Written by Marco
Ramerini
Situated on
the Arguin island (today Mauritania), this was the first fort the Portuguese built in
Africa.
The Arguin area was explored by the
Portuguese around the years 1442-1444 by Gonçalo de Sintra (1442), Dinis Dias
(1442), Nuno Tristão (1443) and Lançarote (1444), according to Valentim Fernandes,
Arguin island was discovered by Gonçalo de Sintra in 1445.
Arguin is described as a very popolated island, in front
to the African mainland "hua legoa em largo e duas em longo e quatro em redondo"
(Valentim Fernandes), where the water originate from the sands (Diogo Gomes), around the
island there are the dangerous "Baixas de Arguin" (sand banks of
Arguin) and the access to it was possible only on day time and with high tide.
Around 1445 (or according to some authors as Diogo Gomes,
in 1445, was built the fort, but this first structure was probably just a factory) the
Portuguese built a "feitoria" (trading factory) for trade in slaves,
gold, fishes and arabic resin.
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Later in 1461, Soeiro Mendes built the fort: "E em
de 1461 (el Rey dõ Afonso) mandou Soeiro Mendez fidalgo de sua casa fazer o
castello Darguim a que deu alcaydaria" (Barros). Mendes was later named captain
of the castle of Arguin. The castle was, according with some sources, a small structure
"Arguim foi sempre cousa pouca" but Valentim Fernandes give us a
different information: "em huum penedo muy alto tem el rey de Portugal hûa
fortaleza muy forte e fremosa". Sadly no plan of the fort during the Portuguese
period are arrived to this days, the earlyer (undated) detailed image is that of the
Vingboon's atlas that perhaps represents the fort at the beginning of the Dutch rule
(1633), but when the fort, probably, was still as the Portuguese left it. In this image
the fort had a quadrangular shape with a bastion on each angle (North and South) of the
land side of the fort, the gate is near the Southern bastion and is protected by a
quadrangular structure.
The trade of Arguin was under crown control and also the
captains were appointed, usually every three years, by the king. The captain of the castle
had the right over 1/4 of the trading goods, the "feitor" (fattore) received 1/8
of every transaction, the "escriuam" (clerck) for his service received
20000 "Reis" and a slave. The Arguin area was inhabitated by
Moors and Blacks (Maures). The importance of Arguin was due to the great fishing
area, with the castle, the Portuguese could control the fishing trade of this zone that
still today is one of the most rich fishing Bancs. In Arguin the Portuguese exchanged
clothes, silver, pepper, flax, honey etc. for slaves, gold, Arabic rubber, camels etc.
In 1487 a "feitoria" (trading
factory) was founded inland in Ouadane (Ouadan, Uadem, Audem or Wadan).
Probably, according to Diogo Gomes, another temporary Portuguese settlement was built near
the river St. Jean in Mauritania "in fluvio de S. Johannis que est circa Cofia et
Anteroti".
In 1488 or 1490, the
Portuguese did also an attempt to built a fort at the mouth of the Senegal River, this
attempt ended in a failure. |
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In the years 1505-1508 the garrison of the castle was
composed by 41 peoples between which 18 soldiers, 5 sailors etc. Around the end of
1555 or at the beginning of the year 1556 Arguin was attacked by the Portuguese pirate
Brás Lourenço. In 1569 there were about 30 people in the fort garrison.
The trade declined in the following years and the
Portuguese crown thought to abandon Arguin. A consequence of this was that in 1592 the
castle of Arguin and the right on the fishing area was donated by the King of Portugal to
the Conde (Count) de Atouguia. The fort at that time had a garrison of 12 soldiers and 4
gunners, in the fort there were 4 "colubrine medie" and 2 "sacres",
inside the fort there was a church. In 1595 the fort was sacked by a French expedition
from La Rochelle en route to Salvador. It seems that at the beginning of the 17th century,
at the time of the captain Rodrigo Freire, the Maures also occupied for a short time the
castle. Near the castle was a Maures village with 200 inhabitants. The Conde (Count) de
Atouguia remain the donatarie of the castle until the Dutch conquest in 1633. On 29
January 1633 three Dutch ships of the WIC (West-Indische Compagnie) arrived near Arguin, luckyly the Duch took a Maure ship which crew showed them the route
for the fort and its situation, after the desembark, the Dutch put under siege the fort.
On 5 February 1633 the Portuguese garrison surrendered and the fort was occupied by the
Dutch.
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Arguin Fort after 1633, sea side |
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Arguin Fort after 1633, land side |
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PORTUGUESE CAPTAINS OF ARGUIN |
| Soeiro Mendes |
1464- |
| Afonso de Moura
(capitão, alcaide-mor, feitor) |
1492-1495 |
| Fernão Soares (capitão,
feitor) |
1499-1501 |
| Gonçalo de Fonseca (capitão) |
1505-1508 |
| Francisco de Almada
(capitão) |
1508-1511 |
| Pero Vaz de Almeida
(capitão) |
1514 |
| Estevão da Gama
(capitão) |
1515 |
| Antonio Porto Carreiro
(capitão) |
1518 |
| Gonçalo da Fonseca
(capitão) |
?-1522 |
| João Gomes o Souro
(Osouro) (capitão) |
1543 |
| Gil Sardinha (capitão) |
before 1549 |
| Cristovão de Rosales
(capitão) |
1549 |
| Lionis da Gama (capitão) |
1569 |
| João Leite Pereira
(capitão) |
1575 |
| Rodrigo Freire (capitão) |
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| Amador Louzado
(capitão) |
1623-1624 |
| Francisco Cordovil
(capitão) |
1624 ? |
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
- Blake "European in West Africa"
- Fernandes, Valentim "Descripçam de Cepta por sua costa de Mauritania e Ethiopia pellos nomes modernos proseguindo as vezes algûãs cousas do sartão da terra firme ..." In: Rainero, Romain "La scoperta della costa occidentale d'Africa ..." Milano, 1970
- Gomes, Diogo "De prima iuentione Gujnee" In: Rainero, Romain "La scoperta della costa occidentale d'Africa ..." Milano, 1970
- Madeira Santos, Maria E. "Viagens de exploraçao terrestre dos portugueses em Africa" Lisboa, 1988
- Monod, T. "L'Ile d'Arguin (Mauritanie). Essai historique" Lisboa, 1983
- Rainero, Romain "La scoperta della costa occidentale d'Africa ..." Milano, 1970
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