His Information
Respecting Ceylon And The Countries Of The Ganges, Seems To Have Been
Derived Entirely From The Statements Brought To Europe By The Generals Of
Alexander.
In the reign of Claudius, the knowledge of the Romans respecting the
interior of Africa, was slightly extended by
The expedition of Suetonius
Paulinus; he was the first Roman who crossed Mount Atlas, and during the
winter penetrated through the deserts, which are described as formed of
black dust, till he reached a river called the Niger. Paulinus wrote an
account of this expedition, which, however, is not extant: Pliny quotes it.
In the reign of Claudius, also, the island of Ceylon became better known,
in consequence of an accident which happened to the freedman of a Roman,
who farmed the customs in the Red Sea. This man, in the execution of his
duty, was blown off the coast of Arabia, across the ocean to Taprobane, or
Ceylon; here he was hospitably received by the king, and after a residence
of six months was sent back, along with ambassadors, to Claudius. They
informed the emperor that their country was very extensive, populous, and
opulent, abounding in gold, silver, and pearls. It seems probable that the
circumstance of the freedman having been carried to Ceylon by a steady and
regular wind, and this man and the ambassadors having returned by a wind
directly opposite, but as steady and regular, had some influence in the
discovery of the monsoon. As this discovery led necessarily to a direct
communication between Africa and India, and grea'ly enlarged the knowledge
of the Romans respecting the latter country, as well as their commercial
connections with it, it will be proper to notice it in a particular manner.
This important discovery is supposed to have been made in the seventh year
of the reign of Claudius, answering to the forty-seventh of the Christian
era. The following is the account given of it by the author of the Periplus
of the Erythrean Sea, as translated by Dr. Vincent:
"The whole navigation, such as it has been described from Adan in Arabia
Felix and Kane to the ports of India, was performed formerly in small
vessels, by adhering to the shore and following the indention of the coast;
but Hippalus was the pilot who first discovered the direct course across
the ocean, by observing the position of the ports and the general
appearance of the sea; for, at the season when the annual winds peculiar to
our climate settle in the north, and blow for a continuance upon our coast
from the Mediterranean, in the Indian ocean the wind is constantly to the
south west; and this wind has in those seas obtained the name of Hippalus,
from the pilot who first attempted the passage by means of it to the east.
"From the period of that discovery to the present time, vessels bound to
India take their departure either from Kane on the Arabian, or from Cape
Arometa on the African side.
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