Source: published edition
(Cambridge 1877). Transcribed by Bernardo Acosta
The nexte thinge ys that
nowe I declare unto you the comodities of this newe westerne discoverie,
and what marchandize are there to be had, and from thence to be expected;
wherein firste you are to have regarde unto the situation of the places
which are left for us to be possessed. The countries therefore of America
where unto we have just title, as beinge firste discovered by Sebastian
Gabote, at the coste of that prudente prince Kinge Henry the Seaventh,
from Florida northewarde to 67. degrees (and not yet in any Chrestian princes
actual possession,) beinge aunswerable in clymate to Barbary, Egypte, Siria,
Persia, Turky, Greece, all the islandes of the Levant sea, Italie, Spaine,
Portingale, Fraunce, Flaunders, Highe Almayne, Denmarke, Estland, Poland,
and Muscovye, may presently or within a shorte space afforde unto us, for
little or nothinge, and with moche more safetie, eyther all or a greate
parte of the comodities which the aforesaid contries do yelde us at a very
dere hande and with manifolde daungers.
...
It is well worthe the observation
to see and consider what the like voyadges of discoverye and plantinge
in the Easte and Weste Indies hath wroughte in the kingdomes of Portingale
and Spayne; bothe which realms, beinge of themselves poore and barren and
hardly able to susteine their inhabitaunts, by their discoveries have founde
suche occasion of employmente, that these many yeres we have not herde
scarcely of any pirate of those twoo nations; whereas wee and the Frenche
are moste infamous for our outeragious, common, and daily piracies. Againe,
when hearde wee almoste of one theefe amongest them? The reason is, that
by these, their newe discoveries, they have so many honest wayes to set
them on worke, as they rather wante men then meanes to ymploye them. But
wee, for all the statutes that hitherto can be devised, and the sharpe
execution of the same in poonishinge idle and lazye persons, for wante
of sufficient occasion of honest employmente, cannot deliver our commonwealthe
from multitudes of loyterers and idle vagabondes. Truthe it is, that throughe
our longe peace and seldome sicknes (twoo singuler blessinges of Almightie
God) wee are growen more populous than ever heretofore; … yea, many thousandes
of idle persons are within this realme, which, havinge no way to be sett
on worke, be either mutinous and seeke alteration in the state, or at leaste
very burdensome to the commonwealthe, and often fall to pilferinge and
thevinge…, whereby all the prisons of the lande are daily pestred... Whereas
yf this voyage were put in execution, these pety theves mighte be condempned
for certen yeres in the westerne partes, especially in Newefounde lande,
in sawinge and felling of tymber for mastes of shippes, and deale boordes;
in burninge of the firres and pine trees to make pitche, tarr, rosen, and
sope ashes; in beatinge and workinge of hempe for cordage; and, in the
more southerne partes, in settinge them to worke in mynes of golde, silver,
copper, leade, and yron; in dragginge for perles and currall; in plantinge
of suger canes, as the Portingales have done in Madera; in mayneteynaunce
and increasinge of silke wormes for silke, and in dressinge the same; in
gatheringe of cotten whereof there is plentie; in tillinge of the soile
there for graine; in dressinge of vines whereof there is great aboundaunce
for wyne; olyves whereof the soile ys capable, for oyle; trees for oranges,
lymons, almondes, figges, and other frutes, all which are founde to growe
there already; in sowinge of woade and madder for diers, as the Portingales
have don in the Azores; in dressinge of raw hides of divers kindes of beastes;
in makinge and gatheringe of salte, as in Rochel and Bayon, which may serve
for the newe lande fisshinge; in killinge the whale, seale, porpose, and
whirlepoole for trayne oile; in fisshinge, saltinge, and dryenge of linge,
codde, salmon, herringe; in makinge and gatheringe of hony, waxe, turpentine;
in hewinge and shapinge of stone, as marble, jeate, christall, freestone,
which will be goodd balaste for our shippes homewardes, and after serve
for noble buildinges ; in makinge of caske, oares, and all other manner
of staves; in buildinge of fortes, to,vnes, churches; in powdringe and
barrellinge of fishe, fowles, and fleshe, which will be notable provision
for sea and lande ; in dryenge, sortinge, and packinge of fethers, whereof
may be had there marvelous greate quantitie.
Besides this, such as by
any kinde of infirmitie cannot passe the seas thither, and now are chardgeable
to the realme at home, by this voyadge shal be made profitable members,
by employinge them in England in makinge of a thousande triflinge thinges,
which will be very goodd marchandize for those contries where wee shall
have moste ample vente thereof.
And seinge the savages of
the Graunde Baye, and all alonge the mightie ryver that ronneth upp to
Canada and Hochelaga, are greatly delighted with any cappe or garment made
of coarse woollen clothe, their contrie beinge colde and sharpe in the
winter , yt is manifeste wee shall finde greate utteraunce of our
clothes, especially of our coursest and basest northerne doosens, and our
Irishe and Welshe frizes and rugges; whereby all occupations belonginge
to clothinge and knittinge shalbe freshly sett on worke, as cappers, knitters,
clothiers, wollmen, carders, spynners, weavers, fullers, sheremen, dyers,
drapers, hatters, and such like, whereby many decayed townes may be repaired.
In somme, this enterprice
will mynister matter for all sortes and states of men to worke upon; namely,
all severall kindes of artificers, husbandmen, seamen, marchauntes, souldiers.
capitaines, phisitions, lawyers, devines, cosmographers, hidrographers,
astronomers, historiographers; yea, olde folkes, lame persons, women, and
younge children, by many meanes which hereby shall still be mynistred unto
them, shalbe kepte from idlenes, and be made able by their owne honest
and easie labour to finde themselves, withoute surchardginge others.
...
Nowe if her Majestie take
these westerne discoveries in hande, and plante there, yt is like that
in shorte time wee shall vente as greate a masse of clothe yn those partes
as ever wee did in the Netherlandes, and in tyme moche more; which was
the opinion of that excellent man, Mr. Roberte Thorne, … whose wordes are
these: And althoughe (saieth he) wee wente not into the said ilandes of
spicerye, for that they are the Emperours or Kinges of Portingale, wee
shoulde by the way, and comynge once to the lyne equinoctiall, finde landes
no lesse riche of golde and spicerie, as all other landes are under the
said lyne equinocticall ; and also shoulde, yf wee may passe under the
northe, enjoye the navigation of all Tartarye, which should be no lesse
profitable to our comodities of clothe, then those spiceries to the Emperour
and Kinge of Portingale.
This beinge soe, yt cometh
to passe, that whatsoever clothe wee shall vente on the tracte of that
firme, or in the ilandes of the same, or in other landes, ilandes, and
territories beyonde, be they within the circle articke or withoute, all
these clothes, I say, are to passe oute of this realme full wroughte by
our naturall subjectes in all degrees of labour. And if it come aboute
in tyme that wee shall vente that masse there that wee vented in the Base
Contries, which is hoped by greate reason, then shall all that clothe passe
oute of this realme in all degrees of labour full wroughte by the poore
naturall subjectes of this realme, like as the quantitie of our clothe
dothe passe that goeth hence to Russia, Barbarie, Turkye, Persia, &c.
And then consequently it followeth, that her Majestie shall not be troubled
with the pitefull outecryes of cappers, knytters, spynners, &c.
And on the other side wee
are to note, that all the comodities wee shall bringe thence, wee shall
not bringe them wroughte, as wee bringe now the commodities of Fraunce
and Flaunders, &c., but shall receave them all substaunces unwroughte,
to the ymploymente of a wonderfull multitude of the poore subjectes of
this realme in returne. And so to conclude, what in the nomber of thinges
to goe oute wroughte, and to come in unwroughte, there need not one poore
creature to steale, to starve, or to begge as they doe.
...
The cause why the Kinge
of Spaine, these three or foure yeres last paste, was at suche intolerable
chardges in furnishinge oute so many navies to wynne Tercem, and the other
small ilandes of the Azores adjacent to the same, was the oportunitie of
the places in interceptinge his West Indian flete at their returne homewarde,
as a matter that toucheth him indeede to the quicke. But the plantinge
of twoo or three stronge fortes upon some goodd havens (whereof there is
greate store) betwene Florida and Cape Briton, woulde be a matter in shorte
space of greater domage as well to his flete as to his westerne Indies;
for wee shoulde not onely often tymes indaunger his flete in the returne
thereof, but also in fewe yeres put him in hazarde in loosinge some parte
of Nova Hispania.
...
And in very deede it is
moste apparaunte that riches are the fittest instrumentes of conqueste,
and that the Emperour turned them to that use.
To leave the father and
to come to the sonne, hath not Kinge Philippe employed his treasure as
injuriously to all princes and potentates of Europe? ...What it hath done
and nowe dothe in all the Empire and the Lowe Countries, and is like to
worke in other places unless speedy order be taken to hinder it.
...
If these enter into the
due consideration of wise men, and if platformes of these thinges be sett
downe and executed duelye and with spede and effecte, no doubte but the
Spanishe empire falles to the grounde, and the Spanishe kinge shall be
lefte bare as Aesops proud crowe; the peacocke, the perot, the pye, and
the popingey, and every other birde havinge taken home from him his gorgeous
fethers, he will, in shorte space, become a laughinge stocke for all the
worlde. ... If you touche him in the Indies, you touche the apple of his
eye; for take away his treasure, which is neruus belli, and which he hath
almoste oute of his West Indies, his olde bandes of souldiers will soone
be dissolved, his purposes defeated, his power and strengthe diminished,
his pride abated, and his tyranie utterly suppressed.
...
In this voyadge wee may
see by the globe that we are not to passe the burnte zone, nor to pass
throughe the frozen seas, but in a temperate climate… And it requireth
not, as longe voyadges doe, the takinge in of freshe water by the way in
divers places, by reason it may be sailed in five or sixe weekes. Whereby
the marchant nede [not] to expecte twoo or three yeres for one returne,
as in the voyadge of Sir Frances Drake, of Fenton and William Hawkins;
but may receave twoo returnes every yere in the selfe ame shippes, I saye,
and well repose themselves at their arryvalls.
...
The manifolde testimonies,
verbatim alleaged by me in the thirde chapiter, of John Ribault, John Verarsanus,
Stephen Gomes, Vasques de Coronado, Jaques Cartier, Gasper Corterialis,
and others, which all were the discoverers of the coaste and inland of
America betwene 30 and 63 degrees, prove infallibly unto us that golde,
silver, copper, perles, pretious stones, and turqueses, and emraldes, and
many other commodities, have bene by them founde in those regions. To which
testimonies I shoulde have added many more yf I had not feared to be tedious.
Nowe the fyfte parte of all these aforenamed comodities cannot choose but
amounte to a greate matter, beinge yerely reserved unto her Majestie, accordinge
to the tenor of the patent graunted by King Henry the Seaventh in the xj(th)
yere of his raigne to John Gabote and his three sonnes, Lewes, Sebastian,
and Sancius.
What gaines this imposition
may turne unto the Crowne of England in shorte tyme wee may more then gesse,
havinge but an eye to the Kinge of Spaines revenewes, which he nowe hath
oute of all his domynions in all the West Indies.
...
In the statutes moste providently
ordeyned for increase and maineteynaunce of our navigation in the raignes
of Kinge Richarde the Seconde, Kinge Henry the Seaventh, Kinge Henry the
Eighth, and her Majestie that nowe ys, thoughe many and sondry rewardes
were proposed to incourage our people unto the sea, yet still I fynde complaintes
of decaye of the navye, notwithstandinge so many goodly priviledges to
mayneteine fishermen. … Nowe, to remedie this greate and unknowen wante,
no enterprise possibly can be devised more fitt to increase our great shippinge
then this Westerne fortifienge and planting.