ABSTRACT
The Western Sudan was known as the home of a civilized Mohammedan empire, and was rich in gold, ivory and pepper. A voyage undertaken in 1461 or 1462 reached a point a few miles beyond the site of the modern town of Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. In 1469 the king of Portugal made a contract with a certain Fernao Gomez, by which Gomez was to monopolize the Guinea trade for five years in return for an annual rent of 500 ducats, an undertaking to explore a hundred leagues of new coastline every year. The contract with Fernao Gomez expired in 1474, the monopoly of the Guinea trade was taken over by the government. Gomez was granted a coat of arms and the surname of Mina in commemoration of the gold mine he had discovered; and the Portuguese government decided to establish a fortress on the Gold Coast to secure the trade against foreign competition, against interruption by hostile tribes.
