STORIES OF THE SEA!
Europeans who dared to travel and explore the world often returned describing the strange people and customs they had seen. They were often wildly exaggerated! Strange stories of strange, mythical beings that lived in the far out ocean and lands.
Sir John Mandeville:
'In one isle, there is a race of giants, foul and horrible to look at! They have one eye only in the middle of their foreheads..... In another part, there are ugly folk without heads, who have eyes in their shoulders; their mouths are in the middle of their chests.... There is still another idle where the people have only one foot, which is so broad that it will cover all the body and shade it from the sun. They will run so fat on this one foot that it is a marvel to see them!'
The biggest problem for exploration was fear!
Early sailors were warned that if they reached some places it would be so hot that the sea would boil and steam them and the land would be scorched!! No human being could survive such heat!
Others thought that if you traveled too far you would fall off the edge of the world!! There was talk of flying fish and sea monsters out in the new world.
Sailor were also superstitious about the west coast of Africa, with it's strong winds and currents. With poor maps and navigation techniques ships could easily become lost. Even in the best of conditions, hurricanes and tropical storms were always a concern. The stories about the west coast of Africa put fear into would be explorers.
Azurara:
" Although Prince Henry sent out many ships, not one dared to pass Cape Bojador (Africa) and learn about the land that lay beyond it. This was because of the ancient rumours about the Cape.....For, said the sailors, this uch is clear, beyond the Cape there are no men. The land there is like the deserts of Libya, with no water or plants.... The currents there are so terrible that no ship having once passed the Cape will ever be able to return."
Aboard Ships!
Even in good weather, life on a ship during the age of exploration was difficult. Even with regular use of pumps, ships leaked and most of the ships interior was wet. Roaches and rats were constantly present and sailors slept whenever they could find time and wherever they could find room. The unsanitary conditions could lead to a rapid spread of disease. Provisions were also a concern, without any clear idea of where they were going provisions could run short and the poor diet could lead to malnutrition.Being out in the open sea for months at a time meant that ships could not take on fresh fruit and vegetables. The sailors began to suffer from scurvy, a disease caused by a lack of vitamin C. One crew member from the voyage of Vasco da Gama who sailed out into the Atlantic Ocean described scurvy in his diary:
"It rotted all my gums, which gave out a stinking black blood. My thighs and lower legs were also black and turning rotten and I was forced to use my knife each day to cut into the flesh to let out this black and foul blood. I also used my knife on my gums, which were turning black and blue and growing over my teeth. When I had cut away this dead flesh, which caused much blood to flow, I rinsed my mouth and teeth with urine, rubbing them very hard."
FROM ANOTHER WORLD!
Meanwhile, the African people described and told their stories of foreign explorers:
Captain Cadamosto:
"It is said that the first time they aw the sails.... they believed they were great sea-birds with white wings, which were flying and had come from ome strange place....Some thought the ships were fishes, others that they were ghosts that went by night, at which they were terrified...
These negroes crowded to see me as though I were a marvel. Some touched my hands and limbs, and rubbed me with their spit to see whether my whiteness was dye or flesh. Finding that it was flesh, they were amazed."
Pende People:
"One day the white men arrived in ships with wings, which shone in the sun like knives. They fought hard battles with the Ngola (chief) and spat fire at him....The white men came yet again.... From that time the whites brought us nothing but wars and miseries."