Divers voyages touching the discouerie of America/Epistle Dedicatory

by Richard Hakluyt

To the right worshipfull and
most vertuous Gentleman master
Phillip Sydney Esquire.

 

Maruaile not a little (right worshipfull) that since the first discouerie of America (which is nowe full fourescore and tenne yeeres) after so great conquests and plantings of the Spaniardes and Portingales there, that wee of Englande could neuer haue the grace to set fast footing in such fertill and temperate places, as are left as yet vnpossessed of them. But againe when I consider that there is a time for all men, and see the Portingales time to be out of date, & that the nakedness of the spaniards, and their long hidden secretes are nowe at length espied, whereby they went about to delude the worlde, I conceiue great hope, that the time approcheth and nowe is, that we of England may share and part stakes (if wee will our selues) both with the spaniarde and the Portingale in part of America, and other regions as yet vndiscouered. And surely if there were in vs that desire to aduaunce the honour of our Countrie which ought to bee in euery good man, wee woulde not all this while haue foreslowne the possessing of those landes, whiche of equitie and right appertaine vnto vs, as by the discourses that followe shall appeare most plainely. Yea if wee woulde beholde with the eye of pitie howe al our Prisons are pestered and filled with able men to serue their Countrie, which for small roberies are dayly hanged vp in great numbers euen twentie at a clappe out of one iayle (as was seene at the last assises at Rochester) wee woulde hasten and further euery man to his power the deducting of some Colonies of our superfluous people into those temperate and fertile partes of America, which being within sixe weekes sayling of England are yet vnpossessed by any Christians: and seeme to offer themselues vnto vs, stretching neerer vnto her Maiesties Dominions, then to any other part of Europe. Wee reade that the Bees, whé they grow to be too many in their own hiues at home, are wont to bee led out by their Captaines to swarme abroad, and seeke themselues a new dwelling place. If the examples of the Grecians and Carthaginians of olde time, and the practise of our age may not mooue vs, yet let vs learne wisdome of these smal weake and vnreasonable creatures. It chaunced very lately that vpon occasion I had great conference in matters of Cosmographie with an excellent learned man of Portingale, most priuie to all the discoueries of his nation, who wondered that those blessed countries, from the point ofThe speech of a learned Portingale. Florida Northward, were all this while vnplanted by Christians, protesting with great affection and zeale, that if hee were nowe as young as I (for at this present hee is threescore yeeres of age) hee woulde sel all hee had, being a man of no small wealth and honour, to furnish a conuenient number of ships to sea for the inhabiting of those countries, and reducing those gentile people to christianitie.Master John Barros the causer of the inhabiting ot Bresilia. Moreouer hee added that Iohn Barros their chiefe Cosmographer being moued with the like desire, was the cause that Bresilia was first inhabited by the Portingales: where they haue nine baronies or lordships, & thirtie engennies or suger milles, two or three hundred slaues belonging to eche myll, with a Iudge, and other officers, & a Church: so that euery mill is as it were a little common wealth: and that the countrie was first planted by such men, as for small offences were saued from the rope. This hee spake not onely vnto mee and in my hearing, but also in the presence of a friend of mine, a man of great skill in the Mathematikes. If this mans desire might bee executed, wee might not only for the present time take possession of that good land, but also in short space by Gods grace finde out that shorte and easie passage by the Northwest, which we haue hetherto so long desired, and whereof wee haue many good and more then probable coniectures: a fewe whereof I thinke it not amisse heere to set downe, although your worship knowe them as well as my selfe, First therefore it is not to bee forgotten, that Sebastian Gabot wrote to master Baptista Ramusius, that he veryly beleeued that all the North part of America is diuided into Ilandes. Secondly that master Iohn Verarzanus, which had been thrise on that coast, in an olde excellent mappe, which he gaue to king Henrie the eight, and is yet in the custodie of master Locke, doth so lay it out, as is to bee seene in the mappe annexed to the end of this boke, beeing made according to Verarzanus plat. Thirdly the story of Gil Gonsalua recorded by Franciscus Lopes de Gomara, which is saide to haue sought a passage by the Northwest, seemeth to argue and proue the same. Fourthly, in the second relation of Iaques Cartier the 12. Chapter the people of Saguinay doe testifie that vpon their coastes Westwarde there is a sea the ende whereof is vnknowne vnto them. Fiftly, in the end of that discourse is added this, as a special remembrance, to wit, that they of Canada say that it is a monethes space to saile to a lande where cinamon and cloues are growing. Sixtly, the people of Florida signified vnto Iohn Ribault (as it is expressed in his discourse heerewithall imprinted) that they might saile from the Riuer of May vnto Ceuola and the south sea through their countrie within twentie dayes. Seuenthly, the experience of captaine Frobisher on the hyther side, and Sir Fraunces Drake on the backe side of America, with the testimonie of Nicolaus and Anthonius Zeni, that Estotilanda is an Ilande, doth yeelde no small hope thereof. Lastly, the iudgement of the excellent Geographer Gerardus Mercator, which his sonne Rumold Mercator my friende shewed mee in his letters, & drewe out for mee in writing, is not of wise men lightly to bee regarded. His words are these. The iudgement of Gerardus Mercator of a passage by the Northwest.Magna tamet si pauca de noua Frobisheri nauigatione scribis, quam miror ante multos annos nǒ fuisse attentatam. Non enim dubium est, quin recta & breuis via pateat in occidentem Cathaium vsq;. In quod regnữ, si recte nauigationem instituant, nobilissimas totius mundi merces colligent, & multis Gentibus adhuc idololatris Christi nomen communicabunt. You write (saith hee to his sonne) great matters though very briefly of the newe discouerie of Frobisher, which I wonder was neuer these many yeeres heeretofore attempted. For there is no doubt, but that there is a straight and short way open into the West euen vnto Cathay. Into which kingdome, if they take their course aright, they shall gather the most noble merchandise of all the worlde, and shall make the name of Christe to bee knowne vnto many idolatrous and Heathen people. And heere to conclude and shut vp this matter, I haue hearde my selfe of Merchants of credite that haue liued long in Spaine, that A lawe made of late by king Phillip.King Phillip hath made a lawe of late that none of his subiectes shall discouer to the Northwardes of fiue and fortie degrees of America: whiche may bee thought to proceede chiefly of two causes, the one, least passing farther to the North they should discouer the open passage from the south sea to our north sea: the other because they haue not people enough to possesse and keepe that passage, but rather thereby shoulde open a gappe for other nations to passe that way. Certes if hetherto in our owne discoueries we had not beene led with a preposterous desire of seeking rather gaine then Gods glorie, I assure my self that our labours had taken farre better effecte. But wee forgotte, that Godlinesse is great riches, and that if we first seeke the kingdome of God, al other thinges will be giuen vnto vs, and that as the light accompanieth the Sunne, and the heate the fire, so lasting riches do waite vpon them that are zealous for the aduauncement of the kingdome of Christ, and the enlargement of his glorious Gospell: as it is sayde, I will honour them that honour mee. I truste that nowe being taught by their manifolde losses our men will take a more godly course, and vse some part of their goods to his glorie: if not, he will turne euen their couetousnes to serue him, as he hath done the pride and auarice of the Spaniardes and Portingales, who pretending in glorious words that they made their discoueries chiefly to conuert Infidelles to our most holy faith, (as they say) in deed and truth sought not them, but their goods and riches. Whiche thing that our nation may more speedily & happily performe, there is no better meane in my simple iudgemẽt then the increase of knowledge in the arte of nauigation, & breading of skilfulnesse in the sea men: whiche Charles the Emperour and the king of Spaine that nowe is wisely considering haue in their Contractation house in SiuillThe cõtractatiõ house at Siuill. appointed a learned reader of the sayde art of Nauigation, and ioyned with him certayne examiners, and haue distinguished the orders among the sea men, as the groomet whiche is the basest degree, the marriner which is the seconde, the master the thirde, and the pilote the fourth, vnto the which two last degrees none is admitted without hee haue heard the reader for a certaine space (which is commonly an excellent Mathematician, of which number were Pedro di Medina which writte learnedly of the art of nauigation, and Alonso di Chauez & Hieronimus di Chauez, whose works likewise I haue seene) and being founde fitte by him and his assistantes, which are to examine matters touching experience, they are admitted with as great solemnitie and giuing of presents to the ancient masters and Pilots, and the reader and examiners, as the great doctors in the Vniuersities, or our great Sergeantes at the law when they proceed, and so are admitted to take charge for the Indies. And that your worshippe may knowe that this is true, M. Steuen Borrowes.Master Steuen Borrows, nowe one of the foure masters of the Queenes nauie, tolde me that newely after his returne from the discouery of Moscouie by the North, in Queene Maries daies, the Spaniards, hauing intelligence that he was master in that discouerie, tooke him into their cõtractation house at their making and admitting of masters and pilots, giuing him great honour, & presented him with a payre of perfumed gloues woorth fiue or sixe Ducates. A lecture of the art of nauigatiõ necessarie for to be erected in London.I speake all this to this ende, that the like order of erecting such a Lecture here in London or about Ratcliffe in some conuenient place, were a matter of great consequence and importance, for the sauing of many mens liues and goods, which nowe through grosse ignorance are dayly in great hazerd, to the no small detriment of the whole realme. For whiche cause I haue dealt with the right worshipfull sir Frances Drake, that seeing God hath blessed him so wonderfully, he woulde do this honour to him selfe and benefite to his countrey, to bee at the cost to erecte such a lecture: Whereunto in most bountifull maner The bountifull offer of sir Frãcis Drake toward furthering the art of Navigation.at the verie first he answered, that he liked so well of the motion, that he woulde giue twentie poundes by the yeere standing, and twentie poundes more before hand to a learned man to furnish him with instruments and maps, that woulde take this thing vpon him: yea so readie he was that he earnestly requested mee to helpe him to the notice of a fitte man for that purpose, which I, for the zeale I bare to this good actiõ, did presently, & brought him one, who came vnto him & conferred with him thereupon: but in fine he would not vndertake the lecture, vnlesse he might haue fourtie pounds a yeere standing, and so the matter ceased for that time: howebeit the worthie and good Knight remaineth still constant, and will be, as he told me very lately, as good as his worde. Nowe if God shoulde put into the head of any noble man to contribute other twentie pounde, to make this lecture a competent liuing for a learned man, the whole realme no doubt might reape no small benefite thereby. To leaue this matter & to drawe to an ende, I haue heare right worshipfull in this hastie worke first put downe the title which we haue to that part of America which is from Florida to 67. degrees northwards, by the Ihon Gabote and his three sonnes.letters patentes graunted to Iohn Gabote and his three sonnes, Lewes, Sebastian, and Santius, with Sebastians owne Certificate to Baptista Ramusius of his discouerie of America, and the testimonie of Fabian our own Chronicler. Next I haue caused to bee added the letters of M. Robert Thorne to King Henrie the eight, and his discourse to his Ambassadour doctor Ley in Spaine of the like argument, with the kings setting out of two ships for discouerie in the 19. yere of his raigne. Thẽ I haue translated the voyage of Iohn Verarzanus from thirtie degrees to Cape Briton, (& the last yeere at my charges, and other of my friendes by my exhortation, I caused Iaques Cartiers two voyages of discouering the grand Bay, and Canada, Saguinay, and Hochelaga to bee translated out of my Volumes, which are to be annexed to this present translation). Moreouer following the order of the map, and not the course of time, I haue put downe the discourse of Nicholaus and Antonius Zenie. The last treatise of Iohn Ribault, is a thing that hath been alreadie printed, but not nowe to be had, vnlesse I had caused it to be printed againe. The mappe is master Michael Lockes, a man, for his knowledge in diuers languages and especially in Cosmographie, able to doe his countrey good, and worthie in my iudgement, for the manifolde good partes in him, of good reputation and better fortune. This cursorie pamphlet I am ouer bold to present vnto your worshippe: but I had rather want a litle discretion, then to bee founde vnthankful to him, which hath been alwaies so readie to pleasure me and all my name.

Heere I cease, crauing pardon for my ouer boldnesse, trusting
also that your worshippe will continue & increase
your accustomed fauour towarde these
godly and honourable
discoueries.

Your worshippes humble alwayes
to commaunde, R. H.

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