countrey stands the Town Embamma and at the distance of three miles a Village call'd Bangasia The aforemention'd Jarrik places on the Sea-Coast below Cape Verde The Barbesin-Islands three Islands which from the neighboring people he calls the Barbesin-Islands being altogether uninhabited and producing onely large Trees and unknown Fowls the bordering Sea breeding many great Fishes one sort especially by the Spaniards call'd Dorades frequently weighing five pounds ¶ THe Women of this place says the same Jarrik Their Customs or Manners cut on their Skins divers Shapes of Beasts afterwards anointing the gashes with a certain Herb that makes the Marks never wear out This manner of Ornament they highly esteem Another sort of Trimming the elder people use boaring holes in their Under-lips wherein to keep the Orifice open they stick Thorns and round pieces of Wood. THE PEOPLE OF ARRIAREOS AND FALUPPOS BEtween Cape Saint Mary and the River of Saint Domingo Arriareos and Faluppos live two sorts of People call'd Arriareos and Faluppos The Countrey is low but full of Cattel and Fowl of divers sorts which are easily purchased at low Rates and for mean Commodities for you may buy a Cow for a Copper Bason of three or four pound weight or for an Ell and a half of sleight Linnen a Buck for less and a Hen for three strings of little Beads of Palmeto Wine they sell willingly two Gallons for two or three strings of the like Beads Nor indeed do they set a high rate upon the best of their Commodities ¶ THey are as the other people The kinde of the Inhabitants black of Colour but better shap'd and of a more pleasing aspect than those of Angola but so jealous and distrustful that they will never come aboard Merchant-ships unless some go first on shore out of them and being askt the reason of this their wariness they answer that the Whites under pretence of friendship have many times seized them and carried some of them out of their Countrey against their wills as Slaves ¶ BOth Men and Women go naked Cloathing below their Wastes from their Navels to their Knees they cover with a Cloth but young men and boyes wear a Girdle whereto they fasten a Cloth which drawn before their Privy-Parts they wind between their Legs They have as the rest of their Neighbors two They have many Wives three four or more Wives every one according to his ability and estate each valuing anothers wealth by the multiplicity of their Wives The Rivers Countreys and Kingdoms lying near the Sea from the River de Rha to the Kingdom of Serre-Lions IN this Description we shall begin from the River of Gambea about thirteen miles beyond which lies in twelve Degrees and seven and twenty Minutes on the Sea Coast the Mouth of the River De Rha so nam'd by the Natives but by Jarrik and other Geographers call'd Cassamanka the Banks whereof are Limits to the Kingdom of Casamge The next place call'd by the Portuguese Cabo Roxo lying in twelve Degrees and fifteen Minutes North Latitude which by the falling a way off the Coast a small Wood shews it self very remarkable to Mariners at Sea Five miles from Cabo Roxo to the South-East is a place by Seamen call'd The Great Rough Bay adjacent to which stands the Town Besu and two miles and a half farther the small rough Point Next in order follows Sante Domingo's River otherwise Jarem which seems to be a Branch of the Niger There are divers other Points and Banks in the Sea-Coast between Cabo Roxo and this River as The Red Point The North Bank The South Bank or Sea-gull The Point of Easter Even and The Black Point In the Latitude of eleven Degrees and eight Minutes North Latitude flows the River Katcheo a Branch of Sante Domingo two miles East from the Rough Point at the entrance of it lies some dry Sand although the whole Current glides through a muddy ground to the Village Cassio By Katcheo it meets with another Branch call'd Sargedogon Eastward of Gambea but runs to Katcheo The Blacks of Katcheo when any Ships come out of Europe thither come with their Canoos to Traffique Beyond Domingo the River of the three Islands call'd in Spanish Rio de las Iletas taketh its course through the Countrey of the Papais which Jarrik names Buramos To the South of which opposite to Guinala and Besegui lie seventeen other Islands entituled The Bigiohos or Bisegos Next the Buramos or Papais the Kingdoms of Guinala and Biguba are embraced between two Arms of Rio Grande the one call'd Guinala and the other Biguba from the Countreys they conterminate being in eleven Degrees North Latitude about four and forty miles from Cape Verde between the Islands of Jagos or Byagos More Southerly appears the River Danalvy passing through the Countreys of the Malucen by the Inhabitants call'd Kokolis then you come to Nunno Tristan and a mile and a half farther to Tabito or Vegas which loses both Name and Current in the Sea near the Territory of the same Name Having left Vegas you arrive in the Countrey of Cape watered by the two great Rivers Kaluz and Karceres More to the In-land on the River Gambea the Kingdoms of Mandinga and Beni are seated A little farther to the South lieth the River Marine and on the Sea-Coast the Mountain and Kingdom of Serre-Lions Between the Bisegos and Serre-Lions in the River Sorres lie the Islands of Tamara or Veu Usvitay commonly call'd by the Portuguese De los Idolos and Southward of Serre-Lions the Bannannes Islands Thus much as to the general Description we will now proceed to each particular and therein for method sake begin with the Kingdom of Kassamanse THE KINGDOM OF KASANGAS OR KASSAMANSE THis Kingdom lies encompassed as it were by the River De Rha The Kingdom of Kassamanse on all sides but the East where the Benhuers give it Limits It is a large Tract of Ground and by the moistening of the afore-mentioned Rivers very fertile so that it produces not onely great store and variety of Fruit but also pleasant Vales and luxuriant Meadows for the Pasturing of Cattel The Portugals have in this place by the River side a Fort call'd St. Philips of a convenient strength well Mann'd and Planted with several Pieces of Ordnance to withstand any sudden and treacherous On-slaught of the
Substitutes to gather their people together and to meet him at an appointed Rendezvouz but they had made a private confederacy with Gammina their Masters brother by whose instigation they neglected and slighted his Commands Flansire knowing nothing of this Combination between his Brother and his Provincial Governours Flansire draws towards Serre-Lions after he had committed the Lieutenantship of his Kingdom and the care of his Wives and Children to the Protection of his Brother marched forth with his eldest Son Flamboere the present King of Quoia not doubting but that his Provincials durst not have a thought to leave him First therefore he went by Land to the River Galinhas and from thence with Canoos over the Islands Banannes to take with him the People that were driven from Serre-Lions as we lately mention'd and so passed directly to Serre-Lions where Landing with his Forces He comes with his Forces to Land he began a sharp War with Dogo Falma This Dogo Falma had been heretofore a great Man in favour with the King of Dogo or Hondo but had attempted and lay with one of the King's Wives Dogo Falmab punish'd by the King of Hondo whereat the King was so enraged that not contented the offence according to custom should be bought off with Gifts or Slaves he caused his Ears to be cut off and banished him his Presence but length of time so wore out the King's fury that Dogo Falma was admitted again to the Court where he had not long been but he began to shew his insolence His Speech to the King upon his having punishment and at length accosted the King in these terms Sir King considering the wickedness committed against you my Lord and Master I am obliged to thank you for your gracious Sentence by which I am punished that every one that looks upon me derides and scorns me and the rather because the punishment is unusual and the like offence customarily bought off with Goods and Slaves Now as you were pleased to punish me so I desire the like offence in others may be punished in the same manner It may happen that some of the King's Servants or Subjects may fall into the same Lapse but if it be either deni'd or not performed I shall complain against my Lord the King in the Ways and in the Woods to the Jannanen and Belli that is to all the Spirits and Daemons The King having heard this audacious Speech took council upon it and notwithstanding his implicite menace determin'd that the punishment inflicted on him should not follow upon all But nevertheless to pacifie him in some measure and take off his complaint he made him General of an Army He is made General of Serre-Lions to recover Serre-Lyons out of the hands of Kandaqualla who presided there for Flamboere To repel this Invader Flansire as we said was come to Serre-Lyons with an Army and made sharp War at length by the help of some Whites he fell upon the Town Falmaha and with axes cutting down the Tree-wall at last they forc'd an Entrance and set the Houses on fire The Town of Falmah is taken and burnt whose fury soon increased to an impossibility of being quenched Whereupon Dogo Falmah finding himself unable to resist fled whom King Flamboere with the Karou's pursu'd though to no purpose however Flamboere won great reputation at this time for his valour the people crying him up in these terms Dogo Falmah Jondo Moo that is Pursuer of Dogo Falmah Thus Flansire reconquer'd Bolmberre Gammanah stands up against Flansire and settl'd Kandaqualla again in his Lieutenantship and then Retreated with his Company intending to return to his Wife and Children But on the way he receiv'd notice that his Brother Gammanah whom he had given Commission to manage the State and supervise his Family in his absence had usurp'd his Dominion and kill'd all his Sons he could come at and taken his Wives to himself and set up his Residence by Rio de Galinhas as a convenient place to intercept or impede his Brothers return And as commonly fluctus fluctum sequitur one trouble falls in the neck of another so here this Rebellion of his Brother was attended with an Invasion of the Gebbe-Monou who dwell about Cabo Mesurado who fell into Dowala and Cape de Monte The Gebbe-Monou's fall upon Dowala where they burnt the Town and lead away Prisoners all persons they could meet with intending to make them Slaves Flansire understanding these mischiefs marched towards the River Maqualbary with all speed but complaining to the Kanon and Jananie's that is to God and the Angels of his distress in these words To you onely it is known that my Father left me rightful Heir in his Kingdom which falls to me by the Laws of the Land seeing I was the Eldest Son and that my Brother hath rebelled against me and hath set himself up to be Lord be you Judges between him and me in this intended Fight and let it if the Cause be unjust that he manages against me come upon his own head Thereupon he passed with all his Souldiers over the River where the Armies suddenly met and his Brother with great number of his men slain he got a compleat Victory but still kept the Field although no further opposition appeared against him In this time while the King remain'd encamp'd in the Field to be the more ready against any other appearing Rebels his Son Flamboere went with a Squadron of Souldiers into the Woods to hunt Civet-Cats and by his Sports trained far into them they discover'd some of the Rebels busie in burying the dead body of the Usurper but as they perceiv'd Flamboere and his followers immediately they betook themselves to flight imagining he had purposely come with that Force to find them out and left the Corps behind them with three Shackell'd Slaves intended to have been dispatch'd at his Grave according to custom By this means ascertain'd of Gammanah's death when they least expected it they took and brought the three Slaves to Flansire who having understood out of their mouthes all circums tances of what had happen'd and how all things stood in the Countrey he sent them to their fellow-Rebels to admonish them to come to him to ask him pardon and to assure them that he would not think of their misdeeds Which goodness of the Kings though presented by the mouth of these Slaves wrought the desir'd effect for the Rebels immediately submitted and receiv'd their pardon This Rebellion thus quash'd Flansire subdues the People of Gebbe-Monou King Flansire with all his Power march'd to Cape Mesurado to reduce the Gebbe-Monou which he did with great slaughter and the Spoil of the Countrey and then retir'd with his Forces home again taking his habitation in his old City Tomby till the Dogo Monou made a new Insurrection to revenge the losses of Dogo Falmah at first he left the Town and retir'd to Massagh an Island
Eastward of Albine The Principality of Anten ANten lying about seven miles from Cape de Tres Puntas The Kingdom of Anten and ten from Atsin hath neighboring on the West Little-Inkassan towards the North-West Igwira on the North North-West Mompa in the North Adom in the North-East Tabu and in the East Guaffo the whole River full of Villages inhabited by Fishermen as amongst others Botrow Pogera Pando Takorari or Anten Maque Jaque Sakonde Sama whereof Takorari is the chief behind which lies a remarkable Promontory with a convenient Road or Haven for Ships At Botrow the Netherlands have a considerable Fort. The King of Anten keeps his Court about three or four miles up in the Countrey commanding all the Countrey as well the In-land Villages as those that lie at the Sea A mile Eastward of Anten Rio St. George falls into the Sea close by whose Banks the Village Jabbe is seated Near Tekorari the Hollanders some years since built a Fort from the neighboring Village call'd The Fort of Tekorari The Fort of Witsen or Tekorari but to themselves known by the Name of Witsen originally belonging to the Dutch West-India Company but before the great War between the Crown of England and the States of Holland by them remitted to the States-General In the Year Sixteen hundred sixty and four in the Moneth of April Sublued by Captain Holmes this Fort was attacqu'd by Captain Holms and one Joseph Cubits in behalf of the Royal African English Company with two of the Kings Men of War six Frigats and some other Ships and by them with no great difficulty won but regained again the next Year on the fifteenth of January Recover'd by De Ruyter by Admiral De Ruyter being at that time onely mann'd by four or five in health and about as many more sick English-men and leaving in it seven Iron-Guns six or eight Pounders Immediately upon the retaking the Guns being drawn off to the Ship De Ruyter caus'd it as not to be maintain'd without many people and great Charges with Twelve hundred pound of Powder to be blown up into the Air and totally dismantl'd The Negro's of the Myne in the mean time Plunder'd Takorari The Negets of the Myne are sent to assist De Ruyter and laid it waste by Fire and Sword out of malice which they had against the Blacks of Takorari there came down thither about nine hundred in three hundred Canoos who having as it were by surprize won the Victory exercis'd great cruelty upon such Prisoners as they took cutting off their heads with which they went Dancing and Leaping up and down and at last carri'd them home in token of Victory These Negro's of the Myne were well Arm'd according to their Countrey fashion some of them having Caps made like Helmets adorn'd with Feathers and Horns of Beasts and Swords hanging before upon their Belly whereon instead of Handles they put Bones of Tygers Lions and other Beasts Their Faces generally Painted with Red and Yellow so also on their Bodies which made a very strange and terrible sight Three miles lower stands a large Town call'd Sama containing about two hundred Houses under the Government of one Braffo nevertheless both he and his men own as their Superior Lord the King of Gavi whom they serve in his Wars in time of need and pay him Tribute The Portugeuese had in this Village a Stone Bulwark with a Store-house but now decay'd and deserted by them but by reason of the great conveniency of the River for fresh water and the adjacent Grounds for Fire-wood the Netherlanders have Rebuilt and possess it and have rais'd the middle foursquare Battery fourteen Foot high and a Store-house whither those of Adom and Wassen come to Traffick with them Close under the Town runs a handsome River whose Water is fresh and pleasant Two three or four miles upwards but higher up is full of Cliffs and Rocks so that it is not passable although for a while it was conceited otherwise till experience manifested the contrary for several of the Traders there hoping to have got some advantage by it in their Gold-trade sent six persons in a Ketch with three weeks Provision to search who turn'd back the thirteenth day relating that they had Row'd up eleven or twelve days but were not able to get any further because of the forcible fall of the Water six or seven Foot higher and that above they discover'd so many Cliffs and Rocks that it was impossible to get through them Anten is a plentiful Countrey producing great store of Fowl The Condition of the Countrey and Poultry of several sorts besides great variety of Fruits and Vegetables especially Injame's Ananasse's and Palmitor's from which so much Palm-wine is extracted that the Blacks come ten or twenty miles to fetch it thence in Canoo's and carry it up the whole Gold-Coast The people along the Shore maintain themselves by Fishing Their Maintenance and in the Countrey by Handy-labor and Husbandry They have always held themselves in an indifferent neutrality towards all people Trade and formerly were sought to sometimes by the English sometimes by the Dutch to Trade with them but they finding the Gold they had was brought to them from Igwira and Mempa in small quantities signifying little neither of them prosecuted it any further The best Conveniences to be had among them are Water Wood and Ballast for Ships The Government is mixt being constituted of a Braffo or Captain and Cabosero's or Chiefs of the People The Jurisdiction of GUAFFO or GREAT-COMMENDO GUaffo or Great-Commendo The Kingdom of Guaffo or Commany borders in the West on Anten and Tabeu having a small River for a Boundary between both in the North-West on Adom in the North on Abramboe in the East on Fetu and in the South on the Sea Formerly Commendo Fetu and Sabou were united under one Prince and the Inhabitants then as now by strangers call'd Adossenie's as those of Fantijn Fantenie's but at present divided into three several Kingdoms On the Shore lie several Towns as Aitako or Agitaki otherwise Little-Commendo but by the Portugal's call'd Aldea de Torres being the head Town on the Shore scituate on the Borders of Fetu two miles and an half Eastward of Sama then Ampea or Apene Cotabry Aborby Terra Pekine and half a mile Eastward another Commendo Within the Countrey stands a great City upon a Mountain by the Inhabitants stil'd Guaffo and by the Europeans Great-Commendo for a distinction from Little-Commendo before-mention'd lying near the Sea Most of those Towns have suffered terrible devastations by those of the Myne who use on a sudden to invade them by Water burning and spoiling all before them being not able to cope with the Guaffin's at Land but they of Abramboe once made War against this Countrey by Land got the Victory and kill'd their King All sorts of Fruit and Provision are daily brought to Market in
long Rains begin and continue in a manner without ceasing to the beginning of August These Rains bringing a sudden chilness upon the Air The alteration of the Weather occasions Sickness which newly before was as it were parching hot occasions oftentimes in the Bodies of Foreigners there resident strange Sicknesses because they know not how to preserve themselves from the Cold and Wet so well as the Blacks and moreover the Skins of the Blacks are so hardned by the heat that as if naturaliz'd they are little offended thereby whereas the English and Hollanders living in colder Climates when they feel those violent scorchings to them unaccustom'd fall into violent Sweats which by an insensible transipration exhales even the radical Moisture and so leaving the Vitals without assistance subject the Body to all casual Infirmities During the Season of Rain viz. May and July little or no Land-Winds stir but from the Sea they blow out of the South-West and West South-West causing the Waves to rowl very high In August the Rainy Season begins to cease and yet then the Sea hath a rowling motion with tumultuous Billows In September the Weather grows fair and the Air clear with gentle South-Winds In October November December January and February they reckon the Summer for then is the fairest Weather of the whole Year especially in December and January which have the hottest days In February stiff Land-Winds begin to blow one especially among the Blacks call'd from one of their Moneths Hermanta The Wind Hermanta coming out of the East South-East and continues sometimes not above three or four days and sometimes almost a fortnight otherwhiles a whole moneth though very seldom Then is the Air cold foggy and moist with some sharpness whereby many especially Forreigners get sore Eyes There are also every day two several Winds as we said before the Land-wind beginning in the Morning which they call Bofoe and towards Noon the Sea-wind and by them call'd Agan-Brettou Of Fruits this Countrey is reasonably provided The Plants and Fruits which they feed upon the whole year First there grows Rice also Turkish Wheat call'd by the Indians Mays which the Portuguese brought out of the West-Indies to the Island St. Thomas and from thence carry'd over to the Gold-Coast to supply their necessities For before the coming of the Portuguese this Plant was unknown to the Inhabitants But at this day the Countrey is fill'd therewith whereof they chiefly make Bread The Mille by the Inhabitants call'd Mieuw Mille or Miâ—â— the usual Bread-Corn of the Blacks grows there in abundance which the Inhabitants have had from all ages The Seed bears a resemblance of our Tares but sweeter of Taste and white and grows with long Ears like Bearded-Wheat or Rye It attains perfect growth and maturity in three Moneths then being cut down it lies in the Field a Moneth to dry And lastly the Ears cut off and bound in Bundles and brought into their Huts the Straw serves for a Cover to the Habitations Of this as we said being a Juicy and excellent Grain they make Bread with little labour considering it must not be Ground They have also Potatoe's Jams or In-Jams which grow like Turnips under the Ground and boil'd afford as good Food So the Bananasses and Bakoves they use with equal advantage as we Apples or Pears Ananasses not much eaten because of their tartness yet remarkable in this that the longer they are kept the more they Grow Of Lemmons and Oranges they have great plenty yet the Inhabitants make little use of them for the before-mention'd reason But the Lemmons are by the European Merchants bought up who Press out the Juyce into Vessels to Transport Palmeto-Trees grow in every place from whence they daily get so much Wine that seldom any in the evening can be found Sober In like manner also they get Tow to make Ropes from the Rind and extract Oyl of Palm from the Nuts ¶ LIving Creatures breed here of several kinds Living Creatures both Beasts and Fowls Wild and Tame Elephants particularly Elephants white Tygers Leopards and other Beasts of Prey frequenting the Woods An Elephant is in the Minish Tongue call'd Osson Hares A Tyger Bohen Hares also and Harts Staggs Hinds and Dear like those in our Parks onely their Horns like Goats There are many Dogs Dogs call'd by them Ekia or Kua and Cats as in Europe but the Dogs are sharp Snouted and of more various Colours as Black Red Yellow White and Spotted otherwise not much differing from ours in Shape but much in Nature for they will run away when men strike them without making any kind of Noise but not without Biting though they cannot Bark These Dogs they so frequently Eat They are eaten that in many places they are brought to Market and driven Coupled with Cords one to another The first Gift that a man gives when he Buys his Nobility is a Dog The Blacks keep many of them and have them in great esteem Cats Cats which they term Ambaio are much cherish'd for their killing Mice wherewith the Inhabitants of the Cities and Towns are much pester'd and their Flesh serves them for Food Bulls call'd in the Minish Tongues Nanne Bainin Cows Nanne Boewesja Oxen Cabrietes Sheep Ennan or Nanna and Sheep Cabrietes of which last there are very few found and those seldom kill'd The Cows and Oxen are small body'd like Yearling Calves having Horns standing cross but the Females never give any Milk The young Calves call'd Nanne Bay very bad Food caus'd by the dryness of the Pasture and heat of the Countrey Hens were brought hither by the Portuguese Hens from St. Thomas Isle and have wonderfully increas'd to the great refreshing of Merchants and Strangers when they come on Shore They grow fat as Capons by the feeding on Mille but are small Body'd and lay Eggs not much greater than Pigeons The Pigeons brought thither also by the Portuguese Pigeons are in the Countrey Phrase call'd Abronama that is The White men's Fowl They differ little from those among us onely smaller Headed Swine which they name Ebbio were Transported thither first from Portugal Swine but their Flesh by the change of the Climate becomes unsavoury so that they run wild as a prey fit onely for ravenous Beasts The Dutch carry'd thither some Geese which the Blacks call Apatta and make a choice Dainty at their chiefest Festivals They have no Horses and if one be presented to them they kill and eat it But Apes or Monkies are almost innumerable Apes Gatamountains breed here of two sorts one with white Beards Catamountains black Faces and a speckled Skin white under their Bellies with a broad black List on their Backs and black Tails the other with white Noses all which are catcht by the Blacks with Snares hang'd on the Trees There are also some Civet-Cats call'd Kankan ¶ THe Fowl here are not onely numerous but
Priviledges for now he may buy Slaves and Trade for other things which before he had no permission to do They take great care therefore about it although perhaps the acquiring cost them all they are worth and thereby are much poorer than before but he soon gets it up again by Presents brought him from others each according to his ability And now as soon as he hath gain'd an Estate again he bestows it upon Slaves wherein their Riches and Reputation consists These keep one among another a yearly time of Feasting where they make good Cheer new Paint the Cows Head and hang it about with Ears of Mille. Besides this the Nobility in general keep one Feast upon the sixth day of July where they Paint their Bodies with Stripes of red Earth and wear on their Necks a Garland of green Boughs and Straw as a Badge of their Nobility In the Evening they all come as Guests to the House of the Braffo where they are entertain'd with exceeding Mirth and Feasting even to Excess and Drunkenness These People are so conceited of their old Idolatrous Customs Religion or Worship that they deride as it were the Religion of the Whites under what Name or Notion soever Several times have the Portuguese and French by Jesuits sent thither endeavour'd to convert them to the Christian Faith yet never have been able hitherto to effect any thing worth relating And thus have we travell'd through the Gold-Coast The Coast from Rio Volta to Arder SEven Miles Eastward from Akara The River Rio da Volta on the Shore lieth a Town call'd Sinko twelve Miles from that the River Rio da Volta falls into the Sea Coming with Ships before this River the Entrance seems very little because of a Shelf which lies before it and closeth it up yet more within Land it may be discern'd to run with an open and wide Channel Between Sinko and Rio Volta standeth a Town call'd Ley whose Inhabitants maintain themselves by selling Cows wherewith though at a dear Rate they furnish themselves with Meat Three Miles from Rio Volta lieth a Point call'd in Portuguese Cabo Montego a low Countrey having little Wood and the Shore spreading East South-East From Cabo Montego Eastwards the Coast shoots out with a great Belly so that from one Corner to the other Observe Spanish Miles or Leagues as we said before such as twenty five make a Degree it is ten Miles Sailing The Countrey seems Craggy yet water'd with a small River whose Mouth is stopp'd with Sand and hath Trees on the East Quarter Beyond all the Land lies flat as far as Popo or Popou and shadow'd with good Boscage THE KINGDOM OF ARDER THis Kingdom of Arder contains about twelve Miles in length The Kingdom of Arder beginning four Miles Eastward of Popou and ending at Aqua Three Miles Eastward of Popou on the Shore appears a Town named Foulaen The Town Foulaen five Miles Eastward of which on the same Coast you come to Little Arder Little Arder three hundred Rods in length beyond which about fifty Rods from the Shore runs a River of brackish Water From Popou the Coast reacheth East and by South to Arda and for eight Miles low Land spotted here and there with Trees Two Miles Westward of Arder stand four Woods A Mile to the North North-East of Arder Jakkeins you may see Jakkein a Town so call'd from the Governor thereof The City is encompass'd fifteen hundred Rod about with an Earthen Wall and includes a stately Palace the Residence of the Governor and water'd with a small Rivulet Three days Journey from Jakkein lieth the Jojo Jojo and a quarter of a Mile farther a Town call'd Ba surrounded with a Mud Wall Ba. over which a Fidalgo Commands in the King's Name On the Sea-Coast stand two Gates and on the Land-side runs a fresh River which reacheth to Benyn About twelve Miles to the North North-East up in the Countrey lieth Great Arder an open Village and straglingly built but containing in circuit as the Natives report above three Miles They may conveniently Ride to Arder on Horseback or be carri'd in a Litter or Waggon there runneth so straight a Way thither from the Shore In the mid-way stands a Retiring place for Travellers where they brew Beer of Mille. The King hath his Residence in this Village and two Palaces but he dwells onely in one the other being reserv'd as a Retirement upon casualty of Fire Both these Palaces are environ'd with an Earthen Wall of four or five Foot thick with Coverings of Reeds and have several Chambers and Apartments within Here are no Wall'd Cities but open Villages in abundance fitly scituate for Merchandise and defensible for the Inhabitants The Air proves unhealthy to the Whites The air unhealthy for the greatest number of them that go to Land are quickly seiz'd by a Sickness which for the most part kill 's whereas the Natives are very fresh and sound and attain a great Age. This Tract of Land is every where plain and fruitful thin of Woods The conditions of the Land but full of fine Villages the Ways very convenient to Travel in and several full-stream'd Rivers that irrigate and with their Waters fertilize the Ground The Valleys are enricht with divers Fruits throughout the whole year Their Fruits as Injames Potato's Oranges Lemons Coco-Nuts Palm-Wine and such like The Injames are eaten either boyl'd broil'd or roasted with Butter for Sawce In the Marshes of Arder they make much Salt which those of Kuramo buy and carry away with great Canoos Here breed many Horses The Houses are meer Mud-walls two or three Foot thick Houses and cover'd with Straw Their Houshold-stuff no other than that before described on the Gold-Coast Houshold-stuff and as there also for Ornament hang on the Walls their Arms viz. Shields Assagays or Lances Bowes and Arrows In Places of retirement or as we may call them Inns Beer of Mille. between the Shore and Great Arder and in the Town Offer they brew Beer of Mille in this manner First they steep the Mille in Water till it shoots afterwards dry it in the Sun then stamp it to Meal in great Mortars and poure upon it boyling hot Water They know also to make this Mash Work with Yeast and to make it thick or thin as they please But this Beer by the heat of the Mille will soon sowre and drinking of it causeth the Scurvey but mixed with Water makes a good wholsom Drink Their Bread made of Mille they call Kanties and their other Victuals Kade Food being green Herbs Rice Beef Pork Cabrietes or Mutton Dogs and Hens The Men have three Habit. sometimes four Garments hanging about their Middles one shorter than another so that part of them all may be seen but the upper part of the Body and Feet up to the Knees remain naked The better sort have very sumptuous Cloathing of
or any other wild Beast with a Bell in the middle Both Men and Women go for the most part bare Headed having their Hair Brayded some wear Hats made of the Bark of Trees or Coco-nuts others in stead of Hats have Plumes of Feathers made fast to a Wire about their Heads Some for Ornament make holes in their upper lips Their Ornament in which they put pieces of Ivory and in the under lips for the like purpose Many wear Silver Jewels or Pendants at their Ears and Noses of three or four Ounces weight others put thin pieces of Wood thorow them of five or six Fingers long or Rings or Ivory and pieces of Horn. They colour their Bodies with a Red Paint made of Takoel Wood and Dye one of their Eyes with it the other Painting white and yellow and make two or three Rays like Sun-beams on their Faces Most of them have rough Girdles of Briffels Skin three four five or six hands broad yet the ends meet not but remain about four Fingers breadth asunder ty'd together with a small String to which at an Iron Chain hang their Knives Some hang round Boxes about their Necks but they will never let any body see what they have in them Moreover their Skins be cut and Carv'd in divers manners but never go abroad without either a Sword or Ponyard by their sides Some Women wear Flaps of Bulrushes and a few great Rings of Iron Copper or Tin on their Arms and Legs The Whites exchange in the River of Gabon with the neighbouring Blacks Trade Elephants Teeth which they bring from Kamerones and Amboise for Slaves also Elephants Tails and Skins which they barter again on the Gold-Coast with great gain When the King of Pongo fears any War he removes to another Island partly defended by its natural strength and partly by the great number of Guns which he hath gotten from the Netherlanders French and Portuguese Ships surpris'd or otherwise taken Heretofore this King of Gabon or Pongo The War of the King of Gabon against him of Lope-Gonzalves War'd against the King of the Cape Lope-Gonzalves and overcame him in a Pitcht Field totally destroying his Army by which means he grew very surly and proud but by the intercession of the Europeans at that time there the difference was afterward compos'd Is Ended so that since they have kept a true Allyance and Friendship one with another Some years since The victory of the King of Pongo the same King went with fifty or sixty Canoos thorow the Countrey and first with his people about him came to Kamarones from whence he carry'd all away that he could find as Elephants-Teeth and Slaves The same he did in Amboises and in the Countreys lying near the Princes of Rey and Olibata which shews him to be a powerful King and one with whose Subjects the best Trade may be had either for Slaves Money or Ivory Every Village or place hath a peculiar Governor call'd Chaveponto Government who acts and doth all things in the King's Name The Cape of Lope-Gonzalves EIght miles from the River Gabon The Cape of Lope Gonzalves Northward of Olibata appears a large and Prominant Point from the first Discoverer in Portuguese call'd Caba des Lope-Gonzalves lying in forty six Minutes South Latitude or to explain it better the Cape in one degree and the Road where the Ships come to Anchor in six and forty Minutes A little Southward of this Cape the River Olibata intermingles with the Ocean Here live no People Trade but when the Blacks hear of any Ships arriving they come out of the Countrey and bring sometimes Elephants to sell but Olibata yields the most Trade to the Whites If the Seamen will have no hindrance in their fetching of Water they must give the Blacks good store of old white Linnen Beads and other trifles Most of all the Inhabitants Language both here and at Gabon speak besides their own Language broken Portuguese as learn'd by their long conversation with that People The Inlanders have a King of their own Government who liveth six or seven miles up in the Countrey In March May and June the Current of the Sea sets under the Line or from this Cape Gonzalves most about the South along the Coast of Angola so that Ships may easily Sail about the South in that time whereas at other times it sets continually to the North with Southerly Winds so that 't is almost impossible to come about by the South Next this Cape lie the Rivers of Paradia St. Bacias and Fardinand de Vaz And thus have we lead you as it were by the hand through Negroland AETHIOPIA INFERIOR vel EXTERIOR Partes magis Septâ—â—trionales quae hie desilerantur ride in tabula Aethiopia Superioris Nether Ethiopia 489 contains Lovando Towns Cape Bocle Sofansa Mokonda where the Kings Mother lives Sokn Catta the Residence of the King 's Siler Lovango his own particular Cango Piri two Chilongo's Jamba Cosia Seny Gommo Lanzy Majumba Setty Gobby Rivers Several but none particularly known Ansiko Towns Feâ—â— or none at best little known the Inhabitants being all Cannibals Rivers Zaire Umbre Cacongo Goy Towns Cacongo the Metropolis Molemba Lemba Rivers Cacongo the chief Sonho One City call'd Goy and several small Rivers Congo Towns Panga Mongomendoin Jagado Lengo Mussula Songo Pinde St. Salvador Sundo Pembo Batta besides abundance of poor Villages Rivers Danda Zare Barbele Coango the River of Red Sand Brankan Lelunde Ambris Encocoquematâ—i Loze Onza Bengo Quanza Mountains Quibambiâ— Mountains of the Sun the Saltpeter Hills the Burning Mountains Otreiro Macoco Towns Monsol and scatter'd Huts in stead of Villages the whole inhabited by Anthropophagi or Men-eaters Giringboma Pombo Amboille Towns or Villages they have by report but generally unknown so much as by name Angola Towns Lovando St. Paulo Massagan Cambamba Embacca the Fort Moll 's the Town of St. Esprit and six other Rivers Bengo Quansa Lucala and Calucala Mountains Mora St. Paulo Bengala Towns Mani-cicorgo the Fort Benquelle Melonde Peringe Maniken Somba Maninomma Maniken Somba Piken and Manikilonde Rivers Rio Longo Caton-belle Mountains Sombriera Matama or Climbebe Rivers Bravagul Magnice Coari Port Ambrose Mountains The cold Nountains Christal Mountains Towns Molembo Caffrary or the Hottentots Countrey Towns The Cape of Good Hope and about five hundred or six hundred scattering Houses Mountains Table-Mountain Lion-Mount Wind-Hill Rivers The Fresh and the Salt Rivers St. Christophers Rio Jaquelina Monomotapa Towns Banamatapa the Imperial City Simbao Safale Zimbas Tete Sena Tambura Zenebra Fatuca Tonge Pombo d' Okango Rivers Magnice Panhames Luangoea Arraga Manajova Inandire and Rueruy all yielding Gold Sofala Towns Sofala Cape das Correntas Matuka St. Eubastian St. Catharine Rivers Magnice Quamba Zangebar Towns Rapte a Haven Quirimba an Island with 25 Houses Rivers Quilmami Obi Ango Mountains Graro Mozambique Towns Mozambile a large City Mosambike Island wherein two Cities
to carry their goods from place to place to save other extraordinary charge of carriage The Roads from Lovango to Pombo Sondy Monsel Great Mokoko and other places are much infested by the Jages so that it is dangerous for Merchants to travel that way though they usually go in whole Troops under a chief Commander that is very faithful to them But for the obtaining of free Trade in Lovango the Whites must continually give presents to the King and his Mother the Queen and two Noblemen appointed Overseers of the Factory call'd Manikes and Manikinga and several others In Trading the Blacks of Lovango use their own Language yet some Fishermen on the Shore speak broken Portuguese and there commonly serve as Brokers between the Buyers and Sellers as in Europe The King of Lovango hath several eminent Councellors Government with whom he advises in matters of State Entituled Mani-Bomme Mani-Mambo Mani-Beloor and Mani-Belullo Mani-Kinga Mani-Matta and others The first or Mani-Bomme which is as much as Lord Admiral hath under his Jurisdiction Lovangiri and is indeed the most eminent of all the rest The second Mani-Mamba supervises Lovangomongo but not alone for he hath generally two or three joyn'd with him in Commission The third Mani-Beloor is chief Superintendent over Chilongo and besides that Charge hath the Office of Searcher over the Dockies or Sorcerers and takes care of such as fall under the Bondes The great Province of Chilongatiamokango as free Lord he rules without acknowledging any subjection to the King Mani-Kinga is Lord Lieutenant of Piri and Mani-Matta Captain of the Guard for Matta signifies a Bowe and Mani a Prince The King for the better managing of his weighty affairs hath several other inferior Officers as Manidonga Governor of Pattovey to Guard the King's Wives two Manaenders that is Butlers to the King in the day and two other for the night Moeton Ambamma servant of the great Captain Bamma with a multitude of others Besides all these the great Butler bears no small sway his title Mabonde-Lovango that is Upper Butler of Lovango for he takes care of all Vyands and hath four other under him whereof as we said two in the day time when the King is in the Wine-House and two in the evening perform their service and lastly every division of the Countrey hath a particular Nobleman appointed by the King as we in Hundreds have Justices of the Peace The King of Lovango hath the repute of a potent Lord The Power of the King being able to bring numerous Armies into the Field and that not so much respected as dreaded by the Kings of Calongo and Goy yet he liveth in friendship with them and holds good correspondency with those of Angola his Jurisdiction extends into the Countrey Eastward almost as far as on the Sea Coast being known by the general name of Mourisse and Manilovango The administration of Justice and punishing of Vice Justice seems to be according to the Law of Retaliation for Theft is not punish'd by Death except it be against the King but when they take a Thief either in the very act or afterwards the things stoln must be made good by him or his Friends and the Thief bound expos'd for a scorn and derision of every one in the midst of the Street If any be found Guilty whose miserable poverty affords no means of satisfaction then may the offended seek remedy every man of the Tribe or Generation whereof he was and make them work for him till he receive the full recompence of his losses The King hath by the report of the Blacks near seven thousand Wives The King hath many Wives for after the decease of one King his Successor keeps all his Wives and brings also many besides to them These Wives are kept in no great respect for they must work no less than other women Some few of them he selects for his Amours and with them spends much time the other he shuts up as Nunns in Cloysters When one of these proves with Child one must drink Bonde for her to know whether this Woman hath had to do with any other besides the King Now if the Man who hath so drank be well they judge the Woman upright but if the Man falls she is condemn'd and burnt and the Adulterer buried alive The King as supream Governor A Mother is appropriated for the King appropriates to himself one to be as a Mother a grave Matron and of good and try'd experience which they call Makonda whom he reverences with more honour than his own natural Mother This Makonda hath a great prerogative and priviledge to do good offices both to the Nobility and common People that fall into the dis-favour of the King who is necessitated in all weighty affairs to use her Counsel for she hath such authority Her Authority that if the King provokes her any way and doth not grant her Suit speedily she may take away his life Besides she takes the advantage without any daring to controll her to satiate her unruly appetite as often and with whom she pleases and whatever Children she hath by such means bears all the same repute that proceeds of the Royal Race but if her Gallants meddle with other Women they are by authority of the Law punished with Death so that these accounted felicities carry with them their infortune and if they imagine themselves detected they have no way to preserve their Lives but by flight When the King dies The Inheritance of the Crown his Children succeed not but the Crown devolves to his eldest Brother and for want of Brothers to his Sisters Children Such as may pretend any right to the Crown have their Dwellings in several Cities and Towns and as they come nearer to the Government the nigher they draw towards Lovango now so soon as the King dies the Lord which dwelleth in the next Town of all cometh to the Dominion and he that dwelleth nearest to him supplieth his place again and so on to the last with this Proviso that they must be of Noble Blood by the Mothers side Mani-Kay the first Successor to the Throne dwelleth in a great City call'd Kay about a mile and a half North North-West from Lovango Mani-Bocke the second dwelleth in a Town four or five miles up into the Countrey call'd Bocke Mani-Cellage the third resides in a pretty large Town by Name Cellage ten or twelve miles Northward of Lovango Mani-Katt the fourth remains in the Village about fifteen miles from Lovango Mani-Injami the fifth holds his Seat in a Hamlet call'd Injami Southwards towards Calongo After the Decease of the old King Mani-Kay succeeded and Mani-Bocke came again in his place and every one follows his Lot The King 's youngest Brother hath his Mansion in Chilasia and from thence comes to Bocke upon the first Vacancy and if he hath a Child by his Wife and have offer'd Sacrifice to their Cares or banish'd Gods removes
red Parakitoes Cranes Storks with red Bills and red Legs and half white and half black Feathers There are also Owls which they call Carjampemba that is Devils because their appearing presages ill luck This Region produces two sorts of Bees Bees one that Hive in the Woods in hollow Trees and the other in the Roofs of Houses The Pismires Pismires by them styl'd Ingingie are of four sorts the biggest have sharp stings with which they raise swellings upon men the other three are somewhat smaller Ensingie Eusingie is a little Beast with a Skin speckled black and grey The Entiengio a small Creature very curiously streak'd slender body'd with a fine Tail and Legs never comes upon the earth for the very touch thereof proves mortal to it therefore keeps in the Trees and hath always twenty black Hair'd Creatures call'd Embis attending that is ten before it and ten behind it This they take in Snares and when the ten first are taken the ten behind betake themselves to flight by which means the Animal bereav'd of its Life-guard at last is also taken The Skin of this little Beast bears such a value that the King onely may wear it unless perhaps by particular favour some great Lords may be admitted among which the Kings of Lovango Cakongo and Goy are taken in Some have reported In Congo are no Gold-Mines that about Saint Salvadore there are Gold-Mines but without any ground of probability because the Portuguese are greedy of Gold having convers'd so long in the Countrey would not have left them undiscover'd But they find many Copper-Mines in several places But of Copper especially in Pembo near the before-nam'd City whose Mettal shews so deep a tincture of yellow that reasonable Artists have mistaken for Gold but upon proof the errour becomes quickly rectifi'd The like Mines are found in Songo yielding better Copper than that of Pembo whereof in Lovando the Purple Armlets are commonly made which the Portuguese carry to Calabare Rio de Rey and other places In Bamba Silver-Mines and other saith Linschot there are Mines of Silver and other Mettals and in Sundo to the East-side of Crystal and Iron the last bearing the highest value because it makes Knives Swords and other Weapons Quarries of Stone they meet with frequently Stones as also Rocks of red Marble besides many precious Gemms as Jasper Porphirie Jacinth and the like The Inhabitants of Congo The kind of the Inhabitants known by the name of Macikongen are very black yet some few differ being onely a kind of Olive-Colour their Hair black curl'd their Bodies of a middle stature and well Set the whites of their Eyes of a Sea-green and their Lips not so thick as other Blacks wherein those of Congo differ from the other Blacks especially from those of Nubia and Guinee Although some of them be surly and proud Their condition yet in general they carry themselves very friendly towards strangers being of a mild conversation courteous affable and easie to be overcome with reason yet inclin'd to drink especially Spanish-Wine and Brandy Such as converse much with them discern a quickness of reason and understanding ordering their conceits and discourses so rationally that the most knowing Persons take great delight in their facetious humor In the Wars they shew little Courage for the most part going by the lose if the Portuguese give them no assistance for twenty Whites will put to flight a thousand Congoians These of Sango are a proud lazy and luxurious people but have a winning behavior and volubility of speech beyond those that dwell on the Northside of the River Zaire These of Bamba have the repute of the most Warlike and strongest of all in these parts for they are such men that can cut a Slave in two in the midst with a Sword or strike off the head of an Ox at a blow And which is more seeming incredible that one of their strongest men can with one Arm hold up a vessel of Wine which weighs three hundred and five and twenty pound weight till the Wine be drawn out at the Spigget They have all a native propensity to Stealing and what they so get They are inclin'd to stealing they drink out instantly with their best Companions in Wine one of which goes before the maker of this Feast and other Friends crying aloud Behold the King of Congo doing him that honour for the good Chear and Courtesie receiv'd from him that day In the ways from the Cities Saint Salvadore and Lovando Saint Paulo many discarded Noblemen fall'n into disfavor with the King keep in great Troops and Companies Robbing and Plundering all Travellers till restor'd again into the Princes Grace They much practice the villanous Art of Poysoning They are given to poyson one another whereby for the smallest trifle they execute a fatal revenge They are severely punish'd But those that use it had need have a care for if the Author or Contriver be detected he must die without mercy which severity they abate nothing of at present and for discovery so strict inquiry is made that it is very difficult to pass unknown by which means this inhumane Custom begins to decay Those of Sango wear Coats from the Navel to the Ankles and Mantles over the rest but the Women cover their Breasts They play at Cards for Pastime Their Play Staking little Horns or Shells reckon'd among them as current Money The Citizens of Congo maintain themselves chiefly by Merchandize Their maintainance but the Countrey people by Tilling of Land and keeping of Cattel Those about the River Zaire live by Fishing others by drawing of Tombe-Wine and some by Weaving When they travel from one place to another The Congoians do not ride on horseback but are carryed by men they ride not but are carry'd by men in Hammacks as the foregoing Plate sets forth or else sitting upon a kind of Biers made fast with a Cord to a Pole upon the shoulders of their Slaves or by hir'd people with an Umbrella overhead to prevent the scorching of the Sun wherefore those that will go speedily take with them many Slaves for their Journey that when the first grow weary he may be carry'd by the other They Marry and Betroth in Congo after the manner of the Christians but will not be circumscrib'd thereby from keeping every one as many Concubines as they can provide Clothes and Expences for When the young Maids in Congo dispose themselves for a double Estate they go into a dark house and Paint themselves red with Oyl and Takoel Wood of Majumba staying therein about a moneth and then chooseth out her eldest Free-man that hath been most diligent and serviceable to her and takes him to Husband When any Man or Woman among them dies they blame the Survivor The cause of the death of Man or Woman is laid upon the Survivor firmly believing such Persons cannot die by
sixty young men in stead of Husbands each of which may have as many Wives as they please with this proviso that if any of them be with Child themselves must kill the Infant as soon as born In the year Sixteen hundred forty eight the four and twentieth of June the third day after the New-Moon according to the relation of one Fuller a Commander in the Service of the Netherlanders who was appointed with sixty men to assist this Queen against the Portuguese and in that regard stay'd so long time with her that one of these her Gallants had a hundred and thirteen Wives without any offspring for that after the manner of their Devillish Superstition and Idolatry he cursedly made away or kill'd their Children The Queen us'd this very Custom at that time neither dare any of those selected young men own their Sex or mention hers And for the more orderly concealing thereof she clothes them in Womens Apparel according to her manner and goeth her self in Mans Habit giving out that they are Women and she a Man All these have Womens names but the Queen her self a Mans especially in the Army and will acknowledge no otherwise nay her Favorites dare not say the contrary upon the peril of their Heads and as a testimony herein of their obedience and constancy to her permits them to go freely among her women and if they fail in their obligations they seldom escape to tell further news In the year Sixteen hundred forty six she over-ran with her Army Ruin'd Oando and spoyl'd all the Villages of Oanda and made the Inhabitants Slaves But the Quisamens residing on the South-side of the River Quansa send every year Tribute to her for an acknowledgment both of their Friendship and Subjection After her death the Portuguese set another of her Family as King of Dongo Angola Sodesie is chosen King by name Angola Sodesie who always privately sent Presents to them in token of submission The King holds his residence a little above the City Massingan Dwelling placâ— of the Kings in a Stony Mountain above seven Leagues in compass inclosing within it many rich Pastures Fields and Meadows yielding a plentiful Provision for all his Retinue into which there is but one single passage and that according to their method well Fortifi'd so that he needs neither to fear any Enemies from the Queens side nor from the Jages The King here The King onely may keep Peacocks as he of Congo keeps a great many Peacocks a peculiar onely to the Royal Family and of so high esteem that if any one should adventure to come to take but one Feather from a Peacock with intention to detain it he should immediately be put to death or else be made a Slave with all his Generations This Kingdom stands divided into several Provinces The Dominions of Angola are govern'd by Senasea and every Province subdivided into inferior Lordships Commanded by a particular Sovas Every Sovas hath a certain number of Makottes or Councellors Their Command who in all addresses fall down on their Knees clapping their hands with whom he consults of all weighty Concerns These Sovasens live privately in Villages Their dwelling places inclos'd with thick Hedges and have onely some narrow ways for entrance and the Habitations cannot properly be term'd Houses but sleight Huts made of Rushes and Straw after the Countrey manner The Governors of all the Territories which the Portuguese hold in Angola by force of Arms The coâ—quer'd Sovasen must pay tribute to the Portuguese are bound to pay a Tribute of Slaves to them yearly and to do them other services under the Title of Vassals The Portuguese Governor of Lovando use to Farm this Tribute of the Sovasens to some of their own Nation who were not content with what was the setled Revenue of Slaves but oftentimes take as many more which made the Natives bear a mortal hatred to them The Sovasens moreover are bound to appoint Carriers for the Portuguese when they travel through the Countrey to bear them in Seats from one place to another For if a Portuguese be minded to travel from Lovando Saint Paulo to Massingan when he comes at Evening into a Village where he intends to Lodge he sends to the Sova to let him know he hath an occasion for so many of those Carriers who must not fail to provide them And this they do every Evening to have fresh Men for the next days Journey In the year Sixteen hundred forty one The City Lovando Sante Paulo overcome the Netherlanders under the Command of Cornelius Cornelisen Jol otherwise call'd Houtebeen took from the Portuguese the City of Lovando Saint Paulo upon this account and in this manner Grave Maurice of Nassaw For what reason it was undertaken by the Netherlanders or General of the Netherlanders in Brasil taking into consideration that the State of Brasil could not consist without many Blacks from the Coast of Africa not onely to work in the Sugar-Mills and to Plant the Cane-Fields and cleanse them of Weeds but also to Manure more Ground for the Planting of Mandihoka and all manner of Fruits and that this Work could not be done better by any than these African-Slaves And besides that there were not Slaves enough brought from the Coast of Arder Kalbarine Rio del Rey and other places thereabouts concluded on to set out a Fleet under the Conduct of the foremention'd Houtebeen and some Land-Forces under the Command of one James Hinderson to take Angola from the Portuguese The Fleet consisted of twenty Ships great and small Man'd with two thousand Souldiers nine hundred Seamen and two hundred Brasilians which set Sayl from Fernabuck the thirtieth day of May The Fleet set Sail from Fernabuck in the year Sixteen hundred forty one and after many oppositions to come about to the South the nineteenth of July in eight and twenty degrees South-Latitude the Fleet began to want fresh water The fifth of August the Fleet came to Cabo Negro in sixteen degrees They come to Cabo Negro from thence to Flies-Bay in fifteen degrees and on the one and twentieth day they overcame and took a Portuguese Carvill sailing along the Coast laden with Wines from the Maderas call'd the Jesu-Maria-Joseph the people of which serv'd them for Pilots to bring them into the Haven of St. Paulo The four and twentieth the Fleet came within sight of Land and Hinderson went the same day with his Souldiers set in order against the City ordering the Snap-hances to March in the Van. The Portuguese Governor Caesar de Meneses stood not far from thence on the Shore with nine hundred Whites and Arm'd Inhabitants and a great many of Blacks besides two Pieces of Ordnance in a Fighting Posture But so soon as the Netherlanders came near and began to fall on The enemy leaves the City the Blacks first betook themselves to flight afterwards the Portuguese and at last
the Governor follow'd leaving behind them the Ordnance and soon after the City with all Forts and Batteries without further resistance so that none was found therein but one drunken Souldier and a very old Man The Booty there consisted of nine and twenty Brass-Pieces Booty and sixty nine of Iron besides store of Arms Ammunition and provision of Victual as Meal Wine and thirty Sheep small and great But because there was no fresh water the Netherlanders after their Conquest Fortifi'd a House lying near the River Bengo for conveniency of fetching Water upon which the Blacks made an assault but were beaten off with loss of eighty men Two days before the appearance of the Dutch Fleet the Governor had some notice of it but supposing the Netherlanders had come onely to fetch a Booty of Slaves and other Goods and so to return gave order that his Wives and Children with the best Goods and readiest Merchandize Meneses complains of wrong should be brought and hidden in convenient places But when he saw that they aim'd at the conquering of the City and all the Forts by War and to keep them for their own he by Letters complain'd to Jol of injury and put him in mind That the States of the United Netherlands and the King of Portugal were agreed and in League with each other and therefore expected the Surrender of the City Notwithstanding this expostulatory Letter and friendly Summons The answer of the Netherlanders the Dutch within the City return'd answer That they were not acquainted with the Agreement of the Portuguese nor had heard of it but if the Governor had in truth known any such matter he should have given them timely notice before the City was subdu'd and they had not been dealt with as Enemies At last when the Portuguese Governor who was retir'd to Massingan found that the unwholesomness of the Air kill'd many of his Souldiers and that he could not expect to regain Lovando by complaint or fair means and knowing himself too weak to attain it by force sent a Messenger desiring a Truce for eight days intending in that time either to joyn with the Netherlanders and declare himself for the States or to depart An agreement between the Enemy and the Netherlanders But when he propos'd unequal matters he was requir'd to depart with his Souldiers sixteen miles from Lovando and make a mutual agreement and to declare in nine moneths whether he would submit or depart Hereupon Caesar de Meneses drew to the River Bengo and sitting down there with his people began a new Plantation and manag'd it with such industry that in short time he Planted Gardens and could not onely himself eat the Fruit of the Ground but also afford some to those of Lovando The Dutch therefore grew jealous of him The Enemy began to be supported as having heard farther that he to strengthen himself had taken away all the Ammunition from Massingan doubled his Guards in Bengo and deliver'd out Powder and Ball to his Souldiers expecting an addition of two hundred men out of Bahia And therefore to prevent any future inconveniencies it was concluded to send a Party of Souldiers privately to surprize the Leaguer of the Portuguese And to that end in May Sixteen hundred forty three there went out about a hundred men who in the Evening came near the Camp the Centinel upon the first discovery of them gave fire and was seconded by the rest of the Souldiers whereupon the Dutch fell on They were deseated and being come to the Market-place the Guard lying before the Governors House Sally'd out upon them as also did the Moradores with their Snap-hanses but were quickly routed and twenty kill'd and as many wounded The rest among which the Governor himself was one were taken prisoners and with the Plunder and Spoil of all brought to Lovando Saint Paulo and from thence sent to Taernabock in Brasile onely the Governor Petro Coesar de Meneses with some of the chiefest they kept prisoners there The Portuguese seem'd highly discontent at these Transactions The discontent of the Portuguese upon subduing the City which they shew'd in their Declarations and Letters sent to Lisbon firmly maintaining them to be contrary to their ten years Truce concluded in the year Sixteen hundred forty one which according to the first second and eighth Articles was instantly to begin in Europe and beyond Europe as soon as tidings could come of it Adding further that they had accordingly sent notice but on the contrary the Hollanders sent instructions to Houtebeene their Admiral in America to subdue all they could Till the year Sixteen hundred forty eight Lovando subdu'd again by the Portuguese the Netherlanders possess'd this City at which time the Portuguese regain'd it by Treaty on the one and twentieth of August and accordingly on the four and twentieth of the same Moneth the Dutch march'd from thence While the Hollanders held it The Fort Moll 's they erected a Fort on the Northside of the River Quansa to hinder the Portuguese going up and down to which they gave the name of Moll 's being two and thirty paces long and twenty broad made up with Planks and Pallisadoes and fill'd with Earth the top about four foot thick furnish'd with Port-holes and grown round about with Bushes where were Planted four Pieces of Ordnance with a Guard of Souldiers ¶ MOst of the Inhabitants are Idolaters Religion and have their Moquisies and Idols made of Wood in the midst of their Cities and Towns giving them particular names and swearing by them usually but in their more particular Adjurations they follow the Customs and Frantick Humors of the Ganga whereof we spake not long since with this onely addition That at last the Conjurer or Ganga takes a red hot Iron and strokes every one with it over their Arms or Legs yet the place touch'd therewith receives no damage by burning in the body of any but the guilty And this Superstition hath so won upon their infidelity that the very Children of the Countrey in trivial matters put it in practice But the Fathers of the Christian Religion would severely punish the same if it should come to their knowledge Most of their woodden Idols are made up in the shape of a Goat with a Tortoise head feet of Beasts and small bones of Elephants which they call by a general name Ganganjumba through which they say the Devil speaks to them For the service of these Idols they have Priests call'd Ganga's which they adore like gods for they think that their lives health Ganga's or worshippers of the Devil nay the preservation of all things lies in their power as that they have the command of Rain and Wind cause fertility or barrenness upon the ground inflict sicknesses and restore health for indeed they know how in some manner to administer Physick In short all the Blacks of Angola till of late liv'd in Paganism using
yellowish with lank or uncurl'd Hair hanging down at length who daily come to Trade with the foremention'd Islands They of Pombo d'Okango being ask'd how many days journey they had from Okango to this Lake answer'd that at the speediest they could scarce arrive there in sixty days These Jages are like in Manners Wars and Savageness to the Jages of Ansico for they eat up all those that they take Prisoners in the Wars or serve them as Slaves and for Ornament have also Feathers stuck through their Noses and both the upper Teeth before are struck out without which marks none can be receiv'd in their Bands or Companies as we have at large before related The Kingdom of SOFALA THe Kingdom of Sofala lieth between the Rivers Magnice and Quama upon the last of which it borders in the North Borders and the Kingdom of Angoche in the South on that of Magnice and the Territory of Buttua or Toroa in the West on Monomotapa and in the East on the Indian Sea The chief City seated in an Island they call Cefola or Sofala The chief City Sofala near which the Portuguese have a strong Fort built in the year Fifteen hundred This City when the Portuguese first came to it had but a small extent and the Structures were very mean but since that much improv'd with neat built Houses Linschot places here few other Cities and Towns Geoge Nub. contrary to the fancy of divers African Geographers who reckon Hantema and Dandenia besides some stragling Huts term'd Villages on the shore as Sajona Boccha and Gasta The River Magnice seven and twenty degrees The River Magnice and forty minutes South-Latitude was at the beginning call'd by the Portuguese Rio dos Lagos that is The River of the Lake but afterwards in the year Fifteen hundred forty five Rio do Spirito Sancto Joseph Barros lib. 10. c. 1. It hath its rise as some conjecture out of the Lake Goijame and after it has flow'd along way to Sofala divides its self one of which keeps the old name and disembogues his stream into the Sea between the Fish-Cape and the Cape das Torrentas having first receiv'd three other Streams of which the chiefest is call'd by the Portuguese St. Christophers River because found on that day but by the Inhabitants Magoa the other call'd Marches from Lawrence Marches the first discoverer both which pour down from the Mountains of the Moon in the Territory of Toroa the third stil'd Arroe comes about the North from the midst of the Gold Mines of Monomatapa The other Arm of Magnice The River Quama entitul'd Cenama or Quama or Covanga takes denomination from a Castle or Fort which Pigafet says the Mahumetans possess on its shore but higher up the Inhabitants name it Sambere This arm hath more plenty of water than the other being Navigable above twenty miles and receiving the Stream of Six other great Rivers as Panhames Luangoa Arruga Manajova Grain Gold Inandire and Ruenie all which make their way through Monomotapa in many places casting up Grain-Gold it empties it full-gorg'd Channel into the Sea by seven Mouths which make seven Islands all well peopled At the mouth of this River the Portuguese have a Fort to keep the Inhabitants under obedience built in the year Fifteen hundred The Kingdom of Sofala shoots not far into the Countrey but lies wholly on the Sea-Coast in the midst of it appears the Cape das Correntas in three and twenty degrees and a half South-Latitude between which Cape and the Island of Madagacar over against this Cape lieth the Banks or Cliffs of India call'd in Portuguese Baixos da India very dangerous and causing many Shipwracks They begin about the one and twentieth degree South-Latitude in the Channel of the Coast of Sofala Matuka reacheth from Cape das Correntas to the River Cuama The Countrey of Matuka or Quama wherein are several Gold Mines belonging to Monomotapa On the Coast of Sofala in the Countrey of Matuka lieth the Capes of St. Sabastian and St. Catherine The Air is healthy and temperate The Air. the Land some places plain and in some uneven barren and desolate from the mouth of the River Magnice to the Cape das Corrintas but from thence to Quama very fruitful and populous Matuka bears not an equal evenness Sanus though being by Quama River for the most part Mountainous Scbiq Spilberg 1601. Woody and interlac'd with many Rivulets the Sea Coast low and plain full of shrubby Trees whose sweet smelling scent heretofore gave a quicker discovery than the eye could make of the place Great wild Elephants numerously overspread the Countrey Beasts which the Natives neither know how to tame or manage nor are Lions Bears Stags or Harts and Bores fewer besides Sea-Horses that sport themselves in the River Quama The Mines and Rivers afford abundance of Gold Abundance of Gold which the Blacks gather in a kind of little Purses of no small quantity The People are well-set The constitution of the Inhabitants and for the most part black though some brownish Those which dwell at Cape Carnidos are less wild than them about Aiguilhas or the Cape of Good-Hope also taller of stature and free of converse they feed on Rice Flesh and Fish They go with the upper part of their bodies naked Clothing but wear upon the nether part from the Waste to the Knees Clothes of Silk or Cotton girt to them with a Girdle whereto hangs a Dagger with an Ivory handle and winde about their heads Silk Stuff in form of a Turbant though some wear Scarlet Colour'd Caps Some of them speak Arabick Language but most use the common Language of the Countrey for you are to observe that these present people are not the proper Natives of the place but came before the Portuguese on this Coast over Sea from Arabia Faelix to Trade with those of Monomotapa And as they found greater advantage by the increase thereof they began to Plant fresh Colonies in the void and desolate Islands and at length remov'd thence into the main Countrey The Inhabitants relate The Riches Navig di Tâ—o Lopez that the Gold-Mines of Sofala afford yearly two Millions of Metigals every Metigal accounted for a Ducket and one third part and that the Ships of Zidem Meque and many other places in times of Peace have yearly fetch from thence two Millions of Gold And lastly that this is the very true Ophir from whence King Solomon had his Gold Hence King Solomon setchâ—â— his Gold Moq. lib. 4. And indeed according to the Writing of Moquett no place in Africa affords better and greater plenty of this Metal for the General of Mosambique during his three years Service in the Wars receiv'd more than three hundred thousand Esckusos or Crowns in Gold besides the Pay of the Souldiers and the third part answer'd to the King of Portugal The Inhabitants Trade
by one of its chiefest Mouths near the Kingdom of Melinde The Portuguese Writers will have this River Quilmanzi to be the same with Zebee which rises out of Maria a Territory in the Abyssynes from a place call'd Boxa and from thence running South with a swift course into the Kingdom of Gingiro Other Portuguese affirm That it lieth no more than a thousand Paces from Melinde being a very great River flowing out of the Abyssine Countrey but that they could never attain the full knowledge thereof because those that were sent to discover it were driven back and assaulted by the Inhabitants The Air is very Unhealthy Feaverish and Corrupt Air. and no less unwholsome are the products of the Earth caus'd partly from the Moorassness of the Grounds and partly from the multitude of Rivers and Lakes which makes this Countrey a great pack of Islands The Inhabitants are black having short curl'd Hair The constitution of the Inhabitants they go from the shoulders down to the middle naked but have their nether parts cover'd with party colour'd Clothes or wild Beasts Skins the Tails whereof especially among people of Quality hang down behind The Blacks on the Sea-Coast and of the near adjacent Islands Food live upon Fruits the flesh of wild Beasts and milk of the Cattel which they breed especially the Moors call'd Beduines who dwell a little deeper into the Countrey and Trade with the Kaffers Gold is none of the least advantages drawn from this Countrey Riches wherewith it so abounds for which onely they get a supply of all other necessaries The Natives of the Main-Land are Idolaters Religion but the Islanders almost all Mahumetans extracted from certain Arabians exil'd from their Countrey for introducing of some Heresie in their Religion as following the Doctrine of one Zaid Nephew of Hocem Son of Haly whereupon they were call'd Emossayders The Islands of QUIRIMBA OVer against Zanguebar L'Ambassade de D. Garvas Figuerra en Perse lie the Islands of Quirimba extending above fifteen miles along the Coast to the out-lying Point call'd in Portuguese Cabo del Gabo They are not all of one equal bigness nor alike distant from the Main-land and sever'd one from another by Channels so small and shallow that at low-Water they may be Waded over And although each Island hath its particular name yet the Portuguse call them all Quirinba The Islands were formerly inhabited by the Arabians as may plainly appear by the Ruines of the Houses and Mosques being built by people less barbarous than those that have their Residence there at this day of Lime Stone and Tiles like the Cities of Quiloa Monbaza and Melinde But since the Portuguese began to set forth their Ships to the East-Indies the Souldiers and Mariners out of a natural hatred and antipathy to all Mahumetans thought it not enough to rob them burn their Houses and Mosques and to carry them away for Slaves but with a sweeping Rage sparing neither Age nor Sex destroy'd all of the remainder These Islands many years since lay waste and void of people till some Portuguese from the Main-Land wafted themselves over thither and planted them and so became subject to the Governor of Mayambique about three and thirty miles from thence from whence every year cometh a Judge to decide Controversies The Lord of every Island hath his House built of Stone and Lime wherein resides his Wife Children and Slaves of both Sexes as also Friends and Servants whom they hire to have their assistance against the Negro's of the Main-Land which by their living so near are ready enough to do them a mischief And therefore both themselves and Slaves are Arm'd with Muskets Pistols and other Weapons Most of these Islands are not above half a mile or a mile in compass but very fruitful full of Palmito-Trees Oranges Figs Grapes Herbs and Pome-Citrons and excellently accommodated with fresh Water They have besides many Oxen Cows Goats and an infinite number of Fowl among which Wild-Pigeons and Turtle-Doves but Corn Rice Drugs dry'd and confected Fruits are brought to them from Ormus The Island of Quirinba is the biggest and was the first Peopled yet hath onely twenty five Houses inhabited by Portuguese and Mesties they stand not close together but lie scatter'd here and there two or three together Every one of these little Islands hath their own Governor which every three year are chang'd From Gou they receive a Dominican Priest who celebrates Mass and performs all other Sacred Duties to which end there stands a Cloyster in the midst of the Houses whither all those of these Islands come to do their Devotion The second of these Islands call'd Oybo Oybo is not so big as Quirinba but the Air more temperate and fresher so that a man may well say that the whole makes one pleasant Garden moisten'd and besprinkled in many places with the best and most wholsomest Waters in the world The other Islands have no Road nor Haven where Ships can come to an Anchor because in the deepest Channel at a low Ebb there is not three Foot water Over this Island Oybo a Portuguese Commands who dwells in a great and handsome House with Chambers below and above and behind it a Garden incompass'd with a Stone-Wall of two Fathom high with Spiers at the top so that it may seem in stead of a Bulwark This with assistance of his Houshold Family who are all Arm'd may be defended against any Incursion of the Blacks from the Main-Land if they should offer to attempt it but they live in good Peace one with another because of their mutual Trade The Kingdom of MONGALO and ANCHE or ANGOS UPon one side of the River Quama lieth Mongalo a Tract of Land inhabited by Mahumetans or Moors They have abundance of Gold brought thither from Monomotapa not far from thence you see the River Ango by Pigafet call'd in Italian Agnoscia by Moquet in French Angoche but by Barbosa Angos The Countrey produces great store of Mille Rice and Cattel The Inhabitants are of a middle Stature but very black they go with the upper part of the body naked but cover'd from the Girdle downward with Cotton and Silk Clothes Some wear Turbants upon their heads and others Caps made of Silk Stuff They use a peculiar form of Speech though many of them speak Arabick Language These Moors of Angos are all Merchants Trading in Gold Ivory Cotton Silk Their Customs Clothes and Kambain Beads or Bracelets The Cotton Silk Cloth and Beads they receive from the hands of the Merchants of Quiloa Mombaze and Melinde which bring them thither in small Baskets or Almides cut out of the whole Wood. They own no Governor unless one who speak their proper Language and by profession a Mahumetan yet all their care doth not keep them from a mixture of Heathenism The Kingdom of MOZAMBIKE A Little beyond Angos appeareth the Kingdom of Mozambike so call'd from the
Island of that name exceeding those her two neighbors of St. James and St. George living all three near at the Mouth of the River Meginkate Over against St. Georges Island but at the distance of an English mile you may see a Point call'd Cabo Ceira being a hanging Islet joyn'd to the Main-Land of Africa by a small Istbmus overflow'd at High-Water but at other times passable on Foot The Countrey of Mozambike is very fertile in producing many sorts of Fruits Plants as Rice Citrons Oranges and Mille which the Blacks are compell'd to guard and defend against Elephants by the kindling of Fires whereof these Beasts are very much afraid There groweth also a certain Plant call'd Pao or Wood of Antak which creeps along the ground and is very like the Herb Aristolachia or Heart-Wort The Fruit is long small with green Seeds or Grains The Roots have a strange vertue in curing a Disease call'd Antak which seizes on the Foreigners by conversing with the Blacks and can be expell'd by no other Medicine The Inhabitants make Wine of Mille which they call Huyembe or Pembe Here is no want either of tame or wild Fowl Animals nor of Stags or Harts wild Hogs Cows Oxen and Elephants which last are so numerous that the Inhabitants dare not travel without fire to defend them from their assaults Wild Hens breed in the Woods being speckled with many small white and gray spots their Heads are much less than our common Hens with a short Comb but thick and of a high colour and not onely the upper part of the Head but also part of the Neck cover'd with a blue Skin like a Turky Many Silver Gold and other Mynes are found in the Countrey The People have short Curl'd Hair The Constitution of the Inhabitants great Lips long Visages and very large Teeth They go stark naked onely a blue little Clout before their Privacies They Paint ther Bodies with divers Colours but account it the greatest Ornament to have streaks of a certain red Earth They make in each Lip three holes in which they hang Bones Jewels and other things But this Fashion and Trimming eminent People onely use They feed in general upon all sorts of Fruit Food and Flesh of Beasts yet they eat also the Flesh of Men taken Prisoners in the Wars but they esteem the Flesh of Elephants as the choycest Dainty They are revengeful and treacherous dull of understanding and inured to labour like Beasts not grutching to be Slaves Every Lordship or Province produces a several Language Language yet it proves no hindrance to their converse one with another Their Riches consist in Gold Riches found in the Rivers Ivory Ebony and Slaves yet are so fearless of any attempts to be made upon them that they debar no Foreigners to come into their Havens the Portuguese onely excepted Their Weapons of War are Arrows Battel-Axes but can neither boast any number of People nor extent of Land The Inhabitants are according to Linschot some Heathens and some Mahumetans but Pyrard averrs they have neither Religion nor Laws but that they are onely Kaffers The Island MOSAMBIKE THe Island Mosambike half a Mile from the Main Land contains about three quarters of a League in length a quarter in breadth the whole compass not exceeding a League and a half with a white Shore It extendeth South and North along the Main Land between which and this Isle and Fort appears the Bay serving for a convenient Haven Land-lockt from all Winds being very large and carrying eight or ten Fathom Water Within a Stones-throw of which the Ships ride at Anchor This Island hath the Main Land on the North and two other uninhabited small Islets on the South the one nam'd St. James or Jago and the other St George but neither affording any conveniency not being inhabited being wholly overgrown with Shrubs and Bushes Some place two Cities upon Mosambike-Isle affirming the one to be plentifully peopled by Portuguese and the other with Blacks but Pyrard makes the whole so fully inhabited that it seems but one Town comprehending within its Circuit a very large and strong Fort together with five or six Churches Chappels and Cloysters From the Description of the Navigation to the East-Indies made by Verhoeven in the Year Sixteen hundred and seven it appears that the City of Mosambike is very large having good Walls fine Houses and some Churches and Cloysters wherewith agrees Paul van Caerden in the Journal of his Voyage to the East-Indies Moquet allots to the City not above two hundred Houses but Linschot leaves all the places open and unwall'd except the Castle where the Portuguese Governor with his Soldiers have their Residence Garias de Silva Figueora in his Persian Embassy comprises in the City an hundred and fifty Houses but most of them built of Wood Straw and Palm-Tree Leaves For the deciding these different Relations we may suppose that the first Writer who placeth two Cities here mistook two Villages for Cities and Linschot himself mentions the Dwellings severally making one part of the old Fort commonly call'd Fortarez a Velha and another of some Houses close by it Others may have taken a great number of Houses standing close together to be a City however it is we may modestly guess that at the time of these Writers things were found thus There is a Cloyster of St. Domingo with a rich Hospital said to have been a Castle in former time built by the Kings of Portugal into which those of that Nation are put coming sick from Sea Besides St. Anthony St. Dominick and St. Gabriel's Church all lying without the Fort they have another Nossa Seniora do Balvarte built close under the Fort. The Air being generally more than warm proves very unwholsom Air. insomuch that few live there any while free from dangerous Distempers which no doubt are much augmented by the want of fresh Water there being onely one small Spring of little consequence in a Thicket of Palm-Trees so that most of them drink salt Water mingled with a little of that fresh This great Drought sufficiently declares that the Land proves barren Unfruitfulness of the Soyl. and unfit to produce any thing Yet provident Nature hath recompenced the want of all other Provision with Coco-Nuts Oranges Citrons Ananassed-Figs and other Indian-Fruits but these onely in manured and well cultivated Gardens They have neither Wheat nor Rice growing but all brought from the Main Land or from Goa and the East-Indies so also Raisins or Grapes and Spanish-Wines with several other Necessaries both for benefit and sustenance so that it is much dearer living here than in any other Place possessed by the Portuguese in this Coast Here breed great Herds of Oxen Cows Sheep Beasts with Tails as big as a fifth part of their Bodies Bucks Goats and Swine whose Flesh hath gain'd such an esteem that the Doctors oftentimes order the Sick to eat it and forbid them
their Ancestors brought with them Madagaxo or Magodoxo AS you Travel more Northerly towards the Red-Sea you come to the Kingdom of Magadaxo which hath been formerly so powerful that all the Mahumetans on this Coast were subject to it The Countrey spreads it self according to Urette betwixt ninety and a hundred Leagues in breadth but he seems to include therein the Kingdom of Adea This Territory produces great abundance of Barley with variety of Fruits and feeds huge Droves of Horses and other Cattel Some of the Inhabitants are brown some black and some white yet notwithstanding this difference of complexion they agree in Language all speaking Arabick The Head City Madagaxo hath gain'd the repute of great Wealth by the Trade of the Kambayan and Aden Merchants bringing thither all sorts of Clothes Drugs and Spices and receiving from thence in Barter Gold Ivory and Wax They use in their Wars no other Arms but poyson'd Arrows The Kingdom of Adea THe Kingdom of Adea begins in the middle of Adel on the Main Land Borders bordering in the South at Madagaxo in the West at Oyja belonging to Abyssinie in the North at Adel and Eastward border'd with the Indian-Sea The most famous Place of this Realm hath the Name Barraboa that is The good Shore though it be somewhat distant from the Sea and in passing to it you go up against the Stream in a Skiff by an Arm of the River Oby or Quilmanzi The Dominion of Granze comes next having for Limits the Kingdom of Oyja Xoa and Gorage then Barra Maa which is Bad Shore because no Ships can come near it At last upon the Skirts of this Realm you find a Place call'd Ogabra Ograbra This Countrey hath many great Woods insomuch that the Inhabitants are forced to cut down the Trees to make the Ways Nature hath served them with a plentiful hand so that they want no Provision having extraordinary Herds of Cattel They have a peculiar Mahumetan Prince Government but dependent upon the Abyssine Emperor to whom he pays Tribute The Inhabitants in general are zealous of Mahomet's Superstition Religion but those of Granze are partly Idolaters and partly Christians Adel or Zeila THe Kingdom of Adel Borders so call'd by the Portuguese but by the Natives Zeila lying at the Sea-shore borders in the North at the Beglierbeyat or Provinces of the Bassa of Suaquen near the Straits of Meche in the South at Adea in the West upon Fatigar in Abyssinie and in the East at the Indian Sea Pigafet makes the Southermost Places of this Kingdom to be Meth and Barbosa together with a part of the Arabian Gulf and the Cape of Guardafu It extends in length from Zeila to the Cape of Guardafu Bigness along the Sea-coast seventy two Miles and from Guardafu along the Eastern Coast about eight and forty but in breadth fifty six The Chief City of this Kingdom is Ara situate in nine Degrees North Latitude by some call'd Arika Gurrele but by Marmol Arat who places the same eighteen Miles from Zeila he settles also here the Royal City Adel and the Towns Orgabra Migiate Sequeta Bali Mautra Doara Komizara Novecara and Soceli On the Sea-coast Pigafet tells of a small Place nam'd Asuin or Affion well stored with Provision but wanting a Haven and so consequently little frequented by Merchants Then follows the Cape of Guardafu or Guardafuy by many taken for the Aromata of Ptolomy lying in twelve Degrees and a half North Latitude and very famous because the Easterly Coast of Africa ends there It lies almost at the entrance of the Arabian Gulf so that the Ships which come out of India and will go to Aden and Ziden or to Zeila and Barbara Sail close by it On the Coast of Adel appears a Place call'd Salie which Sanutus takes for that which Ptolomy denominates Mosilon Next to Salir follows Barbara and Meth the first lieth to the North on the Shore of the Red Sea eleven Miles from the City Zeila the latter according to Sanutus a small City Afterwards cometh Zeila one of the best Places on this Coast being in eleven Degrees and twenty Minutes North Latitude six and twenty Miles saith Marmol from the Straits of Meche This City though built on a low and Sandy Ground boasts not onely a large Extent but a very convenient Haven for Ships It stands within the Kingdom of Adel in the Province Baragian which includes the two other small Jurisdictions of Dalacha and Malacha all under the Obedience of the Turks The Houses in Zeila are built of Stone and the Streets curiously Pav'd and daily frequented with Swarms of People The In-land Countreys of Adel lie even and plain The nature of the Soil onely here and there some easie and pleasant Ascents The Plains yield plentiful Returns to the Labouring and Industrious Husbandman answering his Expectation in the abundant Product both of Plants and Beasts having withal the River Haoax which takes its original out of that vast Range of Mountains on the Borders of Xaoa and Ogge and feeds the lesser Stream of Mach with Water Some have not stuck to aver it to be little inferior to the Nile but nothing near so long because it overflows not above six thousand Paces Neither doth it reach how full of Water so ever it be to the Sea but is quite drank up by the dry and thirsty Earth before it cometh so far The City Zeila hath no fresh Water within two days Journey nor other Ground than Sand but the Fields at further distance afford such Plenty of all things that out of this Haven and that of Barbara on the same Coast Ships Transport Provisions to feed Adom and Ziden especially Corn Beans Barley and Oyl not press'd out of Olives but extracted from the Seed of a Plant call'd Zerzelin or Gerzeluin or Grugioline but indeed no other than Sesamos Beasts breeding here are Sheep of two sorts Beasts one with Tails of twenty five pound weight black Necks and Heads and the remainder of their Bodies white the other quite white with Tails as long as a Mans Arm and crooked as a Vine-Branch Some of their Cows have Horns like a Stag black Hair and wilde others are red but with one Horn on their Foreheads of a Span and a half long but turning backwards The Inhabitants as far as Barbara are Olivaster-colour'd Nature of the Inhabitants but from thence more to the North about Zeila and Barrazan they grow much blacker naturally quarrelsom and apt to make Wars upon any trivial occasion They go cover'd from their Navel to their Knees with Cotton but the upper part of their Bodies remain naked onely Persons of Quality wear Coats which in Arabick they call Bernuz This Dominion possesses much Gold and Ivory besides such a liberal Provision of Victuals that they feed their Neighbors of several other Countreys They vend also Clothes Myrrhe Pepper and Slaves The Merchants of Cambaya and
Arabia carry to Barbara all sorts of Cloth and Beads which they call Maramugos Raisins Dates and many other things which they exchange for Gold Elephants-Teeth and Slaves And those of Quiloa Melinde Brava Magadoxo and Mombaza barter these Commodities for Arabian-Horse The Natives are generally very stout but badly Arm'd Arms. though continually furnish'd therewith both from the Turks and Kings of Arabia and such like Necessaries for which their Prince returns many great Presents of Slaves taken in the Wars for to ingratiate himself with those Mahumetans he makes continually fierce Wars upon the Christians about him especially those of Abissinie for which the Moors esteem him a petty Saint yet all their soothings cannot so save him but that sometimes the Christians send him home soundly beaten teaching him to keep a more mannerly Distance The City of Barbara owns the Dominion of the Great Turk Government as do most of all the famous Places upon the Coast of the Red Sea in Africa to this Kingdom of Adel where they say his Jurisdiction ends at the Haven of Meth although some will have the whole Coast of Barnagas and Barrazan nay all the Places near the Red Sea stand under his Jurisdiction without affording the Abyssines one Haven there So that none can pass out of the Red Sea into Abyssine but through the Turks Dominions The Island of Barbora OVer against the City Barbora in the Red Sea close by the Shore lieth an Island of the same Name exceedingly fruitful and well stored with Cattel The Inhabitants are not White as on the Coast of Magadoxo but Black and exactly Habited as those on the Main Land whereof we lately made mention The Island of Socotora THe Island of Socotora or Sacotora otherwise call'd Sicuthora discover'd by Fernando Bereyra J. Barros Ramusse is by some taken for the Dioscorides of Ptolomy and Pliny and by others for Curia Muria though somewhat improperly because that Isle lies over against the Main Coast of Arabia â— Situation This hath its Situation in twelve Degrees and fifty Minutes North Latitude fifteen Miles Southward from the Cape of Guardafuy formerly call'd Cape Aromata and almost as far from the Mouth of the Red Sea Now the most Geographers include this Island of Socotora under Africa for its nearness to that Coast yet some and those of Nubia have reckon'd it among the Islands of Arabia Felix And as they cannot agree to which it belongs Bigness so they differ no less in its Magnitude some making it swell to sixty Spanish while others straiten it to scarce fifteen Dutch Miles But it seems the first comes nearer to the truth because the latter Discoverers make it fifteen Miles long and ten Miles broad at the narrowest and Pirard reckons it fifteen French Miles in circumference The whole Island stands encompassed with exceeding high Rocks which inclose therein divers fertile Valleys On all sides Ships may find good Anchorage besides the many convenient Bays and Creeks affording safe Roads But it boasts two chief Havens the one call'd Cora and the other Benin Here is but onely one City nam'd Sicuthora seated at the foot of the Cape Treta looking to the South where the Xeque or Turkish Governor makes his aboad Others make Tamary the Chief Place and the usual Dwelling of the Bassa A third sort place here three Towns or Villages inhabited by Arabians But a fourth affirm That the Natives have neither Towns Villages nor Houses but abide in Holes or Caves in the Rocks They have many Temples or Churches Churcheâ— which they call Moquamos but very small and so low that without stooping none can come into the same Every Church hath three Doors and one Altar on which stands a Cross with two Sticks made in form of Flower-de-luces The Situation of the Island so near the Line causes the Air not onely to be exceeding hot Air. but also unhealthy And by reason of this excessive Heat they have great want of Water Yet notwithstanding there falls a great Mist in the Nights from the high stony Cliffs to the great cooling and refreshing of the parched Earth And although a few Rivers may be found yet they lie at such distances from the common Passages and remain so difficult to be found that many Travellers die for thirst onely at the Sea side are Trenches out of which the Arabians drink And the Mountains by reason of their excessive height have their tops continually cover'd with Snow and cloudy with Mists and Fogs The Soil for want of Moisture proves very barren Constitution of the Soil producing nothing as some write but Dates for indeed none take care to Sowe any Corn or Plant Fruits On the contrary Beasts in the Woods and Mountains breed many Bucks Goats Cows Hogs Catamountains Wild Asses Horses Camelions Wild Hens or Pheasants and Turtle-Doves But that which above all things makes this Island famous Aloes Sicotrina is the Plant from which the Aloes Sicotrina cometh and also for the great abundance of Dragons Blood brought thence being no other than a Gum distilling from a Tree the Indians call it Ber and bruise it with an Iron in the growing Bark at a set time of the Year The Sea-shore also produces much Ambergreece The Inhabitants of this Island are Arabians or Native Sicotrians Several Inhabitants which last the Arabians call Beduins and are divided into two Generations The one Nature having Beduinsche Mothers and Arabian Negro Fathers keep at the Sea side are black of Colour curl'd Hair tall of Stature but very ill-favour'd The others are unmix'd Beduins and live within the Countrey being whiter than Native Iudians Some of them seem to have been born in Europe by the tallness of their Statures handsom Bodies soundness of Constitution and the Air of the Face onely differing herein that they let their Hair grow without cutting which they suffer either to hang over their Necks and Shoulders or else tie up or braid the same together behind They are inconstant mistrustful Constitution and cowardly insomuch that a handful of Arabians will awe vast Multitudes of them They have a great fear of all other people which makes them shun converse with Foreigners and are above measure lazy and idle concerning themselves in nothing but Fishing and feeding their Cattel Their common Food is Milk Butter Dates and Flesh Food but chiefly Milk boyl'd with Herbs and serves them both for Diet and Physick In stead of Rie or Wheaten Bread they use Rice brought to them from other Places and for want of that eat Cakes made of Dates They wear certain Clothes by them call'd Cambolins made of Bucks Hair Apparel six Spans long and two broad from their Girdle to their Knees and over that another greater black and white Cloth in form like a Cloke which they wrap about from their Shoulders to their Knees and never pull it off Barbosa on the contrary writeth That
of death but there must continue ten days worshipping the Moon within which time if it doth not Rain they cut off his Hand Before the beginning of Lent all the most Eminent assemble and offer Sacrifice to the Moon of an hundred Goats and Kids Heads They observe Lent like the Christians but they begin it with the New Moon in April and keep the Solemnity sixty days during which time they eat no Milk Butter Flesh nor Fish but onely Herbs and Dates or Rice and Honey which they buy in the Cities of the Arabians They are so zealous Observers of this Fast that if they find any to have broken it for the first time they cut off two Fingers of his Right-hand the second time the whole Hand and the third time the Arm. Every Temple of which there are many hath a Caciz call'd by them Hodamo that is a Governor or Judge in Church-matters but holds the Office but one Year which he enters upon by receiving a Staff the Badge of his Authority and wearing always a Cross of a Span and half long about him which he may not part with upon pain of the loss of his Hand In the Temples whereinto at the Rising and Setting of the Moon they enter they use a Stick of two or three Spans long upon which with another Stick they give certain Strokes thrice in the Day and thrice in the Night held by them for a Work of great Holiness Afterwards they go in Procession three times round about the Church-yard turning thrice after every Circuit then they take an Iron Pan made in form of a plain deep Scale hanging upon three Chains into which they put Splinters of sweet Wood and hold the Bason over the Fire then they first perfume the Altar thrice afterwards the Temple Doors and say with a loud voice some Prayers in the Temple and in the Church-yard requesting of the Moon to do good to them onely and no other People At the performance of this Solemnity the Hodamo holdeth upon the Altar a lighted Candle made of Butter for they have none of Wax or Tallow and therefore they have in their Temples Dishes of Butter wherewith they also every day anoint the Cross and other Sticks lying upon the Altar They go upon a certain day of the year with the greatest Cross in Procession round about the Temple and cause it to be carry'd by one chosen out of the whole Assembly whose Fingers after the ending of the Procession they chop off and present him with a little Stick with certain marks upon it for a token that he should be prejudic'd by no body whereupon thenceforth he is held in much greater honor than others They follow in many Churches the Ceremonies and Customs of Nestorius because they were for a long time Govern'd by Ecclesiastical Rulers which came from Babylon They have no set-Day of the Week to go into their Temples but assemble on the Procession-days or when any new occasion calls them They are Circumcis'd like the Moors and if they know any one that is not Circumcis'd they cut off his Fingers for no Uncircumcis'd may enter into their Temples yea the very Women themselves clap their hands at their Husbands if they be not Circumcis'd They bear a great hatred against all Christians nevertheless some are of opinion that they have suck'd in much of the Heresie of the Jacobites and that formerly many were Converted by Francis Xavier According to the Observations of Sir Thomas Roe Ambassador from the King of England to Persia there were in the Year Sixteen hundred and fifteen upon this Island four sorts of People that is Arabians not Natives but Shipt over thither together with many others by order of the King of Kaxem when they subdu'd it These never appear before the Sultan without kissing his Hand The second sort are a kind of Slaves who labor continually in his service and prepare and dress the Aloes The third are Beduins the most antient Inhabitants against whom a long time the King of Socotora made War They live in great numbers upon the Mountains and are at this day left in Peace upon promise to shew their Obedience and let their Children be instructed in the Doctrine of Mahomet The fourth being indeed the right Proprietors of the Countrey are a gross Body'd and miserable People which have no constant abode in the night lying in the Woods and going always stark naked they live by Roots hold no converse with others and lead a life almost like Beasts Trogloditica or New Arabia THe Modern Geographers as Maginus and others name the Countrey or Space of Land lying between the Nile and the Red-Sea properly New Arabia but the Inhabitants according to Castaldus call it Sirfi The Antients nam'd it Trogloditica and Ptolomy The Countrey of the Arabians and Egyptians The Inhabitants were by the Grecians call'd Ichthiophagi that is Fish-eaters by Eustathius Erembers by Diodorus Molgers and Bolgers and in the holy Scripture according to the testimony of Arias Montanus they are call'd Ghanamim and by Pliny Therotho's that is to say Hunters for their swiftness and dexterity in Hunting In the bounding of this Countrey great diversity arises amongst Geographers Ptolomy extends Trogloditick Arabia from the City Suez by the Red-Sea three or according to Peter de la Valla scarce a days Journey and a half from Cairo to Mount Elephas at this day call'd Felte so that he compriseth under it the Sea-Coast of the Kingdoms of Barnagas and Adel. Some extend the Limits in the South to the Territory of Brava the Kingdom of Magadoxo and the River Quilanzi yet make it begin at the forenam'd Suez but a third sort narrow it to the Cape of Guardafuy and some to the Island Mazua in the Red-Sea The chiefest Places as you go from North to South near Suez according to Maginus are these though Belloon gives them to the Nether-Egypt The Haven and Point of Pharos where they say the Children of Israel went over the Red-Sea on dry ground the Seven Wells call'd Sette Pozzi in Italian the Haven of Alkosser or Chessir Sanutus on the other side compriseth a part of this New Arabia viz. all the aforesaid Places from Suez to Chessir under Egypt wherein we have follow'd those who have formerly described Egypt They call the Tract of Land from Chessir to the Sea lying over against the Haven of Suaquena Batrazan In eighteen Degrees and forty Minutes lieth the Haven of Suaquem in the Territory of Canphila in a Hollow of the Sea close by the People call'd Nubiers and Bello's The whole Coast of this Countrey lieth clogged with high rough and unpassable Mountains so set back to back that no access can be had to the Inland Countreys of Ethiopia and the Abyssines but through the Haven of Ercocco and Suachem and that so troublesom that Travellers can scarce go above three or four English miles in a day The Inhabitants at this day are made up of a mixture
from Makua Southwardly Fremone or Framone otherwise Maegoga in fifteen degrees and a half South-Latitude the usual Habitation of the European Christians and Jesuites The rest of the most remarkable places are Caxumo or Chaxumo or Accum perhaps the Auxum of Ptolomy or Axomites of Anian by some taken for the Courtly residence of the Queen of Sheba to whom Solomon as they say gave a visit in Egypt where are seventeen stately Pyramides and three famous Churches one of St. Michael one of Abba Likanos and one of Abba Pantaleon Northward of Caxuma lies the Lordship of Tarrete wherein stands two Cloysters one great one call'd Alleluja and the other Abbagarima famous for the abode of the Jesuites together with Angeba beautifi'd with a Royal Palace wherein none may have their abode but the King's Lieutenant Somewhat more Westerly appears the Kingdom of Dambea or Dembea The Kingdom of Dambea bordering in the West upon Goyan in the North upon Fungie and in the East on Bagameder Several Arms of the Nile cut it almost in the midst and in the very Center lies the great Lake Bar-dambea The head-head-City according to Jarrik hath the same name with the Kingdom yet others call it Zambia or Zamba where Prester-John keeps his Court from October to Easter Pigafet calls the principal City Belmachu and sets other Towns by the Shore of this Lake as Atsana Goga Fogora Anfras Ganetas Jesessus Old-Gorgora New-Gorgora and many others Bagameder or Begamedry a peculiar Kingdom according to Sanutus The Kingdom of Bagameder and Tellez though others would make it a part of Tigre or Tigremahon borders Eastwardly at Angote and from thence running South touches upon Amahara near the River Baxila that hastens there to contribute his Streams to the increase of the Nile The length from the City Sart the utmost limit of Tigre amounts to Sixty Portuguese miles and in breadth to near twenty Sanutus esteems Bagameder one of the greatest Dominions of Abyssine beginning it in the South by Goyame and so ending upon Amara Angote Tigre and Barnagas a Tract of a hundred and twenty Miles to the Island Moroe The Head-City Bagamedry Davity scituate on a delightful Plain at the River Suama by some call'd The Imperial City because the substitute King of Tigre after the receipt of the first Crown on the place where chosen takes the second there as the third out of the hands of the Emperor himself which Ceremony hath been used ever since Abibliakane or Dabba Likanos who liv'd in this City in a Cave with so great repute of sanctity that the King which then Raign'd would receive his Crown by the hands of this Saint and all the Kings of Tigre come there to receive the second Crown Southward of Damben The Kingdom of Goiam you arrive at Goiam or Goyame in eleven degrees North-Latitude being in length if Tellez and Sanutus miss not their reckoning fifty Portugal or six and thirty Dutch miles that is from one Shore of the Nile to the other For this famous River encompasses the same and thereby becomes a Fence to it against the Invasion of Enemies This Kingdom hath a mixture of Inhabitants but the Natives are the Agoa's in the North-West about the Nile and in the South-East the Gafates The Agoa's possess about forty eminent Towns besides Zalabaka Ambaxa or Ankassa Croia Cavera Angula Anchaka Sakahala and their chief City call'd Tavia The Jesuites have their abode as in Collella Surka Adase Tempa Tassala Fangala Duniel Tankon and Embeste In the last of which may be seen the remaining Ruines of several stately Churches built by a certain Abyssine Queen of Stone hewn like Roses On the North-side lie many Hills and Woods near which Sanutus reports some Jews have their abode Amara The Kingdom of Amara or Amaara or Amahara lying between the eleventh and twelfth degree of North-Latitude borders in the North at Bagameder and Angote in the East upon Dankali and in the South upon Oleka from which separated by the River Ruezar a branch of the Nile and in the West at Dambea Sanutus limits it in the North with a Lake on the borders of Angote in which lieth the Island St. Stephen with the Mountain Amara wherein the Princes the Heirs of the Crown are kept in the East with the Kingdom of Xaoa in the South with the Valleys and Baquen-Mountains and in the West by the places about and near the Nile It comprizeth saith Sanutus a great number of Towns Villages and Castles of which one more remarkable call'd Azzoll lying on a Hill between two Rivers two days journey from the Lake St. Stephen Narea The Kingdom of Narea by Godignus Nerea and by the Abyssines according to Davity Innari hath in the North-West Damut in the East Guraque and in the South Gingiro and contains three times as much ground as Bigameder Xaoa Xaoa divided into the upper and lower borders in the East at Oifet in the South at Ganz in the West at Gojam and in the North at Oleka Thus much of the Kingdoms at present possess'd by the Abyssmes The other taken from them by the Gala's and Turks are Dankali Angote Damut Dahali Ario Fatigar Zengero Rozanegus Roxa Zith Concho and Mataola After the Kingdom of Tigre follows that of Dankali The Kingdom of Dankali conterminated on the North and the East by the Red-Sea and the Countrey of Adel in the West Balgada in the South with Dobas and Angote Here are some eminent places the first Vella or rather Leila according to Davity a Haven at the Red-Sea lying in thirty degrees North-Latitude Corcora a fine place adorn'd with a Palace a stately Church with a great and rich Cloyster Afterwards you come to Manadely a populous Town containing about a thousand houses Formerly the King of Dankali by the report of Sanutus maintain'd a War with the Abyssines but became afterwards as Godignus and Jarrik relate his Tributary though since torn from them by the great Turk After Dankali follows Westward that of Angote Angote which Godignus borders in the East at Tigre in the North at the same by the River Sabalete and in the South at Amara The best places of this Kingdom are according to Sanutus Dofacso inrich'd with a thousand houses Corcora of Angote to distinguish it from Corcora Dankali The Countrey of Ambugana thirty days journey from Barna with a famous Church nam'd Imbra Christus besides others Damut or Damout borders in the North upon Bizami or Goiame The Kingdom of Damout in the South-West at Narea in the South at Guraque and in the East with Ganz and Xaoa This Kingdom the Abyssines saith Davity divided into two the one call'd Damout Dari and the other Damout Adari where stands The Dead-Mountain being the highest and coldest of all Ethiopia and therefore Prester-John sent such great ones thither as he desir'd to have out of the way because they quickly dy'd there of hunger and
cold Next Adel to the side of Mombaza you arrive at Bahali or Bali Daâ—ali or Bali then to that of Oecie shooting inwardly to the Main-Land then to Ario or Aro limited in the North by Dunkala and in the West by the Territory of Oifate Fategar hath in the North the River Aoaxe in the West Fategar the Kingdom of Oge and in the South the Territory of Gamat Sanutus places at the utmost borders hereof Adel and adds also Xaoa In this Kingdom on the Borders of Adel stands the Ague-Mountain near a place by the people of Europe call'd The Market because the Inhabitants of both Realms come thither to Trade Then you come to the Mountain of the Lake whose sides boast the Ornament of many Churches and Cloysters and the top shews a Lake three miles in circumference Zengero comes next and after that Rozenagus Zengero from thence travelling Northerly into the Countrey you come to Roxa or Boxa bordering upon Zingero and Eastwards on Goiame Close to Narea lieth Zeth or Zesta deep into the Countrey upon which the Kingdom of Konche borders as that upon Mahaola Faskulon takes place between two Branches of the Nyle Eastward of Goiame and Dambea and Southward of Bizamo Jarrik reckons from Dambea to Faskulon five days journey Thus we have handed you through the Kingdoms we will now set out the Provinces remaining and so proceed to other matter The Territory of Magaza the Northern part of this Kingdom Territories scituate between the River Mareb and Takasa borders towards the North upon Nengini and in the West touches Fungi or Bugihe Seguede the next borders North-East upon Magaza North with Fungie West at Olkait and South at Semen and Salait Olkait conterminates in the East Sequede in the North Fungie in the West Dambea and in the South Salait Salait hath for limits to the North the Territory of Seguede in the West that of Seinen and the Kingdom of Dambea and in the South Abargale Cenen or Semnen so call'd by Balthazar Tellez in stead of Ximench or Ximen but by Sanutus Terra di Giudei Jewen-Land and by the Abyssines themselves Xionenche borders in the North at Seguede in the East at Salait Sanutus saith this Jews Countrey lieth Inclos'd between Mountains and Wildernesses which in the East spread towards the Nyle and Abyssine and South to the Equinoctial from whence they shoot to Congo in the West are unknown Mountains and Wildernesses towards Benin and in the North a ridge of great Hills over-topping the edges of Dauma and Medra Abargale stands bounded in the North by Salait in the East by the River Takara and in the South by the Territory of Salaoa The limits of Salaoa are in the North at Abargale in the East at the foremention'd River Takaze in the South Bagameder and in the West Dambea Ozeka hath the neighborhood of Amaza North Marabett East Upper-Xaoa South and in the West Goiame Doba lieth in the middle of Bagameder all the other Southern Territories formerly belonging to Abyssine the Gala's possess as the Turks do the Eastern Countreys towards the Red-Sea Most Geographers have plac'd in Abyssine two Arms of the Nyle The Island Meâ—â—e anciently by Ptolomy nam'd Astapus and Astaboras The first of these two at present Niger calleth Abani Barros Abansi and Vossius Mareb The other being Takaze or Takassen lies in fifteen Degrees and twenty Minutes Northern Latitude and fifteen days Sail from Siena wherein lies the Island Meroe often remembred by ancient Greek and Latin Writers Diodorus thinks it took that Name from Meroe the Mother of Cambyses King of Persia But Strabo from his Sister which died there The Inhabitants denominate it Naulebahe that is The Mother of Good Havens and Marmol Neuba Some differ from all before and will have it nam'd in the Countrey Idiom sometimes Saba then Bed Amara and anon Tevet Many others intitle it Gueguere which Jovius denies maintaining Gueguere to be the same with Syene Sanutus reckons the length of this Island to be three hundred and fifty Italian Miles or seventy Dutch Miles But Jovius makes it bigger than England though without any Reason and contrary to the Vogue of all Ages and Authors Some Modern Writers seem to make the Kingdom of Goiame Balthazar Tellez almost surrounded by a Branch of the Nyle to be this Island Meroe but Vossius contradicts both the first and last Opinions affirming That the Ancients never had any true knowledge of this Island but have made one in Imagination where never was any contrary to Strabo and many others The City Meroe situate by Ptolomy at the North end of the Island Pliny and others set seventy thousand Paces more to the South and Vossius thinks that 't is the same at this day call'd Beroa or Baroa the head-Head-City of Barnagas and adds moreover That the Netherlanders have greatly mistaken in setting it so far from the Red-Sea an Error caus'd as he imagines by the tedious uncouthness of the Way For the whole Coast lies so full of craggy and high Mountains as makes it almost unpassable and their Backs so chain'd together that you have no way to it but by the Haven of Ercocco and Suachem and that so troublesom that Travellers can scarce ride above three or four thousand Paces in one day And therefore saith he it is no wonder Ancient Geographers who in a few known Countreys were necessitated to take the Distance of Places by the Days-Journey should extend the Countrey between Meroe and the Red-Sea so far This Empire of the Abyssines may justly claim the advantage of divers good Rivers especially the middlemost and principal Channel of the Nyle Rivers and other fertilizing Branches thereof as Mareb or Morabo Tacaze Anquet and Malegh The River Mareb takes its Rise in the Kingdom of Tigre The River Mareb two small Miles from Baroa on the West-side and runneth on to the South passing into the dry Countrey of the Caffers where one Branch burying it self under ground for a while and afterwards re-appearing with an inverted Course turns back towards its Head till at last it shoots in a direct Line to the Kingdom of Denghini and so at last unites with the River Tacaze Tacaze which Mercator according to Tellez holds to be the Assabaras mention'd by Ptolomy hath its Head-Fountain in the Borders of Angote The River Tacaze in the Mountains of Axgua near Bagameder from three Head-springs about a stones cast one from another whose Waters conjoyn'd make this River It takes a Course a days Journey to the West between the Precinct of Dagana and Hoaga running from thence beyond the Kingdom of Tigre then cuts through the Territory of Sire having on the East-side Fruitful and Tilled Grounds and on the West the Wilderness or Desart of Oldeba formerly boasting many Cloysters like Egyptian Thebes from thence taking a view of Holcait it falls through the Caffers Countrey with a great contribution of Water
Rock between two Valleys with very narrow Passages besides other middle Gates and Ports about two Miles from the Aquisagi and one from the River Anachete Afterwards follow the Gates or Ports of Badassa that is the New Countrey about four Miles from the Aquisagi and a Mile and half from the Middle-Gates Near which they have a Passage under Ground where in very deep Caverns the Treasure of Prester-John is kept At these Gates they receive the Toll for the way and they serve for Passes between the Kingdoms of Amara and Xoa But that which makes this Kingdom remarkable is the high Mountain of Amara by some call'd Amba Guexen by others Quirem and by Sanutus The Royal Mount because there as he says in a Castle nam'd Amba all the Children of Prester-John as in a convenient Shelter are kept from whence none but the Successor of the Empire can ever come out It is so high and strong a Mountain by Situation that Alvarez Godignus and Sanutus report it fifteen days Journey round at the Foot and aloft at the top some few Miles in compass being every where from beneath to above as it were cut streight up like a Wall having onely three or four troublesom Avenues to it Godignus makes this Rock circular and places on the top a Plain a mile long with one only Building and that not very stately and avers That they have no Water but the Reserves of Rain kept in Cisterns cut in the Rocks But Sanutus adds a Cloyster of St. Anthony's with eighty six Monks and stores it with Sheep Hens Geese and Fruit-Trees And further this we dare avouch contrary to the Fictions of Urrettes and others That the Emperor hath neither a Library nor Treasury for Gold or Precious Stones there neither doth any Penalty fall upon a Stranger or other entring into it Southerly from Bar-Dambea lie the Mountains of Gafale by some mistaken for the Mountains of the Moon There are no Cities in all Abyssine but onely Towns or Villages No Cities in Abyssine and those not over-plentifully inhabited for the King himself keeps almost continually in the Field and commonly in Tents or Pavilions The Chiefest and most Populous Places are these being sixty one Bizan Asmara Adegada Bebaroa Goberea Guele Auzen or Tigre Cera Sart Amba Salam Amba Canet Gama Assa Fremona Alello Accum Mascalo Maebezy Tres Igregias Lamalmon Oldeba Arbatanea Camby Dancaz The Court Ganete Jesessus Old Gorgorra New Gorgorra Patriarcha Anfras Goga Fogora Atsana Alata Adaxa Nebesse Debra Semona Debra Ore Saza Adisalen Enamora Ligenegus Debra Selalo Cobela Abola Serea Namina Alagoa Ondege Nesaca Tancoa Fonte de Nylo Mine Debra Libano Amba Guexen Amba Cel Tabah Marvam Amba Legat Labibela Necas Belza Serra Belza Bebra Marjan The Air in most Places by the Report of Godignus hath a most healthful Temperature being sweetly cooled and refreshed by gentle and fresh Briezes but in the lower and Southerly Places by the scorching heat of the Sun it grows more malignant In the Kingdom of Tigre Jarrik highly extols the goodness of the Air For saith he although it lie under the Torrid Zone yet the continual blowing of the North-winds there not cold so clears it that many exceeding old People very fresh and strong of Limbs are found there The Winter according to the same Godignus and Sanutus begins with the going out of May and continues till September during which time it Rains and Thunders moderately every day They begin their Lent in August and the other Seasons follow in course As this Countrey hath many great Mountains so it wants not some fruitful and large Plains for the most part well Manur'd and bearing all sorts of Grain and Fruits in the midst whereof sometimes rise huge aspiring Rocks which in the time of War they use for Strengths and Fortresses The Soil of Tigre is by the Shores of the River very fat The Condition of the Soil and fit with a little Labor to produce two Crops in one Year Every Hedge-row garnish'd with good Olive-Trees and every Field with Rye Barly Beans Pease and Tares Fatigar appears for the most part plain Sanutus lib. 2. onely here and there rising Summits bearing Rie and Barley The Precinct of Goroma boasts a Fertility capable of feeding Great Armies Dancali of small concern and unfruitful In some places grow Wheat Barley and Oats and the Ground unfit for them bears a Grain call'd Tafo de Guza or Tefet or Tef of great worth for its goodness daintiness and durableness subject to no Worms but will remain good a long time besides two others nam'd Agoussa and Mashella wherewith they make very good Drink and Bread Angote produces every where Rye and Barley but with small increase Turkish Wheat in abundance besides Beans Linseed and Tefet The Mountains of Abagana Barley The Kingdom of Amara especially the Fields of Azzel Barley Rye Oats and all sorts of Grain There grow many several Trees Godâ—gnuâ— but most bearing Fruit of an unpleasant taste onely one proves of excellent use in Physick for when the Abyssines many times eat raw Flesh which breeds Worms which would without doubt eat through the Bowels if they did not every Moneth purge with this Fruit which presently causeth the Worms to die and dischargeth the Body They have also Citrons contrary to the opinion of Boterus Oranges Pomegranates Indian-Figs Peaches very large and good and ripe in the Moneths of February and March Pruens Sebestens Jujubes Tamarinds and Grapes but no Wine made thereof except in the Kings Houses and by the Patriarch They make Oyl without smell and of a Gold-colour not of Olives but of a Fruit call'd Gecca whose Leaf resembles that of the small Vine They have neither Melons nor Radishes but Ginger in abundance and Sugar-Canes In Barnagas and the South part of Tigre are many Woods wherein grow Cypress and Date-Trees Willows Jessamine and Basilicon yielding an odoriferous Perfume to the circumambient Air. They have so much Honey that not onely in the Cloysters among the Clergy but all the Inhabitants in general burn Candles of Wax and not of Tallow All sorts of Cattel both for use pleasure and profit Beasts breed here in abundance as Cows Oxen Sheep and Goats Mules Asses Camels and Horses of which Sanutus and Boterus say the best are of Arabia and Egypt or rather of Nubia being very hardy Bay-colour'd and not low of stature Their Beasts of Game are Wild Boars Elephants Buffles Lions Leopards Tygres Rhinocerots and Giraffi of an extraordinary bigness Deer Civet-cats Wild Goats small Oxen and Cows so wild and salvage that they seem not tamable having little Horns standing so loose upon the Skin that they move them as their Ears Wolves Catamountains Harts Badgers and very great Apes They have innumerable Fowl and Poultrey as Hens and Cocks Partridges with yellow Feet and grey Bills tame and wild Storks tame and wild Ducks Pigeons Quails and
in his Name but continu'd their Dominon scarce two years before they were caught and punished whereupon Zerah of right took the Crown and Reign'd 34 Bethe-Marian his Son who died in the Year One thousand four hundred forty eight after he had held the Scepter upwards of 10 Schander that is Alexander died in the Year One thousand four hundred ninety three having Govern'd six moneths above 15 Amdezeon who died in the Year One thousand four hundred ninety three Rul'd onely six moneths  Nahu or Nahod the Brother of Alexander taken out of Mount Amara who died in the Year One thousand five hundred and seven having Reign'd 14 Then came David his Son otherwise Athanidinghil that is The Incense of Mary during whose Minority the Abyssines say his Mother Helen manag'd the State in his behalf This was that Helen who sent her Ambassador Matthias to Emanuel King of Portugal to pray his assistance against the Mammelucks and Moors Jovius writes that this King David subdu'd the Troglodites and took Casante the King of Mosambique Prisoner He vanquished and kill'd the General of the Queen of Bethsage near the Cape of Good Hope and handled the King of Congo and Torme so roughly that he compell'd him to pay a very great Tribute and gave Hostages He Fought with and got two Victories over the King of Adel or Zeila and in the Year Fifteen hundred sent four and twenty Ambassadors and Letters to Pope Clement the seventh with promise of Obedience Vignier saith he had one onely Wife Bibl. Hâ—stor and by her four Sons the eldest of whom with the Father lost his life in a Battel against the King of Zeila after he had held the Scepter 33 or 36 years Claudius his Son otherwise call'd Aznassaghet by Genebrard which signifieth He is worshipped to the utmost ends of the Earth He subdu'd the King of Adel in revenge of his Father's death and died in the Year One thousand five hundred fifty nine having Reign'd 20 years Adamas his Brother otherwise call'd Mena and by the Abyssines Adamas Saghet which signifieth Majesty he died in February One thousand five hundred sixty three after he had Reigned four years Sarsadenghil or Sarsadinghil the Son of Adamas by his own direction call'd Malak Sequet had two Brothers each of them having several Sons the King had but one and that illegitimate by Name Haste Jacob that is Lord Jacob Prince of Nerea who after his Fathers death possessed the Kingdom and continued saith Godignus seven years in the Government he endeavor'd to extirpate Christianity Whereupon a certain Prince by Name Susneos who favor'd the Professors thereof sided with them and making use of that occasion to set up his pretence to the Kingdom took up Arms against this Jacob. Till the Year Sixteen hundred and twenty eight this War continued when King Jacob wounded by the Shot of an Arrow found himself necessitated to retire to a Fort where after a few days he died leaving two Sons the one nam'd Cosme eighteen years of age the other about sixteen by Name Zaga-Christ that is to say The Treasure of God which were both then in the Island Meroe in the City Aich where usually the Children of Prester-John are Nursed and Educated The Queen-Mother Nazarena seeing this mishap in her Family arisen by the death of the King her Husband and that Prince Susneos the new King endeavoured to suppress all those whom his Predecessor had favored instantly sent her Sons notice of their Fathers death ordering them to retire from Meroe to some faithful Friends of the Emperor their late Father And to that end she sent them much Gold and rich Jewels to maintain them and to raise some Troops to revenge the death of their Father The Prince Cosmes the eldest took his way to the South towards the Cape of Good Hope the other Zaga-Christ drew Northwards with a Company of about five hundred Men to the Kingdom of Sanar his Inheritance from thence to the Kingdom of Fungi where he was nobly entertain'd by the King whose Name was Orbat a Vassal of Prester-Johns but not suffer'd to rest quiet there he was forced to withdraw being pursu'd by the Horsemen of King Susneos so close that he was necessitated to go through the sandy Desarts of Arabia but with the number of fifty Servants for all the other fearing the wearisomness of the Way left him then he came into Egypt to the City Corrigia and lastly to Grand Cair where he was well receiv'd by the Copticks and honorably entertain'd by the Bashaw for the space of two days Thence he withdrew scarce accompanied with fifteen Servants for the other remain'd because of weariness and sickness in Cair to Jerusalem into which he came at the Purification in the Year Sixteen hundred thirty and two He went out of Jerusalem but with three Servants and eight Clergy-men to Nazareth where he made Confession of the Christian Religion and after the stay of some Moneths left off all his Servants and from thence came by Ship to Rome to the Pope who gave him a Palace for his Residence where he stay'd two years and then went from thence into France and stay'd at Paris about three years and died at last at Ruel in the Year Sixteen hundred thirty eight Susneos in the Year Sixteen hundred twenty nine took upon him the Sovereignty and nam'd himself Saghed that is Worshipped of all employing all his Forces to extirpate the Stock of King Jacob And having confirm'd and setled his new-gain'd Dominion he died in the Year Sixteen hundred thirty and three and his Son Fasilatas succeeded him It is by many concluded that the Queen of Sheba by some call'd Nicaules Religion and by others Makede who came out of the South to hear the Wisdom of Solomon in Jerusalem and Commanded over these Countreys planted her Imperial Seat in the Island of Meroe having learn'd from Solomon the knowledge of the true God so that both she and her People began to embrace the Doctrine of Moses But after the encrease of Christianity they receiv'd that Doctrine first brought into Abyssine by the Eunuch of Queen Candace by Name Indich for he being Baptiz'd in the Way from Gaza to Jerusalem by Philip upon the command of the Angel as we hinted before he afterwards Baptiz'd the Queen and all the Subjects of the Countrey But after the Division of the World among the Apostles they say the Abyssines fell to St. Matthew who gather'd a rich harvest of Souls there Afterwards this People together with the Copticks receiv'd the Doctrine and Errors of Dioscorus and Eutiches and elected a Patriarch to oversee the Church who hath his chief Residence in the City of Alexandria and appoints a Substitute in Abyssine nam'd Eteche or Chomos who hath many Bishops under him The Abyssines captivated with the destructive Opinions of Eutiches and Dioscorus believe That the Souls of the Saints after their death do not go directly to Heaven
and Mandihoka and here and there a Vine The Inhabitants are Portuguese but few in number being but about thirty or forty Mulato's Negro's and Slaves three thousand which work in the Sugar-Mills and plant Rice Tobacco Mille and other Fruits The Island of Anaboon or Anabon ANabon or Anaboon which signifieth New or Good Year so call'd perhaps by the Portuguese because discover'd on a New-years-day it lieth in one Degree and fifty Minutes South-Latitude or as others in one Degree and a half about five and twenty Miles from St. Thomas and five and forty from Cabo de Lopez Gonzalves on the Main Coast It takes in Circumference according to Pyrard about five or six French Miles and in length not above half a Mile The Harbor appears at the North-side but very dangerous by reason of the Shoals and Rocks This Island hath a wholsom Air many Fountains Springs and Brooks with fresh Water onely a little brackish at the New and Full-Moon by reason of the high flowing of the Sea It rises with Mountains whose aspiring tops seem to kiss the Clouds and are commonly cover'd with Snow The Hills and Dales prove fruitful in all sorts of Plants and affords the Eye a pleasant and delightful sight The Shores of the Brooks stand beset with Palm-Trees out of which the Inhabitants extract the often mention'd Palm-Wine Ignames Injames Potato's Banano's Ananassen Orange-Trees Tamarind-Trees Sugar-Canes and Cotton-Trees also Rice Maiz or Turkish Wheat several sorts of Turkish Beans black Physick-Nuts and many other Trees and Plants There are many wild Swine Stags Goats Hens Pigeons black and white Cranes and other Fowl The adjoyning Sea produces many sorts of Fishes and Oysters Mercator and some others make this Island waste and desolate contrary to the truth for 't is inhabited though but meanly there being some years ago a few Portuguese with fifty or sixty Blacks which all liv'd by tilling the Ground and Fishing The Netherlanders found in the Year Sixteen hundred and five in their Voyage to the East-Indies under the Admiral Matelief two hundred Blacks on this Island The Town stands surrounded with a Breast-work for Defence and contains about a hundred Houses built of Canes besides some few of Wood belonging to the Portuguese The Blacks go stark naked both Men and Women Clothes having onely a Cotton Cloth before their Privacies The Women carry their Children on their Backs and when they will give them Suck they throw their Breasts over their Shoulders for they have them very great The Portuguese have the Command of it who send thither a Vice-Roy Government All the Inhabitants both Blacks and others embrace the Christian Religion Religion converted by the endeavor of the Portuguese The Island of St. Thomas THe Island of St. Thomas in Portuguese St. Thomee because first of all discover'd on that Saints Day yet Thevet calls it Santas Honore and the Barqarians Ponkas it lieth in the Ethiopian Sea right under the Equinoctial Line which comes through the City and the great Church and therefore no Latitude hath been ascribed to it and not far from the Cape of Lopez Gonsalvez It bears an Oval form about thirty Miles in Circumference and in length and breadth twelve Miles The chief City call'd Pavosan or Pavaose through which run two small Rivers hath its situation on an even place on the North-side of the Bay somewhat more longer than round and about half a days walking in compass containing about fifteen hundred Houses every one ten Stories high On that side towards the Sea-coast defended with some Breast-works of Stone which the Portuguese Governor raised in the Year Sixteen hundred and seven commanding every one that passed backwards and forwards by the City to bring one Stone towards the Building The Houses are erected of white and hard Wood like Oak which grows there on the Spot before behind and also on the top cover'd with Planks made fast together There stand onely on the whole Island three Stone Houses in one of which the Governor dwelleth The City boasts of three Churches whereof the biggest is intitled Conceptio or The Church of the Conception of the Virgin Mary next the Church of Isabella whereto adjoyns an Hospital and the Church of St. Sebastian a small one standing by the Castle But several other Churches stand without the City as St. Anthonies two Musquets shot distant and somewhat nearer St. Johns then you may see the Church of Maitre de Dios or The Mother of God about a Mile from the City towards the South-east and about two Miles from it towards the East Trinitado or The holy Trinity and about three Miles towards the South-east the Church of St. Anna. The Castle of St. Sebastian Castle St. Sebastian seated on an out-lying Corner at the North-side of the City and of the Bay is a handsom Building of Stone to the heighth of twenty five Foot and both of it self and by the conveniency of the place whereon it stands seems almost impregnable The Garrison within consists of a hundred Soldiers well stor'd and provided with Ammunition and Victuals besides continual Supplies are and may be brought thither by Sea without hindrance The Ground is moistned by several Brooks and Rivers of clear and fresh Water to their great enriching On the middle of this Island rises a Woody Mountain continually cover'd with Snow whence divers Brooks and Streams draw their originals The Air is very hot and untemperate moist unwholsom inimical to the People of Europe who seldom attain there to the age of fifty years whereas the Natives a People that have but little Blood oftentimes arrive to above a hundred Some affirm that a young Man in his growth coming thither shall never grow bigger but always remain at his first Stature and that a dead Corps laid in the Ground will rot and decay in four and twenty hours The cause of this unwholsomness hath been imagin'd to proceed from the over-great Heats and damp Fogs Some have reported that this malign intemperature doth not spread over the whole but confin'd chiefly to the City and occasion'd by the low situation thereof for from the Rain-water which falls down abundantly from the Hills to the Valleys are exhal'd noysom Vapors which afterwards fall down in the Evenings and Mornings with an offensive influence whose fume or dewy stream receiv'd into the Body corrupts and irritates the Blood for the avoiding which direful hazards at those times the Portuguese there resident keep within their Houses But this Air loses some of these ill qualities in June July and August by reason of the South-east and South-west dry and cool Winds which blowing over from the Coast of Ethiopia refresh the Countrey and clear the Air to the great advantage of Strangers although the Natives receive detriment thereby These Islanders as all others under the Equinoctial have two Winters not in respect of Cold but onely of Moistures one in March and another in September at which
up with the Hand and gaze at their Surprizers till knock'd on the head with Sticks From the Salt-Water beating against the Cliffs a Froth or Scum remains in some Places which the heat of the Sun so purifies that it becomes white and good Salt Some of the Mountains yield Bole Armoniack and a fat Earth like Terra Lemnia The Sea will answer the pains of a patient Fisherman who must use an Angle not a Net because of the foul Ground and beating of the Sea The chief are Mackrels Roaches Carps but differing in colour from those among us Eels as big as a Mans Arm and well-tasted Crabs Lobsters Oysters of as good a rellish as our English and very good Mussles Yet all these Conveniences have not brought thither any setled Colony the King of Portugal as they say not permitting any of his Subjects to dwell there lest they should appropriate it to themselves The Cape de Verd or Salt-Islands THe Cape de Verd Islands are so call'd for their nearness to Cape Verd on the Main Coast of Africa but the Portuguese name them Ilhas Verdes Green Islands because the Sea thereabouts is always cover'd with green Weeds so thick that one can scarce discern the Water and the Ships can hardly Sail through them They are also commonly known by the name of the Salt-Islands because of the many Salt-Pans especially in Ilha del Sal Boavista Mayo and St. Jago Some take them for the Gorgons in the Atlantick Sea spoken of by Mela others for the Gorgades of Pliny an ancient Dwelling-place as the Poets feign of three Sisters the Daughters of Forkus viz. Medura Sthenio and Euryale and some stick not to believe that they were antiently call'd Hesperides from the neighboring Cape of Hespiere mention'd by Ptolomy They lie over against the Main Coast of Africa Situation between Cabo Blank and Cabo Verd from the nineteenth to the fifteenth degree of North-Latitude about two and forty Miles from the Shore Writers differ about their number very frequently Number for some reckon them twelve others eleven some nine but most agree upon ten generally known by the corrupt Portuguese names as follows Ilha del Sal Ilha Bovista Ilha Mayo Ilha del St. Jaga Ilha del Fogo Ilha del Brava Ilha del St. Niklaos Ilha del St. Lucie Ilha del St. Vincent and Ilha del St. Antonio besides some other nameless Islands The most Westerly is St. Antonio next those of St. Vincent and St. Lucie and the most Easterly Boavista All these or at least some of them are said to have been discover'd in the Year Fourteen hundred and forty by a Genoes call'd Anthonio Nolli thou Jarrik affirms the Portuguese had that honor six years after whereas Sanutus gives it to a Venetian call'd Lovis Extracted out of the House of Cadamosto sent abroad by the Infanta of Portugal to discover new Countreys The Salt-Island Salt-Island or Ilha del Sal lies with its South end on the North-Latitude of sixteen degrees and eight and thirty minutes and with the South-East Point in sixteen degrees and forty minutes It shews coming out from the Canaries or out of the North afar off very high like a Hill but nearer appears low On the North side runs a River and in the South-West a small Haven and close by that another small Island A Musket shot to the Southward of the West Point where by a long Sandy Valley fresh Water cometh out of the Mountains is a good Road for Ships Buena The Island Boavista or Boavista that is a pleasant sight perhaps for its pleasant appearance afar off at Sea they make its North Point eight Miles and its South seven Miles from the Salt-Island It may be distinguish'd at Sea from the Salt-Island by the many white Banks on the North Coast which the other hath not on that side twenty Miles some have guess'd but none know certainly its circumference There is a long River which runs from the North end North-East and North-East and by East a whole Mile and some hold that it runs into the Sea with mighty Breaks to the great hazard of adventuring Ships without a skilful Pilot. IN SULE PROMONTORII VIRIDIS Nispanis ISSAS DE CABO VERDE Belgis DE SOUTE EYLANDEN There shoots also another Rieff from the South-Point with some Rocks above and some under Water about a Mile and a half long East and East and by North from the Point Under the South-West Point where the Shore spreads West South-West and East North-East is a good Haven wherein Ships may Ride in fifteen or sixteen Fathom Water very good ground Mayo lieth eight or nine Miles South South-Westward from Boavista being the least of all and not above seven Miles in circuit It hath within some sharp Mountains and on the North side a Plain a Mile broad where a Rieff at the North-East Point shoots a good way from the Shore and likewise another to the Westward both which make a dangerous passage for Ships The common Harbor stands at the South-West side of the Shore where Ships Ride in fifteen or sixteen Fathom Water with a Sandy bottom and have the West Point of the Island North and by West and the South end of the Island St. Jago South-West On the North side lieth behind a black Point a convenient Harbor neighbour'd on the East side by a Village of ten or twelve houses The Island of St. Jago the famousest and biggest of all those of Cape de Verd Island St. Jago contains in length about twelve Miles spreading North-West and South-East at the South-East Point you come into the Road of the Island Mayo being five Miles broad From the South-East Point the Shore spreads two Miles South-West where the City Praya signifying The Strand hath its scituation on a convenient place between two Mountains on a little rising Summit surrounded with two Rivers which falling into the Sea make two Harbors one call'd Porto de Praya a spacious Bay where a hundred Ships may Ride at Anchor in fourteen Fathom Water within Musquet Shot of the Shore with a defence from the Winds Beyond Porto de Praya towards the City lieth an Out-Point in Portuguese call'd Cabo de Tubarao and North-Westward from this Cape the other Haven by the Portuguese call'd Porta Riebeirra Korea very convenient because lying between two Mountains whose middle shoots thorow by a River which takes original two Miles from thence and falls into the Sea by a Mouth a Bowe shot wide not far off which more Northward appears St. Maries Haven Jarrik places in this Island a City call'd St. Thomas seated conveniently but that 's uncertain yet the Town of St. Jago may be seen being the Metropolis of this and the other Islands and the residence of the Portugal Bishop Somewhat more Westerly on a Point a Fort or Castle shews it self two Miles from Porto de Praya and North-Westward from thence you come to Porto de Canisos
Jerusalem but after his decease the Knights and Templars govern'd it themselves under the Grand Master Godfrey Rat as Chief Commander About the year Twelve hundred twenty five these Knights overcame the City Damiata in Egypt under the Conduct of the Grand Master Guerin de Montaign In the Year twelve hundred and sixty under the Grand Master Haegues de Revel they took from the Saracens the Castle of Lebion whereupon the Sultan concluded to destroy and root out all the Hospitallers and to that end Besieged and took the Castle of Assur in the Year One thousand two hundred sixty five and the following year the Hospitallers and Templars were beaten by the City Ptolemais or Alkre or Acon three years afterwards they lost the Castle of Krak or Montreol In the Year Twelve hundred eighty two The Knights are drove out of the Holy-Land the Hospitallers obtain'd a great Victory under the Grand Master Nicholas de Orgui against the Turks Besieging the Castle of Margat their chiefest strength which yet was deliver'd up in the Year twelve hundred eighty five to the Sultan Melechsait from whence they went to the City Alkre but stay'd not there for by the loss of Tripoli in Syria and likewise of Sidon and Barut in the Year twelve hundred eighty nine and the before-nam'd Alkre in the Year Twelve hundred ninety one the eighteenth of May to the Sultan Melekseraf all the Christians and by consequence these Knights were utterly expell'd out of the Holy-Land after a possession of a hundred ninety one Years ten Moneths and three days since the winning thereof by Godfrey of Bouillon The Knights betook themselves from thence to the Island of Cyprus under the Grand Master Jan de Villices where the King gave him and the Templars the City and Haven of Timesso for their abode Pope Clement the First granted afterwards to this Order all the Goods and Lands which they took from the Infidels for which cause they gathered a strong Army under the Command of the Grand Master Foulques Villaret and took Rhodes from the Turks with several other adjacent Islands whereupon they remov'd from Cyprus to Rhodes and were since call'd The Knights of Rhodes About this time the Order of Knights Templars was suppress'd and their Goods conferr'd upon these Knights by the Pope A long time they defended Rhodes against the assaults of the mahumetans chiefly in the time of Habusar Sultan of Egypt who Besieg'd it five years and in the Year Fourteen hundred and eight the Grand-Seignior Mahomet or Mihammed attempted with an Army of Three hundred thousand Men but was necessitated to leave it with a great loss of Soldiers but at last the Bassa Ibrahim by the Command of Solyman the Magnificent overcame the City and the whole Island in the Year Fifteen hundred twenty two on the day of St. John Baptist having an Army of two hundred thousand men whereof the Siege devour'd above a hundred thousand whereas the Island was scarce furnish'd with six hundred Knights and five thousand Inhabitants After the loss of this Island they went away from it according to the Agreement made with the Turks and Landed first at Castro in Candia but went thence to Messina in Cicilia and from thence in the Year Fifteen hundred twenty three to Civita Vecchia thence again to Viterbo a City in Tuskani where the Pope entertain'd them a while they went from Viterbo in July in the Year Fifteen hundred twenty seven to Cornetto from thence to Franche and from Franche to Nize in Savoy out of this in the Year Fifteen hundred twenty nine they betook themselves to the City Auguste in Cicilia and from thence to Sarragoa where they remain'd by leave of the Emperor Charles the First who took a great content in them for their Valor which they manifested every where to the destroying of the Turks and Corsairs insomuch that Charles at last in the Year Fifteen hundred and thirty the four and twentieth of March out of a voluntary Donation transferr'd the Tenancy to the Knights of the Islands of Malta and Goza aforemention'd with a Proviso to give every year for an Acknowledgment a Falcon which the Grand Master should bring himself or send to the Vice-Roy of Sicily In the same Year The Knights take their abode in Malta the six and twentieth of October the Knights took possession thereof under the Grand Master Philip de Villiers and have since that been call'd The Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in Malta or singly Knights of Malta The intention of instituting this Order in the beginning was to serve the Pilgrims which travell'd to Jerusalem and to assist them with all their Power to keep the Ways secure for such as travel'd to visit the Holy Sepulchres But at this day their chiefest business is against the Turk and all Infidels and to serve Christendom as a Buckler of Defence against them These Knights glory in themselves A Letter from the Grand Master Lackaris that they are an Order which hitherto hath had no other Foes than those that are Enemies to the Name of Christ being a renown'd as well as an admirable Institution without advantage or any other reward than that of Vertue their probity continually exercising it self in the prudent Education of its noble Posterity even with the hazard of their lives and wishing nothing else but to persevere in the shewing of their Valor in Fighting against the Wicked They manage great Wars against the Turks and all Infidells without joyning or confederating with any Party in the Quarrel of Christendome and are by all Christian Princes known to be impartial being indeed an Order consisting of the flower of the Nobility of all Europe establish'd in the defence of Christian Princes who by their glorious Enterprises of a renown'd and Holy War have five whole Ages approv'd themselves famous and honourable towards Christendom and at all times formidable to their Enemies They have in Services and Warlike Exploits so highly merited of the Roman Emperors Kings and other Christian Princes that they stand in a perpetual League with them and have been receiv'd into the Protection of the Roman Empire according to the purport of the Letters from the Emperor Charles the fifth given and granted at Antwerp the four and twentieth of May in the Year Fifteen hundred and forty where he saith The aforesaid Order many years since and even beyond imagination have been a continual Defence against the Turk that great Persecutor of our Faith and have most valiantly spent their Blood against him for the defence of Religion and performed many excellent Deeds whereupon our Predecessors Roman Emperors and Kings have receiv'd them into singular Protection and Favor The Popes who confirm'd the Institution of this Order held to be Temporal and Secular not onely in respect of their chiefest Employment but for that they stand exempted both in their Persons and Goods from the Power and Authority of the Clergy All
Grand Master and lastly Grand Master He erected a Castle on the Island Goze forsook the Castle of St. Angelo and went to the Borough of Malta which he valiantly defended in the year 1565. against all the Power of the Turk After the breaking up of the Siege he new fortifi'd the Island and begun the new City from his Name call'd Valette whereof he laid the first Stone the 28 of March in the year 1566 and proceeded in the building of it with permission of the Pope for the Labourers to work on Holidays He died the 21 of August being the day of his Election in the year 1561. Peter de Mont of Italy proceeded in the building of the new City wherein he setled the Residence of the Order and made his entrance into the same with all his Knights on the 18 of March 1571. and died the 17 of January in the year 1572. John Bishop of Cassiere in Provence but a Gascon born erected the great Church of St. John Baptist in Valette and gave a Revenue of a thousand Crowns with a Chappel adjoyning for the Interment of the Corps of the Grand Masters his Predecessors de novo He fell into hatred with many Knights and was summon'd to Rome In the mean time Pope Gregory the Eighth sending one Gaspar Vicomte to Malta to Govern the Order during his absence he died at Rome the 21 of December in the year 1585. aged 78 years Hugues de Loubenx Verdale of the Alberge of Provence but a Gasconer by birth was elected the 12 of January 1582. He had from his youth exercis'd himself in Letters and Arms amended or repair'd the Fortifications of the Island reform'd the Election of the Order caus'd a History to be written of their Acts by one Jaques Bosio to the Expence of the Order of more than two hundred thousand Crowns which they were indebted and therefore was accus'd by the Treasury-Chamber That he had imploy'd it ill He died at last in Malta the fourth of May in the year 1595. Martin Garcez of the Language of Arragon was Elected the eighth of May 1595. in the sixtieth year of his Age. He took off Customs and Impositions and Commanded That no Knight nor Grand Master himself should particularly for his own Advantage go and take Prizes of the Turks He died the seventh of February in the year 1601. Alof de Wignacourt a Frenchman had been formerly Grand Hospitaller of the Order and Captain of the New City He was Chosen the 10 of February in the year 1601. He furnish'd the City Valette with good Water from distant Springs and strengthned the Island with divers new Fortifications He died the fourth of September in the year 1622. Louys de Mendez of Vasconsales a Portuguese was Elected the 27 of September in the year 1622. and died the 17 of March in the following year 1623. Anthony de Paul of Provence but extracted from the House of Paul of Tholouse was Elected the 12 of March in the year 1623. and died in the year 1636. Johan Paulus Laskaris a Piedmontese of the Alberge of Provence was chosen the 12 of June 1636. at seventy years of age having been made Knight for his great Deserts the 24 of April in the year 1583. He died being 90 years old in the year 1657. After Laskaris follow'd Martinis de Rodin who died in the same year 1657. Then succeeded Annetus Clermon de Gissans who died in the year 1660. After him Raphael Cottener who deceas'd in the year 1663. and was succeeded by Nicolaus Cottener So that to conclude At Jerusalem Margat and Ptolomais have been four and twenty Grand Masters at Rhodes seventeen and at Malta nineteen In all sixty The Islands of Comin and Cominot THe small Islands of Comin and Cominot lying Westward between Malta and Gozo are both subject to the Commands of the Malteses Both at this day Inhabited but first Peopled by the diligent care of the Grand Master Wignacourt who for the better security thereof erected a Fort upon it Cluverius taketh Comin for the ancient Hefestia or Island of Vulcan being very small not above four English Miles in compass but exceeding full of Cattel To the Southward of this lieth Folfola or Forfora The Island of Goze or Gozo THis Island by the Italians call'd Goze by the Sicilians Gozo by the Inhabitants Gaudish and by the Arabians who sometimes possess'd it Gaudosh is taken for the Gaulos of Pliny and Mela and the Gaudos of Strabo but Mercator makes it to be the Isle by the Ancients dedicated to Juno It lieth about two Miles West-North-West from Malta containing about eight Miles in circumference three in length and one and a half in breadth so surrounded with Cliffs and Rocks that it is dangerous to come at it There are no great Towns but only small Villages and the Houses generally built at great Distances The chiefest are Scilendi Douere and Muggiare The Air is very healthful The Ground to admiration fertile with many easie and delighful Ascents every where water'd with innumerable Springs and producing Corn and Fruit sufficient not only to the Inhabitants but affording some to those of Malta There are a great many Sheep Hares Fowl and plenty of Honey Towards the side of Barbary riseth a natural Rock where brave Faulcons are taken whereof the Grand Master sends yearly to the King of Spain for an acknowledgment The Inhabitants in Nature resemble those of Malta and speak like them broken Arabick There are about five thousand Resiants whom the Turks invaded and miserably spoiled in the year Fifteen hundred fifty one There is a Castle seated on a Hill but small and of little consequence yet stored with a large number of Ordnance and underneath defended by a Fort newly strengthned in the year Sixteen hundred and eighteen with a Bulwark The Island is a Peculiar of the Grand Master of Malta who calls himself Prince of it and sends thither one with the Title of Governor every three Years The Inhabitants although they speak Arabick nevertheless embrace the Christian Religion The Island of Lampadouse THe Island of Lampadouse by the Italians call'd Lampedosa and by Ptolomy Lipadusa lieth about five and twenty Miles West-South-West from Malta in four and thirty Degrees North Latitude It remains desolate and without Inhabitants Ariosto in his Orlando Furioso represents this Island without Houses but Cruzius affirms That there are the Ruines seen of an old Castle Houses Walls and Towers of Cities but that none can remain there because of a Nootlot by which Word they seem to mean Apparitions of Spirits as the same Cruzius insinuates when he says The Place is every Night disturb'd and haunted with uncouth and mischievous Spectrums However this remains undoubtedly true That there is a Church call'd St. Mary of Lampadouse divided into two parts the one part dedicated to the Religious of the Christians and visited by Travellers which come to offer there Money Clothes Bread Gun-powder Bullets and many other things
a Religious Order of their Sect do for the most part make Profession of it under a goodly Pretext of certain Revelations which they say they have had from their Prophet Mahomet And hereupon those of Algier But the Algeriant will not own it to palliate the shame and the reproaches that are thrown upon them for making use of a Witch in the danger of this Siege do say that the loss of the Forces of Charles V. was caused by a Prayer of one of their Marabou's named Cidy Utica which was at that time in great Credit not under the notion of a Magitian but for a person of a holy life Afterwards in remembrance of their success they have erected unto him a small Mosque without the Babason Gate where he is buried and in which they keep sundry Lamps burning in honour of him nay they sometimes repair thither to make their Sala for a testimony of greater Veneration Here one thing very well merits our observation Note that in the Year One thousand six hundred thirty seven in the end of November as those of Algier took an exact survey of the Mole of their Port in the time of a great Calm fearing the strong Preparations of the French wherewith they had been menaced by the Sieur de Manly they to their great astonishment perceived without and somewhat above the Mole a Galley at the bottom of the Water where it lay covered with Sand from Poop to Prow with all its Banks of Oars Now in regard none living had seen or heard speak of such a Galley it did much astonish every one and invited most people to go to see it To raise it entire there was no way but all they could do was to get up three very fair and perfect Canon and by the Arms of Charles the Fifth upon them it was imagined to be a part of the Wreck of his Fleet an hundred years before as we but now mentioned About twelve Miles from Algier Teddelez Teddelez the most Easterly Sea-Town of this Countrey by Ptolomy call'd Addime seven Miles from Alzier fortifi'd with strong Walls that inclose above a thousand Houses together with a Castle the Residence of the Governor Sasa Sasa formerly call'd Tipassus and by some Old Algier because the other as they say was built out of its Ruines Heretofore it contained above three thousand Houses but now lies desolate Kol der Mudejar Kol der Mudejar a Town new built by Asan Bassa about the Year Fifteen hundred and fifty three Miles Eastward from the River Safran to the Inland The Inhabitants are either Tagarins Morisks or Granadins driven out of Castile and Andaluzia and Targatans expell'd Valentia ¶ THe Soil is so fruitful The Soil of the Countrey that sometimes there are two or three Harvests in a year of Wheat Barley and Oats besides other Plants which it affords the whole year in great abundance They have in some places Melons very delicious in Taste some of which are ripe while others are green so that all Seasons produce successively ripe Melons Besides Vines whereon hang bunches of Grapes a Cubit long ¶ THe Desarts feed Lions The Beasts Leopards Tygers Panthers Porcupines and Hedge-Hogs whose flesh the Moors eat though Swines Flesh be forbidden Harts Apes Foxes Camelions and many sorts of Fowls viz. Ostriches Eagles Hens Partridges and the like Oxen also with straight Horns an Ell long and Sheep with three four five or six Horns and Tails thirty forty or fifty pound weight besides Horses and Camels Here are also two strange Beasts the one call'd a Gapard the other a Ciculis the former frequently made tame as Gramay says and us'd to hunt with by reason of its swiftness it hath a Head like a Cat but much bigger a spotted Tail like a Panther the Feet behind longer and higher than those before one main cause of his great speed in running The other neither a Dog nor a Fox but partaking of both having one peculiar and rare property to cure Lameness with his Breath if the same be taken in the morning upon the hand and that apply'd to the part affected chafing the same ¶ THe Native Inhabitants of Algier The Constitution of the Inhabitants are whiter than the rest of the Countrey strong-limbed and well set but there are not many for people of all colours reside there some for the Wars as the Janizaries some for Profit as the Turks some for Trade as Merchants some upon force as the Granadines and Andaluzians driven out of Spain besides the Slaves of all Countreys Jews also and Moors that serve the Turks in the Wars and come out of the Mountains of Kouko and Labez Without the City live none but Moors and Alarbes not in Houses but seatter'd up and down in Huts and Tents in the open Fields The King and the Grandees of the Court wear their Beards long but others shave close cutting off withal the Hair of their Heads excepting one Lock on the Crown by which they believe they shall be drawn up to Paradise They Bathe often and Wash every Morning before they do any thing then again before their Sala or Prayer also before Dinner at each Lotion the Water is pour'd into the Palms of their Hand which they suffer or rather cause to run up to their Elbows ¶ MOst of the Houses are built Four-square two three four Their Houses and five or six Stories high Flat-rooft for conveniency of Walking receiving both Air and Light from the Doors and small Windows In stead of Chimneys great Vessels fill'd with Earth stand at the Doors whereon with Wood and Coals they Dress their Meat The Palaces of the Kings and other Grandees have great Quadrangles beautifi'd with curious Columns the Floors of the Rooms Boarded spread over with Tapestry into which whoever goes leaves his Shoes standing before the Door ¶ THeir Houshold-stuff is little being for the most part one Matt Their Houshold-stuff a Tapestry Quilt and two Cloths spread at one side of the Room some Earthen or Wooden Pots and Dishes long Spoons and Wooden Cup-boards and Chests In stead of a Bedstead Ledikani they lay two or three Sticks from one Wall to another two or three Foot from the Floor over which they lay Planks whereon they lay a Quilt upon which they lie covered onely with a Blanket Their usual Food is Rice Couscou's and boyl'd Meat with some Fruit. They drink Water yet some of them notwithstanding the Prohibition of their Alcoran drink Wine also ¶ THe Moors of this Province live some by Husbandry Their Employment some by Handicrafts others by Merchandising but most by Robbing of Christian Ships The Janizaries employ themselves in Souldiery but the Arabians live Slovenly and Poorly getting all they have by Cheating and Treachery The Granadins use all manner of Trades wherein they are very skilful and Arts-Masters The Women do nothing but sit all day on Matts or
Tapestry entertaining one another with Discourses or else in Visits of their Friends going to the Bannia's Recreating themselves in the Gardens without the City or at Feasts ¶ THe Habits here are several for Christians and free People as English Their Habits French Netherlanders and others go Clothed according to the Fashions of their several Countreys but the Slaves wear commonly a Gray Suit with a Coat or Cap like a Sea-mans The Common People wear in the Winter over their Shirts a Linen or Woollen pair of Drawers a white Woollen Coat with a white Cap fastened behind call'd Galela others have a Garment on hanging down to their Knees which they throw over their Shoulders and under their Arms like a Cloak call'd Golela commonly Dy'd Black In the Summer they have two large Frocks or Coats on which they call Adorta upon their Head is a Turban of slight Linnen or Cotton-Cloth The Apparel of the Women differs little from that of the Men onely they are much statelier and thinner their Shifts come down to their Ankles their Hair braided and ty'd up with Necklaces of Gold Bracelets of the same rich Pendants and Jewels in their Ears and square Caps on their Heads When they go abroad they have a Vail or Mantle of fine Linnen hanging over their Heads and clasp'd on their Breasts so that nothing can be seen but their eyes but in the House they wear a Silk Frock over their Linnen Shift ¶ THe Antient Inhabitants of Algier us'd the Punick Tongue Their Language and when subject to the Roman Emperors the Latine as may be observ'd from divers Inscriptions yet to be seen But when the Arabs over-ran the Countrey they brought in use the Arabick in which all publick Writings and Letters are still written more frequently than in the Turkish The Morisk also is much us'd but the common and vulgar Speech as well here as in the Levant and other Eastern Countreys as well by Mahumetans as Christians is Lingua Franca being a Medley compos'd out of the French Italian and Spanish Tongues ¶ HEre is a Custom deviating a little from the Alcoran Their Marriage the restraining Men to four Wives whiles this gives liberty for as many as one pleases but the Algerines are oblig'd by their Custom and keep within the compass of four Wives but their wanton lusts towards Concubines and Catamites are unbridl'd and without limitation Others assume the liberty of seven among whom they divide the nights and allow every one a several Chamber but this produces heart-burnings and jealousies which many times prove fatal to either or both When a Man lies upon his Death-bed he is tended by Men A Funeral Pomp. as Women are by those of their own Sex when Dead the Corps is washed with warm Water and Sope then wrapt up in white Linnen and a Turban laid upon it Thus prepared it is set upon the Bier and with the Alcaid's Licence convey'd to the Grave in the Fields without the City Gates Clothed and with the Head forward where it is Interr'd and cover'd with Earth Some few days after if it were a rich Person at his Head and Feet are Stones set up with Inscriptions and Epitaphs to the honour of the Deceased and some select Sentences out of the Alcoran laid upon him They make no shew of Sorrow by their Clothing Sorrow onely the Women wear for some days over their Faces a black Cloth and the Men for a Moneth never Shave themselves both Men and Women visit the Grave for the space of three Days bestowing on the Poor as a Benevolence Bread and Figs and continually saying over the Tomb with hideous out-cries Celam Ala that is Gods Light bless thee In the same manner almost are the Grandees and the Commanders in the Wars buried but with greater Pomp and State that is the Corpse is laid into a Coffin adorn'd with carv'd Work and other costly Ornaments and so carried to the Burying-place the Marabout going before and his Family and Servants bearing his Launce and Scimiter after him follow'd by Horses and Camels in great number of which the PRINT affords a sight Most people in Algier walk on foot few ride a Horse-back except Alkadies Governors of Provinces or other great Lords others of meaner Quality using Asses The Women seldom or never go afoot but are carri'd upon Asses cover'd with a kinde of Canopy as we have declar'd before and sitting in a four-square Box drawn round with Curtains In such like broad Frames set upon Camels many are carried in their Journeys to Mecha to visit Mahomet's Tomb partly to shrowd them from the heat of the Sun and to keep the Sand from flying into their Eyes as they go through the Sandy Desart Two Men may conveniently sit in these but with their Legs across which is not troublesom being the fashion of the Turks The general Coyn and Money current here The Coyn. both amongst the Turks Moors Jews Diegâ— de Haedo Typograph de Alg. eu Gram. lib. 1. and Christian Merchants is Outlandish being partly Turkish Gold as Sultanies of the value of a Ducat Mortikals of Fez a fifth part more in value then a Ducat partly Europaean as Spanish Pistols French Crowns Italian Zequiens somewhat more then a Venetian Ducat Ungarian Ducats and Spanish Ryals But the Moors and Arabs up in the Countrey know no other than Escues or Spanish Pistols and Ryals 't is true there is some Money Coyned there viz. Pieces of Copper call'd Burba's but thick stamped with the Arms of the King on both sides formerly six of these Burba's made an Asper but now six make but half an Asper An Asper the best Silver Coyn is four-square Printed with Arabick Letters Fourteen Aspers and a half make a Spanish Ryal and Four and twenty Doubles that is worth about Nine Shillings English Their Gold which has an allay of a little Copper is for the most part Coyned at Tremecen being round and of three sorts viz. Rubies which make Twenty five Aspers Dians or Zians each worth a hundred Aspers each of those have for their Stamps the Name of the Reigning King in Moorish Letters The Jews have the most Profit and Command of all this Money being indeed the onely Exchangers for which they pay an Annual Rent to the Bassa Every year the Algerines send into the Field three Bands or Flying-Troops of Janizaries each containing two or three hundred How the Tribute of the Level Countrey is brought in by the Arabians and Mâ—â—rs one of these marches to the West of Tremicen the second Eastward to the Coast of Bona and Constantine and the third South to the Negroes Countrey and Wilderness This last hath the greatest trouble because for the most part they continue out six or seven Moneths Every Troop is commanded by an Aga who is as much as a Collonel under whose Command and Conduct they forceably Collect those Tributes among the Moors wilde Arabs Advares and