A Report of the Kingdom of Congo and of the Surrounding Countries

In this 1591 work, the Italian mathematician Filippo Pigafetta (1533-1604) explains that he was ordered by Pope Sixtus V to transcribe the account of Duarte Lopez, a Portuguese trader who had spent twelve years in the Congo. Lopez had hoped that the pope would give him support in his mission to the Congolese, but this was not forthcoming: he returned to Africa, and was not heard from again. The work was first translated into English by the English antiquary Abraham Hartwell: this translation with notes by Margarite Hutchinson was published in 1881. Lopez's narrative gives a detailed account of his voyage on his uncle's ship, and the history and geography of the kingdom of Congo and its six administrative regions under the rule of its king (named by Lopez 'Don Alvarez'). This fascinating account demonstrates the extent of Portuguese exploration across West Africa in the sixteenth century, of which later explorers were unaware.