my lord the king of Portugal, in which cities the king maintains good fortresses, and especially in Melindi, which is a realm, and Mombaza, which the Viceroy put to fire and flame. In Chilva he has a fortress, and one was building in Mozambich. In Zaphala, also, there is a very good fortress. I do not describe to you what the valiant captain Tristan da Cugna did, who, on his coming into India, took the cities of Gogia and Pati, and Brava, a very strong island, and Sacutara, extremely good, in which the aforesaid king keeps good fortresses. I do not describe to you the war which was waged, because I was not present at it. I am also silent about many beautiful islands which we found on our route, amongst which is the island of Cumere, with six other islands about it, where much ginger and much sugar grow, and many singular fruits, and animal food of all kinds in abundance. I likewise do not speak to you of another beautiful island called Penda, which is friendly towards the king of Portugal, and most fertile in everything.1

1 Mozambique, Malindi, Mombasa, Kilwah, Sofâla, Angoxa, Paté, Brâva, Pemba, and the Comoro Isles. These places, with a few others not named, had been seized by the Portuguese, on different expeditions to and from India, between the years 1498-1507. Some historical notices respecting the Arab settlers, who appear to have occupied them for centuries before the arrival of the Portuguese, will be found in the Introduction. The island of Socotra, which lies about one hundred and twenty miles off the north-eastern extremity of the African mainland, was captured by the fleet under Tristan de Cunna and Alfonso de Albuquerque towards the end of 1507. De Souza gives the following account of the occurrence :-" De Cunna found here an indifferent fort, not ill manned, nor unprovided. Being provoked by the Sheikh's answer to his message, he resolved, though it were dangerous, to land with Albuquerque. The first who leaped ashore was his nephew Don Alfonso de Noronna, with a few but brave men. The Sheikh received him with no great number, though much gallantry, maintaining his ground, and threatening De Cunna, who, through a shower of bullets and stones, made his approach to the fort, and was briskly repulsed by the Sheikh, whom then Don Alfonso struck down with his lance. Hence ensued a sharp skirmish: the Moors endeavouring to carry off their

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING THE ISLAND OF MOZAMBICH AND ITS INHABITANTS.

Let us return to Mozambich, whence the king of Portugal (as also in the island Zaphala) derives a very great quantity of gold and of oil, which comes from the main

Prince, and the Portuguese to hinder it: till he and eight more being slain, the enemy fled to the castle, which was scaled, and those who entered opening the gate for the rest, a bloody fight began within, the Moors disputing it to the last man...The Portuguese lost six men. The natives [Christians] who had kept off, hearing of their success, came to thank De Cunna for delivering them from the heavy yoke of the Muhammedans, and were received under the protection of the king of Portugal, who having chosen Don Alfonso de Noronna to command the fort, if taken, De Cunna gave it him, with a hundred men for garrison." It would appear from De Souza that the island at this period was inhabited principally by Christians :-" They are all Jacobite Christians, like the Abissins. The men use the names of the Apostles, the women chiefly that of Mary. They worship the cross, which they wear on their cloathes, and set up in their churches, where they pray thrice a day in the Chaldean language, alternatively, as in a choir. They receive but one wife, use circumcision, fasting, and tithes. The men, comely; the women, so manly, that they follow the war, and live like Amazons. Some of them, for propagation, making use of such men as arrive there, and even bringing some by witchcraft. Their cloathing, some cloth, and some skins; their habitations, in the caves; their weapons, stones and slings. They are subject to the Arabian king of Caxem" [Keshîn]. (Port. Asia, vol. i. pp. 116-119.) Dr. Vincent quotes Cosmas Indocopleustes as stating that "the inhabitants of Socotra were Greeks from Egypt. He was not at the island, but conversed with some of the natives in Ethiopia they were Christians, and their priests were from Persia, that is, they were Nestorians." (Com. and Navig. of the Ancients, vol. ii. p. 342 n.) El-Edrîsi describes the population in his time as being composed chiefly of Christians, and his account of their original settlement there is curious though obviously fabulous :-" Most of the inhabitants of Socotra are Christians, and the cause of this was that Alexander [the Great] after he had overcome the king of Persia, and his fleet had captured the Indian islands, and he had killed Môr, king of India, his preceptor, Aristotle, having enjoined him to discover the Island of Aloes, this subject was on his mind, owing to his preceptor's injunction; so that after he had accomplished the taking of the Indian islands, and had overcome them and their kings, he turned from the Indian Sea

land. We remained in this island about fifteen days, and found it to be small: the inhabitants of it are black and poor, and have very little food here; but it comes to them from the mainland, which is not far distant. Nevertheless, there is a very good port here. Sometimes we went on the mainland to amuse ourselves and to see the country. We found some races of people quite black and quite naked, excepting that the men wore their natural parts in a bark of wood, and the women wore a leaf before and one behind. These people have their hair bristling up and short, the lips of the

to the Sea of Yemen, [which he never did,] and he conquered those islands as far as Socotra, with which he was much pleased on account of its fertility and the temperature of its climate, and wrote to his preceptor accordingly. When this news reached Aristotle, he wrote directing him to remove its inhabitants, and to replace them by Greeks who were to be instructed to take care of the aloes trees, and to cultivate them, on account of the several benefits to be derived therefrom." (Part vi. of First Climate.) Marco Polo, a century later, describes Socotra as the seat of an archbishop, who was subject to a Zatolia [Catholicos] who resides at Baldak, [Baghdad,] by whom he was elected.

I infer from these several accounts, that the Christians at Socotra were originally Nestorians, but that, following the example of some of their co-religionists in India, they subsequently embraced the Monophysite doctrines of Jacob Baraddæus, whose followers were styled, after him, Jacobites. In that case, De Souza is correct in classing them with the Abyssinians, who hold the same theological views, and some of whose social habits these Socotra Christians appear also to have adopted. On the abandonment of the island by the Portuguese, it reverted to its original native proprietor, the Arab Sheikh of Keshîn, a small town on the north-east coast of Arabia. An attempt was made on the part of the Indian Government in 1834 to obtain the island by purchase, in order to establish a coaling-station there; but 'Amr ibn Tawâri, the then ruling chief of Keshîn, resolutely refused to entertain the proposal, declaring that "as sure as there is but one God, and He is in heaven, I will not sell so much (making a span with his fingers.) It was the gift of the Almighty to the Mahrahs, and has descended from our forefathers to their children, over whom I am Sultan." (Trans. of the Bombay Geog. Soc., vol. vii. p. 148.) The Christian population of the island has entirely disappeared, and there have been no native Christians resident there within the memory of any of the Arabs of the adjoining coast.

mouth as thick as two fingers, the face large, the teeth large and as white as snow. They are very timid, especially when they see armed men. We, seeing these beasts to be few and vile, (we were about five or six companions well armed with spingarde,) took a guide in the said island who conducted us through the country, and we went a good day's journey into the mainland; and on this journey we found many elephants in troops, and, on account of these elephants, he who guided us made us carry certain pieces of dry wood ignited, which we constantly made to flame up. When the elephants saw the fire they fled, excepting once, that we met three female elephants who had their young behind them, who gave chase after us as far as a mountain, and there we saved ourselves, and travelled through the said mountain at least ten miles; then we descended on the other side and found some caverns, to which the said negroes resorted, who speak in a manner which I shall have great trouble in making you understand. However, I will endeavour to explain it to you in the best way I can. For example: when the muleteers follow their mules in Sicily and wish to drive them on, with the tongue under the palate they make a certain warble and a certain noise, with which they make the mules go on. So is the manner of speaking of this people, and with signs until they are understood. Our guide asked us if we wished to purchase some cows and oxen, as he would procure them for us cheap. We answered that we had no money, thinking he might have an understanding with these beasts, and might cause us to be robbed. He said: "There is no need of money in this affair, for they have more gold and silver than you have, for it is near here that they go to find where it grows." We asked the guide : "What would they then?" He said: "They are fond of small scissors, and they like a little cloth to bind round. themselves." They are also extremely fond of some little bells for their children; they also covet razors." We answered:

And he took five or six of

The brutes We told him

"We will give them some of these things, if, however, they would take the cows to the mountain." The guide said: "I will see that they shall take them to the top of the mountain and no farther, for they never pass beyond. Tell me, however, what you will give them?" One of our companions, a bombardier, said: "I will give them a good razor and a small bell." And I, in order to get animal food, took off my shirt, and said that I would give them that. Then the guide, seeing what we would give, said: “Who will drive so much cattle to the sea?" We answered: "We will drive as many as they will give." the things abovementioned and gave them to these men, and demanded for them thirty cows. made signs that they would give fifteen cows. to take them, for they were enough, provided they did not cheat us. The negroes immediately conducted fifteen cows to the top of the mountain. But when we had gone a little way from them, those who remained in the caverns began to make a noise; and we, thinking that it might be to follow us, left the cows and all betook ourselves to our arms. The two negroes who led the cows showed us by certain of their signs that we need not be afraid. And our guide said they must be quarrelling, because each would have wanted that bell. We took the said cows again, and went to the top of the mountain, and the two negroes then returned on their way. On our descent to come to the sea-shore we passed through a grove of cubebs about five miles, and discovered part of those elephants which we had met in going, which put us into such fear that we were obliged to leave some of the cows, which fled towards the negroes, and we returned to our island. And when our fleet was fur

1 The following is Barbosa's description of Mozambique, from which it would appear, that in his time the Arab settlers, though subject to the Portuguese, continued to exercise a separate civil jurisdiction :"Passing Angos [Angoxa] on the way towards India, there are three