Serpa Pinto, Alexandre Alberto da Rocha de
Serpa Pinto, Alexandre Alberto da Rocha de
Born Apr. 20, 1846, in the castle of Cholchras, in Sinfães; died Dec. 28, 1900, in Lisbon. Portuguese officer; explorer of Angola and Mozambique.
From 1877 to 1879, Serpa Pinto traveled across southern Africa with a military detachment, going from the city of Ben-guela to the city of Durban. During his journey he explored a vast territory between the sources of the Cunene and Cubango rivers in the west and the upper course of the Zambezi in the east. He described the journey in How I Crossed Africa (vols. 1–2, 1881). In 1885, Serpa Pinto commanded a military expedition that conquered northern Mozambique, particularly the basin of the Lurio River.