The Commencement Of This Voyage Appears To Have
Been In Search Of A North-West Passage; But Sebastian Must Have Gone Far
Above 56 Deg.
N. to find the land trending eastwards:
He was probably
repelled by ice and cold weather. - E.]
He went afterwards into Spain, where he was taken into the service of
Ferdinand and Isabella, who furnished him with ships at their expence,
in which he went to discover the coast of Brazil, where he found a
prodigiously large river, now called the Rio de la Plata, or Silver
River, up which he sailed above 120 leagues, finding every where a good
country, inhabited by prodigious numbers of people, who flocked from
every quarter to view the ships with wonder and admiration. Into this
great river a prodigious number of other rivers discharged their waters.
After this he made many other voyages; and waxing old, rested at home
discharging the office of chief pilot, and leaving the prosecution of
discovery to many young and active pilots of good experience.
SECTION III.
Notice concerning Sebastian Cabot by Ramusio, in the Preface to the
third Volume of his Navigations.[8]
In the latter part of this volume are contained certain relations of
Giovani de Varanzana of Florence, of a certain celebrated French
navigator, and of two voyages by Jacques Cartier a Breton, who sailed to
the land in 50 deg. north latitude, called New France; it not being yet
known whether that land join with the continent of Florida and New
Spain, or whether they are separated by the sea into distinct islands,
so as to allow of a passage by sea to Cathay and India. This latter was
the opinion of Sebastian Cabota, our countryman, a man of rare knowledge
and experience in navigation, who wrote to me many years ago, that he
had sailed along and beyond this land of New France in the employment of
Henry VII. of England. He informed me that, having sailed a long way to
the north-west, beyond these lands, to the lat. of 67-1/2 deg. N. and
finding the sea on the 11th of June entirely open and without
impediment, he fully expected to have passed on that way to Cathay in
the east; and would certainly have succeeded, but was constrained by a
mutiny of the master and mariners to return homewards. But it would
appear that the Almighty still reserves this great enterprise of
discovering the route to Cathay by the north-west to some great prince,
which were the easiest and shortest passage by which to bring the
spiceries of India to Europe. Surely this enterprise would be me most
glorious and most important that can possibly he imagined, and would
immortalize him who succeeded in its accomplishment far beyond any of
those warlike exploits by which the Christian nations of Europe are
perpetually harassed.
[Footnote 8: Hakluyt, III. 28.]
SECTION IV. Notices respecting the voyage of Sebastian Cabot to the
northwest, from Peter Martyr ab Algeria[9].
These northern seas have been searched by Sebastian Cabot, a Venetian,
who was carried when very young to England by his parents, who, after
the manner of the Venetians, left no part of the world unsearched to
obtain riches. Having fitted out two ships in England at his own
expence, with three hundred men, he first directed his course so near
the north pole, that on the 11th of July he found monstrous heaps of ice
swimming in the sea, and a continual day, so that the land was free from
ice, having been thawed by the perpetual influence of the sun. By reason
of this ice he was compelled to turn southwards along the western land,
till he came unto the latitude of the Straits of Gibraltar[10]. In the
course of this north-west voyage he got so far to the west as to have
the island of Cuba on his left hand, having reached to the same
longitude[11]. While sailing along the coast of this great land, which
he called Baccalaos[12], he found a similar current of the sea towards
the west[13] as had been observed by the Spaniards in their more
southerly navigations, but more softly and gently than had been
experienced by the Spaniards. Hence it may be certainly concluded that
in both places, though hitherto unknown, there must be certain great
open spaces by which the waters thus continually pass from the east to
the west; which waters I suppose to be continually driven round the
globe by the constant motion and impulse of the heavens, and not to be
alternately swallowed and cast up again by the breathing of Demogorgon,
as some have imagined on purpose to explain the ebb and flow of the sea.
Sebastian Cabot himself named these lands Baccalaos, because he found
in the seas thereabout such multitudes of certain large fishes like
tunnies, called baccalaos by the natives, that they sometimes stayed
his ships. He found also the people of these regions clothed in the
skins of beasts, yet not without the use of reason. He says also that
there are great numbers of bears in those countries, which feed on fish,
and catch them by diving into the water; and being thus satisfied with
abundance of fish, are not noisome to man. He says likewise that he saw
large quantities of copper among the inhabitants of these regions. Cabot
is my dear and familiar friend, whom I delight to have sometimes in my
house. Being called out of England by the Catholic king of Castille, on
the death of Henry VII. of England, he was made one of the assistants of
our council respecting the affairs of the new found Indies, and waits in
daily expectation of being furnished with ships in which to discover
these hidden secrets of nature.
[Footnote 9: Hakluyt, III. 29. quoting P. Martyr, Dec. III. Ch. vi.]
[Footnote 10: The Straits of Gibraltar are in lat. 36 deg.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 4 of 217
Words from 3047 to 4047
of 221361
