- Hermenegildo Capelo
Hermenegildo de Brito Capelo (1841 in
Palmela - 1917 inLisbon ), was a famous Portuguese explorer of Africa and a Portuguese Navy official. He participated withRoberto Ivens in the famous crossing ofSouthern Africa , betweenAngola andMozambique .He was born in
Castelo de Palmela . His father was major Félix António Gomes Capelo, a governor. He was one of the six brothers and three others - Félix António de Brito Capelo (1828 - 1879), João Carlos de Brito Capelo, vice-admital of the marine and the hydrographic engineering (1831 - 1891) and Guilherme Augusto de Brito Capelo, vice-admiral of the marine and a scientist (August 5 ,1839 -March 21 ,1926 ).In 1860, he sailed to
Angola and boarded with D. Estefânia, commander of Prince Louis which later became king, he permanented stayed for three years at a naval station in Western Africa. He later returned to Lisbon in 1863. He explored Africa again in 1866 and again visited in Angola and remained until 1869 where he later exploredMozambique before returning to Lisbon in 1870 from the direction ofCape Verde , in 1871, he did an expedition throughGuinea and a year later in 1872 toChina before returning to Lisbon in 1876.The journeys of exploration
In 1875,
Luciano Cordeiro , founder of theLisbon Geographic Society ("Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa") reunited in an intellectual elite, civil and military. Although he actually not faced the direction exclusively for mainland Africa, for his first years, he created the Portuguese National Commission of Exploration and Civilization of Africa (" _pt. Comissão Nacional Portuguesa de Exploração e Civilização da África"), more commonly the Commission of Africa where he assumed the functions awakening the public opinion for the overseas questions and he prepared his first great expeditions in scientific-geographic expeditions appealing financially for natiuonal subscription, contributed for the definition for a political Portuguese colony in Africa. These expeditions destined to be an effect on the recognition of theKwango and its relations with theZaire River and still compated with a hydrographic basin with one of theZambezi concluded the map of southcentral Africa, the famous old-style map. Despite his fundamental paper in the defense of the Portuguese position in Africa, he faced a European expansionist movement, the Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa appeared lately. These expeditions combined a political context marked for the strong occasion of a European expansionist, in his dominions on the African continent and anticipated the historicBerlin Conference and realized in 1885. Explorers of all European great potentials, launched themselves in a true rivalry for the territorial prospections, compelling Portugal to review urgently its colonial politics and the effectiveness of its presence in these places, but the Portuguese pertensions of the occupation of spaces between Angola and Mozambique had shocked with the English spaces, that if had materialized in the consequent claim in the area of the British Empire through the British Ultimatum and Portugal.The first journey - The Benguela and the lands of Iaca
The objective
Brito Capelo which made his permanence in Angola made his scientific recognition in that zone, it was made chosen for the decree of
May 11 ,1877 for directing a scientific expedition in Central Africa of which he was also a part with the marine officialRoberto Ivens and the major of exerciseSerpa Pinto . Under these auspices of Sociedade de Geografia, this expedition finally had "...the study of the Kwango river and its relations with the Zaire and with the Portuguese territories of the west coast, as well as the region which comprehends to the south and southeast of the origins of theZambezi river and Kunene and if it draws out the north, until entering these hydrographic basins of Kwanza and the Kwango"....The journey
On
July 7 ,1887 , Brito Capelo, Roberto Ivens and Serpa Pinto becan the expedition. They trajected theBenguela -Bié , divergences between Serpa Pinto and Brito Capelo left the expedition divided, with Serpa Pinto for it was initiative to try the passage until they reached Mozambique. The other reachedPretoria and nearDurban inSouth Africa . They covered the regions of Benguela and up to the lands ofIaca , having delimited the course of theLuando ,Kubango and theTohicapa rivers. InMarch 1 ,1880 , Lisbon receoved a triumphant for Brito Capelo and Roberto Ivens, having the success of the expedition was written in the book "De Benguela às Terras de Iaca" = "From Benguela to the Lands of Iaca"The second journey - Angola and from the coast
Since the concretization of the important journey between the Bié and the Zambezi and reaching the
Victoria Falls , Capelo and Ivens were stimulated and continued the second expeditionThe objective
The necessity of creating a general atlas of the Portuguese colonies led
Pinheiro Chagas , at the time Minister of Marine and Overseas, to create under the decree ofApril 19 ,1883 a Commission of Cartography. One of its intentions was to create a commercial route between Angola and Mozambique, decided onNovember 5 the same year and, the commission proceeded with recognizing provisions and explorations. The choice of two marine officials for the achievement of this important mission, were slowed down by the unknown and therefore unmapped territories, and however advanced in age or experienced they may have been, it certainly appealed to the principles of maritimenavigation , so familiar for these explorers.The journey
Between 1884 and 1885, Capelo and Ivens realized a new exploration in Africa, first between the coastline and the Huila plain and later through the interior of
Quelimane inMozambique . As they continued their hydrographic studies, updating geo-natural registers, but also taking notes on the ethnographic and the linguistic characters they encountered. They established thus the so desired route via land between the coasts of Angola and Mozambique, exploring the vast regions of the interior located between these two territories. Their achievements were recorded in a two volume book titled: "De Angola à Contra-Costa" ("From Angola to the Other Coast"). They started this mission onJanuary 6 ,1884 , they returned onSeptember 20 ,1886 and were triumphantly received by King D.Luis.Other missions
Posteriorly, Brito Capelo was nominated for other missions such as vice-president of the Overseas Institute of which the first president was Queen Dona Amelia. His eminent direction and vision made also an impact on the countenances of the Portuguese history alongside Roberto Ivens,
Andrade Corvo , Luciano Cordeiro,Pinheiro Chagas ,António Enes andOliveira Martins which revealed the significance the government authorities of the time attributed to that social work.Other positions
Hermenegildo Capelo was aide-de-camp to Luis I and Charles I and chief of the military house of King Manuel II, plenipotenciary minister of Portugal with the Sultan of
Zanzibar created the geographic map of the province of Angola. Hermenegildo Capelo was promoted to rear-admiral inMay 17 ,1906 and to vice-admiral inJanuary 18 ,1906 . Very dedicated to King Manuel II, Capelo accompanied His Majesty until he was exiled onOctober 5 ,1910 . On the 24th of the same month Capelo was dismissed and his military career ended.Bibliography
*"De Benguela às Terras de Iaca" (2 volumes), 1881
*"De Angola à Contracosta" (2 volumes), 1886
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