Divers Voyages touching the Discovery of America and the Islands adjacent

Collected and published by Richard Hakluyt, Prebendary of Bristol, in the Year 1582

John Winter Jones, John Winter Jones

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781317149286
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Histoire
• Subtopic: Histoire prémoderne

This volume contains the original printed text, with notes and an introduction. The edition is described as prepared 'for the subscribers of 1849' and as the third volume of 1849 in the report in the next volume. This is a new print-on-demand hardback edition of the volume first published in 1850.

TO THE MOST CHRISTIAN KING OF FRAUNCE,
FRAUNCES THE FIRST.

_________

THE RELATION OF JOHN VERARZANUS, A
Florentine, of the lande by him discouered in
the name of his Maiestie, written in Diepe
the eight of July 1524.

I WROTE not to your Maiestie (most Christian king) since the time wee suflfered the tempest in the North partes, of the successe of the foure Ships which your Maiestie sent forth to discouer new lands by the Ocean, thinking your Maiestie had been alreadie duly enformed thereof. Nowe by these presents I will giue your Maiestie to vnderstand howe by the violence of the windes wee were forced with y^e two ships, the Norman and the Dolphin, in such euill ease as they were, to lande in Britaine.¹ Whereafter wee had repaired them in all pointes as was needefull, and armed them very well, wee tooke our course a long by the coast of Spaine. Afterwardes, with the Dolphin alone, wee determined to make diseouerie of newe Countries, to prosecute the nauigation wee had alreadie begun, which I purpose at this present to recount vnto your Maiestie, to make manifest the whole proceeding of the matter. The 17 of Ianuarie, the yeere 1524, by the grace of God, wee departed from the dishabited Rocke,² by the Isle of Madera, appertaining to the king of Portingall, with fiftie men, with victuals, weapon, and other ship munition very well prouided and furnished for 8 monethes: And sayling westwards with a faire Easterly winde, in 25 dayes wee ranne 500 leagues, and the 20 of Februarie wee were ouertaken with as sharpe and terrible a tempest as euer any saylers suffered: whereof with y^e dinine helpe and mercifull assistaunce of Almightie God, and the goodnesse of our ship, accompanied with the good hap of her fortunate name, wee were deliuered, and with a prosperous wind followed our course West and by North, and in other 25 dayes wee made aboue 400 leagues more: where wee discouered a newe land,¹ neuer before seene of any man, either auncient or moderne, and at the first sight it seemed somewhat lowe, but beeing within a quarter of a league of it, wee perceiued by the great fiers that wee sawe by the Sea coaste that it was inhabited: and saw that the lande stretched to the Southwards: in seeking some conuenient harborough whereby to come a lande and haue knowledge of the place, wee sayled fiftie leagues in vaine, and seeing the lande to runn still to the Southwards, wee resolued to returne backe againe towardes the North, where we found our selues troubled with the like difficulty: at length, beeing in despaire to finde any port, wee caste anker upon the coast, and sent our Boate to shore, where we sawe great store of people, which came to the Sea side, and seeing vs to approche they fled away, and sometimes would st?e still and looke backe, beholding vs with great admiration: but afterwardes, beeing animated and assured with signes that wee made them, some of them came harde to the Sea side, seeming to reioyce very much at the sight of vs, and marueiling greatly at our apparell, shape, and whitenes, shewed vs by sundry signes where wee might most commodiously come a land with our Boat, offering vs also of their victuals to eate. Nowe I will briefly declare to your Maiestie their life and manners, as farre as wee coulde haue notice thereof: These people goe altogeather naked, except only that they couer their priuie partes with certaine skinnes of beastes like vnto Marterns, which they fasten vnto a narrowe girdle made of grasse, verye artificially wrought, hanged about with tailes of diuers other beastes, which rounde about their bodies hang dangling downe to their knees. Some of them weare garlandes of byrdes feathers. The people are of colour russet, and not much vnlike the Saracens, their hayre blacke, thicke, and not very long, which they tye togeather in a knot behinde, and weare it like a taile. They are wel featured in their limbs, of meane stature,² and commonly somewhat bigger then we, brode breasted, strong armes, their legges and other partes of their bodies well fashioned, and they are disfigured in nothing, sauing that they haue somewhat brode visages, and yet not all of them: for wee sawe many of them well fauoured, hauing blacke and great eyes, with a cheerefull and stedie looke, not strong of body, yet sharpe witted, nymble and great runners, as farre as we coulde learne by experience; and in those two last qualities they are like to the people of the East partes of the worlde, and especially to them of the vttermost partes of China, wee coulde not learne of this people their manner of liuing, nor their particular customes, by reason of y^e short abode we made on the shore, our companie being but small, and our ship ryding farre of in the Sea. And not farre from these we founde an other people, whose liuing wee thinke to bee like vnto theirs (as heereafter I will declare vnto your Maiestie), shewing at this present the situation and nature of the foresaide lande: The shore is all couered with small sande, and so ascendeth vpwardes for the space of fifteene foote, rising in forme of little hilles about fiftie paces broade. And sayling forwards, wee founde certaine small Riuers and armes of the Sea, that enter at certain creekes, washing the shore on both sides as the coast lyeth.¹ And beyonde this wee sawe the open Countrie rising in height aboue the sandie shore, with many fayre fieldes and plaines, full of mightie great woods, some verie thicke and some thinne, replenished with diuers sortes of trees, as pleasaunt and delectable to beholde as is possible to imagine. And your Maiestie may not thinke that these are like the woodes of Hercinia,² or the wilde Desertes of Tartary, and the Northerne Coastes full of fruitlesse trees: But f??l of Palme trees, Bay trees, and high Cypresse trees, and many other sortes of trees vnknowne in Europe, which yeeld most sweete sauours, farre from the shore; the propertie whereof wee coulde not learne for the cause aforesaide, and not for any difficultie to passe through the woods: Seeing they are not so thicke but that a man may passe through them. Neither doe wee thinke that they part taking of the East worlde rounde about them are all to geather voide of drugs or spicerie and other richesse of gold, seeing the colour of the lande doth so much argue it. And the lande is full of many beastes, as Stags, Deare, and Hares, and likewise of Lakes and Pooles of Fresh water, with great plentie of foules, conuenient for all kinde of pleasant game. This lande is in latitude 34 D, with good and holsome ayre, temperate betweene hot and colde, no vehement windes doe blowe in those Regions, and those that doe commonly raigne in those Coastes, are the North West and West windes in the Sommer season (in the beginning whereof wee were there), the skie cleere and faire, with very little raine : and if at any time the ayre bee cloudie and mistie with the Sowtherne winde, immediately it is dissolued, and waxeth cleare and fayre agayne. The Sea is caulme, not boysterous, the waues gentle, and although all the shore bee somewhat lowe and with out harborough: yet it is not daungerous to the saylers, beeing free from rockes and deepe, so that within foure or fiue foote of the shore, there is twentie foote deepe of water without ebbe or flood, the depth still increasing in such vniforme proportion. There is very good ryding at Sea: for any Ship beeing shaken in a tempest, can neuer perishe there by breaking of her cables, which wee haue proued by experience. for in the beginning of March (as is vsual in all Regions), beeing in the Sea oppressed with Northerne windes, and riding there, wee founde our anker broken before the earth fayled or mooued at all. Wee departed from this place, still running a long the coaste, which we found to trende towarde the East,¹ and wee saw euerie where verie great fiers by reason of the multitude of the inhabitants. While we rode on that Coaste, partlie because it had no harborough, and for that wee wanted water, wee sent our Boat a shore with 25 men :² where, by reason of great and continual waues that beate against the shore, being an open coast, without succour, none of our men coulde possible goe a shore without loosing our boate. We sawe there many people, which came vnto the shore, making diuers signes of friendship, and shewing that they were content wee shoulde come a lande, and by trial we courteous found thē to be very courteous and gentle, as your maiestie shal vnderstand by the successe. To the intent we might sende them of our thinges, which the Indians commonly desier and esteeme, as sheetes of Paper, glasses, belles, and such like trifles : Wee sent a young man, one of our Marriners, a shore, who swimming towards them, and being within 3 or 4 yeards off the shore, not trusting them, cast the thinges vpon the shore, seeking afterwardes to returne, hee was with such violence of the waues beaten vpon the shore, that he was so bruised that hee lay there almost dead, whiche the Indians perceiuing, ranne to catche him, and drawing him out, they carried him a little way of from the sea : The young man perceiuing they caried him, beeing at the first dismaide, began then greatly to feare, and cried out pitiously, likewise did the Indians, which did aecompanie him, going about to cheere him and giue him courage, and then setting him on the groimde at the foote of a little hill against the sunne, beg㭮e to beholde him with great admiration, marueiling at the whitenesse of his fleshe : and putting off his clothes, they made him warme at a great fire, not without our great feare which remained in the boate that they would haue rosted him at that fire and haue eaten him. The young man hauing recouered his strength, and haning stayed a while with them, shewed them by signes that hee was desirous to returne to the shippe : And they with great loue clapping him fast about with many embracings, accompanying him vnto the sea, and to put him in more assurance, leauing him alone, they went vnto a high grounde and stoode there, beholding him, vntil he was entred into the boate. This yong man obserued, as we did also, that these are of colour enclining to Blacke, as the other were, with their ileshe verie shining, of meane stature, handsome visag, and delicate limmes, and of verie little strength: but of prompt witte, farther wee obserued not.

Gr. 34

Courteous and gentle people.

Departing from hence, following the shore, which trended somewhat towarde the North, in 50 leagues space, wee came to another lande,¹ which shewed mnch more faire and full of woods, being very great, where we rode at Ancker, and that wee might hane some knowledge thereof, wee sent 20 men a lande, which entred into the countrey about two leagues, and they founde that the people were fledde to the woods for feare, they sawe onely one olde woman with a young maide of 18 or 20 yeeres olde, which, seeing our companie, hid themselues in the grasse for feare, the olde woman caried two Infantes on her shoulders, and behinde her necke a childe of 8 yeeres olde : the yong woman was laden likewise with as many : but when our men came vnto them, the women cryed out, the olde woman made signes that the men were fled vnto the woods as soone as they sawe vs : to quiet them and to winne their fauour, our men gaue them suche victuals as they had with them to eate...