Divers voyages touching the discouerie of America/Chapter 3
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A note of Sebastian Gabotes
voyage of discouerie, taken out of an old
Chronicle written by Robert Fabian somtime
Alderman of London, which is in the custodie of
Iohn Stowe Citizen, a diligent searcher
and preseruer of Antiquities.
HIS yeereIn the 13. yere of king Henrie the vii. 1498. the King, (by meanes of a Venetian whiche made himselfe very expert and cunning in knoweledge of the circuite of the worlde and Ilandes of the same, as by a Carde and other demonstrations reasonable hee shewed) caused to man and victuall a shippe at Bristowe,Note. to searche for an Ilande, whiche, hee saide hee knewe well, was riche and replenished with riche commodities. Which Ship thus manned and victualed at the kinges cost, diuers merchants of London ventured in her finall stockes, being in her as chiefe Patrone the saide Venetian. And in the companie of the saide shippe sayled also out of BristoweBristow. three or foure small ships fraught with sleight and grosse merchandizes, as course cloth, Caps, Laces, points and other trifles, and so departed from Bristowe in the beginning of May: of whome in this Maiors timeWilliam Purchas Maior of London. returned no tidings.
Of three sauage men which hee brought home,
and presented vnto the king in the xvii.
yeere of his raigne.
THis yeere also were brought vnto the king three menThree sauage men brought into England. taken in the new founde Iland, that before I spake of in William Purchas time being Maior. These were clothed in beastes skinnes, and ate rawe fleshe,Rawe flesh. Beastes skins. and spake such speech that no man coulde vnderstand them, and in their demeanour like to bruite beastes, whom the king kept a time after. Of the which vpon two yeeres past after I saw two apparelled after the maner of Englishe men in Westminster pallace, which at that time I coulde not discerne from Englishe men, till I was learned what they were. But as for speech I heard none of them vtter one worde.
Iohn Baptista Ramusius in his Preface to the thirde
volume of the nauigations, writeth thus of
Sebastian Gabot.
IN the latter part of this volume are put certaine relations of John de Verarzana a Florentine, and of a great Captaine a Frenchman, and the two voyages of Jaques Cartier a Briton, who sailed vnto the lande set in fiftie degrees of latitude north, which is called New France: of the which landes hitherto it is not throughly knowne whether they doe ioyne with the firme lande of Florida and noua Hispania, or whether they be separated & diuided all by the Sea as Ilands: and whether that by that way one may goe by Sea vnto the countrie of Cathaio: as many yeeres past it was written vnto me by Sebastian GabotoSebastian Gabots letters to Ramusius. our countrie man Venetian, a man of great experience & very rare in the art of Nauigation, and the knowledge of Cosmographie:Note. who sayled along and beyonde this land of Newe Fraunce at the charges of king Henrie the seuenth king of Englande: And hee tolde mee that hauing sayled a long time West and by North beyonde these IlandesHe calleth them Ilands. vnto the latitude of 67. degrees and an halfe vnder the North Pole, and at the 11. day of June finding still the open Sea without any maner of impediment, hee thought verily by that way to haue passed on still the way to Cathaio,Sebastian Gabot might haue sailed to Cathaio. which is in the East, and woulde haue done it, if the mutinie of the shipmaster and marriners had not rebelled and made him to returne homewardes from that place. But it seemeth that God doth yet still reserue this great enterprise for some great Prince,This voyage to Cathay reserued by God for some great Prince. to discouer this voyage of Cathaio by this way: which for the bringing of the spiceries from India into Europe were the most easie and shortest of all other wayesThis way the shortest of all others. hetherto founde out. And surely this enterprise woulde bee the most glorious and of most importance of all other that can be imagined,This discouery were a most glorious enteprise. to make his name great, & fame immortall to all ages to come, farre more then can bee done by any of all these great troubles and warres, which dayly are vsed in Europe among the miserable Christian people.
This much concerning Sebastian Gabotes discouerie may suffice for a present cast: but shortly, God willing, shall come out in print all his owne mappes & discourses drawne and written by himselfe, which are in the custodie of the worshipfull master Williã Worthington one of her Maiesties Pensioners,William Worthington Pensioner. who (because so worthie monumentes shoulde not be buried in perpetuall obliuion) is very willing to suffer them to be ouerseene and published in as good order as may bee, to the encouragement and benefite of our Countriemen.
