ABSTRACT
Richard Jobson was well advised to consult Luso-Africans regarding kola trade because, from the mid-sixteenth century forward, enterprising lanqados and Luso-Africans, in league with Biafada mariners, had transformed western Africa's coastwise and riverine trade networks. The Biafada-Sapi commercial sphere was the "golden couritrey," source of the kola that so intrigued Jobson during his months of trade along the Gambia River. Reports of Biafada conquests of the Bijago may have influenced an illadvised Portuguese decision to found a settlement in the archipelago. Mandinka traders brought black and white cotton cloth from the Gambia River, teadas, and slaves to exchange with Biafada for kola from Serra Leoa. Biafada lands constituted an extensive territory along both banks of the Grande River, extending north to the Geba and east along the Corubal for a considerable distance. Numerous Biafada spoke Portuguese and dressed in Portuguese fashion.
