Hermenegildo Capelo
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Hermenegildo de Brito Capelo (1841 in Palmela - 1917 in Lisbon), was a famous Portuguese explorer of Africa and a Portuguese Navy official. He participated with Roberto Ivens in the famous crossing of Southern Africa, between Angola and Mozambique.
He was born in Castelo de Palmela. His father was major Félix António Gomes Capello, a governor. He was one of the six brothers and three others - Félix António de Brito Capello (1828 - 1879), João Carlos de Brito Capello, vice-admital of the marine and the hydrographic engineering (1831 - 1891) and Guilhermo Augusto de Brito Capello, 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 explored Mozambique before returning to Lisbon in 1870 from the direction of Cape Verde, in 1871, he did an expedition through Guinea and a year later in 1872 to China before returning to Lisbon in 1876.
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[edit] The Journeys of Expedition
In 1875, Luciano Cordeiro, founder of the Lisbon 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 (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 the Kwango and its relations with the Zaire River and still compated with a hydrographic basin with one of the Zambezi 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 an European expansionist movement, the Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa appeared lately. These expeditions combined a political context marked for the strong occasion of an European expansionist, in his dominions on the African continent and anticipated the historic Berlin 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.
[edit] 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 official Roberto Ivens and the major of exercise Serpa 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 the Zambezi 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 the Benguela-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 reached Pretoria and near Durban in South Africa. They covered the regions of Benguela and up to the lands of Iaca, having delimited the course of the Luando, Kubango and the Tohicapa rivers. In March 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 = The Benguela and the Lands of Iaca
[edit] The Second Journey - Angola and from the Coast
Since the concretization of the important journey between the Bié and the Zambezi and reached the Victoria Falls, Capelo and Ivens were stimulated and continued the second expedition
The Objective
The necessity of creating a general atlas of the Portuguese colonies, Pinheiro Chagas, that time Ministry of Marine and Overseas, created for the decree of April 19, 1883 as Commission of Cartography. For other hand, it intended to created a commercial route with Angola and Mozambique on November 5 the same year and proceeded with recognizely necessaries and explorations. The choice with two marine officials for the marking of this important mission, were halted with the unknown territories, unmapped, in which these were necessarily advanced in age, appealing the principles of maritime navigation, 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 in Mozambique. They had continued and its hydrographic studies, effected geo-natural registers, but also the ethnographic and the linguistic character. They established thus so desired looking for land between the coasts of Angola and Mozambique, explored the vast regions of the interior located between these two territories were written in the book in two volumes: the Angola à Contra-Costa (Angola and Ahead of the Coast. They started this mission on January 6, 1884, they returned on September 20, 1886 and triumphantlu received by King D. Louis.
[edit] Other missions
Posteriorly, Brito Capelo who was nominated for other missions such as the vice-president of the Overseas Institute of which the first president was Queen Dona Amelia. It made equally a part of his first eminent direction on the countenances of the Portuguese history with Roberto Ivens, Andrade Corvo, Luciano Cordeiro, Pinheiro Chagas, António Enes and Oliveira Martins what it revealed a good importance that the government authorities of the time that attributed to that social work.
[edit] Other positions
Hermenegildo Capelo was aide-de-camp by Louis 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 by the rear-admiral in May 17, 1906 and by the vice-admiral in January 18, 1906. Many dedicate by king Manuel III accompanied until he was exiled on October 5, 1910. On 24, of the same month, he was dismissed for finishing his military career.
[edit] Bibliography
- De Benguela às Terras de Iaca (2 volumes), 1881
- De Angola à Contracosta (2 volumes), 1886
