CHAPTER XIX ELIZABETHAN SEAMEN 144. Hawkins' Third Voyage Hakluyt The activities of the Elizabethan seamen who bore the banner of England north, south, and west, and defied the power of Spain, the then lord of the New World, found their historian in RICHARD HAKLUYT (circa 1553-1616). The greatest of his works is The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of the English Nation (London, 1598-1600). "It is an invaluable treasure of material for the history of geographical discovery and colonization." Various editions are accessible. I have selected four accounts of voyages, each typical of the enterprise of the sea-rovers, who traversed many oceans in quest of slaves, treasure, discovery of a passage to Cathay, or spots on which to found colonies. The first of these voyages is that of Sir John Hawkins, told by that seaman himself. John Hawkins (circa 1532-1595) was Vice-Admiral in the time of the Armada, and before that day had been untiring in voyages of exploration. These were often extremely lucrative, as he secured large cargoes of slaves. His third voyage, of which the following is the account, is illustrative of one of the expeditions made for the latter purpose. In this traffic he did not stand alone among his contemporaries. The Third troublesome Voyage made with the Jesus of Lubeck, the Minion, and four other ships, to the parts of Guinea and the West Indies, in the years 1567 and 1568, by Master JOHN HAWKINS. The ships departed from Plymouth, the 2nd day of October, Anno 1567, and had reasonable weather until the seventh day. At which time, forty leagues north from Cape Finisterre, there arose an extreme storm, which continued four days, in such sort, that the fleet was dispersed, and all our great boats lost; and the Jesus, our chief ship, in such case as not thought able to serve the voyage. Whereupon in the same storm we set our course homeward, determining to give over the voyage. But the eleventh day of the same month, the wind changed with fair weather, whereby we were animated to follow our enterprise, and so did, directing our course with the islands of the Canaries, where, according to an order before prescribed, all our ships before dispersed, met at one of those islands, called Gomera, where we took water, and departed from thence on the 4th day of November, towards the coast of Guinea, and arrived at Cape Verde, on the 18th day of November: where we landed 150 men, hoping to obtain some negroes, where we got but few, and those with great hurt and damage to our men, which chiefly proceeded of their envenomed arrows. And although in the beginning they seemed to be but small hurts, yet there hardly escaped any that had blood drawn of them, but died in strange sort, with their mouths shut some ten days before they died, and after their wounds were whole; where I myself had one of the greatest wounds, yet, thanks be to God, escaped. From thence we passed the time upon the coast of Guinea, searching with all diligence the rivers from Rio Grande unto Sierra Leone, till the 12th of January, in which time we had not gotten together a hundred and fifty negroes. Yet notwithstanding, the sickness of our men and the late time of the year commanded us away: and thus having nothing wherewith to seek the coast of the West Indies, I was with the rest of our company in consultation to go to the cost of the Mine, hoping there to have obtained some gold for our wares, and thereby to have defrayed our charge. But even in that present instant, there came to us a negro, sent from a king, oppressed by other kings his neighbours, desiring our aid, with promise that as many negroes as by these wars might be obtained, as well of his part as of ours, should be at our pleasure. Whereupon we concluded to give aid, and sent 120 of our men, which on the 15th of January assaulted a town of the negroes of our allies' adversarics. which had in it 8,000 inhabitants, being very strongely impaled and fenced after their manner. But it was so well defended, that our men prevailed not, but lost six men and forty hurt so that our men sent forthwith to me for more help. Whereupon, considering that the good success of this enterprise might highly further the commodity of our voyage, I went myself, and with the help of the king of our side, assaulted the town, both by land and by sea and very hardly with fire (their houses being covered with dry palm leaves) obtained the town and put the inhabitants to flight, where we took 250 persons, men, women, and children, and by our friend the king of our side, there were taken 600 prisoners, whereof we hoped to have had our choice. But the negro (in which nation is seldom or never found truth) meant nothing less for that night he removed his camp and prisoners, so that we were fain to content us with those few which we had gotten ourselves. Now had we obtained between four and five hundred negroes, wherewith we thought it somewhat reasonable to seek the coast of the West Indies; and there, for our negroes, and other our merchandise, we hoped to obtain whereof to countervail our charges with some grains. Whereunto we proceeded with all diligence, furnished our watering, took fuel, and departed the cost of Guinea on the 3d of February, continuing at the sea with a passage more hard than before hast been accustomed till the 27th day of March, which day we had sight of an island, called Dominica, upon the coast of the West Indies, in fourteen degrees. From thence we coasted from place to place, making our traffic with the Spaniards as we might, somewhat hardly, because the king had straitly commanded all his governors in those parts by no means to suffer any trade to be made with us. Notwithstanding, we had reasonable trade, and courteous entertainment, from the Isle of Margarita unto Cartagena, without anything greatly worth the noting, saving at Capo de la Vela, in a town called Rio de la Hacha, from whence come all the pearls. The treasurer, who had the charge there, would by no means agree to any trade, or suffer us to take water. He had fortified his town with divers bulwarks in all places where it might be entered, and furnished himself with a hundred arquebusiers, so that he thought by famine to have inforced us to have put on land our negroes. Of which purpose he had not greatly failed, unless we had by force entered the town; which (after we could by no means obtain his favour) we were enforced to do, and so with two hundred men brake in upon their bulwarks, and entered the town with the loss only of two men of our part, and no hurt done to the Spaniards, because after their volley of shot discharged, they all fled. Thus having the town with some circumstance, as partly by the Spaniards' desire of negroes, and partly by friendship of the treasurer, we obtained a secret trade: whereupon the Spaniards resorted to us by night, and bought of us to the number of 200 negroes. In all other places where we traded the Spanish inhabitants were glad of us and traded willingly. (Hakluyt, as. ed. by J. A. Payne in l'oyages of the Elizabethan Seamen Lond. 1880. p. 52.) 145. Drake's famous Voyage Hakluyt Sir Francis Drake (circa 1545-1595) began his naval career as a chaplain and died an admiral. His greatest voyage was that around the world, begun in 1577. This was made in the ship The Golden Hind, which Elizabeth ordered to be forever preserved as a monument of the glory of the navigators and the country. Drake's circumnavigation of the world was but one of many successful voyages. In these days, when piracy and robbery are not the necessary accompaniments of exploration, his exploits appear well-nigh incredible. Yet there is good evidence of the truth of the tales of towns sacked, galleons plundered, and treasures of silver, gold, and jewels secured. Above all seamen of his time, Drake bearded the Spanish power and tore from it the mastery of the seas. The voyage given is from the pen of one who himself sailed with Drake. It well illustrates the progress of the second great incentive to English exploration in the sixteenth century, the plunder of the Spaniard. NARRATIVE OF FRANCIS PRETTY The Famous Voyage of Sir FRANCIS DRAKE, into the South Sea, and therehence about the whole globe of the earth, begun in the year of our Lord, 1577. On the 15th day of November, in the year of our Lord 1577, Mr. Francis Drake, with a fleet of five ships and barques, and to the number of 164 men, gentlemen and sailors, departed from Plymouth.... On the 17th of August we Departed the port of St. Julian, and on the 20th we fell in with the Straits of Magellan, going into the South Sea, at the cape or headland whereof we found the body of a dead man, whose flesh was clean consumed. On the 21st day we entered the Straits... We continuing our course, fell the 29th of November with an island called La Mocha...the next day repairing again to the shore, and sending two men to land with barrels to fill water, the people taking them for Spaniards (to whom they use to show no favor if they take them) laid violent hands on them, and, as we think, slew them. Our General seeing this, stayed here no longer, but weighed anchor, and set sail towards the coast of Chili, and drawing towards it, we met near to the shore an Indian in a Canoe, who thinking us to have been Spaniards, came to us and told us, that at a place called Santiago, there was a great Spanish ship laden from the kingdom of Peru, for which good news our General gave him divers trifles. Whereof he was glad, and went along with us and brought us to the place, which is called the port of Valparaiso. When we came thither we found, indeed, the ship riding at anchor, having in her eight Spaniards and three negroes, who, thinking us to have been Spaniards, and their friends, welcomed us with a drum, and made ready a Bottija of wine of Chili to drink to us. But as soon as we were entered, one of our company called Thomas Moon began to lay about him, and struck one of the Spaniards, and said unto him, "Abaxo perro!" that is in English, "Go down, dog!" One of these Spaniards, seeing persons of that quality in these seas, all to crossed and blessed himself. But, to be short, we stowed them under hatches, all save one Spaniard, who suddenly and desperately leapt over-board into the sea, and swam ashore to the town of Santiago, to give them warning of our arrival. They of the town being not above nine households, presently fled away and abandoned the town. Our General manned his boat and the Spanish ship's boat and went to the town, and being come to it, we rifled it, and came to a small chapel, which we entered, and found therein a silver chalic, two cruets, and one altar-cloth, the spoil whereof our General gave to Mr. Fletcher, his minister. We found, also in this town a warehouse stored with wine of Chili and many boards of cedar-wood, all which wine we brought away with us, and certain of the boards to burn for firewood. And so, being come aboard, we departed the haven, having first set all the Spaniards on land, saving one John Griego, a Greek born, whom our General carried with him as pilot to bring him into the haven of Lima. When we were at sea our General rifled the ship, and found in her good store of the wine of Chili, and 25,000 pesos of very pure and fine gold of Valdivia, amounting in value to 37,000 ducats of Spanish money, and above. So, going on our course, we arrived next at a place called Coquimbo, where our General sent fourteen of his men on land to fetch water. But they were espied by the Spanish, who came with 300 horsemen and 200 footmen, and slew one of our men with a piece. The rest came aboard in safety, and the Spaniards departed. We went on shore again and buried our man, and the Spaniards came down again with a flag of truce; but we set sail, and would not trust them. From hence we went to a certain port called Tarapaca, where, being landed, we found by the sea a Spaniard lying asleep, who had lying by him thirteen bars of silver, which weighed |