The voyage of Sir Thomas Pert, and Sebastian Cabot,
about the eight yeere of King Henry the eight, which
was the yere 1516. to Brasil
, Santo Domingo, and S.
Juan de Puerto rico.
THAT learned and painefull writer Richard Eden in a
certaine Epistle of his to the duke of Northumberland
,
before a worke which he translated out of Munster
in
the yeere 1553, called A treatise of new India
, maketh
mention of a voyage of discoverie undertaken out of
England
by sir Thomas Pert and Sebastian Cabota, about
the 8. yere of King Henry the eight of famous memorie,
imputing the overthrow thereof unto the cowardise and
want of stomack of the said Sir Thomas Pert, in maner
following. If manly courage, saith he, (like unto that
which hath bene seene & proved in your Grace, as well
in forreine realmes, as also in this our countrey) had not
bene wanting in other in these our dayes, at such time
as our soveraigne lord of famous memorie king Henry
the 8. about the same yeere of his raigne, furnished and
sent out certaine shippes under the governance of Sebastian
Cabot yet living and one Sir Thomas Pert, whose faint
heart was the cause that the voyage tooke none effect;
if, I say, such manly courage, whereof wee have spoken,
had not at that time beene wanting, it might happily
have come to passe, that that rich treasurie called Perularia, (which is nowe in
Spaine in the citie of Sivill, and
so named, for that in it is kept the infinite riches brought
thither from the newfoundland of Peru
) might long since
have beene in the tower of London
, to the kings great
honour and wealth of this realme. Hereunto that also
is to bee referred which the worshipfull M. Robert Thorne
wrote to the sayde king Henry the 8. in the yeere 1527.
by doctor Leigh
his ambassadour sent into Spaine to
the Emperour Charles the fift, whose wordes bee these.
Now rest to be discovered the North parts, the which
it seemeth unto me, is onely your highnes charge and
dutie, because the situation of this your realme is thereunto neerest and aptest of all other: and also, for that
already you have taken it in hand. And in mine opinion
it will not seeme well to leave so great and profitable
an enterprise, seeing it may so easily and with so litle
cost, labour and danger be followed and obteined.
Though hitherto your grace have made thereof a proofe,
& found not the commoditie thereby as you trusted, at
this time it shalbe none impediment: for there may be
now provided remedies for things then lacked, and the
inconveniences and lets remooved, that then were cause
your graces desire tooke no full effect: which is, the
courses to be changed, and to follow the aforesayd new
courses. And concerning the mariners, ships, and provision, an order may be devised and taken meete and
convenient, much better then hitherto: by reason whereof,
& by Gods grace, no doubt your purpose shall take effect.
And whereas in the aforesayd wordes M. Robert Thorne
sayth, that he would have the old courses to bee changed,
and the newe courses (to the North) to be followed: It
may plainely be gathered, that the former voyage, whereof
twise or thrise he maketh mention, wherein it is like
that sir Thomas Pert and Sebastian Cabot were set foorth
by the king, was made towarde Brasill and the South
parts. Moreover it seemeth that Gon salvo de Oviedo
, a
famous Spanish writer, alludeth unto the sayde voyage
in the beginning of the 13. chapter of the 19. booke of
his generall and natural historie of the West Indies,
agreeing very well with the time about which Richard
Eden writeth that the foresaid voyage was begun. The
authors wordes are these, as I finde them translated into
Italian by that excellent and famous man Baptista
Ramusius. That in the yeere 1517. an English Rover
under the colour of travelling to discover, came with a
great shippe unto the parts of Brasill on the coast of the
firme land, and from thence he crossed over unto this
Iland of Hispaniola, and arrived neere unto the mouth
of the haven of this citie of S. Domingo, and sent his
shipboate full of men on shoare, and demaunded leave
to enter into this haven, saying that hee came with
marchandise to traffique. But at that very instant the
governour of the castle Francis 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 shipboord. 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 entring 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 recompence they gave and paid them with certain
vessell of wrought tinne and other things. And afterward they departed toward Europe
, where it is thought
they arrived not: for wee never heard any more newes
of them. Thus farre proceedeth Gonsalvo de Oviedo,
who though it please him to call the captain of this great
English ship a rover, yet it appeareth by the Englishmens
owne words, that they came to discover, and by their
traffique for pewter vessell and other wares at the towne
of S. Germaine in the
Iland of S. John de puerto rico,
it cannot bee denied but that they were furnished with
wares for honest traffique and exchange. But whosoever
is conversant in reading the Portugall and Spanish writers
of the East and West Indies, shall commonly finde that
they account all other nations for pirats, rovers and
theeves, which visite any heathen coast that they have
once sayled by or looked on. Howbeit their passionate
and ambitious reckoning ought not to bee prejudiciall
to other mens chargeable and painefull enterprises and
honourable travels in discoverie.
