the command of António de Campo, one of Vasco da Gama's captains, in 1502. In 1544, the Portuguese merchant trader and explorer Lourenço Marques, along with António Caldeira, was sent by the Governor of Mozambique Island on a voyage of exploration. Marques visited the bay, and navigated the upper reaches of the estuaries feeding into it. Marques named the bay Baía da Lagoa (Portuguese: "Bay of the Lagoon"), which was anglicized to Delagoa Bay. King John III of Portugal declared the bay Baía de Lourenço Marques in his honor, but this name was never used commonly outside of Portugal. In the late 16th century or 17th century, the Portuguese established La Goa, a fort and trading post, on the site. The fort, manned by a single Catholic friar and several merchants, was a small-scale but profitable enterprise. However, ultimately the multitudes of mosquitos that swarmed the area forced the Portuguese to abandon the fort. Dutch fort, 1720s On 29 March 1720, three Dutch ships, the Kaap, the Gouda, and the Zeelandia, reached the bay. The Dutch navigators, led by Johannes Steffler, were warmly welcomed by the local Batonga tribe and its chief, Mafumbo. In March 1721, the Dutch East India Company purchased the land around the bay from Mafumbo and set about reconstructing the old Portuguese fort, which had fallen into ruin. The repaired fort was named Fort Lydsaamheid (Dutch: "Fort Endurance"). Within three weeks of their arrival 100 of the original sailors, craftsmen, and soldiers had died of fever. In August 1720, 80 new arrivals came to replace them. Beginning in April 1721, it was governed by an opperhoofd as a dependency of the Dutch Cape Colony. From April to 28 August 1722, when the Dutch recaptured it, the fort was occupied by pirates led by John Taylor. Fort Lydsaamheid's trade mainly centered around the trade of ivory, and to a lesser extent, slaves, tin, aloes, gold dust, ambergris, honey, copper, and rice. During the fort's nine years of operation, it exported 22,500 kg (49,574 lb) of ivory, and 288 slaves. The slave trade, while at its global peak, was minimal, because Dutch slave traders preferred to go to northern ports, where slaves could be more easily obtained, instead of Lydsaamheid, which was not equipped to handle large quantities. The settlers at the fort tried to farm, but all attempts ended in failure. In addition to trading, the fort