Cape Correntes (sometimes also called "Cape Corrientes" in
English) (
Port.: "Cabo das Correntes") is a
cape or
headland in the
Inhambane Province in
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...
. It sits at the southern entry of the
Mozambique Channel.•
Cape Correntes was historically regarded as one of the most terrifying obstacles facing sailing ships in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
. It is named after the exceptionally fast southward current that passes here, part of the
Mozambique Current, with a tendency to form
eddies at this cape. It is also a confluence point of winds, with the capacity to produce unpredictably violent gusts and whirlwinds.
Medieval
dhows of the
Kilwa Sultanate rarely (if ever) sailed below it, thereby making Cape Correntes the southern boundary of the
Swahili Coast and
cultural zone. Local legends said the cape was inhabited by
mermaids that lured unfortunate sailors to their deaths.
In the 16th century, Portuguese ships on the '
India Run' that charted an entry into the
Mozambique Channel too near to the coast often had difficulty surpassing Cape Correntes, and were sometimes pushed backwards by the fast contrary current and complicated winds (most famously,
Vasco da Gama, in January, 1498, the first European captain to attempt to surpass it from below, was forced backwards to
Inharrime). Sailing in the other direction was even more dangerous, as the velocity of the current at the cape could easily throw a ship headlong into the numerous shoals and protruding rocks that characterize this stretch of coast. It is estimated that 30% of the ships lost in the yearly
Portuguese India Armadas
The Portuguese Indian Armadas (; meaning "Armadas of India") were the fleets of ships funded by the Crown of Portugal, and dispatched on an annual basis from Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal to Portuguese India, India. The principal destination w ...
in the 16th and 17th centuries capsized around Cape Correntes, more than any other location.
[Guinote (1999).] As a result, for much of the 16th century, captains returning from India to Portugal with heavy-laden (and thus less manoeuvrable) ships were forbidden from sailing into the
Mozambique Channel and were required to chart a course via the 'outer route', that is, east of
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
island, through the
Mascarenes, coming back under the island, thereby avoiding the treacherous and fast waters of Cape Correntes.
The peculiar terrors of Cape Correntes were alleviated with the development of reliable instruments to measure
longitude, allowing ships to avoid sailing near the headland, and chart a more comfortable course through the middle of the Mozambique Channel.
Notes
References
* Guinote, P.J.A. (1999) "Ascensão e Declínio da ''Carreira da Índia''", ''Vasco da Gama e a Índia'', Lisboa: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 1999, vol. II, pp 7–39. Retrieved from th
internet 2003* Theal, George McCall (1902) ''The Beginning of South African History''. London: Unwin.
Landforms of Mozambique
Maritime history of Portugal
Headlands of Africa
{{Mozambique-geo-stub