The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation Volume Xiv Part 14

Two barrels of nailes for ships and barks.

Sixe kintals of Occom.

Two dozen of veluet girdles without hangers.

Foure yards of taffata red, blacke, and blew, with some greene.

Two dozen of leather girdles.

Sixe dozen of axes, hatches, and small billes to cut wood.

Foure mases of gitterne strings.

Foure hundred or fiue hundreds elles of some linnen cloth that is of a low price to make shirts and sheets.

Foure tunne of yron.

These be such sort of wares as I would you should send. If you meane to deale, or send any ship hither, haue you no doubt, but by the helpe of G.o.d I shall put all things in good order according to your contentment and profit: for my father in lawe with the Captaine and Prouedor doe rule this countrey.

My father in law and I shal (G.o.d willing) make a good quant.i.tie of sugar euery yeere, which sugar we intend to ship for London from henceforth, if we can get such a trustie and good friend as you to deale with vs in this matter. I pray you presently after the receit of this my letter to write mee answere thereof and send your letter to M. Holder to Lisbone, and he wil conuey it to me out of hand.

Besides the premisses send sixe yards of skarlet, parchment lace of diuers colours.

Sixe yards of crimosin veluet.

Sixe yards of crimosin satten.

Twelue yards of fine puke blacke.

Here in this countrey in stead of Iohn Whithall they haue called me Iohn Leitoan: so that they haue vsed this name so long time, that at this present there is no remedie but it must remaine so. When you write vnto me, let the superscription be vnto Iohn Leitoan.

Thus I commit you with all yours to the holy Ghost for euer.

If you send this ship, I would haue you giue order that she touch in no part of the coast of Guinie nor any other coast, but to come directly hither to the port of S. Vincent, and from the Canaries let her be dispatched in my name, to wit, Iohn Leitoan.

Also a dozen shirts for my wearing let be sent, if you send the ship.

Item, sixe or eight pieces of sayes for mantles for women, which is the most necessary thing that can be sent.

By your a.s.sured friend Iohn Whithall.

A copie of the letters of the Aduenturers for Brasill sent to Iohn Whithall dwelling in Santos, by the Minion of London, Anno 1580.

the 24. of October in London.

Master Whithall, as vnacquainted wee commend vs vnto you, etc.

vnderstanding by your friends, M. Iohn Bird, M. Robert Walkaden, and your brother Iames Whithall of certaine letters that they haue receiued of yours from Santos, which wee haue seene and read, wherein from time to time you doe require, and desire them to send a good ship to Santos, with such wares and commodities as you did write for, whereby you did not onely promise that they should haue good intertainment, but also should sell the saide commodities to make three of one outward at the least in euery thing, and that for to relade their ship backe, they should haue of the best, finest, and whitest drie sugars 32. pound of our weight for a ducket at the most. The premises considered, with the great credit that they and we doe giue to your writing and promise, haue caused vs, whose names be hereunder written, to ioyne our selues in company together, and to be at great charges purposely to send this good ship the Minion of London, not onely with such marchandizes as you wrote for, but also with as many other things as we thought might any wayes pleasure you, or profit the country. And we craue of you, that we and our factors may haue so much credite of you, as we haue in you and of your letters, which is to beleeue vs that we haue taken this voyage vpon vs, with no other minde or purpose, then to deale faithfully and truely in the trade by sea and land, so as you shall not onely haue cause to reioyce, and deserue thanks for our comming, but also you wil procure the magistrates there to be bound, as they vse in Galicia, that we may be preserued and defended from all reprisals and imbargements of princes or subiects for any causes or matters whatsoeuer, whereby wee may bee incouraged by them, giuing vs this securitie of good intertainment, to continue the trade yeerely henceforth: and for our parts we promise upon our credits and fidelities, to commit no outrage at the sea nor land, nor suffer any to be done in our company that we may let, but rather to defend and protect all other such peaceable marchants as we are, with their ships and goods.

And to the ende that you and others shall know that wee meane as we say, we haue giuen order to our factors to giue you good hostages for your a.s.surance of our good fidelities: and further we haue sent a testimoniall of our owne true meaning in writing vnder the seales of this honourable Citie of London, which we wil not discredite by our behauiours for all the treasure that you haue: and so we haue written to your magistrates of your port, and others in Spanish, the copy whereof we send you herewith enclosed in English. And if the time should fal out so contrary to our expectations, that there should not be fine white sugar sufficient to lade our ship in due time at Santos, then we pray you direct our factours where they may goe with the shippe in safetie to supply their want, and helpe them to a good sure Pilot for that purpose, and write your letters to your friends where the best sugar is made in their fauors, and helpe our factours to haue a testimoniall from Santos, that they and you traded together friendly, and so departed in good and perfect amitie, and shew them that the iust cause of our comming is to trade as marchants peaceably, and not as Pirates to commit any offence to one or other.

Also we pray you, if there be any store of waxe, or salt-peeter, whereby the price there may yeeld vs as much profit as the white sugars at a ducket the roue, or any other commodity of like profite, then to procure that we may lade it without danger of lawe, be it oare of golde or siluer or whatsoeuer else.

We haue sent you copper cauldrons for your Ingenios, with iron and all other necessaries for your purpose, and artificers to set the same: and as wee haue at your request bene at great charges in sending these men, so we pray you let vs haue lawful fauour in like courtesie to further all our causes. And if any of our Mariners or pa.s.sengers in any respect of displeasure against their company, or in hope of preferment of mariage or otherwise would procure to tary and dwell there, and leaue his charge and office, that then you will bee a meane to the Iustice that such fugitives should be sent abord the ship as prisoners: for as you know, without our men wee cannot bring home our ship.

Wee haue giuen order to our factours to vse your counsell and helpe in their affaires, and to gratifie you for the same as to your courtesie and faithfull friendship shall appertaine to your good liking: and in the meane time for a token of our good willes towards you, we haue sent you a fieldbed of walnut tree, with the canopy, valens, curtaines, and gilt knops. And if there be any commoditie else that may pleasure you or your friends, wee haue giuen order that they shall haue the refusing of it before any other, giuing for it as it is worth.

And thus to conclude, promising to performe all the foresaide things on our parts in euery condition, we commit you to G.o.d, who euer preserue you with all his blessings.

Your louing friends: Christopher Hodsdon.[25], Anthonie Garrard, Thomas Bramlie, Iohn Bird, William Elkin.

[25] For a very curious account of the family of "Hodsdon" or "Hudson,"

consult the "Life of Henry Hudson" in the publications of the Clarendon Historical Society for 1883.

Certaine notes of the voyage to Brasil with the Minion of London aforesaid, in the yere 1580. written by Thomas Grigs Purser of the said ship.

The thirde day of Nouember in the yeere abouesaid we departed in the Minion of London from Harwich, from which time no great thing worth the knowledge or regard of others happened vntil the 22. of December the next moneth, which day for our owne learning and vse wee obserued the setting of the Sunne, which was West southwest, we then being vnder the line Equinoctiall, where we found the aire very temperate, and the winde for the most part Southeast and East southeast. The same day we also obserued the rising of the moone, being one day after the full, which rose at East northeast.----

The first land that wee fell with vpon the coast of Brasill was the yland of S. Sebastian, where we arriued the 14. day of Ianuary in the yeere 1581.[26]

[26] South West of Rio de Janeiro.

The 16. day Thomas Babington, and others in our pinnesse, went a sh.o.a.re to Guaybea, where they met with Iohn Whithall his father and mother in lawe, who hauing receiued letters from thence to be deliuered at Santos, came abord, and then we weyed and set saile, and the 28. day wee arriued at the yland of Santa Catelina, neere the entrance of Santos.

Our course from S. Sebastian was Southwest and by West, and betwixt the Southwest and by West, and West southwest.

This yland of Santa Catelina seemeth at the first to be a part of the yland of Girybia. Wee ankered at nine fathome blacke osie ground.

Vpon the yland there grow many Palmito-trees, but no fresh water is there to be found.

The third day of February we arriued before the towne of Santos, and were there well received and intertained of the Captaine, the kings officers, and all the people.

The fourth day we tooke into our ship a beefe aliue, which for the victualling of the ship, and the refreshing of our men, and to make vs the merrier at Shrouetide.

The eight day we deliuered to M. Iohn Whithall a bedstead with the appurtenances, which were sent to him from our marchants of London.

The 18. day the captaine of Santos came abord our ship, by whom we had knowledge of foure great French ships of warre, that had bene at the riuer of Ienero, which there tooke three Canoas, but were driuen from thence by their castles and forts, and were looked for here at Santos.

Whereupon the Captaine requested vs to lend them some armour and artillery, and we lent them twentie caliuers and two barrels of powder.

[Sidenote: The yle of Alcatrarzas or Pelicanes.] The 19. day our skiffe which we had sent to Alcatrarzas, and had bene away sixe dayes, came againe, and brought good store of great and good fish, and tolde vs that there was good store of fish to be taken there by the hooke, and as much wood as we would haue of the Palmito-tree.

The 20. day at night Nicholas Gale, one of our company, fell ouer our shippes side, and was drowned in the port of Santos before the towne, where our ship rode at anker.