The French Translator Acknowledges That He Has
Altered The Style, Which Was Extremely Florid And Poetical, And Has
Expunged Several
Useless and tedious digressions, etymologies,
reflections, and comparisons; but declares that he has strictly presented,
the truth and substance of
The history, so as not to vary from it in the
least, or to omit the smallest material circumstance.
It is remarkable that there is no mention whatever in any of the English
histories of Machin, Macham, or Marcham, the supposed author of this
discovery; so that Hakluyt was beholden to Antonio Galvano for the
imperfect account he gives of that transaction[4]. By the following
abstract the complete history becomes our own, and we shall be no longer
strangers to an event which has for several ages, rendered an Englishman
famous in foreign countries, while wholly unknown in his own. It must not,
however, be omitted to observe, that some objections may be stated
against the authenticity of this history, on account of certain
circumstances which do not quadrate with the time assigned for Machin's
voyage by the author. From these it is obvious, either that the relation
given by Alcaforado is not genuine, or that it has been interpolated. How
far this objection may be admitted, without prejudice to the authority of
the whole story, must be left to the judgment of our readers; we shall
only add, that so far as relates to Macham it agrees with the tradition
of the inhabitants of Madeira.
According to Alcaforada, Juan Gonsalvo Zarco, a gentleman of the
household of Don Henry, being sent out by that prince upon an expedition
of discovery to the coast of Africa, made prize, in the year 1420, of a
Spanish vessel filled with redeemed captives, on their way from Morocco
to Spain. In this vessel there was one John de Morales, an experienced
and able pilot, whom he detained as an acceptable present to his master
Don Henry, and set all the rest at liberty. Morales on being made
acquainted with the cause of his detention, entered freely into the
service of the prince, and gave an account to Gonsalvo of the adventures
of Machin, and the situation and land-marks of the new discovered island,
all of which he had learnt from certain English captives in the jails of
Morocco, who had accompanied Macham, or Machin, in his expedition.
The year of this extraordinary adventure is not mentioned by Galvano, who
only says, that in 1344, Pedro IV. reigning in Arragon, the chronicles of
his age reported, that about this time the island of Madeira was
discovered by one Macham, an Englishman. It must be confessed that an
objection arises against this history which is not easily removed. We are
told that, immediately after the death of Macham, his companions sailed
over to Morocco, and that Morales was in prison when they arrived.
Supposing the discovery by Macham to have been made about 1344, as
related by Galvano, from the Castilian chronicles, Morales must have been
no less than seventy-six years a prisoner when redeemed, and when he was
detained by Gonsalvo in 1420.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 10 of 427
Words from 4713 to 5234
of 224388
