Divers voyages made by Englishmen to the famous Citie
of Mexico, and to all or most part of the other principall
provinces, cities, townes and places throughout the
great and large kingdom of New Spaine, even as farre
as Nicaragua
and Panama, & thence to Peru
: together
with a description of the Spaniards forme of government there: and sundry pleasant relations of the maners
and customes of the natural inhabitants, and of the
manifold rich commodities & strange rarities found in
those partes of the continent: & other matters most
worthy the observation.
The voyage of Robert Tomson Marchant, into Nova
Hispania in the yeere 1555. with divers observations
concerning the state of the Countrey: And certaine
accidents touching himselfe.
ROBERT TOMSON borne in the towne of Andover
in Hampshire
began his travaile out of England
in An. 1553. in
the moneth of March: who departing out of the citie of
Bristoll in a good ship called The barke yong, in companie
of other Marchants of the sayde citie, within 8. dayes
after arrived at
Lisbone in
Portugall, where the sayd
Robert Tomson remained 15. dayes, at the end of which
he shipped himselfe for Spaine in the sayd shippe, and
within 4. dayes arrived in the bay of Cadiz
in Andalusia
,
which is under the kingdom of Spaine, & from thence
went up to the citie of Sivil by land, which is 20. leagues,
and there hee repaired to one John Fields house an English
Marchant, who had dwelt in the said city of Sivil 18. or
20. yeres maried with wife and children: In whose house
the said Tomson remained by the space of one whole
yeere or thereabout, for two causes: The one to learne
the Castillian tongue, the other to see the orders of the
countrey, and the customes of the people. At the end
of which time having seene the fleetes of shippes come
out of the Indies to that citie, with such great quantitie
of gold & silver, pearles, precious stones, suger, hides,
ginger, and divers other rich commodities, he did determine with himselfe to seeke meanes and opportunitie to
passe over to see that rich countrey from whence such
great quantitie of rich commodities came. And it fell
out that within short time after, the sayd John Field
(where the sayd Tomson was lodged) did determine to
passe over into the West Indies, himselfe, with his wife,
children, and familie, and at the request of the sayde
Tomson, he purchased a licence of the King to passe into
the Indies, for himselfe, his wife and children, and among
them also for the sayde Tomson to passe with them: so
that presently they made preparation of victuall and other
necessarie provision for the voyage. But the shippes
which were prepared to perfourme the voyage being all
ready to depart, upon certaine considerations by the kings
commandement were stayed and arrested till further
should bee knowen of the Kings pleasure. Whereupon
the said John Field, with Robert Tomson departed out
of Sivil and came down to S. Lucar 15. leagues off, and
seeing the stay made upon the ships of the said fleet,
& being not assured when they would depart, determined
to ship themselves for the
Isles of the Canaries, which
are 250. leagues from S. Lucar, and there to stay till the
said fleet should come thither: for that is continually their
port to make stay at 6. or 8. daies, to take in fresh water,
bread, flesh, & other necessaries.
So that in the moneth of February in An. 1555. the
sayde Robert Tomson with the said John Field and his
companie, shipped themselves out of the towne of S. Lucar
in a carvel of the citie of Cadiz
, and within 6. dayes they
arrived at the port of the Grand Canaria, where at our
comming the ships that rode in the said port began to
cry out of all measure with loud voyces, in so much that
the castle which stood fast by began to shoot at us, and
shot 6. or 7. shot at us, and strooke downe our maine
maste, before we could hoise out our boat to goe on land,
to know what the cause of the shooting was, seeing that
we were Spanish ships, and were comming into his
countrey. So that being on lande, and complaining of
the wrong and damage done unto us; they answered,
that they had thought we had bene French rovers, that
had come into the said port to do some harme to the
ships that were there. For that 8. dayes past there went
out of the said port a carvell much like unto ours, laden
with sugers and other marchandise for Spaine and on
the other side of the point of the sayd Iland, met with
a Frenchman of warre, who tooke the said carvell, &
unladed out of her into the said French ship both men &
goods. And being demanded of the said Spaniards what
other ships remained in the port whence they came, they
answered that there remained divers other ships, & one
laden with sugers (as they were) & ready to depart for
Spaine: upon the which newes the Frenchmen put 30.
tall men of their ship well appointed into the said carvel
which they had taken, and sent her backe againe to the
said port from whence she had departed the day before.
And somewhat late towards the evening came into the
port, not shewing past 3. or 4. men, and so came to an
anker hard by the other ships that were in the said port,
and being seene by the castle and by the said ships,
they made no reconing of her, because they knew her,
& thinking that she had found contrary windes at the
sea, or had forgot something behinde them, they had
returned backe againe for the same, and so made no
accompt of her, but let her alone riding quietly among
the other ships in the said port: So that about midnight
the said carvel with the Frenchmen in her went aboord
the other ship that lay hard by laden with sugers, and
drove the Spaniards that were in her under hatches, &
presently let slip her cables and ankers, and set saile
& carried her cleane away, and after this sort deceived
them: And they thinking or fearing that we were the
like, did shoote at us as they did. This being past, the
next day after our arrivall in the sayd port, wee did
unbarke our selves and went on lande up to the citie or
head towne of the great Canaria, where we remained
18. or 20. dayes: and there found certaine Englishmen
marchants servants of one Anthony Hickman and Edward
Castelin, marchants of the citie of London that lay there
in traffique, of whom wee received great courtesie and
much good cheere. After the which 20. dayes being past,
in the which we had seene the countrey, the people, and
the disposition thereof, wee departed from thence, and
passed to the next
Ile of the Canaries 18. leagues off,
called Teneriffe
, and being come on land, went up to the
citie called La Laguna, where we remained 7. moneths,
attending the comming of the whole fleete, which in the
ende came, and there having taken that which they had
neede of, wee shipped our selves in a ship of Cadiz
,
being one of the saide fleete, which was belonging to an
Englishman maried in the citie of Cadiz
in
Spaine, whose
name was John Sweeting, and there came in the sayd
ship for captain also an Englishman maried in Cadiz
,
and sonne in law to the sayde John Sweeting, whose
name was Leonard Chilton: there came also in the said
ship another Englishman which had bene a marchant of
the citie of Exeter
, one of 50. yeeres or thereabout, whose
name was Ralph Sarre. So that wee departed from the
sayd Ilands in the moneth of October the foresayd yeere,
8. ships in our companie, and so directed our course
towards the bay of Mexico, and by the way towardes the
Iland of S. Domingo, otherwise called Hispaniola. So
that within 32. dayes after we departed from the
Iles of
Canaries wee arrived with our ship at the port of S.
Domingo, and went in over the barre where our ship
knocked her keele at her entrie: and there our ship rid
before the towne, where wee went on land, & refreshed
our selves 16. dayes, where we found no bread made of
wheat, but biscuit brought out of Spaine, and out of the
bay of Mexico: for the countrey it selfe doeth yeelde no
kinde of bread to make graine withall. But the bread
they make there, is certaine cakes made of rootes called
Cassavi, which is something substantiall, but it hath but
an unsavorie taste in the eating thereof. Flesh of beefe
and mutton they have great store: for there are men
that have 10000. head of cattell, of oxen, bulles and kine,
which they doe keepe onely for the hides: for the quantitie
of flesh is so great, that they are not able to spend the
hundreth part. Hogs flesh is there good store, very
sweete and savorie, and so holsome, that they give it to
sick folkes to eat in stead of hennes and capons, although
they have good store of poultrie of that sort, as also of
Guinycocks & Guinyhens. At the time of our being there,
the citie of S. Domingo was not of above 500. housholds
of Spaniards, but of the Indians dwelling in the suburbs
there were more. The country is most part of the yere
very hot, & very ful of a kind of flies or gnats with long
bils, which do pricke & molest the people very much in
the night when they are asleepe, in pricking their faces
and hands, and other parts of their bodies that lie
uncovered, & make them to swel wonderfully. Also there
is another kind of small worme which creepeth into the
soles of mens feet & especially of the black Moores and
children which use to go barefoot, & maketh their feet
to grow as big as a mans head, & doth so ake that it
would make one run mad. They have no remedy for
the same, but to open the flesh sometimes 3. or 4. inches
& so dig them out. The countrey yeeldeth great store
of suger, hides of oxen, buls and kine, ginger, Cana
fistula & Salsa perillia: mines of silver & gold there are
none, but in some rivers there is found some smal
quantitie of gold. The principal coine that they do
trafique withal in that place, is blacke money made of
copper & brasse: and this they say they do use not for
that they lacke money of gold and silver to trade withall
out of the other parts of India
, but because if they should
have good money, the marchants that deale with them
in trade, would cary away their gold and silver, and let
the countrey commodities lie still. And thus much for
S. Domingo. So we were comming from the yles of
Canaries to S. Domingo, & there staying until the moneth
of December, which was 3. moneths. About the beginning of January we departed thence towards the bay of
Mexico & new Spaine, toward which we set our course,
and so sailed 24. dayes till we came within 15. leagues
of S. John de Ullua, which was the port of Mexico of
our right discharge: And being so neere our said port,
there rose a storme of Northerly windes, which came off
from Terra Florida, which caused us to cast about into
the sea againe, for feare least that night we should be
cast upon the shoare before day did breake, and so put
our selves in danger of casting away: the winde and sea
grew so foule and strong, that within two houres after
the storme began, eight ships that were together were
so dispersed, that we could not see one another. One
of the ships of our company being of the burthen of 500.
tun called the hulke of Carion, would not cast about to
sea as we did, but went that night with the land, thinking
in the morning to purchase the port of S. John de Ullua,
but missing the port went with the shoare and was cast
away. There were drowned of that ship 75. persons,
men, women and children, and 64. were saved that could
swim, and had meanes to save themselves: among those
that perished in that ship, was a gentleman who had
bene present the yere before in S. Domingo, his wife
and 4. daughters with the rest of his servants & houshold.
We with the other 7. ships cast about into the sea, the
storme during 10. dayes with great might, boisterous
winds, fogs & raine: our ship being old and weake was
so tossed, that she opened at the sterne a fadome under
water, and the best remedy we had was to stop it with
beds and pilobiers, and for feare of sinking we threw
and lightned into the sea all the goods we had or could
come by: but that would not serve. Then we cut our
maine mast and threw all our Ordinance into the sea
saving one piece, which early in a morning when wee
thought wee should have sunke, we shot off, and as
pleased God there was one of the ships of our company
neere unto us, which we saw not by meanes of the great
fogge, which hearing the sound of the piece, & understanding some of the company to be in great extremitie,
began to make towards us, and when they came within
hearing of us, we desired them for the love of God to
helpe to save us, for that we were all like to perish.
They willed us to hoise our foresaile as much as we could
& make towards them, for they would do their best to
save us, and so we did: And we had no sooner hoised
our foresaile, but there came a gale of winde & a piece
of a sea, strooke in the foresaile, and caried saile & maste
all overboord, so that then we thought there was no hope
of life. And then we began to imbrace one another, every
man his friend, every wife her husband, and the children
their fathers and mothers, committing our soules to
Almighty God, thinking never to escape alive: yet it
pleased God in the time of most need when all hope was
past, to aide us with his helping hand, and caused the
winde a little to cease, so that within two houres after,
the other ship was able to come aboord us, & tooke
into her with her boat man, woman and child, naked
without hose or shoe upon many of our feete. I do
remember that the last person that came out of the ship
into the boat, was a woman blacke Moore, who leaping
out of the ship into the boat with a yong sucking child
in her armes, lept too short and fell into the sea, and
was a good while under the water before the boat could
come to rescue her, and with the spreading of her clothes
rose above water againe, and was caught by the coat &
pulled into the boate having still her child under her arme,
both of them halfe drowned, and yet her naturall love
towards her child would not let her let the childe goe.
And when she came aboord the boate she helde her childe
so fast under her arme still, that two men were scant
able to get it out. So we departed out of our ship &
left it in the sea: it was worth foure hundreth thousand
ducats, ship & goods when we left it. And within three
dayes after we arrived at our port of S. John de Ullua
in New Spaine. 1 do remember that in the great and
boysterous storme of this foule weather, in the night,
there came upon the toppe of our maine yarde and maine
maste, a certaine little light, much like unto the light of
a little candle, which the Spaniards called the Cuerpo
santo, and saide it was S. Elmo, whom they take to bee
the advocate of Sailers. At the which sight the Spaniards
fell downe upon their knees and worshipped it, praying
God and S. Elmo to cease the torment, and save them
from the perill that they were in, with promising him
that at their comming on land, they would repaire unto
his Chappell, and there cause Masses to be saide, and
other ceremonies to be done. The friers cast reliques
into the sea, to cause the sea to be still, and likewise
said Gospels, with other crossings and ceremonies upon
the sea to make the storme to cease: which (as they
said) did much good to weaken the furie of the storme.
But I could not perceive it, nor gave no credite to it, till
it pleased God to send us the remedie & delivered us
from the rage of the same, His Name be praised therefore.
This light continued aboord our ship about three houres,
flying from maste to maste, & from top to top: and
sometime it would be in two or three places at once. I
informed my selfe of learned men afterward what that
light should be, and they said, that it was but a congelation of the winde and vapours of the Sea congealed with
the extremitie of the weather, which flying in the winde,
many times doeth chance to hit on the masts and shrowds
of the ships that are at sea in foule weather. And in
trueth I do take it to be so: for that I have seene the
like in other ships at sea, and in sundry ships at once.
By this men may see how the Papists are given to beleeve
and worship such vaine things and toyes, as God, to whom
all honour doth appertaine, and in their neede and necessities do let to call upon the living God, who is the giver
of all good things.
The 16. of April in
Anno 1556. we arrived at the port
of S. John de Ullua in new Spaine, very naked and
distressed of apparell, and all other things, by meanes
of the losse of our foresaid ship and goods, and from
thence we went to the new Towne called Vera Cruz, five
leagues from the said port of S. John de Ullua, marching
still by the sea side, where wee found lying upon the
sands great quantitie of mightie great trees with rootes
and all, some of them of foure, five, and sixe cart load
by our estimation, which, as the people tolde us, were
in the great stormy weather, which we indured at sea,
rooted out of the ground in Terra Florida, which is three
hundreth leagues over by Sea, and brought thither. So
we came to the saide Towne of Vera cruz, where wee
remained a moneth: and there the said John Field chanced
to meete with an olde friend of his acquaintance in
Spaine,
called Goncalo Ruiz de Cordova, a very rich man of the
saide Towne of Vera cruz: who hearing of his comming
thither with his wife and family, and of his misfortune
by Sea, came unto him and received him and all his
houshold into his house, and kept us there a whole
moneth, making us very good cheere, and giving us good
intertainement, and also gave us that were in all eight
persons of the said John Fields house, double apparell
new out of the shop of very good cloth, coates, cloakes,
hose, shirts, smocks, gownes for the women, hose, shooes,
and al other necessary apparel, and for our way up to
the Citie of Mexico, horses, moiles, and men, and money
in our purses for the expences by the way, which by
our accompt might amount unto the summe of 400.
Crownes. And after wee were entred two dayes journey
into the Countrey, I the saide Robert Tomson fell so
sicke of an ague, that the next day I was not able to
sit on my horse, but was faine to be caried upon Indians
backes, from thence to Mexico. And when wee came
within halfe a dayes journey of the Citie of Mexico, the
saide John Field also fell sicke, and within three dayes
after we arrived at the said Citie, hee died: And presently
sickened one of his children, and two more of his houshold
people, and within eight dayes died. So that within tenne
dayes after we arrived at the Citie of Mexico, of eight
persons that were of us of the saide company, there
remained but foure alive, and I the said Tomson was at
the point of death of the sicknes that I got upon the
way, which continued with mee the space of sixe moneths.
At the ende of which time it pleased Almightie God to
restore me my health againe, although weake and greatly
disabled. And being some thing strong, I procured to
seeke meanes to live, and to seeke a way how to profite
my selfe in the Countrey, seeing it had pleased God to
sende us thither in safetie. Then by friendship of one
Thomas Blake a Scottishman borne, who had dwelt and
had bene married in the said Citie above twentie yeeres
before I came to the saide Citie, I was preferred to the
service of a gentleman a Spaniard dwelling there, a man
of great wealth, and one of the first conquerours of the
said Citie, whose name was Goncalo Cerezo, with whom
I dwelt twelve moneths and a halfe. At the ende of
which I was maliciously accused by the Holy house for
matters of Religion, and so apprehended and caried to
prison, where I lay close prisoner seven moneths, without speaking to any creature, but to the Jailer that kept
the said prison, when he brought me my meat and drinke.
In the meane time was brought into the saide prison one
Augustin Boacio an Italian of Genoua also for matters
of Religion, who was taken at
Sacatecas 80. leagues to
the Northwest of the Citie of Mexico: At the ende of the
said seven moneths, we were both caried to the high
Church of Mexico, to doe open penance upon an high
scaffold, made before the high Altar, upon a Sunday, in
the presence of a very great number of people, who were
at the least five or sixe thousand. For there were that
came one hundreth mile off, to see the saide Auto (as
they call it) for that there were never none before, that
had done the like in the said Countrey, nor could not
tell what Lutheranes were, nor what it meant: for they
never heard of any such thing before. We were brought
into the Church, every one with a S. Benito upon his
backe, which is halfe a yard of yellow cloth, with a hole
to put in a mans head in the middest, and cast over a
mans head: both flaps hang one before, and another
behinde, and in the middest of every flap, a S. Andrewes
crosse, made of red cloth, sowed on upon the same, and
that is called S. Benito. The common people before they
sawe the penitents come into the Church, were given to
understand that wee were heretiques, infidels, and people
that did despise God, and his workes, and that wee had
bene more like devils then men, and thought wee had had
the favour of some monsters, or heathen people. And
when they saw us come into the Church in our players
coates, the women and children beganne to cry out, and
made such a noise, that it was strange to see and heare,
saying, that they never sawe goodlier men in all their
lives, and that it was not possible that there could be in
us so much evill as was reported of us, and that we
were more like Angels among men, then such persons
of such evill Religion as by the Priestes and friers wee
were reported to be, and that it was great pitie that wee
should bee so used for so small an offence. So that
being brought into the saide high Church, and set upon
the scaffold which was made before the high Altar, in
the presence of all the people, untill high Masse was
done, and the sermon made by a frier, concerning our
matter, they did put us in all the disgrace they could,
to cause the people not to take so much compassion upon
us, for that wee were heretiques, & people that were
seduced of the devill, & had forsaken the faith of the
Catholique Church of Rome
, with divers other reprochfull
wordes, which were too long to recite in this place. High
Masse and Sermon being done, our offences, as they called
them, were recited, every man what he had said and done,
and presently was the sentence pronounced against us.
That was, that the said Augustine Boacio was condemned
to weare his S. Benito all the dayes of his life, and put
into perpetuall prison, where hee should fulfill the same,
and all his goods confiscated and lost. And I the saide
Tomson to weare the S. Benito for three yeeres, and then
to be set at libertie. And for the accomplishing of this
sentence or condemnation, we must be presently sent
downe from Mexico, to Vera Cruz, and from thence to
S. John de Ullua, and there to be shipped for Spaine,
which was 65. leagues by land, with strait commandement, that upon paine of 1000. duckets, the Masters
every one should looke straitly unto us, and carry us
to Spaine, and deliver us unto the Inquisitors of the
Holy house of Sivill, that they should put us in the places,
where we should fulfill our penances that the Archbishop
of Mexico had enjoyned unto us, by his sentence there
given. For performance of the which, we were sent
downe from Mexico, to the Sea side, which was 65.
leagues, with fetters upon our feete, and there delivered
to the Masters of the ships, to be caried for Spaine, as
before is said. And it was so, that the Italian, fearing
that if he had presented himselfe in