The First Crossing of Southern Africa | A primeira travessia da África Austral

The book highlights an extraordinary achievement, long ignored or underestimated: the crossing made at the beginning of the 19th century by two Angolan pombeiros — Pedro João Baptista and Anastácio Francisco — from the Malanje plateau (Angola) to the Tete plateau (Mozambique). A journey of more than eight years through the heart of the continent, it must now be recognized as a pioneering and unforgettable milestone of courage, tenacity, and mission spirit carried out by two unlikely and, at the time, wholly unexpected agents.

The publication comes at a moment rich in symbolism: fifty years since Angola's independence, fifty-one years since the Carnation Revolution (which ushered in democracy in Portugal), and in a time of renewed debate about colonial legacies, historical memory, and the recognition of African protagonists in global narratives. In line with the African Union's theme for 2025 — Justice, not necessarily material, for Africans and people of African descent — José Bento Duarte’s book gains even greater relevance and urgency. More than a chronological account, the book is a rigorously documented analytical essay, built on the investigation of a wide range of historical sources.

With a preface signed by Uina yo Nkuau Mbuta (the Kikongo name of Prof. Dr. Carlos Mariano Manuel, physician, researcher, and recipient of the 2023 Lusophone Personality Award), the book unfolds across a structure of twenty-one chapters. It begins by examining mythical conceptions of the African continent developed in Antiquity and reinforced during the Middle Ages — perceptions that would weigh heavily on later historical events. It then explores the early contacts between the Portuguese and Africans, the gradual colonial occupation of Africa’s coasts from the 15th to the 19th centuries, the attempts to penetrate the interior, and the broader evolution of political conditions that would ultimately lead to the hazardous, dramatic, yet triumphant journey of the two pombeiros.

CONTENTS

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1 — African Enigmas

Chapter 2 — Cannibals, Terrors, and Prejudices

Chapter 3 — Portugal, Castile, and the Assault on Morocco

Chapter 4 — Henry, Pedro, and the Overseas Routes

Chapter 5 — First Atlantic Advances

Chapter 6 — Beyond Cape Bojador

Chapter 7 — Encounters and Misunderstandings in Guinea

Chapter 8 — King João II, the Mina, and the “India Plan”

Chapter 9 — Zaire: The Gates of Hope

Chapter 10 — Congo: The Missed Opportunity

Chapter 11 — The Elusive Lands of Ndongo

Chapter 12 — The Donation (September 19, 1571)

Chapter 13 — The Futile Dream of Paulo de Novais

Chapter 14 — Settling in Angola

Chapter 15 — The Indian Seas

Chapter 16 — The Calicut Tragedy

Chapter 17 — Along the East African Coast

Chapter 18 — Settling in Mozambique

Chapter 19 — Preparing the Crossing: Correia Leitão in Cassange

Chapter 20 — Lacerda e Almeida and the Fatal Barrier of Cazembe

Chapter 21 — The Crossing of Pedro João Baptista and Anastácio Francisco

CONCLUSION — A Mystery in the Streets of Lisbon

APPENDICES

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY