Note 7 — Chapter VII · THE GEOGRAPHY AND ETHNOLOGY OF THE MASHONALAND RUINS

Hence it will be seen that, even as late as 1721, it was only rumoured that there were ruins, and that the Portuguese sphere of influence went very little inland. Needless to say, the expedition was never sent, and that the reports were of the vaguest and most contradictory character. Bocarro and Corvo both testify to the fact7 that the Portuguese, after the disastrous campaigns of Baretto, advanced but little into the country, and were confined almost exclusively to the littoral. Taking the map of this district, and looking at the spelling of the names, it is easy to see how far Portuguese influence extended. They spell the common prefix Inya with an h instead of a y: for example, they write it Inhambane. Also they spell the name Gungunyama, Gungunhama; other nations spell such names with a y, for example, Inyagowe. Hence the h for y clearly marks the Portuguese sphere of influence.