Hermenegildo Capelo

Hermenegildo de Brito Capelo (Palmela 1841 - 1917 Lisbon), was a Portuguese explorer of Africa and an officer in the Portuguese Navy. He joined Roberto Ivens in the famous crossing of Southern Africa between Angola and Mozambique.

Early Life

Capelo was born in Castelo de Palmela. His father was major Félix António Gomes Capelo, a governor. He was one of the six brothers.

In 1860, he sailed to Angola and boarded the D. Estefânia, commanded by Prince Louis, who would later became king. He stayed for three years at a naval station in Western Africa, later returning to Lisbon in 1863. He explored Africa again in 1866, visiting Angola, where he remained until 1869, when he explored Mozambique. Capelo also traveled to Cape Verde, Guinea, and China before returning to Lisbon in 1876.

Journeys of exploration

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 national 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 southern 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 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.

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 began 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 = 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 expedition

The 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 of April 19, 1883 a Commission of Cartography. One of its intentions was to create a commercial route between Angola and Mozambique, decided on November 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 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. 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 on January 6, 1884, they returned on September 20, 1886 and were triumphantly received by King D.Luis.

Other missions

Later, 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 and Oliveira 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 in May 17, 1906 and to vice-admiral in January 18, 1906. Very dedicated to King Manuel II, Capelo accompanied His Majesty until he was exiled on October 5, 1910. On the 24th of the same month Capelo was dismissed and his military career ended.

Bibliography

• De Benguela às Terras de Iaca, 1881
• De Angola à Contracosta, 1886