In Northern Mists Volume Ii Part 24

The map of 1544, which is attributed to the collaboration of Sebastian Cabot, may also point to his having never sailed along the northern part of the coast of America, since, according to the custom of that time, the coast of Labrador is made to run to the east and north-east. This agrees with the statement of Ramusio's anonymous informant, that Sebastian had to turn back because in 56 N. lat. he found the land turning eastward (Galvano says the same). This is evidently derived from the study of maps.

As such a delineation of the coast had not yet occurred on maps of Peter Martyr's time, it is natural that this reason for turning back is also absent from his account.

In addition to all this, there are in the various accounts several statements which we must suppose to be really derived from Sebastian Cabot, but which are evidently untruthful. Thus Ramusio's anonymous guest attributes to Sebastian the words that his father was dead when the news of the discovery of Columbus reached England, and that it was then Sebastian conceived the plan of his voyage which he submitted to the King.

That, as stated by Peter Martyr, he should have fitted out two s.h.i.+ps with crews of three hundred men at his own expense, is extremely improbable. He is also reported to have told Peter Martyr that he

"called these countries Baccallaos, because in the seas about there he found such great quant.i.ties of certain large fish--which might be compared to tunny [in size], and were thus called by the inhabitants--that sometimes they stopped his s.h.i.+ps."

These are nothing but impossibilities. In the first place, _he_ never gave the name of Bacallaos; in the second, the inhabitants cannot have called the fish so, if by inhabitants is meant the native savages. These statements are, therefore, of the same kind as that of the ma.s.ses of fish stopping the s.h.i.+ps. Peter Martyr further relates that he said of these regions that

"he also found people in these parts, clad in skins of animals, yet not without the use of reason." He says also that "there are a great number of bears in these parts, which are in the habit of eating fish; for, plunging into the water where they see quant.i.ties of these fish, they fasten their claws into their scales, and thus draw them to land and eat them, so that (as he says) the bears are not troublesome to men, when they have eaten their fill of fish. He declares also that in many places of these regions he saw great quant.i.ties of copper among the inhabitants."

The statement about the bears may come from older literary sources, and resembles a similar statement in the Geographia Universalis (see above, p.

191). That the inhabitants have copper and are clad in skins may be derived from reports of the various voyages.

From what we have been able to conclude as to Sebastian Cabot's character, it seems reasonable to suppose that, in consequence of his position as Pilot Major in Spain, he was acquainted with the various maps and accounts of voyages in western and north-western waters, and that from this knowledge he constructed the whole story of his alleged voyage; he was then incautious enough to magnify his exploits to such an extent that he made the whole story improbable; for his claim was nothing less than that he had first discovered land as far north as between 55 and 60, that is to say, to about Hudson Strait, and then sailed along and discovered the whole coast of North America to about 36 N. lat., that is, to Cape Hatteras or Florida; in other words, a voyage of discovery to which we have no parallel in history, and it is truly remarkable that we should have had no certain information about it, while we have so much about other expeditions which step by step discovered the various parts of this same extent of coast.

[Sidenote: Another doubtful voyage of Sebastian Cabot in 1516 or 1517 ?]

Sebastian Cabot seems to have laid claim to having made yet another voyage in north-western waters, unless, indeed, it is the same one again with variations. In the third volume of his "Navigationi et Viaggi," etc., published at Venice 1556, Ramusio says (writing in Venice, June 1553) that

"Sebastian Gabotto, our Venetian, a man of great experience, etc., wrote to me many years ago." Sebastian is said to have sailed "along and beyond the land of New France, at the charges of Henry VII., King of England. He told me that after having sailed a long time west by north [ponente e quarta di Maestro] beyond these islands, lying along the said land, as far as to sixty-seven and a half degrees under our pole [i.e., the North Pole], and on June 11th [20th] finding the sea still open and without any kind of impediment, he thought surely by that way to be able to sail at once to Cataio Orientale [China], if the mutiny [malignita] of the master and mariners had not compelled him to return."[334]

As will be seen, this statement is altogether different from those previously mentioned; but such a.s.sertions as that Cabot had got so far to the north-west by June 11, and found the sea free of ice in 67-1/2 N.

lat., are not of a kind to strengthen our confidence. It might seem to be the same voyage that is referred to in a statement of Richard Eden, which he may have had from Sebastian Cabot himself. In the dedication (written in June 1553) of Eden's translation of the fifth part of Sebastian Munster's "Cosmographia" we read that

"Kinge Henry the viij. about the same yere [i.e., the eighth year] of his raygne, furnished and sent forth certen s.h.i.+ppes vnder the gouernaunce of Sebastian Cabot yet liuing, and one Syr Thomas Perte, whose faynt heart was the cause that that viage toke none effect; yf (I say) such manly courage whereof we haue spoken, had not at that tyme bene wanting, it myghte happelye haue comen to pa.s.se, that that riche treasurye called Perularia, (which is now in Spayne in the citie of Ciuile, and so named, for that in it is kepte the infinite ryches brought thither from the newe found land of Peru) myght longe since haue bene in the town of London."[335]

As Peru is mentioned, it might doubtless appear as though a voyage to South America were in question; but we often see that the western countries beyond the sea were spoken of as a continuous possession (cf.

Robert Thorne's letter, above, p. 334), and it may therefore refer to the same alleged expedition as is spoken of by Ramusio; for both Ramusio and Eden have evidently the same statements from Sebastian Cabot, and the latter can hardly have spoken of two expeditions which were both unsuccessful merely because his companions failed him.

If this is correct, the voyage took place in the eighth year of Henry VIII.'s reign, i.e., April 16, 1516, to April 15, 1517[336]; but, as Harrisse contends, it is very doubtful whether the voyage was made at all.

It is true that a poem of Henry VIII.'s time also speaks of an English expedition which may have taken place at this time, and which failed on account of the cowardice of the crew. Robert Thorne, too, as we have seen (p. 335), tells of a voyage made by his father and Hugh Eliot, on which the sailors would not "follow their pilot's mind." It may, indeed, have occurred on several voyages that the crews refused to proceed farther, and for that matter these statements need not refer to the same voyage; but at the same time it is by no means incredible that Sebastian Cabot may have heard of such an expedition, and, when it was more appropriate than the ice, used it as an explanation of his not having discovered the north-west pa.s.sage to China. We know that Sebastian Cabot was in the service of Spain (and appointed "Pilot Major") in 1515, and that he was occupied with plans of a voyage to the north-west for the King of Spain; for Peter Martyr writes of him in that year that he was impatiently looking forward to March 1516, when he had been promised a fleet with which to complete his discoveries [cf. Wins.h.i.+p, 1900, p. 71]. As Ferdinand of Aragon died on January 23, 1516, nothing came of this voyage, and as we hear nothing of Sebastian Cabot before February 5, 1518, when he was appointed Pilot Major by Charles V., it is not impossible that in the meantime he may have been in England, and have taken part in an English expedition; but no record of his having come to England is extant, and it would hardly agree with the protest against him of the Drapers' Company a few years later.

[Sidenote: Henry VIII.'s attempted expedition in 1521]

There may yet be mentioned the attempts made by Henry VIII. in 1521 to prepare an expedition to north-western waters under the command of Sebastian Cabot, chiefly at the expense of the merchants of London, which, however, evoked a powerful protest against Sebastian on the part of these merchants (see above, p. 330). It is true that, upon pressure from the King, they afterwards declared themselves willing to give a smaller sum, but the expedition never came to anything. Sebastian Cabot was at that time, as he had been since 1512, in the service of Spain, and he remained so until in 1547 he again took up his abode in England and entered the service of the English King. In December 1522 Sebastian Cabot informed the Venetian Minister in Spain, Contarini, that he had been in England three years before [i.e., in 1519], and that the Cardinal there [i.e., Wolsey, who was trying on behalf of Henry VIII. to get together the expedition of 1521] had endeavoured to persuade him to undertake the command of a fleet which was almost ready [sic!], for the discovery of new lands; but he had replied that, as he was in the service of Spain, he must first obtain the permission of the Emperor; and that he had then written to the Emperor, requesting him not to grant such permission, but to recall him. This Sebastian a.s.serted that he had done on account of his desire of serving his own city of Venice; for in 1522 and later he was carrying on treacherous intrigues with Contarini to enter the Venetian service, presumably with the hope of a high salary. Thus, wherever we are able to check Sebastian Cabot's utterances, they prove to be extremely untrustworthy.

[Sidenote: Cabot's discovery before its time]

Even, if, therefore, there was no lack of attempts after 1500 to follow up John Cabot's great and important discoveries in the west, it is nevertheless surprising how little persistence seems to have been shown.

The love of discovery and adventure which had been so prominent a feature of the Northern Viking nature had not yet awakened in earnest among the English people. England's mercantile marine was at that time still comparatively unimportant, it had not the strength for such great enterprises or for colonisation. The earliest voyages were mainly the work of a foreigner, an Italian, and the later ones were in part undertaken by Portuguese; they did not grow naturally from the English people themselves. Cabot's plan was like an exotic flower springing up in immature soil, and more than half a century before its time. Another factor was doubtless the disappointment of the King and of the merchants; they had ventured their money in fitting out s.h.i.+ps in the hope of immediate profit. What they were looking for was the way to the rich East of Asia, where mountains of spices lay ready to hand, and gold and precious stones in heaps, only waiting to be picked up. What they found was nothing but new, unknown countries on the ocean, inhabited by wandering tribes of hunters, countries the opening up of which demanded much time and labour. All this had scarcely more than a geographical interest for the time being, and for that they cared little.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

CHAPTER XV

THE PORTUGUESE DISCOVERIES IN THE NORTH-WEST

VOYAGES OF THE BROTHERS CORTE-REAL

[Sidenote: Early attempts of the Portuguese to find new lands]

The Portuguese, who in the fifteenth century were the most enterprising of seafaring peoples as regards discoveries, had, as already stated, made various attempts to find new countries out in the ocean to the west of the Azores, from which islands the majority of the expeditions proceeded. It was therefore to be expected that the important discoveries of Columbus should encourage them to fresh attempts of this kind; it was also natural that such enterprises should originate especially in the Azores. From what has been stated above (p. 128), it appears that the King of Portugal (Alfonso V.) induced Christiern I. to send out expeditions (Pining and Pothorst) to search for new islands and lands in the North. It seems probable that the King of Portugal was informed of the results of these expeditions, and that in this way the Portuguese may have known of the existence of Greenland or of countries in the north-west. In the same way, as we have seen (p. 132, note 2), the fact that the earliest literary allusions to Scolvus seem to be derived from Portugal may be explained.

[Sidenote: Boundary between the Portuguese and Spanish spheres]

Possible Portuguese enterprises in the western regions were barred by the claim of the Spanish Crown to the dominion over all lands to the west of a certain boundary, and in the final treaty of Tordecillas, June 7, 1404, between Portugal and Spain, this boundary was fixed by the Pope at 370 leagues (about 1200 geographical miles) to the west of the Cape Verde Islands, and it was to follow the meridian from pole to pole. All that lay to the west of this meridian was to belong to Spain, while Portugal had the right to take advantage of all lands to the east. Thereby the Portuguese were debarred from the search for India and China to the west.

These enterprising seafarers must therefore have had every reason to find out whether there were any countries on their side of the boundary-line, and it may be supposed that their attention would naturally be drawn in the direction of the north-western lands (Greenland) of which they had already heard.

And, in fact, such voyages were undertaken from Portugal (and the Azores ?) about 1500; but the accounts of them are meagre and casual, and have been interpreted in very different ways.

In order to enable one to form as unbiased a view as possible of these voyages, it will be necessary to begin by reviewing the most important contemporary doc.u.ments which may contain statements of value; and afterwards to summarise what may be concluded from these doc.u.ments.

[Sidenote: Letters patent to Joo Fernandez, 1499]

On October 28, 1499, King Manuel of Portugal issued at Lisbon to Joo Fernandez letters patent (preserved in the Portuguese State archives, Torre do Tombo) for discoveries, evidently in the north-west, in which it is said:

"We [the King] make known to all who may see this our letter, that Joham Fernamdez [now written Joo Fernandez] domiciled in our island of Terceira [Azores] has told us that he, in G.o.d's and our service, will work and travel and try to discover certain islands of [for ?]

our conquest at his own cost, and we, seeing his good will and purpose, promise him and hereby give him de facto--in addition to taking him into our service--the mark of our favour and the privilege of Governor over every island or islands, both inhabited and uninhabited, that he may discover and find for the first time, and this with such revenues [taxes], dignities, profits and interests as we have given to the Governors of the islands of Madeira and others, and for this observance and our remembrance we command that this letter be given him, signed by us and sealed with our attached seal."[337]

[Sidenote: Letters patent to Gaspar Corte-Real, 1500]

On May 12, 1500, King Manuel granted to Gaspar Corte-Real letters patent, as follows:

"We [i.e., the King] make known to all who may see this deed of gift, that forasmuch as Caspar Cortereall, a n.o.bleman of our household, has in times past made great endeavours at his own charges for s.h.i.+ps and men, employing his own fortune and at his personal danger, to search for and discover and find certain islands and mainland, and in future will still continue to carry this into effect, and in this way will do all that he can to find the said islands and lands, and bearing in mind how much he deserves honour and favour and promotion in our service, to our honour, and to the extension of our realms and dominions through such islands and lands being discovered and found by our natives [i.e., Portuguese], and through the said Gaspar Corte-Reall thus performing so much labour, and exposing himself to so great danger; we are therefore pleased to decree that, if he discovers and finds any island, or islands, or mainland, he be granted by our own consent and royal and absolute power, the concession and gift, with the privilege of Governor and its attendant rights, etc. ... over whatsoever islands or mainland he may thus find and discover, etc. ...

and we decree that he and his heirs in our name and in the name of our successors shall hold and govern those lands or islands, which are thus found, freely and without any restriction, as has been said....

The said Caspar Cortereall and his heirs shall have one quarter free of all that they can thus obtain [i.e., realise] in the said islands and lands at what time soever..." [Cf. Harrisse, 1883, pp. 196, f.].

An order is preserved dated April 15, 1501, from King Manuel to the master of the bake-house at the city gate of La Cruz to deliver biscuits to Gaspar Corte-Real, and further, a receipt of April 21, 1501, for the biscuits, signed by Gaspar Corte-Real himself, proving that the latter was in Portugal on that date.[338]

[Sidenote: Pasqualigo's letter to the Council at Venice, Oct. 1501]

Pietro Pasqualigo, the Venetian Minister at Lisbon, wrote as follows to the Council at Venice on October 18, 1501:

"On the 9th of this month there arrived here one of the two caravels which the said King's majesty sent last year to discover lands in the direction of the northern regions (verso le parte de tramontana), and they have brought seven men, women, and children from the country discovered, which is in the north-west and west, 1800 miglia distant from here. These men resemble gypsies in appearance, build, and stature. They have their faces marked in different places, some with more, others with fewer figures. They are clad in the skins of various animals, but chiefly of otter; their speech is entirely different from any other that has ever been heard in this kingdom, and no one understands it. Their limbs are very shapely, and they have very gentle faces, but their manners and gestures are b.e.s.t.i.a.l, and like those of savage men. The crew of the caravel believe that the land alluded to is mainland, and that it is joined to the other land which was discovered last year in the north by the other caravels belonging to this majesty, but they were unable to reach it, for the sea was frozen over with the great ma.s.ses of snow, so that it rose up like land. They also thought that it was connected with the Andilii [Antilles], which were discovered by the sovereign of Spain, and with the land of Papaga [Brazil], newly found by a s.h.i.+p belonging to this king, on her way to Calcutta. The grounds for this belief are, in the first place, that after having sailed along the coast of the said land for a distance of six hundred miglia and more, they found no end to it; and further because they say they found many very great rivers which there fell into the sea. The second caravel, that of the commander (caravella capitania), is expected from day to day, and from it the nature and condition of the aforesaid land will be clearly understood, since it went farther along the coast in order to discover as much of it as possible. This royal majesty has been much rejoiced by this news, for he thinks that this land will be very profitable for his affairs in many respects, but especially because it is so near to this kingdom that it will be easy to obtain in a short time a very great quant.i.ty of timber for making s.h.i.+ps' masts and yards of, and to get a sufficient supply of male slaves for all kinds of labour, for they say that that country has many inhabitants, and is full of pine-trees and other excellent wood. The news in question has rejoiced his majesty so much that he has given orders that the s.h.i.+ps are to sail to the said place, and for the increase of his Indian fleet, in order to conquer it more quickly, as soon as it is discovered; for it seems that G.o.d is with his majesty in his undertakings, and brings all his plans to accomplishment." [Cf. Harrisse, 1883, pp. 209, ff.].

[Sidenote: Pasqualigo's letter to his brothers, Oct. 1501]

On October 19, 1501, Pietro Pasqualigo writes to his brothers at Venice:

"On the 8th of this month there arrived here one of the two caravels which this most serene majesty sent last year to discover lands in the north under Captain Gaspar Corterat [sic]; and they state that they found land two thousand miglia from here between north-west and west, which before was not known to any one; along the coast of this land they sailed perhaps six hundred or seven hundred miglia without finding an end to it; therefore they believe that it is a continent which is continuous with another land that was discovered last year in the north [by some other caravels], which caravels could not reach the end of it, because the sea was frozen and there was an infinite quant.i.ty of snow. They believed it also on account of the great number of rivers that they found there, and that certainly would not be so numerous or so large on an island. They say that this land has many inhabitants, and that their houses are made of great wooden poles, which are covered on the outside with skins of fish [i.e., seals ?].

They have brought seven men, women, and children from thence and fifty more are coming in another caravel, which is hourly expected. These are of similar colour, build, stature, and appearance to gypsies, clad in skins of various animals, but mostly otter; in the summer they turn the skin in, in winter the reverse. And these skins are not sewed together in any way, and not prepared, but they are thrown over the shoulders and arms just as they are taken off the animals. The loins are fastened together with strings made of very strong fish sinews.

Although they seem to be savages, they are modest and gentle, but their arms, legs, and shoulders are indescribably well shaped; they have the face marked [tattooed] in the Indian fas.h.i.+on, some with six, some with eight, and some with no figures [lines ?]. They speak, but are understood by no one; I believe they have been addressed in every possible language. In their country they have no iron, but make knives of certain stones, and spearheads in the same way. They have brought from thence a fragment of a broken gilt sword, which was certainly made in Italy. A boy among them wore in his ears two silver rings, which seem without doubt to have been made in Venice. This induced me to believe that it is a continent, for it is not a place to which s.h.i.+ps can ever have gone without anything having been heard of them.[339] They have a very great quant.i.ty of salmon, herring, cod, and similar fish. They have also great abundance of trees, and above all of pine-trees for making s.h.i.+ps' masts and yards of. For this reason it is that this most serene King thinks he will derive the greatest profit from the said land, not only on account of the trees for s.h.i.+pbuilding, of which there is much need, but also on account of the men, who are excellent labourers, and the best slaves that have hitherto been obtained; this seems to me to be a thing worth giving information about, and if I hear anything more when the commander's caravel (caravella capitania) arrives, I will also communicate it."

[Cf. Harrisse, 1883, pp. 211, f.].