A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 6 | Page 8

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 concerning the
mariners, ships, and provision, an order may be devised and taken
meete and convenient, much better than hitherto: by reason whereof,
and by Gods grace, no doubt your purpose shall take effect.
And where as in the aforesayd wordes Mr Robert Thorne sayth, that he
would have the old courses to bee changed, and the new courses [to the
north] to be followed: It may plainely be gathered that the former
voyage, whereof twise or thrise he maketh mention, wherein it is like
that Sir Thomas Pert and Sebastian Cabot were set foorth by the king,
was made towards Brazil and the south parts. Moreover it seemeth that
Gonzalvo de Oviedo, a famous Spanish writer, alludeth unto the sayde
voyage in the beginning of the 13. chapter of the 19. booke of his
generall and natural historie of the West Indies, agreeing very well with
the time about which Richard Eden writeth that the foresayd voyage
was begun. The authors wordes are these, as I finde them translated
into Italian by that excellent and famous man Baptista Ramusio[21].
[Footnote 21: At this place Hakluyt gives the Italian of Ramusio; we
are satisfied on the present occasion with his translation.--E.]
In the year 1517, an English rover under the colour of travelling to
discover, came with a great shippe unto the parts of Brazill on the coast
of the firme land, and from thence he crossed over unto this island of
Hispaniola, and arrived near unto the mouth of the haven of this citie of
San Domingo, and sent his shipboate full of men on shoare, and
demaunded leave to enter into this haven, saying that hee came with
marchandise to traffique. But at that very instant the governour of the
castle, Francis de Tapia, caused a tire of ordinance to be shot from the
castle at the shippe, for she bare in directly with the haven. When the
Englishmen sawe this, they withdrew themselves out, and those that
were in the shipboate got themselves with all speede on shipboard. And
in trueth the warden of the castle committed an oversight: for if the

shippe had entered into the haven, the men thereof could not have come
on lande without leave both of the citie and of the castle. Therefore the
people of the shippe seeing how they were received, sayled toward the
Island of St John de Puerto Rico, and entering into the port of St
Germaine, the Englishmen parled with those of the towne, requiring
victuals and things needful to furnish their ship, and complained of the
inhabitants of the city of St Domingo, saying that they came not to doe
any harme, but to trade and traffique for their money and merchandise.
In this place they had certain victuals, and for recompence they gave
and paid them with certain vessels of wrought tinne and other things.
And afterwards they departed toward Europe, where it is thought they
arrived not, for we never heard any more news of them.
Thus farre proceedeth Gonzalvo de Oviedo, who though it please him
to call the captain of this great English ship a rover, yet it appeareth by
the Englishmens owne words, that they came to discover, and by their
traffique for pewter vessels and other wares at the town of St Germaine
in the iland of San Juan de Puerto Rico, it cannot bee denied but they
were furnished with wares for honest traffique and exchange. But
whosoever is conversant in reading the Portugal and Spanish writers of
the East and West Indies, shall commonly finde that they account all
other nations for pirats, rovers and theeves, which visite any heathen
coast that they have once sayled by or looked on. Howbeit their
passionate and ambitious reckoning ought not to bee prejudiciall to
other mens chargeable and painefull enterprises and honourable travels
in discoverie.
SECTION X.
_Brief note of a voyage by Thomas Tison to the West Indies, before the
year 1526[22]._
It appears from