Next Day He Caused A Mark To Be
Erected On This Island, Where He Went On Shore And Heard Mass; And
Departed Thence Without Any Intercourse With The Inhabitants Of
Mozambique.
On the 3d of March, he came to the island of St Blas, where
the ships remained for some
Time to take in water, and to provide a stock
of sea wolves, and _solitarios_, which were salted to serve as provision
for the remainder of the voyage, and for which they were most thankful to
God. Departing from thence, they were driven back by a westerly wind
right contrary; but Providence sent them a fair wind, by means of which
they doubled the Cape of Good Hope with infinite pleasure on the 20th of
March, all the remainder of the crews being now strong and in good health,
with the cheering prospect of speedily returning to Lisbon. They now had
a fair wind, which lasted them twenty days, and sped them on towards St
Jago. The fair wind now failed them and delayed their voyage. Trying the
lead on Thursday the 25th of April, they found twenty-five fathom; and
the least water they had all that day was twenty fathom, on which account
the pilots concluded they were on the shoals of the Rio Grande.
Of the rest of this voyage, till the arrival of the general at the island
of St Jago, I have found no account; except that, when, approaching that
place, Nicholas Coello parted company one night with the general, and
made direct for Portugal, that he might carry the first intelligence to
the king of the discovery of India; and arrived at _Cascais_ on the 10th
of July 1499[74]. He went immediately to the king, whom he informed of
all that had befallen the general in his discovery of the Indies, and of
the commodities which had been brought from thence; of which discovery,
and of the prospect which it held out of a direct trade with India by sea,
the king was as glad as when he had been proclaimed king of Portugal.
After the separation of Coello, De Gama pursued his voyage for the island
of St Jago, both because his brother Paulo was sick with consumptive
complaints, and because his ship was in very bad condition; all her seams
being open. At that island, he freighted a caravel, in hope of being able
to get his brother home to Portugal, and left John de Sala in charge of
his own ship, to have her repaired and new rigged before proceeding for
Lisbon. The general and his brother left St Jago in the hired caravel for
Lisbon; but the disease of Paulo de Gama increased so rapidly, that he
was forced to put in at the island of Tercera, where Paulo de Gama
departed this life like a good Christian and a worthy gentleman. When he
had buried his brother, Vasco de Gama set sail for Portugal, and arrived
at Belem in September 1499; having been two years and two months absent
on this voyage. Of 108 men whom he had taken with him, only fifty[75]
came home alive; which was a large proportion, considering the great and
numerous dangers they had gone through.
When the general had returned thanks to God for his preservation and
success, he sent notice of his arrival to the king, who sent Diego de
Sylva y Menesis, Lord of Portugalete, and many other gentlemen, to
conduct him honourably to court, which they did through a prodigious
concourse of people, eager to see the man who had made so wonderful a
voyage, and whom they had long thought dead. Being come into the presence,
the king honoured him as one who, by the discovery of the Indies had done
so much for the glory of God, for the honour and profit of the king of
Portugal, and for the perpetual fame of the Portuguese name in the world.
The king made him afterwards a knight, and gave him and his heirs
permission to bear the royal arms of Portugal, as also to set at the foot
of the escutcheon two does, which are called gamas in the Portuguese
language. He also gave him a perpetual pension or rent-charge of 300,000
rees[76] yearly, out of the tythe fish in the village of _Sinis_, in
which he was born, and a promise of being made lord of that village; and
till these grants were executed in form, he allowed him 1000 crowns a-year;
which, after the royal grants were made, reverted to the house of the
_Contratation_ of the Indies. It was also granted, that when the trade
with India should be established, he might bring home spices to the value
of 200 ducats yearly, without paying any duty. He also gave him other
possessions and rents, and a note of remembrance or promise to make him a
lord[77]. Nicholas Coello was promoted to be a gentleman of the royal
household, and received possessions and rents to bear his charges[78].
The king himself, in consequence of these discoveries, assumed the new
title, of _Lord of the conquest and navigation of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia,
and the Indies_.
[1] By Mr Clarke this person is named Goncalo Nunez.
[2] Mr Clarke alleges, that Lichefield, our original translator, has
fallen into an error in this date, which ought to have been the 28th
July. - E.
[3] If Saturday were the 5th July, on which the fleet sailed from Lisbon,
the 3d of August must have been on Thursday. But it does not seem
necessary to insist upon such minute critical accuracy; which, besides,
is unattainable. - E.
[4] This strange expression probably means, that Gama stretched directly
across the gulf of Guinea, not creeping as usual along the coast, and
endeavoured to make a direct course for the Cape of Good Hope. - E.
[5] Our old English translator, Lichefield, strangely mistakes in calling
this place the _island_ of Sancta Haelena; which is assuredly St Elena
bay, in lat.
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