Notes framed by M. Richard Hakluyt of the middle
Temple Esquire, given to certaine Gentlemen that went
with M. Frobisher in his Northwest discoverie, for their
directions: And not unfit to be committed to print,
considering the same may stirre up considerations of
these and of such other things, not unmeete in such
new voyages as may be attempted hereafter.
THAT the first Seate be chosen on the seaside, so as (if
it may be) you may have your owne Navie within Bay,
river or lake, within your Seate safe from the enemie:
and so as the enemie shalbe forced to lie in open rode
abroade without, to be dispersed with all windes and
tempests that shall arise. Thus seated you shall be least
subject to annoy of the enemie, so may you by your
Navie within passe out to all parts of the world, and so
may the Shippes of England have accesse to you to
supply all wants, so may your commodities be caryed
away also. This seat is to be chosen in a temperate
Climat, in sweete ayre, where you may possesse alwayes
sweete water, wood, seacoles or turfe, with fish, flesh,
graine, fruites, herbes and rootes, or so many of those as
may suffice very necessitie for the life of such as shall
plant there. And for the possessing of mines of golde,
of silver, copper, quicksilver, or of any such precious
thing, the wants of those needfull things may be supplyed
from some other place by sea, &c.
| Stone
to make Lyme of, |
are to be looked for as things without which no Citie may be made nor people in civil sort be kept together. |
| Slate stone to tyle withall, or such clay as maketh tyle, |
| Stone
to wall withall, if Bryck may not bee made, |
| Timber for buylding easely to be conveied to the place, |
| Reede to cover houses or such like, if tyle or slate be not. |
The people there to plant and to continue are eyther
to live without traffique, or by traffique and by trade
of marchandise. If they shall live without sea traffique,
at the first they become naked by want of linnen and
woollen, and very miserable by infinite wants that will
otherwise ensue, and so will they be forced of themselves
to depart, or else easely they will be consumed by the
Spanyards, by the Frenchmen, or by the naturall inhabitants of the countrey, and so the enterprize becomes
reprochfull to our Nation, and a let to many other good
purposes that may be taken in hand.
And by trade of marchandise they can not live, except
the Sea or the Land there may yeelde commoditie. And
therefore you ought to have most speciall regard of that
poynt, and so to plant, that the naturall commodities of
the place and seate may draw to you accesse of Navigation for the same, or that by your owne Navigation
you may cary the same out, and fetch home the supply of
the wants of the seate.
Such Navigation so to be employed shall, besides the
supply of wants, be able to encounter with forreine force.
And for that in the ample vent of such things as are
brought to you out of England
by Sea, standeth a matter
of great consequence, it behoveth that all humanitie and
curtesie and much forbearing of revenge to the Inland
people be used: so shall you have firme amitie with your
neighbours, so shall you have their inland commodities
to mainteine traffique, and so shall you waxe rich and
strong in force. Divers and severall commodities of the
inland are not in great plenty to be brought to your
hands, without the ayde of some portable or
Navigable
river, or ample lake, and therefore to have the helpe of
such a one is most requisite: And so is it of effect for
the dispersing of your owne commodities in exchange into
the inlands.
Nothing is more to be indevoured with the Inland
people then familiarity. For so may you best discover
all the natural commodities of their countrey, & also all
their wants, al their strengths, all their weaknesse, and
with whom they are in warre, and with whom confederate
in peace and amitie, &c. which knowen you may worke
many great effects of greatest consequence.
And in your planting the consideration of the clymate
and of the soyle be matters that are to be respected.
For if it be so that you may let in the salt sea water,
not mixed with the fresh into flats, where the sunne is
of the heate that it is at
Rochel, in the Bay of Portugal,
or in
Spaine, then may you procure a man of skill, and
so you have wonne one noble commoditie for the fishing,
and for trade of marchandize by making of Salt.
Or if the soyle and clymate be such as may yeeld
you the Grape as good as that at
Burdeaux, as that in
Portugal
, or as that about Sivil in
Spaine, or that in
the
Islands of the Canaries, then there resteth but a
workeman to put in execution to make Wines, and to
dresse Resigns of the sunne and other, &c.
Or if ye finde a soyle of the temperature of the South
part of Spaine or Barbarie in the which you finde the
Olive tree to growe : Then you may be assured of a noble
marchandize for this Realme, considering that our great
trade of clothing doeth require oyle, and weying how
deere of late it is become by the vent they have of that
commoditie in the West Indies, and if you finde the wilde
Olive there it may be grafted.
Or if you can find the berrie of Cochenile with which
we colour Stammelles, or any Roote, Berrie, Fruite,
wood or earth fitte for dying, you winne a notable thing
fitte for our state of clothing. This Cochenile is naturall
in the West Indies on that firme.
Or if you have Hides of beasts fitte for sole Lether, &c.
It will be a marchandize right good, and the Savages
there yet can not tanne Lether after our kinde, yet excellently after their owne manner.
Or if the soyle shall yeeld Figges, Almonds, Sugar
Canes, Quinces, Orenges, Lemonds, Potatos, &c. there
may arise some trade and traffique by Figs, Almonds,
Sugar, Marmelade, Sucket, &c.
Or if great woods be found, if they be of Cypres,
chests may be made, if they be of some kinde of trees,
Pitch and Tarre may be made, if they be of some other,
then they may yeeld Rosin, Turpentine, &c. and all for
trade and traffique, and Caskes for wine and oyle may be
made, likewise ships and houses, &c.
And because traffique is a thing so material, I wish
that great observation be taken what every soyle yeeldeth
naturally, in what commoditie soever, and what it may
be made to yeelde by indevour, and to send us notice
home, that thereupon we may devise what meanes may
be thought of to raise trades.
Now admit that we might not be suffered by the
Savages to enjoy any whole country or any more then
the scope of a citie, yet if we might enjoy traffique, and
be assured of the same, we might be much inriched, our
Navie might be increased, and a place of safetie might
there be found, if change of religion or civil warres should
happen in this realme, which are things of great benefit.
But if we may enjoy any large territorie of apt soyle, we
might so use the matter, as we should not depend upon
Spaine for oyles, sacks, resignes, orenges, lemonds,
Spanish skins, &c. Nor upon France for woad, baysalt,
and Gascoyne wines, nor on Eastland for flaxe, pitch,
tarre, mastes, &c. So we should not so exhaust our
treasure, and so exceedingly inrich our doubtfull friends,
as we doe, but should purchase the commodities that we
want for halfe the treasure that now wee doe: and
should by our owne industries and the benefites of the
soyle there cheaply purchase oyles, wines, salt, fruits,
pitch, tarre, flaxe, hempe, mastes, boords, fish, golde,
silver, copper, tallow, hides and many commodities:
besides if there be no flatts to make salt on, if you have
plentie of wood you may make it in sufficient quantitie for
common uses at home there.
If you can keepe a safe Haven, although you have
not the friendship of the neere neighbours, yet you may
have traffique by sea upon one shore or other, upon that
firme in time to come, if not present.
If you find great plentie of tymber on the shore side
or upon any portable river, you were best to cut downe
of the same the first winter, to be seasoned for ships,
barks, boates and houses.
And if neere such wood there be any river or brooke
upon the which a sawing mill may be placed, it would
doe great service, and therefore consideration would be
had of such places.
And if such port & chosen place of setling were in
possession and after fortified by arte, although by the
land side our Englishmen were kept in, and might not
enjoy any traffique with the next neighbours, nor any
victuals: yet might they victuall themselves of fish to
serve very necessitie, and enter into amitie with the
enemies of their next neighbours, and so have vent of
their marchandize of England
& also have victual, or by
meanes hereupon to be used, to force the next neighbours
to amitie. And keeping a navy at the setling place,
they should find out along the tract of the land to have
traffique, and at divers Islands also. And so this first
seat might in time become a stapling place of the commodities of many countreys and territories, and in time
this place might become of all the provinces round about
the only governour. And if the place first chosen should
not so well please our people, as some other more lately
found out: There might be an easie remove, and that
might be rased, or rather kept for others of our nation
to avoyd an ill neighbour.
If the soyles adjoyning to such convenient Haven and
setling places be found marshie and boggie, then men
skilful in drayning are to be caryed thither. For arte
may worke wonderful effects therein, and make the soyle
rich for many uses.
To plant upon an Island in the mouth of some notable
river, or upon the point of the land entring into the river,
if no such Island be, were to great end. For if such
river were navigable or portable farre into the land, then
would arise great hope of planting in fertil soyles, and
traffike on the one or on the other side of the river, or on
both, or the linking in amitie with one or other pettie
king contending there for dominion.
Such rivers found, both Barges and Boates may be
made for the safe passage of such as shall pierce the
same. These are to be covered with doubles of course
linnen artificially wrought, to defend the arrow or the dart
of the savage from the rower.
Since every soile of the world by arte may be made to
yeeld things to feede and to clothe man, bring in your
returne a perfect note of the soile without and within,
and we shall devise if neede require to amend the same,
and to draw it to more perfection. And if you finde not
fruites in your planting place to your liking, we shall in
five drifats furnish you with such kindes of plants to be
carryed thither the winter after your planting, as shall the
very next summer following yeeld you some fruite, and
the yeere next following, as much as shall suffice a towne
as bigge as Calice, and that shortly after shall be able
to yeeld you great store of strong durable good sider to
drinke, and these trees shall be able to encrease you
within lesse then seven yeeres as many trees presently
to beare, as may suffice the people of divers parishes,
which at the first setling may stand you in great stead,
if the soile have not the commoditie of fruites of goodnesse already. And because you ought greedily to hunt
after things that yeeld present reliefe, without trouble of
carriage thither, therefore I make mention of these thus
specially, to the end you may have it specially in minde.
