CABREIRA, Jose de.

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Naufragio da nao N. Senhora de Belem feyto na terra do Natal no Cabo de Boa Esperança, First edition of this eyewitness account of the notorious sinking of the Nossa Senhora de Belém in June 1635, off the Cape of Good Hope – among the most renowned shipwrecks in the history of Portuguese navigation. The admiral, Jose de Cabreira (d. 1638), had guided the Belém from Goa, in India, but the ship ran aground near the mouth of the river Mzimvubu. After returning to Lisbon, Cabreira wrote a detailed account of the shipwreck and the crew's 6-month forced stay in present-day South Africa. Eventually, they managed to build some rescue boats, and reached Angola. After describing the copious leaking of the ship along the route, Cabreira details the crew's arrival on the coast of Natal, their encounter with the local Bantu-speaking population, the set-up of the survivors' camp, with the spiritual guide of Father Jeronymo Lobo, and the construction of two rescue boats, led by the ship's carpenter, Manoel Fernandes. The survivors of the Belém shipwreck, "untypically most of those aboard the ship, included not only a survivor of the 1622-23 shipwreck and the subsequent overland journey whose advice helped to dissuade the party from travelling by land, but also a survivor of one in 1630 which occurred nearer the Cape. This man had been among those who travelled safely in boats built by the survivors, and presumably he encouraged the 1635 party to do the same" (Hair, p. 94).This edition was l

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