Of These Four Voyages, Two Were Made
Through A Vast Extent Of Ocean Towards The West, At The Command Of The
Illustrious Don Ferdinand King Of Spain:
The other two were to the south,
in the service of Don Manuel king of Portugal.
I have used my utmost
diligence in the composition of this work, in hopes that your majesty
would graciously receive me among the number of your dependants,
considering that we were formerly companions during youth, while studying
grammar under the tuition of my venerable uncle, Fra George Antony
Vespucius. I wish that I were able to imitate that worthy person, as I
should then be quite different from what I am: Yet I am not ashamed of
myself, having always placed my chief delight in the practice of virtue,
and the acquisition of literature. Should these voyages displease you, I
may say, as Pliny said to his patron, "formerly my pleasantries used to
delight you." Although your majesty is always occupied in affairs of state,
you may certainly have as much leisure as will permit you to peruse these
pages; which, however trivial in comparison, may yet please by their
novelty. After the cares of government, your majesty will, I hope, receive
amusement from my labours, as a pleasant desert promotes digestion after a
plentiful repast. But, if I have been too tedious in my narrative, I ask
pardon and take my leave.
Be it known to your majesty that I first went to these new countries in
search of trade, in which I was occupied for four years, during which I
experienced various reverses of fortune; at one time raised to the summit
of human wishes, and afterwards reduced to the lowest ebb of misery, in so
much that I had resolved to abandon commerce, and to confine my exertions
to more laudable and safer exertions. I disposed myself, therefore, to the
purpose of exploring various parts of the world, that I might see the
wonderful things which it contains. An opportunity soon fortunately
offered for satisfying this desire, as King Ferdinand of Spain fitted out
four ships for the discovery of new countries towards the west, and was
pleased to employ me upon this service. We set sail on the 20th of May
1497 from the port of Cadiz, taking our course through the great gulf of
the ocean, in which voyage we were occupied for eighteen months,
discovering many continents, and almost innumerable islands, most of
which were inhabited, all of which were utterly unknown to our
predecessors and the ancients. If I am not mistaken, I have somewhere read
that the ocean is entirely void of countries and inhabitants, as appears
to have been the opinion of our poet Dante, in his Inferno. But of the
wonderful things which I have seen there, your majesty will find an
account in the following narrative.
SECTION I.
The first Voyage of Americus Vespucius.
As already mentioned, we set sail with four ships in company from Cadiz on
the 20th May 1497[1], shaping our course with the wind at S.S.W.[2] for
the islands formerly called the Fortunate, and now named the Grand
Canaries; which are situated in the western extremity of the then known
habitable world, and in the third climate, the elevation of the pole being
twenty-seven degrees and two thirds.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 292 of 415
Words from 154492 to 155052
of 219607
