Portugal now began to reap the fruits of her discoveries: bees' wax,
ostrich feathers, negro slaves, and particularly gold, were imported, on
all of which the profits were so great, that John II., who succeeded
Alonzo, immediately on his accession, sent out 12 ships to Guinea; and in
1483, two other vessels were sent, which in the following year reached
Congo, and penetrated to 22 deg. south. The river Zaire in this part of Africa
was discovered, and many of the inhabitants of the country through which it
flows embarked voluntarily for Portugal. Benin was discovered about the
same time; here they found a species of spice, which was imported in great
quantities into Europe, and sold as pepper: it was, however, nothing else
but grains of paradise. The inhabitants of Benin must have had considerable
traffic far into the interior of Africa, for from them the Portuguese first
received accounts of Abyssinia. By the discovery and conquest of Benin and
Congo, the Portuguese traffic in slaves was much extended, but at the same
time it took another character for a short time; for the love of gold being
stronger than the hope of gain they might derive from the sale of negroes,
(for which, indeed, till the discovery of the West Indies there was little
demand,) the Portuguese used to exchange the natives they captured for gold
with the Moors, till John II.
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