The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation Volume Xiii Part 13

(M238) It is written that Antigonus, beinge to fighte againste certaine of his enemyes, they appered a farr of to be so huge and mightie, that his souldiers were halfe afraied to encounter them; but, beinge incouraged by his valour, they easely overthrewe them in a conflicte; whereof he stripped one or twoo, which, beinge turned oute of their bombasted and large apparell, were in deede but very weakelinges and shrimpes; which, when he had shewed unto his souldiers, they were ashamed of themselves that ever they had bene afraied of suche wretches. So when wee shall have looked and narrowly pried into the Spanishe forces in America, wee shalbe doubtles ashamed of ourselves, that wee have all this while bene afraied of those dissemblinge and feble scarr crowes.

This which I say concerninge the weakenes of the Spaniardes in America may more easelie appere by this note followinge, gathered by an excellent Frenche capitaine moste experte and privie to the state and force of the islandes, havens, townes, and fortes of all that parte of America which lieth upon our ocean; which excedinge large coaste beinge so rarely and simply manned and fortified, wee may well a.s.sure ourselves that the inlande is mocha more weake and unmanned.

Chap. IX. The names of the riche townes lienge alonge the sea coaste on the north side from the equinoctiall of the mayne lande of AMERICA, under the Kinge of Spaine.

1. Ouer againest the ilande of Margarita there is a towne called c.u.mana, wherein is great store of perle. There be divers boates belonginge to the towne, which onely dragge perles. This towne is the farthest eastwarde which the kinge hath on the north side of India. It is environed with their enemyes, viz., the Indyans and Caribes. The victualls come from this towne to Margarita.

2. The next towne westwarde is Carakas, which is very riche of golde. This towne standeth upon the sea, and hath some victualls, but not plentie, and is environed likewise with the Indians, their mortall enemyes.

3. The towne Burborowate was destroyed by 50. Frenchemen, and the treasure taken awaye.

4. The nexte towne to the westwarde is called Coro, which hath greate plentie of golde and victualls. This standeth upon the sea. This is a civill contrie, and some of the Indians broughte to a civill governemente.

5. At Rio de Hacha there is a towne called Hacha, where is greate store of perle and silver, but no golde; and not farr from thence there is a perle house. There is plentie of victualls, the contrie civill, and some of the Indians at the Spaniardes comaundement. Mr. John Hawkins told me he won this towne, and was master of yt three daies, in his laste voyadge.

6. Further westwarde is a towne called Santa Maren, alias Marta, where is greate store of golde, but little victualls. This is envyroned with Indians, enemies to the Spaniardes.

7. The nexte towne is Carthagena, where is greate store of silver, golde, and precious stone. This towne hath a nomber of Indians and Symerons to their enemyes. There is also greate store of victualls.

8. The nexte towne thereunto is Nombro di Dios. To this towne cometh all the golde, perle, stone, and jewells that cometh from Chile, Peru, and Panama oute of the Southe Sea. To this towne cometh halfe the fleete, which taketh in halfe their treasure, and goeth to Havana, and so throughe the Gulfe of Bahama unto the Ilandes of Corvo, Flores, and the Azores, and from thence into Spaine. This towne hath no victualls but such as cometh from Panama and the ilandes by sea. By this towne is a gulfe called Gulnata, where the Symerons and Indians have certaine townes, and kepe warres dayly with the Spaniardes as well as the Indians. At the southende of the gulfe there is not paste five legues over lande into the South Sea.

9. The nexte towne is called Vraga, alias Var, where is moche golde and small store of victualls. This is a civill contrie nere to the towne; the nexte is Nicaragua.

10. At Nicaragua is moche golde that cometh out of the Southe Sea, and there is a place where they make their frigotts. There ys little victualls; the people are civill.

11. In the Bay of Hondoras is a towne called Hondoras, alias Tres Islas, where is golde and hides and greate store of victualls. This towne standeth upon an hill very strongly, and is but simply manned. This towne hath within a mile great plentie of Indians, which are at warr with the Spaniardes.

12. Then there is a towne called Porto de Cavallos, where is store of silver, stones, perles, jewells made and sett with precious stones and perles. To this towne come yerely twoo shippes, that goe from thence to the Havana, and so into Spaine with all their riches. This towne is full of victualls. This porte of Cavallos adjoyneth to the Gulfe Dowse.(70)

13. All the Bay of Mexico is full of Indian townes and full of victualls.

There is one towne named Vera Crux, to which towne cometh all their treasure, from the citie of Mexico, and from thence to the porte of St.

John de Vlloa, from thence to Havana, and so into Spayne.

14. In Florida the Spaniardes have one towne, called Sancta Helena, where they have perles, silver, and greate store of victualls. The Floridians be a gentle sorte of people, and used somtymes to heade their arrowes with silver.

15. There is one princ.i.p.all place called Rio de Jordan, alias Rio de Maio, where, in an iland, standeth a forte which was Ribaults; which river ronneth throughe the lande into the Southe Sea, from whence greate plentie of treasure is brought thither. There are small pynnesses that use the same river. It is also thoughte that shippes come from Cathaio to the southwest ende of the said river. This is very full of victualls. (M239) There was note by Peter Melanda of a river cutt from the Citie of Mexico to Rio de Maio,(71) so that moche treasure is broughte from thence to this forte with small pynnesses.

All that parte of America eastwarde from c.u.mana unto the River of St Augustine in Bresill, conteyneth in lengthe alongest to the sea side xxj.

C. miles, in whiche compa.s.se and track there is neither Spaniarde, Portingale, nor any Christian man, but onely the Caribes, Indians, and sauages. In which places is greate plentie of golde, perle, and precious stones.

On the coaste of Bresill is one goodly ile called Trinidada, conteyninge C. xx'ti. miles in lengthe, and lxxv. miles in bredthe, and is onely inhabited by gentle Indians and sauages borne in the said ilande. In this ilande is greate plentie of maiz, venison, fishe, wooddes, and gra.s.se, with divers faire frutes and other comodities. Yt hath also divers goodly havens to harborowe yn, and greate stoare of tymber for buildinge of shippes. (M240) With the kinge of this ilande wee are in league.

Chap. X. A brefe declaration of the chefe ilandes in the Baye of Mexico, beinge under the Kinge of Spaine, with their havens and fortes, and what comodities they yelde.

There ys one ilande, as the fleete cometh into the baye, named Margarita,(72) wherein is greate store of perle; a riche ilande full of maiz (which is their corne), oxen, shepe, goates, fowle and fishe, greate store of frutes, gra.s.se and woods.

Ouer againste the said islande, northewarde, there is one other iland named St. John de Porto Ricco, which hath store of all manner of victualls and suger.

The nexte is a faire iland called Hispaniola, in some parte well inhabited; havinge one citie called Sancto Domingo, which hath a faire hauen(73) whereunto many of the shippes of the kinges fleete come, and there devide themselves. Some goe to St. John de Leu, and some to Nombro di Dios and other partes of the mayne lande. This is a frutefull iland for all manner of victuall, hides and suger.

The nexte ilande is called Jamaica, and hath in it great store of victualls.

The nexte is a faire, greate, and longe iland, called Cuba. This iland hath a forte and haven in it called the Havana, which is the key of all India. It is called the key of India, for that the Spaniardes cannot well returne into Spaine but that they muste touche there for victualls, water, woodde, and other necessaries. It lieth at the mouthe and entraunce into the Gulfe of Bahama. This ilande hath great plentie of victualls, but it is not greately inhabited.

There be divers other ilandes, riche for victualls, as Aeriaba, Corsal, Marigalante,(74) &c., havinge not in them some xx. some x. Spaniardes a pece.

Thus you see that in all those infinite ilandes in the Gulfe of Mexico, whereof Cuba and Hispaniola are thoughte to be very nere as bigge as England and Ireland, wee reade not of past twoo or three places well fortified, as Sancto Domingo in Hispaniola, and Havana in Cuba. I may therefore conclude this matter with comparinge the Spaniardes unto a drone, or an emptie vessell, which when it is smitten upon yeldeth a greate and terrible sound, and that afarr of; but come nere and looke into them, there ys nothinge in them; or rather like unto the a.s.se which wrapte himselfe in a lyons skynne, and marched farr of to strike terror in the hartes of the other beastes, but when the foxe drewe nere he perceaved his longe eares, and made him a jeste unto all the beastes of the forrest. In like manner wee (upon perill of my life) shall make the Spaniarde ridiculous to all Europe, if with pierceinge eyes wee see into his contemptible weakenes in the West Indies, and with true stile painte hym oute _ad vivum_ unto the worlde in his fainte colours.

And if any man woulde objecte, that if by his weakenes he had loste the treasure of the West Indies, yet the riches of the Easte Indies woulde holde upp his heade; I answer, that those contries beinge so farr of, and suche naturall malice beinge betweene the Portingale and the Spaniarde, as greater cannot be, that it is not possible for him to holde those partes no more than the other, wantinge the treasure of the West Indies to supporte his garrisons both there and in Christendome againste his manifolde and mightie enemyes.

Chap. XI. That the Spaniardes have exercised moste outragious and more then Turkishe cruelties in all the West Indies, whereby they are every where there become moste odious unto them, whoe woulde joyne with us or any other moste willinglye to shake of their moste intolerable yoke, and have begonne to doe yt already in divers places where they were lordes heretofore.

So many and so monstrous have bene the Spanishe cruelties, suche straunge slaughters and murders of those peaceable, lowly, milde, and gentle people, together with the spoiles of townes, provinces, and kingdomes, which have bene moste unG.o.dly perpetrated in the West Indies, as also divers others no lesse terrible matters, that to describe the leaste parte of them woulde require more than one chapiter, especiall where there are whole bookes extant, in printe, not onely of straungers, but also even of their owne contreymen (as of Bartholmewe de las Casas, a bisshoppe in Nova Spania); yea such and so pa.s.singe straunge and excedinge all humanitie and moderation have they bene, that the very rehersall of them drave divers of the cruel Spanishe, which had not bene in the West Indies, into a kinde of extasye and maze, so that the sayenge of the poet mighte therein well be verified:-

Quis talia fando, Myrmidonum Dolopumue aut duri miles Vlissis, Temperet a lachrimis?

Nevertheless I will repeate oute of that mightie ma.s.se and huge heape of ma.s.sacres some fewe, that of them you may make an estymate of the rest, and consider what small remainder of those moste afflicted Indians have to revolte from the obedience of the Spaniardes, and to shake of from their shoulders the moste intollerable and insupportable yoke of Spaine, which in many places they have already begonne to do of themselves, withoute the helpe of any Christian prynce.

Nowe because these moste outeragious and infinite ma.s.sacres are put downe by Don Bartholmewe de las Casas, the bisshoppe above mentioned, and dedicated to Kinge Phillippe that nowe ys, which author testifieth that to his inspeakable grefe he was an eye witnesse of many of them, therefore it seemeth best unto me to bringe him in, which in his firste chapiter describeth the same in manner followinge:-

Upon these lambes (meaninge the Indians), so meke, so qualified and endewed of their Maker and Creator, as hath bene said, entred the Spanishe, incontinent as they knew them, as wolves, as lyons, and as tigres moste cruell, of longe tyme famished; and have not don in those quarters these forty yeres be paste, neither yet doe at this presente, oughte els then teare them in peces, kill them, martir them, afflicte them, tormente them, and destroye them by straunge sortes of cruelties, never either seene or reade or hearde of the like (of the which some shalbe sett downe hereafter); so farr forthe as of above three millions of soules that were in the Ile of Hispaniola, and that wee have seene there, there are not nowe twoo hundreth natives of the contrie. The Ile of Cuba, which is as farr in lengthe as from Valladolid untill Rome, ys at this day, as it were, all waste. St John's Ile, and that of Jammaica, bothe of them very greate, very fertile, and very faire, are desolate. Likewise the Iles of Lucayos nere to the Ile of Hispaniola, and of the north side unto that of Cuba, in nomber beinge above three score ilandes, together with those which they call the Iles of Geant, one with another greate and little, whereof the very worste is fertiler then the kinges garden at Civill, and the contrie the helthsomest in the worlde. There were in some of these isles more then five hundred thousande soules, and at this day there is not one only creature; for they have bene all of them slaine, after that they had drawen them oute to labor in their myneralls in the Ile of Hispaniola, where there were no more lefte of the inborne natives of that iland. A shippe ridinge for the s.p.a.ce of three yeres betwixte these ilandes, to the ende that after the wyninge of this kinde of vintage to gleane and cull the remainder of these folke (for there was a goodd Christian moved with pitie and compa.s.sion to converte and wynne unto Christe suche as mighte be founde), there were not founde but eleven persons, which I sawe. Other iles, more than thirtie, nere to the Ile of St. John, have likewise bene dispeopled and ma.s.sacred. All those iles conteyne above twoo thousande leagues of lande, and are all dispeopled and laid waste.

As touchinge the mayne firme lande, wee are certaine that our Spaniardes, by their cruelties and cursed doinges, have dispeopled and made desolate more then tenne realmes greater then all Spaine, comprisinge therein also Arragon and Portingale; and twise as moche or more lande than there is from Civill to Jerusalem, which are above a thousand leagues; which realmes yet, up to this presente day, remain in a wildernes and utter desolation, havinge bene before time as well peopled as was possible.

We are able to yelde a goodd and perfecte accompte, that here is, within the s.p.a.ce of forty yeres, by these said tyranies and devilishe doinges of the Spaniardes, don to deathe unjustly and tyranously more then twelve million soules, men, women, and children. And I verely doe believe, and thinke I doe not mistake therein, there are deade more then fiftene millions of soules.

Thus havinge hearde of the mult.i.tudes of soules slayne, you shall heare the manner of their slaughter.

In the chapiter of Hispaniola it thus followeth:

Nowe after sondry other forces, violences, and tormentes which they wroughte againste them, the Indians perceaved that those were no men descended from heaven. Some of them, therefore, hidd their victualls, others hidd their wives and their children. Some other fledd into the mountaines to seperate themselves afarr of from a nation of so harde natured and ghastly conversation. The Spaniardes buffeted them with their fistes and bastianadoes, pressinge also to lay their handes on the lordes of the townes. And these cases ended in so greate an hazarde and desperatnes, that a Spanishe capitaine durste adventure to ravishe forcibly the wife of the greatest kinge and lorde of this ile. Since which time the Indians began to searche meanes to caste the Spaniardes oute of their landes, and sett themselves in arms. But what kinde of armes! Very weake and feble to withstande or resiste, and of lesse defence. Wherefore all their warres are no more warres, then the playenge of children when as they playe at _jogo de cane_ or reedes. The Spaniardes with their horses, speares, and launces, began to comitt murders and straunge cruelties. They entred into townes, burroughes, and villages, sparinge neither children nor olde men, neyther women with childe, neither them that laye in; but they ripped their bellies and cutt them in peces, as if they had bene openinge of lambes shutt upp in their folde. They laied wagers with suche as with one thruste of a sworde, woulde paunche or bowell a man in the middest, or with one blowe of a sworde most readily and moste deliverly cut of his heade, or that woulde best perce his entralls at one stroke.

They tooke the little soules by the heeles, rampinge them from their mothers brestes, and crusshed their heades against the cliftes. Others they caste into the rivers, laughinge and mockinge; and when they tombled into the water, they saied: Nowe shifte for thy selfe suche a one's corps.

They put others, together with their mothers, and all that they mett, to the edge of the sworde. They made certaine gibbetts longe and loughe, in such sorte that the feete of the hanged one touched in a manner the grounde; every one enoughe for thirtene, in the honour and worshippe of our Saviour and his twelve apostles (as they used to speake), and setting to fire, burned them all quicke that were fastened. Unto all others, whome they used to take and reserve alive, cuttinge of their twoo handes as nere as mighte be, and so lettinge them hange, they saied: Go you with those letters to cary tydinges to those which are fled by the mountaines. They murdred commonly the lordes and n.o.bilitie on this fashion: they made certen grates of perches laid on pitchforkes, and made a little fire underneathe, to the intente that by little and little, yellinge and despairinge in these tormentes, they mighte give up the ghoste. One time I sawe foure or five of the princ.i.p.all lordes roasted and broyled upon these gredyrons; also I thinke that there were twoo or three of the said gredyrons garnished with the like furniture. And for that they cried oute piteously, whiche thinge troubled the capitaine that he coulde not then slepe, he comaunded to strangle them. The serjeant, which was worse then the hangman, that burned them, (I knowe his name and frendes in Civill,) woulde not have them strangled, but hymselfe puttinge bulletts in their mouthes, to the ende they shoulde not crye, put to the fire, until they were softly roasted after his desire. I have seene all the aforesaide thinges and others infinite. And forasmuche as all the people that coulde flee, hidd themselves in the mountaines and, mounted on the toppes of them, fledd from the men, so, withoute all manhodde, emptie of all pietie, behavinge themselves as savage beastes, the slaughterers and murderers of mankinde, they taughte their houndes, fierce doggs, to tear them in peces at the first viewe; and, in the s.p.a.ce that one might say a _credo_, a.s.sailed and devoured an Indian as if it had bene a swine. These doggs wroughte greate destructions and slaughters. And forasmoche as somtymes (thougbe seldome) the Indian put to death some Spaniardes upon goodd righte and lawe of due justice, they made a lawe betwene them, that for one Spaniarde they had to slaye an hundred Indians.

(M241) And thus farr oute of the large volume of Don Bartholomewe de las Casas, bisshoppe of the citie of Chiape in the West Indies, where he lyved many yeres.(75)

(M242) Will you nowe heare one testymonie of Johannes Metellus Sequa.n.u.s, whoe was a Papiste and favoured the Spanishe superst.i.tion; yet he writes as followeth in the preface of the Historie of Osorius de rebus gestis Emanuelis, fol. 16: At vero vt semel intelligatur quid Indos toties ad res nouas contra Hispanos moliendas, et seditiones tanta pertinacia fouendas impulerit, et quid causae fuerit cur duo illa Christianae Reipublicae summa capita Indicae nationis libertatem, frementibus quibusdam et inuitis dubio procul militibus Hispanis, sanctissimo suo calculo comprobarint, paucis nouorum dominorum in miseros immanitatem, deinde quorundam inexplebilem auaritiam, et ex his grauiores quosque tumultus, vnde noui orbis pene totius nunquam satis deploranda vast.i.tas est sequuta, perstringam.

Principio quidem illud apud plerosque milites Hispanos, pessimo sane exemplo, in more positum fuit, vti ab oculatis et fide dignis testibus perscriptum est, vt seruos suos grauissime punirent, si mercedem diurnam aut non attulissent, aut pensum in auro argentoue effodiendo non absoluissent, aut si quid leuioris denique delicti perpetra.s.sent. Etenim vesperi reduces, coenae loco, primum vestimentis exuebant, manibus dein pedibusque in transuerso palo reuinciebant: mox chorda bubaloue neruo dirissime verberabant. Sic tractatos, pice oleoue feruenti guttatim perfundebant; salita post aqua corpus abluebant, et in mensa tamdiu relinquebant, quamdiu dolorem ferre posse putarentur. Qui mos animaduertendi ipsis etiam in Christianos seruos domi familiaris esse dicitur. Post carnificinam huiusmodo, si durior dominus illis contigerat, viuos in totam noctem collo tenus defodiebant, presentissimum illud ad plagas remedium esse ludibrio dict.i.tantes. Si quis ex illis prae dolore moreretur, id quod non raro accidit, dominus singula seruorum capita regi in occisorum loc.u.m sufficiens, ab homicidij poena liberabatur.