A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 6 | Page 7

that in consideration of the good and acceptable service, done and to be done to us by our well-beloved servant Sebastian Cabot, we of our special grace, certain knowledge and goodwill, and by the councel and advice of our most illustrious uncle Edward Duke, of Somerset, governor of our person, and protector of our kingdoms, dominions, and subjects, and by advice of the rest of our councillors, have given and granted, and by these presents give and grant to the said Sebastian Cabot a certain annuity or yearly revenue of _one hundred and sixty-six pounds, thirteen shilling and fourpence sterling_[19], to have, enjoy, and yearly to receive during his natural life from our treasury at the receipt of our exchequer at Westminster, by the hands of our treasurers and chamberlains for the time being, by equal portions at the festivals of the annunciation of the blessed virgin, the nativity of St John the Baptist, of St Michael the Archangel, and the nativity of our Lord. And farther, as aforesaid, we grant by these presents so much as the said annuity would amount to from the feast of St Michael the Archangel last past unto this present time, to be received by said Sebastian from our foresaid treasurers and chamberlains in free gift, without account or any thing else to be yielded, paid or made to us our heirs or successors for the same. In witness whereof, &c. Done by the King at Westminster on the 6th of January 1548, in the second year of his reign.
[Footnote 18: Hakluyt, id. ib. Supposing Sebastian to have been sixteen years of age in 1495, when he appears to have come to England with his father, he must have attained to seventy years of age at the period of this grant--E.]
[Footnote 19: At the rate of six for one, as established by the Historian of America for comparing sums of money between these two periods, this pension was equal to L.1000 in our time.--E.]
SECTION IX.
_Voyage of Sir Thomas Pert and Sebastian Cabot about the year 1516, to Brazil, St Domingo, and Porto Rico_.
That learned and painefull writer Richard Eden, in a certain epistle of his to the Duke of Northumberland, before a work which he translated out of Munster in 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 eighth year of Henry VIII. of famous memorie, imputing the overthrow thereof unto the cowardice and want of stomack of the said Sir Thomas Pert, in manner following:
If manly courage, saith he, (like unto that which hath bene seene and proved in your Grace, as well in forreine realmes, as also in this our country) had not bene wanting in others in these our dayes, at such time as our souereigne lord of famous memorie king Henry VIII. 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, who was vice-admiral of England and dweleth in Poplar at Blackwall, whose faint heart was the cause that the voyage took none effect. If, I say, such manly courage, whereof we 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 Seville, and so named, for that in it is kept the infinite riches brought thither from the newfoundland kingdom of Peru) might long since have beene in the tower of London, to the kings great honour and the wealth of this realme.
Hereunto that also is to bee referred which the worshipfull Mr Robert Thorne wrote to the saide king Henry VIII. in the yeere 1527, by Doctor Leigh his ambassador sent into Spaine to the Emperour Charles V. whose worries 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 little cost, labour, and danger be followed and obteined. Though hitherto your grace have made thereof a proofe, and found not the commoditie thereby as you trusted, at this time it shal be 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