Relatorio de uma viagem ás terras do Changamira

A seasoned Portuguese artillery captain sets out from Gouveia, eager to follow up a mission in the distant lands of Changamira. He weighs advice from fellow explorer Manuel Antonio, who has just returned from Quelimane, and decides to delay a trek to Manica while he probes a region plagued by famine. The report opens with a stark picture of the southern African savanna, where failed rains have left corn, millet and tubers barren, and families wander the bush searching for any edible root.

He chronicles the arduous logistics of hauling eighty loads across an almost deserted Barue, noting the swollen Inhandue and Caurese rivers that hem in the terrain. Encounters with local chiefs and a nervous emissary from Caterere reveal a fragile network of trade and promises, while the captain’s meticulous notes on geography and place‑names hint at a larger map yet to be completed. The narrative blends stark observation with a quiet determination to record a region on the brink of collapse.