The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, - and Discoveries of The English Nation, vol 10 | Page 7

was from Ormuz, whereby I certified you what had happened there vnto me, and the rest of my company, which was, that foure dayes after our arriuall there, we were all committed to prison, except one Italian which came with me from Aleppo, whom the Captaine never examined, onely demaunded what countryman he was, but I make account Michael Stropene, who accused vs, had informed the Captaine of him. The first day we arriued there, this Stropene accused vs that we were spies sent from Don Antonio, besides diuers other lies: nothwithstanding if we had beene of any other countrey then of England, we might freely haue traded with them. And although we be Englishmen, I know no reason to the contrary, but that we may trade hither and thither as well as other nations, for all nations doe, and may come freely to Ormuz, as Frenchmen, Flemmings, Almains, Hungarians, Italians, Greekes, Armenians, Nazaranies, Turkes and Moores, Iewes and Gentiles, Persians, Moscouites, and there is no nation that they seeke for to trouble, except ours: wherefore it were contrary to all iustice and reason that they should suffer all nations to trade with them, and to forbid vs. But now I haue as great liberty as any other nation, except it be to go out of the countrey, which thing as yet I desire not But I thinke hereafter, and before it be long, if I shall be desirious to go from hence, that they wil not deny me licence. Before we might be suffered to come out of prison, I was forced to put in suerties for 2000 pardaus, not to depart from hence without licence of the viceroy Otherwise except this, we haue as much libertie as any other nation, for I haue our goods againe, and haue taken an house in the chiefest streete in the towtte, called the Rue dreete, where we sell our goods.
[Sidenote: Two causes of our mens imprisonment at Ormus.] There were two causes which moued the captaine of Ormus to imprison vs, and afterwards to send vs hither. The first was, because Michael Stropene had accused vs of many matters, which were most false. And the second was for that M. Drake at his being at Maluco, caused two pieces of his ordinance to be shot at a gallion of the kings of Portugall, as they say. But of these things I did not know at Ormus: and in the ship that we were sent in came the chiefest justice in Ormus, who was called Aueador generall of that place, he had been there three yeeres, so that now his time was expired: which Aueador is a great friend to the captaine of Ormus, who, certaine dayes after our comming from thence, sent for mee into his chamber, and there beganne to demaund of me many things, to the which I answered: and amongst the rest, he said, that Master Drake was sent out of England with many ships, and came to Maluco, and there laded cloues, and finding a gallion there of the kings of Portugall, hee caused two pieces of his greatest ordinance to be shot at the same: and so perceiuing that this did greatly grieue them, I asked, if they would be reuenged of me for that which M. Drake had done: To the which he answered, No: although his meaning was to the contrary.
He said moreouer, that the cause why the captaine of Ormus did send me for Goa, was, for that the Viceroy would vnderstand of mee, what newes there was of Don Antonio, and whether he were in England, yes or no, and that it might be all for the best that I was sent hither, the which I trust in God wil so fall out, although contrary to his expectation: for had it not pleased God to put into the minds of the archbishop and other two Padres or Iesuits of S. Pauls college to stand our friends, we might haue rotted in prison. The archbishop is a very good man, who hath two yong men to his seruantes, the one of them was borne at Hamborough, and is called Bernard Borgers: [Sidenote: The author of the book of the East Indies.] and the other was borne at Enchuysen, whose name is Iohn Linscot, who did vs great pleasure; for by them the archbishop was many times put in minde of vs. [Footnote: He was really born at Haarlem about 1563, and left the Texel in 1579 to go to Seville. Thence he went to Lisbon, where he entered the service of Vicenzo Fonseca, archbishop of Goa, where he arrived in 1583. He returned to Europe in 1589, having visited most of Southern Asia. His principal work is his "Relation", published first in Dutch