A letter of Hieronymo de Nabares to the licenciat John
Alonso dwelling in Valladolid
, written from Panama to
Sivil the 24. day of August 1590. touching the gainefulnes of the trade to the Philippinas, and the extreme
feare they have of the Englishmen.
NOT long agone I wrote to your worship from Panama
by the way of Havana
: giving you to understand of my
being here, & of the state of these countreys. After I
departed from Spaine, in 37. dayes wee arrived at Cartagena
: and from thence I tooke shipping to goe to
Nombre de Dios, which is 80. leagues from Cartagena
:
and in 4. dayes wee got thither. And from thence I went
to Panama: where I have remained these 20. dayes, till
the shippes goe for the Philippinas. My meaning is to
carie my commodities thither: for it is constantly reported,
that for every hundred ducats a man shall get 600. ducats
cleerely. Wee must stay here in Panama from August
till it be Christmasse. For in August, September,
October and November it is winter here, and extreme
foule weather upon this coast of Peru
, and not navigable
to goe to the Philippinas, nor to any place else in the
South sea. So that at
Christmasse the ships begin to
set on their voyage for those places: and then in these
parts the summer beginneth with very faire weather, and
alwayes we shall have the windes with us. For in July
until October here is terrible thundering and lightening
with extreme raines, so that it is not possible to go any
way in this countrey. Here are in Panama 10. great
ships of 500, 400, 300, & 200. tuns apiece, & some 15.
barkes which use commonly to saile in the
South sea to
Lima
, to the Valles, to Arica
, and to the Philippinas.
This countrey in the summer is so extreme hotte, that it
is not possible to travel in the day time: it standeth in
8. deg. & 1/2. and all this coast is in 9. and 10. deg. Here
is great store of adders, snakes and toades, which are
in the houses, but they doe but small hurt. Here bread,
wine, and bacon are very deere, by reason the countrey
doth not yeeld it: for it is brought from Peru
. A li.
of bread is worth here 2. rials of plate: a quart of wine
is solde for 4. rials: for none groweth here. Here are
very few sheep, and those extreme deere. The only food
here for flesh, are oxen, kine, buls & heffkers: you may
buy 20. li. of beefe for one rial of plate. Their smallest
money of silver is a rial of plate, & very few of them,
but all pieces of 4. & 8. For the silver mines which
dayly be found in Peru
be wonderfull to bee spoken of.
If a man did not see the silver made, hee would never
beleeve it: for the very earth which commeth out of the
mines, & is afterward washed, being but 3. or 4. yeres
on a mount, yeeldeth great store of silver afterwards
againe. But as here we get much, so our charge in meat,
drinke and apparell doth cost very much. As for fruite
here is none that is good, but onely muske melons, and
they are sold for 6. or 8. rials apeece. I can certifie your
worship of no newes, but only, that all this countrey is
in such extreme feare of the Englishmen our enemies,
that the like was never scene or heard of: for in seeing
a saile, presently here are alarmes in all the countrey. I
pray you to write unto me as touching the wars that his
Majestie hath with our enemies, and howe his Majestie
doth prevaile. And thus I rest.
From Panama in the
firme land the 28. of Aug. 1590.
HIERONYMO de NABARES.