Note 68 — Chapter IV · THE PORTUGUESE IN AFRICA

This is a little coral islet about 2 miles long by ¼ mile broad, situated between 2 and 3 miles from the coast (a shallow bay), in 15 degrees south latitude, where the East African coast approaches nearest to Madagascar. It commands the Moçambique Channel. Its native name was probably originally Musambiki. By the neighbouring East African tribes it is now called Muhibidi, Msambiji, and Msambiki. It has sometimes been the only parcel of land remaining in Portuguese hands during the vicissitudes of their East African empire.