Notes:
Cape Bojador or Cape Boujdour (Arabic: رأس بوجادور, pronounced Rā's Būjādūr in Arabic) is a headland on the northern coast of Western Sahara, at 26° 07' 37"N, 14° 29' 57"W. (Various sources give various locations: this is from the Sailing Directions for the region.), as well as the name of a nearby town with a population of 41,178.
It is shown on nautical charts with the original Portuguese name "Cabo Bojador", but is sometimes spelled "Cape Boujdour". It is said that it is also known as the "Bulging Cape," although no references to this usage are to be found in standard geographical references. The Cape's name in Arabic is "Abu Khatar", meaning "the father of danger."
The cape is not prominent on maps but may be located by looking 220 km (120 nautical miles) due south of the southwestern point of the hook of Fuerteventura, Canary Islands.
Historical significance
The discovery of a passable route around Cape Bojador, in 1434, by the Portuguese mariner Gil Eanes was considered a major breakthrough for European explorers and traders en route to Africa and later to India. Eanes had made a previous attempt i in 1433 which resulted in failure, but tried again under orders of Prince Henry the Navigator, who first sent him in 1424. He was successful after the second expedition. The disappearance of numerous European vessels that had made prior attemptpts to round the Cape despite its violent seas, led some to suggest the presence of sea monsters. The region's coastal areas quickly became a very important area for Portuguese traders, whose first delivery of African slaves to Lisbon occurred iin 1434. The mythic importance of the cape for Portugal was captured in Fernando Pessoa's early 20th century work "Mensagem." In famous stanzas from this longer poem Pessoa wrote of the enormous costs of the Portuguese explorations to the nation. Capturing the symbolic importance to the nation of rounding Cape Bojador, Pessoa wrote: "Who wants to pass beyond Bojador, Must also pass beyond pain." (Quem quer passar além do Bojador, Tem que passar além da dor.)
The reason for the fearsome reputation of the cape is not immediately obvious from maps, where it appears as the southwestern point of a slight hump in the coastline, bounded at its other end by Cabo Falso Bojador, ten nautical miles to the nortortheast. Nor does what is said in the Sailing Directions sound terribly formidable: "Cabo Falso Bojador is formed by several tall sand dunes. ... A rocky shoal, with a least depth of 4.8m, extends up to 3 miles N of the cape. A rocky patch, witth a least depth of 8m, lies about 2 miles W of the cape. The coast between Cabo Falso Bojador and Cabo Bojador, 10 miles SW, consists of a sandy beach fringed by rocks. Clumps of scrub top the sand dunes which stand about 0.5 mile inland of this beach. Heavy breakers have been observed along this coast at all times. Cabo Bojador, a very low point, is located 9.5 miles SW of Cabo Falso Bojador and is bordered on the S side by black rocks. From the N, the cape appears as a mass of red sand with a gradual slope towards the sea. From the W, the cape is difficult to identify, but from the S its extremity appears as a reef which dries in places and is marked by breakers even in calm weather."
Examining the Pilot Charts for this area, however, it becomes clear that the main concern lies in the changes in winds that occur at about the point at which Cape Bojador is passed in sailing down the coast. It is here that the winds start to blow strongly from the northeast at all seasons. Together with the half-knot set of current down the coast, these conditions would naturally alarm an ignorant and superstitious Medieval mariner used to sailing close to the land and having no knowledge of what lay ahead. In the end it was discovered that by sailing well out to sea—far out of sight of land—a more favorable wind could be picked up.
In addition, this is also believed to be the site where Captain James Riley and the crew of the US Commerce, sailing from Connecticut, crashed in 1814. This tragedy is recounted in the historical novel "Skeletons on the Zahara", by Dean King, which is set in this region of the African coast. The novel states that any coastal map of Western Sahara is inaccurate because of the ever changing physical features, due to the harsh conditions of the Sahara. It also mentions that the depth of the water surrounding Cape Boujdour is deceptively shallow, and the color of the sand underneath the water is a "fearful sight".
Sailors' fears were founded in what they saw, and the phenomena witnessed by the sailors of those days can be seen today. Any ship that has to pass those places makes sure to give a wide berth in order to avoid accidents. Cape Bojador and its susurrounding coast extends into the sea in the form of an underwater reef, and, when the waves break after crashing into unseen gullies, the water spouts furiously into high foamy clouds that look like steam, even on calm days. The sea next to thhe Cape, and for approximately 3 miles seaward from the coast, is no more than two metres deep. Fish are abundant in the area, and shoals of sardines rise to the surface during the feeding times of larger fish. When this happens, the sea seems to bubble violently as if boiling, and, observed from a distance, the hissing sound produced by the fish flicking their tails on the water's surface adds to the impression. The stifling air wafted westerly on lazy breezes from the desert heightens the impression of extreme temperature, while the desert dust helps to create a mysterious darkness. Worse, the ferrous rocks make compass needles whirl erratically. Given the real dangers, it is no wonder mariners of old, many of whom also claimed to know some seasoned sea-dog who had sighted an imaginary sea creature at this very location, were afraid to approach this infamous cape.
In modern times
Spain claimed a protectorate over the coastal region from Cap Blanc, far to the south of Cape Bojador, to a point about 200 km to the north in 1884. In 1975, as Spain pulled out following the Madrid Accords, Morocco sought to gain control over the area, leading to disputes between Morocco and the Polisario Front, the organization which proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in February 1976.
Today the towns near Cape Bojador are prospering due to a large influx of Sahrawi settlers though many of the native Sahrawis are still refugees in the camps of Tindouf, Algeria.
In the Tindouf region of Algeria, there is a refugee camp for Sahrawis named after Cape Bojador. See Daira de Bojador.
City/Town : Latitude: 26.12840088670161, Longitude: -14.485559463500977Matches 1 to 1 of 1
Last Name, Given Name(s)  |
Birth  |
Person ID | Tree | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Almorabet, Ahmed | Friday 06 July 1945 | Rā's Būjādūr, al-Maġrib | I474914 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
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