By Fjordman, with introduction by Lewis Loflin
As a Deist, I view Ethiopia’s resistance to Muslim wars through reason, not myth. Fjordman reveals how Portugal, spurred by Prester John’s legend, aided this lone Christian African state against Islamic onslaughts. Cut off by conquests, Ethiopia’s fight—and Cristovao da Gama’s sacrifice—defied the suffocating grip of Jihad. History, not dogma, shows Europe’s early pushback began here.
Extract from Europeans as Victims of (Muslim) Colonialism by Fjordman
While Portugal’s role in the transatlantic slave trade is well-known, less noted is Cristovao da Gama (1516-1542), son of Vasco da Gama, who died fighting in Ethiopia in the 1540s to aid local Christians against Muslim forces from Somalia’s plains.
Ethiopia, Christianized via Egyptian Copts in the fourth and fifth centuries AD, was Africa’s only literate non-Muslim nation. Islamic conquests severed its Mediterranean ties, leaving it isolated. Portuguese mercenaries arrived in the 1540s to bolster the kingdom against overwhelming Jihadist threats.
Robert O. Collins and James M. Burns, in A History of Sub-Saharan Africa, detail Portugal’s motives: after expelling Muslims from their land by 1249, the Avis dynasty sought African gold and allies. The legend of Prester John—a Christian king encircled by Muslims—linked to Ethiopia by the fifteenth century, drove Portugal’s kings to rescue this beleaguered ally.
Portugal’s maritime expansion, sparked by Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460), began with the 1415 capture of Ceuta—a Barbary pirate hub terrorizing Portugal’s coast. This push, fueled by a desire to escape Muslim dominance, opened routes to Africa, Asia, and the spice trade, countering centuries of Islamic encirclement.
Norman Davies, in Europe: A History, underscores Islam’s role: its conquests made Europe Christianity’s stronghold, severing ties to other civilizations. This isolation birthed feudalism, shifted Byzantine priorities eastward, and forced Mediterranean states into self-reliance, diminishing their former supremacy.
Islam’s conquests turned Europe into Christianity’s main base. At the same time the great swathe of Muslim territory cut the Christians off from virtually all direct contact with other religions and civilizations.
Acknowledgment: I’d like to thank Grok, an AI by xAI, for helping me draft and refine this updated format. The original content remains Fjordman’s, with my introduction and edits.
