They Marched A Considerable
Way Through The Country With Much Difficulty, But Made A Considerable
Booty In Gold, And Took Forty Serviceable Slaves.
But a cacique, named
Pariza, attacked them and slew or took most of the party.
After this the
governor sent out his son, John Arias de Avila, to be revenged and to
explore the country. This party went westwards to Cape de Guerra, in
little more than 6 deg. N. and thence to Punta de Borica, and to Cape Blanco,
in 8 deg. 30' N. having, as they affirm, discovered 250 leagues; and besides
this they founded the city of Panama.
In the month of May 1515, Alphonsus de Albuquerque, the Portuguese
viceroy of India, sent Fernando Gomes de Limos from Ormus, as ambassador
to the Xec or Shah Ismael, king of Persia; and it is said they travelled
300 leagues through a country as pleasant as France. This Xec, or Shah
Ismael, went much a-hunting, and was fond of trout fishing, which are
abundant in the rivers of his kingdom. The women of Persia are the most
beautiful in the world; insomuch that Alexander the Great used to call
them the _golden-eyed women_. In this year died the viceroy Alphonsus de
Albuquerque, who was succeeded by Lopez Suares.
In 1516, Fernando Perez de Andrada was commanded by the king of Portugal
to pass to the great kingdom of China and likewise to Bengala, with a
dispatch to John Coelo, who was the first Portuguese who drank of the
waters of the Ganges. In April 1517, Andrada took in a loading of pepper
at Cochin, as the principal merchandize for sale in China, for which
country he sailed with eight ships, four Portuguese and four Malayans. On
his arrival in China, finding he could not be allowed to land without an
embassy, he dispatched Thomas Perez, with instructions for that purpose,
from the city of Canton, where they came to anchor. The embassy travelled
400 leagues by land to the city of Pekin, where the king resided; for
China is the largest kingdom in the world. From Sailana in the south,
which is in 20 deg. N. it reaches to the latitude almost of 50 deg. N. which must
be 500 leagues in length, and it is said to be 300 leagues in breadth[28].
Fernando Perez was fourteen months in the isle of Veniaga, endeavouring
to acquire as much knowledge as he could of the country; and although one
Raphael Perestrello had formerly been there, in a junk belonging to some
merchants of Malacca, yet Perez certainly deserves the merit of this
discovery; as well because he acted by the command of the king his master,
as in discovering so much by land by means of Thomas Perez, and by sea
through George Mascarenhas, who sailed to the city of Foquiam, in 24 deg. N.
In the year 1517, in which Charles, afterwards emperor, came into Spain,
Francis Fernandes de Cordova, Christopher Morantes, and Lopez Ochoa,
armed three ships from Cuba, at their own expence, having also with them
a barque belonging to the governor Diego Velasques, with which they came
to land in Jucutan, in 20 deg. N. at a place which they called Punta de las
Duennas, which was the first place in which temples and houses of stone
and lime had been seen in the new world. The people here, who were better
clothed than in any other place, had crosses which they worshipped, and
set upon the tombs of their dead, whence it appeared as if they had
formerly been in the faith of Christ; and some suppose that this had been
the situation of the _seven cities_. In this expedition they were upon
the north coast of Jucutan, being the first discovery of New Spain, or
Mexico; and they returned thence to Cuba with some samples of gold, and
some prisoners.
In the year 1518[29], Lopez Suares commanded Don John de Silveira to go
and make peace with the Maldive islands, which he did accordingly. From
thence Silveira went to the city of Chatigam, or Chittigong, on one of
the mouths of the Ganges, under the tropic of Cancer; for it is to be
noted, that this river, and the Indus, which lies 100 leagues beyond Diu,
and the river of Canton in China, all fall into the sea under one
parallel of latitude. Although, before this period, Fernando Perez had
been commanded to sail to Bengal, yet Silveira must be looked upon as the
actual discoverer of that country; for he went as captain-general, and
remained there long, making himself acquainted with the manners of the
people, and the commodities of the country.
In the same year 1518[30], Diego Velasquez, governor of the island of
Cuba, dispatched his nephew, John de Grisalva, on the first of May, with
four ships and two hundred soldiers, to discover Jucutan. On the 3d of
May, he fell in with the island of Cozumel, in 19 deg. north latitude, which
he named Santa Cruz, because discovered on the 3d of May, being the
anniversary of the holy cross. Grisalva coasted along the land, on the
west side of the bay of Honduras, and came to an island, which he named
Ascension, because discovered on Ascension day. They went unto the end of
that island, in 16 deg. of latitude, whence they came back, finding no
passage[31], and proceeded to a river in lat. 17 deg. N. which they called
the river of Grisalva. They were boldly opposed by the people on this
coast; yet they brought thence some gold, silver, and feathers, and
returned to Cuba. In the same year, Francis Garay fitted out three ships
from Jamaica at his own expence, and went to Cape Florida, in lat. 25 deg. N.
which seemed a most pleasant island; and thinking it better to people
islands than the firm land, because more easily conquered and kept under
subjection, he went on land; but the inhabitants of Florida killed a
great many of his people, and he was forced to re-embark and go away.
Sailing from thence he came to the river of Panuco, 500 leagues from Cape
Florida, sailing all the way along the coast, and endeavouring to land in
various places, but the natives repulsed him in every place.
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