A MEMOIR

or

SEBASTIAN CABOT

WITH

A REVIEW

THE HISTORY OF MARITIME DISCOVERY.

ILLUSTRATED BY DOCUMENTS FROM THE ROLLS,

BOOK I.

CHAP. I.

The highest Northern Latitude reached by Cabot—Authorities collected by Hakluyt—Attempt to explain their supposed discrepance . . 7

CHAP. n.

The subject continued—Gomara

CHAP. III.

Cabot penetrated into Hudson’s Bay

CHAP, IV.

First Work of Hakluyt—Maps and Discourses left by Sebastian Cabot at his death ready for Publication .

CHAP. V.

Comparative Agency of John and Sebastian Cabot

CHAP. VI.

First point seen by Cabot—Not Newfoundland

CHAP. vn.

Cabot' did not confer the name Prima Vista

CHAP. vra.

Richard Eden’s “Decades of the New World”—Cabot’s own statement as to the Place of his Birth

CHAP. IX.

Patents of 5th March, 1496, and 3rd February, 1498—The latter now first published from the Rolls—Total misconception heretofore as to its Terms

CHAP. X.

Name of the English Ship which first reached the Continent of America— How far Cabot proceeded to the Southward along the Coast—Subsequent Voyage of 1498

CHAP. XI.

Voyage to Maracaibo, in 1499

CHAP. XH.

Correspondence between Ferdinand of Spain and Lord Willoughby de Broke—Cabot enters the service of Spain 13th September, 1512—Revi­sion of Maps and Charts in 1515—Appointed a Member of the Council of the Indies—Projected Expedition to the North under his Command to Sail in March, 1516—Death of Ferdinand in January, 1516—Intrigues— Cabot returns to England 

CHAP. XIII.          .

Cabot’s Voyage of 1517 from England in search of the North-West Passage

CHAP. XIV.

Hakluyts error with regard to the Voyage of 1517

CHAP. XV.

Voyage of 1517, the one referred to by Cabot in his Letter to Kamusio

CHAP. XVI.

Cabot appointed, in 1518, Pilot-Major of Spain-Summoned to attend the Congress at Badajos in 1524—Projected Expedition under his Command to the Moluccas

CHAP. xvn.

Jealousy of the contemplated.Expedition on the part of Portugal—Mission of Diego Garcia, a Portuguese .

CHAP. xvin.

Interference with the arrangements for the Voyage—Mendez appointed second in Command contrary to the wishes of Cabot—De Rojas—The Sealed Orders—Prejudices of the Spanish Historians—Expedition sails

CHAP.' XIX.

Complaints in the Squadron—Pretended Causes of Dissatisfaction—Mutiny —Quelled by the Energy of Cabot—Happy Results—His conduct justi­fied to the Emperor—Ridiculous charges suggested by Diego Garcia

CHAP. XX.

Cabot enters the La Plata—Necessity for caution—His Predecessor as Pilot- Major killed in attempting to explore that River—Carries the Island of St Gabriel—His progress to St Salvador where a Fort is erected—Its position—Loss in taking possession

CHAP. XXI.

Cabot proceeds up the Parana—Erects another Fort, called Santus Spiritus, and afterwards Fort Cabot—Its Position—Continues to ascend—Curiosity of the Natives as to the Expedition—Passes the Mouth of the Parana— Enters the Paraguay—Sanguinary Battle thirty-four leagues up that River —Three Hundred of the Natives killed, with a loss to Cabot of Twenty- five of his Party—Maintains his Position—Garcia enters the River—In- terview with Cabot—Mistakes of Charlevoix, &c.c—Cabot returns to the Fort Santos Spiritus

CHAP. XXII

Report to Charles V.—Its Contents—Prospect which it held out—Pern con­templated in Cabot’s original Plan of 1524—-Specimens found by him of the precious metals obtained thence by the Guaranis—Emperor resolves on a great Expedition—His pecuniary embarrassments—Pizarro offers to make the Conquest of Peru at his own Expense—Reflections—the Name Rio de La Plata not conferred by Cabot—Misrepresentatioh on this and other points

CHAP. XXHI.

Cabots residence in the La Plata—Subjection of remote tribes—Claims of Spain rested on this Expedition—Treaty with the Guaranis—Detailed Re­port to the Emperor as to the productions, &c. of the country—Misconduct of the followers of Garcia—Leads to a general attack from the Natives— Return to Spain

CHAP. XXIV.

Employment of Cabot after his return—Resumes his functions as Pilot-Major —Makes several voyages—Fame for bravery and skill—Visit of a learned Italian—Cabot’s allusion to Columbus

CHAP. XXV.

Perversion of facts and dates by Harris and Pinkerton—Cabot’s return to Eng­land—Probable inducements—Erroneous reason assigned by Mr Barrow-- Charles V, makes a demand on the King of England for his return—Refused —Pension to Cabot—Duties confided to him—More extensive than those belongingto the office of Pilot-Major

CHAP. XXVI.

Public explanation by Cabot to Edward VI. of the phenomena of the Varia­tion of the Needle—Statement of Livio Sanuto—Point of No Variation fixed by Cabot—Adopted afterwards by Mercator for his Great Meridian—Refer* ence to Cabot’s Map—Early testimonials—Allusion to the English discove­ries in the edition of Ptolemy published at Rome in .1508—Fournier—Atten­tion to note the Variation by the seamen of Cabot’s school—His theory, if a narrow one, would have been thus exposed 

CHAP. xxvn.

Mistake of Purchas, Pinkerton, Dr Henry in his History of Great Britain, Campbell in the Lives of the Admirals, and other writers, as to the Knight- ing of John or Sebastian Cabot

CHAP. xxvm.

Stagnation of trade in England—Cabot consulted by the Merchants—Urges the enterprise which resulted in the trade to Russia—Preliminary difficulties —Struggle with the Stilyard—That Monopoly broken down—Earnestness of Edward VI. on the subject—His munificent donation to Cabot after the result was declared 

CHAP. XXIX.

Preparations for the Expedition-^-Precautions as to Timber—Sheathing of the vessels now first resorted to in England—Examination of two Tartars— Chief command given to Sir Hugh Willoughby—Richard Chancellor— Stephen Burrough—William Burrough—Arthur Pet—This Expedition con­founded with another by Strype and Campbell

CHAP. XXX.

Instructions prepared by Cabot for Sir Hugh Willoughby

CHAP. XXXI.

The Expedition drops down to Greenwich—Salutes—Animating scene—Pro­ceeds to sea—Vessels separated—Fate of Sir Hugh Willoughby—Chancel-' lor reaches Wardhouse—Earnestly dissuaded from proceeding further— His gallant resolution—Confidence of the Crew in him—Reaches Archangel —Excellent effect of observing Cabot’s Instructions as to deportment to­wards the Natives—Success of Chancellor     .... 193

CHAP. XXXII.

Charter to the Company of Merchant Adventurers—Sebastian Cabot named Governor for Life—Grant of Privileges by the Emperor of Russia to Sebas­tian Cabot and others—An Ambassador from the Emperor embarks with Richard .Chancellor—Shipwreck—Chancellor perishes—Reception and en­tertainment of the Ambassador in London 

CHAP. XXXIII.

View of the Trade opened with Russia from the Letters of the Company to the Agents—Prices of English manufactured goods—Articles obtained in return—-Extensive establishment of Englishmen at Moscow when that city was destroyed by the. Tartars

CHAP. XXXIV.

The Charter of Incorporation—Recites preparations actually made for voyages to the North-East, and North-West—How frustrated—Whale Fishery— Newfoundland Fishery—The Ambassador of the Sophy of Persia at Moscow —His information to the Emperor of Russia about England—Followed up by a Messenger to Persia from England with a Letter proposing commercial intercourse 

CHAP. XXXV.

The Search-thrift despatched to the North in 1556, under Stephen Burrough— Cabot’s entertainment at Gravesend—Influence of the death of Edward VI. on his personal fortunes—Reviving hopes of the Stilyard Merchants—their insolent reference to the. Queen in a memorial addressed to Philip—The latter reaches London 20th May, 1557—New arrangements as to Cabot’s Pension 29th’May, 1557—William Worthington in possession of his papers —Account of that person—Manner in which the Maps and Discourses have probably disappeared—Cabot’s Illness—Affecting Account of his Last Mo­ments, by the Friend who attended him ..... 213

BOOK II.

CHAP. I.

Review of the History of Maritime Discovery, so far as may be necessary to exhibit the pervading influence of Cabot—Patent of 19th March 1501, now first published from the Rolls, to three Merchants of Bristol, and three Por­tuguese—Natives brought to England and exhibited at Court—Erroneous reference of this incident to Cabot—Hakluyt's perversion—Second Patent 9th December, 1502—Dr Robertson’s misconceptions—Probable reasons for the abandonment of the enterprise

CHAP. H.

First visit of Columbus to Terra Firma on his third voyage—Apprised before leaving Spain of Cabot’s Discovery of the Continent—Projected Expedition to the North from Spain

CHAP. HI.

Expedition from Portugal—Cortereal—The work entitled Paesi novamente ritrovati, &c.—Letters of the Venetian Ambassador at Lisbon eleven days afjer the return of Courtereal—Reference to the previous voyage of Cabot —Trinkets found amongst the Natives—French translation of the Paesi, &c. in 1516   

CHAP. IV.

The region visited by Cortereal—Statements of the three-Portuguese Histori- rians, Damiano Goes, Osorius, and Galvano—Of Gomara, Herrera, and Fumde —Edition of Ptolemy, published at Basle, 1540—The name Labrador, i. e. Labourer  

CHAP. V.

Circumstances which have led to errors as to the voyage of Cortereal—The Portuguese Maps—Isle of Demons—The fraud of Madrignanon in the Itine. rarium PortugaUensium—Mr Barrow’s Chronological History of Voyages, &c.—Dr Lardner’s Cyclopaedia—The Edinburgh Cabinet Library

CHAP. VI.

Diffusive mischief of the Itinerarium Portugallensium—Grynseus—Meusel— Fleurieu—Humboldt, &c.

CHAP. VH.

Project of Cortes in 1524.

CHAP. VIII.

Voyage of Stephen Gomez in the service of Spain

CHAP. IX.

Expedition from England in 1527—Erroneous statement that one ol‘ thfc vess­els was named Dominus Vobiscum—Their names, The Samson and The Mary of Guilford—Letters from the Expedition dated at Newfoundland, addressed to Henry VIH. and Cardinal Wolsey—The Italian Navigator, Juan Verrazani, accompanies the Expedition and is killed by the Natives—Loss* of the Samson—The Mary of Guilford visits Brazil, Porto Rico, &c.—Ar­rives in England October 1527—Robert Thome of Bristol—His letter could not have led to this Expedition  

CHAP. X.

Voyage from England in 1536

CHAP. XI.

Expedition of Cortereal in 1574, and retrospect to a pretended voyage by a person of the same name in 1464

CHAP. XH.

Frobisher

CHAP. XHL

Hudson

APPENDIX.

(A.)

Faby&n’s Chronicle—Allusion to Cabot

(B.)

English Expedition said to have been found by Hojeda at Caquib&coa

(C.)

Was Cabot appointed Grand Pilot

(D.)

Letters Patent now first published, dated 19th March 1501, from Henry VH. to Richard Warde, Thomas Ashehurst, John Thomas, of Bristol, and John Femandus, Francis Femandus, and John Gunsolus, Portuguese . . 306

(E.)

Possible origin of the misconception as to the name Dorrdnus vobiscum erro­neously associated with the voyage of 1527 from England—Forster' mistake as to Norumbega—Error as to the period at which Newfoundland was first frequented for Fishing .

(F.)

Portrait of Sebastian Cabot by Holbein

(G.)

Error in attributing to Cabot the work entitled “Navigatione nelle parte Set- tentrionale,^,, published at Venice in 1583

PREFACE.

This volume is a reprint from the original American Edition, published by Lea and Blanchard of Philadelphia, in the year 1831. An English Edition appeared also in London the same year and was followed by a second edition issued there in 1832. The American Edition and the first English Edition are precisely alike in all respects. In the second London Edition a quotation from the New Interlude No. 5 is introduced at page 77, and this additional matter will be found in an appendix printed at the back of the book.

This issue of a modern Edition of the “Memoir of Sebastian Cabot” is undertaken by the surviving son of the author in testimony of his affectionate veneration for his father’s memory.

Richard Biddle, at his death in 1847, was in his fifty-first year. A son of Charles Biddle (1745-1821), Vice-President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania when Benjamin Franklin was its President, Mr. Biddle’s early associations were connected with Philadelphia, and his legal studies pursued in his native city. In the same year of his admission to the Bar, however, he removed to Pittsburgh (Pa.), where he soon became distinguished in his profession.

In a Eulogy delivered in 1847, the year of Mr. Biddle’s death, before the members of the Pittsburgh Bar, and by one of its most distinguished members, a very vivid portrayal is given of the author’s career at the Bar. The qualities of his indomitable energy are dwelt upon, and one sentence in the address, as fore­shadowing his labors on this Memoir, seems apt enough to quote:—“his mind was of great power and his energy was invincible—no prospect of severe and interminable labor made him hesitate or falter.”

After ten years of active professional life, he went abroad in 1828 and settled himself in London. Here he continued a diligent student, frequenting the Courts and Libraries. Just how he was led to undertake the farther voyage—for such it proved itself—into those unfathomed depths of legend and fact surrounding at that time the careers of the Cabots, it may not be possible to determine. In his own preface Mr. Biddle draws attention to some very loose and inaccurate statements appearing just then in a new Edition of the “Biographie Universelle.” It is entirely possible that the erroneous and slighting remarks upon the voyages of the Cabots to which he adverts may have been the inducing cause for the exhaustive researches he under­took, lasting several years, and resulting in what has been recognized on high modern authority “as the best review of the history of maritime discovery relating to the period of which it treats that had appeared. (Deane (Charles), Voyages of the Cabots.)

The book on its appearance made a deep impression, and although published anonymously its authorship was no secret. From many reviews and notices of it that appeared at the time in English, French, Italian and American publications, we select and give excerpts from those published in the London Westminster Review, and in the North-American Review in this country.

In its issue of January, 1832, the Westminster Review remarks:

“This book is a phenomenon among the productions of the day, for various reasons—first, it is not a catch­penny, next it is written with the motive of discovering truth; again it is the result of hard labor, and acute investigation among the really original authorities; it is not written for money; it springs from studies, of such accuracy and minuteness as no ordinary pecuniary reward could pay. Again its title-page is much less comprehensive than the volume and altogether from these and other causes it forms a glorious exception from the poor and paltry spirit which actuates nine publications out of ten of those that load the counters of the modern book-seller. . . . The author of this volume is an American, he does honor to his country, and we cannot but take kindly the interest he has shown in vindicating for England the parentage of the land of his birth.”

Quoting from the North-American Review of January, 1832:

“The author has well kept the honorable promise (contained in Preface) which he has thus virtually made. He never points out an error where he is not able to substitute the truth, and never sets up a theory or conjecture till he has a solid foundation of fact for it to rest upon . . He seems perfectly acquainted with the contents of many rare and curious books of reference, the very titles of which are probably new to ninety-nine out of a hundred of his readers. . . . He has dragged into light manuscripts with the mould of centuries upon them, and forced them to give their tardy testimony in favor of the truth. . . . Nothing escapes his acuteness and penetration. . . . The book is indeed unrivalled in its way and is well worth the attentive study of a young lawyer as a model for a learned, acute and profound argument upon certain obscure and disputed points of history, which admits nothing that is irrelevant and rejects nothing that is important, and by which a cause that looks desperate at first is so triumphantly sup­ported, that we wonder how the contrary impression could ever have prevailed.” ...

It is not claiming too much to say that Richard Biddle’s “Memoir of Sebastian Cabot” was the pioneer in the work of investigation and verification that has resulted in the mass of literature issued since on the early voyages of the Cabots. His discovery among the Manuscripts in the Public Record Office, London, of the text of Henry VII’s second letters patent, and his distinguishing thereby for the first time that there were two Cabot voyages, in 1497 and 1498, was an immense contribution to the subject. In fact Mr. G. P. Winship, in his exhaustive treatise on the literature of the Cabot Voyages, sums up his notes on Mr. Biddle’s Memoir by saying that : The strictly historical investigation into the careers of the Cabots dates from the appearance of Mr. Biddle’s volume.”

In a preface to “John and Sebastian Cabot” by C. Raymond Beazley, Fellow of Merton College, Oxford, appearing in 1898, the author in noting the changes of opinion in Europe and America on certain points of history, leads off by saying, “Since the modern Cabot literature began with the appearance of R. Biddle’s (American) Memoir in 1831.” . . . Not a work on the Cabots but contains references to the Biddle Memoir (Harrisse has 36 references), and a note in Winship’s Cabot Bibliography mentions that an ac­count of Cabot by Errizo, appearing at Venice in 1855, “is largely drawn from Biddle.”

Mr. Biddle returned to Pittsburgh in 1832, after an absence of four years, and reengaged in the practice of the law. In 1837 he was elected to Congress, and went to Washington the year following to attend its sessions. Mr. David Ritchie, when speaking of his election in the Eulogium referred to at the beginning of this notice, says: “No man was ever elected to that place with less intrigue or management or personal interference. He had earned such a position in this community (Pittsburgh) that the people desired his services and sent him to Congress without any solici­tation on his part. . . . He had not been long in the house of representatives till his position was of the highest.” He was reelected in 1838, and served in the first session of ’39 and ⁵40, but in this year resigned “to the very great regret of his constituents, to whom his services gave almost universal satisfaction.”

On the 17th of June, 1844, he was married to Ann Eliza Anderson, eldest daughter of John Anderson of Pittsburgh. This lady survived him many years, and passed the latter portion of her life in Philadelphia, although finally removing to her daughter’s house in Pittsburgh, where she died May 6th, 1908.

Two children were born of this marriage: a son, Richard, now a resident of Tennessee, and a daughter, Grace, lately deceased, who married the Rev. J. Hall Mcllvaine.

Edward Biddle.

December, 1915.

CORRECTION

In a Note at foot of page 79, a printed nought should clearly have been the figure 9—Thus for “ 10th August, 1407,” read “10th August, 1497. To hym that found the New Isle, 101''

RICHARD BIDDLE (1796-1847)

Author of a Memoir of Sebastian Cabot.

From the portrait by Thomas Sully, painted in 1821.

INTRODUCTION.

The following pages lay claim to the share of merit that may be due to a spirit of diligent research which took nothing at second hand where an original write/, or document, could be consulted, and would not be turned aside, by any authority, from the anxious pur­suit, and resolute vindication, of the Truth. They are offered, therefore, with the confidence inspired by a consciousness of good faith. Yet the author is suffi­ciently aware that the public has nothing to do with the integrity of his purpose, or the patient industry with which it has been followed up, except so far as a valua­ble result may have been achieved.

What is now submitted made part, originally, of a much more extensive plan. But there was found, at every turn, so much to clear up, and the materials for rectification so multiplied, that it seemed impossible to treat the subject satisfactorily without giving to it, in connexion with any other, a cumbrous and dispropor- tioned air. To hazard assertions, and to venture on the requisite plainness of criticism, without producing the evidence which justified a departure from-received opinions could have effected no good purpose, and would have justly incurred the charge of presumption. Error was too deeply intrenched to permit a hope of dislodging it, unless through the regular, though tedious, forms of investment.

The author is very sensible of the dry and argumenta­tive manner here imparted to topics which have usually been viewed, and treated, as susceptible of the highest embellishment. He can only hope that others may catch a feeling, such as gained on himself at every step, which, in the disentanglement of facts, rejects impa­tiently, rather than solicits, whatever does not conduce directly to the result. The mind seems to demand, with sternness; that this labour shall first be gone through, as the eye requires a solid foundation, and an assured elevation, before it can rest with complacency on the decorative acanthus.

Amidst a great deal of undeniably fine writing on the subject with which the present volume is connected, it would seem to have secured to itself less than any other of patient and anxious labour. The task of setting facts right has been regarded as an unworthy drudgery, while an ambitious effort is witnessed to throw them before the public eye in all the fantastic shapes, and deceptive colouring, of error. Gibbon remarks of Tille- mont, that his inimitable Accuracy “ almost assumes the character of Genius.” Many writers of the present day seem to have constantly in view the tendency of the public mind to a classification of powers, and to dread lest any remarkable display of the quality in question, might be artfully seized on as characteristic, and thus prejudice their claims to the. highest hononrs of au­thorship.

A new and urgent motive may be suggested for en­deavouring to clear up, as speedily as possible, the con­fusion which has hence been suffered to gather round the best established facts, and left their recognition or denial at the mercy of chance or caprice. While a salutary jealousy of extensive Combinations, in the Political World, distinguishes the present age, there has been organised in that of Letters, almost unobserved in this country, a confederacy which has gradually drawn to itself, and skilfully consolidated, a power that may now be pronounced truly formidable. It has already begun to speak out plainly the language of dictation. The great literary achievement of modern France— the “Biographic Universelle”—is at length brought to a close, completing by the fifty-second volume its triumph over the alphabet. It is a work destined, unquestion­ably, to exercise an important influence over the Bights of the Dead of all Nations. When it stated that the list of contributors contains the names of more than three hundred writers of the highest literary eminence in France, from the year 1810, when the first volume appeared, to the present time, that every article is accompanied by the name of the author to whom it had been assigned in reference to his habitual studies, and that not a line appeared without having been pre­viously submitted to several contributors in succession, it must be obvious that the character of such a work is matter of deep and universal interest.

A Supplement is announced, in which notice will be taken of any inaccuracy, after which doubt and controversy must cease.

“ Les assertions ou les faits qu’on n’y pas rectifies ou dementis devront par ce xnoyen etre regardes comme h peu-pres incontestables et sans réplique.”

Thus The Dead, of the most remote age, are sum­moned to appear before this tribunal, and a charge is to be taken for confessed, unless an Answer be put in before the period (which yet is left indefinite) when the Sup­plement shall go to press. We may smile at this sally of self-importance, but ought not to forget that the au­thority of these volumes, whether for good or evil, will unquestionably be extensive and commanding. Facts, and with them reputation, cannot, it is true, be irre­vocably stereotyped; yet a perilous circulation may be given to the erroneous version, and a work which will influence, directly or indirectly, a majority of those whose opinions constitute fame, it were idle to treat with contempt, and unjust not to attempt to rectify, where its statements disparage a national benefactor.

It must be conceded that an omission of names can­not fairly be laid to the charge of the Biographie Uni­verselle. The stream of time has been dragged with humane perseverance, and many who, it was supposed, had sunk to rise no more, are made to reappear at the surface. As to the more important question, how far, there are manifested, in general, extent and accuracy of knowledge, and skill in its display, it might be unjust to offer an opinion without going into much greater detail than is here practicable. But it is quite fair to assert that the many shameful marks of haste, heedless­ness and gross ignorance which it falls within the pre­sent limited inquiry to expose—and more particularly in bibliography which is the subject of especial vaunt —may suffice to show how idle must be considered its claim to infallibility, even after the appearance of the Supplement. In the article devoted to the subject of

the present Memoir, the generous conclusion is an­nounced, after a tissue of errors, that although no evi­dence exists to establish the scene of his discoveries, yet they ought not to be deemed altogether fabulous, as some historians would represent (“comme fabuleuses ainsi que quelques historiens ont ete tentes de le penser”). An effort is now made finally to secure his fame from the effects of either carelessness or malevolence.

CHAP. I.

THE HIGHEST NORTHERN LATITUDE REACHED BY CABOT—AUTHORITIES COLLECTED BY HAKLUYT—ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN THEIR SUPPOSED DISCREPANCE.

With a view to greater clearness, it is proposed to attempt, in the first instance, the settlement of certain points around which confusion has been suffered to gather, and which, de­manding only a careful examination of authorities, may be advantageously considered apart from the narrative.

The first question—as one affecting materially the claim of Cabot to the character of an intrepid navigator—is as to the point to which he urged his way in the north, a fact with re­gard to which statements exist seemingly quite irreconcilable.

The volumes of Hakluyt, usually regarded as of the high­est authority, are supposed to present, on this subject, a chaos which, so far from lending assistance to clear up difficulties, rather dims, and threatens every moment to extinguish, the feeble light supplied from other quarters. In the “Chrono­logical History of Voyages into the Arctic Regions, &c. by John Barrow, F. R. S.,” it is said (p. 32), “there is no possible way of reconciling the various accounts collected by Hakluyt, and which amount to no less a number than six, but by supposing John Cabot to have made one voyage at least previous to the date of the patent, and some time between that and the date of the return of Columbus.” The hypo­thesis thus declared to be indispensable is directly at variance with the terms of the original patent, and with the language of every original writer; and an effort will, therefore, now be made to show, that the confusion complained of, does not exist in the materials for forming an opinion, but arises from the hasty and superficial manner in which they have been con­sidered.

Taking up the accounts in the order in which they stand, they maybe thus stated (Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 6).

1.     “An extract from the map of Sebastian Cabot, cut by Clement Adams, concerning his discovery of the West Indies, which is to be seen in his majesty’s privy gallery, at West­minster, and in many other ancient merchants’ houses.” No­thing is said in this as to the latitude reached.

2.     ^u A discourse of Sebastian Cabot,” &c., wherein the narrator asserts, that he heard the pope’s legate say, that he had heard Cabot state* that he sailed only to the 56° of latitude, and then turned about.

3.     A passage in the preface to the third volume of Ramusio’* Collection of Voyages. In this, the author says that in a written communication to him Sebastian Cabot stated that he reached the latitude of 67° and a half.

4.     Part of the sixth chapter of the third decade of Peter Martyr d’Angleria, in which nothing is said of the latitude reached, but the fact is stated, that he proceeded so far north, that it was “in manner continually day-light.”

5.     The statement of Francis Lopez Gomara, who, accord­ing to Hakluyt, represents Cabot to have “ sailed beyond the Cape of Labrador, until he found himself in 58° and better.” Cabot is here also said to have found “ the days very long, in a manner without any night, and for that short night that they had, it was very clear.”

6.     An extract from Robert Fabyan’s Annals, and from a letter of Robert Thorn of Bristol, containing nothing as to the point under consideration.

Thus it is apparenfr'lhat the discrepance exists on a com­parison of the second, third and fifth items.

Postponing Gomara for the present, we pause on the two passages of Ramusio which'are supposed to embody contra- (Jictory statements.

It is obvious that if the present were an inquiry in a court of justice affecting the reputation or property of a living per­son, the evidence which limits Cabot to 56° would be at once rejected as incompetent. The alleged communication from him is exposed, in its transmission, not only to all the chances of misconception on the part of the pope’s legate, but admit­ting that personage to have truly understood, accurately re­membered, and faithfully reported what he heard, we are again exposed to a similar series of errors on the part of our inform­ant, who furnishes it to us at second hand. But the dead have not the benefits of the rules of evidence; and we must, therefore, look to the circumstances which affect its credi­bility. It appears thus in Hakluyt:—

« A discourse of Sebastian Cabot touching his discovery of part of the West India out of England in the time of king Henry the Seventh, used to Galeaciufc Bu- trigarius, the pope’s legate in Spaine, and reported by the sayd legate in this sort:

“ Doe you not understand, sayd he (speaking to certaine gentlemen of Venice), how to passe to India toward the North-west, as did of late a citizen of Venice, so valiant a man, and so well practised in all things pertaining: to navigations, and the science of cosraographie, that at this present he hath not his like in Spaine, insomuch that for his vertues he is preferred above all other pilots that saile to the West Indies, who. may not passe-thithgrjwithout his license_? and is .therefore called Piktd Mayor, that is, the grand pilot^} And" wherkwe. sayd that we knew him not, he proceeded, saying, that being certaine yeres in the city of Sivil, and desirous tp have some "knowledge of the navigations of the Spanyards, it was tolde him that there was in the city a valiant man, a Venetian borne, named Sebastian Cabot, who had the charge of those things, being an expert man in that science, and one‘that couldemake cardesfofthe sea with his owne hand, and that by this report, seeking his acquaintance, he found him a very gentle person, who entertained him friendly, and shewed him many things_r and among other a large mappe of the world, with certaine particuler navigations, as well of the Portugals as of the Spanyards, and that he spake further unto him to this effect: “ When my father departed from Venice, many yeeres since, to dwell in Eng­land, to follow the trade of marchandises, hee tooke mee with him to the citie of London, while I was very yong, yet having neverthelesse some knowledge of let­ters of humanitie, and of the sphere And when my father died in that time when newes were brought that Don Christopher Colmms Genoese had discovered the coasts of 'India, whereof was great talke in all the court of king Henry the Seventh, who then raigned, insomuch that all men with great admiration affirified it to be a thing more divine than humane, to saile by the West into the East, where spices growe, by a way that was neuet knowen before, by this fame and report there increased in my heart a great flame of desire to attempt some notable thing. And understanding by reason of the sphere, that if I should saile hy way of the North-west, I should by a shorter tract come into India, I thereupon caused the king to he advertised of my devise, who immediately commanded two caravels to bee furnished with all things appertaining to the voyage, which was as farre as I remember in the yeere 1496, in the beginning of sommer. I began therefore to saile toward the North-west, not thinking to finde any other lande than that of Cathay, and from thence to turn toward India; but after certaine dayes I found that the land ranne towards the north, which was to mee a great displeasure. Nev- erthelesse, sayling along by the coast to see if I coulde finde any gulfe that turned, I found the land still continent to the 56 degree under our pole. And seeing that there the coast turned toward the East, despairing to finde the passage, I turned backe againe, and sailed downe by the coast of that land toward the equinoctiall (ever with intent to finde the said passage to India), and came to that part of this firme lande which is now called Florida, where my victuals failing, I departed from thence and returned into England, where I found great tumults among the people, arid preparation for warres in Scotland; by reason whereof there was no more consideration had to this voyage.

“ Whereupon I went into Spaine to the Catholique King, and Queene Elizabeth, which being advertised what I had done, entertained me, and at their charges fur­nished certaine ships, wherewith they caused me to saile to discover the coastes of Brasile, where I found an exceeding great and large river, named at this present Rio de la Plata, that is, the river of silver, into the which I sailed and followed it into the firme land, more then six score leagues, finding it every Where very faire, and inhabited with infinite people, which with admiration came running dayly to our ships. Into this river runne so many other rivers, that it is in m&tter incre­dible.

“After this I made many other voyages, which I nowe pretermit, and waxing olde, I give myself to rest from such travels, because there are nowe many yong and lustie pilots and mariners of good experience, by whose forwardness^ I doe rejoyce in the fruit of my labours, and rest with the. charge of this office, as you see.”*

In giving this conversation to his readers, Hakluyt pro­fesses to have derived it from the second volume of Ramusio, and subsequent compilers have assumed the accuracy of the reference. It seems, for the first time, to have occurred to the writers of the “ Biographie Universelle,” to look into the original, and they declare that no such passage is to be there found!

“ Hakluyt dans sa collection nous a transmis la piece ou Ton trouve le plus de details sur la navigation et la vie de Sebastian Cabot. II dit I’avoir tir£e du second volume de la collection de Ramusio; mais nous Vy avons cherthit en vain. Cette piece est attribute a Galearius Butrigarius legat du pape en Espagne qui dit tenir les particularity qu’elle contient d’un habitant de Cadiz lequel avait eu plusieurs conversations avec Sebastian.” “Ramusio, connu par son exactitude n’a donn£ aucun extrait des navigations de Sebastian Cabot; il se contente de citer dans la preface de son 3^e volume un passage d*une Lettre qu’il avoit rejue de lui.

A striking proof here occurs of the facility with which errors are fallen into in reporting even the written expressions of another when memory is relied on. The Collaborateurs of the Biographie Universelle are supposed to have just turned from the page of Hakluyt, and yet, in this brief state­ment, mark the changes! Butrigarius has no longer the con­versation with Cabot, but gets his information at second hand, and this, too, from an inhabitant of Cadiz; thus utterly con­founding both place and person, and. making; also, the com­munication to have been the result of “ many” conversations held with Cabot by this new member of the dramatis person the “ habitant de Cadiz.” All this too, from those who bit­terly denounce their predecessors for carelessness and inac­curacy !

But we have a yet more serious complaint to urge. When the charge is preferred against Hakluyt, of having made a fraudulent citation, we may be permitted to say, with some plainness, that after the lofty eulogium passed on Ramusio, by the associates of the Biographie Universelle, not only inci­dentally here, but in the article subsequently devoted to him, it is .to the last degree discreditable, that a mere rpistake of reference to the proper Volume, should have so completely baffled their knowledge of the work. Nor is the mention of Cabot confined, as they suppose, to the preface of the third volume: it occurs in five different places, as will be hereafter shown.

The passage immediately in question will be found not in the second but in the first volume of Ramusio. It is part of the interesting article entitled, “ Discorso notabile sopra varii viaggi per liquali sono state condotte fino a tempi nostri le spetiarie,” beginning at fol. 414. D. of the edition of 1554, and referred to in the index of all the editions under the titles “ Plata” and “ Florida.” Before proceeding to note the cir­cumstances under which this conversation took place, it is proper to correct some of the errors of the translation found in Hakluyt.

And first, surprise must have been felt at the manner in which Cabot speaks as to the date of his own celebrated voyage. The “ so farre as I remember” seems to indicate a strange indifference on the subject. The expression has passed into Purchas (vol. iii. p. 808), and all the subsequent authorities. In Harris’s account (Voyages, vol. ii. p. 190), adopted by Pinkerton (vol. xii. p. 158), it is said, “The next voyage made for discovery was by Sebastian Cabot, the son of John; concerning which, all our writers have fallen into great mistakes, for want of comparing the several accounts we have of this voyage, and making proper allowances for*the manner in which they were written, since I cannot find there was ever any distinct and clear account of this voyage pub­lished, though it was of so great consequence. On the con­trary, I believe that Cabot himself kept no journal of it by him, since in a letter he wrote on this subject, he speaks doubtfully of the very year in which it was undertaken.^ The same unlucky phrase continues down to Barrow (p. 33), and to a work published during the present year (Lardner’s Cyclopaedia, History of Maritime Discovery, vol. ii. p. 137). .North West Foxe (p. 16) had changed it to what seemed, to that critical personage, more correct, “ as neere as I can re­member.”

Now there is not a syllable in the original to justify any such expression.

“ Feci intender questo mio pensiero alia Maesta del Re il qual fu molto contento et mi armo due caravelle di tutto cio che era dibisogno et fu clel 1496 nel principio della state”

It will not be understood, that we consider Cabot to have named the year 1496; but it is only important here to negative an expression which seems to argue sucH a looseness of feeling as to this memorable incident.

It may not be without interest to show the source of Hakluyt’s error.

The first English writer on this subject is Richard Eden, who published, in 1555, a black-letter volume, of which a good deal will be said hereafter, entitled, ⁶⁶ Decades of the New World, &c.” It consists of a translation of the three first Books of Peter Martyr d’Angleria, to which he has subjoined extracts from various other works of an early date on kindred subjects; and amongst the rest, this passage of Ramusio is given (fol. 251), as found in ⁶⁶ The Italian Hys- tories of Navigations.²” Eden was, as appears from his book, a personal friend of Cabot; and [when he came to the round assertion as to the date, 1496,'which he knew to be incorrect, he qualified it by introducing (fol. 255) the words in question.

It is the less excusable for. Hakluyt $ind the rest, to have blindly adopted such an interpolation,.’ as there Were other translations within reach, in which a correct and elegant version is given of the passage. The “ Biographie Univer- selle” considers Hakluyt as first bringing it forward, but the whole is found in the celebrated Collection of De Bry, pub­lished ten years before. At the end of the second part of the Grand Voyages, is a cento of authorities on the sub­ject of the discovery of America, in which the passage from Ramusio is correctly given. It is needless to say, that the “ as farre as I remember⁹⁹ finds no place; “anno igitur 1496, in principio veris ex Anglia solvi.”

Bare justice to Ramusio demands a reference to another passage in which the English translators have made him utter nonsense. The reader must have been struck with the ab­surd commencement of the passage in Hakluyt—“ Do you not understand how to pass to India towards the North­West, as did, of late, a citizen of Venice, &c.;” after which, we are informed that this citizen of Venice abandoned the effort at 56° “ despairing to. find the passage I" Ramusio must not be charged with this blunder, for the original is, ^<c Et fatto alquanti di pauso voltatosi verso di noi disse, Non

sapete a questo proposito d’andare a trovar PIndie per il vento di maestro quel che fece gia un vostro cittadino,” (“ and making somewhat of-a pause, he turned to us and said— Do you not know, on this project of going to India by the N. W., what did formerly your fellow-citizen, &c.”) not at all asserting the success of the enterprise, but only that it was suggested by the subject of the previous conversa­tion. A correct translation is found in De Bry^—“ An ig- noratis inquit (erat autem sermo institutus de investiganda orientali India qua Thracias ventus flat) quid egerit civis quidam vester, &c.”

A more material error remains to be pointed out. The speaker in Ramusio says, that finding himself some years ago in the City of Seville, and desiring, <&c. che ritrovandosi gia alcuni anni nella Citta di Siviglia, et desirando, &c.”); but on the page of Hakluyt this becomes, “ being certain years in the City of Seville, and desiring, &c.” The Latin ver­sion in De Bry is correct, “ Quem ante aliquot annos invisi cum essem Hispali.^ The importance of the error is ap­parent. ' As. truly translated the words confess the great lapse of time since the conversation, and of course the liability to error, while the erroneous version conveys only the idea of multiplied opportunities of communication, and a con­sequent assurance of accuracy. The same fprm of express­ion occurs in another part of die paragraph, and the meaning is so obvious, that it has not been possible to misunderstand it. When the Legate represents Cabot as stating that his fathefr left Yenice many years'.before the conversation, and went to settle in London to carry on the business of mer­chandise, the original runs thus, ** partito suo padre da Venetia gia molti anno et andato a stare in Inghiltera a far mercantie.” Again, in that passage, in the third volume, which is properly .translated, “ as many years past it was written unto me by Sebastian Cabot,” the original is, “ come mi fu scritto gia molti anno sono.”

Having thus ascertained what is, in.reality, the statement of Ramusio, we proceed to consider the circumstances under

which the conversation took place. It occurs, as has been seen, in the course of a Treatise on the trade in Spices. After expatiating on the history of that trade, and the revolution caused by the discovery of the passage round the Cape of Good Hope, Ramusio says (Edit, of 1554, tom. *iii. foh 413 A.), that he cannot forbear to add a report of a conver­sation which he had heard at the house of his excellent friend Hieronimus Fracastor. He then proceeds to give the discourse, which is a very long one, on the subject of Cosmography, the conjectures of the ancients as to a Western World, and the discoveries which had taken place in the speaker’s own time. It is only incidentally that Cabot’s name is introduced, and with regard to the whole, Ramusio makes this candid prefatory remark^ “ Which conversation I dcr not pretend to be able to relate circumstantially as I heard it, for that would require a talent, and a memory beyond mine; nevertheless, I will strive briefly, and as it were by heads, to give what I am able to recollect”—(“ II qual ragionamento non, mi basta Panimo di poter scriver cosi par- ticolarmente com’ ie le ndi, perche visaria dibisogno altro in- gegno et altra memoria. che non e la mia; pur mi sforzero sommariamente et come per Capi di recitar quel che io me potro ricordare.”)

Now what is there to oppose to a report coming to us by a route so circuitous, and expressed at last in a manner thus hesitating? The positive and explicit information con­veyed in Cabot’s own letter. Nor does Ramusio confine him­self to the statement contained in the Preface to his third volume, for in the same volume (fol. 417), is a discourse on the Northern Regions of the New World; in which, speaking of the Baccalaos, he says, that this region was intimately known to Sebastian Cabot» “ II quale a spese del Re Henrico VII., d’Inghiltera, scorse tutta la detta costa fino a gradi 67°. (“Who at the cost of Henry VII., king of England, proceeded along the whole of the said coast, as far as* 67°.”) It is plain, therefore, that the communication from Cabot had completely satisfied the mind of RamUsio, when we find him in this separate treatise assuming the fact asserted in the letter as conclusively settled.

This last consideration is strengthened by another cir­cumstance. The passage in the third volume which refers to Cabot’s letter, and which Hakluyt quotes as from the “Preface,” is, in fact, part of a Discourse addressed to Hieronimus Fracastor, the very personage at whose house the conversation had taken place. Ramusio, in conveying the deliberate statement of Cabot, whose correspondent he had intermediately become, and whom he designates as ⁶⁶ huomo di grande esperieftza et raro nelP arte del navigare et nella scienza di cosmografia,” does not think it necessary, even to advert to his own former representation. He is not found balancing, for a moment, between this written and direct information, and what he had before stated from a casual conversation with a third person, which had rested, for some time, insecurely, in his own confessedly bad memory, aside from the peril to which it had been sub­jected, before reaching him, of misconception on the part of Butrigarius, or of his forgetfulness during the years which elapsed between the interview with Cabot and the in­cidental allusion to what had passed on that occasion.

A comparison of the two passages shows further that no great importance was attached to the latitude reached; for in the latter, Ramusio is found to drop the half degree. It furnishes, too, an additional item of evidence, as to the scrupulous accuracy with which the language of the Letter is reported. In giving us that, he is exact even¹ to the minutes; but when his eye is taken from the letter, and he is disengaged from the responsibility of a direct quotation, he slides into round numbers.

When we add, that in every fact capable of being brought to the test, the statement of the conversation is erroneous, and that the limited latitude is inconsistent with the continued day-light—a circumstance more likely to be remembered than a matter of figures—what can be more absurd, than, at the present day, to dwell on that which Ramusio himself two hundred and seventy-five years ago, is plainly seen to aban­don? Yet such has been the course pursued by every writer on the subject, and the only difference discoverable is in the shades of perversion.

To the account of the voyage to Hudson’s Bay, by the Dobbs and California, drawn up by Henry Ellis, Esq., is pre­fixed a sketch of the previous attempts in pursuit of a North­West passage. After Ramusio’s statement that Cabot reached the latitude of 67° and-a-half, the writer complacently adds, (P- 6)­

*      There is an error in the latitude of ten degrees; but, however, it is plain from this account that the voyage was made for the discovery of a North-West passage, which was the reason I produced it. But in a letter written by Sebastian Cabot himself to the Pope’s Legate in Spain (!) he gives a still clearer account of this mat­ter, for therein he says, that it was from the consideration of the structure of the globe, the-design was formed of sailing to the Indies by a North-West course. He observes further, that falling in with lai\d unexpectedly (for he thought to have met with none till he had reached the coasts of Tartary), he sailed along the coast to the height of 56 degrees, and finding the land there run eastward, he quitted the attempt, and sailed southward.'*

Forster remarks (Northern Voyages, p. 267), “ some say he went to 67° 30' N. lat.; others reckon his most southerly track to have been to 58° N. lat. He himself informs us, that he reached only to 56° N. lat.”

Mr Barrow (Chronological History of Voyages, &c. p. 33) says, ⁽⁽If there be any truth in the report made to the pope's legate in Spain, and printed in the collection of Ramusio,” “ it would appear by this document ” &c. He then gives the conversation, not as “printed in the collection of Ramu­sio,” for Mr Barrow could not have looked into that—but with all the absurd perversions of Hakluyt—and then, in offi­cial language, confers the title of ^u a Report,” “ a Document,” on an unguarded error into which Ramusio had been be­trayed, and which that honest personage hastened to correct!

The same absurd phraseology, with its train of errors, is copied into Dr Lardner’s Cyclopaedia (History of Maritime and Inland Discovery, vol. ii. p. 137). Foxe, who made a voyage into Hudson’s Bay, in the reign of Charles I., says C

(p. 13), “ As concerning Sebastian Cabot, I cannot find that he was any farther northward than 58°, and so returned along the land of Americano the South, but for more certainty! hear his own relation to Galeatius Butrigarius, the pope’s legate in Spain.” After the “ as neare as I can remember,” &c. Foxe gravely adds, Thus much from himself 'J*

In the “ Historical Sketch of the Progress of Discovery, by William Stevenson, Esq.,” which forms the eighteenth volume of Kerr’s Collection of Voyages, published in 1824, it is said (p. 353), “The course he steered, and the limits of his voyage are, however, liable to uncertainty. He himself informs us that he reached only 56° N. lat.₉ and that the coast of America at that part tended to the east ; but there is no coast of North America that answers to this description. According to other accounts he reached 67° and-a-half N. lat., but,” &c. ^u It is most probable he did not reach fur­ther than Newfoundland.”

It is impossible not to feel indignant at such statements from those who vie with each other in complaints of all pre­ceding writers.

Though a matter of little moment, it may be noted that the conjecture is erroneous which connects the pope’s legate, Galeatius Butrigarius, with the conversation at the house of Fracastor. Ramusio does not mention any name; withhold­ing it, as he says, from motives of delicacy. The interview with Cabot at Seville, took place many years after his return, in 1531, from the La Plata ; and the speaker, whoever he may, have been, represents himself to have been led to make the call by a desire to “ have some knowledge of the naviga­tions of the Spaniards.⁵* Now, Galeatius Butrigarius, more than twenty years before this visit could have been made, is found on terms of intimacy with Peter Martyr (dec. 2; cap. 1), and not only well informed on the subject* but urging the historian to. pursue his narrative, and the ensuing Decade is addressed, in consequence, to the Pope. It seems impossi­ble that the legate so long afterwards—fifteen years, at least, subsequently to the publication of Peter Martyr’s volume,

describing the enterprise of Cabot—should have been actu­ated by this vague impulse of curiosity* and have been in­debted for a knowledge of the discoverer of Baccalaos to the reports current at Seville during this his apparently first visit.

CHAP. II.

THE SUBJECT CONTINUED      GOMARA.

Of the passage in Gomara, Hakluyt presents the following version:—

“The testimonie of Francis Lopez de Gomara, a Spaniard, in the fourth chapter of the second booJce of his generall history of the West Indies, concerning- the first discoverie of a great part of the West Indies, to wit, from 58 to 33 degree* of latitude, by Sebastian Cabota out of England.

“He which brought most certaine newes of the countrey and people of Bac- ealaos, (saith Gomara,, was Sebastian Cabote, a Venetian, which rigged up two ships at the cost of king Henry the Seventh of England, having great desire to traffique for the spices as the Portugals did. He carried with him three hundred men, and tooke the way towards Island from beyond the Cape of Labrador, until he found himselfe in 58 degrees and better. He made relation, that in the moneth of July it was so cold, and the ice so great, that hee durst not passe any further: that the dayes were very long in a maner without any night, and for that short night that they had, it was very cleare. Cabot feeling the cold, turned towards the West, refreshing himselfe at Baccalaos; and afterwards he sailed along the coast unto 38 degrees, and from thence he shaped his course to returne into England.”

There is to be noted here another of Hakluyt’s loose and suspicious references. The Spanish work is not divided into “ books,” and the passage quoted occurs in the first part. This is said, after consulting the Saragossa edition of 1552— that of Medina del Campo, 1553—that of Antwerp, 1554— and the reprint of the work in Barcia’s ^(c Historiadores Pri­mitives” in 1749. A ready conjecture presents itself as to the source of Hakluyt’s error. The work of Gomara was, at an early period, translated into French, by Fumee, in whose version, published in 1578, the matter is distributed into “ Books,” and the passage in question really becomes, accord­ing to his arrangement, the fourth chapter of the second Book. That Hakluyt was ignorant of the Spanish language, maybe inferred from the circumstance, that when he has occasion (vol. iii. p. 499) to quote Oviedo, he gives us not the original but an Italian version of it by Ramusio. He was at Paris shortly after the appearance of Fumee’s Translation, and remained there for some time, as is stated in the dedica­tion of his first volume to Lord Charles Howard. We shall see, presently, how far he has been misled by relying on that translation. The following is Gomara’s own language—

“ Qui en mas noticia traxo desta tierra fue Sebastian Gaboto Veneciano. El qual armo dos navios en Inglaterra do tratava desde pequeno, a costa del Rey En­rique Septimo, que desseava contratar en la especiera como hazia el Rey d’Portu- gal. Otros disen que a su costa, y* que prometio al rey Enrique de ir por el norte al Catayo y traer de alia especias en menos tiempo que Portugueses por el Sur. Y va tambien por saber que tierra eran las Indias para poblar. Llevo trezientos hombres y camino la buelta de Islandia sobre cabo del Labrador, hasta se poner en cinquenta y ocho grades. Aunque el dize mucho mas contando como avia por el mes de Julio tanto frio y pedagos de yelo que no oso passar mas adelante, y que los dios eran grandissimos y quasi sin noche y las noches muy claras. Es cierte que a sesenta grados son los dias de diez y ocho horas, Diendo pues Gabota la frialdad y estraneza dela tierra, dio la buelta hazia poniente y rehaziendose en los Baccalaos corrio la costa hasta treynta y ochps grados y tornose de alii a Inglaterra.**

“ Sebastian Cabot was the first that brought any knowledge of this land. For being in England in the days of king Henry the Seventh, he furnished two ships at his own charges, or as some say, at the king’s, whom he persuaded that a passage might be found to Cathay by the North Seas, and that spices might be brought from thence sooner by that way than by the viage the Portugales use by the sea of Sur. He went also to know what manner of landcs those Indies were to inhabit. He had with him 300 men, and directed his course by the tract of island upon the Cape of Labrador, at fifty-eight degrees, affirming that in the month of July there was such cold and heaps of ice that he durst pass no further; also, that the days were very long, and in manner without night, and the nights very clear. Certain it is, that at the three score degrees, the longest day is of eighteen hours. Nut considering the cold and the strangeness of the unknown land, he turned his course from thence to the west, following the coast unto the thirty-eight degree, from whence he returned to England.’* (Eden’s Translation, see Decades, fol. 318.)

The unwarrantable liberties taken by Hakluyt will appear at a glance. He drops, entirely, the passage of Gomara as to the length of the day in the latitude of 60°, though it stands in the middle of the paragraph. Again, Gomara states the contradictory assertions which he found, as to whether the expedition was fitted out at the cost of Henry VII. or of an individual. In Hakluyt’s day this was deemed a matter of great importance; for in the passages in the third volume

which relate to the North-West passage, and the colonization of America, considerable stress is laid, with a view to repel the pretensions of Spain, on the direct agency of the king of England. Hakluyt, therefore, boldly strikes out the words which show that Gomara had arrived at no conclusion on the point; and by this mutilation exhibits an unqualified aver­ment that the whole was at the cost of Henry VII. No English reader would hesitate to cite the Spanish author, as candidly conceding that the enterprise was a national one, at the king’s expense; and Mr Sharon Turner, in his “ History of England during the Middle Ages,” asserting anxiously the merits of Henry VII., declares (vol. iv. of second ed. p. 163, note 54), with a reference to Hakluyt, ^u Gomara also men- Hons that the ships were rigged at Henry's costs'⁹ Hakluyt wants here even the apology of having been misled by Fu- mee, as the French writer, and Richard Eden, fairly state the matter in the alternative.

As to the course pursued by Cabot, Hakluyt has strangely misunderstood the author. The words of Gomara are— “ Llevo trezientos hombres y camino la buelta de Islandia y hasta se poner en cinquanta y ochos grados.” The prede­cessors of Hakluyt in the work of translation were so nume­rous, as to leave him without apology for mistake. Richard Eden says, “He had with him three hundredmen, and di­rected^ his course by the tract of Island (Iceland), upon the Cape of Labrador, at 58°.” In the Italian translation of Au­gustin de Cravaliz, published at Rome in 1556, it is rendered “ * Meno seco trecento huomini et navico alia volta d'Islanda sopra Capo del Lavoratore finchesi trovo in cinquanta otto gradi;’ and in a reprint at Venice, in 1576, <Meno seco tre­cento huomini et camino la volta de Islandia sopra del Capo del Lavoratore et fino a mcttersi in cinquanta otto gradi.’ ”

That Cabot really took the route of Iceland is very pro­bable. A steady and advantageous commerce had for many years been carried on between Bristol and Iceland, and is referred to in the quaint old poem, “ The Policie of keeping the Sea,” reprinted in Hakluyt, (vol. i. p. 201)—

** Of Island to write is little nede,

Save of Stockfish: yet, forsooth indeed,

Out of Bristowe, and costes many one,

Men have practised by needle, and by stone Thitherwards,” &c.

Seven years before, a treaty had been made with the king of Denmark, securing that privilege. (Selden’s Mare Clausum, lib. 2. c. 32.) The theory in reference to which Cabot had projected the voyage would lead him as far North as possible, and it would be a natural precaution to break the dreary con­tinuity at sea, which had exercised so depressing an influence on the sailors of Columbus, by touching at a point so far on his way and yet so familiarly known. Hudson, it may be re­marked, took the same route.

We turn now to the translation of Fumee; “ II mena avec soy trois cens hommes et print la route d’ Island au dessus du Cap de Labeur, jusques a ce qui il se trouva a 58 degrez et par dela. II racomptoit,” &c. Acquainted as we are with the original, it seems difficult to mistake even the French version. Hakluyt, however, had no such previous know­ledge, and he confesses (Dedication to Sir Walter Raleigh, vol. iii. p. 301) that he was not a perfect master even of the French language. Obliged thus to grope after a mean­ing, his version is as follows, (vol. iii. p. 9)—“ He carried with him 300 men, and took the way towards Island from be­yond the Cape of Labrador, (!) until he found himself in 58o and better. He made relation,” &c. The timid servility with which Hakluyt strove to follow Fumee is apparent even in the structure of the sentences, for it is improbable that two independent versions of Gomara would concur in such a dis­tribution of the original matter.

It is difficult to understand how Hakluyt could consent to put forth such palpable nonsense. He is evidently quite aware that the word “ Island” in the French could mean nothing but Iceland; and, indeed, it is the designation which he himself uniformly employs, ^particularly at p. 550, &c. of his first volume, where is given at great length—The true state of Island,” being a translation from a Latin work, en-

titled, “ Brevis Commentarius de Islandia.” Yet with this knowledge, and with all the means of a correct version, he re­presents Cabot as first* reaching America and then proceeding onward to Iceland.

The version of Hakluyt is adopted by every subsequent English writer except Led iard, who, in his Naval History, seems to have paused over language seemingly so enigmatical. Not perceiving that a proper name was intended, he asked himself, in vexation, what “ Island” could possibly be meant. Besides, the expression was ungrammatical, for it is not said “ an Island,” or “ the Island,but simply, “ towards Island.” He therefore ventures on an amendment (p. 88)—“ He took the way towards the Islands, (!) from beyond the Cape of Labrador, till he was beyond 58°.” Having made grammar of the passage, he leaves the reader to make sense of it.

Wearisome as the examination may be, we have not yet reached the principal error of Hakluyt in reference to this short passage. It will be noted that the Spanish writer, after saying that Cabot reached the lat. of 58°, adds, “ aunque el dize mucho mas contando como avia por el mes de Julio tante frio,” &c. (“ although he says much further, relating, how he hadin the middle of July, such cold,” &c.) Here, too, Hakluyt might have taken advantage of previous translations. In the Italian version of 1576, it is, ^u finchesi trovo in 58 gradi benche egli dice di piu et narrava come,” &c.; and in that of 1556, “ et fino a mettersi in 58 gradi anchor che lui dice molto piu il quale diceva.” Hakluyt, however, relying on Fumee—“ jusques a ce qu’il ce trouva a 58 degrez et par dela ” renders the passage “ until he found himself in 58° and better.” Thus the Spanish writer, who had peremp­torily fixed the limit of 58°, is made, without qualification, to carry Cabot to an indefinite extent beyond it.*

The true version of the passage, not only renders it harm­less, but an auxiliary in establishing the truth. ThatGomara

•      Campbell, in his Lives of the Admirals, changes Hakluyt's phrase into

** somewhat more than fifty-eight degrees,** for which he quotes Gomara.

should speak slightingly of Cabot was to be expected. His work was published in 1552, not long ^after our Navigator had quitted the service of Spain, and is dedicated to the Em­peror Charles V., whose overtures for the return of Cabot, had been, as will be seen hereafter, rejected. Of the dis­coveries of Cabot, none, he says, were made for Spain (“ ninguno fue por nuestros Reyes”), and we shall have repeated occasion to expose his disparaging comments on every incident of Cabot’s life while in the service of that country. He is of little authority, it may be remarked, even with his own countrymen, and is most notorious for naving, from a paltry jealousy of foreigners, revived and given cur­rency to the idle tale that Columbus was guided in his great enterprise by the charts of a pilot who died in his house. We know, from Peter Martyr (Dec. 3. cap. 6), that, as early as 1515, the Spaniards were jealous of the reputation of Cabot, then in their service; and Gomara, writing immediately after the deep offence which had been given by the abandonment of the service of Spain, and the slight of the emperor’s appli­cation, was disposed to yield an eager welcome to every false­hood. With regard to an account, then, from such a quarter, we would attach importance to it only from the presumed ac­quiescence of Cabot in the representation of a contemporary. Now, so far js this from the fact, the very passage, as at length redeemed from a perversion no less absurd than flagi­tious, furnishes, in itself, a triumphant proof, that the writer’s assertion is in direct conflict with that,- of the Navigator. The importance of this argument is increased by the con­sideration that Gomara’s work was published two years before Ramusio’s third volume in the preface to which appears the extract from Cabot’s letter. This shows that other means of information, and probably Cabot’s map amongst the rest, were before Gomara. All that we care to know, under such cir­cumstances, is the real statement of Cabot; and in answer to that inquiry we have the clear and precise language of his letter to Ramusio.

D

CHAP. III.

CABOT PENETRATED INTO HUDSON^ BAY.

On quitting the authorities which have so long been sup­posed to involve irreconcilable contradictions, the only re­maining difficulty is that of selection from the numerous tes­timonials which offer, as to the real extent of the voyage. A few are referred to which speak in general terms of the lati­tude reached, before proceeding to such as describe particu­larly the course pursued.

In Be Bry (Grand Voyages, iv. p. 69), is the following passage:—

“ Sebastianus Gabottus, sumptibus Regis Anglise, Henrici VII., per septentrionalem plagam ad Cataium penetrare voluit. IHe primus Cuspidem Baccaiaos detexit (quam hodie Britones et Nortmanni, nautse la coste des Molues hoc est Asselorum marinorum oram appellant) atque etiam ulterius usque ad 67 gradum versus polum articum.”*

Belle-forest, in his Cosmographie Universelle, which ap­peared at Paris, in 1576 (tom. ii. p. 2175), makes the same statement.

In the treatise of Chauveton, “Du Nouveau Monde,” pub­lished at Geneva, in 1579, he says (p. 141), “ Sebastian Ga- botto, entreprit aux despens de Henry VII., Rex d’Angle- terre, de cercher quelque passage pour aller en Catay par la Tramontaine. Cestuy la descouvrit la pointe de Baccaiaos, (que les mariniers de Bretaigne, et de Normandie appellent

*      “ Sebastian Cabot attempted, at the expense of Henry VTI., King.of England to find a way by the north to Cataia. He first discovered the point of Baccaiaos, which the Breton and Norman sailors now call the Coast of Codfish; and, proceed­ing yet further, he readied the latitude of sixty-seven degrees towards the Arctic Pole.”

La Coste des Molues) et plus haut jusqu’a soixante sept degrez du Pole.”

There is a volume entitled, “ A Prayse and Reporte of Martyne Frobisher’s voyage to Meta Incognita, by Thomas Churchyard,” published at London, in 1578 (in Library of British Museum, title Churchyard), wherein it is said, “ I find that Gabotta was- the first, in king Henry VII.’s days, that discovered this frozen land or seas from sixty-seven towards the North, and from thence towards the South, along the coast of America to 36 degrees and a half,” &c.

Herrera, (dec. i. lib. 6. cap. 16) in rejecting the fraction_> adopts the higher number, and states Cabot to have reach­ed 68°.

We proceed now to establish the proposition which stands at the head of this chapter, but must first disclaim for it a character of novelty, since in Anderson’s History of Commerce, (vol. i. p. 549), is found the following passage :—

“ How weak then are the pretensions of France to the prior discovery of North America, by alleging that one John Verazzan, a Florentine, employed by their King, Francis I., was the first discoverer of those coasts, when that king did not come to the crown till about nineteen years after our Cabot’s discovery of the whole coast of North America, from sixty-eight degrees north, down to the south end of Florida? So that, from beyond Hudson's Bay {into which Bay, also, Cabot then sailed, and gave English names to several places therein) southward to Florida, the whole compass of North America, on the Eastern coast thereof, does, by all the right that prior discovery can give, belong to the Crown of Great Britain: ex­cepting, however, what our monarchs have, by subsequent treaties with other Eu­ropean powers, given up or ceded.”

The same assertion appears in the work as subsequently enlarged into Macpherson’s Annals of Commerce (vol. ii. p. 12).

The statement is sufficiently pointed; and it is not imposs­ible, that Anderson, who wrote seventy years ago, and whose employments probably placed within his reach many curious documents connected with the early efforts to discover a North-West passage to India, may have seen one of Cabot’s maps. As he is silent with regard to the source of his in­formation, it is necessary to seek elsewhere for evidence on the subject.

A conspicuous place is, 011 many accounts, due to the testi­mony of Lord Bacon. Every student of English History is aware of the labour and research he expended on the History of Henry VII. He himself, in one of his letters, speaking of a subsequent tract, says, “I find Sir Robert Cotton, who poured forth what he had in my other work, somewhat dainty of his materials in this.” We turn^ then, with eagerness, to his statement as to Sebastian Cabot.

“ He sailed, as he affirmed at his return, and made a card thereof, very far westward, with a quarter of the north on the north side of Terra de Labrador, until he came to the lati­tude of sixty-seven degrees and a half finding the seas still open.”

It would be idle to accompany* this statement with any thing more than a request that a map of that region may be looked at in connexion with it.

The tract of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, on the North-West passage, was originally published in 1576. It is reprinted, with mutilations which will be mentioned hereafter, in Hak­luyt. Referring, for the present, to the latter work, we find at page 16 of the third volume, the following passage:

“ Furthermore, Sebastian Cabot, by his personal experience and travel, hath set forth and described this passage in his Charts, which are yet to be seen in the Queen’s Majesty’s Privy Gallery at Whitehall, who was sent to make this discovery by King Henry the VH., and entered the same fret, affirming that he sailed very far westward with a quarter .of the north on the north side of Terra de Labrador, the 11th of June, until he came to the septentrional latitude of sixty-seven degrees and Orhalf, and finding, the sea still open, said that he might and would have gone to Cataia, if the mutiny of the master and mariners had not been.”

In the “Theatrum Orbis Terrarum” of the celebrated geographer Ortelius, will be found a map designated as “Ame­rica sive Novi Orbis descriptioin which he depicts, with an accuracy that cannot be attributed to accident, the form of Hudson’s Bay, and a channel leading from its northern ex­tremity towards the pole. The publication preceded not only Hudson but Frobisher; and Ortelius tells us that he had Cabot’s map before him. Prefixed to his work is a list, alphabetically arranged (according to the Christian names), of

the authors of whose labours he was possessed, and amongst them is expressly mentioned Sebastian Cabot. The map was of the World, “ UniversalemTabulam quam impressam seneis formis vidimus.

The statement of the Portuguese writer Galvano, trans­lated by Hakluyt, is curious, and though there is reason in many places to apprehend interpolation by Hakluyt, yet the epithet Deseado is plainly retained from the Portuguese; sig­nifying the desired or sought for. It is unquestionable that this account, though not perfectly clear, represents Cabot’s extreme northern labour to; have been the examination of a bay and a river; and from the name conferred, we may sup­pose, that they were deemed to be immediately connected with the anxious object of pursuit. On the map of Ortelius, the channel running from the northern part of the bay has really the appearance of a river. After reaching the Ame­rican coast, the expedition is said, by Galvano, to have gone

straight northwards till they came into 60° of latitude, where the day is eighteen hours long, and the night is very clear and bright. There they found the aire colde, and great islands of ice, but no ground in an hundred fathoms sounding; and so from thence, finding the land to turn eastwards, they trended along by it, discovering all the bay and river named Deseado, to see if it passed on the other side. Then they sailed back againe, till they came to 3.8° toward the equinoc­tial line, and from thence returned into England.” (p. 33.)

A writer whose labours enjoyed in their day no little cele­brity, and may be regarded, even now, as not unworthy of the rank they hold in the estimation of his countrymen, is the noble Venetian, Livio Sanuto, whose posthumous “Geogra- fia,” appeared at Venice, in 1588. The work, of which there is a copy in the library of the British Museum, owes its chief interest, at present, to certain incidental speculations on matters connected with Naval Science, of which the author was deeply enamoured. Repeated allusions occur to the map of “ il chiarissimo Sebastiano Caboto.” Having heard, moreover, from his friend Guido Gianeti de Fano, at one time

ambassador at London, that Sebastian Cabot had publicly ex­plained to the King of England the subject of the Variation of the Needle, Sanuto became extremely anxious, in reference to a long meditated project of his own, to ascertain where Cabot had fixed a point of no variation. The ambassador could not answer the eager inquiry, but wrote, at the instance of Sanuto, to a friend in England; Bartholomew Compagni, to obtain the information from Cabot. It was procured accord­ingly, and is given by Sanuto (Prima Parte, lib. i. fol. 2), with some curious corollaries of his own. The subject beloiigs to a different part of pur inquiry, and is adverted to here only to show the author’s anxious desire for accurate and comprehensive information, and the additional value thereby imparted to the passage (Prima Parte, lib. ii. fol. 17), in which he gives an account of Cabot’s voyage.corresponding minutely with that which Sir Humphrey Gilbert derived from the map hung up in Queen Elizabeth’s Gallery.*

Some items of circumstantial evidence may be adverted to: Zeigler, in his work on the Northern Regions, speaking of the voyage of Cabot, and the statement of his falling in with so much ice, remarks (Argent ed. of 1532. fol. 92. b.)—

“Id testatur quod non per mare vastum, sed propinquis littoribus in sinus formam comprehensum navigarit, quando ob eadem caussam sinus Gothanus concrescat quoniam strictus est, et fluyiorum plurium et magnorum ostia Salsam naturam in parva copia superant Inter autem Norduegiam et Islandiam non concrescit ex diversa causa, quoniam vis dulcium aquarum illic superatur £ vastitate naturae salsse.” This testifieth that he had sailed not by the main sea, but in places near unto the land, comprehending and embracing the sea in form of a gulph; whereas for the same cause the Gulph of Gothland is frozen, because it is straight and narrow, in the which, also, the little quantity of salt water is over­come by the abundance of fresh water, of many and great rivers that fall into the gulph. But between Norway and Iceland the sea is not frozen, for the contrary cause, forasmuch as the power of fresh water is there overcome of the abundance of the saltwater.” (Eden's Decades, fol. 268.)

*      “E quivi a punto tra quest! dui extremi delle due Continent! giunto che fu il chiarissimo Sebastiano Caboto in gradi sessenta sette e m'ezo navigando allora per la quarta di Maestro verso Ponente ivi chiaro vide essere il mare aperto e spatiosiss- ima senza veruno impedimento. Onde giudico fermarfiente potersi di la navigare al Cataio Orientale il che ancho haverche a mano a mano fatto se la malignati del Padrone e de i marinari sollevati non lo havessero fatto ritornari <i dietro.”

Eden says, in a marginal note, “ Cabot told nifc^thatjhis ice is of fresh water and not of the sea.”

Great perplexity has been caused by the statement that the expedition tinder Cabot found the coast incline to the North­East. He himself informs us that he reached only to 56° N. lat., and that the coast in that part tended to the East. This seems hardly probable, for the coast of Labrador tends neither at 56° nor at 58° to the East.” (Forster, p. 267.) So Nava­rette (tom. iii. p. 41) thinks that Ramusio’s statement cannot be correct, because the. latitude mentioned would carry the vessel to. Greenland.

It is to be remembered, that the language of Cabot sug­gests that at the immediate point of arrest he was cheered by the prospect of success. We are led, then, to infer that the sanguine adventurer was,.for some reason, inspired with fresh confidence in which his associates refused to participate; and that, terrified by the perils they had encountered, their dis­satisfaction came to a head when they found a new career of peril suggested by what they deemed the delusive hopes of their youthful commander. Let us look into the subject with the aid which these suggestions afford. Bylot, who, after penetrating into Hudson’s Bay, proceeded up its Northern channel on the west side, as far as 65° and-a-half, represented the coast as tending to the North-east. The Quarterly Review (vol. xvi. p. 168), in an article urging a new expedition in search of the North-West passage, refuses its belief to this statement. We turn, then, to Captain Parry’s Narrative of his Second Voyage. It is apparent from an inspection of the map that the course pointed out by Cabot, for passing through the Strait, would conduct a navigator, without fail, to Winter Island. Now, from the very outset of Captain Parry’s course from that point, we find him engaged in a struggle with the North-Eastern tendency of the coast. On the 13th of July he was off Barrow’s River, which is in lat. 67° 18' 45"; and having visited the falls of that river, his narrative is thus con­tinued:-—

“ We found, on our return, that a fresh southerly breeze, which had been blow­ing for several hours, had driven the ice to some distance from the land; so that at four, P.M., as soon as the flood tide had slackened, we cast off and made all poss­ible sail to the northward, steering for a headland, remarkable for having a patch of land towards the sea insular in sailing along shore. As we approached this headland, which I named after my friend Mr Edward Leycester Penrhyn, the prospect became more and more enlivening; for the sea was found to be naviga­ble in a degree very seldom experienced in these regions, and the land trending two or three points to the westward of north, .gave us reason to hope we should. now be enabled to take a decided and final turn in that anxiously desired direction.”

Another remark is suggested by Captain Parry’s Narrative. Every one who has had occasion to consider human testimony, or to task his own powers of recollection, must have observed how tenaciously circumstances remain which had affected the imagination, even after names and dates are entirely forgot­ten. The statement of Peter Martyr exhibits a trophy of this kind. He r6cal& what his friend Cabot had said of the influence of the sun on the shore along which he was toiling amidst mountains of ice;, “vastas repererit glaciales moles pelago natantes pt lucem fere perpetuam tellure tamen libera gelu liquefacto” (Decades, iii. lib. 6), a passage which Hakluyt (vol. iii. p. 8), borrowing Eden’s version, renders, “he found monstrous heaps of ic.e swimming on the sea, and in manner continual day-light; yet saw he the land in that tract free from ice, which had been molten by the heat of the sun.V Where do we look for this almost continual day-light, and this opportunity of noticing the appearance of the land? In that very channel, we would say, leading North from Hud­son’s Bay, where Captain Parry, later in the summer, whilst between 67° and 68°, and threatened every moment with de­struction, thus records his own impressions (p. 261): “ Very little snow was now lying upon the ground, and numerous streams of water rushing down the hills and sparkling in the beams of the morning sun, relieved in some measure the me­lancholy stillness which otherwise reigned on this desolate shore.”

There has been held in reserve the piece of evidence which goes most into detail.

In the third volume of Hakluyt (p. 25), is found a Tract,

by Richard Willes, gentleman, on the North-West passage. It was originally published in an edition, that Willes put forth in 1577, of Richard Eden’s Decades, and forms part of an article therein, which Hakluyt has strangely mangled, ad­dressed to Lady Warwick, daughter of the Earl of Bedford. It was drawn up, as we shall have occasion to show, for the use of Sir Martin Frobisher. In this tract Willes combats the various arguments urged at that time against the practi­cability of the enterprise; and his statement of one of the objections advanced, furnishes an all important glimpse at the map of Cabot. In the following passage (3 Hakluyt, p. 25), the enemies of the enterprise are supposed to say:—

“ Well, grant the West Indies not to continue continent unto the Pole. Grant there be a passage between these two lands; let the gulf lie nearer us than com­monly in Cardes we find it, namely, between 61 and 64 degrees north, as Gemma Frisius, in his'maps and globes, imagineth it, and so left by our countryman, Se­bastian Cabot, in his Table, which the Earl of Bedford hath at Cheynies;* let the way be void of all difficulties,.yet^ &c. &c.”

And, again, Willes, speaking in his own person, says (3 Hakluyt, p. 26):—

“ For that Caboto was not only a skilful seaman but a long traveller, and such a one as entered personally that straight, sent by King Henry VH. to make this afore­said discovery as in his own Discourse of Navigation you may read in his Card, drawn with Ms own handy that the mouth of the North Western Straight lieth near the 318 meridian, between 61 and 64 degrees in the elevation, continuing the same breadth about ten degrees West, where it openeth southerly more and more.”

It is scarcely necessary to remind the reader that, until a comparatively recent period, longitude was measured, univer­sally from Ferro, once supposed to be the most western part of the World; and that the computation of degrees from that point proceeded first over the old World, and thus made its journey of 360 degrees. Adding together, then, the 42 de­grees which complete the circuit, and the distance between Ferro and Greenwich, we have within a few minutes, 60° west from Greenwich as the longitude named; and if we note

*      On application in the proper quarter, it has been ascertained that this Docu­ment cannot, after diligent search, be found.

E

on a modern map, where that degree of longitude crosses Labrador, it will be seen how little allowance is necessary for the “about 318,” which Willes, somewhat vaguely, states as the commencement of the strait. He probably judged by the eye of that fact, and of the distance at Which the strait began to “open southerly.*'

A pause was, designedly, made* in the midst of Willes’s statement in order to separate what refers to'Cabot’s Map from his own speculations. The paragraph quoted concludes thus:—

^u Where it openetfr southerly more and more until it come under the tropic of Cancer, and so runneth into Mar del Sur, at the least 18 degrees more in breadth there, than it was where it first began; otherwise, I could as well imagine this passage ^xto be more unlikely than the voyage to Moscovia, and more impossible than it, for the far situation and continuance thereof in the frosty clime”

That Cabot represented the strait as continuing in the de­gree mentioned, or as presenting a southern route, is incredi­ble, because we know that he was finally arrested at 67 de­grees and-a-half whilst struggling onward. But the object of Willes was to meet the objectiori of those who contended that even supposing a passage Could be found so far to the North yet the perils of the navigation must render it useless for the purposes of commerce. He represents them as say­ing (Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 25):

“If any such passage be, it lieth subject unto ice and snow for the most part of the year. Before the sun hath warmed the air and dissolved the ice each one well knoweth. that there can be no sailing. The ice once broken, through the con­tinual abode the sun maketh a certain season in those parts, how shall it be possi­ble for so weak a vessel, as a ship is, to hold out amid whole islands, as it were, of ice continually beating on each, side, and at the mouth of that gulf issuing down furiously from the North, Sic.”

Willes, therefore, artfully concedes, as has been seen, the force of the objection, but attempts to elude it by adverting to the form of. the Bay, and arguing that the break to the South held out the prospect of a safer route. In this effort he derived important assistance from the maps of Gemma

Frisiils and Tramezine, both of which are yet extant, and really do make the strait expand to the South, and fall into the Pacific precisely in the manner he describes. He, there­fore, couples the delineation of Cabot, from actual observa­tion, with the conjectures of others, and draws certain infer­ences, “ if the Cardes of Cabota and Gemmi Frisius, and that which Tramezine imprinted be true” (3 Hakluyt, p. 28). There is no difficulty, as has been said, in making the separa­tion, when we advert to the fact that Cabot was actually at 67 degrees and-a-half, when the alarm of his associates com­pelled him to turn back.

The representation of Cabot may, in point of accuracy, be advantageously contrasted with that of more recent maps. Thus, on the one found in Purchas (vol. iii. p. 852), the 318th degree of longitude passes through nearly the middle of the “Fretum Hudson.” In the “ Voyages from Asia to America, for completing the discoveries of the North-West Coast of Atfierica,” published., at London, in 1764, with a translation of S. Muller’s Tract, as to the Russian discoveries, there is a map by “ Thomas Jefferys, Geographer to his Ma­jesty,” taken from that published by the Royal Academy of Sciences at St Petersburg. The old mode of computation is observed, and the 318th degree of longitude dpes not touch Labrador, but passes to the eastward of it.

Such is the evidence which exists to establish the fact ass­umed as the title of this chapter. There remains one obvi­ous and striking consideration. Had Cabot been disposed to fabricate a tale to excite the wonder of his contemporaries, not only were the means of detection/abundant, but he as­suredly, would not have limited himself to 67 degrees and- a-half. To a people familiar with the navigation to Iceland, Norway, &c., there was nothing marvellous in his represen­tation ; nay, Zeigler, as we have seen, will not believe that great mountains of ice could have been encountered in that latitude. It is only by knowing the navigation of the Strait,

and Bay, and northern channel* that we can appreciate the difficulties he had to overcome, and the dauntless intrepidity that found a new impulse in perils before which his terrified companions gave way.

CHAP. IV.

FIRST WORK OF HAKLUYT MAPS AND DISCOURSES LEFT BY SEBASTIAN

CABOT ATvHIS DEATH READY FOR PUBLICATION.

An early work of Hakluyt, to which frequent reference will be made, contains a great deal of curious information, not to be found elsewhere, and is exceedingly important as a check on his subsequent volumes. It furnishes, moreover, honourable evidence of the zeal with which he sought to ad­vance, on every occasion, the interests of navigation and dis­covery. The following is its title:— »

“ Divers voyages touching the discoverie of America and the Islands adjacent unto the same, made first of all by an Englishman, and afterwards by the Frenchmen and Britons: and certain notes of advertisements, for observations necessary for such as shall hereafter make the like attempt, with two mappes annexed hereunto, for the plainer understanding of the whole matter. Imprinted at London, for Thomas Wood­cock, dwelling in Paule’s Churchyard, at the signe of the Black Beare, 1582,”

A reference will be found to it in the margin of p. 174. vol. iii. of Hakluyt’s larger work. Dr Didbin, in his Library Companion (2d ed. p. 392), says, “I know of no other copy than that in the collection of my neighbour, Henry Jadis, Esq., who would brave all intervening perils between Indus and the Pole, to possess himself of any rarity connected with Hakluyt.”* There is a copy in the Library of the British

*      It may be inferred that we are not quite such enthusiasts as the gentleman referred to; those who are will find amongst the Harleian MSS. (No. 288, Art 111) a very curious autograph letter from Hakluyt, dated Paris, July 1588, relative to an overture from France.

Museum, arranged, however, in the Catalogue, not to the title, Hakluyt, but “ America.” It is dedicated to “ The Right Worshipful, and most vertuous Gentleman, Master Philip Sydney, Esq.” Zouch, in his Life of Sir Philip Syd­ney (p. 317), thus refers to it: “ Every reader conversant in the annals of our naval transactions, will cheerfully acknow­ledge the merit of Richard Hakluyt,” &c. “ His incompa­rable industry was remunerated with every possible encour­agement, by Sir Francis Walsingham and Sir Philip Sydney. To the latter, as a most generous promoter of all ingenious and useful knowledge, he inscribed his first collection of voy­ages and discoveries, printed in 1582.”

In a passage to the dedication he adverts to the English title to America:—

“ I have here, right worshipful, in this hastie work, first put dovvne the Title which we have to that part of America, which is from Florida to 67 degrees northward, by the letters patent, granted to John Cabote and his three sons, Lewis, Se­bastian, and Santius, with Sebastian’s own certificate to Bap- tista Ramusio, of his discovery of America.”

One Tract preserved in this volume, and which does not appear in the work as afterwards enlarged, is of great curio­sity. It is a translation, published originally in 1563, of the detailed report made to Admiral Coligny by Ribault, who commanded the French expedition in 1562, to Florida, with a view to a settlement, and who actually planted in that year a French colony in what is now the state of South Carolina. Subsequently to the publication of this volume, Hakluyt was instrumental in causing to be published at Paris, in 1587, the volume of Basanier containing the Narrative of Laudonniere, who was second in command under Ribault. A comprehen­sive view is there given of all the voyages, and Hakluyt, therefore, in his larger work, omits the interesting report made by the chief of the expedition.

It is not a little remarkable, in reference to an incident so memorable, that the work of Ribault seems to be quite un­known in France. The “Biographie Universelle” (title Ri-

bault) has a long article which manifests an entire ignorance of its existence, and is, indeed, written in a very careless manner. Thus, it is stated, that Ribault, after reaching Flo­rida, proceeded northward along the coast, and landed at the mouth of a river where he placed a Pillar with the Arms of France, and that to the next river he gave the name of May. This is not only contrary to Ribault’s account, but to that of Laudonniere (Basanier’s Paris ed. of 1587, fol. 8. also, 3 Hakluyt, p. 308), and to the theory of the Biographie Uni- verselle itself which identifies the May with the present St John. The mistake throws into confusion what in the origi­nal cannot be mistaken. It was on the river where he planted the Pillar that the name of May was conferred. Ribault,, in this Tract, referring to the several navigators who had visited America^ speaks of the “ very famous” Sebastian Cabot, “an excellent pilot, sent thither by King Henry VII., in the year 1498.” Hakluyt speaks of it as “ translated by one Thomas Hackit,” and.remarks, “The Treatise of John Ribault is a thing that hath been already printed, but not nowe to be had unless I had caused it to be printed againe.” The work, however, as originally published by Hackit, in London* in 1563, is in the Library of the British Museum (title in Cata­logue, Ribault). It is more excusable in the French Biogra­pher of Ribault, not to know of an important Memoir pre­pared by him, and which is found in the Lansdowne Manu­scripts, on the policy of preserving peace with England, and of delivering up to her certain ports of France. It was, doubtless, prepared under the eye of Coligny, and transmit­ted by him to show the views of his party; and has an inti­mate connexion with the history of France at that period.

Passing, however, at present, from various items of this curious volume, to which occasion will be taken hereafter to refer, there is to be noticed a passage of the deepest interest in reference to the subject of this memoir. Great surprise has been expressed that Cabot should have left no account of his voyages, as this circumstance has even been urged against him as a matter of reproach. “ Sebastian, with all his know-

ledge, and in the course of a long life, never committed to writing any narrative of the voyage to North America. The curious on the Continent, however, drew from him in conver­sation various particulars which gave a general idea,” &c. (Historical account of North America, &c., by Hugh Mur­ray, Esq., vol. i. p. 66.) Let us see how far the reproach on Cabot may be retorted on his country. In this work of 1582, after citing the patent granted by Henry VII. and the testimony of Ramusio, Hakluyt says:— ,

“ This much concerning Sebastian Cabote’s discoverie may Suffice for a present .taste, but shortly, God willing, shall come out in print ALL HIS OWN MAPPES ^nd DISCOURSES drawne and written by himselfe, which are in the custodie of the worshipful Master William Worthington, one of her Majesty’s Pensioners, who (because SO WORTHIE MONUMENTS should not be buried in perpetual oblivion) is very willing to suffer them to be overseene, and published in as good order as may be to the encouragement and benefite of our countrymen.”

It may be sufficient here to say of William Worthington, that he is joined with Sebastian Cabot, in the pension given by Philip and Mary, on the 29 May 1557 (Rymer, vol. xv* p. 466). The probable fate of the Maps and Discourses will be considered on reaching the painful part of Cabot’s personal history which belongs to this association.

CHAP. V.

COMPARATIVE AGENCY OF JOHN AND SEBASTIAN CABOT.

It has been seen, that by all the early writers, heretofore cited, who speak of the discoveries effected under the aus­pices of Henry VII., Sebastian Cabot is exclusively named. An inclination has, in consequence, sprung up at a more remote period to dwell on the circumstances which seem to indicate that injustice had been done to the father; and the alleged testimony of Robert Fabyan₉ the venerable annalist, is particularly relied on.

The feeling which prompts this effort to vindicate the pre­tensions of the father is entitled to respect; and certainly there can exist, at this late day, no other wish on the subject than to reach the truth. It is proposed, therefore, to look with this spirit into the various items of evidence which are supposed to establish the prevailing personal agency of John .Cabot. They may be ranked thus:

1.     The alleged statement of Robert Fabyan.

2.     The language of more recent writers as to the character of the father.

3.     The appearance of his name on the map cut by Clement Adams, and also in the patents.

As to the first, the authority usually referred to is found in Hakluyt (vol. 3. p. 9)—

^u A note of Sebastian Cabot’s first discoverie of part of the Indies taken out of the latter part of Robert Fabian’s Chronicle; not hitherto printed, which is in the custodie of M. John Stow, a diligent preserver of antiquities.”

“ In the 13 yeere of K. Henry the 7 (by means of one John Cabot, a Venetian, which made himselfe very expert and cunning in knowledge of the circuit of the world, and islands of the same, as by a sea card and other demonstrations rea­sonable he shewed), the kmer caused to man and victuall a ship at Bristow to search

for an island, which he said he knew well was rich, and replenished with great commodities: which sluppe thus manned and victualled at the King’s costs, divers marchants of London ventured in her email stocks, being in her, as chief patron, the said Venetian. And in the company of the said ship sailed, also, out of Bris­tow, three or foure small ships, fraught with sleight and grosse marchandizes, as course cloth, caps, laces, points, and other trifles, and so departed from Bristow in the beginning of May, of whom in tins Maior’s time returned no tidings.”

There is added, by Hakluyt, a note of three savages brought from the newly-discovered region, ^u mentioned by the foresaid, Robert Fabian.”

It may be remarked, in the first place, that the history of* this “ latter part of Robert Fabyan’s Chronicle,” well de­serves the attention of antiquaries. Both Stow, in his Annals, subsequently published, and after him, Speed (p. 744), and Purchas (vol. iii. p. 808), speak of the exhibition, in 1502, of savages brought from the Newfoundland, and cite Fabyan, as authority for what is not to be found in his work as we now have it.* Assuming, however, as we may safely do, that Stow was possessed of a manuscript which he had reason to believe the work of a contemporary, the question remains as to its precise language. The passage in Hakluyt would evi­dently appear to be not an exact transcript from such a work. The expression, “ of whom in this Mayor’s time returned no tidings,” is not in the manner of a Chronicler making a note of incidents as they occurred, but is very natural in a person looking over the materials in his possession for information on a particular point, and reporting to another the result of that examination. It is probable, therefore, that Hakluyt had asked Stow what light he could throw on the expeditions in the time of Henry VII., and that we have here the answer given to the inquiry. From what has already been seen, it may be conceived that Hakluyt would not hesitate to run his pen through whatever struck him as irreconcilable with the leading facts in his possession. The wealthy Prebendary would approach with no great reverence the labours of poor Stow, who having abandoned his business as a tailor, for the

*      See Appendix (A).

unrequited labours of an antiquary, was reduced to such dis­tress, that, through the royal munificence, a special license was granted to him to beg at the church doors. If, there­fore, Hakluyt found the son’s name introduced, he would not hesitate to make it give way to what he deemed the better evidence supplied by the record. Fortunately, however, we are not left to mere conjecture. In 1605 appeared Stow’s own “ Annals.” The simplicity and good faith of this writer are so well known, as well as his intense reverence for what­ever bore the stamp of antiquity, that we have no fear of his having committed what in his eyes would have been sacrilege, by changing one syllable of the original. Let it be remem­bered, then, that Hakluyt relies exclusively on what he ob­tained from Stow 5 and in reading the following passage from the Annals, we find what, doubtless, passed into Hakluyt’s hands before it was subjected to his perilous correction. It occurs at p. 804 of the edition of 1605, and at p. 483 of that of 1631. ^{< c} This year one Sebastian Gaboto, a Genoa's sonne borne in Bristol, professing himself to be expert in the know­ledge of the circuit of the world and islands of the same, as by his charts and other reasonable demonstrations he shewed, caused the king to man and victual a ship,” <fcc. The rest cor­responds with the passage in Hakluyt, but there is not added, “ of whom in this Mayor’s time,” &c.$ thus confirming the conjecture as to the meaning of those words in the memoran­dum given to Hakluyt. Under the year 1502 we find the passage as to the exhibition of the savages, beginning, “ This year were brought unto the king three men taken in the Newfoundland by Sebastian Gaboto, before named, in anno

1498.” As authority for this last fact, he cites Robert Fa- byan. Thus we have the best evidence that the contemporary writer, whoever he may have been, made not the slightest allusion to the father. Bacon, Speed, Thuanus, &c., all fur­nish the same statement.

The very phrase, “ a Genoa’s son,” employed to designate Sebastian Cabot, may be considered as the not unnatural mis­

take of a contemporary, referring as it does to the country of Columbus, with whose fame all Europe was ringing from side to side.   -

It happens that we can trace the progress of Hakluyt’s perversion. The communication from Stow first appears in the “ Divers Voyages to America,” &c. published in 1582. When given at that early period, as*derived from “Mr John Stow, citizen,” Hakluyt merely changes the words “ a Genoa’s son,” into “ a Venetian,^;” without giving any name. He had not then heard of the patent of February 3,1498, naming John Cabot exclusively, for the only document he quotes is the original patent of March 1496, in which both father and son are mentioned, and which describes the father as a Vene­tian. He struck out, therefore, only what he then knew to be incorrect. Subsequently, he received information of the second patent in favour of John Cabot, and in his enlarged work he not only furnishes a reference to that patent, but makes a further alteration of what he had received from Stow. Instead of “ a Venetian/’ as in 1582, when he had the memo­randum first before him, it becomes “ one John Cabot, a Ve­netian,” thus effecting, at the two stages of alteration, a com­plete change of what he had received, and yet for the state­ment as thus finally made, Fabian and Stow continue to be cited!

Hakluyt has, incautiously, suffered to lie about the evidence of his guilty deed, which should have been carefully buried. Thus there is retained the original title of the passage—“A note of Sebastian Cabot's first discovery of part of the Indies, taken out of the latter part of Robert Fabyan’s Chronicle, not hitherto printed, which is in the^vcustody of Mr John Stow, a diligent preserver of Antiquities.” Now it is highly proba­ble that all this, with the exception of the compliment, was the explanatory memorandum at the head of Stow’s commu­nication. It is incredible that Hakluyt himself should prefix it to a passage which does not contain the slightest allusion to Sebastian Cabot. Thus we see that in indicating to the

printer the alterations in the new edition, the pen of Hakluyt, busied with amendment at the critical point, has spared, inad­vertently, what betrays him by its incongruity with that which remains, and, like the titles of many acts of parliament, serves to show the successful struggle for amendment after the origi­nal draught.

As to the second paragraph, about the exhibition of the three savages, Hakluyt’s conduct has been equally unjusti­fiable, but an exposure of it belongs to a different part of the subject.

Thus it is established by the testimony of the contempo­rary Annalist, that it was on a young man—the son of the rich merchant from Italy—that the public eye was turned in refer­ence to the projected schemes of discovery.

The explanation that has been given furnishes at the same time an answer to the second ground adverted to in support of the father’s pretensions—the encomiums bestowed on him by respectable writers. Singular as it may appear, they have all arisen out of the misconception as to Fabyan’s mean­ing. Beyond this supposed allusion, there is not the slight- ent evidence that the father was a seaman, or had the least claim to nautical skill or the kindred sciences. We hear only of his going “ to dwell in England to follow the trade of mer­chandise.” Yet out of Hakluyt’s perversion, mark how each successive writer has delighted to draw the materials for eu­logy on this old gentleman.

“ Thus it appears, from the best authority that can be de­sired, that of a contemporary writer, this discovery was made by Sir John Cabot, the father of Sebastian.” (Campbell’s Lives of The Admirals.) “ Sir John Cabot was the original discoverer, of which honour he ought not to be despoiled, even by his son.” (Ib.) The same language is found in M’Pherson’s Annals of Commerce (vol. ii. p. 13. note), and in Chalmer’s Political Annals of The Colonies (p. 8, 9), though it happens, singularly enough, that in correcting the supposed error, this last writer not only mistakes the name of

the annalist (making him to be John Fabyan), but cites a work which does not contain the slightest allusion to these enterprises.    „

“He was, it seems, a man perfectly skilled in all the sci­ences requisite to form an accomplished seaman or a general trader!” (CampbelPs Lives of the Admirals.)

“ The father was a man of science, and had paid particular attention to the doctrine of the spheres. His studies, &c. He seems to have applied to Henry VII., who accordingly empowered^ him to sail,” &c. (vol. xviii. Kerr’s Voyages, p.' 353. Essay by W. Stevenson, Esq.).

“ John Caboto, a citizen of Venice, a skilful Pilot and in­trepid Navigator.” , (Barrow, p. 32.)

“ Henry VII., disappointed in his hopes of forming an en­gagement with Columbus, gladly extended his protection to the Venetian, John Gavotta or Cabot, whose reputation as a skilful pilot was little inferior to that of the celebrated Geno­ese.” (Dr Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopaedia, Maritime and In­land Discovery, vol. ii. p. 136.)

We come now to the assertion, that on the map “hung up in the Queen’s Privy Gallery,” the discoveries indicated, are referred to the joint agency of the father and son. And here, the first consideration is, of course, as to the evidence that such a representation was made.

The map itself has disappeared, and we approach the state­ment of Hakluyt with a conviction that he would not hesitate, for a moment, to interpolate the name of John Cabot, if he thought that, thereby, was secured a better correspondence with the language of the original patent. No additional con­fidence is derived from Purchas, who copies all Hakluyt’s perversions, and even repeats the citation of Fabyan, as found in Hakluyt’s last work, though Stow’s Annals had interme­diately appeared, and the discrepance between Hakluyt’s first and last work ought to have put him on his guard.

Sir Humphrey Gilbert makes not the slightest allusion to the father.

^u Furthermore, Sebastian Caboto, by his personal expe­rience and travel, hath set forth and described this passage in his charts, which are yet to be seen in the Queen Majesty’s Privy Gallery at Whitehall, who was sent to make this dis­covery by king Henry VII,”

It would certainly require less audacity to associate here the name of the father, as it is found in the patent, than to do that of which Hakluyt has already been convicted, Ri­chard Willes, who, in the treatise already cited, and which is given in Hakluyt, addresses Lady Warwick ⁶⁶ from the court,” and speaks familiarly of Sebastian Cabot’s map, makes no allusion to the father.

There is a treatise on “ Western planting” copied into Hakluyt (vol. iii. p. 165), as ⁶⁶ written by Sir George Peck- ham, Knt., the chief adventurer and furtherer of Sir Hum­phrey Gilbert’s voyage 5” in which, speaking of the English title to America, he says (p. 173), “In the time of the Queen’s grandfather of worthy memory, king Henry VII., Letters Patent were, by his Majesty, granted to John Cabota, an Italian, to Lewis, Sebastian, and Sancius, his three sons, to discover remote, barbarous and heathen countries 5 which dis­covery was afterwards executed to the use of the Crown of England, in the said king’s time, by Sebastian and Sancius_f his sons, who were born here in England.” Thus, with a full knowledge of the introduction of the name of the father and the eldest brother into the Patent, Sir George seems to negative the idea that they took any part in the execution of the enterprise. Yet it must be admitted that this piece of evidence, strong as it seems, is weakened by noticing the statements coupled with it. - He continues (p. 173), “ In true testimony whereof, there is a fair haven in Newfound­land, knowen and called unto this day by the name of Sancius Haven, which proveth that they first discovered upon that coast, from the height of 63 unto the cape of Florida, as ap­peared! in the Decades.” The reference here is to the De­cades of Peter Martyr, which certainly do not bear out the conclusion. The writer probably determined the question of

latitude by observing that Cabot, according to Willes, fixed the mouth of the Strait between 61° and 64°; and as to the Haven, the allusion js probably to Placentia Bay, or as it is written on the old maps of Newfoundland, Plasancius, a tide which, as found in the mouths of seamen, might readily sug­gest to the ear the name of the youngest patentee.

There is one account that mentions John Cabot, but it was written subsequently to the publication, by Hakluyt, in 1582, of the patent containing the father’s name, which would, of itself, suggest the association. It is the narrative, by Haies, of the Expedition of 1583 (see Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 144)^ which we cite on the possibility that it may do no more than an act of justice, and because it serves to show how uniformly the claims of England in America have been rested oil the discoveries in the time of Henry VII.

“ The first discovery of these coasts (never heard of before), was well begun by John Cabot the father, and Sebastian his son, an Englishman bom, See. all which they brought and annexed unto the crown of England.” “ For not long after that Christopher Columbus had discovered the Islands and Continent of the West Indies for Spain, John and Sebastian Cabot made discovery also of the rest from Florida Northwards, to the behoof of England.” “ The French did but re­view that before discovered by the English Nation, usurping upon our right.” “ Then seeing the English nation only hath right unto these countries of America, from the Cape of Florida Northward, by the privilege of first discoveiy, unto which Cabot was authorised by regal authority, and set forth by the expense of our late famous King Henry VII., which right, also, seemeth strongly defended on our be­half by the bountiful hand of Almighty God, notwithstanding the enterprises of other nations, it may greatly encourage us upon so just ground as is our right,” &c.

The fact that the father is named in the Patent does not furnish conclusive evidence that he embarked in either of the expeditions. The original grant conveys to him and his three sons, “ and to the heirs of them and their Deputiesfull power to proceed in search of regions before unknown, and the exclu­sive privilege of trading. Now it has never been supposed that all the sons engaged in the voyage, and yet the presump­tion is just as strong with regard to each of them as to the father, and even more so if we look to the appropriate sea­son of life for perilous adventure. The truth seems to be this:—as it is probable that all the means of the family were

embarked in this enterprise, it was no unnatural precaution that the patent should be coextensive in its provisions. It created them a trading corporation with certain privileges, and it might as well be contended, for a similar reason, that the Marquis of Winchester, the Earl of Arundel, and the other patentees of the Muscovy Company (1 Hakluyt, p. 268) actually sailed in the north-eastern voyages. The second patent is to the father alone. If we seek a reason for this de­parture from the original arrangement, it may be conjectured that some of the sons chose to give a different direction to a parental advance and their personal exertions, and that the head of the family thought lit to retain, subject to his own discretionary disposal, the proposed investment of his remain­ing capital* It is said* that one of the sons settled at Ve­nice, and the other at Genoa. The recital of the discovery by the Father would, of course, be stated, under the circum­stances, as the consideration of the second patent in his favour.

Another reason for the introduction of the father’s name, concurrently at first with his son’s, and afterwards exclu­sively, may perhaps be found in the very character of the King, whose own pecuniary interests were involved in the result. He might be anxious thus to secure the responsibility of the wealthy Venetian for the faithful execution of the terms of the patent, and finally think it better to have him solely named, rather than commit powers, on their face assignable, to young men who had no stake in the country, and who were not likely to make it even a fixed place of residence.

On the whole, there may at least be a doubt whether the father really accompanied the expedition. Unquestionably, the great argument derived from the pretended language of a contemporary annalist is not only withdrawn, but thrown into the opposite scale.

Supposing, however, John Cabot to have been on board,

*      Campbell’s Lives of the Admirals, vol. i.'p. 310, on the authority of MS. re­marks on Hakluyt.

G            i

we must, in inquiring what were his functions, carefully put aside the thousand absurdities which have Jiad their origin in misconception as to the person intended by Fabyan; and re­member, that we have not a tittle of evidence as to his cha­racter or past pursuits, except, as has been remarked, that he came to London “ to follow the trade of merchandise.” All that is said about his knowledge of the sphere—his perfect acquaintance with the sciences, &c., is merely an amplifica­tion of the remarks of Fabyan, as to Sebastian Cabot. If, then, he went at all, it was in all probability merely for the purpose of turning to account his mercantile skill and saga­city in the projected traffic which formed one of the objects of the expedition. There is nothing to control, in the slight­est degree, the idea which presses on us from so many quar­ters, that the project had its origin with the son, and that its great object was to verify his simple, but bold proposition- that by pushing to the north a shorter route might be opened to the treasures of Cataya.

. If the youth of Sebastian Cabot be objected to, as render­ing his employment by Henry improbable, we must remem­ber that the project was suggested to the English monarch at a period peculiarly auspicious to its reception. He had just missed the opportunity of employing Columbus, and with it the treasures of the New World. Instead of cold and cheer­less distrust, there was a reaction in the public mind, with a sanguine flow of confidence towards novel speculations and daring enterprises. When, therefore, one-fifth of the clear gain was secured to the king, by the engagement of the wealthy Venetian, Henry yielded a ready ear to the bold theory and sanguine promises of the accomplished and enthusiastic young navigator.

CHAP. VI. ,

FIRST POINT SEEN BY CABOT—NOT NEWFOUNDLAND.

The part of America first seen and named by Cabot, is gene­rally considered to have been the present Newfoundland. This, however, will be far from clear if we look closely into the subject.

The evidence usually referred to as establishing the fact consists of an “ extract taken out of the map of Sebastian Cabot, cut by Clement Adams,” quoted by Hakluyt and Pur- chas.

This would seem to have been a broad sheet, on which an attempt was made to exhibit the substance of Cabot’s state­ment as to the country he had discovered. From the stress laid by Hakluyt and Purchas upon the Extract, hung up in the privy gallery at Whitehall,* we may infer that they had never seen the original map. It would seem to have been executed after Cabot’s death, and without any communication with him, for it offers conjectures as to his reasons for giving names to particular places which probably would not have been hazarded with the means so readily at hand, during his life, of attaining certainty on such points. The explanation was in Latin, and is thus given by Hakluyt, with a translation (vol. iii. p. 6)—

Anno Domini 1497, Joannes Cabotus Venetus, et Sebastianus illius filiuff earn terrain fecerunt perviam, quam nullus prius adire ausus fuit, die 24 Junii, circiter horam quintam bene mane. Hanc autem appellavit Terram primum visam, credo quod ex mari in earn partem primum oculos injecerat. Namque ex ad- verso sita est insula, earn appellavit insulam Divi Joannis, hac opinor ratione,

•      The disappearance of this curious document may probably be referred, either to the sales which took place after the death of Charles I., or to the fire in the reign of William III.

r

quod apertafuit eo qui die est sacer Diuo Joanni Baptistae: Hujus incol® pelles animalium exuviasque ferarum pro indumentis habent, easque tanti faciunt, quanti nos vestes preciosissimas. Cum bellum gerunt, utuntur arcu, sagittas, hastis, spiculis, clavis ligneis et fundis. Tellus sterilis est, neque ullos fructus affert, ex quo fit, ut ursus albo colore, et cervis inusitatx apud nos magnitudinis refjerta sit: piscibus abundat, iisque sane magnis, quales sunt lupi marini et quos salmones vulgus appellat; sole* autem reperiuntur tam longac, ut ulnae mensuram excedant. Imprimis autem magna est copia corum piscium, quos vulgari sermone vocant Bacallaos. Gignuntur in ea insula accipitres ita nigri, ut corvorum simi- litudinem mirum in modum exprimant, perdices autem et aquilac sunt nigri coloris.”

The same in English.

“ In the year of our Lord 1497, John Cabot, a Venetian, and his sonne Sebas­tian (with an English fleet set out from Bristoll), discovered that land which no man'before that time had attempted, on the 24th of June, about five of the clocke early in the morning. This land he called Prima vista, that is to say, first seene; because, as I suppose, it was that part whereof they had the first sight from sea. That island^ which lieth out before the land he called the Island of St John upon this occasion, as I thinke, because it was discovered upon the day of John the Baptist. The inhabitants of this island use to weare beasts* skinnes, and have them in as great estimation as we have our finest garments. In their warres they use bowes, arrowes, pikes, darts, woodden clubs, and slings. The soil is barren in some places, and yeeldeth little fruit, but it is full of white bears, and stagges far greater than ours. It yeeldeth plenty of fish, and those very great as seales, and those which we commonly call salmons; there are soles, also, above a yard in length, but especially there is great abundance of that kind of fish which the savages call baccalaos. In the same island also there breed hauks, but they are so black that they are very like to ravens, as also their partridges and eagles, which are in like sort blacke.”

As usual, it is necessary here, in the first place, to notice the passages in which Hakluyt has acted unfaithfully to the text. He was under an impression that Cabot first visited Newfoundland, and in this same volume that region is spoken of in very flattering terms, and its colonization earnestly re­commended. At p. 153, we hear of Newfoundland—“ There is nothing which our East and Northerly countries of Europe do yield, but the like also may be made in them as plentifully by time and industry, namely, rosin, flax, hemp, corn, and many more, all which the countries will afford, and the soil is apt to yield“ The soil along the coast is not deep of earth, bringing forth abundantly peason, small, yet good feeding for cattle. Roses, passing sweet,” &c. Ip the letter of Parme- nius from Newfoundland (p. 162), the passage beginning

“But what shall I say, my good Hakluyt,” &c., conveys a similar representation.

Mark now the liberties taken by Hakluyt. Cabot, in the Extract, is made to say, that the country called “ Terra pri- mum visa” was absolutely sterile—“ tellus sterilis est.” This Hakluyt renders “ the soil is barren in some places/” and when Cabot says, “neque utlos fructus affert,” the translator has it, “and yieldeth little fruit;” thus perverting, without hesitation, the original, which is yet audaciously placed be­neath our eyes!

While on the subject of these efforts to obscure a document so little satisfactory in itself, reference may be made to ano­ther, of a date subsequent to the time of Hakluyt, but which has had an extensive influence on modern accounts. The country discovered is designated in the Latin, as “ Terra pri- mum visa,” and distinguished from the “Insula” or Island of St John, standing opposite to it. Hakluyt preserves the distinction, but in the well known book of Captain Luke Foxe, who professes to transfer to his pages the several testimonials on the subject of Cabot’s discoveries so as to present them to his readers in a cheap form, the passage is thus put (p. 15)—

“ In the year of grace 1497, John Cabot, a Venetian, and Sebastian his son, with an English fleet from Bristol, discov­ered that Island, which before that time no man,” &c. With a view to economy of space, Foxe omits to copy Hakluyt’s statement, that the “ Extract” spoken of was hung up in the Queen’s Privy Gallery,” and from this omission a hasty reader is led to infer that he speaks of a map in his own possession. Here wap a fine trap for those who came after him ; and the following passage from M’Pherson’s Annals of Commerce (vol. ii. p. 13, note), may show how successful it proved. ⁽⁽Foxe quotes the following inscription engraven near Newfoundland, in a map, published by Sebastian, the son of John Cabot—⁶ A.D. 1497, John Cabot, a Venetian, and Sebastian, his son, with an English fleet, set sail from Bristol, discovered that Island, which before that time no man had

attempted.’ ” Thus we have—Foxe in possession of Ca­bot’s map—on that map,. “ Newfoundland” marked—and, on the map, published by Sebastian Cabot, an inscription near Newfoundland, to the purport mentioned. It will be asked, with surprise, whether Foxe, culpable as he is, affords no greater countenance to M’Pherson. Positively not. So far from pretending to have any original documents, he says expressly, in his address to the reader, “ It will be objected that many of these abstracts are taken out of other books, and that those are the voyages of other men. I an­swer, it is true that most of them are, for what are all those of Mr Hakluyt and Mr Purchas, but the collections and pre­servations of other mens’ labours,” &c. “I have abstracted those works of my predecessors, yeti have interlaced my own experience!” &c. Chalmers adopts, like M’Pherson, the perversion of Foxe.

We are bound, therefore, to look closely to the original language of this document, which is itself, unfortunately, a mere abstract; and in endeavouring to ascertain the country intended, we naturally pause on the very expressions which have been perverted, in order to accommodate them to the modern hypothesis. The unqualified language as to the ster­ility of the region, is certainly more applicable to Labrador than Newfoundland, and the distinction taken between the ⁴ⁱ Terra” and the “ Insula,” is calculated to strengthen the presumption that the former was intended.  .

As to the Animals of this “ Terra primum visa,” we are told, it is “full of white bears, and deer larger than ours”— (“ ursis albo colore et cervis inusitatse apud nos magnitudinis referta”). Now the haunts of the white bear are on the coast of Labrador, and they do not come so far South as New­foundland in numbers to warrant such a description. The account, too, given by Peter Martyr, of the manner in which these bears catch the fish, which is their favourite food, strik­ingly recalls the lively description of similar scenes by Mr Cartwright, in his “Journal* during a residence of nearly

sixteen years on the coast of Labrador.” It is remarkable, that most English writers have been rather reluctant to copy Cabot’s representation on this point, supposing it inapplicable to Newfoundland, where, though white bears may be occa­sionally seen, they are not “ native here and to the manner born.”

The introduction of an Island, “St John,” into the ⁶⁶Ex­tract,” has contributed to mislead, the reader naturally refer­ring it to the one of that name in the Gulf of St Lawrence. If we recollect, however, that the Terra primum visa was dis­covered on the 24th June, and the island on the same day (St John’s day), it will seem improbable that Cabot, on the very day of discovery, could have penetrated so far. The de­scription, also, is inapplicable, “qua> ex adverso sita est In­sula”—^u that island which lieth out before the land.” We must remark, further, that the present St John was so named by Cartier, in 1534 (3 Hakluyt, p. 204), he having been employed from the 10th May, when he reached Newfound­land, to 24th June, in making a circuit of the Gulf which he entered through the strait of Belle Isle. But the most im­portant, and conclusive piece of testimony, is furnished by Ortelius, who had the map of Cabot before him, and who places an island of St John in the latitude of 56° immediately on the coast of Labrador. This is, doubtless, the one so de­signated by Cabot.

Thus, without calling to our aid the terms of the second patent to Cabot, which recites the discovery of a land and islands on the first voyage, we reach the conclusion, that the main discovery—the “ Terra/” as distinguished from the ^ei Insula”—could not have been the present island of New­foundland.

There is little difficulty in tracing the history of this epithet. The whole of the northern region is designated, on the old maps, as Terra Nova, or New Land, and it has the appellation of “Newland,” in the statute 33 Henry VIII. cap. ii.*

Ruffhead’s Statutes at large, vol. ii. p. 304.

Robert Throne of Bristol, in 1527, speaking (Hakluyt, vol.

i.      p. 214) of the North-West passage, says, “ and if they will take this course after they be past the Pole towards the West, they should go in the back of the Newfoundland which of late was discovered by your Grace’s subjects, until they come to the back side and South Seas of the Indies Occidental;” and again (p. 219), “if between our Newfoundlands, or Norway, or Island, the seas toward the North be navigable, we should go to these Islands a shorter way by more than 2(300 leagues.” On the same page, he mentions the circumstance of his father having been one of the “ discoverers of Newfoundland ;”~at p. 216, refers to “the land that we found, which is called here (in Spain) Terra de Labrador,”—and in another part of the same document speaks of “ the Newfound island that we discovered.”

The term, then, was employed, in the first instance, as a designation of all the English discoveries in the North. That it should afterwards settle down upon an inconsiderable por­tion, and come to be familiarly so applied, will not appear surprising if we recollect, that for almost a century the whole region was known only as a fishing station, and regarded as an appendage to the Grand Bank, and that the island was used, exclusively, in connexion with such pursuits. When long established, these designations are beyond the reach of con­siderations of taste or propriety. Thus, the term West indies, once covering the whole of America, is now limited to groups of islands on its eastern side, even after a Continent and the Pacific Ocean are known to be interposed between them and that India in a supposed connexion with which the name had its origin. Parks and Squares may be laid out and named at will, but the familiar appellation of a thronged place of business will not yield even to an Act of Parliament $ “ ex- pellas furca tamen usque recurret.”

CHAP. VII.

CABOT DID NOT CONFER THE NAME ^tC PRIMA VISTA.”

The question as to the name Prima Vista stands apart from that which has just been dismissed, and is in itself sufficiently curious.

It is to be remembered, that the description, in Latin, is not only the highest but the only authority on the subject, and that Hakluyt had no better materials for conjecture than we now possess. From this document we gather that John and Sebastian Cabot,

“ Earn terrain fecerunt perviam qiiam nullus prius adire ausus fuit die 24 Junii circiter horam quintam bene mane, Hanc autem appellant Terram primum visam credo quod ex man in earn partem primum oculos injecerat.”

A passage thus translated by Hakluyt—

“ They discovered that land which ho man before that time had attempted, on the 24th June, about five of the clock, early in the morning. This land he called P.rima Vista, that is to say, first seen, because as I suppose it was that part whereof they had the first sight from sea.”

It is plain, that the original map could have furnished no clue to the motive for cohferring the appellation, because the suggestion of the person who prepared the “ Extract,” is offered, confessedly, as a conjecture. We know only that there was something on the map which led him to consider the region as designated, “ Terra primum visa.” This bare statement will show how utterly gratuitous is Hakluyt’s as­sumption, that the name given was Prima Vista; for it is obviously impossible to determine, whether it was in Latin, Italian, or English.

If the name Prima Vista, or Terra primum Visa, or First Sight, was conferred, why is nothing said of it in the various conversations of Sebastian Cabot? We hear continually of H

BaccalaoSy and find that name on all the old maps, but not a word of the other, which yet is represented as the designa­tion applied to the more important item of discovery—to the “ terra,” as distinguished from the ^u insula.”

The origin of the misconception is suspected to have been this: The Map of the New World which accompanies the copy of Hakluyt’s work, in the King’s Library, has the fol­lowing inscription on the present Labrador, “ This land was discovered by John et Sebastian Cabote, for Kinge Henry VH., 1497.” Now, the ^uExtract” which we are consider­ing, says, that John and Sebastian Cabot first discovered the land “which no man before that time had attempted” (“ quam nullus prius adire ausus fuit”). These expressions are, of course, intended to convey an assertion found on the original map, of which it professes to give an abstract—an assertion equivalent, doubtless, to the language quoted from the map in Hakluyt. How would such an inscription run? Probably, thus: “ Terra primum visa Joanne Caboto et Sebastiano illius filio die, 24 Junio, 1497, circiter horam quintam bene mane.” To us who have just been called on to expose the absurd mistakes committed by men of the highest reputation for learning and sagacity, is it incredible, that the artist who prepared the broad sheet,, should have hastily supposed the initial words to be intended as a designation of the country discovered—particularly, when in the Law, we have to seek at every turn a similar explanation of such titles, as Scire- facias, Mandamus, Quo Warranto, &c. &c.?

Such a designation might even have got into use without necessarily involving misconception. There is a tendency, in the absence of a convenient epithet, to seize, even absurdly, on the leading words of a description, particularly when couched in a foreign language. Thus the earliest collection of voyages to the Netv World is entitled, “Paesi novamente retro vati et Novo Mondo da Alberico Yespucio Florentine intitulato.” It is usually quoted as the “ Paesi novamente retrovati,” and a bookseller, therefore, whefo asked for ^u Land

lately discovered,” exhibits a thin quarto volume, published at Vicenza, in 1507. The same is the case with the “ Novus Orbis,” the “Fcedera,” &c.

Another consideration may be mentioned. The island which “ stands out from the land” was discovered on the 24th June, and named from that circumstance. One would suppose this to have been first encountered; and if so, the designation of “ First Sight,” would hardly be given to a point subse­quently seen on the same day. Not only were the chances in its favour from its position, but we cannot presume that Cabot would have quitted immediately his main discovery, had that been first recognized, and stood out to sea to examine a small island, or that he would have dedicated to the Saint the inferior, and later, discovery of the day.

We repeat, all that is known on the subject is the appear­ance of the three Latin words in question on the original map. The rest is mere conjecture; first, of the artist, as to the meaning of the words, and then, of Hakluyt, yet wilder, that “ Terra primum visa,” must have been a translation of some­thing in Italian. This solution explains why there is no reference to any such title in the conversations of Cabot, or in Ortelius wholiad the map of that navigator before him.

It is not improbable, that Hakluyt was assisted to his con­clusion by the prominence given on the early maps of New­foundland to a name conferred by the Portuguese. Though he has not put into words the reflection which silently passed through his mind, it becomes perceptible in others who have adopted his hypothesis. Thus, for example, we recognise its vague influence on Forster (p. 267), who supposes “that Sebastian Cabot had the first sight of Newfoundland off Cape Bonavista.”

The subject seems, indeed, on every side, the sport of rash and even puerile conceits. Dr Robertson tells us (Hist, of America, book ix.), “ after sailing for some weeks due West, and nearly on the parallel of the port from which he took his departure, he discovered a large Island, which he called

Prima Vista, and his sailors, Newfoundland !—and in a few days, he descried a smaller Isle, to which he gave the name of St John.” Thus, is presented, gratuitously, to the im­agination, a sort of contest about names, between the com­mander of the expedition and the plain-spoken Englishmen under his command.

CHAP. VIII.    ,

RICHARD EDEN*S ^u DECADES OF THE NEW WORLD”—CABOT’S STATEMENT AS TO THE PLACE OF HIS BIRTH.

As reference has already been made, more than once, to the volume of Eden, and there will be occasion to draw further on its statements, a few remarks may not be^out of place as to the claims which that rare and curious work presents to credit and respect. In selecting from the various tributes to its merits, that of Hakluyt, it is difficult to forbear a somewhat trite reflection on the fortuitous circumstances which influence the fate of books, as frequently as they are arbiters of fame and success in the pursuits of active life. » Eden has, in our view, far stronger claims to consideration as an author, and to the grateful recollection of his countrymen, than the writer whose testimony it is proposed to adduce in his favour. fHeJ preceded the other half-a-century, and was, indeed, the first Englishman who undertook to present, in a collective form^ the astonishing results of that spirit of maritime enterprise which had been everywhere awakened by the discovery of America. Nor was he a mere compiler. We are indebted to him for several original voyages of great curiosity and value. He is not exempt, as has been seen, from error, but in point of learning, accuracy, and integrity, is certainly superior to Hakluyt; yet it is undoubted, that while the name of the former, like that of Vespucci, has become indelibly associated with the new World, his predecessor is very little known. Hakluyt has contrived to transfer, adroitly, to his volumes, the labours of others, and to give to them an aspect artfully attractive to those for whom they, were intended. The very title—“ Navigation, Voyages, Traffiques and Dis-

coveries of the English Nation,” is alluring, however inap­propriate to the contents such an exclusive designation may be found; and as the size and typographical execution of the work conspire to render the enterprise a very creditable one, for the early era of its appearance, the national complacency has rallied round it as a trophy, with a sort of enthusiasm. “ It redounds,” says Oldys, as much to the glory of the English nation as any book that ever was published in it j” and Dr Dibdin, in the passage of his Library Companion, begin­ning, “All hail to thee, Richard Hakluyt!’’ employs, in his way, a still higher strain of panegyric. For a decayed gen­tleman, then, like Eden, it may not be wise to slight a pat­ronising glance of recognition from one who stands so pros­perously in the world’s favour.

To establish him, therefore, in the high confidence of most readers, it will be sufficient to find Hakluyt (vol. iii. p. 498) quoting a passage from «that learned and painefull writer, Richard Eden $” and again (vol. i. p. 242) adverting to the sanction which Eden gives to the account of Chancellors voy­age* In the second volume (part ii. p. 10) other passages &re copied from Eden’s work. The extract from Peter Martyr d’Angleria, relative to Sebastian Cabot, given in the third volume (p. 8), is taken, without acknowledgement, from Eden’s Translation (fol. 118, 119). As to the ^(£ Discourse” relative to the same navigator, given in Hakluyt (vol. iii. p. 6), he takes from Eden (fol. 255), every thing but the erroneous reference to the second volume of Ramusio, which is a blun­der of his own, into which also he has led his copyist Pur- chas. The voyages to Guinea, found in Eden (fol. 343), are original, and were drawn up, as he says, “ that sum memorie thereof might remayne to our posteritie, if eyther iniquitie of tyme, consumynge all things, or ignorance creepynge in by barbarousnesse, andcontempte of knowledge, should hereafter bury in oblivion so woorthy attemptes.” Hakluyt, in making the transfer to his work (vol. ii. part ii. p. 9), retains the introductory expressions, without the slightest acknowledge**

ment, so that our gratitude is directed to him, for having pre­served an account of these voyages, and for the patriotic zeal which prompted the undertaking. This is the more calcu­lated to mislead, as, immediately after these voyages, credit is given to Eden (p. 10), for a description of Africa; and the reader, noting a temper apparently so fair and candid, at once pronounces original whatever is not expressly referred to others. There is a voyage in Hakluyt (vol. ii. part ii. p. 14), designated at the head of the page, as that of ^u M. John Lok,” and the writer says, “ my chief intent hath been to show the course of the same, according to the obseryation and ordinary custom of the Mariners; and as I received it at the hands of an expert Pilot, being one of the chief in this voyage.” No one, unacquainted with Eden, would suppose, that this is copied, verbatim, from his volume (fol. 349). So, in refer­ence to the unfortunate Portuguese, Pinteado, who sailed from Portsmouth, when we find in Hakluyt (vol. ii. part ii. p. 14), “all these aforesaid writings I saw under seal in the house of my friend, Nicholas Liete, with whom Pinteado left them,” there is no irftimation that he is merely repeating the language of Eden (fol. 349). Again, in Eden (fol. 357), is a curious account, which Chancellor gave him, of a waterspout, by which Cabot had been placed in imminent peril. This also is found in Hakluyt (vol. ii. part ii. p. 21), without ac­knowledgement, and wears there the appearance of a direct communication to himself.

Somewhat less than one-half of Eden’s work is occupied with an English version of Peter Martyr. Then come trans­lations from the most rare and curious accounts of voyages and travels, Oviedo, Gomara, Ramusio, Pigafeta, Americus Yes- putius, Munster, Bastaldus, Ziglerus, Cardanus,Paulus Jovius, Sigismondus Liberus, Vannuccius Biringuczius. Amongst the articles most worthy of attention, may be mentioned those on metals and the working of mines in ancient and modern times (fol. 326 to 342), on the prices of precious stones and spices, and the trade in spices (fol. 233, 244), on Russia

(fol. 249 to 263), and on the manners and customs of the Tar­tars (fol. 299, &c.).

The circumstances which first inspired the author with a resolution to prepare the work, are told with much simplicity. He was a spectator of the public entry into London of Philip and Mary. As the splendid pageant swept by, in all its pomp, pride, and circumstance, amidst the tumultuous accla­mations of the populace, the array of functionaries civil and military, and the deafening bursts of martial music, he de­scribes himself as almost lifted out of self-command by the excitement of the scene, and at the crisis when the royal pair actually passed near him as ready to break out into some wild sally of enthusiasm. Restrained, happily, from this piece of indiscretion, he resolved to set about some work which he might, in due season, exhibit as the offspring of his teeming loyalty, and humbly crave for it the royal blessing.*

Of the 'success of the work, on its appearance, we know nothing; but it seems to have struggled with many difficul­ties in its progress to the light, and of these not the least mortifying to Eden must have been the disheartening timidity of his publishers. It were injustice not to render a passing tribute of gratitude to the liberality of one of them,⁶⁶ Mas­ter Toy,” without, however, attempting to lift the veil which a gentle and generous temper has thrown over the infirmity of his associates. Eden’s pecuniary disinterestedness, his earnest hope that his labours might be useful to others, and

•      “Cum ‘in primovestro ingressu in hanc celeberriman Londini urbem (illus- trissimi Principes) cernerem quanto omnium applausu, populi concursu, ac civium frequentia, quanto insuper spectaculorum nitore, nobilium virorum splendore, equorum multitudine, tubarum clangore, cceterisque magnificis pompis ac tri- umphis, pro dignitate vestra accepti estis dum omnes quod sui est officii facere satagebant, ubi in tanta hominum turba vix unus reperitatur qui non aliquid agendo adventum vestrum gratulabatur, coepi et ego quoque aliorum exemplo (proprius prsesertim ad me accedentibus Celsitudinibus vestris) tanto animi ardore ad ali­quid agendum accendi ne solus in tanta hominum corona otiosus vrderer quod vix me continebam quin in aliquam extemporariam orationem temere erupuissem, nisi et prasentix vestrac majestas et mea me obscuritas a tam audaci facinore deteruissent. Verum curb postea penitius de hac re mecum cogitassem, &c

nis honest anxiety for merited reputation, serve to heighten our indignation at the manner in. which he has been unde­servedly supplanted and thrust from the public view.

“ The partners at whose charge this booke is prynted, although the coppy, whereof they have wrought a long space have cost them nought, doo not, neverthe­less, cease, dayly, to caule uppon me to make an end and proceede no further; affirmynge that the booke will bee of so great a pryce, and hot every man’s mo­ney 5 fearying rather theyr losse and.hynderance than carefull to be beneficial to other, as is now in manner the trade of all men, which ordinarie respecte of pri­vate commoditie hath at thys time so lytUe moved me, I take.God'to witness that for my paynes and travayles taken herein, such as they bee, I may uppon just occasion thynke myself a looser manye wayes, except such men of good inclination as shall take pleas tire and feele sum commoditie in the knowledge of these thinges shall thynke me woorthy theyr goode worde, wherewith I shall repute myselfe and my travayles» so abundantly satisfyed, that I shall repute other men’s gains a recom­pense for my losses” (fol. 303). Again, “arid to have sayde thus much of these vyages it may suffice; for (as I have sayd before),.wheras the partners at whose charges thys booke is prynted, wolde long since have me proceaded no further, I had not thought to have wrytten any thynge of these viages [to Guinea], but that the liberalitie of Master Toy encouraged me to attempt the same, whiche I speake not to the reproache of other in. whom I thynke there lacked no good wyli, but that they thought the booke would be too chargeable” (fol. 360).

Compare the modest and ingenuous language of this excel­lent personage with that of the well-fed apd boastful Hakluyt, who, in the dedication of his translation of Galvano to Sir Robert Cecil, says, “And for ought I can see, there had no great matter yet come to light if Myselfe had not undertaken that heavie burden, being never therein entertained to any purpose, until I had recourse unto yourself, of whose spe­cial favour and bountiful patronage I have been often much encouraged, &c. <fec.”

But the work is rendered yet more precious by information scattered through it, derived from the great seamen of that day with whom the author’s turn of mind led him to associate. Sebastian Cabot he seems to have known familiarly, and one chapter (fol. 249) has, for part of its title, “ lykewyse of the vyages of that woorthy owlde man Sebastian Cabote, yet livynge in England, and at this present the governor of the Company of the Marchantes of Cathay, in the citie of Lon­don.”

In one of his marginal notes (fol. 268) he gives us Cabot’s statement to him, that the icebergs were of fresh, and not of salt water; and again in the marginal note (fol. 255), we have what Cabot said as to the quantity of grain raised by him in the La Plata, corrected afterwards at fol. 317i Speaking of the voyage to the North-East projected by Cabot, in which Richard Chancellor, as pilot major, accompanied Sir 'Hugh Willoughby, and succeeded, after the death of his gallant but unfortunate commander, in opening the trade to Russia, Eden says (fol. 256), “And whereas I have before made mention ho we Moscovia was in our time discovered by Richard Chan­cellor, in his viage toward Cathay, by the direction and in­formation of the say de master Sebastian, who longe before had this secreate in his mynde, I shall notneede here, &c.” The account of Cabot’s escape from the waterspout (fol. 357) has been already adverted to.

We may note here, that Forster, in his “ Voyage and Dis­coveries in the North” (p. 269),' gravely considers, and almost sanctions, a doubt of the French writer Bergeron whether the Sebastian Cabot so conspicuous in the reign of Edward

VI.   could have been the same who discovered the continent of America. It* may serve to show the very slight prepara­tion with which many works of reputation on these subjects have been got up, that in the course of the argument no re­ference is made to Eden, who conveys from the lips of the “good owlde man” himself, interesting particulars of his earlier voyages! So, also, in a more recent work,* the fol­lowing expressions are found (p. 361), “ We must now return to the period of the first attempt to find out a North-East passage to India. A society of merchants had been formed in London for this purpose. Sebastian Cabot, either the son or the grandson of John Cabot, and who held the situation of grand pilot of England, under Edward VI., was chosen governor of this society!”

*      Historical Sketch of the Progress of Discovery, Navigation, and Commerce from the earliest records to the beginning of the nineteenth century. By William Stevenson, Esq., forming vol. xviii. of Kerr’s Collection of Voyages, &c.

Another of Eden’s personal friends seems to have been Richard Chancellor. At fol. 284, we find that celebrated mariner giving an account of the ingenuity of the Russians in the construction of their buildings; and at fol. 298, a further account of that people. He tells Eden (ib.) of an ambassador whom he saw there from the “ province of Sibier,” who gave him some curious information about the “ Great Chan.” He met also with the Ambassador of the Kinge of Persia, called the Great Sophie/’ who was not only civil, but very useful to him.

But it is time to turn to the mor,e immediate object of this chapter—the birth-place of Cabot.

In order to comprehend the full value of the information supplied by Eden, it may be well to show, in the first place, how the matter has been treated by others.

^a Sebastian Cabote is, by many of our writers, affirmed to be an Englishman, born at Bristol, but the Italians as posi­tively claim him for their countryman, and say he was born at Venice, which, to speak impartially, I believe to be the truth, for he says himself that when his father was invited over to England, he brought him with him, though he was then very young” (Harris’s Collection of Voyages, vol. ii. p. 191). These expressions are copied, verbatim, by Pinker­ton (Collection of Voyages and Travels, vol. xii. p. 160). In the history of Navigation, prefixed to Churchill’s Collec­tion of Voyages (vol. i. p. 39), said to have been drawn up by Locke, and found in his works (vol. x. Lond. ed. of 1823, p. 428), reference is made to “ Sebastian Cabot, a Venetian, but residing in England.” Purchas says of him (vol. iii. Pil­grims, p. 901), “ He was an Englishman by breeding, borne a Venetian, but spending most part of his life in England, and English employments.” Even when he states (vol. iii. p. 807), that on the ^u Effigies” of Sebastian Cabot hung up in the Royal Gallery, that personage is called an Englishman, he adds—“for his English breeding, condition, affection and advancement, termed an Englishman,” and referring, on ano­

ther occasion to. the same document, says, “He was born at Venice, and serving Henry VII., Henry VIII., and Edward VIwas accounted English. Galpano says, he was born at Bristol.” By Galpano, he means the Portuguese writer Gal- vano, or Galvam, in whose work, translated by Hakluyt, that Statement is made (p. 66), as it is also by jHerrera (Dec. i lib. ix. cap. 13), whom Purchas. himself quotes (vol. iv_t p. 177 to that point.

In defiance of the contemporary “Effigies,” and of these foreign authorities, most modern writers, Hume, Forster, Charlevoid, &c. have been led astray. The Quarterly Review (vol. xvi. p. 154, note) informs us that Henry VII. engaged “the Cabots of Venice in the discovery of Newfoundland and Mr Barrow, in his “ Chronological History of Voyages, &c.” (p. 36—7), speaks of the credit due to England, for having “so wisely and honourably enrolled this deserving foreigner in the list of her citizens.”

Now it will scarcely be credited, that we have in E.den, a positive statement on the subject, from the lips of Sebastian Cabot himself. The following marginal note will be found at fol. 255—“Sebastian Cabote tould me that he was borne in Brystowe, and that at iiii. yeare ould he was carried with his father to Venice, and so returned agayne into Eng­land with his father after certayne years, whereby he was thought to have been born in Venice.” Thus, then, was the question conclusively settled 275 years ago! It is needless to repeat what has been already said, in another place, as to the slight credit due to the report of the conversation relied on by Harris, Pinkerton, and the rest, for there is, in fact, no discrepance to be reconciled. Cabot there states the circum­stances which more immediately preceded the commission from Henry VII.; and the occasion did not lead to any detail of his own earlier history. Should Sir Edward Parry be recalled to embark on a new voyage of discovery, he might very naturally advert, hereafter, to the period of his return, and would scarcely deem it necessary to add that he had been

in the country before. For the future, then, it is to be hoped that no perverse efforts will be made to obscure the claim of England to this Great Seaman. He owed to her his birth, and the language and associations of childhood. He returned thither while yet a boy pene inf am” is the expression of Peter Martyr), and grew up there to manhood, when he was commissioned to go in quest of new regions, wherein he “set up the banner” of England. Under this banner, he was the first European who reached the shores of the American Con­tinent. He ended, as he had begun, his career in the service of his native country, infusing into her Marine a spirit of lofty enterprise—a high moral tone—a system of mild, but inflexible discipline, of which the results were, not long after, so con­spicuously displayed. Finally, he is seen to open new sourccs of commerce, of which the influence may be distinctly traced on her present greatness and prosperity. Surely it is as absurd as it is unnatural, to deny to such a man the claim which he seems to have anxiously preferred, and which has been placed on record under his direct sanction.

CHAP. IX.

THE PATENTS OF 5TH MARCH, 1496, AND 3RD FEBRUARY, 1498.

Before proceeding to a close examination of the documents which establish the real history of these voyages, it may be well to advert to the reckless manner in which facts have been made to yield to any hypothesis which a short-sighted view has suggested as indispensable.

The following passage is found in Harris’ Voyages (ed. of 1744—8, vot. ii. p. 190), and in Pinkerton’s Collection (vol. xii. p. 158).

“But the year before that patent was granted, viz. in 1494, John Cabot, with his son Sebastian, had sailed from Bristol upon discovery, -and had actually seen the Continent ef Newfoundland, to which they gave the name of Prima Vista, or first seen. And on the 24th June, in the same year, he went ashore on an Island which, because it was discovered on that day, he called St John’s.; and of this Island he reported, very truly, that the soil was barren,' that it yielded little, and that the people wear bearskin clothes, and were armed with bows, arrows* pikes, darts, wooden clubs, and slings; but that the coast abounded with fish, and upon this report of his, the before-mentioned patent (of 5th March 1495) was granted.”

Mr Barrow also says (p. 32),

“ There is no possible way of reconciling the various accounts collected by Hakluyt, and which amount to no less a number than six, but by supposing John Cabot to have made one voyage, at least, previous t6 the date of the patent, and some time between that and the date of the return of Columbus, either in 1494 or 1495.”

It must by this time be apparent, that the hypothesis thus started, is not only uncalled for, but would contradict every authentic account which has come down to us.

It is altogether irreconcilable with that very document which stands foremost of the ^il six,” on the pages of Hakluyt —the extract from the map cut by Clement Adams, and hung up in the Privy Gallery—for it is there declared expressly,

that at five o’clock in the morning, of the 24th June, 1497, was discovered that land, which no man before that time had attempted to approach (“ quam nullus prius adire ausus fait”). What possible motive can be imagined, on the part of Cabot, for disguising the fact of a discovery made so long before? The supposition is as absurd, as it is gratuitous. How, again, does it agree with the statement of Sebastian Cabot, that on the voyage made under the royal authority, he was surprised by the sight of land, “not thinking to find any other land than that of Cathay?” This is one of the “six” accounts which it is proposed to reconcile by assuming a dis­covery of the same region three years before!

The first patent bears date the 5th March, in the eleventh year of the reign of Henry VII. It is found in Rymer (Fcedera, vol. xii. p. 595), who correctly refers it to 5th March, 1496, the computation of this monarch’s reign being from August, 1485. Hakluyt states it to be of 1495 (vol. iii. p. 5), looking, as we may infer, not to the Historical, but to the Legal or Civil year, which commenced, prior to 1752, on the 25th March.

The patent is in favour of John Cabot and his three sons, Lewis, Sebastian, and Sancius $ and authorises them, their heirs, or deputies, to “ sail to all parts, countries, and seas of the East, of the West, and of the North, under our banners and ensigns, with five ships of what burthen or quantity soever they be, and as many mariners or men as they will have with them in the said ships, upon their own proper costs and charges, to seek out, discover, and find whatsoever isles, countries, regions, or provinces of the heathen and infidels, whatsoever they be, and in what part of the world soever they be, which before this time have been unknown to all Chris­tians.” It is plain, that a previous discovery, so far from being assigned as the ground for the patent, as Harris, Pink­erton, &c. assert, is negatived by its very terms. The patent would be inapplicable to any region previously visited,by either of the Cabots, and confer no right. Assuming, what is obvi­

ously absurd, that the discovery could have been made without becoming at once universally known, yet the patentees must have been aware that they exposed themselves, at any moment when the fact should come out, to have the grant vacated on the ground of a deceptive concealment.

The patentees are authorised to set up the Royal banner, “ in every village, town, castle, isle, or main land, by them newly found,” and to subdue, occupy, and possess all such regions, and to exercise jurisdiction over them in the name of the King of England. One-fifth of the clear profit of the enterprise is reserved to the King, and it is stipulated that the vessels shall returi* to the port of Bristol. The privilege of exclusive resort and traffic is secured to the patentees.

The Second Patent is dated the third of February, in the thirteenth year of the reign of Henry VII., corresponding with third February 1498. The only evidence heretofore published on the subject, is contained in a brief memorandum found in Hakluyt (vol. iii. p. 6), who, we* are persuaded, never saw the original. The person, also, who gave him the information of its existence, probably did not go beyond a list of the titles of instruments of that description kept for con­venient reference. The memorandum of Hakluyt is as fol­lows i—

“The King, upon the third day of February, in the thir­teenth year of his reign, gave license to John Caboto to take six English ships in any haven or havens of the realm of Eng­land, being of the burden of two hundred tons or under, with all necessary furniture, and to take also into the said ships, all such masters, mariners and .subjects of the King as willingly would go with him,” &c.

Such being the whole of the information supplied, it is no wonder, that the most erroneous conjectures have been started.

Dr Robertson (History of America, book ix.) adopts the dates of Hakluyt. “This Commission (the first) was granted on March 5th, 1495, in less than two. years after the return of Columbus from America. But Cabot (for that is the name he assumed in England, and by which he is best known) did not

set out on his voyage for two years.” Dr Robertson makes no express reference to the second commission, and having fol­lowed Hakluyt in referring that of the eleventh Henry VII. to 1495, he doubtless regarded the order of the thirteenth year of Henry VII. as merely a final permission for the de­parture of the expedition, made out in 1497 on the eve of its sailing.

In “The Naval History of England in all its Branches,” by Lediard, it is said (p. 85) after giving the first patent—

“ Hakluyt, from whom I have taken this commission, places in the margin, a.d. 1495. But, according to Rymer’s Foede- ra, it was dated March 5, 1496* To the ship granted by the king, of which, however, this commission makes no mention, some merchants of London added three more, laden with such slight commodities as were thought proper for commerce with barbarous people. By an extract from a record of the rolls, it appears, that though Cabot’s commission was signei in March, 1495, or 1496, he did not go to sea on this expedi­tion till the beginning of the year 1497. This record is in the following words.” He then gives Hakluyt’s notice of the patent of February 3, 1498.

The satiae notion that the second patent preceded discovery has found its way across the Atlantic, but with an observance of the historical computation as to dates. Thus, in the valua­ble Introduction to Marshall’s Life of Washington, the first patent is correctly referred to March 5,1496; and it is said, “ The Expedition contemplated at the date of the commission appears not then to have been made, but in May (1498) Ca­bot, with his second son,” &c.

Forster (p. 266) says, “In the 13th year of this king’s reign, John Cabot obtained permission to sail with six ships of 200 tons burthen and under, on new discoveries. He did not sail, however, till the beginning of May, 1497 (!) and then, by his own account, had but two ships fitted out and stocked with provisions at the king’s expense, &c.”

In Harris’s Voyages, &c. (Ed. of 1744—8, vol. ii. p. 190), K

and in Pinkerton (vol. xii. p. 158), after stating, not conjec­turally, but as an unquestionable fact, that the first voyage was in 1494, it is added, '

“The next voyage made for discovery was by Sebastian Cabot, the son of John, concerning which all our writers have fallen into great mistakes, for want of com­paring the several accounts we have of this voyage, and making proper allow­ances for the manner in which they were written ; since I cannot find there was ever any distinct and clear account of this voylage published, though it was of so great consequence. On the contrary, I believe that Cabot himself kept no jour­nal of it by him; since, in a letter he wrote on this subject, he speaks doubtfully of the very year in which it was undertaken, though, from the circumstances he relates, that may be very certainly fixed. On the 3d of February, in the 13th year of the reign of King Henry VII, a new graut was made to John Cabot, by which he had leave given him to take Ships out of any of the Ports of England, of the burthen of 200 tons, to sail upon discoveries ; but before this could be effected, John Cabot died, and Sebastian, his son, applied himself to the king, proposing to discover a North-West Passage, as he himself tells us ; and for this purpose, he bad a ship manned and victualled at the king’s expense, at Bristol, and three or four other ships were fitted out, at the expense of some merchants of that city, particularly Mi* Thorne, and Mr Hugh Elliot. But whereas Sebastian Cabot himself says that he made this voyage in the summer of 1496, he must he mistaken; and he very well might, speaking from his memory only: and to prove this, I need only observe, that this date will not at aU agree, even with his own account of the voyage* for he says expressly, it was undertaken after his father’s death, who, as we have shown, was alive in the' February following ; so that it was the summer of the year 1497 in which he made this voyage, and what he after­wards relates of his return proves this likewise;”

It is scarcely necessary to remark, that aside from all other considerations, the whole of their statement is in direct colli­sion with the fact, that the discovery of the 24th June, 1497, is referred, on evidence which these writers do not undertake to question, to the joint agency of father and son. That, therefore, which should decisively control speculation, is blindly sacrificed to an effort to get over some minor difficul­ties which, in reality, have their origin only in the kindred misconceptions of preceding compilers.

All this obscurity will now disappear. After a tedious search there has been found, at the Rolls Chapel, the original parent of 3d February, 1498. The following is an exact copy:

“ Memorandum quod tertio die Februarii anijo regni Regis Henrici Septimi x»ii.

ista Billa delibata fuit Domino Cancellario Angliae apud Westmonasteriuro exe- quenda.

** To the Kinge.

** Please it your Highnesse of your most noble and habundaunt grace to graunte to John Kabotto, Venecian, your gracious Lettres Patents in due fourme to be made accordyng to the tenor hereafter ensuyng, and he shall continually praye to God for the preservacion of your moste Noble and Roiall astate longe to endure.

«H. R.

“Rex.

«* To all men to whom theis Presenteis shall come send Gretyng: Knowe ye that We of our Grace especial], and for dyvers causis us movying, We Have geven and graunten, and by theis Presentis geve and graunte to our welbeloved John Kabotto, Venecian, sufficiente auctorite and power, that he, by him his Deputie or Deputies sufficient, may take at his pleasure VI Englisshe Shippes in any Porte or Portes or other place within this our Realme of England or obeisance, so that and if the said Shippes be of the bourdeyn of CC. tonnes or under, with their apparail requisite and neces- sarie for the safe conduct of the said Shippes, and them convey and lede to the Londe and Isles of late founde by the seid John in oure name and by our commaundemente. Paying for theym and every of theym as and if we should in or for our owen cause paye and noon otherwise. And that the said John, by hym his Deputie or Deputies sufficiente, maye take and re- ceyve into the said Shippes, and every of theym all such maisters, mary- ners, Pages, and other subjects as of their owen free wille woll goo and passe with him in the same Shippes to the seid Londe or lies, withoute anye impedymente, lett or perturbance of any of our officers or imnistres or sub­jects whatsoever they be by theym to the seyd John, his Deputie, or Depu­ties, and all other our seid subjects or any of theym passinge with the seyd John in the said Shippes to the seid Londe or Iles.to be doon, or suffer to be doon of attempted. Geving in commaundement to all and every our officers, ministres and subjects seyingor herying thies our Lettres Patents, without any ferther commaundement by Us to theym or any of theym to be geven to perfourme and socour the said John, his Deputie and all our said Subjects so passyng with hym according to the tenor of theis our Lettrea Patentis. Any Statute, Acte, or Ordennance to the contrarye made or to be made in any wise notwithstanding.”

Surely the importance of this document cannot be exagge­rated. It establishes conclusively, and for ever, that the American continent was first discovered by an expedition commissioned to “ set up the banner” of England. It were

idle to offer an argument to connect this recital of 3d Feb* ruary, 1498, with the discovery of the 24th June, 1497, noted on the old map hung-up at Whitehall. Will it not be deemed almost incredible that the very Document in the Records of England, which recites the great discovery, and plainly con­templates a scheme of colonization, should, up to this moment, have been treated by her own writers as the one which first gave the permission to go forth and explore ?

Nay, this very instrument has been used as an argument against the pretensions of England; for it has been asked by foreigners who have made the computation, and seen through' the mistake of Pinkerton and the rest, why the patent of 3d February, 1498, took no notice of discoveries pretended to have been made the year before. The question is now tri­umphantly answered.

The importance of negativing a notion that the English discoveries were subsequent to the patent of the 13th Henry

VII., will strikingly appear, on reference to the claim of Jlmericus Vespucius. The truth, as now established, places beyond all question—even crediting the doubtful assertions of Vespucius—the priority of Cabot’s discovery over that of the lucky Florentine. The map in Queen Elizabeth’s gallery made no false boast in declaring that on the 24th June 1497, the English expedition discovered that land“quam nullus prius adire ausus fuit.”*

*      The manner in which the precious Document referred to, and others of a similar kind, are kept, cannot be adverted to without an expression of regret. They are thrown loosely together, without reference even to the appropriate year, and are unnoticed in any Index or Calendar. It required a search of more than two weeks to find this patent of 3d February 1498, although the.year and day of its date were furnished at the outset. Another document which appears in the present volume—the patent of Henry VII. to three Portuguese and others, dated 19 March, 1501, authorising them to follow up the discoveries of Cabot—has never before been published. This also was discovered, after a long search, not even folded up, but lying with one-half of the written part exposed, and, in conse- qucnce, so soiled and, discoloured that it was with the greatest difficulty it could be decyphered, and some words finally eluded the most anxious scrutiny. And

this of two documents indispensable to the history of Maritime Discovery, and for the want of which, the account of these voyages has been completely unintelli­gible ! An extraordinary compensation is claimed at the Rolls Chapel on account of the trouble attending a search amidst such a confused mass. For finding the documents, two guineas were demanded in addition to the cost of copies. The applicant is informed, that the charge must be paid, whether the document be dis­covered or not; so that the officer -has no motive to continue perseveringly the irksome pursuit.

CHAP. X.

NAME OF CABOT’S SHIP—HOW FAR HE PROCEEDED ALONG THE COAST TO THE SOUTHWARD—SUBSEQUENT VOYAGE OF 1498.

The name of the vessel which first touched the shores of the American continent is not without interest The Matthew, of Bristol, had that proud distinction. A respectable writer* furnishes the following passage from an ancient Bristol manu­script in his possession:—

“ In the year 1497, the 24th June, on St John’s day, was Newfoundland found by Bristol men, in a ship called' The Matthew”

The question how far Cabot, on quitting the north, proceed­ed along the coast of the Continent, has been the subject of contradictory statements. By some his progress is limited to a latitude corresponding with that of the straits of Gibraltar, while others insist on carrying him to the extreme point of the Atlantic sea coast. We can hardly be at a loss to decide, when it is recollected that while there is no direct authority for the latter opinion, and it is one which would readily be adopted, in mistake, from the vague use, originally, of the title Florida, the former has the direct sanction of Peter Martyr (Dec. iii. cap. vi.).

“Tetenditque tantum ad merediem, littore sese incurvante, ut Herculei freti latitudinis fere gradus equarit; ad occidentemque profectus tantum estut Cubam Insulam a laeva longitudine graduum pent parem habuerit.” “ He was thereby brought so far into the South, by reason of the land bending so much to the south­

*      “The History and Antiquities of the.City of Bristol, compiled from original Records and authentic Manuscripts in public offices or private hands. By William Barrett Bristol, 1789,” p. 172. The same fact is stated in The History of Bris­tol by John Corry and the Rev. John Evans, vol. i. p. 213. (In King’s Library, title in Catalogue Corry.)

ward, that it was there almost equal in latitude with the sea Fretum Herculeum having the North Pole elevate in a manner in the same degree. He sailed likewise in this tract so far towards the West, that he had the Island of Cuba on his left band in manner, in the same degree of longitude.” (Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 9.)

Gomara, more definitely but perhaps only determining by conjecture the circumstantial statement of Peter Martyr, names, as has been seen, 38°. Hakluyt, in the dedication of his second volume to Sir Robert Cecil, boasts of the universal acknowledgement, even by foreigners, “that all that mighty tract of land, from 67 degrees northward, to the latitude almost of Florida, was first discovered out of England, by the com­mandment of King Henry VII.and again, in a marginal note of his third volume (p. 9), he states that Cabot dis­covered “ the northern parts of that land, and from thence as far almost as Florida.”

Peter Martyr informs us that a failure of provisions at this point compelled an abandonment of the further pursuit of the coast, and a return to England.

It has been preferred to settle the question before quitting the first voyage, because the progress to the southward may have taken place on that occasion, as a discovery of both ^u Londe and Isles” is recited in the second patent. Should a further development of the subject lead to an opinion that this incident, mentioned first by Peter Martyr, belongs to another voyage which that writer more probably had in view, there will be no difficulty in adjusting it hereafter to its proper place. *

•      One piece of evidence has lately been brought to light from which it may be inferred that Cabot returned to England immediately after the discovery of the 24th June, 1497. In the account of the Privy Purse Expenses of Henry VII., is the following entry :—“ 10th August, 1407. To hym that found the New Isle, 10/.”

The document referred to, which forms one of the Additional MSS. in the British Museum, is in the hand-writing of Craven Orde, Esq., formerly one of the Secondaries of the office of the King’s Remembrancer of the Court of Exchequer, and has recenUy been given to the public by Harris Nicolas, Esq., in his valuable Excerpta Historica. Mr N. remarks, “The originals, doubtless, form part of the muniments of the King’s Remembrancer’s Office, and though the great exertions which have been made to collate these extracts with them received every assistance from the King’s Remembrancer and the other officers, they failed, because these

The interesting inquiry now arises as to subsequent voyages, made after the death of John Cabot which is supposed to have taken place -shortly after the date of the second patent of 3rd February, 1498.

It cannot be supposed, for a moment, that Sebastian Cabot would lightly abandon what had been so hardly won. He was named in the original patent; and, a right under the discovery vested in him, aside from his claim as the son of John Cabot A large sum had been expended on the first voyage, and wfcs now represented solely by the title to the newly discovered region. He must have been strangely insensible to his in­terests, as well as suddenly deficient in enterprise, to turn away, without further effort, from a pursuit which had thus far been crowned with the most flattering success.

The first item of evidence on the subject, is that supplied by Stow. Under the year 1498, and in the Mayoralty of William Purchas, there occurs, in the Annals, the following statement:—

“ This yeere, one Sebastian Gaboto, a Genoas sonne, borne in Bristow, professing himselfe to be expert in knowledge of the circuit of the world and islands of the same, as by his charts and other reasonable demonstrations he shewed, caused the King to man, and victuall a ship at Bristow to search for an island, which he knew to be replenished with rich commodities: in the ship divers merchants of London adventured small stocks, and in the company of this ship, sailed also out of Bristow, three or foure small shippes fraught with sleight and grosse wares, as coarse cloth, caps, laces, points, and such other.”

It has already been proved, in another place, that this was the statement made by Stow to Hakluyt, and that the substi-

MSS. are presumed to be in some of the numerous bags that are lying unarranged in Westminster Hall, an examination of which could only be effected at a sacrifice of time and expense, which no private individual can incur/* Since the publica­tion, it has been ascertained that a portion of what is supposed to be the original is in the possession of Sir Thomas Phillips, having been purchased by him at a sale of the effects of Mr Orde. Unfortunately, it does not go further back than the year. 1502.

tution, by the latter* of the name of John Cabot took place afterwards, at two successive stages of alteration. The fact clearly appeared, by a reference to Hakluyt’s earlier volume of 1582, and by the name of Sebastian Cabot, which yet lingers incautiously in the enlarged work at the head of Stow’s communication, even after a change in the body of it. We have then before us, here, the honest result of Stow’s re­searches*

There can be no mistake as to the period to which he would refer this incident; for the mayoralty of Purchas, is mentioned in the communication to Hakluyt (vol. iii. p. 9). When, too, under the year 1502, he speaks of the exhibition of sav­ages, reference is made to what he had before stated as oc­curring in the time of that Mayor. Speed (747) so under­stands him and Purchas (Pilgrims, vol. iii. p. 808).

It appears, by the list of these functionaries found in the various Chroniclers, that the mayoralty of Purchas extended from 28 October, 1497 to 28 October, 1498. Unless then we suppose a mistake to have been committed, the voyage alluded to was subsequent to that of the original discovery.

A matter so simple as this has not escaped mis-statement. Thus, in M’Pherson’^ Annals of Commerce (vol. ii. p. 13, note), it is said, “We may depend on the contemporary testimony of Alderman Fabyan, who says that he sailed in the beginning of May in the mayoralty of John Tate, that is 1497, but returned in the subsequent mayoralty of William Purchas.” Here is as much error as could be condensed into one sentence. Fabyan does not place the expedition in the mayoralty of Tate, but in that of Purchas, and we are told, that no tidings were heard of the expedition during that Mayor’s time, viz. as late as October, 1498. It is, indeed, a singular fact that writers who on most topics are dull, com- mon-place, and safe—who might be trusted, one would think, in poetry itself, without peril to their matter-of-fact character —instantly become imaginative on touching any part of Ca­bot’s history.

In connexion with the statement of Stow, it may be men­tioned that both Peter Martyr and the person, said to be Galeatius Butrigarius, who* held the conversation with Cabot, at Seville, speak of a voyage from England subsequent to the father’s death. Peter Martyr, in the passage usually cited on the subject, says nothing of dates, but writing afterwards in 1524, (Decade vii. cap. ii.) he refers to Cabot’s voyage, as having taken place “twenty-six years since,” that is, in 1498. To these statements, another is to be added, though it in­creases, perhaps, rather the number than the weight of authorities.

The first article in the third volume of Ramusio is a Sum­mary of The Spanish Discoveries in the New World, drawn professedly from Peter Martyr, and entitled “ Sommario della Historia dell’ Indie Occidentali cavato dalli libri scritti dal Sig. Don Pietro Martire.” It was first published an­onymously, at Venice, in a separate form, in the year 1543,* and is quite unworthy of the place which it now occupies. The arrangement of Peter Martyr is entirely disregarded, and no reference is given to the original, by which any of the statements may be verified or disproved. Under the pretended sanction, too, of Peter Martyr, the writer has in- roduced many unfounded, and even absurd, assertions of his own. Thus the statement given in the original of the manner in which the bears catch fish, and which is confirmed by late accounts,! this writer bas spun outf into a minute and ridicu­lous description. It is here stated that Cabot reached only 55°, an assertion which the Biographie Universelle (art. Cabot) copies and cites as from Peter Martyr, when there is nothing of the kind in the original. In repeating the expression of Peter Martyr, about the death of the father, this writer says—“after whose death, finding himself very rich and of great ambition,

*      Haym’s “ Bibliotheca Italiana o sia notizia de Libro ran Italian),” p. 131.

t See Cartwright’s Labrador.

t Ramusio, tom. iii. fol. 35, in Index “Bacalai,” “Sebastiano Gabotto,” and “ orso.”

he resolved,” <&c. (“dapoila morte del quale trovandosi richissimo et di grande animo deliberosi,”&c.). But, without laying any stress on such a statement, there is sufficient with­out it to supply an important auxiliary argument to that de­rived from the chroniclers.*

One circumstance is to be particularly noted. The second patent does not look to further discoveries, but merely au­thorises the patentee to revisit theJRegion already found, and to take thither such of the king’s subjects as might be inclined to accompany him or his deputies.

According to Stow, the “ Genoa’s son” effected his object with the king, by a representation as to an Island « which he knew to be replenished with rich commodities,” or as it is expressed in Hakluyt, “ which he said he knew well was rich and replenished with great commodities.” Thus the lan­guage of the patent and of the chronicles is in consonance as to the purpose of the voyage of 1498. It no longer had reference, exclusively, to the search for a North-West Passage. The place of destination was some known definite point, which was supposed to offer an advantageous opening for traffic.

The argument to be fairly drawn from this coincidence is placed in a very striking point of view, by referring to writers who approached the statement of the chronicles under the misconception that the reference was to the original expedi­tion of 1497. Campbell, in The Lives of the Admirals

*      It is obvious that the Will of John Cabot might throw much light on this subject. If, as is probable, he died at Bristol, it would be proved at Worcester. On application at the Bishop’s Registry, the acting Registrar, Mr Clifton, writes thus : “ The indices of Wills proved, and letters of administration granted do not extend farther back than the year 1600. Previous to this period, these doc­uments are tied up in linen bags without much form or order; so that a search for the Will of John Cabot, or Gabot, or Kabot would be attended with very considerable trouble and expense, whilst the chance of discovering it would be uncertain.” Aside from Historical purposes, it would be curious to see an-instrument, dated some months before- the time when Columbus (in August, 1498) first saw the Continent of America, which, probably, makes a disposition of the testator’s interest in the tract of land lying between the present Hudson’s Strait and Florida.

(article, Sir John Cabot'), adopts Hakluyt’s substitution of John Cabot’s name, and thus speaks of the patent of 3rd Feb^ ruary, 1498. -

“In consequence of this license, the King at his own expense caused a ship to be Equipped at Bristol: to this the merchants of that city, and of London, added three or four small vessels, freighted with proper commodities, which fleet sailed in the spring of the year 1497- Our old Chronicle writers, particularly Fabian, tell us of a very rich island which John Cabot promised to discover ; but in this they seem to mistake the matter for want of thoroughly understanding the subject of which they were writing. John Cabot was too a wise man to pretend to know_r before he saw it, what country he should discover, whether island or continent \ but what he proposed was to find a North- West passage to the Indies.**

How does this patent of 3rd February 1498 scatter light around in every direction! After slumbering at the Rolls for upwards of three centuries, it reappears to vindicate, tri­umphantly, the fair fame of its venerable contemporaries thus flippantly assailed!

The same difficulty in reconciling the language of the ancient chronicles with the supposed allusion to the voyage of 1497, has led Harris* (ed. of 1744—8, vol. ii. p. 190) and Pinkerton (vol. xii. p. 158) to the positive assertion that John Cabot made a voyage as early as 1494, and that “ upon this report of his,” the first patent was granted. Mr Barrow also (p. 32) i?. from the same cause, driven to the assertion that it is im­possible to understand the various accounts “but by supposing John Cabot to have made one voyage at least previous to the date of the patent.” It has been before shown, that such a supposition is not only inconsistent with every authentic state­ment, but at variance with the terms of the first patent itself. We now see that it is as unnecessary as it is unwarranted.

The plain distinction between the two voyages clears up

•It is but just to remark, that though the volume here referred to bears the name of Harris, and is so copied and cited by Pinkerton, yet the passages in question make no part of the original work. Daines Barrington, Esq. in his “ Possibility of approaching the North Pole,” &c. (ed. of 1818, p. 15), states, that the supplemental matter was furnished by Dr Campbell. No method is used to distinguish the original from what is interpolated; and Pinkerton was, probably, thus misled.

an incidental difficulty. Many writers have been perplexed by finding that while some accounts speak of the enterprise as wholly at the expense of the Cabots, others represent the King to have had an interest in it. The reason is now obvious. The first vague exploratory voyage was at the expense of the individuals, to verify the speculations of Sebastian Cabot. The patent of 5th March, 1496, says expressly, that the en­terprise is to be “at their own proper cost and charge.” But when a specific discovery had been made, and the atten­tion of the capitalists of London was drawn to the subject, the wary king himself yielded to the sanguine representations of the discoverers, and became a partner in the concern. This fact is very clearly established by the following entries in the Account of his Privy-Purse Expenses:—

“ 22d March, 1498. To Lanslot Thirkill, of London, upon a prest,* for his shippe going towards the New Ilande, 20/.”

“ Delivered to Launcelot Thirkill, going towards the New Isle, in prest, 20/.”

“ April 1, 1498. To Thomas Bradley, and Lancelot Thirkill, going to the New Isle, 30/.”

"To John Carter, going to the Newe Isle, in rewarde, 2/.”

At this point the subject attracted the attention of a Chron­icler living in London. It is not unnatural that he should suppose the region discovered to be an island, and that the same expression should be used by the Keeper of the Privy Purse, and others, whose minds had not then embraced the idea of a new Continent. The Chronicler speaks of documents submitted to the inspection of the king, and of the nature of which he evidently knew only by vague report. The King himself, however, w⁷ho had listened to the statements of “ the Genoas son,” and saw his map, who heard of the mighty rivers which were found issuing into the sea, knew from these “ charts and other reasonable demonstrations,” that here must be something more th*an an island, and we find, accordingly, in the patent of 3rd February, 1498, reference made to “ the Londe and Isles” discovered.

*      In the way of loan or advancc.

:

To doubt, then, that a voyage took place in 1498, under Sebastian Cabot, violates every probability, is against strong collateral testimony, and rejects contemptuously the direct and positive averment of the ancient Chroniclers, at the very moment when we warm with indignation at the attempt of a shallow and presumptuous ignorance to depreciate them.

What was the result of the voyage? This is a question of more difficulty.

Peter Martyr and Gomara mention, as has been seen, that Sebastian Cabot had with him three hundred men. It is diffi­cult to believe that such a number could have been taken in reference to a mere commercial enterprise, and absurd to con­nect them with the first exploratory voyage. The language, too, of the second patent seems to suggest that a settlement was intended, the royal permission to depart extending to “ all such masters, mariners, pages and other subjects, as of their own free will\ will go and pass with him in the same ships, to the said Londe or Isles.”

On a point so interesting as this, we may repeat here the language of Gomara. After mentioning that Sebastian Cabot was the first who brought intelligence of the Baccalaos, he proceeds:—

« El qual armo dos navios en Inglaterra do tratava desde pequeno a costa del Rey Enrique Septimo, quo desseava contratar en la especieria, como hazia el rey d* Portugal. Otros disen que a su costa. Y que prometio al rey Enrique de yr por el norte al Catayo y traer de alia especias en menos tiempo que Portuguese, por el sun Y va tambien par saber que tierra eran las Indias para poblar. Llevo trezientos hombres y cammo la buelta de Isladia sobre cabo del Labrador. Y hasta se poner en cinquenta y ocho grados. Aunque el dize mucho mas contando como avia por el mes de Julio tato frio y pedagos de yelo que no oso passar mas adelante. Y que los dios eran grandissimos y quasi sin noche y las nbches muy claras. Es cierte que a sesenta grados son los dies de diez y ocho horas. Diedo pues Gaboto la frialdad, y estraneza dela tierra, dio la vuelta hazia poniente y reha- ziendo se en los Baccalaos como la costa hasta treienta y ochos grados y torno se de alii a Inglaterra.” “ Sebastian Cabot was the fyrst that browght any knowleage of this lande. For beinge in Englande in the dayes of Kyng Henry the Seventh, he'furnysshed twoo shippes at his owne charges, or (as sum say) at the Kynges, whome he persuaded that a passage might be founde to Cathay by the North Seas, and that spices might be brought from thense soner by that way, then by the vyage the Portugalcs vse by the sea of Sur. He went also to knowe what maner

of landes those Indies were to inhabite. He had with hyrn three hundreth men, and directed his course by the tracte of Islande vppon the cape of Labrador at lviii. degrees: affirmynge that in the monethe of July there was such could and heapes of ise that he durst -passe ho further: also that the dayes were very longe and in maner without nyght, and the nyghtes very clear. Certayne it is, that the lx. degrees, the longest day is of xviii. houres. But consyderynge the coulde and the straungeness of the unknowen lande, he turhed his course from thense to the West, folowynge the coast of the lande of Baccalos vnto the xxxviii. degrees, from whense he returned to Englande.” (Eden’s Decades, fol. 318.)

From these expressions it is plain that it was understood to have been part of the design to make the experiment of colo­nization.

Connected with this part of the subject is a curious pass­age in an old work by Thevet, the French Cosmographer. This writer is, deservedly, held in little estimation, his work being disfigured by the plainest marks of haste, as well as by the most absurd credulity. The only circumstance which could induce us to attach importance to his statement is, the allusion to conversations with Cartier, who, in 1534, visited the St Lawrence. Thevet not only refers to that navigator incidentally here, but in his subsequent larger work, enti­tled Cosmographie Universelle, speaks of Cartier repeatedly, as his intimate friend, and mentions (Paris Ed. of 1575, tom.

ii.     fol. 1014) having spent five months with him at St Malo. The work now particularly alluded to is entitled “ Singulari- tez de la France Antarctique,” published at Paris, in 1558, in which, speaking of the Baccalaos, there occurs (ch. 74, fol. 148) the following passage:—

“ Elle fut decouverte premierement par Sebastian Babate Anglois lequel per- suada au Roy d* Angleterre Henry Septiesme qu’il iroit aisement par la au pais de Catay vers le Nort et que par ce moyen trouveroit espiceries et autres choses aussi bien que le Roy de Portugal aux Indes, joint qu’il se proposoit aller au Peru et Amerique pour peupler le paisde nouveaushabitans et dresser la* uneNouvelle Angleterre, ce qu’il n’ executa; vray est qu’il mist bien trois cens hommes en terre, du coste d’ Irlande au Nort on le froidfist mourir presque toute sa compagnie encore que ce fust au moys de Juillet. Depuis Jaques Quartler (ainsi que luy mesme m’ a recite) fist deux foisle voyage en ce pays la, c’est a scavoir I’ an mil cinq cens trente cinq.”

“It was first discovered by Sebastian Babate, an Englishman, who persuaded Henry VII, King of England, that he could go easily this way by the North to

Cathay, and that he would thus obtain spices and other articles from the Indies equally as well as the King of Portugal, added to which he proposed to go to Peru and America to people the country with new inhabitants, and to establish there a New England which he did not accomplish; true it is he put three hundred men ashore from the coast of Ireland towards the North where the cold destroyed nearly the whole company, though it was then the month of July. Afterwards Jaques Cartier (as he himself has told me) made two voyages to that country in 1534 and 1535.”

The greater part of this is evidently a mere perversion of what appears in Gomara, changing the name of the commander to Babate, and Iceland to Ireland; and that which follows may be a random addition suggested by the reference in Go- mara to one of the objects of Cabot’s expedition, and to the reasons which compelled him to turn back.

On the other hand, while it seems somewhat harsh to im­pute to the author a reckless falsehood, it is possible that he may have derived his information from Cartier, who would be very likely to know of any such early attempt at settlement. Thevet seems, evidently, to turn from the book, whose influ­ence is discernible on the general cast of the paragraph, in order to make a statement of his own, and instead of the general language of Gomara, to substitute specific assertions.

If, then, we can rely on what he says, it seems clear not only that Cabot proposed colonization, but that he actually put a body of men on shore with that view. It will be noted, on referring to the language of Gomara, in the original, that he represents Cabot when returning from his extreme northern point to have stopped at Baccalaos for refreshment (“y reha- ziendo se en lbs Baccalaos”), and afterwards to have proceeded South to 38⁶. It may be, then, that before the renewed search for a Passage, which would seem to have continued an object of pursuit, he left a party to examine the country; who, on his return, dispirited by the dreariness of the region and perhaps by mortality, insisted on being taken off.

The statement of Thevet was held in reserve, that its loose and careless air might not seem to be imparted to that which has a fixed and authentic character. Up to a certain point

—the sailing of the expedition of 1498, under Sebastian Ca­bot, and its apparent objects—we have the clearest evidence. The next step we may hesitate, perhaps from excessive cau­tion, to take, lest the support proffered by Thevet be illu­sive.

As we are indebted to Peter Martyr and Gomara for the length of the run along the coast to the Southward, it proba^ bly now took place, their reference evidently being, through­out, to the present voyage. It was on this occasion, doubt­less, that three hundred men were taken out, so that the supposition is perhaps strengthened by noticing that Peter Martyr represents the expedition to have been arrested in the South by a failure of provisions.

One incident is deceptively connected by Hakluyt with this voyage. Stow speaks of an exhibition of savages in the year 1502; but Hakluyt, who derived this fact from him, has altered the date from the seventeenth to the fourteenth year of Henry VII. As he relies altogether on Stow’s com­munication, it might be sufficient to point to that Annalist’s own statement. The incident belongs to a voyage by differ­ent persons, on reaching which it will be shown, that in the original work of Hakluyt, of 1582, he correctly refers the exhibition to the seventeenth year, but afterwards changed the date, in order to accommodate it, in point of time, to the voyage of Cabot with which he erroneously connected it.

CHAP. XL

VOYAGE TO MARACAIBO IN 1499.

As it is certain that Sebastian Cabot did not enter the service Spain until the 13th of September 1512, we are obliged to lopk anxiously round, in every direction, for information as to his employment during the intermediate period. It is imposs­ible to believe that he could have passed in inactivity the period of life best adapted for enterprise and adventure, and to which he at the same time brought maturity of judgment and abundant experience. Yet the Records, so far as made public, furnish no evidence on the subject, for though commiss­ions were granted, as we shall have occasion hereafter to show, by Henry VII., in 1501 and 1502, to Portuguese adventurers, with a view to discovery, yet the name of Cabot is sought for in vain.

Amidst this darkness of the horizon, there gleams up happily, in one quarter, a light which enables us to recognise objects with surprising clearness.

A valuable work has recently been published by the Rev. Mr Seyer, entitled, ^Ci Memoirs Historical and Topographical of Bristol and its Neighbourhood, from the earliest period down to the present time.” At p. 208, of vol. ii., it is stated that some of the ancient Calendars of Bristol, under the year

1499,       have the following entry:—

^Cl This yeare, Sebastian Cabot borne in Bristoll, proffered his service to King Henry for discovering new countries; which had noe greate or favorable entertainment of the king, but he with no extraordinary preparation sett forth from Bris­toll, and made greate discoveries.”

We might be inclined, perhaps, to attach no great impor­tance to this statement and to view it as referring, with a mistake of date, to one of the Northern voyages, but that late disclosures absolutely compel us to seek some such clue to facts, which, without its aid, are altogether inexplicable.

In the recent work of Don Martin Navarette, who has spread out the treasures of the Spanish Archives, he remarks (tom. iii. p. 41), “ Lo cierto es queHojeda en su primer viage hallo a ciertas Ingleses por las immediaciones de Caquibacoa^ —^1u what is certain is, that Hojeda in his first voyage, found certain Englishmen in the neighbourhood of Caquibacoa”).

These expressions occur in that part of the work where the author adverts to the commissions which the English Records show to have been granted by Henry VII., and to his inability to refer to any other quarter the remarkable fact of the meeting. Such a connexion, however, is deceptive, because the earliest of these commissions bears date the 19th March

1501.

Hojeda sailed from Spain on the 20th of May 1499 (Na­varette, tom. iii. p. 4), and was only one year absent.

The mere fact that Cabot is known not to have entered a foreign service until long after this period, would suffice to satisfy us that he was the only man who could have been the leader of such an enterprise from England, particularly as we find that when, two years afterwards, an expedition was pro­jected, three Portuguese were called in and placed at its head. The Bristol manuscript seems to put the matter beyond doubt.

The expressions, also, there employed imply a slight of the subject on the part of the King, and probably embody a complaint uttered at the time. The voyage of 1498 had not, we may suspect, proved so productive as was anticipated, and the interest felt the year before now languished. S ome complaint of this kind is discoverable in the conversation of Cabot at Seville, reported by Ramusio, though the neglect is certainly referred, in that report, to an erroneous period.

When we remember that Cabot, the year before, was stop­

ped by the failure of provisions while proceeding Southward, he might naturally be expected to resume his progress along the coast on the first occasion, and he would thus be conduct­ed to the spot where Hojeda found him. It is probable, therefore, that impatient of inactivity, and despairing of aid from the Crown, he threw himself into such a vessel as his private means enabled him to equip, and,.as the Bristol man­uscript expresses it, “with no extraordinary preparation set forth from Bristol and made great discoveries.”

It may have been while he followed the bent of his genius in this desultory manner, that the spirit of enterprise awaken­ed again in England, and his absence may account for the non-appearance of his name in the subsequent patents.

A less agreeable conjecture is suggested by the character of Henry VII. That shrewd and penurious monarch may have been influenced by the same feeling which induced Ferdinand of Spain to rid himself of Columbus, whose high estimate of what he had effected was found to mingle, incon­veniently, with all his proposals for following up the Great Discovery. Henry may have preferred to listen to those with whom a bargain might be made solely in reference to prospective services. Avarice, a disease to which he was constitutionally subject and of which the symptoms became every year more apparent, had now reached his moral sense* Bacon, who wrote his History under the eye of James, a lineal descendant and professed admirer of that monarch, could not disguise the evidence of the infamous devices to which Henry resorted for the purpose of extorting money from his own subjects. Speaking of his escape from the difficulties which at one time beset him, and particularly from the long and vexatious feuds with Scotland, it is remarked—

“ Wherefore nature, which many times is happily contained and refrained by some bands of fortune, began to take place in the King; carrying, as with a strong tide, his affections and thoughts unto the gathering and heaping up of treasure. And as kings do more easily find instruments for their will and humour, than for their service and honour, he had gotten for his purpose, or beyond his purpose, two instruments, Empson and Dudley, whom the people esteemed as his horse*

leeches anti shearers, bold men and careless of fame, and that took t6ll of their master's grist.

“Then did they also use to inthral and charge the subjects* lands with tenures in capite,* by findingfalse offices, and thereby to work upon them for wardships, liveries, primer seisins, and alienations, being the fruits of those tenures, refusing, upon divers pretexts and delays, to admit men to traverse those false offices ac­cording to the law. Nay, the King’s wards, after they had accomplished their full age, could not be suffered to have livery of their lands, without paying excessive fines, far exceeding all reasonable rates. They did also vex. men with informa­tions of intrusion upon scarce colourable titles.

“ When men were outlawed in personal actions, they would not permit them to purchase their charters of pardon, except they paid great and intolerable sum&t standing upon the strict point of law, which upon outlawries giveth forfeiture of goods; nay, contrary to all law and colour, they .maintained the king ought to have the half of men’s lands and'rents, during the space of two full years, fbr ft pain in case of outlawry.

“ And to show further the king’s extreme diligence, I do remember to have seen long since a book of accompt of Empson’s, that had the king’s hand almost to every leaf, by way of signing, and was in some places postilled in the margin with the king’s hand likewise, where was this remembrance :—

“ ‘Item, Received of such a one five marks, for a pardon to be procured? and if- the pardon do not pass, the money to be repaid: except the party be some other ways satisfied.’      -

“And over against this ‘memorandum’ of the king’s own hand,

“ * Otherwise satisfied.’ ”

“ Which I do the rather mehtion, because it shews m the king a nearness, but yet with a kind of justness. So these little sands and grains of gold and silver, as it seemeth, helped not a little to make up the great heap and bank.”

It is remarkable that the First Patent is to the father and the three sons, “and to the heirs of them, and each of them and their deputies and it is expressly provided that the regions discovered by them, “ may not of any other of our subjects be frequented or visited, without the licence of the aforesaid John and his sons, and their deputies, under pain of forfeiture as well of the ships as of all and singular the goods of all them that shall presume to sail to those places so found.” Under this grant, the “Londe and Isles” were discovered, and, of course, a right of exclusive resort to these regions, vested in the father and sons for an indefinite period. The patent of 3rd February, 1498, on the other hand, is very cautiously worded. The power given is to the father alone, described as a Venetian, and to his deputies without any words of inheritance. The whole merit of the discovery is, perhaps

craftily, represented as embodied in the old man. The privi­lege given expired, in strictness, with John Cabot; and Se­bastian, by having incautiously accepted and acted under such an instrument, might be held to recognise it as the consum­mation of all that had been previously done, and as a waiver of the terms of the first patent.

The Portuguese patentees of 19th March 1501, consent to receive the privilege of exclusive resort for only ten years; and it is provided that they shall not be interfered with, by virtue of any previous grant to a foreigner (“extraneus”) under the gre&tseal (“virtute aut colore alicujus concessionis nostrse sibi Magno Sigillo Nostro per antea factse”). It is true the pen is drawn through this passage in the original Roll; but attention had evidently been drawn, in an adverse temper, to a claim that might be set up under the previous grant. It was, perhaps, thought better not to aim an ungra­cious, and superfluous blow at what had already expired. The clause is retained which secures the new patentees against molestation from any of the king’s subjects, and this provision was considered as applying to the surviving sons who, in the original patent, are not, like the father, called Venetians, but were probably all born in England.

It is not, however, certain that Henry intended to super­sede the claims of Cabot, so far as respected discoveries ac­tually made. The general authority to the three Portuguese is as to lands “before unknown to all Christiansand the reservation may mean more than a caution to respect the rights of foreign nations. The patent of 19th March 1501 gives a wider range for discovery than even the original one to the Cabots. It authorises discoveries to the South; ad omnes partes, regiones et fines maris Orientalis, Occidentalis, Australis, Borealis et Septentrional is.” The two marked words occur in this patent, and also in that of 9th December

1502,       but are not found in that of 5th March, 1496.

However all this may be, the meagre evidence referred to

is all that remains to fill up fifteen years of Cabot’s life sub­sequent to the first discovery.

One fact is too remarkable not to claim especial notice. Amerigo Vespucci accompanied Hojeda, and it is now agreed that this was the first occasion on which he crossed the Atlan­tic. Sebastian Cabot was found prosecuting his Third Voyage from England.* Yet, while the name of one overspreads the New World, no bay, cape, or headland recalls the memory of the other. While the falsehoods of one have been diffused with triumphant success, England has suffered to moulder in obscurity, in one of the lanes of the Metropolis, the very Record which establishes the discovery effected by her Great Seaman fourteen months before Columbus beheld the Conti­nent, and two years before the lucky Florentine had been West of the Canaries.

•      See Appendix (B.).

CHAP. XII.

CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN FERDINAND OF SPAIN AND LORD WILLOUGH­BY DE BROKE—CABOT ENTERS THE SERVICE OF SPAIN 13TH SEPTEM­BER, 1512       REVISION OF MAPS AND CHARTS, IN 1515*—APPOINTED A

MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL OF THE INDIES—PROJECTED EXPEDITION TO THE NORTH UNDER HIS COMMAND, TO SAIL IN MARCH 1516—DEATH OF FERDINAND IN JANUARY, 1516—INTRIGUES—CABOT RETURNS TO ENGLAND.

The disappearance of Cabot’s Maps and Discourses, which were, so long after his death, in the custody of William Wor­thington, ready for publication, cannot but painfully recur to us in contemplating the long period during which we are ab­solutely without materials for even conjecturing the manner in which he was employed. These documents would, of course, have supplied abundant information; but in their absence we are compelled to pass abruptly to the new theatre on which he was called to perform a conspicuous part.

Singular as it may appear with regard to a fact so well set­tled, as the period at which he quitted his native country and entered the service of Spain, there exist on this point statements quite irreconcilable with each other, and yet equally unfounded. In the Conversation given by Ramusio, and with which the name of Butrigarius has been subse­quently connected, Cabot is made to say that the troubles in England, led him to seek employment in Spain where he was very graciously received by Ferdinand and Isabella. The queen died in 1504; and many English writers, relying on the Conversation, have assumed that Cabot entered a foreign ser­vice immediately after his return from the original discovery. Others say, that he first went abroad after the expedition from England in 1517. This assertion is found in the Biogra-

phia Britannica, Pinkerton, Rees, Aikin, Chalmers, Camp­bell’s Lives of the Admirals, &c. The Biographie Univer- selle postpones his departure to 1526.

We are told by Peter Martyr (Decade iii. cap. vi.), that Cabot did not leave England until after the death of Henry VII., which occurred in 1509. The. venerable Historian of the Indies is right, and we thus find completed the circle of errors in that deceptive Conversation. Herrera, the writer of the highest authority on these subjects—Historiographer of the King of Spain, and enjoying familiar access to every document, stated, more than two centuries ago, that Cabot received his appointment from the King of Spain on the 13th September 1512, and even furnished the particulars of the negotiation.

It may readily be conceived that the wily Ferdinand would be anxious to withdraw, if possible, from the service of a youthful monarch, full of enterprise and ambition, and with the accumulated treasures of his thrifty father, a Navigator who had opened to England the glorious career of discovery. He had little reason to hope that Henry would pay greater deference .than his father to the Papal Bull. Vespucci, too, who had filled in Spain the office of Pilot-Major, was just dead, as appears by a provision for his widow (Navarette, tom. iii. p. 305), on the 28th March, 1512. The period was favourable to Ferdinand’s purpose. Henry had, already, consented to mingle rashly in the dissensions of the Conti­nent, which finally dissipated the hoards of his father and the resources of his kingdom ; and in this very year, an army was despatched from England, in vessels provided by Spain, to co-operate with his crafty father-in-law. It is now that Her­rera (Dec. i. lib. ix. cap. xiii.) speaks of the king’s anxiety to discover the long sought strait, his views on Baccalaos, and his wish to gather round him all the ablest Cosraographers of the time. We are expressly told that these motives induced him.

N

“ A traer a su servicio a Sebastian Gaboto, Ingles, por tenir noticia que era esperto hombre de Mar y para esto escrivio a Milort Ulibi Capitan General del Rey de Ingleterra que se le embiasse y esto fue- a treze de Septembre deste anno Sebastian Gaboto vino a Castilla y el Rey le dio titulo da su Capitan, y buenas gages, y quedo en su servicio y le mando residir en Sevilla, para lo que se le or- denasse.*”

There is no difficulty,in recognising, through the disguise of the Spanish orthography, the name of Lord Willoughby. That nobleman is found at the head of a Commission for levy­ing troops, dated 29th March, 1511 (Rymer, vol. xiii. p. 297), and immediately followed by a letter from Ferdinand to Henry, dated Seville, 20th April, 1511, relative to the proposed co-operation. Lord Willoughby landed at Plai- sance with the English army from the Spanish vessels on the 8th June, 1512 (Herbert’s Life of Henry VIII., p. 20).

Surprise will doubtless be felt, that any misconception should exist as to a fact so clearly established. But Herrera is known in this country only through a wretched translation made about a century ago by a “Captain John Stevens,” re­plete with errors, and in which many passages of the greatest interest are entirely omitted. Amongst the rest, not a sylla­ble of what has j ust been quoted is found in it. Unfortunately, too, for the credit of those who cite Herrera, this translator has changed the order of Decades, Books, and Chapters, and yet given no notice that he had taken such a liberty. The reader, therefore, who attempts to verify the references of most English authors, will find them agreeing very well with the book of Stevens, but furnishing no clew to the passages of the original.

The Correspondence referred to by Herrera between Fer­dinand and Lord Willoughby, would seem to have been

*      “To draw into his service Sebastian Cabot, an Englishman, having heard of his ability as a seaman; and with this view he wrote to Lord Uliby, Captain-Gene­ral of the King of England, to send him over, and it was on the 13th of Septem­ber of this year (1512) that Cabot came to Spain. The King gave him the title of his Captain, and a liberal allowance, and retained him in his service, directing that he should reside at Seville to await orders.”

extant about a century ago, if we may judge from the lan­guage used in the “Ensaio Cronologico Para La Historia General De Florida,” published at Madrid in 1723. This work, though it appeared under the name of Cardenas, is understood to have been the production of Andre Goncalez Barcia, Auditor of the supreme council of War of the King of Spain. In the Introduction, the author, after conjecturing the motives which led Cabot to abandon England, without re­luctance, remarks—

“Y aunque conservo siempre la Fama de Cosmografo, no se hico caso de el, en Inglaterra, hasta que el Rei de Espana, por el mes de Septembre de 1512, entendiendo de Algunas Cosmografos que avia algun estreeho a la parte de la Tierra de los Baccalaos y otro a Occidente, escrivio a Milord Ulibi, Capitau General de Inglaterra, le embiase a Gaboto, lo qual egecuto luego, como cosa que le importaba pocoJ’*

The readiness with which Lord Willoughby yielded to the request of the Spanish monarch, and his making light of the favour conferred, would seem to be facts that could only be gathered from the Correspondence itself. We may presume it to be not now in existence, or documents so curious would doubtless have been published by Navarette.

No specific duties were, in the first instance, assigned to Cabot; but his value was quickly discerned .and appreciated. We find him, in 1515, mentioned (Herrera, Dec. ii. lib. i. cap. xii.) in connexion with an object, about which the King was very solicitous—a general revision-of Maps and Charts; and in that year, Peter Martyr (Dec. iii. cap. vi.) speaks of him as holding the dignified and important station of a Mem­ber of the Council of the Indies. The same writer informs us

•      “ And though he maintained always his reputation as cosmographer, yet no account was made of him in England; and, at length, the King of Spain, in the middle of September 3512, understanding from cosmographers that there was a Strait in some part of the land of Baccalaos, communicating with another in the West, wrote to Lord Vlibi, Captain-General of England, to send Cabot to him. which he did forthwith as a thing of little moment

that an expedition had been projected to sail in March 1516, under‘the command of Cabot, in search of the North-West Passage.        ^

"Familiarem habeo domi Cabotum ipsum et contubernalem interdum Vocatus namque ex Britannia a Rege nostro Catholico post Henrici Majoris Britannix JRegis mortem concurialis noster est expectatque Indies ut navigia sibi parcntur quibus arcanum hoc naturae latens jam tandem detegatur. Martio mense anni futuri MDXVI. puto ad explorandum discessurum.* Quae succedent tua Sancitas per me intelliget modo vivere detur. Ex Castellanis non desunt qui Cabotum primum fuisse Baccalorum repertorem negant, tantumque ad Occidentem tetendisse minime assentiuntur

This passage, while it proves that his talents had been re­cognised and rewarded by the king, and that his personal character had endeared him to the historian, also shows that there already existed against the successful stranger, the same malignant jealousy to which Columbus fell a victim. Unfor­tunately for Cabot, Ferdinand died on the 23rd of January,

1516.       This circumstance would seem to have put an end to the contemplated expedition, and it is probable that in the scenes which immediately followed, full scope was given to that feeling of dislike and pretended distrust, which had not dared to exhibit itself, in any marked manner, during the king’s life. Charles V., occupied elsewhere, did not reach Spain for a considerable time. The original publication of the three first Decades of Peter Martyr has a Dedication to him, dated October 1516, in which the youthful sovereign is entreated to enter at once on a consideration of the wonders of that New World with which the work is occupied—“ Come

•      “ Cabot is* my very friend whom I use familiarly, and delight to have him

sometimes keepe me companie in my own house. For being called out of England By the commandment of the Catholic King of Castile, after the death of King Henry of England the Seventh of that name, he was made one of our Council and assistance as touching the affairs of the New Indies, looking daily for ships to be furnished for him to discover this hid secret of nature. This voyage is appointed to be begun in March in the year next following, being the year of Christ 1516. What shall succeed, your Holiness shall be advertised by ray letters if God grant me life. Some of the Spaniards deny that Cabot was the first finder of Baccalaos, and affirm that he went not so far westward ** Eden’s translation, Decades, fol. 119.

therefore most Noble Prince, elected of God, and enjoy that high Estate not yet fully understood,” &c. During what may be called the interregnum, a scene of the most odious intrigue was exhibited.

*      All the great qualities of Chievres, the Prime Minister, and favourite of the young King, were sullied with an ignoble and sordid avarice. The accession of his master to the Crown of Spain, opened a new and copious source for the grati­fication of this passion. During the time of Charles’s residence in Flanders, the whole tribe of pretenders to office or to favour, resorted thither. They soon discovered that without the patronage of Chievres, it was vain to hope for pre­ferment ; nor did they want sagacity to find out the proper method of securing him. Vast sums of money were drawn out of Spain. Every thing was venal and disposed of to the highest bidder. After the example of Chievres, the inferior Flemish Ministers engaged in this traffic, which became as general and avowed as it was infamous.*”

A curious illustration of the truth of these representations is found amongst the-papers lately published by Navarette. A letter occurs (tom. iii. p. 307), from Charles to Bishop Fonseca, dated Brussels 18th .November 1516, which states a representation by Andres de St Martin, that on the death of Amerigo Vespucci, about five years before, the late king had intended to confer on the said St Martin the office of Pilot-Major, but that owing to accidental circumstances this intention was frustrated, and Juan Dias de Solis appointed. The latter being now dead, St Martin had preferred a claim to the appointment. Charles commands Fonseca to inquire into the facts, and also into the Capacity and fitness of the ap­plicant. We may conceive that, at such a period, the pros­pect was a cheerless one for Cabot, previously regarded, as has been seen, with obloquy. It is of evil omen, also, to find in authority the intriguer Fonseca, who has obtained an in­famous notoriety as the enemy of Columbus against whom his most successful weapon was the Spanish jealousy of foreigners. Finding himself slighted, Cabot returned to England.

*      Robertson’s Charles V. Book I.

CHAP. XIII.

CABOT’s VOYAGE OF 1517 FROM ENGLAND IN SEARCH OF THE NORTH­WEST PASSAGE.

The enterprising knd intrepid spirit of our Navigator would seem to have found immediate employment, and he is again on the Ocean. He was aided, doubtless, by being able to point to his own name in Letters Patent, granted so long be­fore by the father of the reigning monarch, whose provisions could not, in justice, be considered as extinct.

For a knowledge of this expedition, we are indebted, prin­cipally, to Richard Eden, that friend of Cabot, to whom a tribute of gratitude has been heretofore paid. He published in 1553 a work* bearing this title—

“A treatyse of the Newe India, with other new foundelandes and Ilandes, as well Eastwarde as Westwarde, as they are known and'found in these oure dayes after the description of Sebastian Munster, in his booke of Universal Cosmogra- phie; wherein the diligent feader may see the good successe and rewarde of noble and honest enterprizes, by the which not only worldly ryches are obtayned, but also God is glorified, and the Christian fayth enlarged. Translated out of Latin into English, by Rycharde Eden. Prseter spem sub spe. Imprinted at London, in Lombarde street, by Edward Sutton, 1553.”

The volume is dedicated to the Duke of Northumberland. The checks are so many and powerful on a departure from truth, even aside from the character of the writer, as to relieve us from any apprehension of mis-statement. Cabot then re­sided in England, occupying a conspicuous station. The passage about to be quoted contains a reproach on a sea- officer, of the time of Henry VIII., and it is not likely that such expressions would be addressed to one who had been

In the Library of the British Museum, title in catalogue, Munster.

Lord High Admiral in that reign, unless the facts were no­torious and indisputable, particularly while many of those engaged in the expedition were living. The following is the language of the Dedication—

** Which manly courage (like unto that which hathbeen seen and proved in your Grace, as well in forene realmes as also in this our country) if it had not been wanting¹ in other in these our dayes at such time as our sovereigne Lord of noble memory, King Henry the Eighth, about the same [eighth] yere of his raygne, furnished and set forth certen shippes under the govemaunce of Sebastian Cabot yet living, and one Sir Thomas Perte, whose faynt heart was the cause that that viage toke none effect, if (I say) such matily courage whereof we have spoken had not at that tyme bene wanting, it myghte happelye have come to passe that that riche treasurye called Perularia (which is now in Spayne, in the citie of Civile and so named, for that in it is kepte the infinite ryches brought thither from the newt- foundland of Peru myght longe since have bene in the Tower of London, to the Kinges great honoure and welth of this his real me.”

With this passage Hakluyt (vol. iii. p. 498) properly con­nects the language employed by Robert Thorne in 1527, in a letter addressed to Henry VIII. The object of Thorne (Hakluyt, vol. i. p. 212) was to urge a search for the passage in the North, and he suggests three routes—the North-Eastern, afterwards attempted by Willoughby—the North-Western— and, finally, a course directly over the Pole, giving a prefer­ence, so far as may be inferred from order in suggestion, to the first—

“ Yet these dangers or darkness hath not letted the Spaniards and Portuguese and others, to discover many unknown realms to their great peril. 'Which con­sidered (and that your Graces subjects may have the same light) it will seem your Graces subjects to be without activity or courage, in leaving to do this glorious and noble enterprise. For they being past this little way which they named so dangerous, (which may be two or three leagues before they come to the Pole, and as much more after they pass the Pole) it is clear, that from thenceforth the seas and lands are as temperate as in these parts, and that then it may be at the will and pleasure of the mariners, to choose whether they will sail by the coasts that be cold, temperate or hot. For they being past the Pole, it is plain they may decline to what part they list.

“ If they will go toward the Orient, they shall enjoy the regions of all the Tar* tanansthat extend toward the midday, and from thence they may go and proceed to the land of the Chinese, and from thence to the land of Cathaio Oriental, which is, of all the main land, most Oriental that can be reckoned from our habitation. And if, from thence, they do continue their navigation, following the coasts that return toward the Occident, they shall fall in with Malaca, and so with all the In­

dies which we call Oriental, and following the way, may return hither by the Cape of Buona Speransa; and thus they shall compass the whole world. And if they will take their course after they be past the Pole, toward the Occident, they shall go in the backside of the Newfoundland, and which of Me was discovered by yout Grace's servants, until they came to the backside and south seas of the Indies Oc­cidental. And so continuing their-voyage, they may return through the strait of Magellan to this country, and so they compass also the world by that way* and if they go this third way, and after they be past the Pole, go right toward the Pole antarctic, and then decline towards the lands, and islands situated between-the Tropics, and under the Equinoctial, without doubt they shall find there the rich­est lands and islands of the World of Gold, precious stones, balmes, spices, and other things that we here esteem most which Come out of strange countries, and may return the same way.

By this it appeareth, your Grace hath not only agreat advantage of the riches, but also your subjects shall not travel halfe of the way that others do, which go round about as aforesaid.”

He remarks again,

“To which places there is left one way to discover, which is into the North; /or that of the four parts of the world, it seemeth three parts are discovered by other princes.' For out of Spaine they have discovered all .the Indies and seas Occidental, and out of Portugal all the Indies and seas Oriental: so that by this part of the. Orient and Occident, they have compassed the world. For the one of them departing toward the Orient, and the other toward the Occident, met again in the course or way of the midst of the day, and so then was discovered a great part of the same seas and coasts by the Spaniards. So that now rest to be discovered the said North part's, the which it seemeth to me is only your charge and duty. Because the situation of this your realm is thereunto nearest and apt- est of all others; and also for that you have already taken it in hand. And in mine opinion it will not seem well to leave so .great and profitable an enterprise, seeing it may so easily and with so little cost, labor, and danger, be followed and ob­tained, though heretofore your Grace hath tnsAs'ihereof a proofe, and found not the commodity thereby as you trusted, at this time it shall be no impedient. For there may be now provided remedies for things, then lacked* and the inconve­niences and lets removed, that then were cause that your (Grace’s desire took no Aill effect, which is, the courses to be changed, anct followed the aforesaid new courses. And concerning the mariners, ships, and provisions, an order may be devised and taken meet and convenient, much better than hitherto. By reason whereof, and by God’s grace, no doubt your purpose shall take effect. Surely the cost herein will be nothing, in comparison to the great profit. The labour is much less, yea nothing at all, where so great honour and glory is hoped for; and considering well the courses, truly the danger and way is shorter to us, than to Spain or Portugal, as by evident reasons appeareth.”

It would seem impossible to doubt that the writer here puts distinctly to Henry, as the two grounds for looking to the North, the advantageous position of his own dominions in

reference to a passage in that quarter, and the fact that his former experiment had taken that direction.

Hakluyt approached the subject under a misconception, the source of which will presently be pointed out, that Cabot had gone to the South on this occasion, and supposes that he finds a confirmation of it in that part of the passage quoted from Thorne, which speaks of a change of the courses. Not only, however, is this assumption against the evidence from other quarters, but Thorne’s own words repel it. He had just suggested a passage by the North, and then eagerly anti­cipates and answers the objections which might be urged, and it naturally occurs to him as the most forcible of these, that the king had already made a proof in that quarter without success. Could he have apprehended such an objection to his project from a failure in the South? To suppose that he wished to combat the presumption against the existence of a strait arising from ill success there, will appear ridiculous, if vve note that the passage in the South had been, in point of fact, discovered by Magellan, and is actually referred to by Thorne as affording a convenient route for the return voyage.

The words on which Hakluyt would lay this undue stress have ample operation when, aside from the various courses for attempting a North-West passage, here were two others suggested, and a seeming preference given to that by the North-East. Captain Parry took many different “ courses” with a more limited object in view.’

In the reference made by Thorne to the Newfoundland, “ which of late was discovered by your Graces subjects ” he evidently treats as an original discovery that further ad­vance to the North, which we may presume to have been made on this occasion. The same person, in his letter to Dr Ley (1 Hakluyt, p. 219), speaking of the passage by the North, remarks, that he, probably, derived the “ inclination or desire of this discovery” from his father, who, “ with ano­ther merchant of Bristow, named Hugh Eliot, were the dis­coverers of the Newfoundlands ” Now, we have seen his

O

previous application of the epithet, which is, in truth, most appropriate to the latest discovery. Couple this with another fact. The name of Thorne does not occur in any of the patents. Of the two to which we. shall have occasion here­after to advert, subsequent to those of the Cabots, one is dated 19th March, 1501, and is in favour of certain Portu­guese, who are associated with three merchants of Bristol, Richard Ward, Thomas Ashehurst, and John Thomas. This is now, for the first time, published from the Rolls in the pre­sent volume. The last patent bears date 9th December, 1502, and is found in Rymer (vol. xiii. p. 37). The names of Ward and Thomas are dropped, and Hugh Eliot is asso­ciated with Ashehurst and the Portuguese. Thus the name with which Thorne connects that of his father does not ap­pear until this late period. We have no doubt that when, after an interval of fifteen years, the reappearance of Cabot called attention to this patent, which had lain dormant, Thorne acquired from Ashehurst or his representatives the interest of that person. Robert Thorne, the son, speaks of the two associates, “my father, who, with another merchant of Bris­tow, named Hugh Eliot,” a language well agreeing with the explanation suggested.

It appears from the epitaph of Robert Thorne (Stowes Sur­vey of London, and Fuller’s Worthies), that he was born in 1492, a circumstance that may assist in enabling us to sup­pose his father at a not very advanced age in 1516.

A striking instance of the inaccuracy of Purchas, occurs in his statement of the expression used by Thorne. He says (Pilgrims, vol. iv. p. 1812), “ Robert Thorne, in a book to Doctor Leigh, writeth, that his father, with another mer­chant of Bristol, Hugh Eliot, were the first discoverers of the Newfoundlands.” Had Thorne really said ^ufirst,” he must have intended deception; but no such word is found either in the letter itself (Hakluyt, vol. i. p. 219), or in Hakluyt’s subsequent reference to it (vol. iii. p. 10). The absence of the very epithet which Purchas deemed it necessary to inter-

poLte, in order to suit his own notion of what was meant, forms a strong argument to prove, what is sufficiently clear from the context, that Thorne alludes to the recent discovery made by the subjects of Henry VIII.

It may be repeated, then, that in his speculations on the. North-West Passage, Thorne says, “ And if they will take their course after they be past the Pole toward the West, they shall go on the back side of the Newfoundland which of late was discovered by your Grace?s subjects, until they come to the back side arid South seas of the Indies Occident­al.” Thus by advancing resolutely in the route before taken in the North by “ his Grace’s subjects,” the Western side of the American Continent would be attained. Now it is re­markable, that in speaking of the effort made under the aus­pices of Hugh Eliot and his father, he says to Dr Ley (Hak­luyt, vol. i. p. 219), “of which there is no doubt (as now plainly appeareth), if the mariners would then have been ruled and followed their pilot’s mind the lands of the West Indies (from whence all the gold cometh) had been ours, for all is one coast as by the card appeareth and is aforesaid.” Thus we find that the frustration of the object is imputed to those who refused to follow their pilot’s wishes, and that the golden visions of Thorne are those belonging to a successful prosecution of the North-Western Discovery. Is it possible to hesitate about connecting this with the language of Eden as to the faint-heartedness of Sir Thomas Pert, and the general opinion, in 1553, that owing to that faint-heartedness the trea­sures of Peru were at Seville instead of the Tower of Lon­don?

The manner in which Hakluyt and subsequent writers have been betrayed into error with regard to this expedition re­mains to be considered.

CHAP. XIV.

Hakluyt’s error with regard to the voyage of 1517.

Hakluyt was under an impression that there should betaken in connexion with this voyage a passage in the Spanish histo­rian Oviedo, of which he found a translation in Ramusio. It is but just that he should be fully heard on this point—

“ Moreover it seemeth that Gonsalvo de Oviedo, a famous Spanish writer, alludeth unto the sayde voyage in the beginning of the 13th chapter of the 19th booke of hi9 generaU and natural historie of the West Indies^ agreeing vexy weU With the time about which Richard Eden writeth that the foresaid voyage was be­gun. The author's wordes are these, as I finde them translated into Italian by that excellent and famous man Baptista Mamusius.*■*

After giving the Italian version, Hakluyt proceeds—

“This extract importeth thus much in English, to wit: ‘ That in the yeere 1517, an English rover, under the colour of travelling to discover, came with a great shippe linto the pArts of Brasill, on the coaste of the firme lande, and from thence he crossed over unto this Iland of Hispaniola, and arrived neere unto the mouth of the haven of the citie of S. Domingo, and sent hi3 shipboate full of men on shore, and demanded leave to enter into this haven, saying that he came with merchandise to traffique. But at that very instant the govemour of the castle, Prancis de Tapia, caused a tire of ordinance to be shot from the castle at the ship, for she bare in directly with the haven. When the Englishmen sawe this, they withdrew themselves out, and those that were in the shipboate, got themselves, with all speede, on ship-board. And in trueth the warden of the castle committed an oversight: for if the shippe had entred into the haven, the men thereof could not have come on lande without leave both of the citie and of the castle. Therefore the people of the ship seeing how they were received, sayled toward the Iland of S. John, and entering into the port of S. Germaine, the English men parled with those of the towne, requiring victuals and things needefull to furnish their ship, and complained of the inhabitants of the city of S. Domingo, saying that they came not to doe any harme, but to trade and traffique for their money and merchandise. In this place they had certaine victuals, and for recompense they gave and paid them with certain vessels of wrought tinne and other things. And

*      Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 499.

afterward they departed toward Europe, where it is thought they arrived not; for we never heard any more newes of them.”*

Herrera has an account of the visit somewhat more at large (Dec. ii. lib. v. cap. iii.), and refers to the statement of Gines Navarro, the captain of a caravel of St Domingo, who happening to be at St John when the English vessel arrived at that Island, went off to her, supposing her to be of his own country. According to him, the ship was of two hundred and fifty tons burthen, and had on board sixty men. She was accompanied by a pinnace having two guns in her bows, with twenty-five men armed with crossbows and wearing corslets. The commander of the ship offered to show his instructions from the king of England (“ la instruction que llevaba de el Rei de Inglaterra”), and requested Navarro to proceed in company with his own vessel to show the way to St Domingo. The English were plentifully supplied with provisions, and had a great quantity of woollen and linen goods with other merchandise, for the purpose, of traffic. They effected at St John’s a barter of some tin, and proceeding afterwards to St Domingo, sent a boat ashore with a message that their object was trade, and remained off the island for two days. The commander of the fort sent to the authorities for instructions how to act, and not receiving a timely answer fired, on his own responsibility, at the strangers, on which they recalled their boat and went round to the Island of St John, and after remaining some time carrying on a barter with the inhabitants of the town of St Germain, disappeared.

The account which, according to Navarro, they gave of themselves, was this:—

“ They said that they were Englishmen, and that the ship was from England, and that she and her consort had been equipped to go and seek the land of the Great Cham, that they had been separated in a tempest, and that the ship pur. suing her course had been in a frozen sea, and found great islands of ice, and that taking a different course, they came into a warm sea, which boiled like water in a kettle, and lest it might open the seams of the vessel they proceeded tb examine

*      lb.

the Baccalaos, where they found fifty sail of vessels, Spanish, French, and Portu­guese, engaged in fishing; that going on shore to communicate with the natives^ the pilot, a native of Piedmont, was killed; that they proceeded afterwards along the coast to the river Chicory, and crossed over thence to the island of St John. Asking them what they sought in these islands, they said that they wished to ex­plore in order to make report to the King of England, and to' procure a load of the Brasil wood.”

Such was the report of Navarro. The officer commanding the fort was arrested, because by his precipitate conduct the opportunity was lost of ascertaining who were the intruders, and what their object. On the facts being reported to the emperor, he viewed them with great uneasiness, and ^u wished that in the Island of St Domingo they had proceeded in a different manner, and either by force or stratagem got pos* session of the vessel. He was struck with the inconveniences likely to result from English vessels frequenting those parts, and gave strict orders that on their again appearing, measures should be adopted for taking them and making an example of them.”

These circumstances are adverted to, for the purpose of showing the attention which was excited by this visit, and the anxious examination, doubtless, undergone by Navarro who had communicated with the strangers. Wfien Herrera was ordered by Philip II. to prepare his History, there were sub­mitted to him documents of every description, even the most minute (Decade vi. lib. iii. cap. 19). His statement, then, which goes thus into detail, was, probably, derived from the Examination, and it establishes a representation, that the Englishmen spoke of the Baccalaos as a point at which they had touched on their return from a struggle with the perils of the navigation further North,

There is found in Purchas (Pilgrims, vol. iii. p. 855), a ^u Description of the West Indies,” by Herrera, being the introduction to the history, with a remark, “ This author hath written eight Decades of the Spanish Acts in the West Indies, which give great light to those parts, but would be too long for this work.” The influence of the passage just quoted is:

curiously visible in Purchas. On reading it, he saw, at once, that the statement of Navarro had reference to the visit spoken of by Oviedo, and it therefore passed into his mind that the expedition proceeded, in the first instance, to the North. When he had occasion, however, to advert to the circumstance afterwards, he evidently could not recollect whence he had derived the impression, or there would have been found a reference to Herrera in his ambitious margin, instead of the vague assertion: “ Afterwards the same Sir Sebastian Cabot was sent, A.t>. 1516, by king Henry the VIII., together with Sir Thomas Pert, Vice-Admiral of England/ which after coasting this Continent the second time, as I have ready discovered the Coast of Brasil, and returned from thence to St Domingo and Porto Rico” (vol. iv. p. 1812).

A peculiar anxiety is felt with regard to this voyage, be­cause it bears directly on our estimate of Cabot’s character. He had taken up, with all the ardour which belongs to the conceptions of a man of his stamp, the opinion that a North­West passage was practicable, and we are grieved as well as surprised, to find him apparently faltering in the pursuit. We know from Peter Martyr, his undiminished confidence in 1515, and cannot understand why, immediately afterwards, he should be found in a confused, rambling voyage to the South, instead of following up his great purpose.

The examination thus far has assumed that the date given by Ramusio, in his translation of Oviedo, and adopted by Hak­luyt, is correct. It now remains to show that there has been an entire misconception on this point, and that Hakluyt has paid the deserved penalty of his folly in quoting a Spanish book from an Italian translation.

The reference is correctly given to book xix. cap. xiii. of Oviedo; but on turning to the passage, he is found to repre­sent the visit of the English ship as occurring not in 1517, but in 1527. There are in the library of the British Mu­seum the edition of his work published at Seville in 1535, and the next edition, corrected by the author, published at

Salamanca, in 1547. In the king’s library there is a copy of the latter edition. The date given in both editions is mdxxvii. It may be very idle to attempt to fortify the state­ment of a writer of the highest credit, and who resided in St Domingo at the very period in question; but the fact may be mentioned that his narrative had not only carried him up to this period but beyond it, for in, a preceding chapter (the vii.) of the same book, he speaks of an incident which oc­curred in September, 1530.

As the reliance of Hakluyt is exclusively on the ^u famous Spanish writer Oviedo,” it might be sufficient to shift to its proper side of the scale the weight which has been thus mis­placed. The point, however, is one of interest, in reference to the subsequent voyage from England, in 1527, and we may draw to the rectification the testimony of Herrera.

That writer, it is true, affixes no date to the visit, and while considering, at an early period, the condition of the colonies, he adverts to this as one of the circumstances which had led to complaint and uneasiness* This sort of grouping is always dangerous in the hands of an ambitious and florid historian, anxious to be relieved from a chronological detail of isolated facts, and to treat them in combination, and in their supposed influence on results. He has, while considering an early incident, taken up this and others which, though pos­terior in point of time, yet preceded the measures of pre­caution, of which they, in succession, indicated the necessity. The question is placed beyond doubt by another occurrence almost contemporary. Oviedo, in the same chapter which refers to the Visit of the English vessel, adds, that about a year afterwards (“desde a poco tiempo o en el siguiente an­no”), a French corsair made its appearance at Cuba, guided by a villainous Spaniard, named Diego Ingenio (“ guiado por un mal Espagnol llamado Diego Ingenio”). This inci­dent is mentioned by Herrera, under the year 1529, and he states it to have taken place in the middle of October of that year (Herrera, Dec. iv. lib. vi. chap. xii.). His next chap-

ter (xiii.) is occupied with the precautions taken for the secu­rity of the Indies, and they are expressly referred to the visit of the English and French Ships.* Thus is obtained a de­cided, though superfluous, confirmation of the accuracy of Oviedo.

So soon as we are assured of his real statement, the im­probability that this visit could have been on the part of Ca­bot’s expedition occurs with irresistible force.

Is it at all likely that one who had just quitted the service of Spain, and "who knew the jealous system of exclusion auopted with regard to her American possessions, would be found en­gaged in a silly and confused attempt to carry on a commerce in that quarter? Again, is it not probable that Navarro would have recognized one whom we may presume to have been familiarly known to the seamen of that day ? Would a man, moreover, who had been one of the captains of the King of Spain, and afterwards a member of the council of the Indies, have been anxious to open a communication with the author­ities of St Domingo ? Cabot would have known not only that the application was idle, but that it would subject him to the most odious reproaches, for endeavouring to turn against Spain the knowledge acquired by having so recently heldjt confi­dential post in her service.

This last consideration, indeed, suggests a pleasing reflec­tion that his fame may be successfully relieved from the sus­picion of having, even at a moment of pique, consented to engage in such an enterprise. The pure and lofty character to which all the incidents of his life lay claim, renders us unwil­ling to credit what could not but be deemed derogatory. His vindication has already, it is hoped, been made.out; and when we come, in its proper place, to a voyage from England, in 1527, under totally different auspices, there will be seen

*      “ Con occasion de la nave Inglesa que havia llegada al .Puerto de la Ciudad de Santo Domingo de la Isla Espanola, i de los Franceses de que se ha tratado en cl capitulo precedente, el Obispo -de Santo Domingo, Presidente del Audencia higo una Junta de todos las Estados de la Isla, adonde se confirio lo que se debia hacer,” &c.

p

the happy application of what Oviedo correctly refers to that year. By keeping separate the clews which Hakluyt has crossed and entangled, there will be attained, in each case, a point from which a survey may be made with the greatest clearness and assurance of accuracy.

CHAP. XV.

VOYAGE OF 1517 THE ONE REFERRED TO BY CABOT IN HIS LETTER TO

RAMUSIO.

It being, then, certain that the expedition of 1517 had for its object the North-West Passage, was it on the llth June

1517,       that Cabot attained the point mentioned in his letter tc Ramusio ? The day of the month is given, not only in that let­ter but again by Sir Humphrey Gilbert (iii. Hakluyt, p. 16), from Cabot’s map. Many circumstances of corroboration press on us. When Eden speaks, in magnificent phrase, of the opportunity lost to England of taking the lead of Spain, his language is naturally referable, as has been said, to the frus­tration of that great effort to find a way to Cataya which Cabot had already essayed, and which Peter Martyr, in 1515, expressly tells us he was on the eve of again undertaking. In the letter to Ramusio, Cabot declares that when arrested at 67° and-a-half by the timidity of his associates, he . was san­guine of success, and that if not overruled he both could and would have gone to Cataya. Does not Eden, then, merely sup­ply the name of the principal object of this reproach ? Let us refer again to the language of Thorne, which applies, we know, to the expedition of 1517 (i. Hakluyt, p. 219), “ Of the which there is no doubt, as now plainly appeareth, if the mariners would then have been ruled and followed their pilot’s mind, the lands of the West-Indies, from whence all the gold cometh, had been ours.” Can it be doubted that these sev­eral passages all point to the same incident ?

In the work of Peter Martyr, written before this last voy^ age, no allusion is found to a mutiny in the North, but he mentions expressly that in the South the expedition was stop

ped by a failure of provisions. While conveying such minute information he would hardly have failed to advert to a fact so remarkable in itself, and bearing moreover so directly on the question of the supposed practicability of the enterprise.

On the occasion alluded to, the lat. of 67° and-a-half had been attained on the 11th June. This could not have been in 1497, because land was first seen on the 24th of June of that year. With regard to the expedition of 1498, which Peter Martyr and Gomara are supposed more particularly to refer to, the month of July is named as that in which the great struggle with the ice occurred. Did not Cabot, then, in­structed by experience, sail from England earlier in the year than on the former occasions? In order to be within the eighth year of Henry VIII. mentioned by Eden, he must have got off before the 22nd of April, if he sailed in 1517.

The advance on this occasion was so far beyond what had been made on former voyages, that Thorne does not hesitate to give to the region newly visited the designation of New­foundland ; and it was then probably that Cabot “ sailed into Hudson’s Bay and gave English names to sundry places there' in.”*

No date is mentioned by Ramusio for the voyage alluded to in Cabot’s letter, though from his speaking of that Navigator as having made discoveries in the time of Henry VII., the reader might be led to refer it to that early period. One ex­pression is remarkable. After stating Cabot’s long-continued course West with a quarter of the North, and his reaching 67° and-a*half, Ramusio says that he would have gone further but for the “ malignita del padrone et de marinari sollevati” (the refusal of the master and the mutinous mariners). We can hardly err in referring this allusion to Sir Thomas Pert, “ whose faint heart,” according to Eden, “was the cause that the voyage took none effect.”

*      Anderson’s History of Commerce, vol. i. p. 549. M’Pherson’s Annals of Com­merce, vol. ii. p. 12.

It only remains to express a hope that as the errors with regard to this voyage had become so firmly fixed, and their rectification was so important to the fame of Cabot, the pre­ceding tedious detail will be excused. Dr Robertson, who it appears by the list of authorities prefixed to his History of America knew of Oviedo only through the Italian translation, thus speaks of the memorable expedition:

“ Some merchants of Bristol having fitted out two ships for the southern regions of America, committed the conduct of them to Sebastian Cabot, who had quitted the service of Spain. He visited the coasts of Brazil, and touched at the islands of Hispaniola and Porto Rico,” &c, (Book ix.) And in a work of the present year (Lardner’s Cyclopaidia, Maritime and In­land Discovery, vol. ii. p. 138), it is said, “ Sebastian Cabot sailed in 1516 with Sir John Pert to Porto Rico, and after­wards returned to Spain.”

i       CHAP. XVI.

CABOT APPOINTED, IN 1518, PILOT-MAJOR. OF SPAIN       SUMMONED TO AT­TEND THE CONGRESS AT BADAJOS IN 1524------------------- PROJECTED EXPEDITION

UNDER HIS COMMAND TO THE MOLUCCAS.

The result of the expedition of 1517, however it may have added in England to the fame of Cabot for ardent enterprise and dauntless intrepidity, was not such as to lead immediately to a renewed effort. There had been a failure; and a second expedition might be frustrated by similar causes. The mer­chants who were engaged in it had probably sustained a heavy loss, and the king was at that time full of anxious speculations about the affairs of the Continent. The horrible Sweating- Sickness, too, which, from July to December 1517, spread death and dismay not only through the court and the city, but over the whole kingdom, suspending even the ordinary operations of commerce, left no time to think of the prosecu­tion of a distant and precarious' enterprise. It is probable, therefore, that Cabot might have languished in inactivity but for the new and more auspicious aspect of affairs in Spain.

If the youthful successor of Ferdinand had looked into the volume dedicated to him by Peter Martyr, containing a faith­ful and copious account of that splendid empire in the west to which he had succeeded, he could not fail to be struck with the memorable enterprise of Cabot, and the estimate of his character by that honest chronicler. The records, too, would show the pains which had been taken to secure his services, and the posts of honour and confidence to which he had been rapidly advanced. It would doubtless be asked, what had been the issue of that expedition under his com­mand, which it appeared was to sail in March 1516. Coup­

ling its abandonment with what he found stated of the jealous denial of that Navigator’s merits by the Spaniards, the sa­gacity of Charles could hardly fail to detect the secret causes of Cabot’s disappearance.

Immediate measures in the way of atonement would seem to have been taken. In 1518 Cabot was named Pilot-Major of Spain.*

The appointment is noted in the general arrangement and scheme of reformation of that year, but we find it announced again in 1520, (Dec. ii. lib. ix. cap. vii.) with the instruc­tions of the emperor that no pilot should proceed to the Indies without previous examination and approval by him.f Possi­bly, therefore, the final arrangement was not concluded until the visit of Charles V. to England in the latter year. It would seem that there was no intermediate Pilot Major between Juan de Solis and Cabot, for in a Royal order of 16th No­vember 1523, relative to a charge in the time of De Solis, on the salary of the office (Navarette, tom. iii. p. 308), Cabot is spoken of as his successor.

The functions of this office, though of great importance and responsibility, supply, of course, but few incidents for record. We might expect to find the project of the North-West pass­age revived, but many considerations were opposed to it. The same reasons which suggested the passage in the North as so desirable to England, on account of her local position, would disincline Spain from the search; and we accordingly find, that the only feeble efforts in reference to it were those of Cortez and Gomez on the southern coast of North America. All eyes were directed to the South. Peter Martyr is even impatient that attention should be turned towards Florida where Ayllon had landed in 1523, and made a tedious report as to its productions. ^uWhat need have we of these things

*      Herrera, Dec. ii. lib. iii. cap. vii. Ensaio Chronologico para la Florida, In- troduccion-

fDiose titulo Piloto Major k Sebastian Gaboto con orden que ningun Pilot-' pasase a las Indias sin ser primero por el examinado i aprobado.

which are common with all the people of Europe? To the South! To the South! They that seek riches must not go to the cold and frozen North” (Dec. viii. cap. x.). The hopes of adventurers were directed to the Moluccas, through the passage which Magellan had been fortunate enough to find in 53°, through toils and perils so much less than those which had been encountered in vain in the North. The next men­tion we find of Cabot, is a reference to his opinion (Herrera, Dec. iii* lib. iv. cap. xx.), as to the existence of many islands worthy of being explored) in the same region with the Mo­luccas. Seeing that the spirit of enterprise had taken this direction, he seems to have looked to' it as affording a chance of more active employment than his present office. An in­cident soon brought him conspicuously forward in connexion with this region.

Portugal had interposed an earnest representation that the Moluccas fell within the limits assigned to her under the Pa­pal Bull, and she remonstrated, in the strongest terms, against any attempt on the part of Spain to carry on a commerce in that quarter.* The emperor decided, therefore, that a solemn conference should be held, at which the subject might be fully discussed and an opportunity afforded to Portugal of stating her pfetensions. The son of Columbus, Ferdinand, was also present/)*

In attendance on this remarkable assemblage, were the men most famed for their nautical knowledge and experience; not as members, but for the purpose of reference as occasion might arise. At the head of a list of these, we find the name of Cabot.J The conference was held at Badajos, in April 1524, and on the 31st May the decision was solemnly proclaimed, declaring that the Moluccas were situate, by at least 20°, within the Spanish limits. The Portuguese retired in disgust, and rumours immediately reached Spain, that the young king of Portugal was preparing a great fleet to maintain his pre­

*      Peter Martyr, Dec. vi. cap. ix. f Peter Martyr, Dec. vi. cap. x.

*      Gomara, cap. c.j Herrera, Dec. iii. lib. vi. cap. vi. 5 Eden, Decades, fol. 241.

tensions by force and to take and destroy any vessels which might be found presuming to urge a commerce in that quarter.* Immediately after the decision, a company was formed at Seville to prosecute the trade which had received so high and solemn a sanction, and Cabot was solicited to take the com- mand.f One of the parties to the association was Robert Thorne of Bristol, then resident in Spain, who with his part­ner was led into the adventure, ⁶⁶ principally,” as he says, “ for that two English friends of mine, which are somewhat learned in cosmographie, should go in the same ships to bring me certain relation of the country, and to be expert in the navigation of those seas.J In September, 1524, Cabot re­ceived from the council of the Indies permission to engage in the enterprise, and he proceeded to give bond to the Com­pany for the faithful execution of his trust.§ His original request was, that four ships properly armed and equipped should be provided at the expense of the Treasury, while the Company on its part should supply the requisite funds for the commercial objects. || The agreement with the emperor was executed at Madrid on 4thMarch, 1525,IT and stipulated that a squadron of, at least, three vessels of not less than one hun­dred tons should be furnished, and one hundred and fifty men.*^ The title of Captain General was conferred on Ca­bot The emperor was to receive from the Company four thousand ducats and a share of the profits.

It was proposed, instead of pushing directly across the Pa-

*      Peter Martyr, Dec. id. cap. x.

f Herrera, Dec. iii. lib. ix. cap. iii.

*      Hakluyt, vol. i. p. 215. We may conjecture one of these to have been Jorge Barlo (George Barlow), who, with another, brought to Spain Cabot’s Despatch from the JLa Plata (Herrera, Dec. iv. lib. iii. cap. i.).

§ Peter Martyr, Dec. vii. cap. vi.

I lb.

1 Herrera, Dec. iii lib. ix. cap. iii.

** Peter Martyr, Dec. vii. cap. vi. Herrera,'Dec. iii. lib. ix. cap. iii. Gomara says two hundred and fifty, but his assertion has no weight against the concurring testimony of the two Historians cited, one a member of the Council, and the other 'referring to official document⁰

Q

cific, after penetrating through the Strait, as Magellan had done, to proceed deliberately and explore on every side, par­ticularly the western coast of the Continent.*

The arrangement at first was, that the expedition should sail in August, 1525;f but it was delayed by circumstances to Which it may be proper now to advert as bearing on its ulti­mate fate.      . .

^#       Peter Martyr, Dec. vii. cap. vi* t lb.

CHAP. XVII.

JEALOUSY OF THE CONTEMPLATED EXPEDITION ON THE PART OF PORTU­GAL      MISSION OF DIEGO GARCIA, A PORTUGUESE.

In order to understand fully the circumstances which con­spired to throw vexatious obstacles in the way of the expe­dition, and in the end to defeat its main object, we must go back to the voyage of Magellan that first opened ta Spain a direct communication with those regions of which Portugal had before monopolised the lucrative commerce.

No sooner did the project of that intrepid navigator be­come known in Portugal than the utmost alarm was excited. Remonstrances were addressed to the government of Spain; threats and entreaties were alternately used to terrify or to soothe the navigator himself, and assassination was openly spoken of as not unmerited by so nefarious a purpose. Find­ing these efforts vain, a tone of bitter derision was adopted.

The Portuguese said, that the king of Castile was incurring' an idle expense, inasmuch as Magellan was an empty boaster, without the least solidity of character, who would never ac­complish what he had undertaken/’*

Had Magellan perished a month earlier than he did, these contemptuous sneers would have passed into history as de­scriptive of his real character. There is every reason to be­lieve, that he fell a victim to the treachery infused into the expedition; and the pilot, Estevan Gomez, who openly urged retreat after a considerable progress had been made in the

*      Decian los Portugueses que el Rei de Castilla perderia el gasto porque Her­nando de Magellan es era hombre hablador, i de poca substancia, i que no saldria con lo que prometia.” Herrera, Dec. ii. lib. iv. cap. x.

I

I

Strait, was, we know, a Portuguese.* The conduct of the Portuguese authorities to the surviving vessels was marked by­cruelty and rapacity.; and even the gentle spirit of Peter Martyr breathes indignation. Official notice was received that the ship Trinity had been captured and plundered by the Portuguese, and that this had been followed up by their going to the Moluccas, taking possession of them, and seizing property of every description.

“The Pilots and King’s servants who are safely returned, say that both robbe­ries and pillage exceed the value of two hundred thousand ducats, but Christo* phorus de Haro especially, the General director of this aromatical negotiation, under the name of Factor, confirmeth the same. Our senate yieldeth great credit to this man. He gave me the names of all the five ships that accompanied the Victory, and of all the Mariners, and mean Officers whatsoever. And in our senate assembled he showed why he assigned that value of the booty or prey, because he particularly declared how much spices the Trinity brought

“It may be doubted what Caesar will do in such a case. I think he will dissem­ble the matter for a while, by reason of the renewed affinity, yet though they were twins of one birth, it were hard to suffer this injurious loss to pass unpun­ished.^

In reference to the voyage of Cabot, the alarm of the Por- guese would seem to have been yet more serious; for they saw in it not a doubtful experiment, but a well concerted com­mercial enterprise. The emperor was besieged with impor­tunities ; the King of Portugal representing that it would be “ the utter destruction of his poor kingdom,” to have his mo­nopoly of this trade invaded.$ The honest historian is per­suaded, that though a tie of consanguinity existed between the two monarchs by their common descent from Ferdinand and Isabella, and though the Emperor had given his sister Catherine, “ a most delicate young lady of seventeen,” in mar­riage to the King of Portugal, a step “so injurious to the kingdom of Castile, the chief sinews of his power,” as the arrest of the expedition, would not be taken.§> So far as

•      Herrera, Dec. ii. lib. ix. cap. xv. Purchas, vol. i. B. i. ch. ii. f Peter Martyr, Dec. viii. cap. x.

| Peter Martyr, Dec. vii. cap. vii.

.§ Peter Martyr, Ded. vii. cap. vii.

endearing domestic ties could influence such a matter, the apprehension here implied was to be yet further increased. A negotiation was going on for the Emperor’s marriage to Isabella, the sister of the King of Portugal, and the ceremony took place in March, 1526. The dowry received was nine hundred thousand crowns, and rumours, in the course of the treaty, were current that one of the articles of the double alliance stipulated an abandonment of the Moluccas. Passing onward with the subject, it may be stated that early in 1529 the emperor relieved himself from all difficulty by mortga­ging the Moluccas to the King of Portugal for three hundred and fifty thousand ducats, with the right of exclusive trade until redemption.* This step excited the utmost disgust in Spain, and it was openly said that he had better have mort­gaged Estremadura itself. He would listen, however, to no representations on the subject. A proposition having been made to pay off the mortgage money, on condition that the applicants should have six years enjoyment of the trade, the Emperor, then in Flanders, not only rejected the offer, but sent a message of rebuke to the council for having entertained it. Aside from private feelings, he doubtless, as a politician, thought it unwise to put in peril an alliance so intimate and assured for any commercial purpose unconnected with the schemes of ambition by which he was engrossed.

Matters, however, had not reached this crisis before Cabot sailed; and the intense anxiety of Portugal could, therefore, look only to the indirect efforts at frustration, for which the intimate relations of the two countries might afford opportu­nities.

In all the accounts of Cabot’s enterprise given by the Span­ish historians, reference is found to an expedition under the command of a Portuguese,f named Diego Garcia, which left Spain shortly after Cabot; touched at the Canaries, as he had

*„ Herrera, Dec. iv. lib. v. cap. x. f Herrera, Dec. iii. lib. x. cap. i.

done; found its way to the La Pldta; fixed itself in his neigh­bourhood ; and, finally, by the misconduct of certain persons connected with it, brought on a general and overwhelming attack on Cabot, from the natives, who had previously, by a mixture of boldness and good management, been brought into alliance with him. Charlevoix (Histoire du Paraguay, tom. i. p. 28) supposes that Garcia was employed avowedly by Portugal; but according to Herrera (Dec. iii. lib. x. cap. i.), . the expedition was fitted out by the Count D. Fernando de Andrada and others, for the La Plata, and consisted of a ship of one hundred tons, a pinnace, and one brigantine, with the frame of another to be put together as occasion might require. One great object was to search for Juan de Cartagena, and the French priest whom Magellan had put on shore. Garcia left Cape Finisterre on the 5 th of August, 1526, and touching at the Canaries (where Cabot had been) took in supplies and sailed thence the 1st of September.

These plain matters of fact have been recently mis-stated. In Dr Lardner’s Cyclopaedia (History of Maritime and Inland discovery, vol. ii. p. 89), it is said, “ Diego Garcia was sent with a single ship to the river of Solis; but as he lingered on his way at the Canary Islands, he was anticipated in his dis­coveries by Sebastian Cabot. That celebrated Navigator had sailed from Spain a few months later than Garcia,” &c. Cabot sailed in April 1526. The fact is important, because had he left Spain under the circumstances stated, he could not have been ignorant of the claim of Garcia, under a grant, as is alleged, from the emperor, and his going to the same quarter would have been both fraudulent and absurd. His manifest ignorance on the subject corroborates the suspicion that, on finding the intrigues to arrest Cabot ineffectual, this expedition, under the command of the Portuguese, was hastily got up to watch his movements, and probably to act in con­cert with the disaffected, with an understanding as to certain points of rendezvous in case the mutineers should gain the mastery. It is important to note that in Peter Martyr, whose

work embraces the early part of 1526,* no reference is made to any projected expedition to the quarter for which, as it is now said, Garcia was destined.

At Decade iv. lib. i. cap* i. Herrera resumes his abstract of Garcia’s report. That personage is now off the coast of Brasil. He touched at the Bay of St Vincent, and there found a Portuguese of the degree of Bachelor, froin whom he received refreshments, and whose*son-in-law agreed to accom­pany him to the La Plata. In running down the coast he touched at the island of Patos (now St Catherine) in 27°, where Cabot had been before him, and, as Garcia asserts, had behaved in a very shameful manner, carrying off the sons of several chiefs who had treated him with great kindness. Pro­ceeding up the La Plata, Garcia found the ships which Cabot, oh ascending the river, had left under the charge of an offi­cer. He resolved to follow in his brigantine; and here we are let into the character of this personage. While at St Vincent, he had hired, to his host the Bachelor, the ship of a hundred tons, to carry eight hundred slaves to Portugal; and “ to colour,” says Herrera, ⁶⁶ his covetousness, he said, that he had protested to the Count Don Fernando de Audrada, that the vessel was useless, being much too large for the naviga­tion and discovery of the La Plata.”f Thus, with the blind­ness of an absurd prejudice, has the author consented to spread upon his pages all the malignant invective of this man against Cabot—to make it a part of the History of the Indies —and yet he winds up, at last, by telling us of Garcia’s fraud, and of the falsehood by which it was sought to be disguised! The Portuguese, in order to break the force of indignation against himself, evidently laboured to turn the resentment of his employers on Cabot, by whom they supposed their views

*      He speaks of the marriage of the Emperor with the sister of the King of Portugal, which took place in March, 1526.

f ^u Para dar color a esta codicia, dixO que havia protestado al Conde Don Fer­nando de Andrada que no le diese esta nave porque era mui grande e inutil para la navegacion i descubrimiento del Rio de la Plata.” Herrera, Dec. iv lib. i. cap. i.

to have been thwarted. One reflection is obvious. If this man could be seduced from his duty by the Portuguese Bachelor, we may presume that the agents of Portugal had no great difficulty in negotiating with him and inducing him to give his voyage a turn to suit their purposes. Even sup­posing his employers, then, honest and sincere, we have no assurance that he did not act from sinister motives. We shall meet Garcia again in the La Plata.

There is another circumstance, somewhat posterior in point of time, but which serves to show the anxious expedients to which Portugal did not disdain to resort, even at the expense of its dignity. A Portuguese, named Acosta, returned with Cabot from Brazil, and immediately afterwards the king, of Portugal was detected in an unworthy correspondence with him.* It is remarkable, also, that the complaints of the mu­tineers whom Cabot put ashore were brought to Spain by a Portuguese vessel.f

*      Herrera, Dec. iv. lib. x. cap. ri. f -Ib. Dec. iv. lib. iii. cap. i.

CHAP. XVIII.

INTERFERENCE WITH THE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE VOYAGE-------------------------- MENDEZ

APPOINTED SECOND IN COMMAND CONTRARY, TO THE "WISHES OF CABOT —DE ROJAS     THE SEALED ORDERS—PREJUDICES OF THE SPANISH HIS­TORIANS      EXPEDITION SAILS.

In a letter dated November, 1525, Peter Martyr * speaks of the expedition as at length about to sail. It was doomed, however, to yet farther delays; and even in matters of detail the presence of an evil spirit is but too obvious.

Three ships were provided by the Emperor, to which a small caravel was added by an individual.f The principal authority over the arrangements would seem to have been ex­ercised by certain agents or deputies (disputados) named by the freighters. They controlled Cabot, in every particular; and it is obvious, therefore, that the fate of the expedition lay in their integrity or corruptibility. The whole sum which the company had at stake is stated to have been only ten thou­sand ducats.

The leading subject of difference between Cabot and these persons, as appears by the meagre accounts left to us, was as to the person who should fill the office of Lieutenant-General. Cabot was anxious for the appointment of his friend De Rufis; but the choice of the agents fell on Martin Mendez who had been in one of Magellan’s ships as Treasurer (contador), a sit­uation bearing, it may be presumed, an analogy to the present office of Purser. They are said to have made the selection on

⁹ Decade viii. cap. ix.

t Such is the account of Herrera, confirmed by Robert Thorne. Writers who make a different statement (Charlevoix, for example, in his Ilistoire du Paraguay tom. i. p. 25) have been misled by looking to the original requisition of Cabot instead of the limited force finally placed under his command.

R

account of their differences with Cabot.* These disputes rose to such a height that the Emperor was urged to appoint another commander. .When it is stated that this same Martin Mendez was one of those expelled from the squadron, for mu* tiny, by Cabot who afterwards justified himself to the Empe­ror for having done so, we not only see the irksome position in which he was placed, but will, probably, deem the efforts to get rid of liim the highest compliment to his energy and incorruptibility. A hollow compromise was at length effected by a provision, on paper, that Mendez should take part in nothing which was not expressly committed to him by Cabot, and never act except in the absence or disability of the chief.f Thus, with regard to an officer to whom the commander should be able to look, at every turn, for confidential counsel and cordial co-operation, the utmost that Cabot could procure was a stipulation that he should preserve a sullen indifference, and not be actively mischievous.

A number of young men of family, animated by the love of adventure, joined the Expedition, and amongst them three brothers of Balboa.

There are two personages destined to act, with Mendez, a conspicuous part, and who may therefore be here mentioned. The first was Miguel de Rodas, a sort of supernumerary, to whom no particular post was assigned, but who is stated to have been a man of great valour and nautical experience, and to have enjoyed the favour of the emperor. J The other was Francisco de Rojas, captain of one of the ships, the Trinidad. Though a slight difference is perceptible in the names, they would seem to have been brothers, for, at a subsequent period,§ in speaking of the leading conspirators, these two are describ­

*      “ Los disputados de los avmadores por diferencias que con el General avian ienido quisieron que fuesse Martin Mendez y no Miguel de Rufis & quien pretendia llevar eneste cargo Sebastian Gaboto.” Herrera, Dec. iii. lib. ix. cap. iii.

f “Que no se occupasse sino en las cosas que el General le cometiese, y estando ausente o impedido, y no de otra manera porque le llevaba contra su voluntad. ** Herrera, Dec. iii. lib. ix. cap iii.

% Herrera, Dec. iii. lib. ix. cap. iii.

§ Herrera, Dec. iv. lib. i. cap. 1.

ed, with a yet further variation, as “los dos hermanos Roxas

i       Martin Mendez’’ (“the two brothers Roxas and Martin Mendez”).

The most extraordinary part, however, of the arrangement, consisted of the Sealed Orders, of which a copy was given to each vesselWe are not informed at what time they were to be opened, but from the nature of their contents we may infer that it was to be done immediately on getting to sea, and from the sequel we may infer how idle would have been any inj unction of forbearance. Provision was therein made for the death of Cabot, and eleven persons were named on whom, in succession, the command in chief was to devolve. Should this list be exhausted, a choice was to be made by general vote throughout the squadron, and in case of an equality of suf­frage the candidates were to decide between themselves by casting lots! At the head of the list are found the three in­dividuals just mentioned. It is remarkable that Gregario Caro, the captain of one of the ships and who is afterwards found in command of the fort in the La Plata when Cabot as­cended further up the river, stands./os£ oji this list, after all the treasurers and accountants. This person is subsequently statedf to have been a nephew of the Bishop of Canaria, and seems to have acted throughout with integrity.

It would be difficult to imagine a scheme better calculated to nourish disaffection. Each individual of note found a pro­vision by which he might be brought into the chief command, and was invited to calculate the chances of its reaching him through the successive disappearance of his predecessors on the list; and the crews, while under the pressure of severe discipline, not only saw a hope of bettering their condition by a change, but at each step approached ne?rer to the clause which placed the supreme power in their own gift. A con­tingency thus provided for they knew must have been deemed, at home, within the range of possible occurrences, and they

•Herrera, Dec. iii. lib.ix. cap. iii. | lb. Dec. iv. lib. i. cap. i.

would have little disposition to let the precaution be found a superfluous one.

While there exist so many causes for misunderstanding Cabot’s conduct, and motives for misrepresenting it, the wai­ter, unfortunately, whose statements h^ve since been adopted almost without question, prepared his history under circum­stances little inclining him to impartiality. The Decades of Peter Martyr terminate before the sailing of the expedition, and the venerable author complains, at the close, of the in­firmities which then pressed on him in his seventieth year. The next work—that of Gomara—appeared in 1552, shortly after Cabot had abandoned the service of Spain, and returned to his native country. Charles V., in 1549, had made a for­mal, but ineffectual, demand on Edward VI. for his return.* That Gomara had his eye on him in this new and invidious position is evident, because in speaking of the conference at Badajos he incidentally mentions Cabot as one of the few sur­vivors of those who had been present on that occasion (cap. C.). In a work, therefore, dedicated to the Emperor, we are not to look for a vindication of our navigator from the calum­nies which might be current to his disadvantage; and we find, accordingly, every allusion to him deeply tinctured with pre­judice. The mutineers, of whom a severe example was made, had enjoyed a high reputation at home, and were doubtless able to raise a clamorous party. Those who fitted out the expedition of Garcia, were led to rogard Cabot invidiously, and when it is added that the mercantile loss of his own em­ployers would unavoidably lead, on the part of some, to re­proachful criticism, however unmerited, we seie at once that his reputation lay at the mercy of a writer ready and eager to embody the suggestions of disappointment or malevolence.

But our patience is exhausted by the long detention of the expedition. It sailed at length in the beginning of April, 15264

*      Strype’s Memorials of the lleformation, vol. ii, p. 190.

t Gomara, cap. lxxxix. Herrera, Dec, iii. lib. ix. cap. ;iii. Robert Thome (1 Hakluyt, p. 215) There has been a> general misconception on this point in

English compilations, attributable, probably, to the wretched version of Herrera by Stevens, which names April 1525 (Stevens* Translation, vol. iii. p. 380), in defiance of the work it professes to translate. The same mistake is found in Campbell’s Lives of the Admirals, and the source of the author’s error becomes manifest by his incautious citation of Herrera. The reference given is totally in­applicable to the original work, but corresponds exactly with the new and arbi­trary distribution of Dccades, books, and chapters by Stevens. In most recent works the date is mis-stated, amongst the rest by Mr Southey (History of Brasil, p. 52), and by the Quarterly Review (vol. iv. p. 459). The former writer, speak­ing of this voyage in 1526, infers from Cabot’s being called Pilot-Major, that AmericusVespuciUs who had held that office was “probably” then dead (p. 52), a singular remark, as it is well known that Vespucius died fifteen years before. He was succeeded, as we have seen, by Juan Dias de Solis. Cabot’s appoint­ment as Pilot-Major in 1518, his attendance at Badajos, &c., are altogether un­noticed in the pretended translation of Steyens !

CHAP. XIX.

COMPLAINTS IN THE SQUADRON—PRETENDED CAUSES OF DISSATISFACTION —MUTINY—QUELLED BY THE ENERGY OF CABOT—HAPPY RESULTS*- . HIS CONDUCT JUSTIFIED TO THE EMPEROR—RIDICULOUS CHARGES SUG­GESTED BY THE PORTUGUESE} DIEGO GARCIA.

We look for an explosion as the vessels quit the shore. It would seem, however, that the train was prepared to burn more slowly. The Squadron is seen to move on steadily and in silence, but beneath the fair and smiling canvass we know there is dark treachery.

In attempting to pierce the obscurity which veils the scenes that follow, and to place ourselves by the side of Cabot, we nave unfortunately to rely on those whose very purpose is disparagement. Yet to that quarter we do not fear to turn, and have at least an assurance that we shall find whatever the most malignant industry could collect.

Something is said by Herrera as to a scarcity of provi­sions, owing, as far as he will speak out, to their injudicious distribution amongst the vessels. Now it is quite inconceiv­able that in an expedition prepared for the circumnavigation of the globe there should have been found this deficiency, on the coast of Brasil, and the fact, moreover, would be disgrace­ful to the commanders of the other vessels, and to the agents at home. It is obvious that while nothing is more unlikely than such improvidence on the part of Cabot, it would be easy for disaffected officers to circulate amongst the men complaints of scarcity, and thus refer the odium of a limited allowance to the Commander-in-Chief.

We hear, also, that he did not take sufficient pains to soothe the angry feelings which had been excited at Seville.* Then

•      The whole passage has that air of vagueness sd characteristic of falsehood.

it seems that dissatisfaction arose not from any thing occurring during the voyage, but from continued brooding over antece­dent griefs. Doubtless, Martin Mendez, of whose unfitness Cabot had made a representation, and against whose mischiev­ous intermeddling he had been forced to obtain a stipulation, was in no very complacent mood, even if we put out of view the probability of his having been tampered with by the Por­tuguese. The complaint, too, that Cabot did not sufficiently exert himself to make others forget the late angry discussions, comes from the very persons who broke out into open mutiny, and whose statements, embittered by a recollection of the se­vere punishment inflicted on them, compose our evidence. It might be superfluous to add a word to this explanation, yet the remark cannot be forborne, that if there be one trait in the character of Cabot more clearly established than another, it is the remarkable gentleness of his deportment; and in every reference to him, by those who had enjoyed a personal inter­course, there breaks forth some endearing form of expression that marks affectionate attachment.

But pretexts will never be wanting where a mutinous tem­per exists. The squadron was running down the coast of Brasil when it seems to have been thought necfessary to bring matters to a crisis. Murmurs became general and vehement. The Lieutenant-General Mendez, De Rojas, and De Rodas were louder than the rest in blaming the government of Ca­bot.* In a word, relying on the clamour they had raised,.it is plain that these men now broke out into open insolence, pre­suming that disaffection would thus reach its height, and a new arrangement take place conformably to the indication of the Sealed Orders.

The situation of Cabot would to one of ordinary stamp have

“Porque le faltd la victualla por scr mal repartida y como por las diferencias de Sevilla, iban algunos animos mal satisfechos y el tuvo poco cuydado en sossegarlos nacieron murmuraciones y atrevimientos en el armada.” Herrera, Dec. iii. lib. ix. cap. iii.

*      “ Teniente de General, Martin Mendez, al Capltan Francisco de Rojas y a Miguel de Rodas porque dem&s que les tenia mala voluntad, con libertad repre- hendian su govierno.” Herrera, Dec. iii. lib. ix. cap. iii.)

been appalling. The three persons highest in authority, and to whom he ought to have been able to look for support at such a crisis, had artfully, and in concert, fomented discontent, and were now ready to place themselves at its head. He was in the midst of those who disliked and undervalued him as a foreigner. There were but two of his own countrymen on board. De Rojas, he might anticipate, had made sure of his own crew of the Trinidad, and De Rodas, a man of varied service and high reputation, was likely to rally round him the confidence and enthusiasm of the spirited young cavaliers, volunteers in the expedition. Cabot had performed no mem­orable service for Spain. There now comes over us, too, almost with dismay, what before had scarcely excited atten­tion. The Spaniards, Peter Martyr said, denied that Cabot had achieved what he pretended, even in the service of Eng­land. Such an insinuation could not have escaped the eager malevolence of those now around him. Here then was ex­ercised, harshly and haughtily, over Castilians, an authority yielded, incautiously, to the adroit falsehoods of the English adventurer!

But Cabot belonged to that rare class of men whose powers unfold at trying moments. There seems to belong to com­mand on the Ocean a peculiar energy, the offspring of incess­ant peril and of that very insolation which throws the brave man on himself, and leads him to muse habitually over all the exigences that may, on a sudden, task to the uttermost his fortitude or his intrepidity. Cabot saw that his only safety lay in extreme boldness. He was no longer, as with Sir Thomas Pert, a mere guide in the career of discovery. A high responsibility was on him. He knew that by a daring exercise of that rightful authority, to which habit lends a moral influence, men may be awed into passive instruments, who, but the moment before, meditated fierce mutiny. His deter­mination was instantly made, and well justified that reputation for dauntless resolution borne back to Spain and to England from this expedition. He seized De Rojas—took him out of his ship the Trinidad—and placing him with Mendez and de

Rodas in a boat, ordered the three to be put on shore. The scene was one of deep humiliation; and these men long after­wards are found dwelling with bitterness on the indignity, in their memorial to the Emperor.* The effect was instant. Discord vanished with this knot of conspirators. During the five years of service through which the expedition passed, full as they were of toil, privation*, and peril, we hear not the slightest murmur; on the contrary, every thing indicates the most harmonious action and the most devoted fidelity.

Curiosity runs eagerly forward to learn the view taken by the Emperor of this high-handed measure. It can only be inferred from circumstances, for there is no account of any formal trial. That a thorough investigation took place cannot be doubted. Miguel de Rodas had been in the Victory, the ship of Magellan’s squadron which effected the circumnavi­gation of the globe, had received from*the Emperor a large pension for life, and a device for his Coat of Arms, commemo­rative of that achievement.! Martin Mendez had been in the same ship, and the device prepared for him is of a yet more flattering description.$ It was doubtless found, with­out going into the question of Portuguese bribery, that their accidental association with so memorable an enterprise, had given to them a reputation quite beyond their merit, and that these very marks of distinction, and a certain feeling as vete* rans, had led to an insolent assumption which rendered it in­dispensable for Cabot to vindicate the ascendancy due to his station and to his genius. By a Portuguese vessel the three mutineers gave notice of their situation, and complained in the bitterest terms of the conduct of Caboti The Emperor sent orders to have them conveyed to Spain in order that justice might be done. Hernando Calderon and Jorge Barlo despatched by Cabot, afterwards reached Toledo, and made re-

*      “Con tanta afrenta suia.” Herrera, Dec. iv. lib. iii. cap. i. f Herrera, Dec. iii. lib. iv. cap. xiv.

I Ibid.

§ Herrera, Dec. iv. lib. iii. cap. i.

S.

port of all that had taken place* The emperor yielded to the solicitations of Cabot for succour and permission to colonise the country (Herrera, Dec. iv. lib. iii. cap. i.), and the merchant adventurers declining to co operate in what had ceased to be a mercantile speculation, the Emperor undertook to bear the whole expense himself (Dec. iv. lib. viii. cap. xi.). As we never hear of any censure on Cabot, and know that he after­wards resumed his high and honourable office in Spain; and that when, long after, he went to England, the Emperor ear­nestly solicited his return, we cannot doubt that his vindica­tion was complete.

A singular proof here occurs of the disingenuousness of the Spanish historians. It is manifest, that Cabot could not have escaped the sharpest rebuke, and punishment, without making out a clear justification of his conduct; yet, while not a syllable is given of his statement, which must, from the result, have triumphed, all the disparaging suggestions that malignity could invent, and the falsehood of which must have been established at the time, are eagerly detailed. There can only be wrung from Gomara a cold acknowledgement that the voyage was frustrated, “ not so much, as some say, by his fault, as by that of his associates.”*

It might be superfluous, under such circumstances, to ex­amine these allegations, yet they are on their face so improba­ble, that we may safely advert to them, even in the absence of Cabot’s Defence,

It is asserted, that at the island of Patos (the present St Catherine’s), where he was treated with the utmost kindness by the inhabitants, and took in refreshments, he basely seized the sons of some of the principal chiefs and carried them forcibly away. This story is taken from the report of the Portuguese, Diego Garcia, who, although denounced for fraud on his own employers, is considered a good witness against Cabot. He represents himself to have subsequently visited

*      “ No tanto, a lo que algtmos dicen, por su culpa como por la de su gente.” Gomara, cap. lxxxix.

the island, and to have been very graciously received, not­withstanding the recent outrage. This last circumstance is not the least of the improbabilities involved in his tale, for putting that out of view, as well as the polluted source from which the charge proceeds, let us consider its claims to credit. The seizure is represented to have taken place not on the return, but on the outward voyage. What, then, was the object of so wanton a piece of cruelty? But further, the orders of the Council of the Indies were peremptory that no violence should be used. Peter Martyr (Dec. viii. cap. x.), speaking of the expedition of Gomez in 1524, adverts with indignation to his having brought away a number of natives, and expressly states it to be in violation of the standing orders of the Council. Now, Cabot had been, as early as 1515, a member of that Council, was familiar with the orders, and instrumental in framing them. He was in Spain when Go­mez returned, and knew of the indignation excited by the abduction. Is it at all likely, then, that he would subject himself to a similar rebuke without any conceivable motive? It is remarkable, that in Cabot’s own instructions to Sir Hugh Willoughby, long afterwards, we recognise the analogy to those of the Council of the Indies, for while he enjoins every effort, by gentleness, to get a thorough knowledge of the natives, he expressly forbids the use of “ violence or force” (§. 23 of Instructions, Hakluyt, vol. i. p. 228).

We must advert again, more particularly, to the indigna­tion which, in 1524, Peter Martyr expresses at the conduct of Gomez.

“ Contrary to the laws made by us, that no violence should be offered to any nation, he freighted his ship with people of both sexes taken from certain innocent half-naked nations, who contented themselves with hovels instead of houses.”*

It is with this historian that Cabot is found on terms of inti­

*      “ Contra Leges a nobis dictatas ne quis ulli gentium vim afferat, ab innoc- cutibus quibusdam seminudis populis magalibus pro domibus contentis,” &c. (Dec. viii. cap. x.)

r

macy more than ten years before, and the good old man speaks of him as one of a congenial temper, or as Eden and Hakluyt have it, “ Cabot is my very friend Whom I use familiarly and delight to have him sometimes keep me company in my own house.” At the moment of his penning the denunciation of Gomez, Cabot was his associate with the ripened friendship of the intermediate years. Yet Mr Southey (History of Brazil, p. 52) has not only consented to echo the calumny of a vile Portuguese convicted of fraud and falsehood, but adds this coarse and cruel invective—“ Cabot touched at an island on the coast called Ilhados Patos, or Duck Island, and there took in supplies; requiting the good will which the natives had manifested with the usual villainy of an old discoverer, by forcibly carrying away four of them.” And the same writer (ib.) denounces, as “an act of cruelty,” the energetic pro­ceeding by which Cabot .quelled the mutiny, and probably ‘saved his own life.

Another item of criticism is derived from the report of the same. Portuguese, Diego Garcia. He sailed from the Cana­ries on the first September, and before he reaches the Cape de Yerd Islands a boast is uttered of his superior skill in the choice of a route. So earnest is the wish to make this im­pression, that we are again told he proceeded from the Cape de Verds “for Cape St Augustine [on the coast of Brazil], which he places in eight degrees ten minutes of Southern latitude, and this route, on account of the great currents from the rivers of Guinea, which drive the ships to the North­West, is perilous, and Sebastian Cabot did not know how to take advantage of it (as has been already said), because though he was a great Cosmographer, he was not so great a Sea- man.”*

•      “ Fue en demanda del Cabo de San Augustin, que este Piloto pone en ocho Grados, i unsesmo de Grado de la Vanda del Sur, de la otra parte de la Equinoc­tial. Y este Camino, por la grandes corrientes que salen de los Rios de Guinea, que baten los Navios a la Vanda del Norueste es peligroso ni le supO tomar Se­bastian Gaboto (como se. ha dicho) porque aunque era gran Cosmografo, no era tan gran Marinero.” Herrera, Dec. iii. lib. x. cap. i.

Now first as to the facts. Garcia’s criticism seems to be that Cabot stood across the Atlantic before he got as far South as the Cape de Yerd Islands. That this very point had been the subject of anxious deliberation we learn from Peter Mar­tyr, (Dec. vii. cap. vi.) “Cabot will set off in the next month of August, 1525. He departs no earlier, because things ne­cessary for an enterprise of such importance cannot be. pre­pared, nor by the course of the heavens ought he to begin his voyage before that time; as he has to direct his course towards the Equinoctial when the sun,” &c.*

It might be supposed, perhaps, that the vexatious delays had caused some change of the Toute originally projected; but so far is this from the fact, Herrera tells us expressly—

“ After many difficulties Sebastian Cabot departed in the beginning of April of this year (1526), &c. He sailed to the Canaries and the Cape de Verd Islands, and thence to Cape St Augustine,” &c.f

Thus he took the very route in which Garcia followed! Even supposing Herrera to be mistaken, and to have describ­ed the course originally resolved on at Seville, instead of that which Cabot actually pursued, the latter would only be found, in avoiding the Cape de Verds, opening a path which is more generally followed in modern times. Take it either way, the impudence and absurdity of the cavil are palpable. Yet note the manner in which an English writer of reputation has caught it up4

ⁱ⁽ Cabot’s conduct in this voyage did not give satisfaction, and was thought unequal to the high reputation, he had ac­

*      “Est Cabotus, Augusto mense proximo anni mdxxv. discessurus, nec citius quidem quia nec prius queunt ad rem tantum ncccssaria parari nec per coelorum cursus debet prius illud iter inchoari; oportet quippe tunc versus Equinoctium vela dirigere quando Sol,” &c.

t “Despues de muchas dificultades partio Sebastian Gaboto k los primeros de Abril de este ano (1526), &c. Fue navegando a las Cauarias y k las Islas de Cabo Verde, y despues al Cabo de San Agustin.” Herrera, Dec. iii. lib. ix. cap. iii.

*“A Chronological History of the Discoveries in the South Sea or Pacific Ocean, &c. By James 13urney, Captain in the Royal Navy,” vol. i. p. 162.

l

I

quired. The Spanish writers say of him (!), that he was a better cosmographer than a mariner or commander.”

Wearied as the reader may be, we must advert to another sneer of this Portuguese. In ascending the La Plata, Cabot proceeded with deliberation, examining carefully the country, and opening a communication with the different tribes on its banks. This was of course a work of time as well as of labour and peril. When Garcia arrived, he proceeded hastily up the river, and boasts that “in 26 days he advanced as far as Sebastian Cabot had done in many monthsJ’* The folly of this idle vaunt has not deterred Herrera from making it a part of the History of the Indies; and it has found a ready place with English writers.

We might, indeed, be almost led to believe in a concerted plan, on the part of his countrymen, to defame this great nav­igator, were not the causes of misconception obvious. To some the perfidious translation of Stevens has proved a snare, and the few who proceeded further have been led, by an im­perfect knowledge of the language, to catch at certain leading words and phrases, readily intelligible, and thus to present them apart from the context, which, in the original, renders the calumny harmless and even ridiculous.

*      Herrera, Dec. iv. lib. i. cap. i.

/

CHAP. XX.

CABOT ENTERS THE LA PLATA--- NECESSITY FOR CAUTION—HIS PREDE­CESSOR AS PILOT-MAJOR KILLED IN ATTEMPTING TO EXPLORE THAT RIVER—CARRIES THE ISLAND OF ST GABRIEL—HIS PROGRESS TO ST

SALVADOR WHERE A FORT IS ERECTED---------- ITS POSITION  LOSS IN TAKING

POSSESSION.

Cabot was left in the neighbourhood of the La Plata at the moment when, by a determined effort, he “ shook to air” the m’utiny that sought to fasten on him.

It is plain, that after expelling the three individuals who, in the event, of his death,, were named, in succession, to the command in chief, he would not have been justified in pro­ceeding, with ttie squadron which the Emperor had confided to him, on the long and perilous voyage originally contem­plated. He determined, therefore, to put into the La Plata and send advice of what had occurred. His predecessor in the office 'of Pilot-Major, Diego de Solis, had been slain in attempting to explore this river; Cabot now resolved to renew the experiment.

An additional reason for postponing, until further orders, the prosecution of the enterprise was the loss, by shipwreck, of one of the vessels. This fact is mentioned by Richard Eden (Decades, fol. 316), who has a chapter on the region of the La Plata in which he adverts to the expedition, in terms* that bespeak the reports conveyed to England, prob­ably, by Robert Thorne, then, at Seville, and his two friends who were engaged in it. He states the loss of the vessel, and

*      “The Emperoure’s Majestie and Kynge of Spayne Charles the fifte, sente forthe Sebastian Cabot (a man of great courage and skylfull in Cosmographie, and of no lesse experience as concernynge the starres and the sea) with command­ment,” &c.

that “the men that saved their lyves by swymmynge were receaved into the other shyppes.”

It is the more necessary to understand the considerations by which Cabot was influenced, as in a recent work (Dr Lard- ner’s Cyclopaedia, History of Maritime and Inland Discovery, vol. ii. p. 89), the following strange assertion is found amidst a tissue of errors: “On touching at the mouth of the river in which Solis had lost his life, Cabot found two Spaniards who had deserted from that Commander, besides fifteen other stragglers from subsequent expeditions. All these men con­curred in representing the country up the river as singularly rich in the precious metals, and easily persuaded Cabot to proceed in that direction !” Not the slightest allusion is made to the mutiny, or to the loss of one of the vessels. Thus, an Officer in command of the Emperor’s squadron with specific orders, and under bond, moreover, to the merchants of Se­ville, is represented as abandoning his duty and becoming an easy dupe to the idle stories of some runaways!

At this point we have again to deplore the loss of Cabot’s Maps. One of them described his course up the La Plata, and would seem to have been made public, for Eden (Decades, fol. 316) says, “From the mouth of the river, Cabot sayled up the same into the lande for the space of three hundreth and fiftie leagues, as he wryteth in his own Carde” This statement is the more important, as the extent of his progress has been singularly misrepresented.

In the Conversation reported by Ramusio, and usually con­nected with the name of Butrigarius the Pope’s legate, Ca* bot is made to say that he sailed up the La Plata more than six hundred leagues.* This is the passage, it may be remember­ed, which the Biographie Universelle could not find in Ra­musio. Eden correctly translates it (Decades, fol. 255), but Hakluyt, who adopts his version with anxious servility up to this point, has “more than six score leagues!” (vol. iii. p. 7) thus furnishing a new proof of his utter faithlessness. The

*      “ Et andai all* insu per quello/nu de secento leghe.” Ramusio, tom. i. fol. 415.

exaggeration of the original, as honestly given by Eden, pre­pares us for Ramusio’s remark, to which reference has already been made, that he could not pretend to trust his memory about the exact terms of the Conversation. Hakluyt, by an arbitrary and absurd reduction, not only obscures this pre­sumptive evidence of general error, but leads us to infer—as such matters are usually over-rated—that, in point of fact, Cabot did not proceed so far. It will appear, presently, that there was no exaggeration in the statement of the “Card.”

The career on which Cabot was now entering demanded circumspection as well as courage. De Solis with a party of fifty men had been fiercely assailed and cut off, the bodies of himself and his companions devoured by the ferocious natives, and the survivors of the expedition* who witnessed the scene from the ships, had left the river in dismay, and returned to Spain with the horrid news.* In accompanying Cabot we take Herrera as our principal guide (Dec. iii. lib. ix. cap. iii.). Running boldly up the river, which is to this day the dread of navigators, he reached a small island about half a league from the Northern shore, nearly opposite the present Buenos Ayres, and gave to it the name of Gabriel, which it yet bears. It is a short distance from Martin Garcia’s island, so called after the Pilot of De Solis who was buried there (Eden’s Decades, fol. 316). The natives had collected and made a very formidable show of resistance, but Cabot, ac­cording to Eden, ^u without respect of peril, thought best to expugneitby one meanesor other, wherein his boldness tooke good effecte as oftentymes chaunceth in great affayres” (Eden, fol. 316).

At this island Cabot left his ships, and proceeding seven leagues further in boats, reached a river to which he gave the name of St Salvador. As it offered a safe and commodious harbour, he returned and brought up the ships, but was

*      Herrera, t)ec. ii; lib. i. ,cap. vii. Peter Martyr, Dec. iii. cap. x. Gomara, Cap. lxxxix. “ Lo mataron; i comiefon con todos las Espanoles que saco, i aun quebraron el batel. Los otros que de loS Navios rairuban, alcaron anclas i velas, sin osar tomar venganca de la mucrte de su Capitaii.”

T

obliged to lighten them at the entrance of the river. Here he erected a Fort.

It is obvious, on looking at a map of this reign, and com­paring it with the statement of Herrera, that the river spo­ken of might be either the Uruguay, which, on the right, takes a northern direction, or one of the various streams into which the Parana is broken by the islands at its mouth, Ca­bot would hardly follow the Uruguay, because it evidently struck into Brasil, and, at a much higher point of ascent, he is found avoiding, expressly for that reason, a great river on the right hand. In speaking of the position occupied by his ships he states it, according to Herrera, to be on the Brasil meaning the northern side of the river, a mode of designa­tion, which, supposing him, as we reasonably may, to have been aware of the general course of the great stream discov­ered by De Solis, would not distinguish tiny position up the Uruguay, both sides of which were equally within that re* gion, according to the distribution with reference to which he spoke. But the position of St Salvador is conclusively settled by information from another quarter. Ir\ Hakluyt (vol. iii. p. 729), is “ a Ruttier for The River Plate.” The pilot who prepared it gives the various methods of striking the mouths of the Parana in proceeding from the island of Martin Garcia. A caution is interposed—“ and if you fall into the mouth of the river which is called the Uruay you must leave it on the right hand.” He adds that all the mouths of the Parana, which are five in number, have their eastern termination infested with shoals for an extent of more than two leagues. Describing one of the routes more particularly, he says, “From the isle of Martin Garcia unto St Salvador, is nine or ten leagues. This is an island which standeth two leagues within the first mouth, where Sebastian Caboto took possessionThe pilot, it will be seen, gives the name of St Salvador, not to the river, but to a port. Cabot himself does the same, for in describing the assault finally made on the upper fort by the natives, he speaks of a similar attack on

the port of St Salvador, where the ships lay.* It seems certain, then, that the first position fortified by Cabot was in the most northern mouth of the Parana, on an island about two leagues from where it reaches the La Plata. On the map of Louis Stanislaus d’Arcy de la Rochette,f this most north­ern avenue is divided into two parts, the upper of which is designated as “ Rio Paca,” and the lower, that issues into the La Plata, as “ Rio Naranjos.” St Salvador was, of course, situated on the latter, or perhaps on the stream next in order to the south, which also communicates with the Rio Paca and thus forms with the Rio Naranjos a considerable delta. In a Memoir drawn up by Lopez Yaz, a Portuguese, and taken with the author by the fleet sent forth in 1586 by the Earl of Cumberland, the fort where Cabot left his ships is said to be then standing. Its distance from the sea is, however, mis­stated either by him or the translator (Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 788).

It is desirable to fix this first point of occupation, not only as a matter curious in itself, but because Charlevoix (Histoire du Paraguay, tom, i. p. 27), with his usual wild inaccuracy, would throw the whole subject into confusion. He repre­sents Cabot to have finally left the ships at the island of St Gabriel, and proceeded in boats up the Uruguay, by mistake, and he imagines two reasons why such a blunder was commit­ted. He does not even allow the Uruguay to have been the

*      “Lomesmo hizieron de la poblacion que avian hecho en el puerto que llaman de S. Salvador adonde estaban los navios^,, (Herrera, Dec. iv. lib. viii. cap. xi.).

f Colombia prima or South America, in which it has been attempted to de­lineate the exten,t of our knowledge of that continent, extracted chiefly from the original manuscript Maps of His Excellency, the late Chevalier Pinto; likewise from those of Joao Joaquim da Rocha, Joao da Costa Ferreira, El Padre Fran­cisco Manuel Sobreviela, &c. And from the most authentic edited accounts of those countries. Digested and constructed by the late eminent and learned Geo­grapher, Louis Stanislas D’Arcy de la Rochette. London, published by William Faden, Geographer to His Majesty and to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, June 4th, 1807.” This Map is in the Topographical Department of the King’s Library, British Museum.

St Salvador, but makes it one of the tributaries of that river a considerable distance up the stream.

In order to avoid the tedious interruption of the narrative, one other probable misconception was not adverted to at the moment. It has been assumed, with Herrera, that Cabot left his vessels at the island of St Gabriel, and proceeded thence in boats. More probably, however, the island of Martin Garcia was the one intended. Eden says expressly (fol. 316), that De Solis was killed in attempting to take possession of the island of Martin Garcia, and that it was the same afterwards carried by Cabot. We must bear in mind that Herrera is giving, somewhat loftily and reluctantly, the details of an expe­dition to which he attaches little importance, and he might not care for minute accuracy. He saw the name of Gabriel confer­red by Cabot, and did not choose, perhaps, to occupy the page of his History with describing the further progress of six leagues before the ships were quitted. The account of Eden, who approached the subject in a different temper, is confirmed by other considerations. The island is spoken of by Herrera as one standing by itself. Now the St Gabriel is a group of small islets, correctly stated in the “ Ruttier” to be five in num­ber. But still more conclusively: Cabot’s report, as given by Herrera, states that seven leagues from the island at which he left his ships, he came to the mouth of a river, which he called St Salvador, and to which he afterwards brought up his ships. Now the “ Ruttier” speaks of the position at St Salvador, as nine leagues in all from the island of Martin Garcia, two of which being up the St Salvador, there is, of course, an exact correspondence. The St Gabriel group, on the contrary, is correctly stated in the ^u Ruttier” to lie six leagues lower down than the island of Martin Garcia. While the statement of Eden produces greater harmony in the ac­counts, the position of the fort is not contingent on success in this reconciliation, but seems conclusively settled by the language of the ^u Ruttier.”

An incident is mentioned by Gomara,* but without the attendant circumstances, as occurring at this point, from which it would appear that the position was not gained without resistance. The natives killed and carried off two Spaniards but declared, in a spirit of fierce derision, that they would not cat them, as they were soldiers, of whose flesh they had already had a specimen in De Solis and his followers!

*      Gomara, cap. lxxxix. “En el puerto de San Salvador que es otro Rio quar- enta lcguas arriba, que entra en el de la Plata, le mataron los Indios dos Espanoles i no los quisieron comer diciendo que eran Soldados que ia los havian probado en Solis i sus companeros.”

CHAP. XXL

CABOT PROCEEDS UP THE PARANA----- ERECT? ANOTHER FORT CALLED SATV-

TUS SPIRITUS, AND AFTERWARDS FORT CABOT—ITS POSITION    CON­TINUES TO ASCEND------------ CURIOSITY OF THE NATIVES AS TO THE EXPEDITION

------------------------ PASSES THE MOUTH OF THE PARANA—ENTERS THE PARAGUAY----------------------------- SAN­GUINARY BATTLE THIRTY-FOUR LEAGUES UP THAT RIVER—THREE HUNDRED OF THE NATIVES KILLED, WITH A LOSS TO CABOT OF TWENTY-

FIVE OF HIS PARTY     MAINTAINS HIS POSITION—GARCIA ENTERS THE

RIVER—INTERVIEW WITH CABOT------- MISTAKES OF CHARLEVOIX, &C.   

CABOT RETURNS TO THE FORT SANTUS SPIRITUS.”

Haying completed the Fort, and taken every precaution for the safety of the ships at St Salvador, Cabot resolved to as­cend the Parana. Leaving, therefore, a party under the command of Antonio de Grajeda, he proceeded in the boats and a caravel cut down for the purpose. The point at which he next paused and built a second Fort, is not a matter of doubt. It was on the south bank of the Parana, near a river called by the natives Zarcaranna or Carcaranna. This name was subsequently changed by the Spaniards into Terceiro. On the map of De la Rochette, already referred to, and also on that of Juan de la Cruz Canoy Olmedilla,* it is designated at the early stages as Terceiro, but lower down, gathering strength, it re-assumes the aboriginal title. The Fort stood not immedi­ately on the bank of this river but some miles further up the

*      “Mapa Gfeografica de America Meridional dispuesto y gravado por de Juan de la Cruz Canoy Olmedilla, Geog^fo- Pens^do- de S. M. Individuo de la Rl. Academia de Sⁿ. Fernando, y de la Sociedad Bascongada de los Amigos del Pais j teniendo presentes varios mapas y noticias originates con arreglo & obserraciones astrono- micas Aiio de 1775. Este Mapa de los Dominios Espanoles y Portugueses en America Meredional, es una copia literal y exacta de un Mapa Espanol mui raro; compuesto y gravado en Madrid, ano 1775, de orden del Rey Espana, por Dⁿ- Juan de la Cruz Cano y Omedilla, Geo^f°* Pe^do- de S. M. C. Londres, Publicardo por Guillermo Faden, Geografo del Rey, y del Principe de Gales, Enero 1. de 1799/

Parana, as appears by the earliest maps, and by the small but admirable one of D’Anville, in vol. xxi. of the “Letters, Edi- fiantes et curieuses.”* On the great map of De la Rochette its position is marked with much precision. ^There is laid down the “Cart Road” from Buenos Ayres to Sante Fe, which passes through El Rosario and S. Miguel; then comes “el Rincon de Caboto, Fort destroyed then Calcachi, and, a little beyond this last, the river Monge. The same repre­sentation is made, substantially, by Juan de la Cruz Canay Olmedilla. The only remark of Cabot with regard to the na­tives of this quarter which Herrera repeats is, that they were intelligent (“ gente de buena razon”).

He left in this fort a garrison under the command of Gre­gorio Caro, who had commanded the Maria del Espinar, one of the ships of the squadron, and proceeded in person further up the river* His force must now have been inconsiderable, consisting, as it did, originally, of only one hundred and fifty men, increased perhaps by the gentlemen volunteers. Be­sides the loss of three principal officers, and inevitable mortal­ity, he had weakened his numbers by leaving garrisons in two forts. Yet his plan was, undoubtedly, a prudent one of thus forming points on which he could fall back, in case of disaster, and break the force and rapidity of a rush towards the vessels. Herrera furnishes no account of his intermediate movements until he reaches the Parana. The incidents which occurred during that long and interesting route are therefore unknown, except from a slight glimpse given in the conver­sation reported in Ramusio. In ascending the river, Cabot is there represented as “ fyndynge it every where verye fayre and inhabited with infinite people which with admyration came rannynge dayly to oure shyppes.”f

•      “Lettres Edifiantes et curieuses ecrites des Missions Etrangers par quelques Missionaires de la Campagnie de Jesus.” The work is in the King’s Library, British Museum (title in Catalogue Epistolse).

t Richard Eden’s Decades, fol, 255. The original in Ramusio, tom. 1. fol. 415.

** Trovandolo sempre bellissimo et habitato da infiniti popoli che per maraviglia correvano k, vedermi.”

On reaching the junction of the Parana and Paraguay, he saw that the direction of the former was to Brasil, and, there­fore, leaving it on his right Tie ascended thirty-four leagues up the other.

The region on which he was now entering presented a new aspect. For the first time, the natives were found engaged in the cultivation of the soil, and, with the feeling that springs from exclusive property, they regarded the strangers with jealousy. The tribes in this quarter are marked, both on the old and the recent maps, as distinguished for ferocity and as the deadliest enemies of the Spaniards and Portuguese. A collision soon took place. Three of Cabot’s men having, in­cautiously, strayed from the main body to gather the fruit of the palm tree, were seized by the natives. There followed a fierce and very sanguinary battle. Three hundred of the natives were killed, and Cabot lost twenty-five of his party.* He would seem to have maintained his position, for, among the incidents occurring below, to which it is time to turn, we find the commander of the lower fort apprised, by letter, of what had taken place.

The Portuguese Diego Garcia now re-appears in the nar­rative of Herrera. That personage, who had left Spain in August 1526, after touching at the Canaries and Cape de Verds proceeded to the coast of Brasil, and is found in January 1527f at the Abrolhos shoals. He visits the Bay of All Saints, the Island of Patos (now St Catherine), all places at which Cabot had touched, and finally the La Plata. We are now without dates, except that in ascending the river Good Friday is mentioned as the day of his departure from Santus Spiri- tus.J Of his previous history nothing is known, except from the anecdote told by Herrera of the fraud on his employers in hiring the principal vessel to the slave-dealer at Cape Vincent. We might charitably conclude that he was looking for Juan

*      Herrera, Dec. iv. lib. i. cap. i. t lb., Dec. iv. lib. 1. cap. 1.

*Ib.» Dec. iv. lib. 1. cap. i.

de Cartagena and the French priest; but, unfortunately for his fair fame, those persons were put on shore by Magellan, at Port St Julien, in Patagonia, some fifteen degrees to the southward of the La Plata.

He found the ships of Cabot at St Salvador, as we left them, under the charge of Antonio de Grajeda, whose anx­ious vigilance was increased by a letter* just received from Cabot, announcing the bloody affair above, and probably sent down with the wounded. Grajeda, seeing strangers approach, supposed that they were the mutineers whom Cabot had put on shore, the two brothers Roxas and Martin Mendez.* Un­der this impression, he manned his boats, and proceeded in force against them. At the motoent of collision, Diego Gar­cia caused himself to be recognized, and the parties returned amicably together to St Salvador. Garcia here sent away his ship to fulfil the contract about the slaves, and brought his remaining small vessels to St Salvador, which was found, on examination, to offer the most secure harbour. Proceeding up the river with two brigantines and sixty men, he reached the Fort of Santus JSpiritus, and required the commander, Gre­gorio Caro, to surrender it, as the right of discovery belonged not to Cabot, but to himself, under the orders of the Empe­ror. The answer of Caro was, that he held the Fort in the name of the Emperor and of Sebastian Cabot; but that he was willing to render it useful, in any way, to the new-comers. He begged, as a favour, of Garcia, that if, on ascending the river, he found that any of the Spaniards had been taken, he would use his efforts to ransom them, “ because, although he knew that Cabot had defeated the Indians, yet it was imposs­ible but that some must have been taken.”f It is plain, from

*      Here occurs the expression from which it is inferred, that the two mutineers whose names are so nearly alike were brothers, “ vieron dos naos de Sebastian Gaboto cuio Teniente era Anton de Grajeda que salio con ciertos Canoas i un Batel armados pensando que eran los dos Hermanos Roxas i Martin Mendez, que iban contra el porquc Sebastian Gaboto, por inquietos, los havia dexado en una isla desterrados entre los Indios.” Herrera, Dec. iv. lib. i. cap. i.

f “Porque aunque sabia que Sebastian Gaboto havia desbaratado los Indios era imposible que no huviesen peligrado algunos.” Herrera, Dec. iv lib. i. cap. i.

u

these expressions, that Cabot was known to have made good his stand. Caro personally pledged himself to the repayment of whatever Garcia might find it necessary to advance in the way of ransom; and he begged, if Cabot had fallen, that Gar? cia would not leave them in that country.*

On arriving at the junction of the Parana and Paraguay, Garcia, instead of proceeding to support Cabot, turned into the former river, about which he makes a report that Her­rera declines to insert, as Nunez Cabeca de Vaca had subse­quently examined it with greater care. At length, he reached the Port of Santa Jlna, the name given by Cabot to his last position. Herrera, although not accurate as to distances, de­termines the place of meeting, by stating it to have been where the Indians had killed twenty-five Spaniards; and hav­ing his own authority for fixing that point thirty-four leagues up the Paraguay, we may suppose that Cabot, after chastising the natives, had come to a good understanding with them. He was employed, as we shall hereafter have reason to con­clude, in diligently collecting information about the region from which had been brought the precious metals that he saw in this quarter.

Of the circumstances attending the interview at Santa Ana nothing is known; but Garcia, doubtless, repeated the remon­strance which he had addressed to the commander of the fort.

It was not in the character of Cabot, or consistent with his standing in Spain, to struggle for lawless, or even doubtful, power, and he descended the river in company with Garcia.

In the absence of any evidence as to these points, imagina­tion has been drawn upon. Charlevoix, as has been already stated, supposes Garcia to have been sent into the La Plata by the Captain-General of Brasil, thus betraying an entire ignorance of the precise statement of Herrera, and of the fact that there was no such officer as he speaks of, until many

•      “Qu* *» hall&se muerto a Sebastian Gaboto le rogaba que no los dexasse

alii.** Ib.

years after. To suit this main fiction, he fabricates a series of collateral incidents equally unfounded and ridiculous.*

*      “ Gabot yit arriver ason Camp un Capitaine Portugais nomm£ Diegue Gar­cias lequel avoit ete envois par le Capitaine General de Bresil pour reconnoitre le pais et en prendre possession au nom de la Couronne de Portugal mais qui n’avoit pas assez de monde pour executer sa Commission malgre les Espagnols, qu’il ne s’etoitpas attends de trouver en si gTande nombre sur les bords du Paraguay. Gabot de son cote fit reflexion qu’il ne pourroit jamais empedier les Poriugais de se rendre maitres du pays si ils y revenoient aVec des forces superieures que la prox­imity du Bresel leur donnoif le moien d’y faire entrer en peu de tems; sur quoi il prit le parti de faire quelques presens a Garcias pour Vengager a le suivre au Fart du S. Esprit. II y reussit!” &c. &c.

cabot’s REPORT TO CHARLES V.—ITS presumed CONTENTS—PROSPECT WHICH IT HELD OUT—PERU CONTEMPLATED IN HIS ORIGINAL PLAN OF

1524 SPECIMENS FOUND BY CABOT OF THE PRECIOUS METALS OBTAINED

,WHENCE BY THE GUARANIS—EMPEROR RESOLVES ON A GREAT EXPEDI­TION—HIS PECUNIARY EMBARRASSMENTS—PIZARRO OFFERS TO MAKE THE CONQUEST OF PERU AT HIS OWN EXPENSE—REFLECTIONS—THE NAME RIO DE LA PLATA NOT CONFERRED BY CABOT----- MISREPRESENTA­TION ON THIS AND OTHER POINTS.

On returning to the Fort of Santus Spiritus, Cabot made ar­rangements to convey to the Emperor intelligence of his dis­coveries. He prepared, also, a comprehensive statement of the incidents which had occurred since he left Seville, and of the circumstances which compelled him to abandon the expe­dition originally contemplated. This report is referred to by Herrera ^ but while all the calumnies of Cabot’s enemies are repeated* he furnishes, as has been before remarked, no part of the vindication which must have been conclusive. This document is probably yet in existence amongst the ar­chives of Spain.

The bearers of the communication were Hernando Calderon, and an individual designated by Herrera in one place as Jorge Barlo, and in another as Jorge Barloque, conjectured to have been one of the two English gentlemen, friends of Thorne, who accompanied the expedition, and whose name, probably George Barlow, has undergone a slighter transformation than might have been anticipated.

Of the hopes and prospects which this communication held out we are ignorant; and only know that the Emperor re-

*      Dec. iv. lib. iii. cap. i.

solved to fit out a great expedition, but that the execution of his intention was unfortunately too long delayed.

It may well be imagined that the expectations of Cabot had been raised to a high pitch, and that he eagerly solicited per­mission and means to follow up the enterprise. He had reach­ed the waters which, rising in Potosi, fall into the Paraguay, and had, doubtless, ascertained the quarter to which the na­tives were indebted for those ornaments of the precious metals which he saw about* their persons. Even from the fort on the Parana, the obstacles between him and Peru present no very formidable difficulty to the modern traveller. That he had his eye on that empire, the riches of which Pizarro was enabled, a few years afterwards, to reach by a different route, may be inferred from the care with which he is found collect­ing information, and the obvious facilities which they disclose. In an abstract given by Herrera of Cabot’s final report to the emperor, there occur the following passages:—

“ The principal tribe of Indians in that region are the Guaranis, a people war­like, treacherous, and arrogant, who give the appellation of slaves to all who speak a different language.” “In the time of Guaynacapa, King of Peru, father of Atabilipa, these people made an irruption into his dominions, which extend more than five hundred leagues, and reached Peru, and after a most destructive progress, returned home in triumph,” &c. “ Cabot negotiated a peace with this tribe. By friendly intercourse he came to learn many secrets of the country, and procured from them gold and silver which they had brought from Pmi,” &c.*

It had been a part of Cabot’s original plan, as stated by Peter Martyr, to visit the western coast of America $ “ Hav­ing passed the winding Strait of Magellan, he is to direct his course to the right hand in the rear of our supposed Con­tinent.” “ He will scour along all the South side of our sup­

*      “La relacion que hico al Rey fue que la mas principal generacion de Indios de aquella tierra son los Guaranis, gepte guerrera, traydora y sobervia, y que llaman esclavos a todos los que no son de su lengua.” Herrera, Dec. iv. lib. viii. cap. xi. “En tiempode Guaynacapa, Rey de el Peru, Padre de Atabilipa, salieron grandes companias y caminando por todos las tierras de su nacion, que se es- tenden mas de quinientas leguas llegaron a tierra del Peru y despues de aver hecho grandes destruyciones se bolvieron vitoriosos a su naturaleca.”—lb. “ Y haviendo hecho Sebastian Goboto la Paz con esta generacion, &c. con el amitad destos supo muchos secretos de la tierra y huvo de ellos oro y plata de la que traian del Peru.”

posed Continent, and arrive at the Colonies of Panama and Nata erected on those shores, the bounds of the Golden Cas­tile, and whosoever at that time shall be governor of that pro­vince called Golden Castile is to give us intelligence of his suc­cess.”* Cabot now found himself within striking distance of these regions, and the intelligence received quickened his eagerness to reach them. The intervening obstacles were nothing to his restless activity and indomitable spirit, and the opposition to be encountered not worth a thought when he knew that a war-party of the savages, whom his own little band had so severely chastised, were able to overrun the Empire of Peru and carry off its treasures.

But however well disposed the Emperor might be to yield a ready belief to the representations of Cabot, the means were absolutely wanting to furnish the promised aid. The only key to this part of the history of Charles V., is a recollection of his struggles with pecuniary embarrassment. The soldiers of Bourbon had muthiied for want of pay, and were brought back to duty only by the great personal exertions and influ­ence of their chief, and by the hope of plunder; and even after the sack of Rome, they refused to quit that city until the arrears due to them should be discharged, “ a condition,” says Dr Robertson,f “ which they knew to be impossible.” During the very year in which Cabot’s messengers arrived, the Cortes had refused the grant of money solicited by the Emperor. £ We have already had occasion to advert to the mortgage of the Moluccas to Portugal in 1529, as security for a loan, to the infinite chagrin of his Castilian subjects. Pi- zarro had the advantage of being able to employ personal im­portunity, and he asked no money. On 26th July 1528, the Emperor yielded to that adventurer a grant of the entire range of coast, which it had been part of Cabot’s plan of 1524 to visit. At his own expense Pizarro engaged to raise a large force, “ and to provide the ships, arms, and warlike stores requisite, towards subjecting to the Crown of Castile the

*      Peter Martyr, Dec. vii. cap. vi. f Life of Charles V., book v.

*Ib.

country of which the government was allotted to him.”* He proceeded at once to the task, though it was not until Feb­ruary 1531 that he was enabled to set out from Panama on his successful, but infamous, career.

It were idle to indulge the imagination, in speculating on the probable result had the expedition to Peru been conduct­ed by Cabot, With all the better qualities of Pizarro, it is certain that the very elevation of his moral character must have stood in the way of that rapid desolation, and fierce ex­action, which have made the downfall of the Peruvian Em­pire a subject of vulgar admiration. In following Pizarro, the heart sickens at a tissue of cruelty, fraud, treachery, and cold-blooded murder, unrelieved even by the presence of great danger; for after the resistance at the island of Puna, which detained him for six months, no serious obstacles were encountered. Even the Guaranis, who had achieved an easy conquest over the unwarlike Peruvians, in the preceding reign, were guiltless of the atrocities which marked his pro­gress. Of one thing we may be certain. Had the conquest fallen to the lot of Cabot, the blackest page of the History of Spanish America would have been spared. The murder of the Inca, to gratify the pique of an illiterate! ruffian, forms one of the most horrid images of History. It was no less impolitic than atrocious, and roused the indignation even of the des-

•      Robertson’s History of America, book vi.

t “ Among all the European Arts, what he admired most was that of reading and writing; and he long deliberated with, himself, whether he should regard it as a natural or acquired talent. In order to determine this, he desired one of the soldiers who guarded him, to write the name of God on the nail of his thumb. This he showed successively to several Spaniards, asking its meaning; and to his amazement, they all, without hesitation, returned the same answer. At length Pizarro entered; and on presenting if to him, he blushed, and with some confu­sion was obliged to acknowledge his ignorance. From that moment, Atahualpa considered him as a mean person, less instructed than his own soldiers; and he had not address enough to conceal the sentiments with which this discovery inspired him. To be the object of a barbarian’s scorn not only mortified the pride of Pi­zarro, but excited such resentment in his breast, as added force to all the other considerations which prompted; him to put the Inca to death.” (Robertson’s Hist* America.

S

I

peradoes who accompanied Pizarro. The career of Cabot who, at the Council Board of the Indies, had been a party to the order forbidding even' the abduction of a Native, could not have been stained by crimes which make us turn with horror from the guilty splendour of the page that records them.

Reverting to the Despatch of Cabot to the Emperor, it re­mains to notice a charge against hi,m of having conferred the name of Rio de la Plata, or River of Silver, with a view to colour his failure, and to encourage deceptive hopes. ♦ Now Gomara, who wrote half a century before Herrera, tells us expressly that this designation was given by the original dis­coverer^ De Solis (cap. lxxxix.).

“ Topo con un grandissimo Rio que I09 Naturales Raman Paranaguaca, que quiere decir Rio como Mar o Agua grande; vido en el muestra de Plata, % nombrolo de ella.” (“ He fell in with an immense river whichthe natives called Paran­aguaca, that is to say, a river like the sea or great water; he saw in.it specimens of silver, and named it from, that circumstance.")

Thus in a work dedicated to the Emperor, we find the origin of that name which Cabot is represented to have fraud­ulently conferred so long afterwards for the purpose of mis­leading him!             .

The same statement is made by Lopez Vaz (Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 788), “The first Spaniard that entered this river and inhabited the same, was called Solis, who passed up a hundred leagues into it, and called it by the name of Rio de La Plata, that is to say, The River of SilverP

Herrera gives a somewhat different account. In the chap­ter devoted to Garcia?s expedition, he says after speaking of the precious metals obtained by Cabot,

"Tambien Diego Garcia huro algun'a cantidad de Plata d© los Indios, desde donde se llamo este Rio de la Plata porque fue la primera que se traxo a Castilla de las Indios, i era de la que los Indios Guaranis traian en planchas i otras piecas grandes de las Provincias del Peru/’*

*      Herrera, Dec. iv. lib. i.cap. i. “Diego Garcia also obtained some portion of silver from the Indians, whence it was called Rio de La Plata, or River of Silver, because this was the first of that metal brought to Spain from the Indies, and it was part of that which the Guaranis Indians obtained in plates and other large pieces from the Provinces of Peru.”

Let us, then, for a moment, suppose Gomara and Lopez Vaz in error; and further, that the tide was not a device of Gareia who was struggling to connect himself ostentatiously with this region—who boasts of his superior activity in exploring it—and with whose name, previously rendered infamous, Her­rera more immediately associates the appellation. After all these concessions it would then appear that the epithet was one popularly applied (like Brazil, the Spice Islands, the Sugar Islands, &c.), from the article—the Silver of Potosi—which had been brought thence and attracted general attention and interest. There is not the least reason to suppose that it was conferred by Cabot, or that he concealed the quarter whence the treasure came—a fact which Herrera is found correctly stating from his Report. That document was doubtless full and explicit; giving a prominent place to the hopes which had been excited, but with a statement, also, of the great fertility of the country, its healthy climate, and general advantages for colonization, aside from the avenue it oifered to those regions of the precious metals embraced in the plan of 1524.

But while of the Spanish writers, evil-disposed as they are to Cabot, no one has ventured to put forth any such charge of deception, his own countrymen have exhibited an eager anxiety to fasten on him the odious accusation, Tvyo speci­mens.may suffice:—

«* Cabot, in the mean time, contrived to send home to the Emperor an account of his proceedings; and as he had found among* the savages of the interior some ornaments of gold and silver, which he easily obtained in exchange for various trinkets, he took advantage of this slender circumstance to represent the country as abounding in those metalst and in conformity with his description, he gave the river the name of La Plata.”*

“Juan Dias de Solis had discovered a prodigious river to which he gave his own name, and where he was killed and eaten by an ambush of savages. In 1525, [this error has already been exposed]) Cabot, following the tract of Magalhaens, arrived at the same stream, and explored it as high as the Paraguay. A little gold and silver, which had been obtained from the natives, raised his opinion of the

•      Dr Lardner’s Cyclopaedia, History of Maritime and Inland Discovery, vot Ii. 89.

importance of the country; the river was named Rio de la Plata, and many an ad­venturer was lured to his destruction by this deceptive title”*

It is scarcely necessary to add that the statement that Ca­bot was “ sent to the coast of Brasil, where he made the important discovery of the Rio de la Plata,advances for him an unfounded claim. Some difference of opinion exists as to the time of the discovery by De Solis. Herrera, in the “ Description de las Indias Occidentales” (cap. xxiv.), pre­fixed to his History, says, “ Juan Diaz de Solis descubrio el Rio de la Plata ano de 1515 i Sebastian Gaboto Ingles iendo con armada por orden del Emperador,” <&c. (“Juan Diaz de Solis discovered the Rio de la Plata, and Sebastian Cabot, an Englishman, proceeding afterwards with a squadron by order of the Emperor,” &c.). According to some accounts, the discovery of De Solis took place a few years before the date hei'e mentioned; but no doubt exists as to the fact of an antecedent visit by him. It is not necessary to inquire here into the yet earlier claims of others.

*      Quarterly Review, vol. iv. p. 459.

f Historical Account of Discoveries, &c. by Hugh Murray, Esq. (Vol. i. p. 65). The same idle assertion is made by Mr Barrow, in the Chronological History of Voyages, &c. p. 35. .

CABOT’s RESIDENCE IN THE LA PLATA*—SUBJECTION OF REMOTE TRIBES —CLAIMS OF SPAIN RESTED ON THIS EXPEDITION—TREATY WITH THE GUARANIS   DETAILED REPORT TO THE EMPEROR AS TO THEi PRODUC­TIONS, ETC. OF THE COUNTRY      MISCONDUCT OF THE FOLLOWERS OF

GARCIA  LEADS TO A GENERAL ATTACK FROM THE NATIVES—RETURN

TO SPAIN.

Cabot’s residence in the La Plata, though measured tedi­ously by hope deferred, and finally blasted, was not passed inactively. The small force which remained, after one of the vessels had been despatched to Europe, might be supposed insufficient to enable him to maintain his position; yet it is certain that his operations were of a very bold and adventur­ous character. He seems to have pushed his researches as far as could be done without quitting the waters which ena­bled him to be promptly advised of the arrival of the expected reinforcement.

Of these operations we are left to gather the extent rather from circumstances than any direct information afforded by the Spanish historians. In a Memoir prepared by the Court of Spain, to resist the pretensions of Portugal in this quar­ter, it is made the leading argument, after an enumeration of a vast number of tribes, that Sebastian Cabot erected forts m the country, administered justice there in civil and criminal cases, and reduced all these nations under the obedience of the Emperor.*

It is impossible not to be struck by the reflection which

•      Hefreca, Dec iv lib viii. c^p. xi “ Que Sebastian Gaboto avia etjificado en aquellas tierras fortalezas y exercitado justicia civil y criminal y traido a la obedi- encia Real todas las sobredichas generaciones.”

this passage suggests, as to what may almost be termed the ubiquity of this adventurous and indefatigable seaman in the new world. While England has rested her claim at one ex­tremity of it, and Spain at the other, on the personal agency of the same Native of Bristol, we have an assurance that he was found at the intermediate point, with a party of Englishmen, on the first visit of the individual* whose name now over­spreads the whole.

Some of the tribes referred to are named in the following passage of Herrera—

“The Guaranis occupy the islands. The principal nations are the Charruas and the Quirondis. On a river on the left-hand are the Carcaras, and yet further up the Trimbus, the Curundas and Camis* Yet higher are the Quilbasas, Co/* chines and Chanas, who are savages. After these come the Mecoretas and the Me- penes, who continue for an extent of 100 leagues. Beyond these are twenty-seven nations of different appellations, and languages and customs almost dissimilar, the names of which are omitted for fear of being tedious (“ Que por no dar molestia se dexan de nombrar”*).

The incursion of the Guaranis into Peru, has been adverted to. On their return, some of the fierce invaders lingered on the way and permanently occupied the mountains, whence they annoyed the Choreas, their mode of warfare being to make night attacks, and after sweeping every thing before them to retire to their fastnesses quite secure from pursuit The Nation subjected to these vexatious attacks is found to occupy the same position on the modern maps.

As no supplies were received from Spain, subsistence must have been drawn from the labours of the party. Expe­riments were made on the fertility of the soil and the results carefully no ted. f Cabot’s final report to the Emperor de­scribed, with great minuteness, the various productions of that region, and spoke also of the wonderful increase of the hogs, horses, &c. brought out from Spain.% This Memoir would be, even at the present day, highly curious and interesting.

*      Herrera, Dec. iv. lib. viii.cap_rxi.

\ Gomara, cap. Ixxxix. Eden, fol. 255, and again, fol. 317*

{ A brief abstract is found in Herrera, Dec. iv. lib. viii. cap. xi.

It is, doubtless, preserved in Spain, and there was probably a copy of it amongst the papers left with Worthington.

In the midst of his labours the same evil spirit which had pursued him to the La Plata was preparing a final blow. The Portuguese, Diego Garcia, would seem to have quitted the country immediately, with the specimens he had obtained of the precious metals, but he left behind a party of his follow­ers. These men were guilty of some act which roused the wildest resentment of the Guaranis, with whom Cabot had made a treaty. It is expressly declared that the latter had no concern with the cause of exasperation,* but the ven­geance of this fierce and sanguinary people made no distinc­tion, and it was determined to sacrifice every white man in the country. Secret meetings were held, and a plan of action deliberately concerted.

A little before day-break the whole nation burst upon the feeble garrison of Santus Spiritus. It was carried, and the other position, at St Salvador, furiously assaulted. We have no particulars, but know that Cabot must have repelled the shock, for he was enabled to prepare for sea and to put on board the requisite supplies. This done, he quitted the ill- omened region.

Amongst the wild tales which have passed into traditions of the La Plata, one would represent Cabot to have fallen in the course of the sanguinary conflicts with the natives. This misconception is embodied in the “Argentina y Conquista Del Rio de la Plata,” a poem on its early history, written by Don Martin de el Barco, and which finds a place in the His- toriadores Primitivos (vol. iii.)—

“La muerte, pues, de aqueste ia sabida El gran Carlos embia al buen Gaboto Con una flata al gusto proveida Como hombre que lo entiende i que es piloto;

Entro en elParanna, i ia sabida La mas fuerga del Rio ha sido-roto

*      Herrera, Dec. iv. lib. viii. cap. xi. “ Por algunas occasiones que dieron los soldados que fueroncon Diego Garcia en que Sebastian Gaboto netuvo culpa.”

Del Guarani, dejando fabricada La Torre de Gaboto bien nombrada Algunos de los suios se escaparon De aquel Rio Timbuz do fue la guerra A Sant Salvador Rio se bajaron A do la demas gente estaba en tierra A nuestra dulce Espana se tornaron, &c.”*

•      Another story, but too obviously false to screen the writer from the charge of fabrication, is found in Techo, arid embellished by Charlevoix (Histoire du Para­guay, Tom. i. p. 29). It represents Cabot to have left behind a force of one hun- dred and twenty men_f under the command of Nuno de Lara; and a series of roman­tic adventures is framed out of the attachment of a savage chieftain to the wife of Hurtado, one of the principal officers of the garrison!

EMPLOYMENT OF CABOT AFTER HIS RETURN—RESUMES HIS FUNCTIONS AS PILOT-MAJOR—MAKES SEVERAL VOYAGES—HIS HIGH REPUTATION— VISIT OF A LEARNED ITALIAN    CABOT*S ALLUSION TO COLUMBUS*

Cabot must now, in 1531, have begun to feel the influence of advancing years, of which thirty-five had passed since the date of that patent from Henry VII. under which he made the great discovery in the north. The interval had been re­plete with toil, anxiety and peril. Yet though he resumed, as we shall see, the functions of Pilot-Major, an unbroken spirit of enterprise drew him afterwards, repeatedly, on the Ocean. We turn now to the only evidence which remains, scanty as it is, of the occupations of this part of his life.

Enough has been already said of the circumstances which prove that the defence submitted to the Emperor must have been completely successful. The Conversation in Ramusio, heretofore so often referred to, now offers its testimony as to the general opinion in Spain, of his conduct during the event­ful period through which he has just been conducted.

The reputation brought from the La Plata could not have been equivocal, for in the scenes through which Cabot had passed, the most latent particle of fear or indecision must have started fatally into notice. The survivors of the expedition had seen Danger assume before him every terrifying form. In command of Spaniards he stood alone—an obnoxious stran­ger—in a fierce mutiny headed by brave and popular Spanish officers. He had been seen amidst sanguinary encounters, hand to hand, with hordes of ferocious savages, and extrica­ting himself, on one occasion, only by a slaughter of more than three times the number of his own force. And finally,

in the face of the blood-thirsty Guaranis, breaking furiously against his defences, he had calmly completed his arrange­ments and brought off all his people in safety. As the sail was spread, and they found themselves once more on the ocean, the overwrought anxieties of his companions would seem to have melted into gratitude to their brave and ever- faithful commander. In the last loQk at that scene, for years, of toil and peril, how many incidents thronged before them all associated memorably with Him who now stood on the deck guiding them back to their country! And the feelings of at­tachment and admiration with which they bade adieu to the La Plata, found an eager expression, as we shall see, in the earliest report, at home, of their eventful story.

In reverting to the Conversation in Ramusio, which discloses the popular fame that henceforward attached itself to Cabot, we must not be accused of inconsistency for deeming it worthy of credit. The errors established heretofore were those in matter of detail, with regard to which the memory might well be unfaithful. The speaker is now to tell of the cir­cumstances that led to the interview, and of general remarks better calculated to make a vivid impression.

As this is the Conversation which the Biographie Univer- selle could not find in Ramusio, we may be the more-minute in our quotations.

The learned speaker, after a long discussion on the subject of Cosmography, turns to the subject* of the North-West Passage, and asks Fracastor and Ramusio if they had not heard of Sebastian Cabot, “ so valiant a man and so well prac­tised in all things pertaining to navigation and the science of cosmography, that at this present he hath not his like in Spain, insomuch that for his virtues he is preferred above all other pilots that sail to the West Indies, who may not pass thither without his license, and is therefore called Piloto- Mayor, that is, the Grand Pilot.”*

•      Eden’s Decades, fol. 255, Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 6. The original in Ramusio (tom. i. fol. 414 D. Ed. of 1554), “Cosi valetttc et pratico delle cose pertiflenti

Receiving a reply in the negative, he proceeds to state, that finding himself at Seville, and being anxious to learn something of the maritime discoveries of the Spaniards, the public voice directed him to Sebastian Cabot as a very valiant man, (“ un gran valent huomo”) then living in that city, who had the charge of those things (“che havea V carico di quelle”). A wish seized him to see Cabot (“ subito volsi essere col detto”). He called, and we are now, for the first time, brought into a direct personal interview with t;his cele­brated man.

“I found him a most gentle and courteous person, who treated me .with great kindness and shewed me a great many things; amongst the rest a great Map of the world, on which the several voyages of the Portuguese and Spaniards were laid down.”*

The conversation then turned on the Voyage from England in the time of Henry VII. and the subsequent events in the La Plata. Speaking of his return from the latter expedition, Cabot says— .

“After this I made many other voyages, which I now pretermit, and growing old I give myself to rest jrom such labours, because there are now many young and vigorous seamen of good experience, by whose forwardness I do rejoice in the fruit of my labours, and rest with the charge of this office as you see.”f

It is delightful to notice the manner in which he refers to Columbus. No paltry effort is made to despoil that great man of any portion of his fame. He speaks of the effect which the news produced in England; “ All men with great admiration affirmed it to be a thing more divine than human.The

alia Navigatione et all Cosmographia che in Spagna al presente non v’e suo pari et la sua virtu l’ha fatto preporre a tutti li Pilotti che navigano all* Indie Occi- dentali, che senza sua licenza non possono far quel essfcrcitio et per questo lo chi- amano Pilotto Maggiore.”

*“ Lo trovai una gentilissima persona et cortese che mi fece gran carezze et mostrommi molte cose et fra l’altre un Mapamondo grande colle navigationi par- ticolari,'si di Portaghesi, come di Castigliani.” j- « Feci poi molte altre navigationi le quali pretermetto et trovandomi alia fine vecchio volsi riposare essendosi allevati tanti pratichi et valenti marinari giovanni et hora me ne sto con questo carico che voi sapete, godendo il frutto delle mie fatiche.⁵’

i Eden’s Decades, fol. 255. The original “ dicendosi che era stata cosa piu tosto divina che humana, &c.^M Ramusio, tom. i. fol. 415.

w

influence on his own ardent temperament is well described, “by this fame and report there increased in my heart a great flame of desire to attempt some notable thing.*” While such expressions would rebuke an attempt to connect his name with the disparagement of Columbus, they heighten the gratifica­tion with which we recognise his claim to the place that a foreign poet of no contemptible merit—the companion of Sir Humphrey Gilbert in his voyage to the North, and writing from that region—has assigned to him:—

Hanc tibi jamdudum primi invenere Britanni Turn cum magnanimus nostra in regione Cabotu9 Proximus a mqgnoostendit sua vela Columboj

*      “Mi nacque un desiderio grande* anzi un ardor nel core di voler far anchora io qualche cosa segnalata, &c.” Ib, f Budeius—in Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 143.

PERVERSION OF FACTS AND DATES BY HARRIS AND PINKERTON OABOT*S

RETURN TO ENGLAND'—PROBABLE INDUCEMENTS—ERRONEOUS REASON

ASSIGNED BY MR BARROW CHARLES V. MAKES A DEMAND ON THE KING

OF ENGLAND FOR HIS RETURN—REFUSED—PENSION TO CABOT—DUTIES

CONFIDED TO HIM      MORE EXTENSIVE THAN THOSE BELONGING TO THE

OFFICE OF PILOT-MAJOR   INSTANCES-

Of the manner in which the order and nature of Cabot’s ser­vices have been misrepresented by English writers, some idea may be formed from the following passage of Harris trans­planted into Pinkerton’s Collection of Voyages (vol. xii. p. 160).

“Sebastian Cabot was employed by their Catholic Majesties, Ferdinand and Isa­bella, [Isabella having been dead twenty-two years, and Ferdinand ten years before he sailed] on a voyage for the discovery of the coast of Brazil (!) in which he had much better success than Americus Vespucius, who missed the river of Plate, whereas Cabot found it, and sailed up 360 miles [Hakluyt’s six score leagdes], which gave him such a character at the Court of their Catholic Majesties, that on his return [in' 1531] he was declared piloto maggiore or grand pilot of Spain, and resided several years at Seville with that character, and had the examination and appro­bation of all the pilots intrusted by that government. Yet after some years, he thought fit to return into England, and was employed by King Henry VHI. in conjunction with Sir Thomas Pert, who was Vice-Admiral of England, and built a fine house near Blackwall, called Poplar, which name still remains, though the house is long ago decayed. This voyage of his was in 1516, [fifteen years before the return from the La Plata !] on board a ship of 250 tons with another of the like size.” (Mistaken reference to the English Expedition of 1527.)

The motives which really induced Cabot to abandon a sit­uation of high honour and emolument in Spain, as well as the exact period of his return to England, we have no means of determining. It is plain, from what will presently appear, that he had experienced no mortifying slight of his services, or attempt to withdraw the ample provision for his support. We are permitted, therefore, to believe that he was drawn to England by an attachment, strengthening with the decline

of life, to his native soil and the'scene of his early associations and attachments/ The ties were not slight or likely to decay. Born in Bristol and returning from Venice whilst yet a boy, he had grown up in England to manhood, and it was not until sixteen years after the date of the first memorable patent that he entered the service of Spain, from which again he with­drew in 1516.  ,

A reasonable presumption must, however, be distinguished from rash and absurd assertion. Mr Barrow supposes (Chro­nological History¹ of Voyages, p. 36), that Cabot returned on the invitation of Robert Thorne of Bristol. Unfortunately for this hypothesis it appears* that Thorne died in 1532, six­teen years before the period at which Cabot quitted Spain.

The same writer remarks (p. 36), “ His return to England was in the year 1548, when Henry VIII. was on the throne.” Surely Mr Barrow cannot seriously think that, at this late day, his bare word will be taken against all the historians and chroniclers who declared that Henry VIII. died in January 1547f.

At his return Cabot settled in Bristol,$ without the least anticipation, in all probability, of the new and brilliant career on which he was shortly to enter, fifty-three years after the date of his first commission from Henry VII.

Whatever may have been the motives of the Emperor for consenting to the departure of the Pilot-Major, he would seem to have become very soon alarmed at the inconvenience that might result from his new position. The youth who then filled the throne of England had already given such evidence of capacity as to excite the attention of Europe; and anticipa­tions were universally expressed of the memorable part he was destined to perform. Naval affairs had seized his atten­tion as a sort of passion. Even when a child “ he knew all

•      Fuller’s Worthies, Somersetshire ; and Stowes Survey of London.

f This blander is gravely copied into Dr Lardner’s Cyclopaedia, History of Maritime and Inland Discovery,,vol. ii. p. J.38, together with Mr fl3arrovv’s asser­tion, that the pension of £166. 13s. 4c?. was equal to five hundred Marks !

$ Strype’s Historical Memorials, vol. ii. p. 190.

the harbours and ports both of his own dominions and of France and Scotland, and how much water they had, and what was the way of coming into them.”* The Emperor saw how per­ilous it was that a youthful monarch, with these predisposi­tions, should have within reach the greatest seaman of the age, with all the accumulated treasures of a protracted life of ac­tivity and observation. A formal and urgent demand, there­fore, was made by the Spanish ambassador, that “ Sebastian Cabote, Grand Pilot of the Emperor’s Indies, then in Eng­land,” might be sent over to Spain “ as a very necessary man for the Emperor, whose servant he was, and had a Pension of him.”f Strype, after quoting from the documents before him, dryly adds, ⁶⁶ Notwithstanding, I suspect that Cabot still abode in England, at Bristol, (for there he lived) having two or three years after set on foot a famous voyage hence, as we shall mention in due place.” It is a pleasing reflection, adverted to before and which may here be repeated, that Cabot was never found attempting to employ, to the annoyance of Spain, ^ the minute local knowledge of her possessions, of which his confidential station in that country must have made him master. ^y

The Public Records now supply us with dates. On the 6th January, in the second year of Edward VI., a pension was granted to him of two hundred and fifty marks (166/,

13s. 4c?.). Hakluyt (vol. iii. p. 10) seems irresolute as to the year, according the ordinary computation; for, at the close of the grant, in the original Latin, he declares it to be 1549, and at the end of his own translation, 1548. The former is un­doubtedly correct, and so stated by Rymer (vol. xv. p. 181). The pension is recited to be “ In consideratione boni et ac- ceptabilis servitii nobis per dilectum servientem nostrum Se- bastianum Cabotum impensi atque impendendi” (in consider­ation of the good and acceptable service done and to be done unto us by our beloved servant Sebastian Cabot).

The precise nature of the duties imposed on him does not

*      Burnet’s History/ of the Reformation, vol. ii. p. 225. f Strype’s Historical Memorials, vol. ii. p. 190.

appear. It is usually stated, and amongst others by Hakluyt, that the office of Grand Pilot of England was now created, and Cabot appointed to fill it; but this is very questionable.* Certain it is that his functions were far more Varied and ex­tensive than those implied in such a title. He would seem to have exercised a general supervision over the maritime con­cerns of the country, under the eye of the King and the Council, and to have been called upon whenever there was occasion for nautical skill and experience. One curious in­stance occurs of the manner in which the wishes of individuals were made to yield to his opinion of what was required by the exigences of the public service. We find (Hakluyt, vol. ii. part ii. p. 8) one James Alday offering as an explanation of his not having gone as master on a proposed voyage to the Levant, that he was stayed

^u By the prince’s letters which my master Sebastian Gabota had obtained for that purpose to my great grief.”

He is called upon (Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 719) to be pre­sent at the examination of a French pilot who had long fre­quented the coast of Brasil, and there is reason to believe that the minute instructions for the navigation of the La Plata (ib. p. 728) are from himself.

*      See Appendix (C.).

CHAP. XXVI.

('

PUBLIC EXPLANATION BY CABOT TO EDWARD VI. OF THE PHENOMENA OF

THE VARIATION OF THE NEEDLE------- STATEMENT OF LIVIO SANUTO—

POINT OF “ NO VARIATION” FIXED BY CABOT---- ADOPTED AFTERWARDS

BY MERCATOR FOR HIS FIRST MERIDIAN    REFERENCE TO CABOT’s MAP

        EARLY TESTIMONIALS—ALLUSION TO THE ENGLISH DISCOVERIES IN

THE EDITION OF PTOLEMY PUBLISHED AT ROME IN 1508—FOURNIER

        ATTENTIOMITO NOTE THE VARIATION BY THE SEAMEN OF CABOT^

SCHOOL HIS THEORY, IF A HARROW ONE, WOULD HAVE, BEEN THUS

EXPOSED.

Allusion was made, on a former occasion, to the fact stated by the noble Venetian, Livio Sanuto, that Cabot had explained, to the King of England the whole subject of the variation of the needle. There is reason to suppose, from what we know of Sanuto’s life, that the incident to which he alludes must have occurred at the period now reached. His statement* is that many years before the period at which he wrote, his Mend Guido Gianeti de Fano informed him that Sebastian Cabot was the first discoverer of this secret of nature which he explained to the King of England, near whom the said Gianeti at that time resided, and was held, as Sanuto under­stood from others, in the highest esteem. Cabot also showed the extent of the variation, and that it was different in dif­ferent places.f

Sanuto being engaged in the construction of an instrument in reference to the longitude, it became with him a matter of eager interest to ascertain a point of no variation.

*      The Geographia is in the Library of the lJritish Museum, title in Catalogue “ Sanuto.” It was published at Venice, 1588, after the author’s death.

t ** Fu di tal secreto il riconoscitore, qual egli paleso poi al serenissimo Re d* Inghilterra, presso al quale (come poi da altri intesi) esso Gianetti all* bora honor- atissimo si ritrovaa; et egli dimostro insieme, quanta fosse quesla distanza, t cht non appareva in ciascun luogo la medesima” Lib. rim fol. 2.

^u Conversing on this subject with Gianeti, he undertook to obtain for me, through a gentleman named Bartholomew Com- pagni, then in England, this information wh^;ch he himself had not gathered.”*

The person thus addressed sent word of what he had learn­ed from Cabot, and Sanuto remarks that he had, subsequently, further assurance cf the accuracy of the report thus made to him. He saw a chart of navigation, executed by hand with the greatest care, and carefully compared with one by Cabot himself, in which the position of this meridian was seen to be one hundred and ten miles to the west of the island of Flores, one of the Azores.*

It is scarcely necessary to add that the First ^Meridian on the maps of Mercator, running through the most western point of the Azores, was adopted with reference to the supposed coincidence in that quarter of the true and magnetic poles.

In the course of the same memoir, Sanuto refers repeatedly to the Map, and adverts to the observations as to the vari­ation of the compass made by Cabot at the Equator. The disappearance of this Document becomes at every turn.a mat­ter equally of astonishment and regret. Aside from the mass of. papers left with Worthington, we have not only seen that the published map was hung up in the Gallery at Whitehall, but have actually traced a copy to Ortelius, to the Earl of Bed­ford, and now to Sanuto.

The assertion is found in almost all the old writers that Ca­bot was the first who noticed the variation. He was, at least, the first who gave to it an earnest attention, marked its degFeeS in various parts of the world, and attempted to frame a theory on the subject. His earliest transatlantic voyage carried him

•      “ Rag-ionatone io di questo col detto Gianneti, fece egli, che da un gentil* fauomo nominato Bartolomeo Compagni, che in Inghilterre si tratteneva, s*intese cio, ch* egli dal detto Caboto ne seppe.” f Et a quello ancora, che io dapoi vidi con gli occlii jniei in una carta da navigare diligentissima fatta a mano, e tutta ritratta a punto da una propria del detto Caboto; nella qu&le si riconosce il luogo del detto Meridiano esser per rniglia cento e dipci lontano verso Occidente dalla Isola detta Fiori di quelle pur delli Azori.”

to the very quarter where it is exhibited iii a manner so sud­den and striking, that modern navigators seem to concur in placing there one of the magnetic poles. The La Plata, too, is another theatre of its most startling appearance ; and Ca­bot’s long residence in that region must have secured his de­liberate attention to the subject with the advantage of thirty years of intermediate observation and reflection.

There is a curious piece of evidence to show how early the Northern region discovered by Cabot was associated with the alarm which this phenomenon must, in the first instance, have excited

On the great Map of the World which accompanies the edition of Ptolemy published at Rome in 1508, is the follow­ing inscription, commencing far beyond Terra Nova and the Insula Bacalaurus—“Hie, compassus navium non tenet, nec naves quae ferrum tenent revertere valent.”*

It is impossible to doubt that the reference is to the well- known effect produced there on the compass. Bene ventus, who prepared the supplemental matter for this edition of Ptolemy, professes to have a knowledge of the discoveries made by Columbus, by the Portuguese, and by the English (“Columbi et Lusitanorum atque Britannorum quos Anglos nunc dici- mus”).

Fournier, in his old, but yet highly-esteemed, Treatise on Hydrography, (Liv. xi. cap. x.) says, it was understood that Sebastian Cabot had noted with great exactness the variation in the places he had discovered on the Northern Coasts of America.f

As to Cabot’s theory on the subject of the Variation, we are unable, in the absence of his Maps and Discourses, to offer even a conjecture. His exposition to the king would evi­dently seem to have been something more than a mere state­ment of isolated facts, and from the general recollection of

•      “Here the ship’s-compass loses its property, and no vessel with iron on board is able to get away.”

f “ Que Cabot remarqua fort exacUment les declinaisons que l’aymant Faisoit en divers endroits des costes Septentrionales de I’Arnerique qu’il decouvrit.”

x

the Venetian ambassador that he represented it as different in different places, it may be inferred that he did not treat it as absolutely regulated by mere distance from a particular me­ridian. There is another satisfactory reason for believing that he could not have placed it oa any narrow ground. The Sea­men brought up in his school, and sailing under his instruc­tions, were particularly attentive to note the variation. Thus Stephen Burrough reports to us, (Hakluyt, vol. i. p. 290, &c.) within a short space, the degrees of it at three different points; and, where this was habitually done, an error of the great nau­tical Oracle—if we suppose one to have cheated his long ex­perience and profound observation—would have been speedily detected and exposed.

MISTAKE OF PURCHAS, PINKERTON, DR HENRY IN HIS HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN, CAMPBELL IN THE LIVES OF THE ADMIRALS, AND OTHER WRI­TERS, AS TO THE ^u KNIGHTING” OF JOHN OR SEBASTIAN CABOT.

The present may be a fit occasion to notice an absurd misconception on the part of many authors of reputation, some of whom represent Sebastian Cabot to have received the honour of knighthood, >vhile others confer it on the father.

Purchas (vol. iv. p. 1812), in his “English just Title to Virginia,” refers to a Portrait of Sebastian Cabot which he had seen hung up in the King’s Palace at Whitehall with this inscription; “ Effigies Seb. Caboti Angli, filii Joannis Caboti militis aurati, &c.” Here was a fair opening for controversy. Does the description “ militis aurati” apply to the father or to the son? The same difficulty occurs, with a curious coin­cidence in the epithets, as that which Quinctilian (Inst. Orat, lib. vii. cap. 9) mentions, with regard to the Will of a Roman, who directed that there should be put up “ statuam auream hastam tenentem,” and the puzfcle was whether the statue or the spear was of gold. After the unpardonable blunders which it has been necessary to expose, we may look with some complacency on the pursuit of this perplexing matter.

Purchas assumes that the words apply to the son, and ac­cordingly we have “ Sir Sebastian Cabot” running through his volumes. In a copy of verses addressed to “his friend Captain John Smith,” and prefixed to the account of Virginia by the latter, Purchas exclaims—

“Hail, Sir Sebastian! England’s Northern Pole,

Virginia’s finder!’*

and in a marginal note it is added, “ America, named of Ame-

ricus Vesputius which discovered less than Colon or Sir Se­bastian Cabot, and the Continent later. Colon first found the Isles 1492, the Continent 1'498, above a year after Cabot had done it. He was set forth by Henry VII., and after by Henry VIII. knighted, and made Grand Pilot of England by Edward

VI.” Captain Smith himself repeats all this—“ Sebastian Cabot discovered much more than, these all, for he sailed to about 409 South of the line, and to 67° towards the North, for which King Efenry VIII. knighted him and made him Grand Pilot of England.” In the general Index to Pinker­ton’s Collection of Voyages and Travels, the eye is caught, under the title Cabot, with the alluring reference “anec­dotes of,” and on turning to the placc (vol. xiii. p. 4), the same statements are found. Now the difficulties are insur­mountable as to Sebastian Cabot. In the last renewal of his pension in the reign of Mary (Rymer, vol. xv. p. 427 and 466), he is styled ^u Armiger,” which shows that he had not, even up to that period, been knighted. In the Cotton MSS. (Claudius, C. iii.) is a paper, giving “ the names and arms of such as have been advanced to the order of knighthood in the reigns of Henry VII., Henry VIII., Edward VI., Mary and Elizabeth,” in which no notice is taken of him.

The point being thus clear with regard to the son, other writers have assumed as a matter of course, that the distinc­tion must have been conferred on John Cabot. Accordingly, Campbell (Lives of the Admirals, art. Sir John Cabot) says of the father, “ he then returned with a good cargo and three savages on board to England, where it seems he was knighted for this exploit, since, on the map of his discoveries drawn by his son Sebastian, and cut by Clement Adams, which hung in the Privy Gallery at Whitehall, there was this inscrip­tion under the author’s picture—Effigies Seb. Caboti Angli filii Io. Caboti Venetiani Militis aurati.” Thus Campbell derives his fact from Purchas, but draws a different inference from that writer. According to him, too, the knighting must have been, not by Henry VIII. as Purchas and Captain Smith have it, for there is reason to believe that the senior Cabot

died before the commencement of that reign, but by Henry

VII., particularly as it took place on Cabot’s return, and the monarch last named lived thirteen years after the “ exploit.” Campbell, therefore, has a “ Memoir of Sir John Cabot,” and speaks again, with enthusiasm, of that “ celebrated Venetian, Sir John Cabot.”

This version has been the more generally adopted, and amongst the rest by Dr Henry (History of Great Britain, vol. vi. p. 618), who informs us, on the authority of Campbell, that“ John Cabot was graciously received and knighted on his return.” The same statement is made in the Biographia Britannica, &c.

To the utter confusion of all these grave authorities, a mo­ment’s consideration will show, that the words relied on do in themselves prove that knighthood had not been conferred. It is scarcely necessary to follow up this suggestion, by stating that in reference to one who had received that honour, they would have been not “ Militis aurati,” but “ Equitis aurati.” Though the term miles is sometimes applied, in old docu­ments, even to Peers, yet, as a popular designation, the lan­guage of the inscription negatives the idea of knighthood. In the very Works immediately Connected with the subject of the present volume, the appropriate phrase perpetually oc­curs. Thus “ Eques auratus” is used to designate Sir Hum­phrey Gilbert (Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 137), Sir Hugh Willoughby (ib. p. 142), Sir Martin Frobisher (ib. p. 142), Sir Fran­cis Drake (ib. p. 143). In the dedication of Lok’s translation of Peter Martyr, it Is in like manner used, and we see it, at this moment, on the “ effigies” of Sir Walter Raleigh pre­fixed to the first edition of his History of the World. It will probably be deemed very superfluous to refer to Selden’s Titles of Honour (p. 830), for a confirmation of what has been stated.

The w^Teight of censure must fall on Purchas, who was ori­ginally guilty of the blunder. The others assumed the fact of the knighting, and only exercised their ingenuity in de­ciding whether the honour was conferred on the Father or the Son.

STAGNATION OF TRADE IN ENGLAND—CABOT CONSULTED BY THE MER­CHANTS      URGES THE ENTERPRISE WHICH RESULTED IN THE TRADE TO

RUSSIA   PRELIMINARY DIFFICULTIES--------- STRUGGLE WITH THE STILYARD

—THAT MONOPOLY BROKEN DOWN—EARNESTNESS OF EDWARD VI. ON THE SUBJECT      HIS MUNIFICENT DONATION TO CABOT AFTER THE RE­SULT WAS DECLARED.

It is only from detached notes, such as those already referred to, and which meet the eye as it were by accident, that we can now form an idea of the diffusive nature of Cabot’s ser­vices. One Great Enterprise, however, stands by itself, and was destined to exercise an important influence on the com­merce and naval greatness of England.

An opportunity was afforded to Cabot of putting in execu­tion a plan “which he long before had had in his mind,”* by its happening, incidentally, to fall in with the purposes of the London merchants. The period was one of great com­mercial stagnation in England.

** Our merchants perceived the commodities and wares of England to be in small request about us and near unto us, and that those merchandises which strangers, in the '4ime and memory of our ancestors, did earnestly seek and desire, were now neglected and the price thereof abated, although they be carried to their own parts.”f '

In this season of despondency Cabot was consulted, and the suggestions which he made were adopted:

** Sebastian Caboto, a man in those days very renowned, happening to be in London, they began first of all to deal and consult diligently with him, and afler much search and conference together, it was at last concluded, that three ships should be prepared and furnished out for the search and discovery of the northern

*      Eden’s Decades, fol. 256. f Hakluyt, vol. i. p. 243.

part of the world, to open a way and passage to our men, for travel to new and unknown kingdoms ”*

Such is the authentic history of the impulse given to English commerce at this interesting crisis. The influence of Cabot is not only attested by the passage quoted, but in the Letters Patent of Incorporation it is declared*)* that, in consideration of his having “ been the chiefest setterforth of this journey or voyage, therefore we make, ordain, and constitute him, the said Sebastian, to be the first and present governor of the same fellowship and community b/these presents, to have and enjoy the said office of governor to him, the said Sebastian Cabota, during his natural life, without amoving or dismiss- ingfrom the same room.”

But a difficulty was encountered in the alleged exclusive privileges of a very powerful body, whose odious monopoly had long exercised its baneful influence on English commerce and manufactures:

“ The time was now at length come, that the eyes of the English nation were to be opened, for their discovering the immense damage which was sustained, by suf­fering the German merchants of the house or college in London, called the Steel­yard, so long to enjoy advantages in the duty or custom of exporting English cloths, far beyond what the native English enjoyed; which superior advantages possessed by those foreigners began, about this time, to be more evidently seen and felt, as the foreign commerce of Ejigland became more diffused. The Cities of Antwerp and Hamburgh possessed, at this time, the principal commerce of the northern .and middle parts of Europe ? and their factors, at the Steelyard, usually set what price they pleased on both their imports and exports ; and having the command of all the markets in England, with joint and united stocks, they broke all other merchants. Jpon these considerations, the English company of merchant adventurers made pressing remonstrances to King Edward the Sixth’s Privy Council. These Hansea- tics were, moreover, accused (and particularly the Dantzickers) of defrauding the customs, by colouring, or taking under their own names, as they paid little or no custom, great quantities of the merchandise of other foreigners not entitled to their immunities. They were also accused of having frequently exceeded the bounds of even the great privileges granted to them by our Kings; yet, by the force of great presents, they had purchased new grants.”*

“ Having, for the last forty-five years, had the sole command of our commerce, (says the author) they had reduced the price of English wool to one shilling and six-pence per stone. The Steelyard merchants were also excused from aliens duties,

*      Voyage of Richard Chancellor, Hakluyt, vol. i. p. 243. f Hakluyt, vol. i. p. 268.

i Anderson’s History of Commerce, vol. ii. p. 80 M’Pherson’s Annals of Com­merce, vol. ii. p. 109

and yet all their exports and imports were made in foreign bottoms; which was a very considerable loss to the nation.”*

“ This is the substance of the whple business during King Edward the Sixth’s reign, of reversing the privileges of the Steelyard merchants, taken from our histo­ries, but more particularly from I. Wheeler’s Treatise of Commerce, published in quarto, in the year 1601; and, as he was then Secretary to the Merchant Adventur­ers* Company, it may be supposed to be, in general, a true account, and is surely an useful part of commercial history. Wheeler adds, that by reversing these pri­vileges, our own merchants shipped off in this year forty thousand cloths for Flan­ders. Rapin, in his History of England, observes, that the Regent of Flanders, as well as the City of Hamburgh, earnestly solicited to have the Steelyard merchants re-instated i but to no purpose.”f

The extraordinary interest felt by Edward himself on this subject is manifest from his Journal_r in which the incidents are noted. J

** 18th January, 1551. This day the Stiliard put in their answer lo a certain com­plaint, that the merchant adventurers laid against them.”

“ 25th January, 1551. The answer of the Stiliard was delivered to certain of my learned Counsel to look on and oversee. V

“18th February, 1551. The merchant adventurers put in their replication to the Stiliards answer.”

“ 23rd February, 1551. A decree was made by the Board, that upon knowledge and information of their charters, they had found; First, that they were no sufficient Corporation. 2. That their number, names, and itation, was unknown. 3. That when they had forfeited their liberties, King Edward IV. did restore them on this condition, that they should colour no strangers* goods, which they had done. Also, that whereas in the beginning they shipped not past 8 clothes, after 100, after 1000, after that 6000» now in their name was shipped 44000 clothes in one year, and but 1100 of all other strangers. For these considerations sentence-was given, that they had forfeited their liberties, and were in like case with other strangers.”

The difficulties which had to be struggled with, maybe in­ferred from the pertinacity with which the defeated party followed up the matter, even after a decision had been pro­nounced. Thus, the following entries are found in the Jour­nal of the youngJSing:

“28th February, 1551. There came Ambassadors from Hamburg and Lubeck, to speak on the behalf of the Stiliard merchants.”

“2d March 1551. The answer for the Ambassadors of the Stiliard was com­

•      Ibid. f Ibid.

*      Published in Burnet’s History of the Reformation, vol. ii. from the Cotton MSS.

mitted to the Lord Chancellor, the two Secretaries, Sir Robert Bowes, Sir John Baker, Judge Montague, Griffith Solicitor, Gosnold, Goodrich, and Brooks.^,,

“2d May, 1551. The Stiliard men received their answer; which was, to con­firm the former judgment of my Council.”

The important agency of Cabot, in a result so auspicious not merely to the interests of commerce but to the public revenue, may be judged of from a donation bestowed on him, a few days after the decision.*

“To Sebastian Caboto, the great seaman, 200 pounds, by way of the king’s majesty’s reward, dated in March, 1551.”

Strype’s Historical Memorials, vol. ii. p. 495.

PREPARATIONS FOR THE EXPEDITION—PRECAUTIONS AS TO TIMBER- SHEATHING OF THE VESSELS NOW FIRST RESORTED TO IN ENGLAND—

EXAMINATION OF TWO TARTARS----- CHIEF COMMAND GIVEN TO SIR HUGH

WILLOUGHBY—RICHARD CHANCELLOR---------- STEPHEN BURROUGH—WILLIAM

BURROUGHr—ARTHUR PET       THIS EXPEDITION CONFOUNDED WITH AN­OTHER BY STRYPE AND CAMPBELL.

A triumph having been obtained over the obstacles which had heretofore impeded the career of English commerce, pre­parations were diligently made for the Expedition.

The measures adopted for the safety of the ships indicate the presence of great skill and providence; “ strong and well- seasoned planks for the building” were provided, and the his­torian of the expedition is struck with one noyel precaution. To guard against the worms “which many times pearceth and eateth through the strongest oak,” it was resolved to “ cover a piece of the keel of the shippe with thinne sheets of leade.”* This is the first instance in England, of the practice of sheath­ing, but it had long before been adopted in Spain, and had thus engaged the attention of Cabot. It may, indeed, have been originally suggested by him, as the first use of it is referred to 1514, two years before which time we find him passing into the service of Ferdinand, and advancing rapidly to posts of distinction as his value became apparent.

Information was eagerly sought in every quarter as to the countries which the Expedition might visit. There were “ two Tartarians” employed about the young king’s stables. These persons were hunted up and an interpreter provided, “by whom they were demanded touching their country and the manners of their nation.” But the poor creatures had

*      Hakluyt, vol. i. p. 243.

no story to tell, and betrayed plainly their addiction to strong drink. There was waggery in the City even at that early day. “They were able to answer nothing to the purpose, being indeed more acquainted (as one there merily and openly said) to toss pots, than to learn the states and dispositions of people.”*

The command of the expedition was an object of high am­bition. Amongst those who pressed “very earnestly” for the post was Sir Hugh Willoughby, “ a most valiant gentle­man and well borne.” He came recommended by a high reputation for “ skill in the services of war,” and it seems to have been thought no slight recommendation that he was of tall and commanding stature. The choice finally fell on him.

In command of one of the ships, and with the title of Pilot- Major, was Richard Chancellor. He had been bred up in the household of Henry Sydney, father of Sir Philip Sydney. His character and merits, coupled with his brilliant success on this occasion, and subsequent untimely fate, seem to have made a deep impression on his contemporaries. He not only proved a skilful and intrepid seaman, but his remarks on the customs, religion, laws and manners of the countries visited, show him to have possessed a cultivated intellect, as well as great shrewdness and powers of observation. He would seem to have attracted the attention and enjoyed the friendship of Cabot; for Eden (Decades* fol. 357), in adverting to one of the phenomena of the ocean, mentions that the fact he relates ' was communicated to him by Chancellor, who derived it from* Cabot. His was the only ship that succeeded in doubling the North Cape, and making her way to Russia.

“For the government of other ships although divers men seemed willing, and made offers of themselves thereunto, yet by a common consent one Richard Chan- celer, a man of great estimation for many good parts of wit in him, was elected, in whom alone great hope for the performance of this business rested. This man was brought up by one Master Henry Sidney, a noble young gentleman and veiy much beloved of King Edward.”

The master of Chancellor’s ship was Stephen Burrough,

afterwards Chief Pilot of England; and of high rank in the navy. There was, also, on board his ship, apparently as a common seaman, William Burrows,* afterwards Comptroller of the Navy and author of a work on navigation, and who in after years conducted a squadron to the same quarter, f thur Pet, also, whose name is associated with a subsequent voyage, was in the same ship.f , .

Some obscurity has been occasioned by confounding this memorable enterprise with another, entirely distinct and to a different quarter. Thus there is found in Strype§ the follow­ing passage:—

“In this month of May did the King grant letters of commendation, or safe con­duct, for the three ships that were enterprising that noble, adventure of seeking for a passage into the Eastern parts of the world, through the unknown and dan­gerous seas of the North. Of this expedition Sebastian Gabato, an excellent mari­ner of Bristow, but of Italian parentage, was a great mover, to whom the King, as a gratuity, had given 200 pounds. For this voyage, in FebruaiyJast, the King lent two ships, the Primrose and the Moon, a pinnace, to Bams, Lord Maior of London, Garrett, one of the Sheriffs, York and Windham, adventurers, binding themselves to deliver to the King two ships of the like burden, and good condition, in Mid­summer, anno 1554. Sir Hugh Willoughby, a brave knight, was the chief Cap­tain in this enterprise: to whom the King granted a passport to go beyond the seas, with four servants, forty pounds in money, his chain, &cc,'’

Campbell (Lives of the Admirals, vol. i. p. 319) says,

“ The accounts we have of this matter differ widely; but as I observe there is a variation in the dates of a whole year, so I am apt to believe, that there must have been two distinct undertakings; one under the immediate protection of the court which did not take effect; and the other by a joint stock of the merchants, which did. Of the first,because it is little taken notice of, I will speak particularly here; for the other will come in properly in my account of Sir Hugh Willoughby. When, therefore, this matter was first proposed, the King lent two ships, the Primrose and the Moon, to Barnes, Lord Mayor of London, Mr Garret, one of the Sheriffs, and Mr York, and Mr Wyndham, two of the adventurers, giving bond to the King to deliver two ships of like burden, and in as good condition, at Midsommer, 1554.”

Thus has the Maritime History of England been written! The vessels in question made part of the Expedition to Guinea,

*      Hakluyt, vol. i. p. 233

t Ibid. vol. i. p. 401.

4= Ibid. vol. i. p. 233*

§ Historical Memorials, vol. ii. p. 402.

of which an account was given, at length, by Richard Eden (Decades, fol. 345).

“ In the yeare of oure Lorde MLHI. the XII day of August, sayled from Porche- mouth two goodly shyppes the Primrost and the Lion, with a Pynnesse cauled the Moon, being all well fumysshed,” &c.

It seems that the enterprise was frustrated by the miscon­duct of “ Captayne Wyndham.” The persons spoken of as having given bond to the King, were members of the com­pany of merchant adventurers.* The expedition to Guinea, thus obscured by Strype, Campbell, and succeeding writers, is that of which Eden, against the remonstrances of his Pub­lishers, inserted an account, consenting to swell his volume, “ that sum memorie thereof might remayne to our posteritie, if eyther iniquitie of tyme, consumynge all things, or igno­rance creepyng in' by barbarousness and contempte of know­ledge should hereafter bury in oblivion so worthy attempts!” (fol. 343.)

Hakluyt, vol. i. p. 269.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SIR HUGH WILLOUGHBY.

The instructions prepared by Cabot for the government of this Expedition, have been justly regarded as a model, and as reflecting the highest credit on his sagacity, good sense, and comprehensive knowledge. They relate not only to the conduct to be observed in reference to the great object in view, but descend to minute suggestions, drawn from his long experience, for the interior arrangements and discipline. They are called ^u Ordinances, Instructions, and Advertise­ments of, and for the direction of the intended voyage for Cathay, compiled, made, and delivered by the right worship­ful M. Sebastian Cabota, Esq. Governour of the Mysterie and Companie of the Merchants Adventurers for the discoverie of Regions, Dominions, Islands* and places unknowen, the 9th day of May, in the yere of our Lord God 1553, and in the 7th yere of the reigne of our most dread sovereigne Lord, Edward VI., by the grace of God, King of England, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith and of the Church of England and Ireland, in earth supreme'head.”*

They were made up in the form of a Book which was or­dered to be publicly read once every week, “ to the intent that every man may the better remember his oath, conscience, duty and chargeP These instructions are too voluminous to be here introduced, but a few extracts, while they indicate the cast of Cabot’s mind, must fill us with renewed regret that all the records of such a man’s own labours should have been unfortunately lost to us:

« 7. Item, that the merchants, and other skilfbl persons in writing shall daily ivrite, describe, and put in memorie the navigation of each day and night, with the points, and observations of the lands, tides, elements, altitude of the sunne, course of the moon apd starres, and the same so noted by the order of the Master and Pilot of every ship to be put in writing, the Captaine-Generall assembling the mas­ters together once eveiy weeke (if winde and weather shall serve) to conferre all the observations, and notes of the said ships, to the intent it may appeare wherein the notes do agree, and wherein they dissent, and upon good debatement, delibera­tion, and conclusion determined, to put the same into a common leger, to remain of record for the company: the like order to be kept in proportioning of the Cardes, Astrolabes, and other instrunients prepared for the voyage, at the charge of the Comparne.”*

** 27. Item, the names of the people of every Island, are to he taken in writing, with the commodities and incommodities of the same, their natures, qualities, and dispositions, the site of the same, and what things they are most desirous of, and what commodities they will most willingly depart with, and what mMala they have in hils, mountains, streames, or rivers, in, or under the earth.”f

Attention to moral and religious duties is strictly enjoined.

“ 12. Item, that no blaspheming of God, or detestable swearing be used in any ship, nor communication of ribaldrie, filthy tales, or ungodly talke to be suffered in the company of any ship, neither dicing, tabling, nor other divelish games to be frequented, whereby ensueth not onely povertie to the placers, but also strife, vari­ance, brauling, fighting, and oftentimes murther, to the utter destruction of the parties, and provoking of God’s most just wrath, and sworde of vengeance. These,, and all such like pestilences, and contagions of vices, and sinnes to be eschewed, and the offenders once monished, and not reforming, to be punished at the discre­tion of the captaine and masters, as appertainetfcu”*

“ 13. Item, that morning and evening prayer, with other common services ap-- pointed by the King’s Majestie, and lawes of this realme, to be read and saide in every ship daily by the minister in the admirall, and the marchant or some other person learned in other ships, and the Bible or paraphrases to'be rCad devoutly and Christianly to God’s honour, and for his grace to be obtained, and had by hum­ble and heartie praier of the navigants accordingly.*^

There is much good sense in the following hints:—

‘«22. Item, not to disclose to any nation the state of our religion, but to passe it over in silence, without any declaration of it, seeming to bear with such laws and rights as the place hath where you shall arrive.^MJ

“ 23. Item, for as much as our people and shippe may appear unto them strange and wonderous, and theirs also to oursj it is to be considered, how they may be used, learning much of their natures and dispositions, by some one such person, as you may first either allure, or take to be brought aboord your ships, and there to

*      Hakluyt, vol. i. p. 226. t Ibid. vol. i. p. 227.

| Ibid. vol. i. p. 228.

f Ibid. p. 228. § Ibid.

learn as you may, without violence or force, and no woman to be tempted, or intreated to incontinence, or dishonestie.”*

“ 26. Item, every nation and region is to be considered advisedly, and not to provoke them by any disdaine, laughing, contempt, or such like, but to use them with prudent circumspection, with all gentlenes, and curtesie, and not to tarry long in one place, untill you shall have attained the mo3t worthy place that may be found in such sort as you may returne with victuals sufficient, prosperously,

The difficulties experienced, from timidity and incredulity, are apparent from a passage of the 32d item, in which he speaks of the obstacles which had “ ministered matter of sus­picion in some heads, that this voyage could not succeed for the extremitie of the North Pole, lacke of passage, and such like, which have caused wavering minds, and doubtful heads, not only to withdraw themselves from the adventure of this voyage, but also dissuaded others from the same, the certainte whereof, when you shall have tried by experience, &c.”X

*      Hakluyt, vol. i. p. 228. fib.

} Ibid. vol. i._p. 229.

THE EXPEDITION DROPS DOWN TO GREENWICH        SALUTES—ANIMATING

SCENE    PROCEED TO SEA VESSELS SEPARATED—FATE OF SIR HUGH

WILLOUGHBY------ CHANCELLOR REACHES WARDHOUSE    EARNESTLY DIS­SUADED FROM PROCEEDING FURTHER HIS GALLANT RESOLUTION    

CONFIDENCE OF THE CREW IN HIM-------- REACHES ARCHANGEL   EXCEL­LENT EFFECT OF OBSERVING CABOT’S INSTRUCTIONS AS TO DEPORT­MENT TOWARDS THE NATIVES   SUCCESS OF CHANCELLOR.

On the 20th May, the squadron, consisting of three ships, dropped down to Greenwich:—

** The greater Shippes are towed downe with boates, and oares, and the Mari­ners being ail apparelled in Watchet or skie-coloured cloth, rowed amaine, and made way with diligence. And being come neere to Greenewich (where the Court then lay), presently upon the newes thereof, the Courtiers came running out, and the common people flockt together, standing very thicke upon the shoare: the privie Counsel, they lookt out at the windowes of the Court, and the rest ranne up to the toppes of the towers: the shippes hereupon discharge their Ordinance, and shoot off their pieces after the manner of warre, and of the sea, insomuch that the tops of the hilles sounded therewith; the valleys and the waters gave an Eccho, and the Mariners, they shouted in such sort, that th& skie rang againe with the noyse thereof! One stood in the poope of the ship, and by his gesture bids farewell to his friends in the best manner hee could. Another walkes upon the hatches, another climbes the shrowds, another stands upon the maine yard, and another in the top of the shippe. To be short, it was a very triumph (after a sort) in all^respects to the beholders. But (alas) the good King Edward (in re­spect of whom principally all this was prepared) hee only by reason of his sick- nesse was absent from this shewe, and not long after the departure of these Ships, the lanVentable and most sorrowful accident of his death followed.”*

There was some delay at Harwich; “yet at the last with a good winde they hoysted up sayle, and committed themselves to the sea, giving their last adieu to their native countrey, which they knew not whether they should ever re- turne to see againe or not. Many of them looked oftentimes

Z

backe, and could not refraine from teares, considering into what hazards they were to fall, and what uncertainties of the sea they were to make triall of.”* Chancellor himself was moved. “His natural and fatherly affection, also, somewhat troubled him, for he left behinde him two little sonnes, which were in the case of orphanes if he spedde not well.”f

After touching at Rost Island, and at a group called the Cross of Islands, it was agreed that in the event of a separa­tion the ships should rendezvous at the Castle of Wardhouse in Norway. On the very day of the council at which this arrangement was made a furious tempest arose that dispersed the vessels.

The story of the gallant Chief of the Expedition is brief but horrible. Failing to make the contemplated progress to the eastward, it was resolved to winter in Lapland, and ar­rangements for that purpose were commenced on the 18th September. The rigour* of the climate proved fatal to all. The two ships were long afterwards discovered with no living thing onboard. A Journal was found of the incidents of the voyage, and a Will of Gabriel Willoughby, attested by Sir Hugh, dated as late as January, 1554. . Over the frightful scenes witnessed by him who was reserved as the last victim of the elements^f there is thrown, like a pall, impenetrable darkness. As he stiffened into death, by the side of his un­buried messmates, he saw the savage region yielded back, without further struggle, to the “ unknown and also wonder­ful” wild beasts whose fearful numbers about the ships are noted in the last entry of the Journal 4

Chancellor was more fortunate. He reached Wardhouse in safety, and having remained there several days resolved to proceed, notwithstanding the disheartening representations made to him.

*      Hakluyt, vol. i. p. 245. f lb.

$ Hakluyt, vol. i. p. 239. The Will found on board witnessed by Sir Hugh Willoughby was in the possession of Purchas (Pilgrims, vol. iii. p. 463)

“Remaining stedfast and immutable in his first resolution, he determined either to bring that to passe which was intended or els to die the death.*

“ And as for them which were with Master Charlceler in his Shippe, although they had great cause of discomfort by the losse of their companie (whom the fore­said tempest had separated from them) and were not a little troubled with cogita­tions and perturbations of minde, in respect of their doubtful course: yet notwith­standing, they were of such consent and agreement of minde with Master Chanceler, that they were resolute, and prepared under his direction and government, to make proofe and triall of all adventures, without all feare or mistrust of future dangers. Which constancie of minde in all the companie did exceedingly increase their Cap­tain’s carefulnesse.”f

In this resolute spirit he again put to sea. “ Master Chan­celer held on his course towards that unknown part of the world, and sailed so farre, that he came at last to the place where he found no night at all, but a continuall light and brightnesse of the sunne shining clearly upon the huge and mightie sea. And having the benefite of this perpetuall light for certaine dayes, at the length it pleased God to bring them into a certaine great bay, which was one hundreth miles or thereabout over. Whereinto they entered somewhat farre and cast anchor.”

He had now reached the Bay of St Nicholas. Landing near Archangel, then only a castle, there becomes visible the influence of Cabot’s injunction, as to gentleness of deportment towards the natives and its happy result.

“And looking every way about them it happened that they espied a farre off a certain fisher boate which Master Chancellor, accompanied with a fewe of his men, went towards to commune with the fishermen that were in it, and to knowe of them what countrey it was, and what people, and of what maner of living they were: but they being amazed with the strange greatnesse of his shippe (for in those parts before that time they had never seen the like) beganne presently to avoy.de and to flee : but hee still following them at last overtooke them, and being come to them, they {being in greate feare, as men halfe dead) prostrated themselves before him, offering to kisse his feete: but hee (according to his great and singular courtesie) looked pleasantly upon them, comforting them by signes and gestures, refusing those duetiesand reverences of theirs and taking them up in all loving sort from the ground. And it is strange to consider how much favour afterwards in "that place, this humanitie of his did purchase to himself. For they being dismissed spread by and by a rejjort abroad of the arrival of a strange nation of a singular gentleness and

*      Hakluyt, vol. 1. p. 246. t Ib.

courtesie« whereupon the common people came together offering to these newe- come ghests victuals freely ”*

We may not follow further the movements of this intrepid navigator, or repeat the circumstances of his overland journey to Moscow, and his very curious and interesting*account of Russia. He was received in the most cordial manner, and effected the necessary arrangements for a safe and extensive commercial intercourse.

Ib.

CHARTER TO THE COMPANY OF MERCHANT ADVENTURERS—SEBASTIAN CABOT NAMED GOVERNOR FOR LIFE—GRANT OF PRIVILEGES BY THE EM­PEROR OF RUSSIA TO CABOT AND OTHERS       AN AMBASSADOR FROM THE

EMPEROR EMBARKS WITH RICHARD CHANCELLER—SHIPWRECK—CHAN­CELLOR PERISHES     RECEPTION AND ENTERTAINMENT OF THE AMBASS­ADOR IN LONDON.

The success of Chancellor gave a new impulse, and the dig­nity of a Charter, to the Association of Merchant Adven­turers.*

In the instrument of incorporation Sebastian Cabot is named, as has been stated, Governor for Life, as “ the chiefest set­ter forth” of the Enterprise.

There is preservedf “ A copie of the first privileges grant­ed to the English merchants, by John Vasilivich, by the Grace of God, Emperor of Russia, Great Duke of Novogrode, Mos- covia,” &c. After the recital it grants “ unto Sebastian Ca- bota, Governor, Sir George Barnes, Knight, &c. Consuls, Sir John Gresham, &c., assistants, and to the communaltie of the afore-named fellowship, and to their successors for ever, and to the successors of every of them, these articles, grants, im­munities, franchises, liberties, and privileges, and every of them hereafter following, expressed and declared, videlicet” Then follow ten clauses or articles placing the contemplated commercial intercourse on the most liberal and secure footing.

Passing a little onward we find an Ambassador from the Emperor arriving in England. This incident is connected with the melancholy death of Richard Chancellor, in whose ship the Ambassador had embarked. That intrepid navigator

*      Dr Robertson (History of America, book ix.) heedlessly represents the Charter to have preceded the voyage of Sir Hugh Willoughby f Hakluyt, vol. i. p. 265

was doomed to perish when almost within reach of those be­loved “ two little sonnes,” the thoughts of leaving whom “ in the case of orphanes if he spedde not well,” had saddened his departure. The ship was driven ashore at Pitsligo in the North of Scbtland, and by the fury of the tempest was bro­ken to pieced on the rocks. Chancellor

“using all carefulness for the safetie of the bodie of the said Ambassadour and his trayne, taking the boate of the said Ship trusting to attaine the shore and so to save and preserve the bodie and seven of the companie or attendants of the same Ambassadour, the same boat by rigorous waves of the seas, was by darke night overwhelmed and drowned, wherein perished not only the bodie of the said grand pilot with seven Russes, but also divers of the Mariners of the said ship : the noble personage of the said Ambassadour with a fewe others (by God’s preservation and speciall favour) only with much difficultie saved.”*

A long account is given of the Ambassador’s reception and entertainment at London. The following is an extract :f

“On the 27th February, 1557, he approached to the Citie of London within twelve English miles, where he was received with fourscore merchants with chaines of Gold and goodly apparell, as well in order of men-servants in one uniforme liverie, as also in and upon good horses and geldings, who conducting him to a inarch ant’s house, foure miles from London, received there a quantitie of Gold, velvet and silke, with all furniture thereunto requisite, wherewith he made him a riding gar­ment, reposing himself that night. The next day being Saturday and the last day of Febnlarie, he was by the Merchants Adventuring for Russia, to the number of one hundred and fortie persons, and so many or more servants in one liverie, as above­said, conducted towards the citie of London, where by the way he had riot onely the hunting of the Foxe and such like sports shewed him, but also by the Queenes Maiesties commandment was received and embraced by the right honorable Viscount Montague, sent by her grace for his entertainment: he being accompanied with divers lustie Knights, esquires, gentlemen and yeomen to the number of three hundred horses, led him to thfc North partes of London, where by foure notable Merchants richly apparelled was presented to him a right faire and large gelding richly trapped, together with a foot cloth of orient crimson velvet enriched with gold laces, all furnished in most glorious fashion, of the present and gifite of the saide Merchants : whereupon the Ambassador at instant desire mounted, riding on the way towards Smithficld barres, the first limits of the liberties of the Citie of London. The Lord Maior accompanied with all the Aldermen in their Skarlet did receive him, and so riding through the Citie of London in the middle, between the Lord Mayor and Viscount Montague, a great number of Merchants and notable personages riding before, and a large troupe of servants and apprentices following, was conducted through the Citie of London (with great admiration and plausibilitie of the people running plentifully on all sides, and replenishing all streets in such

*      Hakluyt, vol. i. p. 286. •J- Ibid. vol. i. p. 287.

sort as no man without difficultie might passe)' into his iodging situate in Fant church streete, where were provided for him two chambers richly hanged and decked, over and above the gallant furniture of the whole 'Jiouse, together with an ample and rich cupboard of Plate of all sortes, to furnish and serve him at all meales, and other services during his abode in London, which was, as is under­written, until the third day of May: during which time, daily, divers Aldermen and the gravest personages of the said companie did visit him, providing all kind of victuals for his table and his servants, with all sorts of officers to attend upon him in good sort and condition, as to such an Ambassadour of honour doeth and ought to appertaine.”

He remained in London until the third May, whbn he

departed from London to Gravesend, accompanied with divers Aldermen and Merchants, who in good gard set him aboord the Noble shippe the Primrose, Ad­miral to the Fleete, where leave was taken on both sides and parts, after many imbracements and divers farewels not without expressing of teares.”

VIEW OF THE TRADE OPENED WITH RUSSIA FROM THE LETTERS OF THE

COMPANY TO THE AGENTS        PRICES OF ENGLISH MANUFACTURES—AR­TICLES OBTAINED IN RETURN      EXTENSIVE ESTABLISHMENT OF ENGLISH­MEN AT MOSCOW WHEN THAT CITY WAS DESTROYED BY THE TARTARS.

It is not a little curious to look back into the early history of the Trade with Russia. The Letters which passed between the Company and its Agents apprise us of the nature and prices of the commodities interchanged, and furnish, probably, the earliest specimens extant of the English mercantile style. In one Letter it is said :*

“You shall understand we have freighted for the parts of ^Russia foure good shippes tobe laden t here by you and your order : That is to say, the Primrose of the burthen of 240 Tunnes, Master under God John Buckland : The John Evan­gelist of 170 Tunnes, Master under God Lawrence Roundal: The Anne-of London of the burthen of 160 Tunnes, Master under God David Philly, and the Trinitie of London of the burthen of 140 Tunnes, Master under God John Robins, as by their Charter parties may appeare : which you may require to See for divers causes. You shall receive, God willing, out of the said good ships, God sending them in safety for the use of the Company, these kinds of wares following, all marked with the general marke of the company as followethj 25 fardels containing 207 sorting clothes, one fine violet in graine, and one skarlet, and 40 cottons for wrappers, beginning with number 1. and ending with number 52. The sorting clothes may cost the first peny 51. 9s. the cloth one with the other. The fine violet 18/. 6s. 6d. The Skarlet 17/. 13a. 6d. the cottons at 9/; 10s. the packe, accompanying 7 cot­tons for a packe more 500 pieces of Hampshire Kersies, that is 400. watchets, 43 blewes, 53 reds. 15 greenes. 5 ginger colours, and two yellowes which cost the first penny 41. 6s. the piece, and'3 packes containing 21 cottons at 9/. 10a. the packe, and part of the clothes is measured by Arshines. More 9. barrels of Pewter of Thomas Hasels making, &c. Also the wares bee packed and laden as is afore- sayde, as by an invoyce in every shippe more plainly may appear^. So that when it shall please God to send the saide good shipps to you in safetie, you are to re­ceive our said goods, and to procure the sales to our most advantage either for ready money, time or barter having consideration that you doe make good debts, and give such time, if you give any, as you may employ and returne the same

against the next voyage; and also foreseeing that you barter to a profit, and for such wares as be here most vendible, a9 waxe, tallowe, traine oile, liempe and flaxe. Of furres we desire no great plentie, because they be dead wares. And as for Felts we will in no wise you send any. And whereas you have provided tarre, and as we suppose, some hemp ready bought, our advise is, that in no wise you send any of them hither unwrought because our fraight is 4/. a tunne or little less : which is so deare, as it would not beare the charges: and therefore we have sent you 7. ropemakers, as by the copies of their covenants here inclosed shall appeare. Whom we will you set to worke with all expedition in making of cables and ropes of all sorts, from the smallest rope to xii inches : And that such tarre and hempe as is already brought to the water side, they may there make it out, and after that you settle their work in Vologhda or Colmogro as you shall think good, where their stufFe may be neerest to them: at which place and places you do assigne them a principall overseer, as'well to see the deliverie of the stuffe unwrought, as also to take charge of the stuffe wrought, and to forsee that neither the yarne be burnt in tarring, nor the hempe rotted in the watering; and also to furnish them so with labourers-, workmen and stuffe, as hereafter when these workmen shall come away, we be not destitute of good workmen, and that these may dispatch as much as poss­ible they may, doing it substancially, for we esteem it a principall commoditie, and that The Counsel of England doth well allowe. Let all diligence be used that at the returne of these shippes we may see samples of all ropes and cables if it be possible, and so after to continue in worke, that we may have good store against the next yeere. Therefore they have neede to have a place to work in, in the winter: and at any hand let them have hempe ynough to spinne their stuffe: for seeing you have great plentie of hempe there, and at a reason able price, we trust we shall be able to bring as good stuffe from thence, and better cheape then out of Danske : if it be diligently used, and have a good overseer.

“ Let the chiefest lading of these foure shippes be principally in waxe, flaxe, tallowe and trayne oyle. And if there be any more wares then these ships be able to take in, then leave that which is least in valeu and grossest in stowage until the next shipping: for wee do purpose to ground Our selves chiefly upon those commodities, as waxe, cables and ropes, traine oyle, flaxe and sorrie linen yarne. As for Masts, Tarre, Hempe, Feathers, or any such other like, they would not beare the charges to have any considering our deere fraight. We have sent you a skinner to be there at our charges for meate, drinke and lodging, to view and see such furres as you shall cheap or buye, not minding neverthelesse, that you shall charge yourselves with many, except those which be most vendible, a$ good mar- tems mimures, otherwise called Lettis, and Mynkes. Of these you may send us plentie, finding them good and at a reasonable price. As for sables and other rich furres, they bee not every mans money : therefore you may send the fewer, using partly the discretion of the Skinner in that behalfe.

“We heare that there is great plentie of Steele in Russia and Tartarie, wliereof wee would you send us part for an example, and to write your mindes in it what store is to be had: for we heare say there is great plentie, and that the Tartars steele is better than that in Russia. And likewise we be informed that there is great plentie of Copper in the Emperours Dominions : we would be certified of it what plentie there is, and whether it be in plates or in round flat cakes, and send us some for an example. Also we would have you to certifie us what kind of woollen cloth the men of Rie and Ruel, and the Poles and Lettoes doe bring to

2 A

Russia, and send the scantlings of them with part of the lists, and a full advice of the lengths and breadths, colours and prices, and whether they be strained or not: and what number of'them may be utterred in a yeere, to the intent that we make provision for them for the like sorts,’ and all other Flemish wares which they bring thither and be most vendible there. And to certifie us whether our set clothes be vendible there or not: and whether they be rowed and shorne : because ofltimes they go undrest. Moreover, we will you send us of every commodity in that Country part, but no great quantity other than such as ^;s before declared. And likewise every kind of Lether, whereof we be informed there is great store bought yeerely by the Esterlings and Duches for hie Almaigne and Germanie.

“More, that you doe send us for proofe a quantitie of such Earth, hearbes, or what thing soever it be, that the Russes do die, and colour any kind of cloth linen or wollen, Lether or any other thing withall: and also part of that which the Tar­tars and Turkes doe bring thither, and how it must be used in dying and colouring. Moreover that you have a special foresight in the chusing of your Tallowe, and that it may be well purified and tried, or els it will in one yeere putrifie and con­sume.

“ Also that you certifie us the irueth of the weights and measures, and howe they do answere with ours, and to send us 3 robles in money, that we may try the just value of them.

“ Also we doe send you in these ships ten young men that be bound Prentises to the Companie whom we will you to appoint every of them as you shall there find most apt and meete, some to keepe accompts, some to buy and sell by your order and commission, tind some to send abroad into the notable cities of the Countrey for understanding and knowledge.”

The spirit of commercial enterprise was fully kindled, and an eager desire appears to become the Carriers of the world. What a change from the utter prostration which led, just be­fore, to the appeal to Him whose genius had been thus suc­cessfully invoked to quicken and to guide!

« We would you bought as much waxe principally as you may get. For if there be in that country so great quantity, as we be informed there is, it will be the best commodity we may have: for having that wholly in our hands, we may serve our own Country and others. Therefore seeing the Emperour doth minde, that such commodities as bee in his dominions shall not passe to Rie and Revel and Poland as they have done, but .be reserved for us : therefore we must so lay for it, that it may not be upon their hands that have it to sell, always having consideration in the price and time as our next dispatch may correspond.

“Also we doe understand that in the countrey of Permia or about the river of Pechora is great quantitie of Yewe, and likewise in the countrey of Ugory, which we be desirous to have knowledge of, because it is a special commoditie for our Realme. Therefore we have sent you a young man, whose name is Leonard Brian, that hath some knowledge in the wood, to shew you in what sort it must be cut and cloven. So our minde is if there be any store, and that it be found to be good, that there you doe provide a good quantitie against the next yeere for the comming of our shippes. And because wee bee not sure what timber they shall finde there to make Casks, we have laden in these ships 140 Tunnes emptie

Caske, that is 94 tunnes shaken Casks and 46 tunnes whole, and ten thousand hoopes, and 480 wrethes of twigs; they may be doing with that till they can pro­vide other timber, which wee would be glad to heare of. They have an example with them of the bignesse of the Caske they shall make. Neverthelesse, all such Buttes and Hoggesheads as may be found to serve we will shal be filled with traine Oyle.

“It shalbe very needeful that you doe appoynt certaine to see the romagingof the ships, and to give the master or Botswaine, or him that will take upon him to romage, a good reward for his labour to see the goods well romaged. If it be iij d. or iiij. d. the tunne, it shall not be amisse. For if it be not substantially well looked into, it may be a great deale of money out of our wayes.

“Also, because we reckon that from the Mosco will bee alwayes better conveys ance of letters to us by land: our minde is that from time to time as occasion shall serve, our Agents shall write to him that shall lie at Mosco of all things that shall passe, that he may give us large instructions, as wel what is solde and bought, as also what lading we shall take, and what quantitie and kinde of goods wee shall send. F or we must'procure to utter good quantitie of wares, especially the commodi­ties of our Realme, although we afford a goodpenyworthy to the intent to make other that have traded thither, wearie, and so to bring ourselves and our commodities in esti­mation ^ and likewise to procure and have the chief e commodities of that Country in our hands, as waxe and such othersthat other Nations may be served by*us and at our hands. For wee doe understand that the greatest quantitie of waxe that commeth to Danske, Lubeck, and Hambourgh, commeth out of Russia. Therefore if wee should buy part, and they also buy, it would raise the price there, and would be little worth here. And all such letters of importance and secrecie as you doe send by land for any wares or otherwise, you must write them in Cyphers after the order of a booke sent you in the shippes: alwayes taking goode heede in placing of your letters and cyphers, that we may understand them by the same booke here, and to send them in such so.*t, that we may have them here by Christmas or Candlemas if it be possible. And because you cannot so certainly advertise us by letters of your doings, but some doubt may arise whereof we would most gladly be certi­fied: our minde is therefore that with these ships you send us home one such-yong man as is most expert in knowledge of that Countrey, and can best certifie Vs in such questions as may be demanded, whome we will remit unto you againe in the next ships. We think Arthur Edwards will be fittest for that purpose neverthe­lesse use your discretion in that matter.

** The prices of wares here at this present, are, bale flaxe twenty pound the packe and better, towe flaxe twenty-eight pounds the hundred, traine oyle at nine pounds the tunne, waxe at foure pound the hundred, tallow at sixteene shillings the hundred, cables and ropes very deare; as yet there are no shippes come Out of Danske.”

Though matters passed off so smoothly in public with the Ambassador, we are let here behind the curtain, and note some misgivings as to the character of himself and his coun­trymen :

“ Also if the Emperour bee minded to deliver you any summe of money, or good waxe at as reasonable price as you may buye for readie money, wee wiU that you

shall take it and lade it for our accomptes, and to come at our adventure, and hee to be payed at the retume of the shippes in velvets, sattens, or any other kinde of silke, or cloth of golde, cloth of tissue, or according as his commission shalbe th^t he shall send us in the shippes, and according to such paternes as hee shall send. Wee doe not finde the JLrnbassadour nowe at the last so conformable to reason as wee had thought wee shoulde.• Hee is very mistrustfully and thinketh everie man will beguile him. Therefore you had neede to take heede howe you have to doe with him or with any such, and to make your bargains plaine, and to set them downe in writing. .For they be subtill people, and doe not alwaies spepke the trueth, and thinke other men to bee like themselvesTherefore we’would have none of them to send any goods in our ships at any time, nor none to come for passengers, unlesse the Emperour doe make a bargaine with you, as is aforesaid, for his owne person.

*⁽ Have consideration how you doe take the roble. For although we doe rate it after sixteen shillings eight-pence of our money, yet it is not worth past 12 or 13 shillings sterling.^,,J,c

The Agent at Vologda writes thus to the Agent at Col- mogro:

** Worshipfull Sir, heartie commendations premised. These may bee to adver­tise you, that yesterday the thirtieth of this present came hither Robert Best, and brought with him two hundred Robles, that is one hundred for this place, and one hundred for you at ColmOgro. As for hempe which is here at two robles and a halfe the bercovite, master Gray has written to buy no more at that price; for John Sedgewicke hath bought for sixe or seven hundred robles worth at Novogrode for one roble and a halfe the bercovite, andbetter cheape: and white Novogrode flaxe is there at three robles the bercovite. I trust he will doe much good by his going thither. As I doe understand Richard Johnson is gone to Novogrode with money to him, I doubt not but master Gray hath advertised you of all their doings, both at the Mosco and at Novogrod. And touching our doings heere, you shall perceive that wee have solde wares of this fourth voyage of one hundred and fortie robles, besides fiftie robles, of the second and third voyage since the giving up of my last account, and for wares of the countrey, you shall understand that I have bought, tried and untried, for 77 robles, foure hundred podes of tried tallowe, beside four hundred podes that I have given out money for, whereof God graunt good receipt when the time cometh, which is in Lent. And in browne flaxe and hempe I have bought seventeen bercovites, sixe podes and sixteene pound, which cost 28 robles, eleven altines two-pence. And as for other kindes of wares I have bought none as yet. And for Mastes to bee provided, you shaU understand that I wrote a letter to Totma the 28 of this present for fiftie mastes, to wit, for 25 of fifteene fathoms, and 25 of fourteene fathoms, to be an arshine and a halfe at the small ende. And more, 1 have written for 30 great trees to be two archines and k half at the small end, and for the other that were provided the last yeere, I trust they shall be sent downe in the spring of the yeere. And as concerning the Ropemakers, you shall understand that their abiding place shall be with you at Colmogro, as I do thinke Master Gray hath advertised you. For, as Roger Boutinge, Master of the woorkes, doeth say, there is no place more meete for their purpose then with you; and there

it will be made with lesser cost, considering that the pale is the one halfe of it:' which is to set one pale more to that, and so for to covei; it over, Which as they say will be but little cost. They doe pray that it may be made sixteene foote broade, and one hundred and eighty fathoms long; andjthat in the middle way twentie foote from the pale tOwarde the water-side there may be a house made to tarre in, stand­ing alone by itselfe for danger of fire. The Tarre house that they would.have made, is to be fifteen fathoms long, and ten fathoms broade, and they would that house should be made first; for I thinke they will not tarre before they come there. , And further they desire that you will provide for as much tarre as you may, for heere we have small store, but when the time commeth that it should be made, I will provide as much as I can here* that it may be sent downe when the nasade com­meth. The stuffe. that they have reddie spunne is about five thousand weight, and they say that they trust to have by that time .they come downe yarn ynough to make 20 cables. As concerning a copie of the alphabet in ciphers Master Gray hath written hither that Robert Austen had one, which he willed that he shoulde deliver to you. Thus I surcease, beseeching God to preserve you in health, and send you your hearts desire.”*

Another letter from the Company:

“ This letter before written is the copie on one sent you by Thomas Alcock, trusting that he was with you long since. The 26 day of the last moneth wee received a letter from him dated in Stockholme in Sweden the 14 day of January, and we perceive by his letter that he had talked with a Dutchman that came lately from Mosco, who informed him that our friend Master Antony Jenkinson was re­turned to the Mosco in September last past, but how far he had beene, or what he had done, he could not tell. Also he wrote that one John Lucke, a joyner, was taken by the Lifelander, and put in prison. As yet we have not heard from the sayd John Lucke, nor know not whether he be released out of prison or not. We Suppose that by him you wrote some letter which as yet is not come to our hands: so that we thinke he is yet in prison, or otherwise dispatched out of the way. The fifteenth day of December wee received a letter from Christopher Hodson dated in the Mosco the 29 of July, by the way of Danske; which is in effcct a copie of such another received from hiiu in our shippes, You shall under­stand that wee have laden in three good shippes of ours these kind of wares fol­lowing : to wit, in the Shallowe of London, master under God Stephen Burrow, 34 fardels No. 136 broad short clothes, and four fardels No. 58 Hampshire Kersies : and 23 pipes of bastards and seckes, and 263 pieces of Raisins, and four hogsheds No. 154 pieces of round pewter, and ten hogsheds and poncheons of prunes, and one dryfatte with almonds. And in the Philip and Marie, Master under God Thomas Wade, 25 fardels No. 100 broad cloths, and three fardels No. 42 Hamp­shire Kersies, and thirtie pipes of seckes and bastards, and 100 pieces of raisins. And in the Jesus of London, Master under God Arthur Pette, 10 fardels No. 40 broade shorte clothes, and twenty-seven pipes of bastards and seckes, as by the invoices herewith inclosed may appeare ; also you shall receive such necessaries as you did write to bee sent for the rope-makers ; trusting that you shall have better successe with them which you shall send us in these ships, then with the rest which

you have sent us yet: for we as yet have sold none of them. And whereas we wrote unto you, in our former letter, that we would send you a hundred tunnes of salte, by reason it is so deare here we doe sende you but nine tunnes and a halfe, for it cost here ten-pence the bUshel the first pennie : namely in the Swallow 6 tunnes and a halfe, in the Philip afid Marie one tunne and a halfe, and in the Jesus one tunne and a halfe. The 4 hogsheads of round pewter goe in the Swallow, and in the Philip and Marie No. 154 pieces as is aforesaid. We send you three ships, trusting that you have provided according to our former writing good store of la­ding for them. If yee have more wares than will lade the ships, let it be traine oyle that you leave behinde ; the price is not here so good as it was : it is worth here 9 pound the tunne. We thinke it good you should let the smaller ship bring as much of the traine as she can carry. And that the masters of the ships do looke well to the romaging, for they might bring away a great deale more than they doe, if they would take paine in the romaging; and b'estowe the traine by it selfe, and the waxe and tallowe by it selfe : for the leakage of the trayne doth fowle the other wares much.

“We send you now but 100 Kersies : but against the next yeere, if occasion serve, wee will send you a greater quantitie, according as you shall advise us : one of the pipes of seckes that is in the Swallow, which hath two round compasses upon the bung is to be presented to the Emperour : for it is speciall good. The nete weight of the 10 puncheons of prunes is 4300. 2 thirds 1 Pound. It is written particularly upon the head of every Puncheon : and the nete weight of the fatte of Almonds is 500 li. two quarters. The raisins, prunes, and almonds you were best to dispatch away at a reasonable price, and particularly the raisins, for in keeping of them will be great loss in the waight, and the fruit will decay. We thinke it good that you provide against the next yeere for the comming of our shippes 20 or 30 bullocks killed and salted, for beefe is very deare here. Therefore you were best to save some of this salt that we doe send you in these ships for the purpose. The salt of that country is not so good. In this you may take the opinion of the Masters of the shippes. Foxe skins, white, blacke, and russet, will be vendible here. The last yere you sent none : but there were mariners that brought many. If any of the mariners doe bring any trifling furres or other commodities, we will they shall be registered in our pursers bookes, to the intent we may know what they be.”*

In a subsequent communication it is said:

⁴ * The ware that we would have you provide against the comming of the shippes are Waxe, Tallowe, trayne Oyles, Flaxe, Cables and Ropes, and Furres such as we have written to you for in our last letters by the shippes : and from liencefoorth not to make any great provision of any riche Furres except principall Sables and Lettes: for now there is a Proclamation made that no furres shall be worne here, but such as the like is growing here within this our Realme. Also we perceive that there might be a great deal of tallowe more provided in a yeere than you send. There­fore our minde is, you should enlarge somewhat more in the price, and to send us if you can three thousand podes a yeere for we do most good in it. And likewise the Russes, if you would give them a reasonable price for their wares, woulde be the willinger to buy and sell with you, and not to carrie so much to Novogrode as they doe, but wouldrather bring it to Vologda to you, both Waxe, Tallowe, Flaxe, Hempe,

and all kindeof other wares fitte for our countrey. Our minde is you should pro­vide for the next ships five hundred Loshhides, of them that be large and falre, and thickest in hande, and to be circumspect in the choosing¹, that you buy them that be killed in season and well dried and whole. If they be good we may sell them here for sixteen shillings and better the piece, wee would have the whole skiunes, that is the necke and legges withall, for these that you sent now lacke their neckes and legges. Nevertlielesse for this time you must send them as you may get them : If you coulde finde the meanes that the haire might be clipped off them, they woulde not take so much roome in the shippes as they doe. We perceive by your letters that the prices of waxe doe rise there with you, by reason that the Poles and Lifelanders doe trade into Russia by licence: which, if there should bee peace between them, woulde rise to a bigger price, and not be sufficient to serve them and us too, and likewise woulde bring downe there the prices of our com­modities. Therefore we thinke it good you should make a supplication to the Emperour in the name of The Companie to returne the trade from Rye and Revel to us, especially for such wares as wee doe buy: promising that we will be bounde to take them at a reasonable price, as wee have bought them in times past: and likewise that we will bring to them such wares of ours, as are thought fit for the Countrey, and to sell them at such reasonable prices as wee have done.”*

There would seem to have been very soon an extensive es­tablishment at Moscow, and many Englishmen in the service of the Merchant Adventurers perished when that city was destroyed by the Tartars:

“ Mosco is burnt every sticke by the Crimme the 24 day of May last, and an in­numerable number of people : and in the English house^-was s'mothered Thomas Southam, Tofild, Waverley, Greene’s wife and children, two children of Rafe, and more to the number of 25 persons were stifled in our beere seller: and yet in the same seller was Rafe, his wife, John Browne, and John Clarke preserved, which was wonderful. And there went into that seller Master Glover and Master Rowley also: but because the heate was so great, they came foorth again with much peril]; so that a boy at their heeles was taken with the fire, yet they escaped blindfold into another seller, and there* as God’s will was they were preserved. The Emperour fled out of the field, and many of his people were carried away by the Crimme Tartar : to wit, all the yong people, the old they would not meddle with, but let them alone, and so with exceeding much spoile &nd infinite ^prisoners, they return­ed home againe. What with the Crimme on the one side, and with his cruelty on the other, he hath but few people left.”f

•      Hakluyt, vol. i. p. 306.

f lb. vol. i. p. 402.

THE CHARTER OF INCORPORATION—RECITES PREPARATIONS ACTUALLY

MADE FOR VOYAGES TO THE NORTH, NORTH-EAST, AND NORTH-WEST   

HOW FRUSTRATED      WHALE FISHERY--------- NEWFOUNDLAND FISHERY  THE

AMBASSADOR OF THE SOPHY OF PERSIA AT MOSCOW  HIS EXPLANATION

TO THE EMPEROR OF RUSSIA AS TO ENGLAND    FOLLOWED UP BY A MESS­ENGER TO PERSIA FROM ENGLAND WITH A LETTER TO THE SOPHY PRO­POSING A COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE. *

It is only by looking closely to the terras of the Charter that we become aware of the extensive schemes of Commerce and Discovery which were contemplated, far beyond the scope of that of which the result has just been stated. The recital is as follows:

“Whereas we be credibly informed, that our right trustie, right faithfull, and welbeloved Counsailors, William Marques of Winchester Lord high Treasurer of this our Realme of England, Henrie Earle of Arundel Lord Steward of our hous- holde, John Earle of Bedford Lord keeper of our Privie Seale, William Earle of Pembroke, William Lorde Howard of Effingham Lorde High Admirall of our saide Realme of England, &c. have at their own adventure, costs, and charges, pro­vided, rigged, and tackled certaine ships, pinnesses, and other meete vessels, and the same furnished with all things necessary have advanced and set forward, for to discover, descrie, and finde Isles, landes, territories, Dominions, and Seigniories unknowen, and by our subjects before this not commonly by sea frequented, which by the sufferance and grace of Almightie God, it shall chaunce them sailing Northwards, Northeastwards, and Northwestwards, or any partes thereof, in that race or course which other Christian Monarches (being with us in league and amitie), have not heretofore by sea traffiqued, haunted, or frequented, to finde and attaine by their said adventure, as well for the glorie of -God, as for the illustrating of our honour and dignitie royall, in the increase of the revenues of our crowne, and generall wealth of this and other our Realmes and Dominions, and of our subjects of the same, and to this intent our subjects above specified and named, have most humbly beseeched us, that our abundant grace, favour and clemencie may be gra- tiously extended unto them in this behalfe. Whereupon wee inclined to the pe­tition of the fore saide our counsailors, subjects, and Marchants, and willing to ani­mate, advance, further and nourish them in their said Godlie, honest, and good purpose, and, as we hope, profitable adventure, and that they may the more will­ingly and readily atchieve the same, of our speciall grace, certaine knowledge and

‘iheere motion, have graunted', and by these presents do graunt, for us, our helres and successors, unto our said right trustie, and right faithfull, and right welbeloved Counsailors, and the other before named persons that they by the name of Mar- chants Adventurers of England, for the discovery of lands, territories, Isles, Do­minions and Seigniories unknowen, and not before that late adventure or enter­prise by Sea or Navigation, commonly frequented as aforesaid, shalbe from hence­forth one bodie and perpetuall fellowship and communitie. of themselves, both in deede and in name, and them by the names of Marchants Adventurers for the dis- coverie of lands, territories, Isles and Seigniories unknowen, and not by the Seas, and Navigations, before their said adventure or enterprise by Sea or navigation commonly frequented. We doe incorporate, name, and declare by these presents, and that the same fellowship or communalty from henceforth shalbe, and may have one Governor of the said Fellowship and Communitie of Marchants Adventurers.”*

The prospects thus opened to England were doubtless over­shadowed by the domestic turmoil which followed, and which separated the Noble Adventurers into virulent opposing fac­tions. The war, too, with France, into which the country was plunged, to serve the purposes of Philip, called their attention and resources elsewhere, and it only remained to follow up the success which had dawned on the first mercan­tile speculations.

When we know that the extensive views of Cabot were thus controlled, and recall the sanguine expressions of his letter to Ramusio, how must our indignation kindle anew at such cruel and absurd mis-statements as those of Mr Ellis, who thus fol­lows up the blunder on his part, already exposed, which con* verts the Butrigarius Conversation into a Letter from Sebas­tian Cabot.

“ From this account we see plainly the true reason why all thoughts of a North­West passage were laid aside for near fourscore years. For the greatest part of this time Sebastian Cabot, Esq., in quality of governor of the Russia Company, was the great director and almost the sole manager of all our expeditions for dis­covery, as appears as well from the instructions drawn &y him, for the direction of those who were employed to look for a North-East passage, as from several char­ters, commissions, and other public instruments, in which we find him mentioned with great honour, and treated as the father and founder of the English navigation. It does not indeed appear, that he ever declared in express terms, against making any further searches to the North-West; but as it is evident from the Letter of his before-mentioned that he absolutely despaired of finding such a passage, it may be fairly presumed, that during his life time, and considering the great influence he

2 B

had In matters of this nature, no project for such a discovery would have met with any encouragement} and therefore we need not wonder, that even in that age, when hardly a year passed but some design or other, for promoting commerce and navi­gation was set on foot, this remained as silent and unthought of, as if it never had been proposed; or as if a single unsuccessful attempt upon a coast never before visited, had been sufficient to extinguish all hopes, and produce absolute despair of doing any good in a matter of such importance, the consequences of which were so well known to the enterprising navigators of those times.”*

One of the results of the Northern Voyages was the open­ing the way to the Whale Fishery at Spitzbergen.f

An important Statute, 2d and 3d Edward VI. cap. 6, oc­curs to Newfoundland4 After reciting that within the few years last past, there had been exacted by certain officers of the admiralty divers great sums of the merchants and fisher­men resorting (o Newfoundland and other places, “to the great discouragement and hinderance of the same merchants and fishermen, and to no little damage of the whole common­wealth,” it is forbidden, “ to demand of any such merchants or fishermen any sum or sums of money, doles, or shares of fish, or any other reward, benefit, or advantage whatsoever it be, for any licence to pass this realm to the said voyages or any of them.”

The claims of Cabot on the gratitude of his country for having opened to it this source of wealth and power have been freely recognised:—

“To come,” says Sir William Monson, writing in 1610, “ to the particulars of augmentation of our trade, of our plantations, and our . discoveries, because every man shall have his due therein, I will begin with Newfoundland, lyifig upon the main continent of America, which the King of Spain challenges as first discoverer; but as we acknowledge the King of Spain the first light of the West and South­West parts of America, so we, and all the world must confess, that we were the first who took possession, for the crown of England, of the north part thereof, and not above two years difference betwixt the one and the other. And as the Span­iards have, from that day and year, held their possession in the West, so have we done the like in the North; and though there is no respect, in comparison of the wealth

*      Voyage to Hudson’s Bay, &c., to which is prefixed an Historical Account, &c. by Henry Ellis, Gent. p. 8.

f Anderson’s History of Commerce, vol. ii. p. 83. M’Pherson’s Annals of Com­merce, vol. ii..p. 115.

*      Ruffhead’s Statutes at large, vol. ii. p. 41?.

betwixt the countries, yet England may boast, that the discovery from the year afore­said to this very day, hath afforded the subject annually, one hundred and twenty thousand pounds, and increased the number of many a good ship, and mariners, as our western parts can witness, by their fishing in Newfoundland.”

“ If this worthy man,” sayS Campbell, “had performed nothing more; his name ought eurely to have been transmitted to future times with honour, since it clearly appears that Newfoundland hath been-.a source of riches and naval power to this nation, from the time it was discovered, as well as the first of our plantations*, so that, with strict justice, it may be said of Sebastian Cabot, that he was the author of our Maritime Strength, and opened the way to those improvements which have rendered us so great, so eminent, so flourishing a people?**

“By his knowledge and experience, ₄his zeal and penetration, he not only was the means of extending the Foreign Commerce of England, hut of keeping alive that Spirit of Enterprise which, even in his life time, was crowned with success, and which ultimately led to the most happy results for the nation, &c.”f

Another branch of Commerce which grew out of the North-Eastern Voyages, is connected with some very curious circumstances.

Richard Chancellbr informed Eden (Decades, fol. 198), that at Moscow he met the ambassador of the “ Kinge of Persia, called the great Sophie,” and was indebted to him for sub­stantial favours. “ The ambassador was appareled all in scar­let, and spoke much to the Duke in behalf of our men, of whose kingdom and trade he was not ignorant.” It may ex­cite a smile, at the present day, to find an Ambassador of the Sophy of Persia vouching for the commercial respectability of England; and the Russia Company itself, yet in existence, is probably not aware of the extent to which it may have been in­debted to his good offices. The complacent feeling thus indi­cated led shortly after to the mission of Anthony Jenkinson. The Company writing to the Agent in Russia, say,f “We have a further hope of some good trade to be found out by Master Anthonie Jenkinson by reason we do perceive, by your let­ters, that raw silk is as plentiful in Persia as flax is in Russia, besides other commodities that may come from thence.” One of the earliest acts of Elizabeth, after her accession, was to address a letter ⁴‘To the right mightie and right victorious

*      Campbell’s Lives of the Admirals, art. Sebastian Cabot, t Barrow’s Chronological History, &c. p. 36.

t Hakluyt, vol. i. p. 307

Prince, the great Sophie, Emperor of the Persians, Medes, Parthians, Hircans, Carmanians, Margians, of the people on this side and beyond the river of Tigris, and of all men and nations between the,Caspian Sea and the Gulfe of Persia.” She asks his good offices toward the Agent of the Company:

“ For that his enterprise is onely grounded upon an honest intent, to establish trade of merchandise with your subjects, and with Other strangers trafficking in yoUr Realms.” “ We do hope that the Almightie God will bring it to pass, that of these small beginnings greater moments of things shall hereafter spring both to our furniture and honors, and also to the great commodities and use of our peo­ples, so that it will be knowen that neither the Earth, the Seas, nor the Heavens have so much force to separate us, as the godly disposition of natural humanity and mutual benevolence have to joyne us strongly together.”*

*      Hakluyt, vol. i. p. 341.

THE SEARCH-THRIFT DESPATCHED TO THE NORTH IN 1556 UNDER STE­PHEN BURROUGH—CABOT’S ENTERTAINMENT AT GRAVESEND---- INFLU­ENCE OF THE DEATH OF EDWARD VI. ON HIS- PERSONAL FORTUNES— REVIVING HOPES OF THE STILYARD MERCHANTS——THEIR INSOLENT RE­FERENCE TO THE QUEEN IN A MEMORIAL ADDRESSED TO PHILIP--------------------------- THE

LATTER REACHES LONDON, 20TH MAY, 1557--------- NEW ARRANGEMENT AS

TO CABOT’S PENSION ON 29TH MAY 1567------ WILLIAM WORTHINGTON IN

POSSESSION OF HIS PAPERS-- ACCOUNT OF THAT PERSON  MANNER IN

WHICH THE MAPS AND DISCOURSES HAVE PROBABLY DISAPPEARED     

CABOT’S ILLNESS—AEFECTING ACCOUNT OF HIS LAST MOMENTS BY RICHARD EDEN.

Amidst the stir and bustle of these commercial enterprises concerted by Cabot, or due to the impulse he had communi­cated, there occurs a remarkable anecdote of himself. Ste­phen Burrough, afterwards Chief Pilot of England and one of the four Masters having charge of The Royal Navy at Chatham, &c.,* had been with Richard Chancellor, on the first voyage, and was again despatched to the North in 1556, in a pinnace called the Search-thrift. His copious journal of the incidents of the voyage is preserved,f and an entry at the outset strikingly exhibits the anxious ^supervision of Cabot, and the apparent unwillingness to quit, up to the latest mo­ment, the object of so much solicitude. At the Entertain­ment, too, provided at Gravesend, his countenance to the joy­ous amusements of the company not only shows the unbroken spirits of this wonderful man, but the terms in which Bur­rough records these minute incidents prove how well Cabot understood the character of those around him, and knew that