To next page
Pedro de Covilham(1490) Portugal
---------------------------------
Taken (mostly) from: (Internet) NOTLAR 31-40 Kuzeyden, Denizin Otesinden Gelenler
A Portuguese spy called Pedro de Covilham returning from India and Sofala sent the following message to the Portuguese King:
...... inform the King about all he had seen along the coast of Calicut, and Hormus, and the coast of Ethiopia and Sofala, and the big island, saying finally that if his caravels, which were accustomed to sail Guinea, went on navigating along the coast and asked for the coast in the eastern ocean of Sofala or the island of the moon (Comoros) or the big island (Madagascar), they could easily penetrate to those eastern seas and reach the coast of Calicut, for it was sea all the way.... And that the Indian and Arab sailors knew very well the most southerly point of Africa.
After that the spy set out for a trip to Ethiopia. Vasco da Gamma had his report with him when he sailed around Africa. The report however has gotten lost. The extract given is found in the Missionary Voyage of Francesco Alvarez (1540)